Chapter 61 Section 61

For three days in a row, except for the big wedding, Prince Jia En and the ministers in the inner court issued four edicts, neither the empress dowager nor the emperor summoned the ministers.The emperor still served the Empress Dowager Cixi every day and listened to operas in Shufangzhai. The empress and concubines Jinzhen were still in the deep palaces. They had to wait until the second day of February, when the empress had an audience with the empress dowager before they could move around. The two sisters of Yikun Palace have never met the emperor.Concubine Zhen is still waiting for the new year, and concubine Jin has not been able to fulfill her dream with the emperor.Wang Deshou waited with suspense every day, fearing that the emperor would come suddenly.So at the end of the month, it is estimated that the emperor will never come to Yikun Palace during these three days, because before the grand return ceremony, the emperor must fast for three days and live alone in the fasting palace west of Yuqing Palace. , must not summon lucky concubines.

Unexpectedly, when the key of the palace gate was about to be released on this day, the head of the respect room hurried over to inform: the emperor is coming to Yikun Palace, concubine Jin and concubine Zhen are going to see each other in full makeup. This made Wang Deshou panic, he reported to the two masters, and at the same time summoned the maids to serve Dazhuang.First wear the court gown with fragrant dragon pattern, then the next piece of "Eight Treasures Lishui", a court gown embroidered with Zhenglong on the front and back of the shoulders, put on a golden covenant, hang coral court beads, and finally wear Zhuwei smoked mink, which is full of jewels. To the crown, in addition to matching all kinds of jewelry.

Just as he was in a hurry to get dressed, he heard the sound of "get up—get up—" outside the palace gate, knowing that the emperor was coming soon. "Hurry up!" Pin Jin asked in a panic, "Where's my handkerchief?" "Don't panic, don't panic!" The oldest maid named Cuixi, who was well-informed and calm, said, "It's too late, it's too late!" Sure enough.Because the emperor came, there was a certain ceremonial note, and the sound of "qi-qi-" was constantly uttered from his mouth, warning the idlers to avoid the eunuch in the respect room. Twenty or thirty steps behind him were two eunuchs in charge, side by side. Walking on both sides, the task is to check the road, if there is anything wrong, you can be on alert as soon as possible.

Then, another ten or twenty steps away, came the emperor's soft sedan chair, walking extremely slowly.So it's not too late when the eunuch from the respect room arrives at Yikun Palace and the two concubines, Jin and Zhen, come out. This is the first time to meet the emperor. According to the official etiquette, you have to kneel at the palace gate to meet him, and you should sign up at the same time.When the emperor's soft sedan chair enters the palace, Fang Shi follows behind and enters the audience. After kneeling three times and knocking nine times, the emperor said, "Get up!"

"Yes!" Concubine Jin agreed, and stood up. Concubine Zhen followed her sister, who was only bolder than her sister, stood up, and looked at the emperor generously. On the contrary, the emperor was a little shy, and involuntarily turned his gaze to the side, so he naturally saw Concubine Jin. Concubine Jin is dignified and generous, and abides by the etiquette. At this time, she lowered her hands and lowered her eyes, so that the emperor could calmly look at him.Unable to just watch without talking, the emperor asked, "Where do you live?" "The servant lives in Qingyun Zhai in the east chamber."

"Oh!" said the emperor, "the Empress Dowager lived there the year before last." The year before last, the Empress Dowager Cixi moved here because of the renovation of the Chuxiu Palace. Although she lived here not long ago, there was a major repair beforehand, and Concubine Zhen immediately said, "No wonder, the east chamber is much newer than the west chamber." This is a very common sentence, but it feels unusual here and now.The rules in the palace are strict, especially in front of the empress dowager and the emperor, you must not answer indiscriminately, but the concubine Zhen seems to be in her own home, she speaks without fear, so that the concubine Jin is uneasy and the servants are surprised, but the emperor There is a sense of novelty.

"So," the emperor looked at Concubine Zhen and asked, "Do you live in the West Wing?" "Yes! The servant lives in the moral hall in the west wing." "I have been to Yikun Palace several times, but I have never been to Daodetang. I will go to your place to have a look." "Yes!" Concubine Zhen agreed, "The slave will lead the way." According to the rules, Wang Deshou should lead the way with his body sideways, but Concubine Zhen took it for granted and did not follow the law, but there was nothing she could do about it.Because the emperor didn't say anything, and at the same time, she acted so naturally, unrestrainedly, and indifferently, it didn't make people feel that she was wrong.

Just this one, those rigid rules were broken.Wang Xiang, Wang Deshou and the eunuchs in the respect room don't know what to do?Followed to the courtyard of the moral hall, they all stood still. Seeing that the concubine Zhen was in front, the emperor was in the middle, and concubine Jin was behind, they entered the house one after another. The maid who opened the curtain put down the cotton curtain to isolate the inside and outside. It's time to stand by outside. But the emperor felt very comfortable. For the first time, he got rid of the deacons and eunuchs who were always around. He felt relaxed and sat down casually.

"Your Majesty, please sit down!" Concubine Zhen said please. The above is a kang bed, which is suitable for lying down but not for sitting. Sitting facing the sky on both sides is worse than leaning on a chair for comfort. The emperor smiled and said, "It's very good here. You can pour a bowl of tea and I'll drink it!" The emperor always brought a special tea set with him when he went there. At the beginning, he was afraid that someone might poison him, so he sent someone to serve him. Over time, regulations were formed.Therefore, some court ladies waited to be ordered to "bring tea", but they were stopped by the emperor.

"Don't call them!" The emperor said to the court lady, "Pour me a bowl of the tea your master drinks!" "This servant drinks chrysanthemum tea." Concubine Zhen replied, "I'm afraid the emperor won't be used to it." "Chrysanthemum tea is very good for eliminating food and reducing fire." So Concubine Zhen went to make a bowl of chrysanthemum tea in person and held it in front of the emperor.The boiling water was freshly brewed, and the tea was still very hot, but the thirsty emperor couldn't stand it anymore. "It's too hot! Do you have something cooler?"

"The cold ones are the ones that the slaves drank, so I dare not give them to the emperor. Or..." Concubine Zhen put her fingers on her temples, tilted her head and thought for a while, then raised her eyebrows and said, "Yes, that's right." Honey water!" Her voice was crisp and crisp, and she really felt like the sound of a warbler singing. Coupled with her delicate and naive expression, the emperor was already sweet to his heart before drinking honey. But Concubine Zhen didn't wait for him to comment, she had already turned her waist and brought a small blue and white porcelain jar, which contained diluted honey water.At this time, Concubine Jin also helped out, forced out the tea juice in the tureen, and filled it with a third of the honey water, Concubine Zhen took it, wiped off the tea stains on the rim of the cup with a handkerchief, and then cupped it with both hands. "It's very fragrant!" The emperor took a sip, took another sip, and drank half of it quickly. "You tell them later, and you will serve chrysanthemum tea like this in the future." "Yes!" Sisters Jinzhen agreed in unison. "Last year, I had a bad throat and drank chrysanthemum tea. I thought it was not as good as this." "This chrysanthemum is from Hangzhou." "Oh," the emperor thought, "it must have been brought by Chang Shan. Isn't that right?" "Yes." The precious concubine Qi Ran, "it was given to me by my slave uncle. The chrysanthemum has arrived, and so has the telegram for the vacancy." "It's a pity for Changshan!" The emperor comforted her and said, "His son is very good. Is Zhi Rui the son of Changshan?" "No! It's the son of the slave's uncle, Chang Jing." Concubine Zhen replied, "When the slave's second uncle was the general of Guangzhou, Zhi Rui had been studying in Guangzhou." "It's said that when Changshan was in Guangzhou, he was elegant, hospitable, and quite talented. Here he is. Who are they?" "Wen Tingshi, the teacher who has slaves, has the greatest talent." "Is it your teacher?" The emperor felt it was very novel, and turned to ask Concubine Jin, "Is it also your teacher?" "yes." The emperor looked at the two sisters, the fifteen-year-old Concubine Jin, who looked like an adult, and the thirteen-year-old Concubine Zhen, who was still childish, and she didn't seem to have ink in her stomach, so he asked again: "Where is the surname Wen?" How many years have you been teaching?" "Not more than a year." Concubine Jin was afraid of being questioned by the emperor, so she hurriedly declared, "Sister slave, I only read a few words with Mr. Wen, and I dare not call it reading." "A famous teacher will produce a high-ranking apprentice. The surname Wen is talented. If you want to read your books, you must have read them very well." The emperor then asked: "Who were there at that time?" "As for Yu Shimei, he is from Guangxi, and both Zhirui and Hanlin were in the Imperial Academy in the sixth year of Guangxu. And Liang Dingfen.... " 'Oh, Liang Dingfen, I know.It belongs to Li Hongzhang! " "yes." "What was he doing after he was dismissed?" "In Guangzhou. Zhang Zhidong invited him to give lectures at Guangya Academy." "Where's Yu Shimei?" "I heard it's in the Beiyang shogunate." "Has the Hanlin surnamed Wen ordered the Hanlin?" The emperor thought for a while, "The Hanlin surnamed Wen has a Wenzhi, and he is a bannerman! I don't remember that the Han people have an Hanlin surnamed Wen." "He's not a Hanlin, but a Juren from Beiwei in the eighth year of Guangxu. Ding You won the exam. He didn't pass the exam until the twelfth year of Guangxu." Concubine Zhen said seriously, "It's not because of his knowledge that he failed the exam. Well, no way!" Seeing her expression of fearing that others would not believe it, the emperor found it innocent and funny, so he couldn't help laughing, "I know your teacher is a genius." The emperor said in a soothing tone, "When will I read his article." "The slave here has his poems." "Okay! Let me have a look!" Concubine Zhen agreed, and immediately went to open the drawer, but hesitated before the matter, and finally took a thin notebook and sent it to the emperor. "Ah, it's Gongci!" Hearing this sound, Concubine Jin immediately looked uneasy, but there was nothing she could do, she couldn't take the book back from the emperor's hand, and she only gave her sister a slight look. "I'll take it back and watch it slowly." The emperor got up to leave, and the Yikun Palace went up and down, kneeling to send Ruyi off.Returning to the palace, Concubine Jin pulled Concubine Zhen aside and complained quietly. "Mr. Wen's palace poems are all based on his ability. Why do you show them to the emperor casually! Are you afraid of causing trouble?" Concubine Zhen also regretted her recklessness, but she was always strong and refused to admit her mistakes, "The emperor is very kind and considerate." She said, "There will be no trouble." "The emperor won't. I'm afraid that others will see it and spread it to..." Concubine Jin sighed, not daring to say any more, or even think about it. Concubine Zhen also realized.If the Empress Dowager Cixi sees those palace words, disaster will surely happen.But the matter has been like this, it is useless to be anxious, so he simply put on a calm look and smiled silently.