Work overtime

Jiang Yuebai didn't sleep well that night.

Messy dreams appeared alternately. Bloody scenes of fighting and killing often appear. The images and sounds are very delicate and coherent, and are extremely real. When time slows down and is experienced again, the fear deep inside is exposed.

This is a side effect of taking Tianji Dan for a month.

Everything that happened this month will be etched in your memory. Whether it's fighting and killing, losing Jinxiu, or getting along with Han Ziqian warmly day after day. The severe pain and itching from the two surgeries on my legs all penetrated deeply into my bone marrow.

Jiang Yuebai woke up very early.

When she woke up, clutching her chest, she was very glad that it was just a dream.

Today Lu Mingshi will leave the harem at noon and go to Kaifeng Mansion in Henan. She wanted to accompany her sister to offer incense to Jinxiu and have breakfast again.

The breakfast was prepared in an extremely rich way, and it was my sister's favorite breakfast. Jiang Yuebai discovered that even if a person loses his memory, he still remembers her familiar smell. I liked it in the past and still like it now.

After breakfast, the two of them played with the birds on the porch.

There is a pair of budgies in the cage. Han Ziqian bought it from outside the palace before leaving, saying that he would accompany Jiang Yuebai to relieve his boredom.

This species of parrot is very intelligent and can imitate human speech.

"Sister, when will they learn to talk?" Lu Mingshi has asked this question every day since the two parrots arrived at Taorui Palace.

Jiang Yuebai suspected that the first word these two birds learned was "sister", or "empress", or "nuo".

Which one will it be?
Jiang Yuebai tilted his head and said with a smile, "Next time we meet again."

Lu Mingshi asked curiously while feeding the rice grains, "Sister, open the cage, will they fly into the sky?"

Jiang Yuebai couldn't help but look up at the blue sky, "Maybe. I don't know either. You can open the cage and grab it out to try. Maybe it won't fly high. Even if it flies very high, because it looks so strange and beautiful, I'm afraid it will still fly in the end. They will be caught and kept in a cage.”

"Okay, okay, let's give it a try." Lu Mingshi didn't hear what Jiang Yuebai said and was about to open the cage happily.

"Empress." Li Chun hesitated for a moment, but did not stop Lu Mingshi, "Eunuch Han said that if this bird is released, it will fly away. Because the tendons on their wings have not been broken."

Jiang Yuebai smiled and said, "If you want to release Mingshi, release it and see if that's the case."

Lu Mingshi hesitated for a moment, then closed the open cage again.

She felt scared when she thought of Han Ziqian's cold and serious face, and she would obey his orders unconsciously.

Jiang Yuebai looked at his sister in confusion, "Mingshi, why don't you give it a try?"

No matter before or after amnesia, he is not afraid of anything and can do whatever he wants.

Lu Mingshi lowered her eyes and said a little lowly, "Let's forget it."

Jiang Yuebai asked curiously, "Why? Are you afraid that it will fly and no one will play with you? Or are you afraid that it will starve to death without food in the future, or be eaten by a cat or an eagle?"

Lu Mingshi was a little uneasy and murmured, "Because Eunuch Han said that the cage cannot be opened."

"What else did Eunuch Han tell you?"

Lu Mingshi raised her head and said with a smile, "Eunuch Han also said that I have a family that loves me and tolerates me very much."

Jiang Yuebai didn't ask why Han Ziqian said this to her, but just smiled, "Eunuch Han is right, your family loves you very much. You will see them soon. The emperor will send someone soon Take you back."

Lu Mingshi suddenly cried, "Sister, aren't you my family? I always thought you were my family. I don't want to leave you."

As he spoke, he threw himself into Jiang Yuebai's arms.

Li Chun was worried that her mother's legs would be touched and the baby would be pressed against her. But the empress waved her hand, indicating that she didn't need to worry about it.

Jiang Yuebai hugged Lu Mingshi and let her cry loudly in his arms.

If you don’t forget the taste you liked before, maybe you won’t forget the people you liked before.

Jiang Yuebai gently stroked his sister's back, "Mingshi, you have your own parents, as well as brothers and sisters. You will see your father soon. We sisters will have to part ways after all."

"Sister, I don't want to be separated from you." Lu Mingshi cried even more sadly.

Jiang Yuebai felt sad in her heart, but there were no more tears.

She looked at Li Chun aside and told her to open the cage and put the two parrots on the branches.

The two parrots looked around stupidly but did not fly away.

Jiang Yuebai smiled and said, "Mingshi, don't you want to see if the parrots will fly away? If you don't watch, they will really fly away."

Upon hearing this, Mingshi stood up straight, looked at the parrots on the branch, and said in surprise, "It turns out that they can't fly when you open the cage."

Jiang Yuebai: "Throw some rice on the ground."

"Okay!" Lu Mingshi smiled through tears, took a handful of rice from Li Chun and sprinkled it on the ground.

The two parrots jumped down from the branches and ate rice on the ground.

Lu Mingshi seemed disappointed, "It turns out that they won't fly away even if you open the cage."

Jiang Yuebai smiled and said, "Maybe they will fly away when they are full."

"Then let's wait until they are full." Lu Mingshi observed the two parrots with interest.

However, after observing for a long time, the two parrots jumped around in the yard for a long time without flying away. They just stopped on the branches to comb their feathers.

Just when Lu Mingshi was feeling disappointed and Jiang Yuebai was deep in thought, the car to pick up Lu Mingshi arrived.

Xuan Henan Zhili Chief Secretary Lu Ruilin's daughter immediately went to the Qinzheng Palace to meet him.

The moment of separation finally arrived.

Lu Mingshi reluctantly leaned down and hugged Jiang Yuebai tightly again, calling affectionately, "Sister!"

Tears filled Jiang Yuebai's eyes at some point. She pinched Lu Mingshi's oval face and said with a smile, "Go ahead."

Lu Mingshi wiped away her tears, took out a small purse from her clothes, and held it to Jiang Yuebai with both hands, "This is the gift I sewed for my sister. I hope she likes it."

Jiang Yuebai looked at the crooked word "福" on it, turned it over and embroidered the word "sister", smiled and nodded, "I like it very much."

Lu Mingshi suddenly showed a bright smile and said happily, "Great!"

In the distance, Xiao Luozi quietly handed an envelope to the little eunuch who was delivering the order.

When Lu Mingshi got on the carriage, with the sound of the wheels rolling, the two parrots suddenly flew towards the tall tree.

It's just that Lu Mingshi was sitting in the carriage and couldn't see it.

Jiang Yuebai wanted to tell Lu Mingshi that the two parrots had flown and they were free.

Sitting in a wheelchair, she waved to Lu Mingshi repeatedly as she bid farewell to Jinxiu until she disappeared from sight.

The two parrots flew away to no one knows where. In short, they disappeared.

Jiang Yuebai sat there quietly for a long time, holding the small purse given by his sister in his hand and looking in the direction of the palace gate. As far as the eye can see, there are only tall red walls and taller trees.

Two Persian cats are playing and rolling.

The little female cat named Xiaoxue was put in a cage and followed Lu Mingshi away.

Jinxiu is gone.

Jinshi is no longer here.

Han Ziqian is no longer here either.

From now on, she is truly alone in this palace. No, there are still children in the belly.

Jiang Yuebai asked Xiao Luozi who came back, "Have you found a parrot nearby?"

Xiao Luozi saluted and replied, "Go back to your Majesty, my servant is incompetent and I didn't see the parrot."

"If you can't find it, don't look for it. Let them be."

Xiao Luozi offered advice, "Let's expand the scope and search again. It's likely that we flew to the Royal Garden."

Jiang Yuebai looked at the sky, "No need to look for it. The birds raised in the harem are their fate whether they live or die."

Xiao Luozi and Li Chun looked at each other, feeling that there was something mysterious in the empress' words, so they didn't dare to answer.

Jiang Yuebai smiled and did not continue. Ming Lichun pushed her back to the house.

She devoted herself to the busy study of Go again, feeling fulfilled and happy.

Wind and rain were everywhere, so she had to prepare for a rainy day and hold an umbrella for herself.

Before picking up Lu Mingshi, the emperor had already met with Lu Ruilin, Chief Secretary of Zhili, Henan, and Murong Chi was also accompanying him.

Of course the emperor would not talk directly about Lu Mingshi.

Lu Ruilin was first of all an imperial official, so naturally he talked about work first.

First, I asked about Henan’s drought and locust relief work. In addition to confirming the work achievements, I naturally gave him a beating.

After that, let’s talk about family matters.

The emperor asked with concern about the health of Lu Ruilin's old mother. Even if Lu Ruilin knew the purpose of being cared about by the emperor, he was still flattered by the idea of ​​imperial power engraved in his bones. Hearing that Lu Ruilin's old mother was ill in bed, the emperor expressed deep concern and gave the imperial doctor a live-in consultation.

Lu Ruilin was a filial son. The emperor sent the imperial doctor to stay at home to treat patients. Naturally, he knelt on the ground and burst into tears of gratitude. He knew that this imperial doctor was actually equipped for Lu Mingshi. Even if the imperial doctor lived in his home, if he wanted to ask the imperial doctor to treat other people in the family, he still needed the emperor's permission.

Li Beichen sent an imperial doctor to follow him, not only to take care of Lu Mingshi, but also to kill two birds with one stone.

For example, you need to show kindness to the place where someone cares the most. Of course, you can also identify the other person's weaknesses. You can also scare other people in Lu Ruilin's family, report to him the situation of Lu Mingshi and Lu Ruilin in time, and just in case Lu Mingshi is pregnant with Li Beiwang. posthumous son
Finally, the emperor brought up the matter of Lu Mingshi recognizing his ancestor and returning to his clan, although this was the highlight of the day.

The emperor briefly described Lu Mingshi's situation in an understatement: Lu Mingshi was stimulated by this rebellion, so he had completely lost his memory and knew nothing about the past.

She said that Lu Mingshi is beautiful, smart, straightforward and cute, and she likes her very much. Lu Ruilin was asked to treat Lu Mingshi, a concubine, well, and raise her under the name of his mistress, and keep Lu Mingshi's identity strictly confidential. After she has recovered her health, she will be betrothed to a man who knows her roots, is honest and kind, and must not let her be wronged because of this experience.

Things will fall into place here.

Lu Ruilin naturally understood that Lu Mingshi was the emperor's woman and had a special relationship with the emperor, but he could not keep her in the palace due to special reasons. Now that the emperor wanted to find him to properly arrange the girl, he understood the stakes involved.

The emperor showed him favor, and if he did it well, he would use Lu Mingshi's official career to be smooth and become a confidant of the new emperor; but if he failed to do it well, it would be a serious fault for the family.

In this way, for him and his family, Lu Ming's poems could be offered as offerings to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, so how could he dare to neglect them.

Naturally, he was grateful to Emperor Dade for his great kindness, which allowed him to have the opportunity to meet his lost daughter again without having to bear the pain of separation. He will definitely live up to the emperor's kindness, take good care of and teach Lu Mingshi, treat him as his legitimate son, and make up for his mistakes over the years.

Both parties acted so sincerely that Lu Mingshi believed it and burst into tears.

Although the father in front of him felt so strange, it didn't stop him. When Lu Ruilin held her hand with tears in his eyes and called her "daughter", Lu Mingshi was so moved that she burst into tears.

It was a familiar feeling of fatherly love.

It is an instinctive reaction that only those who have been held in the palm of a father's hand and loved by his father will understand.

And Lu Ruilin happened to have no daughter, only a son. I once had a daughter whom I regarded as a treasure, but unfortunately she died of typhoid five years ago at the age of five. If her daughter grows up safely, she will be three years younger than Lu Mingshi.

Lu Mingshi is petite, and the daughter may be about the same height as Lu Mingshi when she grows up.

Therefore, Lu Ruilin's feeling of regaining something lost is both acting and true feelings.

Near noon, the emperor asked Lu Ruilin and Murong Chi to have lunch together.

Throughout the ages, this kind of private banquet by the emperor has been a great honor for local officials, and Lu Ruilin was naturally flattered.

After lunch, Lu Ruilin took Lu Mingshi and set off in a carriage.

Before departure, Li Beichen presented Lu Ming's poem, a golden silk four-season flower bracelet, with silk coiled into four kinds of flowers: peony, lotus, chrysanthemum, and plum blossom, symbolizing peace in the four seasons.

Lu Mingshi is so radiant after wearing it on your wrist that you can't put it down.

Li Beichen stood on the steps to see him off, with a solemn expression and a hint of a smile.

Today seems like a sign. The page that marked "Surrounded by Treasonous Men" was finally turned.

Back in the house, Li Beichen couldn't wait to open the letter sent by Jiang Yuebai and saw a few lines of delicate small words written on it.

[Tomorrow is the occasion of the housewarming. Can you invite the emperor to have dinner together and compete in chess skills? Jiao Jiao]

When he saw the word "discuss", Li Beichen felt happy and had a knowing smile on his face, which felt very fresh.

Also discuss. This is a very loud tone.

He knew Jiang Yuebai's rookie skills. If he occasionally made good bets, it was just a blind cat encountering a dead mouse, purely relying on deception.

I want to see how we can compete tomorrow. Lu Meng's recognition, which was a miracle for three days, was nothing more than a legend.

With a stroke of his pen, he replied to Jiang Yuebai.

[On the top of the willow branches in the moonlight, people meet after dusk. 】

I paused for a moment before writing, and then solemnly signed the word "Jiuru".

I feel very happy when I think that after I move to the palace tomorrow, I don't have to go half way to the palace to see her. I can just sit there for a while from time to time.

After sending someone to deliver a letter to Jiang Yuebai, Li Beichen still had a smile on his face, looking forward to receiving a reply.

He has great trust in Liang Xiaobao. But there are a lot of confidential chores that need to be done. Having only one trustworthy person is not enough.

Liang Xiaobao's foundation is still shallow, and he has not yet cultivated capable subordinates who can be trusted and relied on. Currently, he is not enough to control the network of the harem and deter the wave of people who mobilize the eunuchs.

Li Beichen couldn't help but feel melancholy when he recalled the days when he had Xu Fuhai as his companion since he was a child.