Su Yuli said that she would know the reason why Mo Binwei left Beijing in a few days, but she was actually overestimating. In fact, that night, each family received the exact news - indeed, the war in the southwest was not going well - wasn't it just that it was not going well? It was a complete defeat!
And it was a disastrous failure!
Let’s not talk about the losses of soldiers and baggage. The extent of this defeat can be described in one sentence: the imperial commander is in danger!
Well, it was heavily besieged.
But the siege is not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing is the climate in the southwest.
It is said that from the saints to the soldiers, there are many people who are dissatisfied with the local environment - even five out of ten people fall ill under the dragnet of mosquitoes and poisonous flies in the southwest! The predicament that Shen Zangfeng faced back then was personally experienced by the Holy Emperor this time: when it comes to soldiers, generals, equipment, orders and prohibitions, morale... no matter how you look at it, you can crush the four kings of the southwest - there is no reason why it is not overwhelming!
But once the right time and place come together, no matter how harmonious the people are, there is nothing they can do to save the situation!
It’s no wonder that under circumstances involving kingship, checks and balances, the safety of the imperial capital, etc., Mo Binwei was once again ordered to go to the battlefield - if this general had not been summoned to rescue this emergency, it is estimated that only one of them would be in trouble, and Dayong Guozuo would have been in trouble for more than half a year. .
After Shen Shujing returned to Prince Ning's Mansion, Mo Binwei only stayed for an hour, bid farewell to his beloved wife and young son, mounted his horse, and galloped away with the hastily assembled 5,000 elite Royal Guards!
He took the first step to gather the remaining troops and try to rescue the besieged imperial commanders and generals. But it’s impossible for the Imperial Capital to just watch the excitement.
Su Yuli and other noble ladies who were worried about their husbands each had their own plans - but the palace was not idle either.
Concubine Shan has been staying away from Weiyang Palace since she entered the palace, as if she was afraid of being harmed by some conspiracy of Queen Qiu. Now that she is pregnant, Weiyang Palace is even more closely guarded.
But at this moment, he couldn't care less. With a big belly, he rushed to Changle Hall in person and asked Queen Qiu to issue an edict to order Ji Qubing and Duanmu Xinmiao to leave for the southwest immediately!
"I think my heart is going to break when I think of Your Majesty being besieged by those traitors in Gushan. He is not acclimated to the soil and water, and is troubled by miasma and poisonous insects!" She cried gracefully and tenderly, "How can the imperial doctor who is accompanying the army do this? How about comparing it with Master Ji Qubing? I sincerely ask the Empress to take your Majesty’s body as your priority and issue an order to ensure safety!”
Queen Qiu also felt very frightened after learning that her husband was defeated and surrounded. At this moment, her face was still a little pale. When Concubine Shan urged her, a look of discomfort flashed across her face: "The Holy Order only summoned Prince Ning..."
"Your Majesty is considerate of your subjects, so the Queen doesn't care about you?!" Upon hearing this, Concubine Shan's voice immediately rose eight tones! He yelled almost questioningly, "Your Majesty is in critical condition now. Madam, please..."
"My dear concubine, please be careful what you say!" Suddenly a maid in gray clothes spoke calmly, interrupting Concubine Shan's words, "The imperial edict only ordered Prince Ning to go to the southwest, but it did not say that the southwest was in danger, let alone that your majesty was in danger! Maybe His Majesty just wants Prince Ning to go into battle. How can the Imperial Concubine increase the ambition of others and destroy our own prestige? Is it possible that in the eyes of the Imperial Concubine, I, the elite of Dayong, are so vulnerable?"
... In fact, the news of the defeat of the Southwest Army was no longer a secret at this time, but the edict calling Mo Binwei to rescue the army certainly would not have written this - His Majesty was so embarrassed this time that he had to write a big book about his embarrassment. ? Of course, I called Mo Binwei to come over and turned defeat into victory. I wrote about defeat lightly and wrote about victory in thick and colorful words, so as to cover up this section!
Concubine Shan originally wanted to cut off the palace maid midway and reprimanded her for interrupting rashly when the concubine was talking. However, the palace lady in gray felt a little awe-struck when she noticed that the imperial edict did not mention the defeat and talked about "destroying Dayong's own majesty".
Her current status is only below that of the Queen, and none of the ten Qiu Queens can dote on her as much as her. She is about to give birth to a prince, and she looks very popular, but she has not reached the point of being outstanding. Even the pregnant concubine is still doted on. She is much less beautiful than Li Mei - so even if she is not very afraid of the queen because of her favor, she still dare not not pay attention to her words and deeds!
The fact that the gray-clothed palace maid caught her now may sound like a trivial matter, but if it spreads to people who are interested, she will be the one who disappoints everyone if Dayong wins! If Dayong is defeated, then she will add fuel to the fire! Either way, it's going to cause her trouble, big trouble!
Concubine Shan secretly regretted that she had been too eager to force the queen to issue an edict, which exposed her flaw. At this moment, she hurriedly made up for it: "I heard that many soldiers fell ill due to acclimatization! This situation is naturally critical, and it is also because I am too worried about Your Majesty. , and even said it together, I don’t..."
Her words were interrupted again by the palace maid in gray: "Do you suspect that Your Majesty is no longer able to handle the current situation?!"
Concubine Shan was shocked and shouted angrily: "Nonsense! Your Majesty is so wise and powerful, how could it be possible..."
The palace maid in gray interrupted her for the third time, and her tone was no longer calm, but filled with seriousness: "Then the imperial concubine rushed over so impatiently in an attempt to incite the empress to dictate the war ahead. This is not because she suspected that your majesty is incompetent. What do you mean?"
"You!" Shan Guifei keenly discovered that although Queen Qiu, who was sitting upright, was silent and seemed to let the palace maid in gray dress her, in fact, a hint of surprise flashed across Queen Qiu's lowered eyes from time to time. -The words of the palace maid in gray were not taught by Queen Qiu!
Also, if Queen Qiu had such a sharp tongue, would she still be squeezed out by a noble concubine like herself? !
"Who are you?! I have never seen you before!" Concubine Shan took a deep breath and decided to act like a concubine. She ignored the palace maid in gray who was obviously difficult to deal with and asked Queen Qiu directly, " Queen, please be careful! We have just established a new dynasty, there may be villains lurking in the palace, and they may be doing harm to us! This concubine looks very strange, I don’t know her origin?”
Queen Qiu raised her eyes, looked at her for a while, and said calmly: "It seems that the people here in this palace don't need to explain their origins to you, a noble concubine, right?"
The Queen's rare toughness made Concubine Shan's heart sink. After all, she didn't dare to do anything to the Queen openly. She forced a smile and said, "I just care about your empress..."
"You should pay more attention to your heirs when you have time!" Queen Qiu glanced at her belly and said coldly.
That cold gaze made Concubine Shan feel excited. She subconsciously raised her hand and touched her abdomen to block the Queen's sight - as if sight could hurt someone!
"Your Majesty, you should listen to the Queen's advice." The palace maid in gray spoke again, unhurriedly, with a calm demeanor, and that kind of calmness that had been tempered in the palace for a long time, which made Shan Guifei, who had been strictly trained by the Duanmu family, appreciate it. They were all slightly lost in thought, "The harem system in this dynasty followed that of the former Wei Dynasty. During the former Wei Dynasty, the harem was not allowed to interfere in politics. The same is true for this dynasty - isn't it?"
Concubine Shan’s face suddenly changed! I knew I was in big trouble this time!
"Concubine... thank you, the Queen, for your teachings!" She was also a person who could bend and stretch. At the moment, she did not dare to put on the air of being pampered and let others support her. She bowed and saluted with difficulty, and murmured, "Concubine, I will do this now. Go back to the palace and be grounded, don’t dare to mess around again!” At the moment, she can only weigh the importance and use the word “nonsense” to cover up the taboo of “interfering in politics” mentioned by the palace lady in gray!
… Watching Concubine Shan and her entourage leave, Empress Qiu said to her attendants with some melancholy: “Except for the month or two when I just served Your Majesty, this is the first time that Shan has been so polite to me!”
It is now natural for the Queen to refer to her concubines as "my wife", but when there are no outsiders, she still likes to call herself "me" - in the Queen's own words, she has been a country woman for most of her life, and that's why she did this. How could the Queen of a few days change her mind all of a sudden
Sun Mo tried to persuade her several times, but because the queen insisted, she let it go.
At this moment, the queen finished her melancholy and turned to the palace maid in gray, with gratitude and sadness in her eyes: "Aunt Qiu, thank you very much this time!"
"Your Majesty, your Majesty is so flattering. If I hadn't taken my Majesty's care, I would have been unable to live outside the palace. It is your honor to serve your Majesty." Qiu Baoniang said with a low eyebrow. She was as submissive as ever. The docile and obedient servant looked calm and calm just now, as if he had never appeared before.
Based on this, Sun Mo was very suspicious of her origins.
Such a changeable and adaptable temperament, sharp tongue, and careful mind... It would be strange to say that she has never been in the Wei Palace! But if he had been in the Wei Palace, none of the powerful palace servants Sun Mo had heard about could match her...
"Perhaps my status was too low before and I didn't see many respectable palace people. This palace maid has always been silent and doesn't like to be in the limelight, so not many people know her?" Sun Mo pondered. He told Queen Qiu about his suspicions, but the Queen asked him to observe and found no relationship between Qiu Baoniang and the concubine.
She did have contact with Miss Duanmuba outside the palace, but there was also a clear reason for this: Qiu Baoniang's joints had been injured in her early years, and she went to seek medical treatment from Miss Duanmuba.
Although Concubine Shan and Jinxiu Duanmu have an unusual relationship, Queen Qiu also knows that Miss Duanmu Ba and the Duanmu clan members behind Concubine Shan are not on the same page, and are even vaguely enemies.
Therefore, Queen Qiu and Sun Mo discussed it and decided that it was better to pretend to be confused - Changle Palace really needs an expert. As long as she is not targeting Changle Palace or plotting rebellion, even if Qiu Baoniang has other intentions, it is still worth keeping her.
Otherwise, in a scene like today when Concubine Shan came rushing in, Queen Qiu wouldn't know what to do or say at first? Sun Mo is a little stronger than the Queen, but there is a limit - otherwise he would not have been insignificant in the Wei Palace, and he would have been able to get ahead long ago!
And what about Qiu Baoniang? Concubine Shan was allowed to return in vain. Not only that, Concubine Shan was obviously frightened by her. Before she left, she insisted on saluting Queen Qi regardless of her pregnancy. No wonder Queen Qi sighed. Sun Mo was the queen as soon as she entered the palace. The person who serves her is the concubine Shan who pays homage to the queen. Except for the concubine and concubine ceremonies, the concubine is only willing to do this during annual ceremonies.
Even in front of His Majesty, the imperial concubine often acts coquettishly and foolishly, seeming to have forgotten this matter.
Your Majesty didn't mention it, and naturally no one else dared to remind her... The Queen... How could the Queen not be sad no matter how generous she was to do this? During the reign of Emperor Ai of the former Wei Dynasty, Concubine Deng was the direct cousin of Emperor Ai, and she had a deep hatred for the deposed Queen Gu. However, when Gu was still the queen of the palace, when did Concubine Deng dare not take the initiative to greet her when she saw her
For a time, everyone in the hall was filled with emotions. (To be continued)