Chapter 23 The Man Who Set Up the Scheme "I've come here to have more food."...
Perhaps it was because Qingzan chose to stay, the empress dowager became a little more friendly to her.
No matter what her plan was, at least he could hold back, which meant he listened to her words.
But in this way, the Queen Mother no longer required Qingzan to kneel and reflect on her mistakes, nor did she summon anyone to her side. Qingzan actually didn't know what to do in Hanliang Palace.
Thinking that the empress dowager would never lack people to serve her attentively, he finally just got up early every day and made a pot of tea for her.
The Empress Dowager has been living in Hanliang Palace these days, and the carp in Taiye Pond have visibly become fatter.
Every time Qingzan met the empress dowager, she would move a rattan chair to the open area behind the palace, sit under a large umbrella, enjoy the cool air, watch the lake and feed the fish.
Xun Huan had been with her for the first few days, and she would leave as soon as the Qingzan tea was delivered. Today, Xun Huan had left the palace, and the rattan chair beside the Queen Mother was empty, so she asked her to sit down.
The Queen Mother took a sip of tea and said, "It's a fine tea worth savoring. No wonder the Emperor misses it so much."
Qingzan walked behind the person and asked: "Let me loosen your shoulders for you?"
The Queen Mother did not refuse: "You can also do this?"
Qing Zan began to massage the woman. "I used to serve the old lady in the Marquis's mansion. Back then, I always thought, if I had a grandmother... I would be filial to her. Your Majesty is a goddess. Although she doesn't have the age of my grandmother, she has her kindness."
The Empress Dowager was quite pleased with her technique. She closed her eyes and jokingly said, "I am at most your mother's age. If you were like your grandmother, wouldn't you be a generation apart from the Emperor?"
Qing Zan also sensed something was wrong: "I'm not very good at speaking."
The Queen Mother did not seem angry. She smiled and said, "It's okay to be a little slow in speaking. There are many people who are cunning and deceitful, but there are few who are honest and sincere."
"I'm grateful for your advice."
By lunchtime, the sun was blazing, and the umbrellas and tents were no longer very useful. The Queen Mother wanted to return to the palace, and Qingzan also returned to her own side hall.
Just as he stepped into the door, he was pulled by a hand and stumbled into the house, hitting his head on a chest.
The door was closed cleanly the next moment, locking all the maids following behind outside the hall.
Qingzan was pushed to the door, and her hands were grabbed by him in a domineering manner and pressed against the door, as if she was surrendering.
"His Majesty!"
Xiao Fang didn't give her another chance to speak. He tilted his head slightly and rushed towards the man.
Soon, all that was left between the two was the entanglement of lips and teeth, and a few breaths of embarrassing water sounds that were hidden by this tightly closed room.
Qing Zansu fell into his arms, his body softer than the water in Taiye Lake.
"Why is Your Majesty here?" she asked softly.
Xiao Fang smiled slightly and said in a hoarse voice: "Didn't you ask me to work hard to add more food? I came here to add more food."
Qing Zan was trapped in the narrow space between the door and the crowd. She felt dizzy and couldn't see him clearly, so she kept her head down and asked carefully, "So now... is it before dinner or after dinner?"
Xiao Fang was stunned for a moment.
He took his eyes away from her moist and greasy lips, suppressing the fire in his heart that had just been slightly satisfied and was now aroused to a higher level.
"When it comes to talking nonsense, Qingqing is even better than me."
He wrapped his palm around one of her hands and opened the door. "You are the Lady Ying, whom I personally appointed. Why should I be so secretive with you? Let's go and have dinner with the Queen Mother."
Qing Zan was led by him like a weak child learning to walk. On the corridors of the water palace, light and shadows were scale-like shapes, sparkling and jumping.
Then he quickly disappeared when her eyelashes drooped.
*
Outside the world of Hanliang Palace.
The palace has been relatively peaceful recently, except for the newly promoted Concubine Zhao, who always hangs around Concubine Yang.
At first, because Concubine Yang was still a beauty after having served the emperor in bed several times, Concubine Zhao was promoted to a beauty without having ever served the emperor in bed. Although the two were on equal footing, Concubine Zhao always felt that she was slightly better.
But gradually, seeing that the emperor was reluctant to summon her, Concubine Zhao became a little anxious.
She complained to Concubine Yuan and asked her to come up with another idea.
During this period, Concubine Yuan actually discovered that the emperor seemed to be indifferent to matters between men and women, otherwise there would probably not be only one prince in the palace until now.
She tried to figure out the emperor's logic and soon realized that the emperor's reward was more like a kind of compensation than favor - for those who could not be favored but had desirable qualities, the emperor would treat them more favorably in terms of position, such as Zhaoyi and Huifei.
Unfortunately, Concubine Zhao couldn't understand this logic.
Consort Yuan continued to hold her in her arms, "Don't worry, sister. Since His Majesty has promoted you, it means he favors you. Isn't it only a matter of time before you sleep with him? It's just that she hasn't been to the harem these days. Yang is already a thing of the past. Looking around the palace, who else can compete with you for favor?"
Lady Zhao actually listened to it and continued to wait with all her heart.
When he heard that the emperor had gone to Hanliang Palace, he was furious.
Concubine Zhao couldn't understand why His Majesty would rather go to Hanliang Palace to have dinner with Concubine Ying than come to her Chunhezhai?
But Concubine Ying lives in Hanliang Palace, and she cannot come to attack at any time like Concubine Yang!
Consort Yuan could only comfort her: "Concubine Ying is in great favor. Sister, please wait a little longer. His Majesty will eventually remember you."
Lady Zhao's knuckles were white from clenching her fists. "If she has the guts, she'll never leave Hanliang Palace. Otherwise..."
Otherwise, can't you bear it anymore?
After Consort Yuan left Chunhezhai, she instructed those around her, "Keep a close eye on Concubine Zhao these past few days. If Concubine Zhao makes any unusual moves, please let me know."
*
At the beginning of June, the world is like a furnace.
Even the most magnificent palace seemed to be dissolved under the sun.
The Queen Mother called Qingzan to a room in one of the rear halls of Hanliang Palace.
The furnishings here resembled a study, except that the left and right walls were covered with vermilion carved windows that could be opened. When opened, a stream of water and wind blew across the hall, almost making one feel that they were not in the palace, but on a boat sailing on the water.
On the closed doors hung many poems and paintings, many of which depicted the daily lives of the emperor and his concubines.
The Empress Dowager sighed deeply, "I didn't come here last year, simply because this Hanliang Palace holds so many memories of me and the late Emperor. In the past, during the summer months, after the late Emperor left court, he would come to this Hanliang Palace to review memorials and keep me company. In the winter, we would go to the hot spring palace together. In those days, the magical hot springs overflowed in winter, and the summer was free from the scorching heat. It was truly a paradise on earth."
Qingzan examined the poems and paintings on the wall one by one. In some of the poems, the first and second couplets had different handwriting, suggesting they were co-written. And in the paintings, aside from the joint portraits of the Emperor and his Consort, most were small portraits of the Empress Dowager, capturing her various expressions.
She said sincerely, "Your Majesty and the late Emperor are truly a match made in heaven."
The Queen Mother smiled. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, "I wonder how the drought is in the southwest."
"Spring and summer are the most difficult times in the southwest. When I was little, I was just a poor girl from Sangchuan County. That year, a severe drought struck the southwest, and my entire family starved to death. I was the only one who survived and found an army providing disaster relief. Most of the soldiers couldn't speak the local dialect, so I followed them everywhere, comforting the victims. Later, a young general led the army and took me in as his sister. I followed him on his campaigns, and while he was on the battlefield, I stayed in the counties and towns surrounding the battles to gather any useful information."
The Queen Mother turned her head and looked at Qingzan: "You have probably guessed that this young general is the late emperor."
The fine lines on her face suddenly deepened as she frowned. "I and the late emperor were once through thick and thin. But when he became the crown prince, the Crown Princess became someone else. When the new emperor ascended the throne, the Empress was also someone else."
The Queen Mother took down a small portrait of herself and looked at the color of the painting that could no longer be reproduced. She gradually became angry and melancholy, her voice trembling slightly: "Yuan, it seems that you want to marry me. No one would underestimate it, but I know in my heart..."
No matter what, it is just a title of a concubine. There is no need to underestimate it, but there is no need to overestimate it either.
Although Qingzan knew that the Empress Dowager's family background was not prominent, she had no idea there was such a story. She said in a gentle voice, "But at least for the late Emperor, there will never be another Yuan Fei in this world."
The Queen Mother heard the soothing tone in her words and slowly calmed down.
I spoke to her openly: "Qingzan, I hope that the harem will be stable. Only in this way can the emperor be at peace. If anyone tries to cause chaos, I will not allow it, and neither will the emperor. It's not easy for you to get to this point. Don't ruin all your previous efforts."
Qing Zan listened to these warnings and could only respond with one sentence: "I am very grateful to the Empress Dowager for speaking to me, but... the late emperor loved you dearly, and others would not dare to bully or disrespect you. The relationship you shared with the late emperor, through thick and thin, is a rare treasure. I am afraid I may not be so blessed. I am afraid that I am in a chaotic situation and have no choice."
"You don't have to belittle yourself. I know you've suffered a lot." Her anger faded, and the Queen Mother was left with only sadness. "If you can endure the grievances for a while, you'll have a long future. Over the years, because of a momentary impulse, I and the late emperor lost a lot."
The Empress Dowager tried to make things clearer. She walked towards Qingzan, staring him down, and said, "Living together in Changganli, the two children have no suspicion of each other. I always hope that the people around the Emperor will comfort him more and avoid suspicion and disturbance. Do you understand?"
Qingzan only lowered her eyes again and again: "Yes."
She certainly understood that the Queen Mother wanted to teach her to be a qualified concubine, a confidant and a sweetheart who would accompany the Emperor. She believed that the reason she climbed onto the imperial bed was simply to gain respect in public or to show her true affection behind the scenes. So, even if she felt wronged, she had to remain calm.
But she didn't know that what she was going to do, whether noble or sincere, was just a part of the unscrupulous means.
After a long while, the Queen Mother relaxed her aggressive aura and smiled bitterly: "Never mind, it's rare that the Emperor likes you."
"The Emperor may seem to hold the throne, but in reality, his father, mother, and even his beloved sister have failed him. If you can't do what I just said, I only hope that you will at least stop failing him."
After saying this, she seemed to have no intention of keeping the hairpin anymore.
There is no need to stay in this study hall or in Hanliang Hall.
"The lotus flowers in Chengluan Palace are about to bloom, right? It's only in these two months. If you miss this season, you'll only be left with the bleakness of autumn and winter. Miss Ying, please cherish the flowers while you can and return home early."
Inside the palace, watching Qingzan leave, Nanny Lian said, "Your Majesty is speaking your heart out to her like this, I wonder how much she can understand."
"She doesn't have enough ambition in her eyes." The Queen Mother shook her head and pondered, "Or maybe she really doesn't have it, but then she wouldn't have become the master overnight, or..."
It's because his ambition is too big and too absurd that he dare not reveal even a hint.
*
When Qingzan returned to Chengluan Palace, she saw that the lotus flowers in the ten-acre square pond had indeed reached their peak.
The lotus leaves are round like green palm-leaf fans, and the white and delicate lotus flowers stand tall among them.
Although it was falsely accused of causing the death of a favorite concubine and was often criticized, in such a hot summer day, this lotus pond actually maintained the coolness that was unique among the six palaces.
It is not inferior to Hanliang Palace.
During Qingzan's absence, Pingting kept the Baoyuyou Pavilion in perfect order. When she saw someone coming back, she came out to greet him: "Master, please don't be distracted. Go and see who is in the room."
Qingzan guessed something, and as soon as she entered the room, she saw Suoying standing up with the help of two crutches.
"Sister Qingzan!" Suoying threw down her crutches and was about to come over to hug her, but she fell down again and was hurriedly supported by two palace maids.
"Why did you come here before you recovered?" Qingzan asked.
Suo Ying said embarrassedly, "Eunuch Xu said that Taiji Palace doesn't keep idle people, and only Baoyuyou Pavilion is willing to do so."
She wouldn't tell her sister that Xu Dajian even hinted that His Majesty wanted her to accompany Sister Qingzan as soon as possible so that her sister could be happier. Who would speak well of a man in front of her sister?
Qingzan was amused. At night, the two of them slept on the same couch as before. Qingzan's bed was now so spacious that there was plenty of room for an extra set of bedding.
I managed to sleep well that night, but was woken up by someone pushing me.
Suo Ying sat up nervously: "Did you hear any sound, sister?"
In the dead silence of the night, there were only one or two sounds of fish leaping and frogs croaking. Qingzan shook his head.
Suoying stubbornly and vigilantly pulled her away from sleep, so Qingzan simply got off the bed and lit a candle.
There was nothing unusual around, but Suo Ying was becoming increasingly nervous. After listening for a while, she suddenly said, "It sounds a bit like breathing..."
Qingzan was so frightened that she lost all sleepiness.
Suo Ying listened for a while, then frowned and said, "It sounds a bit like hissing."
Qingzan trusted people's hearing very much, so he did not dare to neglect it and called Doukou and Pingting in.
After hearing Suoying's description, Pingting also became nervous: "Could it be... this shouldn't be the case?"
"Looking for it." Qingzan's eyelashes drooped.
The Queen Mother wanted her to be calm and patient, but she forgot that the palace was never a peaceful place. When a boat is sailing through dangerous rapids, how could it be smooth sailing?
But it doesn’t matter. All the stumbling blocks that don’t trip her can become stepping stones.
*
On the third day of June, there was a light rain in the morning. The sky was yellow and muddy. It was cooler than a sunny day, but also more stuffy than a sunny day.
It has been three or five days since Qingzan returned to Chengluan Palace, but the emperor has not come yet.
There was an abandoned small boat by the lotus pond. Qingzan estimated the time, asked someone to help him onto the boat, picked a lotus leaf as a cushion, and lay down to look at the sky.
After a while, the eunuch came to report that the emperor was coming. But Qingzan just closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
Doukou pulled the young eunuch to prevent him from waking up his master.
After a while, the emperor arrived. Qingzan was still lying sideways on the boat, with a lotus leaf covering his face and a wine jug beside him.
On the shore, the emperor looked at the scenery in the boat and stopped to admire it, unable to bear to interrupt it.
Xu Delu stood with the emperor and whispered, "Your Majesty has long desired Concubine Ying. Why wait until today?"
Xiao Fang glanced at the person, said nothing, and walked over.
In the boat, Qingzan felt the boat sway twice and suddenly sink a little. It seemed that someone had untied the reins, and without restraint, it was pushed hard and was about to drift among the lotus leaves.
Only then did he finally wake up and sit up.
When she opened her eyes, the emperor was already sitting beside her, with one knee bent and legs crossed, looking at her: "Sleeping so soundly, huh?"
Qing Zan immediately smiled and hugged the man's waist. A wine bottle rolled out from under her body, and half of the bottle of wine kept sloshing around. "I drank a lot of wine, so it's inevitable that I'm a little sleepy."
Seeing that she was indeed more innocent than usual, Xiao Fang pinched her nose and teased, "Why, you're drinking to drown your sorrows when I'm away for a few days?"
Qing Zan dodged his hand and smiled: "I don't know whether Ying Cairen is beautiful, Zhao Meiren is clever, or Yang Meiren is pleasing? Your Majesty is not here, so I can only ask about this wine."
Xiao Fang held her down, letting her lie quietly in his arms: "What kind of jealousy are you eating?"
"What I drink is wine, not vinegar." Qingzan corrected seriously.
She was indeed as drunk as a fool, with a flushed complexion reaching her temples and a wandering gaze. Lying on the emperor's lap, she spoke to him word by word, "In Hanliang Palace, the Queen Mother and I had a great conversation. She told me to accompany Your Majesty well."
"Oh?" Xiao Fang drank the remaining half bottle of wine, smiling carefree and dotingly, "How do you want to accompany me?"
Qingzan was speechless for a long time, staring at him innocuously and helplessly. The power of her gaze was no less than the affectionate look in the tent. The person she was looking at felt a tightness in her throat, yet she was still unaware of it.
"Drunkard." Xiao Fang was helpless, but he wasn't going to touch a drunkard.
However, the lotus leaves in June were taller than a person's head. When the boat drifted into the dense lotus leaves, Xiao Fang leaned over to avoid them. Qingzan took the opportunity to hug his neck and climbed up, kissing him on the face.
Xiao Fang had never seen anyone so proactive before, and he felt an unprecedented wonderful emotion.
It was as if there was no heaven and earth, no sun and moon, no cold and heat, only the lotus pond and the witch.
Qingzan quickly finished the kiss and calmed down. She snatched the bottle of wine from his hand and poured it hard on her lips, but only got a few drops of sweet dew, and threw it away in dissatisfaction.
"Why did you finish drinking?"
She spoke delicately, then suddenly tilted her head and said in a muffled voice, "Your Majesty. Has Your Majesty found out about my mother... Mother, is her last name Cheng?"
So that's why?
Xiao Fang wiped the wine dripping from her lips with the ball of his thumb and raised an eyebrow: "Why can't I just make it up?"
Qingzan once again wrapped her arms around the person and hugged her. Her moist red lips moved as she insisted, "Please tell me, I miss her very much."
The emperor's aura darkened a little, and he pinched her waist twice: "Oh, you don't miss me?"
Without waiting for an answer, he moved away a few inches, straightened her shoulders, and stared at her for a while.
Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes were drunken, and she was completely defenseless against him.
Xiao Fang suddenly lowered his head, held the fragrant wine at the corner of the person's lips, and swallowed it all drop by drop.
Qingzan groaned, feeling itchy from the kiss. She smiled but tried to hide, and almost fell backwards onto the side of the boat.
"How can you be so drunk with only half a bottle of wine?" Xiao Fang could only hold the person's hand tightly to prevent her from falling when she moved around.
But they also enjoy the pure comfort of playing in the lotus boat at this moment.
But in the next moment, the drunken, laughing and groaning woman suddenly turned around and threw herself into his arms, her whole body tense.
She pointed at the water behind her and said in a trembling voice, "Snake, there's a snake—!"
All the sweet love was gone, leaving only her trembling fear, which was transmitted through his chest, causing even the king who was in charge of the country to feel a slight panic for a moment.
"Don't be afraid." Xiao Fang looked in the direction the person was pointing.
Beneath the clear ripples, there was indeed a silver ring snake swimming in the water. Fortunately, whether it was because of the sound or the smell of alcohol, it fled away into the distance.
But another one nimbly emerged from the bottom of the boat.
If you are not careful and get bitten by a highly venomous snake, your life will be in danger.
There is more than one.
Xiao Fang patted Qing Zan's back gently, but his eyes, looking towards the water, suddenly turned as cold as ice, fierce and sinister.
He snatched a hairpin from the shivering woman in his arms, held it between his fingers, and waited for the right moment to throw it.
The silver ring is three inches in the middle.
The lotus leaves overlapped, and the people on the shore had no idea what was happening.
All I saw was that Concubine Ying was carried off the boat by the emperor.
Xiao Fang tightened his grip around the delicate body in his arms and asked Xu Delu, "I remember there was a cook in the inner kitchen who was good at catching eels?"
Xu Delu vaguely remembered that this was the case. He had originally been a wanderer in the countryside, but because he was good at cooking game, he was hired into the palace.
After thinking for a while, he said, "Your Majesty, it seems that his name is Pei Da."
"Send him over here, no need to make a fuss."
Xu Delu asked uncertainly, "Are you going to...catch eels?"
Xiao Fang pursed his lips and sneered. He walked into the inner room and laid the person in his arms down on the couch. Qingzan was already mostly sober. She looked at him silently, her eyebrows showing a bit of coldness and sadness, as well as confusion and fear.
Doukou and Pingting came over to hug her and comfort her, but they were more nervous than her.
They dared not look at the place where the emperor stood with his back to his chest, his eyes narrowed with a sharp light, and he said to Xu Delu: "Don't catch eels."
He was confident that he was in control of everything, but because of the woman's fragility, he would exercise more restraint on her, not wanting her to be in a dangerous and isolated situation where she would be schemed against and hated by more people.
However, someone still wouldn't let her go.
Thinking of this, Xiao Fang's voice became even colder and deeper, making people feel the coldness even in June:
"Today, catch ghosts."
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