The Golden Partridge of An Lingrong's Rebirth

"But Fujin refused to give up." Yinggui was slightly disappointed, and the light in her eyes was extinguished. "She said that the prince was just talking nonsense for a while. When he has his own children, he will definitely start again for the sake of future generations. Cheer up, she wanted to buy more time for the prince, so she escorted me into the palace."

"Do you have any leverage over her? Just do whatever she asks you to do, so obedient." An Lingrong frowned slightly.

"Your Majesty has been kind to me, and I must repay this kindness to him." Prince Guo appeared in Yinggui's mind, and there was a bit of struggle in his voice, "Fu Jin asked me to seduce the third elder brother. Let him be rejected by the emperor for coveting the emperor's concubine, but... But Dill said, if I don't want to do this, I don't have to do it, as long as the empress can protect me."

Her eyes flickered and she looked at An Lingrong expectantly, because she knew that once she did as Fujin said, she would only die.She doesn't want to die.

An Lingrong sighed softly and put down the tea cup in his hand, looked directly at her and said, "Jiang Caiping, what do you want?"

Yinggui was stunned.

"Tell me, what do you want most?" An Lingrong looked straight at Yinggui, as if he wanted to see her soul through her eyes, "Is it repayment of kindness? Or something else?"

Stormy waves suddenly stirred up in Yinggui's mind. She had nowhere to hide under An Lingrong's gaze. An answer jumped out and she blurted out: "Freedom, I want freedom."

An Lingrong bent her eyes and smiled slightly: "Okay." She looked away and said instead, "You can go according to your original plan and go drag the third brother, but on the charge of coveting the emperor's concubine, Tian Yi will spy on the emperor's whereabouts, and when the time comes, he will take action. You must get rid of the third elder brother. After that, I will allow you to be free."

Yinggui was a little confused: "Why?"

"Seventeenth Fujin said that the third elder brother is expected to be crowned prince, the fifth elder brother behaves wildly, and the other elder brothers are all still young. They are all right. Only the fourth elder brother she said was wrong. The fourth elder brother is the wife of Imperial Concubine Xi. My son, he is from the Niu Hulu clan, how can he say he was born in a lowly position?" An Lingrong said with a smile.

"But the fourth elder brother..." She stopped talking, "Everyone knows that the fourth elder brother is not favored by the emperor. All the elder brothers of the Hong generation have the same names, but the fourth elder brother is not. This shows that the emperor is not happy with him. If the empress wants to keep the fourth prince as the crown prince, I'm afraid the road ahead will be difficult."

"This is nothing you need to worry about. I have my own sense of proportion." An Lingrong said lightly, "It's getting late, so I won't keep you any longer."

This is an expulsion order.

Mr. Ying understood his intention and bowed and knelt down.

Just after Huaishu's wedding, Zhen Yurao's marriage was imminent. The Queen Mother's illness had been recurring these days. All the doctors from the Imperial Hospital were guarding the Shoukang Palace. Zhou Nan never left the Queen Mother's bedroom, and the Emperor In order to fulfill his filial piety, he would stay in Shoukang Palace for most of the day. Only on the evening of the [-]th, he took Zhen Huan out of the palace to Shenbeile Mansion.

The bad news came at such a coincidence that on that night, the Queen Mother returned on a crane. The Emperor had already rushed back, but he still did not have time to see her for the last time.

"Your Majesty, my condolences..." The Queen was filled with grief.

"Everyone, please go out." The emperor stood in front of the bed and stared blankly at the queen mother lying on the bed. She closed her eyes as if she was asleep.

Everyone bowed and retreated outside the palace. An Lingrong slowed down for half a step and looked back before leaving the door. He saw the emperor's figure, lying in front of the bed crying bitterly. A bone-shattering sadness spread from his body. out.

The Empress Dowager died, and the whole country mourned. The Emperor retired from court for a month and held a large funeral ceremony. He paid special attention to the Empress Dowager and gave her a posthumous title of "Xiao Gong Xuan Hui Wen Su Ding Yu Zan Tian Cheng Sheng Ren Empress" and moved her burial to Imperial mausoleum.

"Your Majesty, please rest for a while." In the Hall of Yangxin, An Lingrong looked at the haggard Emperor with worry, "In order to keep vigil for the Empress Dowager, you fainted several times, and now you are dealing with government affairs. I am afraid that your body will not be able to bear it. I am afraid. I asked you to make lotus seed and longan soup. Your Majesty has not eaten any water today, so please have a bowl to satisfy your stomach."

"I won't eat, I have no appetite." The emperor approved the memorial without raising his head, "Who is guarding the Shouhuang Palace now?"

"My Fourth Brother is guarding us now." Zhen Huan said quickly, "Everything is safe at the Imperial Guard Palace. Your Majesty, please rest assured."

Hearing that it was the fourth elder brother, the emperor frowned and looked up: "Why is it the fourth elder brother? Where is Hongshi?"

"On the day when the Empress Dowager sent her to the Zi Palace, Aunt Zhuxi touched the pillar and died. The third elder brother was a little frightened. When he got up early this morning, he had a fever and couldn't get out of bed. The imperial concubine Duanhuang retreated and asked the fourth elder brother. I'm keeping vigil on my behalf." Zhen Huan explained warmly, but the fact was that in order for the fourth elder brother to stand out, she specifically asked Wei Lin to give the third elder brother a fever medicine.

"It's useless to be frightened like this over a trivial matter." The emperor was in a gloomy mood, and he became more and more unkind to the third elder brother. "In this case, let the fourth elder brother do his best. He is also capable of accomplishing things."

Zhen Huan bowed and bowed, then stepped back.

The emperor put down his pen tiredly, leaned against the back of his chair and closed his eyes to rest. Suddenly, he put his hands on his temples, and the faint smell of menthol oil drifted over. He opened his eyes, and An Lingrong's calm face fell into his eyes: "Rong Rong." Son, I..."

"The Emperor is tired, why not take a nap." An Lingrong was worried, "How can we deal with the pile of government affairs in one go? The Emperor just finished the funeral ceremony of the Queen Mother, and everyone has lost a lot of weight. If he continues like this, he will not be able to finish it in one go. What can you do if you fall ill?"

"I can't sleep." The emperor's eyes were dim. "It would have been better if I had not left the palace that day. Even if I had come back earlier, I wouldn't have not seen the emperor for the last time. But I am afraid of seeing the emperor." It was the last time I saw E Niang, but she still misses the Fourteenth and complains that I keep the Fourteenth from her." He stretched out his hand to hold An Lingrong's hand, "Rong'er, sing me that song again. A nursery rhyme.”

An Lingrong's eyes flashed, and he sang softly: "Go to sleep quickly, so that you can grow up. When you grow up, you can ride on a horse and gallop... Go to sleep quickly, so that you can grow up. When you grow up, you can draw your bow..." This song , Queen Chunyuan once sang to the emperor, and she also sang to the emperor. However, the Queen Mother had never sung to the emperor. It was like a hole in the memory that could never be repaired.Su Peisheng walked in slowly carrying a food box and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Fourth Brother asked someone to bring a bowl of ginseng soup."

There was no reply from the emperor for a long time. An Lingrong raised his head and gently shook his head at Su Peisheng: "Put it there, the emperor is asleep."

Su Peisheng nodded repeatedly, put down the food box and stepped out quietly.

But it was said that the fourth elder brother returned to the Shouhuang Palace after delivering the ginseng soup, and talked to Zhen Huan: "The third elder brother went to the clan mansion two days ago, visited the eighth uncle and the ninth uncle, and talked with them for a long time before coming out."

Zhen Huan raised her eyebrows: "You're so good, why did he get so close to those rebels?" Seeing the sneer on the Fourth Brother's face, she suddenly came back to her senses, "What did you do?"

"I just said a few words to him. He thought differently, but I can't blame him." The corners of Si elder brother's mouth were raised, and the arrogance of the youth could not be hidden in his eyes. "The third brother is fighting for it." I want to get ahead, but I don’t know that the rafters that get ahead will die first.”

"If you have this intention, I won't stop you. Just be careful in everything." Zhen Huan knew that the fourth elder brother was a smart man, but she just gave him a few words in vain. When she walked out of the Longevity Palace, she raised her head and glanced up.

The moon is dim and the stars are sparse, and it is almost dawn.

The passage of time slowly took away the pain, and in a blink of an eye it was the end of the year.

On this day, the emperor came to Weiyang Palace for lunch. An Lingrong made a new dish of glutinous rice chicken with lotus leaves. The glutinous rice was smooth and delicious, and the chicken was salty and tender. After entering the mouth, the fragrance of lotus leaves lingered between his lips and teeth for a long time.

"I always feel that my mouth is bitter these days, so I can only eat a little bit of the food you cooked." The emperor enjoyed the meal, and he smiled warmly, and his face softened, "This way of doing it makes me feel better." Thinking of Chun Yuan, she used to like to use plantain or Ruo leaves to steam food, and put it on the bottom of the steamer. The aroma would permeate and the minced meat would not be too greasy in the mouth, which is quite different from your method."

"Queen Chunyuan is elegant, this concubine is just a clever idea." An Lingrong smiled and gave the emperor a bowl of soup.

Perhaps because it touched his heart, or perhaps because the Queen Mother passed away not long ago, the emperor could not help but mourn again and fell into deep thought: "Chunyuan also likes to think about eating, and almond tea is her favorite drink. Peel the sweet almonds and add a small amount of water. , grind and remove the residue, then cook over low heat, add a little sugar, mix with milk, and then add sesame seeds, walnuts and other seasonings. Chun Yuan doesn’t like it too sweet, so he will also add some fried bitter almonds. At the end, the taste is slightly bitter, but the aftertaste is sweet.”

Speaking of almonds, An Lingrong's smile couldn't help but stiffen, but soon she smiled slightly again and said with a smile: "If the emperor likes it, I will try to make it someday. Almond tea is nourishing." It’s a good product for longevity, and I also want to try it.”

Just as he was talking, Su Peisheng walked in and said, "Your Majesty, the Queen has sent someone to deliver a message, saying that she has something important to say to the Emperor. Please come to the Yangxin Hall to see the Emperor. Your Majesty is also here."

"What's the fuss about again? It's really hard to live a peaceful day." The emperor's face suddenly darkened, "Did you tell me why?"

Su Peisheng bent even lower: "It seems to be for Third Brother and Yinggui."

"How did these two get together?" The emperor's eyes became even more hesitant. Although he felt annoyed, he still put down his chopsticks.

"There is also a dish of quail simmering in the small kitchen. It's definitely not enough for the emperor to have just a few bites for lunch. How about I wait for my concubine to send it to the Yangxin Palace in person?" An Lingrong got up and saw it off, and said thoughtfully.

"Okay, I'll wait for you to come." The emperor agreed without looking back.

In the afternoon, the long street stretches under the sunlight, covered with snow. The rose-red walls reflect the long skylight, but it becomes more and more deep. The palaces stand on both sides of the long street, revealing conspiracy and treachery under the clear blue sky. , and at the end of the long street is the Yangxin Hall.

An Lingrong walked into the side hall of Yangxin Hall with a food box, only to see a mess inside. The emperor and the queen were sitting on the couch, one on the left and one on the right. One had a reserved expression, and the other had a gloomy face. The concubine sat there. On the side, there was a look of pride on his face, but Ying Guiren, who had been favored recently, was kneeling on the ground, crying like pear blossoms with rain, like a green apple after the rain, and his whole body was miserable.

"What's going on?" An Lingrong asked casually after saluting.

The Queen seemed to find it difficult to speak, while the Emperor closed his eyes and did not want to say more. Only Concubine Jing said with a half-smile, "The third elder brother is very talented in literature. It is not in vain that the Queen Mother taught the third elder brother how to write with her painstaking guidance." Such an article that is shocking to the world and makes people cry. Concubine Rong, you are also proficient in pen and ink, why don’t you read it too?”

Baozhu immediately picked up the letter that fell on the ground and handed it to Dill. Dill took it and handed it to An Lingrong's hand.

The letter read: "Mei Ying saw the words as if they had met each other, and used pen and ink to express her longing for each other. The song of the evil is like my heart. I want to know you, and my life will never fade. You should know my heart. Your Majesty Ama has already Old man, although I am not wise, I am still in my prime. If you treat me wholeheartedly, I will have no regrets in this life and death. I hope Yingmei will know and cherish each other..."

"These are all disgusting words, Rong'er, stop reading." The emperor opened his eyes and interrupted An Lingrong's meditation.

The look of shock on An Lingrong's face still remained, and she raised her head: "Your Majesty, is this really written by the third elder brother?"

Before the emperor could answer, Concubine Jing said: "Last night I sent Pin'er to the imperial kitchen to get midnight snacks, and happened to see Little Lezi next to Third Brother sneaking around on the long street. Pin'er felt strange, so he asked Two sentences, it turned out that Xiao Lezi felt very guilty, and the more he asked, the more frightened he became. Pin'er thought he had become a thief and had stolen something from the palace, so he immediately had someone take it away, but the result was that he was found This letter." She raised her eyebrows and looked at the queen, smiling calmly but dangerously, "Queen, please forgive me for being presumptuous, I am not good at teaching my son."

The name Hongli is nonsense here. Qianlong’s real name was Hongli, which also contained the Japanese character, and was later shortened to Hongli.