That night, the fifth princess of Qi, Cui Shi, finished reading the account book, stared at the candlelight for a long time, and shed tears for no reason. The maid was puzzled and tried to persuade her. She then forced a smile and said, "Nothing happened."
Ordered the waiter to wash up. After cleaning up for a while, Cui took a cup of tea and took two mouthfuls, then fell asleep again.
The maid asked curiously: "What's wrong with your Majesty? You've been distracted a lot these days."
Mrs. Cui touched her belly and said, "Women who are pregnant are stupid."
Her wet nurse laughed at the side and said: "Your Majesty, you are overthinking it. Wasn't it a good idea to conceive the princess last time? This time is different from the previous years. It is obvious that she is a little grandson." Mrs. Cui smiled at the corner of her mouth. The wet nurse added, "It will come true one day.
King Qi."
Mrs. Cui's expression changed drastically, she was holding the tea cup with her hand, and veins popped out on the back of her hand. The wet nurse was surprised, and just when she was about to ask a few questions, Mrs. Cui smiled sadly: "I'm tired." Then she stood up. The wet nurse didn't dare to speak anymore.
Serve her to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Mrs. Cui felt cold all over her body. It took her a long time to open her eyes. She was so frightened that she sat up. This was not her house! The house was simple, with only two old bamboo chairs under the window and a broken one in front of the bed.
There was a wooden table. There was a candle on the table, and the dim light flickered. The door curtain was washed white, and there were too many patches to make out the original pattern. She was lying on the earthen kang, wearing her underwear and wrapped in her family clothes.
I heard the sound of footsteps outside, and a male voice said: "You must have woken up when you heard the noise." The door curtain opened, and three people walked in. Two men and one woman, both young.
A man in his thirties looked at Ms. Cui and said, "We are from Yan State. Does Ms. Cui know why we are looking for you?"
Mrs. Cui immediately shed tears. After a long while, she said: "I am guilty. However, I am pregnant with Liujia, and the child is innocent. Can your master please wait until I give birth... I will die peacefully."
"Of course not." The man said, "But we have to confirm it first." He motioned to the girl, "Give her the letter silently."
The girl took out a letter from her arms, walked over with a candle and handed it to Mrs. Cui, and held the candle to her head for her. Mrs. Cui shed tears while reading the letter, and she burst into tears after reading it. The girl started from her
He grabbed the letter in his hand and asked with a cold face: "What is written in the letter is true."
Ms. Cui hid her face in pain and said after a long time: "It's true."
The man nodded: "Since you admit it, it will be easy to handle." He turned around and ordered, "Abort her first."
Cui screamed: "It has nothing to do with my son!"
The man ignored her and said, "Her father's name is Cui Mian."
A young man said: "Yes. I have found out that her grandfather is still alive. She has an older brother and two younger brothers. The older brother has the same mother, and the younger brother is the daughter of two aunts. Among them, her second brother's aunt had a deep hatred with her mother and even raised a child.
She has a daughter, and the girl has a lot of personal grudges with Mrs. Cui; the third brother’s aunt is dependent on her mother. There are also two uncles. There are four nieces and nephews in total, and nine cousins and nieces.”
The man nodded and said: "Except for the aunt and her daughter who have a grudge against her mother, kill all the others without leaving any one behind. Kill one each in the morning, noon and evening, in front of her. Finally, kill her daughter. All the corpses will be leveled.
Spread it out in the yard and let her look at it every day until it turns into white bones. She is not allowed to die before that." Ms. Cui had already screamed. The man turned back and stared at her coldly for a few times and said loudly, "Don't abort her yet.
Ms. Cui shut up immediately. The man said, "I'm afraid she can't bear the pain. She won't be able to hold on and die before all the people are killed. Keep the fetus and let her live. She is only four months pregnant."
The young man said: "Five months."
"Hmm." The man said, "Keep it until he is born and smashed to death in front of her." Ms. Cui screamed again, her voice shrill and deafening.
Suddenly, the door curtain moved and was hung up. Someone outside laughed and said, "Do you want to arrest this woman's parents? I have already arrested them."
The man was overjoyed: "Xiao Qi, you are really a glass person with a crystal heart."
Hearing the sound of squeaking wheels, a wheelbarrow cart was pushed forward, with two people sitting side by side on it. Mrs. Cui couldn't care about anything, so she jumped over with bare feet and took a look: She really is her father-in-law.
Mother! Just as she was about to jump forward, the young man grabbed her clothes behind her back with one hand, picked her up, and threw her back to the kang. Ms. Cui tried to struggle to get off the ground again, but the young man caught her again.
The man pushing the cart loudly said: "I'm already unconscious. Do you want to wake me up?"
The man said: "Since we have captured her, let's wake her up. Kill her father first and let Ms. Cui cry with her mother. Weep until tomorrow morning and then kill her mother. Xiaoqi, please do me a favor. Prepare to kill her at noon and night tomorrow.
Her brother and sister-in-law."
The man pushing the cart dusted off his clothes: "If I had known, I would have arrested them together. Okay, I know, let's go." As soon as he reached the door, he turned back and asked, "Who else are you going to arrest?"
Mrs. Cui was so frightened that she could not move. The young man stood by the Kang and said, "The Cui family is full. Except for the two aunts and concubines who have a grudge against Mrs. Cui, they will inherit the family property. No one else will be allowed to inherit the family property."
Keep."
One side of the cart walked out and the other side said: "I understand."
The man said: "If you come back late, go get some medicine to protect the baby. I want her to give birth to her son alive and then throw him to death for her to see."
The young man asked: "When will this old man be killed?"
"Wake them up first. Kill them both when they wake up."
The girl hurriedly said: "I'm going to get cold water." After saying that, she walked out.
The young man pulled out the sword from his waist, wiped it, and complained: "When has my sword ever killed such common people?"
The man smiled and said: "If you can't bear to part with the sword, go to the kitchen and get a knife that you usually use for cutting vegetables. If the knife is blunt, it will hurt more to kill someone."
The young man smiled and nodded and said, "My lord, what you said makes sense." Then he shouted, "Zhimo, help me bring a knife from the kitchen."
The girl replied from a distance outside: "I know~~" Her voice sounded like she was laughing.
Not long after, the girl walked in with half a bucket of cold water in her left hand and a kitchen knife in her right hand. She unexpectedly threw the kitchen knife towards the young man. The young man firmly grasped the handle of the knife from the air with one hand. The girl walked to the wheelbarrow and put down the bucket.
He bent down and picked up the gourd and ladle in the bucket to scoop out water.
Ms. Cui was already sitting on the kang. She watched blankly as the girl stretched out her arms and suddenly screamed: "Stop - it's not me -" The girl was stunned and stopped scooping water. Ms. Cui cried,
"It's not me... Our Highness asked me to take this title... I don't know anything..."
Several people in the room looked at each other, and the man frowned: "What did you say? It's not you?"
Cui cried: "It's not me...it's not me..."
"Who else are you?"
"I don't know... Your Highness didn't say... Your Highness said that the regent princess of Yan State is also pregnant. The regent will not kill pregnant women. The regent is a monk, so I'm afraid it's unlucky. Monk Jianru is a liar and stole the treasury of Wu State.
, Wu State has issued a sea arrest document and the whole country is looking for him and his eunuch accomplices. And it is just an idea and has not been completed. I am just a woman, and the regent will not care about me... No matter what happens, he will wait for the child.
After birth, even if I die, I will make him the heir apparent..." Ms. Cui fell on the kang, stroking her belly with her hands, almost bursting into tears. "Make my brother a high official... If I don't agree, I will overturn the nest.
Without a perfect egg, no one can survive."
The man looked at her without saying anything for a long time. The girl couldn't help but put down the ladle and stood up: "It doesn't matter whether the child in your belly is a boy or a girl, even if it is a son, he said that he would make this child his heir, and you believed it? You will die.
If he dies, he will marry another concubine and make the son born by that woman his heir apparent. Does your son still want to live?"
Cui pressed her face against the kang and cried hard: "He made a poisonous oath and left a blood letter. I have hidden the blood letter and will give it to my brother in the future."
The man chuckled and said: "It's okay if you die in an ordinary way. If you die like this, will Lao Wu let your brother go? How did such an idiot survive in the emperor's family until now?"
Mrs. Cui cried: "He swore an oath... I don't want to die... I have no choice... He is His Highness..."
The girl walked to the kang and patted her back: "Don't cry. Just wait a minute and tell us as much as you know. The person who came up with this idea is too vicious. Even if this plan fails, there is no guarantee that he will come up with other plans."
, so he must die.”
The man crossed his arms and said: "If it is Lao Wu who did it, if you give him a hand, you, your daughter, and the fetus in your belly will be safe, but your man and his concubine children will not be able to keep him. The royal widow is very safe.
, no one is plotting against you and your children."
The girl sat on the edge of the Kang and looked at Mrs. Cui and said, "Why do you care about the man who forced you to die?"
Mrs. Cui cried: "I don't know... His Highness forced me to admit..."
The man had been standing since he entered the door. Until now, he brought a bamboo chair and put it in front of the Kang and sat down: "How did he force you to admit it? And the words he arranged for you, pour them out and let me listen."
The officer is still not sure whether it is really Lao Wu who asked you to take the blame, or whether you were dragging Lao Wu to take the blame when you were about to die."
Cui's body bounced up like a fish thrown on the ground: "He really made me take the blame!"
The man said expressionlessly: "Tell me in detail from the beginning. The details of the time, place, character, and demeanor will not be left out. After that, I will judge whether you lied or not."
Mrs. Cui had frightened him so much that he didn't dare to cry. She didn't even care that she was wearing underwear, she raised her sleeves and wiped her tears randomly while talking.
It happened to be the 16th day of the first lunar month of this year when the fifth prince came to talk to her about this matter. During the Lantern Festival, he accompanied her to the lantern festival in a carriage, but his face changed the next morning. The man first said a lot about himself.
The Crown Prince was in sight, and the Qi State was already in the bag. Mrs. Cui congratulated her for a long time. Then she said that someone in her camp had done something wrong a while ago, which might bring down the entire Qi State. So she told the story about Jian Ru.
, but never mentioned who came up with the idea. He sighed for a long time and said: "I don't want the Yan State to be so powerful, but we have found out that it was us Qi people who instigated it. Now that the Yan State is strong, if we offend them, the national destiny of Qi State will be unsafe."
After saying this, he knelt down on his knees and said, "Please save the country of Qi."
Mrs. Cui was confused at first, but in the end she realized that she was going to top the vat, so she naturally refused to agree. His Highness the Fifth Prince threatened her mother-in-law, her daughter, and her unborn child, and said, "I have no choice. Now.
Only the empress is pregnant. Jia Cong is a Taoist and will not kill pregnant women. If he allows others to do it, he will definitely die. If the empress takes this matter, there will be no danger." Mrs. Cui felt her eyes blur and looked at her husband.
His face seemed to have turned into a wolf's head, his lips were pursed tightly, and he shook his head vigorously while crying.
His Highness the Fifth Prince got up from the ground and sneered: "From today on, the eldest girl will be raised by Fang." Mrs. Cui was so angry that she passed away. Concubine Fang was a beauty donated by an official from outside.
, is a frivolous and flattering person, full of vulgar words, and she is not sure what will happen if her daughter falls into her hands. But at this moment, laughter came from the window, and it was the wet nurse maid of the princess who was playing with her. Mrs. Cui looked through the window
A little girl under three years old was sitting in the hospital, crying and falling on the coffee table.
His Royal Highness Hou Wu helped her arrange her words. What did Cui and her maid think, how did they find the monk, and how did they tell him. Everything in the words was that the monk was interested in her. After listening to her, he also asked her
He recited it many times and corrected his omissions many times. In just a few days, Cui was so heartbroken that she just wanted to die.
After finishing the story, Mrs. Cui had no tears left and said in a daze: "If there is even a single word of lies, I would like to fall into the eternal hell and never be reincarnated."
The man shook his head and said: "People say that motherhood makes you strong. You are so cowardly that you can't even protect yourself and your children. Even if you live, you can't be Princess Qi."
The girl took Cui's hand and said, "You are not even afraid of death, so what else is there to be afraid of? Now you just think of dying once."
Ms. Cui murmured: "I don't care if I die, my daughter is only three years old... He wants to give it to that kind of woman to raise! How can I just watch my daughter's life be ruined? It's just a life, just give it to him
yes."
The man sneered: "How can a man who is willing to give up his wife be reluctant to give up his daughter? When he is raised, he doesn't know who to give as a gift to." Ms. Cui shuddered. The man continued, "If you are alive, even if you find a way to send your daughter to become a monk,
It's also a clean road. After you die, it's not the new princess who has the final say whether your daughter will be round or flat." Nai clicked his tongue twice, "Maybe the new princess has already prepared it. Maybe the new princess will do this.
of."
Ms. Cui was stunned for a moment, and then said in surprise: "Do you believe it, sir? It's really not me!"
The man said leisurely: "I know it's not you." He took out a stack of paper from his arms and threw it in front of her, "These are the poems you usually write." Ms. Cui could barely identify it with the dim light.
It was really his own work, and he was so frightened that they could even get this kind of thing? The man said, "You, a woman who is just sitting in the boudoir, all your poems are from your heart. Look at what you wrote, it's either flowers, moon, spring and autumn, or wealth and splendor,
Or your children are idle and worried, and you don’t even say a word about the history. It’s strange that you worry about the country and the people! What happened to the Yan State and the Qi State has never been in your mind. Even if you are willing to share your husband’s worries, you would never think of taking a maid out to meet him alone.
Things like foreign monks. Besides, seducing men is a technical job, and it takes several years to train young men in brothels. You man really has no common sense. If I say you hire an oiran to do it, then you can do it yourself?" The man looked at her.
After looking at her for a few times, Cui finally remembered that she was still wearing her underwear, so she quickly wrapped herself in a quilt and lowered her head.
The girl named Zhimo immediately jumped up and stood between the man and Mrs. Cui: "Hey, what are you looking at!"
The man sneered: "Can you?"
The girl frowned: "Go ahead and be honest." The man shrugged. The girl added, "I said this must be the man's idea! Men are good at killing. If a woman wants to have an idea, she will probably send a few beauties from Qi to Jia Cong.
"
The man smiled and said: "No, everyone in the world knows that Jia Cong is afraid of his wife."
The girl snorted loudly: "It's good to know that Jia Cong is afraid of old women."