This is what Uncle He said to the three of them:

"Not long after the death of the late Emperor, I was still serving as an errand of the Imperial Guard, and was called by the Emperor to discuss matters at the Taiye Pond. Not long after, the two empresses came together. I had long forgotten the specific situation.

Queen, please help me get back today

According to her recollection, she had just entered the Changchun Palace at that time, and she was preoccupied with having a good relationship with this little mother-in-law, who was also a newly widowed woman. So it was she who took the initiative after going to Cining Palace to say hello that day.

Went for a walk by Taiye Pond."

Little mother-in-law? Newly widowed? Why does this title sound a little wrong? Zhou Heng immediately thought of his previous guess, and looked at Shen Yi again, and saw something from the other person's curved eyes and raised corners of his mouth.

Mockery, although I don't know what she was thinking in her heart, but Empress Jiang's such a joking name clearly had a different meaning.

Uncle He was a little embarrassed after he finished speaking. When he heard this title in the palace, he kept trying to keep his head down so that no one could see his expression. Who would have thought that the dignified and elegant Empress would suddenly spit out such a word?

What about a slightly mean name?

However, after hearing this, I can understand it. If it was really the situation that the queen said, well, fortunately, the queen told me first, otherwise, some of the things I said were really

I don't know what to say to these three young men and nephews in front of me.

Thinking of this, Uncle He coughed lightly, and while recalling what Empress Jiang told him in the morning, he also tried his best to use some words that he thought were fairly objective to describe the situation at that time. After all, the three people involved were all

He is the supreme person today. No matter what, he still has to be cautious:

"The Empress told me that at that time, she became interested in it when she overheard two little palace maids chatting in the imperial garden. The two people kept talking about how beautiful the lotus flowers were in bloom by the Taiye Pond in previous years.

This year's lotus leaves

She was already standing tall and graceful, and she was looking forward to it. The Queen had just entered the palace not long ago, and was not very familiar with the palace. To be on the safe side, she went to the Taiye Pond to have a look first, and then noticed the waterside.

A waterside pavilion."

"Afu, Ayi, I don't know if you two have been to the waterside pavilion when you were playing in the palace when you were children. But that place is by the water. To be on the safe side, it's normal that you haven't been there. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but now

I was reminded by the Queen, and after thinking about it, not many people usually go there, but I didn’t expect that there is something unusual behind this waterside pavilion.”

When they were talking, the two siblings looked at each other without saying anything. It seemed that neither of them knew much about the situation of the waterside pavilion. Besides, there was Zhou Heng next to him who had probably never been to the palace. They looked even more confused.

Uncle He gave the three of them a general introduction:

"The waterside pavilion is an ordinary architectural style by the waterside. It is similar to the one outside the palace. We also have one in our house, and there are also lotus flowers planted around the waterside pavilion. They are all the same. It is for enjoying the lotus in the summer. Speaking of which, if it is used as a

The name 'Hexiang Xiaozhu' is quite appropriate."

"The difference is that most people only build a waterside pavilion, which is open on all sides and has a broad view. There is a beauty chair or flying chair on the side facing the water for people to sit on the railing in their spare time. The one in the palace

There are some differences outside.

There is a stone platform the size of a pavilion, which stretches directly into the lotus bushes. There are no benches or railings. It is only a little higher than the water surface. It really feels like swimming in the water, but it is much more convenient than taking a boat.

Very good.”

"Not to mention when the lotus flowers are in full bloom, even if the lotus leaves have just grown, you can still smell the fragrance when you walk on the stage. When the lotus leaves have grown and the lotus flowers are in full bloom, you and my uncle will also be there when I was on duty in the palace. I took advantage of my errands to go to the stone platform and experience it. It was surrounded by lotus flowers and lotus leaves, within reach, and the fragrance of lotus was lingering. It was really good!"

There are lotuses planted next to the water pavilion, and there is also a water terrace? It is very similar to the one at Yunchi! But the water terrace here was specially built by Shen Fu for himself. I don’t know the origin of the one in the palace. .

Thinking of this, Zhou Heng couldn't help but stretched out his hand to hold Shen Fu's hand. Unexpectedly, Shen Fu boldly intertwined his fingers with hers this time, which was a little surprising.

Afraid of letting the two people next to him see the clues, Zhou Heng had no choice but to let him hold it with his fingers intertwined. Fortunately, it was still cool in the room, and he didn't sweat much, and he felt sweet inside. After a while, he didn't want to let go. .

But on his face, he tried harder to look like he was listening carefully, listening to He Shukai talk about the "little mother-in-law" making trouble:

"When the Queen Mother saw the waterside pavilion, she went over to sit down. She saw that the lotus leaves outside had indeed grown in layers and were fragrant. She even saw a few lotus buds, so she thought about it and asked the Queen Mother to come and sit with her. It’s quite nice to sit and relax. I don’t know who said something in the middle, saying that it’s a pity that such a nice and elegant place doesn’t have a name. Please give me a name by the Queen.”

"The Queen Mother did not agree at the time, but she had her thoughts in mind. Later, when she went to Cining Palace to pay her respects, she expressed her thoughts and said that after two days when the lotus flowers bloom, she would invite the Queen Mother to go to the waterside pavilion to enjoy the flowers. The Queen Mother She was very happy to hear that at the time, saying that she had been to that place in previous years, but had forgotten about it this year because of the late emperor's affairs. She even lamented to the people next to her, saying that she had a caring person from now on, and praised the empress for her filial piety. ."

"This made the Empress Dowager very happy. In the meantime, she heard the Empress Dowager mention 'that place' and 'that water pavilion' several times. She thought of the name someone had suggested before, and also thought that all palaces in the palace, big or small, have names. , but this waterside pavilion was an unknown person, and I was even more determined in my mind, so I told the Queen Mother about it on the way to the waterside pavilion."

"The Queen Mother also told me today. In fact, thinking about it afterwards, it was someone on the Queen Mother's side who deliberately led the conversation to that person first, and there was someone next to her who kept teasing her. She was also anxious at the time and wanted to express her feelings. I was filial, so I asked the Queen Mother to come up with a name for the waterside pavilion to avoid the inconvenience of naming it."

"Unexpectedly, the Queen Mother refused after hearing this, saying that now the head of the harem is the queen, how could she overstep her authority?"

"As for the Queen Mother, she also confessed to me today that she had just entered the Changchun Palace and was disrespected by everyone wherever she went. She was also quite high-spirited. When the Queen Mother said this, she also I stopped refusing, and when I saw the emperor and I were there, I didn’t think too much about the coincidence. Instead, I thought it was an opportunity, and I wanted to show off my skills in front of the emperor.”

"The Empress lamented to me today, saying that she was too young at that time. In fact, in retrospect, when she first said that the waterside pavilion had no name, the emperor didn't answer. It turns out that she didn't agree with this matter, but she was in high spirits. On top of that, I was complimented a lot by the people from the Queen Mother’s side on the road, so I just followed my own train of thought and continued talking."

"When I heard the Queen's suggestion that it be called 'Lottus Fragrant Building' from now on, the Emperor did not have a fit at the time, otherwise I would not have had no impression of the matter. I must have gone there specifically after returning home, presumably not wanting to do so in front of my ministers.

After going to the Changchun Palace and reprimanding her, the empress learned that the waterside pavilion was actually built exactly like the waterside pavilion in Emperor Wu's late residence, in order to commemorate the youthful time Emperor Wu and Princess Zhaohuai spent on the bank of Yunhu Lake.

…”
Chapter completed!