Emperor Que Shaohua

Changle Palace is on the side of the Imperial Garden, north of Taiye Pool.As soon as you enter the harem, the scenery of flowers and trees suddenly becomes a little softer, and when you arrive at the imperial garden, there are flowers and willows everywhere.King Jing passed through the garden. It was already late spring, and there were peach and plum blossoms, but there was still a faint fragrance floating in the garden, which was the newly imported orchid grass.In his early years, Emperor Tianyi loved the famous and gorgeous colors, and the harem was often decorated with colorful colors. In recent years, as he got older, he prefers to be simple and elegant.Concubine Rong, who was in charge of organizing birthday celebrations, wanted to understand this, so she planted orchids in the garden, whichever was more elegant, and the court ladies also wore plain palace silk, and did not wear sachets or sachets, so as not to wash away the fragrance of orchids.

At this time, the banquet has not yet started, but the harem concubines and imperial family wives are already gathered together, and several princes have also arrived.Both the crown prince and King An had wives. The crown prince had a son and a daughter, and King An had a daughter, both of whom were brought into the palace.A few years ago, King Yun had married his concubine, the daughter of the dean of Hanlin Shi, who was very virtuous and reasonable. However, when he went to the northern border, the concubine died of dystocia. Concubine Lian raised her, and she is only two years old now, and she was also carried to Changle Palace.

Emperor Tianyi sat in the middle, with several princes and princes on the left, naturally the crown prince was the head, and the concubines and wives were on the right, with the highest-ranking concubine Han Guifei at the top, followed by Concubine Rong, Concubine Lian, the mother of King Yun, and King An The mother, Concubine Yi, has always put Zhuang Su as the most important thing in the palace, so although there are many people, they only talk and laugh in low voices.

It was the first time that King Jing entered the palace on Emperor Tianyi's birthday since the division of the mansion seven years ago. When he entered the inner hall, Changle Palace fell silent, watching the Eldest Prince salute the Holy One calmly.

The emperor stared at him indifferently for a while, and then said lightly: "Pingshen. Is your health getting better recently?" Everyone was a little surprised, Emperor Tianyi's tone was gentle, and he even asked about King Jing's health, which can be said to be a rare and pleasant expression.Looking at the pot of black jade placed in the hall, it really seems to have some deep meaning.

King Jing didn't have a flattered expression on his face, he just replied calmly: "Thanks to the blessing of the father, the minister has recovered a lot, so I came to the palace. May the father's blessings last forever and be in good health."

Emperor Tianyi listened, nodded and said: "Very good, let's sit down." Seeing King Jing got up and sat down on the right side, he stopped talking to him.

Everyone in Changle Palace quickly resumed whispering and laughing.Seeing Shi Chen, Concubine Han said softly: "Your Majesty, everyone is almost here. The sisters have put a lot of thought into today. Would Your Majesty want to see everyone's birthday presents?"

She is the prince's biological mother. Although she is over forty years old, her skin is white and greasy. The beauty that was praised by the emperor when she was young has not faded much. On the contrary, it seems to have added charm. .At this moment, she had a peony flower on her forehead, and she was wearing a crimson palace dress with a hundred birds and a phoenix, which was brilliantly embroidered and overwhelmed all the young concubines.

Emperor Tianyi was quite interested, he wanted to see what the concubines had prepared, so he agreed.

Concubine Han smiled and said: "The courtiers and concubines are crude, and they can't think of anything too ingenious, so I will throw bricks to attract jade first." She has a meticulous mind and has always been in charge of the inner palace. It was handed over to Concubine Rong, the assistant manager of Liugong.

What she ordered the palace servants to carry was an eight-leaf carved red sandalwood screen, which was eight feet long, and embroidered with a picture of thousands of miles of mountains and rivers. There are so many pavilions, towers and pavilions, at a glance, there are many mountains and rivers, combined with the twists and turns of the screen, it makes people feel as if they are sucked into it.

Emperor Tianyi admired it for a while, praised it very much, and sighed: "It's hard to be a concubine." Such a large embroidery, with exquisite craftsmanship, is not easy to complete.Concubine Han's brocade said: "This year, my maidservant, I can't stop embroidering when my mother is free. I don't know how many times I have pierced my fingers."

Han Guifei scolded in a low voice: "Where do you have the part to speak, you still don't back down."

Emperor Tianyi thought that it was not easy for her to deal with inner palace affairs and embroider with her own hands. He was moved in his heart, stroked her shoulder, and said: "My concubine has worked very hard, there is really no need for such hard work."

Concubine Han lowered her eyes dignifiedly: "As a female concubine, I naturally want to do something for the emperor, so I feel safe in my heart."

After that was Concubine Rong, who ordered someone to bring it up, but it was a Prajna Sutra in a box, nearly two feet long, and the light yellow brocade surface was uncovered, and the inner pages were not paper, but green top-grade satin, The words on it are not written, but are embroidered one by one with needlework.

This Buddhist scripture was originally written by Emperor Tianyi, and it was given to Concubine Rong. Unexpectedly, she embroidered it word by word.In addition, each page is embroidered with auspicious clouds surrounded by various stitches, or flowers cut from brocade silk and satin of various colors are embedded in it. When you turn the pages, you can see thousands of flowers and thousands of characters, which is really exquisite.

When Emperor Tianyi watched it, he saw that the front title page and the last last page were each an embroidered painting. In the front, the Buddha preached on the lotus seat, surrounded by purple auspicious clouds, and the Galen birds circled around.On the last page is the Buddha holding flowers. All the disciples don't know what it means, but Venerable Kaye is the only one who understands with a smile.

The embroideries he has seen are all the best in the world, but at this moment he feels that they are really ingenious, knowing that this is what Luo Xuening said, the birthday gift embroidered by Concubine Rong with all her efforts, I don't know how much painstaking effort was spent on it, and he couldn't help but be very moved.

He couldn't put it down and watched it for a long time before handing it over to others.All the concubines were jealous, but when they saw the ingenious embroidery of Buddhist scriptures, they could only admire it.

Concubine Han laughed and said: "I feel that this sutra is very precious. It is better to treasure it if I choose another name for it. I see purple clouds in the sutra, why not call it the Ziyun Sutra?"

She was ranked as the noble concubine, and she was originally the most respected concubine in the harem. Concubine Rong was much younger than her. Originally, she only gave birth to a princess, Luo Xuening, so she could not be compared with her. However, five years ago, Concubine Rong gave birth to the youngest concubine The sixth son of the emperor, the mother is more expensive than the son, coupled with ingenuity, in the harem, there is a faint tendency to fight against Concubine Han Guifei, and there are many open and secret fights between the two.Concubine Han's proposal now seems extremely generous.

Emperor Tianyi thought that the name of the Ziyun Sutra was very good, and was about to agree, Concubine Yi held the embroidered sutra, and suddenly smiled and said: "I only think that the color of this purple auspicious cloud is very beautiful, and it is not extraordinary. How can purple be so bright and brilliant, it looks familiar, maybe I have seen it somewhere. But after thinking about it carefully, I can't remember it for a while, I wonder if anyone recognizes the sisters?"

Emperor Tianyi didn't notice that the purple color on the embroidery was special at first, but after talking about it, he felt familiar, and after thinking about it for a while, his face darkened.Among the concubines, Ye Bin, who entered the palace earlier, seemed to suddenly remember it, and blurted out: "It seems to be Fengyi Palace..." As soon as the words came out, she realized that she had made a slip of the tongue, and hurriedly covered her mouth, not daring to speak again.

The Changle Palace, which was still laughing and laughing just now, suddenly became quiet.Fengyi Palace is the main palace where Empress Jiang Biyao, who passed away nine years ago, lived. Jiang Biyao loved purple, and the embroidered curtains used in the inner room all the year round, as well as the brocade curtains on the phoenix couch, were vaguely embroidered with this purple color. With patterns, there are lotuses with double pedicles, and there are also clouds and birds. Emperor Tianyi has seen it many times.After the death of Empress Langhuan, her hobbies and habits were carefully tabooed. After a long time, she gradually forgot, but unexpectedly, she saw the same purple embroidery on her birthday.Emperor Tianyi thought about this, his face sank for a while, and then he thought that the Buddhist scripture was embroidered by his own handwriting, and he felt disgusted in his heart, and he didn't even want to read it.

Concubine Rong spent a lot of time and effort embroidering this Buddhist scripture. Seeing Emperor Tianyi's indifferent expression, she was very embarrassed. Thinking of how many people inside and outside the palace were watching her jokes, she almost wanted to cry, but she must not treat the emperor right now. I have complaints in my heart, and secondly, I can't cry on happy days, so I have to endure it.

Seeing her mother being embarrassed, Luo Xuening felt very uncomfortable, and said, "Royal father, it's all Xuening's fault. Concubine mother originally wanted to embroider auspicious clouds into gold, but it was because the purple silk thread from the new tribute was beautiful when my daughter saw it." , I started to embroider all the clouds on the sutra into purple clouds. If the father doesn’t like it, how about my daughter take it apart and embroider it again?”

Emperor Tianyi frowned, and said: "Forget it, there's no need." He was extremely unhappy, but hearing Luo Xuening take the responsibility on himself, it's not easy to blame Concubine Rong, so he said: "You still owe some things. Be safe and meticulous, and in the next month, I will copy the scriptures in the palace and cultivate my temperament."

Luo Xuening answered in a low voice, she didn't feel anything about copying scriptures by herself, she just thought of her mother's hard work, but she was left behind, so she was a little sad.

Luo Pingyuan loved this younger sister very much. Before he left the palace, he lived in Concubine Rong's Lanting Palace for a year, under her care, he had a layer of affection, so he wanted to say something to ease it, but he knew nothing about the harem. Not many, and young, the prince didn't speak, and he couldn't think of how to intervene for a while.

While hesitating, King Jing, who was sitting beside him, said: "I wonder if I can let my ministers see Concubine Rong's embroidery?" Out of words reprimanded, but with a cold face.

The Buddhist scriptures had already been transferred back to Princess Danyang. Seeing that Emperor Tianyi hadn't refused, she got up and sent it to King Jing, and called softly, "Brother Emperor."

Luo Yanhua took the embroidery scripture, flipped through a few silk pages, looked at it for a while, and said: "The purple silk thread chosen by the imperial sister is really far from the one used by the Fengyi Palace in the early years. Where did it come from, I'm afraid I didn't see it clearly."

Everyone was stunned when they heard the words, if the words were true, wouldn't Concubine Yi be making false accusations.

King An sneered and said, "Why do you say that? If there is no evidence, you are talking about my mother and concubine!"

King Jing turned to the title page of the Buddhist scriptures, stared at the misty clouds beside the embroidered statue of Buddha, and said leisurely: "The purple used in Fengyi Palace was dyed with purple shells produced in the East China Sea. Five strands, one of which is replaced by gray, so although it is purple under the light, it has a gray-blue luster when viewed from a distance. The embroidery thread used by Concubine Rong is pure in color, and it has the meaning of vermilion when viewed from a distance under the lamp, so it should be beautiful blue. It is matched with a single vermilion color, and there is a faint red halo, and no gray is mixed in it. Therefore, although the two are both purple, there is a huge difference. If any empress still has doubts, there should be one or two old things left. I'll know when I get Bibi another day."

After speaking, no one in Changle Palace spoke.King Jing handed the Buddhist scriptures to the palace man, motioned to take them back to the concubine opposite, and said: "If you think about it, the House of Internal Affairs doesn't understand the rules, so why would you send the things that were frequently used in the past into the palace again. Purple Lord Gui, it is rumored that in the Seventh Heaven, the auspicious clouds are all purple, no wonder the imperial girl will choose it."

Luo Pingyuan felt that there was a slight weariness in his voice, just like the momentary expression when he saw Wang An who came to find fault in the mansion that day, as if he had seen the same thing too much, he was both clear and tired.Hearing what he said, it was as if the sound of the zither heard outside Prince Jing's mansion came back to my ears that day, and Lingling washed away the lead in the world, so there was no need to worry about many things, so why bother.

Emperor Tianyi's mood has gradually calmed down, he asked the palace servants to bring the Buddhist scriptures, and read it again, he really felt that the color was different from the one he tabooed, but it was just a preconceived idea, and he lost his clarity.He glanced at Prince Jing, perhaps only this person dared to mention the deceased Empress Langhuan face to face in the palace, and he mentioned it so naturally that his own displeasure was even stingy.

Over the years, Luo Yanhua seems to have changed a lot, and it seems that he has not changed at all. He has never bowed his head and begged him. This is the case now, so what about the future?

He is the son of heaven, concubines, officials and the prince, all follow his every word, even a look, either with joy or fear, but King Jing is never included in it.

Thinking of this, the emperor no longer cared about the purple auspicious clouds, but said with a little playfulness, "You are very clear about these little things."

Seeing that King Jing bowed his head and did not answer, he put the matter aside, turned to Concubine Rong to comfort and praise him, and then ordered to watch the birthday gifts of the concubines.

When it was Concubine Lian's turn, she got up and left her seat, holding a jasper lotus pod in her hand, and presented it to Emperor Tianyi with a smile: "Linpian sent a piece of jasper a few years ago, and my concubine never thought of how to carve it. A few months ago, Seeing that His Majesty put a lotus leaf vase in Qingliang Hall, I felt that it would be suitable if there were lotus pods inserted in it."

Emperor Tianyi took it in his hand, saw that the lotus pod was green, small and moist, and the lotus seeds on it were as real as they were, and he liked it very much, and said with a smile: "My concubine has a heart."

When Concubine Lian was young, her features could only be called delicate. Compared with Concubine Han's beauty and Concubine Rong's grace, she was quite inferior. After giving birth to a prince, she became a concubine and became the head of Zhiting Palace.However, the King Yun that she produced has a beautiful appearance and is unparalleled in the world, which is really surprising.Later, some good people found out that Concubine Lian's mother was a beautiful woman at the level of misfortune, so she realized that it was passed down from generation to generation.

Concubine Lian has a quiet temperament. Emperor Tianyi didn't pay much attention to her in the early years, and he looked at her differently, mostly because of King Yun's relationship.But in recent years, I feel that there are too many troubles in the court, and the concubines in the harem are too scheming. On the contrary, I feel that Concubine Lian is calm and more pleasant, and the number of times I go to Zhiting Palace has also increased.

At this moment, seeing Concubine Lian wearing a light green palace dress, reflecting the blue lotus pod, he felt much better.With Concubine Lian's relief, the concubines behind gave birthday gifts much more smoothly, and the harmonious atmosphere in Changle Palace was restored.

Emperor Tianyi accepted all kinds of gifts, mainly embroidery, and rewarded all his concubines and relatives, especially Lanting Palace, in order to appease Concubine Rong's grievances, and ordered people to send hand-embroidered Buddhist scriptures to the palace. Hall worship, to show value.

It was getting late, and it was time for the birthday banquet to begin.The banquet was held near the water in Changle Palace. Concubine Rong had already ordered people to place clear glazed lamps by the Taiye Pool. With a gentle breeze, the lights reflected the blue waves, like stars falling into the pool.

As the Linlang cups and plates were put on, there was the sound of silk and bamboo, and a group of court ladies in light pink gauze clothes approached Yingying, all barefoot, walking to the edge of the pool, and stepped into it without stopping , standing on the water, dancing like a Lingbo fairy. It turns out that many stone platforms hidden under the water have been quietly installed in the pool for dancers to stand on.After a while, star-point lanterns lit up on the surface of the Taiye Pool. It turned out that there were glazed lanterns placed on the water, which were lit up one by one by the dancers.

Because it was a family banquet, in order to set off the glazed lights in the night, the lights during the banquet were not brilliant, and most people relaxed a lot by now.King Jing listened to everyone's praise of the grand scene in front of him, Concubine Rong's ingenious arrangements, and casual chats. There were many young concubines he didn't know in the harem, and they were all whispering.

Although he lost his internal strength, his hearing was still better than ordinary people. He heard a palace concubine say: "The tiger skin on your Majesty's seat must be the one that His Highness Yun Wang personally hunted and killed. It looks really powerful."

The woman next to her spoke louder, and replied: "Sister, I don't know something. This is not the most rare thing. I heard that when King Yun was out hunting, he hunted a white tiger with black and white fur. , that is really rare. It is said that if it is not an extraordinary person, let alone hunting, it is impossible to even touch it."

King Jing frowned when he heard this, thinking about where these rumors came from, and why they spread on this occasion, which touched the taboo of the emperor.It is said that the white tiger is the omen of the emperor, if King Yun hunted it, instead of offering the fur to Emperor Tianyi, he only gave an ordinary tiger skin.Once such a seed is planted, it doesn't matter whether the rumors are true or not. King Yun's achievements in conquering the northern border may bring disaster instead.

It seems that the Crown Prince and Concubine Han are already deeply jealous of King Yun, and even used this method.He glanced at Concubine Lian, wondering if she could resolve it.Not far from Concubine Lian's head, Concubine Han Guifei was looking at her beautiful face, toasting Emperor Tianyi, talking and laughing without knowing what she was talking about.

He slowly put down the chopsticks in his hands, the dishes in front of him were exquisite, but he could no longer arouse his appetite, and he missed the porridge and side dishes in the mansion.No one spoke to him, and he didn't want to talk to anyone.

King Ning's voice suddenly came from next to his ear: "Brother Huang, you don't seem to like sitting here very much." He turned his head and found that Luo Pingyuan beside him was looking at him, his expression seemed to be thoughtful, but also like There was a faint sarcasm: "I thought that you had disregarded the world of mortals and didn't care about anything. Unexpectedly, you would still take the initiative to enter the palace to join in the fun. Now that you are here, why do you have to look detached from the world?"

King Jing didn't expect him to take the initiative to speak, and he seemed to be paying attention to himself. He paused and said, "I'm just an ordinary person in the world. How can I talk about detachment? Ping Yuan, you really misunderstood."

"Yes, I was wrong." Luo Pingyuan nodded slowly, and said: "Brother Huang, what is your purpose for entering the palace tonight, and what are you thinking?"

King Jing felt that, in fact, this was the question he wanted to ask King Ning. What would he do when he returned to Los Angeles?Unexpectedly, Luo Pingyuan came to ask himself first, maybe he noticed something strange.This younger brother is more sensitive than expected, and he is indeed talented and beautiful.He smiled: "Think what I think, do what I can, but I can't tell you yet."

Luo Pingyuan saw a soft smile in his eyes, like looking at a child, as if he didn't mind the sarcastic remarks just now, just like back then, when he made a mistake and went to admit his mistake, Brother Huang also Always pat his head gently, with pampering helplessness.He didn't know how to react for a moment, and once this feeling was aroused, it almost broke his usual calmness.He turned his head back and said nothing, feeling a little annoyed in his heart, why he had to talk to King Jing for no apparent reason.