An Lingrong's Rebirth: The Lock of Qingqiu

King Qinghe said with a gloomy face: "If I understand correctly, the altar should be filled with concubines, maids, maids of the late king, or princesses, attendants, aunts from the nobles of the Forbidden City. Look at the way up the mountain. People are guarding the place, I guess it is the murder case left by the late emperor. The person who can act so boldly must not be a royal brother living in the world, most of them are the late emperor's masterpieces! Ladies, this is only my guess. , there is no proof, it’s just that you can’t come to this mountainous suburb again in the future.”

An Lingrong's heart was like a bell. She thought quietly: The altar, the cave, and the giant tigers guarded it. What was banned was just the darkness of the previous dynasty. These women must have been abandoned by the previous emperor. How many of them were there? Being brutally murdered? Such a high altar has three or four floors, and there is a mountain of corpses inside. "An Lingrong's heart dropped bit by bit until it hit the bottom.

Perhaps only the old people in the palace knew the answer to this mystery, and perhaps Empress Duan Concubine could solve it. An Lingrong walked into the gate of Cining Palace under the stars and the moon to find Concubine Duan Concubine. After listening to An Lingrong's narration, Concubine Duan just whispered that this was an old incident from the previous dynasty. She said that this place was originally a closed forbidden area, but she didn't know that the dynasty could easily open it to the outside world now. She told An Ling Please avoid taking a detour and don't inquire about this matter again.

Concubine Duan said with deep thoughts: "Tomorrow is the middle of the month. Come with me to the temple to pray for blessings!"

Concubine Duan would choose a day in the middle of the month to go to the temple at this time every year. An Lingrong was puzzled and her curiosity aroused, so she got up early and followed Concubine Duan out of Cining Palace, but she didn't expect Unfortunately, Concubine Duan took a detour and walked for about half an hour, taking a winding path and entering a familiar forest. An Ling was puzzled: Isn't this the Cining Garden near Cining Palace?

There are very few pedestrians here, and from time to time one or two birds pass by with flapping wings. In the wild mountains, there is actually a magnificent temple built inside, and there is a dedicated person to look after it.

Full of questions, An Lingrong followed Concubine Duan into the temple to burn incense, and then turned to the backyard. The scenery in the backyard was different, and the area suddenly opened up. After walking through a green space and tree-lined area, Concubine Duan gently pushed her away. A pear wood door that was 50% new had a faint scent of wood coming out from inside. An Lingrong took a deep breath. The smell was really good.

When she stepped inside, the furnishings she saw were actually like the inner palace where a certain concubine lived. The interior was luxuriously decorated and seemed to be even more luxurious than the palace where Concubine Duan lived.

The walls were covered with jade brocade and satin. Concubine Duan asked her servants to pull open the silk and satin, and then a portrait of a dignified and luxurious woman was revealed. An Lingrong asked curiously: "Concubine Duan, who is this?"

Concubine Duan whispered: "Have you heard of Xiaozhuang?"

An Lingrong nodded in surprise while looking at the portrait on the wall carefully: "Xiaozhuang is the emperor's great-grandmother. Didn't she enter the imperial mausoleum? Why is she in the Cining Garden?"

Concubine Duan sighed softly and said: "Xiaozhuang has always lived in Cining Palace during her lifetime. From the imperial concubine to the empress dowager, through three generations of emperors, the late emperor was particularly filial to Xiaozhuang, and so was the emperor. She saved the Qing Dynasty many times. In times of crisis, she did not like to be disturbed during her lifetime. The late emperor once placed the coffin of Xiaozhuang in the Cining Palace. During her lifetime, she did not want to be buried with Huang Taiji. In this place, except for the emperor, the late emperor, the queen mother and a few others People know about it, but the outside world does not. The emperor is busy with court affairs, so I am the one who comes here every year to offer incense. The emperor also comes to visit occasionally. Maybe I will die of old age in the palace one day and come here instead of me. Maybe it’s you.”

An Lingrong's heart was like a rolling tide. She always felt that the emperor treated Concubine Duan differently from ordinary people. This was something she sensed with her super sixth sense. Unexpectedly, the true feelings were really strange. She comforted: "Concubine Duan's body is weak. It’s good, I will live a long life and have nothing to worry about.”

Concubine Duan smiled and said: "I accept your good words." Her eyes were full of respect, and she looked at Empress Xiaozhuang intently. She knelt on the ground and worshiped again and again piously: "Emperor Grandma, you don't think there are too many people disturbing you. Now I wonder if you are satisfied with settling your family in this secluded place! Your Majesty, he is diligent in government affairs day and night, and the country is prosperous and the people are safe. Not long ago, he also wiped out the power of the old family. If the emperor's grandmother knew about it, she would be very pleased. Bar!"

The incense burning in the incense burner suddenly crackled and exploded. Concubine Duan turned to An Lingrong with satisfaction and said with a smile: "Grandma Huang heard it, she is laughing! Kneel down and bow down too."

An Lingrong was stunned, and quickly knelt down on the ground to salute, thinking, this is too mysterious! It was just that sulfur powder was added to the ingredients for making incense, which caused it to explode. But Concubine Duan, like the Empress, believed in these ghosts and ghosts, so naturally she couldn't refute them.

An Lingrong knelt until his legs were numb. Seeing that Concubine Duan had no intention of getting up, he listened to her chattering about the trivial matters in the palace: Concubine Hua was thrown into the cold palace, Nian Gengyao robbed the prison, and supported the army to become the emperor. King, the emperor ordered the Zhen family to lead troops to capture Nian Gengyao. The queen quarreled with Concubine Qi because of the third elder brother, and the queen mother ensured that the fourteenth elder brother was born. It turns out that no matter the big or small things that happened in the palace have escaped the eyes and ears of Empress Duan, how many people did Empress Duan have in the palace?

An Lingrong was secretly surprised, thinking that Concubine Duan must have been favored by Xiaozhuang during her lifetime! She always felt that in Concubine Duan's eyes, in addition to respect for Xiaozhuang, there was also a deeper feeling, which seemed to be there but not at all. It was something that could not be explained or understood.

An Lingrong stood up, went to help Concubine Duan and said, "Concubine Duan, you can't kneel for too long. The ground is cold, lest the cold air invades and damages your bones."

Concubine Duan said softly: "Imperial grandmother has been underground for so many years, and she is not afraid of the invasion of cold air. She is still living well in my heart. I am not afraid. What should I be afraid of when I kneel down for such a short time?" Concubine Duan still knelt down. On the ground, An Lingrong had no choice but to kneel down as he continued to talk.

I don't know how much time had passed. When Concubine Duan stood up, she staggered and almost fell to the ground. An Lingrong was startled and quickly stepped forward to hug her upper body. The maid in charge outside the door also rushed over. When An Lingrong came in to help her, he felt that his blood vessels were not flowing smoothly, his legs and feet were so numb that he couldn't feel anything, and his waist was in severe pain.

An Lingrong secretly thought that Concubine Duan's leg disease had always been cured before, but then recurred. Could it be related to this matter? She followed Concubine Duan back to Cuihe Hall, hiding her from others. After dinner, she had been restless and suddenly saw Su Peisheng coming to deliver a message, saying that the emperor had recommended that she go to the Yangxin Hall to sing.