Empress Dowager Zhou stood behind Little Jasmine at some point, panting, with blood dripping from the copper spout of the dragon-head crutch she held in her hand. It was she who suddenly swung the staff and hit Little Jasmine on the head.
"Queen... Queen Mother." Little Jasmine managed to turn around and look at Queen Mother Zhou and shouted.
"Little bitch!" Queen Mother Zhou gasped and cursed, raised the crutch and struck it down again. This time, the dragon's mouth hit little Jasmine on the temple. Little Jasmine screamed and fell to the ground, and her body began to twitch.
"Little bitch! Beat you to death." Empress Dowager Zhou kept holding her hand, and swung the dragon-headed cane on little Jasmine's head again and again. Blood and flesh flew everywhere, and hair stuck to her scalp and flew in the air. Little Jasmine's hands and feet trembled.
Twisted, she let out a shrill scream every time she was hit with the cane, until her head was beaten to a bloody pulp. Black and red blood flowed out from under Little Jasmine, the ground was covered with blood, and the air was filled with a thick smell of blood.
"Stop fighting, she's already dead!" Queen Zhang gasped, her heart churning with uncontrollable retching.
Queen Mother Zhou's crutches fell to the ground, and she collapsed on the ground again, exhausted.
Empress Zhang covered her mouth with a handkerchief and said in a deep voice: "You handle the aftermath yourself. If the emperor comes to ask questions, you have to deal with it yourself. Also, don't forget the remaining conditions, which must be fulfilled within three days. Otherwise,
Your Zhou family must die. Especially Zhou Ying, he should be crushed to ashes."
…
The first ray of sunshine in the morning fills the streets and alleys of the capital city. In February, the weather is getting warmer day by day, and there are also goose-yellow buds on the willow branches beside the lakes and rivers in the capital city.
In the streets and alleys, breakfast stalls are steaming with white steam. People who get up early to prepare for work are drinking big bowls of porridge and noodles and nibbling hot noodles to gather energy for the busy day.
The golden sunlight shines through the white steam, making everyone look like gods bathed in golden smoke.
This is a vibrant morning in the early spring of February in Beijing, full of human fireworks. No one knows the tragedy that happened in the Ming Palace last night. No one knows that a woman named Little Jasmine is already stiff at this moment.
It turned into a corpse. Of course, no one knew that the emperor of their Ming Dynasty was standing in the Dongchun Pavilion of Changchun Palace in shock and pain at this moment, looking at the corpse on the bed not far away.
"Your Majesty, my condolences. This is all fate. Wan'er is so unlucky that she cannot bear the Emperor's favor."
The pale Queen Mother Zhou stood trembling beside Zhu Youtang with the support of the palace maid, looking at the ground, not daring to look at the body wrapped in brocade quilt on the bed, with only a face covered with yellow paper exposed.
"What's going on? What's going on? I only came here overnight, and Wan'er is gone? So the yin and yang are separated?"
Zhu Youtang's hands were trembling, the muscles on his face were tangled, and he couldn't control himself. He couldn't believe this fact. That tender woman was already a lifeless corpse at this moment, which made him unbelievable.
"It was cold last night, and the Ai family went to bed early. In the early hours of the morning, I heard that Hongying, the palace maid next to Wan'er, came to report that Wan'er was missing. Everyone hurriedly looked for it. There were people keeping vigil in front and behind the palace gate, but they all said that Wan'er was missing.
Seeing Wan'er going out, everyone searched carefully in the palace. Later, they found Wan'er in the lotus pond in the back hall, but she was... gone. When the Ai family learned that, it was like a thunderbolt. But what happened
Now that we are here, what should we do? I didn’t dare to disturb the emperor in the middle of the night, so I ordered someone to report to the emperor early in the morning. The emperor... don’t be too sad. After all, it’s all Wan’er’s bad luck.”
Empress Dowager Zhou's voice was trembling, whether it was sadness or coldness, she was shaking intermittently as she spoke.
Zhu Youtang had tears in his eyes and looked at Wan'er's face quietly, feeling extremely sad in his heart.
"But... why did she go to the apse garden in the middle of the night? Huh? The people around her didn't notice? Damn it!" Zhu Youtang said softly.
"The Emperor didn't come last night. This girl Wan'er was a little lonely. She couldn't sleep thinking about the Emperor. She looked at the crescent moon outside and said she wanted to go see the moon. Naturally, the maids refused to let her go out because they were worried that she would catch cold. Who knows in the middle of the night? She still went out while the palace maids were asleep. Then something like this happened. The palace ladies only remembered this later, and I think this is the reason." Empress Dowager Zhou sighed.
Zhu Youtang felt even more uncomfortable and filled with guilt. It seemed that the accident that happened to Wan'er was related to her not coming last night. She must have been missing herself, tossing and turning, looking at the moon and thinking about going out for a walk. Who would have thought that He will lose his footing and fall into the water.
Zhu Youtang's heart ached, thinking about the freezing cold water in the middle of the night, and Wan'er's helpless feeling after falling into the water, his heart almost broke. He slowly stepped forward, ready to walk to the bedside, lift up the curtains, and prepare to He went to touch Wan'er's face, but as soon as he took a step, the old queen behind him hurriedly shouted.
"Your Majesty, don't come close. The drowned person is in disgraceful appearance. It is better for the Emperor to let Wan'er maintain some dignity. Wan'er definitely doesn't want the Emperor to see her like she is now. If the Emperor has feelings for Wan'er, then let Wan'er remain the same as before. It's a beautiful impression in my heart. In fact, the emperor should not have been allowed to come to see her in the first place, and meeting her once was enough. Wan'er knows her well and should be grateful for the emperor's kindness."
Zhu Youtang stopped. He also knew that the appearance of a drowned person must be difficult to see, and he did not want to ruin Wan'er's good impression in his mind. But how did he know that Wan'er's posture was difficult to achieve? .As long as he moved, the broken skull and the blood on the cloth wrapping the head would seep out. Or even if he opened the tent and took a closer look, the secret would be exposed. How could the old queen let him discover these clues.
"Your Majesty, it is a blessing for Wan'er to be favored by the emperor in this life. At this moment, the Ai family ordered people to take her body out of the palace, and let Zhou Shou, Zhou Yu and others bury Wan'er. If the emperor misses Wan'er, She, think more about her benefits and just burn incense during festivals. After all, she is a woman with poor fortune, so there is nothing she can do about it," said Empress Dowager Zhou.
Zhu Youtang gritted his teeth and nodded slowly. The person was gone, and it was useless to be sad. Wan'er died in the palace without a name, and he could not bury her publicly or do anything. The story of his relationship with Wan'er He just kept it from the Queen. Maybe it was because of Wan'er's bad luck. In the past few days, he had made up his mind to confess the matter to the Queen and prepared to confer a title on Wan'er. Unexpectedly, he would never have the chance again.
"Your Majesty, it's getting late. The Emperor's morning court time has passed. The ministers are waiting for the Emperor to go to court. State affairs are important, and it's time for the Emperor to leave." Empress Dowager Zhou said solemnly.
Zhu Youtang nodded, slowly turned around and walked out of the house. The Empress Dowager Zhou went out with the help of the palace maid. Standing in the corridor, Zhu Youtang looked at the haggard look behind the Queen Mother Zhou, her hair was disheveled, her eyes were bloodshot, and she thought to herself: The old Empress Dowager must also It's extremely sad. Wan'er is her grandniece from her natal family, and she didn't expect to encounter such an accident.
"Old Queen, you should also express your condolences and take care of yourself. I feel guilty about Wan'er's matter. I will treat Qingyunhou and his family well. The Zhou family... I will take care of it," Zhu Youtang said.
Empress Dowager Zhou shook her head and said: "Your Majesty, please don't show favor to the Zhou family again. The Zhou family is not rich and cannot bear it. What happened to Wan'er is an omen. The Emperor does not need to feel that he owes the Zhou family anything. Also, this
The Ai family cannot live in the Changchun Palace. Please allow the Ai family to move back to the Renshou Palace. Living here, the Ai family will inevitably think of Wan'er. We also ask for the Emperor's permission."
Zhu Youtang nodded, feeling moved in his heart. The old queen mother was sensible and virtuous, admirable. This place is indeed not suitable for the old queen mother to live here. It must be difficult to let go after seeing things and thinking about people.
"I'm sure. Please take care. I'm going." Zhu Youtang said.
"Farewell Your Majesty." Empress Dowager Zhou bowed and saluted.
Zhu Youtang looked back inside the Spring Pavilion and vaguely saw Wan'er's bedside curtain floating in the wind. Wan'er's face seemed to be faintly looming behind the curtain and smiling at him. He knew in his heart that it was
It was an illusion, and it was even more sad. He stood there for a moment and finally gritted his teeth and turned around and walked away quickly. From today on, he will never come to Changchun Palace again. This past month has been like a dream.