In Fengyi Palace, the queen looked at the files presented by Gong Zhengsi with a tired face.
She thought that today the emperor came to Fengyi Palace as soon as he went to court early and asked her to summon the concubines and interrogate the palace attendants one by one. However, she ignored Yilan Palace alone. Thinking of the records presented by Shang Bingju, she With a slightly gloomy expression, he looked at Shen Mo aside and asked, "How is it over there in Yilan Palace?"
"Everyone in Yilan Palace is feeling excited. Because Your Majesty did not send out rewards as usual today, Concubine Lan got up at noon. After speaking with Concubine Qi, she went back to the bedroom to rest." After Shen Mo finished speaking, he waited for the Queen's instructions.
The reward may be due to Zhang's palm seal. The queen's eyes were leisurely and she glanced at the case file in her hand. "If she were smarter, she would not have anything to do with Concubine Qi at this time. Your Majesty has forgotten it. I cannot forget it. Chenxiang will go there." .”
Chen Xiang, who was sorting the books, stood up and stepped out.
After saying that, she couldn't help but feel a headache. The noble girl Zhu Qing who suddenly disappeared has not been found yet, and Zhang Zhangyin passed away again. As the master of the harem, she was indeed very annoyed.
In particular, the Queen Mother also mentioned that if you don’t have the ability, let others share the burden.
It’s just not living in the Weiyang Palace where you should live. Do you even have to share the power that belongs to the queen alone? She didn't want to, and she didn't want to. Even if she was feeling unwell, she still had to handle the palace affairs.
Shen Mo looked on and felt a little distressed. He silently lit incense for the queen to relieve her headache and said, "His Royal Highness, everything is fine today. Princess Jinyang skipped class again today. Princess Anyang received praise from Taishi Li..." "
Duan Li only thought of Ling Wanying in the evening. When someone came to the fashionable bedchamber, he realized that today because of Zhang Qi's incident, he had forgotten about Lan Bi. But how could the emperor think it was his fault? So even if he felt that Lan Bi was The concubine was fine, and he didn't feel the slightest bit guilty.
It was getting late, and Manager Cui thought that His Majesty would not go to Yilan Palace again today, so he saw the emperor getting up. As a personal palace attendant, he followed him. He watched the emperor's sedan drive through the imperial garden and arrived at Yilan Palace. Cui The manager was a little surprised.
Your Majesty was not in a good mood today. He thought that Your Majesty was sleeping alone as usual, but he did not expect to come to Lan Bin's place.
Duan Li himself didn't know why he came to Yilan Palace, it was obviously just for one night.
But thinking that there was only his reflection in those eyes as clear as mountain springs, I couldn't help but want to take a look.
If Duan Li has any differences towards Ling Wanying, it may be because he is a little curious about how the person who has been following her silently for three years will change in this palace.
If you stay in the palace for a longer time, you will find that the most useless thing in the world is love. Love will gradually fade away as time goes by, but power will keep people excited.
Duan Li still didn't let anyone know. He walked outside the house and stood in front of the door, listening to the soft voices inside.
Ling Wanying is reading a book. When she is at home, she is not very sociable. Reading and playing the piano are her daily pastimes. However, the book she is reading is not the Book of Songs or landscape travel notes, but recipes.
"Master still likes to read recipes as if he were at home, but there is no small kitchen in Yilan Palace, so he can't cook by himself even after reading the recipes." Su Jin said, making scented tea for Ling Wanying.
"According to the palace rules, only the concubine can have her own small kitchen. If the master wants to prepare meals by himself, he has to go to the imperial dining room. But the imperial dining room is crowded with people, so it would be inappropriate for the master to go there rashly." Aunt Li said. , seemed to understand something, and asked doubtfully: "Master, do you want to personally prepare meals for His Majesty?"
Ling Wanying was shy and silent, but it was Su Jin who spoke up: "Master said that one of his greatest wishes in life is to wash his hands and make soup for the one he loves."
"Qingye..." Ling Wanying spoke, seemingly a little embarrassed, but her voice was soft and soft, not intimidating, but rather lovable.
"Auntie, I am not afraid of being criticized, so can I go to the imperial kitchen to prepare meals for His Majesty?"
Seeing Lan Bin looking at her eagerly, her clear and innocent eyes full of expectation, Aunt Li suddenly felt that her throat was dry and she couldn't speak.
After a pause, he still said regretfully: "Your Majesty has a set meal schedule..."
Hearing this sentence, Ling Wanying lowered her eyes and said in a low voice: "I know..."
Listening to the conversation inside, Duan Li couldn't help but think of what the Shadow Guard reported. Ever since he promised General Zhenguo to let Ling Wanying enter the palace, she began to learn cooking skills in order to cook a meal for him.
This reminded Duan Li of the Queen Mother. When he was a child, he did not know that the Queen Mother was his biological mother, nor did he know that the late emperor was his biological father. Although he lived with his grandmother in the Duke's Mansion, he would occasionally go to the Princess Mansion with the late Emperor. I remember one time, it was my brother’s birthday, and Princess Zhenguo personally cooked longevity noodles for her brother.
He was still young at the time and envied his elder brother who was doted on by his parents. However, when he returned home, he was only humiliated and tortured by his aunt on his birthday, without any longevity or birthday gifts.
When the wound hurt at night, he once thought that it would be great if his uncle and aunt were his parents, and they would not let him suffer this injustice. However, he did not expect that his uncle was indeed his father, and his mother was not the one who was busy with official duties. In it, the princess of Zhenguo is also concerned about the birthday of her own son.
Duan Li's face darkened when he thought of the Queen Mother who was still unwilling to return the imperial government, but after a moment, he regained his previous gentle expression and walked in.
Ling Wanying didn't seem to know that Duan Li was coming. After being surprised, she hurriedly stood up to salute, but before she could move, Duan Li held her down. Manager Cui signaled the palace people to go out.
"What are you reading?" Duan Li asked.
"Some recipes." Ling Wanying said softly, raising her eyes to look at Duan Li, with a little distress in Yingying's eyes: "Is your Majesty worried about anything today?"
Duan Li didn't know what was going on, so he told her about court affairs. Today he promoted some poor people, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the nobles of the family. The Queen Mother also felt that he was acting recklessly, but he knew that he would attract the Queen Mother and the nobles of the family. Despite his dissatisfaction, he did it anyway.
The consequence of this was that Zhang Qi, who was working for him, died. However, Duan Li passed the last sentence, suppressed it, and did not say it out.
Duan Li was a little confused. He was already twenty-seven, not a seven-year-old child, so why did his mother still control him? Could it be that she really wanted to be the powerful queen mother or support Anyang, as rumored.
"I don't understand government affairs, but I know that His Majesty must have his own reasons for doing this. His Majesty can boldly do what he wants to do, which is very impressive." Ling Wanying looked admiring, as if the person in front of her was a great hero.
"Do you really think so?" Duan Li looked unpredictable, looking at Ling Wanying with complicated eyes.
Seeing Ling Wanying's firm nod, Duan Li smiled. This was feedback that he could not get from Concubine Rou. He stroked Ling Wanying's hand and said softly: "Give me a prince and princess, and then I will go to school with the prince." .”
Ling Wanying lowered her head shyly, but Duan Li's hand touched her chin again, and she had to look into his eyes, "I obey your Majesty."
Duan Li smiled, and the fragrance of lotus on the tip of his nose was strong. He couldn't help but said: "You shouldn't be called Lanbi, you should be Xiangbi..."
"The everlasting beauty is this flower. I don't want to hear it, just the haze... Orchid concubine, you know my thoughts..."
Ling Wanying, who relied on him wholeheartedly, satisfied Duan Li's desire for control.
After the Queen Mother paid homage to the Buddha, she learned that the emperor had gone to Yilan Palace. For a moment, she did not remember who lived in Yilan Palace. Only after being reminded by people around her did she realize that it was Ling who fell in love with the emperor at first sight during the autumn hunt. My daughter, the emperor was still the prince at that time, but in the eyes of outsiders, the emperor's position as prince was shaky. Everyone knew that the late emperor had no children, so the son of his concubine was less likely to have children.
However, although she has no children, she does have a daughter. Although the eldest princess Anyang is young, she has shown her intelligence. As the only child of the Queen Mother and the late emperor, the eldest princess Anyang also has supporters, but they all choose to adopt Duanli.
At that time, General Zhenguo stopped Duan Li who was going to court with snot and tears, and when he begged him for a portrait, he even alarmed the Queen Mother. When General Zhenguo returned from the Western Expedition, he asked for nothing, only that his beloved daughter would be able to live forever. While accompanying the prince, the queen mother was touched.
She had experienced love before, so she was in awe of all sincere feelings, and it was not that she did not want to see the woman who was infatuated with the emperor. But then the emperor became seriously ill and abdicated early. She accompanied the emperor to the palace to recuperate. Concubine Rou came to the emperor again and caused chaos in the East Palace.
If the death of the late emperor hadn't made her seriously ill, she would have dealt with Concubine Rou who was causing trouble. Because of Concubine Rou, she was very dissatisfied with the Queen who had been inactive.
Later, the estrangement between her and the emperor became deeper and deeper, and she could only tolerate Concubine Rou to be more and more favored in the palace. No matter if there were people around the emperor who truly loved him, only when you understand what true love is, you will know who is the fish eye. Who is Pearl.
"Except for Concubine Rou, Your Majesty has never stayed in the palace of concubines for two days in a row. I think Concubine Lan must be very popular with His Majesty." The eldest maid said, seeing that the Queen Mother did not speak and only looked at her with a smile, she became more and more courageous. He got up and said, "But I never believe in the so-called love at first sight. It's just a matter of seeing the situation. Concubine Qi recommended Lan Concubine to Your Majesty. If Concubine Lan has evil intentions, Concubine Qi will definitely be very sad if she sincerely pays for it."
"Oh?" The Queen Mother looked at the newly promoted Grand Palace Lady, her beautiful eyes full of interest, and the Grand Palace Lady continued: "I heard that Empress Lanbin met His Majesty by the lotus pond during the final selection. It was also proposed by Concubine Rou to go to the same palace, so the two of them must have a good relationship."
The attendants in the palace looked at the chatting eldest palace maid with pity, pity, pity, and they didn't know who sent this idiot.
"Insolent! How can the emperor's concubines allow your little palace to talk about it." Nanny Xie stopped the eldest palace maid's words. The eldest palace maid hurriedly knelt down to apologize. Her originally smart eyes were full of fear, but the Queen Mother was not angry, but smiled. , said: "If you don't say anything today, the Ai family won't know when there was such a smart palace servant next to them, so why are you guilty?"
Qi Yue looked at the palace lady in front of her. When she raised her head and showed hope, she said ruthlessly: "Drag her down and punish her with a cane forty. If she is still alive, go to the dressing room."
The eldest palace maid had no time to beg for mercy, so she was gagged and dragged down. Aunt Xie said: "This slave made an oversight and allowed someone with ulterior motives to sneak into the inner palace."
The Queen Mother shook her head and stopped Nanny Xie's plea. Nowadays, the palace is not as good as the late emperor's harem. There are too many masters and the palace people are also distracted.
She sent the other palace people out, leaving only Nanny Xie, "How is the investigation of Zhang Qi's case going?"
"No signs of struggle were found in his house. It seems that he really swallowed the needle on his own. But that old guy Zhang Qi has always cherished his life and was greedy for life and afraid of death. How could he commit suicide by swallowing a needle."
"Li'er may have thought so too, that's why he misunderstood me, Xizhi, how could there be such a coincidence? Yesterday, His Majesty just promoted a few young people from poor families with innocent backgrounds. Today, most of the people in the court took sick leave. Zhang Qi, who resisted His Majesty's decree and then died for no reason..." The Queen Mother said, her face gradually becoming stern, "There must be someone who instigates the relationship between our mother and son, Xi Zhi, please do it carefully and let Long Yinwei investigate it carefully. We need to find out the real culprit behind this."
Grandma Xie responded in a low voice and did not say anything more about what happened in the harem. After all, the things in the harem were nothing compared to the previous dynasty.
But neither of them could have imagined that for several months, His Majesty would linger in Yilan Palace night after night. If the concubines in the harem came to have a baby, they would be recorded in the book. But even if Ling Wanying was unwell and could not serve Duan Li, Duan Li would also be there every day. When I went to Yilan Hall, I didn't take this time to show mercy to the newcomers who hadn't been summoned yet.
Yueyue said hello, Concubine Rou remained calm in the face of everyone's ridicule, until the palace attendant said that Ling Wanying was weak and her monthly routine was unbearable. His Majesty saw Concubine Lan's painful expression and summoned the female doctor. I heard the female doctor said that the woman was losing both energy and blood and needed hot things to warm her body, so she asked the palace attendants to bring Tangpozi and put it on the soles of her feet and sides. She was afraid that the abdomen was too delicate and it would not be appropriate to use Tangpozi. After hearing this, His Majesty put his hands on the souppozi. After baking on the stove to warm, it was placed on Lan Bin's abdomen.
After hearing the news, Concubine Rou accidentally broke the tea cup. She did not panic when she learned that His Majesty composed music for his new favorite Lan Bin. She also did not panic when she learned that His Majesty made an exception and set up a small kitchen for Lan Bin. When she stayed in Yilan Palace, she just felt lucky. After all, in the past few months, the relationship between His Majesty and the Queen Mother had become increasingly tense due to the incident in the previous court. If His Majesty still came to Ganquan Palace as usual, she was really afraid that the Queen Mother would In anger, he gave her poisonous wine and white silk.
But now, she is really panicking. Although His Majesty is affectionate and gentle, when has he ever taken care of any woman like this?
She is as tall as duckweed, unlike other palace concubines, she has a good family background, her father and brother are powerful, the only one she can rely on is His Majesty, and His Majesty has promised to let Jinyang...
If the favor no longer exists, then the past promises will be scattered with the wind. Concubine Rou stroked her heart, and the palace attendants around her immediately stepped forward and called for the imperial doctor.
Duan Li really enjoyed his time at Yilan Palace. In Yilan Palace, no matter what he said or did, Ling Wanying would not refute him. She would only listen quietly, look at him with admiration, and say: " Your Majesty is really powerful."
"Your Majesty is really brave."
"How could your Majesty be so outstanding..."
Growing up, no one ever said he was outstanding. It's amazing. When I was young, the family's attention was focused on my brother, and my aunt felt that he was of low blood and dirty blood.
Later, when he became the prince, he could always see the Taifu or the palace officials remembering Jing Juejue through him, but he only served as the emperor's brother for three days.
Even the Queen Mother and the late Emperor always looked at him with regret, feeling that he was not decisive enough and too sentimental.
Although the queen is his wife, the most important thing in his heart is the family and the prince.
Although Concubine Rou relied on him, she was also afraid of the Queen Mother despite his support.
Concubine Shu admires him, but this admiration is nothing compared to power...
None of them are as good as Wanying, only Wanying admires him wholeheartedly, and is not even afraid of the Queen's admonishment or the Queen Mother's majesty.
