At this time, Empress Ji had returned from Mianfu Palace. She changed out of the Queen's Zhai clothes that she had worn to invite An, and she only wore a lilac palace dress, blue silk and pine ribbon, with hibiscus flowers inlaid with red agate treasures, and two bamboo and plum blossoms. With Ganoderma lucidum on the green hairpin, she led the palace guests slowly up the steps. A pair of inch-long red gold pendants beside her ears barely moved, showing her dignity.
"Poor Jian'er, why did you swim to Xiao Penglai?" Empress Ji held the palace attendant's hand and sat down in the upper phoenix seat. Fang raised her eyes to look at Yun Fenghuang, who was already kneeling under her, and said coolly. , "This morning I heard Concubine Shu say that you hadn't seen me all night. I was really shocked! Fortunately, you are safe and sound. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how to explain it to the Empress Dowager."
It’s okay to just listen to this. Yun Fenghuang just jumped out of the Shalu Pavilion yesterday. I’m afraid the Zhonggong got the news, otherwise why would I be taking care of the Sixth Palace
"Your Majesty, please forgive me." Yun Fenghuang had an obedient look on his face and kowtowed before saying timidly, "I felt very embarrassed after accidentally falling into the water yesterday. I originally thought of swimming a little way and then quietly going ashore to clean up a bit. I will go and apologize to His Majesty later, so as not to be disgraceful in front of the Emperor. But I didn’t expect that I was swimming in the wrong direction. If I hadn’t accidentally bumped into Little Penglai, I’m afraid… I’m afraid I’d never see the empress again!”
Empress Ji lowered her eyes and looked at her: "Accidentally fell into the water? But I heard that Your Majesty accidentally dropped the jade into the Taiye Pond. You volunteered to retrieve it for His Majesty?"
... Chunjia this bastard!
We'll see! ! !
Yun Fenghuang was resentful in his heart, but his face was confused: "Your majesty's jade fell into the Taiye pool? I was busy performing a dance for your majesty at the time, but I didn't notice... I really deserve to die!"
The Queen said: "Oh? So you never said that you would get jade for His Majesty?"
Then he turned around and told a palace maid to go to Taichu Palace and ask Jiang Lan, the chamberlain in front of Emperor Chunjia, to come over and talk, "I have to ask clearly what is going on."
Yun Fenghuang wanted to take the opportunity to mention Nianxuan. The night had passed, and he still didn't know what the situation was like for this maid... But wait! Although the current situation is not particularly dangerous, with Nian Xuan's mind, no one knows whether she is a friend or an enemy when she comes, right
She remained silent, and the queen waved a chambermaid forward, gave a few instructions in a low voice, and watched him leave in a hurry like a palace maid. Fang sat up straight and continued to ask Yun Fenghuang about his experience last night: "Sha Green Pavilion is far away from Xiao Penglai, but it is relatively close to Xiao Fanghu and Xiao Yingzhou. Why did you land at Xiao Penglai? If you go to Xiao Fanghu and Xiao Yingzhou, you can save some effort."
"At first I wanted to go ashore near Yijia Palace." Yun Fenghuang lowered his eyebrows and said, "But then it got late and I mistook the vegetation in Xiao Penglai for the woods in front of Yijia Palace."
Yijia Palace is a palace near Yanfu Palace, diagonally opposite Taichu Palace across Taiye Pond. Like Yanlan Palace and Tongxia Palace, it was the residence of high-ranking concubines in the past dynasties.
However, there are many vacancies in the high-ranking concubines of the country. There is no chief at the moment, and there are only a few concubines in the side hall.
For this reason, the tightness of the garrison near it cannot be compared with palaces such as Zhonggong, Yanlan Palace, and Tongxia Palace where the chiefs of good background live.
Yun Fenghuang wanted to sneak ashore, so it was reasonable to choose this place.
But Empress Ji did not completely dispel her suspicion: "Really? Then you should be Xiao Penglai who went to bed not long after nightfall. Why did Xiao Penglai's steward say that he didn't report to the palace maid until nearly dawn when he found you?"
"My clothes were soaked at the time, and I didn't know who was on the island." Yun Fenghuang showed a look of embarrassment, "So after landing on the shore, I didn't dare to show my face immediately. I tried to clean up the situation before going out to look for people. . And the palace maid named Liu Hong saw that my clothes were still wet, and she was shivering from the cold. She hurriedly provided hot water for me to bathe and change clothes. She was busy around me for a while, and then she went to the aunt in charge to report... Do you think this delayed the time?"
Empress Ji took a sip of tea and said calmly: "This is really a lot of trouble."
"I have troubled you, the Queen, and I deserve death." Yun Fenghuang quickly apologized.
The queen was about to speak when the maid who had just been sent to invite Jiang Lan came in, leaned down and said, "My dear, Eunuch Jiang is here."
"Didn't you say please?" Empress Ji raised her chin slightly, "Why are you still so negligent?"
The Queen's words were very polite, but her demeanor was distant. This is not surprising. Jiang Lan was a confidant of Emperor Chunjia. He was a minor servant and a direct descendant brought from Fuyang County. He was not from the same faction as the empress.
In addition, this man had witnessed the childhood sweethearts of Emperor Chunjia and Concubine Yue. Although he had always respected Empress Ji very much, he also took good care of Concubine Yue in private. It would be strange if Empress Ji had a crush on him.
Jiang Lan came in after a while. He was two years older than Emperor Chunjia, but half a head shorter than the emperor. His stout figure seemed a bit powerful, and his pursed lips revealed a bit of stubbornness. He bowed in a formal manner, and Without raising his head or looking at Yun Fenghuang who was still kneeling, he only respectfully asked the queen what her orders were when summoned
"There's nothing else to do." Empress Ji looked very kindly and said slowly, "It's just the jade that His Majesty asked Yun Chenggui to fish for yesterday. Yun Chenggui found nothing. I just asked the palace to go to Salv Pavilion to see it. But I only caught some broken jade, I wonder if it is the piece His Majesty threw away?"
While he was talking, the chamberlain who had been ordered by the queen came in from the door. He was holding an ebony lacquer tray with a gold brocade handkerchief on it, and four or five pieces of jade were placed in a mess, all stained with water. The beads looked like they had just been washed, but they still smelled like water.
The waiter handed the tray to Jiang Lan with a bright smile: "Eunuch Jiang, please take a look."
Jiang Lan was startled when he heard this. He didn't look sideways at first, but subconsciously glanced at Yun Fenghuang not far away, and hesitated: "This... looks a bit like it?"
"Then Eunuch Jiang should take a good look at it." Empress Shangshou Ji chuckled, "Yun Chenggui, who stayed out all night, has returned. I will deal with it later... His Majesty's jade is more important at this moment. After all, Your Majesty has always Genhou, if an ordinary object is lost, how can you be willing to let Chenggui go into the water to retrieve it personally? Since you agreed yesterday, it must be a beloved thing, and you have to find it back no matter what."
At this point, he raised his eyebrows and said, "Why is Eunuch Jiang waiting for Your Majesty all day long? He can't tell whether these jade fragments are the jade Your Majesty fell into the Taiye Pond yesterday?"
"... This slave deserves to die." Jiang Lan's expression changed slightly, and he knelt down quickly, "Your Majesty has several pieces of jade with a similar color and texture. The ones in front of you are broken and not complete, so I couldn't recognize them for a while."
Empress Ji said "Yes": "Eunuch Jiang, you might as well take a look. If this is your majesty's piece of jade, I will continue to trouble your father-in-law to describe its appearance, and ask a jade craftsman to do something similar to comfort your majesty! If it weren't for your majesty, Of course... of course someone has to go down and look for it. Father-in-law, do you think this is true?"
Jiang Lan felt sweat on his forehead: "That's what the Queen said."
He bravely picked up a piece of broken jade, looked at it for a moment, and said, "To tell you the truth, this is exactly the jade pendant that Your Majesty dropped..."
Before he finished speaking, Yun Fenghuang suddenly said: "Madam, Eunuch Jiang is talking nonsense. I saw you clearly yesterday. Your Majesty didn't drop anything into Taiye Pond at all!"
At this point, if she still couldn't tell that Empress Ji wanted to take advantage of the situation and get rid of Jiang Lan, Emperor Chunjia's right-hand man, then why would she still be in the palace
Yun Fenghuang would never miss this opportunity for revenge that came to his door. As the saying goes, he could kill him while he was sick, so he immediately added insult to injury, "And I accidentally fell into the water while performing a dance for His Majesty. Where can I go?" Is there anything about fishing for Peiyu! This is all because Eunuch Jiang has ulterior motives and wants to kill me... I was in the water for a long time yesterday, but no one came to rescue me. I originally thought that Taiye Pond was vast and no one was looking for it. Concubine, now it seems that it was Eunuch Jiang who did it on purpose!"
Jiang Lan was shocked. He didn't expect that Yun Fenghuang would break up with him, the imperial chamberlain, so quickly. He couldn't help but retorted angrily: "Chenggui, please be careful what you say! I have no enmity with you, so why do I want to murder you?" !”
"I also feel very puzzled." Yun Fenghuang lowered his eyelashes slightly, looking very sad, and said quietly, "Since I entered the palace, I have considered myself to be cautious in my words and deeds..."
Her face was not red, her heart was not beating, and she said without changing her expression, "I serve the master very conscientiously and never dare to slack off! Even yesterday I was called to accompany the driver at Shalu Pavilion, and before departure, I also went to the main hall to say hello... But It seems that Concubine Yue doesn’t like me very much?”
These words may seem aggrieved, but in fact they imply that Jiang Lan is looking out for Concubine Yue, so of course there is a reason to murder Yun Fenghuang. Who in the Sixth Palace doesn't know that Concubine Yue is just eager to peel off Yun Fenghuang's skin at this moment? Oil pan
"You bastard!" Without waiting for Jiang Lan to defend himself, the Queen turned her face like a book. She suddenly slapped the phoenix throne and shouted, "Who gave you the courage to do this to the Empress Dowager's daughter-in-law who was appointed by the Imperial Majesty to be appointed by the royal family? ?!”
"What's the point of using the royal treasure as a raft?"
"Do you want to rebel?!"
"...I forgive you!" Jiang Lan lay on the ground, shaking like chaff, begging for mercy over and over again, "Slave... I have been wronged..."
Empress Ji sneered: "Unjustly accused? You kept saying that His Majesty left the jade, and Yun Chenggui volunteered to go get it and then disappeared. What's the result? I asked someone to smash a piece of jade and bring it up, and you actually admitted it! It can be seen that there was no such thing as a jade before. It’s just nonsense! If that’s the case, why do you have the face to cry out for injustice?!”
She frowned, with a look of hatred on her face, "When the Empress Dowager insisted on letting you stay with His Majesty, she thought you were loyal and diligent and could serve His Majesty well. What happened? Do you deserve the Empress Dowager's trust?! Is it worthy of His Majesty’s love over the years? Is it worthy of the trust of this Palace?!”
The queen asked the powerful one, but in the end she didn't do anything to Jiang Lan, who was almost paralyzed on the ground. She just asked him to be pulled away and sent to Chunhuo Palace, "You are the person given to His Majesty by the Empress Dowager, my loving mother. It is not good for me to act on behalf of others." , I will send you to see your loving mother, the Queen Mother, and ask her for instructions!"
When Jiang Lan's cry and begging for mercy gradually faded away, Empress Ji picked up the already cold tea and touched it to her lips. She glanced at Yun Fenghuang, who had been well-behaved throughout the whole process, and then changed her face to an amiable smile: "Why are you still kneeling? ?Get up quickly."
Yun Fenghuang said hurriedly: "I am ashamed of myself..."
"It's all because of that villain." Queen Ji waved her hand, "I can't blame you, but I, the queen, didn't take good care of you. How many days have you been in the palace? It's so exciting that you can't have a stable life. "
"Empress..." Yun Fenghuang quickly tried to figure out whether the Queen's words were purely pretentious, or whether it was a hint that he had gone through enough troubles since entering the palace and it was time to settle down for a few days, so he stopped talking and listened to the Queen. He said: "Forget it, that's the end of the matter, let's not talk about this."
After thinking for a while, he said, "I told you yesterday that I would promote you to the throne. I planned to announce this morning when I said hello that I didn't want you to live in Penglai, so I just came here now. In this way, I don't have to go back. We have to wait until tomorrow! I will ask someone to do it later."
Yun Fenghuang hurriedly thanked her, and kept saying that the empress was generous and kind, because she was young and well-spoken, and even if she knew it was intentional flattery, it was comforting to hear.
"It's not a problem that high positions in the palace are always vacant." Empress Ji looked at it and was in a good mood. She took a sip of the tea that the palace maid had just changed and said softly, "After all, are you people invited to the palace by courtesy? The flowers and birds brought back a few months later are different, I should serve His Majesty more attentively and think that I will share your worries!"
The queen drew the cake casually, but she was thinking that Yun Fenghuang dared to challenge her as the head of the family just after entering the palace, which shows that she is unruly and unruly. Although it seems respectful and undisciplined now, it will be hard to say in the future...
She lowered her eyes and gave an encouraging smile to the young concubine who was still expressing her loyalty to His Highness. She secretly said that she had been promoted to two levels in just a few days after entering the palace. He should be held down for a year and a half, grinding. Only when the edges and corners are flattened and you know how to be respectful can it be used.
Having made up his mind, he was about to send Yun Fenghuang away when someone from the palace came to report that it was his loving mother, the Queen Mother.