On March 15th, as the morning drums on the palace gate beat, the gates of the squares were also opened. The shouts of hawkers at the gates filled every corner of the street. The steaming boilers and the tempting aroma of breakfasts gave this city
The majestic and majestic city adds a touch of human fireworks.
Yang and Qingrong were sitting on the carriage going to Lingbao Temple. Yang asked Qingrong, "What did you want to ask for when you went to the temple today?"
Qingrong said: "I want to seek peace for my family."
Mrs. Yang understood, and she praised softly: "My brothers and sisters are really caring. Are there any other sisters and brothers in your family?"
Qingrong nodded, and when she talked about Si Niang, her eyes were soft, "I have a biological sister. Although she is smart and sensible, she doesn't make people worry about her on weekdays."
Seeing her like this, Yang knew that the relationship between their sisters must be good. She cast an envious look and said, "You and your sister must have a very good relationship, which is really enviable."
"But I still envy my sister-in-law to have a brother. When I was a child, I also hoped that my mother-in-law would give me a brother. It shows that my sister-in-law is more lucky."
The two talked about their families and chatted all the way. When they mentioned their families, Yang's eyebrows were curved, and she seemed to have gained energy and confidence, which was very different from Qing Rong's usual impression of her.
When they arrived at Lingbao Temple, they went to burn incense and worship Buddha together.
Yang remembered that her mother had also prayed for peace here in the past, and she said to Qingrong: "My mother-in-law has said that you can pray for peace in this temple, which is very effective. In the past, when my grandfather went to war, she would come to ask for this. I
Grandpa comes back safely every time."
When Qingrong heard what she said, she also believed it. Then she followed her to the side hall. She knelt in front of the Buddha, closed her eyes, and said silently in her heart: "Blessed by Bodhisattva, I hope that Siniang and Sister Yu will be well in the palace.
Peace and peace.”
Mrs. Yang stepped forward to help her and said, "Come on, write down the birth dates of your family members, put them into a blessing bag together with these copper coins, and then enshrine them in front of the Buddha."
Qingrong did everything she asked, and after these things were done, the two of them planned to return home.
Qingrong said: "Sister-in-law is very familiar with this? Did you come here often?"
Ms. Yang smiled and nodded, a little embarrassed, "I used to come here often when I was still married, but in recent years the number of visitors has gradually decreased."
While the two were talking, Yang glanced forward casually and found someone looking at them. She whispered to Qingrong: "There is a monk dressed as a mage who seems to be looking at us."
As soon as she said this, Qingrong quickly realized that she should be talking about Kongji. She turned around and found that it was indeed him. He was looking at her with a polite and gentle smile and saluted her.
Qingrong returned the greeting, "Long time no see. Master, I'm fine."
Several months had passed since she came back to the temple. But just a few months, it seemed like a world away. Kong Ji didn't expect to see her again. She was already married.
He looked at her womanly bun and felt a little uncontrollable loss in his heart. He didn't dare to think deeply. Kong Ji's face was as usual and he said calmly: "Thank you, long time no see. Madam Lu has got married. This poor monk...should give me
Mrs. Lu congratulates you."
Yang said: "You and this mage actually know each other?"
Qingrong smiled, "Yes." She said to Kong Ji, "Then I would like to thank Master."
She still had the same expression as before, polite and distant, with neither sorrow nor joy, which made Kongji feel relieved, at least indicating that she should be living a satisfactory life now.
Yang was watching the two people talking. She knew very well that the way the mage saw Qingrong was anything but simple, so she began to speculate about the relationship between the two.
Because she was with Yang, Qingrong didn't say much to Kong Ji. The two of them just exchanged a few polite words, and then she left with Yang.
Kongji greeted each other with a courtesy. After she left, he couldn't help but feel lonely in his heart. He didn't know when she would come again? Will he be able to see her again?
On the way out of the temple, Yang also had some suspicions in her mind, and her eyes on Qingrong were a little more complicated.
Yang suddenly said: "Brother and sister, are you in a hurry to go back?"
Qingrong shook her head.
"I remembered that I haven't been here for a while. Can you accompany me for a walk somewhere else?"
Qing Rong had nothing else to do, so he agreed.
The two of them walked side by side, and Yang asked: "Brother and sister, do you seem to have a close relationship with the Master?"
Qingrong was shocked when she heard this. She looked at Yang with a confused look, "Sister-in-law, what does this mean?"
Seeing her like this, Yang probably knew that she must not know, but she was still shy to speak about this kind of thing. She blushed and said: "I look at that mage, the way he looks at you is particularly different, maybe he..."
Qingrong noticed this for the first time, but even so, she felt no emotion in her heart, but her face still changed, "Sister-in-law, the Master is a monk, how can you say such nonsense?"
"I know, but I always worry when I see you and you don't know."
Worried? Qingrong was confused. She thought that Yang would notice something strange and be overly concerned about her relationship with the mage, wondering whether she was innocent or not.
But I heard Yang say: "Master is a Buddhist, how could he be involved with a secular woman? I know that you act openly and don't know about it, but I'm afraid that others have intentions. If this Master is confused for a moment, it will harm you."
How good is your reputation? What if others have the intention to use it to slander you?"
Qingrong was also stunned. She looked at Yang's somewhat worried expression and said it would be a lie to say that she was not moved. She did not expect that Yang would choose to believe in herself. She smiled sincerely, "I understand.
I understand my sister-in-law's kindness, and you reminded me of it with good intentions."
Seeing that she understood, Mrs. Yang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Although the teachers have a high status outside and are respected by others, it is all because they abide by the precepts and have a clean reputation. We have learned from the past, no matter whether you have done this or not, you will always suffer.
She is a woman, and if others want to scold her, she is also a woman. It is a taboo for a monk to be moved by his thoughts. I am afraid that he will act carelessly and harm you. It would be best if you understand what I mean."
Finally, she whispered: "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else."
Qingrong nodded and said warmly: "I understand what my sister-in-law means. Thank you very much for reminding me."
Seeing that she was so sincere, Yang felt a little embarrassed, "Just don't blame me for talking too much."
Qingrong shook her head, "How could it be? How could I be so ignorant when my sister-in-law treats me like this? My sister-in-law is a sincere person, I understand." Qingrong paused and said, "It's just that I don't understand why my sister-in-law believes in me like this.
Woolen cloth?"
Yang stopped, she slowly shook her head, and said softly: "I don't know, but I always feel that I can trust you. Maybe this is the so-called sympathy?"
Qingrong looked at the soft, willow-like, quiet and beautiful woman in front of her, and was speechless for a moment. She smiled, saluted her, and said, "Qingrong, thank you sister-in-law."
After the two came back from the Buddhist temple, their relationship seemed to be even closer. Yang now went to talk to Qingrong every now and then to relieve his boredom, and Qingrong was more sincere than before.
Qingrong asked Mrs. Wei and mentioned that she wanted to go to the palace to meet the queen. Mrs. Wei said that she was interested and agreed to take her to the palace to pay her respects.
Finally, when the day came for Mrs. Wei to enter the palace, Qingrong felt more nervous than before, perhaps because her status was different now and her fourth mother was still in the palace. When she arrived at the Xuanzheng Hall, Ms. Song was at the door of the palace.
Upon greeting her, she saluted Mrs. Wei, then turned to Qingrong and smiled kindly, "I've met Mrs. Lu."
Mrs. Wei entered the palace first, and Qingrong consciously waited for the summons. Unexpectedly, the female official Song said: "Your Highness, let Madam Lu come in with you." Qingrong agreed, heaving a sigh of relief in his heart, and followed them into the palace.
After the palace maid opened the curtain, the queen, whom she had not seen for many days, appeared. The queen's eyes were still bright, and under the warm fragrance, they looked even brighter. The queen smiled and waved to Qingrong, "
Why don't you come forward? Let me take a look at this bride."
Qingrong walked forward with a smile, saluted the queen, and then sat down on a stool nearby. The queen looked at her a few times and said with a smile, "I haven't seen her for several months. This married person really looks different."
."
Mrs. Wei joked: "You have sharp eyes, what can't you see?"
It's getting warmer now, and people aren't as bloated as they were in winter. Qingrong was wearing a lotus-colored skirt with flowing cloud patterns today, and the jewelry on her head wasn't too complicated, except that she had two more hairpins than usual.
Qingrong smiled sheepishly, "His Highness, you are joking. Qingrong has a loose temper and can dress simply."
Mrs. Wei said: "Although you don't like dressing up, you still have good taste."
The queen smiled and said: "Wearing clothes is used for decoration, to cover the body, and to express oneself. It is not decided based on preference alone. In the future, you will inevitably have to socialize with officials and wives, so you still need to pay more attention to it.
"
Qingrong thought thoughtfully and nodded in response: "What His Highness said is that Qingrong has taken note of it, but he will not dare to treat it casually in the future."
Mrs. Wei didn't take it seriously. She teased: "You have so many rules. You can't just act according to your own preferences, and you can't dress yourself. Then you won't be able to feel comfortable in everything."
The Queen shook her head and smiled: "You think everyone is like Sister?"
Qingrong also smiled, thought for a while, and said: "If you want to ride on the crown, you must ride on its weight. I guess this is the truth."
The Queen raised her eyebrows slightly and nodded approvingly. She looked at Qingrong with a sigh on her face, "When you enter the palace, you have to go to the Concubine Xian, right?"
Qingrong said cautiously: "Yes."
The queen nodded, "It's time to go and have a look. You must also know about her, so you can try to persuade her. This matter... was unexpected by no one. You must be very worried when you think about it outside the palace."
?”
Qingrong sighed softly, and when Mrs. Wei saw this, she said: "Well, this is also human nature. Let alone a good concubine, if there is something wrong with the Ying Niang in the palace, my mother and I will have to worry about it every day at home."
The queen nodded, looked at Qingrong with a pair of phoenix eyes, and said with a chuckle: "Isn't that right? The palace and the outside are self-contained, how can a few people be alone?"
Qingrong's heart sank, her expression remained unchanged, and she said thoughtfully: "Your Highness is absolutely right."
The queen smiled and said, "Yes, if the people in the palace are safe, the family members outside the palace will also be safe. And vice versa." She then said to Qingrong: "In that case, I will keep you soon. You
It's better to go earlier and come back later to see Mrs. Wei out of the palace."
Qingrong responded repeatedly, bowed and left.
Qingrong followed the maids from Zhengyi Palace to the direction of Xianning Palace. As she walked on the road, her heart became heavy. The maids from Xianning Palace didn't know that she had entered the palace today, but the maid guarding the gate still remembered Qingrong's appearance and saw her.
When he came, he rushed in and passed the news.
Not long after, a familiar voice came from inside, "Sister!" When Siniang saw Qingrong's figure at the door of the palace, she couldn't wait for a moment. She held up her skirt with both hands and ran towards Qingrong, only to hear
Ah Xi reminded from behind: "Siniang, be careful!"
When Qingrong saw Siniang, she wiped away the solemn look on her face and greeted her with a smile. She opened her arms, and Siniang rushed towards her arms. She smiled helplessly and said, "Be careful."
Siniang sniffed and said, "Sister, I'm here."
"Well, I'm here to see you. You've lost weight. You must have been working very hard recently." She took Siniang's hand and said, "I've also heard about Concubine Xian. Please tell me carefully. What exactly is this?
what happened?"
Concubine Xian had a miscarriage, which hurt her body, and she cried all day long. The fourth mother always tried to persuade her, and now she is getting better. But this time, both of them lost a lot of weight.
Mentioning this, Si Niang shook her head and said: "The imperial doctor said that it was a fetal arrest without warning. This is Concubine Xian's first child. It is not easy to conceive the first child and the month is not very old. She should have paid special attention to it, especially in the past few days.
The fetus was moved again, and Xian Fei’s foundation was also weak, so... she couldn’t keep her.”