In the evening, the last ray of light in the sky was also swallowed by darkness, and the earth was shrouded in darkness.
The eunuchs of Shouxian Palace carried lanterns and tongs, put down the lanterns one by one in the palace courtyard, lit them, and hung them back up again, revealing the Shouxian Palace that had just been hidden in the darkness in the dim lights...
In the light, King Zhan Chunyuzhen was kneeling in front of the steps of Shouxian Palace, his back was straight and his expression was stern. Even though he was kneeling there, his aura of coldness and nobility remained undiminished.
At this moment, he was staring down at the quaint blue bricks on the ground, with cold determination and unshakable determination in his deep eyes.
He had been kneeling here for several hours. Before sending Shen Ruolan back to the inn, and helping her arrange protective measures, he returned to Shouxian Palace, wanting to have a good talk with the Queen Mother about this matter.
However, the Empress Dowager was still in a fit of anger and refused to see him. She only let people spread the word that if he agreed not to marry Shen Ruolan, or just marry her as a concubine, he would be told to come in, if not, he would be asked to leave. Never come to Shouxian Palace again, and she will no longer recognize him as a son.
Of course Chunyuyu would not go in. Going in would be a compromise with the queen mother, and he would not leave. If he left, he would be reprimanded for being unfilial and unfilial for the rest of his life, so he had to kneel down, in the courtyard of Shouxian Palace, to show himself to the queen mother. Attitude.
Seeing her stubbornness, the queen mother was so angry that she didn't even have dinner. She only said that if he insisted on marrying Shen Ruolan, she would not eat or drink, and she would starve to death.
Although Chunyuxuan couldn't bear his mother's hunger, he couldn't let her down, so he continued to kneel, expressing his position silently.
The mother and son persisted from dusk to dusk, and from dusk to dawn.
Chunyuxuan knelt outside the Shouxian Palace all night. It was almost October and the night was cold. He was kneeling on the cold green bricks in his single clothes. It was so cold and chilly. Empress Dowager Xiaoduan couldn't bear it in the middle of the night. , Tossed and turned several times a night, almost someone woke him up.
However, thinking about what he said during the day, she couldn't get angry anymore, so she gritted her teeth and endured it.
Although she held back and didn't flinch, she didn't sleep all night, getting up and sitting down, sighing until dawn.
Early the next morning, the Empress Dowager sent her confidant and court lady Xia Jin out to see how Chun Yuzhen was doing.
After Xia Jin came out and took a look at Chunyuxuan, she rushed back and reported, "Mother, Queen Mother, Qiye's face is a little pale, and the circles of his eyes are also a little blue. He looks like he has been seriously injured, and I don't know if he is tired. Still frozen."
Chunliu saw that the Empress Dowager was distressed, and she was unwilling to bow her head in front of her son, so she said softly, "It must be Qi Ye's previous treatment that hurt his vitality, otherwise it would be impossible to kneel all night like this! "
These words made the Empress Dowager Xiaoduan feel distressed for a while, thinking about the earthworm-like scar on her son's lower abdomen, and thinking about her son kneeling outside on this cloudy and cold night, she suddenly became less angry with him.
Xishun said: "Miss Chunliu's words are very true. Thinking about the body and bones of our Seventh Master before, it is really the same as the King Kong in the temple. Let alone kneeling for one night, it doesn't matter if you kneel for two or three nights." Yes, now I just knelt down for the whole night, so it can be seen that this disease really hurt Qi Ye's body!"
The two were singing and convincing, seeing that the queen mother was about to loosen, at this time the eunuch on duty outside came to report, saying that the queen mother came to pay her respects to the queen mother.
When the Empress Dowager Xiaoduan heard that her daughter-in-law was coming, she hurriedly asked her to come in, and temporarily put aside the matter of Chun Yuzhen. After all, Lao Qi shamed her in front of the queen yesterday, and she also wanted to ask her daughter-in-law to see her son kneeling The way he admits his mistakes in the yard can also save some face in front of his daughter-in-law.
Empress Chen came in with seven or eight maids, and each of these maids held a food box in their hands.
When I came in, I greeted Ann first, and then Empress Chen said with a distressed face: "The concubine heard that the mother was angry with the seventh brother. I didn't have a meal last night. The concubine got up early and asked someone to make some delicious soup. I asked the queen to taste it. You are older than when you were young, you must not be angry with your body, if you get sick, don't we feel distressed and panic... "
As he said that, the circles of his eyes turned red.
Seeing this scene, the Empress Dowager Xiaoduan thought of her son outside, and suddenly felt that something was wrong. Even the daughter-in-law was worried that she would be too old, and that she would not be able to bear it, so she came here to persuade her to eat, but that naughty son, for A coquettish woman, regardless of her age and frail body, let her starve herself...
Thinking of this, the thought of pardoning him or even fulfilling him suddenly disappeared.
However, the empress dowager still didn't eat, she said a few words to empress Chen, and then let her kneel down.
Just now she had a sudden thought, that is, she wanted to see if that naughty son would really starve to death of her mother in order to give that vixen status!
Thinking this way, the old lady really refused to eat. From morning to noon, from morning to night, the queen mother insisted on refusing to eat, and Chunyuxuan also knelt in the yard of Shouxian Palace. Neither mother nor son would give in. .
After the emperor heard about this, he didn't even bother to approve the papers, and hurried over to visit. When he passed the courtyard, he saw Chunyuzhen still kneeling in the courtyard. Emperor Jian'an stopped and angrily said: "King Zhan, as a son of man , To actually disobey mother for a lowly woman, disregarding mother's life, such an act of inhumanity, unrighteousness, fraternity and filial piety, it is really the wrath of man and god, it is not as good as a beast!"
After scolding, he walked into the house angrily.
**
Today is August 15th, Shen Ruolan stayed in the inn without going anywhere, thought he would come to accompany her for the festival, but from yesterday to today, from morning to night, until the willow on the moon, she still hasn't Chunyu Yu waited.
Although I didn't wait for Chunyuxuan, I did wait for someone related to Chunyuxuan: that is Chunyuxuan's sister—Princess Yurong!
Princess Yurong came out in modest clothes, with only a nanny and two guards with her. When she arrived at the inn, she was stopped by the guards before entering the door, and she was not allowed to come in casually.
Princess Yurong knew that the person blocking her was sent by Chunyuzhen to protect Shen Ruolan, so she said to the person blocking her: "Go and tell Shen Ruolan that Princess Yurong wants to see her, if she knows it's me , we will definitely meet."
The guard who stopped her said bluntly: "Master Qi said that no one but him can see Miss Shen without authorization. The subordinates dare not disobey Master Qi's order, so please forgive me, Eldest Princess!"
Princess Yurong was angry, she didn't see Shen Ruolan, she was willing to let it go, and immediately asked the two guards she brought to open the way for her.
When Chunyuxuan's men saw that Princess Yurong's men were about to force their way in, they naturally wouldn't give way, so the two sides started fighting.
Shen Ruolan was talking to her parents in the inn, when she heard the sound of fighting outside, she hurriedly called in the two maids who were guarding the door, and asked them what was the matter, only after she asked, did she find out that it was Princess Yurong who came here.
Shen Ruolan has a very bad impression of Princess Yurong. Yesterday, relying on her status, this princess humiliated herself several times, and if she finds her today, nothing good will happen.
However, for the sake of her being Chun Yuxuan's older sister, Shen Ruolan planned to meet her and see what she had to say, if she treated him with courtesy, she would treat her with courtesy too. If she still dared to treat her like yesterday in Shouxian Palace, then she would not be polite to her!
The servant girl heard that she wanted to see Princess Yurong, so she went out to invite her.
After a while, the sound of fighting outside stopped, and Princess Yurong walked in with a nun.
Shen Ruolan specially received her in her own room (so that her parents would not have to kneel down and worship her when they saw her). When they met, Shen Ruolan only gave her a blessing, and her attitude was also cold and indifferent. He didn't treat her with respect and caution just because she was a princess, because according to her previous attitude towards herself, she didn't deserve my courtesy and respect.
It may be that Princess Yurong had something on her mind and didn't care about her etiquette. After she finished the ceremony, Princess Yurong couldn't wait to say: "Shen Ruolan, I have something to ask of you!"
Shen Ruolan said, "If Her Royal Highness the Princess Princess begged me to leave King Zhan, or asked me to agree to be a concubine, then you don't have to say anything. I won't agree. Whether you say I'm selfish or ruthless, or I don't know the heights of heaven and earth, as long as he If you don’t say you won’t marry me, I won’t back down.”
"What if he loses his imperial status, his status as King Zhan, and his right to control the 300,000 troops in the north because of you? Do you also have the heart?" Princess Yurong asked.
Shen Ruolan said: "There is nothing I can't bear. People don't have to be well-clothed, well-fed, high-ranking and powerful to be happy. Sometimes, living a normal life and being leisurely all day long is also a kind of happiness. Perhaps, he would prefer the leisurely rural life life!"
"Hehe, what if his leisurely pastoral life is at the cost of my mother's life? Will you also enjoy the joy of this pastoral life with him with peace of mind?" Princess Yurong laughed sinisterly, After laughing, he said, "Do you know that my mother has not had a drop of water since yesterday, because of you, my mother is so disappointed and heartbroken by Lao Qi, she wants to go on a hunger strike to kill herself, and now she is four I haven't eaten for a while, she is already in her fifties, and she is not in good health. If something happens to you, can you bear it? Do you want Lao Qi to be unfilial and unfilial all his life? The reputation of being with you is leisurely and happy? Besides, if something happens to my mother, do you think he will live with you with peace of mind? Or, do you think the emperor can spare you? "
Hearing this, Shen Ruolan was stunned for a moment, she never expected that the queen mother would even resort to hunger strike to kill herself in order to oppose her!
Her heart was constantly sinking, and a bad premonition arose spontaneously.
After staying for a while, she said, "What about him? Where is he?"
Princess Yurongchang said sharply, "Lao Qi is kneeling in the yard outside the Shouxian Palace now. Since he knelt before sunset last night until now, both knees are almost useless. It's all because of you, because of you." You insisted on the position of concubine Xiao Xiang, which caused my mother and younger brother to be at a stalemate, mother and son separated, and caused my younger brother to lose everything and become a commoner. If it weren't for you, our family would still be happy Sitting in the Zhaixing Building, having a banquet and watching the moon, maybe how happy it is, how can it be as miserable as it is now? Shen Ruolan, you are really harmful!"
Shen Ruolan stared blankly at the ground, did not refute or speak, she clenched her hands tightly, feeling that her fingernails were about to poke into the flesh of her palm, her intuition told her that in this pk meeting between mother and son, he would lose deal!
In a society where filial piety is paramount, no matter how deviant he is, he still cannot escape the rules and laws of the society. The Empress Dowager Xiaoduan is his mother, so he can let him kneel down. Even if he kneels to death, no one else can say anything; But he can't, because he doesn't want the empress dowager to die of starvation or anger. If that's the case, he won't be happy in this life. He will suffer and regret for a lifetime under the shackles of guilt; moreover, the emperor will never allow it. The queen mother was angry with him and starved to death, let alone starving to death, even if the queen mother made a mistake, the emperor would not spare her, even her...
"Don't you want to say something? You hurt my mother and younger brother so badly, so you don't want to think about how to make it up? Don't you think about being my younger brother's concubine at this time?" Princess Yurong He said sharply: "Even if you confuse him and he is willing to marry you, you will definitely not be Princess Zhan, because the emperor said that if he wants to marry you, he has to pay the price of losing his imperial status and surrendering his military power." .”
"You can only be his wife at most, but you will never be Princess Zhan. This is your fate. Don't expect to be able to fly to a branch and become a phoenix if you climb up to the prince. A pheasant will always be a pheasant. , you can only end up in a mess, I advise you to be more disciplined, put away those restless intestines, or be a concubine in peace and content, and everyone will be happy, or go back to your hometown, don't Keep pestering my seventh brother, don't destroy him because of your selfishness..."
Princess Yurong's words became more and more ugly, but Shen Ruolan couldn't care less about rebuttals, her mind was all on the empress dowager's hunger strike to force him.
Thinking of what might happen in the future, her heart suddenly ached, as if she was about to lose her most precious thing.
She is not afraid that Chunyuzhen will lose his imperial status because of her, nor that he will lose his status as a prince and the military power of the 300,000 army, but she is afraid that his mother and queen will die because of her hunger strike, and she is also afraid that he will suffer from the shackles of guilt all his life. , it's better to let go, lest he lose so much for her!
It's just that if she lets go, she will be very reluctant!
After living two lifetimes, it was so easy to be tempted once, and it was so easy to accept a man because of love. Now let her give up, she really can't bear it...
"Are you talking? What exactly do you want? Are you happy to destroy him, what do you think?" Princess Yurong accused loudly.
Shen Ruolan bit her lip, and it took her a long time to find her own voice: "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say now, and I can't promise you anything, you go first, let me think about it..."
Princess Yurong snorted, looked at her bitterly and said, "You'd better make a decision quickly, my mother's phoenix body can't stand the toss, if she falls ill because of you or something goes wrong If you don't, my brother will never forgive you!"
After leaving these words, Princess Yurong took the people away angrily.
Shen Dejian and his wife have been listening to their conversation next door, and they have heard what they said between them. After Princess Yurong left, Shen Dejian and Mrs. Mu walked into Shen Ruolan's room. Mrs. Mu saw Shen Ruolan with a troubled expression, Gently took her in her arms, stroked her back, and said, "Lan'er, you and King Zhan's matter, mother just let it go, although mother knows that you two really love each other, but human life In this world, apart from love, there are also responsibilities to be borne. The Empress Dowager and the 300,000 troops in Jizhou are all the responsibility of King Zhan. If he fails to take these responsibilities because of you, there will be no way for you to be the same as before. Happy."
"Especially the empress dowager, she is the biological mother of King Zhan. If she really has troubles because of the things between you, not only will you be accused by thousands of people, but the emperor will definitely not let you go. The queen mother will do it." At this point, it is impossible to turn back. You should make a decision before things get out of hand. If you delay and something happens, you will regret it for the rest of your life... "
"Mother knows that asking you to make this decision will make you feel painful, but long-term pain is worse than short-term pain. It's better to make up your mind and make a decision early!"
"Lan'er, father's opinion is the same as your mother's. You and King Zhan are not in the same family. No matter how good King Zhan treats you, it is impossible. We are not worthy of others, so don't think so much. Stop it, it's just a dream, besides, King Zhan has been kneeling outside for a day and a night, if his leg is broken, how can he go to the battlefield in the future?"
"Stop talking!" Shen Ruolan covered her ears and shouted: "I understand what you said, but you must give me some time, let me think about it, maybe I can come up with a way to get the best of both worlds! "
At this moment, Shen Ruolan's heart was as agitated as if it had been cooked with oil. She was in pain and suffering. After living two lifetimes, she finally met a man who made her fall in love. She really couldn't bear to give up!