After the Zhao family sent a piece of evidence to confirm that Rong Qinghui had been buried in the shipwreck, a tattered brocade robe, Zhao Ziye, who had been crying for several days because of the disappearance of his youngest son, did not shed a single tear.
She asked someone to bring a wet nurse with a lot of money. She took out the clothes and asked the wet nurse to confirm.
The wet nurse looked at the stitches carefully and shed tears: "This is indeed the clothes the prince wore that day. This clothes was made by my slave. I remember every stitch and thread clearly!"
As he spoke, he covered his mouth and started crying suppressedly.
Aunt Zhao quickly winked and asked someone to take her out so as not to attract Zhao Ziye.
However, Zhao Ziye just looked at the small clothes on his knees indifferently, with no expression on his face, only a pair of eyes that flickered on and off, unable to tell his thoughts.
After a while, she asked in a hoarse voice: "The prince is out, right? When will he come back? When he comes back, ask someone to talk to him and ask him to come over. I have something to discuss with him."
In fact, King Gaomi has been living with the princess these days. He has many children at this time, and the total number of children is almost 20, but the direct children are different... No matter whether he really values the direct children in his heart, But he had to adopt this attitude towards the Zhao family.
King Gaomi has never been confused about this.
Therefore, after knowing that Rong Qinghou was missing, King Gaomi, in addition to being busy with political affairs, almost always guarded the princess, just because he was afraid that Zhao Ziye would make a mistake.
When I heard about this after I came back that day, I suddenly changed my steps to go to the study and went directly to Zhao Ziye's yard.
Zhao Ziye had some side dishes waiting here, as well as a bottle of wine.
When King Gaomi entered the door, he saw his wife, who had never drank alcohol before, holding a small cup and sipping slowly. The look on her face that was neither sad nor happy, but numb, made him suffocate, and he paused. Walking in, he persuaded: "We still have Qingzui, Qingzui, Qingfanghui and the others, and Qingzhen is your and my own son, with profound blessings. Even if he lives outside, he may not be a bad person."
Zhao Ziye didn't answer immediately. After finishing the drink in his cup, he said in a lifeless tone: "Someone from my mother's family just came and told me some news."
King Gaomi asked in confusion: "What?"
"The whereabouts of Qing Zou have not been found yet, but we have found out who killed Qing Zou." Zhao Ziye looked at him. There was no sound of crying, but tears burst out, soaking her whole face, but her tone was still calm. He acted as if nothing happened, "It was the concubine and the concubine who did it."
"..." King Gaomi was at a loss for a moment. He was shocked by the sudden news and didn't know what to do.
After a moment, he said in a hoarse voice, "This is a serious matter. Do you have any evidence? It's not that I doubt the Yue family, but the Meng family is very ambitious and may not take this opportunity to sow discord?"
Zhao Ziye said calmly: "Would my family never think of this?"
Hearing that she believed this argument, King Gaomi thought quickly and whispered: "Mi Xue, it's not me who speaks for the concubine, but the concubine is Qinghou's biological grandmother, even if she has been raped by Mo Mo over the years. My family is a bit confused by the coaxing, but I won’t say that I would kill my own grandson! I guess it’s probably because the concubine has some thoughts that she shouldn’t have and took advantage of the trust that the concubine has always had in her.”
Zhao Ziye didn't answer the question and just said: "What are you going to do?"
"The concubine is old, and she is unable to do many things." King Gaomi looked at her, was silent for a while, and said, "Let her live a good life in the harem and live in her old age. We don't need to disturb her unless necessary!"
This is to beat Concubine Mo so that the concubine will no longer point fingers at the affairs of the palace, and the palace will no longer inquire diligently about the concubine. At most, it can ensure her safety and the treatment that a concubine deserves in the palace. .
As for Concubine Mo, King Gaomi's face turned cold and he said in a cold voice, "This bastard coaxed the concubine to help and used extremely despicable means to get into the house! If it weren't for the concubine in these years, Mi Xue would have With all your generosity, how can there be a place for her in this mansion?! I didn’t expect that this humble maid is not only ungrateful, but also wants to murder my legitimate son! How can I keep such a thing?!"
After exhaling, he said crisply, "If you die with a stick, just say that you died of illness!"
Zhao Ziye said in a hoarse voice: "I don't want to see her in the house again! However, if she is killed with a stick, let alone the mother and concubine know about it, how can she bear it? The mother and concubine has always treated her as her own daughter! Let's just say she What about the children under my knees? Do you expect me to raise her children for her even though I have no children of my own? She is a concubine after all, so she can’t ask concubine Ji to raise her flesh and blood, right? "
She said coldly, "Tell them, mother and son, to get out of the palace and go to the village in the countryside. They are not allowed to come back in this life!"
"... Her child can be sent away, but this wretched maid cannot be kept." King Gaomi was stunned for a moment and said, "Mi Xue, you are too soft-hearted! Do you think that this wretched maid came from a humble background and only got where she is today because of her mother and concubine? Normal people know that it is impossible for her to replace you! She actually killed Qing Hui. If she is kept, who knows what she will do in the future? "
Her voice lowered, "Besides, the children she has given birth to are already half-year-old and somewhat sensible. How can they be reassuring if they are kept by her side? Anyway, you and I have quite a few direct children. The mother and son of this wretched maid are nothing like you." What does my mother’s safety mean in comparison?”
Zhao Ziye looked at him steadily for a while, and then said in a solemn voice: "Of course Mo's children are nothing to me, but they are also your own flesh and blood!"
"A son is more valuable than his mother." King Gaomi shook his head, looked at his wife's pale face, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked, "Can you tell me how that cheap maid calculated her reward? I heard that at that time Did Qingzui go to Zhuangzi with Huihe to pick up Qinghou?"
Zhao Ziye drank another cup and said, "I don't want to talk about this today, let's drink a few cups!"
King Gaomi sighed and obediently took the rhinoceros horn cup she pushed into him.
Swallow it in one gulp and then you won’t know anything else.
... In the middle of the night, the entire backyard was rudely awakened by soldiers who suddenly broke in.
From Concubine Mo down, all the concubines, attendants and their children were forcibly driven into Xiangji Hall.
To be precise, it is the backyard of Xiangji Hall.
Because the original owner was still young and could not be sure of his son's future preferences, Zhao Ziye just asked people to dig out the lake, planted some random things, and built a Jiuqu Bridge and Waterside Pavilion, but nothing else.
On such a cold night, it looks so bare and desolate, even a little scary.
"Sister, what do you mean?" This kind of encounter made everyone feel very ominous. When they saw Zhao Ziye, who was wearing only thin clothes and standing on the bridge as if he didn't feel the biting north wind at all, they felt like this The premonition became even stronger.
Concubine Mo asked subconsciously, "What do you want to do when so many foreign men break into the backyard this late at night? Are you going to betray the prince?"
Zhao Ziye ignored her and just looked at the dark lake under the night in silence.
Concubine Mo was in a mess and couldn't help but ask a few more questions: "Where is the prince? What did you do to the prince? Don't make the wrong idea! You and the prince have so many children. You don't think about others, but also for others." Think about it, your children!”
"If she says one more word, her tongue will be twisted!" Zhao Ziye still lowered his head and ordered calmly without raising his eyelids when he heard the words.
She said this very calmly, without any harsh words, but everyone trembled when they heard it and did not dare to say anything.
After standing for a long time, he was not sure what Zhao Ziye was going to do.
It wasn't until Rong Qingzuo and four other Zhao Ziye's biological children arrived ignorantly under the leadership of servants that she moved her steps and walked down the Jiuqu Bridge.
"Take off their robes!" These words were spoken by Rong Qingzui and Princess Huihe.
When they heard this order, the servants were a little confused and thought they heard wrongly.
It wasn't until Zhao Ziye repeated it that they started to act in a hurry.
"Mother concubine?" Rong Qingzui and Princess Huihe were both surprised. Princess Qingfang stepped forward quickly and said in surprise: "Mother concubine, what are you going to do? It's so cold and it's still night. Without the robe, can you?" Aren’t you going to catch a cold?”
Hearing this, Zhao Ziye lowered his head and glanced at his eldest daughter. Without any warning, he slapped Princess Qingfang on the ear and nearly blacked out her eyes!
"I'm not dead yet, why is it Princess Qingfang's turn to make the decision in this backyard?!" After the beating, she didn't even look at Princess Qingfang's stunned expression, and looked coldly at the servant who stood frozen.
The servants looked at each other and quickly sped up their movements.
A moment later, Rong Qingzui and Princess Huihe, who had been stripped of only their obscene clothes, stood shivering in the cold wind. Their bare feet stepped on the icy ground, and in an instant, black and purple colors appeared. .
The brother and sister were at a loss, with tears rolling back and forth in their eyes.
Zhao Ziye looked at them with no pity or intolerance, only indifference, even mixed with a bit of inexplicable joy.
The backyard, which was still buzzing with whispers, was now silent.
Concubine Mo and her son turned pale.
"..." Zhao Ziye stared at his children for a while before turning his gaze to them. His gaze was like a poisoned knife, sweeping over bit by bit. Everyone who saw it was shocked and looked at each other. , I wanted to ask but didn’t dare.
After a long time, she said, "Let's start with this!"
His eyes fell on the second-to-last child among the sons of Concubine Mo.
There was a moment of dead silence by the lake, and Concubine Mo looked at her in disbelief: "You... what did you say?"
Zhao Ziye looked indifferent and ignored the soldiers who were escorting the concubines and concubines. However, without hesitation, he separated into two people and captured a boy who was less than ten years old, one on the left and one on the right. He easily Drag him to the lake, and then throw him down!
The lake is already covered with ice this season, but because of the width of the lake, the ice is not so strong in the end. Of course, the edges are thicker after all.
When the boy was thrown down, part of the ice broke open, and most of his body sank immediately.
However, the desire to survive made him immediately grab the unbroken part, and shouted in confusion and fear: "Concubine Xiangmu..."
"Sister, are you crazy?!" Concubine Mo was stunned by this turn of events. She took a few steps in a hurry, but was quickly stopped by a soldier who raised his hand. She could only shout to Zhao Ziye through the person, "This is my cousin." Her bloodline! It’s the blood of the concubine. As the concubine, you..."
"Slap!" Before he could finish his words, Aunt Zhao behind Zhao Ziye shouted sternly, "How dare you speak to the princess like this?! Are you all dead?!"
The scolded soldier did not hesitate and immediately kicked Concubine Mo down, then grabbed her hair and dragged her up, forcing her to kneel down towards Zhao Ziye.
"Bao'er is only nine years old. If you have any problem, come at me! Come at me... please! He doesn't know anything, he is still a child!!!" Concubine Mo was still questioning Zhao Ziye at first, but then Watching her child sinking and floating in the icy water, the child soon slipped to the bottom of the lake because of his lack of strength. He suddenly collapsed and burst into tears. While crying, he begged, "Sister, no, princess, princess." , please do well! Why are you treating us like this? This is the blood of the prince. If you treat him like this, how can you explain it to the prince and the concubine later? How will others view your child... "
Zhao Ziye did not look at her. In the darkness, he saw the princess with a pale face and dark eyes looking at Rong Bao, who had no strength to flutter.
After a while, whether because Concubine Mo was convinced or because she couldn't bear it, she said slowly, "Pull me up!"
One of the two previous soldiers agreed and did not go into the lake. He took off a long whip from his waist and swung it neatly into the lake. He caught Rong Bao's arm when he struggled out of the water and beat him hard. Drag it up!
Rong Bao cried miserably, half out of fear, half out of pain: after he was thrown to the shore, his arm that had been rolled up by the long whip immediately hung down limply.
Concubine Mo let out a sigh of relief and thought that she was right in refusing to plead guilty. It was obvious that the princess was just suspicious and put on this show to scare her.
If she couldn't hold back her anger and let the princess know that her youngest son was gone, she would never let them go!
This thought was not over yet. Unexpectedly, she received another kick on the lower back and kicked her away. The concubine, who was not sure why, struggled to sit up. However, she saw the soldier who had previously used the whip put away his long whip and picked up Rong Bao with one hand. , walked towards the lake again!
"What are you going to do?!" Concubine Mo was shocked and tried to stop her, but another soldier roughly stepped on her legs. She felt the warning in his eyes that he would crush her legs if she dared to move. Concubine Mo stopped instinctively and said anxiously, "Princess, please calm down!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the soldier throwing Rong Bao by the water, but he didn't throw it into the water.
Zhao Ziye walked over leisurely, squatted down, stared at Rong Bao, who was still sobbing, and asked in an almost eerie soft voice: "Are you scared?"
Rong Bao looked at her timidly. This child was actually quite timid, because Concubine Mo was a concubine after all, and she was deeply loved by the concubine. She loved the whole house and everything. His status in front of Concubine Mo was slightly higher than that of his eldest brother Rong Qing. The discretion is even higher, so he is quite indulgent and willful.
Although he didn't openly bully his direct siblings, he often used his status as a child to cause trouble for Zhao Ziye and Zhao Ziye's attendants.
Because Zhao Ziye was proud of his status and never cared about him, it had become a habit to make trouble in front of his aunt.
But the scene just now was obviously beyond what he could bear at his age. Even though Zhao Ziye asked the question very kindly, he didn't dare to answer it.
Zhao Ziye smiled when he saw this and stretched out his hand as if to touch the top of his hair.
But, the next moment, she grabbed Rong Bao's hair and pushed him into the lake water!
"Bao'er!!!" Concubine Mo's pupils suddenly shrank, and she subconsciously wanted to rush over to protect her child!
At the same time, there was a crisp "click" from her legs, and it was the soldier who stepped on her leg bones without hesitation!
The severe pain made the concubine, who had been well-dressed for more than ten years, have stars flashing in front of her eyes, and she almost fainted on the spot!
"Are you afraid?" After Zhao Ziye simply pushed Rong Bao into the water, he let go after a while. Looking at the bastard who was crying and panting desperately, there was no emotion in her eyes, but her tone was gentle. Like water on a spring night, he seemed to repeat patiently, "Good boy, tell me, are you afraid?"
"... Harm... Scared... Concubine... I'm so scared... Can you please spare me? Next time I will never dare to knock over your bonsai on purpose, nor will I dare to put centipedes into the skirts of the sisters who are waiting for you. "Rong Bao has never seen such a battle before. He was crying uncontrollably. He choked and begged, "I will definitely listen to you in the future and be filial to you. I..."
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Zhao Ziye: "Is it cold?"
Rong Bao didn't dare to delay at all this time, and immediately said: "Thank you for your concern, mother and concubine, I'm not cold!"
The next moment, his head was pushed into the water again!
After a while, he turned to Zhao Ziye with an expressionless expression: "Is it cold?"
Rong Bao was too frightened to say anything. He didn't dare to answer, but he didn't dare not to answer. He hesitated for a moment, fearing it would happen again, and then choked out: "Cold...?"
"Look at your biological mother." Zhao Ziye nodded, his tone always gentle, but his hands were very rough, forcing Rong Bao to turn his head and look at Concubine Mo who was still being stepped on by the soldiers. , said softly, "She is right there, but she is just watching you suffer... How do you feel?"
Rong Bao thought that his aunt and his biological mother had always been at odds with each other, and he would definitely not want to hear his considerate words, so he said timidly: "You are the master of the palace, and you should punish her."
Zhao Ziye pushed his head into the lake for the third time, this time for an extra long time, and when he was finally released, he was so limp that he couldn't even move his fingers: "I hate her!!!" "
This answer seemed to satisfy Zhao Ziye. She looked at Rong Bao intently and did not move for a while.
Rong Bao was so frightened by what he saw that he tried to endure it for a while, but finally couldn't help crying: "Mother, concubine, please don't treat the child like this again, okay? The child was not sensible before, but he will definitely change in the future! See you again in the future I won’t disobey you, I won’t bully the sisters who serve you, and I won’t deliberately say in front of my father that my eldest brother bullies the children... "
He rambled on, almost telling all the things that he thought had offended his aunt-in-law. The concubines, who were frightened by Zhao Ziye's sudden actions, all changed their expressions and began to whisper to each other.
The four brothers and sisters Rong Qingzui were also dumbfounded. They did not expect that the concubine, mother and son had been prescribed so many eye drops over the years.
But Zhao Ziye didn't seem to care about any of this, and just stared at Rong Bao for a long time. After a while, she stood up and turned to Rong Qingzui: "Qinghui disappeared in the shipwreck."
"The people sent to search said that they had searched a hundred miles around the place where the shipwreck occurred and only found one piece of his clothes."
"Start from knowing the news."
"I've been thinking, is Qing Zou afraid? Is it cold? Do you blame me, the mother-in-law?"
When she said this, her expression and tone were very calm, but her eyes seemed to be ignited by something. They were bright and burning, even a little dazzling when looking in the dark night. When she lowered her eyes to look at Rong Bao, it seemed as if There are turbulent waves surging, "You are four years older than me, and this lake is completely incomparable to the sea... If you are afraid, he will naturally be more afraid; if you are cold, he will be even colder; if you resent your life, My mother...my Qingzhen must also hate me, this stupid and incompetent mother-in-law, right?"
He said this with low interest, as if he could no longer be interested in anything.
But Concubine Mo heard the meaning, her eyes widened in an instant, and she screamed: "No...!!!"
However, Zhao Ziye didn't seem to hear him. He lifted up his skirt lightly and kicked Rong Bao into the lake lightly.
For safety reasons, the shore of the lake has a gentler slope, so the water is relatively shallow.
Although Rong Bao was young, he was still alive here, so he struggled and cried to climb ashore.
Zhao Ziye looked at him with an indifferent expression. Just when he tried to grab the hem of her skirt and beg, she raised her foot, stepped on his head, and stepped on him bit by bit, slowly but firmly. Into the bottom of the water.
... I don’t know how long it took, Concubine Mo’s voice became hoarse, and she took back her foot and said calmly: “I don’t know if the sea water was like this when my ship sank, bit by bit, bit by bit. Click a little and miss him?"
She tilted her head, and under the firelight, her pale face was like frost and snow, and her eyes were like knives piercing Concubine Mo, "It's a pity that I couldn't even see him for the last time, but you can watch here. Your child died... Why do you think you are so much luckier than me?"
After saying these words, the soldier who was stepping on Concubine Mo immediately pulled out his short sword and gouged out Concubine Mo's eyes neatly!