At the right time, the bronze bell on the Xuandemen tower rang, and the rich sound of the bell spread throughout the palace city.

Soon, the sound of bells also came from the Chengtian Gate on the left and right sides of the imperial city. Three bells intertwined, each ringing nine times.

The dusk has not yet faded, and the huge palace city is still shrouded in darkness. After the bell rings, scattered lights light up in different palaces and palaces.

During the Tang Dynasty, when the court situation was stable, most of the regular court meetings were held at Chen hour (7-9 o'clock). When it met the Yuan day, the winter solstice or the New Year's day, the court meeting would be held an hour earlier. The time of the court meetings in winter and summer was not fixed, and was flexible according to the weather.

Adjustment.

During the wars of the Five Dynasties, rituals and music were in ruins. Even the court meetings could not be held as scheduled, and there was no fixed schedule.

After the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, Guo Wei tried his best to restore the Tang system and strictly regulated the time of court meetings.

According to the imperial court system, the spring and summer dynasties are set at Chen hour, and the bells are rung at Maozheng hour. The servants and officials in various government offices in the palace city, the palace people in various palaces in the imperial city, and the eunuchs have to start preparing for various matters for the new day.

After the Maozheng bell rang, the entire palace began to operate in an orderly manner.

The lights in the Taiping Palace were also lit early.

Empress Dowager Li's schedule was the same as that of most palace residents. No matter how late she slept, she would get up as soon as the Maozheng bell rang.

Zhang Gui had served her for many years and developed the same habit of waking up at the right time every day.

After a simple wash with a basin of hot water and some corn porridge, Empress Dowager Li put on her coat, tied her neck, and walked slowly around the Taiping Palace accompanied by Zhang Gui. When she came back, she was almost at Chen

At the beginning, after going to the Buddhist temple to offer incense, the day's practice began.

This is also Empress Dowager Li's daily activity track. Unless the weather is extremely bad and it is really not suitable to go out, she will walk slowly in the palace.

The sky was slightly bright, and when we stepped out of the palace gate, we were surrounded by thin mist and silence.

Zhang Gui helped Empress Dowager Li walk slowly along the palace wall. The weather was cold, and the two of them exhaled a thick white breath.

"In this harem, among the masters, the Queen Mother is the earliest to get up." Zhang Gui said with a smile.

Empress Dowager Li turned to look at the eaves of a sleeping palace in the distance, and sighed: "The Concubine Dong also got up at this time. It's a pity that she was not lucky, and she passed away not long after her good days."

Zhang Gui also lamented: "De Concubine is also a poor person. She suffered a miscarriage early in her life and was injured, and she has never been able to conceive an heir. However, the officials doted on her and gave her the care of such a large harem. Concubine De is a kind person.

, when she was alive, she would come to the Taiping Palace every two days to see her. With her taking care of her, those people did not dare to act recklessly.

It's a pity that after she left, there was no one in charge of the harem, and all kinds of monsters and ghosts came out to cause mischief..."

Zhang Gui couldn't help complaining. Life in the Taiping Palace had become increasingly difficult recently. The rice, flour, oil and food sent by the palace bureau were getting less and less. The Queen Mother wanted to eat green vegetables, but those dog slaves dared to get some rotten leaves and branches.

Come to Hulong.

Empress Dowager Li's brows were calm, and she said calmly: "There are all living beings in the world, and there are countless people who work hard but still have nothing to eat. You and I do not give birth and enjoy the offerings in vain. This is a great blessing. We should be content."

"The Queen Mother taught you a lesson." Zhang Gui lowered his head, naturally not daring to argue with the Queen Mother.

But he was still unhappy.

Since moving to the Taiping Palace, the Queen Mother has completely given up worldly thoughts and devoted herself to serving the Buddha.

In the past, with Concubine De taking care of her, life in the palace was pretty good.

After Concubine De left, Princess Shouan was ordered to take care of the harem. Entrusted by Zhu Xiu, she also took care of the Taiping Palace.

For more than half a year, Princess Shou'an returned home to give birth, and no one was in charge of the harem. Moreover, the emperor personally conscripted the palace, and there was no one in charge of such a large palace.

The Taiping Palace was originally inconspicuous, and as a result, it was even more forgotten. Now it cannot even afford three daily meals.

Zhang Gui felt sorry for Empress Dowager Li and wanted to go to Zhu Xiu for help, but suddenly Zhu Xiu was assassinated and was seriously injured and fell into a coma.

I had no choice but to live a frugal life, begging for mercy from everywhere, just to get more firewood, charcoal, rice, flour, cloth and silk for the Taiping Palace.

The palace is the place where the warmth and warmth of human nature are best reflected. Once you gain power, all the slaves and palace servants will come together to fawn over you.

Once he loses power, no one cares about him, and those slaves don't even bother to look him in the eye, they will make some sarcastic remarks, and even step on him if they have the chance.

After many years in the palace, Zhang Gui had already seen through these false favors, but he still couldn't be as calm as Empress Dowager Li.

Zhang Gui smiled bitterly in his heart, maybe he has no wisdom and has no connection with Buddha~

As they walked along, Queen Mother Li said, "Is Zhu Xiu's injury getting better?"

Zhang Gui smiled and said: "I asked Zhang Dejun to visit me at home. Zhu Xiu has recovered from her trauma. She just needs to rest in peace for a while."

Empress Dowager Li asked: "Don't be careless about internal injuries. You go out of the palace in the afternoon and go to visit on my behalf. She tells Zhu Xiu to heal with peace of mind. He is young and cannot bear his temper. There are some injuries that he relied on his body and bones when he was young.

You won't get sick if you are strong, but when you get older, you will have many problems."

"My servant knows." Zhang Gui chuckled, "The Queen Mother treats Zhu Xiu like her own nephew. That kid has accumulated eight lifetimes of virtue to get this blessing!"

Queen Mother Li smiled and said quietly: "That child is the same age as Chengyou. When I saw him, I remembered that Chengyou was so handsome and smart when he was a child. It's a pity that I didn't discipline him well..."

Zhang Gui said softly: "The late Emperor's disaster was caused by Li Ye and others. It has nothing to do with the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother must not blame herself."

Queen Mother Li sighed, she could never let go of this matter in her heart.

The two walked around the palace wall for a long time and came to the north of the Taiping Palace. There was an artificial lake here. They dug a canal to divert water around the north of the Taiping Palace and flowed towards other palaces.

In the cold winter, the lake surface may even freeze, and the sides of the canals are also covered with ice.

The lakeside was slippery in winter, so Empress Dowager Li would rarely go near it. She would only walk along the water channel and around the palace wall.

The weather has been abnormal these days, it has been extremely cold, and ice often forms beside the water channels. Every other day, Zhang Gui calls on the only two young eunuchs in the Taiping Palace to inspect the water channels under the north palace wall.

All icy areas must be shoveled clean to prevent the Queen Mother from slipping when walking.

As she was about to walk onto a wooden bridge across the canal, Queen Mother Li smiled and said: "The last time your adopted son Zhang Dejun came with me, he slipped here and almost fell into the ditch."

Zhang Gui said hurriedly: "My slave just took people to remove the ice yesterday afternoon. There should be nothing wrong."

Empress Dowager Li nodded. Zhang Gui did things safely, and she always felt at ease.

The wooden bridge was so narrow that it could only accommodate one person. Zhang Gui went in front, followed by Queen Mother Li, who stepped onto the wooden bridge one after another.

There was a distance of more than ten feet, and the two of them walked very carefully.

Only halfway through, Zhang Gui noticed something was wrong, and there were faint signs of slipping under his feet.

He only took people to remove the ice yesterday afternoon, and it only lasted one night. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be icy!

Under the wooden bridge is a canal, which is more than three feet deep and is covered with ice on both sides.

The more he walked, the slipperier his feet became. Zhang Gui was secretly frightened. Seeing that he could cross over in a few steps, he did not dare to let the Queen Mother take the risk.

"Your Majesty, the bridge is icy and slippery, making it difficult to pass. It's better to go back..."

Before he finished speaking, there was a scream from behind. Zhang Gui turned his head hurriedly and saw Empress Dowager Li falling into the water with a thud. She seemed to have sprained her foot. She fell backward and was submerged in the water, with her hands and feet hurriedly fluttering.

Zhang Gui was so frightened that he didn't even want to jump into the ditch. In an instant, the biting cold hit his whole body and he couldn't help but shiver.

"Someone! The Queen Mother fell into the water! Someone come quickly!~"

Zhang Gui shouted loudly while rescuing her, and helped Empress Dowager Li up from the cold canal water. She saw that her face was blue, her lips were black, and her whole body was shaking violently.

Zhang Gui climbed out of the ditch and tried his best to drag Queen Mother Li up. The two of them fell on the side of the muddy road, soaked to the skin and stiff from the cold.

"Queen Mother! Queen Mother!" Zhang Gui cried and pinched Renzhong hurriedly. Empress Dowager Li choked a few times, coughed several times, and rolled her eyes slightly. She wanted to say something but couldn't.

She was nearly fifty years old. She had been ill for more than a year, and her health had been good and bad. She suddenly fell into the water in this cold spring season, and her body and bones could not bear the pain.

Zhang Gui did not dare to delay, so he carried Empress Dowager Li on his back and ran towards the Taiping Palace.

Fortunately, this place is close to the North Palace Gate. That palace gate is not usually open, but if you ring the bell and let the two little eunuchs in the palace hear it, they can rush to open the door...

~~~

Zhang Dejun got up early today and rushed from Yongxiang to the Taiping Palace. He was still thinking about the secret meeting between the old eunuch Li and the Zhao brothers when he left the palace yesterday.

There was something wrong with him when he returned to the palace yesterday, which took a little extra time. The harem was closed and he couldn't pass. He had to wait until early this morning to rush to the Taiping Palace.

He knew that the Queen Mother got up early and had to walk a long circle around the palace wall, so he didn't get up until Chenzheng, tidied up, and rushed to the Taiping Palace.

Taiping Palace is located in the northernmost part of the harem, close to the harem garden. It is usually so quiet that not even a ghost can be seen.

A cold palace like this is the least popular among the palace maids and eunuchs. They think it is unlucky and are usually reluctant to approach it.

But today, Zhang Dejun watched from a distance as three people hurriedly entered the gate of Taiping Palace. Zhang Dejun felt a little strange and quickened his pace to follow...

~~~

Zhang Gui carried the unconscious Empress Dowager Li on his back and called at the North Palace Gate for a long time. Then the palace door slowly opened. The two yawning little eunuchs didn't know what had happened. They saw Zhang Gui carrying Empress Dowager Li on his back.

Both of them were wet and startled.

"Two blind idiots! What are you doing here? The Queen Mother fell into the water. Go to the Imperial Medical Office to ask for a doctor! You go and prepare hot soup, change of clothes, and a charcoal basin!"

Zhang Gui was so angry that he cursed, and then the two young eunuchs realized and ran away in a hurry.

Zhang Gui hurried back to the palace with the Empress Dowager on his back and carefully put her down. Just as he was about to take off the soaked clothes for the Empress Dowager, a sound of footsteps sounded in the palace room.

Zhang Gui thought it was two young eunuchs who had left and returned. He turned his head and was about to curse, but was stunned.

The person who came turned out to be Old Eunuch Li from Yongxiang, and he brought two sturdy servants with him.

But the two young eunuchs in the Taiping Palace stood far away and did not dare to approach.

"Minister Li? What are you doing here?"

Zhang Gui frowned and shouted angrily at the two young eunuchs: "You two geniuses, why don't you go quickly?"
To be continued...