Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Duanfei Yuebin

Just as I was about to thank you, a weak woman's voice came from behind: "Zhen Jieyu was with Ben Gong that night." Hearing this, he was startled, and instinctively turned his head to look.It was Concubine Duan standing outside Shende Hall supported by maids on the left and right. Slightly dazed, she couldn't come to her senses in a hurry. Concubine Duan came in slowly and tremblingly wanted to salute, Xuanling said: "Didn't I tell you to excuse me earlier?" Fu wondered again: "Why did you come out? Didn't the imperial doctor tell you not to go out due to the heat?" In the room, a court lady moved a big rosewood chair to ask her to sit down.

Concubine Duan said: "I just came here not long ago, I saw that there seemed to be a big event in the hall, so I stopped for a while and didn't dare to come in." The queen sighed: "Concubine Duan, is it better not seeing you for a while?" Concubine Duan sat on the empress's hands, bowed her body and said submissively: "I should have come to pay respects to the emperor and empress every day, but I am ashamed that I am in poor health. I heard that Empress Wenyi was unwell early this morning, so I was worried, so I rushed to take a look." He smiled at Xuan Ling again: "Fortunately, the concubine is here, otherwise I'm afraid this Shendetang will sing."

Xuan Ling said: "Concubine Duan just said that she was with Zhen Jieyu that night, is it true?" Concubine Duan smiled faintly, and said eloquently: "It's the concubine Yechen who saw Jieyu coming out of the Fuli Palace alone from afar, and seemed drunk. She was worried for a while, so she went to take care of her with her maid, and met Jieyu at the Yudai Bridge by the Moon Lake. Walking to the Yuhua Pavilion where the concubine lives, we chatted very happily and chatted for a long time." Her smile was like a pale cloud, and she turned to the maid beside her and said, "Ruyi."

The maid named "Ruyi" knelt down and said: "Yes. That night, the empress and the young master talked about Buddhist scriptures in the Yuhua Pavilion, and it was very congenial. Later, the young master said that it was late and hurried back to Fuli hall." The queen smiled and said: "In this case, the matter of Empress Wen Yi has nothing to do with Zhen Jieyu." Concubine Hua turned her eyes sweetly, looked at Concubine Duan and said: "Sister Concubine Duan came by such a coincidence, it's like timely rain." She said with a half-smile, her eyebrows raised slightly, "I heard that my sister has been ill so she is recuperating in the palace, why is that so?" Wan Wan is in such a good mood that he disregards the doctor's orders and walks out at night?"

Concubine Duan showed a slight blushing expression, and said in a calm manner: "It is true that people who have been ill for a long time are not suitable to go out. But after being in the palace for a long time, he was also very bored. He heard that there was a banquet in the palace that night, and he thought it would not disturb others, so he brought the maid with him. Come out to relax." After speaking, he looked at me with a gentle smile, "I don't want Bengong and Zhen Jieyu to be so predestined." No matter how smart I am, I know that Concubine Duan is helping me, but I don't know why she helped me so abruptly, I can't figure out the ins and outs.However, I couldn't bear to think too much, and then smiled and said: "Yes. The concubine thinks the same way."

"Oh?" Concubine Hua's eyes narrowed slightly, her long eyelashes cast a pair of crow-green arcs on the snow-white powder surface, the golden beads on the eyelashes seemed to be overwhelmed, and they shone so densely that they seemed dazzling , Extraordinary luxury.She said: "Then I have a question, why didn't Jieyu tell the story of her encounter with Concubine Duan just now? There is no need to suffer so much for nothing." Concubine Duan was about to speak when she suddenly coughed and gasped for breath, she just pointed at me with her face flushed. I understood immediately, and said neither humble nor overbearing: "The concubine shouldn't hide the emperor's empress, but the concubine Duan's concubine went out that day. That day the empress made an appointment with the concubine to keep others from knowing about it. Who would have thought that the matter of the emperor would be involved? The concubine thought that the emperor's sageness and the empress's wisdom would surely make the truth clear and return the concubine's innocence. Besides, the concubine did not want to break his promise Concubine Duan, keep her mouth shut."

Concubine Hua wanted to say something more, but Concubine Duan had recovered and said slowly, "Why doesn't Concubine Hua believe it?" Concubine Hua said: "It's not that my sister is suspicious, it's just that my sister seems to know Zhen Jieyu very well." Concubine Duan smiled faintly, "Ben Gong and Jieyu had only met each other before, and the first time we met was at Wen Yi's first birthday ceremony. Does Concubine Hua mean that I intend to protect it?" She said sadly and shook her head, "Ben Gong A sick body should not be troublesome, so why lie to protect a newly promoted Jieyu."

Seeing Concubine Duan's weak state and being so sad in front of Concubine Hua, everyone couldn't help but look sideways at Concubine Hua.Concubine Hua was speechless and had no choice but to say: "I didn't think so, Concubine Duan's sister is overthinking." Regardless of what the two of them said, Xuan Ling got up and walked in front of me, and stretched out his hand to pull me up, "My Jieyu is not inferior to the ancients." The bottom of my heart secretly let out a sigh of relief, the marble floor was extremely hard, and I lost feeling in my legs after kneeling for a long time.Gritting his teeth, he pressed lightly on the ground with his hand, Fang put Xuan Ling's hand on and struggled to stand up, not wanting his knees to give way, and leaned into his arms.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he couldn't help being embarrassed, and his face suddenly became hot.Concubine Hua gritted her teeth slightly, turned her face away and stopped looking.The queen smiled and said: "Sit down first, let the imperial doctor take a good look at it later, the clothes are thin in summer, don't make any trouble kneeling." She said and glanced at Concubine Hua. Immediately, a courteous maid put a chair beside Concubine Duan and asked me to sit down.Seeing that I was sitting still, Xuan Ling let go of my hand. Concubine Duan turned her eyes to look around at the maids standing behind the concubines, coughed a few times and paled, and said slowly: "Sister Hua is right if she doesn't believe what I say. Just now, I heard a court lady say that she saw Jieyu going to Misty Rain that night. In the direction of fasting, it is better to clarify it again, so as to avoid disputes about this matter in the future. I wonder what the emperor and queen think?"

The queen said: "Of course it is good." She spoke with a rather stern tone, "Which two people testified against Zhen Jieyu just now? Come out by yourself." Immediately, two palace maids knelt down on the ground with a "plop", their faces paled and they bent down to the ground.The queen said: "Did you both witness Zhen Jieyu entering the Misty Rain Chamber with your own eyes?" A court lady said: "This servant saw Jieyu going towards Yanyuzhai, as for whether she went in...it seems...it seems?" "What do you mean by seeming? It's simply 'unnecessary'." Looking at another court lady, "What about you?"

She kowtowed her head even lower, and said in a panic: "Your servant only sees Jieyu alone." The queen ignored them and just said, "What do you think, Your Majesty?" Xuan Ling showed a look of disgust, "The queen can decide. There is only one thing, don't condone the bad habit of palace people who are chasing after rumors." The queen ordered Jiang Fuhai beside him to say: "Pull it down and slap each other fifty times, just to warn others." There were crisp and loud slaps and the crying of the court lady outside the window, Concubine Hua just turned a deaf ear to it, turned her head and instantly raised her eyelashes, looked at Cao Jieyu quickly, and immediately sat down with her eyes down as if nothing had happened. Cao Jieyu embraced Wen Yi and stepped forward in shame, "I made a mistake just now, sister Jieyu, I'm really sorry." I just shook my head: "No need. As a mother and sister, if you care about it, you will be chaotic." Concubine Hua forced a smile and said: "I misunderstood Jieyu just now, it was because I cared about the emperor that I acted too hastily, please don't take offense at Jieyu." I smiled and looked at her: "How could it be. The concubine understands what she wants." Concubine Hua was choked by me, and had no way to refute, so she said: "It's good that Jieyu understands." The atmosphere was still a bit stiff, Concubine Duan leaned on the chair and smiled lightly at Xuan Ling: "The concubine heard a beautiful singing from the Fuli Hall that day, it was very familiar, who sang it?" Xuanling was slightly taken aback, but the queen said beforehand: "It's the newly promoted An Meiren. No wonder you are familiar with it from afar, she is the one who sings in the palace these days." She called Ling Rong to go forward to Concubine Duan hello. Concubine Duan took her hand and looked at her carefully for a while, then said: "You are very handsome. Congratulations to the emperor for getting another beautiful woman." Xuan Ling smiled and nodded, I was secretly puzzled, I used to think that Concubine Duan was weak, but when I didn't think about it, she was thoughtful and calm, but when it came to compliments, there was only one sentence "Congratulations to the emperor for winning another beautiful woman", after congratulating me, I congratulated her again Mausoleum, really nothing new. Xuanling personally sent me back to the Yifu Hall and just returned to Shuilv Nanxun Hall to handle government affairs. Sitting for a while, guessing that although Concubine Duan was walking slowly, she should have passed the mirror bridge in front of Yifu Pavilion, so she took Jinxi and walked out slowly.As a result, she saw Concubine Duan sitting on her shoulder and walking slowly. Yili stood aside and waited for the shoulder to pass by.Concubine Duan saw me, called "Stop", and got off the sedan chair on the maid's shoulder, and said, "It's a coincidence. Why don't Jieyu accompany me for a walk." As promised.All the way in the shade of the tung tree, dense with phoenix tails, gradually drifting away, the surroundings are silent and only the chirping of birds is heard.The personal maid followed from afar, I half supported Concubine Duan's arm, and said softly: "Thank you, Ma'am, for saving the concubine today. It's just..." She just walked forward and said for a moment: "You don't need to thank me, I want to help you for my own reasons." I looked at her suspiciously, "Your Majesty believes that concubines are innocent?" Her smile was as thin as a floating cloud, and she said gently: "I saw you coming alone from the direction of Tonghua Terrace and passing by the gate of my palace, and I knew it would not be you after careful calculation." I said: "I was in such a hurry that day that I didn't see my mother greet my mother. I was really rude. I hope my mother will forgive me." "It doesn't matter. Bengong only listened carefully outside the palace gate for a while when he heard the singing is moving." She sighed, then smiled again: "An Meiren's singing voice is so young, it makes me feel that the time has passed so fast .” I smiled and said, "Your Majesty is in her prime, she is as beautiful as a flower, how can she lament the time." She smiled: "Where is the beauty?" She said, her eyes were firmly locked on my face. I was embarrassed by her look, and whispered: "Ms. Duanfei." She regained her composure, Fang Wen said softly: "Jieyu is the real beauty, no wonder the emperor likes you so much." I said modestly, "Your Majesty made fun of me." She leaned on a bamboo pole and rested next to the beautiful woman by the lake, "I saw Jieyu looking anxious that day, but she looked sad, I don't know why?" I hesitated for a while and she said: "Jieyu doesn't want to say It doesn't matter. Although I usually don't have much contact with people, I have heard a little about the affairs in the palace, so I don't know everything about it." I inadvertently played with the silk sash tied with concentric knots on the skirt, looking at the lake and mountains, the lotus in the half of the lake was already green, fat, red and thin, which seemed to be withered.I just kept silent. Concubine Duan's eyes were clear and clear, her long black hair was rolled up in a high bun, and her temples were also the color of cold emerald green, with a faint halo, "Why should Jieyu be so sad? This is a person who hides from the world, so there are some things that I don't need to say. But Jieyu should understand that in ancient times, the feelings of men are nothing more than nothing, let alone the king of a country? If Jieyu is sad, she is only embarrassing herself. " Feeling dissatisfied, he asked, "Is there no emperor who loves only one person?" Concubine Duan said a lot in one breath, panting, with a smile still on her face: "The first emperor loved Concubine Shu so much, it's not because there are empress dowagers and concubines, and there are so many children. The undecided heart of a king is even more extraordinary. Man, you have to be open-minded. Otherwise, you will only suffer." I said: "Yes. Your mother's words are reasonable. The concubine understands." Concubine Duan said: "Whether it is reasonable or not is the second. It is good that Jieyu understands." Concubine Duan stopped talking for a long time and concentrated on watching the big and small red carps swimming in the lake.I also folded a branch of green willow and played with it in my hand. I flicked the long willow branches to stir up the nononong water plants like gossamer in the water, making them entangled.Concubine Duan carefully watched the little carp parading behind the big carp, she felt pity in her tone, and said quietly: "Emperor Concubine Wen Yi is very cute, but unfortunately she has a bad life." I heard her say it strangely, so I couldn't help but smile and said: "Why did the concubine Duan make such a statement? Although Diji is weak, she is also a golden branch and jade leaf, protected by gods and Buddhas." Concubine Duan was a little disappointed, and suddenly revealed a look of disgust: "The gods and Buddhas all over the sky only know how to enjoy incense, so how can you have time to take care of the suffering of the world. Besides, if the little devil is in trouble, I'm afraid the gods and Buddhas will not be able to protect you." I was speechless inwardly, I didn't want Concubine Duan to look weak, but her temperament was so stubborn, I couldn't help but gradually develop a good impression of her. She continued: "Cao Qinmo's child couldn't be born at all. She was pregnant at the wrong time. She was born prematurely and in an incorrect fetal position. She almost took her life with her. That's why the emperor loves this child very much." She sighed, " The children in this palace seem to be noble, but in fact, there are many more disasters than children outside." Knowing that Concubine Duan has no children for many years, she is very sensitive on the issue of offspring, so I comforted her, "Your Majesty has a kind heart, and you should take good care of her on a daily basis so that you can give birth to a prince and concubine for the emperor as soon as possible." Concubine Duan smiled bitterly: "Cheng Jieyu said auspiciously. It's just that I'm afraid I won't have such a blessing." I was sad when I heard the words, but I didn't feel any big difference, and said: "Your Majesty is in her prime, why bother to say such unlucky things." She looked up at the sky, and said quietly: "If you get this wish, Yuebin would like to lose ten years of his life." After she finished speaking, she turned her head sadly, her face was as thin as a piece of white paper under the bright sunlight, "I'm afraid that even if I lose half my life, I can't do it." I got what I wanted." Maybe she has a hidden disease and is not suitable for pregnancy, so I can't help but secretly feel sorry for her. She stopped talking, and said to me: "This matter is aimed at Jieyu, Jieyu is good at taking care of herself. I can protect you for a while, but I can't do everything like this." I said: "Yes. Thank you for your thoughtfulness, my concubine will come to visit my wife when I have time." She shook her head, probably because she was not feeling well, and her voice became weaker, "No need. It's not convenient to see people due to illness. Besides..." She glanced at me politely, and said softly: "It will only be beneficial if Bengong and Jieyu don't meet each other .” Although I don't understand, but I deeply feel that Concubine Duan has a deep meaning in her way of dealing with people, and she is also unexpected.Then he nodded and said, "Yes." While talking, Concubine Duan was panting more and more quickly, and the maid beside her hurriedly took out a porcelain bottle to feed her two jet-black pills, and said to me with a smile, "I'm reporting back to my lord Jieyu, it's almost time for your majesty to take the medicine. " I half-kneeled and said: "The concubine will not bother you. Send your empress respectfully." She forced a smile and nodded, struggled to help the little palace maid's hand on her shoulder and walked away all the way. -------------------------------------------------- --- Notes: