"This matter has already been concluded, why should Sir Sima bring it up again?" Zhang Zhonghan said earnestly, "Doesn't it only make the Queen Mother sad to bring up the old thing again?"
"It's getting late, so I'm leaving." Zhang Zhonghan didn't want to be dragged into the water by Sima Hong. No matter what the other party thought, he made up his mind not to participate, so as not to get into trouble.
Seeing Zhang Zhonghan leaving in a hurry, Sima Hong snorted coldly, turned around and saw Li Guangji looking at him with a smile, he clasped his fists and said, "Li Xiang."
"Lord Sima," Li Guangji walked in front of Sima Hong and said vaguely, "It's summer now, and the weather is changing. Lord Sima, please pay more attention to your health."
"I have to worry about Li," Sima Hong said lightly, "Li Xiang also needs to pay more attention."
Li Guangji bowed his hands to him: "Lord Sima is right."
The relationship between the two has always been harmonious on the face, and fighting against each other on the inside, so there is nothing to say at this time, and after a few polite words, they go their separate ways.
Sima Hong returned home, waved to his son, daughter-in-law and grandson who had come to greet him, and said with a tired face, "Don't wait for me for lunch, I'll use it in the yard."
"Yes." Zheng Zheng saw that his father-in-law was not very good, and knew that he was worried about Wei Ting recently. After bowing to Sima Hong, he didn't dare to say anything else.
Sima Hong glanced at Sima Xiang, who was standing in the corner, and left with a sullen face.
"Husband," Zheng said to her husband, "you go and accompany the old man, and let him not hold things in your heart."
Sima Zhi nodded, looked back at his son and daughter-in-law, and whispered, "It's hard work, lady."
Zheng Shi smiled and straightened his clothes.
After doing all this, Zheng turned around and said to his son and daughter-in-law, "You guys can go back to your own yard, there's nothing to do here."
Sima Xiang, who was standing in the corner, followed her cousin and sister-in-law out of the main courtyard. Seeing that her face was not very good, the sister-in-law asked with concern: "The third sister's face seems to be not very good in the past few days, but she is not feeling well? "
"It's okay," Sima Xiang shook his head with a smile, a look of embarrassment on his face, "It will be fine in two days."
Sister-in-law thought she was talking about the days of a woman's month, so she nodded her head clearly: "Then take a good rest and don't blow the wind."
"Yes." Sima Xiang responded with a smile, and the smile on his face didn't collapse until after leaving with his cousin and sister-in-law. What worries her is not about Wei Ting, but about the disappearance of Prime Minister Gao Luo.
As soon as she made a plan with Qi Lian, Qi Lian returned to Gao Luo, who knew that such a thing would happen? At this moment, she only hoped that Qilian was assassinated by the Gaoluo people. If... if she was caught by the Dafeng people, let His Majesty know that she was in private contact with the high-ranking officials of the Gaoluo country. Even the entire Sima family will suffer.
Although the rest of the Sima family were not particularly important to her, she knew in her heart how much influence the family had on women. Therefore, there must be nothing wrong with the Sima family. The collapse of the Sima family means that she is also finished.
Her own girl’s menstrual period didn’t come. As a personal maid, Baomei knew very well. Seeing the girl lied to the eldest young grandmother, Baomei was puzzled and surprised, but she didn’t dare to ask any more questions. .
Back in the small courtyard where she lived, Sima Xiang thought about it for a long time and decided to tell her aunt that she agreed with the Qian family's proposal.
But before she left the courtyard, she saw the housekeeper came in with a few nanny. These nanny wore the same clothes, which was the standard of the palace. She glanced at the housekeeper suspiciously, wondering what happened. thing.
"This is Miss Sima?" The mammy walking at the front glanced at Sima Xiang, turned her head to speak to the housekeeper, and spoke with a slightly arrogant attitude.
"Yes." The butler showed a somewhat pleasing smile on his face.
Mammy looked at Sima Xiang from head to toe. After confirming that Sima Xiang was correct, she tilted her head and nodded to the other mamas who came with her, and then said to Sima Xiang, "Miss Sima, the nobles in the palace have a request, please. You come with us."
"I don't know which noble person in the palace summoned?" Sima Xiang felt a little uneasy in her heart, and gave her a little blessing to her, "I also ask my mother to make it clear."
"The names of the nobles in the palace are taboos, in fact, I wait for the humble people to say," the mammy said with a smile, "I will know when the girl sees it in the palace."
Sima Xiang frowned, but it was a mammy in the palace, to go to the aristocratic family to take people away without any scruples, which was too disrespectful to the Sima family. She glanced at the housekeeper with low brows and pleasing eyes, and then at the direction of the silent main courtyard, her heart pounded.
Did the old man and the aunt agree
"It is the honor of the ministers and daughters to be summoned by the nobles in the palace," Sima Xiang said with a smile, "Please also ask the mammy to take a moment, and wait for the ministers and daughters to salute the elders in the family before entering the palace with you?"
"Three girls, my wife said that the affairs of the nobles in the palace should not be delayed," the housekeeper bowed to Sima Xiang, "These customs at home are not important."
"I understand." Sima Xiang's smile was as usual, but the hand hidden in his sleeve trembled slightly.
The carriage that came to pick up Sima Xiang was very gorgeous, and there were guards on both sides of the carriage to clear the way.
"Girl, could it be the emperor..." Baomei, who followed Sima Xiang into the carriage, saw that the carriage was so delicate, she couldn't help but said, "This carriage is so beautiful."
Hearing Baomei's words, Sima Xiang's heart moved, remembering the handsome face of His Majesty today, and her cheeks were stained with a few traces of blush.
In the main room of the Sima family, after hearing the report from the housekeeper, Mrs Zheng sighed, "I see."
After her daughter came back with a letter a few days ago, asking her to pay more attention to Sima Xiang, she became even more wary of Sima Xiang. Someone suddenly came to the palace just now and said that Sima Xiang might have done something wrong and wanted to bring her into the palace for interrogation. She only thought for a moment and then agreed.
Now that she has calmed down, she has some regrets in her heart. If Sima Xiang really made a big mistake, what will happen to the Sima family? If she temporarily dragged Sima Xiang away, maybe they still had time to deal with the beginning and end, and now they can only be in a passive state.
"Sister-in-law doesn't have to think about it too much," said the second wife of the Sima family, Mrs. Sun, who was sitting below her. "Your Majesty, Shengming, will definitely not implicate unrelated people."
"I wish that was the case," Zheng Shi rubbed his forehead. "I have to have someone go to the third uncle's place. If Xiang girl is taken away from us, we always have to give him an explanation."
I don't know what's going on recently, the days are getting worse and worse.
Hearing this, the Sun sneered in his heart, Sima Yue didn't have the heart to take care of Sima Xiang's daughter at this moment, he lingered in the Qinlou Chu Pavilion all day long, even if no one forgot his own name.
Knowing that the second sibling has a grudge against Sanfang, it is not good for Zheng to mention Sanfang in front of Sun, but to talk about other things.
Although she didn't want to admit it, she felt a faint sigh of relief when Sima Xiang was taken away by the people in the palace. She didn't know what was going on, but she couldn't like Sima Xiang this junior.
The carriage went straight all the way, never stopping on the way. Listening to the sound of hooves stepping outside, Sima Xiang was a little curious, why hasn't he arrived at the palace gate after so long
Suddenly the carriage jolted a bit, and after walking for a while, she noticed that the surroundings were much quieter. She wanted to lift the curtain to see, but was afraid of making a taboo, so she suppressed the urge.
She didn't know how long she had gone before the carriage stopped, and she heard a shrill eunuch's voice coming from Waiman.
"Miss Sima, please get off the carriage."
Eunuch? Her heart moved, could it really be the emperor...
Her palms trembled slightly, she opened the curtain, and saw the handsome young man standing opposite and the eunuchs and guards standing behind him.
She hurriedly got off the carriage and bowed to Jin Yang Yingying: "My ministers and daughters pay tribute to Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty."
Jin Yang looked down at the woman standing outside the eaves in Fushen. She had a graceful figure and a fair complexion. Because she lowered her head, she also showed a beautiful neck. This is a stunner that can make many men tempted.
Gently turning the wrench on his thumb, Jin Yang raised his hand slightly, and the maids who were standing behind Sima Xiang suddenly stepped forward, covered them, grabbed their arms, and dragged her to the side to see In a somewhat dilapidated palace.
"Woo!" Sima Xiang widened his eyes in horror, struggling to look in the direction Jin Yang was standing, only to see the man standing on the spot with no expression on his face, like a lifeless ice sculpture, piercing cold.
She didn't know where the strength came from, but she rushed forward and grabbed his sleeve.
He Ming's face changed immediately, and he wanted to push Sima Xiang away, but he saw His Majesty, who was as elegant as jade, kicked Sima Xiang away.
He was stunned at the time, watching Sima Xiang being held by the eunuchs and maids, but he still didn't react.
Sima Xiang struggled even harder, but this time, the mammy and eunuch who were holding her were extra careful, so that she could not break free even with all her strength.
Fear hit her like a tide in the sky. She had never been so afraid as at this moment. What glory, wealth, power and glory all turned into clouds.
The wide open palace gate was like the bloody mouth of a giant beast. When she was dragged in, she felt that her life was also swallowed up by this dark palace.
"Miss Sima, I've offended you." Several maids pushed her into a cell and locked the door.
"What are you doing?" Sima Xiang rushed to the door and pulled on the copper lock, but the copper lock did not move at all, but her hand was red from the restraint, "Let me out."
"Miss Sima, it's better to be quiet when you enter this place," He Ming walked outside her cell, "Your Majesty Xijing, if you keep arguing, our family will have to cut your tongue."
Sima Xiang was stunned when she heard this, and looked at He Ming with a face full of panic. After a while, she said with a trembling voice, "I am a noble girl from a noble family, you can't treat me like this."
The place was stuffy, hot, and had a musty stench, and there were no windows around, making it almost breathless.
He Ming smiled sarcastically when he heard the words, and said yin and yang strangely: "Our family has never seen a noble girl from an aristocratic family who even dared to attack her biological mother. Miss Sima really opened our family's eyes."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Sima Xiang angrily said, "Eunuch He, even if you are the imperial attendant, you can't be so bloody."
Seeing her angry and wronged face, He Ming shook his head and sighed: "Ms. Sima will definitely be someone who does great things if she puts her mind on the right path." Her heart is cruel and decisive, but it's a pity that she is cruel to her. used on relatives.
Sima Xiang lowered her head and didn't speak. She didn't know how much He Ming knew, or how much the emperor knew.
"Miss Sima doesn't need to argue about this in front of our family. Your Majesty already knows the right and wrong. Even the embroidered shoes you threw into the abandoned well were retrieved for you. Miss Sima, would you like to take a look?" He Ming smiled. Said, "It's just stained with blood, and it doesn't look as bright as it used to be."
"It's not me!" Sima Xiang gritted his teeth, "When I went, my mother had committed suicide."
"Our family has already said that Miss Sima doesn't have to explain this to our family, our family is not interested in your behavior," He Ming's smile gradually dispersed and became serious, "It's just that you want to collude with foreign enemies and frame the queen. Our family has no choice but to take care of the Empress."
"I don't understand what Eunuch He said." Sima Xiang suddenly raised his head and looked behind He Ming, his eyes also stained with a little brilliance.
He Ming looked back and saw His Majesty coming, he hurriedly bowed and stepped aside, then set up a table and bench for Jin Yang with the other eunuchs, and even served hot tea.
Sima Xiang's hot eyes suddenly dimmed. She leaned against the door and slowly slid to her knees on the ground: "My servant Sima Xiang, I have seen Your Majesty."
Jin Yang held the sachet and put it on the tip of his nose. The sachet was embroidered with a blessing. The embroidery was not very good, but the faint mint fragrance in the purse was very refreshing.
He Ming recognized at a glance that this was embroidered for Her Majesty by the empress, who was in the mood a few days ago. Such a small sachet has been embroidered for a whole month, but His Majesty is still considered a rare item. He hangs it on his body all day long, and even takes it out and smells it. People who are unaware of the trouble think that His Majesty is aesthetically pleasing about sachets. Weird.
Jin Yang glanced at Sima Xiang, who was kneeling on the ground, but didn't shout. He stuffed the sachet into his arms, turned to He Ming and said, "What did the Sima family say?"
"Back to the emperor, the Sima family said that the three girls in the Sima family are seriously ill and cannot see outsiders." He Ming whispered, "Master Sima still wanted to enter the palace to plead guilty, but was stopped by the servants."
"Well." Jin Yang nodded, "They still know what's wrong."
Although Sima Hong is very ambitious, he will never do anything to collude with the enemy and betray the country, so when he knew that Sima Xiang was secretly colluding with Qi Lian, if He Ming had not helped him quickly, I was afraid that he would have been in front of He Ming. Kneel down.
The Sima family has been passed down for hundreds of years. Although there are incompetent people in every generation, there are absolutely no traitors, and they can't do anything to betray the country. Fighting and robbing domestically is a matter for one's own family. If they collude with foreign enemies, it will exceed the bottom line of the Sima family.
It is precisely because of this that Sima Hong agreed to let the royal family take Sima Xiang away, and was even grateful to Jin Yang. If this matter became a big issue, no matter whether their big house would be affected in the end, their Sima family would definitely sweep the floor gently. It can no longer maintain the glory of the first-class family.
He Ming smiled and agreed, and turned his head to look at Sima Xiang's eyes, which was no different from looking at a dead person.
Only then did Sima Xiang realize that she had been abandoned by the family, she was imprisoned in this dark prison by the emperor, but in the eyes of outsiders, she was seriously ill and recuperating at home.
After thinking about this clearly, she laughed hoarsely until tears flowed out of her laughter, and then said to His Majesty: "Your Majesty is a good way to hold the Sima family as an excuse, and let the Sima family accept your great kindness, worthy of being the emperor. , the mind is more than others."
Even if her affair broke out, the emperor could not bring down all the Sima family, and it might cause a backlash from the Sima family. On the contrary, it is not as good as it is now, grasping the weakness of the Sima family, nibbling away the power of the Sima family little by little, making the Sima family a toothless tiger, and eventually a dog that can only wag its tail at the royal family.
But even so, at least the Sima family's clear name for hundreds of years has been preserved, and if Sima's descendants are successful, they will also be reused by the royal family, and their names will remain in the history. Only she became the only victim, and I was afraid that she would not understand until she died.
Jin Yang frowned, not intending to argue with Sima Xiang, so he got up impatiently and prepared to leave here.
"I really regret that I didn't let Gu Rujiu die on the racecourse because of my soft-heartedness!" Sima Xiang sneered, "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have made a mistake, made a mistake, and got to where I am today."
Jin Yang paused in his steps, looked back at the woman in the prison, and said coldly, "Every step you take is your own choice, what's the deal with others?"
"Heh," Sima Xiang's anger had already surpassed her fear when she learned that she was hopeless to be rescued. She looked at this aloof emperor and stopped because she mentioned Gu Rujiu. The jealousy in her heart was burning like wildfire. If the young master of the Li family hadn't stopped her to talk for a while and delayed my plan, how could she still be today."
"You vicious slut, why did the Empress have any grudge against you back then? You want to plot against her like this?!" He Ming scolded, "You have a heart like a snake and a scorpion, but instead you blame others for being better than you, what is this? reason?"
"Reasonable?" Sima Xiang stared at He Ming with wide eyes, as if looking at a fool, "There is no reason in this world, I come from a noble family, and they all say that I am talented and beautiful, but what's the use of it, in my case From my parents' point of view, I am a marriage object that can be sacrificed for the family at any time. My brother and I share the same father and mother. He is the treasure of the family, and I am the victim, are you fair?"
"If I am not cruel to myself, who else will be nice to me, and who will plan for me?" Sima Xiang showed a smile, "Sima Li and Li Churou have a good life, but they also died in me. Is it in your hands? So instead of reasoning, it’s better to rely on your own means.”
He Ming felt a chill in his heart. A woman who can attack her family is not even as cruel as him. No matter how much he thinks and how ruthless his methods are, he still has a warm feeling towards his parents and brothers.
"They're all girls from aristocratic families, why can Gu Rujiu live a better life than me?" Sima Xiang's face became even more jealous, "Seeing her smiling innocently and not worrying about everything makes me feel so uncomfortable. ,do you know?"
"What on earth does she have that deserves you to treat her differently?" Sima Xiang suddenly looked at Jin Yang, "I am prettier and more talented than her, why do you like her anyway?"
She was exhausted, her face twisted, and her eyes were full of jealousy and ill will.
"In my eyes, it's enough to be prettier than all the women in the world for a long time," Jin Yang's eyes fell on her face, "You have nothing to compare with her."
"At least, she won't see other people live better than her, so she wants other people's lives."
"That's because she hasn't lived like me," Sima Xiang sneered, "If she were me, I'm afraid she wouldn't be much better than me."
Jin Yang frowned, and after a while, he said, "To compare you to my empress is an insult to her." After speaking, he didn't want to give Sima Xiang another look, turned around and left.
Like a lightning strike, Sima Xiang stared blankly at the emperor's back, a voice roaring in his heart, this is not fair, this is not fair!
If she can live in an environment like Gu Rujiu's, she can be as innocent and carefree as Gu Rujiu, is all this what she wants
After the emperor left, He Ming said to the eunuch next to him in disgust, "Record what Miss Sima has done and send it to Sima Hong and Sima Peng, so that they can see the upbringing of the Sima girl."
Sima Xiang sat leaning against the prison door, and when he heard He Ming's words, he sneered, "I'm already a dying person, so why should I be afraid of what others think of me?"
"Miss Sima thinks too much," He Ming said with a smile, "You can't die. In this peaceful and prosperous world, how can you lightly talk about life and death?"
How can such a person die so easily
"Miss Sima is unconscious, reward her with ten whips to help her wake up," He Ming said with the corners of his mouth, "Miss Sima, please remember not to mention the name of the Queen's concubine casually next time, and don't break the rules. "
Is there a difference in honor? Sima Xiang looked at He Ming angrily, but what greeted her was the caning that hurt to the bone.
However, Sima Peng, the old man of the third house of the Sima family, suddenly vomited blood and fainted that day. The servants of the third house searched for Sima Yue, and finally found the drunk Sima Yue in a Fengyue Building.
When Sima Yue woke up, Sima Peng had already woken up, and the people from the first and second rooms were guarding him.
Seeing his son come in, Sima Peng gasped for the servants who were serving in the room to retreat, and then took out the letter sent from the palace, and glanced at Baomei, who was sent back to the third room with the letter. The son said, "Look at this letter too."
Sima Zhi saw that the expressions of the people in the first and second rooms were extremely ugly, especially the second sister-in-law's red eyes, looking at him as if looking at an enemy, so he took the letter from his father uneasy.
Before he could read a letter, he knelt down in front of Sima Peng's bed and cried, "Father, it's the son's laxness to the goddaughter that caused such a catastrophe."
Sun Shi couldn't bear it any longer, grabbed Sima Yue forward and started to fight. Sima Bao sat still with red eyes when he saw Fa's wife like this, and actually allowed Fa's wife to scold and beat his cousin.
"Okay," Sima Hong stood up tremblingly, pointing at Sima Yue who was kneeling on the ground motionless, "Don't disturb your third uncle's rest, if you have anything, let's talk about it tomorrow." After pressing, he sighed. , "I'm old too, it's time to go to work."
"Father!" Sima Zhi supported Sima Hong with red eyes. The man in his forties couldn't help crying.
For a time, the whole room was plunged into a miserable atmosphere.
In the Zichen Hall, Gu Rujiu approached Jin Yang, and before he could speak, the smile on his face sank first.
"Your Majesty, where did the daughter incense come from?"
This kind of fragrance is a rare spice that can only be used by noble ladies from aristocratic families.