"The Empress Dowager?" Gu Zhen was startled and said, "What use can the Empress Dowager do now?"
Even when the Ji family was in power, the Empress Dowager had not been in charge since Xiaozong ascended the throne. Not to mention that after Chunjia came to power, the power status of the Empress Dowager went from bad to worse. Now she is still alive. Her only role is to make those who suspect that the emperor is ruthless. She first killed the Ji family and then the Yuan family, and now she is carving out the Gu family. It is simply It's just a person who specializes in controlling foreign relatives, and feels that the young emperor has a little bit of a bottom line.
This means that Empress Dowager Yuan and Empress Dowager Qu have left. Otherwise, Gu Zhen would rather seek help from these two people. That would be more reliable than the Empress Dowager, right
"Your Majesty, although the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager have a deep relationship with Your Majesty, according to the legal system, they are the elders of the lineage of King Fuyang and are not qualified to interfere with the Sixth Palace." The attendant reminded, "On the contrary, the Emperor Queen Mother, that is your majesty's serious grandmother. There is a turmoil in your grandson's house. You are the most generous and generous person. You can't bear the concubine's confinement and feel sorry for Concubine Wan and Concubine Jing. You don't want to disturb her. Your Majesty, who is busy with government affairs, is it not natural for you to go and pay your respects to the Queen Mother?"
Gu Zhen hesitated and said, "I just don't know if Your Majesty won't like it too much?"
But then I thought about how the Empress Dowager had kept a low profile in the past two years. If she went to pay her respects by herself, it was still a question of whether they would be willing to see her.
She is not Chunjia. The Empress Dowager does not want to see her, but she has to see her.
Why don't we go there, and whether the Empress Dowager agrees or not, anyway, it can delay a little time... Maybe during this time, someone will bring the matter to the imperial court, and Chunjia will have to deal with it personally, so there is no need for her as a queen. Are you in trouble
So Gu Zhen ordered someone to prepare a phoenix chariot and go to Qingci Palace.
To her surprise, the Empress Dowager let her in very readily.
"The Queen is really a rare visitor." Speaking of which, it has been a long time since I saw the Queen Mother in the harem. The hair of this most noble woman in the world has turned a lot gray. It can be seen that no matter how luxurious the life of raising one's life is, the mother's family The destruction of the family, the death of nieces and nephews, it is suffering after all.
However, the Empress Dowager's eyes were still bright and she was in good spirits. She spared the Queen's courtesy and ordered someone to make tea. Her tone was casual, but her expression was a little curious.
This kind of curiosity made Gu Zhen feel a bit inconsistent.
how to say
It is understandable if the Empress Dowager is sad, gloomy, embarrassed, angry or even sarcastic now...
Or even dull
But the emotion of curiosity...
Gu Zhen thought to himself, I really don't know why this imperial grandmother is still curious now
She suppressed her emotions, smiled apologetically, and told what happened in a few words: Of course, excluding the part where she framed Concubine Wan and Concubine Jing, she only said that she had indeed found those things, but after a thorough investigation, she found out that it was Concubine Wan and Concubine Jing. Concubine Wan and Concubine Jing did not know it was done by her subordinates.
"It's up to you, the Queen, to decide what matters between the concubines." Listening, the Empress Dowager smiled lightly and said, "Why are you here looking for this old bone of the Ai family?"
Gu Zhen originally wanted to say that he couldn't make a decision, so he wanted to ask the imperial grandmother to make the decision, but when the words came to his lips, he felt blessed in his heart. He suddenly stood up, bowed to her, and said respectfully: "Although my granddaughter-in-law is born in the Gu family, she is the lintel of the Gu family. Originally, she was not as good as the Ji family. Moreover, the granddaughter-in-law and her family had never had the idea of ascending to the throne. Therefore, the granddaughter-in-law was dull and far less intelligent than the Empress Yuan. I also asked the imperial grandmother to take pity on her and teach her how to be a queen. How can we make the Sixth Palace peaceful and relieve His Majesty's worries?"
The Empress Dowager was actually well aware of Gu Zhen's original intention. When she heard what she said, she was a little surprised, and her face became a little strange, and she said, "Everyone knows that I, the third generation Phoenix Master of the Ji family, am very rich! But you should understand , the endings of the three generations of Phoenix Masters of the Ji family are not good! Neither Sheng'er nor Ling Zi died. It is the current situation of the Ai family. People outside don't know about it. Don't you still know? It can be seen that the Ai family is like this Human experience may not be of much use.”
"I don't dare to hide it from the emperor's grandmother. The demeanor of the three generations of Phoenix Masters of the Ji family, no one who has seen it before and in the harem can forget it." Gu Zhen said respectfully, "My granddaughter-in-law can only learn one ten thousandth of it." Satisfied!"
This is what she means.
The three generations of Phoenix Masters of the Ji family may not be the kind of virtuous queens recorded in history books. They all have selfish motives, ruthlessness and calculations.
But their downfall was ultimately the result of the fall of the Ji family.
Simply speaking, these three are actually very qualified when it comes to being queens.
After all, from the empress dowager to the commoner Ji Sheng to the empress Ji Lingzi, they all achieved a stable situation when they were in charge of the Sixth Palace. It has never been like this again, with the beloved concubine relying on the emperor's favor to openly bully another high-ranking official. Gong could only find excuses to hide in the palace and not come forward to avoid getting into trouble.
Gu Zhen really didn't expect to fully learn from Ji Lingzi.
Firstly, it is impossible for the Empress Dowager to teach an outsider wholeheartedly; secondly, Ji Sheng and Ji Lingzi were both cultivated by their families as future queens when they were just born. How could Gu Zhen, who had started learning now, be able to compare with them? ? The most important thing is that Gu Zhen also knows in his heart that although Chunjia despises her for being stupid, he is relieved because of her stupidity.
She asked the Empress Dowager for advice, mainly because she hoped to be less embarrassed in the future.
There is no hope that she will manage the Sixth Palace obediently from now on... In that case, she will probably end up like Ji Lingzi...
"..." The Queen Mother was silent. After a while, she said, "Queen, you don't have to be like this. The Ai family knows your plan. They just feel that the concubine's actions have put you in a dilemma. They are worried that similar things will happen again." The majesty of your palace. In fact, I can’t blame you for this. After all, you know that starting from the late Emperor Shenzong and the emperor Xiaozong, these two emperors were obsessed with the former dynasty and did not linger much about the harem. The harem at that time , There is no such beloved concubine as the Concubine Allergic."
Not to mention Yun Fenghuang, a favored concubine who once occupied a special house and was ambitious and willful. During Shenzong Xiaozong's time, probably because the emperor was focused on government affairs, except for the empress of the main palace, the concubines had no sense of presence in the harem.
For example, the biological mother of Prince Regent Xiang Ruoji, even though she was not favored, she gave birth to one of the only two princes of the Shenzong. This was only a few decades ago, and there were still people alive at that time, so it was not like this. Forgotten? But... Gu Zhen really couldn't remember for a while what the master's surname was, what his status was when he was alive, and what honor he had after he passed away.
Gu Zhen was a little disappointed for a moment, but also a little comforted: After looking at it, the old Phoenix Masters who have produced three generations of Phoenix Masters have personally said that I cannot be blamed for the current situation.
The reason why the highly respected third-generation Phoenix Masters were considered qualified queens was simply because they were lucky enough to have never met a beloved concubine like Yun Fenghuang.
Oh, we actually met Ji Lingzi.
In fact, Yun Fenghuang was promoted by this Phoenix Master in his early days.
If Ji Lingzi hadn't been protecting her at that time, Chunjia would have cooked Yun Fenghuang first...
But before Ji Lingzi left the palace, although Yun Fenghuang had become a beloved concubine, she was not as unscrupulous as she is now.
If Ji Lingzi was still sitting on the phoenix throne now, she probably wouldn't be able to do anything against Yun Fenghuang... After this thought came to his mind, Gu Zhen suddenly felt much more relaxed.
The Empress Dowager saw it and just smiled and said: "It is the blessing of the Gongxiang family that the emperor today is wise and powerful, but the emperor is also a human being, and he always has his own preferences. Compared with the emperors of the past and present, the emperor today is actually very good. Okay. He obviously loves and values the imperial concubine very much, but he has been trying not to let the imperial concubine go too far... Since he didn't let anyone come forward this time, it can be seen that he has acquiesced in leaving Concubine Wan to the imperial concubine to vent her anger. There is nothing he can do about it, although it is all. Those who serve the Emperor, but there are many people in the Three Palaces and Sixth Courtyard, it is impossible to say that they share the Emperor's heart equally! Concubine Min is blessed with great blessings, and there is nothing I can do to make His Majesty's thoughts focus on her."
"There is just a concubine on the left and right, and it has nothing to do with the overall situation. The concubine is willing to make things difficult for her, so just let them go!"
Seeing that Gu Zhen was hesitant to speak, she reminded with a smile, "Anyway, Concubine Wan does not have a natal family. When the time comes, Meng will cry to the emperor. Even if the emperor is unwilling to deal with the affairs of the harem himself, he will still have to give Meng an explanation. … When the time comes, you can act according to the emperor’s will.”
Gu Zhen thought to himself, this sounds easy to say, but when the time comes, Chunjia might have to scold me again.
The Empress Dowager looked at her expression and said with a smile: "Are you afraid that the Emperor will blame you?"
"..." Gu Zhen nodded a little awkwardly, "My granddaughter-in-law is stupid. She has disappointed His Majesty many times, but she dare not do anything like this again, um..."
"That's actually nothing." The Empress Dowager said calmly, "After all, even if it's just to show off to the Meng family, Your Majesty should say a few words to you. But if there is no other punishment to express your anger later, it shows that Your Majesty means what you say but doesn't mean it. Just talk to you. In this case, as a queen, how can you not be more generous? Just listen to it? "
Gu Zhen said awkwardly: "But it is a fact that I am stupid... so I feel..."
"Ai Jia asked you, do you think that even if you have learned as much as Ling Zi, who is smarter compared with the emperor?"
Gu Zhen said hurriedly: "The late Yuan Dynasty is both beautiful and virtuous, but my grandson's daughter-in-law is far inferior! But if your majesty is competing, I'm afraid your majesty will be better!"
The Empress Dowager said: "It's not better, it's far better!"
She frankly admitted Chunjia's excellence, "Our Ji family can produce three generations of Phoenix masters, how can we be a mediocre family? The emperor can step on the Ji family and hold the power, which means that the entire Ji family is not as good as your majesty! What do you think of Ling? Zi is much better than you, but how much smarter is the Emperor than Ling Zi? It can be seen that no matter how hard you work, you are not as good as the Emperor. Since the Emperor is insurmountable, he thinks you are stupid... Then why should you take it to heart? In his case In my eyes, there are probably not many people in the world who are not stupid."
These words did not comfort Gu Zhen, mainly because Gu Zhen felt that even if the emperor felt that there were few living beings in the world who were not stupid, how many queens could there be in the world
Even if she is the successor, she is still the legitimate ruler of the Sixth Palace!
Why can't she be smart
… What’s even sadder is that the emperor thought she was stupid, but he certainly didn’t think the concubine was stupid.
Otherwise, why would the imperial concubine be given the title "Min"
Don’t you just think the imperial concubine is smart
"In short, don't take it too seriously when the emperor says something that makes you sad." The Empress Dowager sighed softly and said softly, "You are a queen, and you should have the heart of a queen. This heart is not only It is to tolerate the Sixth Palace and the emperor's heirs, and it is also necessary to tolerate the emperor... After all, husband and wife are one, and if you have to argue with him, who else can he tell the truth to?"
Gu Zhen couldn't help but said: "Emperor Grandma, Your Majesty always tells the truth to your concubine!"
"The imperial concubine won't be able to stay with him for long. Even if she remains out of favor, when the fifteenth prince grows up and is granted the title of vassal, she will probably be sent away." The Empress Dowager said nonchalantly, "The Ai family has said that the emperor is wise. Shenwu, since he plans to pass on the throne to his legitimate son, then even if he arranges some concubines to train for his legitimate son, how can he tolerate the people and things that will really threaten the legitimate son? And he loves the imperial concubine, so he will not let the imperial concubine, mother and son, get involved with you. The palace lady is really angry. After all, after he leaves, he still expects you and your legitimate son to take care of the mother and son of Huaqing Palace!"
Gu Zhen: "...???!!!"
The words came so suddenly that the Queen couldn't believe her ears for a moment.
If Chunjia had a showdown with her, she would never believe it. She would even think that the Empress Dowager was too irritated and damaged her brain
But at this moment, she suddenly felt that maybe this inference was very possible
After all, Yun Fenghuang was the beloved concubine who had been favored ever since she entered the palace. She was also a domineering and flamboyant person, and she never paid attention to the other concubines from the beginning to the end.
Nowadays, the emperor's heirs are still young, especially the two legitimate sons who have not grown up.
Chunjia didn't let go either.
As for the possibility that the imperial concubine and her son would threaten the middle palace and the legitimate son, and then cause the royal family to fratricide and cause internal strife, there was only suspicion.
But if you wait a few more years, the legitimate son grows up, the princes also grow up, and the emperor officially establishes the position of heir apparent, and if the noble concubine still refuses to give up, then...
If Chunjia cannot cut through the mess quickly and sacrifices one party to fulfill the other, what she will have to face will inevitably be unrest in the hearts of the people, internal fighting among her children, and even a repeat of the bloody scene when Shenzong ascended the throne!
This decision is not alarmist. After all, once Chunjia connives and acquiesces to the imperial concubine, mother and son to launch an attack on the throne of the crown prince, this is equivalent to giving a signal to other emperors: the emperor is not very firm in his intention to establish his legitimate son as the crown prince.
Since he was able to let the concubine and her son do this because of his love, would other people also have the opportunity
Even if their mother-in-law is not as favored by Chunjia as the imperial concubine, maybe they think they are smarter and better than their legitimate son
Or maybe they think they can take advantage when the concubine and the queen fight and both sides lose
Even if you can't be the crown prince yourself, it would be good to identify a reliable brother, support him in his ascendancy, and become a favored vassal king.
It's hard to say how much Chunjia's many heirs will be lost by then.
And Gu Zhen has never doubted Chunjia's wisdom. She can think of it. How could Chunjia not think of it
He is not a sloppy person, even if he can't let go of the imperial concubine, but... if the imperial concubine's status in his mind overwhelms the country and the country, he will no longer be on the phoenix throne.
Thinking like this, Gu Zhen felt very good. She even felt sorry for Yun Fenghuang after she failed to live up to her expectations again...
… After the Queen left Qingci Palace that day, a close attendant asked the Queen Mother: “Will Your Majesty really allow your concubine to follow the fifteenth prince to become a vassal?”