At noon I summoned Wei Lin to ask, and Wei Lin lost his composure and said, "If we look at it carefully, Wei Chen and Qiong Guiren are indeed related, but they are really distant relatives, and they have not been in contact with each other for many years. There is really no way to talk about what the queen is doing for her."
The humble minister treats noble Qiong kindly."
I secretly nodded and sighed: "It's fine if it's true as you said. It's just that someone mentioned you deliberately today, and even this distant relative relationship was clearly found out. I'm afraid they were prepared, and the matter is not between you and me.
It's so simple to imagine. I used to be Wen Shichu, and now I am you. As my right-hand man, you will inevitably be plotted by others."
Wei Lin didn't take it seriously, "If I were afraid of sinister plots, wouldn't it be nice if I returned home early to become a charlatan?"
I turned around gently, and my hair on my temples made a soft rustling sound as it rubbed against the green jade pillow. There was a slightly cool breeze at midnight, carrying the sweet floral fragrance of early May and summer.
It opened and spread pervasively in this deep and silent palace. I couldn't sleep, listening to the distant distant sounds outside the palace. Was it Mr. Habayashi who had taken away the palace servants of Chachun Hall for interrogation? Is he being interrogated?
Are the people in the palace crying and howling? Such small and scattered sounds, such sounds in the quiet night, sound more and more desolate and full of despair.
Jin Xi heard me tossing and turning, and said softly: "Your Majesty, please rest early. Let's wait until tomorrow to talk about tomorrow." She covered me with my quilt, paused and said, "Although the Emperor is angry today, you can rest at this moment."
I'm afraid that as a beautiful woman, Jiang doesn't have the heart to understand the affairs of noble Qiong, so why should I worry about it?"
The moonlight was as gentle as a net, spreading all over the sky. I gave a low "hmm" and fell asleep in the net-like moonlight again. My heart slowly became colder, as if I was immersed in cold water bit by bit. I
I vaguely felt that I was falling into a carefully woven web, like a spider web, clinging to me and making it impossible for me to escape.
Naturally, I couldn't sleep well that night, so I turned over and went to bed as soon as daylight came. I combed my black hair at will, picked up a crescent-white palace brocade gown with hanging flowers and put it on. I dressed in the mirror while the flowers were blooming.
Because I wanted to avoid suspicion, Xuan Ling left the matter of Lady Qiong to the Queen and Concubine Duan, so I was very free. I fed the three children in the morning, and then played with them for fun. I touched Chen Shisan.
At this moment, I went to the Queen Mother as usual to ask Jinxi to change my clothes, but she was nowhere to be seen. The long carved window was covered with a lake-blue ice gauze screen, and there were some shadows outside. Under the prosperous flower branches, it seemed that Li Chang was there.
Jin Xi whispered something in her ear, but Jin Xi only frowned and said nothing.
My heart sank and I shouted again: "Jin Xi——"
Jin Xi came with a smile on her face. I paid close attention and saw that there was still worry in her eyebrows that had not gone away. I asked gently: "But Li Chang is here?"
"Yes." Jin Xi hesitated slightly, but Li Chang had already lowered his hand and came in, saying in a low voice: "Your Majesty, please come to Zhaoyang Palace."
I looked directly at him with a smile, "The emperor just asked me to go to Zhaoyang Palace to pay his respects. Why can't I say it out loud? Jin Xi, please change my clothes."
Li Chang was startled, knelt down and said, "I dare not lie to you. According to the report of the people sent out to investigate Qiong Guiren's affairs, my cousin who lives in Qiong Guiren's house has also disappeared. And it is rumored that Qiong Guiren has actually been with her cousin for a long time.
There is an affair..." Li Chang gradually couldn't continue, "Your Majesty, please ask your Majesty to come."
My heart sank, and I finally made up my mind to change my clothes, freshen up, and go to Zhaoyang Palace. The weather in May was just like the early summer when the willow shades are deep and green, the birds are singing and the flowers are ripe, and the wisps of breeze are also soft and soft.
It is heart-breaking. But I just feel that Yongxiang is so long, with the endless red walls on the left and right, reflecting the thin light. On the other side of the distant sky, I can vaguely see the deep shadows of the flowers in Fengyi Palace, in the azure blue sky.
The sky looked even more gloomy and eerie.
There were not many people in the Zhaoyang Palace. Xuan Ling and the imperial concubine were silent, the queen was copying the "Tai Shang Inspiration Chapter" under the window, Yun Guifei and Jiang Meiren had their own concerns, and Rong was fidgeting with his nails with a smile.
Concubine. The very awkward atmosphere became even more subtle due to my arrival.
As we entered the palace, Concubine Rong smiled at me first, took my hand affectionately and said, "Concubine Shu is late and has not yet congratulated Sister Jiang. When we got up early, the Emperor had already made Sister Jiang a noble person.
"
I smiled and nodded to Ms. Jiang, "Congratulations, sister." I took off a golden ball from her bun and inserted it into Ms. Jiang's heart-shaped bun. "I came in a hurry and didn't have time to prepare a gift for my sister.
Be careful, my sister will accept it happily."
Jiang Zhen tilted her head, glanced at Xuan Ling in embarrassment, and said with a timid smile: "Thank you, Concubine Shu, but I dare not accept your kindness." She paused, as if thinking about whether she should say these words.
After thinking for a moment, she said: "I am afraid that after accepting the empress's kindness, I will be sent out of the palace overnight."
My gestures were frozen in mid-air, and I could only hear the exquisite sound of the pearl hairpin on my step, which hit my heart. I turned my head, looked at Xuan Ling, who was still silent, and called out: "Your Majesty——"
His expression was gloomy and unsettled, not like the sky was clear and cloudy when he raised his head. I slowly felt a chill in my heart and said softly, "I'm not my concubine."
"If it's not Concubine Shu, then who could it be?" The Queen put down the pen in her hand and said in a clearer voice, "The Yulin Army has found out that after Qiong Gui left your palace the night before, your palace sent a water carrier.
The wooden barrel, Concubine Shu should know, that kind of wooden barrel is more than enough to hide a person."
I looked at the queen and said, "The water transportation in the palace has always been carried out in the middle of the night, every day. What's so strange about it?"
"It is not surprising that water trucks are inspected every day when they leave the palace. However, the buckets that came out of Concubine Shu's palace the night before were exempted from inspection because the escorting young eunuch Xiao Huizi had a waist badge from Concubine Shu's palace.
"Concubine Shu is so powerful in the palace that even a small internal eunuch has this authority. Who dares to check it?" After the queen said this, she took out a palm-sized gold-plated waist badge from her sleeve, with the official words on it.
The three characters "Weiyang Palace" written in official script and surrounded by flowing cloud patterns are indeed the waist badge of the deacons of Weiyang Palace.
The queen threw her waistband in front of me, Huichun brought the prepared red gold cloud tooth basin, and said respectfully: "Please give me a hand, my empress."
The queen sighed politely, "There have always been endless incidents of jealousy in the palace. As long as such dirty things are not excessive, I will turn a blind eye. Who would have thought that you, Concubine Shu, are so intolerable now? The emperor likes talents."
After entering the palace, you dare to send her quietly to the palace. You are so domineering in the harem and cover the sky with one hand. Do you really think that this palace and the emperor have connived at you?"
The queen seemed to be distressed. Jianqiu hurriedly came up and put some peppermint oil on her fingertips. She rubbed the queen's forehead and said, "My queen, don't be angry. If your anger breaks down your body, you will have a headache again." Jianqiu said in a good voice: "
My Majesty is not in the palace for just one day or two. Why can't I look away from you like this? No matter how favored Qiong is, I will never be able to get past you. Why is My Majesty so intolerant?"
"I'm afraid it's not just that I can't tolerate people, but that Concubine Shu is very kind-hearted and wants to be a good person." Concubine Rong sneered lightly, picked her nails like water onions, and said lazily: "Prince Qiong's distant cousin is...
Concubine Shu's confidant, Imperial Physician Wei Linwei, has long been in love with Qiong Guiren. I'm afraid he, as his uncle, may not know this, but this must be the real reason why Concubine Qiong skipped the night to visit Concubine Shu. Concubine Shu not only wanted to sell Imperial Physician Wei a piece of noodles, but also
But apart from the serious worry of fighting for favor in the future, it is just a piece of cake to put someone in a bucket, so why not do it?"
It's too far away, as if it's just a story heard from others. It's so thin and unreal, but it's all true. Everything points to me, - it's me, because I'm afraid of Qiong Gui's favor, and also to fulfill her.
A period of love, let her out of the palace.
How like a joke, but it was made so real and placed in front of me that I couldn't help but believe it.
Concubine Rong stood up, rested her cheek against Xuan Ling's side, turned her eyes and smiled, "Speaking of which, the empress is already twenty-seven years old this year - not the cardamom age of twenty-seventy-four, but the twenty-seven years old, who is nearly thirty.
She's seven. If I were my concubine, even if she didn't look old, I would be really scared in my heart. There are endless beauties in the harem, and I am getting old. What's more, Qiong Guijun entered the palace with such great grace, just like the empress did back then. "
I gave her a cold look, "If that's what you're afraid of, don't think of yourself as my wife. Concubine Rong, you're not smart enough to understand other people's hearts, otherwise -" I glanced at the queen, "
You don't need to be manipulated."
She smiled sweetly and said, "It is unknown whether I am being toyed with. I am naturally afraid of growing old, but I am even more afraid of being sent out of the palace overnight for no apparent reason."
"Your Majesty," I knelt down in front of him and looked up at his silent face, "I can't argue with the right and wrong, but I would like to ask Your Majesty to find the young man who sent the bucket out of the palace that night, and ask him if I ordered him, and I am willing to cooperate with him.
He confronted him."
He nodded silently and told Huichun, "Bring the little boy in, I don't want to wrong Concubine Shu."
Huichun raised her skirt, turned around and brought in a young eunuch from outside the palace. He looked about twenty years old, with a fair face and an honest and courteous look. There were no less than dozens of eunuchs serving in Weiyang Palace.
I didn’t really remember this little story, but it looked familiar. I sneered and asked, “The queen doesn’t think this is such a big deal. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for me to instruct Xiao Yunzi or Xiao Lianzi to handle it? Instead, she ordered me to do this.
An inconspicuous little eunuch."
The Queen raised her eyelids and ignored me. She only told Jianqiu, "Rub it again and your brain will start to beat violently."
Jianqiu answered "Yes", her gestures became gentler. Concubine Yungui sneered, curled her lips, and looked at me, "Xiao Yunzi and Xiao Lianzi are the empress's confidants, and they also play an important role in the palace. Send them to
Isn't it too eye-catching?" She nodded a little with her toes, "Such a little eunuch, who is not eye-catching and has the backing of Weiyang Palace, is most suitable."
Xuan Ling took a gentle breath and said with a hint of compassion, "Tell Concubine Shu what you just said again."
Xiao Huizi raised his head and looked at me, trembled, and kowtowed as if frightened, "That night, noble Qiong came to visit, and Concubine Shu planned to disappear just like the night before. Unexpectedly, she saw her again later, and the two talked secretly for a while.
It was already late the day after tomorrow. Concubine Shu asked someone to take the noble man back, and it was the slave who went there. When he came back, the slave was going to sleep, but the empress called the slave into the inner hall, saying that he had a chance to practice, and asked the slave if he would like it.
Go. The servant thought that the empress had something to do, so she only gave orders to General Manager Yun and Eunuch Lian. It was rare that the empress was willing to praise her, so she agreed. The empress then ordered the servant to learn how to bark twice at night outside the Qiachun Hall, and said that after the call, the noble Qiong would come out on her own.
Already."
Concubine Yun Gui sneered and said in a disgusting voice: "As expected, Qiong Gui's temperament, if she is not willing to come out on her own, who can tie her up."
Xuan Ling glanced away, and Concubine Yun Gui lowered her head quickly. Xiao Huizi continued: "Then I saw the noble Qiong changed into the clothes of a palace maid and came out. The slave followed the empress's instructions and took the noble Qiong who became a palace maid to Weiyang. They put her in an empty barrel at the waterwheel in the back corner of the palace and transported her out of the palace. The other servants don't know." He tried his best to think, "By the way, noble Qiong came to visit that night, and it was the servants who were in the palace. The person who was waiting outside could faintly hear a few words, "When you get there, there will be someone to take care of you. If you are at ease, I will be at ease as well."
A cold and disdainful smile appeared on the corners of Concubine Rong's lips, "The sky net is vast and sparse, so there is nothing wrong with it. After all, you can't escape from the emperor's sage."
Xuan Ling looked at me flatly, with only darkness as deep as the sea visible in his eyes, "Tell me yourself why she came to you late at night?"
I didn't take my eyes away, I looked at him calmly and said, "It's true that I just came to ask for leave because she is unwell and will be late for the meeting with His Majesty the next day."
"But if she is really unwell, she can send someone to tell her. There is no need to come to you personally."
I shook my head and said, "I didn't think much about this at the time, but everyone in Rouyi Palace can testify for me that I didn't say anything like this."
"Everyone in Rouyi Palace..." Concubine Rong said coldly: "Which of them is not your confidant, how can they tell the truth? There is only one Xiao Huizi who dares to tell the truth."
I looked at Xiao Huizi coldly and said calmly: "Xiao Huizi, what benefits did they give you to ask you to accuse me like this? If you are a sensible person, they can take advantage of you today and kill you tomorrow to silence you. ."
"Concubine Shu, do you mean me?" The queen straightened her back, tilted her head and neck slightly, and looked at me intently. "I did make a mistake. My mistake was that I didn't understand her background when choosing a beauty for the emperor. I don't know what she had in mind. There is someone else." She glanced at Xuan Ling and said, "I am fully responsible for this matter, and I ask the emperor to punish me."
Xuan Ling's fingers tapped on Shen Shi's table, "Forget it, these are not things the queen can find out."
The Queen thanked her politely, and Fang looked at me and said, "But since Lady Qiong was recommended by me to enter the palace, what reason do I have to send her out of the palace late at night? The only reason I wanted to send her away was because I couldn't bear to see her there. It’s just people in the palace.”
I lowered my eyes and said, "I didn't accuse the queen of doing it. I just don't understand that if Qiong Noble really had a sweetheart, he could have left before entering the palace. Why bother to bother with it after entering the palace?" ."
Concubine Rong's bright eyes turned and she said "Yeah": "I thought, if she left when she was at home, I would be afraid that her family would be implicated. Anyway, there would naturally be powerful people in the palace to send her out, which would make it even more difficult. It’s thorough.”
"I have never said such a foolish thing among my concubines." I gave her a sideways look, "Noble lady Qiong was not very docile after entering the palace, but she was willing to respect me. The last person she saw before leaving the palace was me. Aren't I afraid of this?" When the emperor investigated, he was the first one to implicate himself."
"This..." Concubine Rong was at a loss for words, "Perhaps it was due to matters arising from authority, and Concubine Shu didn't think everything through."
"Your Majesty," the imperial concubine who had not said a word stood up gracefully, "Everyone holds different opinions on this matter, and no matter how we discuss it now, there is no conclusion. I think that we will have to wait until we find the Wei family and her cousin before we can make a decision. "
Xuan Ling was convinced, and just about to speak, he saw Xiaoxiazi peeking his head outside the door, and shouted: "What's so sneaky?"
Xiaoxiazi was so frightened that he ran in, knelt down and said: "Report to the emperor, the news just reported by the guards of the capital is that the bodies of a man and a woman were found on a mountain seventy miles away from the capital, with many stab wounds on their bodies.
All the money was taken away, as if by bandits."
Concubine Yun Gui clapped her hands and said: "This is great, there is no evidence to prove it."
Concubine Rong narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at me with a hazy and twinkling smile, "I don't know whether the bandits stole wealth or killed people."
I didn't even look at her and said, "Concubine Rong is really smart. This is exactly what I want to ask."
She laughed, "We are all asking in vain. The one who should answer has become a miserable mandarin duck. He is dead, and it is up to the queen to say anything."
Now that things have come to this, others have done everything and only forced me into a desperate situation. Reflecting the clear sky light outside the palace and the flying flowers filling the garden, my state of mind calmed down. I said quietly: "I have no excuses."
I guess, but I really didn’t do it.”
Xuan Ling stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, and the clear May light cast off the bright light and shadow on his body, "Huan Huan, you are actually jealous too, aren't you?"
I thought of my exchange with him that day, and knowing his suspicions, I said gently: "Huanhuan is a mortal, and because she cares about the emperor, she will naturally be sour and jealous. But the emperor also said that Huanhuan has no place in the emperor's heart.
Instead, Huanhuan is never afraid." I said calmly, and had no time to care about the rapid beating of the queen's eyebrows when she heard this, "So at this moment, Huanhuan only cares about whether the emperor believes in Huanhuan, and the rest is unimportant."
"Shu Fei," he turned around and reached out to stroke my hair, "it doesn't matter if I am a noble lady. If I knew that she had other thoughts, I would naturally not tolerate her. Just like before, because you are here, Ruyin will look like you again
, it’s gone when it’s gone. I just care about whether my woman dares to play many tricks behind my back, using my love for her to turn the harem upside down, covering the sky with one hand.”
"Your Majesty, the person you are talking about is not my concubine."
"Huan Huan, I hope so too." He smiled, but there were a few holes in his words, "I just feel upset, and I know you are upset too. There are too many trivial things in the palace recently, or you are tired, so let it go if you have something to do.
Let Concubine Yunrong and Concubine De take care of it, Concubine Yunrong and Concubine Zhen can also help."
I didn't dare to ask any more questions, and my heart suddenly tightened. I stared at him and said, "The emperor said this, does he not believe me?"
Concubine Rong was anxious, "Your Majesty, the evidence for this matter is conclusive, it is clearly Concubine Shu..."
"Okay!" Xuan Ling waved his hand and gently interrupted her, "Chishao, you know why I dote on you and tolerate you so much. Don't let me down."
Concubine Rong was stunned for a moment, then lowered her head unwillingly and stopped talking.
Xuan Ling shook the concubine's hand and said, "Concubine Shu has children to take care of. I'll trouble you more in the future."
The imperial concubine bowed down happily and said, "Your Majesty, you are very polite. I will try my best, but I am afraid that I will not be able to do what I want."
The Queen was silent for a moment, and when she raised her head, she still had a kind smile and said, "As long as the Emperor orders it, all the ministers and concubines will do their best to do it."