A pagoda near the water?

As soon as I heard these four words, the most tranquil place in the entire imperial city came to my mind. It was surrounded by water and was as quiet as if it were outside the world. Only the ripples caused by the breeze were like that.

The only agility in the scroll.

As soon as I heard that I was going to kowtow to the Queen Mother, I hurriedly stood up with the Queen. Seeing the other concubines standing up, Chang Qing waved her hand and said, "You don't have to go together. The Queen Mother likes to be quiet.

, it’s not good if there are too many people there.”

"Yes."

The concubines still sent me and the queen out, but when we arrived at the door, we saw Pei Yuanhao walking towards us.

Everyone was overjoyed and hurriedly knelt down and shouted in unison: "Meet the Emperor!"

"Get up." Pei Yuanhao came over, looked at me, and then said to the Queen: "Is it over?"

"When I return to the emperor, Yue Cairen has been officially granted the title, and I am now taking her to Linshui Pagoda to kowtow to our ancestors."

Pei Yuanhao nodded and said: "It just so happens that I have been too busy these days and did not go to greet the Queen Mother, so I went with her."

My heart moved. I raised my eyes to look at him and then around. I saw that Lu Shuyi and the others didn't look very good. Even Shen Rou's face darkened. However, no one said anything this time.

.

I felt a little uneasy in my heart.

But before I had time to think about the reason for this uneasiness, I heard Chang Qing say with a smile: "That's fine. I will send you to the Emperor respectfully."

Seeing them all bowing and saluting, I could only follow Pei Yuanhao and walk outside.

Along the way, only Eunuch Yu and Shuixiu followed from a distance. Pei Yuanhao walked slowly in front with his hands behind his back. I followed him only one or two steps away. I didn't know what to say for a moment.

What? He spoke first: "Why, you're not used to it yet?"

"..." I'm really not used to the complicated dresses and complicated etiquette. It would be wrong not to do it, and it would be wrong to do it.

After remaining silent, he stopped and looked at me. After all, he could no longer remain silent. I said softly, "No, no."

"You'll get used to it."

"Yes."

There were no more words along the way. He took me all the way to the Linshui Pagoda. Just like last time, it was still as quiet and picturesque as ever. Walking through the winding corridors on the water, it was like walking into a painting, and the tip of your nose smelled

There is a faint scent of sandalwood.

He walked all the way to the door, leaned down and said, "Greetings to the Queen Mother."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door of the pagoda opened, and at a glance I saw the empress dowager in gray robe slowly walking out of it, with a string of rosary beads hanging in her hand.

When I saw her again after a year, she had almost no change, her eyes were still indifferent, but she was a little surprised when she saw me. Pei Yuanhao said: "Mother, she is a new talent, Yue Qingying, who was just canonized today, especially

Come and pay your respects to the Queen Mother."

I hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I pay my respects to the Queen Mother. May the Queen Mother be blessed and safe."

"Yuecairen?"

The Empress Dowager held on to the door frame and took a step outside. She looked down at me for a long time and said to Pei Yuanhao: "Other concubines are brought by the Empress to kowtow. Why did the Emperor come in person this time?"

"Qing Ying is already two months pregnant, and my son hasn't come to pay his respects to the Queen Mother for several days, so I came together today."

"I was just canonized today, how come I'm two months pregnant?"

As soon as these words came out, Pei Yuanhao and I were a little embarrassed. He coughed and said, "Yes - my son is confused."

The Queen Mother looked at me, then at him, and said, "Get up."

"Thank you, Queen Mother."

I bowed again and then slowly stood up. When I stood up, my knees were a little numb and I almost fell. Pei Yuanhao hurriedly stretched out his hand to support me. I also blushed a little and took a step back to leave room for them.

Mother and son talking.

The Queen Mother had been looking at us coldly, and then she said: "Your Majesty, the Ai family mentioned to you a while ago the matter of tonsure——"

Before she finished speaking, Pei Yuanhao's expression darkened: "Queen Mother, my son can agree to anything, but not this matter."

"Why?"

"Not long after my son ascended the throne, the Emperor fell seriously ill and the Queen Mother ordained her. How should the world view my son?"

The Queen Mother said calmly: "Hasn't the emperor not cared about what others think of you since you were a child?"

"Even if you don't care, there is another reason."

"What's the reason?"

Pei Yuanhao lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "Although the Emperor is seriously ill, he is still recuperating in the Imperial City; although the Queen Mother is closed in the pagoda, her son can still come to pay her respects. The Imperial City is still a home. The Queen Mother Ruoyi

If you leave, the Imperial City will no longer be a home."

I suddenly raised my head and looked at his back.

I have known him and followed him for more than a year, but I never thought that I would say that word from his mouth——

Home.

In his heart, there is still a word called family. No matter how big the imperial city is, it is still a family.

Not only was I surprised, the Queen Mother seemed to be stunned for a moment, but she immediately calmed down and said with a faint smile: "I have no wife, no son, we will never meet each other on the road to hell."

Pei Yuanhao's face suddenly changed.

While mother and son were silently confronting each other, I took a step forward gently and said, "Queen Mother, since everything is empty, why do you need to be tonsured? When you are a monk, why should you stick to a formality? When you are in Ronghua Township, you can see it in your heart.

Lingshan, this is the great purity of Prajna Bodhi."

When the Queen Mother heard what I said, she was immediately speechless, as if she couldn't believe that I would say such a thing. Even Pei Yuanhao frowned.

The Queen Mother thought for a while and said: "You said everything is empty, who is that to me?"

I smiled slightly: "I don't know."

The Queen Mother fell silent.

I was a little uneasy for a moment. Interrupting between the emperor and the empress dowager like this would be punishable by reasoning. After a while, she spoke again: "Have you read the book?"

"I once guarded the Neizang Pavilion."

"Oh?"

She looked at me a few more times, then turned to look at Pei Yuanhao, her calm face slightly rippled, and nodded: "No wonder, it was the emperor who brought me here."
p>

When Pei Yuanhao heard this, he knelt down and said, "My son, I would like to thank the Queen Mother for my support."

I also knelt down.

It is indeed a big event for the Queen Mother to become a monk, especially when rumors that are not conducive to her prevail. If the Queen Mother becomes a monk, even if his crime is proven, the Queen Mother is willing to stay, which finally fulfills his "filial piety"

Words.

The Queen Mother gently shook her head and said nothing more. She just glanced at me and said, "When you have time, come over and give lectures to the Ai family."

I hurriedly said: "Yes."

After saying that, she turned around and walked back to Linshui Pagoda, and the heavy door closed in front of us again.

He and I just stood up, and he turned around and walked outside, and I followed him. But this time, he remained silent and had no expression on his face. I remembered that I had interrupted without authorization just now, and I also

I don’t know what he was thinking, and he didn’t dare to speak for a while.

The two of them walked all the way in silence.

After a while, I saw that we were approaching Fangcaotang. I thought he had nothing to say to me anymore. I sighed softly in my heart and heard him say: "From now on, read less Buddhist scriptures."

"Huh?"

I was stunned for a moment and looked up at him in confusion.

He also stopped and looked back at me with no expression on his face. He just said lightly: "Both of us are people of few words. If you read Buddhist scriptures again, the child will probably be born mute.

”

"..."

It took me a while to realize, was this a joke?

Seeing that although he still had a straight face, there were ripples of smile flashing in his eyes, I suddenly blushed and murmured in a low voice: "I - I don't have that."

After saying that, he turned around and walked away.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I turned around, he walked up to me in two steps, looked down at me, reached out and pinched my chin lightly with his nails. I frowned, looked up at him, and saw his

With a half-smile in his eyes, he said, "This seems to be the first time you've talked back to me."

"..." I looked at him.

"I never like others talking back, but -" He smiled: "You can make an exception."

As he spoke, he leaned over to my ear and said: "But as a price, I want you to make orange cheese for me again tonight. Last time, it was all thrown into the imperial study room."
To be continued...