Long Harem Road

Chapter 81

The harem in autumn has become a paradise for chrysanthemums, and they are blooming heavily. The plump flowers, curly petals, clusters, bloom wantonly and brilliantly, the breeze blows, and the chrysanthemums dance with the wind, filling the air Bursts of fragrance.

'Christmas' is approaching, and the emperor's birthday is the year of his birth. It is rare for everyone in the harem to calm down and rack their brains to prepare gifts, just to be able to enter the holy eye and become a blockbuster.

The weather has always been calm, but the virtuous concubine who takes care of herself rarely shows great enthusiasm. Except for the concubine De who is still praying for blessings, all the concubines, including the empress, have received invitations from Yong'an Palace.

In the side hall of Roufu Palace, Yang Meiren was leaning on the bed, but within a few months, her plump and plump cheeks had lost weight, she was bony and bony, her belly appeared bigger, her face turned yellow and her expression was haggard.

She struggled to support her body, her hands stroked her belly lightly, her eyes were firm, she had been worrying about the child in her stomach for half a year, and finally at the last moment, she must not give up.

The personal maid, Xiaonuan, came in with a fresh and elegant invitation card exuding a faint fragrance. Seeing that the master had not yet rested, she bowed respectfully and said, "Master, the invitation card sent by the concubine Xian, all masters are invited to come tomorrow morning." Yong'an Palace participated in the poetry meeting."

A light flashed in Yang Meiren's downcast eyes, and a slight blush appeared on her pale face, "Concubine Xian's invitation is a once-in-a-century event, please reply, we will attend on time."

"Master, your current body...?", Xiaonuan showed worry, and there were so many people mixed up. The master is in a critical period. Normally, concubines can hide when visiting or inviting concubines. How could it be uncharacteristic today?
Yang Meiren's face softened a little, and there was a warm current in her heart. How could she not know that Xiao Nuan was worried about her body, but the matter was important, and she couldn't trust anyone wholeheartedly, so she comforted, "Don't worry, no one should be at the banquet." Brightness is harming me."

Xiao Nuan wanted to open her mouth to persuade the master to change her mind. In this harem, there were traps every step of the way, and various methods emerged one after another. She really didn't have the optimistic attitude of the master, but seeing the master closed his eyes and rested tiredly, she could only restrain her worries and retreat silently. down.

Compared with the calmness of Yang Meiren, Zhou Baolin who is separated by a wall is holding the invitation card in his hand tightly, gnashing his silver teeth, "Xian Concubine, De Concubine, why are you holding on to me, you must drive me to a dead end ?
During the flower viewing banquet, the two cooperated closely, which made her lose face and was banned for three months. If the queen mother didn't think her chess piece was still useful, she might have been forgotten long ago.

She withstood the ridicule of the concubines and pinched the empress dowager's thigh tightly, and finally got the chance to serve the bed. Although the emperor was obviously absent-minded and did things hastily, it was a great improvement for her. She thought everything had begun to improve.

However, the concubine De's reward made her fall into hell again, and she spat out a mouthful of blood in a rage. Today, Concubine Xian inserted another vat, humiliating her again and again.

Zhou Baolin's handsome face is almost distorted, his eyes are full of ruthlessness, Shihui, this is to completely cut off my back, do you have to be so relentless?

Not only Zhou Baolin, but the first concubine who received the invitation in the harem reacted gloatingly, thinking that this was another trap targeting Zhou Baolin.

Although they don't understand why the high-ranking Concubine De and Concubine Xian will kill a humble Baolin, it does not prevent them from watching the theater with great interest. Concubine Xian.

If Baozhu and Concubine Xian knew what they were thinking, they would definitely scoff at them. You all think highly of Zhou Baolin, I really didn't mean to torture her on purpose, it was just a coincidence, and I used this pawn to the extreme.

For a sinister person with an impure mind like Zhou Wan'er, Baozhu has no psychological pressure to use it. It's not your fault that you came from a humble background, but if your mind is twisted and you feel that the whole world owes you, it's terrible. Before it happened, it eliminated harm for the people.

In Kunning Palace, the queen accepted the invitation from Nanny Zhang, showing a trace of sarcasm, "Concubine Xian? I overestimated you, so I couldn't help but make a move? I thought you would stay dormant and watch from the sidelines. "

"Master, have Concubine Xian and Concubine De formed an alliance in secret?" Aunt Zhang was worthy of being the queen's right-hand man, and she said it well.

"Don't worry, they won't." The queen raised the corners of her mouth and smiled meaningfully. After more than ten years of husband and wife, she knew the emperor, and he would not allow a strong alliance in the harem to break the balance.

It's just that she never expected that the two of them would be so bold as to form an alliance under the emperor's nose. Does this count as doing the opposite?

"Master, what is the intention of Concubine De and Concubine Xian to humiliate Zhou Baolin with such great fanfare? This old slave always feels that it is not so simple." Zhang Nanny said in silence for a moment.

"Look at them, let's wait and see what happens, as long as the palace gives birth to a prince..." The queen stretched her hands over her lower abdomen, showing a hint of expectation. She couldn't miss the opportunity of 'Christmas', the emperor will definitely stay in Kunning Palace that night, She must grasp it, and there must be no mistakes.

"Send the single chrysanthemum that the Ministry of Internal Affairs just paid tribute to Yong'an Palace, and you go to apologize to the concubine Xian in person. I am busy with Christmas matters recently, so I will not participate. I wish my sisters a happy time."

"Yes, ma'am! The old slave will do it right away."

"How about Yang Meiren?" Thinking of the child, the queen naturally thought of Yang Meiren. She had hoped for Yang Meiren's child, but with the emergence of the secret formula for childbearing and the teaching of the Queen Mother, she had completely given up.

"Master, without your protection, she can't move a single step. Two days ago, she was invited by Wang Zhaoyuan to sit in Yongfu Palace for a long time, but she never dared to resist."

"The second prince's medicine is constantly on the line, Wang Zhaoyuan naturally doesn't want to see her give birth to a healthy prince, especially a concubine whose status is not as good as hers, this is the bad nature of women who are jealous and angry.

Besides, the second prince had a serious illness some time ago and almost couldn't recover, and she had nowhere to vent it. ", the queen smiled coldly, obviously not paying attention to the two of them.

In golden autumn and October, the air is crisp and the weather is sunny. The Yongan Palace has been redecorated. When you step into the Yongan Palace, you will be greeted by fresh greenery all over the courtyard, and the fragrance of flowers will make your heart and soul intoxicated.

Autumn is in full swing, but the yard is full of purples and reds, just like in the spring season. The yard is filled with all kinds of blooming chrysanthemums, which is dazzling.

As the host, the concubine Xian sat at the head, watching the concubines who were all dressed up to salute and take their seats, always with a faint smile, neither intimacy nor alienation.

If it is said that Yang Meiren, who appeared with a big belly and supported the maid, made all the concubines envious and jealous, then the appearance of Zhou Baolin in a light-colored dress would instantly absorb all the firepower, and all the concubines showed disdain, Without hiding the disdain in my heart, I whispered.

Zhou Wan'er's face turned pale again, she clenched her fists tightly, took a deep breath, Tingting curled up and knelt forward to salute, and made a full gesture, "Concubine, please see the virtuous concubine!".

Concubine Xian raised her eyes and glanced sideways at Zhou Baolin who was kneeling on the ground, with a trace of imperceptible disgust in her eyes, she raised her hand to stare at the delicately manicured red nails, and said casually, "Come on, how can today's poetry meeting be short of Zhou Baolin?" What about talented girls?"

The undisguised chuckle on the side continued continuously, even though Zhou Wan'er was ready to be humiliated again, she couldn't help shaking her body, her eyes were fierce, she bit her lower lip, "Thank you, ma'am." The maid staggered to her feet, lowered her eyes and sat back in her seat.

"First of all, I would like to thank all my younger sisters for coming to the poetry meeting. In golden autumn and October, the chrysanthemums are in full bloom. Let's use chrysanthemums as the theme today. I'm not very talented, so let's start by throwing bricks to attract jade." Concubine Xian took a sip of the tea in front of her and swept He glanced at the imperial concubine and Concubine Zhang Shu beside him and said.

"My younger sister is self-effacing. No one in this palace knows that my younger sister is a well-known talented woman in the capital. She belongs to Wen at the age of eight. How about leaving this opportunity to your elder sister?"

Concubine Wei is the highest-ranking concubine present, no matter whether the concubine Xian is trying to show everyone off or is just out of politeness, she is the only one who is suitable to answer the conversation here, and as Concubine Wei spoke, everyone hurriedly agreed.

Concubine Zhang Shu was born in the general family, and she prefers to dance with guns and clubs, and she is not very interested in such elegant things like reciting poems, so she came here today just to join in the fun, sipping tea and watching the theater with a smile on her face.

Gu Jieyu's voice was clear and bright, with a girlish cheerfulness, "Why don't Zhou Baolin come first, everyone knows that Zhou is a talented woman, one poem won the Sacred Heart, why don't you compose another poem on the spot."

All of them echoed for a while, everyone naturally knew the truth about Zhou Baolin's poems, and today they brought it up again in person, there is no lack of gloating to cater to the concubine Xian and Defei.

Concubine Xian was noncommittal, staring at the pale Zhou Baolin, with a sneer on her lips, and narrowed her eyes, Zhou Wan'er didn't find an excuse not to attend today, which shows how forbearing she is, if she didn't need to save her life...

Zhou Wan'er took a deep breath, put her long nails into the palm of her hand, stood up and saluted with a smile, "The younger sister is making a fool of yourself." However, they didn't know her move, everyone's eyes flashed with fear, and a terrible thought appeared in their hearts. Thoughts, she must never be given any chance to stand out.

"The rascal poem is in the faint of dawn, and the stones around the fence sink their voices. They write in the face of frost, with fragrance in the corners of their mouths, and chant to the moon. The paper is full of self-pity and plain grievances, and who can explain Qiu Xin in a few words. After Tao Ling Pingzhang , the ancient high winds talk about it to this day."

"Sister, can you tell me the source of this poem?" Liu Jieyu's face was expressionless and serious, but what she said was outrageous, insinuating that Zhou Baolin's poem might also be plagiarized.

Zhou Wan'er lowered her eyes and stood upright, hearing the low laughter around her, her heart seemed to be picked up by someone with a hammer, and the hammer was ruthlessly hit, once, twice..., from the pain to the gradual numbness, she silently Silent confrontation.

After all, Zhou Jieyu is also a daughter of the Zhou family. Although she doesn't look down on Zhou Wan'er, she can't let her be humiliated. Otherwise, her reputation of being both talented and beautiful will also be criticized by others, so she moved to smooth things over, "Concubine, let's go."

Everyone saw that Zhou Jieyu was still favored among the newcomers, so they stopped holding on to her. For a while, you came and went, reciting poems and fighting against each other, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

Zhou Wan'er's palms hidden under Xiang's feet were bloody and her eyes were cold. The maid Xiaoxiang who was standing behind her unconsciously took two steps back, her eyes were timid, and she touched the bruises on her arms. The master was humiliated outside, so she went back to the palace. Torturing her to vent, such a day....

Zhou Wan'er's boss is a little-known transparent talent who has long been forgotten in the harem. Her goal this time is to put on the table delicate and fragrant dim sum.

Yang Meiren, who was next to her, stretched her legs and leaned back on the chair with difficulty, covering her raised belly with both hands, touching the incense table in front of her.

At this moment, she only felt that her waist was going to be broken. Xiao Nuan had been paying attention to her master, and when she noticed that she was unwell, she quickly squatted down and gently softened her back, but it also attracted a few vicious glances.

The maids of Yong'an Palace shuttled back and forth, pouring tea and water for the masters, and arranging fruit snacks. From time to time, the concubines laughed like silver bells, and the atmosphere was extremely harmonious and harmonious.

"Ah..." There was a scream accompanied by the shattering sound of the teapot falling to the ground. Everyone looked at the source of the sound in astonishment. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

The big court lady beside her, Xiao Nuan, looked pained, but she still stubbornly opened her arms to protect her master. The broken teapot fell under her feet, and the chest of the light green palace dress was soaked and steaming, obviously it was a sudden attack Tea scalds.

"Ouch." Yang Meiren moaned softly and brought back everyone's thoughts. Concubine Xian quickly got up, acted vigorously, and quickly controlled the situation:
"First help Yang Meiren to serve in the side hall, and then invite the imperial doctor and empress empress to take care of this court lady who pours tea, and hand it over to the empress."

"Yes!" Immediately, the court ladies and eunuchs entered in an orderly manner, and Yang Meiren, who was pale and clutching her stomach with lingering fear, was lifted into the side hall, Xiao Nuan followed closely, and the other concubines stared anxiously at the side hall, but their hearts stopped. I can't help but gloat.

After the accident, Concubine Wei quickly glanced at Concubine Wei with a look of astonishment, showing a trace of anxiety, but in fact, Concubine Xian with a calm expression, a trace of doubt lingered in her heart. She always felt that Concubine Xian's poem today would not be easy. What does she want to do?

(End of this chapter)