At the second watch, the little eunuch responsible for tracking came back and told Xie Nanjia that Princess Wen'an went to the Leng Palace to meet Queen Meng.
When Queen Meng heard that Princess Wen'an was punished by the emperor for provoking Xie Nanjia, she knelt down in the Qiande Hall. She was furious with Princess Wen'an and scolded her for failing to achieve anything but failing. She said that her actions would probably make everyone's previous efforts in vain.
Princess Wen'an claimed that the reason why she humiliated Xie Nanjia was to vent her anger on Queen Meng. She also said that Queen Meng was making a fuss out of a molehill, and Xie Nanjia did not notice anything was wrong at all, otherwise she would not be proudly strolling in the garden with her maid.
Queen Meng scolded Princess Wen'an for being stupid and ignorant, saying that Xie Nanjia had a delicate heart with seven orifices, and if she found anything suspicious, she would be able to find out the truth.
Xie Nanjia couldn't help laughing when she heard this. She didn't expect that Queen Meng had a very high opinion of her. In this case, she couldn't live up to the Queen's praise and must use this thread to peel out the truth.
So, she wrote a letter overnight and sent it to the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion.
The next day, Su Jincheng came to see her and brought her the sweet-scented osmanthus cake made by Mrs. Xiaoguo. She told her that her family had done as she said and asked her not to worry and just wait for the results.
Xie Nanjia nodded, picked up a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus cake, and was about to eat it when Su Jincheng suddenly said, "My mother doesn't cook once a year, so you can just try it a little. It's mainly just a token of my appreciation."
"..." Xie Nanjia was stunned for a moment, took a small bite tentatively, her face changed, and then she forced a smile and said, "Brother, go back and tell mother that I understand her feelings."
Su Jincheng rarely smiled.
No one knows his mother's cooking skills better than him.
"You said you didn't have any clue during the day yesterday. How come you got it at night?" he asked.
Xie Nanjia smiled and raised his right hand: "If someone offers ideas, I will naturally follow them."
Su Jincheng looked at the scabbed skin on the back of her hand, his pupils shrank, and he said distressedly: "Does it still hurt?"
"It hurts a little." Xie Nanjia answered truthfully, "But it doesn't matter, I will return it."
"Yes." Su Jincheng said, "From now on, you don't have to do anything, just leave it to us."
Xie Nanjia agreed to him, and after sending him away, she stopped doing anything. She excused her hand pain and fell asleep grandly. She told Liusu Biluo that if anyone came to ask for permission, they should go to the Queen Mother first to make a decision.
The Queen Mother has been very busy for a while. She is not very tired, but she can no longer be as leisurely as usual. She is so irritated by the messy trivial matters that she can't help but want to get angry several times.
"It seems I'm really old." She couldn't help but sigh to Aunt Yin, "When I was the queen, I didn't feel tired dealing with all these messy things all day long."
"As long as you have to worry about things, you will be tired at any time. It's just that at that time, the empress was dedicated to taking care of the affairs of the harem, and she was used to that kind of rhythm. There were many people helping her, so she didn't feel tired." Grandma Yin said, "But Even so, the queen is often so angry that she can't even eat. Besides, we haven't asked about palace affairs for a long time, so we are inevitably rusty. "
"That's right. I'm indeed rusty." The Queen Mother nodded. Somehow, she thought of Xie Nanjia and muttered to herself, "I originally said that I would give guidance to my boss to take care of the palace affairs, but in fact I didn't give her much guidance. , She has only a few people under her command, and nothing has gone wrong these days, so it’s really hard for her.”
Aunt Yin heard this and said with a smile: "It is indeed not easy for Miss Xiu'er. Fortunately, the Queen Mother and the Emperor are very caring about her. Otherwise, she would not be able to adapt to a girl's family and suddenly come to a strange place."
The Queen Mother was silent for a moment, then rolled her eyelids upward and glanced at Nanny Yin: "Do you think I can't hear that you are speaking sarcastically?"
"I don't dare!" Aunt Yin was about to kneel down, but the Queen Mother raised her hand to stop her, "Okay, okay, I'm an old man, don't kneel down all the time, I know you want to persuade me not to be like a little girl. , am I the person who cannot tolerate others? There is a saying that the wind will destroy the trees that are beautiful in the forest. If a girl is too outstanding, it may not be a good thing. I am worried that she will be jealous. "
Aunt Yin understood that the Queen Mother was looking for a way out for herself and could not say anything else, so she followed her words and said: "In this case, the Queen Mother should support Miss Xiu'er more and let her live peacefully in the palace. Don’t let the prince worry about her.”
Mentioning the prince, the Queen Mother's face finally turned cloudy. Although the grandfather and grandson did not get along too much, they were connected by blood in their bones. Of course, they were closer than Xie Nanjia, an outsider, although in her opinion, she did not regard Xie Nanjia as an outsider. outsider.
"You're right, even if it's for Prince An's sake, we have to take good care of her." The Queen Mother said, "I heard that her hand was stepped on by Wen An. Please send her a bottle of ointment!"
Grandma Yin breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that she had finally persuaded her. She hurriedly went to the warehouse to find some good ointment and sent it to Xie Nanjia. She also said a lot of good things for the Queen Mother in front of Xie Nanjia.
Liusu was puzzled by this. After Aunt Yin left, she quietly asked Xie Nanjia: "What do you mean, the Queen Mother? She didn't send anyone to express condolences when she was injured yesterday. Now her hands are scabbed, and she keeps sending medicines. Does she care about the lady or not? "
Xie Nanjia smiled lightly and told her not to worry about this matter: "If it weren't for the second young master, I would be a stranger to the Queen Mother. Her attitude towards me is like the attitude of a mother-in-law towards her daughter-in-law. No matter how much she cares about her, she will always be separated from her. It’s pretty good to be able to achieve this level, not to mention the rumors from outside.”
"Miss, you are right. No matter how good your daughter-in-law is, she is still a daughter-in-law. How can you expect your mother-in-law to show her heart to you? As long as we treat each other with courtesy and live in peace, it will be the best mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship." Biluo said.
"Hey, you have studied so thoroughly, you don't want to get married, do you want the lady to match you with someone?" Liusu teased her.
Biluo suddenly blushed with embarrassment and chased Liu Su, saying, "I don't want to get married. I want to follow the lady all my life and be the chief female officer next to the queen in the future. This is called Guangzong Yaozu!"
Xie Nanjia watched the two of them quarreling, and was glad that they were not the ones who were punished yesterday. Otherwise, their faces would have been so swollen that they would not be able to see anyone, and they would not be able to laugh.
After lunch, Xie Nanjia was about to go to bed when Li Luo suddenly came to tell her that Concubine Shu had invited her to sit in Jinghe Palace.
We just met yesterday, and today she came to invite her again. Xie Nanjia felt that she had something important to tell him, so she immediately followed Li Luo.
When they arrived at Jinghe Palace, Concubine Shu was sitting on the bed with her headband wrapped around her head to coax the little prince to sleep. Seeing Xie Nanjia coming over, she handed the child to the nanny and dismissed everyone.
"What's so mysterious?" Xie Nanjia asked with a smile.
Concubine Shu patted the edge of her bed, asked her to sit down, took one of her hands, and asked in a low voice: "The person who poisoned me has been found out, have you heard?"
Xie Nanjia's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly shook her head and said, "I'm not feeling well today. I've been sleeping for most of the day and I haven't heard about this yet. Who is that person?"
Concubine Shu made a serious face and said depressedly: "This is why I came to you. Your Majesty refused to tell me whether he was alive or dead. Why do you think this is?"
"Ah?" Xie Nanjia was surprised and asked, "Why didn't the emperor tell the empress? The person who has the most right to know about this matter is the empress!"
"Who says it's not the case, but the emperor just refuses to say it." Concubine Shu became more and more depressed, "I narrowly escaped death and gave birth to a prince, but he desperately defended the person who poisoned me. What's the point of my life?"
Xie Nanjia was startled and quickly comforted her: "Your Majesty, you must not think like this. Maybe there is something hidden. When a woman has a child, she must look after the child. Everything else is secondary. The little prince has just come to the world. You If he does something stupid, it will be a lifelong regret for him.”
People who have just given birth are prone to depression, and Xie Nanjia was really afraid that she would get into trouble because of this.
As a mother, she did not want the little prince to lose the most important maternal love during his growth.
Concubine Shu's tears came down. She held Xie Nanjia's hand and said, "I just can't figure out which woman in the palace is more worthy of his protection than me. It must be some vixen who secretly seduced the emperor while I was pregnant. My belly After I got older, the emperor didn’t come often..."
"..." Xie Nanjia couldn't help but feel a headache. In her opinion, there was nothing more troublesome in the world than hearing a resentful woman complain about her man.
But having said that, why did the emperor want to protect the poisoner
That day, he had angrily vowed that once he found out who was responsible, he would kill everyone in his family. Why did he change his mind now? Not only was he dissatisfied with the execution, but he even wanted to hide who the other party was from everyone.
Which concubine is so charming that the emperor would not hesitate to break his promise for her, even if she almost killed his own son
Based on Xie Nanjia's understanding of the emperor, he should not be the kind of person who would be dazzled by beauty. In so many years, he has never heard of him doing anything against his status for a woman. Even countries from various countries have donated beauties. He never accepted it.
So, what happened to him this time
Could it be that…
Xie Nanjia suddenly thought of another possibility. If there is anyone in the palace who is more important than his biological son in the eyes of the emperor, it can only be his biological daughter!
right! This must be the case, it must be the princess who poisoned her!
Thinking of this, Xie Nanjia's eyes suddenly lit up, and he hurriedly asked Concubine Shu: "Which princess do you think the emperor loves the most?"
"What do you mean?" Concubine Shu was still complaining endlessly. She was stunned when she heard this and said hesitantly, "Do you think the person who poisoned her is a princess?"
"I think it's possible." Xie Nanjia said, "No matter how close the concubine is to her, she won't be close to her own flesh and blood. The emperor can't do anything to his own flesh and blood, and he can't let her reputation be damaged, so he chose to hide it."
"..." Concubine Shu took a breath and covered her mouth in horror. Xie Nanjia's words reminded her that only if the other party was a princess, the emperor could not fulfill his vow to kill everyone because he could not kill him himself. Own.
"But why would the princess harm me? I have no conflict of interest with them."
"Who says not?" Xie Nanjia said, "Maybe they do it for their mother, maybe they are worried that the little prince will steal their father's love from them, maybe they are bewitched by people with ulterior motives, maybe they are not living as they wish, so It’s hard to see others being happier than her, all of these are possible.”
Concubine Shu fell silent and sat blankly on the bed, making no movement for a long time.
Xie Nanjia quietly got up and left Jinghe Palace.
She could provide Concubine Shu with ideas, but she couldn't guess who it was with her. She was afraid that one day these guessing words would reach other people's ears and cause herself trouble for no reason.
However, she hardly had to put any effort into guessing. In her opinion, it was already obvious who that person was.
She thought that things outside the palace should be almost clear, and she believed that it wouldn't be long before good news came in.
Sure enough, as soon as she returned to Cining Palace, the news came.
Not only did she get the news, the emperor also got the news, the entire palace got the news, and even the entire capital.
Empress Meng's natal nephew Meng Taiyang got drunk and made trouble in Xiankelou at noon today. He injured the son of the imperial censor and the grandson of the Shaoqing family of Dali Temple. He also uttered wild words, saying that the Meng family had only temporarily lost power. His cousin Song Jingxing fought back to the capital and regained the throne, and the Meng family would make a comeback. By then, no imperial censor or minister of Dali Temple would be worthy of carrying his shoes.
Such outrageous, disrespectful and rebellious reactionary remarks immediately shocked the government and the public. Officials from all parties came to the palace to meet the emperor and asked the emperor to severely punish Meng Taiyang and the Meng family.
The imperial censor whose son was injured was even more indignant and wrote 10,000 words of advice, saying that when the Meng family incited Song Jingxing to rebel, the nine clans should have been implicated. Because of the mercy of the Holy One, only Prime Minister Meng was killed. However, Meng Instead of being grateful to the Holy One, the family did not know how to restrain themselves at all, acted unscrupulously, spoke nonsense, and despised the imperial power. Such treasonous and unruly people should be executed throughout the family as a warning to others. If they are not killed, they will not make the people angry, and if they are not executed, they will not be able to uphold the power of God.
The ministers were so angry, not to mention the emperor. Song Wanji became the most angry since he ascended the throne. He wrote an imperial edict on the spot and ordered Dali Temple to quickly arrest the entire Meng family and behead all the children except the children under ten years old.
The grandson of the Shaoqing of Dali Temple was still injured and lying on the bed. After receiving the imperial edict, he naturally spared no effort to carry out the emperor's order.
Such a big event that caused a sensation in the capital quickly overwhelmed all previous hot topics, and the rumors that the Crown Princess was the reincarnation of a goddess were instantly forgotten by people.
While people were shocked, they also lamented the emperor's kindheartedness, because although the emperor wanted to kill all the Meng family members, he still couldn't bear it and left behind children under ten years old, preventing the Meng family from becoming extinct. .
After receiving the news, Princess Wen'an was almost frightened to death. She immediately ran to the Cold Palace to tell Queen Meng that Queen Meng had been tortured in the Cold Palace. When she heard about this, she spurted out a mouthful of blood, rolled her eyes and fainted.
Princess Wen'an was frightened and repeatedly ordered the guarding maid to call the imperial doctor. The palace maid waited for a long time without seeing any imperial doctor coming. In the end, Queen Meng recovered on her own.
"Queen Mother, Queen Mother..." Princess Wen'an knelt in front of Queen Meng, crying with snot and tears.
But as soon as Queen Meng opened her eyes, she slapped Princess Wen'an hard.
"I told you not to provoke her, why didn't you listen?" She gritted her teeth and roared at Princess Wen'an.
Princess Wen'an was stunned. She covered her face for a long time before she realized who her mother was talking about. She felt aggrieved and confused: "Why did your mother beat me? It's obviously cousin Taiyang's fault. What does it have to do with that woman?"
"You are stupid, but you still don't believe it. Even a fool knows that someone has set a trap for Taiyang!" Empress Meng said bitterly, "Who else in the capital could come up with such a vicious trick except that woman? She made unfavorable remarks about her and also took advantage of us. She killed two birds with one stone!"
Princess Wen'an was stunned for a long time, then fell to the ground and said with a gloomy face: "Then, will she come to me next? Your mother is also a member of the Meng family, will your father also... "
(End of chapter)