New Return of the Pearl: The Group's Pet Swallow Flies

The next morning, after everyone had gathered their things, they boarded the carriage and continued on their way back to Beijing.

Because the weather was just right and the scenery along the way was quite nice, the group walked and stopped frequently and had a great time.

This journey lasted for half a month.

We experienced a lot of things along the way, such as helping others and doing good deeds. Although everyone was a little tired, they all felt that this trip was worth remembering.

That day, the wind was clear and the sky was bright, so everyone stayed in a wealthy businessman's house to rest.

An urgent letter from the capital interrupted this warm moment.

Hongli looked at the letter in his hand with a frown.

Xia Yuhe stood beside him. Seeing him like this, she felt inexplicably uneasy and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Hongli put away the letter without showing it to her. He just said, "The old Buddha is ill. We must go back quickly without delaying any longer."

He didn't want Yuhe to see the letter, because it said that it was because of Yuhe that the old lady became sick, and he didn't want Yuhe to have any psychological burden.

Xia Yuhe felt that the emperor's attitude was a bit resistant, and she was afraid that there was something bad written in the letter, but since the emperor didn't want her to read it, she didn't want to be curious and avoid making herself unhappy.

"Okay, then I'll give the order and we'll set off as soon as possible."

"it is good."

After obtaining the emperor's consent, Xia Yuhe went down and told everyone to pack their bags and set off as soon as possible. She also told the children not to go out to play, lest they be left behind.

Hongli sat back in his chair and unfolded the letter, which was written by Concubine Ling.

"Your Majesty, I am glad to see you in person. I don't know who you are going to see, but there have been many things going on in the palace recently, and I am really worried.

I saw the message you sent back not long ago, and learned that you were going to bring back the woman with whom you had a brief affair, and named her He Fei, and there was also a lost Princess Mingzhu.

The Empress Dowager was furious and had a terrible tantrum. Later, she heard that you adopted a daughter and named her Princess Huanzhu, and she was so angry that she fell ill.

Please forgive me for sending this letter rashly. I just want you to come back as soon as possible to take charge of the situation.

Your Majesty, please come back soon, come back soon, come back soon.

Qinglan. "

Concubine Ling's real name was Wei Qinglan. Hongli knew that this was a letter Concubine Ling sent to him in advance, also to inform him in advance that the reason why the Empress Dowager was ill was because he had a fleeting affair a few years ago and now brought the person back to the palace, and even gave birth to an illegitimate daughter and an adopted daughter, making the Empress Dowager feel that the royal identity was easily confused.

Hongli sighed and thought about how to tell the Empress Dowager after returning to the palace.

Seeing that everyone had packed up, we prepared to set off after lunch.

Everyone responded in unison.

-------

The Cining Palace far away in the imperial palace.

In the dignified and majestic palace, a woman in white nightgown was lying on the bed. The woman's face was a little haggard, but it was not difficult to tell that she was also a stunning beauty when she was young.

Perhaps because she takes very good care of herself, there is not a single wrinkle on her face even though she is in her fifties. Her beautiful figure can be seen even under her white pajamas.

There were some palace maids standing around serving her, and they looked at the Old Buddha on the bed with worry from time to time, fearing that the Old Buddha would get angry and have problems, and they would not be able to escape the responsibility.

It turns out that this person is the most noble woman in the Qing Dynasty, the emperor's mother, Empress Dowager Cixi.

The old lady was lying on the bed, her delicate face was pale as a beard, and she was obviously very angry.

She got angry when she thought about the emperor having an affair outside and bringing back a girl from an ordinary family to be his concubine, and making her equal to Concubine Ling and Concubine Yu.

Then I thought about the fact that he had an illegitimate daughter outside. It would be fine if she was made a princess, after all, she was your royal child. But, you actually adopted an adopted daughter? Do you still care about the royal family's reputation?

When she thought of this, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but want to beat the emperor up.

But he is not in the palace now, so he can't find the culprit even if he wants to vent his anger.

"Master Buddha, please take care of yourself. Anger is harmful to your health. You should take care of yourself."

As the nanny closest to the old Buddha, Nanny Gui felt very distressed to see that the old Buddha was so angry that he damaged his health and now he is in such poor health. She just hoped that the old Buddha could take care of himself.

When the old lady heard what Aunt Gui said, she couldn't help but sigh and let her support her while she leaned against the bed.

Leaning on the soft bedding, the Empress Dowager dismissed the other palace maids and only left Nanny Gui, the caring person, to talk about her true feelings.

"Speaking of which, I was angry only because Hongli didn't listen to me and was messing around outside. If you liked a girl, you could have just brought her home, but you made her give birth out of wedlock and wait for three years.

In this world, it is so difficult for women. A woman's unruly behavior can crush a person to death. A woman has to bear a stigma for three years. Do you think Hongli's behavior is right?

Although, we can't blame Hongli entirely. After all, the fact that they could have a relationship couldn't be entirely Hongli's fault. The girl must have been willing. But generally speaking, it was the woman who suffered. I would definitely blame and scold my son.

If he is not made to remember this time, he will continue to be like this in the future, and who knows how many women he will harm by then.

Although I have long known that the emperor is amorous, I never expected him to be so amorous and unreliable. He slept with her and promised to send someone to bring her back to the palace after she returned to Beijing, but in the end he forgot about it. It is really easy to criticize him.

It would be fine if they brought the person back now, and also named her Concubine He. It would be fine if they named the illegitimate daughter Princess Mingzhu, but they also adopted an adopted daughter and named her Princess Huanzhu. What would the concubines and princesses in the palace think?

Most of the concubines in the palace have clean family backgrounds and their fathers are officials in the court. They have been in the palace for several years, but some of them are only concubines, and some are even just consorts. Is this fair to them?

And the princesses in the palace, who is not a real princess? But some princesses have not even had titles, while the two outside the palace have titles. Is this fair to them?

Tell me, how can we avoid being criticized by officials for these practices? "