Chapter 23 Chapter 22

Looking at the twelfth lunar month, the palace is naturally idle.Concubine Tong Gui was in charge of the affairs of the Six Palaces, so the older she got, the more busy she was.Arranging various miscellaneous things for the New Year, rewards everywhere, New Year's banquets, palace family members entering the court... are all trivial things that are annoying, and all of them are related to the state system, and some of them cannot be ignored.After listening to the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs replying for a while, I felt that my temples were throbbing again, and I felt a faint headache.Then he asked the maid who was close to him: "Move the charcoal basin farther away, the charcoal gas is choking."

The maid hurriedly agreed, and the little eunuchs came up to move the charcoal basin, and someone came back from outside: "Master, Master An is here." Concubine An is used to come and go, and she is familiar with informal etiquette. She just bent her knees and said, "Greetings to your concubine." The imperial concubine was leaning on the big welcoming pillow, wearing a homely gold gown made of Japanese satin, with snow-white silver fox fur on the collar and sleeves, which made her face look pale, and she couldn't help saying: "Sister, you still have to take care of yourself. After a while, I saw that I lost weight again."

Concubine Tong sighed softly, and said: "Why don't I want to raise some, but there are thousands of people in the harem, how many days are there not dozens of big and small things? The former Long Live Lord came to see me, and only said a little In an hour's time, I saw one thing after another going back and forth, and joked about it, so I was busier than him in the court." Concubine An couldn't help but feel a little sour in her heart, and said: "The emperor still misses my sister. In three or five days, I will always come to see my sister." Seeing a jade bowl presented by the palace maid, Concubine Tong just picked up the silver spoon and tasted it, then pushed it away.Concubine An hurriedly said: "This bird's nest is the most nourishing, my sister should be more patient." Concubine Tong just shook her head slightly, and Concubine An saw the picture of dispelling cold on the wall of the kang, and said, "It's two or nine days. Right." Concubine Tong Gui said: "I only feel cold this year, but after entering September, it snows one after another, and it never stops. Alas, the days go by so fast, it seems that the new year is coming again." Concubine An thought about it: "Concubine Yi is probably going to give birth." Concubine Tong Gui said, "It must be in the twelfth lunar month. The former Long Live Lord asked me, and I said that I have sent a proper person to attend."

Concubine An said: "Xiaoqi from Guo Luoluo's family is really the one in the heart of the Long Live Lord. If I add a little elder brother to the Long Live Lord this time, I don't know how to hold it up to the sky." Tong Guifei smiled slightly and said "Although Concubine Yi is strong, I think Long Live Lord still let her set the rules." Concubine An wanted to say something when she entered the door, and now she just pretended to be idle and said, "I don't know how my sister has been doing these days." I heard that Sheng Gong violated the peace?" Concubine Tong was taken aback, and said: "What? I didn't hear the imperial doctor—what did my sister hear?" Concubine An blushed slightly, and said in a low voice: "It's me I was thinking wildly, because that day I overheard a person in the respect room say that the Lord Long Live has been 'called to go' for the past twenty days."

Concubine Tong Guifei couldn't help but blush slightly, although she felt that this matter was indeed unusual, but after all, both of them were young, and it was not easy to talk about the affairs of the room when they were old, so she coughed slightly and picked up some gossip. Concubine Tong Guifei went to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager in the evening, and sat for a while longer than usual.Just as Yiyi was sitting on her knees, telling some interesting stories about the harem to amuse the Empress Dowager, the maid came in and back with a smile: "Empress Dowager, Lord Long Live is here." Concubine Tong quickly stood up.

Although the emperor made peace every morning and evening, when he saw his grandmother, he was still very affectionate.After asking for safety, she stood up, and the Empress Dowager said: "Sit on the kang, which is warm." She also called Concubine Tong Gui: "You sit too. The whole family shuts the door, so why talk about rules." Guifei Tong agreed, and sat down on her side. The Empress Dowager looked at the emperor carefully, and said, "It's snowing outside again? Why don't you ask them to open umbrellas? Look, there's still snow on your hat." The emperor laughed. "I was wearing a windbreaker, and I took it off when I entered the door. I think their hands were heavy and brushed it on the hat." The Empress Dowager nodded and said with a smile: "I see that you look good these days, you must be happy. The emperor smiled and said: "The ancestors clearly saw that Tuhai entered Sichuan, Zhao Liangdong and Wang Jinbao went down to several cities, and saw that Sichuan will be restored by next spring at the latest. We can go straight to Yunnan and wipe out Wu Fan in one fell swoop." The Empress Dowager really laughed, with a smile all over her face, and said repeatedly: "Okay, okay." Concubine Tong Guifei just smiled and said nothing when she saw that the words were related to government affairs.

The grandparents and grandchildren talked for a while, and the empress dowager heard the sound of wind and snow outside the window, and said: "It's dark, the road is slippery again, and I'm tired. You all go back, especially Tong Jia's family." , your health is not good, it’s snowing and it’s dark, don’t suffer from the cold.” The emperor and Concubine Tong stood up early, and Concubine Tong said: “Thank you, Empress Dowager, for your love, I came here in a warm sedan chair, so it’s okay. " After saluting with the emperor, Fang left. The emperor saw that she was wearing a fragrant bucket pattern cloak with icing on the cake, standing timidly on the porch, always in a state of overwhelmed by the cold wind.He has always been very polite to this cousin, and said: "The days are short now, and you are not in good health. Come here earlier to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager, so as not to go back in the night snow." Guifei Tong said in a low voice: "Thank you, long live Master is sympathetic." There was something in his heart, but he just bowed his head silently.The emperor asked: "Is there something to say?" Concubine Tong Gui said: "No." She said in a low voice: "Long live God cherishes it, and it is the blessing of my concubine." In the sedan chair, Concubine Tong watched the eunuchs shouting and embracing, leaving behind the imperial chariot, before getting into her own sedan chair.

The emperor was a very delicate person, so when he returned to Qianqing Palace and got off the sedan chair, he asked Li Dequan: "Did Concubine Tong send someone here today?" The eunuch on duty in the respect room went over to ask questions." After hearing this, the emperor understood a little, so he stopped asking and went straight into the Xinuang Pavilion. Changed clothes before sitting down, looked up and saw Lin Lang coming in, couldn't help smiling.Seeing his staring eyes, Lin Lang finally blushed slightly. After a while, she raised her head and met the emperor's eyes. The emperor looked gentle and asked, "I've been away for a while, what are you doing?"

Lin Lang replied: "Didn't the Lord Long Live say that he wants to eat lotus seed tea? I'm going to ask the imperial teahouse to peel the lotus seeds." The emperor grunted and said, "It's snowing outside again." She felt her hand was soft and greasy, holding it in the palm of her hand. , Seeing the oranges from Xingong, Guangxi on the kang table, he took one and handed it to her.Lin Lang was about to get the silver knife, but the emperor casually took out the enamel-inlaid gold knife from her waist and gave it to her, and she lowered her head and gently cut through the orange peel.The emperor could only smell the rich orange fragrance, which was caught in the familiar faint and elegant fragrance. He couldn't help but groaned in his heart, and said in a low voice: "A knife is like water, Wu Yan is better than snow, and a slender finger breaks a new orange." His cheeks were flushed and flushed as if he was drunk, his bright eyes looked forward, and his eyes were eager to stream.After a long time, Fang replied in a low voice: "It's already three o'clock in the city. The horses are slippery and frosty, it's better to stop, because few people walk."

The emperor smiled softly, and couldn't help pulling her into his arms, because there was a kang in the warm pavilion, and he was only wearing a short ermine jacket with small sleeves covering the waist.The emperor only felt his slender waist, and the fragrance of nephrite jade was overwhelming, warm and drunk, and said in a low voice: "I am much more blessed than that Zhao official family." She blushed and did not answer.The emperor only heard the north wind whistling outside the window, and the window sash creaked slightly.Hearing her shortness of breath, her heart was beating wildly, and her temple hair was softly attached to his face, as if she only wanted to cuddle like this, for a long, long time.

Lin Lang listened to the soft crackling sound of charcoal fire burning in the smoked cage, the emperor's arms were extremely warm, and the ambergris incense was lingering in the sleeves of the royal robe, but her heart gradually calmed down.The emperor whispered: "The palace always refuses to let people be clean. We will go to Nanyuan when the seal is sealed next year." The voice became lower and lower, gradually whispering, and the warm breath lingered in her ears. , light and itchy and crisp.There are dozens of red candles on the candlesticks beside him, shining with flowing light, reflecting the spring in the whole room. Until Dingmao in December, the driver left Yongding Gate and went to Nanyuan Palace.It was an extremely rare sunny day, a round of red sun reflected the snow on the side of the road, and there was a dazzling layer of pale gold.The yellow curtains on both sides of the official road have been hardened by the frost for a long time.The officials of the retinue, the soldiers of the third battalion, surrounded by sixteen people, walked slowly in wooden and vermilion light steps, and only heard the morning wind blowing the banners, umbrellas and umbrellas in the ranks. Pallpen led the errand of the Minister of the Interior, and followed closely behind the royal driver on horseback.Suddenly, the emperor raised the curtain of the public window and waved, but he gestured to Nalan Rongruo.Nalan hurriedly approached the horse, but the emperor pondered for a moment and told him, "Go and take care of the carriage behind." Nalan received the decree, hurriedly turned his horse's head and rode his horse to the rear of the ranks. Behind them was the mule cart on which the palace family members were riding. Nalan saw that it was a cart with green cloth and red lacquer wheels used by the palace people of the same color, and there were no concubines. Although the sedan chair he was driving was strange in his heart, but the emperor Baba'er sent him over, he had no choice but to rein in his horse and follow the convoy unhurriedly. Because of the sunny and warm weather, the snow on the road began to melt gradually, making it very difficult to walk. The car was run over by the hoofs of the horses, and only dirty snow and mud splashed.Although the imperial driver was moving slowly, the mule cart could not move fast.Nalan Xinma followed freely, and couldn't help being dazed.Just at this time, there was a deep pit on the road, which had already been filled with loess, but a large group of people and horses trampled past, the snow melted, and when the mule cart passed by, Zhu Lun got stuck in it, and the eunuch in charge kept shouting , The mule and horse tried several times, but the cart failed to get up. Nalan hurriedly got off his horse and called the soldiers of his retinue to help push the cart.More than a dozen people helped the mule cart to get up easily, Nalan's heart relaxed, he turned around and was about to mount his horse in the stirrups, when suddenly the wind blew up the curtains of the mule cart, and there was a very faint fragrance, but it was lingering in his dreams, and he will never forget it. familiar with.Feeling terrified in my heart, I suddenly turned around and stared blankly at the curtains of the mule cart, as if trying to see through the thick green felt.