Ari, or rather Shen Jiuniang, returned to Damu with Rong Suihe who had gone deep into King Ruru's tent alone.
But after arriving in Xiazhou, he separated from Rong Suihe and stayed alone in Xiazhou City.
As for the reason, Rong Suihe has been vague. He just said that it was Shen Jiuniang's own request. He guessed that it might be a bit nostalgic and timid.
This is not unreasonable. After all, Shen Jiuniang happily accompanied her family to her maternal home to celebrate her grandfather's birthday. Unexpectedly, she fell into the sea because of an originally insignificant quarrel between her cousins. At the hands of bandits, he suffered all kinds of humiliation, and finally traveled thousands of miles. After struggling for many years in Ruru, he got the chance to return to his homeland.
After all this ups and downs, no matter how much she missed her family when she was in Ruru, now that she has a real chance to reunite, how could she still see each other as before, with no grudges and no haze
Sheng Weiqiao also said at that time that if Shen Jiuniang stayed in Xiazhou for too long, he would arrange the things at hand and pick her up in person when he was free.
Now that she heard that Shen Jiuniang had left to come, Sheng Weiqiao was happy and expectant, but also a little uneasy. After ordering someone to go to Sheng Mansion to inform Sheng Lanci and his wife, Sheng Weiqiao was thinking about how to receive this cousin.
"Since the in-laws and the in-laws' wives are both in Chang'an and have mansions, after my cousin comes, I'm afraid she won't live in our county prince's mansion, but will be taken to live in Sheng Mansion by the in-laws and the old lady. ." Yishan and several maids helped her advise, "So there is no need to clean up the guest house, but you can prepare more nourishing herbs, clothing materials and jewelry! Oh, and there is a cook! My cousin has been living in Ruru for many years. I want to come here. It’s rare to get a taste of the flavor of your hometown. When your Majesty left the palace, she brought many cooks from Nanfeng County, why don’t you send one or two over to serve them for a few days?”
Sheng Weiqiao nodded: "When the time comes, let's save one or two, and the others will go over to serve Xiao Qiao."
Then he pondered, "I don't know how long Xiao Qiao will stay in Chang'an? Will he go back south to Nanfeng County in a few days?"
If Mrs. Shen hadn't tactfully forced Shen Jiuniang to go to Ruru to do the inner affairs, Sheng Weiqiao felt that Shen Jiuniang must have wanted to reunite with her family after she finally escaped.
But after such an incident, it's hard to say whether this cousin wants to see the Shen family again.
After all, the old man of the Shen family had not been doting on Shen Jiuniang before anything happened to her.
As for Sheng Weiqiao, who also had the experience of being betrayed by his grandfather, he had been doted on by Mr. Sheng since he was a child. Now he is not willing to meet his grandfather!
What's more, Shen Jiuniang
"Miss Cousin hasn't come here yet, why are you thinking about whether she wants to leave?" Juli saw something was wrong in her expression, and said with a smile, "If Miss Cousin finds out, I might think you don't want her." It seems like he will stay here forever! Moreover, Marquis Chongxin committed suicide in fear of his crime, and the ministers are requesting the Queen Mother and Your Majesty to appoint the prince as the crown prince!"
"My cousin is leaving now, isn't it just in time for a happy event?"
"Is there any reason not to stay in Chang'an for a few more days?"
"Besides, Miss Cousin has always been close to you. We haven't seen each other for many years, and yet we have to tell you in detail about our last years together."
"I also want to see the young prince and pay my respects to my father-in-law and his wife."
"How do you think this can be done in just three to five days? Anyway, my cousin is back in Damu, and the days are long. What else is urgent?"
"The days when your two sisters will be reunited will be long!"
Sheng Weiqiao was about to smile after what she said, when he heard a gentle cough from outside. He followed Jinli and walked in quietly, and said in a cautious manner: "Your Majesty, please come out of the palace." It’s a big deal!”
After a pause, she continued, "The people in the Xinshou Palace secretly had an affair with Marquis Chongxin and were treasonous. Taking advantage of the fact that the Queen Mother was serving the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother was using the bird's nest, she poisoned the bird's nest. The Queen Mother was young because of her age. The matter has reached a high point, so on the spot... The Queen's life is now at stake, and the ministers are now asking the king and the princess to come into the palace to take charge of the overall situation!"
"..." Sheng Weiqiao was stunned for a moment, then stood up solemnly and said, "Hurry up and help me change my clothes!"
She changed into the princess's robe and inserted two gold-plated copper-plated jade-embedded beads and begonia crane-patterned head flowers into her fallen pony bun. Thinking about it, it was wrong. No matter how you say it, Empress Dowager Meng is also the couple's nominal grandmother. She has confirmed that she has After passing away, Queen Meng, the couple's nominal aunt, is also in bad luck now. She is dressed too gorgeously and looks too out of place.
So he hurriedly took them off again, and finally found a few simple and elegant ones among a bunch of colorful jewelry. When he went out, he was told: "Because the affair between the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother was reported by the palace people, now everyone in Chang'an is People are in panic. To avoid any surprises, the prince went to the palace first and left carriage guards at the gate for you."
This is a reasonable thing. After all, although Emperor Xuan Jing is still alive, everyone knows that his Majesty does not care about anything at all, and he will not live long.
In just two days, the regent Meng Guiyu and the empress dowager, who was born in the Meng family, passed away one after another. Even empress Meng, who was pregnant with the "legitimate son of Emperor Xuanjing", was also hanging on by a thread. There was no one with enough weight to step forward to calm the situation. Can the situation and people's hearts at the top and bottom not be in chaos
Therefore, Sheng Weiqiao didn't think much, nodded, picked up the hem of her skirt, and quickly boarded the car: "Let's go!"
At this moment, in the Xinshou Palace, Rong Suihe gave an expressionless order: "The Queen Mother is too deeply poisoned, and the imperial doctors have failed to save her. Follow the Queen Mother and leave, and wait until she ascends the throne to be crowned!"
"As for Meng Guiyu... call the ministers together to discuss how to deal with it!"
"Yes!" The palace man bowed his head in agreement. The imperial doctor, who was sweating profusely while rescuing the queen, stopped with relief, packed up the medicine bag, and disappeared into the corridor!
The other palace attendants pulled up the quilt with understanding and suddenly covered the mouth and nose of Queen Meng who was still breathing!
"Woo... Wuwu..." The Queen's poison has not been resolved, and the rescue has been interrupted. Although she is not out of danger at this moment, she has already gained some consciousness. However, she is dying, how can she be the opponent of a group of palace people?
Although he struggled hard, he finally collapsed unwillingly!
After a while, the palace personnel removed the quilt and saw that the originally young and beautiful queen's face had been distorted and her wide almond-shaped eyes were full of confusion and resentment.
Several people observed for a moment and confirmed that the queen was no longer alive. Then they turned around and reported to Rong Suihe who was standing in the hall with his hands behind his back: "Your Majesty, the queen has also passed away!"
"In one day, bad news broke out in the palace. Your Majesty suffered the loss of his mother, wife and son one after another. It is really tragic." Rong Suihe raised his eyes and glanced at the dead Empress Meng on the phoenix couch, her eyes expressionless. Fluctuation, he only said calmly, "His Majesty was already in poor health, how could he bear such a blow now? I'll leave this to you. I want to visit His Majesty's bedroom first."
Everyone in the palace lowered their heads and remained silent: "Yes!"
"Oh, that's right." Rong Suihe took a step, stopped suddenly, turned to look at them, and said slowly, "Gu came first, and the princess will surely arrive soon after. The princess has always been favored, like the Queen Mother. The Empress and the Empress passed away in such a harming way, and their remains were inevitably not peaceful enough to prevent the Princess and the Princess from being disturbed... "
He paused at this point, and someone in the palace immediately said: "Prince, please don't worry, the servants will immediately dress the two empresses and put them in the coffin. After the concubine arrives, she only needs to burn incense in front of the coffin!"
Frightened by his unstoppable future, the palace people did not dare to make any prevarications. Before Rong Sleeping Crane left the palace, everyone was already busy.
A moment later, when Sheng Weiqiao entered the Xinshou Palace, the mourning hall had already been decorated.
Although the young princess of Mi Zhen County did not know the specific ceremony of the royal funeral, she was surprised when she saw this situation: "So soon?! It's not that the Queen Mother went there because she was old; the Queen Mother was still young after all. Are you rescuing?"
The palace attendant responsible for receiving her carefully replied: "As for the Princess, this is what she said: The palace attendant who went to report to the Prince's Palace went out, and the Queen... Because Your Majesty is still here and has been in poor health recently, the Prince He said that if His Majesty knew about the affairs of the two empresses, he would definitely be sad, and when the time comes to touch his heart, I'm afraid it would be even more detrimental to his body!"
"And the royal family has had a lot of bad news during this period, so we really can't afford any more trouble!"
"So let the servants bury the two empresses quickly, so as not to make His Majesty sad when he comes over later."
Sheng Weiqiao sneered when he heard this, and said to himself that Emperor Jing... How much did he love the Shu sisters in the past? For the sake of the Shu sisters' happiness, the biological mother had to stand back. What's the result
Concubine Shu died in mysterious circumstances when she was in Shanglin Garden. Even Shu Zhaoyi has always been confused, what did Emperor Xuan Jing do
He doted on his concubine even more. The remaining two sisters, Shu Zhaoyi, had to pay filial piety to her sister and serve him. She was too busy, so he decisively summoned Peng Bin and others again!
After the death of his beloved concubine, who was ungrateful and unfilial and wanted to protect her even if she had no children and grandchildren, she was so cold and cold. With Empress Dowager Meng passing away, could Emperor Xuanjing suddenly wake up and feel regretful? !
As for Empress Meng... Sheng Weiqiao didn't even bother to mention the emperor's attitude towards his successor.
"It's probably because Mi Zhen doesn't have any affection or affection for these two people, so she doesn't plan to arrange a big funeral for them?" She vaguely sensed a hint of Rong Suihe's true thoughts, "And she's afraid that if I end up dating Queen Meng, what if? Can’t you accept the appearance of the Queen after you arrive?”
After exhaling, Sheng Weiqiao did not continue to inquire further. He only followed the rules and offered incense to the Queen Mother and the Empress in the simple mourning hall. Finally, he remembered to ask the palace attendant: "Did the bell ring?"
According to the rules, after the death of a queen mother or empress, the bell should be rung to announce the death to the whole city.
But when Sheng Weiqiao came, he didn't hear the bell.
When she reminded her, the palace man suddenly said: "This slave deserves to die! I was just worried about the Queen, but I forgot about it!"
"Then every household hasn't been notified yet?" Sheng Weiqiao twitched the corner of her mouth and hurriedly sent people out of the palace to announce the funeral, asking the female relatives of Chang'an officials of the fifth rank and above to enter the palace to express their condolences and pay homage to the Empress Dowager.
After all, Damu's two most distinguished ladies are gone. Rong Suihe no longer wants to see them, and there is no need to skimp on the honors that should be stipulated in the rules. It is easy for people to say that he is stingy.
After Sheng Weiqiao was busy, he saw that the mourning hall was in order, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He was thinking about whether there was anything missing, when he suddenly heard a hoarse and familiar voice coming from behind: "Princess Princess?"