After Wen Jiaojiao came out of Concubine Xian and De, she went to the study. At this time, Zhao Yan was probably still studying with the Taifu, so she went to see him.
Along the way, Wen Jiaojiao was a little absent-minded. Yuzhu and Fengxin followed her silently. Knowing that she was not in a good mood, they did not step forward to bother her.
Wen Jiaojiao stepped deeply and lightly into the snow. Although it didn't snow today, the snow on the ground was still very thick. Wen Jiaojiao walked slowly. Thinking about what Concubine Xian and Concubine De said just now, she felt a little bit in her heart.
sad.
At the beginning of the current emperor's accession to the throne, Beiyuan initially decided to fight back the foreign countries and enemy countries that were harassing the border. In that year, many soldiers needed to be rewarded, and many people who could stabilize the court were needed.
Before the emperor succeeded to the throne, there were not only wars in the border areas, but also civil strife in Beiyuan. In order to stabilize Beiyuan, the emperor selected some women of the right age from some aristocratic families and heroes who were helpful to Beiyuan to enter the palace.
Concubine Xian and Concubine De were selected from aristocratic families and meritorious officials. Concubine Xian’s father and brother were not high-status soldiers. Her father was just a minor lieutenant, and her brothers were only centurions, lieutenants, and other ranks.
The tallest one is just a forward school rider.
But her family is almost full of loyalists, and there are only one young brother, elderly grandmother, and sister Aniang and other female relatives left in the family.
Only by entering the palace could she make the lives of Aniang and the others easier, but not long after entering the palace, her grandmother and Aniang could not bear the grief of losing their son and husband and passed away one after another.
When her mother-in-law passed away, she was just three months pregnant, and the fetus was unstable. The emperor and the empress hid it from her and did not tell her about the family affairs. They wanted to take it easy first, but Concubine Shu ran to her.
I told her in front of me.
It was said that she was alone now, her siblings were young, and she could not support the Li family due to her status. The emperor pitied her father and brother for sacrificing their lives for the country, and he loved her more in the early years. He was always feared by Concubine Shu. Concubine Shu
He was afraid that she would be able to rely on him if she gave birth to a prince, so he kept sarcastic and making little moves towards her.
However, Concubine Shu's father and brother had high positions in the family and had made great contributions in regaining the lost territory at the border. Concubine Shu was also from a wealthy family. In order to stabilize the government, the emperor could only turn a blind eye to her.
Until Concubine Xian heard the bad news about her miscarriage, the Queen no longer wanted to let Concubine Shu run wild.
The previous miscarriage of Concubine De was closely related to Concubine Shu. Just now, she caused trouble again.
Concubine Shu comes from a rich family and has never been afraid of the queen. Moreover, her father and brother have already promoted her status in the court. She will be a noble concubine in a short time, and she is even more complacent in the palace. Even
The queen didn't even take it seriously.
But Concubine Shu did not expect that the Queen directly asked someone to drag her out of her palace, dragged her all the way to the outside of Fengyi Palace, and trapped her on a stool in front of all the concubines.
The thick and heavy board hit her mercilessly.
At that time, the two concubines, who were just noblemen and beauties, were sitting in front of the queen's palace. The queen asked them to watch carefully how this arrogant and unsympathetic woman in the harem was punished.
"Your father and brother also returned from the battlefield. How can you use this matter to gain favor from others? They have indeed made meritorious deeds, but what does that have to do with you? You are only protected by their kindness and are able to achieve your position.
To Concubine Shu."
Concubine Shu screamed: "Xiao Qingyu, you dare to torture me! My father and brother have made great contributions to Beiyuan, and the emperor will definitely make the decision for me!"
Xiao Qingyu was not moved by Concubine Shu's words at all: "How many concubines here have fathers and brothers who have never fought in battle? Their fathers and brothers bled and died for Beiyuan, leaving their wives and children at home grieving, but you are cold-hearted and have no idea
You are such a sweetheart! You just don’t comfort me, and you still use this matter to ridicule and expose others’ scars. You only know how to fight for favor. Do you think I really don’t dare to touch you?”
The queen watched coldly as Concubine Shu was beaten and screamed loudly. She reached out and gently patted Li Guiren, who had just had a miscarriage and looked pale, and said, "Xiaoxiao, watch carefully."
Concubine Shu was raised in a deep house on weekdays. She had never even set foot in the capital, let alone the battlefield. She was a delicate young lady who had no fingers in the spring water. After a few steps, she lost her voice.
But the queen still didn't stop. Concubine Shu had harmed several concubines before. She had tolerated it for a while, but now she couldn't bear it anymore.
All five of Li Xiaoxiao's father and brother died in the battle. Now her mother-in-law and grandmother have also died, leaving only her two younger siblings. She also has a miscarriage, how can she survive?
The queen only felt that Concubine Shu was extremely hateful, so she showed no mercy and ordered her to be beaten to death with a stick.
The queen killed Concubine Shu with a stick, which caused quite a stir that year, but the emperor and the Xiao family tried their best to suppress it. The queen also went directly to the court to confront Concubine Shu's family, and silenced them with her words.
Speechless.
From then on, the queen's reputation spread inside and outside the court, and everyone knew that no one in the Xiao family was easy to mess with.
"I managed to survive for the sake of my siblings."
Before leaving, Wen Jiaojiao heard Concubine Xian say this to her. She couldn't imagine how Concubine Xian could survive after losing so much.
Now that her younger siblings have grown up, her younger brother has gone to southern Xinjiang to serve as an official, and her younger sister has also married to the south. She is really alone. There are only some side relatives in Beijing who have never met each other.
He came to the capital in the light of her virtuous concubine.
Concubine De was a little better than Concubine Xian. She was a girl from a wealthy family in the south, but she was from the second branch of a branch, so her family had little influence in the clan.
Beiyuan is a long way away, and it will snow soon in autumn. It is extremely cold. It is difficult for a girl who grew up in the south to adapt to it. The patriarch does not want to marry his biological daughter into Beiyuan.
In the palace, the concubine Cheng Churao, who was the most suitable age at that time, was asked to marry into the palace.
"It took me more than two months to get to the north from the water town in the south of the Yangtze River. I suffered a lot along the way. I suffered from chilblains a few years ago before I arrived in Beiyuan. Fortunately, the empress found me a lot of medicine to treat chilblains.
Gradually, I no longer have frostbite.”
Concubine De has an easy-going temperament, and her soft and small facial features are unique to southern beauties. Her smile is very friendly, and she looks like a person with a good temper.
"I don't have frostbite, probably because I have adapted to the climate in Beiyuan. After all, I can only stay in Beiyuan for the rest of my life."
Wen Jiaojiao thought that Concubine Xian and Concubine De had smiles on their faces when they talked about the past. Maybe they had already let go.
After all, they are still so young and have so many years left, so they must live their lives well.
But Wen Jiaojiao couldn't relieve the sadness in her heart. She saw them smiling, but she felt sad for them in her heart.