The eyes of Jiuzhu, Chen Wang, and An Wang all turned to Princess An.
Concubine An turned her head silently and looked at the only imperial doctor who didn't look at her: "Sir, concubine mother has used this incense several times in recent days, is it harmful to the body?"
"It didn't have much effect a few times." The imperial doctor glanced at her and was able to hide and eat, indicating that the spleen and stomach were not affected at all.
"That's good." Princess An let out a sigh of relief and asked the maid to give it to the imperial doctor Xie Yin. She turned to look at Prince An: "My lord, this incense was sent by Empress Wei Zhaoyi, do you want to…"
When it comes to other concubines, as juniors, they dare not make decisions lightly.
"Fifth brother." Although King An is timid and fearful, he is a little more courageous than usual when it comes to the safety of his mother and concubine: "I want to report this matter to the empress."
The queen is the master of the harem, and no matter how things go, she cannot surpass the queen.
He didn't understand a little. Since he was a child, he was mediocre in both civil and military affairs, and his character was mediocre. The worst thing he did was to follow a few brothers to cook a hot pot in the house of the injured fourth disciple.
But it was the fifth brother who came up with the idea at that time, and the elder brother was the one who ordered the palace servants to prepare.
As for his mother-in-law, after her father ascended the throne, he gave her the title of Zhaoyi. In the past so many years, the title of the mother-in-law has not been promoted. It belongs to the father and the emperor who pass by her on weekdays, and will not take a second look.
Who would go to such great lengths to figure out their mother and son
Picture what
It can't be to save a sum of money for the father and the emperor to support their family, right
Suddenly, his expression changed, and he looked at King Chen suddenly.
Could it be that someone found out that he successfully hugged his thighs and hated him
Or, someone hates the fifth brother, but this person can't do anything about the fifth brother, so he uses him to vent his anger
He only knew that competing with his brothers for the crown prince was in danger, but he didn't expect that hugging his thighs would also be risky.
"It seems that Empress Zhaoyi's lunch is temporarily unavailable to us." King Chen stood up and turned to look at Lu Zhaoyi, who was walking back to the door: "Miss Zhaoyi, go and sit at the Empress's place."
Lv Zhaoyi didn't expect that she just went out for a trip, and when she came back, the younger generation changed her face. She asked nervously, "What happened?"
Could it be that she secretly ate folk snacks such as stinky tofu, fire, glutinous rice cakes, snail noodles, etc., and was discovered by King Chen
There are rules in the palace, you can't eat anything outside the palace at will. But this kind of rule basically opens one eye and closes the other. Which concubines in the palace have not eaten anything outside the palace
"Mother concubine." Princess An's face was pale: "There is something wrong with the incense Wei Zhaoyi gave you."
Of course, she didn't mention the things she accidentally leaked.
Lu Zhaoyi was stunned for a moment, then nodded to King Chen and Jiuzhu: "It's time to go to the Empress's concubine, the concubine's matter, I have to trouble the Empress's concubine."
She looked at the four young people in the hall and sighed in her heart.
The heirs of the royal family have to come to this point in the end.
It is hoped that the tragedy of Xiande's last years will not be repeated on these princes.
Wei Zhaoyi was sitting at the table eating, and Princess Jing was standing at the table preparing dishes for her, looking pale.
After Princess Jing picked up a few chopsticks, Wei Zhaoyi motioned her to sit down: "I see that you look bad, what happened?"
"Back to the mother-in-law, the daughter-in-law's family just came in with news that the daughter-in-law's uncle was taken by Jin Wuwei to the Jingzhao Mansion for questioning." Princess Jing bowed her head with a very respectful attitude: "I don't intend to disturb the mother-in-law's interest in eating, please Mother and concubine forgive."
"what happened?"
"I don't know my daughter-in-law, but I only know that it was the order of King Chen and King An." Princess Jing forced a smile: "The previous two years, King Chen and the family were not very happy, and there may be some conflicts."
"I'm not surprised that Yun Duqing gave such an order. What is Prince An doing?" Wei Zhaoyi was a little puzzled. When did Prince An have such courage
"Recently, King An has been trying to please King Chen, maybe it's..." Princess Jing whispered, "Maybe it's surrendering to King Chen."
"He is so sure that King Chen will inherit the throne?" Wei Zhaoyi sneered, and then said: "Don't worry, Jing Zhaoyin is an upright person, even if it is the order of King Chen, as long as Du Qingke does not commit any crime, he can return home safely as usual. ."
Princess Jing hesitated for a moment, then whispered: "Daughter-in-law is worried... King Chen will deliberately frame it."
Wei Zhaoyi glanced at her daughter-in-law with a half-smile, with a bit of sarcasm in her tone: "Do you think Yun Duqing wants to deal with a certain official in the DPRK and needs to be framed?"
"Mother-in-law..."
"Forget it, don't say any more." Wei Zhaoyi interrupted her: "There are no fools in the palace. Don't put your little tricks in front of this palace."
Princess Jing turned pale.
"Niangniang." An eunuch hurried in: "The empress and Niangniang want to see you."
Wei Zhaoyi's brows were furrowed. It was dinner time. It was definitely not a good thing for Su Meidai to see her at this time.
She glanced at Princess Jing: "You will stay in the Sixth Palace and take care of things outside the palace."
After speaking, he hurried to Mingyue Palace.
Mingyue Palace is the most special palace in the harem.
The palace where the emperor lived was named Taiyang, which means the center point of the highest point, and also means that the scorching sun is in the sky.
The scorching sun and bright moon are the right households, and they are extremely honorable. What are other palaces
Inconspicuous stars at night
Wei Zhaoyi looked up at the plaque of Mingyue Palace. This plaque was newly replaced by His Majesty after his enthronement, and the characters were also written by His Majesty. From the very beginning, His Majesty has been showing everyone the difference between Su Meidai and other concubines.
"Wei Zhaoyi, please come this way." The maid at the door led her into the hall.
Then... She saw a large group of people sitting around the dining table, and Lu Zhaoyi sat in the corner with a satisfied face.
"The concubine has seen the Empress." Wei Zhaoyi gave a big gift.
"Come here?" Queen Su pointed to the vacant seat beside Lu Zhaoyi: "Sit down and eat together."
"Hui Niangniang, the concubine has already eaten." Wei Zhaoyi glanced at the crowd, and finally landed on Ming Jiuzhu.
Aware of Wei Zhaoyi's gaze, Jiuzhu raised her head and met her eyes.
Wei Zhaoyi smiled at her.
"What are you looking at?" King Chen put Jiuzhu's favorite dishes into her bowl.
Jiuzhu shook her head, leaned on King Chen's shoulder, and whispered, "King Jing and Wei Zhaoyi look alike."
"When it comes to humiliating people, Ming Xiaozhu, you are a master." King Chen laughed: "It is said in the palace that of the five princes, only King Jing looks the most ordinary, and you also say that he looks like Wei Zhaoyi, Isn't that cursing?"
"Who talked about his appearance?" Jiuzhu poked his shoulder lightly: "Buddhist has a saying, a person with a red face and withered bones, no matter how good-looking, is only a skeleton after death."
"Why do people who grew up in Taoist temples still talk about Buddhism?" King Chen brought the soup to her: "Drink the soup first."
Being stared at by her mother drinking soup at home, and being stared at by His Royal Highness drinking soup in the palace, Jiuzhu felt that she was a soup pot. She took the soup and drank it, put down the bowl and continued to whisper, "The Shidao family is relative, but I'm not talking about the looks, but the feeling between their mother and son."
They are clearly there, but it is very easy for people to ignore their existence.
Master said that everyone in the world has a meaning of existence. If a person is ignored in any situation, it can only mean that this person is deliberately reducing his sense of existence.
Such a person is unlikely to give the problematic incense to other concubines in the palace, because it does not meet her usual low-key standards.
It took a lot of time for a lunch. Although the mother-in-law didn't tell Wei Zhaoyi why she was here, she just stood there quietly, with a respectful and humble attitude, without the slightest anxiety.
Whether it was the Zheng family who had been given death by their father, or Zhang Concubine, they were all nervous when they came to Mingyue Palace alone.
Jiuzhu carefully observed Wei Zhaoyi, and after a while, she said to King Chen, "I think she has a relationship with the Buddha."
With such a good heart, it would be a pity not to chant sutras.
"You traitor of Taoism, you are actually worrying about the development of Buddhism." King Chen chuckled: "If this is a fake compassion, wouldn't it damage the reputation of Buddhism?"
"Du Qing, Jiuzhu, what are you two whispering about?" Empress Su sighed when she saw that the two of them were on top of each other's heads. After all, this is the scene of the harem trial, can you two be more serious
"After returning to my mother, we are worrying about the future development of Taoism." King Chen said confidently: "The matter in the harem, my son and Jiuzhu can't talk about it, you don't need to care about us."
Empress Su: "..."
I don't want to care, but the way you two are whispering is really arrogant.
"Wei Zhaoyi." Queen Su looked at Wei Zhaoyi: "Do you know that the incense you gave to Lu Zhaoyi is poisonous?"
When Jiuzhu saw Wei Zhaoyi's calm and self-controlled face, she was surprised. It was an unexpected surprise, but this expression was quickly magnified by her, as if she wanted everyone to know her mood at the moment.
"Niangniang, concubines don't know." Wei Zhaoyi knelt down: "Concubines and Lv Zhaoyi have no grievances or hatreds, and they often communicate with each other. How could concubines poison Lu Zhaoyi's heart?"
After she finished speaking, she looked at Lu Zhaoyi anxiously, but because she was always clumsy, she only said a few words like "it's not me" and "please believe me" for a long time.
"Don't worry, let's talk about how that incense was made?" Empress Su took a sip of Xiaoshi tea: "Before the matter is clarified, this palace will not wrong any innocent person."
"Niangniang, the concubine was sent by the queen mother to the hidden residence. She is the incense maker by the queen mother's side." In front of several juniors, talking about her past, she looked a little unsightly.
In fact, the status of several concubines in the harem, except for the Zheng family who was given death, was not very high.
"The incense given to Sister Lu Zhaoyi was made by the concubine herself." Wei Zhaoyi said, "But the concubine is using this kind of incense for Sister Lu herself, so how could she use it to poison her?"
Empress Su raised her arm lightly, the maid brought the spices from Wei Zhaoyi's palace, and the imperial doctor took the incense and examined it carefully.
"Niangniang, ladies and gentlemen, the incense in Wei Zhaoyi's Palace is indeed very similar to the incense in Lu Zhaoyi's Palace, but the raw materials of the flowers are somewhat different." The imperial doctor said, "The scent of the exchanged flower is very similar. The efficacy of the drug is comparable to that of another flower."
Hearing this, Wei Zhaoyi knew that she was being plotted against.
Who is counting on her
"Wei Zhaoyi, is there anything you want to explain?" Empress Su looked at Wei Zhaoyi, but there was not much anger.
Even the victim Lu Zhaoyi looked at Wei Zhaoyi without much resentment.
"Niangniang, concubine, I really don't know why there is a problem with the spices given to Sister Lu." Wei Zhaoyi kowtowed and had no choice but to accept her fate honestly.
"Queen Mother." Jiuzhu said, "Daughter-in-law thought that maybe Empress Wei Zhaoyi had changed the ingredients when she was making the spices, or accidentally made them wrong."
It is impossible for a person who is good at making incense to get the wrong ingredients.
Most of the people in the audience guessed that Wei Zhaoyi might have been calculated, but if there is no evidence of calculation, they often can only accept fate.
Jiuzhu said this sentence, just to give each other a step down.
"Yes, Niangniang." Lu Zhaoyi reacted and took the initiative to say, "Sister Wei has been with me for many years, so she shouldn't hurt me like this."
"Since Lu Zhaoyi and Princess Chen are interceding for you, this palace will reduce your crime by three points. It's just that the matter has already happened, and this palace cannot go unpunished." Empress Su turned her head and asked Xiang silk beside her: "Xiang silk, according to the rules of the palace , Murdering the concubine, what crime should be punished?"
"Return to the maiden, the light ones will go to the rank and move out of the main hall, and the heavy ones will be killed."
As soon as the word "stick" came out, King An and Princess An shook, and they leaned towards each other, like helpless little pitiful people.
"Although Weiss is wrong, the guilt is not enough." Queen Su chuckled.
An Wang secretly glanced at Queen Su, who was in the first place, and didn't even call "Wei Zhaoyi". It seemed that the Empress did not plan to spare Wei Zhaoyi at all.
"From now on, Wei Shi will be downgraded to Jieyu to save himself." Empress Su gave Wei Shi a gentle smile: "Are you satisfied with this palace's punishment?"
An Wang shrank his neck.
Descending people from the second-rank Zhaoyi to the third-rank Jieyu, and asking people whether they are satisfied or not, is to pierce the hearts of people with a needle.
"Thank you for your generosity." Wei Jieyu looked at Queen Su gratefully, and kowtowed to her, as if she had really picked up a huge bargain.
"This matter is over, let's all step back." Queen Su yawned: "Bengong is sleepy."
The crowd quickly left.
After everyone in the hall retreated, Empress Su sneered: "The spy who sneaked into my son's palace and intended to replace the incense, I am afraid it is the person under Weiss."
"The lady has a good heart, but it's just to lower her rank." Xiangxian answered quickly: "She still has nothing to do with it."
"Yeah." Queen Su raised her eyebrows lazily: "Whether it's her or not, some things have nothing to do with her."
Anyway, she is a domineering queen, what more reason does she need to say when she is a queen
"It's a pity." Jiuzhu walked out of the Mingyue Palace and sighed with emotion.
"What a pity?" King Chen was curious.
"It's a pity that a good seedling who has a relationship with Buddha is still a Jieyu and can't leave home." Jiuzhu shook her head and sighed: "Probably, this is life."
Hearing the Buddha's words, Lu Zhaoyi remembered the fear when he copied the scriptures last year, and quickly moved to the side, away from Jiuzhu.
Wang An and Princess An looked at Jiuzhu in horror. The Empress just wanted to downgrade Wei Shi, but Princess Chen wanted to make her a nun.
Ruthless, or Ming Jiuzhu ruthless.
King Chen raised his eyebrows and glanced at the husband and wife, both of them quickly withdrew their frightened eyes.
"Ming Xiaozhu, why do I think you seem to be a little bit repulsive to Weishi?" King Chen stretched out his arms, put his arms around Jiuzhu's waist, and walked to the side: "Come, tell it to your lord, and I will help you. come up with an idea."
"Maybe it's because I was raised by a Taoist family." Jiuzhu's face was unfathomable: "This is the Taoist family's sense of competition in the face of those who have a relationship with the Buddha."
"What a mess." King Chen poked her on the forehead: "Speak human words."
"She doesn't suit my eyes."
An hour later, Wei Jieyu, who had just been demoted, received a new decree to move her to the palace within three days.
There is nothing special about the new palace, but it is extraordinarily far from the Qilin Palace.
"Su Meidai will really take advantage of this opportunity to reduce Wechsler's grade. Relying on the emperor's favor, she really has no scruples in doing things."
"Master, it's a good thing for Wei Shi to move the palace. She is far away from Lu Zhaoyi."
"What's the use of Lu Zhaoyi, that's a timid waste. With Su Meidai's character, lowering Weiss' rank has already achieved the goal, why did you deliberately let her move to the palace?"
"The slaves don't know, but the people who changed the spices, the slaves have already sent someone to clean them up."
"Unfortunately, I originally wanted to use this incident to make King An and King Jing turn against each other. I didn't expect that the incense matter would be discovered so quickly, wasting a good piece of this palace."
"Yeah, it's a pity master your pawn."
Hearing the sudden death of the maid who served her for many years, Wei Jieyu did not stop combing her hair, she sneered and whispered: "Bengong seems to have caught this mouse."
After hiding for so many years, the fox's tail finally leaked out.
After calculating her, it is not so easy to want to retreat.
"His Royal Highness." Jiuzhu crouched at the base of the wall and found two ants fighting, biting each other's legs, and hurriedly called King Chen: "Come and see, the ants are fighting."
"Look at what ants are fighting." King Chen hugged her by the waist: "Why don't we fight it ourselves."
"His Royal Highness, you can't beat me." Jiuzhu hugged his neck and thought for a moment: "I should fight better."
"Are you willing to hit me?" King Chen put her off the bed, put his hands beside her, leaned over to kiss her on the forehead, and then wrapped her in a quilt: "Can you still beat me like this?"
"His Royal Highness, you are using a beauty trick!" Jiuzhu crawled out of the quilt with difficulty, took off the hairpin on her head, and after throwing it aside, she pulled King Chen down and said triumphantly, "Your Highness, you know what it means to surrender Ten sessions?"
"Then you know, what is the real beauty plan?" King Chen smiled and dragged Jiuzhu into the bed.
Taiyang Palace.
"Your Majesty, it will be Qingming in five days." Li En cupped his hands and said, "This year's ancestor worship ceremony, but still in accordance with the rules of previous years?"
"No." Emperor Longfeng looked up at him: "This year, let King Chen offer sacrifices on my behalf."
Li En widened his eyes: "Your Majesty?!"
"Why, my son can't go?" Emperor Longfeng said slowly: "Anyway, sooner or later, he will go, so it's better to let him get used to it sooner."
Li En's legs were a little soft.
My goodness, is this what he should listen to
Your Majesty, please tell this to those confidants!
Wei Chen is not worthy!