Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty

This surprise was really no small matter.Ruyi hadn't thought about these words for a while, but she felt a thunderbolt in her mind, and she completely fainted. After a long time, I don't know how long it took, she woke up leisurely, opened her eyes and looked at the cold starlight outside the window, the whitish light of the stars was so cold that it penetrated to the bottom of her heart. Her father died like this? Xing Xin leaned beside her bed, sobbing: "My lord, the mansion was already in a state of embarrassment when the master died. My lord knows it, and the grace of filial piety to the Queen's mother's family has been passed down over the years. When we come here, the inner bag has already come up. And because of the Queen of Jingren Palace, many relatives and relatives have not been in touch with each other, and the harvest on the farm has been intermittent. The position in the mansion, life can be managed. Now... Now that the young master has been here for two years, the whole family in the mansion has no idea how sad it is. Now the tree fell and the monkeys scattered. I heard that the master is dying. At that time, only the madam, the young master, and the second young lady were left in front of the bed."

Hot tears flowed down her skin and she felt tingling. Her soul had already flown to the former boudoir, and she only heard her own voice and asked hollowly: "The Wulanara family has so many relatives, are they all dead?" With tears in his eyes, he said in a low voice: "Don't you know, my lord? The so-called relatives are all the excitement when the fire is cooking the icing on the cake. When it is really difficult, one by one escapes farther than eight poles. Now there is only a false name left in the mansion. After the master died, the palace only rewarded two hundred taels of silver. He couldn't even arrange a funeral inside and out. It was the little master Hailan who tried his best to give five hundred taels of silver. Get out, and then you can barely manage it like this."

The Ulanara Mansion, once a wealthy family, was a wealthy family that had produced many empresses and concubines in successive dynasties. After the original vigor and vitality, it was nothing more than a withering population, a disintegration of family wealth, and the end of a high-rise building collapsed. Her younger brother is only ten years old, and her younger sister is only eight years old.And my mother is already old, in her forties, she has been suffering from constant ailments for many years, and she needs to delay the doctor for medicine.When the family was in good condition, the imperial physician often came in and out to say hello, which was not only a sign of superb medical skills, but also a symbol of glory.

You have to be relatives of the emperor, you can't do this. Now what?Now I'm afraid I can't even ask an ordinary doctor to take the medicine, right?Although she knew that her father's health was deteriorating day by day, and gradually weakened, but now that he left suddenly, it might not be because the coldness of the world stimulated his growing old and weak heart. Ruyi opened her eyes and let the tears cover her eyes: "What's wrong with Ama? That's why she walked so fast?" Xin Xin said: "The person who heard the report said that since last autumn, he has been ill since last autumn. The phlegm was bloody intermittently. When he got up this morning, a mouthful of phlegm came up and blocked his throat. He passed away before he had time to call the imperial doctor. I heard that before this I also begged my grandpa to tell my grandma to hire a lot of doctors, but either they couldn’t spend enough money to hire good doctors, or they looked down on our family status and refused to come. So the master’s illness has been delayed.”

Ruyi struggled to get up, rushed to the door, and cried, "Xin Xin, I'm going to see my Ama, see my Ama for the last time!" Ji Xin hurriedly grabbed her and said, "My lord, my lord, don't be so sad. We can't get out, we can't get out for the rest of our lives!" Hot tears gushed out, as if they were going to blind their eyes.She was originally trapped here, like a nightingale that lost its song, a bird whose wings were broken, and trapped here for life. Even in the most embarrassing and painful time, she has never hated it like this. She hated herself for being in the cold palace and not being free for life.

Exhausted from crying, she fell down by the door, and the cold moss under the wall almost touched her face, the wet and greasy cold, melting her tears: "The old man left like this, I...I didn't even I can't even see him, and I can't even kowtow to him." Ruyi knelt on the ground and kowtowed in the direction of her home in the south: "Before I leave, do you have anything to say?" He hesitated to speak, but stopped: "The master only has one sentence, and he dies after saying this sentence. The mansion said, it must fall into your ears." "What words?"

Xing Xin frowned, and said in embarrassment: "Master's last sentence is—Qing Ying, you are useless!" The forehead touched the ground was cold and hard, and the thumping was dizzying.Ah!It's really useless for me!I dragged myself down, dragged down my family, and dragged down my father until his death, so I couldn't swallow this grievance.Ruyi's heart trembled, and she leaned back, almost fainting. Xing Xin hurriedly supported her, hugged her body and said: "My lord, take care of me, my lord. If you hurt your body again, there is really no hope for our mansion."

Ruyi put her head on the cold mud to cool her mind. "Hope?" She laughed at herself and wept, "Is there any hope?" From the day she entered the cold palace, she knew there was no hope.There is still a breath left, and he tries to survive in every possible way, but he just doesn't want to die for nothing.In the winter without charcoal fire, I can only cover myself with thick quilts and clothes, wishing to hibernate like a snake and rat.But he could only stay awake, gritted his teeth against the cold, swallowed the cold and unpalatable food, and lingered on.When the pain of rheumatism spread in all the limbs, even the limbs did not seem to be his own, it was as if he was watching someone cut bones and grind them into pieces, grinding them bit by bit.She endured all of them.

But she forgot, thinking that she could seek each other's peace, but she neglected that because of her falling out of favor and being abolished, the already declining family was scattered like a cloud of smoke. She forgot, she was negligent.The family's honor and disgrace are all tied to her, how can she continue to endure in the cold palace, without a bright future? That night, she could hardly sleep.In July, the rain is drizzling, the wind is sluggish, and the rain is also sluggish. The originally hot weather is wrapped together by the sudden cold wind and cold rain, which makes her body hot and cool, like she is cooking in boiling oil and ice chips. A fried heart.She listened to Ye Yu's beating on the blue tiles, the cold and hard sound of rustling, vast and long, as if it were countless low-pitched weeping, coming from a distant nether world.

After two nights of tossing and turning, she herself felt extremely tired, but she couldn't fall asleep.The rain outside fell endlessly, as if she was shedding tears for her.Finally staring in a daze, she was extremely tired and closed her eyes. However, he was still not stable, and the past was vaguely in front of his eyes.Ama is honest, she is just a leader, but she loves the eldest daughter very much.Although Erniang's temperament is stronger, she is still a woman and her family. What she studies every day is how to cook a good meal to make the whole family happy and satisfied.The younger sister is naive and the younger brother is elegant, but she, while controlling her younger siblings, only knows how to do needlework and embroidery and play in the boudoir.A harmonious family, the laughter and laughter are still in our ears.However, in the evening of that day, it was her aunt who asked her to enter the palace. At that time, the aunt was graceful and luxurious, always had a calm smile that never faded, and talked with her earnestly and earnestly by sticking to her sign language.

Although the Ulanara family gave birth to her as a queen, the family fortune has gradually declined. The Wulanara family no longer has any young daughters of the right age, only you, Qing Ying, who are of the right age and are closest to your aunt. If no female relatives enter the palace, or become relatives of the emperor, how will the glory of the Ulanala family continue? Ulanara's men are useless, only women, and only rely on women. Back then, she was still so ignorant, but her aunt held her hand so hard, she had no choice, because she was the daughter of Ulanara. Suddenly, the aunt's face turned infinitely stern, her hair was all over the head, and the emerald jewels in the bun only further accentuated her aging and misery.She was wearing a queen's dress, but the dress was very old. The aunt's voice was stern, and she stared at her: "Empress Dowager Xiao Gongren told me back then that Ulanara's daughter must be in the middle palace, and now I will tell you the same. Do you dare?" "A beloved concubine? What else is there besides being loved? The biggest advantage of a beloved concubine is to be favored. A woman who is favored and then loses favor will only live a life worse than death. How can we Ulanara have such a short-sighted person like you?" "When your beauty is old and your ambition is exhausted, what else can you fight for favor? Aunt asked you, favor is face, power is face, which one do you want?" She couldn't be forced, so she could only say: "Qing Ying is greedy, so naturally she wants to have both. But if she can't, naturally the lining is the most important thing. Although this road is difficult, Qing Ying has no way out, she can only move forward." The aunt was finally relieved: "Qingying, you have to understand that when a person can give up everything, that is when she is truly fearless." What else has she got to lose?The glory and power, the trust of her husband, the future of the family, everything has been lost, so what else can she be afraid of? A cold wind was approaching, and my aunt was dressed in black, with disheveled hair, like a ghost, her eyes were red with anger, and she slapped herself vigorously.She only vaguely remembered that her aunt had died, and she had died without a name for a long time. The aunt slapped her hard on the face, and reprimanded sharply: "Ulanara has already had an abandoned woman, and there is no second abandoned woman! Why are you still content to be an abandoned woman in the cold palace? An abandoned woman who has become a shameful family? Why don't you remember that you are the daughter of the Ulanala family? You live well, not for you alone, but for the honor and disgrace of the whole family!" The aunt's slaps were hard and precise, hitting her face fiercely one after another, and it also twitched her already ignorant heart.Behind the aunt is the old Ama, tearful, helpless and weak. If it was the downfall of the family that forced Ama to die early, then why wasn't he one of the culprits?Because she has no ability to protect herself, she can only watch her family members decline one by one, and there is nothing she can do. Her cold sweat was dripping down, and her aunt was right, how could she be the daughter of Ulanara? She was awakened by herself from her drowsy sleep, sweating profusely, leaning against the wall where the powder was falling, panting heavily. The feeling of being alive is so wonderful, even if the air in his mouth has a damp musty smell, he wants to vomit.However, if you are alive, you have to live well. Uneasy wiped it for her, but didn't dare to alarm others, so he could only whisper: "My lord, my lord, are you having a nightmare?" Ruyi squeezed Xin's hand tightly, and said in a hoarse voice, "It's not a nightmare, but my nightmare. I should wake up." She raised her eyes to see the moldy wall covered in water, and the mossy corner of the wall, which was always wet. The damp and greasy dirt floor, the house is cold in winter and hot in summer.Enough is enough, enough is enough! Ting held her hand knowingly, nodded knowingly, and said: "Hai Guiren is not in the palace, it is not easy to get paper money and so on, so we have to fold some at will and do our best." It rained continuously for several days in Yuanmingyuan, making it more refreshing and cool.The queen sat in the warm pavilion of "Heaven, Earth, Family Spring", looking at the newly bloomed bowl lotus in the large celadon vat on the porch, each of which was delicate and delicate, and the pink color was like peach blossoms in the rain, full of flowers. .The queen was admiring the lotus bowl, teasing a colorful feathered parrot on the copper wire rack at hand, and asked: "The emperor really let Concubine Hui move into Shaojingxuan by herself?" Zhao Yitai bowed his body and said in a respectful voice: "Isn't it? The emperor lives in the Le'an Hetang in Qingyan, Kyushu. The Shaojing Pavilion of Concubine Hui is surrounded by pines and willows. Not to mention the superb scenery, it is across the bank from the emperor's Le'an Hetang. But recently. On the contrary, the Empress Dowager and other young masters live here in Qingyan, Kyushu. It is crowded and noisy, and separated from the emperor, so it is really inconvenient to come and go." The queen took a jade hairpin, and teased the parrot with a smile: "Then according to your opinion, what should I do?" "The empress is the master of the harem, so she should be the closest to the emperor, and she must live in a quieter place. And you..." Zhao Yitai smiled apologetically, looked up at the empress's face, "You should add a little prince as soon as possible. Otherwise, Concubine Hui is so favored now that even the emperor's new favorite Qing Changzai and nobleman Shen have been left behind. You are not afraid that she will have a prince ahead of you..." The empress gave him a gouged look coldly, and immediately she had a calm and gentle face: "Since entering the Old Summer Palace, the emperor's new favorites have been trying their best to dominate the emperor. Concubine Hui is quick in poetry, and it is a good thing to be able to win the emperor's favor again. What is this palace going to ask for this accusation? As long as the emperor doesn’t just spoil those young and flirtatious ones, that’s fine.” She raised her eyebrows slightly, touched her wrist as thin as white jade, and said with a sneer: “As long as Concubine Hui has a prince good fortune." Zhao Yitai hurriedly said: "Your Majesty is wise." The queen smiled gracefully and said, "It's not that I'm the sage. The queen mother let us enter the Old Summer Palace because she expects so many concubines to serve the emperor well and add a man and a half woman to the emperor. How can I interfere? It's better to be a quiet concubine. Virtuous queen, just let them fight and be jealous." Zhao Yitai took the white jade lotus hairpin from the queen's hand, straightened it on the plump moon bun for the queen, and said with a smile: "I understand. No wonder the empress never bothers to show off like those little masters. It turns out that it is this pale From the very beginning, I knew the meaning of more beautiful flowers. The emperor is tired of seeing their tricks, so he will naturally come back to the queen." The queen smiled faintly: "You said just now that Ulanara Ruyi's Amanapur is dead?" Zhao Yitai hurriedly said: "Yes. The news I just got is because it is an unlucky thing, and it is not considered an important person, so the news came in a little slower." The queen let out a "Oh", and helped her cicada-like temples, and said softly: "Although it is a bit slow, it is the most important thing. It is also the Ulanala family who is pitiful. The family has declined, and Ama has gone again. Do you think Find a way to ask someone to send some paper money to her, and ask her to burn some for her Ama to do her best." Zhao Yitai was stunned: "But the palace rules strictly prohibit burning these things in the palace..." The queen smiled gently, and plucked the bright red beak of the parrot: "The palace rules are the palace rules, so it's hard to blame her for her filial piety in the cold palace. You should do it well." This night, the moon set and the crows crowed, coincidentally coincided with the Ghost Festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, and it was also Ruyi Ama's first seven days.The sun set before it was dark, and the setting sun was blood red, as if someone had poured a whole bucket of blood on the sky, and let it overflow and fall, gradually the sky became dark, and the blood became Dried bloodstains stuck to the sky in black and red.The forest in the palace is lush and lush, countless palace crows are flying black feathers, like dark clouds covering the moonlight, circling in the sky, reflecting the gloomy sky, as if blending into the endless darkness, only "ahhh" mourn The sounds scattered far away layer by layer, throbbing the palace that was getting darker and darker. At the moment of Xu Shi, the sound of drums and cymbals could be heard from a distance, and the Buddha's name was loud in the sky. Ruyi knew that it was the ritual of setting off flames at the water and land ashram during the Zhongyuan Festival in the palace.Because the Empress Dowager believed in Buddhism, the palace invited monks from Fayuan Temple, Taoists from Baiyun Temple, and lamas from Miaoying Temple to hold ceremonies as dojos.Not only the concubines in the palace, but even the palace people can participate.Just yesterday, Ruyi folded a stack of paper lotus flowers and gave them to Ling Yunche when he was on duty to burn them in memory of the souls of his relatives. Yunche was also very grateful. At this time in previous years, Ruyi would also place lotus lanterns among the concubines to express the memory of the deceased.Today, she can only secretly burn some paper on the porch of the yard and send it to her father who died young under Jiuquan.Most of the people in the cold palace are insane, or they are already in a daze, and they live far away on weekdays, so no one pays attention to them.On the other hand, Concubine Ji saw it when she came to pick up the food, and said with a sneer: "Sure enough, she is tired of work, and she secretly found paper money to burn. Now that old witch is alone in the palace, the Queen Mother is the most taboo about these things. Can you Be careful." After saying that, he ignored it and left on his own. Ruyi squatted next to the pile of burning papers, and the flames warmed her body, which made her feel warmer, unlike the days when her father left, she always felt cold. Luo Xin said: "These paper money was sent in with great difficulty, and it is said that it is the meaning of Haigui, to express my condolences to the young master." Ruyi nodded: "It's hard for her, it's stuffed in the food delivery door and delivered without anyone noticing." He said in his heart: "My lord, don't worry. The concubines are not in the palace, the queen mother must have gone to see the matter, no one will notice." Before the words fell, a sharp sneer was heard from outside: "Is no one aware of it? You are too daring and lawless!" Ruyi suddenly heard the voice, and all the papers in her hand fell into the fire, and the fire became hotter and hotter, almost reaching the corner of her clothes.Before he had time to react, the door of the cold palace suddenly opened, and he saw Eunuch Cheng Han, who was beside the queen mother, leading in, and said arrogantly: "It's really a bunch of lifeless things. Burning incense and offering paper money is strictly prohibited in the palace. How dare you hide?" Burning paper money secretly in the harem! It’s a crime worthy of death!” Ruyi and Xinxin suddenly saw Eunuch Cheng coming in, their faces changed with fright, they just knelt aside and kept silent. Mr. Cheng just yelled, only to hear a female voice say kindly: "Lenggong is a forbidden place in the palace. Of course it is wrong for them to burn paper money, but Cheng Han, you are making noise in Lenggong, and you are too unruly." Hearing this sound, Cheng Han was so frightened that he bent down to guard the side of the road, stretched out his hand to hold a well-maintained hand wearing various jewels and rings, and said in fear and fear: "The cold palace is filthy, the empress dowager is careful." The empress dowager walked in slowly holding his hand, and said with a faint smile: "I think it's not like I didn't come to the cold palace when I was young, so I just revisited it as the old place." Everyone reported that during the Ghost Festival, someone dared to burn paper money in the harem without authorization, which is really bold." Ruyi and Xinxin haven't seen the Queen Mother for a long time, and they feel that she looks better and better. She is wearing a green gauze embroidered dragon peony and gold circle longevity collared gauze cloak with a full head of red gold and Hetian jade tinsel, which makes her look more energetic . When Ruyi saw the queen mother, the fear had not faded from his face, but his eyes were full of hot tears, as if a lonely soul who had never seen anyone suddenly saw an old friend, his eyes only fell on the queen mother, bowed his head and kowtowed three times Nodding his head, he said: "My servant has been locked in the cold palace for a long time, and the queen mother is the first person to come to see my servant. Although this servant knows that she will be punished by the queen mother, but seeing that the queen mother is in good spirits and everything is fine, this servant is willing to accept any punishment. .” Seeing her being so sincere, the queen mother couldn't help feeling a little bit emotional: "You child, you still miss Aijia so much in the cold palace." Lai Xin leaned beside Ruyi, boldly said: "If you go back to the empress dowager, although my young master is in the cold palace, he will miss the empress all the time in his heart, and he will go to the window to pray every day, praying for the empress dowager to be in good health and prolong his life." .” The Empress Dowager hesitated for a moment, a look of emotion flashed in her eyes, and then she looked around and said, "The Ai family thought you were staying here peacefully. With such intentions, how dare you violate the taboos in the palace and burn paper money here? unlucky." Xing Xin was frightened, and hurriedly said: "The queen mother calms down, the queen mother calms down. The young master's Ama, the master Nabul of the Wulanala family passed away, and it is exactly the first seven days of today. The young master did not intend to offend the palace rules. I also ask the queen mother to understand the little master's filial piety." The Empress Dowager's expression did not show any clues, as if the calm lake was not disturbed by the waves: "Filial piety is selfishness, and the palace rules are public. How can you neglect justice for selfishness. Cheng Han, according to the palace rules, how should we deal with it?" Cheng Han raised the corners of his mouth, and said with a smirk: "Burning paper money without authorization is against the palace rules, and should be rewarded with the punishment of red lotus every step of the way." The queen mother slowly moved the red gold inlaid Hetian jade armor in her hand, and said in a deep voice: "The palace rules are as big as the sky, so reward them!" The so-called step-by-step red lotus is to take a ruler and pull out the long barbed wire to the sole of the foot, and beat it down with one blow. There is no good flesh on the sole of the foot and the back of the foot, and all the muscles and bones are exposed.Both feet of the tortured person have been useless since then, and when he was lifted up to walk, his bones touched the ground, leaving blood-red traces, like red lotuses blooming. When Ruyi heard this, she couldn't help but break out in cold sweat, which immediately spread to her neck and wet her collar. Qiao Xin almost fainted, kowtowed desperately and said: "Queen Dowager, Empress Dowager, please forgive me, please forgive me." The queen mother shook her head slightly, and said calmly: "Once you do anything, you must bear the consequences. Just accept it."