Yongzheng period

The inside is tender and sweet, but the Palace of Compassion and Ning is not at peace.

The Empress Dowager ordered everyone to retreat, staring at the two kneeling down with burning eyes, the cold light in their eyes condensed, and said in a hoarse voice, "Is what you said true?"

Ying'er shook her body and lowered her head even lower, "...what this servant girl said is true, Mr. Gong has contacted the queen several times, and also used the opportunity of going to offer incense to have a secret talk with Princess Shugui...and even visited her not long ago. The imperial concubine Dunyi, seems to be investigating a matter related to your past, Empress Dowager..."

"Oh—?" The Queen Mother sneered, "The Ai family has never been ashamed all their lives. I wonder what your ungrateful and good master found out?"

"This... slave girl is not too clear..." Ying'er's expression was gloomy, "... slave girl has not been favored by the master for a long time, and I only vaguely heard that it seems to be related to the 'Tong family'..."

"...What did you say?" The Empress Dowager's face changed when she heard it, and even her tone of voice changed because she was too horrified.

Kneeling on the other side and listening to the corner for a long time, the fourth elder brother's mood moved, and he felt vaguely as if he had grasped something.

"...Forget it, the Ai family knows about this matter." After a while, the Queen Mother finally regained some momentum, stared at the two of them and warned, "Today's matter must not fall into the ears of the three again!"

"Yes, the slave/grandson knows."

Seeing that the two of them agreed, the Empress Dowager's expression eased, "Hongli go back first, Ying'er, I will wrong you to stay by Xue's side first, and Aijia will protect you from worries afterward."

"My servant knows..." Ying'er whispered, "...the empress dowager, my servant didn't ask for such..."

"Okay, the Ai family is exhausted." The queen mother was exhausted, her voice was weak, and she closed her eyes, "Let's all go down..."

Hearing the words, Hongli hurriedly stood up and respectfully said, "The grandson will not disturb Huang Mama's rest."

After leaving the Palace of Compassion and Ning, Hongli left before Yinger, and turned into the west corner gate of the Imperial Garden alone, just as Concubine Duan was waiting there with auspiciousness.

"My son has seen Er Niang." Hongli stepped forward to salute.

"Well, it's all done?" Concubine Duan felt relieved, looking at him with eyes that knew everything clearly.

"Emiang can rest assured that my son is doing business." Hongli said slowly, "Right now, Emiang and son are just waiting for the show to begin."

【65】

The so-called "spring rain is as expensive as oil", Qin Tianjian reported that this year's astronomical phenomenon is a year of "moistening rain" before and after the first grain rain, and there is no sign of drought. Yongzheng was relieved and ordered local officials to pay attention to preventing the spread of crop diseases and insect pests.

Although it is already late spring, the weather in the north has not warmed up like that in the south, and the air is still dry and windy.Yongzheng always took special care of the small kitchen of Changchun Palace when the seasons changed, and ordered him to prepare herbal meals with steamed eel segments with ginseng, chrysanthemum eel, etc., which have the effect of warming and nourishing blood; or use straw mushroom tofu soup, duck egg soup, etc. To nourish the yin and nourish the stomach - I wanted to make Daiyu plump before giving up.

In contrast, Xue Baochai was almost thin and out of shape. She was really sick and almost fainted. Without the company of nobleman Wu Ya day and night, she could hardly survive.By the time it was discovered that something was wrong with the medicine she was taking, it was too late.

The Yanxi Palace was burning with thick spices, but even so, it couldn't cover up the strong smell of medicine in the palace.

Xue Baochai's face was full of death, and she summoned Zhou Zhi, the confidant imperial physician who had protected her from the past, and drove away everyone—even Yinger and Wen Xing were not left behind. How is your condition?"

Zhou Zhi stepped forward to feel her pulse with trembling hands, and said for a long while, "The young master originally brought a heat poison from the mother's womb, and when he committed the attack, he developed symptoms such as wheezing. Previously, the young master had a strong fire due to the old disease, so I gave it to you." The little master prescribed a prescription for clearing away heat and detoxification, as long as the little master takes the medicine on time and takes good care of her, there will be no serious problems. It's just—"

"It's just that someone changed the owner's medicine, and the poison has been reduced to ten points." Baochai said coldly, "Is that so?"

Zhou Zhi bowed his head when he heard this, and refused to answer.Baochai sneered, "Back then, I gave birth to Xiao Qi without telling the queen, which was considered a betrayal, but now it is really a good reincarnation-this Yanxi Palace has been run by me for many years, as long as Tietong, who can be in my eyes?" Do you want to start?"

——Although she hasn't found out who the servant who committed this move is, the fact that her own close lady-in-waiting betrayed her is enough to break her sanity.Although she did a lot of work, she never thought that there would be a day when she would be betrayed by her trusted servant.

"My lady, please don't let your mood fluctuate too much at this time." Zhou Zhi bit the bullet and advised her, "In order to prevent fainting due to anger again."

Baochai waved her hand, and feebly took out a small box from under the pillow, but when she opened it, there was a hole inside, and there were four rows of pills with a cold fragrance on the upper and lower layers.Baochai said, "This is 'Lengxiang Pill'. My lord has suffered this time, thanks to this medicine that has saved my life several times. This medicine

White peony flower, white lotus flower, white hibiscus flower, and white plum flower stamens are ground into powder each with 12 taels, and the same year's rain in the rain season, dew in the white dew season, frost in the frost season, and snow in the light snow season are added with honey. Blend it with white sugar, etc., make it into a longan bolus, put it in a container and bury it under the root of the flower tree.When the disease occurs, take one pill with Cortex Phellodendri Twelve Fen Decoction.This medicine was originally given to me by a monk with a scarlet head. How about the imperial doctor? "

Doctor Zhou took the pill knowingly, picked up one and carefully distinguished it, wondering, "The peony flower in this Lengxiang pill" tastes sweet and bitter, pungent, slightly cold in nature, can clear away heat and cool blood, promote blood circulation and disperse stasis. "Compendium of Materia Medica" said that it "harmonizes blood, generates blood, cools blood, cures fire in blood, and relieves restlessness and heat", and has the properties of "flowers are yin,...can relieve fire in yin cells" and "white flowers are nourishing". The saying...it is indeed a panacea, but it is a pity that my minister's ability is limited, and I can't write such an exquisite prescription. "

Baochai ignored his emotion, stared at him and said, "If I just use this medicine as a guide, can the imperial physician cure me?"

Doctor Zhou shook his head against her scorching gaze, and said regretfully, "Your Majesty was dragged to the point of dying by this strong medicine. Even with this 'panacea', it will only last for another year or two." effort."

"...It's only a year or two to go..." Baochai murmured to himself with a gloomy expression, "What a 'kind-hearted' empress dowager! My son is still young, so I will remove this stumbling block!"

Baochai's eyes were fierce and frightening, but Zhou Zhi disagreed and said, "Young master's words are wrong. I heard that the emperor and the empress dowager made an agreement at the beginning: if the seventh elder brother is to stay in the Palace of Compassion, it is not the young master." It is impossible to live. And for so many years, the queen mother has kept her promise and did not attack the young master. Now that the queen mother is taking action, there may be other reasons."

Baochai was slightly taken aback when she heard the words, she had a guilty conscience, and almost instantly thought of her conspiring with the queen.She gasped for breath, gritted her teeth and didn't dare to think about the consequences of the queen mother knowing her little thoughts... But there was no turning back when she opened the bow, and now she can only burn the boat, maybe she can't fight for a way out!

Imperial Physician Zhou waited with bated breath, and then heard Baochai's low voice, saying quietly, "Emperor Zhou, no matter who you are, the Lord wants you to do one last thing for the Lord right now."

*

At the end of April, due to the recent frequent rains in the south, a large banquet was held in the palace. The princes and elder brothers in Beijing and some concubines of the late emperor who could not leave the palace without princes also joined in the fun.

From the ranking of the seats, it can be seen who is more favored. Both Daiyu and Concubine Duan are ranked as noble concubines, but Yongzheng generously arranged Daiyu next to him. The imperial concubine's seat is opposite to Daiyu's, and I don't know whether it's intentional or not, but it's lower than Daiyu's seat.

When everyone saw the order of positions, Xiao Jiujiu thought in his heart; the princes knew something about the moth between the two queens of the Ulanara family, and no one thought there was anything wrong; , was caught by Yongzheng's brothers, and crossed this elder brother in the bottom of his heart.

Down below, Yingchun and the concubines sat next to each other. They were all considered as Daiyu's party. Opposite her was Xue Baochai, who was propping herself up to attend the ceremony. You can see powder falling down.Even so, no amount of heavy makeup could cover the ashen look on her face. She was wearing a thick silver fox coat, wrapped into a bloated ball, but she still seemed to be shivering from the cold.

Jubilee couldn't help but looked her up and down, leaned close to Yingchun's ear and whispered, "That's Mrs. Gong?! See how thin she has become... really—"

Yingchun barely recognized her before, and said, "I heard that she fell ill a while ago due to family affairs, I thought it was not a serious illness, but today it looks like she may not be around for long."

The concubine was a little moved when she heard the words. She looked down on Xue Baochai for her appearance as a moralist and hypocrite—Xue Baochai was originally plump and rich. The beauty of concubine'.Seeing her like this now, Jubilee feels pity for her.

Perhaps it was because the two of them had been sizing up for a long time, Baochai looked over intently, raised the water glass to signal to the two of them, and asked Yingchun with a smile, "My concubine is very ill, so I haven't visited my sister for a long time, and I don't know what happened to Liu Gege? "

Liugege and Annian were only three years old, too young to be present, so Yingchun left her in the palace and ordered her nanny to take good care of her.Listening to Baochai's words and He'an, Yingchun said politely, "Thank you for your concern, sister, what can happen to her as a villain?"

Baochai may be in poor spirits today. After discussing this topic, she smiled weakly at the two of them and stopped talking. The concubine and the concubine Yingchun breathed a sigh of relief: No matter what, talking to someone like her is not a good thing. delightful thing.

At the banquet, there were also the eminent concubines of the late emperor, the empress dowager