Hello Chang’an

The sound of horse hooves was accompanied by a long shout: "Let—"

The palace attendants carrying the chariot quickly got out of the way when they heard the sound.

A group of three people rode horses and galloped past Chang Sui Ning and the others without stopping for a moment.

Chang Suining subconsciously looked at the three people and the three cavalry who were walking away.

If the person riding the horse in the Dasheng Palace is not a very noble person with the special permission of the saint, then there are only two possibilities. One is that there is extremely important urgent news that needs to be presented to the emperor, most of which is an urgent battle report that cannot be delayed.

But now looking at the costumes of the three people and the boxes carried on the horses, it is obvious that it is the second possibility.

Chang Suining withdrew his gaze.

It's not just an emergency report from the military.

"That's the envoy from Lingnan who brought lychees to the palace." Prince Rong said to her with a smile.

Chang Suining nodded.

It's a bit ironic, the lychees from Lingnan are as delicate and urgent as the urgent reports in the army. Dasheng even has a special imperial road for transporting lychees.

"I heard that the rain in Lingnan is good this year, so the lychees sent to the capital must be of good quality." Prince Rong said with a smile: "Ms. Chang will also be able to enjoy it."

Emperor Dasheng has always had the habit of rewarding officials of second rank and above with lychees, and this has always been an indispensable part of the palace of the Hussar General.

Facing Prince Rong, who was always smiling at him, Chang Sui Ning also smiled slightly, but without saying anything more, he only saluted and said, "I'll take my leave now."

"Ms. Chang, walk slowly."

Looking at the girl's leaving figure, Prince Rong withdrew his gaze, smiled and sighed to himself: "It seems that Mrs. Chang doesn't like to eat lychees..."

It is said that there will be no one who doesn’t like eating lychees.

It’s not just about how the lychees themselves taste—

Not to mention the saying that things are rare but valuable, it is always a matter of pride to eat a lychee sent from Lingnan all the way to the capital, but it is still fresh and delicious. It's even more rare for ladies.

But when the young lady just heard the word "lychee", she was not surprised or expected at all.

Chang Suining walked along the palace road. The vermilion palace gate in front of him was just like the color of lychee coat.

The transportation of lychees in summer is always extremely difficult. From Lingnan to the capital, it is ten miles to one post and five miles to one end. Along the way, the horse is rushing and not stopping for a moment. Although the bad fruits must be carefully selected before being sent to the palace, the lychees are After entering the palace, they will still be sorted again by the palace people.

The one with the best appearance and the largest appearance is naturally the emperor who is enshrined in the highest place.

Regardless of the officials of the previous dynasty, the distribution of lychees in the harem has always been divided into three, six or nine grades.

In the hot summer of that year, when the lychees were being divided in the harem, the mother and son in the remote place next to the elephant garden were not left behind.

The three lychees that were delivered were not good-looking in appearance, but they were enough to make the little children's eyes full of novelty.

That was the first time she and Axiao saw Lychee.

The concubine's clean and slender fingers peeled one off, and the crystal-white flesh made people salivate.

The mother-in-law removed the core of the lychee and handed it to Axiao's mouth. Axiao was both novel and happy. He nodded and said, "It's so sweet."

He was born weak and had a harder time eating than ordinary children. What he said was so sweet would be a pleasant surprise.

So the mother-in-law said - "If Axiao likes it, then take another one."

There are three pills in total, delivered per head.

She hesitated for a moment, then handed out the lychee in her hand - "Give this one to Axiao too!"

Although they were both five or six years old, her hands were different from Axiao's thin and pitiful hands that looked like chicken claws. Her hands were fleshy and thick. When she handed out the lychee with such a hand, she felt In the eyes of the mother-in-law, there should be no need to think about it at all—

The mother-in-law nodded and asked the palace attendants around her to get some snacks for her to eat.

So she gave the lychee to Ah Xiao.

She stood there and watched her mother-in-law peel another lychee to Ah Xiao.

At this time, the palace attendant who took the snacks came back, so she walked away and went to eat snacks.

She has had a good appetite since she was a child, and everything she eats tastes delicious.

And because I wanted to protect my weaker brother, I always had to take two more bites after I was full.

She finished the plate of snacks, and when she took the handkerchief handed to her by Gong E and wiped her mouth, she saw her mother-in-law looking at her, shaking her head helplessly.

In her helplessness, she seemed a little worried that she would feel uncomfortable after eating too much, and there seemed to be some things that she could not understand when she was young.

Axiao was a little sleepy, so his mother-in-law held him on her lap and gently patted him to sleep.

She just sat there and watched quietly. She was sitting on a high chair with her feet still not touching the ground, but she didn't dare to move around for fear of disturbing Axiao.

She looked a little sleepy and suddenly envied Axiao being held by her mother-in-law.

Ever since she could remember, the mother-in-law had never hugged her like this. She also put her on her lap and hugged her.

But after thinking about it carefully for a while, she thought of it once.

It was a spring afternoon when I was basking in the sun. Axiao was also sleepy. He wanted to lose his temper and cried, refusing to let his mother and concubine coax him to sleep.

So the concubine opened her arms to her, held her in her arms, and said to Axiao - if Axiao didn't come, the concubine would hold Ah Shang.

This method always works for children. Children don't think so much. Axiao hurried over after hearing this.

So the mother-in-law gently pushed her away with a gentle expression and went to hug Axiao.

Thinking of that incident, she looked at the red lychee shell and suddenly felt a little aggrieved.

But Axiao was in such poor health, she shouldn't have been aggrieved.

She wants to be a good child and a good sister.

And Ah Xiao is also a good brother—

That night, Axiao found her and secretly gave her something.

She looked through the lantern on the porch and saw a lychee.

- "This is my sister's. I hid it secretly. My sister should eat it too!"

He might have hidden it in his sleeve or stuffed it in his arms. The lychee was already stale.

But under the gaze of those eyes and eyebrows that looked exactly like hers, she still peeled it open and ate it.

That was the first lychee she ate.

- "Sister, is it delicious?"

—“It’s not as delicious as chestnuts.”

- "Ah, but I think it's delicious."

- "Then I will dig up all the lychees in the world for you from now on!"

In winter, when the palace watcher dug a carrot out of the soil, she thought that lychees also grew in the soil. Before she even understood this, she started to brag about it.

Pian'a obeyed and nodded to her like a chicken pecking at rice.

Chang Sui Ning put his thoughts back when he stepped out of the palace gate.

…

Li Lu, the eldest son of Prince Rong, came to Ganlu Hall and saluted Emperor Shengce and the Crown Prince respectively.

The emperor's envoy gave him a seat.

He had always been in poor health, and the Emperor Shengce took a lot of care of him. For example, when he entered the palace, he was given a chariot in summer and a sedan chair in winter, which other clan members did not have.

"I was just discussing with the Crown Prince about selecting the Crown Princess."

Li Lu was slightly surprised when he heard this. He looked at the prince sitting there and smiled slightly: "It seems that there will be a happy event in the palace soon."

The prince sat upright, but there was a trace of obvious nervousness in his eyes: "...but I am still young, so I am not in a hurry about this matter."

My son is still young - this is what he has said most often in the past two years.

This sentence seems to maintain a certain balance. But he knew in his heart that he would always grow up. He could say this until he was fifteen, twenty...but what about thirty?

"Of course you are not in a hurry, but there are people who are anxious for you." The tone of the Holy Book Emperor was very calm, but a layer of cold sweat suddenly broke out on the prince's back.

He listened to the voice again and said: "But it's okay. The matter of selecting a crown princess is not a trivial matter. It will take some time to find her. It's time to make preparations early."

Prince: "Everything depends on the saint making the decision...all my sons and ministers will obey."

The Holy Emperor looked at him: "You are the king of a country that will become prosperous in the future. There is no need to obey me in everything."

The prince's face turned slightly pale: "My son..."

The Holy Emperor seemed not to have seen his panic, and continued: "As the prince, everything is closely related to the country. Everyone in the court has interests and calculations, and no one's words can be trusted. You must carefully consider the choice of the Crown Princess yourself, and do not act blindly by listening to or believing only one person's words."

"Yes...my son, keep this in mind."

Only then did Emperor Shengce look at Crown Prince Rong, who was sitting beside him: "The prince is already preparing to choose a princess at such an old age. What plans does Lu'er have for his marriage?"

Prince Rong has been recuperating in Beijing for many years, and his marriage has not yet been decided.

Li Lu looked a little surprised: "My nephew has no plans yet."

"But you're old enough to have a family." The Holy Emperor looked at him and sighed vaguely: "Your father is far away in Yizhou. If I allow you to delay like this in front of me, I will How to explain to your father?"

Li Lu composed himself: "Your Majesty will make the decision."

"You are different from the prince." The Holy Emperor said warmly: "If you have a girl you like, you might as well make it clear to me. If your father agrees, then I will make the decision to marry you."

Li Lu was startled.

The girl you like?

He had a look of astonishment on his face: "My nephew has no idea..."

"Then let's try to find one or two." The Holy Emperor looked at the prince: "I plan to hold a flower party for the selection of the prince. You will also go there. You can pay attention to whether there is anyone who is compatible with you at the banquet. ”

"Yes." The ice basin on the side was a little cold. Li Lu coughed twice and then said: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for taking care of this matter for your nephew."

Seeing that he looked weak, the Holy Book Emperor asked a few questions about his recent physical condition.

"It's been a bit cold in the summer, so I've had a bit of a cough recently...but it's nothing serious."

Only then did the Holy Emperor look relieved and explain a few more words before letting the palace staff send the person out of the Manna Palace.

Prince Li Zhi also resigned and left.

Looking at the bead curtain that was still gently swaying after the two people left, the Emperor's eyes narrowed slightly, and his emotions were unclear.

After a while, Mingluo walked in.

"Your Majesty, the lychees sent from Lingnan have arrived and are now in the outer hall."

The Holy Emperor came to his senses for a moment, then stood up from the dragon chair and said, "I'll go take a look."

Mingluo was not surprised that she wanted to see it in person, so he stepped forward to help her.

The sage is not a foodie, but he personally selects some of the lychees that come from Lingnan every year.

The Holy Emperor came to the outer hall, bent down slightly, and slowly selected dozens of the most beautiful lychees from the fresh lychees, filling two boxes.

"The remaining ones will be distributed as usual."

Mingluo responded: "Yes, Luo'er understands."

"These two boxes are sent to Dayun Temple and the eldest princess's mansion respectively as in previous years." Emperor Shengzhen told Mingluo: "Go to the eldest princess's mansion in person. At Dayun Temple, let Cui Please come over on my behalf."

Mingluo agreed again and left the palace with the two boxes of lychees covered with ice.

"The saint is thinking of His Royal Highness Princess Chongyue all the time." Sitting on the carriage leaving the palace, the maid beside Mingluo looked at the two boxes and couldn't help but sigh.

These are the best lychees. One box was sent to Dayun Temple to worship the goddess, and one box was sent to the residence of Princess Chongyue during her lifetime. The saint himself has never tasted one.

And it's like this every year.

Mingluo knew what the maid was thinking, and his eyes fell quietly on the two boxes.

This is not just a box given to the eldest princess.

"I heard that when envoys from Lingnan passed by Gongling Mausoleum, they would leave some lychees to offer sacrifices to His Royal Highness the late Crown Prince who was buried in Gongling Mausoleum..." the maid sighed lightly.

A pair of sons and a daughter have passed away long ago, so what if he becomes a saint, he is not alone yet, he can only care about those close relatives of his own flesh and blood in his heart.

"Fortunately, Princess, you are accompanying your Majesty." The maid sighed with emotion.

Mingluo raised the corners of his mouth slightly, noncommittally.

Does a saint need company?

Or unnecessary in the eyes of many.

With the most supreme power in the world, would you still care about that little bit of insignificant company?

Sometimes she wasn't sure whether her aunt really needed it.

However, whether this nostalgia or guilt, no matter how true or false it is, it is only for the deceased.

She sometimes wonders, what would happen to her aunt if her aunt's outstanding children were still alive?

The carriage went to Xuance Mansion first.

Mingluo explained his purpose, and as soon as he handed the box of lychees to Yuan Xiang, before he could say a few more words to Cui Jing, he heard that the other party immediately went to Dayun Temple on the grounds that "lychees are perishable".

Dayun Temple was built outside the city, a little far away. Cui Jingte had someone prepare a carriage and ice cubes to prevent the lychees from spoiling.

Before leaving the city, Cui Jing suddenly reined in his horse.

Yuan Xiang also hurriedly reined in his horse, subconsciously touched the sword on his waist, and looked around cautiously: "Grand Governor, is there anything strange?"

Cui Jing looked at the stall on the roadside: "Go buy some chestnuts and take them with you."

Yuanxiang, who was pressing the knife: "?"

…

At the same moment, Yuchi, who was sleeping in the afternoon, faintly heard the voice of a female envoy outside.

"Let's all go to the front yard, Ming Nu Shi is here."

"History of Ming Women?"

"On the order of the saint, the Ming Dynasty's female historian came to deliver this year's lychees to His Highness..."

Your Highness?

After hearing these two words, Yuchi suddenly sat up.

I just dreamed of His Highness again...

In the dream, His Highness kept asking why he didn't go to see her, why, why...

"I should explain it clearly to His Highness..."

"Someone lied to me..."

She didn't mean to harm His Highness!

Yes, as long as she explains it clearly to His Highness, His Highness will forgive her, right?

Your Highness will forgive her!

This idea that was enough to completely save her from suffering made Yuchi unable to care about anything else for a moment. She suddenly got out of bed, put on her shoes in a hurry, and walked out of the house quickly.

Due to Mingluo's arrival, the two female envoys who were supposed to be guarding outside went to the front yard.

She walked all the way through the garden and came to the backyard of the eldest princess's mansion, and then came to the door that she had opened many times in recent days.

After a moment's hesitation, she pulled out the latch with trembling movements and opened the door.

The golden crow heading west outside the door was emitting blazing light, causing her to subconsciously raise her hands to shield her eyes.

At the same time, she stepped out of the threshold.

On the first day of March, I wave a small handkerchief and ask for my monthly ticket (*^▽^*) Good night!