Chapter 30 Chapter Thirty

It gets dark early in winter, and no one is moving around in the imperial garden at this time.Ruyi was just about to go around the lotus pond on the rockery with all her heart, when suddenly she heard a loud noise, followed by the sound of splashing water. Ruyi was startled, but immediately understood, and lost her voice, "No, someone fell into the water!" The sky is dark in winter, and the branches are intertwined in front of the eyes, and half of the rockery is hidden, covering most of the sight.Ruyi was flustered when she heard the movement, so she hurried around the rockery and ran to the water's edge.The splashing water in the pool became smaller and smaller, but there was no sound of calling for help. Sanbao was startled, and hurriedly shouted: "Save me—"

Ruyi immediately shouted: "Why are you shouting for help? Why don't you save yourself when someone comes?" Sanbao gritted his teeth, not caring about the coldness of the water, he jumped into the water and swam desperately towards the place where the waves rose.Soon Sanbao fished out a drenched person from the water, she was still coughing and panting, Ruyi's heart relaxed, knowing that she was still alive, she hurriedly called to Xin to help her to lie flat on the ground.In the haze, I only saw that the woman was dressed in a court lady's attire, but she had quite a status.Ling Xin held up the lantern to shine on her face, and said in surprise, "My lord, it's Lian Xin!"

Ruyi was shocked when she saw Lian Xin's face clearly, and she calmed down in a flash. Seeing that she was covered in water, her chest heaved weakly, she was speechless for a while.Ruyi gave her a wink, and pinned her chest desperately to control the water in her stomach. Sanbao shivered from the cold, turned around and said, "My lord, this servant is going to invite the imperial physician!" Ruyi shouted: "Stupid!" She kept quiet, "The closest to here is the Yangxing Zhai, there is no one there, you go over there and light a brazier to roast, and then find a nearby eunuch to change into clean clothes. Remember, no Shout out!"

Sanbao immediately agreed and trotted over. Ruyi and Song Xin pressed hard for a while, only to see a lot of clear water spit out from Lian Xin's mouth, her eyes opened, and the eyeballs slowly moved.She stared blankly for a long time, and finally asked hesitantly, "Concubine Xian..." Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, and took off her cloak and put it on her body: "It's good if you can talk." Seeing no one around, she said, "Xin Xin, it's too windy here, Lian Xin can't see people like this , send her to Yangxing Zhai." Xing Xin agreed, and half-supporting and half-holding Xing Xin went to Yangxing Zhai.Yangxingzhai was originally a two-story pavilion in the southwest of the Imperial Garden. Because no one lived in it, the eunuchs and maids cleaned it for the temporary rest of the concubines visiting the garden, so the layout is complete.Sanbao had already built a few braziers, and when he saw them coming in, he left to change clothes.Ruyi saw that Lian Xin sat down, Fang said: "Xin Xin, go to the palace and find clean maid clothes for Lian Xin to change into, remember to keep quiet."

Su Xin hurriedly closed the door. Ruyi said: "So, you don't want to live anymore?" "It's better to die early than to live like this. Since I can't commit suicide, I can always fall into the water! What's so terrible about death? It's all about dying early and being reborn early!" Ruyi stared at her: "So, on the night of your wedding, the screams from the verandah..." Lian Xin's mournful cry was like a piece of cloth that was randomly torn, and she let out a rough and frightening voice: "Yes! From the day I was given marriage to be his counterpart, my days are over. The daytime is the last time in front of the empress. The embarrassing lady-in-waiting is the counterpart of the deputy chief eunuch. She looks so beautiful and everyone pleases everyone. But at night, as soon as it gets dark, I am afraid. He is not a human, he is a beast! There is still a lot of things missing. Be a man's beast by force!"

Ruyi said: "He hit you?" Holding back her tears, Lian Xin gritted her teeth and said, "Hit me? Which court lady has never been beaten since she was a child, what am I afraid of?" She lifted up her sleeves and rolled them up high. Her elbows were intact, which did not prevent Lian Xin from showing her clothes when she was working. The wrist with nine silver bracelets and emerald jade bracelets.But the places above the elbows that are not easily exposed are blue or purple, accompanied by dozens of rows of deep tooth marks, as if there is a deep hatred. Those tooth marks bit into the flesh and blood, with dark brown blood scabs.Where it has not healed, there are new bites.Barely an inch of skin was left intact.

Ruyi was shocked to see: "Wang Qin hates you so much, why should he ask the queen to marry you?" Lian Xin sneered, tears froze in the corners of her eyes: "Because he needs a woman, a woman who will bring him dignity during the day, and a woman who can be tortured by him at night." She sneered and made a trill like a night owl , "He doesn't know how to kiss women, so he bites. He can't be like a man, so he just pricks my body with needles, every inch of my body. He tried his best to be a man, to make up for what he lacked, so he took All kinds of things I can think of stabbed me. I begged him, I cried, but he became more and more happy! Concubine Xian, do you know how I survive every day like this?"

Ruyi felt chills in her heart, she didn't dare to imagine, just thinking about it made her feel extremely sick, and even her heart, liver and lungs trembled.However, Lian Xin lived in such days, struggling with ups and downs, unable to support her life.Lian Xin looked at her clutching her chest, and suddenly gave a sad smile: "Concubine Xian, your complexion and your disgust tell me that you are imagining my hard life. Thank you, because I have tried Tell the empress, but she read Amitabha just after listening to a sentence, and asked me to marry a chicken and follow a chicken and marry a dog to follow a dog. Fortunately, you are thinking of me."

Ruyi endured the strong ups and downs in her stomach, and tried her best not to connect the bloody scene with Lian Xin, but sincerely expressed even greater surprise: "The queen actually knows? She won't help you?" Lian Xin flinched, only ashes of despair remained in her eyes: "Yes. The empress is willing to marry me to Wang Qin because she wants to have an extra layer of security and know what the emperor thinks. If I can't do this, I can't do it. If the Empress wants to save me, how can she agree? She will never tear her face apart for me and Wang Qin!" Her tears were full of depravity and despair, like a person who has fallen to the bottom of a cliff and is unable to climb up again. Get up, "Both Wang Qin and the Empress told me not to kill myself, otherwise it will hurt my family. But I really can't live anymore, so it's always okay to fall into the water?"

Ruyi held her breath, and said in a deep voice: "If Wang Qin doesn't want you to die, and doesn't want to lose his little fun, no matter if you commit suicide or make a mistake, he will treat you as suicide and drag your whole family to hell together. If a ferocious beast hurts people, it still wants to eat your family after you feed it, what do you think should be done?" Lian Xin's eyes lit up slightly: "You mean, kill the beast to prevent future troubles? But I'm just a court lady, what can I do?" Ruyi stared at her with a calm tone: "Anyone who wants to live will think so. Wang Qin tortured you and hurt you. He is shameless, but he also saw that you dare not resist and are ashamed to speak out. In this case, You pretend to be tame. Because you want to kill the beast with a knife, since you don’t have enough strength, you can dig traps, put poison, or even use other people’s hands to kill him. In this way, you will be clean with yourself, and you will not be troubled. You, let you be ridiculed."

Lian Xin was a little timid, and said in confusion: "Concubine Xian thinks that slaves can do it?" Ruyi smiled and said: "You are not even afraid of death, what else can you not do? It's just that patience is the first priority in everything. If you are impatient and can't help it, then nothing can be done." Lian Xin seemed to be very afraid of Wang Qin, hesitated for a long time and was still speechless.Just as he was hesitating, Xin Xin came in with a clean suit in his arms: "My lord, this servant has tried to choose a suit that is similar to what Aunt Lianxin is wearing today, please change into it immediately." Ruyi glanced at her, and motioned for Xin to take off the cloak that Lian Xin was wearing.Ruyi turned around and left, and said slowly: "Hair is almost dry, it's up to you whether you want to change into clean clothes or let yourself be so wet and dance in the lotus pond again." Ruyi walked a few steps, and was about to open the door to go out, only to hear Lian Xin knelt down on the ground, kowtowed, and her tone was as cold as iron: "Thank you for the clothes of Concubine Xian, I will go out after changing." Ruyi smiled calmly and walked out without looking back.With Xin closing the door behind him, Ruyi said in a low voice, "Go and tell Li Yu to prepare, his day is coming soon." Still can't wait for Li Yu's first day, one day in the twelfth lunar month, Meigui suddenly gave birth prematurely.Ruyi clearly remembered that it was late at night. Sitting in the warm pavilion, she watched the moonlight dye the bright paper pasted on the window into silvery white frost on the tiles, and the faint shadow of the curtains burned on the green gauze cabinet.In the pavilion, there is only the monotonous sound of the copper leak, eating away the time inch by inch.The emperor was concentrating on looking at the roster sent by the House of Internal Affairs, while Ruyi lay quietly on the stretcher, stitch by stitch, turning colorful silk threads into exquisite landscape butterflies on snow-white silk.The warm pavilion was extremely quiet, only the slight sound of the candle wick being peeled off and the crisp sound of red bamboo charcoal burning in the hollow plum blossom charcoal basin. Tired of embroidery, Ruyi got up and went to the emperor, and said with a smile: "Didn't the Ministry of Internal Affairs draw up the name of Xiang Li after giving birth to the child? Now, Mrs. Mei will give birth in a month, and I don't know if it is a boy or not." Girl, how did you come up with a name?" The emperor smiled faintly unconsciously, and said: "The imperial doctor said, most likely he is an elder brother. Of course, the princess is also good. It's not that I'm impatient, it's because the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs will look at me and think that I I have special expectations for my first child after ascension to the throne, so I have drawn up a name first." Ruyi said: "Since the Ministry of Internal Affairs knows the emperor's expectations, it must have chosen a proper name." The emperor embraced her and said, "Look for me." The emperor read one by one, "My elder brother proposed three names, the characters for Yong from the side of jade, Yongyu, Yongxuan, and Yongjue; the title of the princess was proposed. I got two, He Ning and He Yi, which one do you think is better?" Ruyi smiled and pushed the emperor: "The emperor should ask the nobleman Mei, why should he ask the concubines?" The emperor smiled and said: "Sooner or later you will be the person who will be my mother, our child, I will let you choose a name." Ruyi smiled and spat, and the silver hollow enamel butterfly in the bun tremblingly fluttered its hair-thin wings: "The emperor will take the beauty of Meigui's pregnancy to make fun of my concubine." The emperor said: "I also wanted to ask Mrs. Mei what she meant. But she was not feeling well all the time. She always said that she was dizzy and had a lot of blisters in her mouth. She has not recovered. I only hope that she can take care of herself. It will be fine to give birth to the baby safely." Ruyi was a little shy, pointed to one of them and said: "Since the emperor has great expectations for Meigui's child, Yonghong is very good. If it is a princess, both He Ning and He Yi are very good, and I will draw another one." A unique boudoir name is even better." The emperor clapped his hands and said: "Then I will listen to you, I also like the name Yonghong very much." The sound of copper leaking was clear, and the tea smoke in the cup gradually cooled down, dissipating the dense heat.Ruyi nestled in the emperor's arms, listening to the whirling sound of pines and bamboos in the wind outside the window, her heart became more and more peaceful and peaceful. Ruyi and the emperor leaned side by side under the window, the starry sky on a winter night was extraordinarily clear and quiet, and the cold stars with their icy radiance were as far away as the Milky Way, as if they could be picked by hand.Ruyi smiled beside the emperor and said, "When I was in the residence, one year the emperor took his concubines to a high tower in the suburbs of Beijing. We stayed late and watched the stars. That's it, I dare not speak loudly. , to frighten the heavenly beings." The emperor kissed her earlobe, and embraced her: "It's inconvenient to go out in the palace now. But in the future, I promise you, I will take you all over the world." Ruyi Yiyi said: "The emperor likes the soft blue smoke green and the rainy peach blossoms in the south of the Yangtze River the most." The emperor's clear face was full of yearning: "You remember what I said. When I was a child, I heard Emperor Ama speak Buddhist verses, and I couldn't breathe. Where would I settle down? I thought about it, and I went to the mountains and rivers. The best landscape is in the south of the Yangtze River. So where I want to go, you will definitely be there. We will go to the south of the Yangtze River sooner or later." He said, and caught a glimpse of Ruyi who had just embroidered a little, "The craftsmanship is getting better and better. Yes, but why did you give me such a handkerchief at that time, it seems that you embroidered it when you first learned how to embroider." Ruyi's smile was like a white plum that just bloomed on a branch, and there was a bit of naughtiness in her eyes: "It's been so long since I gave it away, and the emperor didn't come to ask until now. Did you feel bad and threw it away a long time ago?" The emperor smiled and pinched her nose: "Yeah, it's just because it's not good, so you have to treasure it. Because your embroidery skills will only get better and better in the future, and you won't become like that again." Ruyi said in a low voice: "Although it's not perfect, it was my original intention. Qingying, Hongli." The emperor smiled silently, like the clear moonlight shining on the clear frost, or like the wind carrying the fragrance of roses in late spring, rising and falling warmly and gently. The courtyard is full of clear moonlight in the deep winter, as if the water is clear and empty.Occasionally, a light wind will wrinkle a piece of moon shadow, just like the ripples on the lake, rippling thousands of bamboo shadows.Ruyi looked at the red and white plums blooming outside the window, and the cold fragrance was refreshing, but she just thought silently, so, it must be a quiet time. Just as she was thinking, she heard a rush of footsteps outside, as if there was a low voice, like broken stones rushing to break the calm of the lake. Ruyi was slightly displeased, and raised her voice, "Who is outside?" It was the great eunuch Wang Qin who came in. In such a cold weather, there was faint sweat on his forehead.When Ruyi saw his face, she thought of Lian Xin's injury, and turned her head away feeling uncomfortable.Wang Qin was so anxious that his voice changed: "Your Majesty, people from the Yonghe Palace have come to report that Mrs. Mei is going to give birth!" The emperor was startled suddenly, and his expression changed: "Didn't the imperial doctor say that the birth date is next month?" Wang Qin hurriedly said: "The servant who served said that he was fine during the dinner, and he also got a bowl of red dates and bird's nest soup that the Queen Mother rewarded. After dinner, he was planning to go for a walk, but when he went out, he jumped off a big bird's nest from the wall. The black cat startled Mrs. Mei, and her fetus became gassy all at once." The emperor's nostrils opened and closed slightly, obviously angry, and shouted: "Absurd! There are so many people serving, it's not thoughtful at all!" Ruyi hurriedly persuaded: "Your Majesty, now is not the time to get angry. Hurry up and see Mrs. Mei." The emperor got up quickly, and Ruyi put on the sea dragon skin cloak for him.The emperor held her hand and said, "You go with me." Ruyi nodded quietly: "The concubine is accompanying the emperor." Yonghe Palace is the closest to Yanxi Palace, go out from the back door of Yanxi Palace, bypass the corridors of Renze Gate and Deyang Gate, and you will arrive.Before entering the gate of Yonghe Palace, I heard a woman's shrill cry, it was like Ling Chi, which was unbearable to hear. The emperor held Ruyi's hand and immediately broke out a thin layer of cold sweat, which was greasy.Ruyi held her own silk in the emperor's hand, and said softly, "This is how women give birth. The pure concubine also suffered from severe pain at that time." The emperor was a little worried, and said, "Why is it that I heard Meigui's cry so terribly?" The two rushed into the palace gate, and the palace people were busy coming in and out, carrying pots of hot water and towels inside.The emperor stopped someone and said, "How is Mrs. Mei? Where's the imperial physician? Has the imperial physician come yet?" The man was so anxious that he was about to cry: "Several imperial doctors have come, and the midwife has also come, but the nobleman's stomach still hasn't moved." The emperor said anxiously: "It hurts like this when there is no movement? Go and call an imperial doctor, I want to ask him." The man agreed to run in, and quickly brought out an imperial doctor, who sentenced Qi Lu in the imperial hospital, before Qi Lu had time to meet the emperor, the emperor said: "You are already here, is it not good for Mrs. Mei?" Qi Lu hurriedly said: "The emperor is at ease. One month premature birth is not a big deal, but... it's just that the fetus is still not conceived, and I will prescribe oxytocin." The emperor ordered: "Hurry up! Serve Lady Mei's womb well, I will reward you a lot!" Qi Lu hurried in.But after a while, the queen also arrived with people.The queen hurriedly asked a few words, then told Su Xin: "Ask a few more people to go in and wait on you. You are not afraid of too many people, but you are afraid of not enough people." Su Xin immediately went to make arrangements.The queen said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, my concubine heard that Mrs. Mei was startled by the black cat. Black cats are bad luck and not very auspicious. My concubine has already asked the master of Baohua Palace to chant scriptures and pray for the success of Mrs. Mei's delivery of a child." , keep mother and child safe." The emperor breathed a sigh of relief, and said with relief: "The empress is virtuous, everything has worked hard." The queen smiled solemnly: "As the lord of the six palaces, the concubine is responsible for everything." The screams inside were even more miserable, like blunt knives cutting flesh, repeated again and again, in the silence of the night, it was creepy to hear.The serving maids kept coming in and out, bringing out basins of bloody water that was stained to the bones. The emperor's face became more and more ugly, and he could hardly hold back, and took a step forward.The empress immediately took the emperor's arm, and said in a soft but firm tone, "Your Majesty, the delivery room is bloody and you should not enter it." The emperor thought for a while, but stopped in his tracks. Wang Qin hurriedly persuaded: "Your Majesty, it's cold outside, why don't you go to the side hall and wait." The emperor gave a low "hmm" and strode into the side hall holding Ruyi's hand.Only Ruyi knew that he was holding his hand so hard to resist the fear caused by that terrible cry. The waiting time is always extremely anxious. Although there are more than a dozen braziers in the side hall, the ocean is as warm as spring, but mixed with the icy cold that occasionally comes in and out, the cold and warm, it seems that the heart is also hot and cold, Up and down. I don't know how long it took, and finally heard a faint cry. The emperor stood up suddenly, and Wang Qin greeted him with a smile all over his face: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, listen, the baby is born." The tension on the emperor's face was swept away, replaced by boundless joy.He walked outside quickly, and said to Qi Lu who was driven out from the bedroom: "How? Is it Elder Brother?" Qilu couldn't speak, but he didn't dare to look up, the emperor's smile faded slightly: "It doesn't matter if it's a princess." The queen frowned slightly, and listened attentively: "Why is the crying so weak? When the concubine Yong Lian was born, the crying was very loud." Before the words fell, there was a scream of fear in the bedroom, which was the voice of the child's mother. The emperor didn't know what happened, so he ordered: "Wang Qin, go and take the child out for me to see." Wang Qin hurried to go, and after a while, he took out a swaddling baby, but Wang Qin stood in the corridor with the swaddling baby in his arms and dared not come over. The emperor immediately changed his face: "What's going on?" Wang Qin's face turned blue, he shook his legs and said: "Your Majesty, Miss Mei has passed out. She..." The emperor only said: "What about the child? Show me quickly." Wang Qin hesitated and moved to the emperor, but refused to let go.The queen and Ruyi looked at each other, feeling vaguely uncomfortable. Wang Qin plopped down on his knees and said, "Your Majesty, no matter what you see, you stand still. You still have thousands of descendants..." Before he could finish speaking, the emperor had already stretched out his hand to remove the swaddle, and threw the golden red soft satin brocade quilt inside, revealing the child's round face, which was extremely cute.The emperor couldn't help smiling and said: "Isn't he a good child?" He stretched out his hand to shake off the swaddle slightly, Wang Qin almost trembled with fright, the emperor almost froze there, touching the swaddle's hand seemed to be As if being pricked by a needle, I took it back immediately.Ruyi felt something was wrong, and when she looked at it, she almost staggered in fright, and couldn't even utter a scream. 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.