Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty

The palace is the place where rumors spread the fastest, and any troubles can't be hidden from the eyeliners arranged by the concubines, not to mention the fact that Mrs. Yu ordered someone to poison me, which temporarily increased the conversation between the people in the harem after dinner. Within a few days, it was rumored in the palace that Mrs. Yu died because of me. The resentment was soaring, and the ghosts lingered. The ghosts often haunted Lenggong and Yongxiang, and even disturbed Tangli in the middle of the night, scaring me so much that I couldn't sleep peacefully at night.Gossip always spreads wider and wider, and the more it is spread, the more embellished it is, the farther away it is from the truth.Not to mention the theory of ghosts and gods, which has always been believed by everyone in the harem.

The rumors of the ghost of Yu's ghost became more and more serious, and even dozens of palace concubines claimed that they had seen the ghost of Yu's family, with white clothes and long hair, blood on the face, horrific and horrific, and they kept demanding that those who harmed her should pay for their lives.It has been making everyone feel insecure and restless. I was plagued by nightmares every night, and my spirit was getting worse and worse. Xuan Ling was very worried and had nothing to do.Just at this time, the master of the Tongming Hall said that the emperor’s yang energy was the strongest, and the ghosts sitting in Tangli would not dare to come to harass him again, and he began to perform water and land rituals day and night in the Tongming Hall to save the souls of the cold palace.So Xuanling stayed with Tangli every night, and sure enough, my nightmare gradually got better.

It is the custom of concubines to make peace in the morning and evening.Because I have encountered twists and turns in recent days, and my body and mind are exhausted, the empress understands the emperor's intentions, shows pity for me, and intentionally spares me a few days to settle down.In the past two days, his spirits have gotten better, so he still went to ask the queen for An Xie'en.The weather in recent summer has the most thunderstorms.It was the evening when I went to pay my respects to the queen. The weather was still fine when I went, and there was a sunset glow in the sky.I didn't want to talk to the queen and concubines for a while, then the sky changed drastically, and there was thunder and lightning, and the rain began to pour down.

Jiang Fuhai went out to have a look and said, "It's raining very hard, I'm afraid it won't stop for a while, and it will delay the return of the ladies and gentlemen to the palace." The queen smiled and said, "It's like a child's face changes as soon as it is said, the younger sisters can't go away. It seems that God wants to keep you to chat with me to relieve boredom." With the empress in front, whoever dared to complain about the weather and rushed back to the palace laughed and said, "It's not because the heavens have intentions. Seeing that the empress's phoenix body has recovered and her head is gone, this rain falls."

The queen couldn't help being happy when she saw the coincidence of what she said, and became more interested in chatting with us.It wasn't until the third quarter of the unitary hour that the rain gradually stopped, and everyone bid farewell to the queen and dispersed. At the beginning of the heavy rain, most of the concubines went together.I saw Shi Meiren was alone, so I took her to go with me, Meizhuang and Lingrong. After leaving Fengyi Palace, I saw Concubine Hua and Concubine Ligui were about to board the chariot and go back to the palace together, but they did not see Cao Ronghua who was usually her companion.The four saluted Concubine Hua and Concubine Li, Concubine Hua looked at me and said, "Wanyi is much more haggard, I think it will be hard to be haunted by nightmares."

I shrank in fright when I heard the words, looked around in panic, and whispered: "My lady, don't tell me, that thing has spirituality and will entangle people." Concubine Hua said disapprovingly: "Is Wanyi unconscious? Talking nonsense in front of me." Mei Zhuang hurriedly made a rescue and said: "Ms. Concubine Hua, please forgive me. Zhen Wanyi was quite shocked this time, it's really..." Mei Zhuang carefully looked around: "It's true that many people have seen it with their own eyes, so we have to be careful." Shi Meiren believed in the theory of ghosts and gods the most, so she couldn't help but nodded and said: "That's true. I heard that one night, a small inner prisoner in Yongxiang was so scared that he peed his pants and couldn't get out of bed for several days."

I said worriedly: "It's fine if she hates me. I heard that the emperor wanted her to commit suicide that day, and none of the concubines who had been on good terms with her pleaded for her, which made her die tragically in the cold palace..." I saw Li behind Concubine Hua The concubine's body trembled slightly, her face showed timidity, and she stopped talking. Concubine Hua straightened her face immediately, and said disdainfully, "As a concubine, how can I be as knowledgeable as those slaves, and I will lose my status. Besides, she deserved her own death, who can intercede for her!"

I panicked and said, "We shouldn't have said these things, but people are panicking now." I looked behind Concubine Hua and said, "I heard that Cao Ronghua has always been bold, so if we have her company, we can rest assured. Huh? Why don't you see Cao Ronghua today?" Concubine Ligui said: "Emperor Concubine Wenyi is suffering from cold, Cao Ronghua has to take care of her, so I can't come to greet the queen today." Concubine Hua stared at me, and smiled slightly: "Wanyi has a careful mind, she must be worrying too much, Wanyi needs to be more at ease. Only after doing something wrong to her heart, there is a ghost knocking on the door in the middle of the night."

My voice was unreal as if forced out of my mouth, with faint sobs and erratic voices: "Your Majesty said so. If she knew who taught her to die, I'm afraid the resentment would be even greater." Concubine Li Gui's face turned slightly pale, she stared straight at me and said, "Zhen Wanyi, you...what's wrong with your voice?" I still had a faint smile on my face, and stared at her, as if I didn't know: "What did your concubine say? I'm not fine." I looked up at the sky, and pulled the sleeves of Meizhuang and Lingrong. Said: "Hurry up, hurry up, it's getting so dark." Shi Meiren was frightened by my tone, and hurriedly pulled us to bid farewell to Concubine Hua.

Ling Rong and Mei Zhuang smiled shyly at Concubine Hua, and hurried away. The road was slippery and difficult to walk after it rained, and the night was dark and windy, so the group walked very slowly.The sky was as dark as thick ink, and the street lamps on both sides of Lian Yong Lane looked much dimmer than usual. The wind was blowing against the trees, and there was an inexplicable strangeness. Ling Rong and Shi Meiren unconsciously approached Meizhuang and me.I glanced at Meizhuang uneasily, and suddenly heard several shrill screams in front of me, piercing through the dead of night Yongxiang, making everyone's hair stand on end, the four of them looked at each other, and no one dared to go forward to see what happened, as if Even the scalp is numb.

That voice screamed wildly—"It's not me! It's not me! It has nothing to do with me!" I pulled Meizhuang's hand and said, "It's Concubine Li's voice!" I turned around and pushed the person behind me Xiao Yunzi said to him: "Go quickly! Go and tell the queen!" Xiao Yunzi was ordered to run to Fengyi Palace immediately. Shi Meiren still hesitated to move, so Mei Zhuang, Ling Rong and I hurried over and stayed there together.Sure enough, it was Concubine Li Gui, and several palace servants serving the chariot were so frightened that they collapsed on the ground and could not even speak.Concubine Hua stood beside her and yelled at her sharply, but she couldn't stop her screaming.The chariot was parked by the side of Yongxiang Road, and Concubine Li was curled up under the chariot, her hair was disheveled, her complexion was pale, her eyes were as big as copper bells, and she was about to bleed, screaming frantically one after another, as if I saw something terrible and was greatly frightened. Afterwards, Shi Meiren, who arrived later, saw Concubine Li Gui's situation, and instantly became pale, and several staggered and fell, leaning her back against the palace wall, looking around in fear, "She's here?! Is she here?! " Concubine Hua was already startled and angry, but when she heard what Shi Meiren said, she couldn't hold back anymore, she came over with a few strides, and shouted angrily at Shi Meiren: "If you talk nonsense, I'll send you to the cold palace immediately!" Her mouth was full of momentum, but her body couldn't help it. Trembling slightly.Concubine Hua turned around and pointed at Concubine Li Gui and shouted to the eunuch next to her, "What are you doing standing there! Why don't I drag her out from under the car!" The crowd hurriedly went to pull Concubine Li, Concubine Li struggled desperately, waving her hands indiscriminately, and shouted vaguely: "It's not me! It's not me! I got the medicine for you, but I didn't teach you how to do it." Damn Zhen Huan..." Concubine Hua's complexion changed drastically when she heard her shouting in confusion, and her voice lost her tone, she shouted angrily: "Concubine Li Gui has lost her mind! Why don't I gag her with a cloth and bring her back to Mixiu Palace?" Go!" Concubine Hua gave an order, and someone rushed forward. Seeing that the opportunity was wrong, Mei Zhuang stopped in front of Concubine Hua, and said: "Concubine Hua, think twice, I don't know what happened at this moment, the empress should send Concubine Li back to her Palace of Yanxi Palace and call the imperial physician urgently. Why do you want to go to Mixiu Palace first?" Concubine Hua calmed down and said: "Concubine Ligui is out of character and out of character. If she is witnessed by her concubines in the palace, how can she be the lord of the palace in the future? It is more convenient for me to take care of you." Mei Zhuang said: "Your Majesty is very true. But the incident happened so suddenly, the concubine thought that she should order someone to go back to the Emperor and Empress first." Concubine Hua's eyebrows twitched slightly, seeing that the internal eunuchs were unable to act immediately with Mei Zhuanggeng behind her, she was very impatient: "It is expedient. Concubine Li Gui is in such a situation that I am afraid that the emperor's voice will be polluted. I will report it later. It's not too late." Seeing that Mei Zhuang still stood and did not back away, she couldn't help being very annoyed, and her tone became hasty and sharp: "Besides, I have always assisted the empress in managing the six palaces, does Concubine Hui feel that I have no power? !" Mei Zhuang has always been calm and doesn't like to cause trouble, but today he was in a stalemate with the number one concubine in the harem, Concubine Hua, and she seemed unwilling to back down.Concubine Hua glared fiercely at Zhou Ninghai who was beside her. Zhou Ninghai just recovered and covered Concubine Ligui's mouth to prevent her from shouting again. I was secretly anxious, wondering if the queen would arrive in time, otherwise, this effort would be for nothing.Right now, we have to wait for Concubine Hua to wait for the Empress to arrive. Once Concubine Li enters Mixiu Palace alone, it will be very difficult! Mei Zhuang gave me a wink, I stood beside Mei Zhuang, and said: "Your Majesty, the concubines and concubines of the sixth palace, how dare you doubt it, but Ligui Concubine is the head of the first palace, this is a big matter, I really should tell the emperor and the queen." , so as not to blame the emperor afterwards." Concubine Hua's almond eyes were filled with anger, her silver teeth were clenched, and she said coldly: "Even if Wanyi sees the beauty of the heavenly family every day, there is no need to bring the emperor out to suppress my palace. Wanyi and Concubine Hui are blocking my palace like this. Can't you get along with me?!" "The concubines and concubines are extremely terrified by what the empress said. It's not that the concubines want to make things difficult for the empress, it's just that the concubine's poisoning was involved in Ligui's words, and the concubines had to do something unnecessary." The silence around was like waves of clouds and eerie, except for Li Guifei's sobs from her mouth being covered and the roar of the wind, no one dared to make the slightest sound.Concubine Hua glared at each other, and the situation was on the verge of breaking out.The silence lasted for a while, but I felt it was too long. Concubine Hua finally couldn't hold back, she scolded to the left and right: "What are you doing in a daze! Take your concubine away quickly." . Seeing that he was about to be unable to stop him, he was annoyed, and all his thoughts were wasted. I heard the announcement from a distance: "The Empress and the Empress Feng are here-" I saw the eight gilt silver and eight treasure lamps approaching gradually, and the phoenix chariot surrounded by the maids and inner eunuchs came quickly.My heart was relieved, and it really came. It was windy at night, but the queen was still neatly dressed and sitting on the phoenix chariot, showing the power of the master of the harem even more. Concubine Hua had no choice but to take two steps forward and kneel down to salute with us.The empress didn't seem to be in the slightest displeasure, she just woke us up, and asked straightforwardly: "That's fine, what happened to Concubine Li Gui?" When Concubine Hua saw the Queen's question, she knew that the Queen was aware of the matter and could not lie, so she could only say: "Concubine Ligui suddenly fell ill, and my concubine wanted to send her back to the palace to call the imperial doctor for treatment. Because the incident happened suddenly and it was too late to report to the Queen, I hope the Queen will Forgive me." Concubine Hua fixed her mind, looked at the queen and said, "But the queen's news is also fast, but I can't keep up with these efforts, Shilan is really ashamed of herself." She said and gave me a hard look. , I didn't realize it, I just stood in accordance with the ceremony.The matter between me and Meizhuang has been completed, and the next thing is the Queen's job. The queen nodded and said, "Since it happened suddenly, how could I blame you, Concubine Hua? What's more..." The queen smiled gently: "It's my duty as a queen to know all the big and small things in the harem and deal with them properly." The queen's words were as warm as a gentle breeze, but she pressed her head on Concubine Hua with her own dignity. Concubine Hua's face was livid with anger, but she couldn't refute it. After saying that, the queen got off the phoenix chariot to see Concubine Li Gui, walked closer, said "Hey", frowned and said, "Zhou Ninghai, how dare you cover Concubine Li's mouth like a slave, what kind of offense is this! " When Zhou Ninghai saw the queen questioning him, although he was afraid, he didn't dare to let go. He only went to see Concubine Hua secretly.Concubine Hua took a step forward and said: "The queen doesn't know something. Concubine Ligui is ill and talks nonsense, so the concubine asked someone to cover her mouth to avoid disturbing people's hearts with obscene words." "Oh." The queen raised her head and glanced at Concubine Hua, "Then let go of Concubine Ligui first, is it possible to cover her mouth like this and send her back to Yanxi Palace?" Only then did Concubine Hua motion for Zhou Ninghai to let go, Concubine Li was freed suddenly, she threw herself under Concubine Hua's knees and shouted indiscriminately: "Madam, save me! Madam, save me! Mrs. Yu came to me! She came to me! Madam, you Know that I didn't teach her to do this, it wasn't me!" Concubine Hua hurriedly said: "Yes. It has nothing to do with anyone, she did the evil herself." Concubine Hua bent down, slowed down her tone, and persuaded softly: "Don't be afraid, your concubine, Mrs. Yu didn't come. Let's go back to the palace." Concubine Li retreated a few feet away, rolled her eyes and looked around, then stared at Concubine Hua strangely and said: "She is here. Really! Madam, she has come to seek revenge on us! She blamed us for letting her go Dead end!" In the quiet night, the wind in Yongxiang blew close to the ground, Ligui Concubine's words were blown in the wind, and everyone who heard it couldn't help but change their complexions, their bodies felt chills, and felt that the hairs all over their bodies were standing on end, as if Yu's dead soul was wandering around, grinning at us. Concubine Hua was overwhelmed by what she said, furious and furious, and scolded: "Are you going to die! What nonsense!" Glancing at me, she tried her best to hold herself back: "There is a wrong and a debtor! Even if Mrs. The person who killed her, what are we doing?!" I stood behind Concubine Hua and said slowly: "What Concubine Hua said is true. There is an injustice and a debt. You don't have to be afraid." Concubine Li Gui looked at all the people around her, and suddenly threw herself under the queen. She was extremely terrified, and her strength was so great that she almost knocked the queen into a stagger. The good queen pulls concubine Ligui away.Concubine Li Gui wept in fear and grabbed the hem of the queen's phoenix skirt, crying: "Ghost! There is a ghost! I...I don't want to die!" The queen also felt uneasy, and waved her hand, "It's not proper to be so noisy. I don't feel at ease when I go back to Yanxi Palace like this, so I helped Concubine Li go back to Fengyi Palace in my palace to resettle." Concubine Hua hurriedly said: "Empress, Concubine Li's illness seems to be insane, how can you disturb your rest in Fengyi Palace, you should go to Mixiu Palace where I will take care of you." The queen smiled and said: "Fengyi Palace is so big, there is always a place to settle it, so Concubine Hua doesn't have to worry about it. Besides, Concubine Li is in a state of confusion, but she keeps saying that Zhen Wanyi's poisoning is involved in her words, and the palace needs to investigate. Is Concubine Hua Do you think there is anything wrong with Concubine Li Gui in this Palace?" Concubine Hua raised her eyebrows, Danfeng's eyes were domineering, and said: "The concubine will naturally not worry that the queen will take care of her improperly. It's just that the emperor personally ordered the concubine to assist the sixth palace. Of course, I think the concubine can share the queen's worries. The empress will not let the concubines 'share their worries'? If so, the emperor is afraid that he will blame the concubines for not being considerate of the empress." Concubine Hua's words were extremely blunt, and the palace people around the queen all showed dissatisfaction.The queen was stunned for a moment and had no reason to object, she just hesitated and said nothing. I see that things are going to be complicated again. If Concubine Li and Concubine Hua go with Concubine Hua, all previous efforts will be wasted.I immediately said: "Your Majesty is the lord of the six palaces, you will take care of it yourself, the emperor must be more at ease." After saying that, I hurriedly knelt down and said, "Respectfully send off the empress." Mei Zhuang reacted very quickly, pulled Lingrong Shi Meiren to kneel down and said together: "Congratulations to the queen." The queen couldn't help saying, and brought Ligui concubine back to Fengyi Palace. Concubine Hua was furious but helpless, her hands trembled with anger as she watched the empress lead Concubine Li away, almost fainting. Back in the palace, Liu Zhu Huanbi had already prepared some side dishes for supper.Jinxi closed the door, I looked at Xiao Lianzi who was waiting in the room and said with a smile: "If you want you to pretend to be a ghost, I have wronged you these days." Xiao Lianzi hurriedly said: "My master's words are going to kill the servant." He made a funny face and laughed: "But the servant secretly looked in the mirror, and that really made me jump." I couldn't help laughing, nodded repeatedly and said: "That's not true! You frightened Concubine Li Gui quite a bit, and you made a lot of mistakes by talking nonsense." "I didn't think that this little bit of skill from the slave could come in handy. I really have to thank Sister Liu Zhu for teaching me to put on the sleeves and Sister Huanbi for drawing the funny faces." Liu Zhu couldn't hold back his "puchi" laugh: "What are we? It's Miss's idea." After thinking for a while, he said to Xiao Lianzi: "I'm afraid that your ghostly outfit will be burned quietly. There will be bad things if there are traces." Xiao Lianzi hastily agreed. Jinxi signaled them to calm down, and said: "Don't be happy yet. Now it seems that Concubine Hua is definitely instigating, and Concubine Li cannot escape the responsibility. It's just that Concubine Li is insane, and she may not be able to do what she says." I pondered for a while, scratched my head with jade and gently patted my hair, said: "You are right. However, the Queen may not let this opportunity go. We just need to stand on the sidelines and give a few pointers when necessary. Play It's already started, and the gongs and drums are beating, so it's better to come on stage one by one." I smiled lightly, "It's good to rest tonight, and I'm afraid there will be an accident waiting for us."