Early in the morning, Gu Jiu came to the second gate, ready to get on the carriage and leave for the palace.
"When you're in the palace, be careful about everything. Remember to be cautious in your words and deeds, talk less and watch more. If you encounter someone making things difficult, bear it if you can, and if you can't bear it, you have to bear it. The palace is not a place where you can play wild, understand?"
Master Gu gave some instructions, for fear that Gu Jiu would cause trouble in the palace.
Gu Jiu said respectfully: "Thank you father for teaching me, my daughter will remember it. My daughter will definitely be cautious in her words and deeds."
Master Gu hummed, and rarely said emotionally: "You must return safely. Father has arranged for someone to prepare a dowry for you."
"Father has worked hard."
Gu Jiu got into the carriage.
The carriage shook for a while, and slowly drove out of the Gu residence, heading for the palace.
Only Qingmei waited by Gu Jiu's side.
This is the rule in the palace, only one servant girl can be brought with her when entering the palace.
Qing Mei was so nervous that her fingers turned white, "Girl, we will return home safely."
Gu Jiu laughed, and she took Qing Mei's hand, "Don't be afraid, everything is mine."
"Slaves are not afraid."
Qingmei insisted and said.
Gu Jiu changed hands and pinched her cheek, "When we get to the palace, everything is up to me. We'll be fine."
Qingmei nodded heavily, "I will listen to the girl. It's a pity that the girl doesn't know anyone in the palace, so she can't even ask for information."
Gu Jiu jumped up the curtain of the car and looked outside. The roof of the palace can already be seen.
She lowered the curtain and muttered, "I don't know if Jiang Yan has successfully entered the palace."
"If Jiang Yan was in the palace, would she come to see the girl?"
Gu Jiu shook her head, "Even if she can enter the palace smoothly, I'm afraid she is not qualified to walk around in the palace at will. So don't count on Jiang Yan, this time we can only rely on ourselves."
"The servant understands."
The carriage stopped at the gate of the palace.
When Gu Jiu got off the carriage, he saw Miss Wei San.
The two exchanged a look, but neither spoke.
After checking the badge, he followed the little yellow gate into the palace gate.
There are high palace walls on both sides, and the corridor is long and narrow.
Walking under the palace wall is like walking on the fast lane leading to the 18th floor of hell. It is suffocating, but you can only go down mechanically.
You can't look around, you can't talk, you can't even have your own emotions, let alone your own thoughts.
In the end, only the fear and awe of the palace remained.
After finally walking through the long and narrow corridor, Xiao Huangmen handed them over to the servants and then retreated.
Next, Gu Jiu and the others followed the servants and continued to walk deep into the palace.
There was a girl who was so nervous that her left foot tripped over her right foot, and she was about to fall.
With sharp eyes and quick hands, Gu Jiu hurriedly helped her up and dragged her forward a few steps.
The other party gave her a grateful smile and whispered, "Thank you!"
Gu Jiu shook her head slightly, and let go of the opponent's arm, "Relax, don't be so nervous."
The other party nodded.
"do not speak!"
The servant turned back and looked at the two of them, the warning was obvious.
Gu Jiu and the other party hurriedly separated, and followed the team with lowered eyebrows.
When they finally arrived at Weiyang Palace, the servants placed a dozen of them in the side hall and waited.
The servant girl did not follow and was placed in another place.
As soon as the servant left, there were only girls with the same identity as Gu Jiu left in the side hall.
But still no one spoke, not even a spare look. The hall is so quiet that you can hear a needle drop, and you can hear other people's breathing and heartbeat.
Gu Jiu silently counted the numbers and calculated the passage of time.
After about half an hour, someone finally came to the side hall and asked them to go to the bedroom to meet the empress.
Gu Jiu followed behind the crowd and walked out of the side hall.
But I was thinking in my heart, instead of going to the main hall, but to the bedroom, could it be that the empress is too sick to get out of bed
When I got to the bedroom, I saw that, as expected, the empress had indeed gotten out of bed.
The empress looks thin, like a mummy crawling out of a tomb.
Gu Jiu stood with everyone, clearly aware that someone was trembling from the empress's current appearance.
In just a few days, what happened to the Empress Empress to turn into this inhuman and ghost-like appearance
Gu Jiu was thinking wildly in his heart.
She didn't know that during this period, in order to prolong her life, the empress had been burning the last bit of blood, taking the medicine of tiger and wolf, enduring the unbearable pain of life every day, and forced herself into such a ghostly appearance.
The queen coughed lightly and said, "Sit down. If you stand together, how can I see clearly?"
The ladies of the palace brought stools one by one.
Gu Jiu sat on the stool with everyone else.
"Keep your heads up."
Gu Jiu followed everyone and raised her head slowly.
The Empress laughed, she seemed very satisfied, "They all have a beautiful face, very good!"
"The Empress is absurd."
Someone speaks up.
Gu Jiu followed the sound and saw that she was sitting next to Miss Wei San, who seemed to be Miss Cui from Zhen Guogong's mansion.
In terms of blood relationship, Ms. Cui had to call the empress an aunt. She did have the confidence to speak at this time.
The empress smiled slightly, "From the day you were accused of getting married, you have to start preparing to be a qualified grandson wife.
Not just the rules, but more importantly, your hearts. You have to pretend to be the emperor's grandson and the royal family in your heart, and you must proceed from the overall situation in everything, for the sake of the royal family and even the world.
You must know that you are different from other girls, not only because your future husband is the grandson of the emperor, but more importantly, other girls are limited to the inner house when they marry, while you are married, and you have to pay attention to the court, With the world in mind. "
Gu Jiu's heart skipped a beat twice, she secretly looked at the empress.
What does the empress mean when she said such provocative and inappropriate words
Could it be that she is hoping that with just a few words, she will be able to encourage a certain girl to really care about the world when she marries the empress
how is this possible
Gu Jiu felt anxious and uneasy, unable to figure out the Queen's intentions.
"Follow the teachings of the Empress Dowager."
Miss Cui is still the leader.
The empress smiled with satisfaction, and said to the maid beside her: "Miss Cui stay here, and take the others to the side hall to wait. I want to talk to them separately."
The palace maid took the order, "Girls, please follow me."
Everyone got up and followed the maid to leave the bedroom. Only Miss Cui stayed.
Everyone sat down in the side hall and waited.
I dare not drink tea, dare not eat snacks, because I am afraid that I will be anxious for a while.
Everyone sat on the chairs very dignifiedly, and the time passed, and no one even changed their postures.
Gu Jiu secretly sighed, everyone's patience is really strong.
Sitting still like this is actually very uncomfortable, and it is a test for a person.
However, everyone looked calm as if nothing happened.
Even Gu Jiu herself is the same.
Miss Cui came out, her eyes were red. Everyone looked at her together, Miss Cui just sat in the chair silently, ignoring the eyes of others.
Next is Miss Wei San.
Wei San is going to be sister-in-law with Miss Cui in the future, but the two of them didn't make eye contact during the whole process.
Wei San went in for a quarter of an hour, and after she came out, she changed into the girl who gave marriage to the prince of Zhao Wangfu.
Gu Jiu looked at Wei San, Wei San didn't respond to Gu Jiu's eyes, but just lowered his head with a thoughtful expression.
The girls went in one by one, and soon it was Gu Jiu's turn.
Gu Jiu took a deep breath and followed the maid into the bedroom again.
For some reason, the light in the sleeping hall felt darker than before.
The empress was lying on the bed, looking at her sideways.
If it wasn't for the ghastly light in those eyes, Gu Jiu would have thought that what was lying on the bed was just a corpse.
There was a stool next to the bed, and the maid motioned Gu Jiu to sit down on the stool.
Gu Jiu stepped forward and sat on the stool, "My daughter pays homage to the empress."
"Raise your head and let Bengong take a good look. Last time I saw you, I didn't have time to take a closer look. I'll take a look now, and it really is a girl with a sign."
"The Empress is absurd."
Gu Jiu lowered her eyes, but did not meet the empress's eyes.
Empress Empress smiled silently, "You are ice-snow and smart, you should have discovered that among many girls, your family background is the worst."
Gu Jiu's expression was calm, "The Empress is right, the minister's daughter's family background is the worst."
The other girls are either honored daughters, or descendants of first- and second-rank high-ranking officials. After all, there is no one with a poor family background.
The Empress said: "Your family background is the worst, but Young Master Zhao chose you out of so many girls. Have you ever thought about why?"
Gu Jiu shook his head slowly, "Returning to your mother, I have never thought about it."
"Your son Zhao married you, probably because he couldn't get help from your natal family. I am puzzled. Could it be that he doesn't care about his own marriage, or that he has a secret love for you, or has other plans? For example, marrying you is just to fool the eyes of the world, and when the limelight is over, you will die without a problem, and then he can naturally marry another beautiful wife and beautiful concubine."
Every word uttered from the empress's mouth was filled with deep malice. It's like a poisonous snake spitting out a letter, which makes people frightened.
Now Gu Jiu finally understood why the empress wanted to talk to everyone alone.
She is not only bewitching people, but also sowing discord and planting seeds of doubt.
If she was really a girl who grew up in a boudoir without much knowledge, she would definitely be shaken by the empress's words and be in a state of panic all day long. Maybe one day it will die without a problem.
Gu Jiu appropriately showed a flustered expression, lowered her head, and said with a little confidence: "My daughter doesn't know."
The empress raised her eyebrows and smiled, then suddenly stretched out her hand and pinched Gu Jiu's mandible.
Gu Jiu frowned slightly, and smoothed the brows in the blink of an eye.
Her eyes looked at the empress cautiously, looking extremely weak and helpless.
At this time, you must not fight hard with the empress.
Although the empress was about to die, she was able to kill Gu Jiu before she died, and it only needed one sentence. Afterwards, no one will pursue this matter.
To die is to die!
The reality is so cruel.
There was a smile in the empress's eyes, but Gu Jiu saw a lot of malice in it.
The Empress asked: "Young Master Zhao chose you specially, could it be that you and him have met before?"
Gu Jiu hastily denied, "My daughter returned to the capital with my father a few months ago, and my daughter never sent an imperial edict to the young master before that."
The empress smiled contemptuously, "I'm not talking about the capital city, but the northwest."
Gu Jiu's heart skipped a beat, how could the Empress think of Northwest.
Gu Jiu regained his composure and said carefully: "When I was in the northwest, my courtiers were weak due to unacceptable water and soil, so they seldom went out. I must have never seen the son's edict."
The Empress laughed, "You're not telling the truth."
Gu Jiu's heart jumped again. She was guessing, did the Empress know something
"Everything I said is true, I dare not lie to my empress."
The Empress's fingertips gently stroked Gu Jiu's cheek, as if a cold snake slid across her face, making Gu Jiu feel uncomfortable and tense.
"According to what I know, for a period of time in the first half of the year, Young Master Zhao said that he was ill and never entered the palace. Counting the time, your family was still in the northwest at that time."
Gu Jiu nodded, "In the first half of the year, my father was indeed serving as the governor of Jinzhou in the northwest."
"Jinzhou is a good place. I heard that Jinzhou is only a hundred miles away from Luhou's barracks. It takes half a day to ride a horse."
"My daughter has never been to the barracks, so I don't know the situation."
The empress suddenly laughed, "You are not afraid of me."
"My daughter is terrified."
"If it were any other girl, you would be questioned by Bengong repeatedly, and you would not be able to speak clearly, let alone logically. However, you, with a frightened face, answered Bengong's words without leaking. You really are not afraid of Bengong."
"Your Majesty, my daughter-in-law is very scared at the moment. It's just that when I came here, my father told me again and again that I must speak well when I saw the Empress. My daughter has always kept my father's teachings in mind, and dare not lose face of the Gu family."
Gu Jiu's tone was anxious and frightened, as if she was afraid that the empress would not believe her.
The empress laughed, "I believe you just for now. Tell me, did you ever see the son's edict when you were in the northwest?"
Gu Jiu shook her head again and again, "My daughter is in the northwest, and I have never seen the son's edict. My daughter can swear to the sky, if there is a false statement, I will be struck to death by lightning when I go out."
People in this era take the most important oath.
However, Gu Jiu didn't have that taboo, and blurted out the oath.
While she was talking about salt, she secretly shouted in her heart, God, you must not take this girl's oath seriously. This girl is just talking casually.
The empress stared at Gu Jiu suspiciously.
She got some specious news and suspected that Liu Zhao had gone to the northwest secretly, but she suffered from lack of evidence.
I wanted to get some truth out of Gu Jiu, but now it seems that I really think too much? During that time, Liu Zhao was really in the capital, didn't he go to the northwest
The empress was a little annoyed. In the past, she only paid attention to the princes and princes, and ignored the movement of the emperor's grandchildren.
As a result, people made all kinds of little tricks under her nose.
The empress was angry and let go of Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu's jaw hurt, but he sat upright without moving.
The empress took a few breaths, but it was a pity that there was no time.
If she has enough time, she must send someone to the northwest to investigate. As long as she grasped Liu Zhao's handle, she could peel off the skin of King Ning Liu Zhao and his son.
The empress waved her hand, and the maid stepped forward and said to Gu Jiu: "Miss Gu, please step back."
Gu Jiu hurriedly stood up, bowed to leave, and left this terrible place.
The queen took a few more breaths, "Go, go and call Fang Shaojian."
It didn't matter that she was dying, but the clue couldn't give up.
The queen empress laughed.
Fang Shaojian came to the dormitory, "I've seen your mother. How is your mother feeling today?"
The empress said weakly, "It's getting more and more painful."
Fang Shaojian was full of worry, "Young lady, why don't you stop taking the medicine."
The empress shook her head, "Don't worry about my body, I can live for a few more days. You immediately send someone to the northwest to investigate secretly. No matter what method you use, you must find out whether Liu Zhao has sneaked out or not. Beijing to the northwest.
At that time, I should be gone. Once it is found out that Liu Zhao has no purpose to leave Beijing, and he is going to the northwest, you will know what to do. "
Fang Shaojian took the order, "My minister obeys the order!"
The empress gasped again, and continued: "Also, if you find a way to buy some people around Liu Zhao, you must always pay attention to Liu Zhao's movements. This kid, I used to ignore him and only treat him as a worthless grandson of the emperor. .Now it seems that Bengong was mistaken. This bastard boy is hiding deep enough."
Fang Shaojian bowed to accept the order, "Is there any other orders from the empress?"
The empress frowned and thought deeply, "I always feel that the little girl named Gu Jiu knows something. I have to find a way to pry a few truths out of her mouth."
Fang Shaojian thought for a while, "Madam, this matter can be handled with the help of Xie Mao. Xie Mao and Mrs. Gu are brothers and sisters. I don't think anyone knows the whereabouts of the Gu family in the northwest better than Xie Mao."
The empress nodded, "You go to Xie's house yourself, and you must ask for something."
"Follow the order!"