Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Mulan

In this way, the sun is warm and the days of blue, green and bamboo are shaking, and the light and shadow are more and more sparse, and the spring is flowing in the floating dreams of my life.When she suddenly regained her senses, Yong Xing, who had woken up from a nap in the arms of her wet nurse, came to look for her. The sound of the son's cry aroused Ruyi's mother's heart, and only then did she realize that her trance was inexplicable.Ruyi stretched out her arms to embrace her beloved son, and listened to his babbling: "Er Niang, Er Niang." After a while, she grinned again, "Fifth Brother, Fifth Brother."

Yong Qi has always treated this younger brother very affectionately, like a brother and sister, and will visit him whenever he has free time.Ruyi listened to Yongzheng's call, so she called into the Three Treasures and asked, "Fifth Elder Brother hasn't been here for the past two days, where has he been?" Sanbao hurriedly said: "Return to the Empress Dowager, Fifth Prince accompanied the Empress Dowager to transcribe Buddhist scriptures." Ruyi coaxed Yongzheng in her arms, and asked casually, "Does fifth elder brother often accompany the queen mother these days?"

Three Treasures said: "It's not often, just occasionally. The Empress Dowager often invites elder brothers to accompany the Compassion Ning Palace to talk, or to copy Buddhist scriptures. Either fifth elder brother or sixth elder brother." It is well known that the Empress Dowager loves the son born to the pure noble concubine Su Luyun.However, the sixth elder brother has a thick head and a tiger head, and is very lively, so he is also very cute.Ruyi smiled gratifiedly, now, the queen mother can see other elder brothers in her eyes. Ruyi asked, "Isn't it conspicuous?"

Sanbao hastily lowered his voice: "Inconspicuous. Concubine Yu and Fifth Elder Brother are both neglected by the emperor, and no one pays attention to the movement of Yanxi Palace." Rong Pei was stunned: "Why does the queen mother have a crush on the fifth elder brother now? In the past, because the fifth elder brother was the adopted son of the empress, the queen mother didn't pay much attention to it." Ruyi glanced at her: "You don't need to use your brain when you ask questions, you can think about it yourself." Rong Pei thought and thought, and her eyes lit up; "Oh! This servant understands. The fifth elder brother was thinking about Princess Duanshu that day. Although he sinned against the emperor, he greatly pleased the queen mother!"

Ruyi gently patted Yongzheng in her arms, and said: "Princess Duanshu is the eldest daughter of the queen mother. Although the queen mother doesn't care about Dawaqi, she always cares about the face and situation of princess Duanshu." The emperor treated Che Ling kindly, and Dawaqi was furious, so naturally he would not give Princess Duanshu a good look. With Yongqi's caring words, even if reprimanded by the emperor, the queen mother will definitely think of Yongqi. Chi's good." Rong Pei said: "I have been in front of the emperor for the past few years. No elder brother can compare to the fourth elder brother. It is good to find another way to win the queen mother. But although the queen mother is filial to the emperor, she doesn't care about the government. Even if there is a queen mother who loves her, so what."

Ruyi smiled and said nothing, just looked at the child's smiling face, focused and joyful. This is the strength of the Queen Mother.She had been by the late emperor's side for many years, and she was acquainted with most of the court officials, so she was really useless at all.But she was so indifferent, as if she didn't care about world affairs.But Ruyi is clear that even the emperor's harem must have the empress dowager, and Yuyan and Yongxie only look at the emperor but ignore the empress dowager, they are short-sighted and totally wrong. A few days later, the Mulan paddock presented several wild horses that had just been domesticated to the imperial garden for the palace to enjoy.The emperor was quite interested, so he took his concubines and princes to watch it.At the beginning of the golden wind, the maple leaves are first red, fierce as fire.The snow-white horses are kept in cages, reflecting the red leaves in the garden, very beautiful.They were all new to the strange environment in the palace. Those horses were wild and untamed. They didn't listen to the trainer's words. They shook their heads and tails, neighed a few times from time to time, scratched the sand with their front hooves, and seemed very disturbed.

The sound of the horseshoe kicking the iron railing was extremely ear-piercing. Concubine Xin leaned against the emperor, her face was a bit timid, but her bright eyes sparkled with infinite curiosity, and she said with a smile: "These horse trainers are really useless! The beasts can't make them quiet." Her eyes were clear, and she walked past the princes behind the emperor, with a dimpled smile, "I heard that you brothers are good at hunting. If wild horses are not tamed, you can shoot them to death with one arrow. Yes. no?" Although Yongxuan was not reprimanded by the emperor, he also felt the emperor's alienation from him.Moreover these days the emperor dotes on Concubine Xin and doesn't go to Yuyan Palace, so he can't help feeling wronged for Er Niang, so he contends loudly, "Mistress Xin's words are wrong, these horses are very domesticated, if they are all shot to death with one arrow Now, where is there a more interesting supply palace?"

Concubine Xin was about the same age as Yongxuan, and also at the age of pride, she was a little bit dissatisfied, and said, "According to the fourth elder brother, can these wild horses be tamed?" Yong Xie chuckled, without looking at her, rolled up his sleeves and walked to the cage, messing around for a while.Unexpectedly, those wild horses seemed to like Yongxuan very much, they stopped being irritable for a while, and obediently bowed their heads and snorted twice. Seeing this, Yuyan couldn't help being proud, she tugged at the eighth elder brother Yongxuan beside her, Yongxuan immediately understood, clapped her hands and smiled and said: "Fourth brother, that's amazing! That's amazing!"

Seeing that Yongxuan was proud, Concubine Xin curled her lips in disdain and said, "Small tricks. How can it compare to the emperor's ability to tame the world and calm the world!" Seeing Concubine Xin getting annoyed and looking like a child, the emperor thought it was funny: "Yongxuan, those wild horses listen to you!" At this time, Ling Yunche accompanied the emperor, and immediately flattered with a smile: "The emperor is right. Every year when the Mulan paddock is in autumn, the fourth elder brother will personally feed the domesticated horses in the paddock. Because of this, every autumn, The fourth elder brother is the best in riding."

Yongqi suddenly realized: "No wonder the fourth brother didn't bring his son to feed the horses in the paddock. It turns out that there is such a reason. I'm afraid that the son will take the name of the fourth brother!" The smile hanging from the corner of the emperor's mouth slightly retracted, as if he said inadvertently: "Ling Yunche, do you mean that the fourth elder brother gets close to these wild horses every year when he comes to the paddock?" Ling Yunche looked very honest: "I have been on duty in the Mulan paddock for two years, and I have seen it. Later, I went hunting with the emperor, and I have seen it a few times." Unattainable."

The emperor looked at the helpless horse trainers outside the iron cage, but Yongxie took licorice to feed the horses, and he was very handy, and there was a suspicious look in his eyes.Not much to say at the moment, just joking and having fun. That night the emperor didn't want to summon other concubines, but came to Yikun Palace alone to stay with Ruyi.The red candle was flickering, and the emperor's expression was not peaceful in his sleep. Ruyi lay on his side in his arms, and saw his brows furrowed and his babbling, faintly frightened, unable to fall asleep, only listening to the light rain pattering against the window lattice in the middle of the night.After a long time, the sound of rain became more and more loud, hitting the glazed tiles on the cornices, the broad banana leaves in the atrium, and the petals that were about to wither by the autumn wind, the sound became clearer and clearer. Amid the ups and downs of the heart, it is the season of wind and dew and coolness. The night was so thick that the emperor sat up in shock from his dream, covered in cold sweat, and shouted, "Come here! Come here!" Immediately, a palace watchman heard the sound and knocked on the door. Ruyi hurriedly sat up, pressed the emperor's palm, and said to the outside: "It's nothing! Get back!" The rainy night at the beginning of September was already a bit cool, and the evening wind blew in slightly through the window of Xia Ying's crimson gauze.Ruyi took the cloak beside the bed and put it on the emperor, got up and handed a cup of hot tea to the emperor, and said softly, "Is the emperor having nightmares again?" The emperor drank the hot tea in one gulp, as if he had snatched the warmth from the tea to soothe his nerves a bit. "Ruyi, although I rule the world, I dream back at midnight. I often dream of the loneliness and misery that no one cares about when I was young. My biological mother died young, and Huang Ama despises my background, so she rarely cares about it. Even if I am today Rich in the world, when alone, always afraid that I will go back to the days when I was young and had nothing." Ruyi held the emperor's hand tightly: "How could it be? The emperor has concubines, empresses, and so many concubines, princes and princesses, how could he have nothing?" The emperor's expression was helpless and bewildered, like autumn leaves wet with rain and dew, thin and brittle. "I have an empress dowager, but she is the empress dowager, not my own empress dowager. I have so many concubines, but they are by my side, for honor, for the family, for myself, and even for the empress dowager. Sincerely for me? My sons grow up day by day. In their hearts, I am not only a father, but also a king, and also a person who prevents them from ascending to the sky on the throne they covet. As for my women, I love them dearly, but If one day I want to sacrifice their love and marriage for my country, will they resent me? How will I be at ease if I end up resenting them as a father and daughter?" Under the green bamboo window, the shadow of the Qianhong gauze is indistinct.Ruyi felt a chill in her heart, as if the slanting wind and drizzle had blown into her heart. "Then what about the concubines? How does the emperor view the concubines?" The emperor's voice was a little tired, he closed his eyes and said, "Ruyi, have you plotted against me? Have you?" Ruyi's heart suddenly missed a beat.She looked at the emperor, thankful that he closed his eyes at this moment.Because even she herself didn't know how ugly her look would be.All these years, how she has plotted against the emperor, only she knows, but the emperor has never treated her sincerely as she expected.He promised her a great succession, and she would bear him children and be a conscientious queen.In the end, it was nothing more than a suspicion of calculating each other. No matter, no matter, it is better not to watch.Ruyi looked at the gilt and silver luan hooks on the bed curtain that were bent like a crescent moon, and gold leaf tassels that were as thin as melon seeds hung from the hooks, refracting the yellow sparkling light in pieces, poking at her like needles s eyes.She was silent for a moment, and smiled wryly: "The way the emperor treats his concubines, so the concubines treat the emperor. It's just mutual agreement." There is a wind blowing, three or two bamboo branches are thin and thin, whirling across the window screen, the wind and rain are bleak, and the night is silent.The emperor's breath was a little calmer, and he opened his eyes, but there was deep sadness and fear in his eyes: "Ruyi, I dreamed of Yonghuang, my first son just now. I dreamed that he died with unsettled eyes, and asked me why? Refuse to make him the crown prince? Then there is Yongxuan, the son I love and admire all these years. I dreamed that I went back to the day when I chased wild horses and entered the forest alone. Who? Who wants my life?" The answer to the emperor's suspicion was ready to come out, Ruyi slowly spit out the panic: "Is the emperor suspicious of Yongxuan? Yongxuan is the emperor's son!" The emperor shook his head sadly: "What about parents and children? How tragic was the nine sons of the holy ancestor Kangxi in his later years. The emperor is on the throne, and there is no family relationship between father and son." His expression was sad and tired, "Today I know that Yongxuan is good at teasing wild horses , I never knew... And that day, it was a wild horse that led me into the forest..." He sighed, "And I overheard Ling Yunche say that when he came to rescue me that day, he clearly saw Yongxie rode right behind him and immediately covered the forest, but for some reason, he didn't come to rescue me first, but rather waited and watched, and he didn't come to rescue me until my life was on the line." It's autumn, and there are laurel blooming quietly in the palace garden, like thin pistil buds. At this moment, it seeps in with the rain, and the fragrance is clear, which eases the treacherous atmosphere in the palace. Ruyi's voice came out from under the mouthpiece: "Is the emperor really suspicious of Yongxuan?" "It's not that I don't know my son. How eager Concubine Jia was for the posthumous position at the beginning, Yongxuan was so eager for the crown prince. I also know Concubine Jia's intentions. Only she has a noble status, and her son has a noble status. The mother clan will be firmly attached to the Qing Dynasty, and its position will be more stable." The emperor calmed down, "But I can't believe what Ling Yunche said. Is there really such a coincidence? So I sent people to Chengde overnight to carefully investigate Yongxuan's whereabouts that day, whether it was really as Ling Yunche said. If Yongxuan really used my safety to win favor..." He A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes, "Then he is not worthy to be my son!" The sleeping hall was extremely quiet, and the continuous rainwater now formed a huge rain curtain, covering the sky and covering the ground, surrounding the entire deep palace.The room was filled with the sound of rain, and Ruyi's relief was only momentary, and then she was suddenly startled.The emperor treated Yongxi like this, so in the future, will he treat his own Yongqi and Yongxi like this? By planning everything step by step like this, is it also pushing my sons into a more dangerous situation?She couldn't think about it, and she couldn't allow herself to think about it.As soon as she thinks about it, she will think of the unbearable years of confinement in the cold palace.She also showed mercy to others, but she ended up in a situation where she could not live or die.She said to herself countless times that as long as she finds the enemy's gap, she will not show any mercy. If Yongxuan ascended to the throne of God in the future and Jin Yuyan became the Empress Dowager, it would be delusional to want to spend the rest of the year in her status as Empress Dowager. It was like drifting on a rainy lake in the dark night, only a small boat carried himself and the man beside him.They are also deeply afraid of the future and feel unsure.You can only row the oars hard, even if you can row farther, it is good. In such a late night, they are no different from a poor couple who are worried that the rain will break the roof and worry that there will be no corn to feed their hunger tomorrow. The cold rain was rustling outside the window, and the dense rain made people feel sad and wanted to find someone to rely on.The emperor stretched his arms and hugged her: "Ruyi, sometimes I am glad that I was born in the emperor's family, so that I can get today's glory. But sometimes, I also regret why I was born in the emperor's family. Not even a cent can be saved!" Ruyi knew that what the emperor meant was not necessarily directed at herself.Xu Shiyan mentioned Empress Xiaoxian, it might be Emperor Huixian, or even any concubine in the palace.But she still couldn't help shivering. If one day, their mutual calculations are revealed, will the so-called empress and the so-called husband and wife also fall apart and cannot be preserved? In the end, they are all alone and alone! The rain is getting heavier.The rain dripped on the bamboo leaves, and the wind whimpered.The rain lines seem to be countless messy threads sprinkled from the sky, entangled between the sky and the earth.Ruyi suddenly saw a huge and irreparable void in her heart, filled with fear and loneliness overwhelmingly. They were wearing bright yellow pajamas of the same color, and their long sleeves were as thin as wings in the candlelight, giving off a rustling coolness. She is the empress of a country, and she is the mother of the world.He is the king of the dynasty, and he is in all directions. But in the end, she was just a woman, and she was just a man.On the rainy night in early autumn, all the glory and brilliance faded away, but they were just a couple who were lonely and unable to warm each other. In the middle of the night, they lay down again, and slept with their heads on the same pillow as before.His hair was touching her blue hair, intertwined with each other, as if they were in a knot, but they turned their backs to each other, unable to sleep with each other's unspeakable thoughts. The rain was dark and the night was dark, Ruyi lightly tucked the quilt tightly for him, wrapped herself even tighter, and closed her eyes tightly.I only hope that in the dream, each other has a bright and warm place to live in, to comfort the untouchable coldness of reality. The emissary who returned from Chengde brought back ambiguous answers.Someone did see Yongxie riding a horse like a forest that day, but they didn't know if they were going in the direction the emperor was going. All the decisions, the future of Yongxuan, are all in the emperor's mind, or whether the emperor's suspicion will be greater than the blood relationship between father and son. What Ruyi can do, and what Ling Yunche can arrange, is limited to this.If the answer is too clear, it will only make the emperor go in other directions and doubt.At this moment, she neither wished nor dared to. Ruyi, even the emperor's hesitation and displeasure, prepared some snacks, and took Jingsi to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to visit, hoping to use her daughter's innocent smile to comfort the emperor's irritability and confusion when he was unable to make a decision.And more importantly, only the ignorance of the young girl in her arms made it all the more obvious how ambitious and ulterior motives the adult prince had. Stepping up the jade steps of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, what greeted her was Li Yu's face full of smiles.But under the smile, there is obviously anxiety and worry that cannot be concealed; "Empress, the emperor doesn't want to see anyone, even the concubine and concubine Xin came to pay their respects, but they were blocked from the door." Ruyi frowned slightly: "It's not just about the fourth elder brother's business, is it?" Li Yudao: "Young Majesty, you are bothered by the fourth elder brother's affairs at home, and the former court's affairs outside. The slaves vaguely heard that it was Junggar's affairs. At noon today, the emperor met with two groups of ministers to discuss together. No, I just left, and I was in a hurry to read the book again." Ruyi concentrated for a moment, then said gently: "The emperor has been tired for a long time, I have prepared a soup of lily and horseshoe soup with rock sugar, you can send it to the emperor." Li Yu took it with a bow.Ruyi pursed her lips and signaled the wet nurse to come forward with Jing Si in her arms: "The fifth princess misses the emperor, you take the princess in. The pure imperial concubine will also send someone to send the fourth princess over to accompany the emperor together." Li Yu patted his forehead and said with a smile: "That's right. The emperor asked about the fifth princess when he got up early, but the empress was still thinking about it, so she sent the princess first." Ruyi took a deep look at Li Yu, her eyes seemed to pass by Ling Yunche who was standing in the corridor unintentionally, and touched Jing Si's pink and jade-carved face: "I will send the princess back later." She took Rong Pei's hand and spread down the steps, just as she saw Luyun personally sending the fourth princess over, she greeted Ruyi with a smile when she saw Ruyi from afar, and said respectfully: "May the empress be blessed and safe." Ruyi hurriedly supported her, and saw that the pure imperial concubine was wearing a rose-purple two-color gold and silver thread dress, with a trace of light jade, silver and mud flying cloud collar, a cloud bun, emerald green flowers shaking, wearing a jasper, chan and phoenix hairpin. The newly folded deep purple rose flowers were obviously dressed up deliberately.Ruyi smiled and said: "Why should the pure noble concubine be so polite, the emperor is waiting for the two princesses, send the princess in quickly." Luyun signaled the wet nurse to carry the fourth princess into the palace, and tried her best to lower her voice, but she couldn't hold back the joy on her face: "For some reason, the emperor is now thinking about his concubines, so he made two big calls. For the concubines, Yongzhang, and Yongrong, they are all new tributes this year. How many years has it been since the emperor rewarded them so generously. I heard that the same is true for Concubine Yu." There is a wind blowing on the face, slightly cool.Ruyi tightened her cloak of jade radish pigment, the silky satin reflected soft ripple-like light in the autumn sun, and the group embroidered dark gold sunflower pattern on it was also low-key and gorgeous. "It's a good thing that the emperor loves you. Thinking about the child is thinking about you, it's the same." There were thin tears in the corners of Luyun's eyes, and he said with emotion: "Empress, my concubines know that they can't compare with young concubines. As long as the emperor loves my concubines' children and don't forget them, my concubines will be satisfied. " Her words are not the deepest hope of a mother. Ruyi's hand stroked the back of Luyun's hand in a soothing manner, like some kind of promise and comfort: "Be at ease, Yongzhang and Yongrong have plenty of opportunities."