After transforming into An Lingrong, he became the King of Juan and was crowned the Sixth Palace.

The emperor nodded and said: "Now the season of epiphyllum has passed, but if you like it, I will have many sent to your palace next summer."

An Lingrong was quite sad, shaking her head and saying: "No one can see the flowers blooming, so what's the point of having more flowers."

The emperor took her hand and said outside: "When the epiphyllum blooms next year, I will definitely accompany you, but today the flowers bloom, how can I live up to it?" He

Whispering in a low voice, with a touch of tenderness and intimacy: "I remember the first time I saw you, it was in the draft hall. You were also dressed like this, you were so beautiful..."

An Lingrong smiled sweetly, turned slightly sideways, and touched the emperor's arm.

Jian Qiu watched the emperor and An Lingrong leave with each other smiling. She felt anxious and followed, "Your Majesty..."

Su Peisheng was following the emperor, but when he saw him like this, he scolded him: "You don't have the eyesight to see. Didn't you see that the emperor wanted to accompany Concubine An? You are not allowed to follow."

In this way, by the time of the night banquet, An Lingrong had become an irreplaceable woman who understood filial piety in the emperor's heart.

Even if An Lingrong avoids favor again and temporarily refuses the emperor's stay at night.

But when she looked at the palace full of beautiful songs and dances, she looked into the emperor's loving eyes and showed a calm and beautiful smile.

Not long after, the Queen Mother received clothes and items made by An Lingrong herself.

Satisfied, he delegated his powers and retired temporarily.

So much so that on the table of Yongshou Palace there were random piles of silk and satin sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, stacked there one by one, in all colors and patterns.

Baoping smiled and said: "Now the newly appointed head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs finally knows which empress in the harem is worthy of getting close to. I empress, look at him, he is very flattering. These silks are so abundant that even the servants can reward them." ”

An Lingrong is wearing a brand new palace dress of magnolia, purple and silver embroidery. On her head are jasper beads of the same color, with green beads hanging down, like a vein of green orchid leaves.

She smiled nonchalantly, stretched out her hand to tease it casually and said, "Wouldn't it be a pity to give such a good thing to a servant?"

She whispered: "Have you prepared the cotton clothes I asked you to send to Sister Wan?"

Baoping smiled and said, "I'm worried that Sister Baojuan will be out there in the cold! Last night, you chose the thick new cotton and sewed it overnight. The circles under your eyes were all dark. It's better than doing it to Si'a." The blessing and longevity pillows and quilts made by my brother and my third brother are very careful."

When Baoping pointed out to her face that the gift was actually out of concern for Baojuan and not Empress Zhen Huan, An Lingrong smiled sheepishly.

She was holding a few reed flowers in a celadon amphorae and was lost in thought. Suddenly, the brocade curtain flashed outside, and it was Concubine Qi who came in.

After asking Jin Xi to serve tea and pour water, Concubine Qi forced herself to smile.

After gathering her composure, Concubine Qi smiled and said, "We haven't seen each other for a few days. This Yongshou Palace is very different. It's been three days since we've seen each other, so we should look at each other with admiration."

An Lingrong took Concubine Qi's hand affectionately and sat down and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know about my concubine yet, but the Emperor suddenly remembered it and was only interested for a moment."

Concubine Qi slightly concealed her disappointment and smiled gently.

"Are you still so polite to me? In the past month and a half, the emperor has been treating you as well as Concubine Hui and Concubine Hua. My sister was favored by the emperor in the past. Now even the Queen Mother favors my sister. How many people are there in this palace? I envy you."

An Lingrong sneered slightly, took a sip of tea, and slightly belittled herself. No matter how favored she was, she was not as high as others.

Then, she glanced at Concubine Qi and asked casually: "By the way, why did Concubine Qi come to see me at this time?"

Concubine Qi glanced around. An Lingrong understood and said, "Leave the tea here. I'm talking to Concubine Qi, so you don't have to wait on me."

Everyone hurriedly retreated, and the palace was as quiet as a deep pool that had been standing for a long time.

When Concubine Qi saw that there was no one around, she lowered her face, clenched the silk tightly, and said with tears in her eyes: "Last time, my sister asked me to pay attention, and I went to inquire about them one by one. I really don't want to see those people." He actually listened to the queen and wanted to harm my third elder brother."

"Oh?"

An Lingrong took a sip of tea with a calm expression, as if she had known the Queen's actions for a long time and was not surprised at all.

Concubine Qi became anxious as she spoke: "This queen has a vicious heart and tries to harm the third elder brother with the palace servant's words and sneaky actions. If the third elder brother really gets the root of the disease, what hope does the third elder brother have in the future!" "

You know, the reason why Concubine Qi and Third Elder Brother please the emperor now is simply because Concubine Qi listened to An Lingrong and asked Third Elder Brother to learn more about riding and shooting.

But if she falls ill and gets to the root of the disease, Concubine Qi's last hope may be destroyed.

An Lingrong took Concubine Qi's hand and said slowly: "I was just suspicious that day. I can't believe that the queen is really like this. After all, she is also the third elder brother's..."

Seeing Concubine Qi gritting her teeth with hatred, she said softly: "Have you ever thought of a way so that the Queen can have no time to worry about harming the third elder brother like this? Let her also know that Concubine Qi is not someone to be trifled with."

Concubine Qi's eyes moved slightly, she looked at the tea in the cup, and said slowly: "I have a bad breath, but..."

Her voice gradually lowered, helpless: "It's just that the queen has always been careful. Even the things she wears and uses on daily basis, even the quilts and pillows, are all made by herself, not to mention the food and daily life. I'm afraid it's airtight and there's no way... …”

An Lingrong held up the slightly swaying pearl flowers on her bun. The texture of the jasper felt slightly cold in her palms.

She smiled faintly, stood up and took a set of longevity pillows and quilts.

"This is a little tribute from me to my third elder brother. Do you like it, the empress?"

Concubine Qi looked at it for a few times and said in surprise: "Isn't this what the Queen did to Third Brother a few days ago?"

An Lingrong's smile was secretive and slight: "Does the empress also think they are similar?"

Concubine Qi carefully turned over and over again, looking at it again and again: "Isn't it really true? It's almost exactly the same. It can be mistaken for the real thing."

An Lingrong knew that Wen Wan was harmless, but there was murderous intent in her eyes.

"Jin Xi saw it in my elder brother's courtyard that day, so I tried to make one."

"My sister's hands are so skillful!"

Concubine Qi wondered, "But the size of this set of pillows and quilts is too small for Third Brother. I'm afraid it won't be suitable for use."

An Lingrong looked into her eyes, almost looking into her heart, and said sincerely: "Then I will give it to whomever I think is suitable. Anyway, it's all my concubine's thoughts for Third Brother, no one else needs to do it." I know, but I can’t tell.”

Concubine Qi trembled, her nose was slightly sweaty: "What's the difference?"

"It contains some fruit and vegetable essential oil unique to Jingren Palace, as well as cinnabar left behind by the Chungui people at that time."

"But don't worry, Madam, a little bit of cinnabar will not threaten the health of the third elder brother. I can use my life as a guarantee. If there is even the slightest lie, the whole family will end up without any heirs!"

An Lingrong looked at Concubine Qi's expression and became more angry.

"If your Majesty doesn't dare, then I will treat you as my concubine and your efforts will be in vain. I will immediately burn you in the fire to make each other clean."

Concubine Qi's surprised eyes gradually became a bit shaken, adding a bit of hatred and disgust, and she said eagerly: "Just a lesson?" An Lingrong's smile was determined and steady, and she said: "Yes, otherwise what can we do? What if things are like this? If you fail, the stitches are my concubine’s fault and you can’t rely on anyone else. If you succeed, your Majesty will also be so angry, right?”

Concubine Qi's grip on the quilt became tighter and tighter, and she was really reluctant to push it away.

Finally, Concubine Qi said, "Okay, I will go to my brother's house tomorrow and bring my sister's thoughts to me without anyone noticing."

An Lingrong smiled, held Concubine Qi's hand earnestly, and spoke calmly as usual.

"When I first entered this harem, I was bullied by others. I really don't want my mother's children to be like this. Besides, I also have an elder brother in my palace."

Concubine Qi was deeply shocked, with tears filling her eyes: "Since the queen is so vicious, then I will accompany her to play this game. The worst is that in the end, we will fight him to the death!"

The emperor stayed in Anlingrong Palace that night. After the physical entanglement, only the strength to rely on each other was left.

The tassels on the brocade tent are overflowing with colors, and are sporadically embroidered with auspicious patterns of dark red silver thread, meandering quietly on the ground.

Even the red candle shining brightly outside the tent could only reflect a little reddish and hazy light.

The emperor closed his eyes tiredly and contentedly, and took a gentle breath: "Rong'er, I always feel that you have a unique fragrance even in your pillow quilt, which you can't find anywhere else."

An Lingrong's black hair curved softly and gracefully on the emperor's arm, and she chuckled: "Where did the emperor go to find you?"

The emperor sighed silently: "The queen is devoted to the sick third elder brother. For this reason, I haven't stayed at the queen's place for a long time."

An Lingrong said: "Hasn't the Queen always begged the Emperor to move the third elder brother to Jingren Palace for treatment?"

The emperor was a little hesitant and sighed: "The queen begged me like this, but after all, the third elder brother is the son of Concubine Qi, and I am not easy to win over others. Besides, the third elder brother's wind-cold, according to the imperial doctor of the imperial hospital, has already Much better.”

An Lingrong lay on the emperor's arm, the stickiness of her flesh and sweat making her a little uncomfortable.

She moved calmly, but her lips were still smiling like a flower, like a little daughter acting coquettishly.

"Then what does the emperor mean?"

The emperor sighed silently: "Although Concubine Qi is good, she can't compare to..."

He stopped subconsciously, took a deep breath, and chuckled: "It smells so good, it seems to be on you, and it seems like it is in the curtains. What kind of fragrance is it?"

She smiled sweetly and pressed the soft pillow under the emperor's neck.

"It is collected just after spring. It is crushed together with calamus leaves and rolled into silk. The aroma of this flower pillow is light but long-lasting, filling the quilt and even the bed tent with the scent of tea. Yu Fen.”

The emperor scratched her nose and said: "You are so delicate in your thoughts. You are obviously an old person, but you always make me feel like you are a new love. You are surprised and strange again and again."

An Lingrong reached out and touched the emperor's shoulder blades, and said softly, "I know what the emperor likes, and I also understand it."

The emperor's voice was heavy with weariness: "Only when I see you do I feel more relaxed, because you don't ask for anything."

An Lingrong's voice sounded like she was murmuring: "How does the emperor know that Rong'er doesn't ask for anything?"

The emperor was already feeling sleepy, but he still replied: "I wanted to take your position before, but you always refused. I rewarded you with jewelry and exquisite things, but you just smiled.

"I come often, and you are certainly happy, but when I come less often, you never complain. I always feel that you are different from the women in the palace. You don't ask for anything, or I can't give you what you ask for, or even have no idea……"

When it came to the last few sentences, the emperor was already confused.

An Lingrong reached out and touched his arm, trying to get used to leaning on him, but she still felt strange and hesitant.

Even for a moment of skin-to-skin contact, she felt that her soul was far, far away from her body. It seemed that she was safe only by looking at him coldly and keeping a distance. just

As the emperor said, she has a different indifference from other women. This indifference is just like her accumulation of knowledge over the years.

The love of an emperor and the love of a man are never reliable.

Because when they are around her, they are naturally happy with each other, and if they want to leave, it will be an instant matter.

This kind of intimacy is neither long-lasting nor irreplaceable.

Because all these joys have different requirements and satisfactions for different women.

The dream that night was long and trivial. She dreamed about many things in the past and herself working in modern times.

The self who was favored for the first time, the self who was left out and ignored, and the self who is envied by others at this moment.

When An Lingrong woke up, the sky was still dark outside.

She quietly stood up and put on her coat, wanting to drink a cup of tea to relieve her thirst caused by excessive fatigue before going to bed last night.

The red candle in front of the bed was flickering with dim light, and the candle tears were dripping down, filling the copper candlestick with flat flowers. It really looked like the tears stained by a woman's rouge.

While he was concentrating, suddenly a shrill cry broke out violently.

An Lingrong was in a trance, thinking it was some kind of night owl or wild cat whose screams could almost tear a person's ears.

But that cry seemed to tear through the deep night tranquility of the Forbidden City, and more tragic cries came one after another from a distance.

The emperor woke up confused and asked her: "What is the sound?"

An Lingrong knew what was happening and pretended not to know, but Su Peisheng was knocking on the door hastily outside.

Su Peisheng has always been a steady person. If it weren't for an extremely urgent matter, he would never have knocked on the door of the palace where the emperor was staying with the concubines with such a hasty and unmeasured gesture at the third watch of the night.

An Lingrong hurriedly put on her cloak and opened the palace door. Su Peisheng's feet went weak, and she almost crawled to the emperor, crying: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty... something big has happened..."

The emperor sat up alertly: "What's going on with the crying outside?"

Su Peisheng lay on the ground and howled: "It's my brother's fault... It's my brother's fault..."

The emperor stood up with some fear, paused for a moment, then subconsciously rushed to the window, suddenly opened the window and looked in the direction of his elder brother.

There was a cold wind blowing through the window, and the emperor shivered unconsciously.

An Lingrong hurriedly took the cloak and put it on him, and said with concern: "Your Majesty, take care, don't be cold."

The emperor shook his shoulders as if crying, his voice full of doubt and lack of confidence.

"Did... something happened to the third elder brother? Su Peisheng, it was the third elder brother, right?"