love palace

"Here, patriarch, sit down and rest for a while." Qian Long stuffed a piece of dry soybean cake that he had brought from the cook into Ke Weiqing's pocket.

Don't look at its disheveled appearance, and it's only made of bean dregs, but it has the same aroma as sesame seed cakes, and you won't be hungry after eating it.

"I'm not hungry." Ke Weiqing put the cake back into Qianlong's hand and smiled slightly, "I just had porridge."

"Half for one person, the porridge will be gone after urinating." Qian Long said bluntly, then scratched his head in embarrassment, and smiled naively.

At Qian Long's insistence, Ke Weiqing took the half of the cake, and the two found a fairly clean stone, sat on the ground, and ate slowly with the river water in the bamboo tube.

The day is really hot, the sun at noon can almost melt the stones, and some prisoners fainted from the heat after eating, and they will be woken up by a basin of cold water from the supervisor. Those full tanks of water are said to be for Prepared for this.

But heat stroke can kill people. Ke Weiqing thinks that going on like this is not an option. He can cook some traditional Chinese medicine soup to dispel heat and share it with everyone. Moreover, these herbs are very common, and there are many in the wetlands by the river.

However, the supervisor would not allow him to go down the mountain to collect medicine. Ke Weiqing chewed on the dry biscuits, thinking about how to convince the supervisor of this matter.

"Brother, give me more." Hong Liu's voice came from the front, which was the only place with a pergola, which was the kitchen.

Hong Liu was holding a big bowl, and was begging for porridge from the cook with a smile on his face. According to regulations, one person could only have one bowl of porridge, one steamed bun, or soybean cake, but the cook had no choice but to take Hong Liu who was alive and kicking, so he gave him an extra bowl of porridge. Spoon, and secretly stuffed a pear for him.

Hong Liu is the youngest here, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and is very cute. Of course, when he smiles brightly, even the supervisor will not make things difficult for him.

"Liu'er, he's acting like a good boy again." Qian Long said, tore off a piece of soybean cake, put it in his mouth, and chewed vigorously.

"Don't you regret it?" Ke Weiqing looked at Qian Long and asked, "Come here."

"No." Qian Long said without hesitation. After swallowing the cake, he lowered his voice, "You should know that I came here to take Liu'er and other compatriots away."

"En." Ke Weiqing nodded slightly, even if Qian Long didn't say anything, he would have already guessed it.Because Qian Long was not caught by Huang Ye, his whereabouts remained a mystery.

However, Ke Weiqing saw him in Shishan. Obviously, he sneaked in to save people.

"Then why didn't you do anything?" This is what Ke Weiqing was most puzzled about. According to Qianlong's straight-forward personality, he would take away Hongliu and the others that night. It is not difficult for these 200 people to break out of the stone mountain with explosives.

"Because of you." Qian Long said.

"I?"

"Liu'er said that we are still alive and have sound limbs, because you are in the palace to take care of us and atone for our sins." Qian Long said unwillingly, "If we escape, your situation will be very dangerous, so we Can’t just walk away.”

"..." Ke Weiqing's eyes widened slightly, "But, I don't care about dying for you, you are all my relatives, not to mention, it is my duty to protect you."

"Hehe, Liu'er really hit the mark." Qian Long laughed.

"What's wrong?"

"Liu'er said, even if we did escape, you would not be angry, and you would even feel grateful, because you would not want us to suffer. You always think about others, and you never think about yourself." Qian Long looked at Ke Weiqing basking in the sun. With a darker but more handsome face, "But, it's good to be like this now. I don't have a job to do, I have a place to live, and I still have Liu Er."

Qianlong likes Hongliu so much, as if where he is, hell is also heaven.

"You..." Suddenly realizing something, Ke Weiqing couldn't help blaming himself for being slow.However, Ke Weiqing has seen what it means for lovers to share weal and woe today, and he is sincerely happy for them, but in this kind of place...

"What are you talking about? So energetic, here." Hong Liu squeezed between the two with a smile, and put the cleaned pear in Ke Weiqing's hand, "Eat it, patriarch."

"Thank you, but I'm full." Ke Weiqing handed the pear to Qianlong, Qianlong took a bite, and handed it to Hongliu, who ate it nonchalantly.

"Where are you going?" Seeing Ke Weiqing standing up, Qian Long asked.

"There is still some time, I want to go to the supervisor." I can't do anything else for them, but he can still ask for a bowl of soup to dispel the heat. Ke Weiqing thought about it, and it is better to explain the intention directly.

"What's the matter? I'll go with you." Hong Liu stood up immediately, like a puppy looking at its master who was about to leave home, his eyes were full of reluctance and worry.

"Alright." Ke Weiqing nodded. There are more people than strength.Qianlong also wanted to go, so the three of them went to the supervisor's camp together.

Things went much smoother than expected, because the supervisors were afraid that too many people would suffer from heatstroke, which would affect the project.Hearing that Ke Weiqing said that he was an apprentice in the imperial hospital and knew a little about the art of Qi and Huang, the supervisor was moved and allowed him to do so.

However, they only allowed Ke Weiqing to go alone, and he had to pick all the herbs by himself.Moreover, he couldn't delay mining, that is to say, let him work during the day and collect herbs at night without a moment's rest.

What a harsh condition, Qianlong was so angry that he raised his hand to punch someone, but was stopped by Hongliu, because even if they were punched to relieve their anger, they would not be able to escape from the stone mountain and had to suffer. A whip.

"Patriarch, when decocting the medicine, give them chin beans, the more the better, kill them!" Hong Liu whispered to Ke Weiqing after walking out of the overseer's camp.

Ke Weiqing laughed for a while because of this.

※※※

Three snow-white stones are built under the first huge stone behind the rocky mountain. With it for shelter from the rain, this small tomb can be preserved day and night forever.

Just like the pain of bereavement in Ke Weiqing's heart, there will be no peace in this life.Kneeling in front of this tomb with no words, no steles, and no sacrifices, he not only felt sad and regretful, but also deeply blamed himself.

"I'm sorry, child, I couldn't keep you..." Ke Weiqing narrowed his red eyes slightly, stretched out his bandaged hand, and stroked the round stone, as if touching a baby's face.

He hasn't been here for a few days.After getting off work today, the supervisor asked the prisoners to go down the mountain to take a bath in the river. Qianlong and Hongliu both went, so he came here alone.

Just as Ke Weiqing was thinking about the loneliness of the child, someone approached rustlingly, holding a bowl of things in his hand.

"You...?" Ke Weiqing raised his head and recognized that it was the old man he had rescued before.

"It's hot, and it's time for the children to drink the herbal tea you made yourself." The old man put the bowl in his hand in front of the stone tomb, and then knelt down.

"Ah, how can this be...!" Ke Weiqing hurriedly got up, trying to help the old man.

"No, just let me kneel." The old man was unexpectedly stubborn, "I entered the palace at the age of eight, and I thought I had never done anything wrong, but I fell into such a state. I thought that people's hearts are all bad, but now I met you, General Ke, you are a good man."

"Ah? You used to work in the palace?" Ke Weiqing asked very unexpectedly.

"Can't you tell, I'm old and ugly now, but I'm not yet 60 years old. I don't have enough food and sleep here, can I not look old?" The man sighed and said, "I In the palace, I’m still the hair-combing eunuch who follows the Empress Dowager, and everyone calls me Eunuch Zhao...”

"Eunuch Zhao." Ke Weiqing saluted.The eunuchs close to the queen mother all have official positions, up to the fourth rank.

"Oh, that's all in the past." Eunuch Zhao shook his head like a rattle, "I wanted to stay here, and just die of exhaustion, alas, I really can't make it through. But you, General, would you If you are not careful to save this humble life of a slave, you will be crushed to death."

"Besides, you are still working hard to get everyone a decoction to dispel heat and prevent dryness. You don't know that in previous years, hundreds of people died due to the intense heat. Everyone is numb and can't do anything. But now, no one After death, everyone seems to have hope again, because one day, they will have served their corvees, and by then, they will be able to return to their respective homes..."

Eunuch Zhao has both voice and emotion, and his gratitude to Ke Weiqing is indescribable.

"I'm just doing my best." Ke Weiqing gently held Eunuch Zhao's hand and comforted him, "I can't do other things, and besides, I'm not a general anymore."

"Oh, in the eyes of my servant, you will always be that high-spirited general. I still remember you bravely fighting against the treacherous minister Zhao Guowei..." Eunuch Zhao suddenly lowered his voice after thinking about the past. Turn, "So, this matter can only be entrusted to you, General."

"Please...?"

"It's like this." Eunuch Zhao straightened his body and said, "I combed the Queen Mother's hair back then, so I naturally knew how many emerald pearl hairpins the Queen Mother had, and all of them were ingenious. "Gold hairpin" is even more special, it is extremely luxurious, it is a tribute from the Western Regions, the only one in the whole world, but then it disappeared mysteriously, and I can't find it everywhere..."

"They suspect that you stole Fengchai?" Ke Weiqing couldn't help asking.

"Yes. However, the servant did not steal it! But the servant knows where it is." The father-in-law frowned and said in a very low voice, "On the day the queen mother disappeared, she got up early in the morning and wore a phoenix bun. The hairpin was inserted for her by the slave himself."

"Oh?" Ke Weiqing paused, and said, "But that day, the queen mother accidentally slipped and fell into the lotus pond, so the hairpin should still be on the queen mother's head, or fell into the pond. What does that have to do with you? Why do you say yes? Did you steal it?"

"Oh, you don't know. In the beginning, no one pursued this matter. On the contrary, I kept it in my heart and went to fish it in the pond. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything. I thought this treasure was just gone. "

"Think? Is there something else to say?" Ke Weiqing asked.

"That's right. Later, Concubine Lan knew that the servant's craftsmanship was good, so she asked the servant to comb her the flying bun, and the servant went. This Concubine Lan is so beautiful, and she is also very satisfied with the hairstyle the servant made. He rewarded me with a piece of silver and asked me to come every day. Then one day, when the slave was helping her match the pearl hairpin, he accidentally discovered that the empress dowager's ninety-nine gold hairpin was lying on the bottom of the jewelry cabinet. To put it bluntly, it’s like seeing a ghost.”

"What? The empress dowager's gold hairpin is at Concubine Lan's? Could you be mistaken?" Ke Weiqing was already a little surprised when he heard Concubine Lan, and he was even more surprised when he said this.

"No, the Empress Dowager Jinchai likes it very much, she often takes it out and wears it, and the slave has touched it with her own hands no less than twenty times." Eunuch Zhao said firmly, "At that time, Concubine Lan Gui didn't realize that I saw it, because it was given to her. After wearing the phoenix hairpin, I left in a panic. However, within two days, the servant was inexplicably punished by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, saying that I stole the empress dowager's ninety-nine gold hairpins and took them out. Sold it. The servant thought, could it be that I moved the hairpin at that time, and Empress Lan found out? That's why she wanted to drive me out of the palace?" Eunuch Zhao said very uneasy.

"Oh." Ke Weiqing nodded slightly, but there was a storm in his heart, "Why did Shuo Lan have something close to the queen mother before she was alive? The emperor had suspected before that the queen mother did not fall into the river by mistake, but was deliberately murdered. The murderer was the queen mother alone. The person I went to see. But there has been no conclusive evidence, and the case is still pending."

"Now that the Empress Dowager's gold hairpin is in Shuo Lan's hands, then, could it be that the last person the Empress Dowager saw was Shuo Lan? After Shuo Lan killed the Empress Dowager, she took the gold hairpin by hand? Is this possible? Although she is spoiled and domineering, she kills people." , it was the Queen Mother who killed her, can she do it?"

Ke Weiqing was speechless for a moment because of so many thoughts, Eunuch Zhao got up and wanted to leave, but he held him back.

"Elder-in-law, I have something to ask, and I want to ask it clearly."

"Okay, if you have something to say, just ask." Eunuch Zhao thought that Ke Weiqing was not interested in this matter, but when he saw his serious expression, he knew that his matter could be saved, so he sat down again, knowing everything about Ke Weiqing's inquiry , I can't say enough.

※※※

It was time to light up the lanterns in Jinyan Palace. After having dinner with the emperor, Shuo Lan dragged her long yellow silk skirt and returned to the palace.

"Your Majesty, this old servant is going to prepare bath water now." Nanny Li and several maids withdrew.Shuo Lan looked left and right, and after making sure that there was no one in the room, she walked towards the dressing table, where besides the bronze mirror and powder puff, there was also a square, carved sandalwood phoenix jewelry box, which was recognized by the Queen Mother Sun as a princess When, give her a gift.

Shuo Lan opened the box, pushed aside pearl chains, jade bracelets, ruby ​​rings and other expensive jewelry, and took out the brilliant emerald Four Phoenix Chaoyang Ninety Nine Gold Hairpin, her eyes were shining, and she fondled it fondly.

This hairpin is so beautiful, wearing it, it seems to be the mother of the Great Yan, full of incomparable nobility, but likewise, this hairpin almost brought disaster to her.

If she hadn't discovered in time that Eunuch Zhao, who combed his hair, had touched the gold hairpin, the matter between her and the queen mother would have been noticed by others.

Originally, she had a headache, but she couldn't wear the hairpin, what should she do?What a curse!

It's all over now, the hair-combing eunuch who didn't know how to live or die sold him outside the palace with a gold hairpin, and her concubine Lan Gui saw the details and caught him!Then, she kept sending palace people to offer huge rewards outside, and finally her hard work paid off, and she found the golden hairpin in a jewelry store.The boss didn't know that he had bought the stolen goods, so he presented the item in a panic, and "specified" that it would be dedicated to Concubine Lan Gui. After such a round of twists and turns, the gold hairpin was very reasonably in her hands.

Everyone knows that Empress Dowager Sun loved her the most during her lifetime, and this gold hairpin will be given to her sooner or later. Believe it, no one can object.

As for the old eunuch, he must have died of exhaustion in Shishan now.

Shuo Lan smiled coldly.Slowly insert the gold hairpin into the smooth black phoenix bun, the brilliance under the radiance of the lantern, as if a fairy descended from the earth, it is too beautiful to behold!

However, the phoenix eyes made of blood agate looked very glaring at the moment, as if they were bleeding, Shuo Lan looked at the gold hairpin in the bronze mirror and frowned slightly.

"Snapped!"

Shuo Lan took off the gold hairpin and put it back into the box. After all, it belonged to a dead person, so wearing it like this always felt a bit unlucky.

Let's talk about it for a while, Shuo Lan thought, yawned, stretched her arms, and sent someone to take a bath.

※※※

The moon is very round, and the bright moonlight shines into the simple house through the iron windows. There are two rows of kang heads, with an aisle in the middle, scattered with dusty cloth shoes and straw sandals.

On the long kang head, each person has a straw mat, a thin quilt, and the prison clothes folded up to serve as pillows.Big and small snoring sounds, crunching teeth grinding sounds, and dreamy ravings with strong local accents kept coming and going, making the night always so lively.

"Hmm!" An uncontrollable gasp gathered in all kinds of voices, which seemed a little unusual, as if he was suppressing something.

The rustling noise also became louder, and in the corner of the innermost wall, were Hong Liu and Qian Long's beds, and Ke Weiqing was sleeping next to them, lying on their side with their backs to them.

"Are you enough?" Hong Liu leaned against the rough plaster wall and was covered from head to toe in the quilt. Qian Long also hid in the thin quilt, facing him.

The hands of the two rubbed the erection between the legs, the sticky sound made Hong Liu clenched her teeth.

"No, I can't get out yet." Qianlong held Hongliu's place in his big hand, and stimulated it frequently with his callused fingers, Hongliu shivered unexpectedly, and ejaculated so violently.

"A lot." Qian Long unceremoniously caught all of them with his palm, his body still standing tall.

"Huh!" Hong Liu's face was flushed, and he tried to calm his breathing. He didn't want to wake up Ke Weiqing who was beside him, and his heart was always hanging high.

But the more he didn't want to be discovered, the more sensitive his body became. Tonight, everyone took a bath and slept very well. Qianlong said in his ear seductively, "No one will find out, let's do it."

So he fell for it.

At first, it was just kissing the neck, caressing the upper body, and then masturbating with each other's hands. Hongliu thought that she could make Qianlong ejaculate by doing it herself, but besides making him harder and bigger, it was simply terrifying. , his desire showed no signs of diminishing.

"Lu'er, let me go in." Sure enough, the guy who looked naive but was actually very lecherous made this request.

"No!" Hong Liu shook her head and lowered her voice, "I have to do things tomorrow..."

"I do all your work, isn't it always like this?" Qian Long is very loyal, since he came here, he has been sharing Hong Liu's heavy work.

"Do you want to tire yourself out?"

"How come? You know I'm as strong as an ox. There's no difference between doing two jobs and one job."

"You brat!"

"So, let me go in, I can only shoot if I hug you." Qian Long said honestly, but Hong Liu wanted to strangle him by the neck.

"No, no!" Hong Liu gritted her teeth, "Every time you make a lot of noise, it will wake Wei Qing up."

Once Qianlong inserts it, he will really turn into a beast, he will be a bastard who will finish it regardless of whether there are people "watching"!

Hong Liu, who had already learned a few lessons, couldn't help pushing Qianlong's thick chest, "It's too hot in the bed, let me go first."

"No, Liu'er, if you can't satisfy yourself, just leave me alone. This is too disrespectful. Well, I'll let you do it." Qian Long put his arms around Hong Liu's neck and said, "You can Take the initiative to ride up, if I don’t move, it won’t be too noisy, right?”

"Where did you learn this bad move?!"

"This is basic common sense. If you want to please your lover, you will know it." Qian Long thought for a while and said.

"Who is your lover?!"

"Aren't brothers also a kind of lover?"

"Don't talk nonsense!" The damn hard object kept pressing against Hong Liu's thigh, making him even more frustrated.At this moment, there was a sudden sound of lifting the quilt from the side, scaring Hong Liu into Qianlong's arms, pretending to be asleep.

Qian Long's arms hugged Hong Liu's waist unceremoniously, and the two were like very close brothers, entangled hands and feet, and fell asleep under the same quilt.

Ke Weiqing glanced at them, his unnaturally stiff posture made a smile appear on his mouth, he had heard their movements a long time ago, and he always felt that it would be wrong to continue eavesdropping like this.

He put on his coat, got off the bed lightly, put on his cloth shoes, and walked away.

Creaking, the door opened, and after a while, it closed again.

"He's gone." Qian Long raised his head and glanced quietly, "He's going to the latrine."

"How do you know?" Hong Liu's heart was beating violently, and she was so nervous that she trembled a little.

"The front door is locked, and the back door only leads to the backyard and the hut. It's not convenient to go in the middle of the night, what else can you do?" Qian Long said with a smile.

"Yes." Hong Liu suddenly realized and nodded.

"Okay, let's do our business." Qianlong kissed Hongliu's forehead, and then turned him to face the wall.

"Are you—are you finished?!" Although Hong Liu said that, she couldn't stop Qianlong from lifting one of his legs, and then slowly inserted it from behind.

"Oh... too big...!" Hong Liu's forehead was pressed against the wall, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Qian Long's hand stretched out and pressed against the wall.

Qian Long approached, and whispered to Hong Liu who was huddled in the corner, "Do you know the benefits of sleeping on the kang?"

"Ah... what?" Desperately enduring the pain and numbness from being pried open, Hong Liu's vision was blurred, and her head was a little dizzy.

"No matter how I move, it doesn't make noise like a wooden bed." After Qian Long finished speaking, he straightened his back heavily, arching his back against Hongliu, sweating profusely, and it was too late to resist. His body and mind I was drowning in the flames of burning desire...

※※※

The moonlight shines on Ke Weiqing's thin but very strong shoulders through the treetops. He carries stones during the day and pulls herbs at night. Every joint and muscle is full of pain.

However, it was not because of the pain, or the fiery lingering relationship between Qianlong and Hongliu, that kept him from falling asleep, but because of what Eunuch Zhao said a few days ago, lingering in his heart all the time.

According to Eunuch Zhao, Empress Dowager Sun loved Shuo Lan very much, even more than she loved the orthodox princess. She was the one who made Shuo Lan Huang Ye's concubine.

Then, in this magnificent palace, the only person who can make the queen mother let go of her guard and go to the appointment alone seems to be Shuo Lan. With the testimony of the golden hairpin, Shuo Lan is absolutely inseparable from the death of the queen mother.

But there is no evidence for this matter, Eunuch Zhao decided to write it down and hand it over to Ke Weiqing, and when he finished his sentence, he would bring him out of Shishan to clean up his grievances.

However, other people's corvée has a time limit, but his is indefinitely. The emperor said that day that he never wanted to see him again, that is to say, he wanted to stay in Shishan forever.

Even if it has a chance to leave here, what will happen in the palace?Will this letter become a powerful and unwarranted report against Shuo Lan, or will it disappear without a trace? ...Qing'er, will Qing'er still recognize herself by then?

"No..." Ke Weiqing was heartbroken. He wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and cheered himself up. "No matter how difficult the environment is, I will find out who murdered the Queen Mother!"

And the queen mother must have known something before she was killed.Thinking of such a cunning murderer lurking in the seemingly formidable deep palace, Ke Weiqing shuddered and was very worried about Qing'er's safety.

Perhaps, Qing'er's poisoning was also related to that person, but why?Why did he (she) do this?What is the motivation?

This, Ke Weiqing can't figure it out for the time being, because Qing'er is just a child, even if he is the eldest prince, he will not become the prince.

Ke Weiqing really wished she could put on her wings and fly to the palace immediately to protect her child...

The green fou after the disguise is like a shadow under the moon, hiding on the beams of the house, watching Ke Weiqing who is meditating outside alone in the middle of the night, how much he wants to jump down, talk to him, and relieve his worries.

But with the imperial order in hand, he can only help secretly, and he must never show up.

However, the emperor was so wise that he expected someone to assassinate Ke Weiqing early on, and asked him to keep an eye on him all the way.It's a pity that he rescued Ke Weiqing who was drowning in the river, but he couldn't catch the three soldiers.

If they drowned, there will be no proof. Who bought them and let them attack Ke Weiqing?

Afterwards, Qing Fou searched the luggage of the officers and soldiers, but only got some scraps of gold, without official seals. The other two said they never knew about it, did they really know?

Qing Fou originally wanted to keep them to investigate carefully, but he couldn't reveal their identities, so he could only watch them on their way back to Beijing, but he had already reported everything that happened here to the emperor with pigeons.

Those two little soldiers, if not unexpected, will fall into the hands of the emperor.

"Soon." Qing Fou said silently in his heart, "Wait a little longer, Wei Qing, the emperor is coming, he won't really abandon you..."