The night sky is pitch black, and the full moon is like a disk, sprinkling a hazy glow, shrouding the tranquil Ci'an Palace.

In the dormitory, the moonlight is like water, and the patterns on the marble floor are even faintly visible. The hall is silent, the Empress Dowager Xiaochun rests on the bed of red sandalwood lotus pattern, snorting slightly, the heavy tent hangs layer upon layer, the purple gold beast incense burner in the center of the hall burns the sandalwood of peace and tranquility, and the fragrance slowly spreads.

Suddenly, there was a slight cry from the warm pavilion of the east side hall, the queen mother had not yet fallen asleep, heard the voice, sat up from the bed, lifted the tent, and called: "Jingzhu." ”

Aunt Jingzhu, who had always slept on the couch in the outer room, stepped forward quickly, although in a hurry, she was neatly dressed and her hair was not messy at all.

The Queen Mother asked, "Is Yuanyuan having a nightmare again?" So saying, he got out of bed.

Jingzhu hurriedly said: "Queen Mother, Miss Yuanyuan has Chunhua and Mingqing to appease her. The Queen Mother has been unable to sleep for the past few days, and finally fell asleep, so let's sleep, besides, this night is cold and heavy, and the Queen Mother also has to be careful of the phoenix body. Miss Yuanyuan, let the slave go over and take care of it. ”

The Queen Mother shook her head and said: "Yuanyuan is deeply demonic, and she needs to be comforted by the mourning family in person, so she can help the mourning family get up." ”

Jingzhu had to serve the Queen Mother and put on a middle coat, and took off a brown bat-patterned robe from the ebony hanger and put it on, gently supported the Empress Dowager Xiaochun, walked through the porch, and walked to the side hall.

In the warm pavilion, there are little girls everywhere who have lit candlesticks, and the candlelight is swaying slightly, which is very bright.

On the wide begonia wood arhat bed, the slender body is wrapped under the brocade quilt, the shoulders twitch, the cry whimper, the weeping ripples, the hibiscus weeping dew, inch by inch soft intestines. Chunhua and Mingqing were softly comforting beside them.

The queen mother's heart tightened, she stepped forward quickly, took her into her arms, and said distressedly: "Don't be afraid, Yuanyuan, my aunt is here." ”

Lu Yuan cried and cried, "Auntie! Leaning on the shoulder of the Queen Mother and crying loudly, the Queen Mother gently patted her back and shed tears: "Cry, good boy, just cry out." ”

Lu Yuan is naturally not the niece of the Empress Dowager Xiaochun, but the youngest daughter of her good sister Shen Qingluo.

When they were in the boudoir, the Gu family and the Shen family lived next to each other, because both families had only one daughter, and the rest were brothers, these two girls of similar age and personality became the best playmates, reading and learning words together, learning piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, needle chisel female red, and inseparable from the intimate moment, so they worshiped the sisters, Gu Jinyan was one year older as her sister, and Shen Qingluo was her sister.

In the boudoir, the two little sisters step on the grass in the spring, row the boat in the summer, pick the osmanthus in the autumn, and enjoy the snow in the winter. Later, Gu Jinyan was elected to the palace and became the concubine of the first emperor, and Shen Qingluo was hired with Lu Zhixin, the only son of Lu Weishan, a scholar of Hallym University. It wasn't until later that Gu Jinyan was promoted to the position of concubine, and she could leave the palace once a month or her family members visit the palace, so that the two could see each other often and tell each other about their sisterhood.

Although Gu Jinyan has been promoted to concubine and imperial concubine all the way, he has nothing to do in his life, and now the emperor is just an adopted son.

The emperor's biological mother, Concubine Jiang, was weak and lost her blood after giving birth to a child, and she never recovered, and finally died of illness when she was six years old. The first emperor thought of Gu Guifei's virtuous and filial piety, and there was nothing to do, so he sent Yu Lin to be raised by her side. The first queen died early, and the first emperor did not stand again during his lifetime, and after the new emperor ascended the throne, Gu Jinyan was respected as the Empress Dowager of Xiaochun.

After Shen Qingluo married into the Lu family, she gave birth to two sons in a row, and the husband and wife raised their eyebrows, Qin Se and Ming, and Lu Zhixinjian would never take a concubine again. The couple liked their daughter and always wanted to have another daughter, but they couldn't fulfill their wish for a few years, thinking that they had no daughter in their fate and were getting older, so they let it go. Who knew that a year or two later, Qingluo was pregnant again, pregnant for ten months, and gave birth to a beautiful daughter.

Yuanyuan followed her mother to visit Gu Jinyan every month since she was a child, Gu Jinyan liked her to be smart and clever, delicate and moving, and treated him a hundred times closer than her niece, and since then, Yuanyuan has called her an aunt.

On the Luo bed, Lu Yuan was tired of crying, and turned into a whispered sob, her face was full of tears, and the Queen Mother took the shark and gently wiped it for her.

"Yuanyuan, you broke the heart of the mourning family. On that day, your father was suddenly convicted and the whole family was exiled, and your mother bit her finger and wrote a bloody letter, ordering someone to risk death to pass it on to the mourning family, and I must protect you. The mourning family went to beg the emperor overnight to give you to me to serve, and the emperor saw that you were young and a daughter, so he agreed. Yuanyuan, although the mourning family is the queen mother, the emperor is not my flesh and blood after all, he just remembers my hard work for many years of raising and respects me. The mourning family also wants to save your father, mother, brother and sister-in-law, but it is related to the government and politics, and they can't do it, Yuanyuan, have you ever blamed your aunt? ”

Yuanyuan raised her head, looked at the face of the queen mother and said: "Yuanyuan knows that my aunt can protect me, and she has done her best, and my aunt's kindness will be difficult to repay in this life." It's just that when she thought of the scene of life and death that day, Yuanyuan's heart was like a knife, they didn't even let go of her eldest brother's child, Ziyan was just an infant baby. Auntie, what crime did my father commit, and why was the emperor so ruthless! ”

"Yuanyuan, your father was implicated by others and caused a disaster."

Lu Yuan's eyes lit up, and he spit out sonorous words: "Today's emperor is loyal and treacherous, mistrusts traitors, and wrongs loyal ministers, but he is a faint king?!" ”

When Jingzhu on the side of the bed heard this, he hurriedly tried to stop it. The Queen Mother waved her hand and said to Lu Yuan: "Now the emperor is not mediocre. ”

She saw that Yuanyuan's eyes were confused, and said: "The emperor also has the emperor's hardships, and he has to weigh the pros and cons, and sometimes he can't help himself." Your father's case involved many people, the governor of the capital, the Shi Li family, the Sun family, the servant of the Ministry of Officials, the Shaoqing Shi family of Dali Temple, your sister-in-law's maiden family, and the Xue family of Shangshu Zuocheng, who is a friend of your family. ”

Hearing the Xue family, Lu Yuan had another heartache, Xue Zhenyuan, the third son of the Xue family, was a young talent, and Yuanyuan had no guesses since childhood, just waiting for a year or two later, Yuanyuan and the two families would make a marriage contract, talk about marriage, who would want to suffer such a catastrophe.

I only heard the queen mother continue: "The affairs of the court are complicated, the emperor and the young man succeeded to the throne, and the foundation is weak, so it is inevitable to rely on Concubine Rong's father, Zheng Yuan, the commander of the army. Now Zheng Yuan impeached the governor of the capital, Shi Li Qiren, for colluding with the vassal king to rebel and implicate hundreds of other families. The emperor is suspicious, and would rather kill a thousand people by mistake than let one slip through the net. The mourning family pleaded with the emperor to make your whole family exiled to Shuzhong, not in more remote areas, and the Xue family and the Shi family were sent to Ningguta, thousands of miles away. ”

"I'd rather kill a thousand people by mistake than let one slip through the net." Lu Yuan muttered, "How cruel! He knew how many innocent families had been ruined and their wives separated by his suspicions. ”

The Queen Mother said lovingly: "Although I can't protect your father, mother, brother and sister-in-law, I have also ordered someone to buy off the escort officials to ensure that they will not suffer and have no worries about their lives." ”

Lu Yuan said sadly: "Even though Shuzhong is not as distant and bitter cold as Ningguta, but it is also a land of difficult terrain and poor mountains and bad waters, Yuanyuan's father and mother are nearly old, and the two sisters-in-law are the daughters of noble families, how can they endure hardship." Yuanyuan is heartbroken every time she thinks of her parents and relatives being displaced outside, and I am in this palace! ”

The Queen Mother stroked her hair and said, "Yuanyuan, your mother risked her life to entrust you to me, and you must not let down her hard work." ”

After being silent for a while, Lu Yuan suddenly raised her head and asked, "Auntie, is there any way to save my whole family, Yuanyuan is willing to try desperately!" As long as she can reunite with her parents and brothers, she can do whatever she wants. Yuanyuan is reluctant to steal peace. ”

The Queen Mother looked at the blue and white seawater pattern incense burner in the center of the warm pavilion, the benzoin burned in the incense burner, and the wisps of incense mist rising above the stove lid, and lost her mind for a while. After a while, he retracted his gaze and said to Lu Yuan: "To unlock the bell, you must tie the bell, and there is only one person in the world who can save your whole family." ”

"You mean the emperor?" Lu Yuan knew what he meant: "Then what should I do?" ”

"Yuanyuan, the mourning family has been thinking about it for many days, and I can't sleep at night, just thinking about it. The mourning family originally wanted to keep you by their side and keep you safe, but now they see that you have been depressed and unhappy, and you often have nightmares, and you can't tie your heart knot. You want to rehabilitate your father and reunite the family, as a talented woman, there is only one way to go, that is, to become the emperor's favorite concubine. ”

Lu Yuan's expression was shocked, she knew that it would be difficult for her brother Zhenyuan of the Xue family to get married again, and she would not even see each other again, but she never thought of being the emperor's concubine, but deep down she knew in her heart that the way her aunt said was the only feasible. She was in a state of confusion.

The Queen Mother saw that she was silent for a long time, and said with pity: "Yuanyuan, the harem is sinister, the concubines are fighting and framing, and the mourning family really doesn't want you to fall into it." There are too many helplessness in life, and it is difficult to have the best of both worlds in the end. ”

Unconsciously, the old and young had been talking for half a night, the sky was getting brighter, and the faint morning light had shone into the warm pavilion through the blue window screen after the rain.

The Empress Dowager Xiaochun got up and said, "It's almost dawn, you lie down and sleep for a while, the mourning family will go back first." ”

Yuanyuan apologized: "Aunt let Yuanyuan make trouble for half the night, she must be very tired, let Aunt Jingzhu help you go back to rest." As he spoke, he wanted to get up and get out of bed to see him off.

The Queen Mother smiled and pressed her back to the bed, holding Jingzhu's hand and slowly walking out of the warm pavilion.

Out of the threshold of the side hall, the eastern sky has turned white, slightly revealing some glow, and the morning star hangs high in the sky.

The Empress Dowager Xiaochun looked up at the sky and sighed: "I hope the mourning family has done nothing wrong, and I hope Sister Qingluo doesn't blame me!" ”