... In the Changle Palace, Empress Gu, who was only thinking about the prince, was in the mood to listen carefully to the dispute between Princess Anji and Princess Linchuan. She excused herself from feeling unwell and persuaded the two princesses to leave separately in a few words, and returned to the dormitory. But he really looked tired.
The confidants of the palace hurriedly served ginseng tea, took the jade hammer, knelt beside the couch, and gently beat her legs.
"Let Lin De come in and complain." Queen Gu ordered after drinking a cup of ginseng tea and regaining some energy.
Seeing that her face was still a little pale, the palace attendants couldn't help but worry, and softly advised, "Why don't you lie down for a while? Mrs. Su knew the opportunity and took the initiative to doubt the origins of the lotus picking girls. Even if Mingguang Palace had any ideas, they would not be able to do anything about it. . Please take care of yourself..."
"How can I take care of myself with such an unsatisfactory prince?" Empress Gu sighed deeply and said, "I know that he is not very good at controlling beauty, so I have repeatedly told him to just take care of whatever beauty he wants. He sends people to the people to search for and select ordinary women, even if they are married, the prince will take them. The emperor never cares about these things, but he must not provoke these famous families. The entanglement permeates the entire Wei Dynasty! Even though he is called a minister, he is extremely afraid of it! This is going to piss me off!"
The palace attendant hurriedly said: "My Majesty, please calm down!" He added, "The Wenyue family is indeed powerful, but His Highness the Prince is of the blood of the Tian family... Now the status of both the Imperial Majesty and the Prince is as solid as a mountain!"
"Solid as a mountain? Do you think that the position of the crown prince is that simple?" The queen sneered when she heard this, and said, "It is said that His Highness, the first prince of this dynasty, is because after the Qian family deposed and had King Cai, they wanted to He appointed his own son King Cai as the crown prince, so he slandered the emperor and killed Shen Rui, who was both the legitimate son of the Empress Yuan and the eldest son of the emperor. If not for the time when he overthrew the Qian family, I had joined forces with the Deng family, and the Deng family was worried that I The palace is afraid of Qian's status and favor and dare not act harshly. Tell him the reason. I must think that Qian is so powerful and can make the emperor dethrone him with just a few words! "
The palace man was shocked. Even she had never heard of this matter: "What do you mean, your Majesty?"
"After Empress Liu passed away, the Liu family became more and more considerate of Shen Rui. Shen Rui married the Liu family's daughter as the crown princess... and the couple were very affectionate, so how could the Holy One not worry about this?" The queen snorted and said, "Originally, the Six Clans They are already prominent enough, the tribes of Liu and Shen are particularly prosperous. How can the Holy Emperor safely hand over the kingdom of Wei to the son of Empress Liu who is close to the Liu family? The world?”
The palace man murmured: "Is your Majesty saying that it was the Holy One's intention that the eldest prince Shen Rui was abandoned?"
"Of course it is the intention of the Holy One." Empress Gu said contemptuously, "The Qian family is just taking the blame for the Holy One. How prosperous was the Xinghe Qian family when the Qian family was in power? You see, among the six clans at that time, How many direct descendants of the sect married Qian's daughters at that time! However, once the Qian family was abandoned, why did the family decline so much? Wasn't it because Liu took the opportunity to take advantage of her and harmed the eldest prince under the guise of favor? Qian's actions not only achieved the purpose of preventing the eldest prince who is close to the Liu family from succeeding to the throne, but also did not arouse the vigilance of the court... "
Speaking of this, Empress Gu sighed deeply and said, "The government and the public are privately talking about the Holy One being indulging in sensuality and neglecting political affairs, and they always feel that the Holy One seems to be fatuous. In fact, if the Holy One is really fatuous and incompetent, the so-called pillars of the country will be from noble families. Will he have the same respect for the Tian family as he does now?"
The palace man calmed down and said: "The Holy One, the Holy Ming, absolutely cannot allow the six clans to do whatever they want. However, although the empress is also from a noble family, but I have a disrespectful word, the Gu family in Hongzhou is still a noble family now, and the Six clans are here, the Holy One will eventually It won't be tolerated. Although His Highness the Crown Prince acted recklessly this time, the empress handled it promptly. The maid thought, if the one in Mingguang Palace knew about it, why wouldn't we let us blame her for the headache now? Why do you need to be sad?"
Queen Gu shook her head and said: "You don't understand. Nowadays, the times have changed and the Wei Dynasty is no longer the Wei Dynasty it was in its heyday."
"Empress?" The palace man was startled.
"If it were the Wei Dynasty in its heyday, the Yueyue family would have loved to have a prince like Xun'er, who could freely encircle the land and occupy the mountains, appoint people for personal gain, and dig up the foundation of the Wei Dynasty to nourish their family!" Empress Gu sneered, He said, "But now that the great Wei Kingdom Zuo is gradually declining, there is no year in the north or the west where there is no war? For this reason, the conflict between the Liu family and the Shen family has become more and more intense. Why is it so intense? It's not that their ancestral homeland is in the forefront. Are you afraid that if something goes wrong, it will fall into the hands of Hu Yi?"
The queen's voice was cold, "Now, the crown prince is not up to par... When the previous dynasty was overthrown, they were able to quickly change their flag and defect to the ancestors of the Shen family. Now... what do you think they will do?"
The palace man was excited and said: "This...servant is thinking, this world...hasn't reached this point yet?"
"The Holy One is nearly seventy years old." Queen Gu said with a cold look, "The Holy One is here and has accumulated great power. Even if the people in the world are in dire straits, there will be no great chaos! But if the Holy One... do you think Xun'er can suppress him? Can the six clans suppress this world's aristocratic families, and the common people who are exploited by the clans and clans at all levels - by then, it will be a big event that changes in the sun and the moon!"
The palace attendant felt panicked when he heard this. He was stunned for a moment and then answered: "But the empress, the prince... and you!"
"But I am the daughter of the Gu family in Hongzhou!" Queen Gu pursed her lips, her eyes as intoxicating as spring water shone with the coldness of spring ice, "When the Queen Mother Deng, the mother of the Holy Sage, was here, the Deng family in Rongcheng was so prominent. At one time, the momentum was as high as that of the Six Clan! During the years when the Qian family was in power, the Qian family in Xinghe was even more glorious than the Clan family! Look at how many of the old ladies in the imperial capital today became famous because of Empress Dowager Deng and the deposed Queen Qian family. I had the opportunity to marry into the six clans and be the master of the family! However, when Empress Dowager Deng was there, there was only one Concubine Deng, but she made the Liu family’s daughter the queen... so she tolerated it!"
"But Xun'er is so unsatisfactory, anyone can imagine: if he succeeds to the throne, how can he manage the world if I don't take care of the government for him? If I take care of the government for him, how can the six clans tolerate the clan? There is another Hongzhou Gu in Yue!" the queen said in a deep voice, "Back then, Queen Mother Deng had nothing to say in court affairs. How could she take such a risk if she could make the Deng family famous for a while?"
The palace man said cautiously: "Suppose the empress acts fairly first, and then supports the Gu family after the foundation is solid..."
"Do things fairly?" Empress Gu said disdainfully, "If you can't even say it, what's the use of being fair? After Xun'er ascended the throne, if I want to truly manage political affairs, I must rely on the power of the clan and support the clan members. Only in this way can we compete with Wenyue and other aristocratic families to avoid being a queen mother in name only, but they can't do anything about it! Why is Xun'er not capable enough? Is the Holy One able to control this prestigious family just by virtue of his status as the Nine-Fifth Supreme Being?"
She sighed deeply, "It's useless to say all this. Just go and ask Lin De to come in. Although the matter has been discussed in front of the Holy Father, Deng has nothing to hold on to, but as you said, if this matter can be solved, It’s also a good thing to fall on Deng’s side.”
The palace man leaned forward and said, "Yes!"
After a while, Lin De was brought in, and he bowed politely. Queen Gu asked him the truth about the lotus-picking girl.
Cold sweat broke out on Lin De's forehead as soon as he heard this. He grabbed the fly whisk and hurriedly knelt down, touching his forehead to the ground, and begged: "First of all, please forgive me for the crime I concealed earlier!"
"There is no one else here. You and Yun are both my confidants, why are you so coy?" Queen Gu said impatiently.
Lin De carefully raised his head, stood up, and then said: "To tell you the story, those lotus picking girls were indeed bought from Jiangnan by His Highness the Crown Prince. Because the ditches in the East Palace are narrow, they cannot fully display the Jiangnan style. So Your Highness arranged them. In the villa by the Chuncao Lake, starting from the beginning of summer, they were ordered to go to the lake to pick lotus flowers every day, while His Highness wore a white dragon fish costume and took a boat to hide among the flowers and leaves to watch."
Empress Gu said in a deep voice: "Then why do those lotus picker girls seduce passing men? Could it be that they were not trained properly when they bought the men and became spies?"
"... People around His Highness said that after watching the lotus picking for a few days, His Highness felt bored and said to the people around him, 'The so-called lotus picking girls in Jiangnan are just like that.' Sun Fu, who was previously sent to Jiangnan to buy people, was worried about being punished by His Highness. After failing to do so, I gave His Highness an idea," Lin De muttered, "Sun Fu told Your Highness that the lush vegetation on Chuncao Lake and the Fangzhou Pavilion... are all hidden places, so it would be better to let the lotus picker seduce the passing men. , go deeper... for a while... so that His Highness can watch and amuse himself, and then His Highness... just... "
Queen Gu almost wanted to vomit blood!
She said with a trembling voice: "In the past, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty built the West Garden, diverted water from canals around the garden, planted 'Wangshu He', and made the palace people take off their robes, chase and play naked, which was called 'naked swimming'. "The reputation of this move lasts more than a hundred years, and it's still in the inner garden! Chuncao Lake... Chuncao Lake is a lake outside the city. It's not private. Xun'er... this idiot!" Aren’t we, mother and son, in ruins?”
Linde had known for a long time that the queen would be very angry, so he had apologized beforehand. At this moment, he was even more timid and did not dare to express his anger!
After all, the palace servant Yun Shi has been by Empress Gu's side for a long time, and she even heard about important events such as the emperor's abandonment of the emperor's eldest son Shen Rui. Only now did she dare to speak out: "Mother, this is all Sun Fu's shameless instigation of your highness!"
"Of course Sun Fu is shameless!" Queen Gu closed her eyes and whispered after a while, "But Xun'er was so stupid that he listened to such words! Does he want to be a fool before he succeeds to the throne?"
"Empress!" Mrs. Yun couldn't help being surprised when she heard the lack of enthusiasm in the Queen's tone. She hurriedly supported her arm and said, "His Royal Highness is young and weak, and has always been favored by the Holy One. Perhaps it was because of his negligence that he was loved by that man. Sun Fu has an opportunity to take advantage of! After Sun Fu is eliminated, I will teach your highness carefully. After all, your highness is your own flesh and blood, how can you not be alert? "
Empress Gu pursed her lips tightly and said after a while: "Lin De, go and take that Sun Fu into the prison room. Make sure you ask him if he was ordered by someone to sneak into the East Palace to frame the prince!" The queen said every word, "I didn't ask. Sun Fu is determined not to die before he comes out! Do you understand?"
Seeing that the Queen had cheered up after a short period of weakness, Yun was secretly relieved... No matter how angry or resentful Queen Gu was, there was nothing she could do. She only had one son, if she didn't support him, who else could she support? No matter how disappointing the prince Shen Xun is, as long as the queen is still here, she can't help but think about him.
After all, the Holy Emperor has nearly twenty princes, and he is not very interested in the two concubines in the East Palace. It is absolutely impossible to pass the throne to the emperor's grandson beyond the princes. Empress Gu could only hope to help Shen Xun survive the days of being the crown prince. When she later moved into Huishu Palace and became the queen mother, she could count on her grandchildren.
Queen Gu has been fighting in the palace all her life. Although her son failed to live up to expectations, she is not someone who accepts her fate so easily. Shen Lin, the youngest son of the East Palace, is smart and clever. The queen still has such hope. No matter how disappointed she is with the prince, she has to be cheered up for the sake of her grandson. stand up.
Lin De hurriedly said: "I understand!"
He didn't dare to leave like this, so he asked in a low voice, "Can I please tell me who is so bold and slandered His Highness the Crown Prince?" This was what he wanted Sun Fu to say.
Empress Gu said coldly: "The eleventh prince Shen Bo will soon be crowned king and go to the country. A few days ago, he asked the emperor to marry Wei Lingyue, the legitimate daughter of the palace. I said that Wei Lingyue has a quiet temperament and is a lady from a famous family." , but his temperament is too gentle, and he is not suitable to be a queen. Maybe he has regretted it because of this... maybe he bribed Sun Fuxing to do such a debauched thing and framed his brother!"
"This slave obeys Yi's decree!" Lin De bowed cautiously, turned around and left.
At about the same time, in the Mingguang Palace, Concubine Deng put her hand on the jade case, and Yao Tao took a silver needle to pick up the impatiens mud in the small jade bowl little by little, and carefully covered it with Concubine Deng's dyed impatiens, which had been dyed once and was as bright as color. On orange nails.
After dyeing it this time, I expected the color to be as bright as blood.
Concubine Deng looked at her nails and suddenly asked: "Is Sun Fu dead?"
"Go back to your Majesty, there's only a moment left." Yao Tao glanced at the copper leak in the corner of the room and said softly.
"It's such a pity." Concubine Deng sighed, "It's not easy to avoid Gu's eyes and arrange for such a person to be with that idiot Shen Xun... However, this Sun Fu is too smart, and wants to encourage Shen Xun to be debauched. Tao, if you offend a rich man, you don't have to let the lotus pickers chase all the men with gorgeous clothes...especially those with wives. What's more, those lotus pickers are not very good-looking, and they will certainly be teased and stopped. The man is disgusted and dislikes Shen Xun after knowing their origins. This is too obvious - it is really not a smart move, and I can't blame me for being cruel now. "
Yao Tao said softly: "How can you blame the empress for this? Sun Fu is eager to make meritorious deeds..."
"I understand." Concubine Deng breathed out and said, "The promise I made to him before, that I would support his family, is still valid. Mrs. Gu will not find out where his real family is... I just want to You know, next time you hire people, you have to repeatedly tell them not to be impatient. Anyway, I have been waiting for these years, and towards the end, I have to be more calm and never allow the possibility of falling short. Do you understand?"
Yao Tao respectfully said: "Yes!" (To be continued)