The surroundings were eerily quiet, with the occasional sound of wind passing through the courtyard, like the low neighing of an unknown monster hiding in the darkness.Everyone was stunned in place.The shock in her heart was like a stormy sea, Ruyi staggered a little, and subconsciously covered her slightly opened mouth, choking the exclamation that was about to gush out. The baby in swaddling clothes had thin limbs but a big belly like a bucket, and the whole belly was glowing with a strange blue color.What is even more frightening is that the child has two characteristics of a male and a female.

The emperor's hands trembled in fright, and he almost instinctively pushed the child out.Fortunately, Wang Qin caught it firmly. He also had a face full of fear, his hands trembling and he didn't know how to deal with the child in his hands.The queen also saw it clearly for a moment, she let out a low cry of surprise, her face paled, she was terrified, and tightly clutched the sleeve of the emperor's dragon robe.Ruyi didn't know if her face was as ugly as the queen's, she just felt her heart beating violently, as if she couldn't bear what she saw.She has been in fetters with the royal family for many years, and although she also knows that it is often difficult to conceive children in the harem, and many of the children die young, but the Qing Dynasty has never had such a horrible thing in the past hundred years!

That child clearly had a face no different from other babies, and a satisfied smile appeared on his small, flushed face.His body squirmed in the swaddle, and he didn't feel that he was so different from the other children.But he was undistinguished, shocking the world. A woman's tired voice after waking up from a coma faintly sounded inside: "My child, where is my child?" The emperor's body shook violently, as if he had been subjected to some unbearable force. On his gray face, there were only a pair of terrified and sad eyes. The cold frost between the tiles was covered in an instant, leaving only the biting cold horror and disgust.

The woman's voice sounded again inside, with anticipation and hope: "Bring the child to me to see..." There was silence, and no one dared to answer. The queen reacted quickly, with cold determination.She turned her head, and a fringe hairpin with silver phoenix beads in her bun flashed a ray of light like a cold star, piercing the dark blue to black sky, and disappeared in an instant.There was no softness or hesitation in her tone, she said resolutely: "Your Majesty, this is an evil obstacle, an ominous monster, and must not be left behind!" The emperor was slightly taken aback, and nodded blankly. The queen immediately looked at Wang Qin, and said word by word: "You go and make arrangements, and tell everyone that Meigui gave birth to a stillbirth. The stillbirth is ominous, so bury it immediately!" She said When it comes to the word "it", it is indifferent and without any emotion, as if the child is a worthless little animal that can strangle his fresh life at any time.

Ruyi couldn't bear it, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, this child has no other problems, it's just that there are too many... Why don't you ask the imperial doctor to see if you can remove the redundant one..." The emperor was a little shaken when he saw the naive expression on the child's pink face.The queen turned her face immediately, and slapped Ruyi across the face.The slap came so fast that it was almost impossible for people to react. After Ruyi received the slap abruptly, she only felt that her face was burning hot, which surpassed all the pain.The queen looked at her coldly, her eyes were like a pair of black pebbles kept in the cold ice of clear water, they looked clear and black, but there was a piercing chill all over her body: "Concubine Xian, what did you do wrong and what did you say wrong?" I will not blame you for anything. But this slap, you have to remember that this child is an ominous evil child. If you let others know and spread it to hurt Shengyu and the auspiciousness of the Qing Dynasty, I will It’s not too much to kill you.”

The pain on the face was forced to the depths of the skin bit by bit. After a long time of pain, the other side of the face that was not beaten had a strange cold touch, as if the icicles under the dripping eaves melted into the water bit by bit. It slid on the cheeks, and the hair stood on end in the ice, biting the bone.She knew that the child could not be saved, so she didn't dare to cover her face, so she bent her knees and bowed her body: "The concubine made a mistake, please forgive me, the empress." The queen raised her face to signal her to get up.The emperor settled down, as if he had found a ray of soul in his heart, and asked calmly, "In that case, what does the empress mean..."

The queen bowed slightly, with a respectful and steady tone: "Your Majesty is unfortunate, she gave birth to a stillborn child, and has no blessing to continue to be the emperor's heirs. I would like to ask the emperor to mourn. I hope that nobleman Mei will be blessed in the future, and she will be able to spread branches and leaves for the royal family. Incense." The queen glanced at the child in Wang Qin's arms: "Since it is stillborn, let's deal with it properly. Wang Qin, no one else is allowed to know about this matter. As for those who already know, except for the palace, the emperor and Concubine Xian ,You are the one."

Wang Qin was terrified, and immediately agreed: "Yes. The servant understands." Ruyi watched him turn and leave, and knew in her heart that this child would never survive. The emperor waved his hand wearily: "Queen, you and Concubine Xian go to comfort Lady Mei, I am tired." The empress knew that the emperor didn't want to meet with nobleman Mei at this time, and maybe the emperor would never want to see her again, so she gently persuaded: "The emperor must be tired after a long night's work. Why don't you go to The concubine had a rest in the palace, and the concubine prepared some Wuren ginseng soup, which was originally reserved for herself to drink to soothe the nerves, the emperor hasten to drink a bowl to calm the mind."

The emperor's eyes swept across Ruyi's face, apologetic: "Then I will go to the Queen's Palace first." Ruyi also knew that the emperor must be feeling bad tonight, everything about the empress is as stable as Mount Tai, and it is a good thing that the emperor is with her.So she bowed to see her off: "The emperor rests at ease, and the concubine will have a good time with the empress to comfort Noble Mei." The emperor nodded, turned and left.The queen glanced at Ruyi, stretched out her hand to gently caress her cheek, and asked gently, "Does it hurt?"

Ruyi shrank slightly, with uncontrollable fear, and hurriedly said: "Thank you, Empress, for your concern, it was the concubine who made a slip of the tongue." The queen sighed and said: "Under that situation just now, this child cannot be kept forever. If the emperor feels reluctant to give up, it is difficult to make a decision for a while. Wouldn't it be more troublesome to see that evil obstacle every day in the future. And the matter Once it gets out, what kind of humiliation will the royal family be subjected to by this monstrous evildoer who is neither male nor female? It is better to cut the mess quickly."

Ruyi's heart was congested, as if someone had stuffed a handful of hemp seeds, her throat was sore and swollen, but she tried her best to maintain a calm and calm tone: "Yes, my concubine is taught, it's my concubine who is confused." The crying in the Yonghe Palace became more and more shrill. It was the anxiety and uneasiness of Lady Mei, who was anxious to see her child but no one responded.The queen sighed: "Let's go, how to persuade her is our business." Ruyi followed the queen and pushed the door in. The exquisitely and elegantly furnished bedroom was full of quiet music, as if under the tumultuous favor, Ruiji also had her own freshness and elegance, which won the emperor's downcast eyes.But at this moment, the smell of lily in the temple is mixed with a strong and unrelenting smell of blood and the greasy smell of sweat from the top of the mother's head that is incompatible with this season. As soon as the queen and Ruyifu entered the palace, they saw Lady Mei struggling to escape the support of the palace people in a panic, fell off the bed, and threw herself at the feet of the queen with tears all over her face, crying: "Your Majesty, they don't let concubines See the child! They all stop the concubine!" Her panic and anxiety were clearly written on her beautiful and delicate face. "Empress, tell the concubine that the child is not good?" The queen's short silence made her panic, "It doesn't matter if it looks ugly, as long as it is whole, whole. Empress, there will be no shortage of children." What is it?" How can it be missing?Obviously there are a few more things that shouldn't be there. The queen stretched out her hands to support her, and said slowly: "Master Mei, you must mourn." She glanced at Ruyi, and Ruyi understood, so she could only say: "The child is stillborn after birth. The emperor ordered that the child be delivered immediately... gone back." Meigui shuddered all over, as if a thunderbolt had mercilessly run over her head, which made her tremble all over.She collapsed on the ground, crying endlessly: "No, no! When the baby was born, I clearly heard his cry. How could it be a stillbirth?" "Mistress Mei, you really misheard. The child is born lifeless, so why would it cry?" The queen looked at her with pity, and then slowly looked at everyone in the palace, "You were all in the palace at that time. Next to the nobleman, tell nobleman Mei, is the child born silent?" The queen's eyes were as gentle as before, but no one dared to kneel down, bowed her head and lowered her eyebrows wherever she looked, and said, "Yes, what the empress said is right, and I ask for your condolences." Ruyi said in a low voice: "If you are sad, why don't you invite the master from Baohua Hall to chant scriptures and pray for blessings, so as to send your child to bliss early." Mrs. Mei woke up from tears in her eyes: "Please tell the concubine whether the child is a boy or a girl..." The queen was slightly taken aback, and looked at Ruyi with some embarrassment, Ruyi hesitated and said, "It's a..." The queen immediately said: "It's a little princess, so don't be too sad. Concubine Xian is right, she wants to ask the master of Baohua Palace to come and recite sutras for the little princess." The queen ordered everyone in a deep voice: "These days Lady Mei wants to take confinement to nourish her body, and she is not allowed to move around to see the wind, only the masters of Baohua Hall are allowed to enter the side hall to pray for blessings and chant sutras, and no one else is allowed to disturb Lady Mei's recuperation." As soon as Ruyi heard it, she knew that the queen was already under house arrest for Mrs. Mei.She looked helplessly at Meigui, who was immersed in grief, and left with the Queen's footsteps. On a cold winter night, her breath turned to ice, Ruyi heard the heart-piercing cries coming from the dormitory from a distance, the coolness in her heart was like the vast snowy field illuminated by the moonlight, cold and bright.She reached out her hand from the cloak to catch the cold snowflakes falling from the endless dark night sky.Such deserted and small snowflakes fell in the brightly lit courtyard, accompanied by the helpless and mournful cries of Mrs. Mei, the chill of the winter night invaded silently. The sudden loss of a daughter by Meigui not only surprised Hegong, but even the Queen Mother was quite sad.The hearts of the people in the palace were fluctuating, and Concubine Hui was also whispering behind her back, that Lady Mei was too extravagant and enjoyed too much, so she lost the child's lifespan.Rumors were raging, but fortunately, as the queen said, outsiders were not allowed to enter and leave the Yonghe Palace, so Meigui was free from disturbance and could rest in peace.But Meigui was so sad, the emperor never set foot in the Yonghe Palace to visit and comfort him.The Empress Dowager wanted to ask the emperor Meigui about the stillbirth several times, but the emperor just vaguely said a few words, and then passed. This day was already half a month after Lady Mei lost her daughter, and Ruyi accompanied the emperor to gossip in the warm pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.The emperor's expression was always a little gloomy, facing the rain and snow outside the window, immersed in silent sorrow, copying "The Curse of Rebirth" over and over again.The dusk in the rainy and snowy weather was also particularly gloomy. Ruyi saw that there was still a jug of remnant wine, a lonely cup, and several clusters of dim yellow cold flames burning from several white candles on the tables in front of the emperor. , all splashed with twitching shadows.The emperor was wearing a black dragon robe made of golden clouds and white fox fur. The dragon robe was originally a silver-white background, but it was trimmed with snow-white fox fur.The royal family has always paid attention to elegant and rich colors, and emperors seldom wear such plain colors.Dressing up like this now is just because of my mood. The lingering scent of cold wine lingered in the air. Ruyi rolled up her sleeves, gently rubbed the ink for the emperor, and said softly: "If the emperor wants to drink, let someone warm it first. Cold wine is too hurtful to the stomach. Or, talk to people over a drink. It's good too." The emperor didn't look up, and there was a sense of sadness in his light tone: "Drink by yourself, cold wine has taste. What's more, the palace is so warm, drinking hot wine will lose interest." Ruyi finished grinding the ink quietly, and smelled that the ambergris in the palace was a little faded, so she asked Li Yu to take someone down to hold the incense burner, and then used a red copper pick to poke a corner of the copper burner with a hollowed-out crane pattern, and added a handful of red sandalwood. Styrax. The emperor just lowered his head to concentrate on copying, and asked, "Why don't you use ambergris?" Ruyi said: "Su Hexiang can open the orifice and eliminate filth, relieve stagnation and phlegm, it is best used in winter." The emperor put down his pen and sighed, and said with a wry smile: "Open the orifice and eliminate the filth, open up depression and eliminate phlegm? I know you have good intentions, but my heart is stagnant, how can a handful of Su Hexiang be able to relieve it?" Ruyi sorted out the "Curse of Rebirth" copied by the emperor one by one, and said gently: "The emperor has copied so many "Curse of Rebirth" for the use of chanting sutras in Baohua Palace, and the concubines will know that the emperor still cares about that child." " She carefully looked at the emperor's expression: "The emperor often visits his concubines at Yanxi Palace, Yonghe Palace is only a few steps away from Yanxi Palace, why doesn't the emperor visit Meigui, and give some comfort?" The sadness between the emperor's brows was like the cloudy sky, and it lingered: "I'm more timid when I'm close to my hometown, and I don't know how to comfort each other? Instead, I feel sad." He was silent for a while: "Fortunately, Mrs. Mei still doesn't know what the child looks like... ..." Ruyi hurriedly said: "The empress has ordered that no news should be leaked. The imperial physicians and nuns who delivered Lady Mei that day have already been dispatched. Anyone who may have seen the little...princess's body is also in the palace." It has already been allocated to the Rehe Palace, and it is not allowed to serve in the palace anymore." The emperor nodded slightly: "The empress is very thoughtful. This matter is ominous, I dare not even tell the empress dowager Zhou Xiang." Ruyi nodded and said: "The only ones who have seen that child in the palace now are the emperor, empress, concubines and Wang Qin. There is no fifth person." The emperor let out a breath in silence, and was about to pick up his pen to write again, when he heard two knocks on the door outside, but it was Wang Qin who said from the outside: "Your Majesty, the nobleman of Yonghe Palace has sent something for the Holy Majesty to have a look at, Your Majesty, do you want it?" Have a look?" The emperor hesitated for a moment, then put down his pen and said, "Let me have a look." Wang Qin agreed to open the door and come in, but there was a stack of baby clothes on the red lacquered tray of Oriole Mingzhi Many Children and Many Blessings.The emperor didn't understand for a while, so he asked: "What is this?" Wang Qingong said: "Your Majesty Mei said that after hearing that the emperor worked so hard to copy the "Curse of Rebirth" and turned it into the little princess, he wanted to incinerate the clothes that the little princess made with his own hands, even though the little princess couldn't wear it once in the world. , and you won’t suffer from the cold when you arrive in the Paradise of Ultimate Bliss.” A trace of sadness flashed across the emperor's expression, and Ruyi said, "Your majesty, Mrs. Mei is eager to remember her daughter, so you should help her." The emperor nodded: "I'm sure, you tell her, you can stay in your own palace and incinerate." Wang Qin said again: "Mistress Mei said that the hour of Hai tonight is the time when the little princess was born half a month ago. I hope that the emperor can come to the Yonghe Palace in person and accompany Lady Mei to burn these clothes to express his grief." Stepping forward, he turned up the clothes on the plate: "These clothes are all made by Mrs. Mei herself. Your Majesty must have spent a lot of time looking at the needlework. Mrs. Mei's motherly heart is admirable and admirable!" Flip it up, revealing the playful picture of many children, many blessings, and babies on the bottom of the plate.The emperor's eyes moved, and his heart was already soft, but when his eyes touched the naive baby pattern on the bottom of the plate, a layer of tears flashed, and the tears seemed to form a thin layer of broken ice, congealing layers of cold air. "Where did this tray come from?" asked the emperor. Wang Qin apologized and said with a smile: "Where else could it come from? The Yonghe Palace sent it along with the clothes. If the emperor doesn't believe it, the little noble son who sent the clothes is still waiting outside the palace." The emperor's eyes were slightly cold, and he didn't look at those clothes anymore: "Go and tell Mrs. Mei that she is still in the middle of the month, and it is not suitable for me to visit. She, the mother-in-law, can do all these things with all her strength." Wang Qin withdrew immediately.Ruyi saw that the emperor's face was not looking well, so he hurriedly asked with a smile: "The palace servants serving Lady Mei are really careless, Lady Mei cannot give birth to an heir safely, and they still use such patterns of babies playing, wouldn't Lady Mei be heartbroken if she saw it? " The emperor slumped down on the chair and sighed: "When I see those healthy children, I will think of the children born to the nobleman Mei. They are so deformed and terrifying. Just like what the queen said, they are evil fetuses. But nobleman Mei herself I don't know, she didn't choose it, but I have to think of that terrible child." He held Ruyi's hand, looking like a helpless child: "Ruyi, tell me, don't you?" I have no blessings and virtues to give birth to such a child with Meigui? Isn't it?" Ruyi's heart twitched, and she quickly comforted her: "How could it be? The emperor's first ascension to the Great Treasure was blessed by destiny. This child was purely accidental." The emperor's face was pressed against Ruyi's warm palms: "It's because I've just ascended to the Great Treasure that I'm even more uneasy. Meigui's child is the first child after I ascended the throne..." Before the emperor finished speaking, he heard the sound of wind rushing in with the long creaking of the palace gate.Ruyi raised her head, only to see the queen standing alone in the palace gate, her robes fluttering gracefully, quite upright and immortal. She stepped forward calmly, one step at a time, and said firmly: "The emperor is at ease. This child's accident is entirely because of Meigui's shallow virtue and cannot bear the emperor's grace." She walked to the emperor's side, bent down and put the emperor's hand together. In the palm of my hand, the tone was calm and unquestionable: "The emperor already has several princes and daughters, all of whom are smart and healthy. Only Meigui's birth is different from others, which proves that the source of all evil lies in Meigui, not the emperor. Your Majesty But don't worry about it." The emperor's expression relaxed a little: "What the queen said is not to comfort me, is it?" The smile on the queen's lips made people feel at ease: "Whether it is a word of relief, the emperor only needs to go to the elder brother's place to see the elder brothers and princesses, and then he will know." Ruyi knew that the empress wanted to use a few young elder brothers and the princess to relieve the emperor's loss, and comfort him not only the pain of losing his daughter, but also the horror that he couldn't express in words. Perhaps at the moment, this is also the way for the emperor to get out of his depression as soon as possible Best recipe.She bowed silently and stepped back slowly.Beside the gentle and calm queen, even the emperor showed a rare look of relief.She closed the door of the palace, and also covered her loss and melancholy at the moment. Perhaps, the queen is a queen after all, he can pour out his thoughts to himself, but in the end he finds comfort from the queen.Ruyi looked at the cold rain outside, mixed with broken snow, and the Forbidden City in the rain, snow and cold wave lost its color just like herself. Sitting in the warm sedan chair for a long time, Ruyi's mind was still tossed like a tide, and she couldn't settle down. She just felt that the warm sedan chair was turning again and again, as if her own heart was unstable, and the mountains and rivers were repeated, turning back and forth a thousand times.While feeling depressed, she suddenly heard the faint sound of crying. Ruyi raised the curtain and called out, "Xin Xin, go and see who is crying?" Ying Xin agreed to turn around the corridor to have a look, then came back quickly and said: "Returning to the young master, it is the young noble son of Yonghe Palace who is hiding under the corner door and crying." Ruyi nodded, signaled Xin to open her umbrella, and said: "Ah Ruo, you take them back to the palace first, and I will go back by myself." A Ruo hurriedly said: "Then let them go back, the servants will stay and serve the young master." Ruyi said: "No need. You go and collect the scriptures copied on the case for me, and send them to the Yonghe Palace to be incinerated later. Take it as my kindness to Meigui and the child." Ah Ruo turned around and left.Ruyi supported Xin's hand and slowly turned around the corridor, and sure enough, outside a remote palace, the little noble son was hiding by the corner door, holding the bag of baby clothes just now and wiping tears. Ruyi said: "Your little master is still in confinement, and you cry like this. If she finds out, wouldn't it make her sad?" Seeing that it was Ruyi, the little noble son hurriedly kowtowed his head to pay his respects and said, "Concubine Xian, empress, Wanan, this slave doesn't have a heart." Ruyi nodded slightly and said: "You are considered a caring person. If you cry in your own palace, it will really make Lady Mei sad." Xiao Guizi wiped his tears and sobbed: "Our little master has lost his child for half a month, but the emperor never came to visit him once. Everyone said that the emperor disliked the young master and gave birth to a stillborn baby, so he will not favor her anymore .” Ruyi felt sorry for her: "Even so, Mrs. Mei won't sit still, will she?" Xiao Guizi hurriedly said: "My lord is afraid that the emperor will never come again, so today I specially ordered the servants to send these baby clothes, hoping that the emperor can remember the old love." Ruyi flipped through the clothes, shook her head and said, "Your Majesty has good intentions, but did you choose this tray for clothes?" The little noble son wondered: "No. The servant came with this bag of clothes. The prince said it was not good to carry it empty-handed, so he gave the servant this tray to put it on. He also said that there were pictures of babies playing. The emperor would read it when he saw it. Ji Mei nobleman." "Wang Qin?" Ruyi immediately understood, and said seriously, "Since it doesn't work this time, forget it. You go back quickly, and remember to deliver something to the emperor for your little master later, and no such patterns are allowed again. " Xiao Guizi didn't understand yet, but seeing Ruyi's solemn tone, he knew it was an urgent order, so he thanked her and hurried to go. Holding an umbrella for Ruyi to shield her from the rain and snow, Qiao Xin asked in a low voice, "Wang Qin has put in so much effort to get rid of the love of nobleman Mei! He is an eunuch, but he has such vicious thoughts." Ruyi supported Xin Xin's hand and walked forward slowly: "As you said, he is an eunuch, why should he be so vicious for himself? He is just serving others." Ji Xin quietly looked around, and said in a low voice: "My lord means..." Ruyi slowly shook her head: "This side has been unable to spare, it seems that Wang Qin is definitely not allowed to stay." Sing Xin answered "Yes" in a low voice, and firmly held Ruyi's arm: "The road is slippery in snowy weather, young master, be careful of your feet." Ruyi calmed down, and said slowly: "Of course I will be careful of my feet. Otherwise, I am watching others fall now, and I will not be able to get up myself in the future."