Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen Rui Ji (Part 2)

This night was the first day of the twelfth lunar month, and the emperor stayed in the queen's palace as usual.Ruyi heard the cold wind outside the window and the snow falling, and was thinking about something while facing the lamp, but saw Ah Ruo coming in, shaking off the snowflakes all over her body, and said, "My lord." Ruyi poured a bowl of tea from her own pot and handed it to her, and then held the stove to her: "Have a cup of hot tea to warm up first." A Ruo was trembling from the cold, and drank the tea in one go. Fang Nuan came over and said, "I have found out clearly. Mei promised that it was indeed from our mansion, and it was also the person who came in from the old master. But that year the late emperor All the prefectures have selected good musicians to fill in the Southern Mansion, and it’s not just our family. The slaves have asked, and Mei promised to be seventeen this year, and she was sent in when she was twelve.”

In the brazier, glowing red charcoal was burning extremely vigorously, and a few bright red fire spots burst out from time to time.Ruyi slowly fingernails, and said with concentration: "Could it be that my aunt has arranged for someone to stay in the palace so early? It's just that there is such a person, and my aunt never mentioned it to me." A Ruo twisted her braids and said: "The slaves think the same way. It's just that in the last few years the old master was too busy to take care of himself, and he didn't have much contact with the young master, and sometimes he forgot."

Ruyi nodded: "Maybe we were overthinking it, but all the mansions sent people in, and we happened to have one too. In the eyes of others, they became suspicious and gave birth to ghosts, thinking that I instigated them to send them to the emperor." over there." A Ruo said: "Isn't it? We're going to throw all kinds of messes on our heads, my lord, don't be so good-tempered. Whenever you give them a cold shot, they will know how powerful they are." Ruyi smiled: "Nothing is more powerful than your mouth!" She knelt down, picked up the dark fire chopsticks and touched the charcoal in the brazier, a burst of fragrance came out from the bottom, Ah Ruo sniffed her nose, and said happily: "Okay Fragrant! It smells like roasted chestnuts!"

Ruyi smiled and said, "I know you like to eat. I threw a few chestnuts into the brazier just after you went out. It's just right now. Take it out with fire chopsticks and scald your hands carefully." A Ruo hastily agreed with a smile, took out the roasted chestnuts, peeled them off and ate them, regardless of the heat. The warm pavilion was brightly lit, and there was a faint sweet smell of chestnuts. The master and servant looked at each other and smiled, but they were also happy. For the next few days, whenever there is a bed attendant, Mei from the Yonghe Palace must agree, and she is favored so deeply that she is in the limelight for a while.Coupled with the heavy snow for several days, it was inconvenient to go out, and the queen did not have to worry about it in the morning and evening. For a while, everyone was curious about this Mei Xu who had never met before.

After five or six days, the snow stopped and the sun cleared, and I was finally able to go out.Greetings from the palace today, everyone arrived very early. Sure enough, after sitting down and chatting with the queen for a few words, the eunuch outside the palace sent a message: "Mei promised to arrive." Hearing this sound, the concubines, who were still laughing and talking, fell silent and looked out unconsciously. The door of the palace was opened, and a woman in a satin flag embroidered with gardenia flowers and butterflies embroidered in cherry red came in with her head bowed. She combed her hair in a delicate bun, and there were no gold ornaments in her hair, only sporadically decorated with tourmaline flowers. , with two snow-colored flow-bead hairpins slanted on the top of the bun, and glittering Ziying beads are inlaid on the rolled-up temples.When she got closer, she saw that her dress was embroidered with a small flower of light crimson gardenia petals, accompanied by a lake blue and light emerald butterfly with silver threads. As if taking a breath, the flowers and branches will spread out in the world, and the spring butterflies will flutter on the skirt of the clothes.

Concubine Hui saw that she was no longer dressed like she used to be, and sneered: "Foomy!" Because Mei promised to keep her head down all the time, although she didn't see her face clearly, Jiagui was already wondering: "Our winter clothes are heavy, why is her body light and thin, as if she is not afraid of the cold?" Sitting next to her, Concubine Chun said in a low voice: "I heard from the Ministry of Internal Affairs that Jiang Ning has weaved a new kind of warm satin. Although it is light and thin, it is very warm." The noble man sighed deeply and said: "Since the emperor came to the throne, the empress has issued an order that she is not allowed to use pure gold jewelry, gold thread is not allowed to weave clothes, and she is not allowed to use good materials from the south of the Yangtze River. She is said to be wasteful. Looking at her now The clothes are made of Su satin, and silver thread is used to embroider them as a promise, although no gold decorations are used, but why is the tourmaline not so expensive?"

The pure concubine shook her head lightly, signaling her to keep silent. Mei agreed to bow her head and saluted, "The concubine Yonghe Palace promises Mrs. Bai to see the empress and all the young masters. The empress and the empress are blessed and safe, and all the young masters will do as they please." The queen smiled gracefully, and said softly: "This is Sister Mei, we should have met each other a long time ago. It's just that it has been snowing heavily, and we didn't see each other until today. Get up, Lian Xin, and give me your seat." Mei promised to raise her head. Seeing her dressed up like this, everyone thought she was a charming beauty, but when they looked up, it was just a fair and beautiful face.Others didn't think much of it, Jiagui couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief first, he just lowered his head and picked the soft silver bracelet with pearls and emeralds on his wrist, smiling and not speaking.

Lian Xin added a chair behind Hai Chang and asked Mei to sit there, and served tea graciously. Mei promised that she was not shy, and said loudly: "I should have come to visit the empress earlier, but it's a pity that the weather has not been good, so I can't come until today." The queen's raised lips outlined a gentle smile: "Whether you come or not, it's just a wish. When you meet day and night, you will know that all the sisters are easy to get along with." He pointed to the concubine to lead her to see him. The noble man laughed softly: "Not only are we easy to get along with, but the emperor also loves my sister very much. The material of my sister's body is light and warm, and it must be the warm satin that Jiang Ning paid tribute to."

Mei promised with a faint smile, "Mr. Jiagui has good eyesight." The noble man wanted to smile but didn't smile: "It's not because of my good eyesight, but because I saw my sister wearing thin clothes at first glance, I was afraid that I would freeze my sister. It turned out to be the emperor's wish. It's just that this warm satin is so rare that even the empress's palace can't bear it." No, I just heard about it and made a random guess." When the nobleman spoke eloquently, everyone inevitably became more jealous, Mei agreed with the same indifferent expression: "Is that so? The emperor just rewarded me with clothes, I don't ask much about anything else, and I don't know anything about it."

Seeing her lazy expression, the concubines knew it was not easy to get along with her.It was Concubine Hui who said: "Since the emperor ascended the throne, the empress has always advocated the simplicity of the harem. My sister just agreed, and the clothes are a little more luxurious." Mei promised to be lazy and raised her eyes: "Really? The emperor likes concubines to dress like this." Concubine Hui choked for a moment, feeling a little annoyed. The queen saw some clues, and said calmly: "Okay. Although the snow has stopped outside, but the weather is cold and the road is slippery, everyone should go back early. It is almost the end of the year, so don't freeze your body." it is good."

The people agreed to leave, and each got on the chariot sedan chair and went back to the palace. A Ruo wrapped Ruyi in a cloud-white and green-twig-patterned goose feather cloak, wrapped up her fur and the stove, and helped her out by the hand.Ruyi looked at the ice, snow and silver makeup all over the world, and said, "Don't pass on the sedan chair, such a beautiful snow scene, let's walk back slowly from the imperial garden." A Ruo smiled and said, "Alright. I haven't come out for a few days, and I'm so bored." The two were about to step out when they suddenly heard a voice calling from behind: "Concubine Xian, please stay." Ruyi turned her head away, but saw Mei promised to come forward with a little maid's hand, and said with a smile: "Hello, Concubine Xian." Yaxing, my concubine just wants to go to the imperial garden to enjoy the snow, I wonder if the empress is willing to go with my concubine?" Ruyi smiled and said, "Since my younger sister is willing, it's better to go alone than with a company." The two walked forward slowly. Although the sunshine after the snow didn't have much warmth, it looked even brighter with the snow light.The snow that has accumulated for many days has made the imperial garden even more dazzlingly white, as if walking in crystal clear glass.Occasionally, the snow on the branches fell to the ground and made a slight rustling sound, which further made the surrounding quiet as if it was not in this world.At this time, the snow cover is tentatively settled, and occasionally a few wintersweet plants are in full bloom.The wintersweet has plain yellow powder makeup, the color is like beeswax, a golden tree, and the new snow between the plum branches complements it, and the breath only makes people feel fresh and fragrant, cold and fragrant. Ruyi unconsciously took a deep breath, Mei agreed to notice, and smiled: "Isn't Concubine Xian like plum blossoms?" Ruyi stretched out her hand to grab a flower branch that looked like honey jelly, sniffed it lightly, and said intoxicated: "Yes, especially the green plum, which is elegant and pleasant, not out of the ordinary." Mei agreed, "Your Majesty, have you ever seen Lumei?" Ruyi nodded: "When I was young, I went to Suzhou with Ama, and I saw it twice at that time. It is really the most beautiful thing in the world." Mei agreed with a slight snort, with a three-point coldness on her lips: "The concubine was also bought from Suzhou because she was good at playing the Yueqin, and was sent to the palace by chance." Ruyi wondered: "I heard that Mei promised to be born in the Pipa Department of Nanfu, shouldn't she be good at playing the pipa?" Mei promised to stare quietly, and dark gray sadness flowed from the bottom of her eyes: "The concubine was originally good at Yueqin, but because she entered Nanfu and taught her master that the late emperor liked pipa, she changed to learn it." Her single sigh fell away in an instant. In the cold wind, "everything is not the same? What you like and what you like are all decided by others, and you can't help yourself at all." Ruyi heard that she was sentimental about her life experience, so she tentatively said, "Are you blaming Ulanala Mansion for sending you to Nan Mansion back then?" Mei agreed with a cold smile: "Sending a concubine is also a gift, and sending others is the same. What is there to blame? If you don't send a concubine to Nanfu, the concubine is just a musician in the mansion, floating like duckweed. Where Comparable to concubine Xian's gold and jade, even the flowers she likes are rare green plums with delicate bones, in comparison, concubines are just catkins in the wind, and willows are doomed." "It's a pity that this green plum is really hard to come by. Everything is too strange to last forever. Concubine Xian, don't you think so?" Ruyi raised her head when she heard the sound, only to see Concubine Hui standing under a wintersweet tree not far away with someone, with two wintersweet branches folded in her hands, smiling at her. When Ruyi saw her, he and Mei agreed to bow down and salute: "Greetings to the noble concubine." Concubine Hui ordered "get up" and said with a smile: "The wind is blowing smoothly. Hearing that Concubine Xian and Mei agreed to chat, it made Mei agree to hurt herself." Ri Dang looked at her with admiration, saying that Mei agreed." Mei agreed to bow her head slightly: "See you again, the imperial concubine is graceful and luxurious, and her demeanor is still the same." Concubine Hui looked at her carefully, and finally set her eyes on her slender fingertips like water onions: "You are so good at talking, Nanfu should choose you to sing, it's a pity that you only play the pipa. I haven't asked yet." Sister, what's your name?" Mei promised not to believe that she didn't know, but she still replied: "The concubine's surname is Bai, and her name is Ruiji." Concubine Hui had a sweet smile on her lips, and the coolness in her eyes was no different from that of ice and snow: "It really is a good name, and it was born for people to enjoy and enjoy." Mei agreed with a frown, but her face was calm and unwavering: "It is destined, if it can provide the emperor with a momentary pleasure, it will be the supreme blessing for concubines." Concubine Hui's smile stopped, and she said coldly: "Don't think that if you make a promise, your favor will last for a long time. With your pipa, the emperor listens to a joke like a sparrow chirping in his spare time. It's really true." Do you think you have become Phoenix Qingtiao?" Mei promised to be neither humble nor overbearing, only with a faint smile, she looked at the sky leisurely and said: "The concubine knows that the pipa is not as good as the imperial concubine's empress, and her appearance is not as good as the imperial concubine's empress. But have you ever thought about it, why the emperor put empress's pipa skill is not good?" Listen, do you only like concubines and concubines who are so humble and trivial?" Concubine Hui's expression turned cold, and before she could reply, Mei agreed to turn her eyes leisurely on her face, and looked at a nearby wintersweet tree in full bloom as if unintentionally, and said leisurely: "Time flies, it's not forgiving!" Concubine Hui's complexion changed drastically, she saw her pink face gradually turning pale, as white as snow on the branches, her feet staggered slightly, and the palace servants around her hurriedly supported her tightly. Ruyi didn't hear right, and immediately scolded: "Presumptuous! How can you allow you to talk nonsense and commit crimes wantonly in front of the imperial concubine and this palace!" Mei promised not to be afraid, and her laughter fell on the snowy field like a wind chime under the eaves: "Concubine Xian, don't worry, your wife is only two years older than your concubine, how can you be willing to treat your wife so poorly? Concubine Who is talking about, that person naturally knows in his heart!" Ruyi originally had good intentions, thinking that she was also a member of the Wulanara family, and wanted to help her get over.Unexpectedly, Ruiji didn't appreciate it, and pointed at Concubine Hui more and more.Rao is an outsider like Ruyi, even after hearing this, he feels that he can't get off the stage. As soon as Concubine Hui stood firm, her face turned red when she heard this sentence, she was obviously extremely angry.Her gaze was like a sharp sword, she wished she could stab two blood holes fiercely on Meiyue's young and plump face.In a moment, two words came out of her mouth: "Slap the mouth!" Those words were so loud that there was no room for half-sentence refutation.Shun Cheng, the chief eunuch next to Concubine Hui, grabbed Mei's promised shoulder and was about to press down.Bisheng Namei promised to be from Nanfu. She has a body like a water snake, and she can twist it away with a slight twist.Shuncheng was quick and merciless this time, kicking her hard in the knee, Mei agreed to suffer the pain, and knelt down in the snow all at once.Shuncheng was about to slap her across the face, Mei promised how she would be humiliated, and shouted: "I am the emperor's own concubine, how can you be insulted by a slave?" Shuncheng hesitated for a moment, but he refused to let go of the hand that pressed Mei's promised shoulder. Ruyi saw that the situation was not good, so she hurriedly begged: "Imperial concubine, Rui Ji just agreed not long ago, and I haven't understood all the rules and etiquette in the palace, but please forgive me, please forgive her." Concubine Hui smiled coldly, ignored Ruyi, and only looked at Mei and agreed: "I just climbed out of the crowd of slaves, so I despise you as a slave and don't deserve to touch you? You are the emperor's personal promise, my palace She is the imperial concubine personally appointed by the emperor. If you dare to offend this palace, you deserve to be punished! Shuncheng, give this palace a slap in the face!" As soon as the words fell, Mei promised a slap on Xuebai's delicate cheek.Shun Chengxian punched down with all his strength, and Mei's left cheek immediately swelled up, and a scarlet bloodstain overflowed from the corner of his mouth.Still not afraid, she raised her head and said, "It's fine for others to say the word slave. The imperial concubine herself was born as a slave in clothes, so what is the difference between concubine and concubine? Who is more noble than whom?" Since Concubine Hui raised her flag as Gao Jia's family, she hated people mentioning that she was born in a coat of the Han army flag, and she was a bit shorter than Ruyi.At this time, in Ruyi's presence again, she became even more angry and trembling all over, pointed at Mei and agreed sharply: "Shuncheng, she doesn't know how to live or die, so you don't have to show mercy! Give Ben Gong a hard hit, hit her Be honest!" With this order, Shuncheng lost 12 percent of his strength, and slapped him twice again.Ruyi turned her head and couldn't bear to look at it, but the voice was crackling and loud, and she couldn't hide it even if she wanted to. Suddenly there was a sharp "Stop" in the ear, and everyone turned around hearing the words, but saw a mighty group of people, the first four were selling the golden phoenix head and carrying the furnace, and the eunuch was behind holding the Zhai fan and the five-color nine-phoenix umbrella with a crank handle. Scorching, especially eye-catching in the snow.Zhao Yitai, who was beside the queen, walked ahead and shouted: "The empress is here!" Everyone regained their senses and hurriedly bowed down together, saying in unison: "May the queen be blessed and safe." The queen's expression was not good, and she didn't say "Get up" for a while, looking down at everyone: "I wanted to go to Elder Brother's house to visit some princesses and Elder Brothers, but when I came here, I heard you making a lot of noise. Disrespectful!" Her gaze glided past the imperial concubine, concubine Xian, and Mei Xu calmly, with a bit of seriousness, "This is the royal garden in the palace, not your own execution ground, so you can lose the royal family here. system!" Concubine Hui gave Mei a resentful glance and agreed, tried to force a smile, and replied: "The empress is angry. The empress doesn't know something, and Mei promised to speak arrogantly and wantonly offend her. My concubine is an old pearl..." Mei promised not to show any weakness, and raised her face to reveal two bloodstains on the corners of her lips, which looked stern and hideous on her snow-white face, "Empress Mingjian, my concubine said that Concubine Hui was born in a coat, but it was only because of the birth of a noble concubine that she was dressed in a coat." There is nothing wrong with today's honor and favor. However, the concubine never said these four words, "You are old and pearly", and the concubine is just sighing that the time is passing by." She turned her head and glanced at Ruyi, "Queen If you don't believe me, you can ask Concubine Xian." Ruyi listened to her rebuttal, although she meant that the imperial concubine is old and pearly, but she did not say the words "people are old and pearly", so she could only reply: "It is true that Caimei promised to be disrespectful, but the words 'people are old and pearly' are indeed not said." Concubine Hui became more and more annoyed: "Although she didn't say these four words, she really meant that. Concubine Xian, you are so conniving and cover-up. If you say that there is no connection with Mei, I really don't believe it!" Ruyi was shocked, and wanted to argue again, thinking that Concubine Hui had already decided that it would be useless to say more, so she simply ignored her gender. The queen's complexion darkened, and she shouted: "Okay. Everyone has their own ideas, and there are occasional misunderstandings." She calmed down and said kindly, "Mei promised to be a new concubine, so it's not enough to be polite. You are a noble concubine second only to me, so you should be disciplined and restrained. Since you slapped your mouth and your face has become like this, that's all, let's all get up." "Mei promised to be a new concubine, so there is naturally a lack of courtesy. You are a noble concubine who is second only to me, and you should be disciplined and restrained. Since you slapped your mouth and your face has become like this, that's all, get up." Bar." Everyone hurriedly thanked and got up, Mei agreed stubbornly: "Your Majesty, the concubine's words were indeed wrong, but the concubine was so angry that she clapped her hands. The concubine's face was damaged not long after she served the emperor. If the emperor asks, the concubine will not Dare not to answer." The queen looked at her without any warmth: "If the emperor asks you, you will stick to your own words, and the emperor will not listen to anyone. This palace will only speak honestly. You made a mistake in words, and the imperial concubine punished you well, but The person who punished you is just too harsh. No matter how restless you are and make troubles frequently, this palace will not tolerate you!" The queen seldom speaks in such a tone, Ruyi knows the advantages and disadvantages, so she hurriedly pulled the cloak that Lamei promised.Mei promised to hear the queen's tone, so she didn't dare to speak again for a while. The queen saw that everyone was silent, so she said gently to Ruyi: "Concubine Xian, you haven't participated too much in this matter. How about it, you send Mei to agree to go back and persuade her a few words." Ruyi didn't want to take this job at first, lest everyone think that she really has something to do with Rui Ji.But Fang just didn't finish asking some questions, thinking that since he was in this suspicion, he couldn't avoid it for a while, so he agreed. Seeing that the two had gone far away, Concubine Hui couldn't help but angrily said: "The empress is generous and kind, but this kind of little servant girl comes from a humble background and is frivolous and arrogant. If she doesn't teach the rules well, I'm afraid the emperor's favor will turn the world upside down." of." The queen glanced at her coldly: "I hit you too, and you made her kneel in the snow. What else do you want? You really broke your face and kneeled and hurt your knees. Your Majesty asked her to blame her. How do you answer?" Concubine Hui said angrily: "The concubine is just telling the truth. It was Mei who promised herself that she was wrong first." The queen glanced at her, shook her head and said: "She is indeed wrong, but you are a noble concubine, and you are a high-ranking person, so you should be tolerant. This kind of outbreak is only for a few words and quarrels, even if Mei really agreed Wrong, the emperor will only blame you for not being open-minded enough." The queen continued to confide in her heart, "My good sister, I don't want to blame you, she is the emperor's new favorite, no matter what, you should endure this momentary anger. After a long time, the emperor has cooled down, and if you want to be beaten and punished, the emperor will not feel sorry for you, but will still think you are right. Do you understand?" Only then did Concubine Hui show a bit of frustration: "The concubine has beaten her face like this, will the emperor blame the concubine?" The queen sighed slightly: 'You!Alright, if the emperor wants to really get involved in this matter, I will help you get over it.In addition, I will ask someone to bring you some cooling and swelling ointment from the Tai Hospital.After all, she was also at fault for this matter, if she knew the pros and cons of it, she would not dare to cry to the emperor at will. " Only then did Concubine Hui feel relieved, and she was convinced: "With the queen empress in charge, the ministers and concubines can feel at ease." The queen turned her head and ordered: "Su Xin, you go to the imperial hospital immediately to send some plaster to the Yonghe Palace, don't delay." Su Xin agreed to go.Concubine Hui said gratefully: "The concubine thanked the queen." The queen smiled gratifyingly, and said: "Okay. If you are free, you can accompany me to Elder Brother's place." Concubine Hui hurriedly helped the queen's hand, and the two walked away hand in hand through the snow.