Autumn is getting stronger, and the stove has been turned up in Cining Palace. There is no feeling of coldness at all, but instead, it feels warm and cozy.
However, even with the heat of the fire, Queen Mother Sun couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat at this moment.
From very early on, perhaps after the Battle of Tumu, when she first summoned Zhu Qiyu, who was then King of Tan, in Bunren Hall, she had always had a strange feeling in her heart.
Everyone in the outer court said that he was kind, generous, sage and decisive, but only the Empress Dowager Sun could see that this bastard, who had always been ignored by her, had an inexplicable indifference and decisiveness in his heart.
In fact, every time he mentioned the Supreme Emperor, he would subconsciously show a trace of contempt and disgust.
This is not normal!
Although they had seen too much internal fighting in the palace and heard too much about brothers fighting against each other, at least before the Supreme Emperor's Northern Expedition, the relationship between the two brothers was excellent.
However, starting from that day at the Bunren Hall, she was surprised to find that King Tan's eyes actually looked down on Zhu Qizhen with a condescending attitude.
This made Empress Dowager Sun very puzzled.
In terms of identity, feelings, and status, he and Zhu Qiyu are both inferior and recipients of favors.
In the civil engineering battle, Zhu Qizhen made a big mistake.
However, there is always a king and father in the world.
As the emperor, even if he made a mistake, it would not be his turn as a royal prince to look down and look down upon him with contempt.
However, even though she couldn't understand it, the look in his eyes at that time made Empress Dowager Sun feel like she was carrying a light on her back countless times.
Although Empress Dowager Sun's feeling lasted only a few days after the civil war, it disappeared without a trace.
But it was this feeling that made her understand from the bottom of her heart that King Tan could no longer coexist peacefully with the Supreme Emperor.
She had no doubt that, if given the chance, this new emperor, who was "generous, kind, filial, respectful and righteous", would kill her brother without hesitation and would not show the slightest mercy.
Therefore, she will try her best to win over more forces to prevent accidents that may happen in the future.
The peace talks with Wala were successful and the Emperor's return was approaching. This was indeed great news, but it was also putting pressure on Queen Mother Sun invisibly.
She didn't have any more time, so she had to try her best to ensure the safety of her unsatisfied son after he returned to the capital.
When people are in a hurry, they will unconsciously ignore many things.
As Jiao Jing said, palace guards and guards are different.
Empress Dowager Sun has been in the palace for many years and has seen many strange things.
Vegetables are poisonous, medicines are incompatible with each other, winter nights are windy and cold...all these are harmful, but effective.
And once something goes wrong, it's difficult to find out the truth, so the other party won't have any scruples.
But at the same time, because these things are not on the table, they can be avoided most of the time.
She has been in the palace for so many years and has raised so many confidants. She has a lot of experience in how to test food for poison, how to check clothes, how to identify various acute and chronic drugs, and how to prevent various accidents.
Therefore, for this secret method, you only need to find some experienced palace people and be careful at all times. The key is to have someone close to you.
The people you serve are very important to the Emperor.
Once such a close person has a different intention, "accidents" can occur without anyone noticing and no one can detect them.
Therefore, these people must make arrangements themselves so that they can rest assured.
The same principle applies to guarding.
However, unlike the personal servants of the palace, if the guards want to do something, they have very few means at their disposal.
After all, the guards who guard the palace are all outside the palace, and they have no access to food, clothing and the like.
So if they want to do anything, they can only use violent means such as breaking into the palace, assassinating, stabbing, forcibly feeding people with poison, pushing people into the water, etc.
But the problem is that once this method is used, it cannot be suppressed at all.
Injecting poison or medicine, etc., as long as they are not caught on the spot, and under deliberate cover-up, the investigation will be nothing more than nothing in the end.
However, once this kind of violent method is used, there is no escape.
There are so many palace guards in the entire palace, and if they shout even a little, it will be a major event that shakes up the government and the public.
Regarding this kind of matter, the whole court must strictly investigate it, and even the Supreme Emperor cannot suppress it.
Therefore, in this matter of Yulin Defender, the only way to be undefeated is to not fight!
The guard was arranged by Zhu Qiyu, and the leader was chosen by him, so if something happened, he would not be able to escape suspicion.
Otherwise, how could the imperial guards in the palace be so lax that an assassination attempt would occur?
However, if this commander is chosen by the Empress Dowager Sun.
So of course, the courtiers would feel that this person must be one of the Supreme Emperor's "ones" and they would do their best to protect him.
In this case, if something goes wrong, there is a high probability that it will be attributed to an accident. Unless there is conclusive evidence, no one can say anything.
Therefore, Jiao Jing was right when he said that the emperor himself should find the Yulin defender, which is the real protection of the emperor.
After finally sorting out the joints, Empress Dowager Sun once again felt powerless.
She can still handle the methods in the palace.
However, when it comes to court affairs, military matters, and military affairs, she knows too little. If she is not careful, she will be led into a trap.
Rubbing her forehead, Empress Dowager Sun said: "In this matter, the Ai family is indeed reckless. You are a mature person. Without your warning, the Ai family would have almost made a big mistake."
Jiao Jing lowered his head, but his face was still respectful: "This is a matter within the scope of my duties. I don't dare to approve it as the Holy Mother."
The Nuan Pavilion fell silent again, and she plucked the beads in her hand. Empress Dowager Sun frowned, wondering what she was thinking.
After a moment, she spoke again: "What you said makes sense, but after all, the Yulin Guards must have their own people to protect the safety of the Supreme Emperor."
Not taking it all, and giving it all away are two different concepts.
Jiao Jing naturally understood this, nodded and said.
"Don't worry, Holy Mother. The Yulin Guards have a strength of 5,000 people. Most of them are drawn from the Beijing Camp and the Beijing Guards. With the British government here, it will not be difficult to arrange for some of our people to go in."
These words finally made Empress Dowager Sun feel better, but when it came to the British government, she felt very complicated.
This deep-rooted government had helped her in the past, but it had also taken advantage of the situation to become arrogant, which made her quite dissatisfied.
With a sigh, Empress Dowager Sun asked: "How is the funeral going at Zhang Fu's side?"
Of course Jiao Jing understood that Empress Dowager Sun was asking about Zhang Fu on the surface, but in fact she was asking about the current situation of the British government.
"Don't worry, Holy Mother, the funeral arrangements have been taken care of. The British government has been very peaceful recently."
After pondering for a moment, Jiao Jing opened his mouth and answered.
"Before the execution at the execution ground, Zhang Fu went to visit Zhang Fu. I think the two brothers must have talked about something."
"Zhang Fu is a smart man. He must have told Zhang Fu something. After coming back from prison, Zhang Fu's arrogance has become much less arrogant, and he is no longer so stubborn about many things. If there is anything that needs to be discussed,
He also often took the initiative to visit the government and discuss with ministers and princes."
This is also good news, Queen Mother Sun nodded and said.
"That's good. After all, the British government has a wide network of contacts and a lot of power. Therefore, if you need to appease those who need to be appeased, you should appease them on behalf of the Ai family."
After a brief pause, Queen Mother Sun seemed hesitant, but finally said.
"In addition, although the position of commander is too eye-catching, I still have to fight for one or two of my fellow commanders and commanders if possible."
"In all matters in the court, a woman from the harem of the Ai family is always unable to do what she wants. When the Supreme Emperor comes back in the future, you will need someone to make it easier for you to greet the Supreme Emperor privately."
These words seemed to have a deeper meaning, which made Jiao Jing stunned for a moment.
But immediately, he nodded and said: "Don't worry, Holy Mother, I will try my best."
After Jiao Jing finished speaking, he excused himself and left.
Empress Dowager Sun sat alone in the Nuan Pavilion for a long time, then she put on her sky-blue cloak, walked out of the palace door, faced the wind, and turned her gaze to the north in the distance.
The dead leaves are flying under the porch, there are thousands of melancholy in the wind, and all the words in my heart are lost in the bleak autumn mood...
This chapter has been completed!