The regent lasted several days longer than expected, and even waited until some old friends from the Dingbei Army rushed back to see him one last time before leaving.
Chen Jing reported to Yun Fenghuang in a cryptic manner, and Qi Jiulu also took leave of absence to visit him. He left on the same day and left a stick of incense in the regent's room. After that, he met Gong Xiangxiao at the gate before mounting his horse. After talking to Zhu Zhu for a while, he left in a dusty world... Although this scene branded him as the remnant of the regent, it also made many people think that he still had a conscience.
After all, when he first came to the Imperial Capital, the regent and his son really treated him well.
Now that the regent is dying and he still doesn't come forward, it would be too cold-blooded.
Yun Fenghuang said nothing about this.
The day after Qi Jiulu left, the regent began to deteriorate.
He had been in the army back then, and he was not the kind of clansman who just waited to die, so he had a good foundation.
In addition, Chunjia knew that he wouldn't live long, so he was happy to show off, and sent all the good things to him like water, and hung up his life... but he only lasted for more than half a month, and then passed away.
During this period, both Chunjia and the Empress Dowager visited.
They even asked King Zhaoqing of Qin and other eldest royal heirs to come over and pay their respects, showing a gesture of intimacy between uncle and nephew and royal friendship.
It was a lively walk no matter what.
On the day of his departure, the emperor even shed tears in public after hearing the news. He told everyone around him for a long time about the hardships of the royal children in the past two years: "I was able to govern personally only because of my uncle's support. I thought that my uncle was still in his prime and would have a long future. , who knows, it has only been a few years, and people say it is gone... I lost my father when I was young, and I have never known my successor, my only uncle, but we have such a shallow relationship. God has treated me so poorly!"
Anyway, even if it is clear that he secretly hopes that the regent will be cooled as soon as possible, or simply suspects that he is responsible for the coolness of the regent, seeing this attitude, you can't help but call him filial piety.
The filial emperor sent the regent away, and then issued an imperial decree demoting the Lu family to a commoner.
Originally, murdering her own husband, or killing Shenzong's flesh and blood with her step-concubine, crushing the bones and scattering ashes, and dragging down the mother's family are all basic operations.
However, the real culprit was He Le after all, and his step-concubine was also a victim. Coupled with some unknown twists and turns, Lu Chuncao was eventually reduced to a commoner and sent out of the imperial capital.
This made Yun Fenghuang very curious about the inside story, because based on her understanding of Chunjia, Lu could not kill him, but Lu Chuncao had to get rid of him.
Now it's actually the other way around. It can be said to be handled with care. What's the reason for this
However, Chunjia was very tight-lipped about this and refused to disclose it no matter how hard she tried to find out.
After being asked too many questions, he simply gave her a job: "I promised before that I would keep Brother Zhen under my knees so that my uncle would not worry about him. Now that my uncle's affairs have been settled, I still need Ahuang's help to keep an eye on him. Don't scream." King Qin and the others are making too much trouble, cousin."
"Your Majesty said this. Prince Qin and the others are sensible, why would they bother the young prince?" Yun Fenghuang said, "Two days ago, Zhaoqing asked me to bring her some more cakes, saying they were for the young prince."
Gong Xiangzhen is said to be very confused these days. Because he has been raised in the palace, he has not had much contact with people. He is young and has a simple mind.
After suffering heavy blows one after another, the child was already a bit disabled.
Recently, I basically rely on a little bit of instinct to do whatever I'm told.
Chunjia arranged a place for him to live in the palace, and he stayed with King Qin and others every day.
As for Zhaoqing bringing cakes to this young uncle, of course there was no such thing... Yun Fenghuang just casually covered it up for the children.
In fact, King Qin and Zhaoqing didn't like to play with Gong Xiangzhen very much, mainly because these two children were very lively. I didn't know Gong Xiangzhen before, but he was definitely not in the mood to be lively now, so his nephews and nieces didn't Pay attention to him.
However, Yun Fenghuang was not afraid of being exposed. Anyway, Chunjia was very busy at the moment. Even if she found out, she said: "The young prince must be in a disturbed mood right now. He is afraid that the children will disturb him in remembering his biological father and mother, so I will not allow you to marry me." Kids to pester.”
That’s it.
Sure enough, Chunjia didn't have any doubts when he heard this, and even smiled and praised: "I know that although Zhaoqing is a bit impatient, he is a good boy with a kind heart."
Yun Fenghuang said with a smile: "Your Majesty really loves the young prince. How about this? If your majesty allows it, I will ask the young prince to come over to comfort you tomorrow? Speaking of which, it has been a few days since the young prince came to visit the palace. Only your majesty can see you. However, the harem has not been summoned to comfort me, and I don’t know if the young prince is worried? Do you think I, the concubine, and these people don’t care much about him? "
Speaking of which, she had never seen this child who had been well hidden by the regent, so she was curious.
The regent hid the young son tightly, but Chunjia had no such idea. After all, he left Gong Xiang Zhen to raise him. In addition to being a hostage, he also wanted to show his kindness and generosity to the world. Therefore, Gong Xiang Zhen was later I pulled it out too many times.
At this moment, facing the beloved concubine's request, he said: "Ahuang is still thoughtful."
So the next day Yun Fenghuang asked someone to bring Gong Xiangzhen to her. This child was completely different from what she thought or what the outside world said.
Although he was a little nervous and shy due to being rarely seen around others, he was full of energy and did not look like he had been frail since childhood.
So what was the regent hiding from him
Could it be that he felt that he had no hope early on, so he alienated the eldest son when his second wife came in, and then hid the younger son in exchange for them being accommodated by Chunjia now
But if the regent really had accepted his fate before...
But why did it take so long to stay apart from Chunjia
When the Ji family was overthrown, he surrendered and surrendered. How could Chunjia treat him badly just to show off to the world
Wouldn't it be nice for the whole family to go to the feudal country to reunite? Do you have to make the couple feel miserable and have a lot of bad blood between the two sons to be happy
Can't figure it out.
The concubine, who couldn't figure it out, entertained Gong Xiangzhen very gently and kindly, and also told King Qin and Zhaoqing to respect their uncle on the spot... Finally, she told Chen Jing to keep an eye on someone: "I can't tell what the young prince looks like. The regent has a need to hide him...could there be some other connection?"
She was not the only one who had doubts. She went to the Queen to say hello the next day. The Queen sent the others away and left her to talk. She also complained quietly: "Did you meet Cousin Zhen yesterday? I sent someone to give him a gift two days ago." After passing the gift, the visitor reported back that he was doing very well. Although he had lost some weight, it was all due to grief. The imperial doctor also diagnosed that there was nothing serious and no deficiencies... I really don’t know what the regent did to prevent him from doing so. Show up?"
"Your Majesty doesn't know either?" Yun Fenghuang was quite surprised and said, "I still want to come and inquire with your Majesty."
After all, the relationship between the Gu family and the regent is very close.
The queen said: "Why did I ask about this before? Later, when I was curious, it was no longer appropriate."
The two chatted for a while about the regent's family, but they all felt that they couldn't figure out the regent's operations.
The queen also lamented that Yin Nu Luo had a good life: "She used to be Shouning Marquis and refused to pay attention to the regent's palace. Now the regent and the step-concubine are gone. She has become Princess Yi, and there is no one to restrain her. She is very relaxed. . I heard that King Yi was quite good to her. The young couple went to the fiefdom, and they must be in harmony. But they may be a little reluctant to leave Yin Qu and the Seventh Prince."
Yun Fenghuang smiled: "These two generations of clans are in decline, and your Majesty only has two siblings. Even if they are forced to go to the feudal vassal because of the rules, can they be called back for reunion during the holidays?"
Even if it wasn't for posturing, it was still necessary to prevent some people from seeing the situation clearly and still trying to instigate Gong Xiangxiao to cause trouble.
It is not uncommon for a feudal king to leave the imperial capital and go to his fiefdom to become restless.
"That's true." The queen nodded and said, "It's just that Princess Yi has not made any movement at the moment. It is even less expected to keep her filial piety next time, but the heir will have to be postponed."
Yun Fenghuang said: "It's nothing. She and King Yi are both so young. Think about it, when King Qin came to the throne, His Majesty was already in his twenties. Isn't the emperor's heir prosperous now?"
After chatting for a while, the queen finally remembered the business and said to her: "The Concubine Xian wants to adopt the second princess, what do you think?"
"Xianfei?" Yun Fenghuang groaned, thinking to himself, these two princesses... How come they are so powerful
When I first came to the palace, I tricked Concubine Shu, and within two days of being raised by the queen, I hooked up with Concubine Xian. This is really...
She thought for a while and said, "But the second princess is Concubine Jing's daughter. It depends on Concubine Jing's wishes, right? Even if you are the empress, you are only taking care of her temporarily."
The queen said: "Isn't it? But Concubine Xian came here personally and said that she felt like she was in love with the second princess. She also said that Concubine Jing was not very interested in the second princess, and everyone in the palace knew it. Now that Concubine Jing has her own child, she only She was afraid that she would no longer love the second princess. On the other hand, she had lost two children in succession, and the last one was also a princess. Now when she saw the second princess, she couldn't help but think of her own flesh and blood. If the second princess went to her, she would There will be no harm to the Second Princess."
Yun Fenghuang asked: "What does the empress mean?"
"Who cares for the princess?" The queen frowned, "Your Majesty also said that these days, please take care of the virtuous concubine, just for the sake of Prince Xifa. But Concubine Jing is not here now, even if you send someone back to ask... There is something wrong with this. rule."
She was a little unhappy.
The second princess was originally a child under the name of Concubine Jing. This year, because Concubine Jing had to confine her confinement in the palace and could not leave, she asked Concubine Shu to bring her to the palace. Because Concubine Shu did not take good care of her... there may be some inside story here. In short, the queen took the person to her side and took care of it herself.
She consciously did not do anything bad to the emperor's heirs, especially the many princes under her knees. Finally, she had a princess, even if it was only temporary, the queen really did not treat the second princess badly.
Who would have thought that the second princess turned around and asked Concubine Xian to come and ask for someone in person? This made the queen doubtful. She felt that Concubine Shu was right at the beginning. The second princess was young but not simple. And what did this mean? It’s okay if Concubine Shu didn’t take good care of you. Didn’t I take good care of you too
You are dissatisfied with your previous heir mother, Concubine Jing, and want to change your mother. Why don't you want to change your mother to Concubine Xian rather than to me
The Queen said calmly at this moment, "I just don't know what the Second Princess said to the Concubine Xian. Their attitude was very firm, and I couldn't refuse it for a while. But I don't know if the Concubine has any ideas?"
"There are many princes under the Queen's knees, and they are always busy with palace affairs, and they are not very busy." Yun Fenghuang said casually, "Concubine Xian likes the second princess so much, so let her take care of the second princess first. As for the second princess How to arrange the future? It’s not too late to talk about it in front of Concubine Jing after returning to the palace. After all, Concubine Xian said herself that she felt that she was destined to fall in love with the second princess, so as long as the second princess is by her side, she should not I have an opinion. I think it doesn’t matter whether she is the second princess or the second princess."
"... Yes." The Queen breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to be so dependent on the Concubine Xian and the Second Princess. After all, she felt unhappy. If this happened to other concubines, she would scold them if they couldn't help it.
But Concubine Xian is a foreign princess after all, and the relationship between Guochao and Xifa is very delicate now.
The Queen was a little embarrassed.
Now what the noble concubine said is a good idea.
After returning to the palace, she wanted to refuse, so she just asked Concubine Jing to come forward and tear it apart.
As the heir mother, Concubine Jing, even if the imperial concubine knew that she did not like the second princess very much, she did not abuse her and it was natural that she would not give her daughter to anyone else.
Yun Fenghuang asked again: "How come the second princess and Concubine Xian got together? I remember that the empress and Concubine Xian don't live close to each other."
"Who knows, children always like to run all over the mountains and plains." The queen's eyes flashed and she said, "I am afraid that it will be bad for them to be too restrained, so I always have someone to accompany them. They always stumble and stumble. I didn’t have time to ask them where they had gone. It was Concubine Xian who came to ask for someone, and I found out that the second princess actually got along very well with Concubine Xian.”
After a pause, she added, "Since Concubine Xian had a miscarriage, she hasn't seen His Majesty for several days. It's no wonder that she likes the Second Princess so much."
This is a hint that she suspects that Concubine Xian wants the second princess because she is a drunkard who is not interested in drinking.
After all, although the second princess is not as popular with the emperor as Zhaoqing, the second and third princes, the heirs who are about to enter school in the palace, have always been ignored by Chunjia because of their biological mother.
The rest are King Qin, Zhaoqing, the second princess and the third princess.
The women of the Three Emperors were weak and timid, and were more in awe of Chunjia than close to her. Sometimes Chunjia took the initiative to show her kindness, but she would hide behind Zhaoqing and dare not show her face.
In this way, after King Qin and Zhaoqing, Chunjia naturally paid the most attention to the second princess.
After all, although this little girl didn't get along as naturally as King Qin and Zhao Qing did with the emperor, she was still generous, well-behaved and cute.
Since Chunjia cared about her daughter, there was no reason to abandon her mother.
The reason why Concubine Jing became pregnant last year was related to the number of times the Second Princess appeared in front of the Emperor.
The virtuous concubine may want her mother to be more valuable than her daughter.
"It's a good thing that they fall in love." Yun Fenghuang smiled, "It's just that fate is hard to say. Some people are good and some are short. It's better to be open-minded."
Her current relationship with Concubine Xian is neither good nor bad, so she doesn't really want to get involved in this matter.
Since the queen asked, she just came up with an idea to delay it.
Yun Fenghuang didn't bother to worry about the rest.
Due to the death of the regent during the summer vacation this year, Chunjia had been in a good mood.
But when he was about to leave for the palace, the news from Northern Xinjiang made the emperor's good mood disappear!