Chapter 13

The dog emperor disliked him for being a nuisance, so Lin Nanjie simply found a place farthest away from the Zichen Palace and unknowingly walked to a secluded place in the harem. When he looked up, he saw the three words "Yifang Palace" written on the plaque.

Yifang Palace?

Lin Nanjie started searching his mind.

Yifang Palace is the most remote palace in the harem, where Concubine Yi lives. There are four concubines in the palace. In addition to Concubine Gui who moved into the cold palace, the other three are Concubine Duan, Concubine Rong and Concubine Yi. Concubine Yi has the lowest birth and is the only one who has not been given the title of concubine.

Lin Nanjie thought, isn’t this place quite remote?

Two little palace maids were sitting at the door, lazing around, talking tremblingly from the cold, and looking at Lin Nanjie with doubtful eyes.

After Lin Nanjie explained her purpose, the two palace maids were happy to have someone clean up the place and let Lin Nanjie in directly.

One of them even specifically reminded us: "The garden at the back has the most fallen leaves."

Lin Nanjie cleaned diligently at first, but when he saw the garden full of fallen leaves, he immediately lost his temper.

He threw away the broom, found a stone to lie on, and simply left it there.

Anyway, this job is designed to torture him. Unless God opens his eyes and sends a strong wind to blow them all away, he is just a mortal and can't do anything about it.

He tore off a withered banana leaf and covered his face with it, not afraid of being discovered. The place was overgrown with weeds, and no palace maids or eunuchs would be willing to come here. The dog emperor probably wouldn't be crazy enough to go to a place like this with withered flowers and fallen leaves.

On the other side, Li Chenghuan was drinking tea in Concubine Yi's palace. He deliberately raised the volume to test whether there were any mysterious heart sounds.

After the test, I felt suspicious again.

He looked at the tea in the bowl with suspicion.

Not really, this place is quite biased.

Li Chengxuan couldn't remember the last time he came to Yifang Palace. He looked at Yipin's simple bun and her slightly obvious skeleton from behind, and remembered that Yipin's family was in Dengzhou, and her father was a local official in Dengzhou, and her family background was not prominent. The Queen Mother insisted on choosing Yipin because she thought she had a big skeleton and was good at giving birth.

Li Chenghuan looked at Concubine Yi walking towards him, half a head lower than him, slightly dazed.

"It's winter now. Is it cold on weekdays?"

As soon as Li Chengqian came in, he felt that this place was not as warm as other places, and the charcoal fire was not strong. The decoration in Yifang Palace was simple and elegant, and the cold wind blew in, making it feel more like a snow cave.

Yipin Qian smiled and poured more tea for Li Chengqian: "Thank you for your relationship, Your Majesty. I have a strong internal fire, so I don't feel too cold."

Li Chengqian said "Oh", but still instructed Wang Dehai: "Give Concubine Yi more charcoal every month, and distribute it according to her rank as a concubine."

Concubine Yi was overwhelmed by the favor: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Chengqian took a sip of tea and said, "There aren't many concubines in the palace, so your share won't be much more."

Concubine Yi thanked him again.

The room was silent except for the sound of teacups colliding with each other.

Yipin suddenly said, "The weather is nice today, Your Majesty, why don't we go to the garden and recite poems?"

Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: "That's exactly what I meant."

The two came out of the cold house, the sun jumped out from the clouds, the warm afternoon sunlight shone down, the pond was full of withered lotus leaves, there was quite a bit of winter charm.

Li Chengqian also became interested.

This was originally the residence of the favorite concubines of the previous dynasty. Taking advantage of the slope, the flat ground was dug to make a pond, and the "lotus pond" was specially made based on the poem "The lotus leaves are endless and green, and the lotus flowers are red in the sun". In the Daqi Dynasty, the lotus pond was abandoned to warn future generations, and it became the residence of concubines of lower status.

Although there are no lotus flowers to admire, the remaining lotus leaves are sparse and their shadows are slanting. The frozen pond surface is crystal clear, which has a unique sense of loneliness and perseverance. The last remaining red is burning on the slope not far away, waiting for a snowstorm to bring the fallen leaves back to their roots.

At this gorgeous and poignant moment, Li Chengqian could not help but recite with emotion: "The turbulent world has come and gone, and the Jianghu is full of laughter and conversation again on Double Ninth Festival."

Concubine Yi praised repeatedly.

The two of them went back and forth, unknowingly walking into the depths.

Yipin also came up with a couplet: "The palace oriole is born from the Shangyang flower."

Li Chengqian thought about it and realized that it was not that there were no ready-made ones, but he just felt that they were not good enough.

Li Chengxuan was thinking in his heart, this sentence came from a Tang Dynasty poem. If this was used as the first couplet, then in the second couplet, the palace oriole could be paired with the purple swallow, and the yanghua could be paired with the new spring willow. However, the artistic conception was a little worse.

Just at this time, a gust of wind blew, the autumn wind was rustling, and the soft willow leaves brushed across the cheeks. The dryness was mixed with the fragrance of grass and trees, which made people inexplicably moved.

Coming out in waves in the autumn wind——

"...The dog emperor...a good horse never turns back to eat grass..."

Li Chengqian: “…”

The beautiful scenery, the beautiful couplet, and the beautiful poetic inspiration were all crushed into bubbles.

Li Chenghuan's expression instantly fell apart.

Yipin was still looking forward to Li Chenghuan's second line, but suddenly she saw Li Chenghuan's face filled with anger. He walked forward with hurried steps, completely different from the leisurely man who was composing the poem just now.

A look of panic flashed across Concubine Yi's face. Could it be that the first couplet she had just come up violated some taboo and made the emperor unhappy?

Thinking of this, her pretty face turned pale and she hurried to catch up, picking up her skirt.

Lin Nanqi was lying on a stone and fell asleep unknowingly. In his dream, he heard the Dog Emperor and subconsciously replied. After that, he was unconscious and even snored slightly.

It was not until the lotus leaf covering his face was removed and his eyelids were shiny and hot from the sun that he slowly woke up and opened his eyes.

Suddenly, I faced a face that was very close to me.

The eyebrows on that face slanted into the temples, the nose was high, the thin lips were tightly pressed into a line, and the eyes were deep and dark.

Lin Nanjie was so frightened that he was stunned. For a moment, he even forgot what to do and stared at Li Chenghuan blankly.

Li Chenghuan held the petiole of a withered lotus leaf in his hand and looked down at Lin Nanjie. The little eunuch was sleeping in the withered lotus bushes. His sleeping posture was not elegant at all, and there were even suspicious water stains at the corners of his mouth, but surprisingly, he didn't look ugly.

Concubine Yi hurried over and was also startled by the eunuch who suddenly appeared in the lotus pond. Her face turned pale and she scolded in a low voice: "You slave, how dare you sneak in here? Why don't you kneel down!"

She turned around and saluted Li Chenghuan again: "It's all my fault for not disciplining him well, but letting this servant disturb the emperor's pleasure."

Lin Nanjie reacted and knelt down immediately: "I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong!"

Numb, Lin Nanjie felt numb all over.

[This place is so deserted, why are there still people coming here? ]

[Writing poems facing dead branches and fallen leaves is a special hobby. 】

[Alas, the fallen leaves of the plants in this garden are particularly suitable for making fertilizer. ]

Li Chenghuan threw the lotus leaf over Lin Nanjie's head to cover his face, and said with gritted teeth: "I don't want to see your face for the time being!"

He now really feels like he has lifted a rock and dropped it on his own feet.

Lin Nanjie raised the lotus leaf to cover his face and left. He felt very aggrieved. What happened to his face?

He felt that he and the Dog Emperor probably had a conflicting horoscope, otherwise he would have run into him wherever he went.

After being disturbed by Lin Nanjie, Li Chenghuan gave up the idea of ​​going to the harem and handled government affairs in Zichen Hall for two days. On the third day, Wang Dehai came in and said, "Concubine Duan invites the emperor to have dinner in Duanyang Palace."

Li Chengxuan put down his pen, and then he remembered that Rong Fei and Yi Fei had already been to the palace, and it would be unreasonable not to go to Duan Fei's palace. Duan Fei was from the Empress Dowager's family, so he still had to give her the face she deserved.

Li Chenghuan drove to Duanyang Palace, and everyone in Duanyang Palace knelt on the ground: "Greetings, long live the emperor!"

"Everyone, get up." Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly.

Concubine Duan came out from the palace and bowed respectfully, "Your Majesty, I respectfully welcome you."

Li Chenghuan reached out and helped her up: "My beloved concubine, you have worked hard in managing the harem."

The two walked into the palace together. Concubine Duan smiled and said, "The emperor has entrusted the harem to me to take care of. This is my blessing. How can I say it is hard work?"

A banquet was set on the table. Li Chengqian sat down and thought to himself, "My beloved concubine is thoughtful. She even remembers my taste."

Concubine Duan smiled coquettishly and said, "Your Majesty has not been to Duanyang Palace for a long time. I have specially asked the kitchen to prepare your favorite food. Your Majesty, please try it."

Li Chengqian picked up the dish with chopsticks and tasted it: "Not bad."

Concubine Duan was delighted: "It would be great if the emperor likes it."

Li Chenghuan pondered: "I remember you had three brothers? How are they now?"

Concubine Duan was slightly startled, then replied: "Your Majesty, I have two older brothers and one younger brother, all of whom are studying at home. My eldest brother is helping my father with work, and my second brother passed the imperial examination last year."

Li Chengqian said, "Oh," and said, "At the end-of-year palace banquet, let your elder and second brothers come as well so you can meet them."

Concubine Duan's eyes moistened: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The two chatted while eating. Before they knew it, Li Chengqian felt a little uncomfortable. He slowly put down his chopsticks and looked outside.

I always feel like something is missing.

If the little eunuch appeared, he would have a heart attack. If he didn't appear, he would always be prepared for a heart attack.

Li Chengqian felt that he was a little crazy.

Concubine Duan was puzzled: "What is the emperor looking at?"

Li Chenghuan retracted his gaze: "I didn't see anything, my beloved concubine, the food here is quite delicious."

Concubine Duan smiled and said, "The night is short, I have prepared some wine."

This means to keep you overnight.

Li Chenghuan took two sips of wine and felt a slight warmth all over his body, which was quite comfortable in this cold weather.

While sipping my wine, I suddenly heard a tug of war outside.

Li Chengqian frowned slightly and called Wang Dehai: "What's going on outside?"

Wang Dehai came back to report: "It seems that the two young eunuchs are arguing over something."

Concubine Duan looked slightly annoyed: "The Emperor is still here, how can this be disrespectful?"

Li Chengqian: "Bring him in for questioning."

A eunuch from Concubine Duan's palace dragged another young eunuch into the palace and complained on the spot: "Your Majesty, Concubine Duan, I saw this man doing something sneaky in the kitchen. He must have been bitten by cats!"

The person who spoke was Qian Wanli, who accused Li Chenghuan and Concubine Duan in anger.

Lin Nanqi was grabbed by Qian Wanli's arm, and there was a hint of indignation on his fair and handsome face. When he heard the words, his eyes widened and he showed an expression of disbelief.

[Huh? I was sneaky?]

[It was you who gave the emperor the aphrodisiac! ]

With a loud bang, the wine glass in Li Chenghuan's hand fell to the ground.