Empress Li cried heartbroken, Feng Zheng sympathized with sympathy, but could not find any words of consolation to say, small wounds and pains can be comforted, before the pain of bereavement, any words are pale and powerless. Looking down, he saw that Brother Cheng opened his eyes at some point, either hungry or about to shush, Feng Zheng looked at Queen Li again, she pursed her lips, and hugged her son as gently as possible.
Empress Li did not stop her and turned around to wipe her tears.
Feng Zheng gave Cheng Ge'er to the nursing mother who was brought into the palace, and the nursing mother went to the side room to feed. Watching the wet nurse leave, Feng Zheng clenched his hands and went back to the warm couch. Seeing that although Queen Li was still carrying her, the crying was gone, and only his shoulders were still shaking slightly. Feng Zheng sighed and did not pay attention. Of course not, I can only try to say: "If the mother doesn't dislike it, the daughter-in-law would like to always come to the palace to accompany you."
In such a huge palace, if the concubines and concubines want to fight for an emperor, even if they are peaceful on the surface, they will not like each other in their hearts. The emperor is also a diligent person. He can accompany Queen Li at most every night at night, and he has to allocate half a month to other concubines. Feng Zheng can understand Queen Li’s loneliness. It can be seen that Queen Li likes to be promoted. Feng Zheng could only wait for the children to enter the palace a few more times to express his feelings.
Empress Li turned around unexpectedly, with tears in her eyes, and said in surprise, "Really?"
Feng Zheng smiled and nodded.
Empress Li immediately saw a smile on her face, and happily took Feng Zheng's hand: "Actually, although we are mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, I am only three or four years older than you, and you are the first to marry in. You sisters-in-law, I have the best affinity with you, I have always treated you as a sister, and I will not hide anything from you, but now that you pity me like this, I really don’t know how to thank you.”
It is true that the two are close in age, but Feng Zheng does not dare to overdo it. Empress Li feels uncomfortable at the moment and forgets her identity for the time being. When the sadness is over, Empress Li's majesty will definitely come back, and she hurriedly said: "Mother's words are serious. , I am a junior, and I should have entered the palace more and performed filial piety in front of my mother."
However, Queen Li said that she liked her most, and Feng Zheng believed it. After all, her mother-in-law had long since passed away. Princess Rui and Princess Gong have Wu Gui and Hui to be filial, and Queen Li could not get close to those two. As for Song Jianing, she married two years later than her relationship with Queen Li.
But Feng Zheng has never been proud of this, even if Queen Li treats her close, she returns to her sincerity.
"It's just that you have to take care of the lord, you have to take care of your brother Cheng. Seeing how much the lord spoils you, you will be pregnant again soon. How can you have so much spare time to come to the palace to accompany me." Empress Li suddenly said again, her face The smile on his face disappeared like a firework in an instant, and the sad face of self-pity was restored again.
Feng Zheng was completely speechless. She comforted everything she could, and it would be too fake to guarantee that she would enter the palace with a big belly.
Empress Li suddenly thought of something, and looked at Feng Zheng excitedly and said, "How about this? You leave Brother Sheng with me, and I will take care of you. It also saves you from having to take care of the older ones and the younger ones. Hard."
Feng Zheng's heart shrank. Just now, he felt sorry for Queen Li, and was still trying to find some comforting words. At this time, when he met Queen Li's bright and excessive eyes, Feng Zheng only felt terrified, and the cold air instantly spread from the bottom of his heart to his whole body. The body was stiff, and the eldest son's lively and lovely face appeared in his mind, Feng Zheng instinctively declined, "I understand the good intentions of the mother, but the younger brother is too naughty, and the daughter-in-law does not dare to bother the mother."
While talking, he tried to take back the hand held by Queen Li.
Empress Li refused to let go of her hand, feeling Feng Zheng's quickly cold hand, she couldn't bear it, but she really had no choice. The deep palace is lonely, she is now spoiled by the emperor, and she can survive for the time being, but the emperor is getting older every year, and maybe she will go when she is in her early twenties. When the time comes, she leaves Brother Sheng, and when the emperor passes away, when the king of Chu or any prince ascends the throne, what greets her will be the long silence of the harem, the honor of the empress dowager is empty, and there is no real power.
She raised Brother Sheng because of Emperor Xuande's will. The King of Chu couldn't take Brother Sheng away when he ascended the throne. He had to respect her for his son. Empress Li doesn't want much, and she has no ambitions for political affairs in the court. She just wants to have a smart child by her side to relieve her boredom. She just wants the king of Chu to treat her as a person after he ascends the throne, and think of her in everything in the harem. Not an empty queen.
"Azheng, don't you know my situation? Don't say that Brother Sheng is well-behaved and sensible, even if he is really naughty, I can't ask for it, how can I feel hard?" Tears rolled down again, and Queen Li pulled her tightly. Feng Zheng's hand choked and begged her: "Azheng, let Brother Sheng stay with me, otherwise I really can't stand it anymore, I always hear Xiao Wu crying during the day, and Xiao Wu's crying in my dreams at night. , my heart hurts to death..."
Feng Zheng also cried, he just broke free from Queen Li's hand and knelt in front of her, tears falling like beads with broken threads: "The fifth brother is gone, my mother is uncomfortable, but my daughter-in-law also asks my mother to be considerate and considerate of me, brother Sheng. My son was born in ten months of my pregnancy, and I will miss my daughter-in-law when I don’t see her. If I give it to my mother, my daughter-in-law will…”
She couldn't stop crying, she couldn't go on, she just knelt down and kowtowed: "My daughter-in-law is begging for her mother."
Looking at Feng Zheng kneeling on the ground, her daughter-in-law Princess Chu, at this point, Empress Li understood that, relying solely on the friendship of her mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law, and Feng Zheng's kindness alone, she could not keep Brother Sheng at all. The road of love could not go through, Queen Li took a deep breath, raised her head, wiped her tears with both hands, and when no more tears came out, she whispered: "Azheng, let me tell you the truth. , I only tell you this, you don't have to tell anyone, not even the lord."
Feng Zheng raised his head in shock.
Empress Li patted the place beside her, looked her directly and said, "Sit down, this matter is related to your lord. If someone hears it, neither you nor I can afford it."
If it was the other thing, just the dangerous words behind, Feng Zheng would definitely not listen to what Queen Li said, and would rather not know, but it was related to his own prince, Feng Zheng hesitated for a moment, and finally wiped his eyes and sat down on Queen Li's body uneasy. beside. She deliberately kept her distance, and Queen Li took the initiative to move to her side, knelt behind Feng Zheng, took off her hair bun, and then pretended to comb Feng Zheng's hair, while combing her hair, said in a low voice: "When the Prince of Wu'an went, Does the lord blame the emperor?"
Feng Zheng was shocked. Others may not know that she is the person next to the King of Chu, so she naturally remembers it clearly. On the night when the Prince of Wu'an committed suicide, the prince was calm outside, and when he came back, he began to blame the emperor, accusing the emperor with red eyes for forcing Wu An to death. The county king, if it wasn't for her feigning fetal pressure to force the prince to shut up, forcing the prince to promise that he would not complain again, if the matter spread to the emperor's ears, there might be some bad consequences.
However, she thought it was perfectly concealed, and Queen Li actually knew it? that king...
There was a chill in Feng Zheng's heart again, cold to the bone, more than worrying about his son being robbed.
"Nothing, please don't believe the villain's slander." Feng Zheng reluctantly said calmly.
There was an unintelligible chuckle behind him, like a cat meowing outside the window in the middle of the night. It was obviously very light, but it made people panic. Feng Zheng was uneasy and wanted to turn his head to see Queen Li's expression, but Queen Li held her long black and smooth hair and continued to comb it slowly, her voice calm and soft: "Don't worry, Azheng, no one told me about the prince The bad words are my own guesses. You know better than me if I guess right or not. However, the emperor knows the prince better than me about what I can guess. I don't dare to guess whether the emperor has guessed or sent someone to investigate. promise."
Feng Zheng's cheeks were pale, and he couldn't help shaking.
Empress Li held her shoulders for a while, glanced at Feng Zheng's pale face, and she comforted her in time: "Don't be afraid, the emperor values the prince the most, no one has any faults, the emperor will not ignore the prince just for one or two complaints, just Because of the prince's temper, the emperor only took action against his cousin, and he complained, when the emperor dealt with the prince's closest uncle..."
Feng Zheng was horrified and looked back at her in disbelief.
Empress Li didn't say anything, just stared at Feng Zheng quietly. When all the shock in Feng Zheng's eyes turned into fear, Empress Li glanced at the door of the inner hall, reminding her with a faint voice that Feng Zheng could not hear too clearly. Said: "The emperor's dragon chair was taken over from his elder brother. The elder brother is the last brother. The emperor made this rule first. Although the emperor did not make it clear, there have always been rumors among the people, and even the lord himself felt that the emperor would eventually Hand over the dragon chair to his uncle?"
Feng Zheng trembled all over. Her good prince really thought so. The first month emperor was humiliating the king of Shou, and at night, the prince complained to her, complaining that the emperor was unfair to the king, and then mentioned the palace of the king in the outer city, He also said that when his uncle King Qin ascended the throne, he must ask his uncle to give another mansion to King Shou.
At that time, Feng Zheng felt that it was not quite right, and asked why the King of Qin ascended the throne. Feng Zheng just wanted to live peacefully with the King of Chu. Since King of Chu had no ambition to be the emperor, and since King of Chu said that Da Zhou was the rule of brotherhood, she believed it.
"Youzhou was defeated, why did Yao Song and Lu Yun first want to support the Duke of Wu'an and not the Duke of Qin? Because they did not agree with the brotherhood, and felt that the throne should be passed down from father to son. To be suspicious of the King of Wu'an County, but... Because he is the emperor, he cannot tolerate any instability in the throne. He will not even give his nephew, and will he be willing to pass the throne to his younger brother? One is his own son, and the other is his younger brother, Azheng, you What do you think the emperor will do?"
Feng Zheng didn't understand, it was like layers of dark clouds piled up in his mind, heavy. She didn't understand that the emperor was the emperor, the most powerful person in the world. Even if he wanted to pass the throne to his son, he would just give it directly. Would the courtiers and the common people dare to object? Why is Queen Li so sure that the emperor will deal with King Qin
"People say it is terrible. The emperor must be concerned about the people in front of him, and how the people in the future will comment on him. If he wants his son to inherit the throne in an open and honest way, he must first let his younger brother lose the people's hearts and lose his inheritance. Qualification for the throne." Empress Li lifted Feng Zheng's hair again, and dexterously helped Feng Zheng to set the bun before she leaned close to Feng Zheng's ear, and said quietly: "By then, the prince will watch his uncle helplessly. Did you end up like the Duke of Wu'an?"
Feng Zheng felt chills all over her body. She knew the King of Chu too well. She respected her uncle King Qin more than her own father, the emperor. The uncle and nephew were the same as father and son.
"If you are willing to hand over Brother Sheng to me, I swear to take care of Brother Sheng as a grandson, then the King of Chu is equivalent to my son. One day he contradicts the emperor on impulse, and I will do my best. Pray for him in front of the emperor."
Speaking of this, there is no need to cover up, Queen Li supported Feng Zheng's shoulders and sincerely told her the pros and cons: "Azheng, we each have their own difficulties when we marry into the royal family, I will tell you the truth today, Uncle Huang. There will be a catastrophe, and the prince will not stand by. That will be the time when the emperor annoys him the most, and it is also the best time for others to fall into trouble. The emperor wants to pass the throne to his son, but he is not the only prince. Once the prince asks the emperor I suspect that King Shou has a bad mouth, so there are only King Rui and King Gong left. No matter who succeeds the two, how do you think they will treat the elder brother who was once valued by their father as a prince after they ascend the throne? Instead, your mothers will suffer as well."
Feng Zheng's face was as white as paper.
Empress Li clenched her hand tightly, her eyes burning like a torch: "As long as you give me Brother Sheng, I will try my best to protect their father and son. Azheng, although I have selfish intentions to do this, I really plan for your family. You go back and think about it, and when you figure it out, come back to the palace. If you still don't want to, I will never force you. In the future, if the prince has something to do, I will also look at our relationship and try my best to help each other. After all, Those two families have mothers-in-law, so even if I made a good bet, I was just making fun of myself."
She kept talking and talking, saying a lot of truths, Feng Zheng heard it, but was immersed in the threats and facts, unable to react.
Empress Li was not in a hurry, and only reminded her one thing repeatedly: "After leaving the palace, you should treat me as if I didn't say anything, and you must not let the lord see the clue, or the lord will find out, and he will definitely enter the palace to make trouble with me. If you make a fuss, or simply question the emperor, if that's the case, my family and I will both be rejected by the emperor."
This remark was like a wake-up call, Feng Zheng suddenly returned to his senses, looked at Empress Li, she nodded in a complicated mood.
The more she cared about a person, the less she would put it at risk. Empress Li believed that Feng Zheng was a smart person and said everything she had to say. She smiled and patted Feng Zheng's little hand, and resumed her caring and loving tone: "Look. You, I just thought of the poor little five in my dream and couldn't help crying for a while, why are you crying more than me? Go and wash your face, lest the lord see it and think I bullied you."
Feng Zheng lowered his eyes and forced a smile, but he knew in his heart that this was an excuse given to her by Queen Li. Her face was wrong, and she couldn't recover for a while, so she couldn't hide it from the prince. Empress Li even thought about this level, which shows the depth of her city, I am afraid she has long been eyeing her brother Sheng.
However, the more she saw through Queen Li's scheming, the more worried Feng Zheng became. She only felt that Queen Li's reminders were all right.
If this is the case, one side is Brother Sheng, and the other is their family of four...
Taking the warm towel handed over by the maid, Feng Zheng covered his face and the new tears on his face. After washing his face for a full quarter of an hour, Feng Zheng turned back to the inner hall and saw Queen Li sitting cross-legged on the warm couch, holding her brother Cheng in his arms. Empress Li smiled softly, like a mother hugging her own son to coax, but Feng Zheng seemed to be haunted by poisonous snakes and felt cold all over. Daughter-in-law retire first."
Empress Li did not force her to stay, she gave Feng Zheng a deep look, and returned Brother Cheng.
The wet nurse was about to pick it up, but Feng Zheng was useless. He hugged his son and left the Central Palace as if he was fleeing. Halfway through, he saw the King of Chu carrying his eldest son towards him. Brother Sheng, who was only three years old, straddled his father's shoulders, held his father's big head in both hands, and called his mother happily. Feng Zheng's eyes were sore, and he almost burst into tears.
"Crying?" The family of four got close, and the King of Chu immediately saw what was wrong with his wife.
Feng Zheng's heart was bitter, and some words lingered on the tip of his tongue for a long time, and finally said: "The mother said that she dreamed of the fifth brother, I feel uncomfortable listening to it."
The King of Chu knew that she had a good heart, so he glanced at the direction of the palace, and was a little dissatisfied with Queen Li, blaming Queen Li for making his daughter-in-law sad.