Concubine like a house

Chapter 170: The Ups and Downs of the Heart (1)
At the same time, Jingzhou, Yingyuan Palace.

The setting sun sheds a piece of afterglow, which faintly shines into the holy study room through the window. It was originally a room with simple furnishings, but it is magnificently decorated by the setting sun for no reason.The Emperor Tianshou stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, looking at the gradually changing sky, and when the last ray of light disappeared into the sky, he said softly, "Light up the lamp."

A few candles lit up in response to the sound, and Cen Jiang waited quietly for instructions.

Emperor Tianshou still stood still, turned his back to Cen Jiang and asked in a deep voice: "How many things have you prepared?"

"White silk, poisoned wine, dagger... the wine is red with a crane's crown." Three things, three ways to die.

"Go." Emperor Tianshou nodded slowly, "Remember to give the empress a face."

"My subordinates understand." Cen Jiang took the tray on the case and led him out.

Outside the holy study room, dozens of high torches were burning brightly, and the flames swayed in the night wind, as if dozens of beauties in red clothes were dancing with their waists lightly swaying.

This situation, separated by the blurred night, seemed somewhat unreal.With the tray in his left hand, Cen Jiang gestured to the imperial guards with his right hand, and a group of people followed him in silence and orderly.

From the beginning to the end, Emperor Tianshou has been standing in front of the window and watching coldly, without saying a word.

After all the imperial guards had left, the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms in front of the porch came over, floating into the house through the half-covered window sill.The surrounding area was almost eerily quiet, Tired of the tangy cinnamon, he reached out to close the window and turned to look at the candlelight in front of the case.The flames flickered, reflecting the golden dragon on the black-bottomed dragon robe stretching its teeth and claws, trying to soar into the air.

As the king of a country, the Heaven-sent Emperor cannot do whatever he wants.It's like dealing with Queen Mother Ye tonight, if he shows any kindness and cares about his old kindness, he will lose this hard-won world in the future.

Tonight is destined to be a heinous night of killing...

The phoenix eyes were slightly narrowed, and the eyes were calm. The Emperor Tianshou was meditating, and his heart was ups and downs.It took half an hour like this before he came back to his senses and called out in a deep voice, "Be calm."

Called, but no one answered, Tianshoudi frowned, raised his voice unconsciously: "Calm down?"

This time, there was a quick response from outside the door. A young eunuch walked in lightly and replied respectfully: "My lord, Aunt Danxin is not on duty today."

"Really?" Emperor Tianshou suddenly wanted to talk to Dan Xin.He desperately needs someone to talk to him, and he needs to be calm to break the oppressive atmosphere and unshackle his conscience.

"Go and see where Danxin is, and pass her over." Emperor Tianshou ordered.

"This..." The little eunuch hesitated for a moment, and replied truthfully, "Aunt Danxin has been insomnia recently, and she said that the empress dowager's soothing tea is very effective, so I went to ask for the tea prescription."

"What did you say?" The Tianshou Emperor's charming face changed instantly, and he grabbed the young eunuch by the collar, "Say it again?"

The little eunuch was short in stature, his feet were pulled off the ground by Emperor Tianshou, and his body was suspended in the air.He was trembling and didn't dare to struggle, so he could only resist the suffocation in his neck, and repeated intermittently: "Danxin... Auntie, I went to... the Palace of Mercy."

Grace Palace!Empress Dowager Ye's bedroom!A sense of fear suddenly struck, and the usually fearless Emperor Tian Shu was terrified at this moment!Imagine that Cen Jiang had already left the Holy Study for nearly half an hour, and he should have arrived at the Palace of Mercy long ago.If Empress Dowager Ye is unwilling to die and struggles, she will be cruel to Dan Xin...

He has no time to stop it!

With a "plop", the Emperor Tianshou threw down the little eunuch, and stepped out of the door like lightning...

Mercy Palace, side hall, tea room.

Zihan was dressed in a green palace attire, holding a small box, and said with a smile to Dan Xin: "This is the ingredient of Anshen Tea, it was prepared a few days ago, and it is just waiting for you to pick it up!" She has handed over the box in her hand to Danxin.

Since entering August, Emperor Tianshou has been unable to sleep at night, always suffering from headaches and insomnia.Danxin, as the female officer who wrote the pen, saw that his spirit was getting weaker and weaker when he was reviewing the memorials, so he also felt distressed.Originally, she wanted to go to the Imperial Dining Room to get some soothing medicinal food, but later she heard that the soothing tea that Empress Dowager Ye drank had a significant effect, so she excused herself from insomnia and came to the Palace of Mercy to ask Zihan for the prescription.

This matter has been talked about several times, either because Dan Xin was on duty, or because the Queen Mother was suffering from a headache, she never found a suitable opportunity.It was she who ran into Zihan on the road today, and the other party took the initiative to mention the matter, so she came over in a hurry.

Danxin thought while reaching out to take the box, and said with a smile, "Thank you." She looked at Zihan carefully, trying her best to find Luan Su's shadow.Then what kind of woman should she be to make the heartless and ruthless Emperor Tianshu so infatuated?Danxin is very curious.

Knowing that Emperor Tianshou doesn't want to see Zihan, and knowing that Zihan is only similar to Luansu in appearance, but every time he sees this face, he still feels awkward and restrained.In particular, the other party once poured a cup of hot medicine on her back. Although it was an accident at the time, it always made her feel unhappy.

Danxin, who was always eloquent, had nothing to say to Zihan, so she stood up and said goodbye: "Miss Zihan, the Holy Majesty still has my errand, I will make a special trip to thank you another day."

Zihan smiled and waved his hands: "Miss Danxin, you are welcome. I will serve by the Empress Dowager's side, and you will serve by the Holy Majesty's side. They are mother and child, so we don't have to be too extravagant."

Hearing this, Danxin couldn't help but sigh with emotion, Zihan became more and more able to speak, and he couldn't even say such decent words!She smiled at Zihan, "Then I'll take a step first, so as not to delay your service to the Empress Dowager."

"I'll take you out." Zihan insisted on sending you off, but she couldn't refuse indifferently, so the two came out of the tea room and left the side hall of the Mercy Palace all the way.

As soon as he walked to the entrance of the main hall, he met the Queen Mother Ye head-on, and quickly saluted indifferently: "My maidservant has seen the Queen Mother."

In the afterglow of the setting sun, Mrs. Ye was sweating thinly on her back, as if she had just returned from a walk outside.There was a flash of sharpness in her eyes, and she immediately changed into a kind smile, and asked, "Are you indifferent? Why didn't you come to the Aijia Palace instead of being on duty by the Holy Majesty's side?"

With a dry smile: "The Empress Dowager, I have been suffering from insomnia recently, so I took the liberty to come here and ask Miss Zihan for some calming tea."

"Zihan's craftsmanship has been passed down to your ears? It's not easy!" The Empress Dowager Ye helped Danxin herself, and smiled again, "Since you're here, why don't you tell the Ai family? Are you going to come quietly, go quietly?"

"The Empress Dowager speaks seriously." Dan Xin felt overwhelmed with flattery, "This trivial matter of my servant is not worth alarming you. Besides, your headache has recently returned, and this servant dare not disturb you."

"She is a sensible girl." The Queen Mother Ye nodded with satisfaction, "A few days ago, the Holy Majesty bestowed a marriage on King Cheng, and when I was so excited about mourning my family, I got a headache and lay down for several days in a row. I'm going for a walk, and I'll catch you when I come back!" She said while holding Danxin's hand, repeatedly urging her to stay, "Go! Go to Ai's house and sit down, Ai's family has something for you."

"To the slave?" Danxin was a little surprised, not knowing what Queen Mother Ye wanted to give her.

And Empress Dowager Ye didn't speak any more, and went all the way to the bedroom with a calm heart, even Zihan was left outside.When the two came to the inner hall, Queen Mother Ye pushed open the door of the dressing room by herself, and waved calmly: "You come in with Ai's family."

I didn't know why, and I didn't dare to refuse, so I had to go in.As soon as I entered, I was immediately dazzled—the room is surrounded by pearls and emeralds, gold and silver jewelry, which are really dazzling and staggering.

Empress Dowager Ye still had a kind smile on her face and asked her, "Are you 25 this year? Are you old enough to leave the palace?"

Nodding lightly, with imperceptible sadness in his words: "It's time to leave the palace next month."

"Very good! Very good!" Empress Dowager Ye praised twice, took out a brocade box from the dressing table, and handed it to Danxin, "You came from Yunfu, served Mrs. Xie Tai and Mrs. Chuxiu, and You are quite favored by the Holy One, and the Ai family also likes you very much."

Hearing this, Danxin felt a "thud" in his heart, and his expression unconsciously became tense.

Seeing this, Empress Dowager Ye threw up her sleeves and smiled: "Now that King Cheng is about to marry Miss Xie's family, it can be regarded as a marriage with Yun's family in disguise. Now that you have reached the age of leaving the palace, Ai's family wants to ask the Holy Master for the will of Taoism and seal you as Cheng." Concubine Wang, how are you?"

"Prince Cheng's side concubine?!" Dan Xin was very surprised, her eyes widened in disbelief, "Empress Dowager, what's the matter? The maidservant was born as a servant of the Yun family..."

"What's wrong with the house slave? Who dares to underestimate the house slave of the Yunfu? Besides, you are now the female official who writes beside the Holy Majesty. With this status, no one else can compete with you. Instead of going out of the palace to be your successor, It's better to be a side concubine for the son of the Ai family, and Mrs. Xie must be very happy with such a close relationship!"

Empress Dowager Ye pushed the brocade box into Danxin's arms, continued to smile and said, "You are about the same age as King Cheng. With you taking care of him, Ai's family is more at ease. What's more, King Cheng's fief is in Fangzhou, and you will still be next to Yun when you marry." It's not considered a distant marriage. How about it?"

"Empress Dowager..." Danxin was startled by this thought, and the brocade box in her arms became heavy.She subconsciously declined, "No, no, the servant cannot agree, and this brocade box cannot be accepted..."

"Why can't you accept it? This is the jewelry from the Ai family's dowry. It has been treasured for decades, and no one is willing to give it to you." Aijia will go to the Holy One to give him a marriage tomorrow! You have served him for two years, and Aijia opened his mouth in person, so he has to sell his face no matter what."

"The empress dowager! This servant can't afford it!" Dan was so anxious that he almost knelt down, thinking about how to reject this marriage.But the more anxious she was, the more she couldn't think of an excuse, and she was completely different from her articulate voice in the past.

Danxin was anxious and uneasy, but at this moment, she heard a loud noise outside: "Guard Cen, you can't go in! The Empress Dowager is waiting for guests!" It was Zihan's voice.

Cen Jiang is here!Hearing the word "Cen Shiwei" calmly, he immediately thought of who it was.But she suddenly felt guilty, as if she was caught doing something wrong and she didn't dare to face Cen Jiang, or she didn't dare to face Cen Jiang's master.

At this time, Empress Dowager Ye also frowned, and snorted coldly in dissatisfaction: "Cen Jiang has eaten the guts of a leopard? How dare you forcefully break into Ai's palace?" She looked down again, and said: "You wait here Ai, go out and have a look."

He nodded lightly and said yes.At this moment, she naturally couldn't show up. Once Cen Jiang discovered her, it would be equivalent to being discovered by Emperor Tianshou.If Empress Dowager Ye took the opportunity to propose this marriage, Emperor Tianshou must think that she and Empress Dowager Ye had discussed it in private, then she would really be thrown into the Yellow River and she would not be able to clean up the matter!Thinking of this, Dan Xin immediately pursed her lips and kept silent.

Empress Dowager Ye pushed open the door of the dressing room, went out and asked sharply, "What's the noise? Do you know what time it is?"

"The Empress Dowager forgives my sins, I am here on the order of the Holy Majesty." Cen Jiang's voice was cold and unwavering, strictly adhering to the last trace of etiquette.

Dozens of torches outside the door were too dazzling, casting light all over the hall.Empress Dowager Ye slowly looked away, looking at the tray in Cen Jiang's hand, which was still covered with a thin layer of yellow brocade.

"What is Guard Cen holding in his hand?" Queen Mother Ye asked.

Cen Jiang did not reply, but instead asked: "Is the Empress Dowager here with guests?"

"No, Ai Jia saw that it was getting late, so he took off his hairpin alone in the dressing room." Queen Mother Ye returned calmly and naturally.

Cen Jiang considered for a moment, then raised his hand to signal the two imperial guards to enter, and then pointed to the direction of the dressing room.The two immediately understood and wanted to search for people in the dressing room.

"Presumptuous! The place where Aijia is the place where you entered as soon as you wanted?" The Empress Dowager Ye raised her hand to stop her, her face was gloomy as if she was about to rain: "The amount of jewels, emeralds, gold and silver in there were all given by the late emperor and the holy majesty. How can the little imperial army break in? If you want to search, you can go and get the will of the Holy Majesty!"

Even Cen Jiang was taken aback by this sound of stopping.He remembered that the Emperor Tianshou had said before departure, "Remember to give the empress a face", thinking about it this way, he also felt that the act of searching the palace was a bit excessive.

"The empress dowager, calm down." Cen Jiang pointed to Zihan outside the door, and explained, "It was your maid who said that you are entertaining guests inside."

"The sun is already setting, so who are you waiting for?" Queen Mother Ye sneered, "Guard Cen has been with His Majesty for a long time, can't he tell what is an excuse? What is the truth?"

When Cen Jiang heard the words, he understood and did not doubt him.After all, the excuse of "hospitality" is too common, if Queen Mother Ye doesn't want to see outsiders, it would be reasonable to say so.So, Cen Jiang waved his hand to signal the imperial guards to close the door, and apologized to Queen Mother Ye: "My minister is rude, and I hope the Queen Mother will forgive me."

"You also know that you are rude?" Empress Dowager Ye pointed to the tray in his hand, "The Ai family just asked you a question, and you haven't answered yet!"

Cen Jiang remained silent, only uncovering the yellow silk that covered it, and presented the whole picture of the tray - white silk, poisoned wine, and dagger, three items lined up in sequence, heralding the imminent death.

Empress Dowager Ye squinted her eyes for a while, then waved to Cen Jiang, "Come here. Ai's family is old, and her eyesight is not good. The lights in this palace are too dim to see clearly."

Cen Jiang couldn't figure out what kind of trick she was playing, and he didn't dare to approach her rashly. He just replied, "This tray contains white silk, poisoned wine, and a dagger. The Holy Majesty ordered you to choose one."

As soon as these words came out, Dan Xin who was hiding in the dressing room was horrified, and quickly covered her mouth with her hands.Isn't Queen Mother Ye the Holy Majesty's adoptive mother?A few days ago, the Holy Majesty had just decreed a marriage for King Cheng, why did the mother and son turn against each other suddenly?

Danxin felt that her heart was beating "thump-thump", which was unimaginable and extremely nervous.She tiptoed to the door of the dressing room, looked out through the crack of the door, and could vaguely see a tall black shadow reflected on the opposite wall, it was undoubtedly Cen Jiang.

She held her breath and concentrated, not even daring to take a breath, knowing that she shouldn't peek, but couldn't help but want to peek at the scene outside.A heart almost jumped out of his throat, and the weird figure reflected on the wall was like a bull's head and a horse's face in hell, taking people's lives.For the first time, Dan felt that Cen Jiang was so terrifying, so frightening.

"The Holy One really won't give the Ai family a way out?!" At this time, the Empress Dowager Ye suddenly raised her voice, as if she wanted to let Danxin hear it, and angrily reprimanded, "At least the Ai family raised him for more than ten years and helped him become king and emperor. How cruel!"

Cen Jiang saw that the Empress Dowager Ye reacted greatly, and thought that she was afraid before she died, but he didn't think too much about it, so he just replied coldly: "Please ask the Empress Dowager to cut herself off."

"Suicide?" Empress Dowager Ye laughed sadly, and shouted angrily without image, "He is so anxious! He didn't let Ai's family see Xiao'er for the last time!"

Cen Jiang only lowered his head and sighed softly: "If His Highness King Cheng comes down, the situation will only become more complicated."

yes!If Nie Peixiao had come, how could he have watched Empress Dowager Ye die?Even to save his mother, he will do his best!Even rebellion is not hesitated!

Even Danxin in the dressing room thought of this, let alone Queen Mother Ye outside.But her old voice sounded again: "Okay! Okay! Your Majesty has made a good plan! This time, Prince Cheng's mansion will be lively, and both red and white affairs will be handled together!"

When Cen Jiang heard this, he couldn't bear it, he bowed and raised the tray above his head: "It's getting late, please go on the road, Empress Dowager."

A sarcastic smile appeared on the lips of Empress Dowager Ye, and she finally resigned herself to her fate.She looked at the three items in the tray again, and said to herself: "The poisoned wine has pierced the intestines, and the death is terrible. I don't want to choose."

Cen Jiang remained silent.

Empress Dowager Ye's eyes fell on the dagger again, and suddenly asked: "Where is this dagger going to poke?"

"Throat." Cen Jiang replied crisply.

"It must be very painful." The Empress Dowager Ye shook her head and sighed softly, "It's not auspicious for the parents who are affected by the body, hair and skin to see red... Besides, Ai's family is old and can't bear the pain." She raised her finger and pointed at Bai Ling , "Let's just leave it alone, at least we can leave a whole body."

"I obey." Cen Jiang put the tray in his hand on the table, picked up the white silk and asked Queen Mother Ye, "Do you have a will to leave?"

(End of this chapter)