Chapter 6 Chapter 6 The Storm Settles (Part 1)

The sunlight cut off by the screen window leaves only traces of indifference, but the clouds in the distant sky are dazzlingly bright.The emperor twisted a new orange and rubbed it: "It doesn't matter if you are confused or presumptuous, how can I allow him to talk about my family and state affairs wantonly, and spread his party members so widely to speak up! This court belongs to me, not Zhang Tingyu's!" So Zhang Tingyu sued me, requesting to return to his hometown as an old man. There is such a sentence in the booklet, which says, "Bring Shizong's last edict to be married to the Taimiao, and beg for a word as a voucher."

Ruyi changed color slightly: "What? Zhang Tingyu is still afraid that the emperor will not allow what he has already promised, and must the emperor guarantee it? This is really rude. From this point of view, his request to return to his hometown is actually very rare. It’s kind of trying to test the meaning of the emperor.” The emperor took the orange from Yi Huan and ate a slice, and said slowly: "If he wants to test, I will make it happen. As long as he walks away from me peacefully, I will allow him to grow old in peace. Minister of Military Aircraft Wang Youdun has drawn up a note, and it will be sent out tomorrow."

Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good." She hesitated for a moment, but still said: "Your Majesty, there is something I have to report, as long as the Emperor hears it, don't worry about it." The emperor glanced at her, and said lightly, "Just say what you want." Ruyi is quiet and gentle, with a rare dignifiedness and a hint of worry. Seeing the emperor's face loosen a little, she dared to persuade her softly: "Your Majesty, the Fujin Ilari of Yonghuang came back and forth. Huang's body is very bad, and it gets worse day by day. Please, if the emperor is free, he must go and have a look."

The emperor's side face was sharp and angular, calm and even indifferent: "I know a thing or two about Yonghuang's illness. It's just that he has a lot of thoughts, and there are some thoughts that shouldn't be there. I have already asked the best imperial physician to see him." Yes, I also ordered that Yonghuang eat wild ginseng every day to improve his spirit. As long as he can eat it, it will be ten catties. Do some nonsense." Ruyi listened to the emperor's tone, but still cared about Yonghuang's desire to be a prince in the past: "Then can I go to visit my concubine, so that I can comfort myself..."

The emperor waved his hand and said: "That's all. Now you are an imperial concubine with a high status. Once you go, I don't know what Yonghuang will think about. Yonghuang has his adoptive mother, pure noble concubine, to visit, so you should avoid going to places where there is no right and wrong." Ruyi had no choice but to stand up and agree.Just when Li Yu came in, he said, "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang Tingyu asks to see you." The emperor was displeased: "What is he doing here at this time?" Li Yudao: "Master Zhang Tingyu is very happy. He said that he knew the emperor ordered him to enjoy the Taimiao, so he came here to thank him."

As a result, not only the emperor, but even Ruyi and Yihuan changed their faces.The emperor got up directly.Going to the study room and flipping through the memorial, his face suddenly changed: "My memorial has just been approved and not released yet, how would Zhang Tingyu know?" He glanced at Li Yu, with a stern expression: "Li Yu!" Li Yu knelt down in fright: "Your Majesty, this slave dare not!" Ruyi hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Li Yu doesn't dare. The inner eunuch is not allowed to interfere in politics, and he dare not read the emperor's notes."

"Then, there is only Wang Youdun!" The emperor's face was extremely ugly, "Yes. Wang Youdun came from Zhang Tingyu's family. He must have given Zhang Tingyu the wind in advance. How bold! How dare you reveal my will without authorization? After all, it is in Wang Youdun's heart. Is the emperor or Zhang Tingyu the emperor? I am the lord of the world, and now the ministers in the court have become partisans because of teachers and students, how can we tolerate it?" Yi Huan said coldly: "The emperor is naturally the emperor, but he, a disciple, forgot about the heaven and earth, his relatives and teachers, and instead put the teacher above the monarch, it is really wrong!"

The emperor's face darkened: "Since Zhang Tingyu is here, I will see him. Li Yu, go pass it on!" Li Yu was too busy to go.Ruyi and Yihuan didn't dare to be by their side, so they also retreated and left. When they left the palace gate, they saw Zhang Tingyu waiting outside the palace with a happy face.Zhang Tingyu saluted and said: "May the imperial concubine be blessed with golden safety. Concubine Shu be blessed with golden safety." Ruyi and Yihuan leaned slightly to see him entering the room full of ambition.Yi Huan disdainfully said, "You're only humiliating yourself if you think you're smart! He thought he supported a queen from the Fucha clan. Could it be possible that every queen in the future will come from the Fucha clan?"

Ruyi smiled quietly: "Referring to each other inside and outside has always been the way of survival of the harem and the previous dynasty. Even Zhang Tingyu is a veteran of the three dynasties, but he is not immune to the custom. It's just that the emperor has a very strong heart, how can he be easily swayed?" Yi smiled and said: "The more he recommends others, the more he will help my sister. I will congratulate my sister first." Sure enough, the emperor was furious, and reprimanded Zhang Tingyu, saying: "The Taimiao deserves to be honored by veterans with outstanding merits. How can you, Zhang Tingyu, be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with those veterans and ministers? Ertai is still able to pacify Miaojiang. What you Zhang Tingyu is good at is nothing more than prudent self-discipline and writing edicts, yet you are so arrogant?"

Zhang Tingyu, who scolded Zhang Tingyu, was in cold sweat, and the emperor was still not relieved. He ordered Zhang Tingyu to be dismissed from his position as earl, and only returned to his hometown with the title of a bachelor. Forgive me.Since then, no one has dared to talk about the future at will. It was a crisp autumn day, and the clear sky flowed unobstructed in the Forbidden City, like a gurgling river.The quiet and stagnant clouds, the freely circling birds, the ridge of the palace stretching like a mountain, and the silent palace hide the hustle and bustle of the weekdays, making people feel at ease.Ruyi has nothing to do, so she goes to Chuxiu Palace to see Yihuan.Ruyi helped the maid's hand into the hall, and couldn't help laughing: "Come in from the front, the smell of herbs in your hall is the strongest, but now it's much weaker, only the fragrance of flowers is light."

Yi Huan was holding a newly folded bunch of jade-colored lilies in a vase, her white fingertips were exposed under her lotus-blue flower sleeves, and slender dark blue flowers and leaves were hanging on her three-inch wide sleeves, and the cuffs were rolled away. The three layers of cloud satin are embroidered with dots of orange flowers on the edge of the dark pattern, which looks extraordinarily bright.Yihuan's figure is tall and slender, and her figure is the most slender and beautiful. A white jade gilt butterfly is pressed on the swallowtail, and slender silver tassels hang down, floating slowly in the wind, adding a bit of rare softness.Yi Huan glanced at her with a smile, turned to let Ruyi sit down, and softly hissed: "I heard what the imperial concubine said last year, and now I want to open it. As usual, the emperor rewarded the birth control medicine, and the concubines also gave it to themselves. I found a prescription to drink it. Actually, what is it, I have never experienced it now, I drink it when I think about it, and it’s fine if I don’t think about it.” Ruyi smiled and said, "You can do whatever you want. I don't drink too much now. I've reached this age. Whether I have children or not depends on God's will." Yi Huan smiled and said quietly: "Yeah, my mind is all on that, and I'm not happy all day and night. It's better to be free and tend to the flowers and plants, and my heart will be purer." Thrushes and skylarks twittered in the porch, singing together, breaking the silence of the golden house.Ruyi smiled and said, "The emperor likes to raise these birds in the Old Summer Palace, and you like them too." A narrow look flashed in her eyes, and she stretched out her hand to scratch Yihuan's cheek and said, "It's just that the emperor loves you so much. A bed full of embroidered acacia mandarin ducks and pearls rewards you alone, it can be regarded as sleeping tenderly in a brocade quilt, tossing and turning two mandarin ducks. Now that you have mandarin ducks, what do you need other birds for?" Yi Huan blushed, and spat, "Is this what the imperial concubine said? No respect at all!" She suddenly fixed Wu Cheng's eyes, stared at Ruyi and said, "The imperial concubine said so, but she loves me. sour." For Yihuan, five points are jokes and five points are serious.Ruyi's heart trembled slightly. During the long period of clear light, because of her sudden question, her heart was touched for a moment.She didn't want to think about it, and said with her temper: "If you say that you don't feel bitter, you are all women's hearts, and it is inevitable that you are sometimes stingy. Besides, those days when you first received grace were also the days when I suffered the most. Thinking about it this way, I can Not sad? It’s just that since you and I have known each other, I always feel that our hearts and minds are congenial, and we have been in the palace for a long time, so we know that ordinary people’s bitterness and jealousy are superfluous here, and it only increases troubles.” Just like a drop of clear rainwater unintentionally trembled and covered the Chengyang lake surface, rippling golden ripples little by little.Yi Huan's clear eyes were slightly dazed: "What my sister said is also in my mind. Even though the emperor loves me, seeing him doting on others makes my heart burn. Even for my sister, I couldn't help it a few times. But after a long time, I realized that this kind of thinking is useless except to make myself suffer. That's why I raise these birds and flowers to relax my mind, and in the palace, I have to force myself to be careful when talking and doing things. Sometimes If Hou can't say it to people, it's better to say it to these birds, and it should also solve his own problems." Yi Huan was at the emperor's side, and won the holy family.Sometimes she speaks sharply, and she is not warm to others. Because of the emperor's favor, no one dares to care about it.These years, in the eyes of others, she has always been able to live a life of indulgence, but in the back of others, she has such a desolation. Ruyi looked at each other tenderly, stroked the delicate petals, and said softly: "That's because you don't like to go to other people's palaces. After serving the emperor for so many years, it is rare to see you interacting with other people except in my palace." Yi Huan went to Xiaoyin Scissors, trimmed the flower branches carefully, sprinkled a little water on the flowers and leaves, turned her head and said: "I am willing to associate with my sister, because I have similar temperaments. Rather than waste those strengths and associate with irrelevant people, I might as well clean myself up." Ruyi looked at the Shulang Hall, which was grandly decorated, not like an ordinary woman's boudoir, which is fragrant and beautiful, except for a shelf full of poems and books, there are not many beautiful decorations. "Except for you, there is no one else in the palace who can make himself so clean and comfortable." Yi Huan said: "When the person is clean, the heart is also clean." "We are in this place, needless to say the filth and blood around us. Sometimes it is unavoidable that even our own hands are not clean. It is rare to have a clean heart." Ruyi smiled and looked at her There was a collection of Wen Tingyun's poems in his hand, and he said: "That day in front of the emperor, he just mentioned Wen Tingyun's poems, so you should pay attention." Yi Huan's face was as red as a cloud of clouds: "Sister has been busy all the time, and she rarely has time today, so she took care of it for me. I just listened to the emperor and flipped through it." The two were talking, when suddenly Sanbao ran in and said, "My lord, my lord, it's not good." Ruyi lowered her face and said, "Respond well, you're so hairy." Sanbao wiped his sweat and said: "If you go back to your mother, there will be a message from the elder brother's house that the eldest elder brother is seriously ill, I'm afraid it's not good." Ruyi got up together, got up too fast, swayed unknowingly, and said, "Does Concubine Chun know?" Sanbao said: "Da Fujin came to report the imperial concubine first, Zhong Cui Palace probably doesn't know about it yet." Ruyi hurriedly said: "Chun Guifei is the elder brother's adoptive mother, let Ling Zhi go to Zhongcui Palace to report immediately. You go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to tell the emperor in person, and then order the sedan chair to be prepared, and I will go to see Yong Huang." Seeing that Ruyi was worried, Yi Huan also sighed: "Ever since the death of Empress Xiaoxian, Yong Huang was reprimanded, and eventually became depressed. A good prince, alas...be careful on the way, sister, don't be too impatient." How could Ruyi talk to her in detail, and hurried out of Chuxiu Palace.Just past the right gate of Changkang, I saw a group of elderly court ladies standing on the red wall, all of them were about forty years old, and they continued to serve in the palace because they had no one to rely on after leaving the palace.A group of people are listening to the instructions of the eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.Ruyi only glanced at it, Yunzhi said: "If you go back to the imperial concubine, this is a new group of maids from the Yuanmingyuan by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Woolen cloth." Ruyi nodded, and didn't want to ask.Suddenly, one of the maids in blue ran out and shouted: "Mr. Zhao, why do you take their money and transfer it to the Sixth Palace? If we have no money to give you the money, you can transfer us to it." There is no such reason in the world for working in the cold palace." Ruyi heard the word "Lenggong" and touched the past, so she took a second look.That Eunuch Zhao was big and rough, pulled the maid and dragged her on the ground twice, grabbed her by the hair and slammed it against the wall, and shouted: "You maids from the Old Summer Palace, outsiders who dare to sing professional plays, Is the lard fooling your heart? I am willing to accept money to give you face. If you can’t afford it, you have no face. How dare you scream? No one will know if you are beaten to death.” Although Ruyi hurried to Yonghuang's mansion, she still frowned, called the little eunuch Xiao An in front of her and said, "Xiao An, go and bring that eunuch Zhao over here, saying that I know about his domineering and domineering behavior. Go to the Punishment Department to get fifty big sticks, and you don’t have to work in the House of Internal Affairs from now on.” Xiaoan hurried forward, and Eunuch Zhao was so frightened that his legs were weak when he saw Ruyi coming.Ruyi took it and was willing to listen to his ramblings, leaving Xiaoan to go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to inform the Palace of the Palace about the allocation of female candidates, and then she was about to leave.The maid who had just been beaten hurriedly walked up to Tu Yi and said, "Thank you, Empress Huang Guifei, for upholding justice." Seeing that she was being beaten, Ruyi looked very stubborn, not afraid at all, and said, "You are a straightforward person, but if you shout out everything, you are not afraid of getting hurt?" The court lady said neither humble nor overbearing: "It doesn't matter if the slaves suffer themselves, we can't let all the sisters who have no money suffer." Ruyi saw that she was beaten to disfigurement, but she was dignified and tidy when she looked carefully, and she seemed to have an idea, thinking that after Ruixin injured her leg, she didn't have anyone capable around her, so she said: "You Temperament is a disadvantage, but Bengong likes it. After washing up, go to Yikun Palace and wait, and stay in Bengong Palace as an errand." After finishing speaking, he hurried away. When they rushed to Yonghuang's mansion, a group of Fujin Gege knelt on the ground, crying loudly.Luyun had already arrived first, and she was with Ilari by the bedside. When she saw Ruyi coming in, she had to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes.Su Yisu said: "Imperial Concubine Wan'an." Seeing the gloom and mist in the pavilion, Ruyi hurriedly pressed Luyun's hand and said, "What are you doing all these vain rituals at this time?" After saying that, she turned her head and hurriedly asked Ilari, "Have you seen the imperial doctor?" ? How can I say it?" Ilari cried until his eyes were like walnuts, and when he heard Ruyi's question, he hurriedly stopped his tears and stood up, saying: "Returning to your mother, the imperial doctor said that Yonghuang was haunted by nightmares, restless day and night, and his heart was intermittent. ..." Ruyi's heart sank, and her complexion turned a little bit bad: "Don't talk nonsense! Yong Huang is only twenty-three years old, how could he lose his temper?" Yilali couldn't say a few words, sobbing: "In the past two years, Yonghuang has always been in a bad state, worrying too much, as if he was always thinking about something, but he refused to tell his concubine. I woke up several times from my dream, always Crying and saying that he was not filial. A few days ago was the death day of Empress Xiaoxian, and Yong Huang had even worse nightmares, saying that he would go to Empress Xiaoxian to argue. The concubine was also terrified..." Before Yilali could finish his sentence, he was slapped heavily on the face.Luyun's face was pale, and she pointed at her angrily and said: "After all, you didn't take good care of Yonghuang, and you kept talking nonsense! Yonghuang is the most filial, what is his nightmare? What is he going to argue with the deceased Empress Xiaoxian? Confused Bewildered, he came here to call Yong Huang unfilial! According to this palace, Yong Huang is not good, and it was all instigated by you people who don't care about the importance of him. He didn't take good care of himself." Luyun has always been mild-tempered, but now she has a sudden attack, and Ruyi naturally understands that it is because Ilari didn't speak well.If such words fell into the ears of the emperor, and he remembered the unfilial conduct of Yonghuang and Yongzhang in front of their souls in the past, the emperor would be even more unhappy. Ruyi hurriedly grabbed Luyun and persuaded: "Sister, don't be angry. My daughter-in-law is always sensible, it's just that she was careless when she said something in a hurry." She stared at Ilari, and said in a gentle voice: "Don't mention such things again. " Ruyi looked at Yong Huang who was sleeping on the bed, and saw that he was sweating profusely.Seeing it, she felt distressed, hurriedly took the silk cloth and wiped it carefully for him, feeling even more guilty in her heart.Yong Huang seemed to feel her movements, and he was a little awake.He moved his body, opened his eyes suddenly, stared straight at the ceiling, and said loudly: "Er Niang, Er Niang, don't go, you wait for my son, I feel sorry for my son." Luyun hurriedly sat down on the edge, held Yonghuang's hand and said in tears, "Yonghuang, Yonghuang, Erniang is here." Hearing her mournful cry, Ruyi's heart was touched for a moment, and she earnestly called out: "Yonghuang .” The two called a few times, but did not see any response from Yong Huang.Luyun then said a little awkwardly: "What mother? I'm afraid we are all acting affectionate, Yong Huang is calling his mother-in-law Zhe Min Huang Guifei." After speaking, he sighed, "Although I have raised him for all these years, But this child, after all, is not willing to call me my mother." Ruyi's eyes turned sore: "Yonghuang is a filial child after all." It just so happened that the imperial physician came in, rolled Yonghuang's eyelids, hurriedly poured down a bowl of soup, kowtowed and said: "Imperial concubine, empress, forgive my sin, pure imperial concubine, empress, I am afraid that elder brother has returned to his glory. If you have anything to say, can you Say it quickly." Ruyi felt sad when she heard this, turned her face away and sobbed, poured down the soup, Yonghuang was indeed sober, his eyes gradually brightened, he stared at Ruyi and said, "Mother is here." Luyun sighed and said: "Yonghuang was raised under the imperial concubine's knees anyway, I am useless, both children have been reprimanded by the emperor, and they can't hold their heads up. If you have anything to say, the imperial concubine will accompany you and talk about it." Let's do it." After she finished speaking, she held the hands of several Fujin and went out together. The pavilion is quiet, like a deep pool of deep water, and the fine shadows of the sunlight fall on the ground, like a faint dream.Yong Huang coughed a few times, and said softly: "Thank you mother for still thinking about this son. The son has never dared to forget the kindness of nurturing him when he was young." With tears in her eyes, Ruyi stroked his forehead and said softly, "Good boy. Mother still remembers that your child is good in everything, except that mother and child are in debt. Although there are mothers and pure empresses to take care of you, but If the imperial concubine Zhemin is still here, you wouldn't be like this." Yong Huang was panting heavily, two groups of weak blushes appeared on his pale face, and after a long while, he breathed a sigh of relief: "My son knows he can't do it anymore. These days, I have been dreaming that my mother hugged her son. Tears without speaking, always seems to have a lot of grievances, but can't express it. A few days ago, on the anniversary of the death of Empress Xiaoxian, my son even dreamed that Empress Xiaoxian was feeding my mother something, and her seven orifices bleed after eating. Mother, my son understands , it was Empress Xiaoxian who killed Erniang." Ruyi looked at his high cheekbones and deeply sunken eyes, and said sadly: "The death of the noble concubine Zhemin was a strange thing, and my mother had heard such gossip. But Yonghuang, gossip can't be taken lightly. , Once you get over your heart, you can’t earn it, and you become your demon, you will kill yourself.” Yong Huang was sobbing, sobbing and desperate, like a child who lost his way in the dark. "The son lost his mother since he was a child and was bullied by others. The son really wanted to win, so he also thought of using his mother. But Huang Ama scolded the son for being unfilial to the empress Xiaoxian. The son really can't be filial. It was her who caused My elder brother suffered because she killed my mother. She fed my mother so many mutually exclusive foods, such as soft-shelled turtle and amaranth, Ophiopogon japonicus and crucian carp. My mother was slowly poisoned to death like this, how can I be filial to her...I...I don't want to be in this filthy place anymore!" Ruyi hugged Yonghuang, feeling sad for a moment, there was a thick doubt like splashing on the plain white raw silk, flowing quickly, spreading and smudging.She couldn't stop her heart that was about to jump out, she held his hand tightly and said, "Who told you about these foods that counteract and accumulate poison? Concubine Yu told you that it was Empress Xiaoxian who killed your mother-in-law. But she never knew these details. Tell mother, who told you?" Yong Huang was anxious for a moment, a mouthful of phlegm came up, he coughed and said: "Jia... Jia..." Like walking through the fog for many years, finally there is a faint glimpse of light, Ruyi repeatedly asked: "Is it Jin Yuyan? Is it?" Yonghuang desperately opened his mouth, shaking his head trying to nod.Seeing him like this, Ruyi was so frightened that she couldn't care about anything, and hurriedly called, "Prince doctor, doctor!" Yong Huang struggled in her embrace like a dehydrated fish, lingering on his last breath.His eyesight gradually became slack, and finally he closed his eyes with difficulty, returning to eternal peace.The past and the past come one after another, like the dust that is blowing with the wind at dusk in autumn, it is so light that it has almost no strength, but it should linger around the body, suffocating the heart, lungs and nose, giving birth to a kind of sudden powerlessness.It was as if he was still a child, Yong Huang was only seven or eight years old, tired after school, so he leaned in Ruyi's arms and fell into a deep sleep. The imperial doctor pulled his robe in three steps and rushed in in two steps, touched Yong Huang's breath, and said dejectedly: "I am sorry for the imperial concubine, the elder brother has already gone." Ruyi gently touched Yonghuang's face, and said in a low voice: "Good boy, go to sleep, go to sleep, you can see your mother-in-law." She covered her mouth, suppressing the sobs in the back, Finally let the tears flow down in silence.