Chapter 9 Chapter Nine Cold Clouds and Night Rolling Frost Sea and Sky

It was already autumn when Li Chu, Shen Zhenzhu and his party returned to Chang'an from Jincheng County.In the meantime, good news that inspired the ruling and opposition parties continued to come.First, Li Linfu died of illness, and then Yang Guozhong, Chen Xilie and others jointly sued Li Linfu for colluding with the general Absi. In the local area, Li Linfu's coffin was also ordered to be destroyed, the gold and purple dress he was wearing was stripped off, and the body was dug and buried casually.Li Linfu has harmed countless people with his mouth and sword in his life, and finally ended in disgrace.Shen Zhenzhu's father, Shen Liangzhi, was naturally returned to his innocence and returned to his post. Of course, Shen Liangzhi didn't know who was the one who rescued him from the prison, but the most rare thing was that Xuanzong didn't even pursue him.

However, what Shen Zhenzhu did not expect was that after returning to the Guangping Palace, there was still a great surprise waiting for her.That is - Cui Caiping is pregnant! Cui Caiping was waiting for the return of Li Chu and Li Chu at the gate of the palace. Flat-toed shoes and narrow clothes were not only her favorite attire, but also the makeup of the times. She hated wearing those big and clumsy dresses. Naturally, it is not easy to see from the outside, and it is no different from ordinary people.It was Dugu Jing who came forward and said "Congratulations to His Highness", Li Chu finally understood.

From the day she married into the palace, Shen Zhenzhu knew that this day would come, but she didn't expect it to come so soon, she was faintly disappointed in her heart.However, she couldn't show it, she had to go forward to support Cui Caiping with a smile, comfort her, and care for her. This is a princess who knows the general situation.She did the same, she didn't dare to look at Li Chu during the whole process, why?Is it because she is afraid, she is afraid of seeing his joy, afraid that his joy will burn her heart?In Cui Caiping's womb, after all, she is pregnant with his child, his first child, he should be happy and he should be happy, she has nothing to say.

She pushed open the door of Qingyi Pavilion, the room was spotless, tears were clearly accumulated in her chest, but she desperately suppressed them, when she heard Li Chu call "Pearl", she turned around, still smiling as usual.He sighed and said, "I'd rather see you weeping, and I'll betray you." When you become a prince or emperor one day, you will have countless children, just like the current emperor, who can't remember each of them Do you still say that? Remembering that there was a person who had never been seen after returning to the mansion, he asked the maid beside him, "Where is Manager Liu?"

The servant girl was startled, and replied after a while: "Director Liu, it's gone." "It's gone?!" Shen Zhenzhu came back to her senses after a while, and asked, "Why didn't it disappear, when did it disappear?" The maid said: "It's been ten days since Mr. Liu came back from the outside room that day and went to bed early. The next morning, he found that he was lying on the bed motionless. It turned out that he had no breath. The inspection said that he was old and frail, and died of no disease. " Shen Zhenzhu counted the date, and calculated that the day Liu Run died was exactly when Li Linfu died of illness, could it be that when he heard the news, he fulfilled his wish and passed away with great joy?In this way, it can be regarded as a happy funeral.

The impact of Cui Caiping's pregnancy is obvious.The wife of South Korea visits her daughter twice in three days. The noble concubine Xuanzong gives some precious tonics from time to time.After Li Linfu's death, the Yang family became more powerful, and Cui Caiping's pregnancy became more like fuel to the flames. Who could pretend to be ignorant while knowing. Shen Zhenzhu had to personally receive batch after batch of visitors every day, and listened to them repeat those words of compliments and blessings in the same way. Although she dealt with these female relatives with ease, her body was not made of iron, and she gradually felt some discomfort and occasionally became dizzy , Occasional chest tightness.This made Suci and Hongruikong very happy, thinking that she was also pregnant, Murong Linzhi went to Luoyang with Li Tan and did not return, so he asked the imperial doctor in the palace for diagnosis and treatment, but he said that it was just overwork, and it was fine to prescribe a few prescriptions thing.

This day, Li Chu went to the office of the Ministry of Punishment early in the morning as usual. Before leaving, Shen Zhenzhu got up lazily. Seeing her pale face, Li Chu loved her very much, and said, "Sleep a little longer, don't send me off. Look at your strange complexion." Poor, the one who came back is obviously a quack doctor, I'll find another one to see for you later." Shen Zhenzhu replied with a smile: "As the saying goes, illness comes like a mountain, and sickness goes like a thread. Wherever a dose of medicine is taken, the effect will be seen immediately. Healed." Li Chu thought about it, so he dressed neatly and left.

Shen Zhenzhu lay down for another half an hour, remembering that there were still a lot of things to do today, she still had to get up and do her dressing.After breakfast, I went to Liuli Pavilion to visit Cui Caiping.According to etiquette, Cui Caiping should have come to greet Shen Zhenzhu every morning, but Cui Caiping hadn't done it for a day after getting married. Mrs. Han went to the house very early, she didn't look at Shen Zhenzhu directly, the three of them exchanged a few words casually, and Shen Zhenzhu returned to Qingyi Pavilion. Stepping into the door with the front foot, Su Ci has already brought in a cup of steaming medicine with the back foot.Because Shen Zhenzhu thought the medicine was bitter, she asked: "How many more doses of this medicine do I have?" Su Ci replied: "After taking this dose, it will be gone." Fill the cup with medicine, and then said: "It's just that Miss's illness is not cured, so I have to prescribe another prescription."

"If you prescribe another prescription, you won't take this medicine!" Shen Zhenzhu reluctantly drank a cup of medicine, feeling that today's medicine is a bit bitterer than yesterday. "Miss, what are you doing? I think it's hard for Cui Ruren. Shang Pharmacy has been very busy these days. The two sisters, Chun Yu and Xia He, have been making all kinds of strange supplements and anti-fetal drugs for Cui Ruren all day long." , complaining endlessly. I thought those medicines would taste good, sister Xia He secretly told me to taste it, my God! ——I wish I could spit out the rose glutinous rice balls for supper last night. If a woman is pregnant, she will suffer like this , then I..." Gu Zi said, at this time Fang Jue lost his words and hurriedly covered his mouth.

Shen Zhenzhu had already poured another cup of medicine slowly, and after finishing drinking, she softly said to Su Ci: "Don't do this from now on, you shouldn't touch the things in Shang Pharmacy, keep them far away, you shouldn't ask, You can't even look at it." Su Ci nodded in a daze. "Ah—" a heart-piercing scream came, although the distance was extremely far, Shen Zhenzhu's color suddenly changed, and she could hear that the voice seemed to come from the direction where Cui Caiping lived.Then, there was a lot of commotion in the palace, people shouting and shouting, footsteps running around, noisy and noisy, and soon a servant girl came to her out of breath and told her: "Princess , the big thing is not good, Cui Ruren, she, she, she—" said "she" three times in a row, and Fang spit out the second half of the sentence: "I'm afraid I'm going to have a miscarriage!"

Knowing that Shen Zhenzhu was not well, she hurried to Liuli Pavilion again.Cui Caiping rolled back and forth on the wide bed in pain, clutching her abdomen, screaming mother-in-law, sweat dripping down her forehead and cheeks.Mrs. Han was so panicked that she lost her mind. Seeing Shen Zhenzhu as if she had picked up a treasure, she grabbed her hand and stomped her foot, saying, "I'm already seeing red. I'm afraid I can't keep this fetus. Zensheng is better? Zensheng is better." ?” Shen Zhenzhu could only say: “My sister’s life is at stake now.” Dugu Jing said from the side: "The maidservant has sent someone to invite the imperial physician." After Liu Run's death, she had minimized her outings and stayed in the mansion most of the time to take care of various affairs. Shen Zhenzhu frowned and said: "The imperial doctor is in the palace city, I'm afraid he won't be able to arrive for a while, I heard that there is a doctor Wu who opened a clinic in the market on the south side of the palace, his medical skills are very good, why don't you send someone to invite him Come, maybe it will be quicker." Mrs. Han said repeatedly, and Dugu Jing sent someone to invite her. If it really didn't take half a stick of incense, then Dr. Wu would come.After a while, Li Chu and Wang Taiyi also came after hearing the news.After being in a hurry for half a day, although Cui Caiping lost a lot of blood, due to the timely treatment, he finally came back to life.It's just that the fetus in the womb is less than four months old and cannot be kept. Doctor Wang wondered: "A few days ago, the official took the pulse for my wife, and it was smooth and peaceful. How could this happen?" Mrs. Han wept and was annoyed: "I don't know, it happened all of a sudden." Imperial Physician Wang approached the bedside table, picked up the medicine cup on top, there was still medicine juice in it, and asked, "When did Madam drink the medicine?" Mrs. Han thought about it, and replied: "I didn't realize it if I didn't mention it. It was the medicine I took before complaining of stomachache. After taking it, within a quarter of an hour, she had unbearable abdominal pain." Imperial Physician Wang brewed some medicinal juice, sniffed it with his nose first, and then tasted it in the mouth, his face changed in horror and he said to Li Chu: "Your Highness, this medicinal juice contains a very large amount of Phytophthora." Doctor Wu was surprised and also After trying, he nodded and dared not speak again. Mrs. Han's face was like white paper when she heard it, her body trembled, she unconsciously looked at Shen Zhenzhu, who would have thought that Shen Zhenzhu was also looking at her, when the two of them met their eyes, they suddenly came to an idea, stepped forward and pushed Shen Zhenzhu out forcefully Shoving, cursing: "It must be you, you bitch, who killed the color screen with the abortion drug in jealousy." Shen Zhenzhu staggered and fell straight backwards.Seeing that the situation was not good, Li Chu stretched out his hands to help him, but he was one step too late and fell heavily to the ground.He rushed forward to help her up, her hands were wet, she was sweating coldly, but she still struggled to stand up, before Li Chu challenged Madam Han, she sneered and said, "Madam is so knowledgeable, Pearl has been reading poems for several years in vain I don’t know what the function of Phytophthora is, it turns out it can be used for abortion, Pearl has learned.” Mrs. Han was at a loss for words, her face turned red and then pale, her eyes rolled up, and she put her hands on her hips and shouted: "I have given birth to several children, don't you know Shanglu?" With tears streaming down her face, she shouted directly at Li Chu: "Your Highness, Your child was murdered. If you don’t identify the real culprit today and arrest Shen Zhenzhu for questioning, I will definitely not obey you. I will sue the emperor and ask the emperor and noble concubine to decide for me!” Color screen, you are so miserable," he yelled. Li Chu was extremely disgusted in his heart, lightly flicked his sleeves and said: "According to the criminal law of the Tang Dynasty, convincing evidence must be obtained for interrogation." He gave a slight signal to Dugu Jing, Dugu Jing had already understood it, and went outside the pavilion to order Tong Chuan Shang Pharmacy Chunyu , Xia He and so on.Li Chu saw that Shen Zhenzhu was sweating through her shirt after the fall, and her complexion was pale in the sallowness, obviously she was extremely unwell, but he was gritting his teeth to support her, and hurriedly helped her to sit down, feeling very worried.Mrs. South Korea pleaded that she should do her part and sit at the head, as if she was listening to the trial. Chun Yu and Xia He had known something serious had happened, and had been kneeling at the foot of more than ten steps outside the pavilion to wait for orders.After hearing Xuan entered the pavilion, he kowtowed and complained again and again: "Your servant really doesn't know, it's none of your business!" Dugu Jing shouted loudly: "Stop! Mrs. Han, Your Highness is here, why are you making noise. What do I ask, what do you answer." Listening to her ask the two of them one by one, where did Cui Caiping's medicine come from, who prepared it and how long it took.The two answered one by one, and there was nothing suspicious about it.Today's cup of medicine is anti-fertility medicine. The prescription was prescribed by Wang Taiyi, and Xia He prepared the prescription and prepared the medicine for three hours to make it.During this time, the two of them did not leave Shang Pharmacy, and even the breakfast was delivered by Shang Shifang.This is a newly revised rule after Shen Zhenzhu was poisoned a few months ago, to guard against someone taking advantage of it. Dugu Jing asked again: "Who else has been to Shang Pharmacy today?" The two replied that only Suci, the concubine's maid, and Yushu, Cui Ruren's maid, both took medicine for their masters.The jade book came first, and Suci came later. The four of them exchanged pleasantries, because Cui Ruren's medicine was cured first, and the jade book left first, while Suci left later. Dugujing then asked: "Can there be Phytophthora in Shang Pharmacy?" The two answered yes, Phytophthora originally has the effects of reducing edema, eliminating phlegm, relieving asthma and antitussive, so it is always kept in Shang Pharmacy. While speaking, another servant sent out presented several porcelain pots of decocting medicine found in the Shang Pharmacy.Although the size and pattern of these several porcelain pots were exactly the same, after a little discrimination, Wang Taiyi found out the one that still contained pokeweed in it. Dugu Jingnai shouted in a deep voice: "So, since no one else is suspicious, it must be the two of you guarding yourself. There has always been Phytophthora in the Shang Pharmacy, and there are medicine jars containing Phytophthora ingredients here. The evidence is clear, and you have nothing to lose deny!" Chun Yu and Xia He were shocked when they heard that their souls flew to the sky. Xia He has always been aggressive, but at this moment, his own life is at stake, and a dead horse is treated as a living horse doctor. In desperation, he said to Dugu Jing: "No, this servant remembered, there is another person who is very angry. suspicious!" Dugu Jing asked: "Who?" Xia He answered "Yes", her eyes wandered around, and finally landed on Su Ci behind Shen Zhenzhu, pointing at her and said, "It's Su Ci, the princess' maid!" Dugu Jing thought it was an accidental "噫".Li Chu stretched out his arm to secretly grasp Shen Zhenzhu's hand, her wrist tightened, and her slender and delicate hand held his ten fingers, covered by the wide sleeve of the robe, no one saw it.Mrs. Korea showed a smug smile on her face. Dugu Jing asked, "How do you say that?" Seeing that Dugu Jing asked her to continue talking, Xia He seemed to be grabbing a life-saving straw, and hurriedly said: "Your maidservant is bold, after Su Ci came to Shang Pharmacy today, he made her own idea to let her try Cui Ruren's medicine. Try the medicine At that time, the servant didn't care too much, if she took the opportunity to put Phytophthora in the medicine, it would be hard to tell!" Su Ci regretted her greedy mouth in the morning, and immediately knelt down on the ground, crying and defending: "Sister Xia He, How can you talk nonsense, you, Chunyu and Yushu were all there at the time, and three pairs of eyes were looking at me, how could I prescribe medicine? Sister Chunyu, you have to testify for me!" Chunyu has always been on good terms with Suci, seeing this, she couldn't bear it, suddenly Recalling today's events, he kowtowed and said, "Return to Your Highness, Sister Dugu, there is another person who is also very suspicious." There are more and more people being pulled out, Dugu Jing asked: "Who else? Don't talk about it!" Chunyu replied: "This person is Yin'e from Shangshifang!" As soon as the words fell, Mrs. Han jumped up from her seat, slapped Chunyu fiercely, and shouted: "Little bitch, don't talk nonsense, Yin'e E has been with Caiping for so many years, how could she be harmed!" Chunyu resented the pain, and with a heartbroken heart, she gave it all up, and replied: "Your maidservant is not talking nonsense, Yin'e delivered the meal for our sisters this morning. In order to eat, she helped us take care of the medicine that was fried on the stove. Did she move her hands and feet!" Dugu Jing was about to open his mouth to pass on Yin'e, when he heard a loud "boom", Shen Zhenzhu suddenly fell from his seat to the ground, Yushan toppled over, his body stiffened and remained motionless.Li Chu picked her up, and was so anxious that he only called out "please the imperial physician", completely forgetting that there was a genuine imperial physician by his side. Doctor Wang stepped forward to check her pulse, shook his head and said: "It's very bad, the fetus in the womb of the princess may not be saved." Li Chu was frightened, he felt the palm around Shen Zhenzhu was slippery, and when he looked down, it was covered with blood.Shen Zhenzhu didn't seem to be completely dead, her eyes fluttered and a tear rolled out. Shen Zhenzhu had never suffered such pain.It was like going back to ten years ago, when she and him were naughty teenagers, they secretly rowed a boat into the lake, the mountains and rivers were beautiful and the rivers were beautiful, the corners of his mouth curled up rarely, and he smiled a little: "I don't know what it will be like to visit this place ten years later." She was only eight years old, but she was still thinking like a teenager. She replied, "Ten years? Where are you and where am I?" !"... She was about to suffocate... There were thousands of cuts in her belly, and it was like hearing swords in her ears... One after another, the pain in the heart and the pain in the body were separated, overlapped, repeated, endless... ... The young man in the jade crown and brocade clothes was holding her head in a daze... Some things in life, once gone, can never come back... Your Highness, Your Highness, chu, chu... "I'm here, I'm here!" Li Chu finally waited for her to wake up.She was in a coma for a day and a night, and the endless flow of imperial physicians and maids brought out pots of blood that could only make him tremble.Even though the imperial doctor said that she was just having a miscarriage and her life was not in danger, he still stayed by her side day and night without sleep or sleep.If he can wait for her for the rest of his life like this, does he still need to work hard?But if he didn't work hard, would he be able to watch over her for the rest of his life? "忶", she raised the hand that was not held by him, and gently pressed the back of his hand: "I'm sorry, our child, is it..." He leaned over and lifted her up, letting her sleep on the back of his hand. In his arms, he said: "It was my negligence that caused you to suffer. Both father and mother have come to visit you, and they just left." She sighed softly: "They must be disappointed and sad." She turned around and met Li Chu's eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and said deeply in his arms: "Chu, don't leave me, I can't lose you again." Li Chu's chest was agitated, filled with infinite tenderness, and kissed her pale lips. a long time.She asked, "Suci?" Li Chu said: "She is preparing the decoction for you." He asked again, "What about Yin'e?" Li Chu said indifferently: "I have ordered to execute him." Shen Zhenzhu turned her face away, remained silent for a long while, and quietly uttered a sentence: "I really don't know why you put so much effort into protecting that person?" Li Chu was stunned, and said for a while: "Madam Han and Cui Caiping intentionally harmed you, but they harmed themselves. This is exactly what the old saying goes. Cui Caiping is desolate enough at this time, so what's the use of blaming him?" ?” Shen Zhenzhu closed her eyes, her face was pale all the time, her spirit was tired, her voice was low and feeble, Li Chu thought she was tired again, so she didn't speak any more, for fear of disturbing her.Unexpectedly, she slowly uttered another sentence: "You know that the person I'm talking about is not Cui Caiping." She opened her eyes and continued: "Madame Han Han and Cui Caiping bribed the medical officer to pretend that I was pregnant, but they said it was just fatigue, and they were afraid that as time went by, they would eventually find out and ordered Yin'e to put spices in my medicine." Lu. Originally, I was doomed. Although the two maids of Shang Pharmacy were young, they were cautious and careful. They never got the wrong reason for me and Cui Caiping when taking the medicine. Among them, someone must have taken advantage of it by surprise and intentionally They exchanged the medicine pots for the two of us. Speaking of which, this person can be regarded as saving me and the fetus in my womb. It’s a pity that if you save luck, you can’t save life!” She kept saying a bunch of nonsense words, panting.Li Chu beat her back anxiously and said: "If you have anything to say, can you talk about it in two days? Everything is my fault!" She shook her head again and again: "You, you think I'm plotting against you, don't you? I just can't figure out, what is the intention of that person, who has harmed me before, and saved me this time? You let him do whatever he wants, what is the reason? Maybe I shouldn't ask, there are thousands of hills and valleys in your heart, and I shouldn't touch them." Li Chuyin said: "You are saying sad and angry words. You will not know how I treat you." Suddenly thinking that there will be something that will make her sad in the near future, she stops talking.