Although Yun Fenghuang promised the emperor not to ask the Empress Dowager directly about Shan Yuan Temple, he did not do anything. He privately told Chen Jing to keep an eye on the people around the Empress Dowager to see if they went to Shan Yuan Temple. Or nearby.
On this day, Chen Jing came over to report in person and said: "Your Majesty, everyone in front of the Empress Dowager is waiting around, and no one went out without authorization. However, in the palace, there were two old palace servants who were cleaning in a remote place. Yesterday, they were But he found an excuse to take leave and went out of the palace to go to Shanyuan Temple."
"Oh?" Yun Fenghuang became more energetic, "The water went out over there, and now it's a mess. What did they do?"
Chen Jing said: "The two old palace men went to the ruins and seemed to be looking for something. After they left, I sent someone to search again, but found nothing. But judging from the places they focused on, It seems like he’s looking for a secret passage in a secret room or something.”
"Tomorrow, send more people, lead two mastiff dogs, and search again." Yun Fenghuang ordered, "And the two old palace men, we will take them down later and interrogate them. Just be smarter when you do it, so that the Queen Mother doesn't notice."
But when Chen Jing went there, it was already too late. Two old palace officials had already hanged themselves.
Yun Fenghuang frowned when he heard this: "At this time, the Empress Dowager is still so secretive?"
She told Chunjia about this, and Chunjia took advantage of the opportunity to visit the Empress Dowager and asked. However, the Empress Dowager was silent for a while and then she got tired of talking.
The emperor said to Yun Fenghuang afterwards: "She is also at her age, so it is best not to push her too hard."
The main thing is that she is his royal grandmother after all, so she can't be tortured
The Empress Dowager's current age and body cannot withstand punishment. Besides all kinds of methods, what does she, a dying old man, have to fear
Yun Fenghuang reminded: "Your Majesty, let's forget about it if we don't talk about Shan Yuan Guan. After all, it is a past event during the time of Emperor Shizong and Shenzong, and it may not have anything to do with us. But the matter of Minghui and the three sisters must be discussed with her. Ask? It’s impossible to say that the imperial grandmother didn’t know about this matter. But since the imperial grandmother knew it, how could she teach three outsiders to pretend to be golden branches and jade leaves? In these years, even Yun An’s daughter even stole the position of the princess. ?”
"If we don't ask the Royal Grandmother clearly about this matter, I'm afraid it will be difficult to know the truth in the future."
"That's what you said." Chunjia actually didn't have much curiosity about the past. After all, the grievances and grievances during Xiaozong's time, no, I should say from the last years of Sejong's reign, had the biggest impact on him, which was the Ji family's dominance.
After the Ji family was overthrown, his desire to get to the bottom of things inevitably faded away. After all, he was already the Nine-Fiveth Supreme, and the status and power of the Gongxiang family had been restored. Whether he knew the secrets of the past years or not, it had nothing to do with him. If I have the time to get to the bottom of it, I might as well batch a few more memorials.
At this moment, after listening to Yun Fenghuang's words, he pondered for a moment before saying, "Then I'll go and ask next time."
After thinking for a while, he said, "Let's go together in two days."
The Empress Dowager did not avoid the issue of the life experience of her three cheap granddaughters. Today she leaned on the hidden bag and listened to the emperor's indirect probing, and said calmly: "Minghui and the other three sisters? Oh, they are indeed not of Gongxiang's blood. .”
Her attitude was so frank and her determination was so straightforward that the emperor and empress were shocked.
Chun Jiacai said in a deep voice: "If the imperial grandmother didn't know about such a big thing as confusing the bloodline, it would be fine. Since she knew, why did she indulge in it for so many years?"
"It's just three girls." The Empress Dowager said lightly, "It's not like the palace has never raised daughters from outsiders over the years. For example, the queen's nieces have always been raised in the palace? The royal family lacks such a share. Salary, how many titles?"
The emperor said: "Although the queen's niece has been raised in the palace for many years, she does not pretend to be the emperor's daughter."
"Otherwise?" the Empress Dowager asked back, "Xiao Zong has three daughters but no son. How can we say that his fortune is bad? If he has nothing to do, how can he have a good reputation?"
"..." Chunjia pondered, "Is the late emperor in bad health?"
The Empress Dowager smiled briefly, with a strange look on her face, but did not answer the question directly, but said slowly: "They have only taken advantage of you in the past two years. You are also an emperor after all, can't you tolerate it?"
Chunjia frowned, not because he didn't want to continue to take advantage of his younger sister, but said: "It is not that the previous emperor had no heirs. Since the late emperor was in poor health and there were many descendants among the clan, why not just die before he died? Can step-heirs and daughters also enjoy the happiness of a family? But they only adopt the daughter of an outsider?"
This behavior is really puzzling.
If the three Minghui brothers were all descendants of Xiaozong, it would be understandable that Xiaozong had no stepchildren during his lifetime. After all, it was not that he could not have children, but he was just unlucky. The three of them were all daughters. Perhaps he delayed his efforts in the hope that he could still have a son. In the end, he wanted to succeed and establish the emperor's brother, but it was no longer possible.
Had to let go.
But what if Xiaozong knew from the beginning that he could not have children, so he hired three unrelated girls to serve as the emperor's daughters to confuse the public...
Then why doesn't he just adopt an heir and start a small business? ?
Is it possible that Xiaozong particularly wanted to establish the emperor's younger brother
Even so, Gong Xiangxiao should be adopted as early as possible!
At that time, Gong Xiangxiao was young and his step-concubine had not yet entered the family. He was deeply loved by the regent. In this case, Gong Xiangxiao became Xiaozong's heir. After he ascended the throne, he had to rely on his biological father for everything.
What's the difference between having the regent be the crown prince's younger brother
"..." The Queen Mother was silent, her eyes complex.
When Yun Fenghuang saw this, he rolled his eyes and suddenly said: "Royal grandmother, my grandson's daughter-in-law is also confused about something: Why did Ji Sheng, a common man, deliberately gain weight for Ming Hui? According to instructions, after Hui loses weight, she looks like Ji's daughter , how come you won’t be suspected of bloodline just because of your appearance?”
The Empress Dowager raised her eyelids and glanced at her, thought for a moment, and said slowly: "The Ai family is tired."
The emperor and empress frowned at the same time.
Yun Fenghuang said softly: "Why is the imperial grandmother doing this? The three so-called daughters of the late emperor are fake. My granddaughter-in-law and your majesty have known about this for a long time. In these days, I have been worried about you and have not revealed a word about it. Until now, no matter what the truth is, the overall situation is the most important thing after all. Is it possible that, knowing the ins and outs, we can still cause trouble for you? We must cover it up for you. But why do you still need to cover it up? "
"You are just asking for trouble for the Ai family now!" The Empress Dowager was silent for a moment and sighed softly, "The Ai family has also committed sins. At this age, why do I still meet you like this? ?”
"What the imperial grandmother said, although my grandson-in-law is not from a high family, she was taught filial piety by her elders since she was a child." Yun Fenghuang said nonchalantly, "I dare not be disrespectful to you at all."
The Empress Dowager looked at her: "The Ai family is not talking about anything else, but about Shan Yuan Guan... What does this have to do with you? Do those people have any grudges against you? You suddenly committed such a vicious attack!"
"Shanyuan Temple?" Yun Fenghuang looked puzzled, "My granddaughter-in-law knew about their affair, but this... How does this have anything to do with her? Think about it, she was in the palace at that time, How could he possibly kill Shan Yuan Guan when he was just abandoned and had no time to take care of himself? Besides, as you said, my granddaughter-in-law has no enmity with Shan Yuan Guan. Even if she wants to find trouble, she can't find fault with them!"
She even turned to look at the emperor, as if she had been greatly wronged, "Your Majesty, do you think this is the case? In those days, I was crying almost every day and was so uneasy... I didn't even bother to summon the children, let alone the children. Other things.”
Chunjia said expressionlessly: "Emperor Grandma, this matter should have nothing to do with the Queen."
The Empress Dowager smiled, but Quan Dang didn't hear this, but continued to ask Yun Fenghuang: "The Aijia thought about it later, and you probably don't know the inside story, but you just feel that it is very important, and you think you are in danger. , just muddy the water, right?"
"Royal grandmother, grandson-in-law really doesn't..."
She was interrupted before she finished speaking, and the Queen Mother said calmly: "But you really did something wrong this time."
After hearing this, Yun Fenghuang thought for a while, then immediately stopped his shyness and said seriously: "I would like to hear the details!"
The Empress Dowager stared at her for a while, then smiled slightly: "The Ai family is tired."
After that, no matter what the emperor said, he turned over, faced inward, and ignored it.
"She did it on purpose!" Yun Fenghuang said angrily after leaving the door, "She must have done it on purpose!! She deliberately teased us!"
Chunjia's mouth twitched slightly.
Seeing this, Yun Fenghuang was dissatisfied: "Your Majesty, don't you have anything to say? If we don't figure out such an important matter now, who knows if there will be any trouble in the future?"
"I do have something to say." The emperor glanced at her and said calmly, "When you moved to Xuanqing Palace, you cried every day and felt uneasy? Really?"
Yun Fenghuang was startled for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, why did you change the subject? I am talking to you seriously..."
"I'm just telling you seriously." Chunjia snorted, "You just kept saying what you said was serious, but how come I heard that it's not the case at all? When you were in Xuanqing Palace, eat well, drink well, sleep well, and live well. It feels extra moist and relaxed, and even seems to be a little plumper because there is no need to take care of palace affairs?"
"..." Yun Fenghuang was speechless.
The emperor continued: "You are so skillful in lying in front of me, does it mean you have done this kind of thing often?"
Yun Fenghuang: "..."
Seeing her silence, the emperor snorted coldly: "It's been a while and you still haven't thought of an excuse?"
Yun Fenghuang: "..."
Chunjia sighed and said, "Or are you too lazy to think of an excuse?"
Yun Fenghuang: "..."
She calmed down and said, "What I just did was just to fool the Imperial Grandmother, and I didn't say it to His Majesty. Why should Your Majesty take it seriously?"
Chunjia nodded: "I understand, so what are your excuses to fool me? Huh?"
Yun Fenghuang: "..."
The queen pondered for a moment, and suddenly said softly, "Why are I fooling you? The reason why I was able to live a peaceful life at that time is because I thought you would definitely not ignore me?"
"You speak best when you feel guilty." Chunjia laughed, "But when I went to see you, that's not what you said!"