[Qing Chuan] Jun Guifang has rested

Intoxicated, I wanted to choose a quieter path.

She remembered seeing a small pond two days ago, covered with a layer of elegant fallen flowers, surrounded by green rockeries and a small forest, it was really beautiful, now the stars and the moon are clear, the night is alluring, it should have a special charm , walked over along the way, stood by the pool for a while, and was about to lift her foot to go back, when she heard a sound in the small forest next to her, Xu Qiuyan instinctively hid behind the rockery and concealed herself.

She heard footsteps approaching and stopped.Xu Qiuyan turned her face slightly, and with the light she could clearly identify that the people over there were Concubine Jia and Prince He Hongzhou, each leading a servant of her own.

Xu Qiuyan fought, and didn't know how to react for a while, she just knew that she shouldn't run away rashly and make a noise, so her whole body pressed against the cold and hard stone even more tightly.

There was silence on the other side for a while, before Hong Zhou opened his mouth first: "Miss Jia Concubine, how are you doing lately?"

Concubine Jia only nodded, Hong Zhou said again: "Msg Concubine Jia...it's different now."

Concubine Jia said: "The prince is too."

The two of them stared at a pool of clear water in silence for a while, Hong Zhou picked up a small stone and threw it into the water, the reflection of the crescent moon trembled a few times with the ripples, like a pool of broken gold.

Concubine Jia's body also seemed to tremble slightly, Hong Zhou glanced at her, then looked up at the night sky: "May Concubine Jia be safe forever."

Concubine Jia didn't respond, she clenched the hand that supported the maidservant Xiuyun, and said after a while: "It's getting cold, my lord put on more clothes." Then she walked towards her bedroom.

Hong Zhou didn't leave, but stared at the trembling water surface from where he was.

Xu Qiuyan was puzzled: if it was said that these two people had nothing to do with each other, their behavior was a bit suspicious; if it was said that they came here just to have sex, but their attitudes towards each other were too indifferent and weird.

In any case, it would be safer for her to leave after Hongzhou left, so she had to wait patiently.

While observing Hong Zhou's movements, she suddenly heard two "meow meows", Xu Qiuyan turned her head and saw a raccoon-colored wild cat came out of nowhere, probably hungry because she couldn't find food, and barked at her endlessly .

The bad thing is that from Hong Zhou's position, you can see the direction of the cat's meowing. Cats usually don't suddenly bark endlessly at a dry stone. Would Hong Zhou be suspicious?

Sure enough, Hong Zhou said to his attendant, "Zhu Chao, go and have a look there."

Xu Qiuyan's heart trembled, Zhu Chao's steps approached step by step, and she slowly squatted down along the stone wall.

Fortunately, Zhu Chao's steps were heavy, and the civet cat was scared away, and it would no longer stare at Xu Qiuyan relentlessly.The moment before Zhu Chao came, Xu Qiuyan saw the timing and drew behind another rockery.

Zhu Chao didn't go anywhere else, he looked left and right at the same spot, and shook his head at Hongzhou.

When Xu Qiuyan heard him go, she squatted down again to hear the two people's footsteps walking away, she stood up slowly, and beat her numb legs to make sure that no one left.After walking two steps, Xu Qiuyan seemed to remember something, took out a gold pendant from her sleeve and threw it under the rockery.

Concubine Xian was looking out of the window, and when she saw Xu Qiuyan running over, she breathed a sigh of relief: "Why has it been so long, it's so late, you've frightened me."

Seeing Concubine Xian's worried face, Xu Qiuyan felt warm in her heart, but remembering the last time she hadn't returned to the palace for a long time and caused such a big mess, Concubine Xian was probably a little afraid. Yes, the servant realizes his mistake."

Concubine Xian asked her to sit down, and pushed over a bowl of steaming soup: "The soup is ready, it's best to drink to warm up, and it tastes good."

Xu Qiuyan was really freezing outside, so she held the bowl and drank it. This soup looks unremarkable, but the ingredients are really rich.There is an appropriate amount of brown sugar in it, and it tastes sweet but not greasy. In addition, she also ate red beans, longan, and peanuts, and smelled a faint yào fragrance, which should be some herbal yào added.

"Don't choke, there's a lot more," Concubine Xian couldn't help laughing when she saw how she was devouring, and waited until she had finished a bowl of soup before she said, "I was on the road just now, did something happen to me?"

Xu Qiuyan nodded without hesitation.On the way back, she was talking about how to speak to Concubine Xian, and now that Concubine Xian asked, Xu Qiuyan talked to her like pouring beans into a bamboo tube.

Concubine Xian nodded slightly after hearing this: "So that's the case." There was no further reaction.

Xu Qiuyan was not surprised by her attitude. After all, Concubine Xian had been by Qianlong's side for so long and knew much more than Xu Qiuyan, but there were some things that she didn't necessarily say out loud.

As for the pendant... Xu Qiuyan moved her lips, but she didn't say anything.She couldn't tell the reason, but she couldn't open her mouth, maybe she was afraid that Concubine Xian would feel that she was insidious, so she didn't dare to keep herself by her side at ease.

*

Qianlong missed the Empress Dowager and was worried about his elder brother's illness. In addition, the Empress was pregnant. Qianlong wanted to send her back to the palace to recuperate as soon as possible.

After returning to the palace, the Empress Dowager looked a little tired, but she was in a good mood. She said that Yong Huang had recovered from his illness yesterday, and he was more active than before.Hearing that Empress Fucha was happy, she even beamed with smiles, saying that God bless me, and I calculated that it would be the Mid-Autumn Festival in a short time, so I had to celebrate it.

Concubine Xian still seldom went out, but the number of times she came to Mei Xun for pulse diagnosis increased, and eight out of ten she avoided Xu Qiuyan.

Xu Qiuyan went in without knowing it, and always felt like something was pressing in her heart, and she was very bored.But she knew better that she was just Concubine Xian's maidservant, and she was just doing things according to her master's orders, so she shouldn't mess around with things she shouldn't think about.

That night, Concubine Xian had just sent Mei Xun away, and called Xu Qiuyan to her bedroom, saying that she had picked a few impatiens to make Kou Danjia.

By candlelight, Xu Qiuyan smashed the impatiens flowers with her head down, and began to dye Concubine Xian's nails without saying a word.

The room was very clean, and the occasional chirping of insects could be heard clearly.

After painting nearly halfway, Concubine Xian suddenly said, "Ningbi, what's on your mind recently?"

Xu Qiuyan's fingertips trembled, and she almost grabbed Concubine Xian.She hurriedly held her hands steady and replied, "No."

Concubine Xian said: "But you look very dull."

"No," Xu Qiuyan bit her lip, "I'm just a little tired recently."

Concubine Xian said "Yes", Xu Qiuyan thought she would not say anything more, and while she was relieved, she was also a little bit disappointed.

All ten nails were painted, and Xu Qiuyan was about to tidy them up, when Concubine Xian suddenly grabbed her, met her eyes, and asked, "Are you... have a taste?"

Xu Qiuyan was at a loss when she saw it, and after a daze, she translated "eat taste" into the meaning of "jealous".

Concubine Xian looked stunned, and said with a smile: "I know that you and Imperial Physician Mei are childhood sweethearts, but you must not misunderstand, not to mention that I am the emperor's concubine, and I will never do things that are out of bounds. Just thinking about your feelings for him, it is impossible for Ben Gong to have anything to do with Dr. Mei."

Xu Qiuyan thought to herself: This is a big misunderstanding.

When meeting Mei Xun for the first time, Xu Qiuyan really marveled at his extraordinary handsomeness, but Mei Xun is only 20 years old this year. Although Xu Qiuyan's body is younger than him, she is already 25 mentally old. The clumsiness of being used to wearing court clothes and a little shyness when dealing with people are just a little protective of the pair, nothing else at all.

Or Concubine Xian was just testing her mind, Xu Qiuyan adjusted her emotions and said: "This servant will never slander Your Majesty's reputation privately, please be at ease, Your Majesty."

"That's all, you will understand in the future," Concubine Xian shook her head, and asked again: "When you were in the conservatory, would it be good to have a private relationship with the girl Wanyan there?"

"Yes."

"There is something, I need you to find her."

Chapter 12 Leisurely

On this day, Xu Qiuyan looked for Wanyan, thinking back that there was nothing missing, when she returned to Yikun Palace, Concubine Xian, Concubine Jia, and Concubine Shu went to drink tea together, Qizhao was busy making new cakes, Xu Qiuyan was bored, Seeing that the sun is just right at this time, I want to pick up a pen and practice a few words.

Xu Qiuyan thinks she doesn't have much willpower, and many of her hobbies are just a novelty, but she has persisted in brush calligraphy for more than ten years, and she is not tired of it now.

Concubine Xian's bedroom has the four treasures of the study ready-made. Xu Qiuyan once said that she loves to practice calligraphy, and Concubine Xian said that she can use it at any time if she wants to write.Xu Qiuyan picked out a pen, stroked it twice and felt that it was smooth, so she started to write "Qinyuan Chunxue".

This poem is what she is best at, because when she first came into contact with calligraphy, "Qinyuan Chunxue" happened to be the chapter to recite at that time, and Xu Qiuyan gradually mastered some skills while reciting it.

It's just that I haven't written for a while, this pen is thicker, and the paper is a little smaller than what she's used to, so I only wrote "Tang Zong Song Zu, a little less coquettish" to fill it up.

She stretched out the paper and took a picture under the sun, shook her head slightly dissatisfied, and planned to rewrite it again.

Xu Qiuyan clutched the pen holder and hesitated what to write, but someone took away the one she had just written. She thought it was because Qi Zhao was free, so she raised her head, and the smile she just showed froze at the corner of her mouth. Qianlong was holding it with great interest. Look at her calligraphy.

Xu Qiuyan's heart beat like a drum: No matter how good her calligraphy is, this song "Spring Snow in Qinyuan" has commented on several emperors in a row, and it is not a compliment. Isn't it too presumptuous for her to be written by a little maid? , arrogant.

Qianlong moved his eyes back an inch, and then frowned. After reading it, he raised his head and said, "What did you write in willow style?"

Xu Qiuyan nodded tremblingly.

"Well," Qianlong browsed through a few lines again, unable to see any emotion, "the lower column of this poem is not finished, I would like to hear about Tang Zong and Song Zu's comments afterward."

Xu Qiuyan's heart beat faster, so she had to adapt to the situation: "The servant also wants to know, but I'm afraid I won't know."

Qianlong glanced at her: "Why?"

Xu Qiuyan said nonsense: "It's a coincidence that I heard this poem. At that time, my father had just passed away. I was sad and I liked to go for a walk in the suburbs. One night I heard someone whistling in the deep forest. I went to see it out of curiosity. , I saw an old man with white hair and a childlike face. He recited this poem, but it was a pity that the next sentence was empty, and the old man looked like a fairy, and I am afraid that it would be difficult to meet. However, the servant was lucky enough to know The last sentence."

Qianlong's face was full of "listen to your nonsense", but he still asked, "What is the last sentence?"

Xu Qiuyan said respectfully: "'It's all over, let's count the romantic figures and look at the present'."

She lowered her head slightly, not daring to look directly at Qianlong's expression, but she did catch a glimpse of Qianlong's body straightening up, which was a very proud gesture.

Xu Qiuyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this flattery was in the right place, and Qianlong should be able to let her go, but she heard him snort coldly: "Is anyone in this world able to make unreasonable remarks?"

Sure enough, the emperor is different from ordinary leaders. He not only asks you to flatter, but also guides you step by step to flatter you.

Xu Qiuyan once resigned because she couldn't bear the run-on by sycophants in the company, but now she has to search her brains to survive and organize greasy flattery.

She forced a smile and said: "Your Majesty, 'Is it the king's land under the whole world, and the king's subject on the shore of the land', the scenery in the world is your country, and all living beings in the world are your people. Therefore, no matter who writes this The first words are all because of the emperor, the holy lord who rules the world."

After all, Xu Qiuyan herself felt numb and her face was sour.

"It's not good to believe a word, but it's not good to say a good word. You girl can speak eloquently."

Although Qianlong's words were not kind, there was a smile in his voice.

He spread out the rice paper and clicked a few places on it: "These words are not well written." Then he rewrote it on the white paper and asked, "How?"

When Xu Qiuyan first learned calligraphy, her calligraphy teacher used to comment on the calligraphy of various kings, including Qianlong, but she used it as a negative example.She clearly remembered that the teacher said that Qianlong's handwriting looked acceptable, but it was like a dish without seasoning, it was edible, but it was difficult to indulge in it.

This place and this scene, Xu Qiuyan absolutely couldn't say that, but she couldn't come up with those beautiful words, so she just nodded her head blindly.

Qianlong smiled at her: "I'm here to teach you?"

Before Xu Qiuyan could react, her right hand was wrapped in warmth.She shivered instinctively, and Qianlong held her tighter: "Meditate."

Xu Qiuyan tried her best to put her whole body on the table, keeping the distance between Qianlong and Qianlong as much as possible, and let him sway his hands on the paper, until finally a piece of paper was so densely packed that she didn't know what was written on it.

At this time, Concubine Xian and Concubine Shu came back together to greet Qianlong.Xu Qiuyan felt a "thump" in her heart, and suddenly became flustered, her eyes drifted away, and finally fell on the few lines of ink that were still wet.

Qianlong turned his back and said with a smile: "Xuanhe, you have some talent as a court lady, but it would be better to be more diligent. The empress's calligraphy collection is a great success, and now she should not be too busy during pregnancy. She always feels It's boring, it would be nice to let this girl go and write and read with her, and she can learn something along the way."

This was Xu Qiuyan's first time hearing Qianlong call the concubine Xian's boudoir name, and she still wanted someone.On the surface, he said that he wanted Xu Qiuyan to accompany the queen to relieve boredom, but in fact, others could hear the implication: the emperor would often visit the pregnant queen, and put a beautiful court lady next to the queen. The empress has meritorious deeds, so it is a matter of course to be named an official woman or promise to be there often.

Xu Qiuyan knew the emperor's status in this country, and there was no reason why he couldn't get any woman he wanted, but Xu Qiuyan couldn't help but want to resist, she said without thinking: "I don't want to."

Shu Pin glared at her: "The master hasn't spoken yet, how can you allow me to talk."

Xu Qiuyan understood that what she said was against the rules, looking back, she found that Shu Pin's eyes were not only warning, but also resentful and jealous. Xu Qiuyan had never seen her like this before, and she shuddered deeply.

Qianlong waved his hand to indicate that it's okay: "Why don't you want to?"

Xu Qiuyan said: "The empress can't work hard, the burden of the concubine Xian to manage the affairs of the six palaces is even heavier. There are few people in Yikun Palace, and the servants are reluctant to let the concubine Xian be even more tired, so the servants don't want to leave."

"It's loyal." Qianlong nodded approvingly, "But there are more palace people in the palace who are more capable than you. I can allocate a few more to Concubine Xian."

Xu Qiuyan blurted out: "There are many people who can read and write." Immediately, she felt that she was being too impolite, and changed her words: "The emperor will let the concubine Zhunxian decide for herself whether to let the servants leave or not."

Qianlong agreed.

Concubine Xian said: "The concubine really cannot leave Ningbi for a while, but the concubine will pay attention to the clever girl so that the empress will not be so bored."

What she meant was that she refused to give it to Qianlong.