The Ministry of Rites initially planned the date for the conferment ceremony, which was on the eighth day of May. This day was Concubine Li's birthday, and it was of great significance to hold the ceremony on this day.
It's mid-March now, and there's still a month left before the closing ceremony.
Luo Lan brought three children to the Yangxin Hall to pay respects to the emperor. Among the three children, the emperor loved An An the most. She was not only beautiful, but also lovable. Most importantly, she had a sweet mouth and was always coaxing. The emperor couldn't open his mouth from ear to ear.
Although Huaiyu was older and smarter, he was always taciturn and not good at words. In addition, the emperor ignored him because of his father, so he was very cold towards the emperor.
Lele has a stubborn temper. He doesn't like to say nice things to please others. This is more like his father Leng Yu. The reason why he agreed to enter the palace was just to see the excitement.
After Luo Lan took the three of them to greet the emperor, he made an excuse and went out. As expected, the emperor greeted An An to come to him.
"Can you play chess? Play a game with Grandpa Huang?"
An An pursed her lips and nodded,
"I know a little bit, but I always lose to my brother. If I lose later, I will ask my brother to play with Grandpa Huang. He is very good at chess."
Hearing that Lele was a good chess player, the emperor raised his eyebrows and looked at Lele, then nodded,
"Okay, you will play a game with Grandpa Huang first."
As he spoke, Eunuch Liu placed the chessboard, and An An sat down opposite the emperor in a serious manner and began to play a game with him.
Huaiyu and An An stood aside quietly. An An originally wanted to follow his mother to the back garden, but her mother said that he had to stay with Grandpa Huang here for a while, otherwise she would not take him to the back garden. .
Helpless, he could only watch these two people, who were extremely poor to him, play chess, and look around from time to time.
Huaiyu is different. He is not interested in playing chess. What he is best at is practicing martial arts. Therefore, grandpa likes him better now because he is relatively knowledgeable in martial arts.
After settling the three children, Luo Lan thought for a while outside the Yangxin Hall. In order to find out the ingredients in the medicine Li Fei gave the emperor, she had to find a way to find the small pills the emperor took.
Just as she was about to go to the Royal Pharmacy to inquire, she met two young eunuchs coming towards her.
One of them was carrying a tray and was about to step into the door of Yangxin Hall. Seeing this, Luo Lan hurriedly stepped forward and asked:
"Your Majesty is not free now, and it's not lunch time yet. What did you get?"
When the two young father-in-laws saw Luo Lan, they hurriedly bowed and saluted.
"Princess Yu, this is the medicine that the emperor must take every day. No matter how busy the emperor is, he does not dare to delay."
medicine?
Could it be that this is the little pill?
After she glanced at the tray, she pretended to be unintentional and said seriously:
"What kind of medicine is this? I heard that Concubine Li and Prince Xi prepared special medicine for the emperor. How dare you give the emperor these messy medicines?"
Hearing that her tone was a little stiff, the two young eunuchs hurriedly bowed, and one of them timidly replied:
"Back to the princess, this is the medicine sent by Concubine Li. You don't come to the palace often, so you may not know that these pills are delivered by the two of us every day. Don't worry, there will be no mistakes."
Is this the little pill? Luo Lan suddenly had the idea that he would be able to find it without any trouble, and that it would take no effort at all.
She shook the handkerchief in her hand and wiped the corners of her mouth, and said with moving eyes:
"The three young ladies and the young master from Prince Yu's residence are playing chess with the emperor. If they don't want to be disturbed, please give me this medicine and I'll just take it in."
Seeing that she was about to pick up the tray, the little eunuch hurriedly took a few steps back.
"Princess, Concubine Li said that this pill must be handed over to the emperor in person and watched as the emperor takes it. Otherwise, if something happens, we will not be able to bear this responsibility."
Luo Lan raised his eyes lightly, frowned and said angrily:
"Are you still afraid that I'll eat it secretly? This is the entrance to the Yangxin Hall, what do you have to worry about?"
When she said this, the moment she went to pick up the tray, she handed a piece of silver directly from the bottom of the tray to the little eunuch's hand.
If you have money, you will always be right. Although the little eunuch did not dare to disobey Concubine Li's will, he was still moved when he touched this ingot of silver.
So, he stuffed the silver into his sleeves, bowed and replied:
"Then it's Princess Lao. I'll go back and resume my life right now."
Seeing this, the other little eunuch wanted to stop him again, but he was pulled away directly by this little eunuch.
After getting this tray with small pills, a sharp look suddenly appeared in Luo Lan's eyes.
She opened the bowl on the tray, and a black pill as big as a thumb suddenly appeared inside. There was nothing unusual about the pill.
In order not to be discovered, she only dug out the medicinal residue as big as millet grains from it, then closed the bowl and carried it in intact to her father-in-law inside.
At this time, An An had just lost two games to the emperor. She was pouting and waving to Lele.
"Brother, Grandpa Huang is very good at chess. Come and play two games with him."
Lele stood there, shaking her head unhappily.
"No less."
The emperor frowned and looked at him in confusion.
"Since you can do it, why don't you do it? Are you unwilling to accompany me?"
Lele hurriedly cupped his fists and bowed and replied:
"No, although Lele can play chess, she may not be able to win against Grandpa Huang. Rather than making a fool of herself in front of Grandpa Huang, it is better not to take action."
"Hahaha……"
His words made the emperor laugh. After laughing, he waved to Lele and said:
"Then let's try it in the next game. How about I let you have a car and a gun?"
Lele's big crystal eyes flashed a few times, then she shook her head vigorously,
"I don't want you to give up the chess pieces. If Grandpa Huang insists on playing, let's make a gentleman's gamble. If you win one game against me, I can do whatever you want. On the contrary, if I win three games in a row, you can do whatever you want." How about giving you an item from your possession?”
Lele's words made the emperor instantly interested. He looked at him, looked at himself again, and asked with doubts in his eyes:
"What item do you want from me?"
Lele blinked her eyes mischievously a few times, pursed her small mouth, and said crisply:
"Any item is fine, but you must decree that no matter what mistakes the person who owns this item makes, you cannot punish him."
"Hahaha……"
The Emperor looked up to the sky and laughed cheerfully. He waved his hand, nodded contemptuously, reached for a jade pendant around his waist, half-squinted his eyes, and said disdainfully:
"Okay, you are young and your tone is not small, let's do this! You don't need to win three games from me, just win one game from me, I will give you this jade pendant. See it as if you are seeing me, how about it?"
The emperor did not think that this loud kid would beat him. His chess skills were not touted. He had been a good chess player since he was a child. This was the only place where he could show off to others when he was a child.
If he didn't have this good chess skill, how could he win the favor of the late emperor, so at this time, he felt that this talkative Lele was a little boring to him.
He doesn't like others to brag in front of him, and he doesn't like to be overshadowed by others.
Seeing that the emperor agreed to use the jade pendant as a bet, Lele stepped forward with his head held high and sat upright in the seat An An had just given him.
Liu Xi saw this and stepped forward again. After carefully setting up the chessboard, he reminded in a low voice:
"Your Majesty, the medicine has been delivered. Do you want to take it now?"
