Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Rotating Waves

When Ruyi arrived, Ling Yunche had already been whipped all over his body, his clothes were unsightly torn, and even the stone bricks under the pillars of the verandah that helped him were stained with blood.However, the eunuch who was executing the sentence still didn't stop. He whipped and whipped down, fast and hard, until the blood sprayed, and the skin and flesh burst.Ling Yunche was also stubborn, he forcibly endured it, and refused to let out a moan. Ruyi's footsteps faltered, and she still felt it was inappropriate to go closer to take a look.She raised her face, Rong Pei understood, waved her hand towards the eunuch who was executing the sentence, and said in a low voice: "The empress wants to go in and answer the emperor, please stop first."

Entering the sleeping hall, there is a watery luster flowing under the candlelight, flickering on and off, and the cherry red tassels are rippling, shaking and dragging out the long and thin shadows of the emperor and Yuyan, the emperor is in his pajamas She was wearing a lake blue tunic black dress, and her face was ashen.Yuyan was half sitting on the side of the couch, with a handful of black silk hanging out, and a plum-colored tapestry shirt with eight clusters of spring flowers and autumn moons, with a few gold-plated chiseled buttons sparsely opened, revealing a snow-white neck, lying on the The emperor cried pear blossoms and rain on his arms.

Ruyi frowned when she saw that she was so gorgeously dressed, and only saluted the emperor like a ceremonial one. The emperor's face was full of displeasure, and he had no intention of greeting Ruyi, so he said, "Get up, it's late at night, why is the queen here?" Ruyi said softly: "The concubine was about to go to sleep, but I heard that the emperor's bedroom was getting annoyed, so I rushed over to have a look." She was somewhat humble and remorseful, "The harem is restless, after all, it is the concubine's incompetence For the sake of the emperor, I also ask the emperor to punish me."

The emperor waved his hand and said angrily, "Don't do your business. After all, the people around me have unclean hands and feet and do such shameful things." He asked Li Yu, "How is the beating going on outside? ?” Li Yu looked out and said: "The beating is silent, the eunuch's hands are sore." Yuyan shook the emperor's arm, and said bitterly: "Your Majesty! You must beat him to death, so that you can vent the hatred in your heart!" Ruyi said softly: "Li Yu, you said you missed Concubine Jia's bellyband, show me what kind of bellyband it is?"

Li Yu hurriedly agreed to serve it up, Ruyi glanced at it, but it was a Qianxiangluo bellyband wrapped with a flower plate and golden mandarin ducks playing in the water. Golden rose lace pattern with double pedicles, surrounded by green silk embroidered with gold beads, very fragrant. Ruyi deliberately frowned and said, "Is this something belonging to Concubine Jia? It seems that even a few little Chang don't need such gorgeous things when they are in their teens." Yuyan snorted softly, curled her lips, and turned to face the emperor with a smile on her face: "The emperor said that my concubine's skin is fair, and it looks good in this color, doesn't it?"

It was originally a whisper in the boudoir, so suddenly said it in front of Ruyi, the emperor was also a little embarrassed, coughed to cover up, and said: "What age is it, the words are not light or heavy." Yu Yan said softly: "In the eyes of my concubines, the emperor has always been a handsome young man, and the concubines will always be by the emperor's side, regardless of their age." Ruyi couldn't hear it, so she turned her face and asked, "Li Yu, why did this thing fall into the hands of Guard Ling?" Li Yudao: "In the words of the empress, the concubines are all wrapped in brocade quilts in the enclosing room and sent to the emperor's dormitory. Even in the palace, the rules do not change. The palace maid began to tidy up the changed clothes, who would have thought that after such a short time, the apron of the imperial concubine would not be seen."

Ruyi's eyes brightened: "Then why is it related to Guard Ling?" "Guard Ling is guarding outside the enclosure tonight, and after Concubine Jia entered the palace, the guards took turns. Master Ling went back to the veranda to drink tea, and changed to guard in front of the emperor's hall. Afterwards, Jinzhong led people to search the guards In the resting room, I found Concubine Jia's belongings in Guard Ling's change of clothes." Ruyi picked up the apron with two fingers and shook it to the light, said with a smile, "Li Yu, tell me, who would steal the apron?"

Li Yu blushed, "This... this..." Yu Yan rolled his eyes and scolded: "It must be the despicable things done by the sluts!" Ruyi glanced at Yu Yan and said with a smile: "That's right! Concubine Jia is well maintained, youthful, let alone the emperor likes it, even a man can be tempted. To do such a thing, it must be the talent of Concubine Simujia, right? " Yuyan raised the silk in distaste, leaned closer to the emperor, and said pitifully: "Your Majesty, my concubine doesn't know anything." Yuyan's face was drooping, and she was wearing a gauze jacket dress in the shape of eight passionflower flowers in plum color. Under the light, she looked even more dazzling, but she was even more charming and chic than usual. Ruyi frowned and said, "It's really strange." Well, if you stole something that can't be seen, you should hide it close to your body. How can you put it in a place where there are many people in the guard's room? You are not afraid of people finding it out at will, or you wait for it on purpose. Someone turn it out?"

The emperor said: "What does the empress mean, is there something strange about this matter?" The shop was extremely quiet, Yaoyao could hear some unknown insects chirping feebly in the distance.The red candle on the gold-plated octagonal candlestick was still burning, and the red tears shed were like the blood dripping from Ling Yunche's body, quietly dripping down.Ruyi bowed her body with a clear expression: "When something like this happened, it is reasonable for Concubine Jia to be angry, but the concubine is just thinking that Guard Ling has been loyal since serving the emperor, and when Empress Xiaoxian fell into the water, he did not care about his life. Save me, I have gained the emperor's trust for many years. Concubine Jia has been sleeping so many times, why did something happen in the palace? If there is a guard Ling who really covets Concubine Jia, wouldn't it be wrong to steal Concubine Jia's bellyband in the palace? Is it more concealed? If someone intentionally framed this matter, I'm afraid that the emperor will kill the guard Ling in a fit of anger, and there will be no loyal and capable person around him."

The emperor glanced at Ruyi, and said indifferently: "Are you pleading for Ling Yunche?" Ruyi lowered her eyes deeply, took a deep breath in a humble and respectful manner, and said: "Yes, although this matter is strange, but people have got all the stolen goods, the emperor can punish the guards too much. It is even more worthy of the noble concubine's bad breath! But there is one thing, it is not as good as being in the palace now. There are a lot of idlers here, and the news that the guard was killed tonight because of this matter is probably not good. Yichen concubine I mean, if Guard Ling died unjustly, the death penalty should be pardoned, and the living crime should be punished!"

The emperor focused a little and felt sleepy.He patted Yu Yanxiang's shoulder as if comforting: "Forget it, Ling Yunche was sent to Mulan Paddock to do a hard labor cleaning, and he was not allowed to return to Beijing in the future." Yuyan was about to say something more, but Ruyi interrupted her in time: "Even the bellyband will be watched by people, to put it bluntly, it's just that Concubine Jia's words and deeds are not good enough, she should be a dignified and respected age, It just happened to be full of little girls' things. If it really spreads, it will be the reputation of Concubine Jia herself. Your Majesty, since such a big incident happened tonight, it is not appropriate for Concubine Jia to serve the bed again, lest the Emperor think about this trouble again matter." Ruyi's face was serious, showing the majesty of the palace, "Concubine Jia should also reflect and meditate in the harem, so as not to cause such troubles in the future." The emperor waved his hands impatiently, and said, "Concubine Jia, please kneel down. Jinbao, go pick up Concubine Ling." Jin Bao agreed and withdrew.Ruyi also resigned and left.Once outside the door, Ruyi saw that Li Yu had sent it out in person, so she whispered, "Thank you for sending the message." Li Yu hurriedly said: "The guard Ling has saved the empress's life, the slave knows it, and the slave is one of the empress's eyes in the palace, and the guard Ling is the other. The slave doesn't want to watch other people gouging out his eyes." Take out the eyeball of the empress, so as not to goug out this one, when the time comes, I will come to goug out the servant." Ruyi nodded and said, "You are a good-natured person. Give the guard Ling some medicine and send it to the Mulan paddock some day. Everything will be taken care of by you." Li Yu answered "yes" respectfully and sent Ruyi out. The faint moonlight shining through the thick clouds floats in the misty darkness of the palace alley, like a layer of tulle swaying, falling misty moisture.The night breeze was blowing on the face and it was slightly cool, but Ruyi's heart was not relaxed, she just walked forward silently with a straight face. Rong Pei supported Ruyi, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, do you think someone is plotting against your Majesty behind the scenes tonight?" Ruyi shook her head: "It happened too suddenly, and I recommended Ling Yunche, but he didn't help me with anything, so he can't be regarded as my confidant, who wants to plan?" Rong Pei suspiciously said: "Could it be Concubine Jia..." "Concubine Jia and Ling Yunche have no grievances and no enmity, she won't entrust her into the water to harm him, and dragging such a sexy and intimate thing as her belly pocket, isn't he afraid of losing his own face?" Rong Pei thought carefully: "If you want to plot against Concubine Jia, there are people in the palace who are at odds with Concubine Jia. Pure Concubine is one, and Concubine Ling is also the same. Even Concubine Wan is not very compatible with Concubine Jia." Ruyi Ning said: "There are not many people who are on good terms with Concubine Jia, but in my view, that person's purpose is not only to drag Concubine Jia into the water, to steal the concubine's bellyband privately, but also to exterminate Ling Yunche. Therefore, whoever is most afraid of Ling Yunche being in the palace is the one." Rong Pei thought for a long time, then said in a low voice: "I heard from Aunt Ruixin that Master Ling and Concubine Ling..." Ruyi turned her face away, and stopped in a low voice: "Shut up! Don't mention this matter again." Rong Pei said: "Yes. The slaves don't need to mention it. But the only person in the palace who can have a bit of taboo with Master Ling is the concubine Ling. This..." Ruyi sighed: "No matter what, first send some good golden sore medicine to Ling Yunche to treat his wounds, otherwise his wounds will fester in the hot weather, and it will be fatal, then let Ling Yunche go to Mulan quietly. After the paddock is set up, ask him if you have time, if he has offended anyone." Seeing that Ruyi was so solemn, Rong Pei quickly agreed and dared not mention it again. After three or five days of recuperating from his injuries, Ling Yunche was escorted to the Mulan paddock.The Mulan paddock was originally a royal forest garden, and the thousand-mile pine forest inside was where the royal family hunted every year.But apart from the once-a-year bustle, he usually only has to be with wild beasts, not to mention hard labor, which not only suffers, but also ruins his future. Naturally, Ruyi couldn't give it away, so he had to order Rong Pei to pack up a few bottles of golden sore medicine for him to smear on the road, and broke off a sprig of Sapindus as a gift. Forget about camping? Rong Pei sighed: "Your Majesty is using this thing to remind Master Ling, hoping that he will be free from worries." Ruyi said: "Sappins are resistant to wind and drought, and are also tolerant to shade and cold. I hope that no matter where Guard Ling is, he can endure hardships for a while and plan a way out. Tell him again, it's not decent , if you want to come back, you must be upright and dignified." , Rong Pei went to see them off according to his words, and when he came back, he only said: "Master Ling is gone, there is only one sentence, he knows what the empress has ordered, please be careful with the concubine Ling." Ruyi's smile froze at the corner of her mouth, and she said coldly, "It really is her!" However, Ruyi didn't make any moves for a while, and the concubine Ling was still loved by thousands of people and accompanied the king.What was cold was just that Ruyi's heart, which had always been on guard, became a little colder. After crossing Jiangning in April, Yujia went north along the canal, from land to Tai'an, and then went to Mount Tai to pay homage to the temple.He returned to the palace on the fourth day of May. The first thing Ruyi did after returning to Beijing was to visit Yihuan in Chuxiu Palace.At that time, Hai Lan also brought Yong Qi to accompany Yi Huan to talk, Hai Lan always dressed in a simple way, wearing a 70% new lotus root silk shirt with dark flowers, flowing clouds, and silver threads, with a little hexagonal blue and silver dotted on the cloud temples. Pearl flowers, only the jade phoenix hairpin with two tails and pearls on the side temples to show the dignity of the concubine, Hailan does have a bit of a posture of facing the water and blowing the wind in her movements, which is charming and charming.However, it is never a body of grace. It was in May, and the curtains in the hall were hanging down, layers upon layers like shadow veils, covering the hall in darkness.Yi Huan was wearing a pink gauze embroidered begonia spring sleeping pattern cloak, leaning on the bed, lovingly stroking Yong Qi's hand, and whispering something.Jiang and Bin knelt down to one side, taking Yi Huan's pulse and saying hello. Seeing Ruyi coming, Yi Huan was overjoyed, then she turned her back in embarrassment and wept softly, "How dare I let the empress and emperor see me like this today." Ruyi smiled and comforted her and said, "The emperor is still busy with government affairs in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. It is my palace who came to see you first. We are all women, so why do you care about these things?" Hailan forced a smile and said, "These days, Sister Concubine Shu is only willing to see concubines." She looked around, "Even the hall is so dark and gloomy that no light will come in." Ruyi nodded knowingly, and put her arms around Yongqi: "Yongqi has been ill these days, and her face has also shrunk a little bit, so ask Queen Mother to take a good look at it." Hailan said distressedly: "No, it's always intermittent. Fortunately, Doctor Jiang finally came back more than 20 days ago, and it can be considered cured." Ruyi frowned: "I don't know why?" Hailan shook her head: "The child's illness is caused by kicking the quilt at night or something and getting cold. The nurses didn't pay attention to it for a while." Ruyi pondered and said: "Those wet nurses can no longer be used, so send them out immediately." Hailan nodded slightly: "Before you send it out, you have to ask carefully, don't someone send us to harm Yongqi." She was puzzled, "But if it is really harming Yongqi, it is so wrong, it is just to let us The courtiers and concubines are worried, they can't separate themselves." After Jiang and Bin asked for the pulse, Ruyi asked, "Is it all right?" Jiang Yubin said gently, "It's just hair loss, nothing else matters." Yihuan regained her strength and finally turned around.The hair on her forehead fell out quite a bit, and her hairline was drawn high and high, only the bun on her head was still unusually full and black. Perhaps she felt that her forehead was too high and too wide to look good, so she cut off a lot of bangs.However, her hair fell out sparsely and turned yellow like dry grass, covering the front but not the back, making her look more and more trying to cover up.Women have always regarded "sweeping crescent eyebrows lightly towards the painter, concentric Chinese buns and black silk" as their beauty. The loss of hair will inevitably damage her appearance. Ruyi hurriedly said: "The bun is still thick, but after being treated by Doctor Jiang, it's getting better?" Yi Huan said sadly: "The bun is mixed with a wig. If it falls loose, the concubine's own hair has already lost most of her hair, and she can't look at it at all. No matter how many black sesame seeds and walnuts I eat, there is no effect at all." In terms of appearance, Yi Huan is the best concubine in the palace, and Jin Yuyan can be regarded as blooming side by side, one is cool and the other is charming, just like the white lotus and red weeping.However, Yihuan's temperament is different from Yuyan's cherishing beauty and Yuming. She has a beauty as clear as a crescent moon, but she never thinks she is beautiful.But a woman is always a woman, no matter how thin her appearance is, it is really sad now that her blue hair is withering, Ruyi can only comfort her: "You are pregnant with a child now, and your kidney qi is weak. When you give birth to a child If you take good care of yourself during the confinement period, you will be fine." She caressed and enviously caressed Yihuan's swollen belly, and asked, "Is the child all right?" Only then did Yi Huan laugh through tears, and said with relief, "Thankfully, the child is fine." Hailan hugged Yongqi and sighed: "As long as the child is good. If a mother is a little bit wronged, so what? Flowers do not bloom in a hundred days, and youth and beauty are empty after all. Having a child is what really matters. Woolen cloth." With deep joy, Yi Huan said, "Yes, this is my child and the emperor's, that's great." Hailan's words are from the bottom of her heart, and Yihuan is also sincerely happy.Ruyi was afraid of causing each other's sadness, so she asked, "You don't like to go out, and you don't like to meet people, so it's not good for you and your children to be bored all the time, what are you doing these days?" A shy smile flashed across Yihuan's face, as if Ren Chunfeng had blown the pink color of a thousand-petal phoenix flower outside the palace onto her slightly pale cheeks. A stack of papers was brought over, handed to Ruyi, and said: "Look, empress, the concubine has copied all the imperial poems written by the emperor since he was a child, and if there is a word that is not neat, it will be discarded." Only the best copied ones are left. The concubine has made up his mind to use these hand-copied imperial poems to make a collection of poems. Wouldn't it be good to flip through it by yourself?" Hai Lan said with a smile: "Sister Concubine Shu still has her heart. The emperor has always been good at poetry, but we didn't think of such a wonderful thing." Ruyi smiled and said: "If everyone thinks of it, there is nothing rare. This kind of thought is rare! Whenever I see the emperor, I must tell the emperor about this wonderful thing." Yi Huan blushed, and hurriedly stopped her and said: "Empress, don't be in a hurry, the matter is only half done, it won't be too late to tell the emperor when everything is finished." When she walked out of Yihuan Palace, Hailan looked at the swaying ray of sunshine in the courtyard, passing through the large expanse of brilliant phoenix flowers and falling the clear and uncertain halo, half smiling and half sighing: "Sister Concubine Shu is really an idiot." .” With her words, Ruyi remembered the time when she first married the emperor. Those days were pink and bright green soaked by the spring rain, like this large expanse of rotten phoenix flowers, so beautiful that people couldn't believe it.It turns out that I once bloomed like this. It is true that the emperor treated her well after she was conferred the title, with great favor and courtesy.But the favor and courteous treatment are different from the time of newlyweds, like the rosy red dyed by a brush, no matter how colorful it is, it is not fresh. Ruyi smiled, feeling a little lost: "Being infatuated also has its benefits, a little bit of satisfaction makes me happy." Hai Lan deeply agreed: "Yes. Your Majesty sees that we are all pregnant with children for the sake of honor and favor, and for our own future. Only Concubine Shu, she is different from us. Seeing a lonely person, yes The emperor's heart is so hot." Ruyi said: "That's fine too. Otherwise, what's the fun of living in the camp?" Hai Lan sighed: "I hope Concubine Shu will be more blessed, don't be too infatuated. People, if you are too infatuated, you will be sad." After talking, the two walked to the long street.After being outside for a long time, suddenly walking on the long corridor in the palace, looking at the blue sky like a line of sky separated by the high red wall, I feel extremely suffocated, as if living in a cage.But in this ball cage, there are people who are happy after all. Ruyi was thinking like this, but saw a skirt flashing at the corner in front of her. It seemed to be the figure of Concubine Mei, but there was no court lady following her. Ruyi said, "Hailan, is this palace dazzled? Concubine? Why are you sneaking around?" Hailan smiled and spat: "Women in the palace live like parrots, mice, and goldfish, aren't they sneaky when they move their minds?" She whispered, "Don't empresses know? Concubine Mei's body is broken." Ruyi remembered that when she was in Hangzhou, she tried so hard to please the emperor with Concubine Qing, but in the end she was left out in the cold, not as good as Concubine Ling and Concubine Qing.Moreover, her complexion was so bad, she became suspicious when she thought about it.Ruyi asked, "What's wrong?" Hailan sighed: "The concubine only found out by watching her take medicine by accident. Maybe it was because she died after giving birth to the dead child that year. Concubine Mei couldn't have her own child these years, according to the palace servants who served her. When I wake up, there is often no monthly letter for more than half a year, and it has been one or two months since then, and my body has been ruined." Ruyi was startled and said, "Is there such a thing? Jiang and Bin never mentioned it to Ben Gong?" Hailan waved her hand, and felt compassion: "What's there to mention? A woman's body will break if she can't bear it. It's a common thing. Besides, she hasn't been favored as before. Children, let alone no family background, just suffer like this." Ruyi thought of Concubine Mei's life experience and the child who passed away after only one glance, her heart seemed to be hit by the autumn wind, rustling and bitter.She wanted to say something, but she parted her lips slightly, but there was only a faint sigh.