It was already the third watch, and in the Spring Pavilion in the back courtyard of Jingren Palace, there was still a lamp like a bean in the bedroom of Empress Dowager Zhang.
Empress Dowager Zhang was wearing a thin spring robe and sitting at the table. On the table illuminated by candlelight was a broken paper fan. She lowered her head, carefully put the broken parts of the fan back together, and then held it
The feathers were dipped in paste and smeared on it, and the fan was slowly repaired.
This work is very tiring, but the key is that Empress Dowager Zhang hopes that it can be done perfectly and without any traces. So she started repairing it in one night and has been doing it until now.
Finally, the last crack was repaired. Empress Dowager Zhang straightened up, rubbed her sore neck, and watched under the candlelight with a fan.
"It can be seen after all. Hey, this little monkey has caused trouble when he came. I have to scold him tomorrow. He is already a prince, but he is still so reckless. In two days, the man will come. If I see him
I have to explain this fan myself." Empress Dowager Zhang said to herself.
Thinking of that person, a smile appeared on Queen Mother Zhang's face. Ever since this person broke into her heart, her originally collapsed sky became clearer again, and she had hope for her daily life. She felt that her whole body had regained its vitality.
When Yang Tinghe came to the palace to recommend himself and teach him how to read and draw, he actually had no interest in it. He just wanted to pass the time. Besides, Yang Tinghe was also a bachelor of the cabinet, so he could also know some things about the court from his mouth.
He always knew what the emperor was doing and whether the court was peaceful or not.
But after going back and forth, I didn't know why, but I was attracted to Yang Tinghe.
He was also knowledgeable and humorous. He spoke in one way and was polite and courteous. When he told himself the Book of Songs, he told the stories in the Book of Songs so touchingly that it made him feel sad.
He said: "In ancient times, people were actually very bold. In order to pursue the person they love, they dared to express themselves and act. Nowadays, they are restrained. This is a retrogression. People should follow their hearts and dare to do so.
Love dares to hate.”
He also said: "The reason why people are human is that they have seven emotions and six desires, joy, anger, sorrow, and joy. They know how to pursue beautiful things. Otherwise, they will be like walking corpses and live like animals, and they will lose the meaning of being human."
He said: "Zhuo Wenjun was willing to bear his reputation and elope with Sima Xiangru for the sake of Sima Xiangru. He gave up his wealthy life and sold wine as a gangster. It became a legend in the world."
These words shocked me deeply.
When he recited poems with his hands behind his hands, he looked really cool.
"The jianjia is green and the white dew is like frost. The so-called beauty is on the side of the water."
"Guan Guan Jiu Jiu, in the river island, a graceful lady, a gentleman likes to fight."
There were sparks in his eyes, so bright that it made people panic. I didn't know why, but I fell into these eyes.
I originally thought that the one I loved most in my life was the late emperor. Apart from him, there was no other man in the world that I could admire. But I was wrong. This man was completely different from the late emperor. He was full of talent and knowledge, and was free and easy.
A gentle and versatile man is so fascinating.
It turns out that the man I like is not a dull and quiet man, but a man who is talented, speaks elegantly and is funny. I was wrong before.
It's not that I haven't struggled. I am the Queen Mother, how can I indulge myself so much? To the emperor, to the Zhang family, to the court, this is all against the disdain of the world. If it is exposed, it will bring shame to the emperor, and it will bring shame to the Zhang family.
Being implicated.
Moreover, by doing this, he also brought shame to the late emperor.
However, it all happened so naturally. That rainy afternoon was such a happy afternoon. It was the happiest day I had lived since the death of the late emperor. From then on, every time we met, it was joy.
An exciting day.
There is guilt and apology. Sometimes at night, I dream of the late emperor scolding me. However, he was the one who betrayed me first. The late emperor swore that he would only love himself. But he could not even resist the temptation of a brothel girl.
However, he did something sorry for himself and kept it secret from himself. He betrayed me first. After his death, why can't I pursue my own happiness? Do I still have half my life to spend in this deep palace every day?
Are you going to suffer? Can’t you have any joy?
Empress Dowager Zhang held her chin and sat under the candlelight thinking about these things, her expression sometimes happy and sometimes sad. In fact, until now, she felt uneasy in her heart. However, the joy of meeting and getting along was something she could not let go of.
After each meeting, she looked forward to the next reunion, but at the same time, she felt a sense of guilt in her heart. It was like drinking poisonous wine, knowing clearly that it was poisonous wine, but unable to stop because of the wonderful taste.
Empress Dowager Zhang gently shook her folding fan and looked at the flickering candlelight. She suddenly thought of the scene when Zhang Yanling came today.
"The little monkey came today, and his words seemed a little strange. What did he want with my jade pendant? And he also talked about this new tea. I don't like drinking tea, but the chief minister does.
I prepared it for him, did the little monkey notice something?"
Queen Mother Zhang straightened up, frowned slightly, looked at the folding fan in her hand, and remembered what Zhang Yanling said about parrots before leaving.
"The parrot on the porch is ugly and likes to scream strangely. It almost scared me just now. Second sister had better kill it to avoid... lest it scare others."
Zhang Yanling's words echoed in her ears. Empress Dowager Zhang frowned and thought carefully, then stood up suddenly.
"Even if the parrot makes a noise, there is no need to ask the Ai family to kill the parrot. Is this a hint to me? Does he really know it?"
Empress Dowager Zhang has never been a sensitive person. Her temperament is that she is carefree, laughs and makes trouble. It is her temperament that Zhu Youtang likes. Big things disappear as soon as she hears Empress Dowager Zhang's hearty laughter.
.
It sounds careless at best, but heartless at worst. Zhang Yanling gave such obvious hints before leaving. His behavior was so obvious when he met her. She actually didn't understand it until now.
"Hongyu, Hongyu." Queen Mother Zhang stood up and called outside.
No one answered outside. The female officer Hongyu should be serving outside.
Queen Mother Zhang walked out of the inner room in surprise and came to the outside. There was no one outside. Queen Mother Zhang opened the curtain and looked down the corridor. The lanterns on the corridor were flickering, and Queen Mother Zhang's eyes fell on the bird stand hanging on the corridor.
There were two parrots on the bird stand with their wings drooped and hanging on the chain. Their feathers were messy and swaying in the night wind. Even if the parrots were sleeping, they were standing on the stand. How could they be hanging upside down on the chain?
Queen Mother Zhang hurriedly came out and stretched out her hand to fiddle with it. The two birds turned around, and their four eyes stared blankly at Queen Mother Zhang. Their tongues were sticking out of their mouths, bleeding. Their whole bodies were so hard that they were actually dead.
"Ah!" Queen Mother Zhang exclaimed.
"Come here, come here quickly." Queen Mother Zhang shouted.
"Your Majesty, your servant is here. Your Majesty, please don't panic." A man rushed from the end of the corridor and shouted.
"Zhang Zhong? Why are you here?" Queen Mother Zhang asked in shock.
"Reporting to the Queen Mother, I am on duty tonight and happened to pass by Jingren Palace, so I came in to take a look. Why is the Queen Mother still not asleep? What happened?" Zhang Zhong said.
"This bird...this bird is dead." Queen Mother Zhang pointed at the two parrots and said.
Zhang Zhong took a look and said calmly: "It's just two dead birds. Why should the Queen Mother be panic? These birds are very noisy. If they die, they will die."
Queen Mother Zhang looked at Zhang Zhong in surprise and scolded: "What are you talking about? The birds of the Ai family were killed. Who did it?"
Zhang Zhong said: "Queen Mother, please rest. I'll check it out tomorrow. I'll get two blackbirds to raise later."
Empress Dowager Zhang didn't want to talk to Zhang Zhong, so she looked around and shouted: "Hongyu? Xiuzhu? Little Dengzi? Where have everyone gone?"
Zhang Zhong stood there silently. Empress Dowager Zhang called several times. The entire back hall seemed empty, and no one answered. However, the lights everywhere were on, swaying in the night wind.
"What's going on? Zhang Zhong, go find them. Where have everyone gone?" Queen Mother Zhang asked in shock.
Zhang Zhong said softly: "Queen Mother, please rest. At this moment, maybe they went there secretly to drink secretly. Let's find them tomorrow. These few people are not caring about serving the Queen Mother. It seems that they need to be replaced. So.
How can you serve the Queen Mother if you are lazy?"
Empress Dowager Zhang didn't say anything, and after thinking for a while, she walked along the corridor to the central hall. After passing the corridor, in front of her was the residence of several female officials. They were all the female officials who were close to Empress Dowager Zhang. The lights were still on in the room.
Queen Mother Zhang called Hongyu Xiuzhu's name while pushing the door open. As soon as she entered the door, she screamed and her whole body collapsed to the ground.
Zhang Zhong followed behind and hid quickly. Empress Dowager Zhang looked frightened, pointed at the two people hanging in the room and shouted: "They, they have hanged themselves, please save them."
Zhang Zhong entered the room and saw two female officials hanging dangling from the beams. Their faces were black and blue, their eyes were bulging, and they were dead.
Zhang Zhong found a pair of scissors and cut the rope, and the two corpses fell to the ground. Hongyu turned upside down with her head facing Empress Dowager Zhang, staring blankly at Empress Dowager Zhang. Empress Dowager Zhang screamed in fright and crawled back a few steps.
Zhang Zhong walked out of it, holding a piece of paper in his hand.
"The Queen Mother, there is a suicide note. I will read it to the Queen Mother. The sinner Hong Yu Xiuzhu used the wrong food when feeding the parrot. The parrot ate dry food and drank water, and it swelled to death. Hong Yu Xiuzhu deserves to die. He knew he had made a big mistake.
, I have no choice but to die to apologize. Go to the Queen Mother to forgive my sins. Don’t implicate our family."
Zhang Zhong stuttered as he read. The words in this suicide note were all in vernacular. Hongyu and Xiuzhu were also literate. Maybe they were too panicked when they wrote these suicide notes, so they wrote them in vernacular.
"It turns out that the two of them fed the parrot to death and committed suicide because of fear. Can the Queen Mother blame these two people? Alas, it's a pity that two lives were lost."
Zhang Zhong's voice came. To Empress Dowager Zhang's ears, it seemed as if it was coming from a far away place. It was like she was talking under the covers. She could not hear clearly. Empress Dowager Zhang stared at her eyes, took a big breath, and suddenly screamed.
He made a sound, his eyes turned white, and he fainted.