Chapter 40 Section 40

It was March 20th. The emperor, who was not easy to wake up on weekdays, got up very early.Today he still had to go to the study, because there were fun tricks to come, and the emperor braced himself for homework.When it came to an end at around nine o'clock, An Dehai came to Hongde Hall to pass on the decree, saying that this was the end of the day's homework.So the emperor entered the palace, served the queen mothers of the two palaces, and listened to the opera at the Royal Shufangzhai. The eunuchs and palace maids who served near him paid homage to the emperor for his birthday before the meal. The emperor each had a reward, and each of them had a purse, which contained a gold box weighing one or two weights. Only An Dehai was different.

"Little Anzi!" the emperor shouted loudly. "Cha!" An Dehai replied louder. "Come here, I have a reward." "Cha!" An Dehai walked in front of the emperor with respectful but unrestrained steps, lifted his robe and knelt down, his posture was like acting, very sideways. "You want a different hat, all right! I'll change it for you. Here, take his hat off!" Speaking of this sentence, Xiao Li immediately stepped forward to take off An Dehai's hat.The emperor took out a cap from his pocket, except for Xiao Li and the emperor himself, including the two empress dowagers, they all thought that what the emperor took out must be a coral red cap, who knew it was not!

"Xiao Anzi, I reward you with a green cap!" the emperor said loudly. Then he raised his hand, and there was a crown made of the emerald lion's paperweight, which was so green and lovely. "Nonsense!" Empress Dowager Cixi laughed. Empress Dowager Ci'an also laughed.Almost all court ladies and eunuchs don't want to laugh, but where is this?Only the "master" is allowed to laugh, and the "slave" is not allowed to laugh, otherwise it is "disrespectful".Although the circumstances are justifiable, after all, it is not allowed by etiquette, so they all stared, mouths puffed out, their faces were flushed with swelling, and they tried their best to hold back their laughter.That look was extremely funny, which made the empress dowagers laugh even more.

Just like the emperor would become very clumsy in a tense and heavy scene, the emperor was particularly smart during this relaxed and happy moment. He said loudly: "Open up and have fun! Make the two empress dowagers laugh, too. Your filial piety. Smile!" This is like the emperor's amnesty, and suddenly the spring thunder breaks, and the laughter that shakes the court erupts, some laugh with their bellies, some bend their waists to reward, some close their eyes and laugh, some cover their mouths and laugh , grotesque, and become funny with laughter, more and more endless. The empress dowagers of the two palaces laughed so hard that their backs ached, so Yuzi, Qing'er and others rushed to beat the back of the "master", they kept laughing while beating, even An Dehai laughed too.

He had to smile, not only to cover up his embarrassment, but also to turn hostility into peace.Custom made by eunuchs, the fourth grade is the "extreme quality", even wanting to wear a third grade bright blue cap is against the law, let alone a red cap?If it is strictly pursued, the disaster will not be corrected, especially the Empress Dowager Cixi only smiled and scolded the emperor as "nonsense". It seems that he thinks that he is asking for humiliation. Look, this very likely catastrophe can be eliminated in laughter. Therefore, others laugh happily, but he laughs sadly, and the more you think about it afterwards, the more unpleasant it becomes.After this embarrassment, I couldn't lift my head up for several days, secretly inquiring, it was Xiao Li's tricks, and I hated him to the bone.But Xiao Li is protected by the emperor, so it is not easy to move him, unless he is "uprooted", so that the Empress Dowager Cixi sees that the emperor hates him, and then tries to sue Xiao Li, saying that he has taught the emperor not to learn well. Xiao Li was beaten to death.

I made up my mind in my heart, but on the surface, I never said anything about the "green top", and on the contrary, I kept calling Xiao Li "brother", as if I was afraid that he would hand over the "resignation form", hoping that he would stop Talking bad about him in front of the emperor. Xiao Li's scheming, where can it beat An Dehai?He was delusional, he really thought that An Dehai was afraid of him, never thought that An Dehai was spying on the emperor and his every word and every move all the time, so he could catch the wrong place so he could do it.The emperor was even more so, he didn't take An Dehai seriously, all his heart was on Guilian.

I went to Changchun Palace a few times, but I couldn’t see her. The emperor couldn’t bear it anymore, and said to Xiao Li with an air of asking casually: “That’s Guilian or something. Is she still in Changchun Palace? Why? Have you ever seen this person?" Xiao Li had already figured out the emperor's concern, but he was warned by Yuzi not to mention Guilian again.At this time, seeing the emperor deliberately pretending to forget the name of his "sweetheart", he was secretly amused, but naturally he didn't dare to tell the truth, so he just replied: "I haven't seen this person for a long time, I don't know if he is still there."

"Go and find out!" The emperor wanted to pretend to be clear, and added: "This Guilian is stationed in Hangzhou, it's so pitiful!" Xiao Li doesn't know why the Hangzhou garrison is pitiful?I only know that this is the emperor's excuse. "What should I do if I find out?" he asked. This question seemed to be directly on the emperor's mind. He had a thin skin and was a bit uneasy, but he had a knack for covering it up, which was to lose his temper. "You bastard!" the emperor scolded, "who knows what to do?" Xiao Li's being scolded was nothing serious, and he said calmly: "The slave will go to inquire about it immediately to repay the Lord Long Live."

"Don't go shopping again!" The emperor looked at the clock and said, "It's three o'clock now, and you are only allowed to come back at three thirty!" "The servant will take half an hour longer. Long Live Lord, will it work?" "why?" "Perhaps Guilian is no longer in the Changchun Palace. I have to go to other places to inquire about it." Xiao Li lowered his voice again and said with a smile, "I will bring good news when I go." What good news?The emperor thought for a while before realizing his tone, Xiao Li must know what was on his mind.There is no need to hide it from him anymore, so he nodded in agreement, but then warned with a stern look: "If you are telling nonsense, I will spare you!"

"The servant dare not. The mission given by the Lord Long Live, the servant did not fail that time." However, this mission is not easy. His plan is to persuade Yuzi so that Guilian can have the opportunity to serve the emperor, but Yuzi obeys the advice of the Empress Dowager Ci'an and says nothing. So Xiao Li asked: "You will leave the palace next year, do you want to find your in-laws?" The tone was frivolous, Yuzi was displeased, and replied coldly: "What does it matter to you?" "I'm thinking for you. Don't think that the two empress dowagers are always in power. Long live God is about to take charge. Have you thought about it?"

"What's the matter? Long live Lord killed me for this?" "Hey!" Xiao Li made a grimace, "What's going on? I'm going to be a nail in the coffin. I'm a good word, and you don't want to take a way to get rich? You don't want to think about it. You did this for Lord Long Live. In the future How beneficial is it? Do you want Long Live Lord to take care of your natal family and your husband's family?" These words moved Yuzi's heart.Court ladies are like sisters, and they often make secret agreements in secret, never to forget each other when they are rich and honored, and the one who is favored by the court has to try to promote the other. The way to let the emperor meet.She already has a husband's family, and her future husband-in-law is her cousin, who works as an errand in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. There are many errands in this yamen who can make a fortune. As long as the emperor remembers to name them and say a word casually, he will be able to use them forever . "Okay!" Yuzi agreed resolutely, "However, don't make any trouble." "No, no." Xiao Li replied: "When something goes wrong, the first thing is that I am unlucky. Can I not pay attention?" So the next day when the Empress Dowager Ci'an was taking a nap, the emperor quietly went to the Changchun Palace, pretending to be looking at goldfish, and arrived at Le Zhixuan in the west of the apse. Not long after he sat down, Xiao Li called all his colleagues out, only him Stay in the courtyard by yourself. Then Gui Lian brought tea and candied fruit, his hands were trembling, his face was a little pale, Xiao Li quickly comforted her and said, "Don't be afraid! Long live God has the best temper with girls. Do your job well and don't be awkward with Long Live. " Guilian nodded, and entered Le Zhixuan alone.She was shy, and the emperor was also shy, but deliberately pretended not to care. Drinking tea and eating candied fruit, she asked, "How old are you?" She remembered that the emperor knew her age, why did she ask?But he couldn't help but answer: "The slave is thirteen this year." "What month is your birthday?" "The slave was born in August." "Better than my school" the emperor became smart again: "No wonder your name has the word 'gui'!" Gui Lian replied in a very soft voice: "Yes." Then she lowered her eyelids and bit her lips lightly, her appearance was neither deep nor shy, but she seemed to suddenly have something on her mind. The emperor was also a little embarrassed, even panicked, because he already felt that an impasse was forming and he had to say a word to save it, but he seemed to have thousands of words in his heart, but he couldn't find the right one.The more cold the situation was, the more flustered he became, and in the end it was Gui Lian who spoke. "Does Long Live have any other orders?" She said, "If there is no order, this slave will have to leave." Speaking like this was not the right wording and tone at all, but the emperor didn't think it was disobedient at all, and just blurted out, "Don't go!" "Yes!" Gui Lian agreed, took out the handkerchief tucked under his arm, and wiped the sweat from his nose. This is also an action that is not allowed in front of the master. I don't want to give the emperor a topic, "Let me see," he said, "your handkerchief." Guilian hesitated for a moment, remembering Xiao Li's warning of "don't be awkward", so he took the handkerchief with both hands. There was a faint fragrance on the handkerchief, and the emperor really wanted to smell it, but he felt that it would be undignified to do so, so he could only take a look.The snow-white Hangfang is locked with black silk thread, and a small red flower is embroidered on the corner, supported by a green leaf.All the embroidered pieces the emperor had seen were intricately colored and meticulously embroidered, so when he saw Guilian's handkerchief, he felt that less was better than more, and it was fresh and pleasing to the eye. "Who embroidered this?" "The servant embroidered it himself." "Good embroidery!" said the emperor again, "Embroider something for me too." "Long Live Lord please order!" The emperor couldn't think of anything for a while, so he asked her, "What do you think?" "The servant embroidered a pair of purses for Long Live Lord." "Not good!" The emperor shook his head, "It needs to be a little more unique, otherwise it will be needed every day." "Then, the slave will embroider a schoolbag for the Lord Long Live." "It's not good either!" The emperor suddenly thought, "Embroider a pair of pillows for me. Just like this handkerchief of yours, don't embroider anything in the middle, it's flat, so it's comfortable to pillow on. Think about it." What pattern are you embroidering?" "Yeah." Gui Lian pouted her mouth slightly, her flexible eyes kept rolling, "Naturally, I have to use bright yellow satin. Embroider two dragons, embroider them with black silk thread, and wrap them around the sides like this," she said with both hands. He gestured, "In the middle of the top, there is a fire spirit pearl embroidered with red silk thread. This is called 'two dragons grabbing the pearl'. Long Live Lord, will it work?" This pattern is not new, but seeing her talking vigorously, the emperor couldn't bear to dampen her interest, so he replied: "Okay! Embroider a pair of 'two dragons grabbing pearls', and embroider another pair? Don't use bright yellow ones, just embroider them." White satin is good, not too many patterns." This time Guilian passed the test. After thinking about it for a long time, he couldn't think of it. He smiled embarrassedly and said, "I don't know what to embroider." "Then think about it slowly." The emperor recalled the scene in the study room. When encountering memorization or quizzes, the more he pressed, the more he couldn't answer. He suffered a lot from it, so he could understand Guilian's anxiety and comfort her. Say, "It's okay, it's okay!" Guilian was greatly moved by these two "it doesn't matter".She heard many stories about the emperor from the court ladies, saying that he was moody, very willful, and often thought of tricks to "put ducks on the shelf".In order to teach the little eunuch to do somersaults, I don’t know how many children vomited blood or broke their bones. Now it seems that those people’s words are not reliable, or Xiao Li’s words are good: "Long live God has the best temper with girls." There are many girls too, so why treat yourself well?Thinking of this, his face suddenly became hot, and he quickly glanced at the emperor.From this one glance, the emperor's face can be clearly seen, big eyes, high nose, high cheekbones, fair skin, red lips, black eyebrows, so handsome, I can't help but want to see glance. When her watery eyes glanced over again, the emperor was also panting, "Guilian!" He had nothing to say, "Have you always lived in Hangzhou?" "Yes!" Gui Lian replied, "I have never been there before, this is the first time I have returned to the capital." "It's the same as me. Except for Rehe, Dongling, and Xiling, I have never been there." The emperor asked again: "Is West Lake interesting?" "Manying is right next to the West Lake, and I don't think it's good to see it every day." "That's right! I'm tired of watching it every day. I haven't seen it outside, so I don't know what's going on in the palace. According to me, it's not good at all! What do you think, is it fun in the palace?" "How can a slave say something bad?" "Yeah, you can't say no." In this way, the emperor always echoed Guilian's words unconsciously, very speculatively, he had never had such a good conversation, and never had such a happy conversation. From this day onwards, everyone in the Changchun Palace knew that the emperor had a special liking for Guilian, and they only kept it from the Empress Dowager Ci'an, which Yuzi had specially warned.She told everyone to talk less about the emperor and Guilian, and at the same time treat Guilian kindly, "Listen to my words, and it will benefit you in the future!" She said, "If you don't listen to my words, you will regret it in the future." Everyone knows this, Guilian will definitely be made a concubine in the future, and considering her appearance and temperament, she will definitely be favored. He doesn't hope for any benefit to himself, at least he can't offend her and bring trouble on himself. As the days grew longer, the time for dinner had to be moved back. The Empress Dowager Ci'an took a nap and got up, and there was still a long time to do something.On this day, I remembered that I would go to various places to have a look. I took the maids to start from the front hall, and looked from room to room, while giving instructions, what should be repaired here, and how inappropriate the layout there is.Walking to Le Zhixuan, he saw someone sitting by the window with his head bowed from a distance, and asked, "Who is that?" Knowing that she couldn't hide it, Yuzi replied honestly, "It's Guilian." "what are you doing?" "embroidered." "Oh," the Empress Dowager Ci'an praised, "This kid is quite diligent." Entering Lezhixuan, when Guilian knelt down, the Empress Dowager Ci'an walked over to look at her embroidery frame: it was four feet long and more than one foot high, a piece of white satin, with patterns embroidered on both ends, and a golden dragon arrogated to heaven at the other end. At one end is a dancing phoenix. Since there is a dragon, it is a "good" embroidery piece, and the patterns of dragon flying and phoenix dancing are definitely not available to the Queen Mother. Thinking about it this way, who is Guilian doing embroidery for?It is self-evident. But Empress Dowager Ci'an knew it and had to ask: "What is this for?" "It's a pillow." "Who called the embroiderer?" "Long live God asked the servants to embroider it." Ordinary two words, but Guilian's voice could be heard trembling, the Empress Dowager Ci'an couldn't bear it, she refused to say anything, she just glanced at Yuzi, with a clear sense of accusation in her eyes. Yuzi was a little uneasy and regretful, she should have found an opportunity to reveal this matter early on, now that the Empress Dowager Ci'an finds out and then explains it, it will be difficult to speak eloquently, and it's not convenient for me to mention it first, so I can only explain it in Ci'an When the Queen Mother asked, the camera spoke. Of course the Empress Dowager Ci'an would ask.Every evening, she and Yuzi had a period of alone time to talk about everything that was not humane. "What's the matter between Guilian and the emperor?" she asked, frowning slightly. "Master, please punish the slave!" Yuzi was playing a tricky game, so she pleaded guilty first, "It's none of Guilian's business, and she didn't do anything wrong!" Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Ci'an felt relieved, "Get up!" she said calmly, "Tell me slowly." "Yes!" Yuzi stood up and said, "That day, the master ordered the servant, and the servant brought Guilian and told her to be cautious and avoid the emperor. Guilian is very obedient." "No wonder!" The Empress Dowager Ci'an nodded deeply, "I said, several times, Gui Lian hid when he saw Xiao Li's shadow. What about the future?" "In the future, the emperor will come here more often. When he comes, he doesn't say a word. Looking around, the servant knows that the emperor is looking for Guilian. The servant thinks that the emperor's homework is important now. If there is any thought in his heart, he can't throw it away." Come on, that's not good." Speaking of this, she stopped, and first looked at the Empress Dowager Ci'an's face, which was a look of deep attention and approval, she knew that she was right, so she simply added more, and said it more decently. "The slave also asked Xiao Li in private, how is the emperor's homework in the study? Sure enough, Xiao Li replied to the slave, saying that the emperor seemed to have something on his mind, so he didn't tell anyone. He was also very anxious, and didn't know whether he should talk to the two An empress dowager playing back? Don’t dare to hide it, don’t dare to hide it.” "How do you say that?" "Keep it secret, for fear that the emperor really missed his homework. If the two empress dowagers find out, he is a dead man! If you don't hide it and tell him the truth, the emperor will call him troublesome and he will be punished. So Xiao Li is worried." Yuzi paused for a while and continued, "I thought to myself, it's not a big deal that the emperor likes Guilian, just like the emperor likes dogs and monkeys. Wouldn't it be all right if I gave it to the emperor?" "En!" Empress Dowager Ci'an ordered: "Go on." "Yes!" Yuzi knelt down again, "This servant is bold and self-assessed. One day the emperor came, and this servant ordered Guilian to serve tea. The emperor talked to her for a long time, and then asked her to embroider pillows." "I've been talking for a long time? Why don't I know!" "At that time," Yuzi said with her head down, "Master was taking a nap." "So it was all hidden from me!" In this sentence, the meaning of reproach is very heavy, and Yuzi felt that he had to argue: "The emperor came at that time, and ordered not to wake up the empress dowager, and the slaves dare not disobey the order." "Then, what does the emperor want you to do? Do you all follow him?" "I don't dare to be so bold." Yuzi felt that her knees hurt after kneeling for a long time, so she moved her body and took a breath. Say. The Empress Dowager Ci'an has always been considerate of her servants, so of course she would find that Yuzi was uncomfortable kneeling, so she said: "Get up!" "Yes!" Yuzi got up and rubbed her knees, but she didn't talk in a hurry, she turned around and took a piece of coal to light a cigarette for Empress Dowager Ci'an, taking advantage of the delay, she thought of some nice words. "The slave is thinking," she said slowly, "the master and the emperor are truly filial to each other. The emperor's filial piety, not to mention that the slaves see each other every day, even the west is saying that they are closer than their own. The master loves you Your majesty, it hurts even more than being close to you. The emperor likes Guilian, he is thin-skinned, and he is too embarrassed to ask his master for it. Besides, it's not yet that time. The master loves the emperor's heart. In two years, he will definitely take Guilian. Even rewarding the emperor, let Gui Lian accompany the emperor to talk and talk now, so that the emperor will not let it go and delay his homework, isn't it good?" "So it is!" The loyal Empress Dowager Ci'an finally told the truth, "I have had this heart since the day I picked Guilian. It's what you said, 'it's not yet that time', and I'm still young, so I Not to mention, I'm afraid that kid Guilian is too smart, he thinks he's got a face, so he's arrogant." "The slave is guarding against this level. He always suppresses Guilian and restrains her with the rules of the palace." Yuzi said again: "Guilian is also very good. She looks naughty, but she is honest in heart, and she doesn't take a step. Dare to walk around. Just rest assured, master." "Okay! I get it." The Empress Dowager Ci'an pondered for a while and said, "You should still teach Guilian to obey the rules, but don't let her get too close to the emperor. Tell her to persuade the emperor to study harder." "Yes! The servant will tell her well." From this day onwards, Gui Lian could openly serve the emperor, and any call from the emperor in Changchun Palace was her errand.Originally the emperor was close to Guilian, but because of Yuzi's admonition, the court ladies kept their mouths shut, and An Dehai was kept in the dark. This time, his demeanor was public, and the emperor's silent care, of course, was easy to see that it was Guilian. To the emperor, although under the strict palace rules, no frivolous behavior is allowed, but there is always news from the corners of the brows and eyes, especially Guilian's eyes, which are eye-catching everywhere, as long as you pay attention to it , it is not difficult to find the rippling subtle affection between her and the emperor. "No wonder," said An Dehai to his confidant, the little eunuch Ma Ming, "run as far as you can, it turned out to be such a thing. Go and inquire, inquire, who pulls the rope!" As long as you really inquire, you will naturally get the truth.In fact, it can also be imagined that Yuzi and Xiaoli's sister and brother are very close, everyone knows, and Xiaoli is the emperor's confidant, then, after discussion between Xiaoli and Yuzi, it is intentional to arrange for Guilian to go. Wouldn't it be a matter of course to get close to the emperor? "Xiao Li, you bastard." An Dehai scolded in his heart, "You wait for me, let me deal with you!" An Dehai is no longer what it used to be, although he is not very scheming, but he is able to hold his breath, and he has to plan slowly before making a move. In front of the Empress Dowager Cixi, he never mentioned Guilian, he just made insinuations, intentionally pretending or unintentionally saying that the emperor spends a lot of time in Changchun Palace every day, and he came to Yikun Palace, just to greet him as usual, just for a scene. The Empress Dowager Cixi didn't care if she said this once or twice, but she couldn't bear it after saying it three or five times, so she called An Dehai and asked, "What does the emperor do there every day?" "Your servant doesn't know yet. I don't dare to inquire about it." An Dehai replied: "The people over there, when they see this servant, they act as if they are guarding against thieves." "That's because you are too kind!" Empress Dowager Cixi said sarcastically, "That's why the emperor wants to reward you with a green hat." He thought he was utterly loyal, but in the end he ended up with such gleeful and ridiculed words.Half of it was really sad, and half of it was artificial. I squeezed my eyes a few times and squeezed out two tears. "What's the matter!" Empress Dowager Cixi was surprised and angry, but also apologetic, raised her eyebrows and asked, "Why are you crying?" If you directly complain about the grievance in your heart, the tears are worthless. An Dehai rubbed his eyes and said: "The slave didn't cry. It was a grain of sand that fell into his eye." Even if he refused to admit it, the Empress Dowager Cixi naturally didn't need to ask more questions, nor did she make him "difficult".Going to find out what the emperor was doing in the Changchun Palace, this result was within An Dehai's expectation. He had a deep understanding of the Empress Dowager Cixi's temper. The big turmoil that the queen mother couldn't persuade.