The scene suddenly changed from the bright and beautiful imperial garden in spring to the Xiangning Palace, the bedroom of emperors of all dynasties.
“Cough cough cough…”
The middle-aged man was sitting on the dragon couch in a soft brown silk nightgown, his face pale and his expression weary. He covered his mouth with a gamboge brocade handkerchief and coughed from time to time.
"Your Majesty, the prince is here." said the eunuch.
The middle-aged man lying on the sickbed was the current emperor, named Zhao Zhong. Zhao Zhong said to the eunuch, "Send the prince in."
Soon, Prince Qinghe came to the dragon bed and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
Zhao Zhong told Prince Qinghe not to be so polite and sent the eunuchs away, leaving only the two brothers in the bedroom.
"Xiao Si, come here and sit here." Zhao Zhong patted the edge of the bed and signaled King Qinghe.
Prince Qinghe said in a distant tone, "I obey your order."
"You and I are brothers, not ruler and subject." Zhao Zhong coughed a few times, "Why are you still estranged from your brother?"
"Brother..." King Qinghe murmured. He couldn't remember how many years had passed since he last called his brother.
Zhao Zhong's memory suddenly went back to many years ago, and he felt a little sad. "Brother, you haven't called me brother for a long time."
Hearing this, Prince Qinghe sighed. Yes, it seemed like it had been many years since he had called His Majesty "brother".
"elder brother."
Prince Qinghe stared at Zhao Zhong in a daze. Calling him brother was very natural, but the feeling he gave him was no longer the same as before.
"Xiao Si, Xi'er is calm and wise, with both virtue and talent. He will be a wise ruler in the future. My brother's health is failing. After my brother dies, you must assist Xi'er well."
"elder brother……"
Prince Qinghe suddenly woke up, and saw darkness in front of his eyes. He found that the corners of his eyes were a little wet.
"Brother." He thought he was still in a dream.
Princess Qinghe was awakened by Prince Qinghe's voice, "Your Highness, did you dream about the late emperor?"
She knew that Prince Qinghe and the late emperor had a deep brotherly love and were born of the same mother. The late empress dowager committed suicide, and Prince Qinghe and the late emperor were not favored by Emperor Zhenzong. When they were young, he and the late emperor were neglected and had no clothes to eat. The two brothers supported each other and grew up safely despite the suppression and harsh treatment of Concubine Xian.
The late emperor suffered a lot in his youth, which led to his developing a hidden illness. In addition, he worked hard for many years after ascending the throne, and he passed away in his forties.
Prince Qinghe woke up from his dream. He hadn't dreamed of his brother for a long time. During the time when his brother had passed away, he often dreamed of past events, and his brother was in his dreams. Later, for some reason, he never dreamed of his brother again.
In his dream, his elder brother told him to assist Xi'er well. This was what his elder brother said to him before he died.
Xier is Zhao Xi's nickname.
Prince Qinghe nodded lightly and asked Princess Qinghe to continue sleeping. He closed his eyes but could not fall asleep no matter what.
"He can massacre Huo Qing's entire family for the sake of the Northern Army. Will he covet my position in the future?"
Prince Qinghe suddenly remembered a sentence the late emperor had said, and a different emotion flashed across his eyes. In the darkness, no one could see what that emotion represented.
Brother, is it that you don’t trust me, or am I suspicious of you?
But the arrow is on the string and has to be shot.
…
In August, the golden osmanthus is fragrant.
In the corridor of Guanju Pavilion, Hua Fushu ordered people to put a rocking chair and a small table on it, and put fruits, vegetables and snacks on it.
On an autumn afternoon, the sun is mild but not scorching. I lie in a rocking chair, chewing on sweet fruits, eating exquisite and delicious snacks, and drinking a cup of bright yellow osmanthus tea.
I have to say, it is a pleasure to have lush flowers.
There are no trivial matters at home, my husband is not at home, and I don’t have children to take care of. Life like this is truly extremely comfortable.
Life is so leisurely, so leisurely, cherish it and cherish it again.
She asked Sanqiao to massage her shoulders. Sanqiao had learned massage and the massage made her feel very comfortable.
"Madam, all the secret spies nearby have been eliminated. There shouldn't be anyone else to take over in the short term. There's nothing suspicious about the people coming in and out of our house." Sanqiao reported the situation in the house while massaging her master's shoulders.
"very good."
Sanqiao handled the matter properly, and Hua Fushu was relieved. She looked up at the sky, which was azure and clear. "We must not relax our precautions. Look, it was so bright and sunny that day. Who knows, it might turn around at any time. It's always sunny before a storm comes."
Sanqiao understood, "Hey, my son-in-law has been gone for so long, I don't know when he will come back, and it's almost Mid-Autumn Festival."
"I'm afraid the Songzhou riots won't be so easy to quell. Didn't I receive a letter from him a few days ago? He said he wouldn't be back soon. I'm not counting on him coming back for the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Speaking of Mid-Autumn Festival, Hua Fushu suddenly thought of the reunion cakes that Baiyue Niang made. "What kind of fillings should we make for the reunion cakes at our house during the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
Sanqiao said, "The reunion cakes made by Madam Yuan in the kitchen are the most beautiful and delicious. I went to the kitchen yesterday and Madam Yuan said that they would be making reunion cakes with a variety of fillings. There's the five-nut filling that Miss Huan likes, the lotus seed paste filling that Madam Dugu likes, red bean paste filling, sesame ham filling, sweet and savory ones, and of course, the ones you like."
Not knowing where Yue Zheng had gone to have fun, he rushed into Guanju Pavilion and rushed towards where Hua Fushu was. He stretched out his hand in front of Hua Fushu and opened it, "Sister, eat some cake."
Hua Fushu sat up and asked, "Who gave you the cake?"
Yue Zheng said while chewing the cake, "Grandpa gave it to me."
The 'grandfather' Yue Zheng mentioned was the old general from Feiyuan.
Yes, during this period, Yue Zheng went to Feiyuan many times.
At the beginning, Hua Fushu was worried that the old general's fierce appearance would scare Yue Zheng, so she went to Feiyuan to check and made sure that Yue Zheng was not scared to tears before she felt relieved.
Maybe because there were fewer people at home, the old general was not used to it, and he changed his previous fierce attitude and became much kinder. When Yue Zheng went to Feiyuan to play, the old general was also patient with Yue Zheng, did not mind Yue Zheng's noise, and took good care of Yue Zheng.
Whenever he saw Hua Fushu, his granddaughter-in-law, he was always friendly and asked her about Ye Zelin's recent situation from time to time.
Hua Fushu naturally did not dare to tell the old general about Ye Zelin's stay in the northern border. He only told him that Ye Zelin was suppressing a rebellion in Songzhou and his return date was uncertain.
The old general also asked whether Ye Zelin had sent any letters back.
Hua Fushu said no, but the old general didn't believe him and insisted that Hua Fushu had hidden his grandson's letters and didn't show them to him.
In fact, Ye Zelin had a letter to send back, and his letter was delivered to her by Jiang Li. Because it involved matters in the northern border, Hua Fushu could only tell the old general that there was no letter.
The old general didn't know what was wrong with him, but he insisted that Hua Fushu show him Ye Zelin's letter.
Hua Fushu had no choice but to agree to show it to him.
Fortunately, she learned Ye Zelin's regular script, so it was extremely easy for her to forge a letter.
The old general was not familiar with Ye Zelin's handwriting, so he naturally couldn't recognize that it was a forgery.
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