Lan Qi looked up at the Empress Dowager. She was like a Buddha statue on a Buddhist altar. She was kind and gentle, exuding inviolable sacred majesty. They both tolerated everything with their broad minds, while guarding the insurmountable bottom line without giving in.
.
"I'm here today, you can push me in front of others, but how long can I live?" The Empress Dowager smiled gently, but every word she spoke hit Lan Qi's heart, "Now Concubine Tong is higher than you,
You are powerless to resist, but maybe in ten or twenty years, someone younger than you and with a lower status than you will do the same thing. If Xuan Ye can cherish you like this for the rest of his life, it will be your blessing, but this
It’s a luxury wish, and for women in the harem, this is the biggest luxury wish in the world.”
Lan Qi's eyes slowly fell, but the Empress Dowager said solemnly: "Look at me." She hurriedly cast her gaze on the old man's face again, and the Empress Dowager said slowly, "If this baby is a princess, I will raise her."
It doesn't matter here, but if he is a little brother raised in Cining Palace, he will be much more valuable than Hui and Rongbi's brothers, and it will definitely have an impact on his life in the future. You are my dear
Mother, if you want him to experience such a life that is different from that of his brothers and sisters, I, my great-great-grandmother, will naturally be happy to take care of him. But have you ever thought about these things?"
Lan Qi was speechless with a confused expression on her bright-skinned face. Xuan Ye only mentioned a few words, but she didn't take it seriously. She just thought that the child was being raised by the Empress Dowager as a favor, and that she would be looked down upon.
, and did not expect it to have any impact on the child's future.
"As for you, I guess Xuan Ye won't be able to let you go for more than ten or twenty years, maybe even for the rest of his life. You are a lucky child." The Queen Mother slowly sat on a seat beside her and looked at the people sitting cross-legged on the futon.
Lan Qi, who was on the bed, said, "You, my mother-in-law, are different. The children you give birth to will definitely be loved by all. Do you know what the late Emperor Dong E said after he gave birth to his son?"
Lan Qi shook her head and nodded again. She remembered that her family members had said in gossip that the late emperor favored Concubine Dong E very much and said that the little brother she gave birth to was the first son of the royal family.
It's a pity that the child was not blessed.
"Xuan Ye will not be as absurd as the late emperor, but he will also have selfish motives. Although the Dong E family was not at fault for what happened back then, she did not stop or persuade her. She allowed the emperor to do all the absurd things to him that would make the government and the public laugh at her, and she would live.
You will be blessed but your life will be short." When the Empress Dowager mentioned this, her eyebrows turned red. Perhaps she always felt in her heart that the existence of the Dong E family was already a mistake.
But the old man soon changed his mood and continued to teach Lan Qi: "Xuan Ye has only learned how to truly cherish you and care for you in the past two years. You must keep the initial grievances firmly in your heart, and the pain of the whip after whip must be unforgettable. Don't
Get carried away, don't let Xuan Ye do things for you that break the rules of your ancestors and damage the relationship between courtiers. Don't let yourself bear the reputation of beauty as a disaster. What those sanctimonious civil servants and generals are best at doing is to blame their incompetence on others.
Women have always been like this in all dynasties."
The baby in her belly suddenly moved, as if confirming her great-grandmother's words. Lan Qi looked at her belly uneasily, but the baby quickly calmed down again. She only heard the Queen Mother say again, "In ordinary people's homes, if a woman says
It’s all for the sake of my children, but that’s it. How can a small family cause trouble? But you are in the palace, the emperor’s woman, and your children are the princes, grandsons, and their futures are not what you can do.
Since it is for the sake of the children, the things that should be done are never on the children. Only if your husband is healthy and happy, and the court is stable and prosperous, can they have a future. When you are truly dedicated to Xuan Ye, that is
Planning the future for your children."
Lan Qi's confused expression gradually dissipated. Xuan Ye coaxed her into not studying what she said that day while sitting by the lake feeding the fish. It turned out that the answer was all here. She didn't know whether it was for selfish reasons or for Xuan Ye.
It turns out they are not two different things. She thinks about Xuan Ye all the time, which is originally a selfish desire.
"Since Xuan Ye has promised you, this child, whether a princess or an elder brother, will be raised in Cining Palace first." The Empress Dowager was about to leave, but she seemed not to let Lan Qi leave. She said, "But I am old.
It is inevitable that he will suffer from illness, and if the royal family and nobles cause trouble for this child, I am afraid that he will not be able to stay here for long. Lan Qi, please think carefully about it yourself."
The Empress Dowager walked away slowly. The opened door of the Buddhist hall cast a gorgeous sunset from behind Lan Qi. But with the rumble of the door closing, the Buddhist hall fell into silence again. The sandalwood was faint, and together with the dim light, Lan Qi's eyes were silent.
Heart.
She raised her eyes to look up at the supreme Buddha and put her hands on her swollen belly. Her life may have undergone the biggest change since the birth of her first child. She could no longer be the delicate and pretty little Chang Zai.
Little noble lady, she is going to be a mother-in-law. From now on, she will protect her husband, children, and herself.
Aunt Sumala didn't see the noble man coming out, and saw her master with a solemn expression. She didn't dare to ask more questions for a while, so she sent her back to the bedroom to serve tea. When the little palace maid came to beat her legs for half an hour, she heard something moving in the Buddhist hall.
Grandma couldn't help but come out.
Lan Qi's face was peaceful and peaceful, as if she had figured out something that she had been struggling with for a long time. She smiled warmly at her, held her hands affectionately, and walked towards the Empress Dowager together. Her mother-in-law joked: "I saw the way the master came out.
, I thought you left the noble man in the Buddhist hall to kneel down as punishment."
Lan Qi smiled: "My great-grandmother can't bear to bear the little grandson in my belly." After saying this, she walked to the Empress Dowager, slowly bent her knees, raised her head and smiled and said to the old man: "The Empress Dowager, the child in my concubine's belly,
Please do your hard work and take care of him for me."
"You thought about it for a long time, but still insisted on keeping the child in Cining Palace?" The Empress Dowager was neither happy nor angry, and looked at Lan Qi seriously, "I thought you would give up."
Lan Qi smiled calmly: "I didn't mean it at first. The emperor said it first. Since the emperor said so, I should accept it well. Those words you said..." She covered her heart, her eyes suddenly filled with confusion.
Jingying said with tears in her eyes, "Lan Qi will remember it in her heart for the rest of her life, and she will also tell her children how good her great-grandmother was to their mother-in-law."
"Silly girl." The Empress Dowager smiled happily, stretched out her hands to hold her on her knees, and gently patted her and coaxed her, "How old are you? Enjoy your young days now. My big principles are just because I'm afraid I won't have time to tell you.
, I just poured it all out. When I treat you well, don’t I expect you to treat me well, Xuan Ye, for the rest of my life?"
Mammy let out a long sigh of relief. She had been worried about what happened today ever since Concubine Tong came to Cining Palace. Now that she saw her grandfather and grandson talking to each other and understanding each other, she felt at ease. She stood aside and asked with a smile: "Really?"
It’s time to ask the emperor to come and see if he has become his grandson-in-law.”
After saying this, she followed suit. Mammy sent someone to invite the emperor to come for dinner at night. Later, when the meal was being served, Xuanye actually came. It is said that the ministers had dispersed and came directly. No wonder he didn't even change his clothes.
The nobleman served the emperor to change his clothes with a full belly. He stood on tiptoes when he reached for the buttons. The emperor scolded her for acting inappropriately. But when he looked closer, he saw that her eyes were red, which must be because she had cried. Before she could reach her grandmother, she asked softly: "Why are you crying?"
?”
"Think of what the emperor wants." Lan Qi smiled perfunctorily, not mentioning today's events at all. However, Xuan Ye knew that the imperial concubine was losing his temper, so he didn't say anything to his grandmother or Lan Qi. He just ate with He Lele, but after the meal
However, Lan Qi was sent back to Zhongcui Palace to rest first. It was a rare opportunity for the Empress Dowager to leave the Emperor behind when they both came.
"Is the grandma the emperor leaving a grandson? Is there something to say?" Xuan Ye was not playing riddles with his grandma. The grandma and grandson were sitting opposite each other at a game of chess. The empress dowager was twisting the chess pieces in her hands to keep them from falling. When she heard him say this, she simply put down her hands.
The chess pieces stopped and he looked at Xuan Ye and said, "Concubine Tong and Concubine Wen, you are prepared to let them continue to make trouble like this."
Xuan Ye lowered his head to sort out the mess on the chessboard. As the chess pieces became clearer in black and white, his expression gradually became serious, and he said in a deep voice: "After all, it is the Niu Hulu family who is causing the trouble. This is to make Concubine Wen prematurely die."
Only after they have exhausted their efforts can they be willing to die."
"So you have to sacrifice your cousin?" The Queen Mother has seen through everything. While she hates Concubine Tong, she also deeply understands how pitiful this child is. She is not only Tong Guowei's pawn, she has always been Xuan Ye.
After all, his chess piece, Xuan Ye, was much more ruthless than his father and grandfather.
"My grandson will treat her well." Xuan Ye put away the chessboard, wiped his hands with the handkerchief on the side, and looked at his grandmother calmly, "I didn't sacrifice her, I just let her do what she wanted to do. This is also what she wants."
blessing."
"What will be the consequences of blindly doing what you want in the palace?" The Empress Dowager said earnestly, "What consequences each of them will have, the Imperial Grandmother does not care, the Imperial Grandmother does not want you to look back when you are my age in the future.
In the past, when I touched the cold place in my heart, because of my cruelty and ruthlessness, I didn't do anything too cruel."
Xuan Ye nodded, "My grandson, please remember this."
"Lan Qi's child was brought to Cining Palace after she was born. I made it clear to her today. She thought about it for half an hour and still didn't give up." The Empress Dowager had a hidden worry on her eyebrows, "Xuan Ye, will you?
Will you treat Lan Qi like this one day?"
Xuan Ye didn't have time to think and said: "My grandson doesn't know how. I have never regarded Lan Qi as a woman in the harem."
That night, the emperor went to Chengqian Palace. It is said that he did not have time to meet during the day, so he went to comfort him at night. The sound of the guqin played for a whole hour. When Yu Kui closed the window and closed it, she muttered, "Don't your fingers hurt?
?If you play for so long, your fingernails will be rotten."
Duan concubine happened to come over and heard it. She scolded Yukui for a few words. Yu Kui stuck out her tongue and ran away with a smile. Duan concubine sat down beside Lan Qi's bed and said, "I feel relieved when I see you look good. Your Majesty asked me to come. I am
I also want to take care of you, but I don’t dare to let you make any mistakes."
"I'm fine, I don't need to worry too much," Lan Qi said lazily, "I'm just starting to feel a little out of breath when I'm lying down, so I need to lean closer."
"Bite your teeth and it will be fine after you give birth." Duanbi said gently, her eyes moved slightly, and she still asked, "What did the imperial concubine say to you today?"
"It's just some gossip, do you want to listen?" Lan Qi asked Duan Bi. She was not guarding against anyone, but it was something like this. She had no intention of telling anyone, and she hoped Duan Bi would not misunderstand her.
Seeing that she was like this, Duan Concubine stopped asking questions, just chatted and joked a little, and let her rest early. On the way to the main hall, she saw someone coming in from the palace gate, but she couldn't see his face clearly as she stood in the light, while the man went to
When the noble man went there, he motioned to the palace maid next to him to inquire. After a while, he came back and said that it was Dongyun from Xianfu Palace.
Dongyun didn't stay long, he just came to convey a message on behalf of Concubine Wen, asking Lan Qi to go to Xianfu Palace to sit down in the next few days when she feels better. Concubine Wen was so happy that she couldn't leave the house, so she could only work hard for De.
The noble man went there in person, but Lan Qi did not agree and only said: "I understand."
When Huan Chun asked about it the next morning, the little noble just shook his head: "I don't feel well and don't want to go out." Huan Chun thought at first that his master was really unwell and was anxious to call a doctor. Lan Qi smiled at her, as if to offend her.
Silly, I realized that she just didn’t want to go to Xianfu Palace.
"I don't want to get involved in Concubine Wen's affairs. Concubine Tong lives in front of me, and I have to be on guard against her coming to torment me anytime and anywhere. I'm too busy." Lan Qi ate the steamed old tofu, smearing a thin layer of it on it.
Layer of spicy sauce, such a rough dish, was something she wanted to eat out of the blue. She wanted to eat it when she got up early in the morning, and she didn't get tired of it after eating it for several days. The nobles murmured that she was going to give birth to a princess because she was sour and spicy.
Lan Qi doesn't care either.
After that day, Concubine Tong didn't come to trouble Lan Qi again. The emperor didn't know what he said to her that night. Concubine Tong seemed to be no longer obsessed with this matter. Whenever Lan Qi heard the sound of the guqin, she knew that the emperor was staying in Chengdu.
Qiangong, even after the Double Ninth Festival, was still not dull. Everyone said that the emperor was still much kinder to his cousin than ordinary people.
In late September, the weather was getting colder. The houses of the Bugui people and the Duan concubines were all covered with mats on the couches and Kangs. The Bugui people were so weak that they had used the charcoal accumulated in the past year to make a fire to keep warm. Only Lan Qi, a little pregnant woman, was very hot every day.
It was so bad that no one in the family wanted to come to her house. Lan Qi would often walk under her sister's window and say a few words to her while she was walking in the yard.
On this day, the two of them were talking through the window again. The concubines came out to see them and laughed at them for being stupid. Just as they were about to pull Lanqi in to sit down, a young eunuch came running outside and said that the emperor had ordered a banquet for the Western envoys and that he would be at the Qianqing Palace tonight.
A banquet was held, and all the empresses, nobles, and masters of the palace were invited to the banquet. Concubine Rong and Concubine Hui were already preparing, and Concubine Duan was asked to take the two princesses and the nobles with them at night.
"It's really lively. I just said that the Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother wouldn't let them do the Double Ninth Festival. They always felt that something was missing, so there was something lively again." Duan concubine called Huan Chun to help Lan Qi go to dress up, and said with a smile, "
I once met a Western envoy with the emperor. He looks very different from us. He has a big beard, a high nose, and blue eyes. It would be good for you to go and have a look today to broaden your horizons."
Bu Guiren didn't want to go at all, but Duan Jing couldn't bear to play, so she finally dressed up and waited for the call from the front. However, there was no suitable Jifu beside Lan Qi, so Duan Concubine made the decision and asked her to choose a gorgeous regular dress to wear, and gave it to her with her own hands.
Her hair was combed and she was dressed up beautifully. The nobles and nobles all said with envy that her face had not changed even though she was already a month old. They were already too ugly to be seen.
"I can't help it, I'm naturally good-looking." Lan Qi joked proudly, being teased by the two. Not long after, she heard the movement of the Chengqian Palace in front. Concubine Tong had already gone. Soon someone came to invite the concubines, and the three of them also went there.
On the road, I saw concubines from various palaces coming to visit one after another. The emperor did not favor one over the other, and everyone came who should come.
The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager also attended the banquet. Now the longevity of the Empress Dowager has become part of the country's prestige. This woman who has lived through three dynasties has long been famous overseas. The envoy met the old man and respectfully performed the most noble etiquette of the Qing Dynasty.
The empress dowager was very happy and gave him generous gifts.
Xuan Ye had foreign ministers, such as Nan Huairen, whom Lan Qi had met once or twice, but Nan Huairen and the others looked very different from these people. The dancers they brought were enchanting and unrestrained, and they danced in public, with their arms and legs exposed.
There was no concealment, all the courtiers and nobles looked at it with their eyes straightened, and the female relatives all felt very embarrassed.
Lan Qi was very curious about this exotic customs, and what surprised and admired her the most was that Concubine Wen was able to communicate well with them at such a young age. No one knew when she learned this foreign language.
Seeing her smiling and sitting next to the Queen Mother, and the envoy's wife sitting next to her, the two of them chatted and laughed from time to time. Even when the Queen Mother asked about this foreign culture, it was she who relayed the envoy's wife's words to the elderly.
Lan Qi then heard several Fujins behind her saying: "Now the Eight Banners educate their daughters and send them to the palace, but they all teach them in different ways. No wonder all the girls who come out are villains. In the past, it was said that the little daughter of the Niu Hulu family
It's hard to say that she is not as good as the Queen, but now I see that she is much stronger than Queen Niu Hulu."
Bu Guiren also heard these words. She pushed Lan Qi gently and whispered: "Look at Concubine Tong opposite, her face is dark and gloomy, even darker than the servant behind the Western envoy."
"Sister is also talking nonsense." Lan Qi laughed at her. The two were just joking, but she still looked at the imperial concubine curiously. At that time, the imperial concubine was drinking with her sleeves covered. Perhaps she saw that Concubine Wen had taken away her edge.
Displeased, Lan Qi didn't dare to look away. She turned around and accidentally saw a familiar face. When she looked closely, she saw that it was Jue Chan who was also perfunctory, sitting with Yi Bin and Guo Guiren.
Bu Guiren said softly from the side: "Did you see that Jue Chan agreed?" Lan Qi nodded and heard her sister continue, "I'll be fine after moving to Yikun Palace. I don't know if I'm enlightened or if I'm a concubine.
The empress and Guo Guiren have taken good care of her, and her illnesses and injuries have healed. Look at Yi Bin’s clothes. They were all made by her own hands. They look so beautiful."
Lan Qi knew that Bu Gui now often went with Duan's concubine to meet with Concubine Rong or Concubine Hui, and knew more things than before. On the contrary, she was content with raising her child and knew very little about the outside world. At this moment, she saw that Master Jue Chan was doing well.
There, I felt much better than hearing about her seeking life and death.
Just then, she wanted to look away so she could lower her head to pick up some vegetables to eat. Suddenly she saw Guo Guiren over there, swaying and falling softly into the arms of the palace maid behind her. She didn't faint though, she woke up quickly, but her face looked very bad, as if she was ill. Yi Bi hurriedly asked someone to help her.
After going back, everyone was watching. Lan Qi heard some Fu Jin behind her say: "Guo Guiren is pregnant, isn't she? Isn't she the most favored among the newcomers?"
Lan Qi was fine. She just raised her head and accidentally landed on the imperial concubine. She drank another glass of wine angrily.