Chapter 3 Chapter Three

After chatting with Empress Ruan for quite a while, when they returned to the mansion, the sky had already darkened, and it was time for dinner.Butler Sun came up to welcome him, saluted him, and asked, "My lord, have you passed on the meal?" Although the two had been married for nearly half a year, they rarely had meals together. Baili Haozhe glanced back at Ruan Wushuang, slightly After pondering for a while, he said, "Let's pass on the meal!" Butler Sun hurriedly gave orders.Baili Haozhe has already called out: "Wait, arrange to go to Hanxinzhai!" Hanxinzhai is located on the east side of the entire palace, closest to the attic where Ruan Wushuang lives.Surrounded by flowers and plants, the four seasons are endless.At this time, the red plums are in full bloom, and there is a beautiful scenery.

The petals sway slightly with the wind, and the air carries the fragrance of plum blossoms.Standing around Hanxinzhai, I can only feel the fragrance and fragrance.Ruan Wushuang walked slowly through the corridor, the sky had already darkened, the maid carried an octagonal lantern and walked in front, leaving only a hazy spot under her feet, like a clear spring in August, and the peonies on the embroidered shoes could be vaguely seen, Stitch by thread, blooming on the branches. The wind howled all around, vaguely blowing in through the cloak, very cold, but seemed to have a sweet smell.She clenched the heater in her hand tightly, with only a little warmth, but her fingertips were still cold.

The guards and maids in front of Hanxin Zhai saw her coming, saluted and opened the door for her.A charcoal stove has been lit in the room, giving it a warm feeling.He was standing in front of the window, already changed into a stone blue brocade robe, standing facing the wind like an orchid orchid and a jade tree.Looking from the back, there is a sense of loneliness and desolation. Mo Zhu and Mo Lan unbuttoned the cloak for her, and then retreated.Ruan Wushuang approached and said: "My lord!" Baili Haozhe turned his head, with an ordinary look, he said gently, "Here we come! Let's eat!" The spoons, chopsticks, plates and cups were all set on the table, There are also several dishes of dried fruit preserves.

Baili Haozhe clapped his hands, and the servant brought up the hot dishes one by one.Coral cabbage, butterfly shrimp slices, monkey head double vegetables, five strands of shredded chicken, three fresh duck buns, smoked elbow flower belly, fried sea bass balls with bird's nest, pea yellow, kidney bean rolls.Ruan Wushuang took a few glances, but couldn't help feeling rippling in her heart: it was actually her favorite dish in the prime minister's residence. She picked the chicken shreds and tasted a few mouthfuls, and the taste was the same as what she had eaten in Xiangfu before.She raised her head in surprise, and saw that Baili Haozhe was also looking at her, his eyes met each other, his eyes were like black glazed gems, a patch of black lacquer, bottomless.

Baili Haozhe smiled slightly: "Eat more! Master Liang's craftsmanship is really well-deserved!" Ruan Wushuang's surprise finally had an answer.There is clearly something in his words, but how did he get Liang Bing to the palace?Do parents know?Did he know that during these days, she suffered from severe morning sickness and almost lost her appetite.But his days in the mansion are obviously very few! But she still had a faint smile on her face, and said: "It is false to say that the craftsmanship is superb, it is nothing more than Wushuang is used to it since childhood, so I feel more used to it after tasting it." While talking, she picked up a duck bun and handed it to on his plate.He raised his head and said, "My lord, try it too!" He smiled, picked it up, put it in his mouth, and started to taste it.

Although the windows and doors are closed, there are still a few gusts of wind seeping in. There is no incense in the house, but there is a light aftertaste of plum blossoms.The two were silent.Although Ruan Wushuang had only tasted a few mouthfuls, he lost his appetite, but after all, he ate much more than usual.Then he picked a rose plum and ate it.It was so sour that I couldn't help but frowned.But love the taste!As the mother said, it is normal for pregnant women to eat acid.In normal times, this sour smell would kill people with acid. Baili Haozhe took a sip of the wine, looked up and saw her frowning, she was always dignified and elegant, unexpectedly she was so cute, his heart moved slightly, and he blurted out: "Is it sour?" Of course it is sour what!She said in her heart, but she still covered her mouth with her sleeve, and said softly, "Well, it's a little sour!"

He also picked one, tasted it, swallowed it hard, nodded with unchanged expression, "It's a little sour!" Ruan Wushuang looked at his forbearance, suddenly felt that he looked like a naughty child at this moment, and wanted to Laugh, but I can't laugh, so I have to hold back. Baili Haozhe drank the wine in one gulp, and went to get rid of the sourness in his mouth.Playing with the exquisite white jade cup at the fingertips, his eyes seemed a little blurred: "When I was young, I played with my eldest brother. At that time, there were a few bayberry trees in the backyard of the mansion. In summer, the bayberries were ripe, and my eldest brother tricked the servants to take me To pick it... we two climbed the tree, picked plums on the tree to eat... the elder brother always ate it first, pretending to be delicious, and then tricked me into eating it. In fact, the plums are not yet ripe, so they are naturally sour and tender It's bitter, but how can a child understand this truth..." There was a bit of regret and melancholy in his tone.

Ruan Wushuang listened, thinking about her childhood.Since her father is a middle-aged daughter and has two sons in front of her, she has been doted on her since she was a child.And the elder brother and the second brother are many years apart from her age. When she is a little more sensible, both of them have grown up, and they treat her as both a younger sister and a daughter.But they never had fun together. In my memory, a group of maids and maids grew up around her. But Baili Haozhe was still an infant, and his mother had already died of an illness.Although she was adopted by her aunt, she was no match for her own mother.What's more, I heard that my aunt was beautiful when she was young, but her temperament was much stronger than now.In the Prince's Mansion back then, there were also many beautiful wives and concubines, and there were inevitably some jealousy.Only my aunt knows how much time she really spends on Baili Haoting and Baili Haozhe.

Baili Haozhe raised his head and drank the newly poured wine in the glass, drank a few more glasses, stood up slowly, walked to the window, and pushed the window hard.A gust of cold wind hit his face, making his clothes tumbling endlessly.Ruan Wushuang gathered his clothes, slowly stood up with his waist supported, and said, "My lord, it's already late, let's go to bed early!" Baili Haozhe clapped his hands, and the maid entered in response.Without turning his head, he ordered: "Take the princess back to her room!" Mo Zhu Molan came in, helped Ruan Wushuang fasten the sable fur cape, and handed over the gold-plated hand warmer.

Ruan Wushuang stepped out the door, and when she turned her head, Baili Haozhe was still standing at the window, just like when she came, standing against the wind, but that kind of loneliness always lingered in her heart. The Lantern Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month in the 21st year of Shengjia. News came from the palace that Concubine Meng Shu was demoted to the cold palace.His son, Baili Haoyu, was granted the title of King of Lingnan, and granted the lands of Yunnan, Guangxi and other Yunnan and Guangxi.Although nominally crowned king, everyone knew that Baili Haoyu had been crowned and demoted secretly, so he had no chance of being on the throne so far.

Baili Haozhe didn't return all night, and he didn't return to his room until the afternoon of the second day.She arranged the endgame according to the book and was solving the chess.Green smoke curled up from the gold charcoal stove, and the room was filled with hazy warmth.The afternoon sun slanted in through the pattern of magpies in spring, swaying and falling on the gauze curtain and the carpet. As if extremely tired, he lifted the curtain and entered.While she was drooping her eyes and meditating, a ray of light outside the window was falling on the chessboard.Her snow-white fingers are like the crystals that Persia paid tribute to, shiny and clear.Holding the black chess piece, she was thinking with frowning eyes, but she didn't seem to notice him coming in. The black silk like ink dyed was only slightly tied up in a bun, and an exquisite and translucent jade hairpin was inserted, which was not at all like the usual tassel pearls.In his eyes, there is a special charm. Baili Haozhe approached slowly, but there was no incense burning in the house.Perhaps because of his approaching, the smell of jasmine on her body has faintly hit her.She sat in the golden light, shining quietly like glass.A string in his body was slowly loosened, as if he had returned to a place of peace and tranquility. Ruan Wushuang only heard his low voice coming from behind him: "Put it here!" Turning his head suddenly, he saw Baili Haozhe standing beside him, his eyes were like the shadow of an eagle's wings passing by in the distance, and he was also smiling Staring at her, his eyes are warm and focused.The gold embroidered python patterns on the vermilion court clothes shone brilliantly under the light, just like his smile, which made people dizzy. He stretched out his hand past her, picked up a white piece, and placed it on the chessboard.She was slightly startled, she didn't expect that he was also proficient in this way.Although there was a gentle smile on his face, Bai Zi's position did not show any mercy.She thought for a while, then raised her brocade white fox fur cuff with her bright wrist, and slapped a sunspot on her hand.Until night fell, the chess game was still deadlocked, and the two still hadn't decided the winner. While he was deep in thought, she raised her head to look at him, only to see a touch of blue in his eyes.One day and one night yesterday, there must have been a lot of secret struggles in the palace. The news came to her ears from the palace that Concubine Meng Shu broke into Emperor Jingren's palace privately and asked Emperor Jingren to canonize Baili Haoyu as the crown prince.Emperor Jingren refused.Concubine Meng Shu colluded with the imperial guards guarding the palace to force Emperor Jingren to submit by coercion. Emperor Jingren has been ill since last autumn and winter.The hospital is also helpless.On New Year's Eve, he didn't show up at the palace banquet, so his illness must be serious.Concubine Meng Shu was already favored by her bed, but since Emperor Jing Ren's illness, she has been neglected in the hall, and she is no longer the same as before.Facing the growing power of the first and second princes in the court, they really can't wait for the emperor to die, otherwise they would never have acted so recklessly. Concubine Meng Shu has always been at odds with Empress Ruan.If Emperor Jingren died without a will specifying that her son Baili Haoyu would succeed her, she would definitely end up in a bad situation.Because no matter whether the eldest prince Baili Haoting or the second prince Baili Haozhe inherits the throne, Empress Ruan's position will only be more stable.And if she is lucky, she will be named a concubine, and she will be under Empress Ruan for the rest of her life.And the greatest possibility is that he will be buried with him.So she can't respond to all changes with the same change like Queen Ruan. Mo Zhu's voice sounded through several layers of gauze curtains: "My lord, it's time for dinner. Do you want to pass the meal?" The girls and maids are all strict, and as long as Baili Haozhe is in the room, they never step in without authorization. . Baili Haozhe raised his head and looked at Ruan Wushuang gently, as if asking for her opinion.She took advantage of the situation to support her waist, and lazily said: "Let's pass it on!" She didn't have a good rest all day and night, and played for several hours, now as soon as she relaxes, her boredom immediately surges up. Only then did the maids come in, lit a few red candles and incense lamps in the room, and then slowly retreated out.He was still wearing court clothes.She turned her head, took one of his brocade robes, and helped him change. She bowed her head to help him unbutton, because she was close, she could smell the familiar ambergris on his body.Although they have been married for more than half a year, they are rarely so close during the day. The more she wants to hurry up, the more clumsy her hands become, and she can't undo a button for a long time.This was originally the duty of the maids, but she did it so naturally, as if it was a matter of course. The maids were walking around in the outer room, arranging the bowls and chopsticks. Occasionally, there would be a clear and crisp sound of collision coming in through the layers of curtains.But he liked to see her so cramped. He stretched out his hand to pinch the jade hairpin on her head, pulled it out gently, and the black hair poured down like running water.She was taken aback for a moment, then raised her head, only to see that his eyes were as deep as the night, but his face was getting bigger and bigger. His lips slowly pressed against her forehead, and the warm heat slowly spread over.Then, he slowly bent down, and his lips slowly slid down again, the corners of the eyes, the temples of the ears, the tip of the nose, the sides of the lips... She pushed him away unsteadily, and when she turned her head, she felt that a few strands of hair were entangled, and he had already noticed it. When he lowered his head, he couldn't help being dumbfounded, and it was actually entangled with the buttons on his court clothes. Ruan Wushuang only saw his hand reaching out, taking her hand, wrapping it around his strong waist.He lowered his head and was helping her with her tangled hair.There is an indescribable ambiguity.Her breath became more and more unstable, and she felt that her face was already on fire. Layers of crimson tulle were hung, the sky outside was completely dark, and dozens of red candles and incense lamps illuminated the room as if it were daytime.Her and his figures dragged on the carpet, overlapping each other in a piece of broken light and shadow. The maids had already set the dishes.Occasionally, the little maids raised their eyes and saw the silhouettes of embracing printed on the layers of dark cloud gauze curtains.Because of the strict rules of the mansion, he didn't dare to look any further, so he followed the crowd and filed out with his face flushed, waiting at the door with his hands down. There are green willows and beautiful flowers beside Taiye Pool.As soon as the wind blows, the branches and willows flutter like flowing water.Empress Ruan stood on the Jiuqu Bridge and fed the koi idly: "Physician Su reported to Ai's family yesterday that your body is well taken care of, and the baby may be born prematurely." Ruan Wushuang took the white jade cup wrapped with green branches presented by the maid, and took a sip of tea gracefully, leaving the fragrance on his lips and teeth.As expected of a tribute Longjing, the tea color is as green as emerald, and against the background of white jade tea cups, it looks more and more green. Ruan Wushuang smiled slightly: "Thanks to my aunt. Physician Su is loyal to my aunt, so naturally she has to do her best for Wushuang and take care of her." Su Quanhong was able to be promoted from an ordinary imperial physician to the chief of the imperial hospital, and Ruan was naturally indispensable. Queen's support.Moreover, in the deep palace, the queen really needs a person who is proficient in medical skills. Empress Ruan smiled slightly when she heard the words, and the golden phoenix crown on her head trembled slightly: "Look at your belly, it's only seven months old, Aijia looks bigger than when Aijia was pregnant with Mingying and Mingyan. , I guess it's a big fat boy." Ruan Wu moved his hands, and the tea in the white jade cup had already splashed a little before it came out, and his hands were hot.At this time, a servant came over and reported: "The empress, the eldest prince is asking to see you!" Empress Ruan nodded, sprinkled the bait in her hand on the surface of the pond, and watched the thousands of koi fighting each other in a leisurely manner. Shi, paused for a moment and said: "Let's pass it on!" Baili Haoting came in a court uniform, gentle and elegant, with a calm demeanor.After a few steps, she knelt down and bowed to Empress Ruan: "My son, please greet your mother!" Empress Ruan smiled slightly and said, "Excuse me! Have you visited your father?" Baili Haoting glanced at Wushuang, and replied gently: "After returning to mother, I have already been to Chengqian Palace." Chengqian Palace is the sleeping palace of successive emperors.Baili Haoting turned his head and said: "Siblings are here too!" Wushuang stood up with his waist supported, making a gesture to salute, Baili Haoting said with a smile: "Excuse me! Excuse me! Please don't see each other! Congratulations to the younger brothers and sisters, give birth to a precious son soon!" Wushuang said indifferently: "Brother Xie!" Since Baili Haoyu was crowned king and sent to the territory, the situation in the DPRK and China has become increasingly clear in the past few months, and it has divided into the big prince faction headed by Baili Haoting and the others. The Second Prince faction headed by Baili Haozhe.And the situation is like fire and water, and there are constant infighting.There was a bit of sincerity in his congratulations with a smile at this time, and he was afraid that only he knew it. For some reason, she always felt something was wrong.It was as if a hesitant and boundless chaos emerged faintly from the bottom of my heart.The stone chair was covered with an apricot yellow silk cotton pad, soft and smooth, Ruan Wushuang sat as if on thin ice, not moving to the side.Baili Haoting's gaze with a smile on her face made her feel unspeakably flustered, and she felt a vague sense of fear in her heart. Empress Ruan looked at Baili Haoting's leaving back, swayed her fingers gracefully, and moved back and forth.Sitting down, he said slowly: "Wu Shuang, the crown prince is related to the rise and fall of the Ruan family for more than ten years. Now that the situation is clear, Hu Meizi's son is hopeless. Only Baili Haoting and Zhe'er, what do you think of this matter?" Wushuang watched the koi in the pond still scrambling for food, pondered for a moment, and said softly: "Auntie, the matter has come to this point, there is no way to avoid it. If Hao Zhe can't become the prince and inherit the throne this time, At that time, there will only be humans for knives and me for fish." In ancient times, the battle for the throne was paved with flesh and blood.If Baili Haozhe is eliminated, the entire Ruan family will also decline.There is really no way out! Empress Ruan turned her head and looked straight ahead with a gloomy expression, as if she was in a silent trance.After a long time, he suddenly laughed, and his voice was extremely shy: "Wu Shuang, Auntie, let me tell you the truth. In fact, Zhe'er doesn't need to work hard to express himself in front of the emperor. The emperor's thoughts - I have already guessed it, and he definitely won't." Let Zhe'er succeed. If he had planned to let Zhe'er succeed, he would not have married you to him." Ruan Wushuang looked at her in puzzlement, after a while, she understood something, and was startled suddenly: "Auntie..." Empress Ruan smiled miserably, without any of her usual grace: "The people in the world always think that the queen is under one person and above ten thousand people, and how many people know the pain-the emperor is the emperor, he is not just yours. Husband, he is the one who sits on the dragon chair! The most precious chair in the world is the dragon chair of the emperor. In fact, when you sit on it, it is empty and comfortable. Only the emperor knows in his heart... and Ah, no one can be relied on! Yes, who can the emperor rely on? Where does the emperor rely on? The emperor cannot rely on anyone, nor can he rely on him! So he can only rely on himself!" "Do you know why your aunt and I have been unable to have children for decades after giving birth to Mingying and Mingyan? That's because the emperor forbids it. As long as he refuses, which woman in the harem can conceive? Even if she is pregnant, there are plenty of ways in the harem , making it impossible for her to give birth..." Empress Ruan stared fixedly into the distance, then turned her head suddenly and stared at Ruan Wushuang with a heavy sadness: "Do you know? Wushuang, this is the harem, and this is the fate of women in the harem!" Sister Mingying and Sister Mingyan were born when my aunt was still the princess.Since my aunt entered the Zhaoyang Palace, there was indeed no news of any pregnancy in the following twenty years.According to my aunt's body and age, it is not impossible to conceive. It turned out that the emperor did it on purpose.No wonder my father repeatedly said before that Ronghua is just a cloud in front of my eyes.It seems that the father probably already knew about this matter.So she was not allowed to have anything to do with the royal family, and kept rejecting the emperor's marriage proposal. "Our Ruan family has controlled the military power for generations. Although there is a minister of the Ministry of War in the court, it is only in vain. Since the emperor Gaozu, the Ruan family has been the emperor's right-hand man. When the emperor asked the late emperor to marry me to him, it was nothing more than wanting to borrow The power of our Ruan family is nothing more than the power. Later he finally became the emperor as he wished—he favored me, according to the eyes of the world. Countless jewels and silks, as long as there is a tribute, they are ordered to be delivered as soon as possible Zhaoyang Palace asked me to choose. The rest of the choice will be filled into the treasury or rewarded to other concubines. But he just refuses to let me get pregnant again, because he is afraid of the power of our Ruan family... Water can carry a boat Can capsize the boat..." Ruan Wushuang's heart was shrouded in ice, it turned out that this was the so-called affection.If it wasn't for her aunt's heartfelt words today, she would have always thought that the emperor doted on her aunt.But the emperor is the emperor after all, no matter how favored he is, it's just a deception.It's just that people have feelings. After a long time, they will still feel it. "So the emperor agrees to marry you to Zhe'er, which means that he has already planned to pass on the throne to Baili Haoting! After all these years, the emperor still misses his mother—Ou Jingzhi!" The last three Although the words were spat out as usual, the hatred seemed to come from the bottom of the frozen lake for thousands of years, which was bitingly cold.The past events so many years ago seem to be vividly remembered as if they happened yesterday. Empress Ruan suddenly smiled coquettishly. Seeing in Wushuang's eyes, she only felt peerless elegance: "In this way, it is impossible for our Ruan family's power to threaten the throne. He can also give an explanation to the person he never forgets. How much A plan to have the best of both worlds...haha...haha...It's a pity that I won't do what he wants! Over the past few decades, I thought he had forgotten it, because I treated Baili Haoting as my own For the sake of it. It's a pity, it's really a pity..." When Baili Haozhe arrived at the door, the maid who was standing with her hands down hurriedly knelt down to salute.He waved his hand slightly.Slowly entering the inner bedroom from the outer room, and quietly opened layers of gauze curtains. The room is lit with red sandalwood incense, and the graceful smoke rises from the smoker, overflowing in strands, like a thin mist. She was resting with her eyes closed, her long eyelashes were like the wings of a butterfly, casting a fan shadow on her snow-white jade face.Thinking back to what my aunt said just now, I felt an inexplicable sadness in my heart.What I thought was the illusion of glazed glass had gradually begun to lose its colorful dazzling colors, revealing the original dilapidation underneath. Back in the day, my aunt was the most beautiful woman in Kyoto, and many famous young men flocked to her.But the first emperor ordered marriage, and she married into the royal family at the age of fifteen.For decades, the scenery and wealth that everyone envied turned out to be nothing more than that. What about Baili Haozhe?Why marry her?Is it also the same as the current emperor, wanting to use the influence of the Ruan family?So all these days, Baili Haozhe's gentleness, is it just a play?She couldn't help shivering. Suddenly, it felt like someone was covering her with the quilt very gently. The movement was very light, but it still alarmed her.Wushuang opened his eyes slightly, and saw him standing in front of him, seeing her wake up, slightly raised the corners of his mouth, and said in a low voice, "Did it wake you up?" In fact, when he smiles, he is very good-looking, and there will always be a small dimple on the right side of his face, which eases the momentum of the whole person.Unfortunately, he rarely smiles.Although when facing her, she is very gentle and gentle, but she can always vaguely feel an indescribable loneliness. She shook her head slowly: "No!" Suddenly she felt that something was wrong with him.One, it is afternoon, he has never returned home so early; two, he looks extremely tired. All I saw was that he took off his boots lightly, and then lay down, beside her.Putting one hand on her swollen abdomen, stroking it back and forth.Ruan Wushuang's heart was like thousands of ants gnawing on him, he couldn't bear it to the extreme.Can't wait to struggle to get up. His voice whispered in her ears: "Don't move. Lie down with me for a while." Her heart softened, and she gave up struggling as if a corner had collapsed somewhere.For a while, neither of them spoke, the room was quiet, only the fragrance wafted slowly in the air. Because of the closeness, she could clearly smell the smell coming from him, which was a kind of fragrance mixed with his unique smell.For some reason, my eyelids gradually became heavy...