The Gilded Cage

Chapter 61: The warning is nothing but more blood

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When the Crown Princess gave way, the Eastern Palace's harem was truly empty.

The matter of choosing a concubine for the prince has finally been brought up again. After the daily political discussion, someone will always say a word or two.

In the past, there are countless people who want to marry the girl from the family to the prince, but now only a few old officials who have a deep friendship with the prince have expressed a little.

But their expressions seem to be just for the love of the past, not sincere intention to marry.

Such a situation was forced by the situation, and it was also deliberately done by Xiao Yu, in order to make the affairs of the Zhao family logical - no one could choose, so they could choose Zhao Yu'e, a lady from a superior background but a widow in the family.

Seeing that things were grinding day by day and it seemed that there was no one to choose from, Xiao Yu carefully mentioned Zhao Yu'e.

The Zhao family had military power, and even if the Qi family disliked the generals, they had to be vigilant. Qi Mu stood up and rebutted almost on the spot, saying that Mrs. Zhao was widowed and unworthy to be the wife of the prince.

Naturally, Xiao Yu had already prepared his remarks, saying that he had also had a wife, and had to separate because of helplessness, and was not qualified to dislike Mrs. Zhao's origin.

Wei Fujing also spoke for the Zhao family on the spot according to Xu Rong's prior arrangement, and bluntly said that the reason why the prince was eager to make the prince concubine was to give birth to an heir as soon as possible, and Zhao Erniang and Cheng family Langjun got married, during which they raised a child. Girl, Naihe When she was six months old, she was caught in a torrential rain on the way to Bozhou, and she caught the cold and died in Bozhou.

In this way, Qi Mu's words were just blocked. After arguing for a few days, the matter finally fell on Xiao Ke's place.

As the emperor and the elder of the prince, it should be the final decision.

Whether Qi Mu or Xiao Yu, they put their hopes on him.

He patiently listened to everyone's back and forth arguments, and finally, under the gaze of dozens of pairs of eyes, he said lightly: "It's just for the sake of inheriting the lineage and continuing the bloodline, as Wei Shangshu said, Mrs. Zhao is very suitable, since the prince is also willing, this The uncle is not against it, if the Zhao family agrees, this matter might as well be settled as such."

"Your Majesty!" Qi Mu's eyes widened in shock, and he could hardly believe his ears.

Previously, he also felt that although this young emperor was flamboyant, he somehow understood the stakes. Now he wants to condone the marriage between the prince and the Zhao family. Isn't this sending military power directly to the East Palace!

Xiao Yu also felt unbelievable.

He originally thought that Xiao Kezhi would not agree easily, I am afraid it would take a lot of trouble, and he even thought about it. If it is not possible, he will use some extraordinary means, but he did not expect to be approved so easily.

For some reason, he always felt that all this had come too smoothly, except that Chu Ning's sudden departure was out of the established trajectory, everything else went so smoothly that he was a little shocked.

But the arrow was on the string, and he had to send it. He had to press down the strangeness in his heart and respond in public.

"Okay." Xiao Kezhi glanced at everyone expressionlessly, and when his eyes passed Qi Mu's shocked and dissatisfied expression, he didn't stop for a moment, "Let's discuss it here today."

Having said that, stand up and leave the Taiji Temple first.

In the afternoon, when the servants went to the Guizhen Temple to deliver their monthly expenses, they also sent the nourishing medicine prepared by Xiao Kezhi to Chu Ning's house.

"Ma'am, these are the orders of the sage to let Feng Yu personally select several tonic medicines, all prepared according to the old recipes. In daily use, the lady can warm the meridians and dispel cold, activate blood and remove stasis."

Chu Ning took it personally with a smile, and asked Cui He to make tea for the people who came, leaving the room to let them rest for a while.

After the people left, Cui He came back again, took out the medicines, looked at Fang Zi one by one, and said, "The saint is indeed kind to his wife, and all such things should be kept in mind."

When the contraceptive pills came, Liu Kang said that the pills were only used temporarily, and he would continue to think about them in the future. It was not a joke.

Chu Ning let out a faint "um" and absently remembered many details of getting along with Xiao Kezhi in the past half a year.

Cui He glanced at her, closed the door, and continued to whisper, "Miss, the inner official told the slaves and servants that today, the marriage of Mrs. Zhao and the crown prince is almost settled, and the Ministry of Rites and Zongzheng Temple will take care of the ceremony in a few days. It's done."

Having said that, he explained the general situation again.

"Yes, the Zhao family will naturally agree. Presumably, within three months, the marriage will be completed." Chu Ning put the roasted tea into the tea mill and carefully ground it, "By then..."

At that time, when everything is settled, Xiao Kezhi will take action and take down Xiao Yu and the Zhao family.

She didn't say the rest of the sentence, but Cui He took the sieve and handed it to her, and poured the ground tea onto the sieve for her.

"When the matter is over, can the lady think about what to do in the future?"

"Do you really want to waste half your life in the Taoist sect? The slaves think that the saint treats the lady with sincerity..."

Chu Ning paused for a moment while sifting the tea powder, then sighed and did not answer.

She did have the idea of spending the rest of her life in the Taoist sect. After all, being able to leave Xiao Yu was beyond her expectations. But thinking of Xiao Kezhi, she seemed really moved.

It's just that he didn't mention it and she didn't ask about the future. It's unknown what it will be like.

In the Baifu Hall, the Queen Mother Qi was so angry that she could not hold the Buddha beads in her hands. She was sitting upright with her eyes closed, breathing deeply and restraining her emotions.

Qi Mu also sat aside with a face full of anger, while Qi Chenxiang stood beside the queen mother, as still as a clay sculpture, motionless.

They all knew about the previous incident, and the maids had already rushed to the Nectar Palace to invite the emperor over.

"His Royal Highness, saints have always acted unruly. I'm afraid they will not come at all like the last time." Qi Mu waited for a while, his anger was hard to subside, and then he speculated coldly, "After so many years outside, no one taught me."

However, not long after the words fell, the maid outside said: "His Royal Highness, the saint is here."

Qi Mu shyly stopped, stood up and saluted Xiao Kezhi who was walking in.

"The queen mother asked me to come here at this time, but has something to say?"

After Xiao Kezhi raised his hand slightly, he sat down on the couch by himself, as if he didn't feel the stiffness of the atmosphere.

"Hmph, doesn't your majesty have anything to say to me?" Empress Qi opened her eyes with a cold smile and said, "If the Zhao family and the East Palace are mixed together, your majesty thinks that the court situation is too stable, Or don't you put the Bozhou Army in your eyes?"

"Why, the queen mother has doubts about my will? If you say a word or two as an elder, it will be fine, but if you want to interfere with my decision, there is no need."

He glanced at it lightly, and there was a warning in his calm words, but the anger that Queen Mother Qi couldn't contain finally burst out.

"Rokuro! Do you think that you can leave others behind now that you have grown your wings?" She slapped the table hard, and the Buddha beads in her hands hit the hard wood, and the thread was broken by the toss. After the sound, it fell to the ground.

Qi Mu also couldn't help standing up, and warned with a sullen face: "Your Majesty, don't forget, it was my Qi family who supported His Majesty to ascend to the throne, and the Queen Mother is His Majesty's first-mother. you come down!"

He had been holding back these words for a long time in his heart, and he finally couldn't help but say them today. If this young emperor does not give some warnings, I am afraid that he will become more and more unrestrained.

"Okay, Daxianggong speaks carefully." The Queen Mother Qi glanced at him. Even so, there was no dissatisfaction in her tone, and she seemed to agree with his words.

"Really?" Xiao Kezhi raised his eyebrows, as if he didn't pay attention to their warnings at all, "I don't know how the Empress Dowager and Qi Xianggong will let me down? With the Queen Mother's next will? Or let the courtiers impeach the emperor?"

Empress Dowager Qi was so angry that her chest could not stop heaving, and the slack flesh on her face became more and more drooping: "You don't believe it? My will may not be enough, and the impeachment of the courtiers may not be enough, but don't forget your throne. Who did you steal it from, your eldest brother is in front of you, if someone points out that your title is not right and your words are not right, it was stolen from your nephew, can you still sit firmly?"

Xiao Keyi didn't speak for a while, quietly looking at the two people in the room with a hint of surprise on his face.

Qi Mu thought he looked like this, but he felt scared when he understood the greatness of it, and he couldn't help feeling a little more at ease, and he calmed down, saying: "Your Majesty, it's not a good thing to condone the East Palace like this, for Your Majesty's own sake, you can't Sitting by the East Palace to marry the Zhao family."

"Liulang, you should be a sensible person. The Crown Prince is not your own blood, so how can you be one with you?" The Queen Mother Qi continued, "Since you are supported by my Qi family, I will naturally stand by your side, but only , you can't always let me down."

Xiao Kezhi pondered for a while before saying: "I understand what the empress dowager means, do I want to distance myself from the prince and get close to the Qi family, it is best to marry a girl from the Qi family and give birth to a prince to replace the current East Palace? "

Qi Chenxiang, who had always stood by and said nothing, was caught off guard by being mentioned, her hand hanging by her side couldn't help clenching her skirt, and subconsciously she wanted to refute.

But before the words could be said, Xiao Kezhi's expression suddenly changed, he stood up suddenly, looked down at the two of them coldly, and said sternly: "The queen mother and Qi Xianggong are using the throne of Great Liang as their bargaining chip, and I will be my bargaining chip. Do you have a marionette in your hand? Unexpectedly, for half a year, you still haven't understood that I am not the first emperor and will not be at your mercy!"

He said, strode to the door, opened the door, and shouted outside the hall: "Come on!"

After a while, there was a sound of neat footsteps outside the Baifu Hall, from far to near, accompanied by the clanging sound of armor and swords colliding, which shocked people.

In just a few moments, Jin Jiang arrived with hundreds of Qianniu guards who were strong and determined, and surrounded the entire Baifu Hall inside and out.

"You! What is this going to do!" Empress Dowager Qi looked at the dazzling knives and spears that could not be counted outside the hall, she was frightened and frightened.

"Don't worry, the queen mother, I won't do anything. But I want the queen mother and Qi Xianggong to see who the Qianniu Guards of Taiji Palace, and even the whole city defense army of Chang'an City, and even the Jinwu Guards in the street market listen to. It's been half a year, don't you understand?"

Xiao Kezhi took the knife in Jin Jiang's hand unhurriedly, turned around and approached the two of them step by step, stopped under their gradually difficult breathing and terrified eyes, waved the knife casually, and took the knife beside him. The screen splits.

"Yes, when I was able to ascend to the throne, I did have the support of the Queen Mother and Qi Xianggong. But if the Qi family does not support me, is there nothing I can do?" He shook his head, his tone was full of contempt and confidence, " I just need to bleed more."