Beijing, Imperial City, Ganquan Palace, Taishi Palace.
Empress Dowager Jiang looked at Chu Weisang at the foot of Danqi impatiently: "Why did the emperor come to see the Ai family?"
"I heard that the queen mother has not thought about food and tea these past few days, and I am worried, so I came here to serve you." Chu Weisang respectfully picked up the bird's nest from the gold-painted tray that the palace servants knelt down, "The queen mother's phoenix body is important, and I sincerely ask her to be remembered in the common people's society. For my own sake, how much should I pay?”
Empress Dowager Jiang frowned—the three people who were kidnapped in the Shazhou Incident, except for Ling Zui, whom she didn't care about, Jiang Qizheng was her niece who had watched them grow up. Even if we don’t mention the relationship between aunt and nephew, the consequences of the death of this niece will give the Queen Mother a headache! Under such circumstances, how could Empress Dowager Jiang be in the mood to eat bird's nests
"Even if my father can still control the situation now, the fourth brother and the fourth sister-in-law dare not speak out, but at this age, how many years can my father keep calm? When the time comes, the fourth house will have to settle the accounts with the eldest house and the third house - this is the point of the Ai family How could my father not think of it? In order to protect the big house and the third house, I must give them the Zhenxi Army as a trump card, so that the fourth house will not have a lot of troops to avenge Zheng'er in the future!"
Empress Dowager Jiang was very upset, "The Western Suppressing Army was originally established to resist the Western barbarians. If it falls into the hands of the first and third houses, it will definitely become a tool for fighting with the fourth house in the future! Now that my father is still alive, the people of these two houses You can attack your biological niece, what else can't you do? To abandon the country and march to the capital for your own selfish interests..."
If Jiang Qizheng's accident made Empress Dowager Jiang feel that political trouble was coming, then Ou Qinglan's abduction was a personal trouble - the Empress Dowager's only biological daughter, Princess Yongfu, was promised to Oubicheng!
"There is just such a daughter in the Ou family. She is like a darling. Even her little aunt, who has always been strict with the younger generation, personally asked her father to intercede for her!" The queen mother felt that this life was simply unbearable. "As a result, the Jiang family was in trouble due to internal fighting. In Shazhou, how could the Ou family just give up? Originally, the Ou family and the fourth family were together, but now something happened to the children of the two families, and the relationship between them and the third family was at loggerheads... In terms of strength and principle, in fact They should all be with the fourth room and the Ou family! But father..."
In fact, the Duke of Qin's position is very difficult to deal with this matter. It's not that he is really so partial to the eldest family. He is so partial that even when the eldest daughter of the fourth chamber was killed, he still didn't forget to protect the eldest chamber - mainly the eldest chamber, the third chamber and the fourth chamber. They are his blood relatives. He wants to punish the eldest family and the third family for venting their anger on the fourth family, but he does not want the children of the Jiang family to risk their lives for a married daughter, especially the main executors Jiang Yayue and Jiang Yaqingdu this time. He is the best among the Jiang family’s children!
But if they are not executed, any other punishment can calm the anger of the fourth house
In this way, the fourth room will definitely take revenge - this revenge will probably involve fratricide!
Duke Qin didn't want to see that scene, so he could only continue to rub salt into the wounds of the fourth and Ou families. Instead of punishing the first and third families, he actually increased their strength and made the fourth family afraid to take action.
If you want Duke Qin not to take advantage of this, you can only make him believe that the fourth bedroom will never take revenge on the first and third bedrooms... But Empress Dowager Jiang knows that this is impossible. Not to mention the others, Mrs. Zhuang's temper can't be ignored by the little things at the beginning. He could lead people into the big room and beat her to death in front of Mr. Dou as a dowry, let alone the revenge of killing his daughter? !
It would be strange if she didn’t chop up the first and third bedrooms alive!
Unable to change Duke Qin's mind, Empress Dowager Jiang had to worry about her political investment and the future of her daughter: "Although the Fourth Household firmly controls the Zhenbei Army, its power in the court is too weak! Although Xue Chang is still the leader now It's true, but Jiang Tianao and Jiang Tianqi have begun to recruit many followers to control the government! Once the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households join forces, the baggage alone will make the fourth house disgraced! If they have the Zhenxi Army again, they don't even have to worry about the fourth house. It's urgent - if the four houses are in danger, the best outcome for the Ai family will be to become a puppet!"
"Yongfu from the Ai family... what good end can there be?"
The more the Queen Mother thought about it, the more frustrated she became. After a while, she raised her head, but was surprised to find that Chu Weisang had not left yet, and was looking at her respectfully and worriedly.
"My family is fine!" Although she knew that Chu Weisang's filial piety was out of fear rather than sincerity, Empress Dowager Jiang believed that she didn't treat him well, so now that she saw him guarding him for so long, she felt a little sad and said softly, "The emperor is worried... Put the bird's nest here. The Ai family will use it soon. The emperor should go back to his palace. It's cold, so take care of yourself!"
Chu Weisang said obediently: "Mother, the bird's nest that I had before has become cold. I have sent someone back to get something hot. I will let you use one before leaving."
Seeing his expectant eyes, Queen Mother Jiang felt soft and nodded.
After a while, the harem people brought a new bird's nest. Chu Weisang took it with both hands, walked up to Danqi, and personally served Empress Dowager Jiang.
Afterwards, he expressed some concern for the Queen Mother and asked about Princess Yongfu's current situation... After spending a long time in the Taishi Palace and coaxing Queen Mother Jiang into a happy mood, Chu Weisang resigned.
As soon as he left Ganquan Palace, the tiredness he concealed on his face couldn't stop showing, so much so that when the emperor's chariot arrived at Funing Palace, he almost fell when he got off the chariot! This surprised Concubine Wu who was waiting for him on the steps. She ran down to help him regardless of her manners: "Your Majesty, be careful!"
Concubine Wu was Wu Jieyu during the late emperor's time, and she was Chu Weisang's biological mother.
After Chu Weisang ascended the throne, he should respect his biological mother as the Queen Mother and his biological mother as the Queen Mother. But for fear of upsetting the Jiang family, Mrs. Wu found a lot of reasons to accept the position of concubine... This knowledge was rewarded by her being able to visit Chu Weisang at any time.
Princess Wu, who had no other children, would visit her son almost every other day, so the relationship between mother and son was naturally deep.
Outside the palace, Concubine Wu was intimidated by Empress Dowager Jiang and did not dare to teach her own son openly. After entering the palace and clearing the place, she began to mutter: "How old are you, why don't you cherish yourself? In such a cold weather, you just have to go By serving the Queen Mother, you are taking care of yourself, right
Thinking that those people were sent by Empress Dowager Jiang, Concubine Wu's expression froze and she did not dare to continue speaking. She sighed and said, "No matter what, you have to take care of yourself..."
"My life is almost gone, so why talk about taking care of my body?" Chu Weisang took a sip of the ginseng tea handed over by his biological mother, smiled to himself, and said lightly.
Concubine Wu was shocked when she heard this and almost pushed the short table in front of her over: "What are you talking about?"
"Jiang Ba escorted Jiang Ba, Ou's daughter, and Ling Zui to Shazhou City, but they were attacked a hundred miles outside the city!" Chu Weisang whispered, "Except Jiang Ba, the other three , it seems like it’s all over!”
Concubine Wu was stunned for a moment and then breathed a sigh of relief: "What does this have to do with us?"
Although being a puppet does not allow you to make decisions, you have the ease of not having to make decisions.
Chu Weisang looked at Concubine Wu: "Concubine, do you think it's okay?" He smiled bitterly, "If Er Chen's prediction is correct, the real culprit behind this matter will most likely be framed on Er Chen!"
"What?!" Concubine Wu was stunned, "What does this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, has to do with you," she was dumbfounded.
She was completely confused!
"You have always served the Queen Mother diligently, and I see that the Queen Mother is also very satisfied with you... Why, how could you still make the Queen Mother unhappy?!" Concubine Wu's tears immediately fell. She had been in the palace for so many years, and she had long been afraid of Queen Mother Jiang. It has become a habit. Now that I heard that my son will be the scapegoat, my first reaction is not anger but grievance, "Aren't we mother and son sensible enough?"
Chu Weisang also choked up: "It's not that we are not knowledgeable enough! It's that... Qin Guogong cannot admit that the people who attacked and murdered Jiang Shiba and others in the name of Kuang Qingwu were the eldest and third eldest members of the Jiang family!"
Concubine Wu was stunned: "You mean...?"
"The other scapegoats are not of enough weight to make the fourth family of the Jiang family stop... Concubine, do you think this can be done without targeting the children?"
"... Empress Dowager Gu died not long ago, couldn't it be the remnants of the Gu family?" Concubine Wu was at a loss for a while before she thought of a reason, "After all, Empress Dowager Gu has been in power for more than thirty years, how can she be eradicated so easily?!"
Chu Weisang smiled bitterly and said: "Mother, what the Jiang family wants now is not an explanation in front of the world, but an explanation for the four families of the Jiang family!"
Without waiting for Mrs. Wu to speak, he continued, "The fourth room of the Jiang family has already determined that the eldest room and the third room of the Jiang family were responsible for this incident - so this scapegoat must not only be of sufficient weight, but also be reasonable and reasonable, so that the fourth room can Even if Fang doesn’t fully believe it, he still has some doubts!”
"My son was unwilling to be the emperor but just like a puppet, so he used the remnant gang left by the imperial grandmother to instigate Kuang Qingwu to murder the eldest daughter of the fourth house and others, and frame the eldest house and the third house as the fault!" Chu Weisang said happily, "Then the Jiang family will either kill or depose their sons and ministers... At this point in the story, Qin Guogong can confidently persuade his sons and nephews to reconcile. Don't fall for the sons and ministers' tricks to sow discord! This is the most beneficial ending for the Jiang family!"
Concubine Wu burst into tears: "But our mother and son -"
She pressed her chest tightly and asked pleadingly, "But there must be a way, right? Prince, you have always been smart, and my mother-in-law is far behind you... You must have a way, right?"
Chu Weisang was silent for a while and said quietly: "The only way is to make the fourth room of the Jiang family make up its mind to fall out with the eldest room and the third room of the Jiang family! If they fall out, even if Jiang Shiba and his party are attacked and framed for his son, It’s impossible to make up for it! In this way, Duke Qin will not do anything unnecessary!”
Concubine Wu ignited a glimmer of hope: "What should we do?"
"Of course I killed Jiang Yayue, and Jiang Yaqing!" At the same moment, Jiang Yashuang in the Ruan Mansion stood in Qiu Jinglan's study with his hands behind his back, and said calmly, "Grandpa still wanted to whitewash the peace, but I can’t bear it anymore! This time it’s Sister Shiba, A Xing, and the innocent Ling Zui—what about next time? It’s Brother Bage, my nephews, or even you?”
He shook his head, "It's human nature to push beyond the limits. What's more, why are our sisters dead and their sons still alive and stepping on their blood, tears and lives to get the Western Army?!"
"Jiang Yayue and Jiang Yaqing must die!"
"They are dead, and my brother can naturally take over the Western Army! The first and third bedrooms can no longer expect a general and a prime minister! They don't dare to treat the people around you and me like ants anymore!"
"I also hope they die!" Oubicheng sat upright not far from him, expressionless, "But Qiu Jinglan can't do it! Since the first and third rooms have taken action against A Xing and the others, how could they not guard against Qiu Jinglan? ? ! Even if Qiu Jinglan can succeed under all the precautions, he will not do it himself. He is not a child of the Jiang family. Although Qin Guogong loves his talent and has to consider Princess Ningyi's pregnancy, he may still do it. He was executed in anger! He loved Princess Ning Yi so much, but he never even saw his biological nephew. How could he die like this? "
"I know." Jiang Yashuang said softly, "I don't want him to do this either - if he is really caught and killed by his grandfather, not only will I be unable to deal with Ning Yi, but I will also not be able to find a second person to take over the town. Western Army!"
Oubicheng frowned and said, "Then who do you expect?"