Dingjiangshan

Ning Yan sent Ning Huaijin back to the side hall first, watched him settle down, and then went to Sanqing Hall to refill the ever-burning lamp for Concubine Shu.

There was no one in the Sanqing Hall, and Jing Zhan was not there either.It was probably because it was getting late, so I went back to the Guoshi Mansion.

There are still traces of burnt yellow paper in the copper basin under the incense table in the main hall, and the last bunch of incense in the incense burner is halfway through burning.

In fact, it is not very compliant to place the memorial tablet of the late concubine here.Their coffins must be placed in the imperial mausoleum, and their ranks must also be placed in the Taimiao. They are born as royal people and die as royal ghosts.

But in the final analysis, it was just a matter of setting up an extra tablet, so Ning Yan could do whatever he wanted, and no one would refute him with such a trivial matter.

He Wenting put the cushions for Ning Yan, and Ning Yan knelt down and kowtowed three times to the statue and the ranking.

When he bowed his head, an extremely slight scent of plum blossoms suddenly came from his side. Ning Yan was taken aback for a moment, and then realized that he was still wearing Ning Yan's cloak, which he forgot to change when he sent Ning Huaijin back to the side hall. return.

Ning Huaijin was taller than him, and the cloak fell from his shoulders following the trend of his kneeling, covering him completely, forming a hug for no reason.

Ning Yan then knelt down and lowered his head, buried his chin in the fluffy collar of his cloak, and took a deep breath.

——It's strange, Ning Yan thought, the one who drank was obviously the emperor's uncle, but he looked like me when he was drunk.

He was thinking like this, but he didn't stop moving. He kowtowed his head upright, then stood up, took out a stick of incense from the corner of the incense table, and lit it on the candlestick.

Ning Yan stood still in front of the altar, bowed his head slightly, bowed three times, handed the incense to He Wenting, and inserted it into the incense burner.

The Sanqing Hall was brightly lit, and the golden statue of the statue was sitting on a high platform. When Ning Yan raised his head and looked over, he suddenly had the illusion of being seen through.

But the young emperor just stood where he was, and stared at the statue in the middle impartially for a moment, his eyes were clear and clear.

Three years later, he was no longer ashamed of his own mind.

——Whether facing the gods or facing the mother.

Ning Yan stood frankly for a while, then turned his eyes lightly, and tightened the cloak on his body.

He Wenting continued to burn the incense, and held up the ever-burning lantern that Ning Yan had personally lit, and placed it next to Concubine Shu's tablet.The candlelight danced slightly, reflecting the name of Concubine Shu on the ranking list bright red.

Ning Yan took a few glances, then turned around without saying a word, and walked along the way he came.

After all this trouble, when Ning Yan returned to the Zichen Palace, it was already approaching the time of ugliness.

The heavy snow that had been falling outside for a whole day finally stopped. The guards outside the temple were afraid that the snow would not be removed overnight, so they could only climb out of the pile of bedding that had been warmed up after so much effort, and timidly went to get the broom.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Ning Yan could vaguely hear the rustling of snow plowing outside.

He Wenting half knelt at his feet and took off his shoes and socks for him.

When Ning Yan came back from Sanqing Palace today, he didn't know why he didn't want to sit in the sedan chair, so he walked back to Zichen Palace from outside. He Wenting was afraid that his legs would hurt from the cold, so he twisted a hot towel and rubbed his calves.

Ning Yan was holding a bowl of ginger soup in his hand, and was stirring it with a spoon again and again. After a stick of incense time passed, he didn't put a mouthful into his mouth.

How well He Wenting knew him, seeing his expression, he knew that he didn't want to drink this spicy and bitter thing at all.

"Your Majesty." He Wenting said tentatively, "The dining room said they put brown sugar in it, it's not spicy."

It's okay if he didn't say it, but Ning Yan didn't want to drink it even more after he said that, so he simply put the bowl aside and said, "Forget it, I'm not frozen, you can drink it."

He Wenting originally wanted to persuade a few words, but after listening to the second half, he swallowed the words.

The master's waywardness and the master's reward are two different things. The former can persuade, but if the latter retreats, he will become a slave who does not know how to flatter.He Wenting sighed, thanked him, reached out to take the bowl away, and drank it himself as Ning Yan said.

The leak in the corner of the room went down another notch, and Ning Yan took the tea from He Wenting and asked casually, "Linglong didn't come back today, did she?"

"No, Zichen Palace has been watching." He Wenting said: "Your Majesty rewarded her to go to the inner division to help. It is her admiration."

Ning Yan hummed, didn't say anything more, just rinsed his mouth with the teacup, wiped his hands and went to bed.

He Wenting stepped forward to lower the curtain for him, he seemed hesitant to speak, as if he had something to say.But after thinking about it, he felt that it was too late, and he was afraid that talking to Ning Yan would make him sleepy, so he finally swallowed it, and went to extinguish most of the candles in the bedroom, leaving only two people near the door. Candlestick.

"He Wenting." Ning Yan behind the curtain suddenly said.

He Wenting quickly responded: "Yes."

"Did you have something to say just now?" Ning Yan asked.

He Wenting knew that when he asked this, it meant that Ning Yan had something to say, so he walked back to the bed lightly, and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty knows the truth, it is true."

Ning Yan smiled lightly.

"I know what you want to say." Ning Yan said: "I just think that Prince Gong is right. I gave Shu Qiuyu the position today, which is a bit reckless."

He Wenting has been with him for many years, and occasionally can persuade him a word or two, so he doesn't feel panic, just smiled and said: "Your Majesty has a city in his heart, and giving Miss Shu this position must be the result of careful consideration."

He Wenting's words were flattering, he neither refuted Ning Yan's words, nor said that he was reckless.

"He Wenting, do you still remember my concubine mother?" Ning Yan asked suddenly.

He Wenting raised his head subconsciously to look in Ning Yan's direction, but there was a thick curtain between him and Ning Yan, and he couldn't see Ning Yan's expression clearly, he could only hear his low and calm tone.

After all, it was the child's concubine who died young. He Wenting was afraid that Ning Yan's longing had been aroused when he offered incense just now. After a moment of silence, he said softly: "Of course I remember. The concubine Shu has a very good temper. Yes. It is rare for a gentle person in the palace to beat and scold palace people without reason. The servant was still young at the time, and once accidentally broke a glazed cup. He thought he was doomed, but he didn't think about his mother and never blamed him."

In fact, He Wenting has not been serving Concubine Shu for a long time, and his impression of Concubine Shu is not that deep anymore.But he was afraid that Ning Yan would be sad, so he wanted to talk about some interesting and light trivia.

Ning Yan's impression of Concubine Shu is even shallower than that of He Wenting.

He hadn't even seen his mother and concubine with his own eyes.

When concubine Shu gave birth to him, she died of dystocia. The young Ning Yan was brought up by a wet nurse at first, but later she began to remember a little, and was raised in Ning Huaijin's house. For this concubine mother, I only remember the portrait sporadic glances.

But blood relationship is a very delicate thing, even if Ning Yan never got along with Concubine Shu for even a day, when he offered incense for her in Sanqing Palace, he would still feel empty in his heart, with an inexplicable sense of emptiness.

"You were in my concubine's palace back then. You probably have seen a thing or two about how my father treated her." Ning Yan said softly, "Do you think my father loves her?"

He Wenting was silent for a longer time this time.

He couldn't lie to Ning Yan.

Concubine Shu was like a half-invisible person in the palace back then. She had a good temper and was soft-hearted. She never made enemies or fights with others very much. She could sleep with her once or twice in six months. Relying on his family background, he sits in that position peacefully, and no one cares about whether he has not been promoted or demoted for many years.

Naturally, Ning Zongyuan didn't pay much attention to her, and only occasionally when he passed by the gate of the palace did he remember that there was such a person.

Concubine Shu's most beautiful time in her life was probably the day when Ning Yan was born, on the sixteenth day of the winter month that year, it also snowed as heavily as today.For the first time, Ning Zongyuan stayed beside her bed every step of the way, but his eyes only fell on the infant Ning Yan.

What a keen person Ning Yan is, He Wenting just hesitated for a moment, and he naturally understood.

He was not worthless for Concubine Shu, but asked again: "Who is my father's favorite concubine?"

He Wenting answered quickly this time: "It's probably Concubine Wen. When the concubine is in great favor, she can compete with the queen."

"But the father still abandoned their child without hesitation." Ning Yan continued, "When he plotted against the fourth brother, he didn't care about the imperial concubine at all."

He Wenting choked and was speechless.

In fact, Ning Yan also knew that when his third and fourth brothers fought for the country and fought bloody battles, although they all made mistakes, they made him cheaper in the end, all because of Ning Zongyuan's preference.So when he said these words, it seemed a bit cheap and good-looking after all.

It's just that he hasn't forgotten for so many years. Ten years ago, when his rebellious fourth brother was shot through the chest in front of him and Ning Zongyuan, the hand Ning Zongyuan stretched out to cover his eyes was still steady. If it is like a rock, there is no trace of grief.

Ning Yan, who was still young back then, didn't understand, and thought it was Ning Yu who couldn't think about it.But so many years have passed, and he himself has been sitting on the dragon seat for these years, there is still something he can't understand.

"I don't know what love is, and I don't understand what the world often says is helpless." Ning Yan interrupted her thoughts, and said, "I just don't want to waste people's youth knowing that I won't give my heart. and love and hate."

"It's not Miss Shu today, but someone else tomorrow." He Wenting said in a low voice, "Your Majesty will understand in the future... Whether you like it or not is not the most important thing."

"The emperor is ruthless." Ning Yan said calmly: "But the emperor is also a human being, and it is impossible for a human being to be ruthless. Rather than squandering the few affections in my life to countless people, it is better to save them properly. Take it out when you need it."

Ning Yan said this neatly and simply, but He Wenting's heart ached a little when he heard it.He shook his head outside the curtain, sighing silently.

—Still young, he thought.Because of his youth, he is full of vigor, and he doesn't understand that if people want to fight against the world, they can only end up with a broken head and blood, and then they are forced to admit defeat.

Ning Yan didn't know what He Wenting was thinking outside, after talking for a while, he was also sleepy, so he yawned lazily, turned over and tightened himself under the quilt.

His drowsiness came on quickly, and before he fell asleep, he suddenly remembered something, tried to cheer up, and said in a daze: "...Remember to tell the waiter at the side hall, if the emperor's uncle arrives tomorrow morning Don't call him before the hour."