Chapter 4 Chapter 3 Chun Wei

Suddenly winter goes and spring comes.On the nineteenth day of the first lunar month, the emperor listened to politics at Fengtianmen.Unexpectedly, on the first court of the new year, there will be a lot of trouble.First, some officials impeached Zhongjing Wang Xu Gongye for his ineffectiveness in suppressing thieves, and excessively asked for rewards, which was suppressed by the emperor; another Ministry of War proposed to rebuild the southeast navy to assist Xu's army in clearing the sea; Freezing and dying all over the place, begging for disaster relief and reducing taxes, in short, there is still a lack of money; in the end, the old saying is repeated, and the queen mother is asked to let the king's vassal.

After some debate, there was no result. After the imperial court was dismissed, the emperor suddenly had the idea to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager Xu, but he brought along the account of the Shibo Secretary sent by Zhang Yannian last year. Empress Dowager Xu is the aunt of Zhongjing Wang Xu Gongye, and the current queen is also from the Xu family.Prince Zhongjing's mansion is the founding official of the country, holding military power in his hands, and has a high reputation.In the early years of Wan'an, pirates were rampant. It was thanks to the bloody battles of Prince Zhongjing and his son that they could protect the peace of the people in the southeast. The roots are intertwined, and a "Xu party" has been formed overtly and secretly, echoing the queen mother in the palace.

Speaking of which, Emperor Yang Zhi came to the throne with the support of Prince Zhongjing's Mansion and Empress Dowager Xu.In the early years of Shenxi, the queen mother often gave advice to the emperor on government affairs.But in recent years, the emperor didn't go to Qingning Palace much.The reason was the emperor's dissatisfaction with foreign relatives' unauthorized power. After looking through the ship tax accounts, Empress Dowager Xu silently stroked the cat's hair, waiting for the emperor to speak first. The emperor said calmly: "My son doesn't really believe in this account, so I want to send someone to look it up."

Empress Dowager Xu sneered lightly. There is one reason for this. During the Wan'an Years, when the Liaohai War broke out, the Ministry of Households could not raise military expenses for a while, so they directly distributed the ship tax collected by the Maritime Department to King Zhongjing.This example has been followed for many years since its opening.Zhongjing Prince's Mansion guards the port checkpoints and commercial routes.The Shibo Department, an internal government office, is also unable to compete with it.There is a saying that how much money can be leaked to the court depends entirely on the mood of Zhongjing Wang Xu Gongye.Some people even said that it would be better for the maritime merchants to pay the imperial court a tribute to King Zhongjing directly.According to Zhang Yannian's secret investigation and calculation, the annual ship tax distributed by Zhongjing Palace in the name of military expenses is almost three or four times that of the imperial court.

"It's good to check it out," said the Queen Mother Xu, "Xu Gongye has only been busy fighting in the past few years. If there is something incomprehensible in his subordinates, the emperor should remind him. If not, you know I am loyal." The Jing Mansion is indeed innocent, and blocked the mouths of everyone." This does not mean that he is really willing to give in. The emperor smiled and said: "Last year there was a big battle in Liaohai, and the military expenditure was huge. Naturally, there are not many left in Shibosi, and my son knows it." Empress Dowager Xu frowned, and suddenly sighed: "I don't know how much the military expenditure is, but I just heard from my natal family that the past two years have been really difficult. Not to mention, even An Yong's funeral was handled very briefly. But It is a pity that Xu Gongye only has this son left, and he was buried hastily in the end."

Last year, Xu Anyong, the heir of Prince Zhongjing, died for the country, and the court has honored him.The emperor knew that this was the empress dowager beating him. Don't forget the Xu family's credit. "May I ask the emperor, who has he decided to send to check the accounts?" the queen mother asked, "the internal officials or the ministers?" "It must be a minister." The emperor smiled, "I haven't recommended it yet, and I can't think of anyone who is suitable. I am willing to listen to what my mother wants." "The emperor should discuss it carefully with his courtiers. The palace cannot interfere with the government, for fear of breaking the rules of the ancestors." Empress Dowager Xu sneered, and suddenly changed the subject, "Does the emperor feel that Qin Zongxian was too punished for the defeat of Liaohai last year?" It's heavy?"

The emperor was terrified.It was not the emperor's original intention to confiscate the Qin family last year, but the result of Zhongjing Wang Xu Gongye's insistence.On that day, the emperor hinted that Qingliu in the court would fight against Xu Dang, and tried his best to excuse Qin Zongxian, but unfortunately he failed. "No way," the emperor said with a chuckle, "he has suffered such a big defeat, and it is impossible not to ask for the crime. King Zhongjing insists on taking Qin Zongxian seriously, and there is a reason for him, otherwise the morale of the army will be unstable."

But with this example, who would dare to come forward to check the accounts of the Zhongjing Mansion?The empress dowager's meaningful smile probably hinted at this.The emperor pondered for a moment, but then brought up another matter: "Today someone asked me again, when will Ah Lian go back to Hangzhou?" Didn't Empress Dowager Xu understand that the emperor was bargaining, but she said slowly, "Yang Lian was crowned prince last year, and his palace in Hangzhou is still the residence of Lin'an County, and has never been increased. How can he go back?" Expansion of the palace is indeed a big expense, especially for the internal officials and supervisors who manage the country's construction, and there is a lot of corruption in it.To build a feudal mansion always needs 40,000 to 50,000 yuan in silver, most of which will be involved in the private pockets of Da Dang.At present, several major events, each of which has to wait for the Ministry of Finance to get the money, seem to be more important than letting the king's vassal.The emperor also understood.

"During the Shangyuan Festival, Ah Lian himself told me that he would like to live in the county mansion temporarily." Empress Dowager Xu said again, "But Emperor, your brother left early and left such a child behind. I can't bear him. If you are wronged, don't blame me for partiality." Hearing that Prince Zhuang Jing was mentioned, the emperor's face turned pale, and he forced a smile and said: "My son also told those ministers the same way, living in the county prince's mansion with the honor of a prince, in name but without substance, is not in line with the state system."

"After the palace is repaired, I will send him back to marry the princess again." Empress Dowager Xu gave the emperor a half-sarcasm look, "Don't worry, the emperor." After two consecutive defeats, the emperor felt a little embarrassed, and suddenly remembered something, and asked: "Xu Gongye made a memorial a few years ago, and asked his concubine Xu Anzhao to be crowned son. I think the empress already knew about it?" Empress Dowager Xu sighed, and said: "A few sons of the Xu family died in battle in the early years, and there is only one An Yong left, which disappeared last year. Now, the only one among the sons of the concubine is to choose the elder and capable one to be the prince."

"Prince Zhongjing is in the prime of his spring and autumn, and there may be no more sons born in the future, so why rush?" said the emperor. Empress Dowager Xu said: "Although Xu Anzhao is a concubine, he is outstanding in the army. I heard that in the Liaohai War last year, he once protected his father from the rebellious army. Lure into the fishing port, encircle and annihilate them, and restore the defeat left by Qin Zongxian's navy in one fell swoop—what, does the emperor think he is not good?" "Since he is a young hero, there is nothing wrong with choosing him. Kings with different surnames canonize the prince, as long as they do not violate the ancestral system, it is fine to discuss with the family. However, King Zhongjing is different from other families. You can’t be careless in choosing your son.” The emperor laughed, “What the son means is that Xu Anzhao is ordered to come to Beijing, and the son wants to see this man with his own eyes. Presumably the mother also wants to see her nephew and grandson?” Empress Dowager Xu narrowed her gaze. Could it be that the emperor's intention was to keep the son in Beijing as a hostage?When he wanted to evade, he couldn't think of a word for a while, so he reluctantly said: "It's good to have a look. When does the emperor plan to call him to Beijing?" The emperor smiled and said, "Let's get busy with Chunwei." On the ninth, 12th, and 15th day of February, the Tribute Academy held three consecutive exams.When the apricot list was released, Xie Qian, the son of Xie Fengge, the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, was also listed in the Guozijian Jujian, but only at the bottom of the list.Before the exam, it was rumored that he had a stroke. With Xie Qian's talent, he must have won three consecutive awards. Unexpectedly, he did not perform well in the exam.Xie Qian silently read the paper, and Xie Fengge read it by himself, and then asked several acquaintances to hold their eyes, and they all shook their heads and sighed.I don't know where Mr. Xie's article has gone.Xie Fengge knew it well, so he had no choice but to prevaricate by saying that the dog was in poor health. However, it will be Qingming in a few days.The family of Princess Xining went to visit the grave at the foot of Cuiwei Mountain.The mausoleums of the emperors and empresses of this dynasty are all in Tianshou Mountain, while the empresses, princes, princes, and princesses who died early are mostly buried in Cuiwei Mountain, which is closer to the imperial capital.There are many tombs of famous families in Beijing, such as the Xie family, in the area of ​​Cuiwei Mountain.Every year during the Ching Ming Festival, Xie's family goes to Cuiwei Mountain with his family. Besides sweeping the tomb, he also goes for a spring outing and pays homage to the Buddha.This year, the Eldest Princess was sick and didn't plan to go out, but the princess saw Xie Qian depressed, and urged Xie Fengge to take him out to relax.So the whole family hurried out, leaving only an old aunt to look after the house.Early in the morning, I left Deshengmen and headed west, looking at the mountains along the water and meandering away.Arriving at the grave of Dexie's son-in-law, weed the weeds, held a memorial ceremony for the ancestors, wept together as a family, and looked at the princess's private house. They didn't come down the mountain until noon.Because Xie Yuanyao mentioned that there is a Dajue Buddhist Temple at the foot of the mountain, which was a must-visit place every spring, so he asked the abbot for a cup of tea, so Xie Fengge came here. There was already a line of carriages and horses at the gate of the Zen courtyard, but they were the family of Shen Hongrang, a lecturer and attendant of the Imperial Academy.Xie Fengge was overjoyed.It turns out that Mrs. Shen's natal family is of the same clan as Shen Hongrang and their branches are not far away. They both come from the Shen family in Shanyin.Xie Fengge and Shen Hongrang were Jinshi in the same year, and they have always been speculative, and the two families have a good relationship.The eldest son, Shen Xianqing, is four years older than Xie Qian. He is also a talented scholar from Kejia. Last year, he was selected as Li Ke to Shizhong. The two families met each other once and went to the Buddhist temple to worship the Bodhisattva together. Then the abbot came to pay respects and led the two families to drink tea in the Buddhist temple in the backyard. The corridors of the rooms are narrow, and there are inevitably crowds of people.Xie Qian suddenly saw a graceful woman next to Shen Xianqing, and was wondering when he married a bride, but he had never heard of it.Another glance, it was Shen Duanju, the second daughter of the Shen family.When Shen Duanju was young, he often came to Xie's house, reading and practicing calligraphy with Xie's brothers and sisters, without suspicion, when he was older, he stopped facing the Xie's man, so Xie Qian hadn't seen her for a year or two.Even if they met on such occasions, she turned her face and hid behind her father and brother, only a hint of cicada temples and clouds, and half of the soft willow green skirt, which seemed to be indistinguishable from the smoke cage. . Xie Qian was staring at Shen Duanju's back in a daze, when Xie Yuanyao flashed out and dragged Duanju to the female family's room. Xie Yuanyao only said that he wanted to have a private conversation with the sister of the Shen family, and drove all the maids and servants out.Shen Duanju closed the door, and when he heard that there was no sound outside, he pulled Xie Yuanyao and asked, "Is there any news about Sister Qin?" Regarding Qin Taiwei's disappearance in the imperial city, Mrs. The family mentioned it vaguely.Shen Duanju and Qin Taiwei are very friendly, and they are very concerned about hearing it. "My sister doesn't ask me, but I only remember her." Although Xie Yuanyao complained, he frowned, "I still don't have any news about her." Shen Duanju was stunned for a while, then said: "The piece of paper that my father brought back next year... So we were thinking too much?" Xie Yuanyao hurriedly said: "I was going to ask you. On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, I saw your mother and my mother shut up in the room, chatting, and I didn't hear clearly. What's going on?" Shen Duanju said: "Last year, my father taught a group of small internal officials in the inner school of the Sili Prison. I collected a few essays a few years ago, and one of them was clear and ingenious, not like the work of small internal officials. The first four sentences are actually hidden. When the first words are connected, it is "Taiwei Shicheng". Dad knew that the sister of the Qin family's boudoir name was "Taiwei", so he became suspicious. Tai, Wei, That's all for Shi, the word 宬 is embedded strangely, it doesn't look like a coincidence. So my father asked my mother to tell your family, could it be that sister Qin's whereabouts are in Huang Shicheng?" Xie Yuanyao said: "Have you seen that paper, is it her handwriting?" "It's hard to say if it's her handwriting. It looks like it, but it doesn't look like it. She was very good at imitating other people's handwriting. When she wanted to hide it deliberately, no one would be able to see it." Shen Duanju said, "Besides, she wrote the draft, Xiao Nei It is not known if the official copied it again. Since the first month, your mother has brought you into the palace twice, have you asked the concubine Shu?" "No." Xie Yuanyao said. "Why? Sister Qin has not heard from her for half a year..." Shen Duan was surprised. Xie Yuanyao said: "Hearing my mother's tone, it seems that she doesn't believe it. Besides... the body of the big sister is the most important thing now, and she can't be disturbed by other people's affairs." When Shen Duanju heard this, he couldn't help but fell silent, and said after a while: "Have you never hinted to your empress?" Xie Yuanyao said: "I really want to. But when I went back to the palace, I just stood by and listened to what they said, but I didn't quite understand what I heard. There is no place for me to intervene. Tell me, how about the two of us?" Find a chance to go there yourself. I heard that Huang Shicheng is just a library." Shen Duanju shook his head and said: "You don't know, that library is managed by the Supervisor of Rituals, and only the palace officials can enter. Don't mention us, even our father can't go." After thinking about it, and then Said: "Your family's mother is definitely important. About sister Qin, let my father find that little internal official again and inquire quietly. And wait for my father to pass the palace examination, I will grind him slowly." "It's not easy to deal with the supervisor of ceremonies..." Xie Yuanyao frowned. When I was feeling melancholy, I suddenly heard someone outside urging the ladies to get up.The two girls hurried out.Xie Yuanyao stepped out the door first, and suddenly said "ah" in a low voice. "What's wrong?" Shen Duanju asked. "How did I see someone flash past from the corridor..." Xie Yuanyao trembled. There was a bang in the minds of the two, and they were about to track down the eavesdropper, but they saw Mrs. Shen watching from a distance at the gate, so they had to separate in a hurry. The two families boarded their cars separately, and just when they reached the official road, a group of palace cars came head-on.Xie Fengge and Shen Hongrang hurriedly ordered their chariots and horses to stay out of the way, and they recognized from a distance that it was the guard of honor of King Zheng, and they must have come to pay homage to the tomb of Prince Zhuang Jing. Xie Fengge and Shen Hong asked them to get out of the car in a hurry to pay respects, but someone said: "It's muddy in the rain, you two adults don't need to salute." King Zheng didn't take the carriage, but rode on the horse wearing an amber shirt.Under the cover of the green oil silk rain hat, he couldn't see his expression, but he nodded slightly at the two of them, and immediately led the reins away. Mrs. Shen watched for a long time behind the sedan chair curtain, then turned her head and asked in a low voice: "I heard from your mother that the Empress Dowager seems to be trying to promote the second prince recently. Is she planning to let King Zheng go back to Hangzhou?" Xie Fengge shook his head: "Second prince, you have met before, how is it compared to King Zheng?" "A grass chicken is better than a phoenix." Mrs. Shen laughed unconsciously, and then sighed again, "Although a phoenix is ​​a phoenix, it's a pity that the sycamore tree has fallen." Xie Fengge also said the same thing, thinking of the dragon fetus in his own daughter's womb.If Concubine Shu gives birth to the third prince, the situation will be more complicated, and Concubine Shu's mother and son will become the target of public criticism.Thinking of this, he couldn't help shivering in the soft rain in the early spring.Looking at Qianchuan in the distance, the fog and rain are confused, and the direction cannot be discerned. The palace chariot and white horse gradually go away, like a trace of light ink melting in the misty lake. On the 15th of March, the palace examination was held. The examination room was set up in front of the Fengtian Palace, and the gongshi sat in rows at the examination table and wrote quickly.The emperor didn't have to preside over the exam himself, but today he walked around the exam room with great interest, peeping at the answers written by the courtiers, and appreciating the appearance and behavior of these future courtiers. Fan.After retiring from the court the next day, Yu Jia got up and went to the Wenhua Palace to sit up and read the papers.Several ministers of the Hanlin Academy acted as the examiners, knelt under the throne in turn, unfolded the answer sheet and read it aloud, and then presented it to the emperor for viewing.Hundreds of papers were read from morning to afternoon, and the monarchs and ministers discussed again and decided on the top three. Opening the test paper, the first and third place was Gu Yourong from Fujian Province, and the first and second place was Feng Juefei from Zhejiang Province. When the paper for the first and first place was taken out, everyone couldn't help laughing: "It's true. Xie Jiaxiaolang." The emperor hurriedly took the paper and read it again, and it was indeed the one he had specially approved of just now.Everyone who read the papers knew that Xie Qian was the emperor's brother-in-law, so they couldn't help but praise him a lot, saying that Xie Qian was a rare talent and well-known in Beijing, and everyone was convinced by this number one scholar. The eunuch, the supervisor of ceremonies, brought the yellow list, and asked the imperial pen to fill in the list.The emperor picked up his pen, and was about to write Xie Qian's name at the top of the list, when he suddenly stopped: "Is that Gu Yourong old, with a short stature, and a pockmarked face?" Immediately, someone looked through the roster and replied, "Gu Yourong, from Jinjiang, Fujian, is fifty-three." The emperor frowned and said nothing.Hand-picked "Tan Hua Lang" has always been selected for the handsome young man, so that he deserves the word "Tan Hua".Even if you can't have both talent and looks, you have to be decent. In the future, you will cross the street with horses and flowers with hairpins, and you will teach the common people to be happy.These fifty maweng hairpins and apricot flowers are a bit shabby after all.Several examiners also had this idea, and Shen Hongrang suggested: "I remember, the second place, Feng Juefei, is still young, and he was born with a good-looking talent." The emperor nodded, and actually wrote Feng Juefei on the first line of the yellow list.Everyone was surprised and did not dare to speak, only to see that the emperor wrote Gu Yourong on the second line, and Xie Qian's name on the third line.After filling out the yellow list, he said: "In terms of articles, these three are the top picks. Feng Juefei's strategy is especially suitable for the Hongbi Lizao and the police strategy Zhou Zheng. What do you think?" The Ci officials thought to themselves, you have written everything, what else can you say, they all nodded in agreement.After completing the three lists, they were covered with jade seals and handed over to the officials of the Imperial Academy.All of a sudden, drums and music rang out, and the sound of whips sounded together. The deacon officials led all the tributes to kneel outside Fengtian Hall, and listened to the official release of the list.It was also announced that Feng Juefei was the first in the first class, Gu Yourong was the second, and Xie Qian was the third. On the second day after the announcement of the rankings, as usual, the number one scholar will lead the new Jinshi to express their gratitude, and all the young people gathered in the Huagai Hall to wait for the emperor to receive them one by one.When it was Xie Qian's turn to come up, all the officials were already familiar with this talented man from the imperial capital, so they couldn't help but take a few more glances at this time.Xie Qianxin wore the big red python robe bestowed by the emperor, with a trembling red apricot pinned on the black gauze, which made his face whiter and red, his eyes like stars, like Pan Lang reborn as a human being.The emperor defended the officer by saying that he indulged his relatives and took the number one prize from his brother-in-law for no reason. He already felt somewhat indebted. Xie Qian didn't even think about it, and immediately said: "I heard that Huang Shicheng collected all the classics and books from all over the world in one room, and there is also a copy of "Qingxi Grand Canon" compiled by Taizong Dynasty. I have longed for it since I was a child, please Your Majesty. Go take a look." Since the completion of the Huangshicheng, due to the collection of the royal family's jade records and the memoirs of the emperors, it is not open to foreign ministers as a rule. Only cabinet ministers or senior Hanlin officials can ask the emperor to enter.Although the emperor was a little surprised, the emperor had no reason to go back on what he said, and said with a smile: "I don't seek fame or officials, but I like classics and history. At a young age, you have the style of Mr. Sushui. Since you want to Look, just go and have a look—tomorrow Lu Yi will take you there personally. But there are things inside that you can’t touch. I can only give you half a day to watch the "Great Ceremony of Qingxi"." After the Enrong banquet, the gongs and whips were played, and the new scholars all rode white horses and wore red robes. They came out from the Meridian Gate and rode horses across the market.After the parade, Feng Juefei took the lead and led the young Jinshi to gather in Tianxianlou to drink and sing songs, and the quarrel lasted until evening.Xie Qian grew up to eighteen years old, except for taking the exam a few times, he always spent the night at his home.He dared to make that request to the emperor today, and the news must have reached his family long ago.When I go home, I can't help but hear my parents crying and complaining, and I don't know if they won't let me go tomorrow.So he simply stayed at Feng Juefei's place. When Xie Fengge and his wife heard the news, they were so anxious that they stayed up all night, so they had to arrest Xie Yuanyao and severely reprimanded him. Leaving the court early the next morning, Xie Qian went to the Wenhua Palace, waiting for the eunuch Lv Yi, who was in charge of the chief inspector of ceremonies, to go to Huangshicheng together.After waiting for a long time without seeing anyone, a small internal official came over and said, "Tanhualang, please wait, the emperor will come over after breakfast." It turned out that the emperor went back yesterday, thought about it carefully, and felt that it would violate the ancestral system after all to let a new scholar enter the imperial history.It was just that the words could not be taken back, so the emperor decided to take a trip himself to inspect the progress of the bibliography compilation, so that Xie Qian could enter the library in the name of accompanying driver. After a while, Luanjia swayed up. After Xie Qian knelt down and thanked the emperor, he walked on the right side of Jianyu.Exit Donghua Gate, go south into Dongyuan, pass Chonghua Palace, cross Feihong Bridge, and arrive in front of Huangshicheng Gate.Long ago, Zheng Banshan, the eunuch in charge of Huang Shicheng, led a team of small internal officials to kneel and wait.The monarchs and ministers entered the stone building and checked the newly compiled bibliography. The emperor was very satisfied, praised Zheng Banshan, and took Xie Qian into the library to check the "Qingxi Grand Ceremony". Xie Qian didn't come to read the book, but he didn't expect the emperor to follow him, so he had to deal with it carefully.His eyes swept across the faces of Huang Shicheng's internal officials one by one, but he never found Qin Taiwei's trace, and his heart gradually became anxious.The man stood by with his hands down, his heart spinning around incessantly.The emperor is a lover of books, a book of "Qingxi Grand Ceremony" has sixty volumes, and when he reads it, he concentrates on ignoring others, and the day is past noon without knowing it.Li Yan quietly asked the emperor to go back to the palace for dinner, the emperor hesitated a few times, flipped through a few books, and then called to drive back to the palace.Xie Qian felt a chill in his chest when he heard the word "return to the palace".He knew that the opportunity had slipped away, but there was nothing he could do. In fact, yesterday afternoon, Xie Tanhuazuo invited Huang Shicheng to visit.After a little thought, Zheng Banshan knew what was going on.He was naturally annoyed in his heart, and he couldn't bear to blame Qin Taiwei, so he just pretended not to know, and ordered his subordinates to clean up and prepare as usual.By this morning, Qin Taiwei was locked in the small courtyard with a lock, and a confidant officer was called to guard her, and she must not be let out, and only after this day has passed will she be taken care of. Luan drove back to the palace, and Xie Qian followed the team far away. He turned his head and glanced at the door of the stone building. He saw the white-haired eunuch Zheng standing by the door. His eyes were as calm as a winter lake. strange. It was just a day of spring, the sky was blue, the sky was windy, the peach blossoms were not yet blooming, the branches of weeping willows were curling up in the wind, and they kept beating against the tall and thick palace walls. Voice.This is just an ordinary quiet afternoon in the Forbidden Garden. Walking to the gate of Huangshicheng, suddenly a gust of wind blew through, and an unknown object flew in the air, knocking off the black gauze hat on Xie Qian's head. Xie Qian was startled, and turned his head suddenly, only to see a small figure jumping non-stop on Huang Shicheng's attic, trying his best to let him see it.He opened his mouth and almost called out the name that had been hovering in his chest for a thousand times. But Xie Qian wasn't the only one who saw that man.The thing that flew down with the wind was a green flat scarf of an internal official, and the emperor asked, "What's going on?" Li Yan immediately shouted: "Who is it, don't wear the flat scarf, what should I do if I startled the holy car!" Several imperial officials got the order and rushed upstairs to arrest him. The emperor became curious and ordered people to raise the curtain of the car and watch with cold eyes.The man was brought down, and he was dragged to the front of the imperial court in a stumbling manner.Although he is dressed as an internal official, there is no man's net scarf on his head. When all the elders saw it, they all sneered.Zheng Banshan lost his mind for a while, so he could only barely keep his face calm, walked over quickly and knelt down. When her face was exposed from under the long hair, the emperor was slightly taken aback—this young girl had a good appearance, and she looked familiar at a glance.He couldn't help asking: "What's your name?" "The piano is too small." The emperor thought for a while, and he didn't seem to have seen any beautiful palace people surnamed Qin, so he said: "You should discuss with Gong Zhengsi." to the side.Qin Taiwei was dragged off the ground by them, and when she saw that Luan was about to leave, she just looked around in a panic, looking for Xie Qian's back in the crowd. Xie Tanhua followed the queue and walked silently towards the gate of Huangshicheng.As he was walking, he suddenly accelerated a few steps, chased after the car and fell down on his knees: "Please forgive me, Your Majesty." Jianyu stopped, and the internal officials stepped forward to open the curtain, and the emperor looked at Xie Qian, puzzled: "Say." Xie Qian didn't dare to raise his head, he knelt on the ground, his hands and feet were cold and ignorant, it seemed that he didn't even have his tongue on his body anymore, because every word he spit out from the tip of his tongue clearly seemed to be insincere, but he was clearly pushing himself into the abyss of eternal doom : "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This palace attendant... is the granddaughter of Princess Xining. The Elder Master is seriously ill now, and I have the courage...for the sake of my grandmother, I have the courage to plead with Your Majesty and ask Your Majesty to forgive this palace attendant." crime." The emperor was stunned when he heard the words, and suddenly got up and got out of the car.Others thought that he probably wanted to help Xie Tanhua himself, but the emperor didn't move, just stared at Qin Taiwei in a daze.Seeing this, the internal officials hurriedly pulled Qin Taiwei back and knelt down in front of Shengjia. "You are... Qin Lingxian's daughter?" the emperor frowned. "yes." "Why are you here? You...you lift your head up." She raised her face slightly, and saw the river teeth and sea water patterns woven with gold and embroidered colors on the ochre-yellow dragon robe. The dazzling beauty made her calm down, and she took a deep breath without leaving a trace of fear on her face. The emperor looked at Qin Taiwei, at Xie Qian, and at the eunuch Zheng who was kneeling a little further away, and couldn't help but sneer and said, "Zheng Banshan, you acted Cheng Ying saving the orphan for me... " Zheng Banshan kowtowed his head, and calmly replied: "I will be punished by death. The wife of Qin was seriously ill after entering the palace. I couldn't bear it for a while, ignored the rules of the palace, and took her here for recuperation privately. I am willing to take all responsibility for this matter. I beg your Majesty to punish you for your crime." The emperor did not speak.He raised his head slightly, and looked away from the faces of these people. The stone wall of Huangshicheng was as flat as a mirror, and the skylight and tree shadows moved slowly along the rows of window holes, like clusters of lingering clouds in the sky in early spring. cloudy.Countless names and faces swirled in his thoughts.Why is she here?The answer to this question does not seem to be difficult to trace.But the emperor's mind quickly flew away, and suddenly a strange idea suddenly grew up.For a while, he was not sure what this little sprout would grow into, but the fresh green color stirred his emotions.The emperor's heart, which was full of resentment and suspicion, suddenly became excited because of this new idea. The people around didn't even dare to show their spirits, each of them guessed in their hearts how the emperor would deal with Zheng Banshan, Qin Taiwei and even Xinke Tanhualang who had rashly interceded.But when the emperor looked down at them again, his face changed into a very relaxed expression. "Let go of the insider of Qin first." The emperor said leisurely, "It was because of my oversight that I didn't know that the orphan of the supervisor of the Qin was expelled from the court. It's a pity. It's just Zheng Banshan, you are so courageous Point. You have been serving in the palace for many years, and you are very clear about the crime of harboring people in the palace, right?" Zheng Banshan said: "I am willing to accept the death penalty." He suddenly called himself a "subject" instead of a "servant", which made the emperor sneer, but said: "It's good that you know. Since you have committed a crime, Huang Shicheng can no longer let you take care of it. You go back to the Prison of Rituals first." Let's deliver." "Thank you Your Majesty for not killing me." As a rule, internal officials who store palace people privately must be executed with a stick.But the emperor's intention was to remove Zheng Banshan from his post.The several ceremonial inspectors next to him didn't sound like it, and thought: "It involves Concubine Shu's natal family, the emperor is willing to be so gracious." The emperor smiled slightly and said, "No one is allowed to speak out about today's matter. If I see the official's memorial, Lu Yi—I'll take you as a questioner." The scene was obviously messed up, but the emperor took the initiative to cover it up.Lu Yi, Li Yan and others all guessed that the emperor was interested in this girl. The emperor turned his head to look at Qin Taiwei, and his voice was like spring rain: "Qin's wife, follow me back to the palace." Qin Taiwei reluctantly took a step forward, and couldn't help turning her head to look at Xie Qian. Xie Qian knelt by the side with his hands down, never looking at her. At this moment, she was only a step away from him.Just one more step forward, and she could grab the hem of his clothes and beg him to rescue her and take her home.She never asked him to do anything, and she never failed to do what she wanted.But this time, he didn't even dare to look at her more.The note she worked so hard to send out finally reached his hands.I have reached this point after thousands of turns, so forget it?If she takes another step towards the emperor, will she never be able to turn back? Xie Qian suddenly took a step on his knees and kowtowed again: "Your Majesty, I still have something to say." "Tanhualang, let's die." The emperor interrupted him. Because he had been kneeling for a long time, when he stood up, he felt his knees were sore and weak, and he suddenly felt a little cold - in fact, the emperor had let him go just now.Now what can he say to the emperor? How could the emperor not know what he was going to say? He could see everything clearly, and said with a leisurely smile: "Xie Tanhua, if you go home today, you can tell my aunt: I will take good care of her granddaughter. Please rest assured I wish my aunt a speedy recovery." Xie Qian made another obeisance, and said dumbly: "Your Majesty is so gracious, and the whole family is grateful." Qin Taiwei stared blankly at the scene, as if she hadn't realized it yet.Seeing that Qin was too slightly hesitant, Li Yan urged with a high-pitched voice: "Don't people in Qin know how to thank you?" She said "thank you" and bowed like a ritual.The emperor was satisfied. With a sound of "Get up", the fragrant dust billowed, Cuihua shook, and Luan drove away towards Donghua Gate. Xie Qian was stuck under the red wall of Huang Shicheng.The blue brick road was rolled up by the carts, and a faint cloud of smoke and dust, her back was mixed with the brocade clothes, and it became blurred.The high wall of the Forbidden City is as dangerous as a mountain. For a while, the Zhumen opened, and the canopy and dragon banners filed in, silently.After the last person stepped into the foot-high vermilion sill, the palace gate was closed like a ritual, leaving only a row of gate guards standing under the wall, motionless like dolls. He stayed there for a while, but when he turned around, he saw the white-haired internal official surnamed Zheng approaching slowly, with a hint of puzzlement on his expression, more of a resignation of defeat.He took a few steps up, wanting to say something to Eunuch Zheng.Zheng Banshan gave him a hard look, shook his sleeves, and left in a hurry. Luan drove into Donghua Gate, crossed the Jinshui River, passed through Wenhua Hall and Wenyuan Pavilion to the outside of Zuoshun Gate, and went north along the road facing the east wall, heading towards the inner court.On New Year's Eve, Qin Taiwei calculated that the distance from Huang Shicheng to Qianqing Palace was about 500 zhang, but in reality, the road was extremely long. Passing through the Jingyun Gate and coming to the open space in front of the Qianqing Gate, you can see the Empress Baishi in the Jinshen Hall, towering like a jade mountain about to fall.The Qianqing gate is five rooms wide, painted with gold and color, with a gilded bronze lion on each side in front of the gate, and a glazed screen wall with Chinese characters behind it.This is the main entrance of the inner court, and the entrance is the harem.The emperor suddenly turned his head and saw Qin Taiwei mixed in with the followers, looking at him blankly, and nodded to her with a smile.Qin Taiwei saw it and quickly lowered her head to follow. Stepping into the gate of Qianqing, one can see golden roofs and double eaves under the blue sky, and the long corridor leads directly to Danchi in front of Qianqing Palace.The corridor is made of white jade, one foot high and three feet wide, on both sides. Walking on it, you can see the farthest city wall of the imperial capital from a distance. Even the most humble and humble people, if they are lucky enough to walk On top of it, there will also be a sense of walking on the clouds and overlooking the common people in the heart.Qin Taiwei suddenly thought of whether his father had been here before. "Qin insider?" Li Yan's high-pitched voice sounded again.When she looked up, she saw the emperor was looking at her, so she had to kneel down and wait for what to say. The emperor was about to say something, when he saw her walking with disheveled hair, thin sweat on her face, but still wearing a green inner official robe, she looked amused, so he looked around and said: "What does this look like, take her down to freshen up , change into clothes and come back.” Immediately, two veteran palace officials came up and led Qin Taiwei to a side hall in the east verandah.The curtain was raised, and the steaming water vapor immediately covered the eyes, ears, mouth and nose.After a while, I saw that there was a huge wooden barrel ten feet wide inside.There is a hole in the wall, and a copper pipe passes through the hole, leading the hot water from the adjacent stove to the wooden barrel.fragrance.Two palace servants came up earlier, took off her clothes one by one, and handed over a box of osmanthus goose oil pancreas.Qin Taiwei took the things, climbed into the barrel tremblingly and shrank aside.Someone came over with a comb, a grate, and fragrant pills mixed with saponins, and squatted beside the barrel to wash her hair.Qin Taiwei was used to being served by others since she was a child, but she never went through such a ostentation, so she couldn't help but secretly marvel. The clothes of the internal officer were naturally thrown away.It was the beginning of spring, and all the palace servants changed into Luo Yi. What Qin Taiwei prepared was a peach red sura short jacket, and a long skirt with jade-colored water weft and Roman surface.The short jacket was too bulky to wear, so the female official at the beginning ordered someone to exchange for a light yellow jacket, which fit just right, and ordered her to wear a pair of sand-green satin sheepskin gold roller-top high-soled shoes. On the other hand, someone offered things like beetroot powder, rouge, dew flower oil, etc.Then a palace man who combed her hair came up, dried her hair and oiled it, tied it into a bun on the top of her head, covered it with a tall and pointed brown bun, and inserted a few pieces of hair around it.Qin Taiwei looked in the mirror, slightly surprised, before she entered the palace, she hadn't worn the hairpin yet, she only knew that only women wear a bun, could it be that all palace attires are like this?Seeing her looking around curiously, the palace man who combed her hair took a deep look at her, and said with a smile: "This child's hair is really nice, it's black and dense, and wearing a bun seems unnecessary." This sentence inevitably made Qin Taiwei a little ashamed, but it also broke the dullness and anxiety just now. "My wife is born fair, so it doesn't matter if I don't wear powder." Even so, the female officer still applied a thin layer of light white and light red pearl powder on her, put on a light peach blossom makeup, and painted a pair of clear eyes. Yuanshan Mei dipped the hairpin tip in the rouge cream and stained it on her lips, and immediately there was a sweet and honey-like floral fragrance spreading between her lips and teeth.The female officer looked at her carefully, and said with a smile: "There are still some things." After picking through the dowry for a long time, she chose a very small and bright emerald tin, peeled off the glue, and stuck it on her eyebrows. between. 如此梳妆一番，琴太微往镜中看了看，只觉满面娇慵鲜妍，与自己的本来面目大不相类。她又瞧了瞧身边的这几个年长内人，似乎并未如自己这般盛妆修饰，登时狐疑起来。 从偏殿出来，只见夜色深湛，漫天星斗如簇簇银钉撒在碧海之间。乾清宫正殿如一头黝黑巨兽伏在白玉高台之上。大殿内燃着两树通臂巨蜡，通明如白昼，宫人将琴太微引到一处耳房，道：“琴内人在此间少待一会儿。陛下看完了奏疏，还要传你问话。” 琴太微选了一个墙角，敛衽静立，两只眼睛却悄悄地打量着这天下第一的宫阙，外间传言，乾清宫一共有二十七张床。先帝当年患病时，一度多疑怕鬼，防范森严，每晚在这二十七张床铺之中任意搬迁，居无定所。后来索性撇了乾清宫，搬到西苑去住了。琴太微小时候听父亲说起这个掌故，十分想不明白，一间房子里如何放得下二十七张床呢？ 今日却真是亲见了，乾清宫殿宇十分高敞，面阔九间，后暖殿恰隔出九个暖阁，每个暖阁分散又以天梯相通，极尽玲珑巧妙之工，远远望去如仙山楼台。只是今上大约没有随意迁居的癖好，只择了西边一处暖阁。那边灯火明亮，人影憧憧，隔着一道道垂地遮天的帷幛、一重重镂玉雕金的屏风，依然散出的淡淡暖意来。 琴太微瞧着那温暖的灯火，心里忽然突地猛跳了一下——她来这里做什么的？ “琴内人久等了吧。”乾清宫管事李彦忽然出现在她面前。 宫人们静悄悄地打起帷幕，拉开隔扇，让李彦领着她一直走到宫殿的深处。越往里走，灯光越明亮，她的心情却越来越暗淡下去。她用余光悄悄打量这间屋子，发现此地无大案、书格等物，并不是皇帝看奏疏的地方。她看见了一只巨大的青花云龙纹盘，盘中飘着一只镏金香鸭，它身躯柔软颈脖蜷曲，喉间吐出酽酽的奇香，香气与水雾糅合一处，似落花拂面般温软迷离——那是天家才能使用的龙涎香。她被这香气扰得视线迷离，透过轻白薄紫的袅袅香烟，看见一张铺着黄色绣褥的巨大龙床。 琴太微吃了一惊，这是皇帝的卧房。 皇帝换掉了白日里穿的锦绣龙袍，只披了一件家常道袍，立在床前不知做什么。听见李彦说琴内人来了，偏过脸来看了看她，然后对李彦说：“你们先出去。” 宫人和内官们依次退了出去，李彦跟在最后。琴太微心慌意乱，也想跟着出去。有人悄悄伸手拦下了她，递来一个意味深长的眼神。 她僵在原地不动，瞪着皇帝。皇帝仍然立在床前，背对着她，罗袍如流水一般从背脊淌下，刺得她满眼辛酸。她忽然想起谢迁来，去年他说过的话分明还在耳边：“琴妹妹，我等你回来。” “琴内人，你过来。”皇帝说。 他听见她半天没有动弹，不由得转过脸来，见她跪在地上，身体蜷成了鹅黄色的一小团，便道：“不必跪着了，过来吧。” 她依旧没有动弹，只是双肩不停地颤抖。 “你哭什么？”皇帝大惑不解。 “奴婢……奴婢……”她想来想去，实在说不出那个词，只能抽抽噎噎道，“求陛下放过我……” 这句话尚未说完，她已控制不住自己的情绪，索性号啕大哭起来。 外间守夜的宫人闻声而入，探看究竟，皇帝挥了挥手，示意她们出去。琴太微跪在地上哭个不停，皇帝无可奈何，索性坐在床边静静地守着，等她的哭声变小了一点，方开口道：“你在想什么？朕叫你来，是想给你看一件东西，不是要你侍寝。” 琴太微听见“不要侍寝”，不觉怔了，忙收声拭泪。脸上的胭脂妆粉早被泪眼冲得七零八落。皇帝从案上拿了块帕子递过去。琴太微谢恩接过，将残妆擦拭干净。她想起刚才失态，羞红了脸，恨不能就用这方帕子将脸蒙住，再不敢看皇帝一眼。 皇帝瞧见她这副模样，不觉失笑：“你别担心，我还不打算纳你为嫔御。宠幸了妹妹，万一做姐姐的伤心怄气了呢？” 琴太微听得此言，倒觉得十分感动，便敛衽正拜：“奴婢谢陛下天恩。” “谢我什么？”皇帝笑道，“谢我放过你了？” 琴太微说：“奴婢是为淑妃娘娘感谢陛下。” 皇帝闻言呵呵直笑，振了振袖子站起来，道：“你既然不敢过来，就站在那边吧，我过去。” 琴太微疑疑惑惑地站起，见皇帝果然走了过来，臂间抱着一件物什。她思忖着，那大概就是要给她看的东西了，却不知究竟是什么。 原来那是龙床上拿过来的一只石枕。石枕样式极简，端方质朴，毫无雕饰镂花，但所用石材却颇为奇特，初看时清透如寒冰，颇似水精一类。皇帝将枕头举起，指示琴太微对着烛光观看。只见石枕表面折射出一片片幽蓝浅紫的光彩，宛若海上扬碧波，又如月下舞霓裳，更奇的是石枕中裹了一枝血色的珊瑚，艳如海棠绽放。 琴太微不禁赞叹了一声，又问：“陛下，这是什么石头？” 皇帝道：“这个连我也不知，却要请教你。” 琴太微摇摇头：“奴婢亦不认得。” 皇帝叹了一声：“这是神锡二年，令尊自杭州府回京述职时，带给朕的礼物——原来你也没见过。” 忽然又听见提起父亲，琴太微默默不语。 皇帝将枕头仍旧抱回床上放好，又说：“叫你来，就是看看这个枕头。我做庆王时，便十分仰慕令尊大人，只是亲王不能结交外臣，故而缘悭一面。直到坐到了这个位置，才终于见到他。相识虽晚，却倾盖如故。神锡二年冬天，他上京述职，特意带了这个来给我，说是一种海上奇石，可以安心神，养天年。神锡三年春天他再去潦海，我原指望他得胜归来，好为他接风洗尘，封侯拜相……没想到这个枕头，是他留给我最后的东西。” 皇帝回忆往事，十分伤感：“若你父亲还在，今天这朝中的局面，一定大不相同。我这个皇帝也要好当很多啊。” 琴太微沉默许久，亦不能不动容。只是她隐约觉得，父亲不会是那种以进献宝物来博取帝王的欢心的臣子。但父亲究竟是怎样做官的，其实她并不清楚。 “你先去吧。”皇帝想了想，说，“今晚你到咸阳宫去，和你表姐见一面。” 李彦引了琴太微去了，皇帝望着她的背影，不觉叹了一声。 尚寝女官照例捧了朱册过来，询问皇帝召哪一位妃嫔。皇帝一页一页地翻看着，似乎琢磨了很久，终于把签子夹在了最末一页。