Gu Qingning entered the harem for the first time when he was summoned by the Queen Mother.

This summons surprised her, and she was not surprised. Because at this time, there were rumors that she climbed onto the dragon bed, and the Empress Dowager Wei heard about her questioning, which is not incomprehensible, but she never expected what would happen after entering the palace......

"Gu Qingning, the waiter of the Criminal Department, saw the Queen Mother, and wished the Queen Mother a blessed life and a long peace, a thousand years old, a thousand years old, a thousand years old!"

Entering the queen mother's bedroom, she knelt down and bowed, the veil in the hall fluttered, she couldn't see whether there was the queen mother in front of her, but knelt down and saluted in the direction led by the palace people.

"Calm down, Gu Shilang. ”

A voice came from behind the veil, and somehow, when she heard it, she suddenly felt a chill in her heart, although she was indeed apprehensive, but she did not have this feeling of fear.

Gu Qingning bowed solemnly again, then got up, raised his eyes slightly, and wanted to see the queen mother's appearance through the curtains.

"Come in, sit next to the mourning family, the mourning family wants to have a good talk with Master Gu. ”

Kowtow again, finish the salute, "The lower officials will obey the decree of the Queen Mother." She lowered her head and walked towards the inner hall, and at the same time the palace people in the hall retreated silently.

Gu Qingning gently lifted the curtain, and at the same time heard the sound of the dormitory door closing, she chuckled in her heart, inexplicably uneasy.

Yu Guang finally caught a glimpse of the vague figure in front of her, she turned her gaze and saw the Empress Dowager Wei reclining on the leaning back, and at that glance, she only felt amazing.

It's not the ordinary amazement of seeing a stunning beauty for the first time, but another surprising feeling that exceeds expectations.

She never dared to think that the Queen Mother would be like this, beautiful, a kind of deterrent beauty, not deliberately revealed, natural style, eyebrows under the eyes and full of softness, lazy posture, smiling at the corners of her lips, looking straight at herself, but people can't see what she thinks in her heart.

Gu Qingning stepped forward to see, the Queen Mother still thought she was standing far away, she stepped forward again, the Queen Mother patted her beside her and motioned for her to sit over, Gu Qingning said goodbye again, only standing on the side of the Queen Mother, hanging her face to listen to the instructions.

She heard the Queen Mother smile and said, "You, you, really look like your father, not very much like your mother......

"My mother?" Gu Qingning couldn't help but look up: "The Queen Mother has ever seen her mother?"

Empress Dowager Wei looked up at her sideways, and suddenly reached out to the back of Gu Qingning's hand, and stroked it gently: "Haven't you seen it? Your mother is a noble person of the mourning family, if there is no her, the mourning family would not be a mourning family......

There seems to be a deep meaning in these words, when Gu Qingning was thinking about it, the Empress Dowager Wei's hand suddenly pulled over one of her hands folded around her waist and dragged her in her direction, Gu Qingning was caught off guard, her body fell directly to the side, fell on the backrest, next to the Queen Mother, and was surrounded by the Queen Mother's waist with one hand.

Gu Qingning was shocked, and met the eyes of the Empress Dowager Wei, and her heart beat like a drum in an instant, and she was both afraid and excited, which made her completely lose her mind and didn't know how to react.

"The Queen Mother's ......"

Empress Dowager Wei held her like this, smiled softly at her, stretched out her hand to touch her face, exhaled like a silk, and narrated, "Many years ago, His Majesty was only four years old that year, and he had a serious illness, which could not be cured, and the Mourning family asked the former emperor to go out of the palace to pray for His Majesty in Lingyuan Temple of Tianzi Mountain, and the first emperor allowed it, but in fact, the mourning family left the palace not to pray for His Majesty, but to escape ...... Mourning family."

Gu Qingning's heart trembled, "The Queen Mother once wanted to escape from the palace?"

"Yes. She was very calm and said: "At that time, the mourning family could not see hope, a little concubine, neither the support of a prominent family, nor the favor of the emperor, what else could the mourning family expect? Being trapped in the deep palace for so long, it can simply suffocate people crazy, I really can't stand it, so I thought of such a way, and planned to fly away...... Don't argue about anything, just live a comfortable ......"

"However, at that time, I met your mother......" She seemed to be reminiscing, her eyes were deep, and her voice was melodious.

"The Queen Mother is in ...... On the way to escape, you ran into your mother?" Gu Qingning asked carefully.

"No, it's in Lingyuan Temple, and your mother came to see the mourning family. She sighed, "Your mother is a man who takes chances......

It is conceivable that Shen Lanxi had befriended the Yuanchou Master of Lingyuan Temple a long time ago, and it was not difficult to learn from her that there were concubines in the palace to pray for blessings in the temple. But in this way, combined with what the Queen Mother said, Gu Qingning understood that the plan made by her parents was far more than everything she knew.

Gu Qingning couldn't help but speculate, back then, was it Lu Yuanzhi who participated in the seizure of the heir and co-opted their Gu family as a supplement, or was it actually her parents who promoted all this? It was they who started this game of seizing power, and then pushed Lu Yuanzhi out to bear the battle and criticism on the surface! Who used whom?

Perhaps, her parents have already calculated step by step, and the game they have laid out is just the tip of the iceberg in front of her!

"She chose me, even though it was her, because I was the only one who needed them...... In the meditation room of the monastery in Tianzi Mountain, your mother talked with me all night and persuaded me to give up the freedom to escape, and obediently returned to the palace to continue to be a member of the deep palace...... But since that night, nothing has changed......"

Gu Qingning could feel that when she talked about this, she was independent of the identity of the Queen Mother, and until now, she was not bound by the identity of the Queen Mother. In front of her, Gu Qingning felt some kind of real unpredictable fear, like standing on a cliff staring at the bottomless abyss, feeling more and more small, simple and insignificant.

"It's been many years, it's really amazing, Gu Qingxuan, Shen Lanxi...... And then with your Gu family, they are all amazing people......" She smiled, one hand stroked from Gu Qingning's bun crown to the neckline of her official uniform, her expression playful and meaningful.

Gu Qingning inhaled to stabilize his trembling body, and acted as unharmed, "The Empress Dowager appreciates it, and the Gu family is very honored, but if there is a place to serve the Empress Dowager and His Majesty, the Gu family will do their best to pay ......for it."

"Master Gu, the mourning family likes you very much. ”

Her words of loyalty were abruptly interrupted, and she only heard the Queen Mother confide in her lightly, which made her stunned for a moment.

"It is the honor of Weichen to be loved by the Queen Mother......"

She asked Gu Qingning again: "Do you want to enter the palace? If a woman like you is in the harem, she will definitely have a great future." ”

Gu Qingning chuckled in her heart again, and couldn't help but guess what she meant, first recounting the old things, telling her about her parents' assistance to her, and then asking her like this, could it be that the Queen Mother wanted the emperor to include herself in the palace in order to win over the Gu family?

Gu Qingning got up and replied with a salute: "Weichen doesn't dare to think about it. Wechen knows that rumors have been raging recently, saying that Wechen intends to seduce His Majesty, but please believe that Wechen definitely has no such thoughts, Wechen only has loyalty to His Majesty, absolutely innocent, and dare not have any delusions!"

She covered her mouth and laughed, leaned forward, and pulled Gu Qingning's hand again, "What's the matter?" Lord Gu, the mourning family just asked like this, and it scared you...... You don't have to be afraid, the mourning family believes that you and Your Majesty are innocent, and listening to you say it in person today, the mourning family is more at ease and even happier......"

Gu Qingning breathed a sigh of relief, and couldn't help but cast a puzzled look, to be honest, she didn't understand.

Empress Dowager Wei seemed to understand her confusion, so she immediately gave an answer - she pulled Gu Qingning hard again, this time directly causing her whole person to fall to the couch, and then leaned over and threw herself down, looking down at her from top to bottom, close at hand, her eyes were ambiguous, and her hand began to slide from Gu Qingning's cheek......

"Queen Mother......" She had an extremely bad premonition.

"Master Gu, the mourning family said that the mourning family likes you very much, so the mourning family is very happy that nothing happened between you and Your Majesty. ”

Her hand slid to Gu Qingning's waist......

"No, the Queen Mother ......" Gu Qingning trembled, completely lost his mind, and didn't know how to respond.

Empress Dowager Wei attached to her ear and whispered: "The mourning family is really lonely in the harem, how about Lord Gu come to accompany the mourning family more?"

On the verge of collapse, she was on the verge of losing control of herself, and she didn't know what she was going to do......

"Queen Mother. A hoarse, low voice came from outside the veil.

That voice made people feel creepy at first glance, but at this time, it was a gospel savior for Gu Qingning.

Empress Dowager Wei stopped moving, and an incomprehensible smile appeared on her face, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

She sat up and resumed her dignified demeanor, Gu Qingning hurriedly got up from the couch, tidied up her clothes, and her face turned crimson.

"Come in, Aunt Yan. ”

Gu Qingning hadn't come out of Fang Cai's mixed minds, she lowered her head in embarrassment, and saw a figure approaching in the straight corner, she regained her senses, and looked at the person with her eyes, and she was stunned again.

Not only was her voice terrifying, but even her appearance was very strange - she wore a white mask with a thin red line on the center of her forehead, and her entire face was covered by a mask, revealing only a pair of eyes and a nose and mouth.

"Queen Mother, the medicinal diet is good, it's good to take it while it's hot. She put the tray down and took out a small bowl carved in white jade from the mahogany food box, with a lid on it, and opened it with a hot steam.

Empress Dowager Wei looked at her and smiled, "It's rare to still be hot......"

People couldn't understand the meaning, Gu Qingning couldn't think about it anymore, took the opportunity to get out, and saluted: "Weichen doesn't disturb the queen mother's meal, so he will retire, and the queen mother will be auspicious." ”

"Okay, the mourning family knows that Master Gu must be busy with business, and the mourning family will not keep you, but don't forget what the mourning family just said. ”

Weichen remembered the teachings of the Queen Mother. She felt like her internal organs were being burned, and she felt sick to her stomach for a while, and she felt inexplicably nauseated.

Empress Dowager Wei looked at Aunt Yan: "Aunt Yan, you send Master Gu out." ”

For some reason, Aunt Yan was visibly sluggish for a moment, and then obeyed the order.

Walking out of the inner hall, Gu Qingning still didn't know where the seven souls and six spirits were scattered, his body was unconscious, and only the nausea in his abdomen became more and more intense.

On the palace road, there was no one around, she and Gu Qingning were alone, and suddenly stopped, stopped and looked at Gu Qingning for a while.

Gu Qingning was still walking forward, and after walking a little way, she realized that Aunt Yan had not followed, and before the palace gate arrived at this time, she looked at Aunt Yan suspiciously, wanting to ask what was going on.

Aunt Yan spoke first, "Don't be scared by her, they just want you to be scared." ”

Gu Qingning regained her consciousness at this time, and she was full of doubts, facing Aunt Yan, she felt that she couldn't see through anything, but Aunt Yan seemed to be able to see through herself.

She finally couldn't help it, ran to the palace wall, supported the palace wall and retched, in fact, she couldn't vomit anything, she just felt nauseous, vomited until her face was full of tears, and was thinking of an excuse to explain to her aunt.

Aunt Yan looked at her wordlessly, until she was better, then walked towards her, stretched out her hand, as if to support Gu Qingning, but stopped halfway, only took out a silk handkerchief from her arms and handed it to her.

Gu Qingning took the silk handkerchief and wiped his cheeks, "What did you just say...... The Queen Mother just scared me?"

Aunt Yan no longer looked directly at her, and a pair of eyes under the mask looked at Miyagi in the distance, "You have to remember, they just want you to be afraid." ”

"Some people are really crazy, and some people just pretend to be crazy, because they know that only by going against common sense, only by being exaggerated and out of control, can others not see through what they think in their hearts, and people are afraid of the unknown, so they have to create this kind of 'unknown'. ”

Listening to her words, Gu Qingning seemed to have an understanding and asked her, "Why do you want to tell me this?"

Aunt Yan didn't answer, didn't say anything anymore, turned her face to look at Gu Qingning, and then bowed, pointed in the direction of the palace gate, and motioned for her to go by herself.

She didn't ask again, saluted Aunt Yan, turned around and left, her heart was heavy and ethereal in the sky, until she went out of the palace gate and got into the carriage, she was a little conscious, and she found that she was still holding Aunt Yan's handkerchief in her hand and did not return it to her.

Later, Gu Qingning asked the eyeliner in the palace to inquire who this aunt was, and learned that she was just an old palace maid who had entered the palace since she was a child, and she had served many concubines, and served by her side when the Empress Dowager Wei first entered the palace, and was later transferred to the full-time washing of the Danghua Division to work, three years ago there was a fire in the Danghua Division, her entire face was burned, and her throat was ruined by smoke, and her voice was almost lost, and the Empress Dowager Wei learned that her miserable situation was unbearable, so she transferred her to her side, she did not interact with people on weekdays, but was only loyal to the Empress Dowager Wei, which was equivalent to the Empress Dowager Wei's cronies。

……

Whether it is Yin Jiheng or Lu Yuanzhi, they are already ancient at this time, and the Great Qi Dynasty is still running freely. The bloody massacre of the Imperial Observatory a few months ago was quickly and calmly forgotten, and after a few rainstorms in the summer, there was no trace of blood inside and outside the Imperial Observatory. Gu Qingxuan returned to the dynasty to govern the government, at this time he seemed to have become the center of the Great Qi court, he didn't need to be aggressive, the hundreds of officials in the court were anxious for him first, and Du Wanwei and others recommended him to be promoted to the imperial historian.

On the evening of April, in the imperial study, Duke De led Gu Qingxuan into the internal audience, and after giving a big gift, the emperor retreated left and right, and discussed with him in the front hall.

“…… It is also interesting to say, the monk only carried a bamboo basket on his back, rode a thin horse and went out of the pass, was stopped by the frontier soldiers several times, each time he was beaten all over the body and forced back to the inner realm, so he refused to give up, once slipped out of the border pass on foot, almost died of thirst in the desert, it was also fateful, and was found by the soldiers...... It is really ridiculous for such a monk to say that there is Mahayana Buddhism in the Western Regions and want to seek it, and I don't know how he knows that the Mahayana Buddhism is in the Western Regions?

"Your Majesty, about this Master Yi Yuan, the minister also heard Qin Guofu talk about it, in fact, he is not ordinary, but a senior monk of Cigan Temple in Chang'an, he was famous and noble when he was young, and he has written to the court nine times in recent years, and asked him to go to the Western Regions to exchange Buddhism, but he was rejected, so he did the smuggling. The minister thinks that since he is a high-ranking monk, he will not do ridiculous things, the mystery of Buddhism, and those who can participate in the realm are also respectable, not to mention that he is also sincere, several celibate smuggling through hardships, such a mind is convincing, Your Majesty might as well fulfill him, he wants to pursue Mahayana Buddhism to universalize sentient beings, let him chase it, and those who can adhere to the faith are always valuable. Gu Qingxuan replied after thinking about it.

The emperor asked: "Gu Qing means to send him a customs clearance document and let him go west?"

He replied, "Yes." ”

The emperor also thought about it, and then said: "Since Gu Qing has such a opinion, then okay, I am right." ”

After discussing this matter and dealing with some other government affairs, the emperor finally said that the main purpose of summoning him to the palace at night was to ask him: "Gu Qing, the commercial reform policy you asked Yin Jiheng to put forward before is actually not all you have conceived, is it?

He smiled, "It's just right now." ”