love palace

Kneeling outside the tent for half an hour, her knees were stiff and her calves were cramped, as if she had been hit by a board, but Wei Qing gritted her teeth and dared not say the word "pain".

"Good chess! Coup!"

From time to time behind the curtain came the prince chatting and laughing with other teenagers, Wei Qing was heartbroken, hating himself for being illiterate, after a while, the teenagers all passed the examination and left.

After another half an hour, Wei Qing stood up supporting the mud floor. It was already a quarter of noon, and it was time to serve the crown prince.

Wei Qing tidied up her attire without daring to be negligent, washed her hands, and then went into the prince's tent. Just as she was about to pay her respects, an eunuch came in to announce that Prince Ke Xian of Prince Ke's mansion had arrived, bringing two of his wives with him.

No need to think about it, she knew that the female relatives were the concubine and princess. Seeing this, Wei Qing hurriedly wanted to sneak out, so as not to run into the prince's family and be found out.

But the crown prince stopped him, "You stay."

"But I, no, the younger one is going to prepare lunch."

"Some of them are done by servants, just serve me." Huang Ye glanced at him and said authentically.

"Yes..." Wei Qing had no choice but to stay behind, bowing his head and standing behind Huang Ye.After a while, Lord Ke came in, followed by two mothers and daughters who looked like they were carved out of a mold.

"I see His Highness the Crown Prince! I wish Your Highness good luck and good health!"

Lord Ke is Huang Ye's uncle in terms of seniority, but his status is far inferior. He knelt down and kowtowed.

The concubine and the princess also saluted together. They were dressed in gorgeous palace gowns that reached the floor, golden phoenix hairpins on their heads, and jewels on their fingers.

"Uncle and aunt, please sit down, we are a family, why are you so formal?" Huang Ye said with a smile.

I have heard that the current Crown Prince Huang Ye is an iceberg, unsmiling, cold and hard, now that he is receiving such courtesy, Ke Xian is of course very happy. After bowing to thank him for the gift, he sat down on the brocade pier brought by the boy servant .

But when he sat down, he took a few glances at the boy servant. The boy was born with delicate features, pink face and red lips, very cute, but he always felt very familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere?

But if he had seen it, it would only be in the troupe he often went to, but he had never seen such a straight-faced one?Maybe it's my own overthinking.

Princess Shuolan put all her heart and soul into the prince. She is a younger generation and the prince's cousin. According to the palace rules, she naturally had to stand, but she was very happy. She was afraid that Huang Ye would not see her, so she deliberately stood up. Straight and straight, with his head raised and his chest held high, a pair of round and beautiful eyes glanced around from time to time, secretly flirting.

Huang Ye invited the prince, concubine, and cousin Shuo Lan to enjoy Longquan tea and imperial cakes together. Shuo Lan bowed and said delicately, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your hospitality."

After some usual greetings, Huang Ye picked up the topic, "To be honest, I have something to ask my uncle for help."

"Your Highness, please do not hesitate to order if you have anything to do. The old minister will definitely go through fire and water, and he will not hesitate!" Prince Ke said so, but he was wondering in his heart. He just met the prince. Is there anything I can do to help?Could it be that he, like his father-in-law Zhao Guowei, wants to buy a few BMWs from the Suzaku River Valley?

"Uncle, I'm not afraid of making fun of you. I haven't been in Suzaku River Valley for many days, but I already have someone in my heart..."

Hearing what the prince said, Shuo Lan's eyes widened, and a blush appeared on her plump cheeks, my God!Such a bold and explicit statement, isn't it only said when proposing marriage?

Even Lord Ke was very surprised, thinking that maybe the little girl had already gotten along with the prince when she was having a banquet last time?

The concubine couldn't stop looking at the prince and then at the princess, it was obvious at a glance that she was overjoyed.

"Since the prince has something to belong to, why don't you just say it directly?" The princess couldn't wait any longer, and urged, "Your uncle and I will never object."

"Mother Concubine!" Shuo Lan said angrily.

"What you say for your mother is the truth, you don't need to be afraid of being ugly." The princess smiled and took the princess's hand lovingly.

"This is an unfeeling request, you really don't need to think about it?" Huang Ye still asked.

"Of course I agree, one hundred people agree!" The princess said loudly, the prince also nodded frequently, and Princess Shuolan bowed her head shyly, which was regarded as acquiescing.

"In that case, Wei Qing, come here and kneel down." Huang Ye suddenly turned his head and said to the boy servant behind him.

"Ah?" Wei Qing was taken aback for a moment, but he was also shocked when he saw that the prince and the prince's family were so close that they seemed to be getting married.

"The prince, concubine, and princess have already agreed, so you just kneel down, give them three kowtows, and then serve tea." Huang Ye said with a smile.

"What, what does this mean?" Prince Ke was dumbfounded, didn't he propose marriage to Shuo Lan?Why did a servant suddenly appear to offer tea?

"The candidate in my heart is him." Huang Ye no longer concealed, calmly said, "Although the weight weighs a thousand gold, Wei Qing is young, but he is very smart and won my heart. I want to bring him into the Gong, educate him well, and he will surely become a great weapon in the future."

"Wei, Wei Qing?!"

Prince Ke didn't understand which play this was singing at first, but when he heard Wei Qing's name and looked closely at the boy servant's face, he couldn't help but exclaimed, "My stable boy?"

"What kind of decent is this?!" Although the princess couldn't remember who Wei Qing was, she understood when the prince shouted, and immediately shook her head and said, "How can a lowly stable boy accompany the prince? It is an insult to the dignity of the royal family! Please think again, the prince!"

"It is precisely because of the incompatibility of identities that I have to ask my uncle and aunt to agree to accept Wei Qing as my adopted son. In the name of the prince's son, I can enter the palace with me."

Huang Ye's words were like a thunderclap on the ground, causing everyone's expressions to stiffen, and asked the palace to accept a stable boy as the heir, and if they wanted to spread the word, they would not laugh at him!

"This is absolutely impossible!" Prince Ke first objected. He thought about adopting Wei Qing as his adopted son, but that was before he became a stable boy. Now Wei Qing's status is low, and he recognizes him as an adopted son. Wouldn't it damage the ancestral tablet of the palace? .

"Your Highness! Aren't you embarrassing the slave family? Let me recognize this lowly slave as my younger brother? How can there be such a reason in the world?" Shuo Lan stomped her feet heavily annoyed.How had she ever been humiliated like this, it was nothing more than a marriage proposal, but she even recognized a lowly slave as her younger brother!

"His Royal Highness..." Wei Qing was even more at a loss, facing the insults from the prince's family, his face flushed red.

Princess Ke was also very angry and wanted to stop her, but when she turned her head, she thought of one thing.According to Shuo Lan's current age, it would take two years at the earliest to enter the palace, so it would be a good thing if an internal response was placed in the palace first.

Although Wei Qing is a vulgar boy servant, he looks like a human being when he grooms and cleans up like this. If the people in the palace don't tell him, who would know that he used to be a stable boy?

Moreover, he has no father, no mother, and no one to rely on. Even with the support of the prince, he would not dare to offend Ke Wangfu. This time, he sold him such a big favor and adopted him as a foster son. Wouldn't he just let the Wangfu use him in the future?

Although Princess Ke was very angry that this little servant could please the prince, and Shuo Lan had to stay in the mansion to wait, but now it seems that recognizing Wei Qing as an adopted son is "a man who knows the current affairs is a hero", Something that had to be compromised.

Even if they don't recognize it, there are other palaces waiting in line, which one is not eager to give everything to please the prince!

When everyone was at a stalemate and Huang Ye watched the situation quietly, Princess Ke slapped her knees and said briskly, "Okay! I will recognize this son!"

"Ma'am, this is...!"

"Mother Concubine!" Shuo Lan's eyes turned red with anger!

"Hey, Lan'er, as a princess, you can't be so petty. Even the countrymen know that a promise is worth a thousand dollars. Since our palace has promised His Highness to help this favor, we must do it! Besides, it's a good thing. Don't you always Do you want a son? Now that it has been sent to you, why don’t you recognize it?”

"Since that's the case, according to the prince's wishes..." Prince Ke saw that the princess had something to say, and lost his eyes frequently, so he agreed against his will.

"Thank you, Uncle and Aunt, for making it happen." Huang Ye cupped his hands and said.

"Wei Qing, you have to remember the kindness of adoption today, how our Prince Ke's mansion treated you, the heavens can learn from you! You can't be ungrateful in the future!" Although Princess Ke said to Wei Qing with deep words, but these The words were obviously addressed to the prince.

"Your Majesty..." Wei Qing still couldn't believe that the aloof Prince Ke's Mansion would agree to adopt him.

"It's rare that the princess is willing to adopt you. Come on, get some tea in. From now on, you must honor your adoptive father, mother, and your sister." Huang Ye personally picked up a cup of tea and handed it to Wei Qing.

"From now on, your surname will be Ke, and your name will be Ke Weiqing." Huang Ye said solemnly, "The eldest son of King Ke's mansion, my personal servant... is no longer that horse who is called around and ordered like nothing. Tong, you have to keep your identity in mind and don’t make mistakes!”

"I obey!" Wei Qing knelt down with a plop, took the teacup, a little trembling, but held the tea with great respect, and greeted Lord Ke and his wife.

The prince and concubine took the teacup and took a symbolic sip, and the matter was considered settled.

"I will never recognize this lowly slave as my younger brother!"

No matter what purpose her parents had for agreeing with Wei Qing, Shuo Lan clutched the champagne in her hand, and secretly swore in her heart that she would hate him for the rest of her life!

※※※

After Ke Weiqing became the prince's attendant, Prime Minister Li was a little unhappy, because Zhao Guowei suddenly had such a "grandson", which obviously increased his power greatly, and it was simply picked up for nothing!

Huang Ye didn't let him suffer. He appointed four literary attendants, all from Prime Minister Li's camp, and three martial arts attendants, including Wei Qing, a total of eight people, no one offended.

The emperor was very satisfied with Huang Ye's practice of appointing people on their merits without asking where they came from, but he was still skeptical about Ke Weiqing's background. How could there be so many child prodigies in the world, and he had to be adopted by Prince Ke's mansion?

But now that the crown prince has already made his decision, the emperor naturally doesn't say much, and the harvest festival is going to be prepared right now, so Concubine Yun should be well suppressed.

However, when the emperor and concubine Yun were enjoying the beauty of the river and the splendor of singing and dancing on the giant dragon boat, there were two officials rushing to report important matters to the emperor and the prince with a small boat.

"Your Majesty! There is an urgent report from the palace! Concubine Ping is suffering from a chronic illness and has passed away!"

"What?!" Huang Ye stood up abruptly, his face pale!

The emperor was startled at first, and the jade cup in his hand shattered on the deck, then he clenched his fists again and assumed a calm posture.

It seems that Zhao Guowei has already settled the matter, but he didn't expect the reply to be so sudden and blatant!

If Huang Ye became suspicious, how should he deal with it?Although Chunyu Wen didn't love that Concubine Ping, he was very happy with his son, so he naturally didn't want him to harbor hatred towards him.

"...!" Ke Weiqing stood behind Huang Ye, his lips parted silently.It was only in the morning that Qing Yun mentioned that the crown prince's mother, Concubine Ping, was a beautiful woman with great talent and beauty, but it was a pity that she was not favored by the emperor and stayed alone in the Qing palace for many years.

Ke Weiqing was very emotional at that time, as both concubines in the harem, there was Concubine Yun who was loved and praised to the sky, and Empress Ping who was left out in the cold.

Qing Yun smiled and said, the emperor is like this, seemingly affectionate but ruthless...

Ke Weiqing still wanted to pay a good visit to the prince's mother after entering the palace, but he didn't expect it to be like this!Empress Ping passed away suddenly, how could this embarrass the prince?

Huang Ye stood there in a daze, he had never seen him so lost in spirit, even if the eldest prince's assassins attacked him, he would not change his face, and would not be afraid in the face of danger!

In Ke Weiqing's eyes, this expression of forbearance and grief is even more distressing!

But Concubine Yun, all the ministers of civil and military affairs, and the servants of the inner eunuch were all shocked, they looked at each other in blank dismay, not knowing how to react?If something happened to the empress, they would be choked with tears, alas!Who doesn't know that the emperor's two favorite women are the empress and concubine Yun.

But Concubine Ping is just a princess of subjugation who came here with her relatives. If it wasn't for her outstanding appearance, she might have been forgotten by others.I want to say that she is really beautiful, and her son just became the prince. She left before returning to the palace, which makes people sigh.

In this moment of silence, only the sound of the river's turbulence can be heard, but it is so heavy that people can't breathe.

"Father, forgive me for not being able to accompany you. I want to return to the imperial city quickly to take care of my mother's funeral." Huang Ye neither shed tears nor angrily scolded the quack doctor in the harem, he bowed calmly and said.

"Let's talk about it tomorrow." The emperor said in a deep voice, "This news is really like a bolt from the blue, and I have no fun. Now that the position of the crown prince has been confirmed, I should return to the court..."

"Long live my emperor!" All the courtiers knelt down one after another, "I implore your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, to take care of the dragon's body."

"Sister Ping...!" Concubine Yun burst into tears. Since it was a funeral, she naturally wanted to cry. The eunuchs and maids also bowed their heads, sobbing, unable to stop for a while.

Chunyu Wen got up with a flick of his sleeves and strode away from the deck. No one could see his expression clearly. This autumn ceremony of fighting for the reserve came to an end with the wailing of Concubine Ping's death.

※※※

Concubine Ping's death was like an autumn leaf falling into a pond, without causing many ripples.

After the emperor returned to the palace, he only ordered a generous burial for the prince to guard the mourning hall, but he did not grant the Spring and Autumn Festival. This kind of courtesy is only available to the empress in the palace.

If it weren't for Huang Ye's status as the prince now, I believe there would only be a few people who came to express their condolences.

Ke Weiqing and the other seven newly selected civil and military guards, all dressed in hemp and mourning, sat kneeling on both sides of the coffin, surrounded by plain white curtains and elegiac couplets sent by princes and nobles.There are two rows of monks sitting in front of the altar and chanting scriptures. The fireworks in the incense burner make the atmosphere in the room linger for a long time.

Ke Weiqing looked at the prince's side face through the blue strands of tobacco. He lost his beloved mother. His eyes were extremely painful, but he always felt that there was more anger in his eyes.

Could it be that he blamed himself for not being able to wait in front of the couch for the death of his mother and concubine?

Ke Weiqing couldn't guess the prince's mind, the imperial city is really too big, with many buildings and dense palaces, there is a feeling of endlessness.And the prince's heart is deeper and wider than this city, so he can only admire His Highness and silently stand by his side.

However, Emperor Wen's idea is well known to all passers-by. The one who died was just a concubine who was thrown into the cold palace. The emperor did not appear in the mourning hall.

Not only that, he also rowed a boat in the middle of the lake in the Imperial Garden with Empress Sun and Concubine Yun, and tasted fresh lotus root.

In the words of Emperor Wen, although the death of a concubine is sad, he must put the country and the country as the most important thing, how can he have the appearance of a woman crying, and he must pay attention to etiquette in everything.

And compared to Concubine Ping's funeral, Emperor Wen cared more about the crown prince's canonization ceremony. He asked the astrologer several times to choose an auspicious day, and he also wanted to pardon the world so that the whole country would rejoice.

And the day chosen by the astrologer happened to be the same day as Concubine Ping's entry into the Emperor's Mausoleum, that is to say, Huang Ye couldn't sprinkle a cup of soil for his mother himself.

He just learned this news, which obviously hurt the prince more than anything else. After the inner eunuch read out the imperial edict, he has never made a sound.

After today's wake is over, the prince has to leave the mourning hall, and he has to take a bath and fast to welcome the canonization ceremony.

Ke Weiqing has only been in the palace for only five days, and he has already experienced what is called "royal etiquette". No matter how heartbroken he is, he must strictly abide by the rules of the palace. Unpredictable, unpredictable.

While Ke Weiqing was staring at the prince raptly, Huang Ye was thinking about Emperor Wen. As the saying goes, the love between father and son is as deep as blood is thicker than water, but in the emperor's house, this is just a bond to maintain the imperial power.

Did the concubine mother really die of a typhoid as the imperial physician said?It was so strange that the mother and concubine who had always been healthy and healthy died suddenly in her sleep without leaving a word.

And did the father not come to offer incense because he cared about the country and the country, or did he have a guilty conscience and dared not come?

How nasty all this was, Huang Ye knew very well that his mother and concubine died so peacefully without any resistance, obviously for the sake of fulfilling his position as the crown prince.

Should this revenge be reported?The one who killed the mother was the father... The ethics of the world have long been messed up in the palace. No wonder the world says that there are no fathers and sons in the emperor's house, and there are only winners and losers!

However, the people of the Li people knew that the husband and wife were kind for a hundred days, but the father of the king of the country was so indifferent and hypocritical, which made Huang Ye see one thing more clearly, that is - in this magnificent palace, there is no "love" talkable.

Only the power in your hands is real and will not be lost.Only by ascending the throne in the future and unifying the ten kingdoms can the mother and concubine smile at Jiuquan.

"Mother, here, my son can only say goodbye...!"

The prince's expression was so hurt, so painful, and so determined, Ke Weiqing was greatly shocked, and became more determined to guard the prince.

It's just that he never dreamed that many years later, the prince would also look at him with this expression, no, more sad, angry and resentful eyes than this, a leader of a rebellious party who will never be restored...!

※※※

Once winter is over, spring will come.In the palace garden, there is a touch of green among the plants and trees, but the weather is still very cold.

"Hurry up! Send the incense burners to the empresses of the palaces!"

"Over there, sprinkle some water and clean up the aisle!"

As soon as the dawn broke, the Tai Hospital was busy. Ke Weiqing was wearing a light green cloth robe, black cotton boots on his feet, and a white ribbon around his waist. He looked like a small medical officer, but he was still an apprentice, and all the dirty work I have to do all the hard work.

After cleaning the corridor, Ke Weiqing collected all the medical books on several cases and arranged them back on the bookshelf according to their titles. Then he washed all the teapots and pottery cups used by the imperial physicians, poured good tea, and waited for the imperial physicians to drink.

Then, according to the prescription given by the imperial physician, he will take and decoct the medicine for the harem lady who needs medicine. Twenty small stoves can't be extinguished, and they can't be too hot. They have to be boiled slowly with warm fire. , is a very labor-intensive job.

While guarding these medicine cups, Ke Weiqing had to recite the homework given by his master Guozixue.Ever since he could write his name with a brush, Ke Weiqing has been fascinated by reading. Even though the other young masters are out of school, he still crawls on the desk, writing stroke by stroke, writing very seriously, even Huang Ye standing on the window lattice Outside, looking at him, I don't know.

The more words he knows, the more things he can do, but compared to the other civil and military attendants, Ke Weiqing is far behind.

First of all, he is the youngest, only ten years old, and the other attendants are all sixteen or seventeen years old.They understand poetry and martial arts, and they are all the sons of courtiers. They have a certain influence. Whatever the prince orders, they can do it quickly.

But Ke Weiqing learned from the beginning, and the rules in the palace are stricter than those in the palace, such as walking quietly, not whispering, not winking, and not looking around!

You can laugh when you encounter happy things, but you can't laugh out loud, that's a bad rule.If you encounter unhappy things, you have to laugh, even if it's just a forced smile, you must win the favor of the masters.

From walking, eating, talking, kneeling, and even sleeping, there is a set of rules. Although Ke Weiqing can endure hardships, he doesn't know much about the rules.

Seeing the butterflies in the courtyard, I ran a few steps faster to chase after them. I was completely childish. The eunuch in charge saw him. No matter where he was, he would be a punishment if he was caught!

Calculating in this way, Ke Weiqing was beaten more times than in King Ke's mansion.

But the prince didn't feel sorry for this petite and lovely guard. Seeing that he was always taken to the imperial hospital for treatment, and he couldn't come back for three or five days, he simply "loaned" him to the imperial hospital as an apprentice. All the old imperial doctors liked Ke Weiqing very much.

Ke Weiqing was heartbroken, instead of reassuring the prince, he was "released" instead, which also attracted the ridicule of other attendants.It is not wrong that he is the eldest son of Prince Ke's mansion, but he is an adopted son after all, and his origin is unknown, so in the palace, he was not treated like a little prince, but was made things difficult for him everywhere.

Even Qing Yun felt that Ke Weiqing was very pitiful when he saw it, and came to him to chat and joke with him from time to time, but when the prince knew about it, he asked Qing Yun if he was living too leisurely?So he was sent to train the city gate guards.

Without Qing Yun's visit, Ke Weiqing was alone in the imperial hospital. Although the imperial physicians felt that he was young and should be taken care of, but studying medicine is no different than others. If he made a mistake, he would be killed. Then you will have to copy and chop all the families, implicating the nine clans!

Who dares to neglect easily?Therefore, Ke Weiqing's education is also very strict. If he catches the wrong herbal medicine, he will be hit on the palm of his hand.

Ke Weiqing often stayed in the decoction shop all night, muttering "Xin Wen Jie Biao's herbs are ephedra, cinnamon twig, perilla..." while leaning against the wall to fall asleep.

Therefore, there is always a strong smell of medicine on his body. When he goes to the school, he will inevitably be ridiculed and bullied by the young masters, his new clothes will be scratched, and the stool will be covered with mud. Going to school, he is very satisfied if he can recite poems and books like the prince.

Ke Weiqing still hopes that when he turns 11 next year, he will be able to enter the Baiwu Hall to learn arts. He is a personal servant, how can he succeed if he doesn't know martial arts?

But before that, he had to run between Tai Hospital and Guozi School, and he had no free time.

But the more he couldn't go to the Prince's Palace, the more Ke Weiqing missed His Royal Highness, but he was afraid of seeing him, and always felt that every time he saw His Royal Highness, it was when the chief eunuch complained, which made him very ashamed...

"Wei Qing, take these yams out to dry in the sun. The weather is fine today." A doctor Yang with silvery white hair and a goatee pointed to the white medicinal herbs placed by the wall.

"Yes."

Dioscorea, commonly known as yam, nourishes but does not stagnate, neither hot nor dry. It is a medicinal material that nourishes the temper and benefits the stomach yin.When the emperor was getting old, the imperial physician often used yam as a supplement and added it to the thousand-year-old ginseng soup to nourish the emperor. It is said that it has the miraculous effect of prolonging life. No wonder the emperor is always so happy, without any signs of aging.

Ke Weiqing took the dustpan and came to an open space not far from the Tai Hospital to dry medicines. There were all kinds of bamboo baskets, big and small, all of which were other medicinal materials he dried out.

At this moment, there was a commotion in the front corridor, and the ladies and sisters said, "Quick, look carefully, it should fall near here."

"Yes!"

"This is the kite bestowed by the Holy Majesty. If you can't find it, Lady Yun will be annoyed." A group of maidservants in pink dresses ran over in a panic.

"Hey, have you seen a kite? There is a picture of Chang'e on it, sprinkled with gold powder, and a bright moon." Maybe it was the maidservants who favored Concubine Yun, and they spoke arrogantly.

"I didn't see it." Ke Weiqing replied truthfully.

"There are so many medicinal materials here, maybe they will fall into them, come on, you go and look through them quickly." A palace maid greeted, ignoring Ke Weiqing's obstruction, she insisted on messing up the plates and baskets of medicinal materials a mess.

"Miss Qiaoer, no."

"Then let's go, look ahead." Without even a word of apology, the group of court ladies hurried away again.

"Alas..." Looking at the mess and the trampled yams, Ke Weiqing knew that he was going to be punished again, but what made him feel more distressed was the medicines, which were said to be collected by woodcutters in the mountains.

"Um?"

Just as Ke Weiqing lowered his head to collect the herbs, he suddenly felt something and turned around suddenly, but almost bumped into someone.

This person was already standing behind him, his movements were silent, he was as powerful as a cat.

The man was also taken aback, perhaps because he didn't expect Ke Weiqing to notice him, and the two of them just stared at each other, standing together with the toes of their shoes touching.

"Who is he?" Ke Weiqing thought blankly, and the other party also stared blankly. For a while, there was no sound...