After being comforted and promised by Yun Fenghuang, Wei Hengyan calmed down and waited calmly for his daughter to be crowned a princess.
She even secretly discussed the title and Tang Muyi with her confidants, hoping to rely on her relationship with the imperial concubine to choose a good one for the prince.
After thinking about it for two days, she lost her mind.
Because King Chu's cold did not get better.
At this time, there is still a situation where a man in his prime has disappeared due to cold weather, let alone such a small child
The King of Chu started to have a fever the night before the Queen Mother came back. At that time, Gu Zhen felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy and watched the whole night in person.
If Chunjia had not had to get up early the next morning to go to Shanyuan Temple to welcome back the Queen Mother, she would have sent someone to notify Chunjia at that time.
Later, the Empress Dowager came back, and Chunjia also rushed to Woxia Tower to guard her only legitimate son with her personally.
Such a stay lasted for three days and three nights. During this period, the emperor and empress did not leave Woxia Tower for even half a step. Government affairs were passed in by Yan Yin and others so that Chunjia could handle them.
However, the emperor's hard work did not pay off. Even though the imperial hospital sent the best doctors specializing in children, after several rounds of diagnosis and treatment, the king of Chu still had a high fever.
When the news came out, the whole palace was in turmoil.
Even the always flamboyant imperial concubine Yun Fenghuang privately told her to restrain herself and not to get criticized in the limelight.
After all, once the legitimate son is lost, the eldest prince, as the eldest son of a concubine, is the most noble among the princes.
Queen Gu Zhen cannot give birth, but in the current situation, Chunjia may arrange for her to adopt the prince again as his legitimate son. At this time, there is no benefit to being arrogant and domineering, but it will cause endless troubles. Yun Fenghuang is not afraid of trouble, but there is no need to be stupid.
"It's been so long. Even if His Royal Highness King Chu is rescued, I'm afraid people will..." Although he didn't dare to go out and say anything, such a big matter still cannot be avoided in private. "How can I be a legitimate son? Come to think of it. It’s strange that the former Empress Dowager De was very reasonable when she came to cry. When His Highness King Chu was raised in Yijia Palace, he was younger than he is now, but he was always free from illness and disaster. Why did he appear like this when he arrived in front of the Empress? thing?"
"Is it possible that the blessings are too heavy and I can't bear them?"
"After all, we are also granted the title of king. Are we, His Highness the King of Qin, a good person?"
"Let me tell you, maybe it's because the Queen is not as blessed as our noble concubines and is unable to protect His Highness the King of Chu. That's why His Highness the King of Chu ended up like this?"
... These words seemed to be for Yun Fenghuang's sake, but if word got out, she would definitely be at the forefront of the storm.
Therefore, after receiving the report of the exposure, she immediately arrested the people she had discussed with, and publicly killed two of them with a cane as a warning. Finally, she was so frightened that she did not dare to murmur a word.
Compared with the imperial concubine's quick knife to cut through the mess, not all other palace concubines can restrain the palace people from gossiping.
Especially the newly promoted concubines who were born as concubines.
Fortunately, their palace maids also knew that their master came from a humble background and had a shallow foundation. Even if they discussed it, they would not dare to arrange a noble person like the queen and concubine randomly.
They were just surprised that the King of Chu was with the third prince. Why was the third prince fine but the King of Chu was so ill
Obviously, because the third prince and the second prince were twins and were born in the palace, they were much weaker than ordinary babies when they were born. However, they got better after being raised. As for the King of Chu, although Chen was only a concubine, as the first pregnant woman in Yijia Palace, there were already four princes and two princesses in the palace before giving birth, so her pregnancy was not impressive at all. The leader, Wei Hengyan, is not particularly kind, but he is not cruel either. He gives everything he deserves. He even called Mrs. Chen to talk to him from time to time because of his subsequent pregnancy. This is not for nothing. He will give some rewards every time. A nourishing food that only the master can enjoy.
In addition, King Chu was born at full term, and there were never any rumors that he was not strong enough.
Wei Hengyan wasn't particularly dedicated when raising him, but he was free from disasters and illnesses, wasn't he
In the hands of the queen, she was sick for the first time in half a year and seemed to be in recovery. This... They suspected that she was cursed
"Otherwise, there are so many imperial doctors on guard, and they say it's just an ordinary wind-cold, so why can't even the fever go away?" The palace people whispered, "You can't have a dignified imperial doctor who can't even treat ordinary children's wind-cold, right?"
"His Royal Highness the King of Chu is the only legitimate son... How can this not attract attention?"
"Stop talking, stop talking, this is no joke."
They discussed this quietly and told their most trusted friends respectively, so it soon spread throughout the palace.
Then he was reported to the emperor by the Imperial City Secretary.
Gu Zhen, who was already in a state of agony, collapsed immediately after hearing the news. He pulled Chunjia's sleeves and said, "Check! We must check! If someone really curses my son, I will kill her and the whole family!!!"
Chunjia's face was as dark as water and he said, "Let Sun Yu come over!"
But he didn't directly answer Gu Zhen's words.
He is not Gu Zhen. He cares about things without saying anything. Even if he doesn't mess up, he is usually easy to fool.
Chunjia's first reaction when he heard this was that someone wanted to take the opportunity to eradicate dissidents
Let me ask you, when the king of Chu was ill for many days and his fever did not subside, if someone stuffed some things that should not be in the enemy's room or other places, and then used the palace people to arouse the emperor's suspicion, when it was found out, what would happen to his enemy? Need to say
He is now angry about King Chu's condition. Who dares to use him as a gunman at this moment? Do you really think that he has lost his temper? !
Sun Yu arrived a moment later, and Chun Jia ordered him in front of Gu Zhen to conduct a thorough investigation of the Sixth Palace immediately. If anyone is found hiding a cursed object, he must keep a close eye on both the witnesses and the physical evidence. He should keep quiet and come over to report.
"Did your Majesty do this because you already guessed who did it?!" When Sun Yu took the order and left, Gu Zhen, whose eyes were red, couldn't bear it anymore and asked Chunjia, "Is your Majesty worried that the imperial concubine will not be able to stop it?"
Chunjia glanced at her: "Is the queen confused? How could the imperial concubine do this?"
Gu Zhen smiled miserably and said: "If it hadn't been for the noble concubine, who would be worthy of your majesty's protection? Oh, it could be Rou Kun? Is it Concubine Shu? In short, in your majesty's opinion, if the King of Chu is gone, he will be gone, right or wrong?" "
"The queen is too sad, she is probably confused." Chunjia said calmly, "Concubine Shu and Rou Kun have no children, what is the benefit of murdering the King of Chu? As for the noble concubine, it was her intention to make you the queen in the first place. It was your concubine who helped persuade Concubine De in private, so why should she bother the King of Chu?"
Although Yun Fenghuang was very much tempted to use this kind of excuse, Chunjia thought that Yunfenghuang was the one who was least likely to do it.
Not only because Gu Zhen and the fifth prince had the suggestion to become concubines today, but also because the princes were still young and none of the previous dynasties had proposed establishing a heir apparent.
Even if she kills the fifth prince, what's the point of making the eldest prince the most noble among the princes
The emperor valued the Gu family in one day, and ten or eight adopted princes died. As long as there was still a prince under Chunjia's knees, he would still hold him under the queen's knees and comfort him in Zhaowu's house.
Moreover, how much older is the eldest prince than the fifth prince? Although he has been free of illness and disaster so far, no one can guarantee that he will be able to grow up peacefully. Even if the adoptive mother Yun Fenghuang is very skilled, there are unforeseen circumstances. Like this time, the King of Chu said it was an ordinary wind and cold, but the heat never went away. Isn't it more dangerous
If Yun Fenghuang tried his best to kill the King of Chu now, but his son failed to grow up, who knows who would get the advantage in the end
Yun Fenghuang is so smart, how could he do such an unprofitable thing
Chunjia was in a bad mood now and was too lazy to tell Gu Zhen these details. He only said: "King Chu is the queen's son and my flesh and blood. He suffered such a crime at a young age. How can I not feel sorry for him? But the queen I am already in a state of confusion, do I want to follow in the chaos? What good will this do to the King of Chu?"
"Queen, please think about it carefully. I still have some government affairs to deal with, so I'll go first."
After the emperor walked away, Gu Zhen remained silent for a long time. He turned his head and asked his confidant who had just dared not express his anger: "You said... is he really not saying this just to protect that cheap maid Yun Fenghuang?"
The confidant said cautiously: "My servant feels that Your Majesty is not hypocritical. Furthermore, even if the Imperial Concubine murders His Royal Highness the King of Chu, she may not be able to have the last laugh. The Imperial Concubine is still young, and Your Majesty is also in the prime of life. In a short while, Why take the risk?”
Gu Zhen said sadly: "If it's not her, then who is it? As your Majesty just said, what good does it do for others to harm the King of Chu? Concubine Shu, Concubine De, Concubine Wan, has no children, and Concubine Xian and Concubine Shao are pregnant. , too busy to take care of themselves, I believe that they have no extra energy to scheme against others. Concubine An has fallen out of favor, but she only relies on her loving mother, the Empress Dowager, and the Sixth Palace to stay out of trouble and protect the Sixth Prince. Although Concubine Xie is not from a humble background, she has always been She is unknown, never interferes with things, and has no ability to interfere with things. Madam Roukun is a daughter of a foreign race. Even if she gives birth to eighteen princes, as long as His Majesty has other heirs, it will not be her turn to worry about Qingci Palace!"
"Mrs. Qingshu just got the second prince, and she is racking her brains to take care of him. I'm afraid she doesn't have the heart to think about anything else."
"And from what I know about Ms. Cui, she is not such a person."
"Xuan Zhaoyi and Jia Zhaoyuan are not loved by their sons and are mediocre. How can they take advantage of King Chu's shortcomings?"
"The Yi family below have only just mentioned it. They are too busy stabilizing their position to climb up. How could they have the ability to murder the King of Chu?"
"You said, there are only so many people in the six palaces. If this one doesn't seem to be that one and it doesn't seem to be that one, is it possible that the King of Chu should have this calamity in his destiny?"
The confidant groaned and did not dare to speak.
In fact, she thought maybe that was it
Because at this time, many children were born in families who were generally cared for and educated, but there were always a few who died due to various reasons.
Maybe the King of Chu is like this
But the confidant did not dare to say this, and only said: "Mother, maybe some people are doing one thing on the surface and another on the other side, but we haven't noticed it. Let's just wait for the report from the Imperial City Department? As your Majesty said, Your Highness, King Chu, is your His Majesty’s son is also the heir of His Majesty. Even though Your Majesty is usually busy with government affairs and doesn’t meet His Royal Highness the King of Chu very often, the nature of father and son is such that he can still watch His Royal Highness the King of Chu being murdered and remain indifferent?!”
Gu Zhen pursed his lips, and after a while, he suddenly said, "Do you really think this matter has nothing to do with the imperial concubine?"
"...Empress, I am thinking, even if your Majesty favors the imperial concubine, he will not sit back and watch the imperial concubine murder the emperor's heir, especially the legitimate son!" A confidant said quickly, "You must not mess up your position. Now the King of Chu Your Highness is the most important. Your Highness has his own destiny.
Xiang, it will be fine! "
The King of Chu is not dead yet. You are about to start a fight with Chunjia's trusted concubine. What if the treatment of His Highness the King of Chu is delayed
To put it ten thousand steps back, even if King Chu is hopeless, he will go to trouble the imperial concubine without any basis or evidence. Who is the imperial concubine? That's a master who can make three points out of nothing. Don't go to her to settle the score and fail, but the charges will be taken back!
Although Gu will not lose her position as queen, Chunjia doesn't like Gu Zhen very much to begin with. Doesn't this make matters worse!
Of course, if the imperial concubine is really suspicious, her confidants are not saying that they should still excuse Yun Fenghuang, but they should at least discuss with the family and let the Gu family put pressure on the imperial concubine and attack the imperial concubine's weak points!
The most difficult thing about Yun Fenghuang is her imperial favorite. It would be foolish to start a war with her in the harem!
"..." Gu Zhen looked cold and said nothing. Just when her confidants were worried about how to continue to persuade her, she suddenly said, "Then you say, I will go to her for help and find out the real culprit who murdered King Chu. Will she agree?"
The confidant was stunned and didn't know how to answer for a moment
Gu Zhen continued, minding his own business: "Anyway, I don't believe that the King of Chu could be like this because of a cold wind?! I am stupid and can't find out the clues myself. Your Majesty... I don't know that Your Majesty either. What are you thinking about? The imperial concubine has a treacherous mind, but since she pushed me and the King of Chu to the current position, there must be some use for me and my wife. Now that the King of Chu is not good, he may not have any feelings for the imperial concubine. benefit."
After a pause, she said slowly, "The noble concubine should agree."
"Your Majesty, a person like the Imperial Concubine, even if she agrees, will not take the opportunity to avenge her private life?" A confidant reminded in a low voice, "The Imperial Concubine has often used similar means to exclude dissidents. You take the initiative to ask her for advice on such a matter. Can she let this opportunity go?"
"So what?" Gu Zhen closed his eyes, his eyes ached with pain, but he couldn't shed tears. He was crying for the King of Chu these days. "I am not smart enough or shrewd enough. After ten years in the palace, It has been a year since I could not protect myself, so that I could not have children; I could not do anything for the family, but my father and grandfather had many quarrels over the position of the queen; now I cannot even protect my children. You think this queen has done a lot. What do you mean? People always have a reason to live. If I don't like His Majesty, I will spend the rest of my life pointing at the two princes. How old are they? Now I have suffered a loss. If I just follow Your Majesty, it won't work. After all, who do you think will take them seriously in the future?!"
The confidants wanted to say that the emperor didn't say anything and let it go. Didn't he send Sun Yu to investigate
But thinking about Chunjia asking Sun Yu not to make any announcement about it, but to report it to the emperor first, it obviously depends on the situation.
Then it’s hard to say whether we will give an explanation to King Chu...
Gu Zhen obviously thought of this. Now she doesn't trust Chunjia at all. She would rather trust Yun Fenghuang.
Even though he knew that Yun Fenghuang would not purely help her, he would probably use her, but Gu Zhen didn't care: "As long as the imperial concubine helps me find out the real murderer, what if I let her use her? Who in the former harem doesn't know this? Concubine Min She doesn’t have the name of queen, but among the six palaces, what she can do, I may not be able to do!”
After exhaling, she carefully warned her confidants, "Go to Lanzhou Yeyu Pavilion and tell the people who serve King Chu that King Chu liked the food there when he was entrusted to the care of the imperial concubine. Now. The King of Chu doesn’t think he’s doing well and can’t eat anymore. He wants to ask the concubine’s kitchen for some food that’s easy to eat... I’d like to take this opportunity to convey my wishes to the concubine and see what the concubine says.”