As the imperial palace in the core of the Gaomang Dynasty, something that shocked Empress Dowager Xiao had just happened. She thought about it for a long time, and invited Empress Cao and the prince and his wife to her palace.

In the twilight, Xiaoquanzi was carrying a lantern in front, and the prince was sitting on the chariot and headed towards Yanqing Palace.

The Yanqing Palace is brightly lit, revealing a strong warmth.

Empress Cao and the crown princess had already arrived first, and there was also an elegantly dressed concubine sitting below the Empress Dowager Xiao.

The prince stepped inside with a smile, he didn't want to bring the pressure on him here.

The atmosphere in the hall was more relaxed than he had imagined.

Empress Dowager Xiao's health has not been as good as before in the past few years, her face is slightly leaning on the back of the chair with a kind face, and she is pulling with Queen Cao as usual. Empress Cao smiled at the corner of her mouth, and her heroic face did not show a trace of panic and anxiety.

Both of these are characters who have been through strong winds and waves. Especially the Empress Dowager Xiao, when she followed the first emperor to fight the world, what did the soldiers do when they came to the city.

On the other hand, the crown princess is still immature after all. Although she smiled reluctantly, her tight shoulders and exposed fingers still revealed the tension in her heart.

"I've seen the Imperial Grandmother and the Queen Mother. Seeing this, he walked to the vacant seat beside the crown princess and sat down, and quietly looked at the concubine, who rarely appeared.

If he remembers correctly, the concubine left by the first emperor is surnamed Zheng, who is more than twenty years younger than the Empress Dowager Xiao, and is the concubine of the first emperor in his later years.

She has a tranquil face and an elegant temperament, and she can't bear to lose her face in these lonely years spent in the palace. Only the shallow fine lines on the forehead at the corners of the eyes betrayed her age.

When the first emperor died, the concubines who had no heirs all entered the Taimiao to pray for blessings.

Concubine Zheng was lucky, although she had no son, she had a princess under her knees, and she avoided the fate of going to the Taimiao. She lived in seclusion in the palace, living as if she were invisible, and only appeared on rare occasions.

The prince had only seen her a few times. How could this concubine appear here at this time? If something goes wrong, there must be a demon, and he raised his vigilance in his heart.

"Sheng'er, I asked you to come, I have a big thing to tell you. Empress Dowager Xiao looked solemn, glanced at Concubine Zheng, and said, "Just ask Concubine Zheng to explain a thing or two." ”

Everyone present, except for Empress Dowager Xiao, didn't know what was going on, so they all set their eyes on Concubine Zheng.

Concubine Zheng stood up unhurriedly and said, "This matter is a long story. It's already past dinner time, and I'm afraid I'll be hungry for Your Highness. It's never too late to talk about my business after dinner. ”

Empress Dowager Xiao nodded with a smile and said, "It's better that you think about it carefully, and you're not in a hurry for this meal." He commanded, "Set the meal first." ”

The meal had already been prepared, just waiting for Empress Dowager Xiao's order. With the sound of the palace people's small footsteps, all kinds of dishes were served like water. It only took a cup of tea to set it up in the side hall.

Liuli bowed and said, "Please ask the Queen Mother to move to dinner." ”

Mama Ding helped the Empress Dowager Xiao get up, and the Empress Dowager Xiao looked at everyone and said with a smile: "It's rare to be so lively in this palace of the mourning family." Don't be polite, feel comfortable. ”

Empress Cao didn't follow: "The queen mother is complaining that her daughter-in-law is coming less?"

Empress Dowager Xiao smiled loudly and said, "You are really smart, that's what the mourning family means." ”

Between the two singing and harmonizing, they deliberately wanted to dispel the tense atmosphere. Everyone laughed, and the crown princess also felt as if her heart was much lighter.

When they arrived at the side hall, after everyone sat down, Empress Dowager Xiao picked up her chopsticks and said, "It's better to talk while eating, save some time and let Sheng'er have a good rest." ”

The crown prince smiled: "The imperial grandmother has always loved her grandson. As he spoke, he glanced at Concubine Zheng lightly.

When he said this, Concubine Zheng said: "The rebels outside the city used the name of the first emperor to raise the banner of King Ruyang. If it is true, I am willing to go out of the city and persuade him to surrender. ”

The prince's eyes froze, and he asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean by this?"

Concubine Zheng smiled slightly bitterly and said, "I don't want to mention this matter again in my life." Originally, I planned to take this secret to the grave, but unfortunately the heavens did not follow people's wishes. ”

Her tone was bitter, and the prince pressed his temper and stopped urging her.

It turned out that when the first emperor was still alive, King Ruyang had harassed her in the palace many times.

There is a big age difference between her and the first emperor, and she is several years older than the king of Ruyang. For some reason, King Ruyang was so bold that he hit her head with the idea.

She struggled to dodge, but the king of Ruyang pressed forward step by step. She was afraid that this matter would be known by others, which would lead to death, and she even drank banquets in the palace but often refused to go to her illness.

But after all the precautions, one day it will be succeeded by the king of Ruyang. Her heart was miserable, and she didn't dare to speak. Fortunately, soon after, the first emperor died, Emperor Qinglong succeeded to the throne, and King Ruyang was imprisoned in Tailing.

She said goodbye to those nightmarish days.

This past was so embarrassing that Concubine Zheng barely finished speaking, and she was already in tears.

Empress Cao couldn't bear it, and motioned to Shanmei to take her silk handkerchief, and said, "Concubine Niangniang, it's all in the past, don't mind it anymore." ”

Such a court scandal is truly appalling.

Although Concubine Zheng is about the same age as King Ruyang, she is his concubine in terms of generation. He went against the grain and did such a beastly act.

The crown prince frowned tightly and said, "Concubine Niangniang, we don't know what is going on outside the city. He only saw Wei Ming, but not the king of Ruyang or the son of the king of Ruyang, as Wei Ming claimed. ”

"Even if you once had a relationship, even if the king of Ruyang is under the city, how can you be sure to persuade him to surrender?"

Concubine Zheng held the handkerchief, and a bleak determination appeared on her elegant face.

She shook her head slowly: "I'm not sure." ”

She wasn't sure, but she still had to go. Whether it's to settle the original public case, or for the people of this city. Perhaps, even she herself doesn't know what kind of mentality she has.

Just four words, but everyone present understood what she meant. There was silence for a while, only the sound of chewing and the slight collision of dishes and chopsticks.

It was Concubine Zheng herself who broke the silence.

She wiped away her tears, got up with a wine glass, and said, "Queen Mother, the concubine is a useless person, and this life is not enough to pity." This glass of wine, the concubine toasts the mother, thank you for taking care of the concubine over the years. ”

Empress Dowager Xiao squinted her eyes slightly, she really didn't care about Concubine Zheng. It's just that he did things according to the rules, and he didn't deliberately treat her badly.

When Concubine Zheng entered the palace, she had been sitting on the throne of the queen for twenty years. The gap between the two is like one in the sky and the other on the earth.

Although Concubine Zheng was at the age of flowers and bones at that time, Empress Dowager Xiao really didn't take her seriously. The young and beautiful women in the palace don't know how many, and she is not even a threat.

Later, the first emperor died, and these concubines were disposed of by the Ministry of Rites according to the usual practice, and she didn't ask too much.