Aunt Sumala gave Lan Qi a few words of enlightenment. Sure enough, it was because everything was so ambiguous at the moment that she was always guessing at Xuan Ye's thoughts. Otherwise, she would have made it clear to the emperor, which would have saved her a lot of worries.
As for why the emperor kept these children, according to Yinzhen, he saw things he shouldn't have seen. But in the past, Xuan Ye took the initiative to send Yinzhen to Yuqing Palace to let him see clearly.
At that time, Xuan Ye told her that he wanted his son to know that the prince was nothing special. Lan Qi thought that maybe this time, the emperor also wanted these children to know that the prince was nothing special. And had the eighth prince encountered anything?
She doesn't care anymore.
After taking off the burden from her heart, she couldn't help but smile. When grandma saw her smiling like this, she also smiled and said: "There are no traces of time on my face. When you smiled just now, I seem to have seen Wu Changzai from the past."
Lan Qi's cheeks were slightly red and she blamed her grandma: "You are teasing me like this too. My grandchildren can walk and talk now. I am almost forty. I will bring Nian Tong to see you another day."
Mammy sighed: "Your Majesty, you are going to be forty years old?"
Lan Qi nodded and smiled: "I often forget my age. When I suddenly think about it, my heart trembles. When I was in my twenties, I was very worried about what I would be like when I reached this age. But when I finally arrived, I realized that everything had gone as it should.
As expected, it is unnecessary to worry, and it is important to live a good life in front of you."
Mammy said distressedly: "Your Majesty is over 40 years old, should the Ministry of Internal Affairs stop the brand?"
"I have already made an agreement with the Emperor that we will stop the brand after the age of forty. At that time, Concubine Rong and the concubines will also stop. Although they have not served the Emperor for several years, they will always keep them as a thought.
But he is the earliest person beside the emperor." Lan Qi finally showed some reluctance and smiled faintly, "Although I don't want to let go. Time flies, but think about it that I accompanied the emperor safely for more than 20 years. God has already appreciated it very much. People should be content.
That’s good, don’t you think so, mama?”
Mammy nodded and said, "My queen is always content and happy."
Lan Qi smiled: "I just thought that one day someone might get sick, and he would have to leave the emperor. If there are people who come after him who can be happy, the emperor can be comforted in the future. I don't know what will happen tomorrow.
There are so many things to worry about, it’s best if you can survive until then.”
"The empress cannot live without her. The emperor lost Queen Hesheli a few years ago. She was still young at that time and had a hard time getting ahead. There were many things in the court waiting for him to challenge, and the emperor and the queen mother were here, so
No matter how painful it is, you can get through it." Mammy hurriedly shook Lan Qi's hand and said, "But now, if you leave suddenly, I can guarantee that the emperor will not recover. The Aixinjueluo family are all idiots, Taizong
The late Emperor has gone with Concubine Chen, and the late Emperor has gone with Concubine Dong E. You cannot leave the Emperor behind, but you promised the master."
Lan Qi felt nervous and nodded with a smile: "Yes, I'm afraid that if I leave first, the Empress Dowager will beat me back."
The days after that were almost the most leisurely months of Lan Qi's life. She had nothing to do every day. She received news from the grassland every few days and knew that the emperor, the queen mother, and the children were all well, so she felt relieved. Her son and
The daughter-in-law would come to the palace to see her from time to time. She was a quiet person, but the daughters were at a lively age and could not stand being bored in the palace for more than ten days. Yuxi invited her several times, and she finally agreed to let Wen Xian
Wen Chen went to the fourth brother's house to play again. Since he didn't leave secretly, Bafujin also enthusiastically invited the sisters to have a gathering at the house after learning about it. Even the fourteenth brother was clamoring to go to the eighth brother's house to visit.
, Lan Qi agreed one by one.
In addition, they brought their younger sister Lan Yingxuan into the palace to keep them company. The two sisters got up and slept together as if they were girls at home. The days passed in the blink of an eye, and they did not live like years because they missed the emperor. Unknowingly, autumn turned to winter.
Come, in November, news comes from the grassland that the Holy Master has set off to return to Beijing.
That day Lan Ying came home. Because of the snow in the morning, her sister sent a sedan to pick her up in front of the palace gate. She wandered all the way into the palace. When she inadvertently raised the curtain, a group of people were passing by the fork in the road. She went to the fork in the road.
Looking around, she saw a woman in gorgeous clothes and four or five palace maids and eunuchs, talking to someone. The sedan passed by, but she didn't see it clearly. When she arrived at Yonghe Palace, she muttered a few words with her sister, and Lan Qi asked
Huan Chun went to ask the people below and found out that the woman was the Crown Princess, but who the Crown Princess was talking to was not seen clearly by everyone who was passing by.
At this moment, in the Yuqing Palace, two Chou Fujin and several concubines were kneeling in front of the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess had just returned from outside in a hurry. As soon as she entered the door, she didn't have time to take off her cloak and snow hat, so she ordered to call Chou Fujin and the others.
In the snowy weather, they were made to kneel on the cold floor tiles outside the door, while she stood inside the door, warming herself by the fire, scolding them with an imposing manner: "It was Wen Fujin who made the prince disappear today, but I said, if this happens again,
, you all have to sit and be punished. If you want to blame it, blame Wen Fujin for not taking good care of the prince. Please reflect on it during these two hours."
The Crown Princess was deeply favored by the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and she had long been in charge of the Yuqing Palace. In the past, Xiang Fujin had extravagantly hoped to manipulate the little Crown Princess, but after several years of competition, he had long since been defeated, even with such humiliation and embarrassment.
They didn't dare to resist and talk back. Originally, they could still count on the prince to help them, but now they can no longer count on it.
After leaving these women behind, the Crown Princess took off her cloak. The palace maid who was close to her whispered that the Crown Prince had rested. Walking into the inner hall, she saw Yin Reng leaning on the heated bed with a blanket, and the eunuch's robe hung on a chair on one side.
, the Crown Princess looked like blood was coming out of her eyes, and she gritted her teeth and ordered the people around her: "Take it and burn it."
The palace maid tremblingly picked up the clothes and ran away in a flash. The prince sat on the edge of the Kang. Yin Reng opened his eyes slightly and said lazily: "It's a waste to burn a good robe."
The Crown Princess tried her best to smile: "Don't let others see you as familiar. It's better to do less than to do more."
"They are all the same." The prince sneered.
"Yinreng..." The princess couldn't bear it anymore, tears burst into her eyes, "Didn't you promise me that you would never do that again?"
Yinreng smiled miserably, turned around and pushed open the window. The cold wind poured in, making the princess shiver uncontrollably, but Yinreng said: "What if you let them kneel outside and freeze to death?"
The Crown Princess responded: "Of course there will be someone new to serve you." As she climbed up and closed the window heavily, she held her husband's hand who was also cold with her cold hands, looked at him with her eyes fixed and asked, "What's going on?
, what happened to make you so frustrated that you want to vent like this?"
Yinreng raised his hand and gently stroked his wife's cheek. He knew his wife's thoughts and affection for him. Maybe there was only one person in the world who treated him wholeheartedly, but he couldn't give her anything.
The princess burst into tears: "Yinreng, what's wrong with you?"
He said weakly: "Huang Ama dismissed my zhezi again, saying that I didn't understand the river work at all and came up with random ideas. You know, every time I write a zhezi, my hands will shake and I don't know what to do next.
What kind of reprimand was he given when he was sent back? Do you know? He would not say a good word about anything I did regarding government affairs, even if I stayed up for days and nights, looked up ancient and modern information, and summoned ministers for questioning.
, no matter how good the idea is, he probably won’t take it seriously. In Huang Ama’s eyes, I’m still a child...it’s ridiculous, right?”
The Crown Princess knows her husband's hard work, but she doesn't think that the Prince can give up on himself because of this. Only by doing better can he be recognized by the emperor. But every time her husband is frustrated, he will use various strange ways to vent his inner feelings. Dissatisfied, underneath the seemingly twisted and ferocious appearance, there was just a fragile and helpless heart. She also didn't understand why the prince, who was the most powerful among the people, lived in such a miserable state.
"It will get better. If it doesn't work this time, there will be a next time. The emperor will affirm you one day. Yinreng, don't be discouraged. I will be behind you no matter what." The princess hugged her husband and hugged her tightly. He said, "Don't do that kind of thing again. Let Huang Ama know that you can't humiliate him, it will only make him hate you more. Promise me, even if you beat me and scold me to vent your anger, don't do that kind of thing again." .”
Yinreng's eyes were like dead water, and he sneered: "He is coming back..."
A few days later, as the Holy Emperor was getting closer and closer, Lan Qi's leisurely days finally came to an end. She had to instruct people to take care of everything in the palace, and even went to Ningshou Palace to arrange everything. The Queen Mother had not been here for several months, and she was afraid that the palace maids and eunuchs would Too lazy to clean, the Queen Mother cannot see even a speck of dust when she comes back, and the same goes for the Qianqing Palace.
The holy driver walked slowly, and someone had come back first. Before the emperor and his concubines returned to the palace, bit by bit what happened on the way had been spread in the palace. Surprisingly, there was no news that the emperor had a new favorite. , it seemed that the people who always served him were Migui people, Yuan promised and Min Chang were among them. The only new thing was probably that the emperor visited a few accompanying maids and brought them back later to raise them as official ladies. In the palace, if you want to become the new favorite, I'm afraid it won't be possible.
On this day, noble Juechan came to Yonghe Palace to pick up things. Lan Qi asked her if the house where Min Chang was in was tidied up. While the two were talking, Chen Changzai from Zhongcui Palace was also ordered to pick up things. Lan Qi saw him after returning to the palace. I've passed her twice, but I haven't seen her much since it's winter. I saw her again today and saw how thin she was. I couldn't help but look at each other with the noble Jue Chan, but neither of them said a word.
After Chen Changzai left, he sent someone to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to inquire, and it turned out that she was short-changed.
Jue Chan said: "Chen Changzai is smart. She may not have clothes to keep out the cold. But if she wears thin clothes and stands in front of you, you won't ignore her. Now she has lost favor, and Empress Duan is no longer in the palace. , it is inevitable to be bullied.”
Lan Qi smiled leisurely: "She is indeed smart, I thought it was you who taught her."
Jue Chan shook his head and said nonchalantly: "After that incident, I had no contact with her anymore, and I didn't know that she had been bullied. She probably figured it out. Although she didn't fight, she didn't want to live in abjection. .”