Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty

This night, I was half asleep and half awake, so I didn't sleep well.At four o'clock, when the emperor got up, Ruyi woke up too.The emperor got angry early in the morning, his face was gloomy, like the haggard blue halo under his eyes, the palace servants were extra careful in serving him, but they still couldn't help being scolded a few times.Ruyi thought that she would not be able to sleep, so she got up and personally served the emperor to change and wash.After everything was settled, Li Yu clapped his hands twice and called Jin Zhong in with a bowl of white fungus soup. This bowl of white fungus soup was a must-drink for the emperor every morning, just for the sake of refreshing and sweet taste, and prolonging life.The method is nothing more than stewed with rock sugar, which is soft and melts in the mouth.

The same goes for this day.The tremella soup has just been used up, and there is still some time before the court, the emperor is still a little bored.Ruyi saw that the emperor's braided hair was a little hairy, and thought it would be good if the emperor didn't see it. Once he saw it, the eunuch who combed his hair would have to beat him to death.It so happened that Li Yu saw it too, but he didn't dare to make a sound, sweating all over his face in anxiety. Ruyi had an idea, and said, "Your Majesty, I haven't combed your hair for a long time. It's still early, so I should comb your hair for you, let's let it loose."

The emperor didn't sleep well at night, and he was also a little dizzy, so he said, "Just use a mint pine needle water grate." The emperor was pleasantly surprised by the cost of food and clothing. The grate used was also carved out of ivory into a pattern of pine and crane prolonging the year, while the handshake is made of a piece of old pitted waxy jadeite, which is warm and moist to the touch, and is very convenient.Ruyi untied the emperor's braid, dipped in some mint and pine needle water, and combed the emperor's hair calmly. However, when everything was about to be completed, she was completely stunned.

Between the emperor's thick black hair, a silvery white hair leaped out, piercing Ruyi's eyes.She thought over and over again, the emperor is only forty-one years old, and he has gray hair. She subconsciously wanted to cover up the past.It cannot be pulled out, otherwise the emperor will definitely find out.But if you don't pull it out, you will be discovered by the emperor sooner or later.After such a moment of hesitation, the emperor had already noticed it keenly, and immediately asked, "What?" Ruyi knew that she couldn't hide it, so she simply pulled off the white hair, and said casually: "I was thinking, my concubine's Ama lost her gray hair when she was thirty, so why is it that the emperor only grew the first one now. "

These words greatly eased the nervous expression on the emperor's face. He took a look at the white hair in Ruyi's hand, held it tightly in his palm and said, "This is my first white hair." Seeing that the emperor did not lose his temper, Ruyi let go of the big stone in his heart: "The holy patriarch Kangxi liked to drink black mulberry tea very much when he was alive, and my concubines also wanted to ask the imperial hospital to make some. Would the emperor like to pay attention to my concubines to taste it together?" The emperor glanced at her with a slightly relaxed expression: "If the queen likes it, I will accompany the queen."

Ruyi braided the emperor's hair as if nothing had happened, the emperor said in a low voice, "Is there any more?" The emperor's tone was cool and moist, Ruyi nodded, and said softly: "Where are there so many, it's just one. The concubine thinks, if both the concubine and the emperor have gray hair, it will be considered gray hair." It's over." The emperor smiled, sighed silently, and closed his eyes. It is no wonder that the emperor has always attached great importance to health preservation. Every morning he must drink a bowl of white fungus soup, and when he comes back in the morning, he will do a set of five-element fists in the courtyard to relax the muscles and bones. After dinner, you must have ginseng slices to refresh your mind for a while, and before going to bed, you can sleep with a bowl of soothing bird's nest.Ruyi has followed the emperor for many years and learned most of these rules.In addition to not knowing how to punch, morning and evening is also the same maintenance.In addition, the emperor paid special attention to every drink and meal. He did not need to drink too much, let alone get drunk.And venison, which strengthens yang, is the most common thing in the diet. Besides, it is very light and fresh seasonal vegetables.

With such meticulous maintenance, the emperor hated himself for seeing old age the most.At this time, seeing his own gorgeous hair, and remembering the failure of last night, how can he not be angry and sad.Although Ruyi wanted to explain, she could only say nothing. She felt a little disgusted after being silent like this, so she could only try her best to endure and said: "Your Majesty, it's getting late, and my concubine will send you an early court." For the next few days, it was difficult for Ruyi to see the emperor again. After checking the records of the respect room, she found that these days the emperor had time to spend with some young concubines, either drinking and having fun, or singing and dancing. reward.And the one who went the most was Yanwan Palace.

Rong Pei said mysteriously: "Recently Concubine Jia is busy selecting wet nurses for the dragon fetuses in her womb. I heard that Concubine Ling secretly selected a few in the palace." Ruyi was putting on makeup in front of the mirror, she stopped her hands when she heard the words, and asked in doubt, "For no reason, what is she going to choose a wet nurse for?" Seeing that there was no one else around, Rong Pei lowered her voice and said: "I heard that the emperor has been resting in the concubine Ling's palace these few days, and the concubine Ling ordered the nanny to express human milk every day, and mixed milk tea for the emperor to drink."

Ruyi felt uncomfortable in her ears, felt nauseous, felt unspeakable suffocation in her chest, and couldn't help but bend over and vomited a few mouthfuls of clear water. Rong Pei was so frightened that she quickly handed her a silk cloth to wipe it off: "Empress Empress, what's wrong with you? Your complexion hasn't looked good these days." Ruyi shook her head and said, "This palace sounds disgusting." Rong Pei hurriedly said: "Your Majesty has been feeling chest tightness and discomfort for the past few days, I'd better invite an imperial physician to take a look."

Ruyi shook her head and said, "Ruixin just gave birth to a child and is in confinement. Jiang Yubin has been busy taking care of Ruixin since two months ago, so I simply sent him back to rest for three months before returning to the palace as an errand. He, I don't worry about others coming to ask for pulse. It's just disgusting, it doesn't matter." Rong Pei guessed hesitantly: "Your Majesty is happy, right? The maidservant sees that Your Majesty's letter hasn't arrived in the past two months, and Concubine Jia is also happy, it's just so disgusting."

Ruyi disagrees: "It would be great if I can really have a child in this life, I'm afraid I can't even dream of it. That month's letter... I always have and don't have it, and I'm used to it." Question: "Did the emperor drink all those breast milk?" Rong Pei was a little afraid to say: "In order to prolong life and stay youthful, of course the emperor drinks it. The imperial concubine also drinks it with her, and mixes it with pearl powder, so she never misses it every day." Ruyi felt as if her chest was overwhelmed, and she almost didn't spit it out again.She remembered the way Luyun looked at her a few days ago, it was so ambiguous and speculative, but they just tacitly hinted to each other that the emperor's body was different. The news from the Tai Hospital was even more shocking. In addition to taking a large number of medicines to strengthen the body, the emperor had already started drinking fresh deer blood wine every day. Ruyi knows the efficacy of deer blood. Deer blood can control impotence, benefit essence and blood, relieve low back pain, greatly tonify deficiency and damage, and the effect will be better after drinking.There are hundreds of red deer and sika deer in the imperial garden, which are ready for the blood between the heads and horns of the thorny deer in the palace, and raw wine to drink.When the first emperor was obsessed with elixir in his later years, he also took a large amount of deer blood as a supplement. Even when he was young, because he accidentally drank deer blood in the Rehe Palace, he rushed to visit the emperor's rough-looking biological mother Li Jingui in a daze. He was so ashamed that the emperor was so depressed that he didn't pay attention to it when he was young. Rong Pei said worriedly: "Your Majesty has taken so much deer blood wine, the yang energy is already too strong, if you get lucky again and again, it will be the upper body!" In this case, only Ruyi and the Queen Mother could persuade her in the palace.However, the emperor may not like the queen mother to know.Ruyi wanted to persuade her, but she couldn't open her mouth. After pondering for a long time, she said, "Rong Pei, go and cook a bowl of mung bean and lotus heart soup." Rong Pei said in surprise: "Empress, it's already autumn, it's not the time to drink mung bean and lotus heart soup!" Ruyi stood up with a flick of her sleeves, and said, "I don't know why I don't know it's inappropriate. But it can only be inappropriate once." When Ruyi entered the courtyard of Yongshou Palace, the palace people trembled as if they were facing an enemy.Wang Chan, the eunuch serving Yanwan, came out of the inner hall with an empty square boxwood plate. When he saw Ruyi, he was about to shout out, but Rong Pei slapped her face quickly, and said in a low voice, "In front of the Empress, , stop fumbling your tongue." Rong Pei saw that there were still a few drops of blood on the plate he was carrying, reached out his hand to dip it in and sniffed it, and said to Ruyi, "It's deer blood wine." She turned to Wang Chan and asked, "How many bowls did you send?" Go in? If there is a false sentence, immediately drag it out and kill it!" Wang Chan knew he was afraid, and said honestly: "Four bowls." There was a vague and loud female laugh coming from inside, which sounded extraordinarily wild and seductive in the daytime.Ruyi listened for a quarter of an hour, the voice inside gradually quieted down, and then calmly said: "Who is inside, please come out." Wang Chan went in in a panic, but after a while, the door opened with a "squeak", and several beautiful women came out. Ruyi originally thought that there was only Yan Wan in the Yongshou Palace, but what she didn't expect to come out was the usual, Kui Chang, Xiu Chang, and Jin concubines.Especially for the concubine Jin, a gold-woven satin and jade buckle was still untied, but she didn't notice it. Seeing them like this, Ruyi could imagine how ridiculous it would be for the emperor to drink a bowl of deer blood wine in the bedroom.Her complexion became more and more ugly, almost like it was about to burst, and she said coldly: "Kneel down." How can a young woman withstand such expressions and words.Ping Ping Zai, Kui Chang Zai, and Xiu Guiren knelt down first. Although Concubine Jin was somewhat reluctant, she did not dare to stand alone, so she knelt down along with her. Ruyi didn't bother to talk to them, so she just said with a cold face: "Think about it, where is my mistake?" The other three blushed and bowed their heads in silence, almost crying out of embarrassment.On the contrary, the Jin concubine twisted the silk and muttered, "What's wrong, it's just serving the emperor." Ruyi raised the corners of her lips as a smile, but her eyes were as cold as ice: "When Empress Xiaoxian was alive, she was the most disciplined and restrained the harem. You must know that after her death, the daughters of her family, the Fucha family, served so undisciplinedly." Your Majesty, that is really a disgrace under Jiuquan." Relying on her favor these days, the Jin concubine said angrily: "The concubine serves the emperor, and the emperor is willing to serve the emperor. What is there to be ashamed of? Empress Empress, let alone serve the emperor in front of the emperor to please the emperor. Take your anger out on your concubine?" Ruyi said with a half-smile, "Sure enough, it's from the Fucha family, with sharp teeth." She raised her face, and Rong Pei understood, Qian Qian grabbed Concubine Jin's collar and said with a smile, "Concubine Jin My lord, in broad daylight, you don’t feel ashamed when you talk to the empress with your neckline loose, but the empress is ashamed for you. If this spreads or someone sees it, do you want the face of the rich family of the Fucha family? Woolen cloth?" As soon as Concubine Jin lowered her head, feeling shy and angry, she fastened the buttons on her head in a hurry. Ruyi glanced at the four of them, looked at Wang Chan and said, "Why? Just a few of them, where is the head of Yongshou Palace?" Just as she was asking, Yan Wan was wearing a homely peach-colored cloak embroidered with golden thread and a water-colored hibiscus collar, and hurriedly knelt down and said with a flushed face, "I don't know, Empress Dowager." The phoenix came, but the concubine could not go far to meet him, so I ask the empress to forgive me." Ruyi looked at her, her hair was obviously pulled up hastily, there were still a few strands of hair scattered on one side, and a few broom bead flowers were hanging loosely, as if she was a little panting. Ruyi was angry, and lowered her voice, "Where's your majesty?" Yan Wan said with a clear face: "The emperor just fell asleep, and the concubine is waiting by the side, so I don't dare to disturb you." Ruyi asked: "Did you fall asleep after drinking four bowls of deer blood wine?" Yan Wan was even more embarrassed when she heard her bluntly pointing out, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and say: "Yes." Ruyi stepped forward slowly, raised her chin with the sharpness of her armor, looked straight into her eyes and said, "After drinking deer blood wine, it will disperse, and you fell asleep without letting the emperor disperse, yes?" Do you intend to make the emperor uncomfortable?" Yan Wan pursed her lips, tears trickled down her eyes, and after a long while, her voice was like a mosquito: "It has dispersed." "Diverged?" Ruyi's expression changed suddenly, her heart ached and she was short of breath, "With the five of you?" Yan Wan looked at Ruyi innocently and said: "Empress, my concubine also wants to persuade the emperor to pay attention to the dragon body, but he can't persuade him. The emperor must be tired before he is willing to sleep." Ruyi stared at her, and said solemnly: "These days, the emperor is in the Yongshou Palace, is this why he is willing to sleep?" Yan Wan's face turned purple with embarrassment, she just wished she could find a hole to go down, looked at the other people, and said: "Yes." Ruyi's gaze was as cold as a sword: "Among these few people, you are the one with the highest status, and you are also the head of the Yongshou Palace. The huge Yongshou Palace is at your disposal. If you can't persuade me, you can come and tell me and the palace." Empress Dowager, you have bad intentions if you don't say anything, and you deliberately indulged the emperor's temperament." Ruyi called the three treasures: "Sambo, the people who go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs come to record the files. Concubine Ling, concubine of Jin Dynasty, noble lady, is usually here, and Kui often sleeps in Yongshou Palace." Yan Wan's complexion suddenly changed, her face turned red and then turned pale, and she pleaded: "The empress, please save some face, the emperor said, today's affairs will not be remembered." "Don't remember?" Ruyi's expression was indifferent, looking at the golden and blue paintings on the carved beams in the corridor, not looking at them, "Then if one of you is pregnant, then what's the matter?" ? It’s hard to tell what’s not recorded.” Yan Wan turned pale and said: "Think of it as the concubines begging the empress for the concubines of Jin and the others. This is not the face of the concubines, but the face of the emperor." Ruyi sneered and said: "The emperor's face? The emperor's face was thrown in Yongshou Palace by you." The Jin concubine still refused to accept it: "The emperor wants us to serve you, so what's the matter? What's so scary about the concubine? We are the emperor's women, and it is upright to serve the emperor." Yan Wan glared at her anxiously, and scolded: "What do you know?" Ruyi glanced at them, and said sharply: "The concubine Jin doesn't understand, but you understand the power of it, concubine Ling. Once the queen mother starts to ask, she reads the record and asks why the emperor has five daughters to accompany her. And if you don’t love yourself so much, do you still want these five lives? The crime of adultery in the harem and deceiving the emperor is a crime that even members of your mother’s family have to bear together.” Before the words were finished, the door of the main hall of Yongshou Palace was suddenly opened, and an annoyed voice said: "It is I who want them to serve, and I will take care of everything." Ruyi saw that the emperor raised his voice, and he was wearing a blue river silk plain gown with gold, silver, chrysanthemum, and dragon patterns. install." The emperor said impatiently: "I don't have any restlessness. I can't even take a nap. It's unreasonable to hear you making noise." Although he said this to everyone, his eyes only fell on Ruyi.Concubine Jin immediately understood the emperor's eyes, rubbed her knees and said softly: "Your Majesty, my knees hurt from kneeling, can I get up?" The emperor frowned and said: "It's broad daylight, what does it look like to kneel under the dripping eaves? Go back to your own palace." Concubine Jin twisted her waist triumphantly and stood up, casting a sidelong glance at Ruyi.Ruyi didn't want to remain stalemate in front of everyone, so she let them leave.Concubine Jin and the others were able to leave, but Yan Wan could not. The emperor glanced at Yan Wan: "What are you still kneeling here for? Didn't you stew Fuling Dihuang Dabu soup for me, and didn't you ask someone to bring it?" Ruyi winked, and Rong Pei brought mung bean lotus heart soup.Ruyi tried her best to say in a gentle voice: "If the emperor is thirsty, this concubine will make mung bean lotus heart soup to quench his thirst." The emperor glanced displeasedly: "It's not Dafutian, why send such an inappropriate thing?" Ruyi said softly: "The emperor has been supplementing with deer blood these days, and that thing has a hot temper. The concubine was afraid that the emperor would drink too much of the strong stuff, so he specially sent mung bean lotus heart soup that is cool in nature and relieves heat. Please have a taste, Your Majesty." The emperor's eyes suddenly turned cold: "When did the empress learn to swear at people around the corner?" Ruyi hurriedly bowed her knees and bowed her head: "Your Majesty, my concubines dare not." "Don't dare?" The emperor snorted coldly, "You spoil my interest at night, and you also come to spoil my interest during the day. Are you just not allowing me to relax for a while?" This sentence was like a sudden slap in the face, which made Ruyi dizzy.She was stunned for a long time, only feeling that her eyes were burning hot, and it was clear that something was about to come out violently.She bit her lip with all her strength, raised her face to hold back the heat in her eyes, and said coldly, "Did this concubine spoil the emperor's interest?" The emperor is used to being flattered by several young and beautiful concubines, how can he stand this sentence, and not feel sneered again and again: "The empress didn't spoil my interest, could it be that the concubines, Jin concubines and the others spoiled my interest? I feel that in front of them, I am much younger, unlike the empress who is used to being tepid." Ruyi only felt that her heart was rolling back and forth in the pile of thorns, and it hurt everywhere, but she couldn't pull it out, but she really couldn't bear such accusations and accusations, so she could only bow her head and say, "Your Majesty If you are interested in bowls of deer blood wine and drinking big tonic soup, the concubine would not dare to persuade the emperor to cherish his body. The concubine immediately went to the Fengxian Hall and knelt down to ask the ancestors for forgiveness. yes." The emperor immediately became angry and shouted: "You go to Fengxian Hall? Just because you are the queen?" Ruyi said in a low voice: "Yes! The emperor appointed the concubine as empress, so the concubine has to speak up." The emperor said in frustration: "Let's not say that you are the heir, even the empress Xiaoxian, the heir, can't change my temper here! And what can you do in Fengxian Hall? Go to Fengxian The palace told the ancestors that Liezong, as my empress, could not extend his descendants, and gave birth to a son and grandson for the Aixinjueluo family? The empress is incompetent, and there is no heir to be born. I plan for all generations, so what if I favor a few concubines? gone?" That's right, she was originally a successor, even if he personally made himself a queen, he still looked down on her so much in his heart.Ruyi's face was flushed with blood, and a burst of anger and blood rushed straight to her forehead: "A concubine who has no children is a concubine who is incompetent, but the emperor does not cherish his dragon body, and he is sorry for the ancestors and the people of the world." She took Rong Pei held the soup bowl above his head, tried his best to hold back his tears and said, "I don't dare to have any words of advice, everything I want to say is in this bowl of soup." The emperor immediately flew into a rage and walked away. A cup of mung bean and lotus heart soup was smashed to pieces, and the soup dripped all over Ruyi's head and body.The broken pieces of porcelain splashed and scraped directly onto the back of Ruyi's hand, leaving a bright red gash, and blood gushed out in an instant. Yan Wan was so frightened that her face turned pale, she pointed to the back of Ruyi's hand and said, "Blood, empress, there is blood." Ruyi wiped off the blood on the back of her hand violently, she was in a mess, but she refused to let go of her tone, and said: "The blood of this concubine is really nothing compared to the emperor's blood. The concubine has no complaints or regrets, but the emperor doesn't cherish himself, even if the concubine is looking at her face, she will kneel here and beg the emperor to understand." The emperor was angry and annoyed, and pushed her hard: "If you want to kneel, kneel here, don't go to the Fengxian Hall to shame yourself!" He turned around and ordered: "Concubine Ling, come in with me, I want you to serve me. " Ruyi couldn't move forward or retreat, she knelt straight in front of the palace gate, watching Yan Wan enter with the emperor's hand affectionately. Rong Pei was so frightened that her face turned blue, she knelt down beside Ruyi, and said in a low voice, "Mother, why are you doing this?" Ruyi looked at the closed door, the door carved with red lacquer and filled with gold. It was carved with vivid clouds and eight treasures. The group of flowers had peony as the heart, and five bats held silver ingots. Ganoderma lucidum, Ruyi, chrysanthemums, and corals were distributed. Surrounded by the extremely lively Huacai, it is like a thorn on the wings of a fluttering bat, fluttering and fluttering, shocking. "Why bother?" She shed tears in a daze, "The emperor's dragon body... Could it be my fault? A husband doesn't cherish his body, so as a wife, can't I persuade him? You are a courtier, can't you persuade me?" Rong Pei was speechless and could only hesitate to say: "The emperor is not happy when something like this happened, and also because of his anger, the emperor... If he doesn't find someone close to him, who can he turn to?" Ruyi wiped away the tears from her cheeks vigorously: "So, is this palace going to endure such humiliation from the emperor in front of the concubine's room?" Rong Pei supported Ruyi, and patiently wiped away the soreness in the corners of her eyes.