Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty-Three

After two days, the snow was still falling. It seems that the plum blossoms in a certain palace are in bloom, and there is a faint fragrance in the air.The snow in the palace is always swirling down and sweeping. At this time, there is no floating snow on the ground, and the cold wind blows through the alley, and the snow water condenses into a thin layer of ice. I walked to Kunning Palace wearing wooden shoes. The snow sweepers in the palace were all the low-ranking little Sula eunuchs sent by the palaces, and they were all among the children.Ju Xiang, who was walking behind, let out a happy laugh from time to time, feeling a sense of relief in her heart, no matter where she was, the child's mind was pure.

Walking slowly, I didn't realize that I had reached the east end of Kunning Palace where Queen Ulanara lived.Looking around, Cui Zhu was directing a dozen or so little eunuchs to sweep the snow.Seeing me coming, she hurriedly walked two steps over, grabbed my hand with one hand, and wiped the falling snow off my body with the other.Gently holding her hand, she asked: "Is the queen in the palace?" Her expression changed, and with a slight smile on her face, she murmured: "The emperor is also here." Seeing her troubled, I smiled slightly and said: "Then I'll come back later." After that, I turned around and walked along the way I came, my mind was empty, I didn't want to know the reason why he came here, after all, he is also her lover.Ju Xiang behind me didn't know what she was talking about, and ignored her. I seemed to be fascinated by the snow scene in front of me.Looking out from here, the entire Forbidden City has been covered with heavy snow, and there seems to be no boundary between heaven and earth, and it is all foggy.The willow trees beside the road are all hung with snow hangers, and the wind blows in a thousand ways, and the light snow dust and snow powder drift on the ground like dust and white smoke.

Her legs and feet seemed to be unconscious, but she was just walking in a numb manner, seeing Ju Xiang at her side holding her hands and shrugging her shoulders.Stopped, smiled at her and said: "Go back, I'll walk again." Ju Xiang looked happy, then shook her head and said: "The road is very slippery, I'd better accompany you." With an unquestionable look on her face, she turned around and walked away quickly without making a sound. Putting away the smile on his face, he didn't know what it was like in his heart, and he was in a daze, when he suddenly heard the sound of wooden teeth and shoes behind him.Turning around and looking, it turned out that Cuizhu led four eunuchs walking quickly with a warm sedan chair.Seeing me standing here, she looked happy, and trotted over to put a hand warmer into my hand. Before I could speak, she had surrounded me and walked towards the warm sedan chair, and said as she walked, "When the queen hears that you are coming However, I urgently called my servants to look for you, if I hadn’t met Ju Xiang, I wouldn’t have known you were here.”

It is indeed warmer in the palace than in the garden. As soon as I entered the Kunning Palace, the warm air was already blowing in. The maids in the room were not even wearing cotton-padded clothes. Seeing that the green bamboo led me in, they retreated stiffly. Give way to both sides.Walking slowly, I heard the sound of Ying and Yan. When the woman spoke, she was a little startled, there were other concubines here.As soon as the footsteps slowed down, the green bamboo beside me said: "It seems that someone is here, was the queen alone just now?" Now that I have come here, there is no reason to go back, I let out a sigh of relief, with a smile on my face I mean, I walked in slowly.

Seeing me go in, Empress Ulanara stood up, stepped forward, took my hand and sat beside her.Sit down, I nodded to the people sitting next to me, but found that there were not many people I knew except Concubine Qi. Maybe it's because everyone is unfamiliar with me, or maybe it's for some other reason. They all looked at me up and down with researching eyes in their eyes. .Empress Ulanara snorted softly, and everyone hurriedly sat down solemnly, but they couldn't find anything to say for a while. I sighed secretly, and said with a light smile, "I'm here to thank the empress, I like that fox fur cloak very much." She still held my hand, smiled and said, "Your sister, as long as you like it, that's fine." It’s just that my younger sister should call me older sister in the future, it sounds more useful.” Gently lowering his head, since he has expressed what he wants to say clearly, there is no need to stay and chatter, maybe he is the least a popular one.Just about to get up to resign, Concubine Qi said with a smile: "Miss Xiaowen, why don't you like it? It was originally made for the empress." She was shocked, and was about to stand up and kneel to thank her, Concubine Qi said again: " Sisters, this is Miss Xiaowen that you have always wanted to see." Immediately, all the women looked at me and started talking in low voices.

He glanced coldly at Concubine Qi, looked at Empress Ulanara, held her hand instead and said, "Thank you sister for loving me so much." She smiled at me, then suppressed her smile and said to Concubine Qi: " Back off." Hearing this, Concubine Qi blushed and stood up abruptly, a little daring to speak out, hesitated for a while, glared at me and walked away, and the rest of the people also dispersed. Ulanara looked at me quietly, sighed softly, and said, "Sister, if there is anything to do in the future, just send someone here. Sister knows that you don't want to see us. The emperor also confessed, don't bother you if there is nothing to do. "I kept silent, since I dismissed the crowd, she should have said more than that.She continued: "This palace is like a dragon's pond and a tiger's lair. Everyone is staring at each person and each seat. Everyone wants to eat people but is afraid of being eaten by others. Now the princes are getting bigger, and there are individual people in the court hall. There are clues that the ministers and workers are entangled with the same party. This is not something that the harem should manage, but there are factions behind every prince. Although the emperor has taken precautions, some things are still unpredictable. Therefore, the emperor should not be too cold in the harem at this time, after all The emperor's favor is an honor to the families behind the concubines, and the emperor also needs these families."

Although her heart was twisted like a knife and burned like a fire, she still frowned and smiled, and said softly: "That's natural." Ulanara looked at me for a long time, and seeing that I was still smiling lightly, she relaxed slightly. He took a deep breath and said: "It seems that I was worrying too much." Suddenly feeling a fishy throat, I tried my best to endure it, stood up and said in a hurry: "Sister, sister is leaving now." She stared at me for a while, gently He responded lightly. After stumbling around for a long time, he finally couldn't hold back, and spat out a mouthful of blood with a "wow".The bright red blood spread around on the snow, and after a long time, it solidified, and the wind and snow blew past, and it was completely silent again.

Standing quietly outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation without moving, I don't know how many hours have passed.He moved forward a bit, his legs and feet were no longer in charge, and he sat on the ground with a "boom", rubbing his numb legs.After a while, he seemed to have some consciousness, slowly stood up, and walked over step by step. Entering the main hall, his face was a little pale under the illumination of the palace lantern, and he stood there looking at him quietly. At this time, he only frowned and smiled according to the content of the memorial... At this time, he was serious, forget me.Suddenly, he frowned, feeling a little lost in a daze.And Gao Wuyong next to him raised the plate that he had been holding all the time, he didn't look at it but just flipped over one casually.

He retreated to the corner of the hall, leaned against the wall and held his heart, a little out of breath, his throat seemed to have some fishy smell, he tightly covered his mouth with his hands, and staggered out. "Miss Xiaowen." Gao Wuyong's panicked voice came from behind him, and he immediately stepped forward to support me. I felt my hands were sticky, maybe blood was flowing from the corner of my mouth.Yinzhen had already walked over quickly, seeing my appearance, his face turned pale all of a sudden, he hugged me violently, and roared at Gao Wuyong: "Quickly send the imperial physician."

Weakly paralyzed in his arms, I let him wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth, staring at his anxious face with scattered eyes, not knowing whether I hurt him or myself.Suddenly, he didn't understand why he had such a big reaction. Could it be that he was confused by the sweet days in the garden these days and forgot that he had many women. Why couldn't he bear the facts he already knew? In a daze, in a trance, someone kept calling my name softly in my ear, suddenly far and near, and it was a little unreal.I felt as if medicine had been poured into my mouth, and I gradually lost consciousness completely.

Woke up again, looked at the gray sky through the window lattice, and looked at the faint yellow palace lantern in the room, not sure if it was morning or night.Looking around the room, he found a familiar figure lying on the table. The past came to his mind instantly, as if seeing a long-lost relative, and cried out sadly: "Qiaohui." Qiaohui Xu was sleeping very lightly, she straightened up suddenly and walked towards me quickly, sat on the edge of the bed, held my hand tightly and said: "Miss, you finally woke up, Qiaohui was so worried." Tears It quietly flowed down the cheeks, and there was a warmth in my heart in an instant. She wiped my tears and said: "Juxiang, this little girl, the waiter really doesn't care. If it wasn't for the words of Long Live, Eunuch Gao would definitely call me. Make her ass bloom." Surprised, she stood up and said, "Then how is she now?" Qiaohui pushed me on the bed, and said, "Eunuch Gao wanted to punish her, but Lord Long Live told you to wait until you wake up." , the servant guesses that she doesn't want to touch the people around you." Lying on the bed in silence for a while, sorting out some confused thoughts, she asked her, "Why are you here today?" Take care of you like I used to take care of my second lady. It’s really hard to say what is going on in this world. It seems that there is a destiny in the dark, and all your experiences are just like the second lady.” I suppressed my heartache and asked: “What about Cheng Huan? What to do?" She shook her head lightly and said, "Gege is much more sensible these days, so you don't need to worry." Qiaohui is probably old, and she kept talking in a rambling manner. I listened a little casually, and my eyes stared at the window unconsciously. The sky seemed to be getting darker, but I could still see sporadic snowflakes like tidbits to fall.Suddenly he heard the door knock, and looked away, it turned out to be him. Qiaohui and Gao Wuyong, who was standing by the door, retreated together. He frowned and stared at me. Although his face was cold, there was a warm glow in his eyes.My eyes became hot, and I suddenly remembered what happened that day in my mind, and a heart-pounding pain hit my heart, and I couldn't help but caress my heart.His face tightened, he stepped forward quickly and took me into his arms, rubbed my heart gently, and asked in a worried voice: "But you're not feeling well again?" Without answering his inquiry, he suddenly had an idea in his heart, raised his hand to caress his face carefully, and moved down from his face, groping to unbutton his clothes with some trembling.He seemed to know my intention, grabbed my hand and hugged my body tightly, so tight that I was a little suffocated.In an instant, he hurriedly put me on the bed again, and walked quickly to the door.Frustrated in his heart, he called out in despair: "Yinzhen." Hearing this, he faltered, turned around and looked at me steadily, after a while, he sighed softly, came over and lay down beside me . She hugged him tightly with the arm that was pillowing him, and while moving her hands up and down on him, she asked, "I've always wondered why you were sure that I was Ruoxi, but you never asked, why? He took a breath, grabbed my restless hand and put it on his chest, and said, "Don't talk about the many coincidences before, it's about the first night when you were taken back to the palace, your sleeping posture, The touch of your body and the feeling of you lying next to me are all so familiar. There is only one woman in this world who can lay her head in my arms, and that is Ruoxi, and that night Although you are not awake, you still crawled into my arms and put your pillow on my arm, and your words, that is the secret between me and Ruoxi." After a pause, he continued: "Together with the roommate The shyness at the time was exactly the same as hers, do I still need to ask?" He turned around, stared at me and said: "As for what happened to you, I don't want to ask, as long as you are by my side." After that, he tucked the corner of the quilt for me and lay down flat.I turned my body sideways and continued with the same action just now. With a grunt in his throat, he once again blocked my hand and said in a muffled voice, "Oh... I'm old..." Looking at his tense face, I felt that his body was also stiff, and I knew in my heart that he was pity for my body that had just recovered from the illness, so I stretched my hands straight down to his lower body, and he exclaimed, as if he couldn't help it, and turned over , Sometimes wild, sometimes gentle, I also put aside my previous restraint and tried my best to cater to him. Caressing his back with some forgetfulness, he whispered in his ear: "Do you still want it?" Instantly, his consciousness came back, and his face felt hot.Pushing him hard, he giggled, turned over and lay down on his back. Perhaps he was sleepy, and after a while, he let out even breathing sounds.I lay motionless and blinking my eyes by his side, wondering whether I could conceive a child as I wished if I deliberately had intercourse with him during the dangerous period.But after thinking about it again, I felt like a traveler walking in the dark. If I was not careful, I would be snatched by ghosts and beasts that sprang out from somewhere. How could I want my own child to fall into it again?His body trembled uncontrollably, and he regretted what he had just done. His body was exhausted, but his consciousness was clear. He kept thinking about what would happen if he had a child... and kept thinking about how many children he had in the history books... Just like this, he was in a daze, seeing Qiaohui hugging him. As a child came over, I hurriedly patted Yinzhen and said, "The child is here to see Ama, get up quickly." Qiaohui had already handed over the child with a smile on her face, and a girl carved in pink and jade appeared in front of my eyes, gently caressing her delicate face, and Yinzhen who was at the side came over and said, "Lan 葸, Let Ama hug me." Just as she was about to hand it over, she suddenly saw the girl's body gradually fade away, like a cloud of dark smoke, scattered in the room without a trace, shocked in her heart, and shouted that strange name: " Orchid, orchid..." When I woke up suddenly, my mind was still in chaos, and everything in the dream went through my mind again.Looking out, the night was dark, and he leaned closer to him. In his sleep, he seemed to sense my uneasiness, and he turned around and hugged me in his arms. Half-asleep and half-awake until it was twilight, he gently broke away from his hand, got up to comb, and opened the door to go outside, but he saw Gao Wuyong standing outside the door with his neck curled up.I was slightly startled, and immediately understood that he was waiting for Yinzhen's morning court, seeing that I had already woken up, Gao Wuyong bowed and said: "It's past the time for the court today, I don't know your majesty..." Looking at the sky, it was indeed later than usual Some, turned around and went into the room and sat on the edge of the bed, caressing his face gently, he woke up with a start. After he came to court in the morning, I unconsciously paced around the room, murmuring the name in my mouth: "Lan He." Since I followed him wholeheartedly, why couldn't I make up my mind to bear a child for him and myself?The water is naturally straight up to the bow of the boat, so why insist on making it difficult for yourself?I should trust him and believe that he can protect our child well. As long as the child I give birth has nothing to do with the throne and will not change history, why should I worry about it? Thinking of this, my whole body felt relaxed. I looked at the sky, counted the time, and walked briskly to the outside.Standing outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation and listening for a while, it was so quiet, it should have retreated. Seeing me enter the hall, he waved with a smile on his face, and walked over to sit beside him.Looking at the mountain of memorials on the case, he sighed secretly and shook his head lightly. He smiled lightly, tapped my forehead and said, "I don't know what you've been thinking about all day long." I pretended not to care. Authentic: "If I have a son, I will definitely not let him be the emperor." He was slightly stunned for a while, then hugged me vigorously, without saying a word, and silently began to read the brochure again. Xu Shi didn't sleep much at night, and he felt a little drowsy sitting there. After a while, he unconsciously fell asleep on the desk.After an unknown amount of time, Gao Wuyong's voice came from his ear, and Gao Wuyong said softly: "After Prince Yi left, although Di Fujin is protecting her, the life of Miss Luwu is still difficult..." His heart was shocked, and he suddenly He raised his head and asked, "What happened to Luwu?" Gao Wuyong seemed to be taken aback, "Deng Deng" took a step back, staring at me blankly, Yinzhen waved his hand, and he hurriedly backed away. Seeing the anxious expression on my face, he said: "Yesterday, Lu Wu was scalded. Yu Ning entered the palace early this morning." Immediately, he understood the mystery. Wu is full of affection, and his fellow Fujins must be full of complaints. These days, Thirteen and Hongli are going to sacrifice to heaven, how can they let this opportunity go.If not, how could Mrs. Zhao Jia go to the palace to find the imperial doctor in person?I pondered for a while, and said: "I want to take Cheng Huan to live in the palace for a few days." He stared at my face in silence for a while, then smiled and said, "If it wasn't for Luwu, wouldn't you be afraid of being misunderstood by you so much about Shisan?" He wrapped his fingers around the belt of the sachet around his waist and said: " I have confidence in you." He smiled dumbly, feeling a little helpless towards me. Lying on the bed, Luwu was lying on his back on the pillow with eyes closed and lethargic, with a look of pain between his brows, clenching his teeth and pursing his mouth tightly, his left arm was wrapped in a thick cloth, and his whole arm was wrapped like a rice dumpling.Listening to the sound, she opened her eyes, with joy shining in her eyes, staring at Cheng Huan eagerly.Cheng Huan raised his head and looked at me in a daze, and then looked back at Luwu faintly, the smile at the corners of Luwu's eyes froze on his face, as if he was extremely disappointed and sad. Just as she was about to comfort her, Mrs. Zhao Jia brought the imperial doctor in, gave me a slight nod, walked to the bed and said: "My sister is suffering, my sister has invited the imperial doctor from the palace, I hope my sister can recover soon. Luwu smiled lightly and said, "Thank you, sister." The imperial physician observed carefully for a long time, then shook his head and said, "The wound has already festered, and the cloth must be taken off and reapplied. Fujin has to hold back the pain." Lu Wu glanced at Cheng Huan, a wry smile flashed from the corner of her mouth, she still said lightly: "I can hold on, just don't scare Ge Ge." Cheng Huan also seemed to have noticed some clues, and silently glanced at me, she said "Auntie, Cheng Huan is not afraid." In an instant, Lu Wu's face was pale and her lips trembled.It seems that Cheng Huan really forgot what Lu Wu looked like, and he regretted bringing Cheng Huan here. Seeing the cloth being torn off along with the flesh, Cheng Huan plunged into my arms, not daring to look up again, while Lu Wu stared blankly at Cheng Huan, as if she could no longer feel the pain in her body.Mrs. Zhaojia probably knew the ins and outs of the matter, looked at Luwu, looked at Chenghuan, and wiped away tears from time to time.The imperial physician also seemed frightened by Luwu, perhaps he had never seen such a strong woman.After carefully applying the medicine, he gave Zhao Jia a thousand words: "Ci Fujin's wound can't be bandaged, it needs to be taken internally and externally on a regular basis, and it needs to be well nourished to heal quickly." Walking up to my side, the imperial doctor gave a thousand strokes, and turned around to go out.After thinking for a while, I said: "The imperial physician stays, but is there any other doctor's order?" The imperial physician glanced at me and said, "I don't dare to say the doctor's order, but it's better not to move Fujin's arms these days, and the nurses should not be careless." After saying that, he backed out. I lowered my head and told Cheng Huan to find Qiaohui, then looked at Zhao Jiashi quietly, she probably knew why I was looking at her like this, she breathed lightly, signaled with her eyes to go out together, and followed her to the outside room.Sitting face to face, she glanced at me, and said: "During the ten years when I was imprisoned, the Fujins in the mansion suffered very hard, but after I came out, I only doted on Huizhi. In addition, although I have many children But the Lord loves Cheng Huan alone, so of course they won't feel good. This time, Hui Zhi was wronged. Even if he knew that girl did it on purpose, and who was behind it, what could I do? What? I had no choice but to punish that girl severely, and Huizhi also confessed not to make any big moves." It was jealous again, and... a little helpless in my heart, I had no resentment towards her, and looked at her with a faint smile: "You still Remember the last time I scalded my girl, let her serve Huizhi with Qiaohui." She thought for a while, with a wry smile on her lips, and said: "Master is back..." Knowing what she was worried about, she smiled at her indifferently and said, "Since Huizhi has said not to pursue it, if Fujin takes good care of her in the future, I believe ten The third master will deal with this matter calmly." After a few days, Luwu's wounds had healed, leaving behind Qiaohui and Chenghuan, who left the mansion with the girl named Hongyu.The snow on the side of the road is already half a foot thick, and the snow is still falling quickly and slowly, falling on the branches and roofs... The usual gray houses, restaurants, teahouses, and even ordinary courtyard houses, After such a little embellishment by Bai Xue, it becomes crystal clear and bright, exquisite and incomparable.The snow is so white that it is dazzling, squinting your eyes and looking into the distance, the children are skating on the ice excitedly. The two of them wandered aimlessly one after the other. Although it was still snowing, the road was still bustling with people and cars. All the shops were open, because the outside was relatively bright, and the shops were all pitch black. . "Miss Xiaowen." A familiar voice came, and it was really destined for him, every time I came out, I always met him unexpectedly.Stand still, turn around and look, only to see Zhang Yuzhi walking over with a smile on his face. The three of them talked about the shop next to them while walking, but most of the time it was just Zhang Yuzhi talking and I listened. After a while, he seemed to feel a little embarrassed.He said embarrassingly: "I've been rambling so much, I don't know why Miss Wen came out this time, I didn't delay your business, did I?" With a smile on his face, he said with a smile: "I just came out for a stroll, and I don't know where to go. Appeared." Hearing this, he laughed and said: "Since the girl said so, then I will take you to a place to try something new." Walking through the streets and alleys, he finally came to an inconspicuous stall. Seeing my surprised expression, he smiled and said nothing, but greeted the stall owner familiarly.After a while, the stall owner quickly brought over three big bowls. He took a closer look and saw that they were just ordinary dumplings. He felt a little disappointed. He thought he would have delicious snacks?He glanced at me and said with a smile, "Taste it." He picked up one and put it in his mouth, it melted in his mouth, and he ate a few more before he raised his head and said, "It's really delicious." A few more people came to the side one after another, and accidentally saw two handsome young men at the next table, to be precise, they should be two beautiful women disguised as men.The two ordered two bowls in a hurry, buried their heads in a burst of eating, and walked away after finishing the checkout, a little amused in their hearts, there was such an interesting girl.Seeing my expression, the stall owner smiled and said, "That's the daughter of Li Rongbao, a court official. She likes the old man's 'boiled pastry' very much." Dumplings are called "Bian Shi" in Beijing, and Manchu and Mongolian people also call them "boiled dumplings". . Seeing that it was getting late, Hongyu quietly looked at it a few times, but did not dare to urge her.Not wanting to embarrass her, he said to Zhang Yuzhi: "It's getting late, we're going back to our residence." He looked up at the sky and said, "It's late, so let's give you a ride, it's Prince Yi's residence." With a sound of "hmm", the three walked back.There was still some distance from the gate of the mansion, he stopped and said: "The palace is already in front, Shu Yuzhi will not send it forward any more." After thanking him, he was about to move forward when he said again: "I heard that the palace maids will leave when they reach the age. Will release the palace." I was a little startled...but still nodded, he seemed to say something, but in the end he swallowed it back, waved his hands and turned away. Entering the mansion, he saw Gao Wuyong and Mrs. Zhao Jia sitting in the main hall. Gao Wuyong hurriedly got up and took two steps forward: "The emperor ordered the servants to come pick up the girl." Since Mrs. Zhao Jia was present, it was inconvenient to ask too many questions, so he said to him: " I'll go and tell Huizhi, father-in-law will wait for a while." Gao Wuyong slapped him a thousand times: "Miss, don't worry, the servant will just wait." He gestured to Zhaojia with a smile on his jaw, then turned and left. Entering Luwu's room, she saw Cheng Huan was holding porridge and feeding her mouthful, and Luwu's eyes were full of happiness.Leaning against the door frame and watching silently for a while, I don't want to interrupt the scene of mother's kindness and daughter's filial piety.Lu Wu glanced here casually, seeing me here, she stood up and smiled and said, "Have you been here for a long time?" She walked over and sat by the bed to take the bowl from Cheng Huan's hand, and said, "Cheng Huan, let Auntie Come to hello." Cheng Huan nodded and walked out immediately.It wasn't until Cheng Huan's body was gone that Luwu looked back, I sighed secretly in my heart, and said: "Have you ever regretted having this child." With a warm light in Luwu's eyes, she said: "I have never regretted, she is my daughter. And the continuation of Thirteenth Lord's life, even if she will never know that I am her mother in this life, I will not regret it." Sitting in the carriage, silently thinking about Lu Wu's words... "She is the continuation of my life and the Thirteenth Lord's life"...