, said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, my concubine has something to say, I don't know if I should say it or not..."
The emperor looked at Concubine Wu Zhao, and said in a deep voice, "Speak!"
Concubine Wu Zhao said softly: "After the Queen's sister fell ill, she said a lot of strange things, so what if I kill you, not only will I kill you, but my son will also kill your son... Your Majesty, my concubine I also know that the queen sister is talking nonsense after being frightened, but the concubine is really a little scared... "
Seeing the emperor's frown getting tighter and tighter, Concubine Wu Zhao took out her handkerchief and wiped her face, and said in a sad voice: "His Royal Highness... oh no, it's about the eldest prince, the matter of the eldest prince, the concubines and other sisters are very concerned." Worried, the concubine watched the eldest prince grow up, but he did not expect him to do such a thing, the concubine was afraid, would the first prince attack other princes... "
Concubine Wu Zhao seemed to become more and more frightened as she spoke, she stretched out her hand and grabbed the hem of the dragon robe, and said sadly, "Your Majesty! The only concubines and King Qi are the Emperor. I beg you, Majesty, to protect our mother and son and other princes!"
The emperor snorted heavily, and said in a deep voice: "Bring all the people who serve the queen here!"
Concubine Wu Zhao lowered her head in fear, hiding the joy in her eyes.
As long as the emperor becomes suspicious, the queen will be a dead tree, and she can be completely pushed down from the queen's throne with just a slight push!
Several maids and eunuchs walked in with their heads down, knelt on the ground together, and said in a trembling voice: "Servants (slaves) pay respects to the emperor."
The emperor's voice echoed in the empty palace of Fengyang Palace, with a solemn chill: "What did the queen say? Which prince is she going to kill this time!?"
Hearing the emperor's stern voice, the maids and eunuchs were so frightened that they fell on the ground and did not dare to lift their heads: "I don't know, I beg the emperor to forgive me!"
Concubine Wu Zhao rolled her eyes, and suddenly she burst into tears and fell to the ground: "Your Majesty! You don't have to ask any more, the concubine knows that the queen sister has always disliked the concubine. Yes! You punish the concubine, the concubine will never dare to make the queen angry again!"
This tactic of retreating into advance is practical and ingenious. Seeing Concubine Wu Zhao's miserable and wronged appearance, the emperor was really very angry. He slapped the armrest and said angrily: "Tell her to shut the door and think about her mistakes, how dare she pretend to be sick? You are talking nonsense. Who do you want to tell it to? I want to see, what else does she have to do to harm people!"
The emperor was furious, and all the people in the palace knelt down hurriedly, only to hear the emperor say: "Come here, pull the queen out for me, and I will interrogate myself!"
Seeing that the emperor was really angry, a court lady dressed as a nanny hurriedly stepped forward and begged: "I beg the emperor to forgive me! Your majesty is really sick, and I can't stand it anymore! Your majesty—"
Concubine Wu Zhao immediately pointed at the nanny and said angrily: "Bold! How dare you not even listen to the emperor? Who gave you such courage!?"
The implication of these words is obvious, this nanny is helping the empress to speak, dare to refute the emperor, of course it is relying on the empress's power.
The mother kowtowed in fright: "Ms. Zhao Concubine, this servant is guilty! I just beg the emperor to forgive me, and I will ask my mother after she recovers..."
Her forehead touched the ground with all her might, and blood flowed out. The mother cried, "Your Majesty has lost a lot of weight these days, and she has lost a lot of weight. She really can't stand the emperor's interrogation... "
Concubine Wu Zhao turned to the emperor, pretended to wipe the corners of her eyes, and said sadly: "Your majesty, this concubine also knows that I should not provoke the queen now, but if I don't ask about this matter, I will not let it go... It's nothing, I'm just worried about the princes... If something happens to them, your majesty, it will be too late for regrets at that time!"
Seeing Concubine Wu Zhao's way of fanning the flames, the nun gritted her teeth and said, "Your Majesty, Concubine Zhao, if it's just because of this matter, then the Emperor and Concubine Zhao don't have to worry. The person the empress is talking about is not Concubine Zhao." Empress and Prince Qi."
Concubine Wu Zhao immediately grasped the clues in the words, and asked: "Who is that talking about?"
Even if Concubine Zhao and King Qi were not meant to be harmed, but the emperor still has seven other princes, no matter who the queen intends to harm, it is ten fingers connected to the heart.
Mammy didn't speak anymore, just kowtowed desperately, as if she didn't dare to speak even if she was beaten to death.
Thinking that the crown prince was still making trouble in the capital outside, and the empress was being dishonest in the harem, the emperor couldn't help but get angry from his guts. With a wave of his sleeve, the teacup on the table fell immediately.
"Tell me! Who is she trying to kill!"
The nanny was so frightened that she couldn't help shaking, she hurriedly said: "This... this..."
Seeing that Nanny still didn't dare to say anything, the emperor directly ordered: "Come here, pull this old thing out and beat him to death with a random stick!"
The guards outside the palace gate agreed in unison, and then entered the hall to drag the nanny, who was scared out of her wits, and immediately shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, spare your life! Slave, just say it! Just say it! "
The emperor waved his hand, and the guards put down the nanny, only to hear the nanny say in a trembling voice: "I beg the emperor to spare the death penalty of this servant..."
Unable to hear the emperor's promise, the nanny did not dare not to say it, and hurriedly said: "The person the empress is talking about is the imperial concubine Ling... and Prince Xu..."
The emperor's face turned ashen, and even his voice changed: "What did you say?"
The mother hurriedly said: "Early this morning, before the empress got up, the concubine Zhao came into the palace to pay her respects. Seeing that the empress hadn't woken up, she thought that the empress was sick, so she went to visit the bedside herself. Horrified, actually… actually…”
The mammy swallowed hard, and continued: "Actually, the empress saw Concubine Zhao as Concubine Ling, and thought that it was Empress Gui who came to ask for her life, so she was frightened like this."
The emperor suppressed his excitement, and asked in a deep voice: "Why is she afraid of Concubine Ling, tell me!"
The nanny fell on the ground, not daring to look at the emperor's furious face, and said tremblingly: "At the beginning, the imperial concubine and empress doted on the harem, she was very jealous. At that time, there was a epidemic in the capital, and the empress ordered the people from the clothes bureau to send The old clothes of the people who died of the plague were secretly stuffed into the clothes of the imperial concubine. After a while, the imperial concubine got the epidemic. The empress used this as an excuse to seal the residence of the imperial concubine and not allow anyone to visit, let alone The prospective imperial concubine meets the emperor..."
The more the emperor heard it, the more frightened he became, he stood up abruptly, kicked the table in front of him away, and said angrily: "This poisonous woman!"
Concubine Wu Zhao quickly knelt down and cried: "The emperor calm down, don't be angry!"
She couldn't help wiping her tears, and mourned: "I didn't expect that the concubine's sister was so absent... The concubine was also surprised at the beginning, the concubine's sister never went out of the palace, how could she be infected with the epidemic? I didn't expect it to be... woo woo woo... Sister Concubine, you died so badly..."
For the emperor who just learned the truth, Concubine Wu Zhao's cry was like a catalyst. The always calm and kind emperor was furious and shouted: "Come on! Put the queen into limbo! I'm going to abolish this Vicious woman!"
Hearing these words, Concubine Wu Zhao felt great joy in her heart, but on the surface, she cried even more bitterly: "Your Majesty, you have to think twice..."
The emperor said angrily: "Think twice? Think twice, my concubine and prince will be killed by her!"
Concubine Wu Zhao pretended not to dare to say any more, but fell on the ground and wept bitterly.
In the inner palace, the queen slowly opened her eyes when she heard the noise outside.
Really, is she going to become a waste empress
Her son became a waste prince and was punished by the emperor and Xu Wang, and she, who was in the harem, would also become a waste person.
She seems to have seen her own end. In the not-too-distant future, her son will be captured by Xu Wang, and she will also be convicted. In the cold palace, she has only two choices: poisonous wine or white silk.
There was a wry smile on her pale face, so what if she honored her whole life, so what if she calculated her whole life, she will just return to the loess after all.
Gently closing her eyes, she said in a voice only she could hear: "Ling Qinghe, the emperor is avenging you, this time, are you happy?"
Outside the palace, the voice of the emperor and the cries of Concubine Wu Zhao and others seemed to be getting farther and farther away, but she fell into a long sleep.
The burden that I had carried all my life was finally let go at this moment.
The truth that has been hidden for many years has finally surfaced. For the perpetrators, it may be a relief.
…
At this moment, the prince didn't know that his mother was on the verge of death, and he was being overwhelmed by the situation in front of him.
The army that had been surrounding the Chaoyang Gate, but did not move, suddenly started to attack without warning. The prince's army was already in a state of disarray, and the remaining soldiers had already lost their vigilance under the situation where King Xu had been standing still for a long time. Wang suddenly mobilized nine battalions and twelve guards in one day, and launched an attack on Chaoyang Gate mercilessly.
The prince's army was caught off guard, and was defeated within half a day. Under the protection of more than a dozen bodyguards, the prince fled the capital in a hurry, disguised as ordinary people.
In the scorching summer, the prince and others fled for more than ten miles, and the heat became unbearable. Seeing that there were no pursuers, they stopped and took a rest at a tea stand by the roadside.
A piece of rag was propped on the bamboo pole to serve as a pergola, the prince and his guards were sitting on the dilapidated low stools, drinking extremely bitter herbal tea, the situation was truly desolate.
However, a few rural scholars sitting on the table next door are shaking broken cattail fans, talking freely about state affairs. Of course, the prince's treason is a hot topic nowadays.
"...