Mountains and rivers pray for peace

Chapter 37 Jackal, Tiger and Leopard
Ning Hui gave a slight pause to the hand twisting the pastry, put the almond cake in his hand back into the food box, and said quietly: "This matter is a secret matter in the palace. After the death of Concubine Jing, all the old people in Jing'an Palace will be given to death. Your Majesty immediately ordered that No one is allowed to mention the name of Concubine Jing, otherwise it will be a death penalty, and there are not many insiders now."

"Your Prime Minister died of his daughter, yet he didn't ask His Majesty for an explanation?"

"After the death of Concubine Jing, Prime Minister You was heartbroken, and he directly proposed to serve with His Majesty, and returned to his hometown of Qingzhou to take care of the elderly. Now, Prime Minister Right's family, which used to have great power, has also fallen, and Prime Minister Right has long since left the world."

Ning Hui's understatement, behind it is the rise and fall of a family's honor and disgrace.Even if it is a prosperous family of powerful officials, and the daughter is a concubine who is loved by thousands of people, there will always be a day of decline.

The right-handed family seems to be blooming with flowers, but in fact they are cooking with fire.I'm afraid that Prime Minister Right later retired bravely and returned to his hometown, and it was his daughter's death that woke him up.

Thinking of this, Huo Qi couldn't help doubting: "The right ministers were so prominent back then, could it be that your Majesty separated from Concubine Jing because he was afraid of the power of his relatives?"

In fact, Huo Qi's guess is not unreasonable.

On the side of the couch, how can you allow others to snore?
In his previous life, Emperor Xiaowen suspected that Ning Guo Duke Huo Ruhai was colluding with the rebels and trying to destabilize the Qi Dynasty, so he ordered Ning Guo Duke's entire family to be executed.Huo Ruhai's power was not as powerful as that of the right prime minister back then, and he did not send his daughter to the palace as a concubine. He made Emperor Xiaowen so jealous, let alone Concubine Jing's family?
The cunning rabbit dies, the lackey cooks, it is the most common art of the emperor.

Ning Hui didn't seem to expect that Huo Qi could think of this, so she quickly pressed her arm and signaled her to keep silent: "It's all for me to talk about it, but it must not be said outside. This is just a guess. As for why Concubine Jinggui died young, we don't know."

"It's a pity that Concubine Jing, a generation of beauties, died in the deep palace like this." Huo Qi murmured.

After listening to Ning Hui's words, a sense of powerlessness crept up her body. She did not expect that the fate of Shen Yuning's mother-in-law would be so bumpy.No matter what the truth is, Concubine Jing's death must be closely related to Emperor Xiaowen.No wonder Shen Yuning developed such a cold and unruly temperament, and was not very close to Emperor Xiaowen.

Perhaps this topic was too heavy, so Huo Qi and Ning Hui stopped talking.The carriage galloped all the way, but at You hour, Huo Qi arrived at Duke Ning's mansion and bid farewell to Ning Hui.

……

In a blink of an eye, the setting sun had already set, and the darkness spread from the clouds, which made people unable to help feeling that the night in late autumn always came quickly and quickly.The peddler who was shouting at the beginning is also busy closing the stall at the moment, and going back to catch up with a wok-like dinner.

At the Zhenyuan Hou Mansion on the official road to Chang'an in the capital, warm red lanterns have been lit at the door of the house, dispelling the chill and darkness.

Shao Mingxuan was silent for a few days, and finally looked forward to returning to the master's house, and gained some popularity.But when the master came back, the originally peaceful atmosphere became panicked.

All discerning servants know that Shizi's temperament has changed drastically since he got married.Originally, he was considered to be an easy-to-serve master, and he treated his servants kindly, but in the past month, he threw cups and cups at every turn, and took his anger on the servants.

Seeing Shizi's gloomy expression when he just entered the door, it is estimated that someone is going to be unlucky again.At this moment, the maids and servants in the yard are all in danger, so they can only lower their heads and do the work at hand, so as not to suffer if they don't pay attention.

In the main house, Yuan Shao and Huo Qinglan were sitting on the grand teacher's chair, and standing beside them.In the middle of the room, there was a woman dressed as a woman kneeling on the ground.

"Mother Chen, do you know why this prince called you here?" Yuan Shaosen smiled coldly, which made people tremble.

Kneeling Nanny Chen secretly glanced at Yuan Shao, and seeing Huo Qinglan give a warning look from the corner of her eye, she could only forcefully laugh and said, "What does the Master mean by this, this old slave can't understand... "

"Nanny Chen has been working in the house for many years." Yuan Shao twitched the corners of his lips, "By working in the Hou's house, I fed the family a few mouthfuls of hot food, and also provided for your little son. I'm studying. After receiving so many favors from the Marquis Mansion, have you forgotten your duty as a slave?"

"The old slave relied on the blessings of the master and his wife, and only had a few days to live a peaceful life, and he also watched the elder son grow up, so how dare he betray the master!" Nanny Chen knelt down desolately, after hearing this, Shocked and terrified, old turbid tears rolled down the dry eye sockets.

"Then what happened to the princess' stomach?" Yuan Shao asked impatiently.

"This..." Nanny Chen shook her head dully, "I don't know what's wrong with the Crown Princess's belly."

"I don't know? It seems that Mammy really doesn't cry when she doesn't see the coffin." Yuan Shao sneered, "Come here, bring Doctor Wang in."

As soon as he finished speaking, two young men, one on the left and one on the right, carried a middle-aged man who was nearly fifty years old into the main room. His fat body dragged a mark on the ground.

Perhaps it was because of his shortness of breath that Doctor Wang's mustache trembled slightly, looking a little funny.

"Doctor Wang, was it you who diagnosed the concubine's body? Since it is a happy event, why did you hide it and not report it?" Yuan Shao slammed the lid of the tea in his hand, making a crisp sound.

Dr. Wang knelt on the ground, his legs trembling: "Look at the master's enlightenment! The concubine's body was indeed diagnosed by the grass people. It was the concubine who said that she would wait for the pulse to stabilize before reporting to the master. If the grass people don't obey, the son will The concubine is going to smash the grass people's medicine hall, and the grass people have to follow!"

"You are quite good at it. This trick of crossing Chen Cang secretly made you understand." Yuan Shao's eyes passed over Huo Qinglan, and his sinister gaze climbed up her soft and boneless body like a poisonous snake, making people feel goosebumps. .

Huo Qinglan's body felt weak and she could only hold on to the corner of the table next to her to steady herself, biting her lips and refusing to say a word.

Doctor Wang was the doctor that Qi had found for her before. She said he was reliable and had a strict mouth, so he was the most suitable doctor to help her with her pregnancy. But she never expected that Doctor Wang would be found by Yuan Shao so quickly.

"Mrs. Chen, this prince asked you to stare at the concubine and take the medicine to avoid children. Every time you report back, you swear that you watched the concubine drink it with your own eyes. How did the concubine get pregnant? Yuan Shao sneered at the corner of his mouth, "Either the imperial concubine was unfaithful and gave this eldest son a cuckold, or you prevaricated this eldest son with false words, you choose one and say it. If you don't tell the truth, your youngest son may not survive today. late."

After hearing Yuan Shao's words, Mother Chen's complexion changed, she staggered forward and climbed a few steps, clinging to Yuan Shao's shoes tightly: "My lord, please forgive me, it's the old servant who is obsessed with his heart, and he took the money from the concubine Shizi, and took the money from the concubine. The son's medicine was secretly poured out... I beg the son to let the old slave's son live."

"Ha," Yuan Shao sneered, kicked Nanny Chen away, and followed Huo Qinglan's belly with his eyes, "Huo Qinglan, I have underestimated you. I thought you were a peaceful person, but you can control someone Everyone in the house gathered together to cover you up, and you were even able to get pregnant with this evil creature.”

Huo Qinglan seemed to be stimulated by the word "evil seed", and his eyes were so red that his eye circles turned red: "Evil seed? The child in my concubine's belly is actually the seed of the prince. This child is an evil seed, so what is the prince?"

She knew early on that Yuan Shao didn't want her to conceive a child, she could listen to Yuan Shao on other matters, but she had to think about the child for herself.

If she was childless for many years, it would be a matter of time before Yuan Shao divorced her. Only by conceiving a child could she secure her position as the eldest concubine of the Hou family.

Therefore, she bribed Nanny Chen and avoided the child-avoiding medicine given by Yuan Shao.Knowing that she was pregnant, she was both happy and afraid, fearing that Yuan Shao would force her to have an abortion, so she kept her mouth shut.If it wasn't for the sacrificial ceremony, she would never have told about the child so early.

"You really don't know how to live or die, and you have calculated it on the head of this son."

Yuan Shao slapped the table to get up, and immediately slapped Huo Qinglan on the face, slapping her to the ground. After a while, there was a palm print on the woman's tender and fair skin, and a stream of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

Huo Qinglan covered her face, chuckled, and made a gentle and carefree look: "I know that the prince does not want this child. I ordered Grandma Chen to pour the anti-child medicine. I am also pregnant. Doctor Wang's mouth. But I just want to spread the branches and leaves of the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion and fulfill my wife's duties, what's wrong with that?"

"You make me feel disgusted, you are like a Buddha," Yuan Shao felt nauseous, "A wife's duty? Your duty is to kill Uncle Lin? He was dragged down and beheaded by the Imperial Guards. The bones are not yet cold. The palace rolled Uncle Lin's body in a straw mat and threw it back to the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion. Are you going to keep a vigil for Uncle Lin?"

Huo Qinglan's face turned pale. Thinking of the tragic situation of Butler Lin being dragged down and the curse before his death, he couldn't help but shudder, and screamed: "He asked for that... He asked for that. !”

"Self-inflicted? If you hadn't instigated it, would Uncle Lin have the guts to poison His Majesty? How dare he harm Concubine Shu?" Yuan Shao sneered.

"Yes, I was the instigator. But so what? How could it be that the prince was the instigator?"

Huo Qinglan saw that she couldn't hide this matter, so she went all out: "If it wasn't for the instigation of the prince, how could I harm my elder sister? Uncle Lin is just a substitute for the dead."

"Idiot, did this prince ask you to do something at the sacrificial ceremony? You couldn't kill Huo Qi, but you got into trouble yourself," Yuan Shao said with undisguised disgust, "If you don't want to take the position of the prince concubine, you can take Follow this bastard back to Duke Ning's mansion and see if Huo Qi can give you a meal. I want children, and many of them are born to women."

Huo Qinglan just said some crazy things in a show of enthusiasm, but now she was scolded by Yuan Shao, and her mind suddenly became clearer.Now that she has married into Zhenyuan Houfu, whether her life will be good or not depends on Yuan Shao's face.

If she can't win over Yuan Shao's heart, even if she is pregnant with a child, the child will definitely be an abandoned child.Without Yuan Shao's love, what future would the child in her belly have?

Thinking of the child in her belly, Huo Qinglan burst into tears and clenched the handkerchief tightly: "I just made a mistake. Please trust me again. I will not let Huo Qi have an easy life. I already have There’s a way…”

"Tell me, what can you do?" Yuan Shao looked calm, "Given your previous performance, it is difficult for me to trust you again."

"Huo Qi's elder brother is coming back soon." Huo Qinglan seemed to be grasping at a life-saving straw, and continued, "Huo Qi seems to be deserted, and he doesn't care about anyone, but if someone touches the one she cares about With a few people, she will definitely go crazy in pain. As long as Huo Xian dies, Huo Qi will definitely not feel better."

Yuan Shao raised his eyebrows slightly: "But I heard that Huo Xian has been away from home for three years and there has been no news from him."

"Big brother has been away from the Great Wall for three years, and he sent back a letter from home a year ago. It's just that when the letter was sent back, the uncle's family was not in the mansion. In the hands of the concubine. After reading the family letter, the concubine knew that the elder brother had changed his name and surname, and he was working under General Saiwaizhang."

"Then where did you get the news about Huo Xian's return to Beijing?" Yuan Shao looked serious.

"General Zhang's deputy general and my second brother were childhood friends. Ever since he learned about his whereabouts, my second brother wrote a divorce letter asking the deputy general to pay close attention to his every move. Some time ago, the deputy general sent back a message saying that My eldest brother is asking for leave after his term is over and is preparing to return to Beijing. Counting the days, these are the days." Huo Qinglan revealed the truth clearly.

Yuan Shao stood up and paced around, with a hearty smile: "It's interesting. Everyone in the world says that the Huo family's first wife and the second room are brothers and sisters, but now it seems that your second room has a lot of heart. I'm afraid Ning Guogong can't think of it, Ning Guogong The collapse of the government was caused by the feud between brothers."

Huo Qinglan has always been careful. Hearing Yuan Shao's words, the one who wants to deal with it is probably the huge Ningguo Mansion, not just Huo Qi.But aren’t the Huo and Yuan families family friends?

However, she was originally dissatisfied that Huo Qi's status was superior to hers. Even if the entire Ningguo Duke's palace was unlucky, it would not happen to her. If the bones of the Huo family's first house could be used to pave the bright future of the second house, she would be happy. See how it works.

Seeing that Yuan Shao's face had relaxed a lot, Huo Qinglan took a deep breath and said in a flattering manner: "If I can share the worries of the prince, it will be a blessing to my mother-in-law's family."

"Get up." Yuan Shao said.

After finishing speaking, Xi'er, who had been waiting in the corner, quickly helped Huo Qinglan, who had been kneeling for a long time.

"I will give you one last chance. If Huo Xian dies, you and this child will be safe and sound. Recently, Mother Chen and Doctor Wang will take care of the fetus in your womb." Yuan Shao changed the topic, "It's just , if this eternity is still not satisfied this time, you should know the consequences."

After that, Yuan Shao left Shaomingxuan.

Huo Qinglan blessed Yuan Shao's back: "I obey."

After Yuan Shao left, Huo Qinglan could no longer support her body and slumped down on the chair, in shock.She gripped the corner of the table hard, her long nails almost digging into the wooden table.

After a while, she whispered to Xi'er: "Xi'er, send a letter to my mother and say that I will return to my parents' home tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)