After the people from Qianqing Palace conveyed the emperor's will, they left in a hurry. Lan Qi asked the palace maid to bring another pot of charcoal, but Concubine Rong laughed: "You feel cold? I felt warm all over after hearing that. I thought I could live in peace and quiet. It's the twelfth lunar month, and there are always rules for those serious things, so don't be afraid of being difficult to deal with. Now it's fine. The emperor has pushed this matter. He can take whomever he wants, so why bother us again."
Lan Qi drank tea quietly, waiting for the palace maid to bring another pot of charcoal. The eunuch sent by Huanchun to deliver the message came to the door and smiled: "In the first month of the year, I went to the garden and waited for the spring to bloom. The scenery is so beautiful. , Concubine Rong didn’t go there last time, so she should go and see what’s new this time.”
Concubine Rong smiled and said: "Now there are only a few of us left in charge. The emperor cannot live without your master. She must go. If I follow you again, what will happen in the palace?"
"The garden is very spacious. Since the last time, many places have been repaired and built. Even the sisters in the palace have gone there without fear of not being able to live in it. At most, the emperor's visit to the garden was in vain." Lan Qi closed the lid of the tea bowl with a deep smile. He looked at Concubine Rong and said, "Your Majesty didn't say who to take or not to take. Why don't we let the Holy Grace be so powerful? Let's send word to the Sixth Palace to ask. If you want to go to the garden with me, please come to my sister or me to tell me. If you don't want to If they want to go, just say they don’t want to go, and we don’t need to draw up the list, let them choose by themselves.”
Concubine Rong waved her hands and said with a smile: "No, no, you are fooling around. Now the entire Forbidden City has been moved there. How many people want to follow? If you say this, the threshold of both of us will be trampled to pieces."
However, Lan Qi came closer to her and laughed softly: "While letting the word out like this, I will ask people to say that Long live the Lord wants to handle the important affairs of the court in a clean place. If you are considerate of the Emperor, don't cause trouble."
Concubine Rong blinked her eyes and asked with a smile: "What kind of statement is this?"
Lan Qi smiled sincerely: "If we make the decision, they will be embarrassed to woo them in private, and then the threshold will be trampled. Now let them make the decision on their own, one by one, you look at me and I look at you, as long as There is a person who wants to come, and some sarcastic remarks are spread in the palace. This person loses face, and he will not dare to come openly in the future. Let's draw up a quota in private, and select the people the emperor likes to follow. , it will be up to them to speak up when the time comes, and they all understand in their hearts."
Concubine Rong clicked her tongue: "You look so gentle and close to me, why are there so many things in your belly? How many twists and turns does this matter have to take?"
Lan Qi said nonchalantly: "For more than ten years, I have never been arranged by outsiders. They taught me year after year. Now I just give it back to them."
"But don't think too much. What if we all have the shamelessness to follow you?" Concubine Rong said worriedly, "When so many people follow us in a noisy way, the emperor will blame us in his heart."
Lan Qi said with a smile: "We are all serving him, why does he blame us? If sister feels something is wrong, I will listen to you, but if you don't have a comprehensive idea, why not give it a try. Besides, what are we doing? If he is not an emperor, he cannot be said to have good words. When the time comes, the Sixth Palace will really make trouble, and it will be better to change his mind. Anyway, they have to listen if they don't listen. Otherwise, why should we be appointed to assist the Sixth Palace? , this is the beauty of power."
Concubine Rong stretched out her finger and touched Lan Qi's forehead, and said with a smile: "I really didn't notice the ghosts and ghosts in the past." But as soon as her thoughts changed, she said softly: "Speaking of the matter of co-managing the Sixth Palace, even if only the emperor used to be The imperial concubine, she is also the person in charge of Fengyin and has the final say. Although we have the power in our hands now, in the end we are just running errands. It would be better if there is a serious person in the palace who can make the final decisions. Unfortunately, the one in Xianfu Palace is no longer available. We The four of us are equally matched, which one is better?"
Lan Qi nodded: "The Queen Mother also told me about this in Ningshou Palace a few days ago. She didn't want to get too involved in the affairs of the palace. She didn't have the spirit."
"What does the emperor mean?" Concubine Rong asked, and said unceremoniously, "Don't blame me for being careless. No one in the palace knows that Long Live Lord can tell you the truth."
Lan Qi smiled modestly: "The emperor and I are really not as good as my sister thought." She added, "The emperor never mentioned it to me, but the queen mother did mention that although the queen is gone, her biological sister is still there.
, the same origin, the same nobility, just younger."
Concubine Rong suddenly remembered Tong Bin in the Chuxiu Palace, and sighed: "It's so low-key, you see, I have even forgotten her."
Lan Qi said slowly: "The Queen Mother's intention is that when she gets a few years older, she will find a name to promote her. The concubine position is not enough and we can't let her go. I guess if she is directly promoted to a noble concubine, Feng Yin will still be theirs."
It’s best for the sisters to hold it.”
Concubine Rong agreed, but looked at Lan Qi meaningfully. Thinking of the day they dispersed in front of the Chengqian Palace, Concubine Hui asked: "There will be another queen in the future, will it be her?" Thinking about it now, she couldn't help but tremble in her heart.
, said casually, "Don't you think about yourself?"
Lan Qi knew in her heart what Concubine Rong was thinking, and said calmly on her face: "What are you thinking about? My sister and I are the same. If you want to think about it, you should think about it."
Concubine Rong couldn't help but sneer: "Don't worry about those two."
In this way, the affairs of Changchun Garden in the Sixth Palace were spread out, and because the end of the month was the death anniversary of the Empress Dowager, they have been busy at this time for the past two years. Concubine Rong and Concubine De were unable to find anyone every day. Those in Jingyang Palace
, the concubines wandering outside Yonghe Palace could not find a chance to speak out, and there were a lot of sarcastic words in the palace, so the matter really became embarrassing. On the other hand, the two sisters had secretly drawn up a list and sent it to the emperor.
Ye deleted and added some more. Concubine Rong wanted to stay and take care of the Sixth Palace, so he specially added Concubine Rong.
Because of her busy days these days, Lan Qi temporarily forgot about Yuan's promise. When Huan Chun mentioned it to her, she remembered the crazy little promise that night. However, Huan Chun told her that Eunuch Liang had sent people recently.
Looking at it, it turned out that Yuan promised to see each other day by day, the yard was quiet and there was no crying or fussing anymore, and Ping Guiren never caused any trouble to them.
"What we seek is peace. It is a good thing for two people to live in peace. The emperor doesn't like Ping Guiren, but there is always a reason for being nice to her recently. It will do no good to offend her. We can't cause trouble to the emperor." Lan Qi knew something in her heart.
He even told Huan Chun, "Don't let Wang Changzai worry about them, and don't ask their imperial physician. I guess the imperial physician was bribed, and the debt will be settled later in the garden."
After that, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day passed in a blink of an eye. On the third day of the first lunar month, it was sunny. The emperor and the Sixth Palace served the Queen Mother and moved into Changchun Garden. The day to return to the palace had not been set for a while. For the courtiers, it was just another place to run errands, and no one had any idea.
Objection, but no one expected that this wave of news about entering the garden would sow bad blood between the emperor and the prince.
On this day, the Holy Emperor entered the garden in great force, and the Empress Dowager moved into the Ningchun Hall where the Empress Dowager once lived. Except for Empress Xiaoyi's Jifengxuan, which was vacant, everyone who had been here before stayed in the same place. Lan Qi still stayed in Ruijingxuan.
, Concubine Rong lived next to her, while Concubine Yi lived closest to the emperor's Qingxi Bookstore. As for Concubine Hui, she fell ill before the death of the Empress Dowager for some reason. Concubine Rong went to see her in person, and she was really ill.
It's heavy. Although things got better after New Year's Day, I couldn't follow up this time.
Now that the concubines had found their respective residences, they all came to Ningchun Hall to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager and to hear the Queen Mother explain some rules in the garden, but they were all still waiting in front of Ningchun Hall, hoping to wait for Concubine De and Yi Fei.
When they arrived and went in together, they saw several young eunuchs running over in a panic. When they inquired, they found that a palace maid had been hanged in the bedroom of Ruizhuyuan where Wang Changzai lived. When Wang Changzai entered the door, he saw a person hanging there.
I fainted from fright.
If you want to know more about this matter, the concubines have already gathered in front of the Queen Mother. There are many maids and eunuchs who have committed suicide in the palace. There are various reasons, most of which are just being bullied or abused. What are the rules?
If nothing is found, they usually leave it alone. Everyone was frightened and did not think too much, but when the news came from Ruizhuyuan, it was said that the palace maid was originally an errand in Wuyizhai and was someone in front of the prince. The queen mother immediately changed.
Lan Qi was also stunned by her expression.
The messenger was quickly taken down by the nun beside the Queen Mother to speak. The Queen Mother coughed lightly, and the concubines became quiet one after another. They heard the Queen Mother, who was rarely majestic and solemn, saying solemnly: "Things in the garden are not the same as those in the palace."
It's the same thing as anything else. It can't be told to the outside world, let alone private suspicions and gossips. The Ai family doesn't want to hear anyone talking about this matter in the garden. Otherwise, once you enter the gate of Changchun Garden, you will never be able to leave in this life. "
It is rare for a kind person to show off his power, and he is very calming. The women stood up one after another, knelt down and said yes, and Lan Qi followed suit. They all dispersed, leaving her alone in front of the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother softened her face at this moment,
She worriedly said to Lan Qi: "Isn't everything well prepared before entering the garden? How could something like this happen? How could this palace maid, who works in Wuyizhai, go to Ruizhuyuan to hang herself?"
Lan Qi quickly reassured: "Don't worry, this matter involves the prince, so it's not our responsibility to take care of it. I think the emperor will have some ideas, and I will take good care of the people in the garden and prevent them from spreading rumors everywhere.
I heard that the rules of Wuyizhai are the same as those of Yuqing Palace. I'm afraid nothing will be revealed about what happens next. The most important thing is that the prince is well."
The Queen Mother was very uneasy and told Lan Qi: "My brothers are all scattered around the lake. We must send someone to take good care of them so that nothing more goes wrong. The emperor is the same. He didn't let them come here before, but now he doesn't let them live with my mother."
This place is not as separated as the high walls in the palace, and they are all older. Haven't there been scandals between the eldest brother and some palace maid who was easy to agree to? Now the third elder brother and the fourth elder brother are not young anymore, so you should pay attention."
After listening to the Queen Mother's words, Lan Qi felt something was wrong in her heart. It wasn't until the emperor came to Ruijingxuan two days later in the evening that he didn't say a word from the moment he walked in until he sat down.
I heard Xuan Ye say: "That palace maid who died was pregnant."
She was suddenly startled, and suddenly understood what she was worried about in Ningchun Hall that day. Could it be that the child in the palace maid's belly belonged to the prince?