Empress dowager, the queen sighed

How can a person live for thousands of years? He is neither a monster nor a god. Pei Yao didn't believe it. She looked at the porcelain-like skin of the Empress Dowager, pressed her tongue against her teeth, and suppressed her trembling.

The empress dowager's expression remained the same, her eyes were calm, and she didn't have much emotion when she looked at Pei Yao. She withdrew her hand, looked outside, and said calmly: "There is indeed a medicine for longevity. The national teacher has lived for more than a hundred years. , we have been fighting in secret all these years. Pei Yao, the national teacher said that you are a phoenix fate and a witch who will bring disaster to the country, that's because of Pei Sui."

Pei Yao bit the candy, her remaining rationality made her try to stay awake, her whole body tensed into a string, not daring to relax at all, her tears fell down one by one.

The empress dowager frowned, why did she cry so easily?

Pei Yao worked hard to calm her emotions, and handed the candy to the Empress Dowager, "Do you want to eat candy?"

"Don't eat." The empress dowager smiled a little, she hadn't changed over the years, she wanted to avoid things, she didn't want to face them squarely.

Pei Yao's tears slid down her lips and down her neck, stained with undue sadness, she put the candy back into her cuffs, untied the green bamboo sachet at her waist and handed it to the Empress Dowager.

"Will you draw a clear line with me?" The Empress Dowager's eyes finally eased, and after seeing the disappointment in Pei Yao's eyes, she regretted it.

Pei Yao cried without saying a word, gave her the sachet, turned around and left.

The Empress Dowager held the sachet, stared at the green bamboo, and remained silent for a long time.

After a long time, Ruoyun hurried in and said in a panic, "The empress dowager has left the palace."

"Well, I got it." The Empress Dowager still didn't have much emotion, she sat down on the ground, not daring to let go of the sachet she was holding.

Pei Yao is courageous and fearless, is she afraid at this time?

The Empress Dowager did not think deeply, but chose to walk out of the Weiyang Hall and return to her bedroom.

As dusk came and night fell, the corpses of the rebels at the upper east gate were finally cleaned up, and the prime minister went to the courtyard of the West Palace with a glass of wine.

At night in Ling Han, Concubine Li was sitting in the yard watching the moon, and there was no one around. After the eldest prince died, the people who served her chose to run away, and no one would stay behind.

And she chose to sit here.

The prime minister arrived as expected, stepped through the palace gate, and walked up to her step by step, "Toffee."

Concubine Li raised her eyes, her eyes were like a pool of stagnant water, "Prime Minister, long time no see."

"Toffee." The prime minister sighed, he never dreamed that the eldest prince would lead troops to surround the palace, if he stayed in the imperial mausoleum, he would be able to live well anyway.

He said: "The empress dowager did not think of taking the lives of your mother and son. Even the new emperor will treat his elder brother kindly. Why bother the empress dowager?"

"It's all about success and defeat." Concubine Li didn't have much to say, she walked up to the servant and took the poison.The wine, without hesitation, raised his head and drank it.

Her son is her greatest hope. Now, she has no hope, so she might as well go with him.

The prime minister let out a long sigh, and watched the concubine's body slowly fall down, blood overflowed from the corner of her mouth, after a moment of convulsions, her body stopped moving.

The prime minister looked at the bright moon and was speechless for a long time. The great Han has changed hands. Can the current situation be restored?

****

After Pei Yao left the palace, the carriage went to the other courtyard of Pei Mansion, and then the coachman was sent away by Pei Yao.

The other courtyard was quiet, and there were no people there, so the steward led the eldest girl to the backyard, and told her about Master Jing'an's recent situation along the way.

Mrs. Jing'an's disease has been cured, but her body is too weak, and she will have to recuperate for several days before returning to the nunnery.

Pei Yao asked: "How are the people who are infected with the disease nearby?"

"How can it be better? Many people have died. My wife is really lucky. I heard that more than half of them died in the village in front of me. It can't be cured." The steward sighed. How can I take care of so much? Those who are in good health will be carried over, and those who are not in good health will die directly.

Pei Yao pursed her lips, and after walking for a while, she saw the bright light in the room, she pursed her lips and smiled, and happily went to see Master.

Master Jing'an likes to chant sutras at night too much. After chanting sutras, her body and mind feel comfortable, and she will slowly fall asleep.

Standing outside the door, Pei Yao heard the sound of sutras. She walked over and knocked on the door. The figure in the room approached. She cheered up and waited for Master to open the door.

The door opened, and Master Jing'an's figure came into view, Pei Yao smiled and hugged the teacher: "Master, miss me."

"Ayao, why are you here in the middle of the night?" Mrs. Jing'an was both happy and surprised, she glanced outside and saw only the steward, she quickly pulled her into the room, touched her little hand, "Is it cold?"

"It's not cold, but I'm hungry." Pei Yao's smile didn't reach her eyes, seeing Master Jing'an's pretty face, her heart was full of irony, she hugged Master and acted like a baby, "After winter, we will go back to the nunnery. OK."

"Of course it's good, why are you here now?" Master Jing'an was uneasy, Pei Yao likes to be lively, and she didn't have a noisy temperament, so something must have happened when she came here at this time.

Pei Yao lowered her head because of this sentence, a little sad, she kept her head down and said nothing, her eyebrows and eyes drooped, listless.

Jing'an felt sorry for her, but she didn't know how to comfort her, she held her hand like she was when she was a child, and comforted her: "The outside world is not good, we have to try our best to look away, be happy, being sad will be bad for your body, why make people feel complacent. "

Pei Yao is still not optimistic, her eyes are not bright, and she will not tell Master that all bad things about her are caused by the Empress Dowager.

She couldn't blame, and she couldn't face it calmly.

"If you don't say it, don't think about it. Let's go to the market tomorrow and see how the epidemic is going." Master Jing'an is too introverted, people have their own little secrets.

In the middle of the night, dark clouds shrouded the bright moon, and the light gradually dimmed.

After Pei Yao left, the Empress Dowager never came out of the Changle Hall again, she read and reviewed the memorials until dawn, and dealt with many difficult matters that the emperor had backlogged.

At dawn, she went to court again, listening to a group of civil servants arguing, and after the quarrel was over, the emperor asked her what she meant.

She was impatient, and raised her head to meet the apprehensive eyes of the emperor. She felt even more impatient, but she was not angry, and spoke to her angrily.

After solving the problem, Shen Hui tried to ask Pei Min what to do.

She glanced at Shen Hui and said, "Ling Chi."

Shen Hui was not surprised. The people outside the city were infected with countless diseases and nearly a thousand people died. Pei Min was not late, so it was difficult to offset the resentment of the people.

Shen Hui led the order and retreated, and the emperor asked questions that he didn't understand, and she explained again in a good-tempered manner.

The emperor was very happy and hurriedly remembered, while the empress dowager held the sachet and looked at her quietly.

It's not difficult to raise an emperor, but why did Pei Yao, whom she raised, misunderstand her.

What's so good about Pei's mansion, the old lady is stubborn, the Zhao family is patriarchal, and Pei Sui stays away all the year round, so how can these people have her?

The Empress Dowager was finally a little discouraged, she tore up the green bamboo sachet, and threw it into the charcoal basin, small things were not good.

The sachet was quickly reduced to ashes and disappeared.

The Empress Dowager felt a little regretful, and asked someone to take out the needle and thread and start over again, because Pei Yao didn't like green bamboo.

She took red silk thread and embroidered a roast chicken, she should like it.

The primrose color is the base color, and the red roast chicken is particularly conspicuous.

After thinking about it, she embroidered another rabbit.The rabbit stared at the roast chicken, salivating.

After the embroidery was finished, it was getting dark, she looked at the light outside, and Pei Yao really didn't come back.

She was a little angry, and the little thing became more and more tempered by being spoiled.She looked at the sachet in her hand and felt that Pei Yao was too cheap, so she raised her hand and wanted to throw it into the charcoal basin again.

The sachet was thrown into the air, but she took it back again. After a hard day, she might as well keep it for herself.

It snowed at night, snowflakes drifted into the porch, the wind blew past, and I felt a biting cold.There is a lot of snow in winter, and it falls as soon as it is said, the flowers wither, and the plum blossoms bloom alone.

The snow scene is beautiful and interesting, and my hair turns white when I walk in the snow.

It was snowing heavily, but the Empress Dowager was not in a good mood to look at the scenery. Sitting by the window, she rarely held a hand stove. After so many years of winter, she finally felt the cold.

It was so cold that it was hard to bear, she was wearing an extra dress, but she still felt cold.

She looked at Gong'e who was running outside the palace, and pursed her lips. Ruoyun walked in, and saw that the queen mother had more clothes today than in the past, so she felt worried: "Your Majesty, do you want to invite the imperial physician to take a look?"

"No need." The Empress Dowager still refused, staring at the snow falling from the sky.

Pei Yao was also looking at the snow, holding the snowflakes in her hand, her lips were drawn into a straight line, Master Jing An called her too: "It's time to eat, the steward brought some shrimps, I saw them alive and kicking, so I peeled them to make noodles for you .”

Pei Yao has no shackles of meat and vegetables, but she can't, she has never been touched by meat or meat.

Pei Yao ate the noodles and the peeled shrimp, feeling very satisfied.

The girl under the candlelight is quiet and beautiful, her usual face is stained with the bleakness of winter, she is 17 years old, but Jing An feels sad.

Master Jing'an's eyes turned red suddenly, she turned her back quickly, and said, "I'll go see the people tomorrow, you wait here for me."

"I'll go too, I'm in good health, I'll be fine, by the way, make some sachets to carry." Pei Yao said anxiously.

Jing An refused, "You are still young."

"I am invulnerable to all poisons, and I have eaten a lot of medicinal materials in the palace. I will be fine. Last time I hugged you, was it okay?" Pei Yao pulled Jing'an's cuff, acting coquettishly.

Jing An felt distressed, but said: "I heard that Doctor Meng is around here, let's go ask for a few sachets to keep with us, there are no medicinal materials for sachets here."

Pei Yao agreed, ate the remaining noodles, and prepared clothes for tomorrow's trip.

She came in a hurry, she didn't bring any clothes, Master Jing'an brought her a Taoist robe, "When you go out, don't say you are Pei Yao, just say you are A Yao, do you hear me?"

"Understood, just run away if something goes wrong." Pei Yao responded with a smile, her brows and eyes were soft, and she found the hard-won tenderness by Master's side.

In the early morning of the next day, the snow stopped, and when the door was pushed open, the snow at the door lost its balance and fell into the house. Pei Yao had no choice but to sweep the snow with a broom.

After sweeping the snow, it was almost noon, the steward brought in some dishes, and the master and apprentice had eaten before leaving the other courtyard.

Pei Yao became the hopeless little teacher of the past.

****

Yesterday's heavy snow crushed many houses, and the trees in the forest were bent and even broke.

Meng Qi walked back and forth in the shed, constantly diagnosing people's pulse, sometimes showing joy and sometimes sadness. Joy means that the condition has improved, and sadness means that the condition has worsened.

The thin and strong back gave people countless hopes. The patient called him Doctor Meng kindly, and he smiled back.

After checking today's patients, he went back to the medicine shed to boil medicine, and it went round and round without stopping.

Jing'an asked people all the way, and finally found Meng Qi, asking her for medicinal herbs to resist the disease.

Meng Qi was in a dilemma, and said: "I don't have enough medicinal materials here, they are for patients."

Master Jing'an was too stunned, thinking of Pei Yao who was waiting outside, he said, "I'm here to help, but I don't have any herbs, so I dare not come in."

"Then I'll look for it for you." Meng Qi smiled gently, turned around and rummaged through the herbs, searched for it, and finally took off the sachet on her body and handed it to Jing An, "You use this."

Jing An quickly waved her hands, "No, no."

Meng Qi insisted: "I've been here for a few days, and I'm fine. You're not in good health, so it's better to take it with you. If you have nothing to do, you can help me make the medicine, will it work?"

"I, I won't help you, I'll let the apprentice come in." Master Jing'an smiled foolishly, and turned to look for Pei Yao outside.

Meng Qi just regarded it as an ordinary little teacher, and didn't care. When the familiar person stood in front of him, he was stunned for a moment, and immediately felt his blood boil.

"Doctor Meng, Doctor Meng, come here." Someone nearby called Meng Qi anxiously.

Meng Qi was called away before he could be happy, Pei Yao glanced at him from a distance, and didn't pay much attention, looking around, there were more than a hundred people here, crying and crying, waiting for Meng Qi to rescue him.

Pei Yao gasped and looked at Master: "Is Meng Qi here?"

"Today is Meng Qi, who changes shifts. I heard that there are not many medicinal herbs, and the imperial court gives them a limited amount, so let God do what he wants." Master Jing'an was too compassionate.

"Mother, mother..." There were piercing voices, and the crying made people's hearts tremble.

Pei Yao walked subconsciously, but Mrs. Jing'an stopped her, "Don't go, you're dead, I'll go and have a look, read some scriptures, save the souls of the dead, and join a good family in the next life."

People who have just died are more dangerous, it's better not to let Pei Yao get close.

"Okay, you put this on. If I don't go in, I don't need it. If you don't want it, I'll go in." Pei Yao frowned, hung the sachet on Master's waist, and pushed her in.

At this moment, Meng Qi came out from the inside with red eyes, Pei Yao walked over and comforted: "There are still many people waiting for you, so don't be so discouraged."

"Empress Dowager, why are you here?" Meng Qi looked at her waist, which was empty, and then sized her up carefully.

Pei Yao is a ridiculous little girl, in the past she was dressed in fine clothes, graceful and dignified, adding a bit of maturity.Wearing Taoist robes today, the little Daoist is alive and well, with a bit of freedom and naturalness in his cunning.

Meng Qi smiled, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and fixed his gaze on Pei Yao's face again, unwilling to move away.

Pei Yao didn't have too many emotional ups and downs when she saw dead people. She has seen many dead people over the years, and she has done many things like saving souls.

She was not afraid and seemed very strong, "I came with Master, do you want to help?"

Meng Qi nodded again and again, the corners of his eyes were still red, Pei Yao felt that the other party was a little dumbfounded, fortunately he was an imperial doctor, if he was in the officialdom, he would definitely suffer.It was those courtiers she saw in the palace, who was not so cunning and shrewd.

The medicine shed was messy and messy, and Meng Qi had no time to clean it up. While boiling the medicine, he taught Pei Yao how to clean it up.

When Mrs. Jing'an came back, the medicine shed was much tidier. She looked at Meng Qi and smiled, and then watched Pei Yao squatting on the ground.

It's a pity, Pei Yao married the first emperor, and now she is even a widow.

Mrs. Jing'an had never met a royal grandson or aristocrat, and hearing the word "emperor" made her tremble, so she didn't dare to think too much, and walked into the shed with hot water.

At noon, the people nearby brought food, Meng Qi went to pick it up, and brought back a portion for Pei Yao and Mrs. Jing'an each.

The three of them sat in the medicine shed and ate. In times of crisis, there was nothing good to eat, a bowl of rice was the best. Pei Yao ate white rice, thinking about meat.

I fumbled in my sleeve pocket, and there was some silver, and I will go to the town to eat meat when I have time.

Meng Qi finished his meal quickly, told Pei Yao to eat slowly, and went to work by himself.

Pei Yao has a good appetite, and a bowl of rice is not enough at all. Master Jing'an saw that she would not eat, so he said: "If it is not enough, I will give you half."

"That's enough, master eat by himself." Pei Yao quickly finished the rice in the bowl, put the empty bowl aside, and followed Meng Qi's footsteps.

When she walked outside the door, Meng Qi refused to let her in, "Don't go in casually, I'll go in and have a look, and you watch the medicine stove for me."

Pei Yao nodded, stopped outside the door, and turned back to the medicine shed.

In the afternoon, a few more people were sent in, and similarly, several corpses were sent out. Except for the relatives of the deceased who wept bitterly, there was no fluctuation in the others. Master Jing'an recited the scriptures several times.

When it was getting dark, she led Pei Yao to bid farewell to Meng Qi.

Meng Qi was very grateful, and asked with a blushing face if he could come tomorrow.

Master Jing'an agreed, and led Pei Yao to the other courtyard on the snowy road.

On the way back, Master Jing'an squeezed the little disciple's hand and sighed: "Doctor Meng has a good temper and a benevolent heart."

But Pei Yao said: "He came here following the order of the Empress Dowager."

"Well, he will come if there is no will. The doctor should be as kind as he is." Master Jing'an was not stingy with his praise, looking at Pei Yao's bright face, he suddenly felt uncomfortable.Being a widow at a young age, one can imagine how miserable the days ahead will be.

She thought about it and asked Pei Yao, "Have you thought about remarrying?"

"Why do you marry?" Pei Yao was puzzled, "You forgot what I said in front of the Bodhisattva, you can't deceive the Bodhisattva if you don't touch men in your life."

Master Jing'an frowned too much, Pei Yao said so many years ago, but she was a little nun at that time, and now she has returned to vulgarity, so she can no longer count.

She felt extremely uncomfortable, and quietly asked Pei Yao: "I heard that rich people raise a few noodles, do you want to try?"

"Mian Shou?" Pei Yao was stunned, looking at her master in disbelief, who actually said such disrespectful words.

The teacher eats vegetarian food and recites Buddha all his life, and is not contaminated with meat or sex.Desire, how could there be such an idea.

Pei Yao asked: "Are you thinking too much?"

"No, I saved a man's soul last year. The owner of the house is a woman who has raised several good-looking gentlemen." Master Jing'an was too afraid that he would scare Pei Yao, so she spoke softly, fearing that she would think too much, so she said Using someone as an example, "I heard that your mother-in-law also has a face, and she raises Xiao Langjun in private."

Mother-in-law?Pei Yao blinked, but didn't understand what Master meant.

Master Jing'an stepped across a small ravine under her feet and stared at Pei Yao: "Of course it's the Empress Dowager."

Pei Yao was stunned, thinking carefully about Master's question, yes, the Empress Dowager is her mother-in-law.

She smiled, patted the dirt on her body, and smiled brightly at Master, "Master, I will go back tomorrow to serve my mother-in-law."

"Go back tomorrow?" Master Jing'an was too reluctant. Thinking of the epidemic situation nearby, she had no choice but to suppress her reluctance, nodded, and said, "Alright, it's fine to go back. It's not good to eat here. Eat more when you go back. Get fat and white."

The smile on Pei Yao's lips deepened, and she happily returned to the other courtyard holding Master's hand.

****

The snow in the palace was cleaned by the palace people, and even the snow on the branches was hooked off by the servants to ensure that it would not hit anyone.

The snow in front of the Xuanshi Hall was very thick, and it took the servants a day to clean it up, but after sweeping in front, the courtiers who came to see His Majesty slipped and fell on their backs because of their too fast steps.

The emperor smiled unkindly, and glanced at the unsmiling empress dowager, she quickly suppressed her smile, and sent someone to invite the imperial physician for diagnosis and treatment.

If the Empress Dowager had no one to review the memorabilia, the emperor would watch from the side and ask questions in time if she didn't understand.

The servant who fell down quickly got ready to meet the two masters, and brought an account book with two words in the long story: asking for money.

The emperor understood the account books, so he read them carefully before and after, frowning and said, "Why did you spend so much money?"

"I am dissatisfied with Your Majesty, more than a thousand people have died from the epidemic, and there is heavy snowfall, hunger and cold, if you don't allocate money to treat them, I am afraid that more people will die."

"More than a thousand people..." The emperor chewed on this number, and hated Pei Min even more in his heart. He even disliked the Pei family, and said, "The Pei family was copied and the money was allocated to the common people."

"Wait." The Empress Dowager interrupted the emperor, she raised her head and looked at him contemptuously, "If your Majesty does this, Pei Sui will have no turning back."

The emperor bowed his head, "Empress Dowager, do you have a solution?"

"Go to Pei's mansion to send a message and ask the Pei family to take the money. If they can get it, then let Pei Ze go. If they can't, then let Pei Ze pay for the lives of these more than a thousand people." The Empress Dowager said.

After giving the Pei family a chance and saving face for Pei Sui, the rest should be up to Pei Sui himself.

The emperor didn't speak, the courtiers drew up the decree, the empress dowager asked someone to take out the seal and cover it, and then sent someone to deliver the decree.

The emperor glanced at Yuxi, and silently moved his eyes away.

After the decree was conveyed, the Empress Dowager stopped caring about the emperor's affairs and drove back to the palace.

After returning to the palace, the Empress Dowager looked at the empty bedroom, rather bored, and found the sugar box, which was also empty.

There was no candy to eat, so she had to support herself.

She didn't sleep all night, and made a box of orange candy. The moment the candy entered her mouth, she felt that it was not sweet, so she threw it all into the water again.

The bamboo basket was empty.

After the sky was bright, she returned to the bedroom, and Ruoyun asked someone to fetch the court clothes for her to change into.

The Empress Dowager glanced at it, and rarely played a small temper, "Ai's family doesn't want to go today."

Ruoyun was at a loss, and hurriedly asked, "Are you uncomfortable?"

"Well, Ai's family is not feeling well." The Empress Dowager leaned against the bed and asked people to take the court clothes away. Looking at the empty sugar box, she felt a little bit lost.

Ruoyun stared at the empress dowager's tantrum in astonishment, and could hardly believe that this was the master she had served for many years.

She considered her words, Fu Lu barged in, she wanted to reprimand, Fu Lu said joyfully to the Empress Dowager, "The Empress Dowager is here, I want to greet you."

The Empress Dowager sat up suddenly, staring at the entrance of the hall.

Pei Yao walked in slowly, stopped five steps away from her, raised her eyebrows and smiled slightly, "The concubine came to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager."

The Empress Dowager felt that something was wrong, and said reservedly: "The Empress Dowager is being polite today."

Pei Yao smiled lightly: "It's only natural for a daughter-in-law to greet her mother-in-law."

The author has something to say: Empress Dowager: I am not only your mother-in-law, but also your ancestor.

感谢在2021-08-0516：57：48～2021-08-0617：37：41期间为我投出霸王票或灌溉营养液的小天使哦～