The Golden Partridge of An Lingrong's Rebirth

"It's only been warm for two days, why is it so hot?"

"I heard that there is a drought outside the palace. It has not rained for several months."

"The supply of ice in the Ministry of Internal Affairs exceeds the demand. I heard that the Yangxin Palace must provide ice all day long, otherwise the emperor will not be able to sleep at night."

"A drought broke out just after the Emperor ascended the throne. I am afraid it was not a warning from God..."

"Don't talk nonsense, be careful of losing your head..."

"..."

Such rumors spread inside and outside the palace at some point. When they reached Shoukang Palace, An Lingrong was sewing summer clothes for Honghao. Zhen Huan just laughed lightly when she heard the words, and then said: "I heard that these few days The Emperor of Heaven has been immersed in dealing with the government affairs, and the money for disaster relief has been released one after another, which has temporarily stabilized the disaster situation in various places. However, if it does not rain, no matter how full the treasury is, it will not be able to handle it. The late emperor was diligent in the government affairs, and every day It takes no less than seven hours to approve the work every day, and now some people praise the emperor for having the style of the late emperor and for being diligent in politics."

"Really?" An Lingrong laughed mockingly and turned to look at Honghao, who was sitting at the corner table, "Honghao, stop reading and come try on new clothes."

Honghao put down the book in his hand, jogged a few steps to An Lingrong, tried on the clothes in her hand, and then said: "Eniang, brother, isn't he going to pray for rain? Simply providing disaster relief can solve the problem. No problem."

An Lingrong pursed her lips and chuckled, then reached out and tapped Honghao's nose: "This is not something you need to worry about. Just pretend to be your 'little fool'."

Honghao touched the tip of his nose and trotted out to find Xiao Yinzi to play with marbles.

"What Honghao can think of, the emperor can naturally think of, but now he is riding a tiger." Zhen Huan smiled, twisted a handful of fish food and sprinkled it into the fish tank, with a calm look on her face, "Since rumors can spread to us Here, it means that the news has spread throughout the palace and outside the palace. If the emperor goes to pray for rain at this time, it will be best if he prays for rain. If he does not pray for rain..." She smiled and shook her head, "When the time comes, what else will happen? Words such as "It is only when the king is immoral that God rejects the Holy Will" are spread, and the emperor will have to stay up at night again."

"Let's just take a good look at the harem. The affairs of the world outside the palace have nothing to do with us." An Lingrong calmly put down the last stitch and took away the thread, "There are not many concubines in the palace, and the only one who is favored is Concubine Hui. With the two of us, the draft should also be put on the agenda."

"That's right." Zhen Huan said pointedly. The candlelight in the palace swayed into her eyes. Her eyes were dark, like the decaying grass stained with morning dew and frost in autumn, reflecting the rising sun. Jin Guang, "If we wait until everything is settled before we start the draft, wouldn't we want to expand the harem?"

When a new emperor ascends the throne, it is customary to hold a draft in the following year. However, each place must submit a list of show girls, and then select them step by step. Preparations must be made at least a year in advance. After the matter was reported to the Minister of Rites, the emperor just nodded casually and let He followed the etiquette and then forgot about it. Now that the drought is getting worse, the emperor has no intention of thinking about romance.

"The emperor has been reading the book for an hour. Let's take a sip of tea and take a rest." Li Yu quietly stepped forward, handed the emperor a cup of cooled tea, and said in a low voice, "This tea has been dried. It’s just the right time to drink to keep your stomach cool.”

The emperor hummed in a low voice, his eyes still glued to the memorial. He raised his hand to take the tea cup and took a sip. He felt a little relieved: "It's too hot today. Go tell the queen and go to the Old Summer Palace tomorrow to escape the summer heat." .”

"Yes." Li Yu lowered his head in agreement, and then said, "Your Majesty, Lord Zhang Tingyu is here and is waiting outside the palace."

The emperor then raised his head and said loudly: "Please come in quickly."

Li Yu then went down to pass the message.

Zhang Tingyu stepped into the palace, walked to the emperor, stood in front of him, bowed forward, and bowed respectfully: "I bow to greet the emperor."

"Master Zhang, please get up quickly." The emperor still respected this veteran of three dynasties. He hurriedly asked someone to give him a seat, and then said with a smile, "You have been through three dynasties and now you are sixty years old. You don't have to salute like this in front of me in the future. .”

"The emperor has favored me, but I dare not lose the courtesy of a minister. I am honored by the late emperor and ask me to assist the emperor. I should serve him diligently and do not dare to live up to the entrustment of the late emperor." Zhang Tingyu's face was full of humility. , said solemnly, he glanced at the large vats filled with ice cubes placed on the left and right sides of the Yangxin Hall, and frowned slightly, "Your Majesty, the drought is serious this year. Rich people may still be able to rely on ice cubes, saltpeter, cellars, etc. To resist the heat, ordinary people can only rely on water sources. But now the temperature is rising and there is no sign of turning around. In many places, rivers have been exposed to the sun, and in some places, people have even died of heat. I sincerely request your Majesty to build canals and divert water from the Yangtze River and Yellow River to various places to alleviate the disaster."

The emperor frowned and hesitated: "If we build canals along the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, it will be very expensive. I have already allocated 800 million taels of silver from the treasury to go to various places for disaster relief. If we build more canals, it will only cost a lot of money." Afraid that the national treasury will be bottomed out, the Dzungol tribe is now ready to make a move, and there is no telling which day a war will begin. If the national treasury is empty by then..."

"Your Majesty, Princess Longyue has married Jungar Khan. Although they have not yet set off to Jungar, the contract has been concluded. No matter how courageous they are, they dare not break the contract. On the contrary, right now, public resentment is approaching a boiling point. If the emperor does not make up his mind, it will lead to a disaster." Zhang Tingyu frowned, he was a little puzzled. When he was still the prince, the emperor was a very steady and steady person, but why has he become so ambitious now? ?If this is his nature, I am afraid that the Qing Dynasty will be in danger.

"Allow me to think about it again. Please step back first." The emperor put Zhang Tingyu away with one sentence.

Zhang Tingyu had no choice but to resign first.

Time passed slowly to July, and the weather was really hot. Even after arriving at the Old Summer Palace, the heat still lingered, so the queen simply did not ask the palaces to pay her respects, and let everyone cool off on their own.

"I heard that the pure concubine is one month pregnant. The emperor was very happy to know that and rewarded her with many good things." Dill came to talk to An Lingrong about this while mashing the ice cubes in her hand. "In the past two months, the emperor has only entered the harem three or two times. Pure concubines are really lucky." An Lingrong only wore a light summer dress today, simply pulled up her hair in a bun, and had a flower in her ear. Yu Lan, who looked much more refreshing than her usual gorgeous dress, just smiled faintly when she heard this: "Whether you are lucky or not depends on what you look like after you are born. The emperor already has his eldest son and legitimate son, even if a pure concubine has a second son. When Jin Ba is born, she can only be considered a bastard." She lowered her eyes and hid her sneer, "Of course, the premise is that she can survive..."

Dill pounded the ice cubes quietly, pretending not to hear An Lingrong's words, raised her eyes and said with a smile: "The Queen Mother, the ice cubes are ready."

"Pour it into the sweet cheese, mix it, and then pour a spoonful of acacia nectar over it." An Lingrong nodded and said.

After Dill followed the steps, she followed An Lingrong into the main hall of Hongci Palace. The little palace maid shook the wind wheel to fan Zhen Huan to cool off.

"Rong'er, come quickly, I have something rare to tell you." Zhen Huan was reading the secret letter. When she saw An Lingrong coming in, she hurriedly waved to her, "A while ago, Concubine Hui's mother's family held a banquet for the ministers of the court. The mansion was packed with guests, and there was an endless stream of guests. Some people joked that so many people were afraid that the threshold of Gao's mansion would be broken. Unexpectedly, Gao Bin laughed and said that he had already ordered someone to replace the threshold of red sandalwood. , can’t be trampled!”

An Lingrong blinked in surprise: "Not to mention the price of rosewood, resources have been in short supply in the past two years. I heard that Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan have nothing to produce, and only small countries in Nanyang have contributed a little. It costs a lot to come across the ocean. Wanjin, Master Gao is so bold and generous, using it as a threshold? What a generous act." She shook her head and sighed, "In the past few years, even Zhenbao Pavilion Zhenbao Zhai has been unable to find precious rosewood. Gao Mansion With so much extravagance, why do I look a bit like the Nian family from back then?"

"Concubine Hui's expenses are much higher now than that of Concubine Hua back then. It's so hot now that she takes a bath seven or eight times a day, and the ice in the Qingliang Palace has to be replaced when half of it has melted. Not to mention that she asked her mother's family to I found expensive gauze from outside to make clothes and wear them to cool myself down. A piece of cloth only costs a hundred taels of gold. How can ordinary people afford it?" Zhen Huan sneered again and again, "The longer I live, the more I feel that I have been short-sighted before. I’ve never even heard of such good stuff.”

"Now that there is a severe drought, the palace has also reduced its expenses. The queen has set an example. She only uses gilt gold and ordinary pearls in the Changchun Palace. She only uses silverware or velvet flowers and grass for daily decoration. There is no red gold or Dongzhu. No, even the clothes worn on weekdays were only fully embroidered on the cuffs and collars, and the skirts and skirts only used the original patterns of the fabrics. They were simple and elegant. The concubines in the palace followed suit, and the two pieces of silver they saved were used to support the former dynasty. Disaster relief." An Lingrong said happily.

"Yes, after the emperor found out about it, he even praised the queen for her virtuous management of the house." Zhen Huan took a spoonful of sweet cheese and tasted it slowly, "It's just that Concubine Hui's expenses alone are worth as much as the concubines in the palace. There are many People complained that all the money saved was used for the imperial concubine, which is really unfair."

"Such petty words must have come from the concubines." An Lingrong sneered softly, "In the past, the clothes worn by the concubines in the palace were all made from Jiangnan weaving and Suzhou weaving tribute. They were light, soft and exquisite, and the cost was not small. Yes, Concubine Jia loves gold weaving. Although her clothes are not as gorgeous as Concubine Hui, they are always full of flowers. Now that she is practicing frugality, Concubine Hui is still extravagant. She will definitely feel it is unfair."

"These two people used to be very friendly when they were in the mansion, but now they have a rift." Zhen Huan couldn't help but smile and rolled her eyes, "Looking at the queen's gentleness and kindness, she is quite capable of balancing the harem."

Just as he was talking, Cui Jinxi walked in hurriedly and said: "The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager, there have been cases in the palace where people have died from the heat. Doctor Zhou has asked the two empresses to take more Baihu Decoction and Guizhi Decoction every day. , if symptoms of night sweats or cold sweats occur, it should be taken with ginseng soup. The servants have already made arrangements, and the Ningshou Palace in the palace has also sent people to pass the message."

An Lingrong raised his eyes and looked at Zhen Huan, and they both saw a signal in each other's eyes: This drought will probably not end well.

Qi Ru was the emperor's most trusted physician, but now he did not dare to take all the credit. Instead, he called Wen Shichu, Zhou Nan, Wei Lin and others, and the four of them talked to each other: "Treatise on Febrile Diseases" It is said in the book: Three yang diseases combined, abdominal fullness and body weight, difficulty turning sideways, poor mouth, facial stains, delirium, and enuresis. Sweating is associated with delirium; if it is lowered, sweating on the forehead and cold hands and feet will occur; if spontaneous sweating occurs The master of White Tiger Soup."

"Your Majesty, three-yang syndrome means that Taiyang, Shaoyang, and Yangming are simultaneously affected by heat and heat. The sick person will sweat a lot, often have symptoms such as thirst and dry throat, and feel full in the abdomen without eating. Swelling, resulting in loss of appetite, disharmony between the spleen and stomach, liver stagnation and qi stagnation.”

"To treat this disease, one should not use the sweating method, and the other should not use the lowering method. The abdomen is full and the body is heavy, and it is difficult to turn sideways. This is dampness; the mouth is not kind, the face is dirty, delirium, and enuresis are hot. If sweating occurs, If the heat is severe, the heart will be sad, and the heart governs the gods, so delirium occurs. If the lower level is cold, the cold will damage the kidneys. The kidneys govern water. If the kidneys are cold, the yang in the ridges will not be hidden, and sweat will occur on the forehead, and the hands and feet will be cold. It’s due to kidney yang deficiency.”

"Therefore, Wei Chen advocated using Baihu Ginseng Decoction as the main treatment and Baihu Guizhi Decoction as prevention." Qi Ru finally said.

"Okay, just do what Dr. Qi said." The emperor rubbed his sore eyebrows and held back a faint headache. "This matter is of great importance. The three of you must try your best to cooperate with Dr. Qi. When the matter is over, I We will discuss merits and reward them.”

"I obey the order." The four of them said in unison. Just as they were about to retreat, Zhao Tai, the chief eunuch of Changchun Palace, ran in with a pale face.

He knelt down in front of the emperor with a plop, his voice trembling beyond words: "Your Majesty, it's not good, the second elder brother, the second elder brother..."

"What happened to Yong Lian?!" The emperor stood up with a cry.

The long night was silent, the palace walls were deep, and the Queen's heart-wrenching cry came from the Changchun Fairy Pavilion, and even more dropped, like endless tears, the huge pain of the death of her legitimate son before he was one year old. The prince knocked down this gentle woman, and the queen became ill.

However, the disaster did not ease at all. Although the emperor was heartbroken, he had to continue to deal with the affairs of the court. In the end, he adopted Zhang Tingyu's suggestion, opened up the treasury, built canals, diverted water from the Yangtze River and the Yellow River to alleviate the disaster, and appointed officials successively. More than 200 disaster relief officers rushed to the disaster area to deliver disaster relief money, provide food and supplies, and sent imperial doctors to treat three yang syndromes.

Until the hot summer reluctantly ended and the howling autumn wind came, the Qing Dynasty finally ushered in a heavy downpour.

"This natural disaster is finally over." An Lingrong said softly as he stood on the porch with his cloak folded up, looking at the misty heavy rain that continued between the sky and the earth.

"Yes, it's a pity Yonglian." Zhen Huan stood beside her and sighed in a low voice, "God has a good heart, probably because he couldn't bear the queen's child to stay in the world and suffer, so he called him back. .”

An Lingrong muttered softly: "Yes."