Wanqingsi

Chapter 138 The Secret
Concubine Murong was very prosperous back then. She entered the palace at the age of 14 and became a nobleman. This added a layer of mystery to the death cage of Concubine Murong.After the death of Concubine Murong, the six court ladies and four eunuchs who served her were all shot to death.I looked at the information in my hand and took a breath: "All the people around Concubine Murong were killed, how can we know the truth?"

Yun Zheng looked at the information, pondered for a while, and then slowly said: "The palace man was killed, but the palace concubine who was familiar with Concubine Murong back then would not be killed, such as... the current queen mother."

"The Queen Mother?" I asked in surprise, "You mean that the Queen Mother might know the truth about Concubine Murong's death?"

"Not long after Concubine Murong was gifted to death, the queen mother who was still Zhaoyi was thrown into the cold palace by the late emperor for some reason, and she was not welcomed out of the cold palace until the new emperor ascended the throne." Yun Zheng pondered, "If I'm not wrong, the queen mother The incident of being thrown into the cold palace has something to do with Concubine Murong."

"Then..." I hesitated, "Are we going to ask the Queen Mother about the past? Will the Queen Mother tell us?"

"It depends on Ye'er's ability." Yun Zheng looked at me jokingly, "The Queen Mother loves you so much, let's see if you can get something out of her."

It seems that I have to go to the palace to see the Queen Mother once.

Stepping into the courtyard of Yining Palace, I saw Aunt Fangting coming out from the Queen Mother. I smiled and bowed: "Hello, Aunt Fangting." This Aunt Fangting is the female official who has been with the Queen Mother for the longest time. The Queen Mother was thrown into limbo that year, and she followed her unswervingly. She was the person most trusted by the Queen Mother.

"Madame Ronghua is here." She laughed, "The Empress Dowager misses you all day, come in with me."

Stepping into the door, I saw the Empress Dowager playing mahjong with Concubine Shu, Shang Zhaoyi, and Concubine Ronggui. When Concubine Shu saw me, she smiled and said without waiting for me to salute: "My dear sister, come and help me to see my card. I fired several cannons at my ancestors, help me find out which one."

The queen mother smiled and narrowed her eyes: "Ye'er, don't worry about her, I only beat her a few times, so just make trouble for me."

"Old Ancestor, I'm not confused today, just let me..." Concubine Shu acted like a baby to the Queen Mother.

I greeted the empress dowagers with a smile, and then I walked forward. On the red lacquer tray held by the little eunuch behind the queen mother, there were already a variety of jewelry and pearls, including gemstone rings, jade bracelets, pearl necklaces, butterfly-shaped Brooch, and a few steps, said with a smile: "The Empress Dowager's luck is really good today, and the empresses will feel bad."

"They won Bengong's top-quality creamy fragrance yesterday, and they didn't see any disadvantage." The queen mother laughed and scolded, "Ye girl, don't stand up, sit down and play cards with Bengong."

All the empresses laughed. Seeing the posture in front of me, I was afraid that I would not be able to be quiet for a while, so I had to sit aside and watch them play. I don't know how many times they played. Aunt Fangting came to persuade the Queen Mother to rest , the queen mother pinched her neck, and said lazily: "Come on, I'll stop here today, you all go back."

The empresses quit, and I saw the tired face on the back of the queen mother, so I hurried forward and said: "The queen mother, let Ye'er help you squeeze your shoulders?"

"It's still Ye girl who is well-behaved." The Queen Mother praised me with a smile.I smiled, stood behind the Queen Mother, gently squeezed her shoulder, and observed her reaction.The queen mother narrowed her eyes, and she seemed to be enjoying it. I worked harder for the sake of cliché. After a long while, the queen mother lazily said: "Ye girl, it's okay, your hands should be sore after pinching for a long time. Sit down."

"You girl, you are so good today, do you have something to ask me for help?" The queen mother gave me a half-smile look, really "an old man, a ghost", this old ancestor has been in the palace for so many years There are ups and downs, of course, there are some skills.

"Queen Mother, you want to save Ye'er this time." I knelt down on the ground, "The emperor has a problem for Ye'er. I can't solve it. I'm afraid I will be punished." I can't ask directly about this matter, I have to first Probe into the Empress Dowager's tone.

"What's so serious?" The queen mother hurriedly said, "Get up and tell me."

I looked around, and the queen mother retreated to the left and right, leaving only Sister Fangting. I told the emperor that we should investigate the case of Taifu Murong's collusion with the enemy and treason 18 years ago, and told the queen mother about my relationship with the enemy. Yun Zheng's analysis results, while talking, pay attention to the Queen Mother's reaction, seeing her calm face, showing concern without hearing Concubine Murong, my heart is a little cold, the feelings of the women in the harem can be so good Where to go, even if there is friendship, after 18 years, it has almost faded away.

"Queen Dowager, the palace servants who served Concubine Murong are gone. There is no clue about this case. The concubine and his concubine are really helpless in this case. The emperor will definitely blame the concubine." Save the ministers and concubines."

"Ye'er, since the emperor entrusted you and Shizi Yun to investigate this case, there must be his reasons." The queen mother said gently, "The case has not progressed for a while, and it is not a big deal. Don't think too much about blaming the emperor. Now, go back today, the emperor's side, I will tell him, let him give you some more time. Fang Ting, send Madam Rong Hua out."

It seems that the queen mother can't find anything here, so I stood up in disappointment and bowed to leave.Sister Fangting led me out of Yining Palace and into the courtyard, when she was far away from the Empress Dowager's bedroom, she suddenly stopped, turned around and said: "Madam Ronghua, I have something to tell you, come with me. "

Seeing her serious expression, I knew that what she said to me must be very important, so I quickly followed.Sister Fangting took me into a secluded wing, watched carefully outside the door for a while, then closed the door, walked up to me, and suddenly knelt down on the ground.I was taken aback, and quickly helped her: "Sister Fangting, what are you doing? Get up quickly..."

"Ma'am, Concubine Xian was wronged, please you and Shizi Yun must find out this matter, and return your mother's innocence." Aunt Fang Ting's tears flowed out, and I was stunned, only to realize the concubine Xian in her mouth. It was Concubine Murong.I was overjoyed, and hurriedly said: "Does Sister Fangting know the truth about the concubine Xian's death?"

"My servant doesn't know what's going on, I just want to tell Madam what I know, hoping to help Madam investigate the case." Aunt Fang Ting wiped her eyes with her sleeve.I hurriedly asked her to sit down: "Mommy, what's going on? Tell me quickly."

"The servant girl used to serve the concubine Xian. Later, when the queen saw the queen mother, oh, the queen mother was still Zhaoyi at that time. Seeing that the queen mother lacked a caring person to serve her, she asked me to serve the queen mother. I didn't expect that after a long time, I heard It is said that the concubine Xian was bestowed to death by the emperor, and all her palace servants were killed." Aunt Fang Ting wiped her tears and said, "The first emperor strictly ordered not to tell the story of Pinxian Palace privately, otherwise those palace servants who died would be What happened to the others, but some rumors still spread, saying that it was the concubine Xian who caused Concubine Yao to have a miscarriage, and the emperor Long Yan was furious, so he bestowed the concubine Xian to death."

"Impossible, isn't the concubine Xian also pregnant?" I asked in surprise, if this is the case, would it be necessary to kill the concubine Xian?I frowned and said, "Who is Concubine Yao Gui?"

"Concubine Yao was the late emperor's favored concubine. Originally, before she entered the palace, the late emperor had always favored concubines and concubines the most, but it was different after Concubine Yao entered the palace. Concubine Yao is so beautiful. After entering the palace, the first emperor stayed overnight in her bedroom almost every night, and soon became pregnant with dragon veins. After Yao Gui concubine became pregnant, the first emperor loved her the most, but she was inconvenient, so she occasionally stayed in other empresses' palaces, Concubine Xian conceived a child after that. Later, Concubine Yao’s child was born before full term, and on that day..." Sister Fang Ting shuddered, bit her lips and said, "There is a message from Fuyang Hall. Concubine Yao screamed, the sound was so terrifying, I still feel horrified when I think about it, the next day, all the maids and eunuchs serving Concubine Yao were executed by the late Emperor. Confine your feet in Fuyang Hall."

"What happened later?" This kind of story made me feel horrified. What happened in Fuyang Palace drove a noble concubine crazy overnight, and all the palace people were executed. "The child of Concubine Yao is dead. ?”

"That's what the late emperor said." Mother Fang Ting's eyes were full of fear, "Not long after, the late emperor ordered the empress to lead people to search the palace, and every concubine's bedroom was not spared, which made people in the palace panic. Not long after searching the palace, something happened to Concubine Xian. Not long after Concubine Xian was gifted to death, concubine Yao Gui also died." Aunt Fang Ting looked at me and tremblingly said, "All I know is There are so many rumors that Concubine Xian caused Concubine Yao to have a miscarriage, but I know that Concubine Xian is not such a person, and she would never do such a thing."

"Why are you so sure?" Things seemed to be getting more and more complicated, and I couldn't figure it out for a while.

"When the concubine Xian was favored back then, the current queen mother was just a beauty. Later, she was lucky enough to be pregnant by the late emperor, but because she was not favored, the situation in the palace was very dangerous. The queen sympathized with the queen mother and took her to Pinxian. The queen mother lived with her, so that the queen mother could safely give birth to the current emperor. The queen mother gave birth to the prince, and she was able to be promoted to Zhaoyi. If it weren't for the empress to take care of her, the queen mother would have been tortured to death in the harem, and the emperor would not be able to Ping An grows up to be five years old." Aunt Fang Ting said with tears, "She can treat the queen mother like that, how could she harm Yao Gui's child."

I nodded, it really didn't make sense, but I was still a little puzzled: "Since the Empress Dowager has received great kindness from Concubine Xian, why just now..."

Sister Fangting looked at me and suddenly smiled: "Madam, as the Queen Mother, there are some things that cannot be said, and some things that cannot be said in front of her."

I was stunned, and Sister Fangting continued: "The Empress Dowager always remembers the great kindness of Concubine Xian. Even though she was disgusted by the late Emperor and sent to the cold palace because of her good relationship with Concubine Xian, she never forgot to take care of Xianfei in her heart." The imperial concubine cleans up the grievances. Otherwise, the madam will not come to talk to the queen mother today."

I didn't understand it for a while, and after thinking for a while, I suddenly realized: "So that secret book is..."

"That's right." Sister Fangting nodded, "The secret book was given by the queen mother to the emperor."

After a long time, it turned out that the empress dowager was responsible for this matter. I said, empress dowager, why are you torturing me like this?This queen mother is the most shrewd person, she can predict that the emperor will definitely let the Yun family investigate this matter.I kind of understood what Aunt Fangting meant when she said "some things can't be said, and some things can't be said in front of her".Of course the queen mother can't gossip with the palace people, and the old things about her being out of favor, being bullied, and being thrown into the cold palace can't be said in front of her face, otherwise what face does the queen mother have?But no matter what, the harvest of entering the palace today is really too great. Go back and discuss it with Yun Zheng carefully to see if you can find any clues from the information.

——2007, September, 1
(End of this chapter)