Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Mutations

The momentary silence didn't seem to give the two people in the hall any room to maneuver, but rather cramped fear overflowed from Ruyi's heart.Her rationality and intuition reminded her of the possible cruel consequences behind these tender feelings, and when she witnessed Ling Yunche's ear roots gradually turning into Yunxiahong and Hailan who came in from behind the curtain and stood there with her arms folded, she felt a sense of fear and vigilance. Even more bitterly, it covered the hot forehead like ice and snow, and poured into the crack of the brain. Her identity is the woman of the owner of this empire.It can never be changed, not until death!

Ruyi's expression was solemn and cold in an instant, with a bit of reserved meaning: "Thank you for your care, my lord. The friendship of caring for each other in the past, I and Concubine Yu will always remember it in my heart." Hearing her name was mentioned, Hai Lan stepped forward unconsciously, and said softly: "Naturally, the empress is thinking of her old kindness, and she never forgets to support Lord Ling, and Lord Ling should also repay her kindness. Trapped the empress under the dangerous wall." Hailan's expression is peaceful and peaceful, like the autumn moon in Pinghu Lake, but every word and every sentence falls on the difference between high and low status.The flames in Ling Yunche's eyes dimmed instantly as if cold water had been poured on them.He took a step back, followed the rules and said: "Concubine Yu, I understand every word and every word, and I don't dare to go beyond the limit."

Hailan nodded calmly and reservedly, maintaining an elegant demeanor: "With Lord Ling's words, the palace and the empress can feel at ease." She smiled, "That's right. Lord Ling is busy in the palace all day long. , it’s rare to leave the palace, don’t forget the errands ordered by the empress, and don’t forget to comfort the lovely wife at home. After all, it’s a marriage bestowed by the emperor.” Ling Yunche restrained a sad smile, held back the trace of desolation and loneliness in his eyes, and bowed to leave. Seeing him go out, Hailan sat down beside Ruyi, holding her breath, staring at him without saying a word.

Ruyi knew what she was thinking, and said, "If you have anything to say, it's okay to say it." Hailan approached Ruyi unconsciously, with doubts in her eyes: "Sister, don't you think that Guard Ling is very kind to you?" Ruyi's gaze rested on her, and she stretched out her hand to brush away the specks of dust on her temple hair, and smiled lightly: "He and I help and support each other, so we are naturally very close." Hailan pondered over her words, as if it was extremely difficult to speak: "Sister, what I mean is that the kindness Ling Siwei has towards her is more of... the relationship between a man and a woman."

Ruyi frowned: "Don't talk nonsense, Ling Yunche already has a wife." "But their husband and wife are not in harmony." Hailan hesitated slightly, seeing Ruyi's eyes were quite inquiring, and she simply said: "I heard that Maoqian was born in the three banners of the Manchu army flag, so she didn't want to make Ling Yunche very angry. Put it in your eyes, so the husband and wife often argue and disagree." Ruyi didn't take it seriously, and smiled slightly with emotion: "There is no husband and wife who doesn't argue and quarrel. Outsiders also have the benefits of outsiders, and husbands and wives bicker in front of their faces. It's not like in the palace, where husbands and wives, monarchs and ministers put aside everything." In my heart, I have thought about it many times, but I can't just say it."

Hailan stared at Ruyi, whispering with sharp sharpness: "That's not what I want to say. My sister is smart, so it's true that she never noticed that Ling Yunche was interested in her. Sister, don't you know at all? " Ruyi smiled gently, and said to Hailan: "If you don't want to know about many things, you will never know. Sometimes it's much more comfortable to ignore everything than to be aware of everything." Hailan hissed lightly: "My sister really knows." There was a light smile in her eyes, "Because my sister doesn't like it, I pretend not to know, right?"

Ruyi sighed softly: "I have already hinted that I want him to treat his wife well. I have someone I once liked." Hailan was slightly startled, and then smiled: "Sister, you mean the emperor? How many years have you been married, and seeing newcomers flocking to you, my sister still says such things." Ruyi restrained her face, her calm face was like plum petals covered with snow, and there was a thin hint of coldness in the whiteness: "Hai Lan, I know what you are going to say. On the day when I married the emperor and made Fujin my concubine One day, I knew that I would never be the only woman by the emperor's side, and I was not the only one he loved and pitied. Ever since I became a queen, I have understood this truth better. So I can tolerate and tolerate my own aging At the same time, there are more and more women around the emperor, because I know that I can't fight, and I can't fight, but it's just in vain. Not only is the status of queen constraining me, but also because I understand better than anyone else, and I want to win everyone's heart , in this palace is an eternal dream."

Hailan raised her eyes slightly, staring at Ruyi: "So sister can endure like this to the end?" The long sigh was as silent as the snowy wind whirling against the gold bricks. Ruyi looked at the thin silhouette of herself on Zhu Bi's wall, and the dim shadow could not help but feel haggard and desolate: "The one beside the emperor No matter how many people there are, we are a young couple after all. Even if I don't ask for anything, I still ask for a little trust and a little dignity, that's all. This is my bottom line." "People spread joy and sorrow, I've never seen it before. Open the door at three o'clock, only to know that midnight will change." A broken jade and silver silk bead flower on Hailan's temple swayed with her head, trembling like a fine wind in the wind. Rui, "The emperor's trust and respect for my sister, even I almost believed it on the day after the seal. But now, can those so-called trust and respect be exchanged for my sister's pain of bereavement?" ? Or does my sister have to wait until the day when the water is too hard to recover before she can really give up?"

Ruyi remained silent, just staring at the pearl flower on Hailan's temple.Although Hailan has never been favored, she is still a concubine and her son is favored by the emperor, so she also decorated it a little.Moreover, the emperor has been on the throne for many years, and his original intention of liking luxury is gradually revealed, and he doesn't like the simplicity of his concubines, so the emerald pearl decorated by Hailan on the swallowtail is nothing more than a pearl, but it is just the size of a thumb. It is smooth and round, with a dazzling halo. The emerald bird is the feather of a well-used kingfisher, and it is soft emerald, delicate and soft.

Such a graceful and delicate emerald blue, reflecting her fair face, has a cold gleam of emerald green, which makes people feel cold and astringent for no reason.There was a sour smile on her lips, like leaves rustling on a branch in the autumn wind, and she softly chanted: "Small Zhuang Zhou's dream, two wings ride the east wind, three hundred famous gardens, one picks one empty. Whoever is in the wind, bluffs and kills The bee looking for fragrance." Her voice was crisp, and echoed in the hall, "My sister is familiar with Song Ci and Yuan Qu, so she naturally knows this piece of music."

Ruyi's smile is as thin as a wisp of wind, "You mean, the man we love is just a big butterfly that never tires among flowers?" Hailan's smile disappeared like the first snow in an instant: "Sister, that's the man you love, not us." Her flower language was as clear as a thin blade, drawing an insurmountable indifference, "I'm just the emperor's concubine. Sleeping together for several years, having a son, that's all." After losing her beloved daughter and young son one after another, no matter how careless Ruyi is, she discovers that aging is coming unexpectedly.It was an irresistible thing. At first she breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that she could hold back the sadness of losing her child, and that she could use Buddhist scriptures to appease her pain and blame, but she held back her tears day and night and woke up in the morning. When I turned around, I could still touch the traces of tears soaking the pillow. The red silk is cold through the dewdrop curtain, and the slender silk is under the dumb and dumb.In the lonely and desolate days of Yikun Palace, time seems to pass through the boring and rigid sound of the machine.Ruyi became more and more lazy in dressing up, and only on the tenth day when the concubine had to visit her, she reluctantly summoned up her energy to deal with it hastily.When facing the makeup mirror, no matter how dim the light is, she can quickly discover the silver threads hidden in her hair. They were originally just a strand, and gradually, like a withered velvet covered by autumn frost, clumps grow densely. .When Rong Pei had to use mulberry leaf black hair cream to dye her black hair again and again, Ruyi was also depressed: "What about the fine lines around the eyes when the white hair is covered?" The thin lines, like light spider webs, spread silently across the corners of the eyes and cheeks.No amount of makeup powder can cover the dry skin. It was Sizi's tear streaks last night, and the creaminess and fragrance of the makeup powder could no longer be eaten. When she has nothing to do, the queen mother will visit her occasionally, and she will comfort her with gentle words: "The queen should not be so sad." This is a rare peaceful and slightly warm relationship between Ruyi and the Queen Mother.Ever since Princess Duanshu came back, the queen mother seemed to have transformed back into a loving, gentle, and desireless woman overnight. She loved her grandchildren and lived leisurely with her daughter.She no longer had the shrewd and sharp brilliance of the past, but chatted with her in a peaceful manner.Naturally, the queen mother will also bring news of the emperor.Although they hardly saw each other again, the emperor also had words of comfort. She never felt the warmth behind those words, because such words, being polite, distant, and reserved, were too much like some kind of politeness that had to be shown in royal etiquette.She just looked up at the Queen Mother's peaceful appearance, and thought silently, how many rough and long distances she had to go through, how many mountains and rivers she had to trek, to get such bright and peaceful hands of the Queen Mother. Although there was such comfort from the Queen Mother and words from the Emperor, the Emperor never stepped into the Yikun Palace after all.After all, the death of the child has become an unresolved knot between them.Naturally, rather than a middle-aged sad woman who lost her son and daughter, he is more willing to see those young and beautiful faces, like flowers blooming in four seasons, who are happy and angry, so that he can easily forget his sorrow.And she can only hug the only Yongxin tightly in the cold and windy loneliness to support her state of mind that is about to collapse. The excitement at this time is only in the graceful Yongshou Palace.Even in the season of ice and snow, there is also a world of spring flowers and troubles.Yan Wan is pregnant with her first child and is starting her truly ambitious life.Whether it is a boy or a girl in the womb, it means the past of the nightmare of infertility.She was finally able to hold her head high and fight in this harem, fighting for her place in the land of thunder and waves. Really, how many times did Yanwan dream back at midnight, looking at the splendid Yongshou Palace, looking at the countless gorgeous clothes and silk jewels, shining lonely and cold.She grasped them tightly, her tentacles were cold or hard, but she had to remind herself: these gorgeous things are just appendages without life, and she has to find a living support, so that she will not be lonely in the days when the beauty fades away in the future. Fanghua grows old and becomes a catkin in the Forbidden City that can be swept away by the wind at any time. Even at night when the emperor was by her side, she was also uneasy.At this moment, my only man is by my side, and where will he be in the next moment.It was as if his heart, like an uncertain wind, was lingering on this flower branch at one moment, and lingered on another one at the next moment.Especially when young concubines entered the palace continuously, she was even more afraid.One day, this man will become a blind butterfly, lost in the beauty. Therefore, when the moonlight crawled over her skin bit by bit coldly and indifferently, in the untouchable night, she closed her mouth tightly time and time again, and hugged herself tightly: "I must, I must have a child of my own!" .” Therefore, being pregnant this time is enough to make Yan Wan ecstatic. In this joy, Yan Wan carefully looked at the blessings of the East and West Six Palaces.Ruyi's favor has long since died together with Yongjing's death, even if she has the status of a queen, she is not as good as before in the end due to her appearance and energy.Concubine Shu, who was favored in the past, also died together with her children, and even her old enemy, Concubine Jia, died.Although Concubine Ying and Concubine Xin were favored, they couldn't surpass her in terms of status.Therefore, Yan Wan enjoyed the favor of grace in the palace almost without any worries. This was her happiest moment, even the palace people looked at her with a kind of deep envy and admiration.That is the beloved concubine loved by thousands of people. Compared with the busy Yongshou Palace, Yikun Palace is really extremely cold and quiet.In addition to Hailan coming here from time to time, Luyun and Concubine Xin also set foot here occasionally, other than that, it is a decoration for the occasion of the New Year.Moreover, Ling Yunche didn't come to Yikun Palace again, probably because there was no suitable time, or the affairs in front of the imperial court were too heavy to allow him to get away, and gradually there was no news.And these days, because of the weather, Yongzheng's health is not very good, every time the spring tide comes and goes, he will have some fever and cough, Ruyi's heart hangs there, and he can't relax even a single one. I know too well that I can't lose it.Jing Si, Yong Jing, the children left him one by one.What a helpless mother she was, so even if she violated the palace rules, she had to beg the Queen Mother to move Yongzheng to her side. The queen mother naturally agreed, but she just looked at Ruyi's mournful expression and felt a bit of pity: "Queen, since Yongzheng is not well, why don't you ask the emperor to move the child to your side to take care of him? Talking about the child, the relationship between the husband and wife can be reversed to some extent. You and the emperor only have this eternal love, and the emperor will not care about it." How can the bitterness and grievance in my heart be put into words, and it is also accompanied by the accumulated self-blame, like a bone-biting ant, gnawing bit by bit.Ruyi could only smile bitterly: "My son is not a good mother, how dare you disturb the emperor, I just want to take good care of Yongzhen, so that I can feel at ease." The queen mother stared at her quietly for a moment: "Some things, the emperor refuses to take that step, don't you? Aijia can see that the emperor doesn't care about you at all." It was as if someone's sharp nails poked hard in the eyes, forcing Ruyi almost to tears.She just lowered her head blindly, looking at a pot of faint spring orchids on the yellow rosewood flower stand beside her, the slender green leaves were sharp blades, scraping thinly against the flesh one by one.For a long time, she was just speechless.It's not that I don't want to talk about it, but that I have endured a lot of things and been sad for a long time. I don't know where to start, and I just have nothing to say. The Empress Dowager couldn't be persuaded, and she didn't want to worry about her, so she could only tell her to back down.It was Fu Jia who was obedient, and seeing Ruyi like this, she said to the Queen Mother, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking bluntly, I'm afraid that the Queen may feel pain in her heart, but she can't express it." The empress dowager had a sullen face, unable to see any joy or anger, and said slowly: "The empress is suffering. In the past, she wholeheartedly dealt with empress Xiaoxian and imperial concubine Huixian, thinking that the matter was over, and empress Shujia was restless again. Now Shujia The imperial concubine has gone, and the children have accidents one after another. Anyway, I don’t believe it very much. In the past, Empress Xiaoxian had everything, so why bother to make things difficult for the concubine, and said that it was the instigation of the imperial concubine Shujia. Is it sad? The house is really old, don't you understand many things?" Fu Jia hurriedly apologized with a smile: "The Queen Mother is a blessed person, how can I have time to ponder their tricky thoughts all day long. After so many years, I'm afraid I will get tired of watching them." The Queen Mother sighed: "In the past, the Ai family didn't pay much attention to it. Let this muddy water go down. Now it seems that the Queen herself is not blessed." Fu Jia said: "It's muddy water in the palace, but doesn't the Empress Dowager still have the eyes of the concubine Ling?" The queen mother lost her mind for a while, and said slowly: "That was in the past. Now Ai's family has a daughter to enjoy the family life by her side, so why do you care about these things. Keeping the concubine Ling is just for fear of something happening again, just to guard against it. But Concubine Ling's temperament is obedient on the surface, but she has her own way on the inside, so it's not easy to handle. Aijia let her go, so as not to talk too much, but it made her think about it." Fu Jia agreed, but her eyes flickered: "It is destiny to lose a child, and it is common sense for concubines to be disharmonious. This is all palpable suffering. But the queen..." The Empress Dowager took a piece of assorted willow catkin cake from the fine white celadon hibiscus dish. The green cake was covered with fine white flakes, just like catkins, white and lovely.The queen mother started to eat half of it, and cast a sidelong glance at Fu Jia: "If you have something to say, just say it, and you won't be able to get your tongue out of it." Fu Jia hurriedly said respectfully: "The queen mother is not going out these few days because of the cold spring, so she doesn't know that there is a poem circulating in the palace." The Empress Dowager hung her head and fiddled with the purple emerald bird tassels hanging from the gold-plated flower buttons of the sandalwood embroidered gown inlaid with bright pine and green patterns, and asked with a faint smile, "What poem?" Fu Jia smiled, and unnaturally touched a branch of burnt blue rice beads, pine stones, and longevity flowers, and the scholar recited stiffly: "The song of Dudan comes three taboo weeks, and the shocking years are full of trust. The death of the soul is just right. Tomb-sweeping Day, drinking and hating unforgettable Qilu tour. Does it mean that the new piano will not be able to catch up in the end, but the old sword will always be the same. The peach and willows in the holy lake are bright and beautiful, and the strange bottom is only melancholy." The Empress Dowager's face turned cold, and she frowned slightly: "This poem seems to be written by the emperor, is it in memory of Empress Xiaoxian?" Fu Jia respectfully said: "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, it is the emperor's old poem in memory of Empress Xiaoxian. It's just that the three taboo weeks mentioned in the poem refers to the three years when Empress Xiaoxian passed away." She looked at it quietly. Taking a look at the Empress Dowager's expression, she said calmly, "That's why the servant girl said, it's an old poem." The Empress Dowager was silent for a moment, then pulled out a reserved smile: "Empress Xiaoxian passed away three years ago. At that time, the current Empress married the Emperor. It is the Emperor's intention to establish an empress. It is written down that the new Qin will not be as good, after all. It is also the emperor's handwriting to lose the old sword for a long time. The old love and the new love take care of each other, this is really a good and affectionate emperor." Seeing the Empress Dowager laughing coldly, Fu Jia said: "If Empress Xiaoxian sees this poem, she will be comforted if she comes to the Nine Springs. Empress Xiaoxian was honored and respected by the emperor during her lifetime, but the concubine's sons and daughters love each other, and they spend time together at the temples. I'm afraid there are not many. There is an old saying that a wife is worse than a concubine, and a concubine is worse than a thief. The emperor wrote so many poems and prose to mourn after never thinking of someone else, which shows that the emperor is thinking of the Xiaoxian queen after all." "In the emperor's life, the most important thing is his son, and naturally he also values ​​his first wife. The last thing people say is that he is ungrateful." The empress dowager's thin smile was reflected in the dark red kumquat and ginger honey water at hand, faintly uncertain.At this time, the setting sun was like blood, and shone faintly behind the queen mother's figure, and there was a kind of loneliness and gloom under the brilliance. "Just writing poems and essays can spread affection to the world, and gain a good reputation for deep affection and righteousness. It's really good luck! It's just that although the Ai family is nothing to the current queen, the emperor's poem is spread, and the Ai family is also a woman. I also feel embarrassed for the queen. Besides, the so-called wife is not as good as a concubine, and a concubine is not as good as stealing. This is to say that men in the world have lustful habits. Putting it here with our emperor, but it is an extra layer of jealousy. It's a matter of position. Can't you see that when the queen was still a noble concubine, the emperor treated her much better. On the contrary, when she became a queen, she was a little cold." Fu Jia also couldn't bear it: "Yes. Originally, the queen was inferior to the concubine who could put down her body and compete for favor, and could discuss everything with the emperor, so she didn't have to obey everything. The emperor alienated the queen because of the death of the thirteenth brother. , and now that this poem is spread again, it’s no wonder that the Empress doesn’t want to get close to the Emperor.” Sandalwood is lit in the hall, which is the white-skinned old mountain incense tribute from a foreign land, and the smell is particularly quiet and curling.The incense is finely diffused into a foggy white fragrance, entangled on the dark golden thick satin curtain, and the strands are silent, silently permeating the heart.After smelling it for a long time, it seems that there is another world far away from the precipitation and silence that has been washed away by the golden sands, so quiet that it seems to be not in the world.The queen mother put down the pastry in her hand, and said lightly: "This pastry is sweet and greasy, it doesn't seem like the craftsmanship of our small kitchen." Fu Jia hurriedly turned her face and smiled apologetically: "There is really no empress dowager who doesn't know. This willow catkin cake was presented in the imperial concubine's palace. It's hard for the concubine Ling, who is a beautiful woman in the north, to find such a cake. Good craftsmanship makes this Jiangnan pastry. Our emperor loves the beauty of Jiangnan the most, no wonder the emperor loves her so much." The hall is vast and far-reaching, and the setting sun is slanting in from under the eaves like flowing water, scattering dark red light and shadows like swimming snakes.The Empress Dowager's face was blurred and indistinct in the setting sun: "Speaking of which, Concubine Ling is also considered a caring person. The Ai family has trained so many concubines, and she can be regarded as a self-taught person. In the past, because of her family's upbringing, she was a little It is more vulgar, but now it has always been stronger, and it is also impeccably meticulous. When it comes to doing things, it is often unexpected but even better." Fu Jia didn't know whether the queen mother's words were praise or belittlement, so she could only vaguely say: "That's because the queen mother taught well." "It's her own heart. The Ai family has nothing to do. The concubine Ling can do it on her own. She is by the emperor's side every day. How can she not know the poems written by the emperor? Whether it is intentional or not The empress does not get along with her, and she is always a fisherman. The Ai family just thinks that the concubine is a little too clever." The queen mother sniffed lightly, as if she was extremely intoxicated, "Today I ordered you to order white-skinned old mountain incense, sandalwood The most precious of incense. Fu Jia, do you know why the Ai family only likes sandalwood for so many years?" Fu Jia thought about it and said: "Sandalwood has a restrained nature and a mellow smell. It is a calm and ethereal scent." A thin smile appeared on the corner of the Empress Dowager's lips: "Among all the fragrances, only sandalwood is the most Buddha-nature in being relaxed and happy, reaching the right concentration and realizing the Tathagata of self-nature." Her eyes drooped slightly, coldly He said coldly: "It's just that Ai's family has been tossing and turning in the harem for a lifetime, seeing all the world's situation. In this place, human nature is considered good. People with animal and devil nature are all in contact, and it is the farthest place from the Buddhist world. Don't you know, this place The people in the sky least seek the Paradise of Paradise, and those who work hard to worship are all those who sink into the sea of ​​suffering, and even more so, those who are in hell. So don't look at everyone in the harem who is beautiful and rich, they are all the same. " Fu Jia was a little at a loss: "It's all right, what does the Queen Mother say? You are a person with a long life, and you are different from them." "It's all the same. Today, from the queen to the concubine, in their eyes, only when they get to the seat of Aijia can they find the final stability of their life, so they will try their best to move towards this seat." Concubine Ling is certainly a smart person, and knows how to make things worse for the current indifference of the emperor and empress. However, the daughters of the Ai family are already married, and the Ai family only hopes to learn more about the emperor through her ears and eyes. , for the sake of safety. Now that her hand is stretched out so fast and so long, Ai Jia feels that this person is not very secure." Fu Jia thought for a while and said: "I think about it, the concubine Ling has no family background after all, because of this, she has gained some love and trust from the emperor. It is also because of this that she can't turn the world around, so we don't have to guard against her. The Queen Mother has been begging for many years now. It's all over, why bother with these things in the harem. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings, so what do you worry about, and enjoy your own happiness."