Zhang Yuchi gradually became impatient. He had long wanted to push away the palace people and break into Cining Palace, but he was afraid that the result would make the Queen Mother disgusted and really stop caring about the Zhang family's affairs.
Finally, the female official came out and saluted: "Sir, the Queen Mother, please come over and speak."
Zhang Yuchi breathed a sigh of relief and stepped into the Cining Palace.
Cining Palace seems to be as before, everything seems in order.
Although he asked people to close the door of Cining Palace, he did not restrict the movement of the palace people, nor did he reduce the use of the palace. He was just reminding the Queen Mother that he was now in charge of the palace.
The Empress Dowager was a smart person and would eventually recognize the current situation and join forces with him to deal with the emperor and the remnants of King Wei. However, she did not expect that there was no movement in Cining Palace.
In the main hall, the Queen Mother was standing by a low table pruning branches. When she saw Zhang Yuchi, she said directly: "This year's flowers are growing well, and they are watery and attractive. I remember that the last time I saw them so lush was when the late Emperor was here."
.
I planted all the dendrobium flowers in the hall. When the late emperor saw it, he praised me for my progress. How could he know that this is not my fault? If the flowers grow well, they will be beautiful no matter how you plant them.
Even if the gods come, they will be of no use."
Zhang Yuchi frowned, feeling tired of the Empress Dowager's pretentious temptations.
The Queen Mother turned around: "Do you think so?"
"The Queen Mother," a look of anxiety flashed across Zhang Yuchi's face, "when has this happened, and you are still talking about these...the emperor's affairs...I am the one who makes the decision, and I should discuss it with you in advance. I am also because
The eldest brother and the third brother are heartbroken, but there is no turning back. We can only look forward. The future of the Zhang family depends on this time."
The Queen Mother seemed not to have heard Zhang Yuchi's words, but still concentrated on sending the last flower into the dendrobium. Then she nodded with satisfaction, her expression looked very comfortable, and finally she waved her hand and asked the palace attendants to hold the dendrobium down.
Zhang Yuchi waited patiently for the Queen Mother to clean her hands, stretch out her robes, and sit on the chair again before speaking: "The Queen Mother, the capital has become a mess, you can't ignore it."
The Queen Mother raised her eyes and looked at Zhang Yuchi: "As early as when you took the child into Cining Palace, the Ai family had already made it clear.
The Ai family has asked you a long time ago, what should I do if I don’t kill the emperor? You are confident, so I think everything is under control. In this case, go ahead and do what you want!"
Zhang Yuchi's face became even more gloomy: "Now is different from before. The emperor is imprisoned in Fengyang."
There was no trace of emotion on the Queen Mother's face: "After the great chaos in Fengyang, King Ning invited him to go there. Unexpectedly, he made such a move. The Ai family did not notice the strangeness. If the late emperor or King Jian were talking about it, nothing could be done.
Be on guard, but it’s a pity... there are no discerning people anymore.”
Zhang Yuchi didn't want to hear what the Queen Mother said: "Song Chengxuan imprisoned the emperor, launched an army to rebel, killed court officials, and tried to establish himself as emperor, which was not tolerated by the world. In the past, he was secretive, but now he asked Yu Guozhang to resume his status as a descendant of the clan.
, Yu Guozhang was afraid of being questioned, so he kept the etiquette down to the last detail, and even took out a copy of the remonstrance written by Empress Cheng Xiaogongren when she was still alive. The content of the remonstrance was that Empress Cheng Xiaogongren asked the emperor to rectify the name of King Wei, and not to let the emperor rectify his name.
The descendants of the clan are living abroad.
There are a lot of discussions outside, saying that the emperor and the clan knew that Song Chengxuan was the son of King Wei, otherwise how could King Ning and King Cheng ensure that a son of the opposite sex would take the throne?"
Zhang Yuchi clenched his hands tightly. Who would question Song Chengxuan's identity?
The Queen Mother smiled slightly: "The emperor is not dead. Even if there is an 'emperor's eldest son', he cannot ascend the throne as the new emperor. Song Chengxuan has restored his status as a descendant of the clan. The next step is to wait for the emperor to abdicate."
Zhang Yuchi said bitterly: "The Yu family has produced so many Confucian scholars and bachelors, but they are helping the emperor to do evil..."
The Queen Mother chuckled before Zhang Yuchi finished speaking: "Who should Zhang Yuchi help? The emperor or you? Queen Yu is worse off than dead in the palace. If it weren't for Song Chengxuan and Xu Qinghuan, she would have to bear the guilt until her death."
Whose sin is this?
Neither our Zhang family nor the emperor is clean."
The Queen Mother said as she stood up and looked out the window: "The weather outside is nice, and the Ai family wants to go out for a walk."
Zhang Yuchi became anxious: "When Song Chengxuan enters Beijing, he will not let the Queen Mother go. When the late Emperor dealt with King Wei, the Queen Mother and the Zhang family were there to help."
"That's all in the past," the Queen Mother waved her hand, "People have to move forward, no matter what happens in the past, it doesn't matter. If there is no way ahead, there is no choice.
From the time I entered the palace to now, I can’t tell whether it is right or wrong, but I have tried my best and I can accept the result no matter what."
After speaking, the Queen Mother walked forward and stepped out of the main hall. She took a deep breath: "It's so refreshing. I haven't had such weather for a long time."
Zhang Yuchi immediately chased him out.
The Queen Mother took two steps, stopped, and turned her head: "There is one more thing you have to remember. Don't lose the Zhang family's face at the last moment, because that will be your last stroke in the world."
Zhang Yuchi looked at the Queen Mother's retreating back, and suddenly felt that his feet were heavy and could no longer move an inch. It took him a long time before he turned around and walked out of Cining Palace.
They all felt that he was destined to lose, but he didn't believe it. Even at the last moment, he would let Song Chengxuan see how powerful he was.
If he was pushed too hard, he would burn everything to the ground and let the capital city of Great Zhou be buried with him.
…
Zhang Jingshu gently coaxed the baby in her arms and handed the baby to the nurse after a long while.
As soon as the wet nurse took the child over, the palace attendant who came to serve accidentally tripped and fell to the ground. The child in the wet nurse's arms woke up immediately when he heard the noise, opened his mouth and started making noises loudly.
The palace attendants were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and they kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Zhang Jingshu's tense heartstrings seemed to be disconnected at this moment. She sternly ordered the chamberlain: "Pull her down, I never want to see her again."
A sharp voice sounded, and the servant did not dare to neglect and immediately grabbed the palace man.
The palace man cried and shouted, with a look of fear on his face.
The other people in the palace couldn't bear to look directly at him, they all lowered their heads and trembled.
The atmosphere in the palace became more and more strange. There was a thunderstorm two nights ago, and one of the chamberlains was so frightened that he ran around, shouting that the king was attacking the city.
It seemed that everyone was waiting for this day, waiting for Song Chengxuan to lead his troops to Beijing.
"Your Majesty," the chamberlain quickly came in to report, "there is news from Cining Palace that the Queen Mother has passed away."
Zhang Jingshu's mind went blank, her eyesight went dark, and it took her a while to come back to her senses: "What did you say? The Queen Mother..." The second uncle had just gone to see the Queen Mother during the day, but why was the Queen Mother, who was so good, gone?
"Hurry, go to Cining Palace." Zhang Jingshu walked out anxiously.
In Cining Palace, the servants and palace attendants were kneeling in the main hall.
Zhang Jingshu was helped into the inner room and immediately saw the Queen Mother lying on the bed.
The Queen Mother was wearing a formal dress and a phoenix crown, lying there peacefully, as if taking a nap on the bed. Zhang Jingshu tightly held the handkerchief in her hand, and took another step forward with trepidation.
Under the light, there was still blood on the Queen Mother's mouth and nose.
Zhang Jingshu immediately realized what happened.
The female official whispered: "The Queen Mother took poison and left. How to deal with it in future generations is entirely up to the Queen Mother."
