"I just wanted to see what they were thinking on a whim. Don't tell others, do you think I can have sex with Concubine Yi and Concubine Hui if I summon her?" Xuan Ye smiled lazily and replied nonchalantly, "
I wondered at that time how you would be jealous if you knew about it. Although I was worried about you, I also found it interesting."
"This is not interesting." Lan Qi said softly. She had other things on her mind and did not say anything. She just said, "Don't tease me next time. We are not young anymore."
"You always talk about your age, that's why you get upset easily." Xuan Ye smiled, took Lan Qi's hand, held it in his arms like a treasure, but looked like he was about to fall asleep, murmuring, "That's fine.
, you care about me as a person, I'm afraid that the further you go, the more people around you will care about me, and they won't even know what it is."
Lan Qi's heart trembled when she heard this, but she didn't say anything. The person in her arms was sleeping peacefully. Today, he was no longer meeting the ministers, as if a burden had been lifted off his body. He thought he was just taking a short nap, but he fell into a deep sleep without waking up. But wait
When he suddenly woke up, he almost jumped up and asked: "Is your body going numb?"
But Lan Qi got away long ago and placed him in a soft pillow and thin blanket. The emperor was deeply sleepy, and everyone quietly waited for him to wash up. Then he was pushed down again, and Lan Qi sat next to him, coaxing him like a child.
He tried to comfort him and spoke softly. Xuan Ye responded one after another, and fell asleep again without realizing it. He was extremely tired and at ease.
When Lan Qi walked out of the Nuan Pavilion, it was already dark. Huanchun and others hurriedly dressed her in cloaks and cloaks, and stuffed the warm hand stove into the master's arms. A warm sedan had been prepared outside the gate of Qianqing Palace, but everyone could not even breathe.
He didn't dare to speak for fear of waking up the sleeping emperor.
Only after Eunuch Liang sent Lan Qi to the door did he finally dare to say: "Thanks to your Majesty, Master Long Live has finally rested. He has worked day and night these days, and the slave is still taking turns to rest better than the master. I think
I feel so ashamed just thinking about it.”
Lan Qi was wrapped up tightly, and it was inevitable that she felt too hot. She handed the stove to Huan Chun and slightly untied the collar on her chest to breathe. When Manager Liang said this, her heart felt even more relaxed. After all, she was still worried that Xuan Ye had forgotten
herself, but for more than twenty years, she has always known that she can be more important than anyone else, but she cannot be compared with the government. Even if Xuan Ye may choose her at the critical moment, she cannot take herself more seriously than the government.
Eunuch Liang said again: "I shouldn't talk too much, but I haven't seen my queen come to clean the palace for a while, and I feel really anxious. I beg your queen to give me more love, please come and take a look when you have time."
Lan Qi smiled and said, "Mr. Liang needs to have a good rest. The emperor can't live without you. The emperor said he wants to eat the dishes cooked by Huan Chun. I will come here often in the past few days. Tomorrow, you can ask the emperor and tell him the time when the ministers will have an audience.
Me, don’t ask me to bump into each other and embarrass each other.”
Manager Liang agreed one by one, but Lan Qi did not sit in the sedan and walked back with Huan Chun. She heard that her sister had left the palace long ago. She raised her eyes to look at the sparse starry sky and sighed: "It's a good thing she pushed me here today."
, I know the emperor’s intention.”
Huan Chun followed closely and asked with a smile: "Master, I feel a little happier now. I'm afraid no one can make you happy more than the Emperor."
Lan Qi shook her head: "I'm afraid you'll think I'm pretentious and difficult to serve. Only I can understand the feeling. Anyway, I believe what he said. As for what she is like, just let it happen. Ying'er said it well, tell me
What does it matter? If I think too much, it will only make others think that I am nosy, narrow-minded and artificial."
Huan Chun was confused as he heard the words "he" and "she", and couldn't tell who was talking about. But seeing the smile on his master's face, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He also heard that the emperor wanted to eat the food she cooked, so he went with his empress. Discuss what should be done.
After Laba, for three or four days in a row, Huan Chun followed his master in and out of the Qianqing Palace. The emperor's royal meals were distributed to the harem every day, but the emperor himself ate ordinary side dishes, but his spirit was better than the previous days. Much better. When he finally had time to pay his respects to the Queen Mother, the old man also smiled and said, "Sure enough, it would be better for Lan Qi to serve you."
The emperor discussed with the Empress Dowager several major events for the next year. One was to consecrate the ninth and ten elder brothers. The second was to serve the Empress Dowager on her southern tour. The third was to seal the Six Palaces after the southern tour.
It was not difficult for my brother Fu Jin to be enthroned in the Sixth Palace, but it was a southern tour. The Queen Mother hesitated. The old lady was able to return to her hometown during this eastern tour. She is still talking about it. But the only thing she is not happy about is that her precious granddaughter Wen Xian cannot accompany her. Although I was interested in the southern tour, I was undecided when I thought that Wen Xian could not accompany him.
Xuan Ye asked the Queen Mother to give him an accurate letter before New Year's Eve, and Lan Qi knew the emperor's determination to go on this southern tour. Naturally, it was not just to honor her, but to go with the Queen Mother. There was another meaning to traveling with the Queen Mother. Xuan Ye never did it easily. Since it was a waste of money and people, he privately persuaded the Queen Mother to agree to the southern tour. Wen Xian also said that if Wen Xian knew that he had hindered the Queen Mother's footsteps, he would feel inferior and ashamed.
The Queen Mother said: "Then let's decide on the child's marriage. Once this matter is settled, I will feel at ease."
After Lan Qi conveyed the Queen Mother's words to Xuan Ye, in the first month of the year, under the imperial edict, the Ninth Elder Brother and the Ten Elder Brother were selected to build a palace in Fujin. The fifth princess was married to Shun Anyan, the uncle's palace. After returning from the southern tour, she arranged for the prince and princess. marriage.
There was a happy event in Yikun Palace and Yonghe Palace. People inside and outside the palace came to congratulate them. It was just the right time to welcome the guests in the first month of the year. It was very lively for a while. On the other hand, preparations were made for the emperor's southern tour. Everyone was busy inside the Forbidden City. A scene of prosperity.
Lan Qi was so busy all day that she didn't know what day it was. That day, the Queen Mother summoned her to Ningshou Palace. An old princess came into the palace to say hello and asked her to come and talk to her. Lan Qi had just met the royal family's wife in Yonghe Palace, dressed in luxurious and bright clothes. Jifu, hugging the cloak, hurriedly walked to Ningshou Palace.
On the way, they met two soft sedans. Knowing that it was Concubine De, they hurriedly stopped the sedan. The eunuchs and palace ladies gathered around the people in the sedan. When Lan Qi saw that it was Tong Guowei and his wife, she couldn't help but let Huanchun and others go to meet them. When they arrived, he said even more politely: "Why don't my uncle and his wife get out of the sedan chair? Just send a servant to tell them. The ground is covered with snow and thin ice. You two should be careful when walking."
Mrs. Tong is getting old. After the death of Queen Xiaoyi, she was depressed and rarely went to the palace. Lan Qi couldn't remember the last time she saw her. At this moment, seeing the old man with gray hair in vain, her heart felt heavy, and Tong When the lady saw the graceful and noble Empress Dowager De, she thought that her daughter would be like this if she were still alive. She was also filled with sadness. She just kept her etiquette and propriety and held on to her death.
In contrast, Tong Guowei was in good spirits and looked very good. In Lan Qi's opinion, this was always a good thing. The queen certainly didn't want her parents and family to be too sad for her. After a few polite words were exchanged, Lan Qi asked Huan Chun to help her. Mrs. Tong got on the sedan chair, and the old couple entered the palace to greet the Queen Mother and thank her. The grandson of the family was going to marry the princess as her consort. At the time of the imperial edict, Mrs. Tong was not feeling well and could not enter the palace. Today she is in better spirits. , Tong Guowei brought her in.
Lan Qi watched Mrs. Tong sit back in the sedan chair, and was about to invite Tong Guowei to sit in the sedan chair as well, but he smiled and said, "Can I go with you, your Majesty?"
"You..." Lan Qi wanted to refuse, but she saw that Tong Guowei's deep eyes were full of intention to talk to her, and Tong Guowei was already a gray-haired old man and the father-in-law of the country, so there was no need to be too avoidant. The two walked side by side, and Huan Chun, under the hint of his master, gradually led the palace maid and eunuch away.
When Tong Guowei saw this scene, he said, "Your Majesty, you are really smart and smart."
Listening to his elder's tone, Lan Qi simply said humbly: "Where do you start with these words?"
Tong Guowei couldn't help but praise a few words, but the conversation suddenly changed and he asked Concubine De quietly: "In the twelfth lunar month, the empress often serves Wansui. I heard that the empress also knows in great detail when and what time the ministers will be seen in the Palace of Qianqing."
Lan Qi's brows trembled slightly. It was obvious that the meaning behind her words was to accuse her of being involved in government affairs. She tried to calm down and said: "The emperor has a bad spleen and stomach, so I have to take good care of him. I know that when it comes to Qianqing Palace, I don't want to be with him." Adults meet head-on."
"Yes, your Majesty, be careful." Tong Guowei bowed and said, but when he raised his head again, his face seemed to be full of calculations and he said seriously, "My Majesty, you must know that in the eyes of others, your behavior is not that simple."
Lan Qi's heart sank. She tried to calm down and asked, "What do you mean, uncle Guo, is that I am too showy and have lost the sense of propriety as a concubine?"
Tong Guowei actually asked straight to the point: "Does your Majesty know about Queen Xiaoyi's legacy?"
Lan Qi avoided his eyes and whispered: "The queen has a last wish?"
The two of them didn't talk for a while, but they both understood what they were talking about. Lan Qi's avoidance was not because she didn't want to be honest with Tong Guowei, but because she couldn't express these words with her mouth. How could Tong Guowei not be considerate of Concubine De because he was so scheming? Of course, he no longer asked aggressively about the difficulties, but smiled and said: "I have no big things to do in this life. I just want to fulfill the queen's long-cherished wish. I hope that Concubine De can help me and make many things come true."
Lan Qi's eyes were far away at the end of the road, and she seemed to say absentmindedly: "Let everything happen, and you can't force it."
Tong Guowei didn't take it seriously, but continued: "I would also like to ask the empress to take a closer look at the form of the harem and the court, and take a closer look at the civil and military talents of my brothers. The harems of the previous dynasties are all inextricably linked. Yours Your words and deeds will affect or even determine many things, so please think twice."
Lan Qi no longer avoided suspicion and asked directly: "In Uncle Guo's eyes, what things should I not do?"
Tong Guowei's deep eyes flashed with awe-inspiring arrogance. He looked at Concubine De with a cold smile, and struck into her heart word by word: "Your Majesty, you should no longer consider yourself a beloved concubine. You should no longer let the world think that you are a beloved concubine. The emperor cannot live without you and cannot live without Yonghe Palace. In contrast, Changchun Palace, Yikun Palace, and Jingyang Palace are the models you should imitate."
"Imitate them?" Lan Qi was puzzled.
Tong Guowei said: "In the eyes of the world, they can't see your broad and tolerant mind, they can only see your unparalleled honor."