"Your Majesty expresses your condolences. The Queen Mother is well known to the world for her virtuous reputation, and she can feel at ease now that the Emperor has managed our world so well. She protected the Emperor at the beginning, wasn't this the result she hoped to see?
"Huh? It can be said that there are no regrets." Zhang Yanling said solemnly.
Zhu Youtang sighed and said, "Yes, I have no regrets. I hope she has no regrets. I...well, I just didn't expect her to pass away so quickly. It's really hard for me to accept."
Empress Zhang said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, life is limited to a certain period of time and cannot be forced by human power. The hasty departure of the old Queen Mother is indeed unacceptable. But the matter has come to this, and the Emperor still needs to express his condolences."
Zhu Youtang nodded and said: "You are right. The Queen Mother has lived a long life. I am just feeling sad for a moment."
Empress Zhang and Zhang Yanling nodded in agreement. Zhu Youtang looked at the scenery outside the window with a solemn expression, silently dazed. Zhang Yanling didn't know what to say for a moment, so she had to remain silent. The room was quiet, and there was a trace of embarrassment and unbearableness flowing in the air.
feel.
"Yanling, I didn't go to congratulate you on your wedding day, don't you blame me?" Zhu Youtang suddenly asked.
Zhang Yanling said hurriedly: "How dare I blame the emperor? The emperor has many things to do every day, how can he delay the important affairs of the court because of this trivial matter like this?"
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "Marriage is a big event, but it is not a small matter. Besides, you are marrying the daughter of Duke Dingguo. I originally wanted to go and congratulate you in person. But I also feel that the marriage between your two families has already caused a sensation in the capital.
It's a big event. If I go to join in the fun, it will seem like it's too much. If I don't go, it will be good for you. Otherwise, others will say that I am partial to your Zhang family and give special treatment to the noble family. I am not.
It’s nothing, but it can easily cause you trouble. Do you understand my painstaking efforts?”
Zhang Yanling bowed and said: "I understand that the emperor has worked so hard for me, but I have nothing to repay, so I shed tears of gratitude."
Zhu Youtang waved his hands and said: "Don't say these words anymore. I don't want you to cry with gratitude. What I don't like the most is fancy words. I just want you to do your job well and be sincere to me."
Zhang Yanling said solemnly: "I should work wholeheartedly to repay the emperor's favor."
Zhu Youtang nodded and said: "This is indeed what you should do. Don't let me down."
Zhang Yanling said: "I dare not let down the holy grace."
Zhu Youtang breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Zhang Yanling with squinted eyes and said, "Do you have anything else to say to me?"
Zhu Youtang's eyes seemed to be full of meaning and full of expectation.
Zhang Yanling thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, please take care of the dragon body. This is what the people of the world hope for. Regarding the old Queen Mother's matter, Your Majesty expresses your condolences and accepts the change. Don't be too sad."
The disappointment in Zhu Youtang's eyes disappeared in a flash, he frowned and waved his hands: "I understand, you can go ahead."
Zhang Yanling kowtowed to express gratitude and bowed to leave.
…
In the quiet night, Zhang Yanling sat alone in his study and meditated.
After entering the palace in the afternoon and hearing the Queen's words, Zhang Yanling realized that the Emperor was probably secretly investigating the matter.
According to Zhang Yanling, there were two possibilities for the death of Empress Dowager Zhou, neither of which was natural death. The first one she told Empress Zhang was that the old Empress Dowager knew she had no way out and chose to kill herself.
The reason why the Emperor went to ask the Queen Mother for questioning must be because he was worried about Little Jasmine. Moreover, the Emperor must have already grasped some clues before asking the Queen Mother Zhou. Otherwise, the Emperor would not have rashly asked the Queen Mother Zhou.
Under this situation, Queen Mother Zhou knew that she could not hide it, so committing suicide was the most likely possibility.
Another possibility is that the emperor already knew everything and went to see Empress Dowager Zhou to confirm the matter. When the old Empress Dowager found out that the matter was exposed, she was frightened to death.
After comprehensive consideration, Zhang Yanling came to the two most likely conclusions.
First, the emperor must have already known something and learned some news.
This is actually not difficult. That night, Queen Zhang mobilized a large number of people to go to Changchun Palace to question the crime. Not only the maids and eunuchs in Changchun Palace knew about it, but also the people around the queen. The emperor only needed to ask these people to get some information.
News. I know that the queen went to Changchun Palace on the night when Wan'er died.
As long as you know this, you can definitely deduce that there is a hidden reason for Wan'er's death.
However, most of the eunuchs and maids only knew about Empress Zhang going to Changchun Palace. As for how and why Wan'er died, they were not clear at all. Empress Dowager Zhou also did it very neatly. Only the empress was present when she killed her.
, the others did not witness it.
According to what Empress Zhang told Zhang Yanling afterwards, two close confidants of the Empress Dowager's palace were sent out of the palace and disappeared. It was Empress Dowager Zhou who was dealing with people who knew about it. Presumably, those two maids were already at the ends of the earth.
Under such circumstances, even if the emperor knew that something was fishy, he could not ask about the specific situation or the specific story of what happened that night. Perhaps because of this, the emperor would ask the Queen Mother in a circumstantial manner.
Secondly, it is a question that must be clarified to what extent the emperor knows about this matter. According to Zhang Yanling's judgment, the emperor may only currently doubt the cause of Wan'er's death, but does not know Wan'er's identity.
Even the Zhou family’s plans.
The reason is very simple. If he knew that Little Jasmine was a prostitute sent to the palace by the Zhou family under her false name, and knew about the Zhou family's plan, the emperor would definitely not be as calm as he saw today. Why would he go to bury the Empress Dowager Zhou? I'm afraid.
He wouldn't take a look at it at all. Because the old Queen Zhou was also one of the people who plotted against him, so she deserved her death.
It was precisely because the emperor didn't know much that he behaved very strangely and wanted to know the truth. That's why he went to ask the Queen Mother, and even deliberately made probing questions to Queen Zhang on a daily basis.
There are various signs that the emperor must know something, and that he knows that this matter is related to himself and Empress Zhang, and it is very likely that he knows that this matter is also related to himself. Otherwise, the emperor would not behave so distantly today, with such words.
There won't be so many temptations in the process. The emperor may have hoped that he could confess to him, so before he left, he asked himself, "Do you have anything to say to him?" In fact, that was a very obvious hint.
.
In fact, what the emperor probably wants to ask is: "What did you siblings do behind my back? Did you kill Wan'er?"
But with the emperor's prudence and prudence, he would not ask such a question easily. Those are his queen and the queen's brother. Without definite evidence, the consequences of asking such a question will completely destroy him and the seventeenth queen.
Years of love is something that a person like the emperor, who values family and emotions, cannot do.