Holding the Piano in the Red Chamber

The Empress Dowager's illness dragged on for more than a month, and the imperial physician said twice that she was critically ill, but no matter how prepared she was for this kind of thing, it was still unbearable on the day it actually happened.

The imperial doctor came out and shook his head, the hand holding the handkerchief holding Qin tightened, and the other hand holding Shulan also exerted strength, and Shulan did the same, only felt a little pain after grabbing it.

The imperial physician stood beside Ruicheng and said something in a low voice.Ruicheng shook his head first, then pursed his lips, and nodded in agreement.Not long after, another bowl of hot soup and medicine went in, and the queen mother woke up.

Ruicheng hurriedly followed the imperial physician in, and not long after, all the eunuchs, court ladies and imperial physicians in the queen mother's room came out.Ruicheng and the queen mother stayed in the room and said something, and then Ruicheng cried out heartbreakingly: "Mother queen!"

Ruicheng's relationship with the queen mother is much deeper than that with the first emperor, but after three days of vigil, he lost a lot of weight.The same goes for all the concubines in the harem, no matter whether their relationship with the queen mother is real or fake, all of them have red eyes and tears.

The same is true for Baoqin. When the late Emperor died earlier, she sighed with emotion, saying that the funeral was for the living, but when the people who are closely related to her go, the sadness in her heart cannot be concealed. .

When the first emperor died, the coffin stayed in the palace for seven days. The Ministry of Rites was hindered by this precedent, so the empress dowager's coffin could only stay in the palace for seven days. During these seven days, she had to burn incense and kowtow every day. , the child is also strong, so there is no big trouble.

When Baoqin was pregnant earlier, he was afraid of dystocia, so he strictly controlled his diet. The child is now five or six months old, and the belly is not obvious. There is Yunrong, a Huiyan sent by Shulan, and the emperor The eunuch Xiao Hongzi in the palace followed, and when he saw something was wrong, he advised her to go to rest, but told her own Rongxi and others to relax.

However, Sister Yunrong's condition was not very good, and she shed tears when her hands were free. According to the little maid who followed her, she sat on the bed in a daze without sleeping all night.Baoqin was a little overwhelmed, because the son of Liu Guiren in the palace was carried out and kowtowed once, and he had a fever when he came back. She still had one in her belly, and she thought about waiting for the empress dowager's coffin to be transported to the ice palace. The matter was put aside.

Seven days passed in a blink of an eye.When sending the coffin out of the palace, except for the two princes who were ranked third and fourth and stayed in the palace because they were not yet a year old, all the rest of the masters, plus Sister Yunrong, followed to the Ice Palace.

The empress dowager's coffin was parked in the Ice Palace, and the mourners lived in the surrounding courtyards in twos and threes. Because they were not in the palace, there were not so many rules. Several concubines lived in the same courtyard, and there were not so many people serving them. Yes, the queen brought four court ladies, and the rest only brought two.

Shulan is a serious daughter-in-law, she was the one who kept watch the night before, and brought hot tea over with her qin in her arms, and burned paper and incense before the Empress Dowager before she came back.

From the mourning hall to the courtyard where they lived, there was a small path, with eunuchs standing inside and guards guarding the outside.Baoqin followed the two maids halfway, and saw Liang Dafu as the guard not far in front.

Liang Dafu winked at her, then turned his head back.Well, the wink was received, but why?Baoqin has some doubts in his heart.

But when she got back to the house, she understood. There was a little eunuch standing in the house. Seeing her, he bowed to her and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty has granted your family's request. He is on the way right now. It's here." This is the eunuch from the Ice Palace, who has never seen many masters, a little obsequious, he didn't care about holding the piano, and asked Rong Xi to fetch the silver and give it to him.

family?Only her mother and two brothers are left in her family. One of the two brothers has just met, and the other, even if he is a real brother, cannot be seen in his own room at night, so... is it Mrs. Zhao who came?

Baoqin felt that her heartbeat was a little unstable, and her palms were still numb. I don't know how long it had passed, but before her heartbeat was stable, she heard someone coming in at the door, and the curtain was lifted. The figure under the dim candlelight clenched his palm while holding the piano.

She took a breath, deliberately suppressed her voice, and said: "Rongxi, you two go pour tea." This meant to push people away, and the two maids said yes, and went out with their heads down.

There was no one in the room, Baoqin rushed into Zhao's arms immediately, "Mom!"

Mrs. Zhao wiped away her tears with a smile, and said, "Our family is considered a respectable family, it's time to learn to call you Madam."

Baoqin hummed, but didn't say a word.

Mrs. Zhao pulled him to the chair, and the two of them sat down and put their hands on Baoqin's stomach, "Why are you so small? I heard that Xiaobao is almost six months old."

Holding Zhao's hand, Baoqin said, "I'm afraid it won't be easy when I get older."

Mrs. Zhao looked her daughter up and down again, and said, "Finally she has gained some weight." The worry in her heart eased a little.The mother and daughter haven't seen each other for two or three years, but now they don't know what to say, holding hands together, you look at me and I look at you, just sitting quietly like this.

Mrs. Zhao wiped away her tears again, and said: "You are still raising people in the palace, and your face looks rosier than before." She gave birth to three in her life, and she can see her two sons almost every day. All my heart was on her.At home, I often hear Xiaobao say that everything is fine for my sister in the palace, and Dafu often sends back news when she goes to the gate of the Qianqing Palace. Why did I eat sweet cakes today, and tomorrow there will be egg-flavored cakes every day? In short very happy.

Although I have never lived in the palace, but referring to my previous life in Jia's mansion, those who can deliver things from the inner door are all dignified people.

"It's so easy to meet each other." Zhao sighed.

Baoqin wiped his tears, handed over the handkerchief, and said, "I can invite you into the palace when I get back to the palace."

Mrs. Zhao happily agreed, but then sighed again, and said, "Oh, your brother is already 23, and he is still..."

"There's no other way to do this." Baoqin said in relief, "No marriage is allowed in the whole world."

After saying a few words, I heard noisy voices outside.Ordinarily it shouldn't be, Baoqin thought about it, and said: "Mom sit down first, it doesn't matter if you don't go out in my room, I'll go and have a look and come back."

Going out now, okay, something serious happened, and Sister Yunrong committed suicide by bumping into the pillar in front of the Empress Dowager.Not caring too much at the moment, Rong Xi and An Jie rushed to the mourning hall with Baoqin in hand.

Sister Yunrong's head was covered in blood, and she spread on the ground, her chest heaving slightly.The little eunuch on the side was frightened, and knelt on the ground trembling.Shulan was so angry that she walked back and forth in the room, "I'm going to change my clothes! This kind of thing can happen in just a cup of tea, and you don't even want your heads! Where is the imperial physician! Why hasn't the imperial physician come yet?"

Baoqin hurriedly went up to hold Shulan and said, "Don't be angry, wait until the imperial doctor has come to see you."

Shulan just sat down, and felt uneasy again, and she felt better when she dropped the cup.Aunt Yunrong is the most powerful nanny around the empress dowager. The empress dowager has only been there for a few days. Although there is a saying in ancient times that loyal servants were buried with her, the emperor did not intend to do this. Adopting a son is good for old age.

Not long after, the imperial doctor came over, hesitantly took the pulse, and said cautiously: "The neck is fine, why don't you move the person to the bed first." Yun Rong lived in the room holding the piano, and waited until the bleeding stopped and then went to the hospital. After wrapping her head, the imperial doctor said again: "This nanny probably didn't eat much before and didn't have a good rest, so she didn't have much strength, but she is already very weak, and now she has lost so much blood, I'm afraid it's not too bad. It's good."

Crack was another cup, this time it wasn't Shulan who dropped it, but Rui Cheng who rushed over after hearing the news. The imperial physician trembled in fright when the cup exploded in front of him. Do your best."

Because there will be a memorial ceremony tomorrow, the emperor and the empress can't stay longer. After watching Yun Rong's half-entry and half-exit method and being given half a bowl of medicine, they felt a little relieved and both left.

Before leaving, he confessed to Baoqin: "You should also go to bed earlier, there is still one in your stomach."

Baoqin lives in a room with a width of three rooms, the hall is in the middle, and her bedroom is on the left. Because of the busyness and people outside, Mrs. Zhao has not found a chance to leave, and on the right are two maids. Sister Yunrong's room is a bit cramped.But at night, there is a vigil in her room, so she can still live there.

When everyone dispersed, only one of them was left in the room to watch Yun Rong, and went back to his own room holding the piano, saying to Mrs. Zhao: "The empress dowager's mother has bumped into a pillar." He rubbed himself a little With a sore neck, she said: "This Yunrong mother looks like my mother. I was shocked when I saw it for the first time, and I wanted to ask if it was my lost aunt."

Mrs. Zhao went up to help Baoqin and tapped her neck. She didn't know what she thought of, and replied: "Is there really someone who looks so similar in this world?"

There is no one in the room now, and the maid who is looking after Yunrong has an errand, so Baoqin just found some excuse and sent her away. Mrs. Zhao went in and saw that the two looked alike, even she wanted to I wonder if this is my long-lost sister.No, my sisters don't look like this either.

However, within a quarter of an hour after entering, Sister Yunrong started to twitch. She was taken aback by Baoqin, before calling someone to come in, Sister Yunrong jumped up high, and then spread out on the bed again .

Mrs. Zhao stepped forward to touch it cautiously, shook her head and said, "I'm out of breath."

Baoqin turned around and was about to go out to call for someone, but Mrs. Zhao hurriedly pulled him back, looked at Yun Rong on the bed, then looked at Baoqin, and said: "If I take your mother's place and enter the palace as a nurse, Can anyone see it."

Baoqin was shocked, and grabbed the troublemaker's hand with his backhand, shaking his head hastily.

"Listen to me." Zhao said: "You have a child now, and I don't worry about you. The queen mother took care of you earlier, but now that the queen mother is gone, you have a child in your stomach. If you give birth to a prince, the queen will treat you It probably won't be so sweet."

Speaking of this, Mrs. Zhao paused, Baoqin wanted to refute, saying that the queen is not that kind of person, three princes have been born in the palace, and she hasn't seen much.

However, Mrs. Zhao spoke quickly, took a breath and said again: "There will be another draft soon, newcomers have entered the palace, you have lost the favor of the Empress Dowager, and men like the new and dislike the old, how can you live alone. If she is still here," Zhao pointed to Yun Rong on the bed, "at least she is the queen mother's old servant, and she has the problem of bumping into a pillar, so she won't be able to stand being wronged in the future." After finishing speaking, Zhao stepped forward to pull her Sister Yunrong's clothes are gone.

"It's not right, it's not right. It's too risky!" Baoqin stepped forward to pull it, and said, "He's such a big living person, how can he just disappear if he doesn't see him?"

Mrs. Zhao said again: "You see, no one has come for me since I was in your house. It can be seen that the management here is not strict. I didn't have a waist card when I came in. I think no one has discovered it now. It's just a foreigner. It's just tight and loose..." Zhao's mind was spinning quickly, and all kinds of information that Xiaobao said earlier were integrated in her head, and she continued: "The empress dowager's coffin will stay here for a month, but the emperor and empress will stay here for three months. I will leave in one day, and things will be much easier when the two of them leave. At that time, Xiaobao will pull her body, cover her head with a cloak, and stuff her into his carriage. Now that the weather is cold, who can tell? !"