The day after Xie Wuzheng left the palace, he sent an unfamiliar maid into the palace, saying that she wanted to give the imperial concubine some local products brought by her servants from the north.
As direct cousins, it was normal for the imperial concubine and the consort of Sui'an to interact with each other. Not to mention that after the fall of the Xie family, the relationship between the siblings became even closer, so no one became suspicious and they were brought to the Huanhua Palace smoothly.
In the hall, Yun Fenghuang was holding a tea bowl and slowly looking at the people below.
This maid looked older, in her thirties, but she still had her hair styled in the unmarried style. Her appearance could only be described as fair and fair, not beautiful.
He has a low eyebrow and looks very honest.
After she entered, she bowed respectfully and handed the local products brought in as a cover to the imperial concubine. Then she said: "My servant Ji Qin, I have given birth to a son of the Ji family, and I have been ordered to serve the prince-in-law for ten years."
"Ten years?" Yun Fenghuang did the math and said, "It has been thirteen years since I entered the palace, and in the same year my consort went to the imperial capital to prepare for the exam. So, you went to him later?"
"Yes." Ji Qin said calmly, "After all, the empress was at the height of her popularity at that time. Although all the children of the Xie family together were not as stunning and talented as the empress alone, the rising tide lifts all boats. When the consort and the consort first entered the imperial capital, none of them were looked at from all directions. At that time, it was not difficult to seduce people to the Prince Consort and the others, but it was difficult to hide it from others, especially His Majesty and His Majesty. How could the Master make such a mistake after being in power for many years? Three years later, Chunjia In ten years, the empress's position in the palace is stable, and the marriage between the prince-in-law and the eldest princess has been decided. At this time, who will care if the prince-in-law adds two servants to him?"
"Even if someone thinks that people like the maid are particularly capable, they will think of the empress instead of the Ji family."
"After all, the empress only worked for Empress Yuan for a short period of time. Later, she switched to His Majesty and spared no effort to step on the Ji family... Who would have thought that the Ji family's most important people are all in front of and behind the emperor's saddle?"
Yun Fenghuang nodded and said: "Sure enough, none of the high-ranking families can use fuel-efficient lamps! This dirty trick under the lamp is due to my negligence."
"Why do you need to belittle yourself?" Ji Qin shook his head and said, "Although the empress is a female and has talents in the city, she is deeply admired by everyone in the master's family. Otherwise, the master's family would not have just thought that the building was about to collapse. The empress has been chosen as a channel for the master’s family to seek justice from the royal family.”
"If not for the fact that the empress has been firmly holding onto Sheng Chong all these years, and has suppressed the Gu family and other dignitaries who are closely related to the harem, they would not have been able to hide themselves so well in the first place. Even the Imperial City Division doesn’t know anything about it!”
"Secondly, the maidservants act normally, and it is impossible for them to act quickly and smoothly under the guise of the empress."
"The master's family missed a chess move back then and chose the current heir to the throne as Xiaozong's heir."
"So much so that there is danger of overthrow!"
"But at the critical moment, I still looked viciously."
"The chosen queen, you are a first-rate master."
"Therefore, please don't be upset or angry. Your age and background are so different from your master's family background and age."
"In the final analysis, this is a deliberate calculation by the master who took advantage of the crisis before the queen's wings were full. If the queen had not suffered too much in the family world at that time, she was eager to promote her brothers, and because none of her brothers could compare with you. Even with one-tenth of the talent, the master’s plan may not succeed.”
"Your Majesty's talents, skills, and abilities are all highly respected by the Master."
She said gently, "So over the years, some of the remaining members of the master's family have tried every means to serve the empress... It's just that the empress herself is straightforward, so maybe she didn't notice it?"
"..." Yun Fenghuang squinted his eyes and stared at her for a while, and then said slowly, "I have been doing things very smoothly in the past two years, even including this time, everything has been calm. I also said Whether I am in good health or not, are you helping me in co-writing?"
"Your Majesty, the Ji family has given birth to three queens after all." Ji Qin said calmly, "Even after the Ji family was overthrown, the previous harems had gone through great purges, more than once. But back then, the Ji family had controlled the government for many years. Your Majesty, there are people like Duke Yi who insist on being loyal to Your Majesty... No matter how bad the Ji family is, being able to rule for three dynasties, of course there is something extraordinary about it. If you teach some people, you have to follow them even if they are shattered to pieces. Isn't it? Of course, maid When I say this, I don’t mean to express my gratitude to you. After all, with your methods, even if you don’t have any maids to help you, sooner or later you will be able to succeed in what you want to do.”
She said slowly, "After all, not everyone can be as cruel as the empress, using their own fertility, life, and even their own flesh and blood as bargaining chips to carry out cruel schemes."
Yun Fenghuang listened to this shocking sentence, but his expression remained unchanged. He only said slowly: "Compared with intrigues, I am just a junior after all. The Ji family is indeed a famous family. As early as thirteen years ago, I actually took a fancy to him. At that time, I didn’t even know whether I could survive the strife in the palace... But I am very curious: Since you thought that His Majesty would not let you go, what did you do to keep you from losing? Who is the person who presided over the three dynasties? Is the home of a top nobleman so useless?"
"Oh, I was wrong. You had your cousin's idea in advance, but you seemed to be sure that the Ji family would lose."
"But why?"
"Even though His Majesty has already taken charge of the government at that time, the Ji family still has a very powerful position in the harem of the former dynasty, doesn't it?"
"At that time, even His Majesty was not sure that he would win..."
"Ms. Ji, how do you know that you are destined to lose?"
"Did His Majesty take advantage of it?"
"But how can handle compare to a position of power? Even if Ji's handwriting was involved in Xiaozong's death, it's not like Ji can't quibble and deny... What is it that makes Ji's family, when the family is still in its prime, stand among the three? When the Phoenix Master was sitting high on the Phoenix throne, she felt that her chances of survival were slim, and she could only place her hope on me, a little girl who had just entered the palace at that time and had only taken the magic medicine to frame Ji Muzi in order to be named Jieyu. Concubine?!"
A trace of heaviness flashed across Ji Qin's face, and he did not answer the question directly. He only said: "Your Majesty is a smart person. Now that her cards have been shown, I will speak bluntly: There is actually no big grudge between the master's family and your Majesty. And Not to mention the several collaborations we had in private at the time, even now, it’s..."
"Wait a minute!" Yun Fenghuang stopped her and said harmoniously, "You said you had no grudges back then, so you just paid them back, but now there are no grudges? Then, hundreds of people in my Xie family died, could it be that they died because of bad luck? of?"
She didn't believe in Xie Wuzheng, but from the perspective of interests, since Xie had control over Xie Wuzheng, she would definitely have to find a way to make Xie Wuzheng's status higher than that of his brothers.
But just relying on his status as a consort, he still cannot surpass the many brothers, nephews and siblings of Yun Fenghuang's mother.
What's more, with Xie Jian and Jiang as parents, even if Yun Fenghuang thinks that Xie Wuzheng is more talented and worthy of cultivation, for the sake of his parents' face and listening to their parents' persuasion and pleas, it is impossible not to follow his brother. Nephews tilt resources.
After all, she is not Yun Qingman, whose father does not love her mother. She has been doted on by her children since she was a child. However, no matter how selfish a person is, they still have feelings for their family.
And these are things that Xie Wuzheng, a cousin who was not familiar with her before, cannot compare with.
Therefore, the Ji family has enough reasons and motives to destroy the Xie family.
Ji Qin said slowly: "Your Majesty, if my servant said that it was not Ji's fault, you would not believe it. I just ask you to think about it. With your intelligence, you never expected that the master's family would send someone to do this." People have convinced your cousin, but why bother to murder the Xie family and forge an eternal feud with you? Or do you really think that your cousin cannot resist the temptation, your half-brother, and even your biological sister-in-law? , nephews, nieces, all are devoted to you, can't they be persuaded by the master? Besides, with the master's ability, it is not difficult to convince them that they cooperate with the master and hide it from you, but also for you. good!"
"After all, please forgive me, my maid, for saying it bluntly: the three generations of the Xie family, the bells and whistles, and the beauty are all born in the mother-in-law's body."
"Except for the empress, the rest of us are just chickens and dogs, vulnerable to a single blow!"
Yun Fenghuang looked at her without getting angry or speaking.
Ji Qin paused for a moment and then continued: "The prince-in-law was just one of the main targets of the family at that time. There was another one, and I think the empress must have known about it at this time. He was your eighteenth brother from the same mother. Thank you Mr. Xiaoyu."
"That is the brother who has the best relationship with the empress. He is also a compatriot from the same mother and father. As long as he is alive, even if the Xie family is still in peace, there are several nephews and brothers who can surpass him and him in front of you. The legitimate son is going?"
The imperial concubine was silent, this was the truth, Xie Xiaoyu... the biological brother she had grown up with the most when she was young.
Even if he made a big mistake, he still left her with so much trouble.
But when she thought back, she felt hatred and resentment. Even if there was a glimmer of hope of saving him, she still couldn't bear to see him die.
In the final analysis, this brother is a bit stupid, but no matter how stupid he is, he is still a real brother.
Xie Wuzheng is completely incomparable.
"Then why did Eighteenth Brother lose his reputation and not even have a legitimate son?" The imperial concubine frowned, her thoughts turned around, showing some hope and expectation, "I heard that the consort and Ji's daughter have several heirs. , Xie Fuwang is one of them! That eighteenth brother...did he ever leave a son and a half daughter with you? "
Ji Qin didn't expect that she would think of this. He was startled for a moment, but felt a little regretful. He shook his head and said, "The eighteenth son-in-law is different from the prince-in-law. The prince-in-law has an alienated relationship with you, and he is unwilling to suppress his wife. Besides his ambition, Apart from his identity as the queen's cousin, he has no leverage, so leaving an heir with Ji's daughter is the consort's own request to show his sincerity."
"As for the 18th Young Master, he is the Queen's direct brother."
"To put it bluntly, the eighteenth son-in-law may not have any room for change when it comes to what the prince-in-law did!"
"In this case, why would the master use similar methods on the 18th Young Master?"
"The master just sent people to pretend to be aides who came to seek refuge with him, instructing the eighteenth son to kill his wife and son and remarry a noble daughter in order to get Cui Wan's care."
"But I never thought of killing the Eighteenth Young Master."
"The one who really did this was someone else."
Yun Fenghuang looked at her and asked slowly: "But I don't know, who is this person?"
"..." Ji Qin was silent for a moment, and finally said slowly, "Mother, do you really think that after the Xie family was destroyed, your consort and you suspected that the Gu family was the culprit, and that we framed it?"
The imperial concubine let out a short sneer: "At that time, I was full of resentment, plus I had no doubts about Xie Wuzheng, and even felt sympathy for Xie Wuzheng, so naturally I didn't think much about it. When I thought about this matter these past two days, I felt that there were many flaws. Others were not Let’s just say that if Mr. Gu had the ability to do such a big thing, how could he have suffered at the hands of me all these years?!”
"It's true that I, the Xie family, don't have a temple, but in the north, I am also a powerful person who was born and raised in the north!"
"It's not like ordinary people. He, Gu, can flatten and round them!"
"It's true that the Gu family alone can't do it." Ji Qin said calmly, "But what if... plus a Yun family?"
Yun Fenghuang's calmness was suddenly broken: "...what?"
Ji Qin said slowly: "Back then, His Majesty succeeded the late emperor as the king of the Yuanzhi vassal. He had the name of emperor but no actual emperor. He was just like a puppet. Apart from the Yuan family who were closely related to him, there was only Yiguo. The Duke unswervingly supports him. Although the Yun family has always been loyalists, the royalists are not limited to the Yun family. Your Majesty is not a close descendant of the Gongxiang family. When he came to the imperial capital, the ministers made it clear to him. There is not much emotion, and she is even more looking forward to the regent and his son. Have you ever thought about why Yun Zhao was so determined to send his only legitimate daughter to the palace as a concubine, and to send his only legitimate son to accompany him as a companion? , supporting His Majesty so unsparingly?"