Chapter 2 Chapter Two

Meigui's fall from favor seems to be a foregone conclusion.Because she gave birth to such an ominous "stillborn baby", the prenatal favor was almost wiped out after she gave birth.Without any consolation, without a single visit, the Yonghe Palace, which has always been full of flowers and flowers, fell silent, and no one set foot there. Even the most virtuous queen shunned and never went there. For fear of hurting the meeting, the empress still forbade Meigui to leave the Yonghe Palace for half a step. After the moon came out, even the mage who prayed in the side hall returned to the Baohua Palace. Only the lonely echo of the wind and snow accompanied the equally lonely and sad Madam Mei.

It was a rare fine weather for several days in a row, and every ten days, the concubines followed the emperor to the Palace of Compassion and Ning to pay their respects.Seeing that Yingying and Yanyan were all seated in the hall, the Empress Dowager smiled a little. Zhi Yi said with a smile, "It has been raining and snowing continuously for the past few days, so I have spared you from coming and going to pay your respects. Today the Emperor and Empress have a heart and brought you here together." .” Everyone said: "It is an honor for the concubines to pay respects to the Queen Mother."

The queen mother smiled and said: "Yesterday, Fu Jia accompanied Ai's family to the Imperial Garden for a walk, saying that they were admiring the red plums on a sunny day. In fact, the red plums are in full bloom, which is no match for your flowers blooming. Not only Ai's family, but also the emperor is pleasing to the eye. Emperor, Did you say so?" The emperor smiled apologetically, "Emperor Niang is right." The queen mother straightened the beaded tassels on the skirt, and said slowly: "A hundred flowers are in full bloom. At first glance, it seems that it is not obvious that any one is missing. But those who are familiar with all kinds of flowers know that the absence of any one is not a spring scenery." .Emperor, just treat the Ai family as always talking too much, Lady Mei is already out of the moon, why don't you see her go out to greet the Ai family?"

There was a slight look of sadness in the emperor's brows, and the empress hurriedly smiled respectfully and said: "Mr. Mei is sad and frustrated. It's my son's intention. I want her to rest and recuperate." "Too sad, that's the fault of Noble Mei." The queen mother sighed, and then said with a straight face, "For concubines, children are important, but serving the emperor is even more important. This is why the ancestors rule The reason why you gave birth to your children to be raised by elder brothers or high-ranking concubines is because you are afraid that you will only focus on your children and neglect the emperor." She glanced at the emperor and said with concern: "Your Majesty Mei is not blessed. You gave birth to an heir for the emperor, and the emperor, don't be too sad. You are still young, and your concubines are also young. Even Meigui has a chance to give birth again. Don't be too sad for a while, and hurt the dragon's body .”

The emperor got up quickly: "My son, thank you for your concern." The queen mother sighed and said: "The empress dowager's concern is just talking about it, and you still need to open your heart. The Ai family sees that you have lost a lot of weight these days, and your eye sockets are black. You are so depressed, sad Everyone is worried." The Empress Dowager's tone was slightly dissatisfied: "Empress, I heard that you have been with the emperor for most of these days, why haven't you properly relieved and comforted the Sacred Heart? You are the master of the six palaces, and trivial matters in the palace are of course important, but Everything about the emperor is even more important. You must not disregard the importance!"

This sentence is quite serious, and the queen is slightly panicked: "The emperor's mother forgives the sin, but the sons and ministers are incompetent and cannot make the emperor happy, so these days I also arrange concubines from all palaces to accompany them. Concubine Xian and Concubine Hui also have many Accompanying you, if Queen Mother doesn't believe it, you can order the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send a record file for investigation." Ruyi and Xiyue hurriedly got up and said: "I respectfully invite the Empress Dowager Wanan, the courtiers and concubines are indeed ordered by the Empress to serve the Emperor."

The queen mother stroked a handful of purple jade in her hand and sighed Ruyi: "Although the emperor has appointed several newcomers after he ascended the throne, the one who has won the most sacred heart is only Meigui. In fact, it's so so so if you give birth to a stillborn baby. After taking care of your body, there will be another baby soon." My child, the emperor can feel at ease." The emperor and the empress looked at each other, then at Ruyi, and then lowered their heads too.The queen looked up, and Shi Shiran smiled and said: "Actually, I have always arranged several concubines to serve the emperor, and that's what I planned." She turned to the queen mother and the emperor with a smile on her lower body: "Congratulations to the queen mother, congratulations to the emperor, after the nobleman Mei, Lady Yigui has been pregnant for more than a month."

The emperor was startled, and immediately overjoyed, he held the queen's hand to help her up and said, "Is what the queen said true?" The Queen's smile was as warm as a spring breeze: "It is absolutely true that the child is in the womb of Yigui, how dare the concubine dare to speak nonsense. Moreover, the concubine has checked the records of the respect room, and it is indeed conceived by favor more than a month ago. God is so The arrangement must be to know the east corner of the lost Sangyu, so I specially let Yigui be pregnant with a dragon fetus." Yigui's face was blushing, and she got up and said: "This concubine is deeply blessed by the emperor and the empress. The empress empress specially invited three or four imperial physicians to take the pulse for fear of making mistakes. The concubine is indeed pregnant with dragon descendants."

Ruyi only felt sore from the inside of her mouth to the bottom of her mouthpiece.But that kind of bitterness completely disregarded her feelings, spreading forcefully and recklessly on its own, crawling into her internal organs.Ruyi subconsciously pressed her belly, it was so flat, she was still so unlucky, without her own child.Or rather, never had.And the more uncomfortable one might be Meigui in the claustrophobic Yonghe Palace. The pain of losing her daughter is deep-rooted, but she has to watch Yigui enjoy the joy of pregnancy and experience her past hopes and joys one by one. The emperor couldn't help but look at the queen mother and said, "The emperor's mother, the emperor's mother..."

The Empress Dowager's smile is still faint, like a thin and soft cloud of smoke on the top of the hazy moon, and there is always a vague shadow, making people unable to find out the real meaning behind the smile: "Of course this is a good thing. And Mrs. Yigui used to He is a person who serves the queen, and he knows the basics, and there is nothing better than this." The queen mother stood up holding Aunt Fu's hand: "After talking all morning, Ai's family is also tired, so go ahead and have a rest. Sit down, and you will be happy." Separate yourself." Everyone watched the Queen Mother enter the bedroom.

The queen looked at Yigui's belly, and she was very happy: "The most important thing in the harem is to spread the branches and leaves for the royal family, so that it will be blessed for thousands of years. Our future generations are not in other places, but in your stomach. If you can be like Yigui, I can wake up with a smile even when I am dreaming." She turned her head with a smile and said: "Su Xin, Lian Xin, pack up your things tonight, I will go to Baohua Hall to offer incense and pray, thank you Grace." The emperor patted the queen's hand in relief, and said softly, "Thank you, queen." "Why does the emperor say that?" The queen smiled and said, "The concubines give birth to children. They are the biological mothers of the children, and the concubines are the aunts of the children, and they are also mothers. This joy is not only for them, but also for the children. For the concubine himself." The emperor was quite emotional, and a trace of moisture flashed in his eyes: "The empress is virtuous." The queen looked around the audience: "There is something I have always wanted to report to the emperor. In fact, among the concubines, Concubine Hui and Concubine Xian are the highest, and they have served the emperor for a long time..." Ruyi shuddered unconsciously when she heard that she was mentioned, and looked at the queen.When she raised her head, she met Concubine Hui's gaze, they met for a moment, and then turned their heads, showing incomparably decent smiles. The queen looked at the two of them with a smile, and her eyes were full of warm concern: "Actually, not only Concubine Gui and Concubine Xian, but also Hai Guiren and Jia Guiren have never given birth. The concubine thinks, why don't you ask the imperial hospital to prescribe some prescriptions for inducing pregnancy?" Son, let all the concubines in the palace drink it, so you can get pregnant early, and the palace will be more lively." The emperor reassured: "If so, the empress has a heart." If you gossip a few words, everyone will leave.The emperor paid special attention to Yigui's pregnancy, so he asked the empress to send her back to Jingyang Palace, and returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation himself. Ruyi and Xiyue walked out of the Cining Palace, Xiyue smiled self-deprecatingly, she was rarely hostile, and Liao said: "Mr. Yigui has never had many favors, and the emperor only goes to her once a month, and unexpectedly he has one." Pregnant. But Bengong and Concubine Xian, you have actually fallen to the point where you have to ask the queen to prepare a fecundity medicine to have a child." Ruyi is also quite sad, the silver gilt armor inlaid with rice beads on the little finger is cold and relentlessly hard against the palm.She forced a smile and said: "If one group is not lucky, no matter how many emperors come, we will be unlucky." Xiyue smiled sadly: "When you were in Qiandi, your family background was better than this palace, and you had more favors than this palace. Now that you are in the palace, this situation has changed. No matter how much this palace doesn't like you, can you I have to admit that in terms of heirs, I have the same difficulty as you, and I am lonely." She changed the subject, and suddenly said: "It's fine that Bengong and you have no children, but when Mrs. Meigui is pregnant Everyone said that she was in good health, even if she had a little illness and pain, it was nothing more than a small thing like an ulcer on her mouth. The imperial doctor also said that she was pregnant with a boy, how could she not only become a princess, but also a stillborn baby? A stillbirth is a stillbirth, but the emperor still has a grudge, and hasn't visited her once for a whole month!" Ruyi smiled lightly and said: "The emperor's holy will, my sister and I can guess." With a secret smile, Xiyue waved her hand to signal the palace servants behind her to step back, and whispered in Ruyi's ear, "I heard that Meigui's child is not as simple as a stillbirth. You were also in the Yonghe Palace that night, could it be Didn't notice anything unusual?" Ruyi's heart was slightly cold, but there was an appropriate smile on the corner of her lips: "It can be strange, but the emperor saw that child with his own eyes, so he was sad." "No matter how sad you are, time will dilute everything. Coupled with the old love, the emperor will not be so jealous of Mrs. Mei. There must be some other reason in the middle, isn't it?" The sunny and warm sun rolled up the gold-like dust, which fell on the body in a trace, and was also stained with that bright halo, but Ruyi didn't feel warm at all, the coolness creeping from the depths of the body, the slightest Wisps, everywhere.She said slowly: "Is there any other reason, the old love hurts, and Mrs. Yigui is pregnant again. After the emperor transfers his love, Mrs. Mei will only be neglected even more." What Ruyi said is true.Her Palace of Yanxi Palace is right in front of the Palace of Yonghe, and every time she passes by, she can imagine how hard it is to spend every inch of the lonely time in it when she sees that the people are deserted and deserted. It's not like she hasn't endured such days.Jun's kindness flows eastward like water, worrying about being favored and losing favor.The women in the palace, day after day, have not endured like this. Xiyue took a step closer, without saying a word: "But how did I hear that the emperor ordered the master of Baohua Palace to pray for blessings in Yonghe Palace for a month, because Meigui gave birth to a child who is a monster! " Ruyi quickly motioned for silence, her expression flat and undisturbed: "The imperial concubine, the palace is no better than other places, such words cannot be said or passed on." Xiyue restrained her smile, and snorted coldly: "In this case, it's not only my palace, it's spread all over the palace! Nowadays, I'm afraid it's Meigui who stays at home, and sooner or later she will know." Ruyi's heart trembled: "Is it rumored all over the palace?" Xiyue sneered and said: "Isn't it? You think you can hide it from someone. If you don't believe me, you can go and listen and you will find out." After Xiyue finished speaking, she called the maid and left together. There have always been more gossips in the palace than snakes, rats and ants scurrying around in dark corners.Hiding in the corners under the red walls and green tiles of the palace garden, they are noisy, stealthy, sneaky, whispering, ready to move.Like the rustling of mice in the stove, like the grass on the wall swaying from side to side, one ear biting the other ear, saying good words, all biting their teeth, licking their tongues, chewing and spitting in and out.Only add oil and vinegar, there are no short words or short sentences. This is the gossip of the harem, which has not been cut off for a day, but it is like boundless spring grass, growing without bounds.The person who threw a huge boulder into the ups and downs of gossip was Meigui who hanged herself. The door of the Yonghe Palace, which had been closed for more than a month, opened again.When Ruyi heard the news, it was already time for tea and snacks after waking up from a nap.When A Ruo came to report, Ruyi was so frightened that she almost spilled a cup of tea in her hand, and hurriedly helped A Ruo and Xin Xin to the Yonghe Palace. When Ruyi arrived, the emperor and empress were already there.She asked Ann to sit down on the chair next to her.Meigui was held down by Su Xin and Lian Xin who were close to the queen and sat on the bed, weeping.The emperor felt distressed when he was angry, but his tone was very strict: "It is a serious crime for a concubine in the palace to kill herself. What can you not think about? How dare you hang yourself in the Forbidden City, and you are not afraid of adding bad luck to the palace!" Mrs. Mei was only wearing a plain white shirt embroidered with silver thread folded branches to welcome the spring, and a squirrel cloak carved in stone and blue silk. The green and plain white background made her face more bloodless, only the snow-white There was a deep purple strangle mark on her neck, which pitifully announced to the world that she had just been dragged back from the gate of hell. Meigui was sobbing and crying: "The concubine is an unlucky person, what else can I say. The emperor forgives the concubine, so let the concubine die." The emperor was so angry that he turned his head away, and the queen couldn't help being angry: "Even if you have no family members to take care of, you are not afraid of sitting down. But what does the emperor not love you, and you are so self-deprecating and self-deprecating, so easy to destroy your own life, how can you do that?" Didn't you disappoint the emperor's original intentions for you?" Meigui cried even more mournfully: "Only the concubine can't forgive the emperor. The concubine has nothing to say and no face to serve the emperor anymore!" The queen looked at the palace people kneeling all over the floor and said: "You too, if you don't take good care of Lady Mei, and let her be so sad and troubled like this, I will deal with you severely." Those palace people were frightened and kowtowed desperately: "The empress forgives the sin! The empress forgives the sin! The servants don't know what happened, the nobleman's emotions are so excited!" One of the leading palace ladies cried: "These few days The noble lady of Japan has always been in a state of mind, and she also had nightmares at night, and she didn't sleep well! This afternoon, the young master was going to take a nap, but the young master didn't let the servants serve, and sent them all out. The servants listened outside I was not at ease, and heard the sound of the stool falling to the ground, afraid that something might happen, so I broke in and saw that the noble young master had hung himself on the beam!" Ruyi hurriedly asked: "Then why is your little master so overwhelmed? But because of the child?" The maid timidly shook her head, then bowed her head again. The emperor became very angry, and asked again and again: "If there is anything you can't figure out, you can tell me and the queen, otherwise, you can tell her that Concubine Xian is so close to you." Meigui cried and said: "Isn't the emperor afraid that my concubine will know something when talking to others? That's why the empress also locked my concubine in this Yonghe Palace and was not allowed to see anyone. The concubine knows that she is soft-spoken and her life is as thin as paper. What else can I do if I hang myself on the beam?" The emperor smashed the teacup in his hand: "Absurd!" Ruyi hurriedly took the teacup and blew it: "The teacup is too hot, the emperor's hand hurts carefully." The emperor nodded slightly, and was about to speak, but saw the apricot red clothes flashing green at the door of the bedroom, but it was Concubine Hui, Pingpingtingting, standing there.She took off her cloak while being served by the maid, and said in a cold voice, "If the concubine is a nobleman, she will not be able to think about it when she hears those gossips. A good child, it doesn't matter if he dies, and he must be passed on as a whole." Twin evildoers, male and female are indistinguishable. There are few mothers in this world who can bear it." The emperor's expression changed drastically, and he frowned and said, "Where did you hear these nonsense, and you come here to tell them?" Concubine Hui was not afraid at all, she gave a salute and said: "Where can I hear about it, who in the palace is not telling it like this in private." Meigui screamed and cried, struggled up from the bed, walked up to the emperor on his knees, hugged the corner of his dragon robe and said: "Your Majesty, I beg you to tell me the truth, is my child a monster? Could it be that he can't even tell if it's the elder brother or the princess? That's why the emperor will dislike the concubine until now, and won't even look at the concubine for more than a month!" The emperor forced a smile and said: "Don't listen to the gossip outside! I don't come to see you, it's for your peace of mind to take care of your health!" Meigui wept and said: "How can my concubine take care of her health? Even if my concubine lives in seclusion in the Yonghe Palace, I can still hear the discussions outside the palace walls. No wonder the emperor sent the child away without letting my concubine take a look at it." , it turns out that the concubine's birth is really a monster!" The emperor was a little irritable and shouted: "Wang Qin!" Wang Qin rushed in from the outside and said, "Your Majesty, the servant is here." The emperor said coldly: "Go to the palace and thoroughly investigate who are spreading rumors that Meigui gave birth to a monster. Once found out, no matter which palace it is, it will be sent to the Punishment Department immediately, and it will be imprisoned for life." Come out." Although the emperor's tone was cold, his eyes were even sharper, and he only lingered on Wang Qin's face, forcing him to break out in cold sweat, and hurriedly kowtowed and said, "Don't worry, your majesty, there will definitely be no one by your side. People who spread rumors like this, let alone people who have heard such rumors, the slave will immediately investigate." The emperor gave a soft "hmm" and said: "Mr. Mei, it doesn't matter if others have such speculations and rumors, but you are the child's biological mother. If you have such suspicions, and you want to die for it, wouldn't it even matter to you?" I am also speculating about my own child like this. I have nothing else to say, but to tell you, if you commit suicide again, no one can save you, and you cannot replace that child!" The emperor didn't say anything else, he got up and left, and then he walked into the courtyard, but he saw Concubine Hui closely following him and said: "Your Majesty, I have something to say, do you know if I should say it or not?" The emperor said: "Speak up if you have something to say." Concubine Hui gave a salute, and then said: "The concubine is thinking about one thing, no matter what kind of child Mei Gui gave birth to, even if it is a stillborn child, it is unlucky. Besides, Mei Gui is looking for death and life like this, I am afraid that something has collided. Now Yi The nobleman is pregnant and lives behind the Yonghe Palace, if he is affected by this unlucky person or event, and the fetus in the womb is involved, it will be bad." The emperor said: "Then what do you mean?" Concubine Hui said: "Your Majesty has many heirs, and everyone is fine. Only Lady Mei's children have trouble, and that is bad luck for Lady Mei. Instead of keeping such an unlucky person in the palace, it is better to ask Lady Mei to move out of the palace." Bieyuan, don’t live in the Forbidden City anymore.” The emperor gave a faint "Oh": "Is this the only way? My original intention is to invite a few mages to save me, and then I can release the confinement of nobleman Mei." Concubine Hui shook her head and said sternly: "The concubine dare not say anything else, no matter whether Meigui's birth is stillborn or a monster, the heir is the first, if she is tainted with her bad luck, there will be another child like that in the palace." , but what should I do? The century-old state of the Qing Dynasty, Zuo Xiangrui, is it possible that it will be ruined in her hands?" Ruyi was following the queen out, and when she heard this, she took a step forward without realizing it.The queen pressed her hand and shook her head slowly.Ruyi was deeply worried, and when she looked back, she saw that Mrs. Mei was still crying in the depths of her bedroom. The emperor remained calm: "Don't say half of what you say, just spit it out." "It's ominous for Mrs. Mei. Shang Chengtian'en will give birth to such a child. Such a sinister disaster cannot be kept forever. The concubine thinks, anyway, Mrs. Mei is too hard to think about and wants to hang herself. It's better to fulfill her and let her accompany her That child has accumulated evil virtue." Concubine Hui supported the emperor's arm, looked carefully at the emperor's expression, and said meaningfully, "The emperor has seen what the child on the left and right looks like. Such a child, There must be no second one in the palace." The emperor's body shook slightly, as if deeply touched by her words, and immediately fell into a deeper silence.