Within a year, two high-ranking officials in the imperial court passed away one after another, and neither of them could be buried in their hometowns, which made the Wei Dynasty even more declining.
At this time, Shen Bo was worried about Shen Lang's future wisdom and stupidity, and discussed with Empress Dowager Deng whether to pray for Shen Lang through an amnesty or something like that. It was only a few months ago that Shen Bo ascended the throne and a general amnesty was granted. Now almost all the people in prison were rebels against the party. It was difficult to catch these people. If they were released, they would be afraid of another turmoil.
When he learned that Sikong Song Yuwang had passed away due to illness, Shen Bo's already sad mood was cast into a new haze - Song Yuwang's death could have been predicted half a year ago, but when he heard that he was really dead, Shen Bo felt really sad. Very sad and sad.
Originally, his accession to the throne had a lot to do with Song Yuwang's efforts and Wei Xinyong's running. As a result, one of these two people died of illness and the other reported illness... Not to mention repaying or not repaying, let's just say that Shenbo had planned to let Song Yuwang , Wei Xinyong, Duanmu Xing and others check and balance each other, and they mediate in the middle without losing their power. Now think about it, the so-called man's calculation is not as good as God's calculation, and it is all in vain.
With a heavy heart, he sent his attendants to express condolences, and gave generous gifts to the Song family. Finally, someone mentioned that Song Zaitian had lost his love last year due to the death of his grandmother, and now that his father has passed away, should he continue to steal his love
In fact, now the Grand Master is in charge, the Grand Tutor, the Grand Protector, the Grand Lieutenant are all assistants, are there any Sikong or others... Anyway, Song Yu has been sick for so long, but the court still behaves the same way? However, taking away love but not love, and the vacant position of Sikong, these are the attitude of the new king.
After much deliberation, Shen Bo decided to continue to award the position of Sikong to Song Zaitian, and at the same time made a decree to seize love.
But both of these were rejected by Song Zaitian. The reason for his rejection was very simple. In the past year, he had been serving his father's bedside, and he had suffered two bereavements of his grandmother and father. He also had no younger brothers and sisters around to support each other. Even his wife The Huo family took their two sons back to Jiangnan to attend the funeral for him, so even now his vitality is severely weakened. Therefore, it is impossible to continue serving as an official. At the same time, I also hope that Shenbo will allow him to fulfill his filial piety and serve Song Yuwang for three years.
The chamberlain returned to the palace and reported to Shen Bo: "The eldest son of the Song family does look haggard and does not look like he can handle himself."
... I thought I could use this incident to try to attract Song Zaitian as a confidant, so Shen Bo felt more and more that everything was not going well.
But at this time something happened in the harem again: Queen Wei Lingyue was suspected of murdering the concubine Deng.
It is said that the cake given to Concubine Shu by the Queen was found to be highly poisonous. Concubine Shu was so frightened that she ran to the Weiyang Palace and knelt down in front of the Weiyang Palace with the cake in her arms, begging the Queen to forgive her for not having committed the crime in the past because Shen Lang was still young. Cautious neglect.
Shen Bo had not yet made filial piety at this time, and there were not many people in the harem. Except for the queen and concubine Shu, the two concubines who served him before marrying were only given to girls from the sixth rank. The two girls had fallen out of favor when he was still King of Yi, and they were basically just fill-ins. of. In this way, everyone in the harem's actions will be watched from top to bottom.
Concubine Deng Shu ran to make such a fuss, and it didn't take long for the news to spread throughout the Sixth Palace.
When I reported to Shenbo, I was told that Empress Wei had fallen out of favor and had no children. She was afraid that Concubine Deng Shu would destabilize her position, so she planned to poison Concubine Deng during the period of mourning when Shenbo could not go to the concubine. , and then she can adopt the only prince Shen Lang as her legitimate mother.
What he said was so ironic that he burst into tears...
Shen Bo was not very satisfied with Wei Lingyue because he married the wrong person. After hearing the news, he immediately believed it 80% of the time, and ordered the guards on the spot to summon Ling Yue to come and question him!
As a result, he was furious waiting in Xuanming Palace. Concubine Deng was helped by the palace servants first and threw herself into his arms. She cried several times. Empress Wei actually sent a palace maid who arrived late. Shen Bo was furious and ignored it, but respectfully reported: "I am seven months pregnant. Now my body is heavy and my legs are severely swollen, so I cannot come!"
Shen Bo and Concubine Deng Shu were stunned when they heard the news... Shen Bo subconsciously ordered: "Call Hu Riao!"
After he ascended the throne, he never spent a night in the harem, and the days before he ascended the throne were not included in the history of Tong. These were only recorded in the palace when he was in Qiandi, and the person in charge at that time was named Hu Rong.
After he arrived, he retrieved the records from the palace. Sure enough, shortly before the late emperor's departure, Shen Bo went to Wei Lingyue's house to save face.
It exactly matches what the palace maid said, "She is seven months pregnant."
The palace maid then said: "A few days ago, the empress asked the imperial doctor to diagnose him, and he said that there is a 70% chance that he is a young prince. It's just because the empress dowager and the emperor were not in a good mood during these days, and the empress has never been in good health since she was pregnant. , I was afraid of worrying the Queen Mother and the Holy One, so I never said anything."
Little prince!
Shen Bo was originally dissatisfied with Wei Lingyue's deliberate concealment of pregnancy, but when he heard that it was another son... the anger in his heart gradually calmed down: Shen Lang would become stupid because of such a fall. This was what Duanmu Xinmiao said personally. , Empress Dowager Deng even cried and apologized to him in private... Firstly, Shen Bo still needed the support of Empress Dowager Deng and the help of the Deng family. Secondly, he also knew in his heart that he was the one who really harmed Shen Lang.
Although Shen Lang is still young now, it can be said that he will not be able to see it until he grows up. However, after the child woke up, he was obviously not as smart as before. Neither Queen Mother Deng nor Shen Bo wanted to acknowledge Duanmu Xinmiao's words. In view of the previous death of the wet nurse, the palace officials were even more afraid to say anything. Therefore, inside and outside, everything is normal now.
But no matter how much he lied to himself, Shen Bo knew deep down in his heart that Duanmu Xinmiao's words were probably true.
Under the blow that the only son is likely to become a fool, but is about to usher in the birth of a second son or a legitimate son, how can Shenbo not pay attention to it? He leaned forward slightly: "Is he really a prince?"
The palace maid said respectfully: "It is the judgment of the court. How dare I lie?"
... The judge was summoned to the imperial court, wiped off cold sweat and proved what the palace maid said, and finally fell to the ground and begged for mercy. When Shen Bo learned that his second son was fine and would probably be born next spring, he was extremely happy. He clapped his hands and laughed on the spot. He generously pardoned the court judge for helping the queen conceal her pregnancy. Not only did he decree a reward for Weiyang Palace, he even got up. He personally went to visit the queen whom he had ignored for more than half a year. Concubine Deng Shu was left alone in the Xuanming Palace, her face turning from livid to pale and then to bright red. She didn’t know how long it took before she gathered her emotions and returned to her palace. Inside, I walked outside and saw Yao Tao standing at the foot of the steps.
Concubine Deng Shu was startled, smiled quickly, and went over to greet her: "Why are you here, Aunt Yao? Is your aunt looking for the Holy Emperor?"
Yao Tao took a deep look at her, shook his head and said, "The Queen Mother asked the maid to invite Concubine Shu to come over and talk."
"You are so reckless!" In Huishu Palace, Concubine Deng was as sinking as water. As soon as Concubine Deng Shu entered the palace, she scolded her, "You think you are now one of the four genuine concubines, second only to the queen?" , you have the favor, you have the merit of having children, and you are humble enough to be a concubine. Once the middle palace falls, then the Weiyang palace will definitely be yours, right?"
Concubine Deng Shu hurriedly knelt down to apologize: "I don't dare! But my heart is really poisonous, aunt! I am really scared..."
Empress Dowager Deng said impatiently: "Since the Ai family was seven years old, they have often gone to the palace to accompany the Ai family's aunt, your aunt! After decades of ups and downs in this palace, what kind of battles have you not seen? You... Think carefully, just try to coax your Majesty, but you dare not tell the truth when you come to the Ai family! Don't you just think that the queen is not favored? Lang'er was accidentally injured this time, so she looked at it as an opportunity and thought it was okay. Take the opportunity to bring down the queen!"
"You are so confused!" Empress Dowager Deng patted the long case and said with hatred, "You didn't discuss such a big matter with the Ai family at all, and acted so recklessly! Look at it now! Ready-made Not only did he give the Queen an excuse, but the Holy Emperor’s attention was snatched away by Weiyang Palace!”
Concubine Deng Shu said timidly: "My niece knows her mistake, but aunt, my niece really doesn't know that Mrs. Wei is pregnant, and... and she kept it secret for so long! My niece... my niece fell into such a bad trick this time. What should I do? Auntie, please help your niece!"
Originally, it was impossible for Wei Lingyue's pregnancy to be hidden for so long.
But there is no one in the harem now, and she is the queen. She was still very young when the late emperor was in great power and needed her to step in, so she was not pregnant at all. When the month was over, she did not need to pay her respects to her concubines, and hid in the Weiyang Palace without leaving the house. No one outside could see her except for those close to her. Anyway, she has a quiet temperament, and now that she is in her filial piety period, no one under her will be suspicious of her - who told her that she has never been favored
Secondly, she was conceived while she was in Qingdi. Although Empress Dowager Deng had been in the palace for many years and was deeply entrenched, she was not Shen Bo's biological mother, adoptive mother or aunt. It was impossible to ask for records of Shen Bo's daily life when she was in the East Palace after becoming the Queen Mother... Besides, she really didn't expect that things would be such a coincidence.
The third time I came to Queen Mother Deng, I asked her to say hello several times at first. But later it was discovered that Shen Bo could not go to the harem now, so he usually went to Huishu Palace to ask Empress Dowager Deng for advice when something happened. He didn't arrive at the right time, and he bumped into the concubine several times. Wei Lingyue was everyone's daughter after all, and his words of comfort and enlightenment were very accurate. Although Shen Bo had worked so hard to marry his first wife, he found out that he had married the wrong one. People always have a grudge against her. But after hearing her talk, she became much more pleasant in front of others. After Empress Dowager Deng found out, she sent her back to stay with her on the pretext of showing sympathy for the queen...
It turns out that she is actually raising babies in such a litter...
If Concubine Deng Shu had not coveted the throne this time and asked Wei Lingyue to take the initiative to reveal her pregnancy in order to protect herself, the palace would not have known about it until the second prince was born!
Because of this pregnancy, Concubine Deng Shu's well-planned slander suddenly became a joke - even if Shen Lang had injured his head, at least he was Shen Bo's only heir and was worth fighting for. But now the Queen is not only pregnant but about to give birth, she is even a prince!
After all, a legitimate son is more valuable than a concubine, even if he is the eldest son.
What's more, it's hard to say whether Shen Lang will be wise or foolish in the future. In this case, the queen's reasons for murdering Shen Lang are very weak, let alone attacking Concubine Deng Shu!
Concubine Deng Shu secretly scolded the Wei family for being treacherous, and begged Empress Dowager Deng to give her an idea in tears: "Now that the Holy Emperor is in Weiyang Palace, the Wei family will definitely file a complaint. What will happen if the Holy Emperor dislikes the concubine..."
"Are you scared now? Why were you so bold and self-assertive when you slandered the Wei family earlier, without even asking the Ai family?" Empress Dowager Deng cursed bitterly, but despite the scolding, the niece still wanted to help of. After all, the Queen Mother had been in the palace for many years and had rich experience. After calming down, she asked, "Are the people around you all old people brought over from the East Palace?"
Concubine Shu said cautiously: "Yes."
"Then go and deal with all the people who know about this matter, and say that they are the remnants of the former prince, deliberately trying to provoke the emperor into the harem!" Queen Mother Deng said decisively, "The emperor hates the Gu family, he will believe it if you say so. "
"Ah?" Concubine Shu was startled and said subconsciously, "But those are my confidants..."
"If your confidant is dead, you can cultivate him again!" Empress Dowager Deng sneered, "If you are rejected by the Holy Emperor, just based on what happened this time, do you think the Queen will tolerate you? Don't think that you can count on the Ai family for anything. I’m too old to protect you forever!”
Looking at the bedroom, the Queen Mother sighed and lowered her voice, "Besides, it's hard to say what will happen to Lang'er, but the palace is about to have a son! Don't you think about the future?!" (To be continued)