Don't help me, I can sit up by myself

The first snowfall of winter was heavy.

There was not much movement at night, everything was quiet. But when I woke up again, the majestic palace was already covered with a layer of white frost.

The thick snow makes a rustling sound when stepped on.

It was already daybreak, but the snow had not stopped yet. Heavy snowflakes fell from the dark sky, and the white snow mixed with thunder shook the windows of Taihe Palace.

Du Jiyan woke up from the soft couch in Taihe Palace, looked up at the dark yellow tent ceiling, and felt that his body was very hot.

It was snowing at night, and Gao Rang was afraid that Du Jianyan would be cold, so he added a lot of charcoal fire to the copper stove.

The charcoal fire is scorching the Taihe Palace, just like the time when you first entered the palace in summer and lived in Yongfu Palace and counted the pear blossoms.

After breakfast, Du Jiyan took out the letters written by the emperor to her from the box. There were three letters in total.

The first one was ten days after the emperor set out, the other one was when the little princess was full moon, and the last one was twenty days ago.

During these twenty days, there was no news from the emperor.

Du Jiyan stroked his belly, feeling a little worried after all.

Gao Rang held the tea and looked out following Du Jiyan's gaze. The palace was deep and the snow was getting heavier.

"Perhaps the road is difficult and the rain and snow over Beiding are heavy, so the emperor's letter is late." Gao Rang comforted.

There was a noise outside the curtain.

Du Jiyan hurriedly put the letter into the box, locked the box and placed it in a secret compartment.

It's the deputy historian of Qin Tianjian who is here.

Du Jiyan was a little puzzled as to why the people from Qintian Prison were here.

However, Chen Guoqin's Tianjian's level is average, and it is not as accurate as the weather forecast.

Du Jiyan didn't believe it.

But now that it’s here, let’s listen.

The deputy director of Qin Tian Jian wiped the snow from his forehead: "Your Majesty, there is thunder in winter."

"I heard it."

"Your Majesty, does your Majesty know what thunder in winter means?"

"represents what?"

"It means thunder sounds when it snows."

Du just rolled his eyes.

Gao Rang shook his fly whisk and said with a stern face: "Master Deputy Historian, are you kidding the Emperor? The Emperor has so many things to do, how can he have the time to listen to your nonsense."

The Deputy Historian was embarrassed: "Your Majesty, I may not have made it clear. What I mean is that heavy snow falls at night, which is auspicious, but winter snow is wrapped with thunder, which is not a good sign. According to historical records, next spring, I am afraid that A lot of people are going to die."

"Do you have proof?"

"I...I haven't thought of it yet..."

"Is there anything else to report?"

"It's gone for now."

"Step back." Du Jiyan waved his hand.

The deputy director of Qin Tian Jian kowtowed and retreated.

There were a few more thunders outside the curtain.

The thunder in winter is not as loud as the thunder in summer. The sound is muffled, as if someone is playing a drum secretly.

As the thunder sounded, the snow became heavier.

There is another thick layer on the steps of Taihe Palace.

The falling snow wetted the door curtain of Taihe Palace. The emperor stepped in and gave Du Jiyan more tea.

"Gao Rang, what do you think of the words of the deputy historian of Qin Tianjian?"

"The people in Qin Tian Jian always like to scare the emperor. Thunder in winter is not a rare thing, but it is not as serious as what Qin Tian Jian said. I remember that when I was a child, about five or six years old, it snowed heavily that winter and the thunder was very heavy. Xiang, the harvest was not good the next summer, and seventy or eighty people died in the village."

Du Jiyan: Gao Rang, you are quite secretive.

You can hold back such important information.

"How many people are there in your village?"

"There are about a hundred and ten people." Gao Rang counted on his fingers: "Speaking of the hundred and ten people, except for the seventy or eighty people who died, there were only about twenty people left in the whole village. Those who were poor at that time could only drink water. It’s not even enough for three meals a day, and the family really doesn’t have enough to eat, and then I have no choice but to become a eunuch.”

Speaking of which, this winter thunder is quite scary.

Then at night, another news came from Jingren Palace, saying that the little princess had a fever for some reason, and the fever was severe, and her forehead was so hot that it was smoking. The queen was so frightened that her face turned blue.

Du Jiyan went to see the princess. He didn't go back until the princess took medicine and became sweating and had some fever.

When going back, Gao Rang was leading the way with a lantern. The road was probably slippery and the sight was not very good. Gao Rang's foot slipped and he flew several meters away with the lantern. Gao Rang climbed several times and did not get up. After finally getting up, I found that my nose was bleeding from the fall.

The next day, it was reported that the Empress Dowager of Cining Palace had a nightmare. It turns out that dreams are illusory and nightmares are accidental events. Everyone in the world can have nightmares, not just the Queen Mother, but the Queen Mother also sleepwalks when she has nightmares. Somehow, she bumps into the Eight Immortals Table and falls down. On the ground, my feet were too swollen to fit into any shoes.

When Du Jiyan went to see her, although the Queen Mother didn't show her teeth and cry out in pain, looking at her frowning and gritting posture, she probably had a heavy fall. After all, her feet were swollen like that, so she couldn't deceive others.

"What kind of nightmare did the Queen Mother have?" Du Jiyan asked.

The Queen Mother was a little stunned.

"King of Yue...King of Yue..." the parrot chirped in the corridor.

Aunt Guan picked up the bamboo pole and covered the cage with black cloth. She said with a hint of regret: "This parrot is a bit noisy. It was said earlier that the King of Yue was ill at the border fortress. The Queen Mother has been thinking about it. Now there has been no news about the King of Yue for some days. The Queen Mother Afraid of something bad happening."

The Queen Mother patted Aunt Guan's hand: "The emperor is busy with official duties, so why bother telling him this. The King of Yue no longer needs the Ai family to worry about. The Ai family is worried about the palace."

"In the palace?"

"What's going on in the palace that worries the Queen Mother?"

"The deputy historian of Qin Tian Jian came to report that thunder in winter is not a good sign. There were seven thunders in the night before."

Qin Tian Jian is quite free.

Weather forecast everywhere.

Not only went to Taihe Palace to broadcast, but also went to Cining Palace to broadcast.

An elderly person like the Queen Mother is the easiest to fall for.

No, my feet are swollen and hard.

"Queen Mother, thunder in winter is just a natural phenomenon." Du Jiyan tried to comfort the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother didn't give him a chance at all.

"What a natural phenomenon? You are young and don't understand the power of it. Back then, the Ai family was still the daughter of the Wei family, only about ten years old. The winter of that year was the same as it is now. It was snowing and thundering in the capital. Everyone here wondered why there was such loud thunder in winter, but they just listened and it passed."

"and then?"

"Then, in the spring of the next year, a plague broke out in the capital. The plague was fierce. At first, I thought it was a common cold, but after taking medicine, it didn't get better. At first, one person got sick, then the whole family got sick, and then... The doctor at the drug store also died of illness." The Queen Mother's eyes were red.

Aunt Guan carefully served tea to the Queen Mother.

"That year, at least tens of thousands of people died in the capital. Even if the imperial doctors in the palace came out to consult, there was no way to save the day. The Ai family remembers that most of the imperial doctors died of illness that year. Who knows that it was not caused by thunder that winter? ?”

The Queen Mother spoke vividly. Du Jiyan crossed his legs and tried to escape.

Because according to the custom of conversations between the emperor and the queen mother, under normal circumstances, if there is any natural or man-made disaster, or a crisis that is difficult to resolve, the courtiers and the queen mother will place the blame on the emperor. At the least, he would ask the emperor to write an imperial edict to punish himself; at the most worst, he would want to sacrifice the emperor to heaven.

Thunder in winter is no small matter.

We can't talk any more.

If the conversation continues, the Queen Mother might cause another scandal on the Emperor.

As a person, you must be able to seize the opportunity, know how to look at your face, and you must learn to prepare for a rainy day and strike first.

Before the Queen Mother could speak, Du Jiyan held the door open and went out.

"Why don't you see Gao Rang following you?" The Queen Mother wondered. Usually Gao Rang, a caring little follower, always followed the emperor. Why was there a new eunuch beside the emperor this time?

Gao Rang fell out of favor?

"What mistake did Gao Rang make?" asked the Queen Mother.

"He didn't make any mistakes."

"Then why not use him?"

"He fell while walking at night."

"Look, look, this time it's Gao Rang who has prevented the disaster for you, the emperor. Next time, you will be the one who falls. Sure enough, the thunder in winter is not a good edict. Gao Rang, this slave, can be considered cautious. He is by your side. In all these years of service, there has never been such a mistake.”

What the Queen Mother said makes sense.

Gao Rang had served the emperor for many years and had always worked diligently. He rarely made any mistakes, not to mention his nose and face were bruised after falling in public. Now I am still taking medicine to support myself.

Could it be that, as Qin Tianjian said, thunder in winter is not auspicious and something ominous is about to happen?

It snowed heavily for three or four days, rarely stopping during this period.

The snow in the palace could hardly be swept away. Every morning at dawn, the eunuchs and maids would load the snow onto the cart and push it to the place where they were buried. Later, the snow was too heavy and the piles could no longer be stored in the burial place, so they had to be transported out of the country.

The newly swept corridor was quickly buried in snow.

The palace was completely deserted.

The golden bell rang eleven times, and Du Jiyan felt a little sleepy.

As soon as I squinted my eyes, I felt a figure flash outside the curtain. Chubby, face-faced.

"Who?" Du Jiyan sat up warily.

"It's a slave."

It was Gao Rang's voice.

The lights were turned on, the double curtains were opened, and it was discovered that it was Gao Rang. Gao Rang fell so hard that his eyes were filled with sparks. After resting for a day and drinking two sets of medicine, the swelling became even worse, leaving only one eye. seams, lips swollen like sausages.

This unlucky look seems to be inflated.

No wonder I couldn't recognize him through the curtain.

Du Jiyan originally wanted him to rest for a few more days.

But Gao Rang was thinking about serving his master and came to work the night shift again.

Put down the curtain, add some charcoal fire, and sit cross-legged outside the screen.

Du Jiyan was lying on the soft golden pillow. As soon as he closed his eyes, he heard thunder again outside the palace.

The thunder rumbled from far to near. I counted six.

I can’t count the number of nights there has been thunder.

At first, it was the deputy historian of Qin Tianjian who came to report that winter thunder was unlucky.

Later, the civil and military officials were just like those who had been demoted by the Qintian Prison. They could not hold a good morning meeting peacefully. As soon as the morning meeting was held, the officials would talk about the incident of Dong Lei, and also said that the Queen Mother had fallen. It was very ominous, and it must be related to the winter thunder. Someone also came up with the idea to ask the emperor to go to the temple to burn incense and pray for blessings.

Du Jiyan didn't want to go anywhere, let alone leave the palace.

After all, she is pretending to be the emperor now, and she is not sure what to do if she leaves the palace and cannot come back. Wouldn't that be dangerous? Before the emperor comes back from Beiding, no one can try to trick her out of the palace.

The thunder was extremely loud this night.

It exploded on top of the head, making people's ears numb.

When Gao Rang heard the fierce thunder, he couldn't help but touch his swollen and deformed face.

Du Jiyan was also slightly worried.

It is conceivable that the thunder was so loud. When he went to court on the second day, the Qintian Supervisor and the civil and military officials were able to write a short essay of 800 words each. The last time they criticized the emperor for refusing to leave the palace to go to court. Incense is used to pray for blessings. This time, I might ask the emperor to invite a wizard to the palace to exorcise evil spirits.

I just didn't expect that on the second morning, before I could hold a morning meeting with all the civil and military officials, I heard the news that the King of Yue was going to enter the palace, and that he was bringing the emperor with him.

The news was delivered by Gao Rang.

When the secret guard reported the news to Gao Rang, Gao Rang was watching the palace maids and eunuchs clearing the snow outside the palace. When he heard the news, Gao Rang almost lost his mind.

He ducked into the inner hall and spoke a few words to Du Jiyan. Du Jiyan looked down at his bright yellow dragon robe and decisively ordered Gao Rang to close the door of Taihe Palace and prepare women's clothes and jewelry.

Gao Rang sent a message to Du Jiyan, saying that the emperor and the King of Yue had arrived at the Shenwu Gate. The Shenwu Gate was guarded by the imperial army. For some reason, there seemed to be some conflict between the people of the King of Yue and the people of the Shenwu Gate. Later, the King of Yue led his troops into the palace in great force. The secret guard squatted on the eaves and saw it. He quickly came back to report. At this time, I am afraid that the King of Yue and others will soon arrive at the Palace of Supreme Harmony.

The King of Yue has returned to court?

The emperor is back too?

Defeated the Nomads and Yelang people so quickly?

The emperor is victorious?

If this is the case, the emperor can just return to the palace in a swagger, why should he go over the king to clear the way? Why did the King of Yue have a conflict with the imperial guards of Shenwumen when the emperor was here? You must know that the character of King Yue has always been very good, kind, good-natured, and very majestic. The people in the palace rated him as A, and the emperor only rated B.

Something is out of the ordinary and there is something evil about it.

Du Jiyan made a prompt decision, turned off her voice changer, removed her disguise skills, changed into women's clothes, tied up her hair in a bun, and put on her hairpin. Looking in the bronze mirror, she became Empress Du Bin again.

She was thinking in her heart, if the emperor returned to the palace with King Yue and happened to meet her, the fake emperor, how should she explain it? Impersonating the emperor is a capital crime. When two emperors appear, won't she and Min Jian be in danger? Aren’t things going to be exposed these days?

Therefore, remediation must be carried out before exposure.

Fortunately, she is pretty. She wears a pink dress and a white skirt, and wears a silver-red jacket. The dark red plum blossom-shaped silver hairpin has a somewhat primitive air. She looks unassuming and not outstanding, but there is nothing wrong with her.

The clothes are not expensive, the jewelry is not expensive, the whole body depends on the temperament.

Especially the way he sits behind a long desk, holding a brush and dabbing some cinnabar to open the memorial. As the saying goes, serious men are the most attractive, well, yes.

Gao Rang was so anxious that he shook his fly whisk: "Empress Du Bin..."

"what happened?"

"You are Du's concubine now. You can't sit there and correct the manuscripts. If outsiders see it, you have to read several copies."

Ah yes.

I'm used to being the emperor, and I squat on the emperor's throne every day when I have nothing to do.

For a while, habits are hard to change.

Whether it was memorials, writing brushes, the golden bell of Taihe Palace, avocado incense, calligraphy and painting, or screens, she touched them again and again. The familiar ones couldn't be more familiar. She felt more comfortable here than in Wanru Palace. She didn't care about it at all. Become an outsider.

We can't be here anymore, what if we are exposed.

Look at the sky, it’s almost done.

"Let's go to the morning court." Du Jiyan blurted out.

The fly whisk in Gao Rang's hand flickered: "Empress Du Bin, it is the job of the emperor to go to court in the morning. You are not the emperor now, so you don't dare to mention going to court again."

Thank you, Qinghe Xiaoxian, for always voting for recommendations. Thank you very much.