Originally, Yun Fenghuang had certain expectations for the Empress Dowager's promise to talk face to face within two days.
But the death of Qian's mother and daughter made her angry and wary.
After all, the death of Shan Yuan Guan Taoist Master and Disciple, although it cost two lives, did not cause any disturbance either in the palace or in the temple.
In other words, no one cares at all.
Many people don't even know this is happening.
Because during the Chunjia Dynasty, although the relationship between Shanyuan Temple and the royal family was not completely severed, it can be said that it fell out of favor early.
Under such circumstances, a Taoist temple with a prominent past would not have been closely watched by all parties.
At most, relevant people, or caring people like Yun Fenghuang, would pay attention to his every move.
As long as the Empress Dowager had some good intentions, even if she just didn't want to fall out, she would just silence the little Taoist nun, master and apprentice, but why would she want to kill Qian's mother and daughter
The purpose of Qian's mother and daughter was very clear from the beginning to the end, which was to leave the Taoist temple and return home early, so that their husbands or fathers would not be seduced by the beautiful maid given by the emperor, which would affect their future lives.
Yun Fenghuang didn't think they would hide their income from their own people.
So everything Qian and his daughter knew, they had already told Yun Fenghuang.
So why should Qian and her daughter be silenced? Are you afraid of their confrontation? Or is it that the secret that Yun Fenghuang's master and servant have not been able to discover so far is so important that no trace can be left behind
No matter which one it was, Yun Fenghuang now had no hope for the next interview with the Empress Dowager.
But she didn't intend to give up either.
"The Empress Dowager has been indifferent to the second and third princes over the years and has never cared about her." Yun Fenghuang mused, "I'm afraid it will be useless to threaten her from these two princes, and one of them is not good. Let Your Majesty know about it, so you don’t have to be suspicious..."
After all, she is a "loving mother" who treats all the emperor's heirs well.
How could you threaten your elders with the prince
"Other than that, it seems that Ji's posthumous name can make a difference... However, when His Majesty personally did this, the Empress Dowager did not take any drastic actions."
The imperial concubine felt in trouble. She seemed to have nothing that could threaten the Empress Dowager
This is difficult to talk about.
Although the Empress Dowager probably had nothing to do with her, if it was a draw, it would be her own loss!
"If the death of Taoist nun Shan Yuan Guan and the death of Qian's mother and daughter were all caused by the Empress Dowager, then the news they reported before must have something fatal for the Empress Dowager..." Yun Feng Huang thought about it and thought that he should study the news carefully, "What is the key point? And what is the handle?"
She is still too young and of low origin.
He only started to be exposed to court affairs when he entered the palace at the age of fifteen. At that time, Chunjia had been on the throne for eight years.
Not to mention the time of King Sejong, even Shenzong Xiaozong was very far away to her.
So much so that among the old people serving her, the oldest one... Wait!
Yun Fenghuang suddenly thought that after entering the palace, he first sought refuge with Empress Yuan Ji Lingzi. As a result, his status was continuously promoted, and the number of people he served also began to increase.
but…
There are never any old people serving.
You must know that the Empress Dowager came from the time of Shizong. The palace was so big that no matter how languid the people were during the time of Shizong, it was impossible to say that there were only three or two... But in front of Yun Fenghuang, the oldest one was from the time of Xiaozong. He came here, and Xiaozong was still a humble envoy at that time, so he didn't know any secrets at all.
Was this a coincidence, or was he on guard at that time
But her position and qualifications at that time were worthy of such calculations by someone who was qualified to arrange servants for her? The servants at that time were nominally arranged by the Empress Yuan, but given Ji Lingzi's status, it was impossible for him to personally interrogate every candidate. At most, I can tell you how much sand to mix.
The specific operation should be done by the steward in front of Queen Yuan.
It's just that after Ji Lingzi left the palace, these people were scattered to death, and there was no news about them.
"Come here." Yun Fenghuang ordered, "Go and check the people in the palace of Empress Yuan. Are there any who are still alive today? If so, where are they? Find a way to bring them here to talk to me."
Although I know that after so many years of searching, there is probably no hope, but maybe there is a fish that has slipped through the net
Yun Fenghuang thought about it and added, "There are also Ji Muzi's personal attendants and some old people who have served the Ji family in the past... especially those who were there during the reign of Emperor Shizong. They all tried to find out."
She has been well established in the palace over the years, and no one dares to disobey her once she gives an order.
The next day, I looked for some people to reply, but there was no trace of those who had served Empress Yuan, Ji Muzi, and commoner Ji Sheng.
The people who came now were the slaves who had been in the palace during the reign of King Sejong, and most of them were of low status... Those with high status estimated that they would have been implicated in the turmoil in the palace over the years, and would not end well.
After all, during the reign of King Sejong, those who tended to be Sejong and his favored heirs would definitely not be lenient after Shenzong ascended the throne.
Shenzong was favored during the time. After Xiaozong ascended the throne, he had to replace him with one of his own. Later, Xiaozong lost the power struggle to the Ji family, so those who supported Xiaozong would not take it lightly, and those who remained from Shenzong did not say that they did not support the old master. His son's death was also a thorn in Ji's side.
When the Ji family collapsed, Chunjia took over the power, and the purge was even more thorough...
Yun Fenghuang regretted in her heart that her background was too low. After entering the palace and being favored, she had to worry about everything. At that time, there were so many urgent things waiting for her that it was impossible to cover everything.
He actually ignored the clues in this regard.
At this moment, I can only suppress my depression and ask questions one by one.
Because they didn't know the key points, they could only tell them what they knew about Sejong, Shenzong and even Xiaozong in detail, and look for clues themselves.
The imperial concubine herself did not have time to deal with such a large number of people, so after asking some general questions, she asked Qingren and others to record the confessions, while she waited for everyone to finish speaking and then read through the records.
"Empress, there is something very strange." When the lights were on, Chie went inside with a stack of rice paper to look for Yunfenghuang and said, "Many old people said that the late Emperor Shenzong was not favored by Shizong when he was young, and among the royal brothers She was also very silent. So when the marriage proposal reached the age, because the third successor happened to have died not long ago, and the fourth successor had not yet entered the palace, the concubines in the palace were fighting endlessly for the succession, and no one cared about it. Shenzong's marriage... Therefore, when Shenzong came to power, he went alone. It was not until Queen Qu was named as his successor that Shenzong married the Empress Dowager together with several other princes and princesses who had delayed life-long events due to lack of favor. "
At this time, Dan Cai was serving at the side. Hearing this, he was surprised and said: "What's so strange about this? Who among us doesn't know that the late Emperor Shenzong was not favored when he was the prince?"
Chie rolled her eyes at her, and handed the rice paper full of words to Yun Fenghuang, saying: "But the Ji family is a famous family since Dingding. As the legitimate daughter of the main branch, the Empress Dowager was in the imperial capital when she was not out of the cabinet. Among noble girls, their status is no worse than that of Gu Jue, Ke Chaoruo, Meng Posuo, Luo Di and others today! Do you think such an outstanding girl will have her turn with a prince who is as unfavored as the late Emperor Shenzong?"
"Seriously?" Yun Fenghuang took the rice paper and hurriedly looked through it. Sure enough, the old people who came here during Shizong's time all said that Shenzong was able to marry the Empress Dowager at that time, which surprised many people.
This situation is like the second, third, and sixth princes marrying one of Ke Chaoruo, Meng Posuo, and Luo Di.
It's hard to compare to Gu Jue, not only because the Gu family family is declining, but also because as the daughter of a descendant clan, Gu Jue has a natural closeness to the emperor's heirs, and may have a secret fate as their childhood sweethearts.
However, the Ji family did not have any daughters entering the palace during Sejong's reign. In other words, the Empress Dowager did not have the possibility of being in love with Shenzong before their wedding.
"Empress, there's one more thing." Chie whispered, "I just don't know whether it's true or not... An old slave said that he was responsible for cleaning in the cold palace at that time, oh, he is also now... So there was once a concubine who fell into poverty in the later years of Emperor Shizong. I learned from my mouth that Queen Qu and the Queen Mother were actually relatives. One of Queen Qu’s sisters-in-law was Ji’s daughter. However, Queen Qu and the Queen Mother themselves had no friendship before marrying into the royal family. On the contrary, the Queen Mother After the Queen Mother got married, she had a very close relationship with Queen Qu. There was even a period of time when one party got rare food and would send it to the other party... Therefore, after the late Emperor Shenzong ascended the throne and slaughtered relatives and relatives, the Qu family once appealed to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother came forward, but the Queen Mother ignored her."
"In the end, the Ji daughter who married into the Qu family was taken away, and her children were not even taken care of."
"That Ji's daughter was the cousin of the Empress Dowager. She said she hanged herself not long after she returned..."
Yun Fenghuang pondered.
"Does the Empress Dowager have any hidden illness?" Dan E guessed, "Otherwise, it would be impossible for a noble daughter of this status to marry an ordinary prince?"
Yun Fenghuang said: "No, if the family loves their daughter and doesn't want to get involved in right and wrong, it wouldn't be bad to marry a prince who seems to have no future or ambition and become a princess. But as far as Ji is concerned, this palace From what I know about Duke Ye and others, the family tradition does not necessarily mean that they feel sorry for their daughter. But if there is any hidden illness that the Empress Dowager has... we haven’t heard of it all these years?"
For a noblewoman of the Empress Dowager's level, common illnesses are actually trivial matters.
The most deadly thing is the offspring.
But it is true that the Empress Dowager herself did not have many children. The problem was that Shenzong also had other concubines, and the three palaces and six courtyards only gave him two sons in total.
Looking at their two sons, Xiaozong and the Regent, they both had few heirs... It would be unreasonable to say that the pot came from the Empress Dowager.
Therefore, the Shenzong lineage is not happy, and it is estimated that the source is still Shenzong.
Maybe there is something wrong with his body, or maybe there is really some retribution somewhere.
In addition to the heir, what other hidden problems made Ji agree to "cheap" the noble daughter who had been carefully cultivated to Shenzong
"It's also possible that the Ji family saw the potential of Shenzong." The imperial concubine thought for a moment and said slowly, "After all, although Shenzong was in a bad situation at the time, he was able to successfully seize the reserve in the end, which shows his qualifications."
If you were betting, it wouldn't be surprising to choose a noble lady with a good reputation.
As for Shenzong's situation at that time, no one was taking care of the marriage, and the new stepmother had to fulfill her duties as a legitimate mother before she could get married. How did she get noticed by Ji under such circumstances... It's not something that these old people who are lucky enough to be alive today can know. Yes.
Chie looked at her thinking for a long time, raised his head and motioned for him to continue, and then said: "Furthermore, Shenzong and the Empress Dowager have always been in harmony, with almost no disputes. Shenzong also loved the late Emperor Xiaozong very much. It can be said that they were obedient and doting on them. Plus. Although I have to be a little more indifferent to the regent, I love him overall. I often personally take care of my food, daily life, and schoolwork."
Generally speaking, in the eyes of the old palace people, although the royal family during Shenzong's time was artificially depleted, the atmosphere was actually very good.
The emperor and empress are in harmony, there is nothing wrong in the harem, the father is kind and the son is filial... it is warmer than ordinary people's homes.
Until the arrival of Crown Princess Ji Sheng.
An old palace lady told a piece of news that surprised the imperial concubine's master and servant: "She said she had heard rumors, but she didn't know whether it was true or not: the Empress Dowager actually doesn't like Ji Sheng, a commoner."
"How is this possible?" Dan E couldn't help but say, "They are our direct aunts and nephews! And when something happened to Ji Sheng, a common man, the Empress Dowager looked like she didn't like her niece?"
Yun Fenghuang asked: "Do you know who was spreading this news in the first place? Is there any specific deeds to prove it?"