Chaos in the Chu Palace

Chapter 56
Chu Huotian has been here for two days, and everyone in the entire Huayan Palace is extremely cautious, for fear that Chu Huotian will be held accountable for a single mistake.Ouyang Ruo's illness also improved a lot, and on the third day he could sit up as usual.People say that sickness comes like a mountain falling, and sickness goes like spinning silk.Ouyang Ruo's illness lasted for a few days and healed up.It's just that Chu Huotian went back and forth to Huayan Palace for a few days, and asked Zhao Qingling to see a doctor for her. This news spread throughout the entire harem, making many people jealous.

Some people say that she is arrogant because of her favor, while others say that her beauty is a disaster, and they use her background as an issue.Ouyang Ruo didn't care, she just went to the queen's side every day to say hello and morning, and several familiar concubines also walked around.Wan Zhaoyi's belly has also grown a lot, and it seems that the fetus is well-fed. She is smiling all day long, and Ouyang Ruo feels happy watching it.Ouyang Ruo often presents the Buddhist scriptures she has copied to the empress. Her handwriting is gentle and beautiful, and the empress likes it very much.

Although the entire harem was full of turmoil in the dark, there was a friendly atmosphere on the surface. In the blink of an eye, it was the severe cold season, and the queen held a family banquet. Because Chu Huotian didn't like extravagance, the harem family banquet was very simple.I just invited the concubines in the harem to drink warm winter wine together at the family banquet that day, and listen to a song or two presented by the song and dance department in the palace.

That day Ouyang Ruo went to the banquet wearing a long skirt of clear water and sky. Her skirt was newly made for her by the Bureau of Fashion, because Chu Huotian said, "You have lost a lot of weight after being sick these days. Just ask someone to re-cut the clothes." On the second day, a female official came to measure her clothes and made five or six new clothes.Because Ouyang Ruo felt that his sickness had not faded, he chose this plain one.

The collar of her dress is fan-shaped, which makes her soft face more energetic. The whole dress fits well and does not look cumbersome. I heard that the maid of the Fashion Bureau said that it is filled with goose down, which is light and elegant. keep warm.Sure enough, once she puts it on, it outlines her slender figure very well.The long skirt is rusted with smoky green plums, one by one, entangled with branches, very elegant and light.She also wore a satin cloak of the same color, embroidered with snow scenes of thousands of mountains, ethereal atmosphere, elegant and indifferent, with a vague atmosphere of mountains and rivers in it.She wore a startled bun on her head, no golden steps, only two jasper hairpins on each side, and a few pearl flowers pinched with silver thread.

As soon as I entered the empress's central palace, I felt the heat wave blowing towards my face, and it was very warm. There were already several concubines sitting on the seats on both sides, and they were chatting with each other with various snacks and melon seeds.Seeing Ouyang Ruo coming in, they couldn't help staring at her.Seeing her wearing new clothes, he couldn't help but see deep jealousy in his eyes.Ouyang Ruo went forward to salute the queen, greeted several concubines, and then sat on the back seat.Li Guiren is on the right.Li Guiren made good friends with her, and Ouyang Ruo liked her straightforwardness very much.It's just that Li Guiren's complexion turned pale today, and he seemed uncomfortable.Ouyang Ruo hurriedly asked, "Sister Li is sick?"

Li Guiren managed to force a smile: "The charcoal fire in this hall is so hot, I feel so bored and dizzy."

Ouyang Ruo nodded, and hurriedly asked the palace servants to open the window on this side a little. Li Guiren smiled gratefully and recovered a little.

At the beginning of the banquet, the queen saw that Ouyang Ruo was sitting far away, and suddenly said: "Concubine Rou, do you want to sit up? It's just to talk to Bengong, it would be inconvenient to sit too far away."

Ouyang Ruo glanced at the table, how could he go forward?It is wrong to sit next to anyone.He hurriedly lowered his head and said: "The ministers and concubines are terrified, and they dare not overstep their status. If the queen empress calls for ministers and concubines, she will go forward to serve her left and right."

Seeing her humble attitude, the queen also smiled: "Forget it, you just recovered from a serious illness, how can you ask you to serve me."

Mrs. Liu Guo smiled and said: "Sister Ouyang is pitiful, no wonder the emperor likes it." The queen also said: "Yes, unlike that one, who didn't put us old people in his eyes, and finally got retribution." She It was Xu Shi.

Mrs. Liu Guo forced a smile and said no more.The tenth dish came up, a steamed fish.Ouyang Ruo lived in the south since he was a child, and seeing fish in the middle of winter in Chu, he couldn't help wondering: "How come there are fish to present in this season of ice and snow?"

Li Guiren next to him smiled and said, "I don't know, Miss Rou, as long as you dig a hole in the river, the fish will gather. It's very simple to catch fish." After she finished speaking, the wind blew, and there was a smell of fishy smell. It was so smoked that she couldn't help but "vomit", and even vomited what she had eaten before.

Ouyang Ruo was shocked, and hurriedly asked the palace servants to hand over the handkerchief and water to clean it up.The queen heard the sound from here, and hurriedly asked: "What's the matter, did you catch a cold?"

Seeing that he made a fool of himself in front of the palace, Li Guiren was filled with shame, and was about to apologize but couldn't help retching.The few concubines in the palace were all from here, Mrs. Liu Guo frowned and said softly: "Perhaps I'm embarrassed."

The empress suddenly came to her senses, hurriedly passed on Tong's history, and called for the imperial physician again and again.Ouyang Ruo's heart was bright, and she hurriedly asked in a low voice, "Did sister Yuexin come?"

Li Guiren vomited until tears came out, he was taking the veil from the palace man to clean his face, when he heard this, he was stunned and shook his head.Ouyang Ruo knew that the matter was almost inseparable.Sure enough, the imperial physician came and congratulated the queen after a while.

The queen was flipping through Tong Shi, and said with a smile, "That's right, it's been more than a month. Li Guiren is really lucky. Come here! Hurry up and report to the emperor."

As soon as these words came out, the concubines also rushed to congratulate Li Guiren, and the clever maids and servants hurried to congratulate the queen.Li Guiren's face was flushed, he just lowered his head and muttered, but the straightforwardness of the past was gone.When Ouyang Ruo approached her, Li Guiren shyly smiled at her and shook her hand.Ouyang Ruo also smiled and congratulated her.

The queen was in a happy mood, and said with a smile: "Come quickly, bring up Li Guiren's mat, and I will have a good talk with her from now on. Don't serve those fishy dishes, but serve some refreshing ones to Li Guiren."

Immediately, a palace official moved her mat and stepped forward.The banquet became more and more lively because of Li Guiren's pregnancy.The servant who went to pass the news to the emperor has also returned.According to the emperor's oral order, Li Guiren was named Chonghua and given the title "Yu".Everyone knelt down and accepted the order.All the concubines and concubines had their own tastes at a banquet, Ouyang Ruo used some, and after seeing the time was about the same, she and Wan Zhaoyi resigned as queen and came out together.

Wan Zhaoyi touched her stomach, looked outside Yelang Xingxi and sighed: "I didn't expect Li Guiren to be pregnant with a dragon."

Ouyang Ruo let Wan Hui put on a fox-fur cloak, stuffed a stove in her bosom before laughing, "It should be called Yu Chonghua." Wan Zhaoyi smiled: "That's right, only Sister Ouyang's head turns fast. "

Ouyang Ruo smiled: "Why does Wan Zhaoyi sigh, in three months, my sister will give birth."

Wan Zhaoyi took her hand, walked out of the side hall and suddenly said softly: "Sister should also make a good plan for herself, besides, the emperor likes you so much, it should not be difficult to get pregnant again."

Ouyang Ruo sighed in his heart: Heirs, you can have them at will.

Then she came back to her senses, nodded and thanked, "Sister Lin is right, but this matter cannot be rushed." Wan Zhaoyi helped her by the hand and walked slowly.

As she walked, she said, "Why don't you ask the imperial doctor to help your younger sister to take care of it? My father has a student who works in the imperial hospital. I heard from my father that he is quite reliable. Why don't you ask him to come and show my younger sister?"

Ouyang Ruo was moved in his heart, patted her hand and said: "It's hard for my sister to think about me, my sister is really ashamed."

Wan Zhaoyi touched her protruding belly with satisfaction, which contained all her hopes and future: "Thank you, sister and sister shouted, I really treat you as my own sister. How can this harem have such affection?" It's also rare."

After she finished speaking, she got on the sedan chair, smiled softly at Ouyang Ruo, and was carried away by the palace servants.

Ouyang Ruo watched her group gradually go away, and then stepped on her shoulders.When they arrived at Huayan Palace, Ouyang Ruo washed up and leaned on the couch with her hair in a bun. Wan Hui came in with a bowl of medicinal soup. Ouyang Ruo frowned when she heard it, and said, "Auntie, why don't you imitate the outsiders and drink it for me?" These bitter medicines."

Wan Hui sighed: "Your Majesty is such a smart person that she doesn't need a maidservant to talk about it. Hurry up and conceive one to be serious. If you don't have an heir, you are afraid that the emperor's favor will not last long. Besides, if you have a prince and concubine, your Majesty will also have someone to rely on in the future."

Ouyang Ruo put down the book in her hand. Her identity has always been a great obstacle. From the first day she stepped into Chudi, she reminded herself that she must never make a mistake.But now, if he really wanted to bear children for him, even relying on his love for her might not be enough.

She couldn't help but fell into deep thought, the candle lightly extinguished by Wan Hui.It was dark again in the room.She tossed and turned and recalled that day just after entering the palace, Chu Huotian took her up to the rooftop, and the night was as dark as this, but she could clearly see his eyes shining like stars, and the tenderness inside was about to drown her .

Chu Huotian was kind to her.But he is an emperor, and there are countless beauties in the harem.Ouyang Ruo smiled wryly, after all, it was because he couldn't fully believe in his heart.

Early the next morning, Ouyang Ruo went to greet the empress as usual, but Yu Chonghua did not come over.The queen smiled and said to the crowd: "I saw her first pregnancy, so I spared her the trouble of getting up early to ask for peace."

When the people below heard the words, some were jealous and some were injustice, but Ouyang Ruo didn't intervene.After returning to the palace, Mingying greeted her and said, "Your Majesty, sister Zishan, the maid of honor next to Yu Chonghua, is here, and she said that Yu Chonghua invited you over to drink tea."

Xiang Ye beside Ouyang Ruo spoke quickly, and snorted unjustly: "On weekdays, she comes to pay her respects to the empress, why is it so precious to be pregnant?"

Ouyang Ruo patted her lightly, and acted slightly annoyed: "As long as you have a quick mouth, you still dare to talk like that in the future, and you will be fined to sweep the snow before dawn." Xiang Ye stuck out her tongue and quickly said that she didn't dare .

Ouyang Ruo thought for a moment, then looked at the sky, and said to Wan Hui, "Go back up the presents, and go there in the afternoon." Wan Hui hurriedly responded.

In the afternoon, Ouyang Ruo took a nap before going over.The weather was fine and the wind wasn't blowing so hard.The golden crow in the sky shone warmly, making it very comfortable.She only brought Mingying and Dexuan, and went with presents.After arriving at Nuanchunzhai, Yu Chonghua's residence, a clever little maid greeted her at the door, she greeted her and said, "My little master is just waiting for the concubine Rou to come over."

Ouyang Ruo nodded and followed her in.Yu Chonghua was resting halfway on the bed of the beauty, wearing a crimson homely skirt embroidered with small florals, very plain, but it made her complexion like spring.

When she saw Ouyang Ruo coming in, she hurriedly stepped forward to greet her: "My concubine, send your greetings to your concubine!" As she said that, she wanted to bless her, and Ouyang Ruo hurriedly helped her up and smiled, "Why are you so out of touch? I haven't given you yet yesterday." Congratulations. I wanted to wait for you to be clean before coming back."

Yu Chonghua held her hand and walked towards the back room. Hearing this, he sighed. Although the tone was soft, Ouyang Ruo heard it.There was a hint of worry on her face, but she smiled and said: "Ms. Rou concubine came to help the concubine to see how to return the gift. The gifts given by the concubines are difficult for the concubine to handle."

Ouyang Ruo followed her in.When he arrived in the inner room, Yu Chonghua saw that the maid did not come in, so he shook Ouyang Ruo's hand and said worriedly: "Sister, there is no outsider here. To be honest, I am so worried. Pregnant with a dragon seed is like pregnant with something. Eyes watching."

Ouyang Ruo took a sip of the teacup before smiling, "Sister Li is young and her first child, so she will inevitably think more."

Yu Chonghua was outspoken, and when he saw Ouyang Ruo laughing and saying that Yan Yan didn't take it seriously, he was a little anxious.Turning around, he took out a red silk bundle from the walnut cabinet, and spread it out in front of Ouyang Ruo.

"Sister, take a look, this is a gift from the queen, what does she mean?" Yu Chonghua asked, pointing at the pile of golden things.

Ouyang Ruo looked at it, and couldn't help being surprised: "Why are you rewarded so much? It's not like this as usual."

I saw that there were more than a dozen pairs of gold bracelets of various colors in the baggage. At first glance, there were more than a dozen pairs of high-quality jade bracelets. There were also gold hairpins, ivory and jade combs, etc. This amount was really too much, and Chu Huotian Recently, the Zhengda crackdown on corruption has caused the harem to cut expenses. As a queen, she has already taken the lead, so why she rewarded so many things is really puzzling.

Annoyance flashed across Yu Chonghua's delicate and beautiful face, and he said: "After the banquet last night, the queen asked me to say something, those words were weird, and I felt uncomfortable after hearing them."

Ouyang Ruo asked, "What did the queen say?"

Yu Chonghua turned his head and thought hard for a while, then said: "The Queen said that it was difficult for her to have children, and she seemed unable to conceive again, and praised me for being young and beautiful. In short, her tone was weird."

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ruo suddenly pushed away the pile of things and said with a sneer, "Then I understand, the empress wants to wait for you to give birth to a dragon son, and then live under her lap to raise it."

When Yu Chonghua heard it, his complexion was as snowy, and when he came back to his senses, he took the bag and was about to throw it on the ground. Ouyang Ruo quickly snatched it away and said softly, "Why are you getting angry?"

Yu Chonghua blushed and said angrily: "Why did I think she was so kind to me? It turned out to be such a thought. No wonder I was confused last night. It turned out that I couldn't understand her vicious meaning. Hmph, Take these scraps of copper and rotten iron to buy my flesh and blood from Li Yinghong. Pooh, she has a good idea!"

Ouyang Ruo packed the burden, put it aside, sighed and said, "It's natural for Sister Li to be angry, but has Sister Li ever thought that even if you go up to three levels in a row, you still won't be able to raise the prince Di Ji yourself?" of."

To personally raise the royal bloodline must be at least from the fifth rank and above, and Yu Chonghua will not be promoted so quickly.

When Yu Chonghua heard it, he fell on the soft couch as if his bones had been pulled out, and said with tears in his eyes, "Is there no other way?"

Ouyang Ruo also sighed, there is nothing to do, Chu Huotian has always been indifferent to the affairs of the harem, the three newcomers have only been given titles of nothingness after serving in bed for several times, and their status has not been mentioned.Now that Li Guiren was promoted because of her pregnancy, she sighed for Yu Chonghua when she thought about it.

Yu Chonghua red eyes but did not shed a single tear, Ouyang Ruo looked at her coldly, but she was a bit stubborn, so she could only comfort her casually: "Sister Li, don't be sad, the boat will be straight when it reaches the bridge, and the queen has this kind of heart. Of course I dare not touch you. So it will be fine until you give birth."

Besides, the queen is the child's aunt, and the queen's natal family is a big family of the Chu state. The future of this child is not comparable to that of ordinary princes.She still had to comprehend this meaning by herself, Ouyang Ruo saw that she was angry, so it was inconvenient to say it again.

Just as he was about to persuade her, Yu Chonghua's eyes suddenly lit up: "How about giving the child to my sister after birth, I think my sister is a well-educated and sensible woman, much better than those poisonous women."

Ouyang Ruo was stunned for a moment, and said with a wry smile: "Sister, let's get rid of this idea. Doesn't my sister know that I am from Huadi, and if your child follows me, you don't know how to be bullied."

Yu Chonghua was stunned again when he heard the words, and looked at her with guilt and frustration.Ouyang gave her a comforting smile, seeing that it was getting late, and it was inconvenient to stay longer, so he resigned from her.Before leaving Nuanchunzhai, she vaguely mentioned: "Sister Li still needs to tell Gaotang about this important matter of heirs."

Yu Chonghua's eyes lit up. Her father is General Li Feng, who is known as "Iron Brave" under Chu Huotian's camp.Seeing that she realized it, Ouyang Ruo pursed her lips and left with a smile.

When she arrived at Huayan Palace, Wanhui saw her come back, she hurriedly greeted her, and said with a smile: "Just now Eunuch Li came over and said that the emperor will come to rest tonight, and this servant is planning to send someone to ask the empress to come back earlier."

Ouyang Ruo washed and dressed as usual, and simply ate dinner and waited for Chu Huotian to come.When the moon was in the middle of the sky, Ouyang Ruo was extremely sleepy, and only heard the sound of a dragon rushing outside the door. Ouyang Ruo hurried out with Wan Hui.It was cold outside, and as soon as the door was opened, the cold wind poured in.Chu Huotian was dressed in a black dragon robe and a bearskin pincer of the same color. He was tall and straight, and walked over rubbing his hands.Ouyang Ruo hurriedly knelt down with the crowd to welcome them.

Chu Huotian took a few steps forward and quickly pulled her up: "It's so cold outside, why do you come out and kneel down to greet her?"

Ouyang Ruo got up and took his hand and said with a smile: "The emperor is so late in dealing with political affairs, it's only right for the ministers and concubines to come out to greet him."

Chu Huotian looked at her with a smile, and pulled her into the door.Li Jing just came in, followed by a few waiters, who put out dishes, bowls and chopsticks, and the plates were still steaming.Chu Huotian asked Ouyang Ruo to take off his outer robe, and said with a smile, "It's really helpless. There have been many memorials recently, and I discussed with several old ministers about the ancestral sacrifice ceremony, so I came late. Are you sleepy?" The last sentence is Looking at Ouyang Ruo's expression, he asked.

Ouyang Ruo pursed her lips into a smile, that smile was full of waves, and it was unbelievably beautiful.She said: "It doesn't matter if you are sleepy, you can make up for it tomorrow, but the emperor seems to be in a good mood today, and he even took some drinks for supper."

Chu Huotian put on the homely robe, pulled her to sit down, and said softly: "Today, I asked Qin Tianjian, and said that the real Great Cold Festival is tonight, not last night, and it took a whole day. This sky is really strange. Also The people from Qin Tianjian figured it out. I ordered people to take some drinks and celebrate the festival with you, it will be a warm winter."

Ouyang Ruo knew that Chu was cold, so people had the custom of celebrating the cold festival with the whole family on the day of the great cold, to show that they would not be afraid of the cold in the coming cold winter.When Chu Huotian said this, his handsome face was vivid, and his usual coldness and sternness disappeared.Ouyang Ruo's heart moved, and suddenly he remembered what he had thought the day before and felt a little bitter in his heart.

Could it be that he has feelings for him, but he has no intention of him?
Seeing her in a daze, Chu Huotian suddenly sighed: "In the past, Zixuan and Mubai spent the Great Cold Festival together. I didn't expect Zixuan to be determined to go. No matter how I keep him, I can't keep him. And Mubai This year, I won’t spend this festival with me either.”

Ouyang Ruo felt a groan in his heart, and his warm and desperate tears seemed to be still in his palms, knowing that he was determined to leave this Chu Jing, and had no relationship with her in the slightest.

"What did General Su say he left for?" Ouyang Ruo felt that it was difficult for him to pronounce the words, "General Su has shown great kindness to my concubine, and my concubine didn't know how to repay him, so I didn't expect to leave."

Chu Huotian did not doubt that he had him and said: "He made the most important promise. Earlier, I asked him to help you find the Emperor Ji. Now that Chu State has just stabilized, he told me to go to Huadi. You are looking for Di Ji."

Ouyang Ruo couldn't bear it anymore, and burst into tears, as expected!

(End of this chapter)