Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

The selection of the labor force has not yet been finalized, and it has been delayed until mid-October.Ever since Concubine Ying's father and brother in the army publicly recommended Yong Qi, Yong Qi thought it was because Hai Lan and Concubine Ying both belonged to the Mongolian Army Banner, so many of Yong Qi's disciples began to recommend Yong Qi to serve in the army.Although Yonglong's disciples also recommended his master at the beginning, they didn't seem to be Yongqi's opponents, and they gradually faded away.

In the first ten days of October, the court seemed to have tacitly agreed that Yongqi would get a job in the army, and instead stopped making noise.Yonglong ignored all of this, and started to lead Yongqi in his usual reply to the emperor, and he was just making a little supplement.But when the emperor could only hear voices supporting Yongqi, the matter changed.

This night, Ruyi used to go to the East Nuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation to serve the emperor's meals. As soon as he entered, he saw the emperor leaning against the kang table with a gloomy look on his face.Ruyi had some guesses, so she sent all the palace people down, folded a snow-white narcissus and offered it in the clear water, Fang asked: "Why is the emperor unhappy?"

The emperor put down the teacup heavily in his hand, and his expression was worried: "I have always respected the queen mother, and I am very filial. But I don't want to tolerate the power of the queen mother. No matter if she interferes in everything in the harem, even the previous court would not let go. .”

Ruyi still had a practiced smile on her face, "How could the Empress Dowager not understand that the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics. Now that the Empress Dowager is ill, how can she still want to meddle in the affairs of the former court?"

The emperor's face became more and more gloomy, and he stroked the shiny and jade-like teacup in his hand: "The matter of laboring in Yunnan. Today, a few veterans from the former court suddenly came forward to recommend Yonglong. Tell me, what does the Queen Mother mean?"

Ruyi's smile froze, and she said puzzledly: "The last time I met Yongjin, the concubine obviously heard that the previous court had ordered Yongqi to serve in the army." She pondered for a moment, and became more and more puzzled, "The emperor knows that Yonglong is young and handsome. Sheng, although he was ordered to supervise the country together with Yongjin and Yongqi, his elder brother is the leader everywhere. The old officials waited for the previous court to have a decision before recommending Yonglong, what kind of heart is it?"

The emperor didn't feel awe-inspiring, and said coldly: "What can it be for? Mostly because I knew that I was wary of Concubine Rong because of her matter, so I used my suspicion to recommend Yonglong, and wanted me to doubt Yonglong, so I sent Yonglong Qi is going to work in the army."

"Your majesty is saying that the empress dowager wants to recommend Yongqi?" Ruyi's dark eyes had a soft light flickering, "But the previous court had the most support for Yongqi, why should the empress dowager do this?"

The emperor glanced at her, raised his eyebrows and said: "You are a woman's opinion. The queen mother has been in charge of the harem for many years. She wants to recommend Yongqi not only for military merit, but also to support Yongqi to become the crown prince." Coughing a few times, she said angrily: "The Empress Dowager saw that I was not in good health, so she planned ahead, not only gave Yongqi military merit, but also sold the favor of the future prince and even the new emperor. It's really a good strategy!"

Ruyi was stunned, and said for a long time: "Since the emperor knows, it's okay, the emperor calms down, drink tea to moisturize." She poured a cup of hot tea into the empty jade bowl, handed it to the emperor, and sighed : "The emperor is ill, and wants to come down to the throne of the nobleman Cheng and Shunchang. The queen mother also bears a grudge against the concubine, and even Yonglong is involved in it. Previously, not afraid of the emperor's blame, the concubine still felt that Yonglong would not go to Yunnan. It's good to run around for a while, his Fujin just got pregnant again, so you don't have to worry about him. But if it's as the emperor said..."

There was a haze in the emperor's eyes, as if it was the depth of the night, "No problem! The queen mother wanted Yongqi to go, so I simply granted her! The courtiers all guessed that whoever went to Yunnan to work in the army would become the crown prince, but I was not as good as theirs. Meaning!" He called Li Yu to come in from the outside, and said with a sullen face: "Go and pass on the decree: King Rong Jun will go to Yunnan and set off with Mingrui in three days. Then pass on my oral order, inheriting the meritorious service of the king of the county in supervising the country, and inheriting it from the Jin Dynasty." Prince!"

Although Li Yu didn't know the situation, but seeing the emperor's face, he hurriedly responded, and staggered back to deliver the decree.

Ruyi caressed the emperor's back to give him comfort, and said softly: "The emperor has promoted Yonglong to be the prince, and the concubine is happy for him. But the merits of supervising the country are not owned by Yonglong alone. Yongjin is already a prince and can't be sealed. Forget it, Yong Qi...Although the Empress Dowager intends to support her, Yong Qi has never done anything wrong, so the Emperor need not get angry."

The emperor is like this, the more he said this, the more suspicious he was, "Even if Yongqi has no relationship with the queen mother, how many ministers recommended him these days? You need to know that the emperor hated two things the most, one is greed, and the other is The party! Since I ascended the throne, I have attached great importance to the crown prince. The previous prince Duanhui is, and so is Yonglong now. No one in the government and the public knows? Yongqi, who dares to form a party to covet the position of the crown prince because he is neither a descendant nor a eldest son, is to be with him. I disobey each other!"

Ruyi hurriedly prostrated herself, earnestly saying: "Your Majesty has learned from you. The concubine knows that the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics, but the concubine treats Yongqi as if she is her own. The concubine does not understand the affairs of the court, but Ruoyongqi fights with Yonglong. And being cared by the emperor, the concubine also has the fault of lax discipline, please forgive me."

There is a deathly silence in the small warm pavilion, as if a needle can be clearly discerned when it falls on the ground.It can be seen that the emperor was very angry when he said Yongqi like this.You must know that with the relationship between Hailan and Ruyi these years, Yongqi has almost never been burdened by her status as a concubine, and the emperor has never despised him because of this.Perhaps even Yongqi herself didn't know that the elder brother who was really a concubine would be so unbearable in the emperor's heart.

However, Yongqi is lucky after all.After all, he has not been succeeded for no reason like Yong Huang, nor has he been abandoned just after revealing his intention to seize the heir like Yong Xuan.What he lost was nothing more than the emperor's sacred heart.

After a long time, the emperor finally let out a long sigh, and said gloomyly: "The children are not up to date. It's because I can't teach them well. How can I blame the queen? Get up, you are also a royal mama, don't move around. kneel."

Ruyi stood up with the emperor's hand, and said cautiously: "The emperor is the emperor first, and then he can be the brother's Ama. How can he take care of everything? After all, Yongqi is still young and easy to be used by others. In the future, let me Yong Jin reminds him more, that's all."

"Forget it. As an elder brother, which one is not eyeing the position of crown prince. Among my sons, Yong Qi is not the only one who covets the position of crown prince. If everyone is like Yong Jin, who will inherit my land? "The emperor's voice was gloomy and frustrating, as if there was infinite sadness hidden, "Forget it, it's good if Yongqi is not in Beijing, so that he won't be difficult to deal with. These days I have thought about it too, and my health has not improved. It’s good to decide.”

Ruyi was secretly shocked, but her beautiful eyes were so calm that she couldn't tell the color: "The emperor is in the prime of his life, so you must not hurt yourself too much."

"Let's not talk about this right now." The emperor said intently, "Jing Yao will be ready next year. You said a few days ago that you would choose a good son-in-law for Jing Yao, but now you have someone? The queen mother has been in poor health, and there is a happy event for her It's good to rush. Otherwise, if something happens suddenly, she will be wronged and waited for three years, wasting her years."

Ruyi smiled lightly and said, "I just want to tell the emperor. The concubine thinks that the war in Burma has never been settled, and now the emperor has sent Yongqi to work in the army. I think there will be good news soon. The concubine thinks Well, there might be some young talents full of military flags in the Burmese conquest army, and it would be a good thing if Jing Yao got this."

The emperor nodded slowly, and said: "This is also good. All the young elites who came out of the military conquest of Myanmar are solid, but the end of the war may not be certain. Forget it, the left and right Jingyu are still young, and Jingse was only 17 years old before talking about marriage. There is no need to rush to get married."

"Isn't that right? Concubine Ying was talking about this matter with Concubine Ying a few days ago. Concubine Ying is also worried about Concubine Jing's marriage, after all Concubine Jing is only one year younger than Concubine Jing." Ruyi smiled lightly, It seems unintentional, "Our sisters all said that they hoped that their daughters would marry in Beijing, but Yingfei's younger sister was a joyful one, hoping that her daughter could see the vast Mongolian grasslands, be free and not be restrained."

Speaking of this, the emperor's smile faded, and after a while he smiled lightly and said: "Jing Yu hasn't made a decision yet, Jing concubine is not in a hurry. Didn't you choose the Borzigit clan to be Yongxuan's successor a few days ago?" ? In March next year, this matter should also be done."

It's already the climax of the moon when I return from the Hall of Mental Cultivation.The earth dragon had already been warmed up in the Nuange of Yikun Palace, Rong Pei reminded Lingzhi to watch the charcoal fire carefully, and at the same time added a little plum blossom powder to the incense burner to adjust the breath.Ruyi took off the little purple fox fur cloak and threw it to Yunzhi, then sat at the kang table and was lost in thought.

Yizheng winked and told everyone to go down, brought up the inula soup that Rong Pei had prepared early in the morning, and persuaded: "This soup is always warm, and I like it after a taste. The small kitchen has been newly made. The soup cook is afraid that it will not suit the mother's taste."

Ruyi took a sip with a small silver spoon and frowned slightly: "It's always different. It's just a sip, but it's okay." She looked at Yizheng and hesitated to speak, and then said: "Yizheng, are you My dowry maid, you have always been my most trusted person these years. If you have anything to say, just say it. "

Yizheng hesitated for a moment, Fang said: "I really don't understand. The empress knows that the queen mother will not help you, why do you let the king of Rongjun go to work in the army? Although the emperor guessed the intention of the queen mother, after all, it is the king of Rongjun who got the errand. The empress Don't be afraid..."

"What are you afraid of? Can't you understand the emperor's will?" Ruyi put down the small enamel bowl and smiled slightly, "Yes, I'm afraid that when the Queen Mother gets the news, she will be confused. The Queen Mother just wants to wait and see me. Cleverness is misunderstood by cleverness, but I didn't know that when I went to find her, the previous dynasty had already preliminarily selected Yongqi for the labor army, and her abrupt order to recommend Yonglong would only arouse the suspicion of the emperor. In fact, it doesn't matter who she recommends, Because what the emperor cares about is not the candidate, but after being guarded by the emperor, the queen mother is still entangled with the previous dynasty. Do you know what this is in the eyes of the emperor?"

Yizheng was taken aback for a moment, "This..."

Ruyi sneered quietly, with serious eyes, "The emperor will feel that the empress dowager has already felt that he is out of control—or that he cannot continue to respect herself. The recommendation of Yonglong made the emperor doubt the empress dowager's intentions even more. Anything can make the emperor move to kill."

"Your Majesty is saying that the Emperor wants to..." Yizheng was horrified, "Although the Empress Dowager is not the Emperor's biological mother, she is the real mother and child in the history books. If so, I'm afraid..."

"Because she is not the biological mother, there is nothing the emperor dares or cannot do." Ruyi said indifferently, "the only empress recognized by the emperor is in the Rehe palace. This one in the Forbidden City is at best the one who supports the emperor's ascension to the throne." It’s just a meritorious person—you should understand the difference. Besides, why is the empress dowager always bedridden? The emperor didn’t want to do this on a whim, but he just lacked an excuse.”

"Then what should we do?" Yizheng hesitated, "Concubine Rong sent Aji to ask when the empress is going to have an attack."

"We have to wait until the queen mother's matter is settled, and the results will be known after the plaque is upright." Ruyi groped for the soft and delicate patterns on the enamel bowl, and said peacefully, "Don't worry, it won't be too long."

In October of the 32nd year of Qianlong, the emperor decreed that Rongjun Wang Yongqi went to Yunnan to work in the army, and with the merit of supervising the country, Jin Chengjun Wang Yonglong was the Prince Cheng.

In November, the Empress Dowager was seriously ill. Although the emperor was also ill, he was distressed by the Empress Dowager's illness, and Zheng Jiang and Bin of the Imperial Hospital made careful diagnosis and treatment.In that month, Fu Jia, a palace maid from the Palace of Compassionate Ning, stumbled and fell and became paralyzed. The emperor sent her to the Rehe Palace to support her for the rest of her life, and sent four court ladies to serve in the Palace of Compassionate Ning.The emperor's oral order: the empress dowager is sick and recuperating, and idlers and others are not allowed to disturb the house without imperial decree.

In the twelfth lunar month, the emperor finally got the long-lost good news that the Qing army crossed the Dadie River to attack Xifoil, and the chieftains of Bolong and other places were attached.The emperor was overjoyed, and ordered Yongqi to stay in Yunnan to participate in military affairs, and planned to send troops to Burma in February of the next year.

Winter turns to spring, and as Yi expected, the emperor's victorious underestimation of the enemy eventually led to defeat. In the 33rd year of Qianlong's reign, the February dragon raised his head, just like this came slowly after Mingrui's defeat.The emperor's rationality finally defeated his anger, he took the defeat as his own fault, and ordered Mingrui to rebel.Unexpectedly, before Mingrui received this decree, he was heavily surrounded by [-] soldiers of the Burmese army, and after fighting hard, he hanged himself to death.

The emperor was shocked and heartbroken when he heard this, so he had to send Fu Heng to Yunnan to deal with the Burmese conquest.

The defeat of the former dynasty's war also affected the hearts of everyone in the harem.In May of the 33rd year of Qianlong, on a rainy night in early summer, 27 bells rang suddenly in the palace, shattering everyone's nightmare.Empress Dowager Niu Hulu's phlegm surged up suddenly, and she died in the main hall of the Compassionate Ning Palace that night, at the age of seventy-seven.

The sudden and long death of the empress dowager made the emperor feel overwhelmed with sorrow, and made the whole country mourn. Renmu Jingtian Guang Shengxian Empress", the Queen Mother was buried in Taidong Mausoleum.The emperor immediately fell ill and couldn't sit up, so the funeral had to be presided over by the empress and Prince He Hongzhou, Prince Xi Yongjin, and Prince Cheng Yonglong.

Rongjun Wang Yongqi returned to Beijing half a month after the funeral due to the war.In June, after paying homage to the Empress Dowager's throne, Yongqi left for Yunnan to supervise the army and was ordered to serve as a counselor.

The Empress Dowager finally disappeared from the luxurious and grand Palace of Compassion and Peace, leaving only a lonely room.After the funeral ceremony that day, the emperor was in a coma for a few days, and Ruyi, who was ill, heard his nightmares, and the dreams repeated over and over again, all of which were the past of the emperor and the queen mother, when they were elected to Fujin, or earlier.Guqing is long and long, wandering in the Forbidden City.

In this solitude, the emperor is also tired.In fact, he is also an old man who is nearly sixty years old, sitting sadly alone, dejected and speechless, only tired and sad in his cloudy eyes.On the day Yongqi left Beijing, he summoned Li Yu to prepare his pen and ink. With a little force on his right wrist, he paused and turned his pen vigorously. On the yellow paper, he solemnly wrote "Biography in Yonglong, the tenth son of the emperor".Manchu and Chinese bilingual, his gestures are heavy but without hesitation, he carefully folded the yellow paper in his hand, stored it in a brocade box, and sealed it with wax.At the end of the night, with the help of Li Yu, he personally placed it behind the upright plaque.

Since then, the emperor has gradually handed over the government affairs to Yonglong.It was not until November of the 34th year of Qianlong that Burma begged for surrender, and the Burmese chief vehemently refused to pay tribute, and Yongqi returned to Beijing with the army.At this time, the overall situation has been settled, and what Yonglong owes is nothing more than the name of a crown prince in name only.

In addition to being frustrated, Yongqi asked for a job in the mansion to recuperate on the grounds of her foot disease.

Emperor Yun.

By the time Ruyi and Hailan stepped into the Hall of Mental Cultivation again, it was already the midsummer of the 35th year of Qianlong.Entering the Hall of Mental Cultivation and turning to the Nuan Pavilion, the emperor is not in the sleeping hall, but in the "Liuxiang She" behind the hall—it is a small pavilion with the same color of ice-cracked lattice windows, and everything used in the room is made of snow lotus Decoration, the walls are painted with pepper and mud, and agarwood utensils are mostly used. The fragrant flowers are everywhere, and the smoke from the furnace is blown to every corner of the room by the wind wheel.It is also a good place to enjoy the cool air in summer.

Since the Empress Dowager passed away, the emperor had not seen his concubines for a long time, but because he had no restraint, he built such a small house in the back hall. As the name suggests, it was a place to have fun with Concubine Rong Hanxiang.Or playing a shadow puppet to watch a play, or Concubine Rong dancing lightly, the emperor stayed here with Concubine Rong for more than half of a month.

Now the emperor has the final say, without the queen mother, Ruyi will naturally not bring out the rules of her ancestors to speak out.After a long period of time, the courtiers no longer cared whether the emperor went to court or governed, and the country could still function anyway.

Although the national mourning period is three years, in fact it only needs to be observed for 27 months.If Ruyi came here, it was nothing more than one more month before her filial piety, and the marriage between Jing Yao and Jing Concubine needed to be approved for a date.Such things always require the emperor's decree to count.

Jingyu's husband is a young military general of the Guarjia family. He once went to Burma with the army. He was named "Helong Abatulu" for his hard work. He was a member of the Yellow Banner of the Manchu army. .Ruyi asked Yongjin to inquire about it, her family background is not considered prominent, but her character is stable and down-to-earth, and her appearance is passable, which is suitable for Jing Yao's meek temperament.

Jing's concubine's husband was still previously agreed to be Mulk, the king of Bahrain Right Banner.This matter was brought about by Yong Jin's admonition because the Bahrain Ministry contributed a lot in the war against Burma.

At that time, the emperor was lying on his side on the reclining chair, his face was sallow, watching Concubine Rong curiously playing the shadow puppetry.There is a ray of fragrance overflowing from the sweet and greasy ambergris in the room. It is a rare soup drink, which is almost lost, but there is still a secret treasure in the palace, called Sangluo Qingmei Drink.When the mulberry falls, it is brewed from preserved green plums and spring water. The fragrant spirit is sweet and slightly sour. It is really fragrant and pleasant to smell.

From the corner of his eyes, the emperor saw the two of them coming in, waiting for the salute to finish, and asked, "Why are you here at this time?" While speaking, the strength was so weak that it was almost inaudible.

Concubine Rong just continued to play with the small objects in her hands, ignoring them.Ruyi acted as if she hadn't seen her before, and said her future plans one by one.The emperor pondered for a moment, then said calmly: "Mulan's autumn has been avoided for the past few years, why not set it in August. There is no need to choose separate dates, it is a good story to be married on the same day."

Ruyi smiled like a spring breeze: "What the emperor said is true, so it must be so. When the two princesses get married, the concubine will have to forget about one thing on his mind, so that he can be distracted and take care of other things."

The emperor nodded tiredly, already meaning to see off the guests.The moment she turned around, Ruyi's gaze briefly met Concubine Rong's, and everything was kept silent.

The sun was shining when we went out.Hailan looked at the dazzling eaves of the palace wall, and asked in a deep voice, "Has sister made up her mind?"

Ruyi nodded slowly, and supported a pink peony on her temple, her voice was as vast as coming from the distant sky: "Jing Wei got married in August. After seeing Ling Xiao this autumn, let's put an end to this matter."