Chapter 14 Chapter Thirteen Good Night

It is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and it is customary in the palace to give gifts to each other.Yang Lian was a prince sitting on the bench, no one took this opportunity to flatter Liu Xu, only some old cronies paid tribute to some seasonal melons and fruits, moon cakes and the like.He glanced briefly, and took notes in turn. First, he picked out a box of mooncakes sent by Tian Zhihui and brought them to the study. After breaking the fifth one, an oiled paper bag fell out of the mooncakes. A thin piece of cocoon paper, the handwriting is as light as mist. Because of Zhu Baoliang's group's big move in the southeast, Yu Wuwen and his group have avoided the seas of the imperial court far away. Recently, they have only made a few transactions between Dongying and the Nanyang Islands, and they have actually made a lot of money. , Captured a large boat of good ambergris from Hongyi.When the southeast is slightly calmed down, it will be transported to the prosperous southern capital and sold at a high price, and the treasure ship equipped with forty cannons will be available.Youyun learned that the grandson—referring to Yang Li—was married to the beloved daughter of Master Qin, so you might as well ask Qin if there are any pictures of treasure ships left by the master, Haiyu hand scrolls, etc., in case It will be necessary in the future.

Yang Lian became agitated, tore the cocoon paper into strands and threw them into the furnace.The note was licked by the tongue of fire, and it turned to ashes and smoke after a few flashes, but his secret could not be burned, melted, cut, or smashed away. When he thought about it, he felt depressed and unbearable. speech. like a nightmare.Such as stubborn illness.Like a piece of gravel contained in the soft clam meat, it is covered with layers of tears for a long time. It is obviously extremely uncomfortable, but there will never be a day to spit it out. For a while, Mrs. Wen came in holding the box to say hello, and unfolded a brand-new gown with gold thread and red collar, with a festive tapestry of colorful clouds, round moon, jade rabbit patch on the chest and back.Yang Lian was served by her to try on it for a time, and it was radiant and gorgeous.Yang Lian thanked her with a smile, picked a sapphire paperweight from the table and gave it back to her as a reward.

Mrs. Wen thanked her for her kindness, and suddenly picked out a sachet from the lacquer box, and said: "This is a gift from Lady Qin to His Highness." "If you don't come by yourself, you will be called on?" Yang Lian frowned. "She said that she can't walk right now, and she can't come and kowtow to His Highness in person, please forgive me." Mrs. Wen apologized with a smile. The sachet was in the shape of a six-sided rice dumpling, wrapped in green satin, with a row of purple flowers as thin as rice beads embroidered on the waist, and the petals were scribbled like children's graffiti.Yang Lian stared at it for a while, and said, "It's so ugly."

Mrs. Wen said: "It turns out that Mrs. Qin's hands are not yet healed. She is doing needlework and practicing her finger claws at my place. This sachet was embroidered last month, and it took her a lot of work. It was made again because of the festival. The coiled dragon tape, please let me bring it here neatly. This is her wish, Your Highness, don't think it's simple." "There is no such gift-giving in the world. People don't come and don't say anything, and others need to help clean up." Yang Lian threw the sachet into the drawer and sneered, "I only accept your kindness, I don't remember taking hers." Zongzi."

Mrs. Wen smiled lightly and didn't answer his words, but asked if there would be a family dinner before the festival.Yang Lian has always been a loner, but occasionally he would hold a banquet during festivals, and sit with a few concubines, since Chen Yanluo left, even this has been neglected.Wen Canran thinks that Mid-Autumn Festival is a big festival, Lin Juanjuan has a new happy news, Qin Taiwei has been hiding on the island under the pretext of a stick injury and dare not stand out, or Yang Lian intends to invite everyone to the party.Unexpectedly, he frowned, but said: "One injury hasn't healed yet, and the other can't move, what else is there to do? Just you and I sitting and drinking, isn't it boring?"

Mrs. Wen knew that he didn't like drinking, and it was just a joke, but she couldn't help but her face turned pale when she heard it, and she forced a smile: "Since Your Highness is clean, I will be lazy." Yang Lian also felt that something was wrong, and felt a little ashamed in his heart, so he turned around and said, "The last time Miss Qin had an accident, it was thanks to you for reporting the news. I think about it, but I don't know how to thank you." Mrs. Wen pondered the meaning of these words, did she really want to thank her and asked her to ask for the reward, or did she say that although she was grateful, she had no thanks?If it was Lin Juanjuan, she would have asked for fresh dresses, gold beads and jewelry with a charming smile, and even bluntly said that she wanted to spend the night with her.He knew he was not Lin Juanjuan to say that, but the pair of phoenix eyes painted with ink were actually sincere and gentle.Mrs. Wen then smiled and said: "His Royal Highness entrusted me with the family affairs, and this concubine should take responsibility, and dare not receive any rewards. Lady Qin is young, and it is my concubine who did not take good care of her. It is a good thing that my concubine is lucky if His Highness does not hold her accountable." .”

He was obviously satisfied with this answer, Madam Wen sighed silently in her heart, and said again: "Madam Lin, what other orders does Your Highness have?" There is a long scroll spread out on the table, it is a scroll imitating Dong Yuan's picture of Xiaoxiang that Lin Juanjuan spent a lot of time painting and dyeing. It was originally said to be reserved for Yang Lian's birthday in October, but it was used as a Mid-Autumn Festival gift in advance delivered.Yang Lian tapped the drawing paper, and said slowly: "She is raising the baby, so all the affairs in the backyard will be entrusted to you. You should work harder, and discuss with Cheng Ning if you have anything to do." This was already said a long time ago. Yes, he thought for a while and then solemnly said: "Lin Juan's body is unstable, teach her not to move around anymore. Add a few experienced and reliable servants and maids to her room to help, don't teach her to step out of the door halfway Don't let the idlers disturb her."

After hearing this, Mrs. Wen's long-held speculation seemed to have come to fruition. "Give birth to the baby well first." He frowned and said softly. Looking at the twilight approaching, Yang Lian changed into the new clothes Mrs. Wen made, and went out with a crown and belt.Arriving at the Taisu Hall on the north bank of Taiye Pool, Empress Dowager Xu was sitting in the hall, accompanied by several concubines, and a group of descendants and grandchildren came to kowtow and offer gifts, and happily received the rewards.Empress Dowager Xu saw Yang Lian from a distance, and immediately beckoned him to come forward, and said with a smile, "I heard that Lin Juanjuan has good news, I am very happy. Tell me what kind of reward you want?"

Yang Lian said with a smile: "Grandmother just needs to be happy in her heart, it won't be too late to reward her after she is born." Empress Dowager Xu shook her head with a smile and said: "This is my first great-grandson. Although he is not a direct descendant, he is different from others after all. It goes without saying that the rewards are as usual. I think Qingfu Hall is a bit small after all, is it inconvenient? , I also have two doctors here, both of whom are very experienced and safe, and I will allocate them to you first. They will serve you personally in the morning and evening, so as not to be in a rush."

Hearing what the doctor said, Yang Mi couldn't help feeling tense, but said with a smile on his face: "Grandson can see a doctor by himself, don't bother others." Empress Dowager Xu sneered and said: "Look at those who have a headache and brain fever, it's nothing more than that, can they know how to do women's daughters?" "Grandson, let's tell the truth," Yang Lian said, "Grandma's needy people are naturally very noble, even if it's my princess, I don't dare to condescend to serve them. Lin Juanjuan is a concubine, I'm afraid she won't be able to take care of her, It will not be beautiful if you turn back your luck."

This pushback was too obvious, and Empress Dowager Xu's face darkened.Just as he was about to say something else, there was a lot of voices outside, but Luanjia arrived.The emperor and the empress paid homage to the empress dowager, and they were seated one by one to receive the ceremony. The whole family had seen each other, and only then did the culinary officer invite everyone to the table. The banquet was placed on the three-story white jade dandelion outside the hall, glazed palace lanterns were hung at the four corners of the high platform, and potted flowers were placed all over the floor, all of which were bright red begonias and silver-white hosta flowers.Treasures from mountains and seas, jade liquid and fine wine are mixed among them. Various flower cakes, wishful cakes, gold and silver tea food and sanzi are piled up into hills for the festival. Gold and silver five-color cut flowers are inserted on the top of the hills. The sweetness and fragrance of the emerald honeydew melon are respectively lingering, and the wine is already three-point drunk before the bottle is opened. For a while, the clouds broke and the moon came out, the water and sky were clear, the breeze came slowly, and the pool was full of broken gold.Flowers and shadows are floating on the water, singing and singing are in harmony in the pavilion, relatives and relatives, talking and laughing happily.After three cups of "Changchun dew", the emperor was full of satisfaction, asked for a pen and paper, and wrote three quatrains in one go, and ordered his attendants to read them aloud, which won applause from all the audience.He was good at art and literature since he was a child, and he was good at playing piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. He wrote the three chapters of Chanting the Moon, and even the Empress Dowager sincerely praised him a few words.The emperor still felt that it was not enough, and ordered all the concubines in the seat to write a poem of his own rhyme. Empress Dowager Xu said with a smile: "Your Majesty is confused when you ask your family members to write poems with so many brothers and nephews in front of you." The emperor thought that something was wrong, so he looked around and taught Yang Xi, his concubines and sons-in-law to write poems. Seeing Yang Li sitting far away, he deliberately took the pen and paper from his desk and taught them to pass it over. . Yongyue was a subject he was familiar with, Yang Lian thought for a while and tried to come up with four sentences, and saw that others were still scratching his head, so he put down his pen and walked away slowly, staring at the sparkling light on the lake, only thinking. The center of the lake is brightly lit, and the officials built a huge lamp stand on Penglai Mountain. Hundreds of lanterns in five colors form the four characters of "Long Live Taiping".Looking at the dark mountain shadow, Yang Lian suddenly thought of the person in the empty room who was unable to recover from his illness. He must have slipped out with his attendant to look at the lamp. On the mat was a plate of fist-sized crabs, which were said to be from Yangcheng Lake. They were transported all the way by tank boat, and they were raised in crates of lake water. As soon as they arrived at Tongzhou Wharf this morning, they were quickly sent to the small kitchen of Qingning Palace. It is specially used for the Queen Mother's banquet. It is only rouge-colored, plump and fragrant, and it is better than the usual tribute.Empress Dowager Xu is very fond of this taste, she will put on a few crab feasts every year, and everyone in the palace still eats crabs.However, good crabs are produced in Southern Province, and the transportation alone costs a lot of money every year, which is nothing to say. Today, the crab is under the name of Zhongjing Prince's Mansion filial piety to the Empress Dowager, but it is secretly arranged by the governor of Hangzhou.Yang Lian only ate a shell of crab roe and put it down.At this time, I was lost in thought, and I somehow remembered that when I was a teenager, Qin Lingxian quietly took me to the sea to see the navy's treasure ship. Just when Yu Wuwen came back from Fusang after doing a business, there was fish in the fishing net behind the ship. A snow crab the size of a wheel, with long legs and giant claws, the color is like rouge.Use the big pot on the boat to steam it for a while, cut it open with a dagger, and the grease will flow all over the table, even the tip of the foot shell is full of white meat like snow.Even Qin Lingxian let go of his gentle airs, rolled up his sleeves and tore off a huge crab claw, and held it to him with a smile. The crab meat was as sweet as a lychee, with the freshness of the sea breeze. If she told Qin Taiwei about this, she would probably stare again.He didn't see her for several days, and he didn't even show up during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Thinking of this, he reached out and took another crab.Suddenly heard the above urging poems, I had to go back to the table, and hurriedly wrote down the four sentences I had thought about before, and then I saw Chen Concubine just handed in the paper with a look of embarrassment, and lowered his head to paint out one sentence of his own, and rewrote one sentence. The sons-in-law of the emperor's concubine sisters were all selected from the people according to the ancestral rules of the country. Sure enough, the leader was captured again this time, the emperor ordered someone to break a cinnamon osmanthus and reward him with a hairpin on the hat, and the eyes of the princess Xianju in the female banquet behind the screen were also shining.The emperor judged it again, picked out one or two articles, praised them, and suddenly turned his head to look at Yang Lian and said with a smile: "The article about conquering the king is no worse than Chen Consort Chen's, but I think it should be punished." Yang Lian was so startled that he almost dropped his teacup on the ground, and immediately rushed to the imperial court and knelt down to confess his crime. The banquet was silent for a while, and Empress Dowager Xu couldn't help but stare at the emperor.The emperor was still smiling, looked at the empress, and said: "I see that all the poems you wrote for your aunt on weekdays are excellent works. Why do you refuse to write well when I ask you to write poems?" Yang Lian calmed down a bit, and said with a smile: "I am incompetent, I usually spend my time at home thinking about it, and I can still deal with it a little bit. In this beautiful night and the grand scene, the dragon is mighty, and I am already full of sincerity and fear, and there are three jewels from your majesty." First of all, the words are so wonderful that I don't know how to write them. The ancients said, "There is a scene in front of you, but Cui Hao's poems are on it." Today, I have learned the lesson." Although he couldn't help but sneered a little, the emperor felt good in his heart after all, so he said, "I saw you changed a sentence earlier, what did you delete?" Only then did Yang Lian realize that he had been staring at him, so he secretly complained, so he could only say, "It's 'the lotus boat returns to the moon'." "Good sentence, why not use it?" "Just because your Majesty has a saying of 'beauty under the forest', she is the most beautiful woman in the world, and my nephew's lotus picker is ashamed of her appearance, so she dare not compete for beauty." Hearing what he said was interesting, the emperor couldn't help laughing, and rewarded Yang Lian with three manuscripts of imperial pen poems on the spot.Empress Dowager Xu also laughed and said: "It turns out that the emperor punished people like this. It seems that everyone will ask for your punishment in the future." "'Lian Zhou' is so beautiful, it can be overpowered. I am not such a stingy person." As he spoke, he recalled the comparison between the plum blossom beauty and the lotus picking girl. Before he could think about it, he saw Yang Xi holding the poem The manuscript came up waddlingly. The emperor frowned when he saw it: "I just think you won't write." Yang Xi didn't dare to answer.The emperor glanced at the four-line poem, and then passed it to Yang Lian beside him: "Come and comment." Yang Lian was thinking that he should not be in the limelight tonight, but unexpectedly the emperor told him this, and he only read one sentence, and suddenly felt his heart beat faster.He once studied with Yang Xi, and he knew that he was most afraid of this kind of pen and ink games.The rhetoric of this poem is elegant, the use of allusions is skillful, and the level is still higher than that of the emperor. Someone must have secretly caught the knife.Yang Lian hesitated... He had been preparing for a long time, but when he suddenly gave him such an opportunity, should he use this to expose it? He collected himself and suppressed his delusions.Although the emperor never cared about Yang Xi, he might not see something wrong with it.He sneered a few times in his heart, and said: "The diction is a little less elegant and tame." The emperor unconsciously raised his eyebrows. "However, the heroic spirit of a young man is completely natural..." Yang Lian continued, "Although the style of writing is simple, it already shows the bearing of the heavenly family. His Royal Highness Fu Wang has grown more and more." Knowing that he was talking nonsense, the emperor didn't want to say anything more, he nodded hastily, and didn't order someone to read it to everyone, so he waved his hands and told everyone to back off.Yang Xi couldn't help but looked at Yang Lian with a troubled face.Empress Dowager Xu suddenly became suspicious, and she winked at Li Sizhu who was beside her. All the concubines sat behind the screen and listened, the concubine Xian only said that the emperor was partial and refused to praise Yang Xi, and the tone in her heart spilled over her face before she knew it.Concubine Shu was seated with her, and she saw that she was secretly amused with cold eyes, but she heard the Queen Mother say: "Since Ah Lian has agreed, it can be seen that she has made great progress. Ah Chi is also the one who will accept the concubine soon, after leaving the palace It is even more important to study and study well, so that you can live up to the high expectations of your father and mother." Concubine Xian's complexion turned cloudy with the Queen Mother's words, and when she heard the words "Father, Queen and Mother", it suddenly became dark again.Everyone looked amused, and Sun Lipin couldn't help but said: "Miss Xu San didn't go to the banquet today, Madam Du, do you know why?" Xu Anyuan's refusal to marry Fu Wang until death caused a lot of discussion in the whole palace, so the Empress Dowager Xu didn't let her go out.Concubine Sun Li certainly had bad intentions, Concubine Xian couldn't find anything to say for a moment, she just said: "Miss Xu San is about to leave the cabinet now, of course it is not appropriate to show her face in public." But Sun Lipin said: "Ms. Xu San once told me that she likes to listen to operas. This is because of the preferences of the old lady. Tonight is different from usual. It is said that a troupe of Nanxi Opera was hired from outside the palace. Although the Nanyin is not as good as Peking Opera is lively and atmospheric, but it is fresh and meticulous. It's a pity that she doesn't have this kind of blessing." "Not necessarily if you don't have good ears, it's more elegant to hear it from a distance through the sound of water." Someone laughed, "It's just that you don't have good eyesight." Concubine Xian listened to them talking about Miss Xu San one sentence at a time, knowing that there was something wrong but couldn't get in a word, but she heard Sun Lipin say: "It's good not to have such a good fortune, so that I don't have to finish watching "The Song of the Bronze Sparrow" , and sang "Yong Xu Poems" again." Most of the concubines in the seat are familiar with the rhetoric and allusions, and they understand what they say, but they don't dare to mock openly like Sun Lipin who has a daughter.There was a young waiter named Li Xuan who was at a loss: "Are these two new plays? Why haven't I heard of them?" Sun Lipin just covered her mouth and shook her head in silence.Attendant Li Xuan was terrified by their laughter, so he entangled Concubine Shu: "My sister reads a lot, tell me the story." Xie Yili could only say: "The story of Tongque Terrace is that there is a pair of sisters in Jiangdong, Big Qiao and Little Qiao, who are both married to heroes of the world." "I know this, it's the story of the Three Kingdoms." Li Xuanshi suddenly realized, "Then "The Poem of Yongxu" is about the talented woman Xie Daoyun? Can you also marry a hero in this world?" Concubine Shu shook her head with a smile, but refused to say anything, so anxious that Li Xuan pulled her sleeves.Xie Yili has always endured suffering, so at this time he also had the intention to take advantage of the situation to be mean to the concubine Xian, and then said: "Mrs. Xie said about her husband, 'A family of uncles, there is A Dazhong Lang; Qun Cong brothers, there is Feng Hu Ye. At the end. Unexpectedly, there is Wang Lang in the world!'” For a moment, everyone couldn't help laughing, some covered their mouths with cups, and some whispered sideways.Xie Daoyun's words were to the effect of complaining that the Wang family's nephews were all outstanding, but the husband she married herself was blunt and incompetent.The words are a bit outdated, but Concubine Xian still didn't understand, she only knew that she was at a disadvantage, so she said with a straight face: "It's so nice to say, it's an old story of Xie Niang's family!" The audience was in an uproar, Li Xuan squatted on the ground laughing, even Xie Yili couldn't help but bury his face in his sleeve, suddenly remembered something, but finally couldn't laugh. There was a lot of noise here, Empress Dowager Xu couldn't help but look over.A confidant female official had listened to the beginning and the end, and made a general report to the Queen Mother.Empress Dowager Xu was already in a bad mood by Yang Lian, at this time she looked through the screen, stared at Concubine Xian fiercely, then secretly sized Concubine Shu and Concubine Sun Lipin one by one, then suddenly turned her head to face Looking at the queen, she said, "Has the candidate for Concubine Kang been decided?" Empress Xu didn't pay attention to the jokes of the concubines, but when she heard the empress dowager mentioning this, she hurriedly said, "I haven't decided what to do after returning to my mother." Hearing that the empress dowager seemed to sneer, she added: "The few people recommended by the supervisor of ceremonies The concubines are not satisfied with the girls who are to be married. The concubines think that this recommendation may not be reliable, so they have to look at each other from family to family, and slowly find the right one. There is no rush." The queen mother said in a loud voice: "The other day I heard Madam Chongshan Hou say that you recruited her to the palace and asked her how many daughters were waiting to be married, and you wanted to invite them all to have a look, which scared all the girls in that family. I was looking for death and life. In the end, Mrs. Chongshan Hou came to me and cried like a mess, saying that Chongshan Mansion would definitely send a daughter out, and I just begged not to see each other one by one." The queen mother picked up a piece of snow-white pincer meat, dipped it in the orange, wrapped it, and picked it up again.Empress Xu's face turned blue and white, and she felt that the plate of oranges in front of the Empress Dowager had seeped into her eyes, making her sour and cold, but she had no choice but to stiffen her waist and dare not let the smile on her face fade. Empress Dowager Xu said slowly: "I thought to myself, she must be very reluctant to part with her own daughter, just afraid that she would like to find someone from the side of the family, or find a concubine who doesn't matter - although as long as she looks dignified and has a virtuous character , you don’t need to pick and choose too much, but if someone chooses the rest, is it good? ——I simply told her that you don’t want to choose Concubine Kang from her family,” Queen Mother Xu said, and suddenly glanced at Yang narrowly. Lian said again, "I want to find a concubine for King Zheng. Since the Chongshan Mansion is unwilling to be elected, then let it go. I want to see if those girls in the Chongshan Mansion are going to do it again this time." I'm going to hang myself in regret." Although it was a joking tone, the queen felt that she couldn't get off the stage, and she froze there not knowing what to say.Yang Lian also felt embarrassed, and said with a wry smile: "Grandma tells people like this, how do I deal with myself?" Empress Dowager Xu glanced at him, and said with a chuckle: "The girls in her family are indeed famous, but if they are brought to the palace, they are not very outstanding. I'm afraid you still don't like them—you don't have to be sorry, In the future, I will choose a most beautiful princess for you." Empress Xu breathed a sigh of relief, quickly grasped the topic, and said, "I've been busy with everything, so I should choose a concubine for Ah Lian. Pity his family has been empty for three or four years. It's because we, as elders, have never taken good care of him." .” "A Lian's marriage has been dragged on for too long," said Empress Xu suddenly, "the concubine's room is about to give birth to a son, but the mistress has not yet entered the house. What's the matter? Another matter has been suppressed, and everything has been delayed. In my opinion, the candidate for Concubine Kang should be decided earlier. " The people who went round and round still urged her back, Empress Xu was speechless for a while, she couldn't help but look at the emperor.It was an order from the emperor to choose a concubine for King Kang, and the purpose was only to delay King Fu's marriage.Empress Xu couldn't choose anyone from left to right, and she was more or less passively cooperating with the emperor.At this time, the queen mother pressed her nose, but the emperor kept silent, only swinging the crab legs on the table. Empress Xu bit her lips, and said: "The concubine must deal with it as soon as possible. It's just that it's a bit difficult to choose from the family of Qili Xungui. If you choose ladies from households in various counties in Gyeonggi, you are afraid of disturbing public grievances and causing trouble for the emperor." The concubine really has no choice. Tan'er is also the grandson of the queen mother, and the queen mother is the master of his marriage." "Xianluan," Empress Dowager Xu said with a smile, "you have a bodhisattva heart, I'm afraid you will wrong others. Forced marriage is not allowed, and talent selection is not allowed. Let me give you an idea, choose from the palace." Empress Xu was slightly surprised. "The people in the palace are all my family's servants. It is a great grace to be chosen as the princess. It is up to them whether they want to or not. Besides, there are quite good talents..." Empress Dowager Xu seemed to have a flash of inspiration, and suddenly said, "For example, Qin Lingxian's daughter is not here. Is it there? This child is lovely, and his age is just right, but Anian quickly snatched it away. If you compare with this one, choose another one." The empress was displeased, but she couldn't show it. She turned her head and saw the emperor sitting firmly on Mount Tai, not saying a word, but there was a slight sarcasm on her lips. The anger rose in her chest, and she couldn't help laughing: "What do you think, Your Majesty?" "The queen mother is very right, let's do it like this." The emperor responded quickly, but said: "I ate crabs and felt very bored. Bring some wine." Immediately, an internal officer brought a hot pot of Taixibai and poured it into a golden scroll lotus cup. The emperor frowned and drank it all in one gulp, suppressing the chill slightly. Empress Dowager Xu stared at the emperor intently, feeling a little worried in her heart, so she pointed to a cup of hot ginger soup in front of her. "Suppress the cold air. You have been very busy recently, and your body is not very happy. You should not eat something that is cold and suppresses your stomach today. I was negligent, so let's withdraw." "Where," the emperor took a sip of the hot soup, feeling the chills in his stomach, and said with a wry smile, "It is rare for a son to receive a banquet from his mother, but he has no luck to enjoy it. It is the son who is ashamed." When Empress Dowager Xu heard the word "rare", she couldn't feel angry, and suddenly saw that the emperor's complexion turned yellow, and the sarcasm slipped to her lips, but she still swallowed it. The waiters filed forward, and in a short while the mountains of steamed crabs piled up on the tables were cleaned up, and they brought chrysanthemum bean noodles to ask everyone to clean their hands.Yang Xi was chewing until the smell of ten fingers, seeing the crab gone, couldn't help but let out a "hey", but the queen mother heard it, and said: "Go back and bring a basket of hot ones to King Fu, I'm afraid the children are not full. Seeing the queen by his side, he said again, "Give King Kang a cage as well, teach him to serve him well, don't hurt him." Empress Dowager Xu really had good intentions, but these words were harsh to the empress, so she reluctantly smiled and thanked her, but the emperor over there didn't know what was on her mind, and said: "Today I taught Concubine Shu to take the third brother. The son came out, and he probably woke up at this time, take it out and ask the queen mother to take a look, right?" "Very good." Empress Dowager Xu nodded and smiled, and said again: "It turns out that my grandmother is biased, and Concubine Shu should also give a cage of crabs. The third brother can't eat it, so teach her to separate from the palace people, meandering It's not easy." The emperor felt a little embarrassed.Concubine Shu kept her ears up, and when she heard this, she quickly came out and knelt down to thank her. Suddenly, she saw Zhu Min holding the third elder brother who was wrapped in rice dumplings. Empress Dowager Xu teased the baby boy on her lap for a while, and said strangely: " The child didn't even cry." The old palace man joked, "This is a blessing that other people can't think of in front of the real grandmother. Why are you crying?" "How old is he, how can I say that." Empress Dowager Xu said, "You have never raised children. Such a big baby boy would cry even when he saw the king of heaven. I personally I hugged him until I was over a year old, and quarreled every day so that I couldn't live in peace. The emperor is better, his brother is like a demon star coming down to torture me..." She didn't continue, and everyone was silent.The emperor saw the queen mother hold Yang Zhen and inspected it carefully, lowered her eyebrows and looked down, not happy, thinking that she must be missing the eldest son who died young, and felt a tingle in his heart.But after a while, the Empress Dowager suddenly smiled, raised her head and said to the emperor: "You are a calm old man, and you will have great fortune in the future." The emperor shook his head with a smile, hugged the child and looked at it with the empress.Concubine Shu was apprehensive, she just lowered her head and retreated to the edge of the screen, her eyes fixed on the swaddle in the empress' hands, for fear of making mistakes.Unexpectedly, she was afraid of what would happen, Zhu Yan had just taken the swaddling baby from the Queen's hand, and with a lift of her elbow, she knocked down the jade pot and spring vase on the table, soaking half of the burgundy horse-faced skirt.Yang Zhen was finally frightened at this time, and burst into tears with a wow. The emperor snorted: "Stupid maidservant, don't back down! Come up with Yuchou!" Gui Xuan didn't move, and Xie Yinli had already caught up with him, holding the child and looking around, feeling as if a fire was burning in his heart.The emperor also left his seat in a hurry, and asked repeatedly: "It's all right, is it all right?" He asked people to drag Zhulong out and beat him with a stick. Fortunately, as soon as Yang Zhen returned to her mother's arms, she gradually calmed down and sobbed softly.Empress Dowager Xu then said: "It's common for children to cry and fuss, so why bother to get angry about it. It's not good not to cry." Xie Yili also tactfully interceded, Zhu Mo was let go in a cold sweat. After such a commotion, the atmosphere during the meeting became more and more cold.Concubine Liang Yu suddenly got up and walked over, and said with a bright smile: "Oh, the queen mother is so lucky to raise such a well-behaved grandson. Crying loudly, he roared down the moon in the sky. This is a natural dragon, it’s amazing.” While taking Yang Zhen and hugging her in his arms, he greeted Princess Xianju: "Come and have a look, too, for some good luck." Princess Xianju immediately leaned over and praised the child, and then taught Prince Chen to come over and take a look.Everyone was led by them, chatting and laughing one after another, and finally brought back the embarrassing situation.Concubine Shu was worried that Yang Zhen would be frightened again, so she took the child back to protect herself. Everyone knew how to measure it, so they only glanced at her hand, repeating the old tune of praising Lin'er again, and that's all. For a while, everyone surrounded Concubine Shu, Empress Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to ask the emperor if she still felt tight in her chest, but she saw him squinting at Concubine Shu's mother and son, leaning forward, full of satisfaction, and even called out to herself. He didn't hear either.Empress Xu was stunned, and suddenly remembered the situation when she was reprimanded by the Queen Mother just now, and remembered the situation of Yang Tan who is also the prince, and a thousand worries surged up from the bottom of her heart. She saw among the shadows, the young woman in the red dress with a bright red dress, her face full of spring breeze, holding her beloved concubine, being complimented by everyone, even the biological father of her only child refused to look away.And she sat high in the phoenix seat, isolated and helpless, with a frozen smile on her face, and her heart was overwhelmed. "A neem." The queen's voice was not loud, but Xie Yinli could hear it very clearly. "Ah Lian, come and see your little brother." The Queen smiled, "I'm afraid you haven't seen a baby yet? In the future, Mrs. Lin will give birth..." There was a loud bang above Xie Yili's head, and he felt a gust of wind piercing through his ears and heavy snow hitting his face, so he couldn't hear what the queen said at all. The crowd around fell silent, slowly receding like a tide.She seemed to be standing on a rock in the middle of the sea, trying her best not to fall.She hoped that the emperor would stop Yang Lian in time.She also knew that no one would help her at this time.She could only hold the child and wait helplessly for him to come over. Does the Queen know anything?No, it's impossible, if someone got wind of it, she would have already been wiped out.Before he could figure out what was going on, the corner of Zhijin Hongluo's robe was already in front of his eyes.Although he didn't dare to look up, he knew he was coming.She lowered her breath resolutely, with a faint and distant smile on her lips, and handed the swaddle to the palace maid beside her. Time is extremely slow, like a nightmare in a dream. Is he so tall?In the past, they stood side by side and had eyebrows, and they could see the pair of eyes that were as bright as morning stars without looking up.But at this moment, she could only see the soap boots under his feet, the jade belt around his waist, the dragon on his chest, and the collar under his chin. She couldn't remember what his face looked like.She never knew that she had such a desire to see him clearly, but... she must never look up again. After a while, the child handed it back again.To her surprise, he was gone. It turned out that the crowd hadn't gone away, it turned out that they had been talking and chattering around her all the time, Princess Xianju's joke was not finished, Concubine Liang Yu reminded her that the child yawned, maybe he was tired and fell asleep.She was like waking up from a big dream, and quickly pressed the child tightly to her chest. She was so weak that she wanted to go back behind the screen, but she was afraid of being seen by others, so she had to laugh, and kept laughing... and then suddenly remembered, in the dream She didn't even see his face.It's been so long and I still haven't seen... The emperor didn't move his eyes, he saw that Xie Yili kept her eyebrows down, her smile was serene, and her demeanor was smooth, as if she had never known Yang Lian.He took a sip of the remaining wine, looked at the full moon in the sky, and the shadows of flowers in the water, and felt a sense of helplessness and desolation in his heart. Yang Lian returned to his seat as if he was stepping on a cloud, he only felt that his eyes were blurred, Xie Yili had been hanging his head just now, his hair was full of pearls and emeralds, dazzled his eyes. From time to time, someone came to greet him, and he smiled back and greeted him. He held a cup of hot tea in his hand, but he didn't drink a sip.In the distance, the palace family members are like flowers, talking and laughing sweetly, surrounded by the empress, concubine Shu and the newborn prince, how lively the Tian family is.But this excitement is all other people's, and has nothing to do with him... If there hadn’t been the great change in Wan’an’s 34th year, his own biological parents would be sitting in the hall now, and he would be wearing the crown prince’s crown and sitting next to them, and there would also be a prince’s concubine next to him, about Even children have been born.His eyes slowly moved back to Xie Yili's body, the princess's dress was also a Xiapei red shirt, emerald feathers and di crown, quite similar to the princess's.He suddenly let out a short sneer. At this point the play has begun.The platform was set up in the Wulong Pavilion by the water, and the middle pavilion was brightly illuminated by colorful lights, like a crystal jar shining brightly. Among them, Shengdanjingmo moves like a lantern on a horse, and the fresh clothes and colorful sleeves are in various poses.The maiko receded, and Xiao Dan suddenly stopped her running steps, and babbled and sang, half-covering her peach-blossom flour face: "The beautiful woman is delicate and leisurely, the high-ranking knot is heavy, and the beauty is gorgeous, who doesn't want to have a beautiful face. The beautiful woman Mu Gao Righteousness, it is difficult to seek the virtuous..." The voice is like a spring warbler, but it is an allusion to "Luo Shen Fu". "The concubine is the queen of Zhen. She has been waiting for ten years, and she has fallen in love with him for seven steps. But Zhonglang will use his power, so that King Chen Si loses this alliance. The marriage is not in harmony, and the sincerity is not lost..." Yang Lian listened, suddenly felt that something was wrong, he turned his head to look at the queen mother, concubine, princesses and princes in the seat, they were listening attentively to the opera, chatting and joking, or feasting, everyone looked as usual.Only the emperor... the emperor held a glass of wine in his hand, looked at the characters in the play, and did not say a word for a long time. "He is the royal unicorn and phoenix, the hand of Hua Guo, and he still needs a heavenly craftsman. Jian'an Ci Fu, Yiren is unique in field. Long-term respect, return to the sky, and look at the long road of Guanhe..." Concubine Liang Yu was telling a joke with Empress Dowager Xu, when she turned her head and saw King Chen Si on the stage, Luoshen was holding a seven-treasure incense fan to half-cover her face, looking shy.Concubine Liang Yu said unconsciously: "The fan in Danjiao'er's hand, how can it be so resembling the Empress Dowager..." She suddenly understood, and couldn't help looking at the queen mother and then at the emperor in shock. The emperor's complexion was snow-white, and his eyebrows were carved like a knife.The concubine's words were like throwing a stone into the water, causing ripples. Everyone felt that the atmosphere had changed, and they held their breath for a moment.Only the singing and dancing on the stage is endless, "Chen Siwang" is crying and complaining—— "Look at that woman, she is as graceful as a frightened bird, and graceful as a wandering dragon. She is full of chrysanthemums and chrysanthemums. She is slender and slender, and she is shortened to fit. She has no fragrance, but she is full of beauty. Practicing the literary shoes of traveling far away, The light skirt that drags the dew. The body is swift and flying, and it is erratic like a god. It is like a light cloud covering the moon, and it is like a flowing wind returning to the snow..." Empress Dowager Xu finally spoke: "Stop, bring that Danjiao up." The ivory fan handle is inlaid with various gemstones the size of rice grains, and the fan pendant is a delicate jade butterfly with a red silk tassel, which looks like an ordinary imperial item.If it weren't for the calligraphy and painting on the fan, it would be difficult to distinguish it from other palace fans.Concubine Liang Yu leaned forward and looked around, only to see a faintly beautiful woman in palace costume on the fan, with a poem recorded beside it. "What is written on it?" The Queen Mother asked with a sneer, "Read it for us." Zhengdan, who sang Luoshen, had long been frightened, and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your maidservant can't read..." The queen mother then looked around, everyone saw that the situation was not good, who would dare to take this trouble, Li Sizhu had to take over the fan, and said dryly: "Who is the God of Luopu, come from fourteen or five years."The beautiful hair hangs down on the forehead, and the fragrant shirt is soft. The red sleeves of the lotus are wet, and the green moths are peeping frequently.Flying magpies come and go, Princess Pingyang kisses. The poem is very beautiful, and there are old-fashioned and old concubines in the seat, and they can't help frowning when they hear it.Empress Xu heard the last sentence "Dear Princess Pingyang", and looked at her husband with a smile, but saw the emperor's complexion as hard as iron, as if he hadn't heard anything.徐皇后只恨屏风碍事，挡住了她窥看谢迤逦是个什么神情。 太后拿过扇子略看了看，放回漆盘中：“哀家不懂这个。皇帝擅丹青，且瞧瞧这扇面究竟如何。” 皇帝盯着盘中宝扇，犹豫了片刻才伸手去拿。岂料刚看了一眼便勃然大怒——这是赝物！ 他心中的辗转惶惑顿时消弭无形，瞬间体悟过来分明是有人嘲讽自己，是谁敢这样大胆！ 犹记得当年这柄扇子牵出种种情孽，终于是被太后收了去，一直藏在清宁宫中。他遽然侧头瞪着太后，然太后亦苦笑看他，目中尽是疑惑不解与一抹淡淡悲悯。 “啪嗒”一声，扇子被撂回盘中，皇帝冷然道：“泛泛之作，也只好做戏班子的道具罢了。”他竭力平定了语声中的情绪，“……这戏本子谁写的，我竟没听说过。” 即刻有管事内官跪奏道：“这一出叫《洛水悲》，是义乌人汪道昆的新作。” “汪道昆。”皇帝觉得这个名字有些熟悉，一时却想不起来是谁。 那内官又磕了个头，方战战兢兢问：“陛下是……另点一出？” 皇帝刚要说都赶下去，忽见座中众人个个凝神屏气，眼观鼻鼻观心。他定了定神，心知方才闹的这出定要惹人遐想了，遂冷笑道：“另点做什么？挺好的本子，让他们唱完吧。” 旦角儿回到台上，颤着声音唱了下去。 皇帝面带严霜，端坐不动，暗暗察看在座各怀心思的众人。皇后的唇间挂着一抹端凝的笑容，他知道，每逢她这般笑起来，定是揣着一副隔岸观火的心肠。太后神情严峻，时不时朝他看一眼，大约也在斟酌是谁设局。梁毓太妃埋头剥松子儿往太后桌上递，她大概悔得想把自己的舌头吞回去，连带仙居长公主也是一脸僵硬的假笑……再看几位亲王，杨楝云淡风轻地坐在远处，似乎根本不知道发生了什么，杨樗抱着一只大石榴，半张着嘴看得目不转睛，大约觉得那个旦角儿实在生得好…… 皇帝紧绷的心忽然松弛了一下，这种时候，也只有没心没肺的朴拙小儿还笑得出来。他随口问道：“二哥儿，洛妃的掌故，你也看得懂吗？” 杨樗慌忙放下石榴，认真回道：“儿子读过曹子建的《洛神赋》。曹子建属意甄氏，可是甄氏却归了他的兄长魏文帝，后来甄氏死了，化作……” 皇帝听着心里就有些不舒服，正要喝住杨樗，却听见屏风后面传来贤妃刻意的咳嗽声，顿时疑心大起。 且说屏风后那一众妃嫔，听到“平阳公主亲”皆猜想是影射淑妃，这《洛水悲》的戏文细究起来又是暧昧不伦——又兼方才徵王上前，大家才闷声看了淑妃的笑话。贤妃自是其中最得意的一个，只想着今晚谢迤逦必定不得安生了，不想却听见皇帝忽然考问杨樗，她不免又担心杨樗多说多错，连声咳嗽制止。 这一咳，杨樗却会错了意，以为母亲提醒他说点要紧的。 “还有一首关于洛妃的唐诗：国事……国事……”，他憋了一脸的汗，不觉向身边的小内侍何足道望过去。《洛水悲》一开场，何足道就把这首诗念给他听，还叮嘱他背清楚了以防皇帝忽然提问。如今果然有了卖弄机会岂能放过，不想脑筋不好使，一时就记得头两个字了。 何足道亦朝他努力比着口型。终究是小孩子悟性好，杨樗忽然想起了最后两句，遂大声念了出来：“君王不得为天子，半为当时赋洛神！” “哐当！” 金卷荷杯砸在了白玉台阶上，皇帝两手紧紧抓着桌沿，颤声道：“圣贤书不好好读，就在风流逸闻上用心？” 杨樗哑口无言，连跪下磕头都忘了。 徐太后立刻回护道：“他小孩子懂什么，也不过是看见什么就记住什么了。李义山这首诗素有盛名，皇帝何必多心？” 皇帝慢慢转过身：“是朕多心了吗？” 他的脸色比白玉台阶还要苍白，比秋水月色还要冰冷，唯有一双眸子深深地望向自己的母亲，看得太后心中一凉。 “义乌人汪道昆……”皇帝缓缓道，“朕好像记得这个人。” “皇帝——”徐太后终究是不忍，又不能斥责，又不好劝慰，胸中千言万语涌动，也只得道，“皇帝累了……” 徐皇后亦开言：“陛下吃了螃蟹一直不太舒服，不如先回宫休息，臣妾在这里陪着母后赏月，也是一样的。” 徐太后摆了摆手，正要说散了席吧，忽见一个面生的内官在人群里探头探脑。她心中疑窦大起，立刻将人喝了过来。 原来却是司礼监的一个传话的内官，慌慌张张磕了头就道：“谢驸马府报丧了。” 徐太后道：“几时的事？” “就在半个时辰以前。” “那也罢了。”徐太后点了点头。皇帝却似乎没听清楚，犹自喃喃道：“是谁走了？” 徐太后心中隐忧，见皇帝两眼空茫似魂儿掉了。 只听屏风后面哗啦啦一阵杯盏落地之声，宫人们连连唤着“谢娘娘晕过去了……” 皇帝终于明白过来了，胸中一阵刺痛如千刀割戮，哇的一声就呕了出来，整个身子都软倒在龙座下。徐皇后急忙抱住了他，将他的头放在自己膝上，一边拍着背一边疾唤人取温水来。 阵阵刺鼻气味扑面而来，皇后看着自己织锦锦绣的凤裙里兜满了皇帝呕出的秽物，心中掠过一丝厌弃。再细看时，那些黄白汤水里竟然漂着一股猩红，她心中一惊，忍不住哭出了声来。 “还不快传太医！”徐太后厉声道。 皇帝悠悠醒转，仰头见一位珠围翠绕的美人抱着他，似曾相识又真伪莫辨，不觉张了张嘴。皇后凑近了些，听了三个字，模模糊糊的像是“对不起”。她不觉呆住，疑心自己听错了。 因为皇帝突然病倒，这场中秋晚宴只能草草收场。徐太后命人立刻将太素殿收拾出来，把皇帝挪了进去。皇后则领着众妃嫔候在殿中不敢走，连谢迤逦母子亦另辟一室叫人看了起来——生怕乱中有个差池。 一众皇子亲王、公主驸马当然也不敢走，都跪在殿外丹墀上。秋凉露重，玉阶生寒，更兼皇帝病危情势不明，各人心中皆是惶惶不安，谁都不敢多说一句话。而那个“气病了皇帝”的倒霉戏班，自然是被带下去大刑伺候着了。 杨楝跪在人群后面，将夜宴，南戏，洛神，扇子，诗赋，杨樗，汪道昆……他将晚间诸般异象一一琢磨过来，忽然想起扮洛神的那个小旦，分明是上回和冯觉非碰面时留在门外弹琴唱曲的那个歌伎！ 难怪那么眼熟！他又惊又怕，他们把这个局做得如此巧妙，连他都被瞒过了。依方才的情形，皇帝即刻就要对杨樗动怒，可是……熙宁大长公主死得真不是时候。 他心中暗叹，不由得回过头朝蓬莱山望去，歌尽筵空，水色沉沉，蓬莱山上的灯火次第熄灭。这时她定然已知道了消息，他想。如果他不与她为难，或者她还来得及与外祖母见上最后一面……然而，公主既死，她便再没有理由闹着要回去，这样也好……可是，她定然恨极了他，她定然一边哭一边骂他……这些乱七八糟的念头霎时淹没过了他，他试图摆脱这些根本不要紧的事，认真面对眼前的诡局，然而每隔一阵子便不知不觉陷入对她的种种想象，似乎隔着一池茫茫烟水，能清晰地听到她的哭泣声。 直跪了一个多时辰，殿中才传出旨意，道龙体稍安，并无大碍，请诸位回家安歇。众人如蒙大赦，迅速离场。杨楝暗暗舒口气只想赶快走人，却又听见李彦拖长声音道：“请福王殿下与徵王殿下少待片刻。” 杨楝的心顿时抽紧了，撩起衣摆重又跪下。一时人都走空了，杨樗亦被领入殿中，偌大的丹墀上只剩下他一个人孤零零跪着，情势透着十二分的诡异。 难道皇帝怀疑上他了？还是……今晚的戏文果然挑起了他的妒意？ 他跪于冰凉的砖地上，心如火焚，思似转轴，唯恐什么时候一道圣旨出来，他就被扔进了宗人府大牢。他暗暗打量着进出的内官，并没有熟识可靠之人，今晚是李彦当值，周录一直没有出现。一时郑半山背着药箱出来，趁空朝他这边走了几步，却是还未开口，就被李彦催着离开了。 杨楝忍不住问道：“请教李公公，陛下传我，所为何事？” 李彦笑道：“陛下并没有传唤殿下，只是教殿下等着。这殿中多有妃嫔宫眷，咱家也不方便请您进去，只好委屈您了。” 杨楝别过头，只当没听出这阉人话中的嘲讽之意。 杨樗进去了很久，久得他又忍不住胡思乱想——难道是皇帝病得快要死了？这个念头令他一激灵，如果是那样，他是该松一口气，还是该遗憾对方死太早而徐家尚未倒台？到那时等待他的命运又是什么？ 想到这里他反倒清明了些，皇帝把他留在这里不许走，只怕是担心他趁危逼宫。他心中苦笑，他拿什么逼宫，何况还有徐太后虎视眈眈。 更深露重，月落乌啼。挑灯值夜的内官都换了一班，只他一人长跪不起。他直了直冻得僵冷的腰背。沉沉夜色中，巍峨的太素殿有如一头低伏不动的巨兽，双目幽暗，爪牙尖利，看似宁静庄严，却随时会扑上来将他撕成碎片，碾作齑粉。 他所跪的这片丹墀清冷而黑暗，远处几个值夜的内官皆一动不动，形如死人。方才夜宴灯火通明、衣锦烂漫，倏忽间消散无形，只如一场春梦——尤其是对于他，繁华是别人的戏，只这清冷黑暗才是他的真相。 远处湖中的蓬莱山亦幽暗无人，山脚却有一点光亮晃动。他一时以为是草中萤火，然而那一点星光持久不灭，沿着山脚缓缓移动，最后竟然停下了，再也没有走开。 大约是钟鼓司的内官提着灯笼巡夜吧，他久久地注视着远处这一点光亮。墨黑苍穹之下，烟水风露之间，唯有一灯如豆，散出浅淡而温热的光晕，直到日出时分都未曾泯灭。