After the Lantern Festival, the weather gradually warmed up.
The people in the capital also started a busy new year.
Just after the Lantern Festival, the emperor first ordered the death of the concubine Sun.
Later, he summoned the head of the Sun family to appease him.
The content of his conversation was nothing more than, "I trust you, I trust your Sun family. The matter of the Sun family has nothing to do with your Sun family. You can rest assured and continue to shine for the Great Zhou."
With the comfort of the emperor, the elders of the Sun family burst into tears.
Since the palace change last year, the Sun family has always held a heart from top to bottom.
Although they have nothing to do with the East Palace or Chu Palace. But it's hard to guarantee that His Majesty will take his anger out on them.
When the emperor bestowed the death of the concubine Sun, the Sun family's worries reached their peak.
Now the emperor's consolation has completely dispelled their worries.
The head of the Sun family cried to show his loyalty, and the picture of the monarch and his ministers enjoying each other is moving.
The reason why the emperor appeased the Sun family was because the Sun family was still useful, and King Ning did not intend to kill the Sun family to sacrifice the flag after he ascended the throne.
If he calmed down this side, it would be better if King Ning killed the Sun family as soon as he came to the throne tomorrow, so what would be the face of his majestic son of heaven.
The father and son had already discussed how to treat these courtiers.
King Ning has a list of who should be killed and who should be demoted.
He discussed it with the emperor, and the emperor is now tinkering with King Ning's list to clear the way for King Ning to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor in the future.
King Ning often joked with the emperor, "My father loves his son so much! We should let King Yan see our father's kindness and filial piety, and make him reflect deeply."
"roll!"
The emperor was very upset, and King Ning dared to make fun of him, and became more and more presumptuous.
King Ning took the opportunity to leave and went to the court hall to fight wits and courage with the courtiers.
In the end, the emperor issued a decree for burial, and Jiang Shuyi was buried.
Since the palace change, Jiang Shuyi has been in panic all day long.
Especially when rumors spread that the child conceived by her and Concubine Li De was not of the emperor's blood, she was almost frightened to death.
She has made meritorious service, but it is not enough for the emperor to let her go.
These days, she has been on tenterhooks.
Until the order of burial came, Jiang Shuyi fell to the ground, her face pale.
It's over, it's over, it's over.
"Zhou Miao, what should I do?"
"Does the empress want to live?"
"Of course. Who wants to die if they can live?" Jiang Shuyi's voice was trembling.
Zhou Miao squatted down and looked at Jiang Shuyi, "Have you thought about what will happen after you survive? You must remain anonymous, and you will not be able to meet or recognize each other for the rest of your life. You can't even stay in the capital. After all, no one in the capital who has seen you few."
Jiang Shuyi grabbed Zhou Miao's sleeve, "As long as I can survive, I can bear all of this."
Zhou Miao laughed, "Your Majesty, do you still remember the nobleman I told you about? The nobleman is very satisfied with your performance in recent months, and saving His Majesty is a great achievement. The nobleman does not want to see you disappear Yu Yu, so I am willing to help you feign death and get out of the palace."
Jiang Shuyi covered her lips, her eyes widened, obviously shocked.
After a while, she came back to her senses, "This nobleman really has such a great ability to help me cheat my death out of the palace?"
Zhou Miao nodded affirmatively.
"Who is this noble man? Could it be King Ning?"
Zhou Miao shook her head, "Don't guess the identity of the nobleman."
Since Jiang Shuyi fell out of favor after giving birth to a ghost fetus, Zhou Miao arranged Jiang Shuyi to do things according to the instructions of the nobleman for everything she did after that, including taking refuge in Concubine Xue Gui.
Jiang Shuyi took refuge in Concubine Xue Gui. This move seemed insignificant, but unexpectedly it played a key role.
Had it not been for Jiang Shuyi's mistake, the emperor would have died on the day of the palace change.
A small chess piece actually played a role in deciding the overall situation at a critical moment. It can be seen that people who play chess not only think far enough, but also think deeply enough.
Jiang Shuyi had many guesses about the noble person Zhou Miao was talking about, but Zhou Miao denied them all.
Jiang Shuyi asked eagerly: "Can I trust you? Can I trust the nobleman you speak of? Didn't this nobleman want to take the opportunity to silence me and kill me?"
Zhou Miao raised Jiang Shuyi's chin, "Your mission has been completed, and the nobleman is very satisfied with your performance, so he is willing to help you.
If the nobleman wants to kill you, he can ignore you. Your Majesty's will to be buried is still warm, and the person who really killed you is gearing up.
Of course, if you don't trust me or the nobleman, I won't force you either. I'll leave right now and watch you die from a distance. "
"No, don't go. I didn't say I don't believe you. I'm just curious about the identity of the nobleman."
Zhou Miao smiled softly, "Curiosity killed the cat. If you want to survive, you should be less curious. If you know the identity of the nobleman, the nobleman can only kill you if he doesn't kill you."
Jiang Shuyi trembled all over, "Okay, I don't ask the identity of the nobleman. How can you help me escape from the palace?"
Zhou Miao said: "Your Majesty told you to be buried, but he did not tell you to die immediately. You wait patiently until the day His Majesty passes away.
There is a fake death pill here, before your Majesty passes away and before the palace servant who executes you arrives, take this medicine quickly, and you will treat yourself as if you committed suicide.
Your Majesty will stop for twenty-one days, but you, the day after you die, will be sent to the underground palace.
At that time, someone will help you steal the sky and change the sun, bring you out of the underground palace and wake you up, and then someone will send you out of the capital. "
"It's that simple? I just need to take this medicine at a critical moment?" Jiang Shuyi couldn't believe it.
Zhou Miao nodded, "Naturally, the simpler the better here, so as not to arouse suspicion. The real trouble is changing the day and night, which is a terrible thing. But you don't have to worry about these, someone will arrange everything."
Jiang Shuyi asked suddenly: "Am I worthy of your honor taking such a big risk to help me?"
"What do you say?"
Jiang Shuyi shook her head, "I'm already a useless person, so there's no need to take big risks to help me."
Zhou Miao raised her eyebrows and smiled, "It's good that you know. So you have to cherish this opportunity. You don't want to disappoint the hearts of those who have made meritorious deeds. Even if you take a little risk, you are willing to help you."
Jiang Shuyi opened her mouth, "Can't you really tell me who the nobleman is?"
Zhou Miao shook her head, "No. If you insist on asking, then the plan will be cancelled, and no one will help you escape."
Jiang Shuyi shook her head again and again, "I won't ask any more questions, and I won't ask any more. Where my family members are, I will tell them to leave the capital and return to their hometown. I will ask Eunuch Zhou to help take care of Yi and Er in the future, so as to leave a way for them to survive."
Zhou Miao said softly: "As long as your natal family stays safe and keeps themselves from causing trouble, no one will trouble them. If they don't want to keep their lives when they return to their hometown, then don't blame someone for trying to take their lives."
"I know, I will tell them to be honest, don't cause trouble, let alone talk nonsense."
"It's so good."
Zhou Miao put the porcelain bottle into Jiang Shuyi's hands, "Remember, take the medicine as soon as you hear the bell ringing. Be sure to take this medicine before the palace servants arrive."
Jiang Shuyi held the porcelain bottle tightly, nodded heavily, "I know."
In the next few days, Jiang Shuyi began to arrange funeral arrangements.
She met her natal family and told them to leave Beijing and return to their hometown as soon as possible, and also left some belongings for her natal family.
Afterwards, she put away all the gold and silver, and Zhou Miao helped her take it out of the palace and hid it in a house in the city.
As long as she escapes from birth, these gold and silver treasures will be the guarantee of life for the rest of her life.
Nervous day by day, Jiang Shuyi couldn't help but think of Gu Jiu.
She also thought about asking Gu Jiu for help, but Gu Jiu would definitely not intervene in matters of life and death.
She could only suppress the little thoughts in her heart.
Before the end of the first month, the emperor finally completed the last journey of his life.
In the thirty-eighth year of Kaiyao, on the twenty-eighth day of the first lunar month, in the afternoon, the emperor died!
The death knell is tolling, and the whole town hears it.
The official ordered his wife to put on mourning clothes and enter the palace immediately.
The people also put on plain clothes.
Restaurants, tea houses, brothels, and all places of entertainment are closed.
Only those related to people's livelihood, such as grain and oil shops, can continue to operate as usual.
King Ning walked the last journey with the Son of Heaven, with a sad expression on his face.
The other princes all knelt on the ground.
Li Shizhong and Zhu Guogong, in front of King Ning and all civil and military officials, took out the imperial edict and announced it to the world.
King Ning cried loudly, crying like a child weighing two hundred catties.
Concubine Xiao Shu passed out and was carried back to Changchun Palace.
The courtiers persuaded and told King Ning to mourn and change.
While preparing for the funeral, the Ministry of Rituals had to prepare for King Ning's enthronement ceremony.
A country cannot be without a king for a day, funerals must be done, and the enthronement ceremony must also be done.
The Ministry of Rites, from Shangshu down, is too busy to touch the ground, and has to borrow people from other yamen.
Li Shizhong bent down and said to King Ning who was lying on the bed: "The Ministry of Rites chose two days, one is to ascend the throne in three days, and the other is to ascend the throne in ten days. What do you think?"
King Ning wiped away his tears and asked, "Is there time in three days?"
Li Shizhong said in a low voice: "I'm in a hurry, I'm afraid I might not be considerate."
"Then ten days later." King Ning made up his mind.
"The minister obeys the order."
King Ning looked back at the Minister of the Household Department, "Father left his last words before leaving, and the funeral needs to be arranged vigorously. The expenses required will be borne by the Household Department."
The household department Shangshu's list of facial features was wrinkled, "The household department is empty, and we can only take out 200,000 taels for emergency. Please forgive the difficulties of the household department."
After finishing speaking, the Minister of the Household Department looked at the order of the Shaofu family.
The Shaofu is so rich, why doesn't the Shaofu not pay
Excessive!
The Shaofu's family orders are careful, and they will never take the initiative to stand up and bear the funeral expenses.
King Ning said: "Father understands the difficulties of the household department, and the remaining funds will be borne by the Shaofu."
Hubu Shangshu smiled happily, yes, yes! Of course, he didn't dare to really laugh, but he was happy in his heart.
The Shaofu's family order bowed to accept the order, "My lord, don't worry, the Shaofu is ready to support the Ministry of Rites for all expenses."
"It's so good."
King Ning took the princes and grandchildren to observe their filial piety, and when the Liangyi Hall was arranged, everyone moved to the Liangyi Hall to observe their filial piety.
Gu Jiu was with the female relatives, kneeling in the mourning hall and weeping.
She was fortunate that Gu Shan had already married into Duke Zhu's mansion.
Otherwise, you will have to waste two years.
Because when the emperor's filial piety period is over, Mr. Gu's hot filial piety will also be over.
When the emperor passed away, the family members of officials were not allowed to marry for a hundred days.
People are not allowed to marry within 27 days.
Pei Shi was kneeling at the front, and Gu Jiu was behind her on the left.
Pei wiped the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief, sobbing and sobbing, very sad.
Several princesses and princesses also cried very sadly.
Only Princess Huyang was a little bit happy in her sadness.
Gu Jiu had no choice but to remind her, and handed her spare handkerchief to Princess Huyang, "Auntie wiped the corners of her eyes."
Princess Huyang nodded, picked up Gu Jiu's handkerchief and guessed, tears streaming down her face.
I don't know how much ginger juice has been prepared on this handkerchief, which made the eyes of Princess Huyang hurt.
In a blink of an eye, Princess Huyang became the one who cried the saddest.
After crying till the end, she couldn't help herself, so she grabbed Gu Jiu's hand and exerted all her strength.
Gu Jiu bared her teeth, wondering if her desire for revenge should be so strong.
Two hours later, everyone returned to the side hall to rest and eat tea in the hallway.
Eating under the corridor is the working meal in the palace. The taste is average, but it is hot. A little better than a palace banquet.
Gu Jiu discovered that the imperial dining room might really have a strong resentment towards the palace banquet.
Palace banquets, wine and food are even worse than corridor dining.
The food on the porch is always hot, but the food and drinks at palace banquets are always cold.
After eating the food in the corridor, everyone finally recovered a little physical strength and spirit.
There is still half an hour to rest, so everyone hurry up and squint for a while.
Princess Huyang found Gu Jiu and said in a low voice, "Your handkerchief is too strong. I still want to cry even now."
Gu Jiu said: "I'm not afraid that my aunt won't be able to cry, so I specially prepared a powerful one."
"Hmph! How can I not cry when my father passed away. I just need time to brew my emotions."
"Yes, yes, I misunderstood my aunt. Why don't you return the handkerchief to me?"
"I won't return it." The leader of Huyang County refused, "The handkerchief I have used has not been washed, how can I just return it to you like this."
Gu Jiu said, "I don't mind."
Princess Huyang snorted, "I mind."
After a pause, she asked again, "How many similar handkerchiefs have you prepared?"
Gu Jiu took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, "There are three left, do you want Auntie?"
"Give me another one."
Gu Jiu readily gave Princess Huyang an extra handkerchief, and promised that once smoked, tears would fall as if she didn't want money.
While there was still time, Gu Jiu went to visit everyone in Gu's and Hou's houses.
Grandma Zhou, the young wife of the Hou Mansion, has a big belly, and she is about to give birth soon, and she has to go to the palace to cry, which is extremely miserable.
Gu Jiu was very worried, she held Zhou's wrist calmly, and checked her pulse, "Can the lobby sister hold on?"
Grandma Zhou's face turned pale, "I can still hold on, but I'm a little tired."
Gu Jiu said with the old lady Wei, and the eldest wife, the young lady Wei: "Get through today first, and I will find a way to prevent the wife in the lobby from crying. She cannot kneel for a long time in her current situation."
Madam Xiao Wei thanked her repeatedly. What she is most afraid of is that something will happen to the Zhou family, and she will end up with two dead bodies.
The old lady Wei thought more, "Will it be too embarrassing? If it is too embarrassing, we will find another way."
Gu Jiu let go of Zhou's wrist. He was overworked and had to rest in bed for two days and eat something good.
She said, "I'll try it first, and if it doesn't work, I'll find another way."
"Xiao Jiu has worked hard."
"Not hard."
Gu Jiu found Mrs. Pei and Concubine Xiao Shu, and said that Mrs. Zhou, the young wife of the Hou Mansion, was eight months pregnant and cried for a long time, fearing that she might hurt her body.
God has the virtue of being good at life, so it's better to avoid her rules and treat it as an accumulation of blessings.
Concubine Xiao Shu said: "The Hou's Mansion is also considered your mother's family, so it's appropriate for you to stand up for the Hou's Mansion. It's just about crying for His Majesty, how can you make an exception just because you are pregnant. You can't hold on for a few days."
"Your Majesty does not know that the eldest grandson of the Hou Mansion has been childless all these years. The importance of Zhou's birth to the Hou Mansion is unquestionable. I also ask your Majesty to show her grace and allow the Zhou Family to return to the mansion to rest."
"What if I don't agree?" Concubine Xiao Shu asked with a straight face.
Gu Jiu raised her head, "My daughter-in-law can only ask the lord for mercy, and allow Mrs. Zhou to return home to rest."
"You are presumptuous!"
Gu Jiu lowered his head and smiled, and then his smile faded away, "Your Majesty's funeral is twenty-one days old, are you sure you want to create a situation where one dead body and two lives will be brought to the palace?"
Concubine Xiao Shu was furious.
She wanted to suppress Gu Jiu, but in the end Gu Jiu had the audacity to contradict her.
But before she could yell at her, Mrs. Pei said first: "Your Majesty, calm down. My daughter-in-law also saw that Mrs. Zhou, with a big belly and a very heavy body.
The empress was kind, and she was allowed to go back to the mansion to rest, and everyone in the Hou family was grateful for the grace of the empress. Besides, the prince has not ascended the throne yet, so our family should not make any rumors of disagreement at this time. "
Concubine Xiao Shu frowned, staring at Mrs. Pei sharply.
Pei's standing up for Gu Jiu has several meanings.
Of course the Pei family wanted to compete for power with Concubine Xiao Shu.
When King Ning ascended the throne, Concubine Xiao Shu transformed into the Empress Dowager.
Pei is the Queen of Weiyang Palace.
The queen and the queen mother naturally don't deal with it.
In the past, one lived in the harem and the other lived in the palace. It was rare for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to see each other, and with the surrounding pack of wolves around, they could naturally live in harmony.
Today, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law live together in the harem, and conflicts inevitably arise.
Pei thought very clearly that helping Gu Jiu was helping herself.
From now on, she will live in the harem, so it is not convenient for her to come forward for many things, and she has to ask Gu Jiu to run errands for her.
Today, she tried her hand at the sword and fought with Concubine Xiao Shu to establish her authority.
end of volume three