An Lingrong's Rebirth: The Lock of Qingqiu

In Jingren Palace, the empress came back from her visit to the south to patrol floods. She hadn't seen her for a few days. The thick rouge couldn't cover her haggard face. The circles under her usually energetic eyes were a little dark, and she didn't seem to have slept well.

Jiang Fuhai, the eunuch in charge next to the Empress, also had a heavy face, and Jianqiu, the eunuch's aunt, didn't even have a smile. The concubines and concubines in the harem filed in one after another. They were all infected by the atmosphere of the scene and said goodbye to the Empress. After the blessing, they sat down in order of priority, and there was silence. The only sound was the footsteps of Huichun serving tea to everyone.

The Queen looked around, gently placed the tea cup in her hand on the coffee table, and said: "Concubine Hua has not arrived yet, so we will wait for a while. Let's all have a sip of hot tea first."

After a cup of tea, Concubine Hua was still not seen at the palace gate.

The queen looked unhappy.

She frowned slightly and said, "Then let's not wait for Concubine Hua. Let's talk about the disaster in the south first!"

An Lingrong raised his head and listened carefully. The Queen said: "This autumn is destined to be an eventful one. First, Duan Feng, Governor of Liangjiang, and Li Yunlong, Governor of Anhui, reported to the palace that the rainfall in August and September this year was more than usual. It more than doubled. There were 26 days of rain in August and only four days of sunshine. August and September happened to be the autumn harvest season. However, flash floods at this time submerged countless fertile fields in the rivers and seas, causing natural disasters. Man-made disasters are impossible to prevent.”

All the concubines sighed and felt sorry!

The Queen said: "The disaster is very serious. I and the Emperor went on a disaster patrol this time and saw that countless people's houses were submerged by floods, countless property losses, people and livestock were soaked in the water, and there were countless casualties. The Emperor was anxious at night. They had no sleep, no food, no harvest, no shelter, no food. When natural disasters strike, people are very vulnerable. I was there at the scene and felt a deep sense of powerlessness."

The queen's eyes were red and she was on the verge of tears. Concubine Jing, Concubine Duan, Concubine Qi and other old concubines were extremely moved when they heard this and wiped their eyes with handkerchiefs.

At this time, An Lingrong heard chaotic footsteps coming from the palace gate. Concubine Hua came with Songzhi. She sat down on her own, opened the tea provided by Huichun and smelled it. He put it down again and said, "Hey, I'm late. The Queen is fine."

The queen's words were interrupted. She turned her head and said, "My sister is late. There must be some happy event in the palace that delayed the time. Let's try the Tieguanyin tea brewed by Huichun first."

The Queen picked up the tea and took a sip, intoxicated by the aroma of the tea. Concubine Hua opened the tea lid and smelled it again and again. She was not in a hurry to drink it and said quietly: "Queen, is this the old Guanyin tea from last year? Queen, right?" Why haven't you finished drinking it yet? In my concubine's palace, the emperor has rewarded me with several new batches of Tieguanyin, which is more fragrant than this one. I will ask Songzhi to bring a few boxes to the queen some other day."

The queen's face changed slightly after hearing this, Jianqiu's chest rose and fell, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

The Queen pondered for a moment and said: "I think this tea will get more fragrant the longer it is kept. I like to drink old tea."

Then, the queen quickly changed the topic and asked: "Where were we talking just now?"

Concubine Qi said: "Back to the queen, I just mentioned the disaster in the south. People are powerless to recover when faced with disasters. This natural disaster and man-made disaster have caused disaster to the people."

The queen said: "Yes, after this disaster happened, the people were scattered everywhere, and they were worried about food and clothing. So, after the natural disaster passed..."

Concubine Hua said: "After a natural disaster, it is naturally a man-made disaster. If people don't have food or clothing, they will rob them. If the imperial government hadn't provided timely relief, these barbarians would have already targeted the surrounding shops before they could wait for supplies. , started the robbery, but fortunately the relief was timely."

Queen: "Concubine Hua is very thoughtful and works hard. She is thinking about everything inside and outside the palace. No wonder the emperor likes my sister so much." Although the queen is in the chief position, she is wearing a green long palace dress and a golden one. The headdress was very heavy, weighing her head down. It was dazzling against the purple palace dress with autumn cut next to her.

Concubine Hua raised her brows and looked a little happier, but she didn't appreciate it. She pushed her crimson palace dress forward and touched the nails of the other hand with one hand. There were long armors on them. , the clothes are suspicious of overshadowing the guest, and the aura is overwhelming. Cao Gui and Songzhi are both dressed in pink palace clothes, one on the left and one on the right like two bodyguards guarding Concubine Hua. This aura comes out immediately. .

The arrogance in Concubine Hua's eyes grew even stronger: "How can I, my concubine, be as free as the empress? There are so many things in the harem, I can't rest for a moment. I am in charge of the Sixth Palace. The affairs are complicated and I can't be divided between them. I heard this from my brother, who is in charge of food and grass. Fortunately, as soon as the disaster happened, he ordered people to send supplies to the disaster area. As long as they were delivered to the disaster area a little while later, the shops there were robbed. It was still a disaster. It’s more troublesome and less comfortable.”

The queen's expression changed again and again. As we all know, Longko was from the Queen Mother, and besides Chun Yuan Zhu Rouze, the Queen Mother's cousins ​​also included the current Queen Zhu Yixiu.

Concubine Hua's brother Nian Gengyao was the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi. After the death of Emperor Kangxi, he and the infantry commander Longkodo helped the current emperor Xuan Ling ascend the throne. For this reason, the two made great contributions and became the emperor's right-hand man.

Longkodo was awarded the title of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and supervised the vassal administration, while Nian Gengyao was the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Wherever troops were dispatched and generals were deployed, food and salaries were used, all had to be handled by Nian Gengyao.

The ministers in the palace were also divided into two groups, one group moved closer to Longkodo, and the other group moved closer to Nian Gengyao.

The queen stopped and said to Jianqiu: "Jianqiu, ask Huichun to bring out the lotus seed heart-nourishing soup from the palace for everyone to try. Give Concubine Hua an extra half a bowl. My sister has been working hard these days."

Everyone was drinking. After the noble man, An Lingrong took a sip. It tasted delicious and had a refreshing fragrance in his mouth.

Seeing that everyone was eating deliciously, Concubine Hua looked at the bowl of lotus seed soup in front of her, frowned slightly and said: "I'm sorry, I'm not working hard. I'm not used to the taste, so I'd better give it to Songzhi!" "

Songzhi carefully and expectantly picked up the bowl in front of Concubine Hua. Concubine Hua glanced at her with sharp eyes. Songzhi was so frightened that her hands trembled. The soup bowl fell from her hands and hit the ground with a clang. The fragments flew away together with the soup residue, and just happened to fly to Xia Ruchun and Shen Meizhuang who were sitting next to each other.

Concubine Hua said angrily: "You are a worthless servant who smashes every soup bowl on the ground. You have also smashed the Queen's good intentions."

The queen smiled calmly and said: "Don't be angry, sister. Jianqiu, call Fuzi out, and let her follow her to her sister's palace from now on, and learn how to serve her sister with Songzhi. Fuzi has been with me for many years. Yes, I still have some experience in waiting for people."

Concubine Hua was angry and said nothing. Shen Meizhuang quickly wiped the hem of his clothes with a handkerchief and did not dare to make a sound.

Xia Ruchun had not hit a hard nail since she entered the palace. She stood up without a sound, fluttered her dress with both hands, and said, "I just bought my dress. Oh, my heart aches. This dress is very expensive."