Chapter 1270 Epilogue: The Battle of the East Palace (12)
As soon as these words came out, the smell of gunpowder in the courtyard suddenly became stronger.
Queen Mother Sun was surprised at first, and looked at Zhu Jianshen in disbelief. Seeing that the latter lowered his head slightly and refused to look at her, a strong disappointment flashed in Queen Mother Sun's eyes, and her body shook a little, which frightened the chambermaid next to her.
He quickly went up to help him.
However, Queen Mother Sun pushed them away directly. She stood up straight by holding on to the armrests of the chair. She took several deep breaths and finally calmed down, looking at Wynn.
"The emperor thought he didn't know the inside story, so he was deceived for a while. Since the Ai family arrived in person, they have already verified the matter. Is it possible that the Ai family came in person, but they couldn't even deal with a maidservant?"
Faced with the question from Empress Dowager Sun, Wynn remained calm and held his hands.
"Holy Mother, please forgive me. This servant is also acting under orders. I will do whatever Your Majesty orders. If Holy Mother really feels that Wan Zhen'er is guilty and wants to deal with her, please go and discuss with Your Majesty. When His Majesty has a new decree,
This servant must obey."
"You are so brave!"
Huai'en's words, soft and hard at the same time, suddenly aroused the anger that Queen Mother Sun had just suppressed. Her eyes scanned the silent Zhu Jianshen and the calm Huai'en, and she sneered and said
.
"What if the Ai family insists on killing this cheap servant with a stick today? Wynn, do you dare to stop the Ai family?"
As soon as these words came out, Wynn couldn't help but talk. This scene... seemed familiar. Thinking of the same situation he faced in the past, he couldn't help but say something silently in his heart.
As expected, the mother and son both couldn't understand the situation...
Shaking his head slightly, Wynn straightened up, but instead of answering Queen Mother Sun's words, he shouted directly.
"Where are the guards of the East Palace?"
After the words fell, the Imperial Guards present hesitated. However, at this moment, Zhu Jianshen's face darkened at the same time and he said.
"Where are the guards in the East Palace? Didn't you hear what you said?"
As a result, the Imperial Guards in the courtyard all stepped forward and knelt on the ground. Seeing this situation, Wynn turned to Queen Mother Sun again and spoke.
"Your Majesty said that you want to protect Wan Zhen'er's life, so whoever dares to lay a finger on her today will be regarded as violating the holy order!"
This was said in a very high voice, obviously meant for those who followed Queen Mother Sun.
"The Holy Mother has a noble status, so our family naturally does not dare to offend. However, since His Majesty has an edict, our family has to obey it. Therefore, if anyone other than the Holy Mother dares to take action, we will not blame our family for being unkind!
"
Ah this...
As a result, all the servants present looked at each other in shock and began to shrink back.
Seeing this situation, Queen Mother Sun was shaking with anger and looked at Huai En and Zhu Jianshen angrily. However, at this moment, Zhu Jianshen did not dare to look at her anymore, but turned around and gave instructions.
"Why don't you hurry up and carry Chief Wan in..."
With his words, several maids from the East Palace timidly stepped forward, carefully lifted Wan Zhen'er up and carried her into the inner room.
Queen Mother Sun stood there, just watching Wan Zhen'er leave, her face already extremely ugly. After Wan Zhen'er's figure disappeared into the palace, she slowly sat down with difficulty on the chair, remained silent for a moment, and raised her head.
Looking at Zhu Jian, he said deeply.
"Prince, do you know what what you did today really means?"
Zhu Jianshen lowered his head, knelt down silently on the ground, solemnly bowed three times and kowtowed nine times, and then spoke.
"My grandson is unfilial, please forgive me... my grandma!"
Empress Dowager Sun looked sad and looked at Zhu Jianshen intently. It seemed that at this moment, all her anger had disappeared. After a long time, she let out a long sigh and said.
"Since the prince has made his choice, that's good."
As she spoke, Queen Mother Sun stared at Zhu Jianshen, with an inexplicable trace of kindness on her face, and said.
"You have grown up and have your own ideas. The Yi family is old and tired. In this case, the Yi family will no longer care about the affairs of the East Palace."
This was obviously said in a kind tone, but it made Zhu Jianshen shudder and couldn't help but speak.
"Royal Grandmother..."
However, this time, Queen Mother Sun did not listen to what he continued to say. She just stood up with the help of two chamberlains, waved her hands gently and said.
"The Ai family is tired and will go back to the palace now. The prince is busy with work. From today on, there is no need to come to Cining Palace to pay his respects..."
As soon as the words fell, Zhu Jianshen's body suddenly froze in place, and two lines of tears fell from his eyes at some point.
However, Empress Dowager Sun ignored him and just waved her hand gently, then slowly walked out of the East Palace with the support of the chamberlain.
As the waiter outside shouted, "The Queen Mother is here," Zhu Jianshen watched as the figure of the Queen Mother gradually disappeared, and finally collapsed to the ground helplessly.
This scene naturally caused panic among the waiters present. However, fortunately, Zhu Jianshen did not faint this time like before. After being helped up reluctantly, it only took a moment for him to cheer himself up again and turn around.
Said to Wynn.
"Thank you, Eunuch Huai, for your help."
"Your Highness, you have broken this servant. I dare not not do my best when serving the Emperor."
Wynn cupped his hands and replied politely.
However, these words blocked Zhu Jianshen's mouth again.
You know, in the face of the prince Zhu Jianshen's gratitude, if it was just polite, there was no need for Wynn to emphasize that he was doing things for the emperor.
The reason why he said this was actually to emphasize that he was ordered by the emperor to protect Wan Zhen'er, so there would be no ambiguity in sending Wan Zhen'er out of the palace.
Zhu Jianshen could naturally understand the meaning of the words, his expression became slightly gloomy, and after a moment of silence, he could only say.
"I know that Eunuch Huai has been ordered to come here. However, Eunuch Huai has also seen what happened just now. Zhen'er was tortured with a stick and is still in a coma. It may be inconvenient to leave the palace like this. Can I wait until the imperial doctor has diagnosed and treated me before I send someone else?"
Together with my father-in-law, we sent her out of the palace to rest."
Although she had expected it in her heart, after hearing this, Wan Zhen'er couldn't help but shed tears and lowered her head silently.
This look made Zhu Jianshen feel a pain in his heart. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Wan Zhen'er reaching out to wipe her tears, trying hard to squeeze out a smile and said.
"I understand, Your Highness, don't worry. I understand your difficulties, but...it's just that from now on, I won't be with you, so you have to take good care of yourself...By the way, in a few days, it will be offered by Hai Crab.
At this time of year, you like to eat crabs the most, but they are cold and cold, so don’t eat too much... Also, although the weather is getting warmer now, the spring is cold and you come back from the banquet every day. You always cannot bear to wear too thick clothes and take off your clothes.
When you go out, you must remember to ask the people below to close the doors and windows first, otherwise it will be easy to get cold..."
Wan Zhen'er gave instructions word by word. As she spoke, although she tried to suppress it and appear happier, her eyes still couldn't help but start to sparkle again.
At the same time, Zhu Jian deeply felt the concern in her words and couldn't help but clenched his fists tightly.
"...By the way, sweet cake, you like to eat sweet cake, but if you eat too much of it, you will produce phlegm. When I made it before, I always added poria into it. Remember to tell them later, don't forget this...
"
"Zhen'er!"
Seeing Wan Zhen'er holding back her reluctance, Zhu Jianshen's fist suddenly slowly relaxed and he held Wan Zhen'er's hand again, with a gentle smile on his face and said.
"Don't worry, letting you leave the palace is just a temporary measure. I will ask Liang Fang to accompany you later. After you leave the palace, we will first find a place to live."
"After some time, Gu will definitely take you back!"
Zhu Jianshen said this very firmly, but under this situation, his words were really unconvincing.
However, despite this, Wan Zhen'er still squeezed out a smile and said.
"I believe in Your Highness..."
So, Zhu Jian took a deep breath, turned around and said.
"Liang Fang!"
"My slave is here..."
"You take two of the personal maids from the East Palace and accompany Chief Wan out of the palace. After you leave, find a house for Chief Wan to stay. You must take good care of him, do you understand?"
As soon as these words came out, Liang Fang sighed in his heart. He knew that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince still had feelings for Wan Zhen'er. However, because of this, he realized more clearly that even if Wan Zhen'er left the palace, she would not be his.
He could offend anyone, so he hurriedly said.
"Your Highness, when the Chief Minister Wan goes out of the palace, he needs someone to take care of him. It may not be enough to just bring two personal maids out. If he wants to find servants for a while, he is afraid that his origins will not be clear."
"My servant is not talented, but there is a courtyard outside the palace. Although it is not big, the place is quite quiet, and the people who serve in it are all people of good fortune. If the servant chief Wan does not dislike it, he will first go to the courtyard outside the servant's house.
If you stay here, you can avoid a lot of trouble."
These words obviously suited Zhu Jianshen's wishes. He glanced at Wan Zhen'er and saw that the latter had no objection, so he nodded and said.
"That's very good. Nagu will entrust Captain Wan to you. You must take good care of her. Do you understand?"
In just a short moment, this was Zhu Jianshen's second instruction. Liang Fang naturally did not dare to neglect and knelt down to kowtow.
"Your Highness, don't worry. I will do my best and live up to Your Highness's trust."
So, Zhu Jianshen felt relieved and turned around to look at Wan Zhen'er again. He took a deep breath and said.
"It's getting late, go and ask Eunuch Huai'en to come over..."
As Liang Fang retreated, not long after, Hua En walked in under his leadership. At the same time, Wan Zhen'er was dressed neatly and was helped to stand up by the two maids.
Huaien was not verbose, he bowed his hands to Zhu Jianshen, and then together with Liang Fang, took Wan Zhen'er out.
Seeing Wan Zhen'er's figure disappear at the palace gate, Zhu Jianshen sat where he was and did not stand up to see her off.
The sun gradually set in the west, and he just sat there, motionless.
The palace servants next to him knew that the situation was serious, but they didn't dare to disturb him. So, time passed by like this, until dusk fell, it was already past dinner time, and the chamberlain who was waiting on the side couldn't stand it anymore, so he took the courage to do so.
He stepped forward and asked.
"Your Highness, it's time to eat..."
After the voice fell, Zhu Jianshen, who had been sitting there all afternoon, finally had some reaction. He tilted his head, his eyes slowly gathered, and he opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.
However, before he could speak, he felt a warmth in his throat, and with a cough, a trace of bright red oozed from his mouth. Immediately, amidst the panic of the servants in the palace, Zhu Jianshen's body swayed and he fainted on the spot.