Biography of Concubine De of Emperor Kangxi

Xuan Ye nodded in agreement, hugged the prince, wiped away the tears on his face, and gently coaxed him: "Be happy when you see the Queen Mother." The prince nodded weakly and did not speak, and fell on his father's shoulder.The father and son went into the inner hall, but Concubine Wen didn't follow, seeing Lan Qi turned around to leave, she stopped her, "Master Degui is going back?"

Lan Qi hurriedly turned around and replied: "The concubine is still boiling medicine in the tea room, I want to go and have a look."

Concubine Wen came out with her, and the two of them walked slowly to the tea room and put out all the little maids. Accompanied by the gurgling sound in the medicine jar, Concubine Wen asked softly, "My sister, is it okay?" gone?"

"Your Majesty..." Lan Qi hurriedly stopped, "You can't say these words."

Concubine Wen shook her head: "Everyone understands it in their hearts, and I'm afraid the emperor also understands it, so why should we keep it a secret?"

Lan Qi also knows that no one is optimistic about the Queen's illness at the moment. Back then, she served Bu Guiren and went to the Palace of the Underworld. At that time, she thought that Bu Guiren's illness was very dangerous. Now that she has seen the Queen, she understands what is really dangerous. Lan Qi How could I not think so in my heart, I just dare not say it.

"My sister has been in the palace for more than ten years, and I am not as close to her as you think. Although she loves me and I like her, we don't often stay together. I don't know what my sister likes, or has any unfulfilled wishes. "The tip of Concubine Wen's nose was red, and tears fell down. She covered her mouth and cried for a while, then she calmed down and said, "Master, who should I ask? I want her to have a better life in her last days."

Lan Qi was heartbroken, she didn't care about life and death in the past, but she didn't know the queen, so she could only say: "Perhaps Dongyun knows better, or...he is the emperor."

"emperor?"

"The concubine feels that the emperor must understand the empress." Lan Qi said, her eyes couldn't help looking out, inside the bedroom, she didn't know what they were talking about now.

In the dormitory, the prince was lying beside the queen, and the queen comforted him with rubbing and breathing, and told him to eat well and study hard with a voice mixed with breathing. After that, Xuanye was about to cry when he saw the mother and son. , and let the wet nurse take the prince away.

The queen watched the prince leave with reluctance, Xuan Ye looked back at her with such an expression, and couldn't help but say: "It's only been a month or two, and you can already treat yourself like this?"

The queen nodded and didn't speak. She didn't have much strength to speak. In front of the prince just now, she was just holding on, but Xuan Ye said: "If that's the case, then take good care of it and educate the prince for me."

"I'm afraid the concubine can't do it anymore." The queen smiled sadly, her eyes sparkled slightly, but when she was distracted, she couldn't stop coughing, and everyone came to serve Shunqi with spittoons, pushing the emperor away, and only waited for the queen to calm down for a long time before returning Stepping forward, the queen said, "The emperor's dragon body is precious, and the bedroom is not clean. You should go back quickly."

Xuanye didn't care about these things, just looked at the queen, and said after a long while: "I am not an imperial doctor, so I can't cure your illness, but I hope you can recover and live a healthy life. You are not only the mother of the Qing Dynasty, but also Not only the queen of this harem, you are also my wife, the mother of the prince, and the granddaughter-in-law of the emperor's grandmother."

The queen looked at her obsessively, with tears welling up in her eyes, and she repeated in her heart: Xuan Ye, do you know how precious this sentence is.

Xuan Ye didn't dislike her sick body, and even approached her without any scruples, reaching out to hold the empress's thin hand, "We were too young before, it was I who wronged you and wronged you, get better soon, let me make up for it You, the emperor's grandmother often said that husband and wife have bumps and bumps, don't keep it in your heart, the days to come will be very, very long."

"Concubine..." The queen was crying so hard that she couldn't speak, and then she coughed again. The court ladies and eunuchs couldn't help asking the emperor to leave. They waited on the queen. Xuan Ye stood in front of the door watching her convulsions in pain, and was calm for a long time However, Dong Yun came to beg the emperor, "Long Live Lord, the imperial doctor ordered that the empress should not talk too much, the empress's phoenix body is against harmony, and the emperor's dragon body should also take care."

Reluctantly, the empress looked away from Xuan Ye, as if signaling to the emperor not to come again, after a moment of stalemate, Xuan Ye finally left, and the empress looked out the door again, entangled in a thousand emotions.

Xuan Ye came out of the sleeping hall, and saw Lan Qi and Concubine Wen bringing the maids to bring medicine. Seeing that the Holy Majesty was about to leave, they walked around from the corridor and stood by the road. He sighed deeply: "Thank you for your hard work."

Concubine Wen burst into tears, sobbed and said, "Please the emperor come to visit your empress often when you are free." If you want to serve the queen with medicine, you have to take a step first.

Lan Qi was still standing there, and Xuan Ye saw that her rosy face had lost a lot of weight a few days ago, so she couldn't help feeling distressed, "The maids and eunuchs will always do the trivial things, don't make yourself too hard, empress..." He sank For the first time, Shen Xin said frankly to others, "The Queen has only these days, just let her spend it well, don't put your body on it."

"Your Majesty?" Lan Qi choked up and couldn't speak, Xuan Ye grabbed her hand, reached out to wipe her tears, and said helplessly, "Are you emotional? She used to treat you like that, and you don't care about it?"

Lan Qi shook her head, the queen is not a wicked person, it's just a woman who cares about gains and losses, who hasn't had the blood to charge, not to mention that she doesn't remember people's evil, and now she is watching the fresh life disappearing before her eyes , Out of instinctive distress and pity, listening to Xuan Ye's words at this moment made her heartbroken even more, and she lowered her head and choked up a sentence: "The emperor is free, and I often come to see the empress."

"I understand." As soon as Xuan Ye finished speaking, someone came in in front of the door. Concubine Tong Gui came here for some reason, and when she entered the door, she saw the emperor and the noble man holding hands in the courtyard as if no one was there. She sneered in her heart, swaying Ye came to the front, but after saluting, he just asked: "Has the emperor seen the empress? The concubine wants to take a look because she is concerned about the empress's body."

Xuan Ye had let go, and calmly said to the imperial concubine: "The empress needs to rest, so don't go in, the virtuous man will bring your heart to the empress." He said and motioned to Lan Qi, "Go in, there must be someone waiting in front of the empress. .”

Lan Qi also didn't want to deal with Concubine Tong, so she saluted and left quickly. The emperor had to leave too, because the emperor ordered her to go back, and Concubine Tong was not willing to disobey, so she followed out of the gate of Kunning Palace and sent her off respectfully. After leaving Xuanye, he angrily returned to the Qian Palace, and he didn't hesitate in front of Qinglian, and said sourly and bitterly: "This Wu Ya family is really shameless. He dared to flirt with the emperor in Kunning Palace. There is such a serious patient in the palace. , she is not afraid of taboos, she is really despicable."

Qinglian didn't say anything, but halfway through the journey, she saw a minister waiting in front of her and reminded her master to take a look. Concubine Tong immediately recognized her father, Tong Guowei. She walked up to her, and after her father saluted, she asked, "" Why is Ama waiting here?"

Tong Guowei said that he was going to greet the Empress Dowager, and he had to go to see the emperor. He heard that the imperial concubine was coming from the front, so he waited for a while to greet the imperial concubine. Of course, Tong Guifei didn't bother to think about the politeness of these scenes, but father and daughter The two walked gradually, and Qinglian and the others followed behind neither far nor near, and then heard Tong Guowei say softly: "If we meet in Chengqian Palace, I am afraid that people will be suspicious. If I say a few words to your empress right now, your empress just listens." It's good to go."

Concubine Tong frowned slightly, and responded softly: "Ama just talk."

Tong Guowei said softly: "The queen's phoenix body violates the harmony. I have repeatedly inquired from the imperial hospital. It turns out that the imperial hospital has already accused the emperor. The empress's body can't last too long. In the past, she was seriously ill and prescribed too much medicine, and her body was exhausted. After this disease again, there is no hope of recovery.”

Concubine Tong also vaguely guessed something, now that she heard that the Imperial Hospital had given up, she couldn't help but feel even more heavy, and sighed: "She is not blessed."

But Tong Guowei said: "Your Majesty, since Niu Hulu's family has lost their pillars in the harem, they must take action. Concubine Wen is already in the palace. In order to support Concubine Wen, it is natural to suppress your noble concubine. Please also be careful, Madam, don't fall into Niu Hulu's trap."

The father and daughter stopped in their tracks, and Qinglian and the others behind them did not dare to approach. Concubine Tong twisted her eyebrows, and said bitterly: "That little Concubine Wen, who is weak and reticent, how can she become popular? I won't bully her, they Are you going to miss me again? That's fine, when the queen dies, I will be the master of the middle palace and see how they continue to suppress her."

Tong Guowei was shocked, and repeatedly persuaded: "Your Majesty, don't have such an idea. You forgot that I once told you that after the death of Empress Hesheli, the Niuhulu family was eager for quick success and instant benefits, so angry that the emperor almost wanted to oppose them? The emperor's feelings cannot be compared with Queen Hesheli's, but the emperor is a person who values ​​love and righteousness, and must not seek the position of the middle palace at that juncture. The future of the empress is naturally the future of the subjects and the family. The matter, I will take it easy for you."

Concubine Tong's anger was suppressed by her father's words, and she calmly said for a while: "Naturally, it's up to Ama to take care of me. Now I am watched by the empress dowager inside and out. I can't do anything for her in one day. Make up your own mind for a day, and I ask Ama to understand the difficulties I have in the palace. Besides..." She paused, snorting disdainfully, "I don't plan to adopt any prince, even if I become a middle palace in the future, I will No, this child's life is too tough, anyone who is his mother will be killed."

Tong Guowei shook his head helplessly: "I understand."

The life of the crown prince was hard, his biological mother died in childbirth, and Empress Niu Hulu had only adopted him for a month or two before he suffered such a catastrophe. It was not that Concubine Tong Guifei spoke mean words, these words were rumored inside and outside the palace, even in the Palace of Compassionate Ning I also heard these words, and discussed with Madam Su Mala in private that no one should let people adopt the crown prince in the future. The crown prince is obviously very precious and will suppress the blessings of others. How can concubines and concubines compete with the future emperor? .

In the following days, Xuan Ye couldn't let go of the affairs of the previous court, but occasionally he would visit the queen when he had time. Lan Qi traveled between Zhongcui Palace and Kunning Palace every day. However, Lan Qi is very energetic. In order to have enough strength to take care of the queen's affairs, she also eats more meals every day than before.

Unknowingly, the middle of February has passed. Although the queen has survived for a few days longer than the imperial doctor expected, she has never seen any improvement. It seems that she is only living on the ganoderma lucidum and old ginseng, but the queen cherishes this period. Days, when the emperor came, he would chat and joke with him, and he would feel better after calming down. He would also ask Concubine Wen to give her needles and threads, and wanted to make spring gowns for the prince to wear. , but Concubine Wen didn't dissuade her, almost anything she wanted could be satisfied.

Concubine Rong and Concubine Hui will come to visit and report the affairs of the palace every few days, and the queen will also mention a few words and tell them the way, as if she foresees that she will die, and she does not want her to work hard The prosperity of the palace that had been maintained for many years fell into disarray after her death. Concubine Rong and Concubine Hui listened to her lectures devoutly, and often discussed with her how to deal with it. The queen really liked doing these things, and every time she talked about them, she would be extra energetic.

Concubine Rong and Concubine Hui came again on this day. The queen heard that the palace had already paid enough for the summer. She praised Concubine Rong and Concubine Hui for being capable and careful, and even blamed myself for being aggressive. , and it is not possible to have today.”

They didn't dare to say sad words, but they said a few words of relief. Soon after seeing the queen's spirit was not good, she took her leave and left. Lan Qi had been standing outside, seeing the two coming out, she went up to see them off, but she heard Concubine Hui say softly: "The empress is now , commensurate with our 'you and me'."

Lan Qi also knows that she has been serving the queen these days, and it has been a long time since she has heard her call herself "Ben Gong", and she does this to herself, Concubine Wen, and Dong Yun, and she also heard Concubine Rong say, "You are not in a good mood today. .”

Concubine Rong said wearily: "During those few days, my lower abdomen hurt badly."

After the two muttered about this, they talked to Lan Qi a few more words, and then they left, but Lan Qi stood in a daze in front of the door, and couldn't help stretching out her hands to put her hands on her belly. If Concubine Rong didn't talk about those few days, she would have forgotten I haven't received a monthly letter for a month, and I've been busy with the Queen's affairs these days, so I forgot about all of these, and since the monthly letter didn't come, the pregnancy should be almost the same.

My heart was pounding, and I said secretly: good boy, you stay in Erniang's belly obediently, let Erniang take care of the queen for the last few days, and don't let your Huang Ama leave any regrets.

Turning around to go back to the queen, I heard a panic inside, a little maid hurried out to call for the imperial physician, the imperial physician who had been waiting in the side hall came immediately, Lan Qi didn't know until she arrived in the hall that the empress had fainted, the imperial physician rescued her several times , the queen slowly regained consciousness, but after this time, her body became heavier and heavier.

At the end of February, the weather was supposed to be getting warmer, but there were rare heavy rains for two consecutive days, and then it was so cold that people had to wear deep winter cotton clothes on their bodies. On the day of 26, the rain stopped the night before, but since this morning It began to snow, the wind was not strong, the white snow swirled in the air like cotton wool, and the snow fell to the ground. In the afternoon, the scene of white snow in the imperial city again made people forget that it was already the season of early spring.

The queen is in good spirits today. The earth dragon in the Kunning Palace is very warm every day. It doesn’t matter if it rains or snows outside, but when I heard that it is snowing, the queen wants to lie on the kang under the bright window. Let her look at the snow through the paper window.

Concubine Wen said: "It's better for my sister to dress thickly, let them carry the bamboo sedan chair in, and carry you to the door to have a look, the yard is covered with snow, it is so white that there are no footprints."

The queen was overjoyed, and Dongyun and others came to dress her up. Concubine Wen became excited again, and gave the queen all the clothes on the head of the tin. For many days, she only wore pajamas. Now she put on the old clothes, and she was even more surprised. She was thin, and the clothes that used to fit were hanging empty on her body, which made people feel distressed.

After tidying up, the little eunuch outside brought the bamboo sedan chair in, and everyone carried the queen onto the sedan chair. She was now so thin that she was weightless. When Lan Qi saw the little eunuch picking up the queen, she obviously intended to use force, but she managed to lighten her hand , the contrast almost flashed her waist, Lan Qi's heart was heavy, and for the first time since she was sick, she felt that the queen's life was really going to disappear.

When the queen sat firmly on the sedan chair, Dong Yun covered her with a cloak and put on a hood, and then slowly carried her out of the bedroom. The cold air outside rushed towards her face, and the queen cheered up and smiled joyfully: "very nice."

The crown prince was brought from the East Palace, and the empress was seriously ill, so she should have sent him away, but both the empress dowager and the emperor preferred to keep the crown prince in the middle palace, but after all, he was seriously ill and did not dare to let the delicate The child is so close. At this moment, the mother and the child are looking at each other from a distance. The nurse is leading the prince to play in the snow on the porch. Soon, a court lady brought a white ball on a vermilion lacquer plate and sent it to the queen. It turned out to be a chubby snow rabbit. Said that the crown prince pinched it and gave it to the empress to play with.

"The prince is so smart." The queen was overjoyed, she stretched out her hand to touch the snow rabbit, the cold feel made her more energetic, and she couldn't put it down. Everyone should have worried that she would catch a cold, but the concubine Wen had an order early in the morning, and the queen wanted to do it. Don't obstruct anything, so according to her wishes, she dug up a lot of snow and piled it in a big bowl, put the snow rabbit in it, and brought them back to the bedroom together.

After freezing outside for a while, and then returning to the bedroom, the queen's spirit was obviously exhausted, but she refused to let the tianzi head off, and she refused to take off the phoenix robe. Open it, and put the big bowl containing the snow rabbit under the window to let the cold wind blow, while she wrapped herself in a big cloak, as if she was outside the house.

"Go and put on a jacket. Be careful of catching cold when the window is open." Seeing Lan Qi in front of her, wearing her usual clothes, the queen thought of making a point, and Huan Chun had already come in with her jacket from outside, knowing that the room was open. The window is ventilated, afraid that the master will wear thin clothes.

After Huanchun withdrew, the queen smiled and said: "She is very loyal. I remember that time when Mrs. An was looking for trouble with you, and Huanchun even contradicted you. At that time, I thought, why did I give you such a choice after so many choices?" The frizzy maid, looking at it now, should be looking for you according to your temperament, and the temperament of master and servant can only last for a long time."

Lan Qi smiled and said: "The concubine has a bad temper, Huan Chun is very considerate and patient."

The queen was in a bad mood, but her eyes were inexplicably bright. She stared at Lan Qi for a long time, and suddenly said, "Is it time for you to have some good news?"

"I don't know yet, but the concubine hasn't sent a monthly letter since the Lantern Festival." Lan Qi said frankly, "I dare not ask the imperial doctor to look at it right now. The mother at home once said that she was very stingy in the first few months, so be careful." It’s fine, there’s no need for everyone to know.”

The queen nodded feebly, and said weakly: "Yes, your mother is right." Looking at Lan Qi's shapeless waist, she murmured as if to herself, "I'm afraid this child is not simple."

Lan Qi couldn't hear it clearly, and seeing the Queen's body slipping down, she came up and took a pillow to make her more comfortable, when she supported the Queen's arm, the arm that was not fully gripped had almost no flesh, and she felt uncomfortable for a while Too bad, tears welled up.

"Why are you crying?" After the queen sat down, she took a few breaths and calmed down. Seeing tears in Lan Qi's eyes, she asked with a weak smile, "Is it for me?"

Lan Qi shook her head and took a few steps back.

"It's rare that you can still serve me like this." The queen said, and she hasn't coughed much today, and her breath is smooth, as if she was so energetic just now when she went out to blow the cold wind. When she is energetic, she wants to talk even more, with a haggard face There was a smile on his face, and he said slowly, "I used to treat you like that, wishing you were dead. In the end, the longer you live, the better, and when I am about to die, you are the one who takes care of me. Probably, this is called the reward of the present world. .”

"Your Majesty, don't say that, the past is over." Lan Qi choked up, trying to suppress her crying.

The queen turned her face out of the window, and when she opened the window, she could clearly see the snowflakes flying. The wind was not strong, and the snowflakes were floating in mid-air, falling slowly round and round, beautiful and peaceful.

"More than ten years ago, my mother told me that you would be the Queen of the Central Palace. After the emperor was elected that year, only I, the Niuhulu family, were the most honorable. Do you know the virtuous people? Obai said that the Hesheli family is eighth. As a subordinate, Empress Hesheli is the daughter of a servant, although the emperor hates Oboi and my family, but no matter at that time or today, more than ten years later, I still think so."

The queen raised her chin slightly, and in her withered life, she still insisted on the nobility of blood, and said with a sad smile: "I, Niu Hulu's nobility, can't be matched by Hesheli's, but the emperor didn't choose me. Shouldn't the most noble woman sit in the most noble position? Why didn't he choose me, I am the most noble woman in the Eight Banners."

Lan Qi stood quietly and listened, there were only her and the empress in the dormitory at the moment, the empress seemed to be tired, after sighing heavily, she said: "Later I realized that the emperor didn't choose me because he hated my family. , not because he hates Oboi who is similar to us, he just likes Queen Hesheli, and he likes that woman more than me, and he chose the woman he likes as his wife."

Tears rolled down the queen's cheeks, but she smiled from the tears and continued: "But the emperor said to me that day, I am his wife, noble man, do you know how precious this sentence is? You say the emperor, yes Didn't you start liking me too?"

Lan Qi was speechless, and the queen's tears also occupied her heart. She was sure that the proud woman in front of her for more than ten years must love her emperor husband as much as herself.

At this time, the big bell in the dormitory rang, knocking on the heart one by one, but the queen looked at the clock happily, and said with a smile: "The emperor likes the Western clock the most. When he gave it to me, I couldn't sleep for several nights. Most of the night I would also get up and watch the bell and wait for him to ring. No zither or pipa sounds as good as his voice, but for a long time later, I couldn’t hear the emperor’s voice, so I could only watch the bell, but even so, I I still like the sound, there is no such beautiful sound in the world.”

Lan Qi had already burst into tears, covering her mouth with all her strength so as not to cry out.

"Master, my sister is too weak and young." The queen said again, motioning Lan Qi to approach her, "I used to expect my sister to enter the palace and bear children for me, but now I am leaving soon, and I regret letting her enter the palace , but it’s too late to regret, she can only rely on herself in her future life, noble person, just be a dying person’s request, take care of her, don’t let people bully her, okay?”

Lan Qi nodded vigorously, and the queen's thin hand grabbed her hand, as if using all her strength to hold it tightly and said: "Also, tell the emperor for me, and I said, 'Xuan Ye, in the next life, we don't want See you again.'"

Lan Qi shook her head, the queen laughed, both of them had tears on their faces, no one was prettier than the other, and Lan Qi seemed to want to seize the last moment of life, but the queen had already taken everything lightly, she smiled easily: " It doesn’t matter if you don’t say it, I’ve told you, and there will be no regrets, noble man, thank you.”

Lan Qi was sobbing, the queen let go, found a clean handkerchief beside her and handed it to her, Lan Ye didn't dislike it, wiped away her tears, calmed down, and deceived herself and said: "You take good care of your illness, the snow outside I'm afraid it will take a few days to melt, and when you recover, take the prince to build a snowman."

The queen smiled gratifiedly, and pointed to the big bowl by the window, "Your nobleman, go and have a look, is the snow rabbit the crown prince gave me okay?"

Lan Qi promised, climbed onto the kang, climbed to the window, leaned over to look at the scene in the big bowl, she was shocked suddenly, the snow rabbit disappeared.After all, unable to resist the warmth of the ground dragon in the house, the whole bowl of snow melted, and the snowflakes floated in and fell into the bowl, floating on the water for a fleeting moment.

"Mother, the Snow Rabbit is still here..." Lan Qi tried her best to laugh, turned to look at the Queen, and wanted to say something to make her happy, but before she finished speaking, she saw a neatly dressed woman leaning on the big pillow , Smiling and slowly closing his eyes, the hand that was touching Dongzhu on his chest slipped heavily, and after this slip, he never lifted up again.

"Mother..." Lan Qi's whole body tensed up, and she couldn't hold back her crying anymore. As soon as she cried, people from outside rushed in and called for the imperial doctor in a panic. After a while, the imperial doctor knelt down and cried The queen passed away, Concubine Wen fainted when she heard the news, Dong Yun burst into tears, all the female eunuchs in the uterus cried loudly, Lan Qi's crying was covered up, and the noise of crying and shouting continued one after another, a gust of cold wind came in through the window, and she felt dizzy. Feeling dizzy, he swayed and fell down.

On February 17, the 26th year of Kangxi, Empress Niu Hulu passed away, and the palace was plain.

Xuan Ye quit the court for five days and ignored the government. After nearly four years, his second empress passed away. For the young emperor, it was a heavy blow. Now that the country is prosperous and San Francisco is about to be established, it is him In the period when he wanted to make great efforts to establish a prosperous dynasty, two empresses passed away one after another. It was a great misfortune to him, to the court, and even to the people of Li.

March is sunny and spring, just like the early summer did not see prosperity in the past, this year the spring has not entered the palace, and the plain imperial city seems to be still in severe winter.Empress Niu Hulu was the closest to the Empress Dowager before her death. The Empress Dowager was extremely sad and fell ill. Concubine Wen couldn't recover from the loss of her sister, but she was sick and sick. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager was still healthy, and Xuan Ye could breathe a little.

On that day, Lan Qi was sent back to Zhongcui Palace, because everyone was busy with the affairs of Kunning Palace, and Concubine Wen fainted, and there was not even an imperial physician in Zhongcui Palace. After crying in Chunhuai, she asked them not to ask the imperial physician again. She guessed that she was pregnant. Since she woke up with no discomfort and no redness, she didn't want to make any more trouble at this moment. It is not appropriate to be happy now. Saying such a good thing about her won't change anything.

During the whole month of March, Lan Qi paid homage to the crying spirit, knelt down and offered incense, Lan Qi followed other concubines, and nothing happened. The people in the palace seemed to be relieved, even though some people thought that the queen would not live long, but she really After leaving, I was still a little dazed, even though many people gathered together.

Not everyone in this world is willing to change, but once the empress leaves, the situation in the imperial harem will surely change. After a period of stability, it will lead to unpredictable turmoil. Niu Hulu once wanted to get the queen And angering the emperor is a lesson from the past. Everyone is worried that the vacant post will lead to even greater disputes.

At the end of March, the emperor personally moved Empress Niu Hulu's Zi Palace to Gonghua City. They came to see them off, and there was a lot of crying until Empress Niu Hulu left Zigong, and the imperial concubine sent everyone away.

Because the Empress Dowager asked her to see her off and go back to the Palace of Compassion, Lan Qi left Bu Guiren and went alone. Unexpectedly, on the way, she encountered Concubine Tong's sedan chair, which had already left earlier, and stopped halfway. She thought it was specially waiting for her. But when he got closer, he saw Concubine Wen's sedan chair behind him, and was shocked to find that Concubine Wen was kneeling on the ground.

Concubine Tong's voice came, and she said sharply: "If you want to be great in front of me, and let the emperor make you a noble concubine as an imperial concubine, it is better to directly enter the Kunning Palace and succeed your sister as the new queen."

"Master, let's wait." Huan Chun grabbed Lan Qi, and now, in her opinion, nothing is more important than the master's pregnancy. She pulled Lan Qi back to the side of the road, and said softly, "The imperial concubine will not What to do with Concubine Wen, maybe there is some misunderstanding, and it won't help if you go, we'd better wait for Concubine Concubine to leave."

Lan Qi said solemnly: "The queen asked me to take care of Concubine Wen. At that time, I was emotional and nodded without thinking, but she didn't think about it. For example, at this moment, how can I help her or take care of her? The empress is also right, Concubine Wen will depend on herself for the rest of her life."

Huan Chun didn't say much, when he heard the movement, the person in front seemed to have left, so he walked over with his master, and saw Dong Yun helping Concubine Wen up, now she was following Concubine Wen, seeing Lan Qi coming, Concubine Wen Just cry.

I just heard from Dongyun that Concubine Wen couldn't get used to Concubine Tong's impatient appearance when she knelt with the crowd to send the empress Zigong to the Queen's Palace just now. Ordered to kneel on the ground, holding her as a royal concubine and pressing her down, asking her to assess the situation.

Concubine Wen resented: "Isn't she afraid of retribution?"

Lan Qi's heart skipped a beat. On the day the queen passed away, she once said that her own situation was the retribution of this world.

"Dong Yun, your empress is too weak, send your empress back to Xianfu Palace to have a good rest." Lan Qi only instructed Dong Yun in this way, and after helping Concubine Wen get on the sedan chair, she pulled her and said softly, "Stay away a bit, if you can If you don't meet, you'd better not meet, Concubine Tong's temper is like that, the empress is gone, you have to take good care of her younger sister for the empress."

Dong Yun agreed with tears in his eyes, and even knelt down and said: "I haven't thanked the noble man yet, thank you for taking care of the master so much."

Lan Qi sighed softly, Huan Chun pulled her up, and told her to send Concubine Wen back to Xianfu Palace quickly, they stood still and calmed down, and then returned to Compassionate Ning Palace.

In the entire imperial city, only the Compassionate Ning Palace and Ningshou Palace refused to submit. When they came here from the plain world, it was as if they had returned to the human world. The sadness in Lan Qi's heart had already faded a lot, and a new life was being conceived in her body. For her, the relationship with Empress Niu Hulu has since ended, and it is enough for her to make Xuan Ye and the Empress have no regrets.

The same is true for the empress dowager. She was prepared in her heart when she knew that the empress would not last for a few days. She has seen too many lives and deaths in the three dynasties. In the eyes of the elderly, the future of the court and the royal family is more important than the empress dowager. Falling ill, as the pillar of the royal family and the harem, she must not fall down easily for these things before her own life comes to an end.

Lan Qi came to see the Empress Dowager a few days ago, and the old man's calmness also affected her. When we saw each other today, the Empress Dowager took off the white beads from Lan Qi's temples and told her: "You don't have to dress like this anymore. Sujing, you still have to serve the emperor."

"The concubine knows." Lan Qi agreed, and was pulled by the empress dowager to sit beside her, and asked her, "I heard Su Mala say it today, and I just remembered that you were the last person who followed the empress Daxing. , what did you say to you?"

A month has passed in the blink of an eye, and Lan Qi recalled the events of that day again. Although she was no longer sad, it was as clear as yesterday. For her, the so-called care can only rely on the authority of the Empress Dowager.

Sure enough, the old man said: "That child won't be successful, but I won't let her be easily bullied. If the Niuhulu people outside know that she is being bullied in the palace, they will still lose face in the harem."

After hesitating for a long time, Lan Qi still told the Empress Dowager what Queen Niu Hulu said. When she said "Xuan Ye, in the next life, we will not meet again" word by word, she felt heartbroken, no, she must never be right Xuan Ye said such a thing, no matter whether she said it on behalf of others, she must never say such cruel words to him, and as for herself, not only the next life, the next life, life after life, she will be with Xuan Ye again.

"You said this to the emperor?" The Empress Dowager frowned, but she was relieved when she saw Lan Qi shaking her head, she seemed a little displeased, and sighed, "The child still doesn't understand the way to be a wife after all, Why bother." He took Lan Qi's hand and said, "I've forgotten this sentence since then, don't mention it again, if you dare to tell Xuan Ye, let me spare you, as for the rest, you can decide for yourself good."

"The concubine understands." Lan Qi agreed with her head bowed, and said softly, "The concubine will forget this sentence completely, and the concubine does not want the emperor to have any knots in his heart, and he will keep it for the rest of his life."

The Empress Dowager looked at her, very comforted, and sighed, "Everyone is gone, it's meaningless to bring up the past."

Just as I was talking, a court lady brought the Empress Dowager’s tonic, Lan Qi took over and served her as usual, and then she lifted the lid of the medicine jar, and a smell came into her nostrils. During those days, she was smelling the medicine in the middle palace every day She didn't respond at all, but suddenly felt depressed in her chest, her stomach turned upside down, and she felt a rush of heat rushing out of her throat. Afraid of losing her composure in front of the Empress Dowager, she put down the medicine jar and covered her mouth and ran out of the dormitory. There was a good vomit in the pot.

Huan Chun hurriedly followed, and the maids of the Compassionate Ning Palace were also terrified. Madam Su Mala just came out of the tea room. Seeing this scene, her heart moved, and she helped Lan Qi to wash up and come back again, but when she smelled the residual medicine smell It was so uncomfortable that the Empress Dowager and Aunt Su Mala looked at each other, and the aunty asked the doctor Xuan.

"But there is?" The Empress Dowager was happy and nervous, but counting the days, she couldn't help frowning and asked, "What happened on the night of the Lantern Festival?"

Lan Qi nodded shyly, bowed her head and said with a blushing face, "I haven't been to bed since then, and Yue Xin hasn't come for two months."

Mammy was shocked and asked her, "Did you know you have it?"

"I know, I know..." Lan Qi was frightened when she saw that there was anger in the eyes of the mother, and she was also furious when she saw the empress dowager. Just as she was about to speak, she was pinched on the face by the empress dowager, scolding her He said, "Nonsense and nonsense, you girl is really going to piss me off, you are pregnant, why are you going to wait for something, blame me, you should be more careful."

Nanny also blamed herself, and pinched Huanchun's ear angrily: "Little hooves are bold, you know it too, why don't you report it?"

Lan Qi felt sorry for Huanchun being scolded, so she came to stop her and said: "The empress dowager and the nanny don't be angry, the concubine knows that she is fine, so she will go to attend to the sick, and Er Niang once said to the concubine, if you know there is something wrong I'm pregnant, just be careful in the first few months, don't let the world know that the child is stingy, so..."

The Empress Dowager smiled and sighed: "Isn't that right? When I was pregnant with the late Emperor, I didn't know it. In the first few months, I rode horses with Emperor Taizong. It was fine, but now I have been careful, and it is a reward." It's congratulations again, the child's luck is broken. Besides, you sent the queen away well, she is grateful to you and will bless the child, and you have also accumulated virtue for the child."

Only then did Lan Qi feel relieved, and coaxed the empress dowager well, promising that she would have a safe pregnancy in the future. Not long after, the imperial doctor came and confirmed that the noble man was pregnant. Go to Gonghua City and tell the emperor.

After Xuan Ye arrived at Gonghua City, he first went to pay homage to Empress Hesheli. Empress Niu Hulu's Zigong would not be moved into Xiangdian three days later, and it would take several days for him to return to the palace. The empress dowager sent an urgent letter, Xuan Ye was worried about his grandmother's health, and hurriedly opened the letter to read, but his brows gradually relaxed, and there was a look of joy on his lips. Eunuch Li didn't dare to speculate wildly, but he heard the emperor's joyful speech to him. Said: "The virtuous man is happy."