Chapter 8 Chapter 7 Tianxiang

The day before, Qin Taiwei waited for a while behind the rock until she could not hear anyone's voice, then she found a side door and rushed back to Kunning Palace. She only said that she had waited in the pavilion for a long time and did not see Miss Xu San, so she came back by herself.Fortunately, no one asked.She thought of the strange maid who sent the message, and Yang Lian's nervousness when responding, and felt extremely uneasy. He didn't say anything to her, but he pulled her so hard that he almost crushed her wrist bones.She soaked her wrist in cold water and washed it with soap over and over again, until her skin turned pale, and she still felt that it was covered with the sweat from his palm.The greasy water in the basin is glistening, and there seems to be a towering jade mountain floating in it. The slender and handsome body is covered with clear and shallow water droplets, and the two protruding butterfly bones are as smooth and powerful as the edges and corners of a jade cong... She has never seen anything in her life. The naked male body has never experienced such fear, fear and unspeakable humiliation as it is today.

Qin Taiwei stayed up almost all night, so she got up early and asked for leave to find Zheng Banshan.Unexpectedly, Zheng Banshan went to Xiyuan early in the morning.While in a daze, he saw Zhang Chun, the eunuch in charge of Qingning Palace, with a smile on his face, leading the people towards him. Qin Taiwei didn't even have the chance to return to Kunning Palace to leave a message, so she was taken to the bedroom of Qingning Palace. "Raise your head and let me see what you look like." The queen mother said leisurely. She raised her head according to Li, with her eyes half-closed.Although his face is full of tiredness, under the long eyelashes, there are bright stars shining.

This vaguely resisting look surprised the Queen Mother.She was silent for a moment, then suddenly turned to Li Sizhu and said, "Ask her." After all, Yan walked away. Seeing this scene, Li Sizhu had already guessed a little bit in his heart-how the Empress Dowager hated this girl, after all, she was still a little nostalgic, and at this moment, her anger had been slightly cooled by melancholy.Li Sizhu said in a slightly gentle tone: "I think the garden in our palace is too big, and Miss Qin got lost yesterday?" "Mother Li, are you asking me seriously, or are you just chatting casually?"

"Ok?" "If you ask seriously—there is only my mother and me here, I'm just saying that something is wrong, and my mother won't be able to pursue it in the future. You might as well invite someone from Gong Zhengsi to look at it. I will have nothing to say." Li Sizhu saw that her words were clearly ridiculing that she was not qualified to interrogate palace servants, and she was dissatisfied in her heart, but said: "Just chatting casually, why is Mrs. Qin nervous? Could it be that my old mother was born so scary and frightened?" You dare not even speak?"

Seeing her smiling face kindly, Qin Taiwei became more vigilant in her heart. She calculated carefully and said, "After the arrow match yesterday, a palace official came to deliver a message that Miss Xu San invited me to talk in the garden. I don't know I lost my way in the direction, and I couldn’t find Miss Xu San, so I had to go back by myself. I heard that I had to work hard for Eunuch Zhang to bring someone to find me. I am really ashamed and willing to be punished.” Of course Li Sizhu didn't believe it, and said with a smile: "I lost my way... It's hard for you. Although the garden of Qingning Palace is large, the layout is not complicated. I have been with the Queen Mother for many years, and I only heard that two people walked away. I got lost, and the other one is your cousin. It is said that the girl from your Xie family is smart, so why are you so confused about this matter?"

Qin Taiwei looked at her suspiciously, what does this have to do with Concubine Shu?Could it be that they want to use Concubine Shu to threaten her to confess? Li Sizhu covered her mouth with a round fan, smiled meaningfully, and whispered in her ear: "Your cousin was raised here since she was a child, but she also lost her way. And this time she lost her way, she unexpectedly ran into the emperor. Do you think it's a coincidence?" Li Sizhu's wrinkled and overlapping eye corners are rippling, revealing the sourness and ambiguity unique to the old lady in the deep palace.It was indeed the first time for Qin Taiwei to hear the anecdote about Concubine Shu and the Emperor.Li Sishi is trying to induce a confession, could it be that if Qin Taiwei recognizes her, she will go straight to the sky like Concubine Shu—for example, be given to King Zheng?Qin Taiwei felt sick for a while, took a step back, and said calmly: "Mom is wrong. Concubine Shu is a girl from the Xie family, my surname is Qin."

Li Sizhu became a little impatient: "You are indeed different. Back then, Concubine Shu was about the same age as you, so she wouldn't dare to deny what you have done." Qin Taiwei said: "Mom misunderstood, slaves and maids can't compare with Concubine Shu. Don't say that they dare not speak hard, together with things that Concubine Shu dares to do, slaves also dare not do." Li Sizhu suddenly smiled and said, "Tell me, are you afraid to do anything?" Qin Taiwei felt bad, she got involved in the moment of anger, she calmed down a bit: "Mom wants me to admit what I have done?"

"What did you go to Shenliutang yesterday?" This is absolutely unacceptable!She only met King Zheng and an attendant internal official in Shenliu Hall.Since King Zheng took the initiative to cover up, he must not admit it.Although the other party set a trap, but he couldn't grasp the evidence that she had been to Shenliutang at all, so what can he do? She blinked her eyes, gritted her teeth and said, "Where is Shenliutang?" The crystal curtain slammed and fell on the wall again.The queen mother came in, sat upright at the head, stared at Qin Taiwei without saying a word.Li Sizhu glanced at the queen mother and shook her head helplessly.The empress dowager's heart is as bright as a mirror-Qin is too small to leak water, she has done too much!How could a fifteen-year-old girl's calculations escape her gaze?She suppressed her anger and said slowly: "Come here, let me see your hand."

Hearing the word "hand", Qin Taiwei suddenly became confused.Looking at his wrist, suddenly that snow-white body floated in front of his eyes again, with deceptively radiant skin and clear texture.She subconsciously retracted her hands into her sleeves. Her momentary trance and the ensuing red tide dyed her face naturally couldn't escape the eyes of Empress Dowager Xu. It was six or seven points suspicion, and eight or nine points fell in her heart: "What are you hiding?" She bit the bullet and walked up to the queen mother, knelt down, and handed her right hand up.The Empress Dowager squeezed that limp hand, looked closely at it for a while, and suddenly slapped Qin Taiwei's face with her backhand.Qin Taiwei was caught off guard, was beaten dizzy, and fell to the ground immediately.

"Your Majesty, be careful, your hands hurt." Li Sizhu hurriedly said. "Switching Han Xiang secretly." The queen mother stared at the red marks on Qin Taiwei's face, and said leisurely, "Qin and Xie are worthy of poetry and courtesy, and they even made such things as digging through the wall so gracefully. Now that you have thought of how to deal with it, why don't you change your clothes and take a shower?" Qin Taiwei was dumbfounded for a moment, flustered as if someone had pierced her mind on the spot. Li Sishi also sneered and said: "The fragrance on Miss Qin's body is unusual, she is the only one in this palace."

"I don't, I really don't..." She gradually came to understand, holding back tears and said, "The incense used on the clothes of the slaves is a gift from the empress, please be aware of it." Empress Dowager Xu was too lazy to chatter with her, so she turned around and said to Li Sizhu: "Then send someone to ask the queen, don't say why." She pointed at Qin Taiwei again, "Put her in the back first, don't Anyone is allowed to visit. If someone is looking for Kunning Palace, just say that An Yuan left her behind." It wasn't until noon that Kunning Palace didn't reply, saying that the empress didn't remember whether she had given the pine crow diptero incense to the palace people, and if the empress dowager asked, she would ask someone to check the accounts.Empress Dowager Xu sneered, saying forget it and don't ask any more questions. This day, he didn't even eat a good lunch. Xu Anyuan came back from the shooting range, thinking that he didn't have a good time this morning, and complained endlessly about how stupid Yang Xi was.The Empress Dowager looked at her blushing like a rose, and couldn't help but smile: "It's better to be stupid?" "Of course not!" Xu Anyuan said angrily. The queen mother looked at An Yuan's back, thinking about Shenliutang's romantic case, and felt more and more uneasy. "Should I call Cheng Ning to ask? He followed Zheng Wang yesterday." Zhang Chun suggested. "What's the use? He always only listens to what A Lian says, even if he is killed, he won't be able to extract a single word." The Queen Mother murmured, "—you can ask him, just to hear what A Lian is doing. statement." After asking, he also said that he had never seen any female officer yesterday. "It's like making a string of confessions." Zhang Chun smiled wryly. The queen mother frowned and thought for a long time, then said: "At that time...was Cheng Ning really the only one around?" Zhang Chun understood: "Your maidservant will handle it now." The Empress Dowager's blockade did not work, and the Qingning Palace also had the eyes and ears of the Qianqing Palace.During lunch, the emperor heard the news that Qin Taiwei was detained, and felt very bad.He put down the memorial in his hand and went straight to Qingning Palace, but Luan called back halfway and turned to Kunning Palace. "Fortunately, Your Majesty can still think of your concubines." The queen raised her head from the desk, glanced at the emperor and said calmly. The emperor was also speechless for a while, so he could only murmur: "Concubine Shu is about to give birth, I'm afraid that something will happen at this time and disturb her." Yang Tan sat next to the queen and wrote, and the emperor was a little curious when he saw the graffiti on the paper.The eldest son of the emperor didn't kiss the emperor, and when he saw the emperor taking his notebook, he panicked, quickly grabbed the copybook and hugged it in his arms, crying.The emperor was so embarrassed that he spat all over his face, so he had to wipe his face with his sleeves.The queen coaxed Yang Tan with her arms for a long time before she coaxed the copybook out, but she didn't show it to the emperor, she threw it on the table, and said to Yang Tan: "What good thing do you have to hold on to? Now it looks like your clothes are dirty? Who will wash it for you except your mother?" An internal official had already caught up and led Yang Tan down to change clothes.The emperor bit the bullet and said: "What is it, do you have a clue?" "How would I know?" "People are entrusted to you—" The queen glanced at the emperor, her eyes were as quiet as the moonlight in winter. The emperor lowered his head unconsciously: "Xianluan..." "No matter what happened, after all, it was because His Majesty loved her too much that the empress mother blamed her." The emperor argued: "I don't want to..." "Forget it," the queen interrupted him suddenly, "Your Majesty, don't intervene for now, lest the queen mother will be even more angry. Let the concubine think of a way." The emperor breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at the empress guiltily.The empress looked at him sideways, feeling more and more cold-hearted, and said more lazily: "Your Majesty, let's go, wait for the courtiers to check other female officials in the palace." The emperor was not at all at ease about the queen's promise.His anxiety grew bigger and bigger, but he could only hover in his stomach, like a fist that couldn't get out.Going around and back to Qianqing Palace, he did three things.The first one is not to allow anyone to go to Xianyang Palace to spread rumors; the second one is to send people to Xiyuan to disclose the news to Zheng Banshan; the third one is to sweep all the memorials piled up on the table to the ground. The small pastel cup fell into powder on the gold brick floor, like crushing a piece of ice and snow, the cold light is overwhelming.The young internal official in Tsing Yi was terrified by the broken porcelain splashed all over his face, and kowtowed incessantly.The Empress Dowager said with a livid face, "Say it again, and make it clear word by word!" "Slaves... Slaves were originally guarding Shenliu Hall. Slaves should never die... Shouldn't have listened to people's advice and ran to the front to watch the theater... I just thought, anyway, there is Eunuch Cheng. I watched it for a while." After two glances, I ran back... As a result... I saw Eunuch Cheng scolding... reprimanding his subordinates at the gate. The slaves were afraid of being scolded, so they wanted to go around to the back door... I saw, I saw... His Highness led a woman out ..." The Queen Mother frowned, and said coldly, "Have you told anyone else about this?" "No, no. The servants absolutely dare not." The little internal official repeatedly kowtowed. "Huh!" The Queen Mother sneered, "Such a new and good thing, if you slaves see it, you can easily let it go? Why don't you spread the word to all the Sangong and Six Courtyards immediately?" "Your Majesty is very careful...the servant didn't say a word..." Empress Dowager Xu waved her hand impatiently, and the little internal official was immediately dragged out.Now that the matter has become a mess, now there is no choice but to deal with it quickly.According to her temperament, she simply took advantage of Yang Lian not coming back and the emperor had not been alarmed, and executed Qin Taiwei stick.The familiar face suddenly appeared in front of her eyes, and she sighed unconsciously.Rao is as vigorous and resolute as Queen Mother Xu, and she can't give this order for a while. For a while, someone from Kunning Palace came back, and the female official only said: "The empress has asked someone to check the accounts, and the pine window diptero incense was indeed awarded to several female officials, and the last box was given to the person inside the Qin. Even Shen Nu Shi, who is in the same room as Qin's wife, also shared this incense. The empress said that it is inappropriate to give the things that the prince gave to the palace, and please forgive her for the crime of misconduct." "It spread quickly." The Empress Dowager glanced around and said with a sneer, "If the cat here meows, a few tiles of the Kunning Palace will fall off." Cao Dianji kowtowed and said, "Please forgive me, Queen Mother." "Do you have anything else to say?" Cao Dianji said: "The queen mother has nothing else to say. The slaves are bold, but there is one thing they want to tell the queen mother." "Speak." The Queen Mother said. "While watching the play yesterday, Shen Ye, the female secretary of the Shangyi Bureau, was with Qin's wife all the time. According to Shen Ye, she once heard a palace official tell Qin's wife that Ms. Xu San invited her to Shenliu Hall. This servant thinks This matter is so strange that we have to report it to the Queen Mother, so we also brought Nvshi Shen here." "Come in." The queen mother said coldly. Shen Ye lowered his head and came in, kowtowed tremblingly, but heard the Queen Mother ask: "How long is Shen's daughter Shi Niangeng, and how long has she been in the palace?" "If you go back to the Queen Mother, the maidservant is seventeen years old and has been in the palace for three years." "Three years, okay..." The Empress Dowager said with a smile, "Qin Taiwei has not entered the palace for a few days, she doesn't know what to say. You have been in the palace for three years, but you still don't know where Shenliu Hall is? Since you heard Why don't you stop me? There has to be a limit to lying!" Shen Ye hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, forgive me. The servant girl saw the wonderful drama at the time, so she didn't think about it deeply... Although it was a little strange, I just said... I just thought that Miss Xu San now lives in Shenliutang." "What are you talking about!" Queen Mother Xu said. "Your Majesty, calm down." Li Sizhu looked shameless, and quickly said angrily, "Empress Empress is lenient, you are so used to being so unruly, you dare to talk about anything. Since you said that there are palace people lying about orders, Then why don't you point out that palace man?" "This is exactly what the servants are here for." "Thank you for your kindness." The Empress Dowager smiled, "However, last night when Qin Taiwei went back, you didn't ask her what good dramas were performed in Shenliu Hall?" "My servant asked me." Shen Ye panicked, "Qin Taiwei said that the palace servant took her out of the theater and turned around. She lost her way in the garden and did not find Shen Liu. Hall." This is the truth, and the Queen Mother does not doubt her.How dare Qin Taiwei tell people the truth of the matter?The queen mother looked at the trembling Shen Ye, then at the calm Cao Dianji, and said with a smile: "It's too late, it's too late for you to say these things. Someone here saw Qin Taiwei slipping out of the back door of Shenliu Hall. You guys Let's go back and ask the queen, what should we do in this situation?" The two female officials looked at each other, unable to say anything for a while.Shen Ye had no choice but to bow down in front of the Empress Dowager, and begged: "There is a real person who misinformed the order, please let me find her out and question her." The Empress Dowager didn't say much, she simply taught someone to lead her there, and looked at the maids of Qingning Palace one by one.After watching for a stick of incense, I still couldn't find it.Shen Ye came back with a bitter face and just begged: "Yesterday, people from all the palaces came to Qingning Palace to watch a play, maybe they were people from that palace. This also shows that someone secretly framed Qin's people and brought the empress dowager's reputation. I beg the empress dowager Check all the palaces carefully, and we must find that person..." "There are a total of two to three thousand women in this palace. Are you going to admit them one by one? What if you don't remember clearly? If you point it out, they won't admit it?" Li Sishi said, "Besides, don't tell me Can the whole palace be disturbed because of a small palace man?" The Empress Dowager already had doubts in her heart, but now the most urgent task is not how to find out that person, but Qin Taiwei and Yang Lian were in the same room, is there any... She said to Li Sizhu: "I'm afraid it's already quarrelsome. Gong is restless. If that's the case, go find someone from Gong Zhengsi." Li Sizhu narrowed his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, you want to have a test?" The Queen Mother nodded. Amid Shen Ye's weeping pleading voice, Empress Xu silently put on her big gown, got on a phoenix sedan chair, and headed straight for Qingning Palace.He had just been greeted at the gate of the palace, and before he could say anything, he saw Chen and Li, two Shang Gongs from Gong Zhengsi, rushing over, with expressions of shock, anger and annoyance, Li Shanggong's sleeves were all crumpled.The Empress Dowager left the Empress behind and asked, "How?" Chen Shanggong kowtowed and said: "Going back to your mother, it's because the servants are incompetent, and they haven't tested it out. That little lady is very stubborn, and she refuses to let anyone get close to her." The Queen Mother sneered and said: "You two are old and used to it for a long time, why were you caught by a little girl today?" Chen Shanggong said: "The servants were careless for a moment, and asked the little lady to take a grate knife, saying that they would rather die than be humiliated. They also said that the servants can ask Wu Zuo to do an autopsy, and they can do whatever they want, as long as she Live but cannot be touched." "Okay—" the Queen Mother said in a drawn out voice, "then let's do the autopsy!" The Empress Dowager was furious to the extreme, and her jet-black pupils shone with a cold light that was as sharp as needles.The queen winked at the two Shanggongs, walked into the hall and knelt down, and said in a deep voice: "Please be quiet, mother, don't kill people while you are angry." The queen mother sneered and said: "If you want to pretend to be a great virtuous person, the emperor will tolerate it no matter how many new lovers he takes. Now that I'm here to be the villain for you, isn't it good?" The empress heard such harsh words, but her face remained unmoved, she still calmly said: "The concubine begged for Qin's wife, not for the emperor." She stood up, walked to the empress dowager, and said with a barely audible voice He said in a low voice, "The courtiers and concubines dare not discuss government affairs indiscriminately, because the eldest son has just entered Beijing, and the officials are all staring at the Xu family. This is the daughter of the Qin family and the niece of the Xie family. go outside..." The Empress Dowager claimed to be fearless, but if someone used this to make a fuss, it would be at the disadvantage of Xu after all.After all, it is still hindering the face of the emperor and concubine Shu. The empress dowager is not happy, and she can't turn against her own son because of this matter. "She's a little palace lady, just like a cat in the palace. She can't keep her mother's words. It's not worth fighting for her." The queen said softly, "Even if Ah Lian It's not a big deal to have her for a while, but it's not beautiful if there is a quarrel." The Empress Dowager's face gradually softened, but the resentment in her eyes was getting deeper and deeper: "If Ah Lian likes it, then reward him, it's not like there is no precedent for a palace servant to serve the prince - but this palace servant must not be a disaster! " The queen said bluntly: "This child is still young, so it's not possible." "Still young?" The queen mother sneered, "I also thought she was still young, so I left her alone all the time. I didn't expect her to provoke Ah Nean—I'm afraid that like a mother, like a daughter!" After saying this, the Empress Dowager suddenly fell silent, as if regretting her slip of the tongue.The queen was quite surprised, she looked secretly, and saw that the queen closed her eyes slightly, two long lines were carved on her lips, which seemed to be written with deep and unspeakable sad memories. The queen waited for a long time, but she didn't say anything after seeing her mother, so she had to say: "I have sent people to Xiyuan to guard, just wait for Ah Li to return to the palace, and immediately call him over. Just ask Ah Lian about what happened. " The Empress Dowager's eyes slowly slid across the empress's quiet and gentle face, fell to the gold brick floor, and then rose to look at the corridor with two rows of cypress trees outside the hall.She pondered for a while before asking, "Will he tell me the truth?" The queen said: "Ah Lian has always been obedient in front of the queen mother." The Queen Mother was silent. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sat drinking tea and were speechless for a while.After a day of tossing, the queen mother only felt exhausted physically and mentally, and was too lazy to say a word.While the queen was silent, she couldn't help thinking about all possible endings and the countermeasures she had to come up with.Seeing the stiff atmosphere, Li Sizhu suddenly said: "Why don't you let Miss Xu come over and talk to the two ladies for a while?" The Empress Dowager's heart trembled again, and she reprimanded lightly: "Are you confused too? Hurry up and send a message to Concubine Xian's Palace, asking her to send someone to invite An Yuan to sit there. Let her go after the things here are over. return." The queen and Li Sizhu looked at each other, and a smile appeared on the corner of their mouths.Li Sishi is a considerate person and remembers to remind the Queen Mother of everything.But Xu Anyuan will know sooner or later. The white horse walked slowly into Xi'an Gate with the last ray of setting sun.Zheng Wang Yang Lian came down from the balcony mountain, and walked around the city in a micro-clothes. At this time, he was exhausted and fell asleep in the car.As soon as he entered the palace gate, he was supported by the shaft of the car by an old white-haired official. He raised the curtain and looked at it, and asked in surprise, "Mr. Zheng?" Zheng Banshan jumped into the car, and asked face to face: "What happened in Shenliu Hall yesterday?" It was dim in the car, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were filled with anxiety, Yang Lian's sleepiness disappeared, and he immediately explained the matter in detail. After hearing this, Zheng Banshan suddenly said: "The reason why His Highness hid Miss Qin is because His Highness believes that this is a setup by the Queen Mother—but why does Your Highness think so?" Yang Lian was stunned for a moment, then unconsciously asked, "What do you mean by that, sir?" "Did Your Highness not think about other possibilities?" Zheng Banshan asked eagerly, "If you just want to deal with Miss Qin, why set up a trap? Even if you set up a trap, why bother to involve Your Highness? Miss Xu San is still here , how could the Queen Mother do such a thing?" Yang Lian regained his composure and said slowly, "It's for me." He suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold. Zheng Banshan said: "Now the Empress Dowager is furious, and there are witnesses in hand. I'm afraid this matter can't be resolved." Yang Lian pondered for a while, then suddenly sneered and said, "So what if I can't be kind? It's nothing more than to confirm my stigma." Zheng Banshan said, "His Highness will be summoned to Qingning Palace to confront him later. Have His Highness and Ms. Qin discussed how to deal with this matter?" "Never." "Then we can only tell the truth. This is not a big mistake - as long as the Queen Mother is willing to believe it." Zheng Banshan sighed, "I have a request, Your Highness wants to save Miss Qin's life tonight no matter what." Yang Lian shook his head, even if he wanted to, he might not be able to keep it.Seeing that the carriage was approaching Qingfu Hall, Zheng Banshan caught a glimpse of a string of palace lanterns coming from the Jinaoyudai Bridge in the distance. Selfishness. But His Highness also needs to know: if she dies, this matter will never be found out." The thin back of the old internal official seemed to float lightly, and was hidden among the willow trees beside the road, his white hair was like a broken catkin.Yang Lian was stunned for a moment.The long night is approaching, and the Taiye Pond under the twilight is constantly surging, like a beast about to wake up from a deep sleep, slightly restless.Looking at Zhang Chun's respectful face, Yang Lian had an idea in his mind.He quietly took a deep breath, and said calmly: "I'll go back to the palace and change my clothes." "Just like that?" Empress Dowager Xu raised her tired eyes. "It's just like that." Yang Lian replied in a deep voice. "Aside from Cheng Ning, who else is there?" "There is no one else. Whether the queen mother can believe it or not, I always say this." Followed by a long silence, only two fingers of Empress Dowager Xu clasped on the hardwood arhat bed, making a slow sound of "du, du".Empress Xu couldn't help holding her breath, and the fan that was shaking in her hand stopped. "I believe you..." The Queen Mother suddenly smiled softly, "...but did you ever trust me?" Yang Lian's back stiffened: "...I dare not." "If you want to clean up a little palace lady, send her to the bedroom of a young man. From your point of view, Yang Lian, your grandmother is such a vicious villain, and the schemes she came up with are also so dirty. There is no difference. Not only that, but I also plotted against my grandson to hurt your dignity and humiliate your reputation, so that when you met Zhang Chun, the first thing you did was not to explain yourself, but to cover up and lie to your face. , lest my trick of killing two birds with one stone succeed. I said, didn't I?" Yang Lian knelt down on the ground with a "plop", Jishou said: "The empress dowager is as merciful as the radiance of three springs, and she always favors the minister. However, the minister mistakenly believed that Xiao Xiao was ignorant, so that he fell into the gangster's hub and became a villain. This kind of wrong thing has failed the Queen Mother's teachings. I am so ashamed that I dare not defend myself." The Empress Dowager's fingers visibly twitched.Yang Lian bowed his head respectfully, the cheeks under Wusha Yishan's crown were like finely crafted jade, impeccable.Now that he has grown up, he looks more and more like his father, the Empress Dowager suddenly felt cold and didn't want to argue with him anymore. "That's all. Go and see Qin Taiwei. Tell her that King Zheng has said everything, and teach her to invite her according to the truth. If there is a disagreement, she will not want to live." Although the meaning of these words was cruel, it was said out of breath. Chen Shanggong came back soon, and replied: "The confession of Qin's wife is indeed the same as His Highness." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.The Queen Mother looked at the Tang Huaer in the teacup in a daze, as if she had never heard of it.The queen waited for a while, and could only say: "It was the girl who didn't tell the truth a long time ago, and made the matter so big. Now it's fine to talk about it, because there is nothing wrong with it." With a bang, the teacup fell on the table.Everyone was shocked. "Nothing?" The Empress Dowager said softly, "In broad daylight, hiding the emperor's... Palace servants in the bedroom, is that nothing?" The empress was startled, and had to stand up and kneel down to worship: "Mother, please calm down. The child's family was confused for a while, but fortunately, he did not act out of courtesy. The concubine thinks that if this matter is pursued further, it will become more and more black. Both the empress dowager's and His Highness's names are detrimental. Why don't we just settle here." The queen mother was silent for a while, and then said: "Of course it has to be settled." But she didn't say how to end it. The queen thought that the queen mother probably didn't plan to do anything to King Zheng, so she urged Yang Lian in a low voice. Yang Lian kowtowed again: "I know that I have committed a crime, and I am too late to regret it. Please punish me, grandma." The queen mother said coldly: "Since you call me grandmother, I will always have to forgive you. Get up." Yang Lian got up silently, and stood aside with his hands down.When the Empress Dowager looked up, she saw that there were tears in the corner of his eyes, and she couldn't help but feel touched. She wanted to comfort him, but found that it was just a flicker of candlelight, and she was dazzled to see it wrong. "The person inside the Qin... Actually, there is nothing wrong with it." The queen tentatively said. The Empress Dowager raised her eyebrows: "She? Don't let her go! She was originally a lowly servant girl from the Clothes Bureau. Where did she come from?" "Mother, after all, she is..." Anger rose in the queen mother's heart, and she sneered and said, "Xianluan, I know what you are here for. Take her back, and let this palace man who broke into King Zheng's bedroom go back to the emperor's dragon bed .Do you want your husband to be gossiped by people inside and outside the palace again? Can such a thing happen a second time?" As soon as these words came out, the queen was so startled that her complexion was snow-white, she couldn't help but took half a step back, and subconsciously turned her head to look at Yang Lian.Yang Lian's expression was as cold as usual, but he didn't seem to have heard this word. "Empress, you don't care about your son and daughter-in-law's affection, you don't care about Concubine Shu's pregnancy, you don't care about the outside discussion, you also have to think about the seriously ill Eldest Princess..." The queen paused, and finally gritted her teeth, "... There is a dead Zitai." These two words are really useful.The hard lines on the back of the queen seemed to loosen quietly.She was really tired from being tortured by this grandson and niece: "Then what do you say? It is absolutely impossible to stay in Da Nei." "Or let her go home and forget it?" "Empress, is 'going home' a punishment or a reward?" the Empress Dowager said. Of course the empress knew the reason why palace servants who did not make mistakes would be sent back home, and sending them to the nunnery to practice was also a way out, but...she couldn't help but glance at Yang Li...could there be a second time for such a thing... … For a moment, thousands of thoughts also turned in Yang Lian's mind, but he was looking at the queen.He suddenly said sternly: "It turned out that I acted carelessly for a while and harmed innocent people. The matter has come to this, I'd better ask the queen to send her to my residence." The queen mother was stunned for a moment, heard what he meant, and said with a sneer: "Just now I begged for mercy and pleaded guilty, but now I come to ask for someone. Do you really want to get rid of it?" Could it be that if I don't need people, I can get rid of it? ——Yang Lian thought to himself.But what he said was: "I have nothing to do with her, so there is no need to disassociate her. Besides—" he made up his mind, and added another sentence: "Besides, I have always appreciated her talent." The queen bit her lips, trying to hold back the lines of laughter that were about to overflow from her lips—after tossing for a long time, he finally brought it up by himself.That's right, anyway, it has become like this, so what if he simply takes Qin Taiwei?But the empress already wanted to see the emperor's fury, the embarrassment of the empress dowager, the annoyance of concubine Shu, and... Miss Xu's disappointment.What a good Yang Lian, push the boat along the current, and lead the fire into the neighbors. He would rather lose 7,000 to himself than kill 10,000. "Appreciate her talent?" The queen mother wondered. The queen hurriedly said: "Qin's wife has a good handwriting. In the Kunning Palace, he often copied Qing Ci. A Lian also appreciated it very much when he saw it." The Empress Dowager smiled and said: "That would be a pity. I have used some torture just now, and her hands are probably useless. It is useless if you go?" The queen gasped unconsciously, she still underestimated the queen mother's determination, no matter what the truth is, I'm afraid the queen mother doesn't intend to let Qin Taiwei end well.Yang Lian also couldn't believe it, the queen mother's smile was full of mockery: "I can't write, do you want it too?" The innocent and shy girl reappeared before his eyes.After using some punishments... his hands are useless... He suddenly shivered—is Qin Lingxian's daughter destined to die by his hands?Zheng Banshan said, "Your Highness, please save her life no matter what." It was really absurd. "I want her," he heard himself say. The queen mother was silent for a long time, and finally said to the queen: "She is from Kunning Palace, so you can make the decision." The Queen let out a breath of relief. "Who did this, he is really amazing." "No matter who did it, it will show his feet sooner or later." Li Sishi rubbed the empress dowager's shoulders, "Today's business is over, so please don't be angry, empress." "Am I angry because of those young people?" The queen mother said lightly. The cat's tail is soft and smooth, and it feels like the finest brocade slipping through the palm of your hand. There is nothing more gentle than this.But with just a little effort, it will grunt in pain, and occasionally turn its head and open its mouth to bite the owner's finger, but it won't bite too hard. It only dares to nibble slightly with its fine teeth, which seems like a coquettish invitation , What a flattering and cunning beast.The queen mother suddenly felt impatient, picked up the white cat by the neck, and threw it to her knees.The cat meowed twice, felt bored, and ran outside in a hurry. "Does he know something about the prince..." the queen mother whispered. "How could it be?" Li Sizhu hurriedly stopped the words, thought for a while and then added in a very soft whisper, "Besides, I can't blame the empress for the prince's affairs..." "I remember that A Lian was the most self-conscious and respectful of his reputation since he was a child. When he was seven years old, because he went to the Rabbit Mountain with a small eunuch to dig herbs, Taifu Dai said a few words about favoring the eunuch and spending time playing. He cried for a whole day, and never played with the eunuch again. Now, to anger me, he actually..." The Empress Dowager said, "...Could it be that they really have something that they want to be covered by a brocade?" Li Sizhu smiled and said: "Your Majesty, you think too much. Now that the person has taken her away, everyone is happy, so there is no need to pursue these matters." "Am I overthinking?" The queen mother said angrily, "This girl looks innocent, but don't forget who her mother is!" Whenever the queen mother mentioned that person, there would always be an unspeakable silence.Li Sishi was already familiar with the queen mother's mood, and after waiting for a while, she answered irrelevantly: "Today is a good day for His Royal Highness Zheng Wang..." The Queen Mother suddenly remembered something. When we returned to Qingfu Palace, it was already dark.Yang Lian was exhausted after running around for a whole day, he was exhausted, so he casually ordered Cheng Ning to arrange a place for the new couple, and went back to his room to sleep.Just when he was leaning against the pillow, he suddenly heard someone coming from Qingning Palace.When I got up to look, it was two elderly palace men who brought a wooden box, saying that the Empress Dowager had something to give to Qin's family, and first showed it to His Highness. He opened the box and saw that inside was a white silk that was as shiny as a blade. Yang Lian was taken aback, and said sharply, "What does this mean? Didn't he already release him?" The two palace servants looked at each other and said, "His Highness, please rest assured, this thing is used to make beds." Yang Lian was stunned for a moment before he understood, his face gradually turned pale.He closed the box and said to the two palace men: "Put it down and go." The two palace servants refused to move: "Your Highness, forgive me, but the slaves have to go back and report to the Queen Mother." The Queen Mother still doesn't believe it, she never believed him, Yang Lian thought.He had heard that among the common people, there was a practice of laying a white cloth on the marriage bed to test the chastity of the bride.But even scholars and officials would disdain this move, let alone the royal family.It's a shame she figured it out!The two old female officials held the box high and waited solemnly. It was obviously an ambiguous affair, but they wanted to do it in a high-sounding manner.The gap between the two old faces was filled with thick makeup, and there was not a single bit of undignified or unseemly expression - in fact, they were waiting to see his jokes in their hearts, right?Yang Lian felt disgusted to the extreme. He waved his hands as if chasing away mosquitoes, signaling them to go down and get ready. He stood in the room for a while, and his palms were covered with cold sweat.After hesitating for a long time, I finally passed by myself.Along the road, it seemed that someone congratulated him repeatedly, and someone graciously opened the door for him, and lit a room of red candles like blood. The girl had already changed into her pajamas, her hair was half loose, and she was sitting on the edge of the bed.The two old palace people should have explained it clearly to her. Yang Lian thought of the Qin Taiwei he saw in Huangshicheng at the end of last year.In winter, the air is cold and the sunlight is like a waterfall. She is like a section of ice hanging under the eaves, with a fragile and crystal-clear shimmer refracted all over her body.那时候他恨不能一手拗断了她以解胸中危厄。可是冰凌紧握于手中，亦会带来切肤刺骨之痛。 床中鲜明刺目，那一尘不染的白色正在肆无忌惮地嘲弄着无辜的新人。他忽然冒出一个念头来：如果她不愿意……他要怎么打发走那两个老宫人，难道再回去和太后斗上一场？若她肯像那些姬妾一样曲意逢迎，大约一闭眼也就完事了。但她不动如松，只是瞪大了一双秀美的眼睛，目光像盲人一样散漫却深不见底。 他俯身捧起她的双手查看，手心被戒尺打过，肿得像个桃子，手腕手指却还能动，并未伤及筋骨，不至于真废掉。他又随手拉开她的衣带，剥去中衣，解开贴身的主腰，看见雪白柔嫩的肩背上有一道道藤条留下的红痕，不深，却也触目惊心，似乎轻轻一碰就会流出血来。 他的手指触碰到她身体时，她终于控制不住地躲闪起来。 “实在不愿意，”他停下来叹道，“我也不勉强你。” 她茫然地看着他。 “你想回宫里去？” 她猛烈摇起头来，抽噎道：“不去，不回去……” 他略觉意外，又问：“那怎么办？” 她呆了呆，还是摇了摇头。彼此沉默了一回，她终于抬起蒙蒙泪眼，勉强看了看身边的男子，只觉无地自容，抖着嘴唇道：“我就留在殿下这里……” 他暗暗松了一口气，谨慎地将这具伤痕累累的身躯揽至怀中，尽量温柔地抚慰着。她的肌肤莹白如玉，胸前隐隐透出细弱的淡青色脉管，被亲吻时会绽开嫣红的花朵，又似有惑人的幽香从其间漾出。 琴太微仰倒在白绫上，默默任他施为，目光竭力回避身边男子的面容身躯，亦刻意忽略肌肤贴紧时的陌生温热。她脑中盘旋起了无数画面，就是不敢去想眼前发生的事情。身体碎裂的一刻终究降临，她将声音死死压抑在喉间，两行泪水却从灼红的腮边骤然滑下。 觉出她身体深处强烈的战栗，杨楝迟疑了一下：“很疼？” 她在枕上摇了摇头。分明痛楚至极，嘴唇都咬破了，迸出几粒珊瑚般的血珠子来。杨楝看得出神，忽然俯下头去尝那血珠的味道。她一时猝不及防，便已唇舌交缠，浓稠甜腥的滋味一直冲到胸臆。这深吻中竟有意想不到的甘美，令他难以抑制地着力起来，几欲穿透她菲薄的躯体。无所不至的羞耻感令她再也无法忍受，她忽然迸出一声号啕。 毫无征兆的哭声把杨楝惊醒，令他自云端上一脚踩了个空。一俟他退出，她立刻合拢双腿钻到被子里躲起来。喘息犹未平定，哭了几声又发出一串猛烈的呛咳。似乎有人拍了拍背，她把被子攥得更紧，不漏一点光亮，恨不得当场窒息在这片浓黑里。 杨楝头晕目眩，坐在一边等了会儿，才渐渐平静下来，心中怅然空乏。见她哭得无边无际，又不肯听一点哄劝，自家亦觉无趣，种种烦闷懊恼重新涌起。扯过白绫察看，其上果然溅了几滴芙蓉红泪，见证她刚刚失去的纯真。 "is that true?" “奴婢们就守在外面，应当是真的。” “阿楝……怎么说？” 当时槅扇哗啦啦一声拉开，她们还未及道喜，眼前忽的一片雪光。是杨楝把白绫狠狠摔到她们脸上，疾步离去，连个眼神都没有留下。 两个宫人犹豫着回道：“殿下……并没有说什么。只是琴娘子像是哭昏过去了。” 天水碧色的软烟罗帐子拨开一角，露出半张如霜雪般凝白的脸。太后似乎想要看看，老宫人连忙靠前，呈上那段揉皱的白绫。似乎瞥见了一点淡红，像是凤仙花瓣被指甲碾出的汁液。太后只觉不堪入目，便迅速撂下帐子，叹声道：“去吧。把这个……烧了。” 两个老宫人躬身退下，刚到门口，忽听见太后又说：“你们先拿着这个去宫正司，一一交代清楚，该记档的都记下。今日皇后做主将尚仪局宫人琴氏指与徵王为侍姬，在此之前绝无苟且事。若有人再敢胡言乱语，格杀勿论。” 夜凉如水，重帷深下，安息香的氤氲渐渐冷淡下来。李司饰点起一盏小灯，拨了拨鎏金博山炉中的冷灰，添了银炭，又续上一块内造香饼，候着那非青非紫的温煦烟气渐次升起，重新缠绕在雕梁画栋之间。她长久不敢睡下，听见帐中的呼吸一直都是凌乱。太后不曾睡着。这一日连串的惊诧、动怒、失望和遗憾，心情大约很难平复，太后毕竟年事已高。虽然终是勉强了局，但某些东西已经悄然破碎，再不能弥缝——或者说其实早已破碎，直至今日终是血淋淋地扯开了真相。 “什么时候了？”帐中人忽然问道。 “三更了。”李司饰轻声回道。不知西苑那边是何等哀凉情形。好在这一日终将要结束了吧？ 然而这一日竟未结束。 徐皇后自清宁宫出来，先回坤宁宫哄了杨檀睡下，又叫了曹典籍和沈夜过来仔细交代了一番话。更衣喝茶小憩，看看时辰已晚，方摇摇摆驾往乾清宫来。皇帝果然还未就寝。他其实早已得了消息，听完皇后的回话，强捺住心中不快，劈面问道：“为何要将琴太微指给徵王？” 皇后讶然道：“事已至此，这难道不是最好的办法吗？” “为何会有'事已至此'？”皇帝道，“事情首尾可曾查清？” “尚未查明。请陛下放心，臣妾一定暗中详查，不会让幕后之人逃脱。不过母后既说今晚要做个了局，臣妾就想索性成全了他们吧。” “成全？” 皇后冷笑道：“琴娘子出身高贵，与徵王年貌相当，才情堪配，臣妾瞧着竟是一双璧人。不知陛下以为如何？” “你将她配了谁也不该送给徵王做妾室！”皇帝咬牙道，“她是熙宁姑母的外孙女，朕将她留在宫中，是要当郡主来抬举的……” “陛下何苦自欺欺人！”皇后忽然打断了他，“若只是如此，何必将她和谢家公子生生拆散？” 皇帝豁然扬起了手，却迟迟不能落下。皇后毫不躲避，双目直视皇帝，瞧着他脸上红白青紫不停变幻。皇后心中只觉畅快无比，不由得轻轻一笑，又道：“陛下可知，是阿楝自己开口问我要人的。” “这又是为什么？”皇帝不觉问道。 “好色而慕少艾，人之常情么。他说他喜欢琴太微。”她脸上挂着叵测的笑容，故意将“喜欢”两个字重重地强调出来，“既然他有这话，我就不能不给了。不然，母后会也担心……陛下是想叫人说，你抢了侄儿一个意中人不够，还要抢第二个？” “住嘴！”皇帝恼羞成怒的声音如同惊雷一般在乾清宫上方响起，“你是我的皇后，怎么能说这样的话……” 皇后愤然仰起头，张嘴正要说什么，忽然听见皇宫深处传来一声孩童的啼哭，隐隐如游丝。她面上一滞，心神顿时涣散，万言千语一时都落了空。 不对，这里是乾清宫，杨檀的哭声传不到这里来。莫非是猫叫？太后宫里的猫，有些是很不安分的。但是皇帝似乎也听见了什么，面上病态的血红色渐渐退去，他盯着眼前的女人，忽然觉陌生而又哀凉。她竟然这么恨他。 娶她为妻并非皇帝的初衷，但当年那位美若谪仙的徐家长女盛装华服，翩翩初嫁，他亦曾发自内心地艳羡和欢喜。徐仙鸾娴静温雅，颇知书礼，在庆州就藩的最初几年，他们亦曾有过描眉点翠、赌书泼茶之乐。直到第一个孩子降生，却成了一场始料不及的灾难。他至今尚不理解，为什么上天会让一个痴儿降生在他家，是前生注定不得圆满，是惩罚他对权力的觊觎，还是仅仅因为，他在她怀胎时竟与陪嫁侍女偷欢，使她动了胎气？ 他是皇帝，他可以用各种借口渐渐躲到一旁，寻找别的女人，养育别的孩子，而她却逃不开，避不掉，只能独自承受这终生不绝的磨难，还要装作忽略了他的背叛。把皇后的宝座送给她，他就可以心安理得吗？她原来这么恨他。 “仙鸾，别恨我。我也是不得已。”说出这句话后，他觉得浑身都抽空了。 皇后幽幽地叹了一下。夕殿萤飞，凉意彻骨，她的叹息声哀婉如泣。皇帝的内心忽然涌出一股久违的温柔，他一时激动，捉住她的手将她牵入怀中：“仙鸾……我们再生一个孩子吧。” 不意皇后别了脸，轻轻将他甩开，声音清澈而平静：“臣妾才不会做这样的傻事呢。” 皇帝的手臂僵在半空。 “檀儿不能成为太子，陛下也就不必处心积虑地废嫡，还可以多容臣妾几年。古来太子多薄命，近在眼前就有你的皇兄为例证。傻是檀儿的福气，亦是臣妾的福气。”皇后是笑着说这番话的，笑容中的悲凉却深冷刺骨，“再生一个嫡子，万一他聪明颖悟堪当大任，陛下可怎么办呢？檀儿和臣妾又该怎么办？” 皇帝哑然，一时竟想不出回应的话语，却见皇后蓦然退后，低眉敛衽，仪态万方地行了个大礼：“夜已深了，臣妾告退。陛下也早点安歇吧。” 数着更鼓敲三下时，珠秾微微醒了一下，听见淑妃的床里仍是辗转反侧。她下床踮着脚走到床边，果然听见帐中吩咐拿茶来。 炉中的茶水是刚刚温热的，淑妃咽了一口，却又撂下了。珠秾笑道：“娘娘这是怎么了？白日里也没睡一会儿。眼看就要生了，能多睡一时是一时。” 谢迤逦摇摇头：“我不困。” 珠秾道：“要不我陪娘娘说一会儿话？” 谢迤逦忽然翻身坐起，愣愣地盯着她的眼睛：“那你告诉我，琴妹妹怎么了？一个字都不要瞒着我。你们什么事都瞒着我，还怪我睡不着！” 珠秾一时慌乱，不知她是如何听到风声的，此时也不及多想连忙劝慰道：“娘娘别多心了。我晚上听见清宁宫的消息，说原是一场误会，如今没事了。” “清宁宫放过她了？”淑妃疑疑惑惑地问道。 “对，对，放过了。”珠秾道，“而且坏事倒变成了好事，皇后将琴娘子指给徵王了。” 谢迤逦一时耳目皆空，头晕目眩，只是茫然地点头：“是啊，是好事。” 珠秾犹自喋喋道：“玉稠姐姐还说，过几日咱们还应该给琴娘子送点贺礼去呢，倒不知送什么合适。” “是啊，送什么好呢……”谢迤逦喃喃重复着她的话，挣着坐起来，伸着一只哆哆嗦嗦的手，往床头的格子里面摸东西。珠秾连忙扶着她的背，忽觉她腰身一软，整个人瘫倒了下来，把珠秾压了个倒仰。珠秾惊骇着爬起来，只见她半躺在床沿上，牙关紧闭，面色青白，珠秾颤抖着摸她身下，竟是大片温热猩红…… “来人哪——” 皇城夜空的宁谧，终于又被凄厉的尖叫声划破。 神锡七年的五月十日晨，淑妃谢氏诞育皇子，母子平安，普天同庆。