The empress dowager took the queen's hand and patted the back of her hand.
"As people get older, there will always be serious illnesses and minor disasters coming to their door. It's nothing more than normal. Don't listen to those imperial doctors talking nonsense."
A nanny next to her spoke quickly and explained, "Isn't the Empress Dowager mad at Miss Jiu and Xiao Liu?"
She originally wanted to say Ninth Princess, but then she remembered that the Empress Dowager didn't like this title, so she still called Xiao Ting Sixth Miss.
In fact, many people are used to calling Miss Xiao Liu instead of Ninth Princess. On the one hand, it is because Miss Xiao Liu is too famous, and on the other hand, it is because of the attitude of the Ninth Prince towards her.
The casualness of indifference, avoidance and protection made everyone feel that Xiao Ting was just a temporary mistress of the Nine Princes' Mansion.
The empress dowager glared at the nanny, then looked at the queen, and said, "It's been so hard for you for so many years. Now that woman Xiao Lingyue has been thrown into the cold palace by the emperor. From now on, you should have some snacks. The third prince is not young, and the position of the heir apparent must not be neglected."
"The concubine has made a note." The queen's heart was sweet, but she said this sentence with a low eyebrow and a pleasant ear.
The empress dowager's thoughts are the same as hers on this point, so that's fine.
But the next sentence made the queen dissatisfied.
"San'er chooses a concubine, do you have any plans?"
The original intention of the lotus banquet last time was to choose a concubine for the third prince, but it was interrupted by Xiao Ting's point of view in the end, and no one was chosen in the end.
After that, the matter was over.
"Everything depends on the queen mother."
The empress dowager smiled and said, "I have three candidates in my mind."
"Which one does the queen mother prefer?" The queen asked following her words.
"Last time at the lotus feast, Miss Xiao's fourth daughter, Xiao Mei, came from the big house and was Xiao Lingyue's niece. The most important thing is that she has a normal relationship with Xiao Lingyue. I'm afraid you like her?"
Jiang was still old and hot, and the empress dowager spoke directly to the empress's mind.
"Mother's advice, my concubine did indeed like Xiao Mei, but only now did I realize that if I really chose Xiao Mei that time, I would have harmed Saner." After being told, the queen was not embarrassed, and there was an apology on her face.
"It's good that you know! After all, Xiao Mei is the daughter of the Xiao family, and Xiao Lingyue and Xiao Lingyue will be prosperous together, and they will suffer together. You must not have other thoughts about the future of the third son's marriage, otherwise you will only lose the watermelon and pick up sesame seeds."
The queen hurriedly knelt down and shouted: "What the queen mother taught is that the concubine has been taught."
The Empress did prefer Xiao Mei at the beginning. Firstly, her status was barely worthy of the Third Prince. Secondly, there would be no conflict with Concubine Xiao, and Concubine Xiao would help the Third Prince. Thirdly, the Xiao family had no foundation, so the Emperor would be at ease.
After all, the emperor was still young, so the crown prince might not be too powerful, which would make him uneasy.
The Xiao family was the best choice at the time.
But looking at it now, it is true that there is no one who will be successful in a hundred days, and no one will have a good life. Who would have thought that Xiao Lingyue, who had been doting on the harem for many years, would lose power and go directly to the cold palace, and almost lost his life.
If Xiao Ting hadn't disrupted the situation at the beginning, she almost made a big mistake.
"Okay, it's all for San'er, you're not wrong, get up!"
"Thank you, Empress."
"The third girl from An Guogong's mansion, my palace looks pretty good, you pick a day to call Xiruo and her into the palace, meet San'er, see the situation, and then we'll talk about it."
The empress dowager gave the order directly, and the empress said yes with a low eyebrow, but she was not angry in her heart.
Unfortunately, if the niece of the queen's natal family is the queen mother's favorite candidate for the future queen, it's just that she doesn't like that girl.
The scheming is too deep!
But she didn't mention this matter again, but changed the subject and asked: "Mother, do you know what the parchment scroll that Xiao Ting handed over is?"
The empress dowager's face darkened when she heard the words, she let go of the empress's hand, and asked in a deep voice, "Why are you asking this?"
Apparently she knew.
The empress was overjoyed, as they had guessed right, the emperor must have told the empress dowager.
"Mother, the concubine just felt that that thing could save Xiao Lingyue's life, so it is naturally not an ordinary thing, so how did the Ninth Princess get it?"
"Has the emperor ever pursued this matter? What if the aunt and nephew colluded?"
The empress directly stated her guess, which made the empress dowager slightly stunned, and then said, "I don't know about this matter, and the emperor just mentioned it to me. This map is of great importance. As for how Xiao Ting got it, no one knows."
"However, what you said does mean something. If the matter is really due to the collusion of their aunt and nephew, then this problem will be serious."
Seeing that the empress dowager became suspicious, the queen struck while the iron was hot, and said, "Yes, think about it, the aunt and nephew must be in collusion. If Xiao Lingyue doesn't die, and won't take the lives of everyone in the Xiao residence, will Xiao Ting still hand over the map?"
"good."
The more the Empress Dowager thought about it, the more she reasoned, and immediately sat up from the bed, not feeling a bit uncomfortable.
With extremely sharp eyes, he said, "You go to the Ninth Prince's Mansion now and bring that woman back, and I will interrogate her in person."
The queen was overjoyed, but there was some hesitation on her face.
The empress dowager scolded coldly.
"Why don't you go soon?" This matter is of great importance, and she dare not delay.
"Queen, does my concubine have something to say or not?" The empress's hesitant appearance made the empress dowager even more irritable.
"Say what you have to say quickly. When did you learn to talk to me in such a roundabout way?"
The queen showed an embarrassed smile, and then asked solemnly and cautiously: "Does the Ninth Prince know about this?"
"What are you referring to?" The empress dowager's eyes became colder, and she narrowed her eyes slightly, making it difficult to see her emotions clearly.
"Well, the concubine thinks so. Judging from the situation at the time, the Ninth Prince asked Xiao Ting to hand over the map on his own initiative. Does that mean that he already knew that the map was on Xiao Ting's possession, but he never said it. They didn't mention it until the emperor ordered all the members of the Xiao family to be imprisoned and executed."
Speaking of this, the queen paused for a moment to give the queen mother time to think, and then concluded: "This kind of behavior has to make people suspicious."
The empress dowager fell into deep thought, her eyes flickered, and after a while she came back to her senses, she blessed her body slightly, and said, "Mother, these are just the conjectures of my subjects, not necessarily the facts, and they can't be true. Don't take it to heart, the concubine will leave first."
After finishing speaking, he quickly got up, turned and left, leaving the Empress Dowager sitting in Ci'an Palace with a look of surprise on her face.
A series of events triggered by the appearance of a mysterious map in the imperial palace have attracted the attention of many parties.
What the Ninth Prince and the Emperor are concerned about is, who is that woman in black
And who sent her to steal the map
The queen stared at the map, thinking it was a particularly important thing.
Other members of the royal family also began to investigate secretly.
All of a sudden, inside and outside the imperial city was full of turmoil and undercurrents, and soon someone guessed its usefulness.
The palace will no longer be peaceful.
Prince Rui's Mansion, in a small courtyard that is not gorgeous.
Sitting under the grape trellis in the yard, the Princess of the Moon Moon stretched out her hand to pick a bunch of crystal-clear grapes like amethyst, slowly peeled off the grape skins, and threw the pulp into her mouth, without any arrogance that a wealthy child should have.
"You mean the person who saved you was the Ninth Princess?"
In front of her, under the scorching sun a foot away, a woman in black was kneeling on one knee, her long hair was tied up high with a headband, her upper body was straight and upright, and her eyes were cold with determination.
"yes."
A simple word, but listening to it makes people feel trembling.
Princess Muyue sat on the stone bench, her legs stretched and crossed together, her fingers were turning the teacup lightly, the corners of her eyes and brows were full of smiles, but no matter how she looked at it, she had malicious intentions, and said, "She also transferred that map?"
When talking about the map, Zhu Yue was not in Yaochi Palace, but was invited outside.
Those who remained in it were all the central figures of the royal family.
So she didn't know why Concubine Xiao Gui didn't die in the end, but was thrown into limbo.
She didn't know the whole story until the woman in black escaped from the palace just now.
It was still a cold word, "Yes."
"Do you know how much effort the princess has gone through to find out about this matter, and to find such a good opportunity, to cause such a big incident, and to kill so many people, all to cover you,"
Princess Yuyue spoke very slowly, but when she talked about such a big event, she played it lightly, showing no sign of anger.
"Now you tell the princess that you got the things, but they were transferred, and now they are back in the palace."
"Hehe, your move should be called "striking the grass to startle the snake!"
"Subordinates should die."
The woman in black landed on one knee, staring straight ahead, although kneeling there, there was no trace of humbleness.
She leaned on the ground with a sword hilt in her right hand.
After saying this, the sound of the sword being unsheathed came out, and the cold arrow in her hand unexpectedly landed on her neck, and she was about to die on the spot.
At this moment, the figure of the princess of the month of the moon flashed, and she didn't see how she made the move. She only heard a bang, and the cold arrow in the woman's hand fell to the ground. On her neck, a light red mark gradually appeared, and blood was oozing out. .
"I've raised you for so many years just to let you die?"
Princess Yuyue stood tall, her moon-white dress mopping the floor, pouring down like a stream of water.
Her voice was neither salty nor weak, but it had a majesty of its own.
The woman in black finally lowered her head.
The Princess Yueyue looked at her condescendingly, although there was a smile in her eyes, but it did not make people feel relaxed, on the contrary, it gave a feeling of wanting to be fully on guard.
"Even if you're going to die, it's worth dying. The princess has sacrificed so many people to protect you. Now that you want to die, don't you feel ashamed of your fellow disciples?"
The woman in black gritted her teeth, "This subordinate is willing to pay the crime and do meritorious service, and if he enters the palace again, he will definitely get that map." She swore.
(end of this chapter)