Concubine Lan waited all night, but when she didn't see Ruan Jia returning, she was very anxious, and the next morning, she hurried to Changning Palace. Unexpectedly, Empress Dowager Zhang didn't see her, saying that she was unwell in the morning, so she only asked her to wait outside the palace. In the past, except for the palace to ask the queen mother for three or five days, she never set foot in Changning Palace alone. At this time, she stood in the front yard for more than an hour, and the people who came and went to the palace cast curious eyes, and she did not avoid it, only to feel the scorching sun on her forehead, and she was a little groggy after a while, especially invincible.

It was almost noon, Liu Fuquan came out to call Qian'er and said, "The Queen Mother is invited." ”

As soon as I entered the hall, I saw the Queen Mother leaning on the couch, holding a booklet in her hand. As soon as he looked up and saw Concubine Lan coming in, he laughed lightly and said, "It's the first time that the Yang family has come to the mourning family alone, I heard that you were sick again yesterday, why did you come to see the mourning family." ”

Concubine Lan saluted respectfully, and said: "The concubine is not filial, so she should come to Changning Palace more often to accompany the Queen Mother." ”

The Queen Mother continued to flip through the booklet and said lightly: "You are valued by the emperor, and it is natural that you don't care about the old woman of the mourning family." She narrowed her phoenix eyes, stared at the booklet for a long time, and beckoned to Concubine Lan: "I heard early in the morning that you are full of poetry and books, and there is some ink in your stomach. The mourning family is old, and the eyes are not good, you come to see for the mourning family, what is this word? ”

Concubine Lan lowered her head and said "yes", and walked a few steps closer rather worriedly, only to see that the canonization was written "Xijing Miscellaneous Records", and couldn't help laughing: "The Queen Mother even reads these idle books." ”

The Queen Mother said with a smile: "The mourning family has lived alone in the middle palace for more than 30 years, and now it is worshiped by you like a Buddha statue, so you always have to have some fun." ”

"Xijing Miscellaneous Records" records most of the court anecdotes of the previous dynasty, Aunt Hongcao shook a fan on the side, and also echoed and said: "Niangniang likes to read some miscellaneous news and Guangzhi on weekdays, saying that it can increase knowledge." ”

The Queen Mother frowned slightly: "Net will talk nonsense, this kind of anecdote, what kind of insight can you have." It's just that the things written in the subset of the scriptures are so that we women can't read them. She motioned for Concubine Lan to step forward, pointed her armor on the page, and asked her, "What do you think this sentence is written?" ”

Concubine Lan looked at the book, her heart sank, and she felt a cold sweat on the back of her neck. There was a little wax on the page, and some of the handwriting was a little blurred, but the whole sentence was clear: "Zhao Hou's body is light and his waist is weak, and his good deeds are advancing and retreating." The female brother Zhaoyi can't reach either. But Zhaoyi has weak bones and muscles, You Gong laughed. The two of them were as colored as ruby, the first at that time, and they were both good at spoiling the harem. ”

The Zhao sisters...... Spoil the harem......

Seeing her extremely embarrassed, the Queen Mother sneered: "What? You are known as a talented woman, and you can't even understand these words? ”

Concubine Lan knelt down and said, "The concubine doesn't dare!" ”

"Don't dare?" The Queen Mother snorted coldly and asked, "Then the mourning family wants to ask, what do you mean as a palace maid!" ”

Concubine Lan followed her gaze and looked sideways, Ruan Jia was kneeling behind the curtain, and was pushed and shoved into the hall. Because she had not slept all night, her eyes were blue and black, and she looked particularly haggard.

Concubine Lan's eyes were wet, and she said to the Queen Mother: "The concubine doesn't know what the Queen Mother means, she is just a maid in the palace of the concubine, and she has no intention of arrogance!" ”

"Handmaiden?" The Queen Mother sneered, and anger was already faintly appearing between her eyebrows: "Your maidservant girl looks like a clever child, how can the mourning family look seven points similar to you?" ”

Ruan Jia lay on the ground and didn't dare to speak, just watching Concubine Lan being forced to ask by the Queen Mother one by one, and gradually became a little overwhelmed, but she already had a plan in her heart.

The Queen Mother suddenly slapped the table, and the wrench in her hand made a dull sound on the wood, and shouted: "Who is this woman?" You might as well tell the truth! ”

Although Concubine Lan had been mentally prepared, she was also in a cold sweat at the moment, and forced herself to calm down: "Ah Yuan is indeed the palace maid in the palace of the concubines, and the Queen Mother can investigate in detail if she doesn't believe it." As for her resemblance to the concubine, it is just a coincidence. ”

"What a detailed inspection! The mourning family just checked it! The Queen Mother turned her head to Liu Fuquan and said, "Don't bring people up yet!" ”

After a while, another person came in, Ruan Jia glanced at it, and her heart jumped, only because she was lying low, so that no one could see her expression clearly at the moment. That person was the guard who saw her drink poisoned wine in Shou'an Palace that day!

There was silence in the hall, and the Queen Mother said in a casual voice: "Who is Your Highness?" ”

The guard was originally able to speak well, but when he saw the Queen Mother at this moment, he was a little frightened, and stammered: "Slightly ...... Weichen Shou'an Palace Guard, Duan ...... Duan Hong, see Queen Mother. ”

The Queen Mother nodded and asked, "Don't be afraid, the mourning family said that you came just to ask." The red calyx stepped forward and grabbed the hair on the back of Ruan Jia's head, Ruan Jia raised his head in pain, and asked, "Do you know this person?" ”

Duan Hong glanced at her nervously, and suddenly his eyes widened in shock, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

"You know her?"

Duan Honggang wanted to nod and say that he knew, but he felt that people could not be resurrected after death, maybe he didn't know if he remembered it, so he said in a relaxed tone: "It seems to be ...... I seem to have seen it. ”

"Where have you seen it?"

Duan Hong said: "Before the first emperor's funeral, Weichen was on duty in Shou'an Palace, and he seemed to have seen this woman. ”

The Queen Mother nodded and said, "I heard that you were ordered by Concubine Lan to guard the martyrdom of a palace concubine surnamed Ruan that day, can you have such a thing?" ”

"Returning to the Queen Mother, yes...... There is such a thing. ”

The Queen Mother listened with a smile, her tone slowly softened, and she asked again: "Take a closer look, is the palace concubine surnamed Ruan this person?" ”

Duan Hong was very surprised: "How come?" Weichen saw her drink poisoned wine with her own eyes! She's dead! ”

Aunt Hongcao said: "The Queen Mother only asks you to distinguish people, and you don't have to ask more about the rest!" ”

Duan Hong had no choice but to say, "It seems to be ...... It seems to be her...... But ......"

The Queen Mother said "um" with satisfaction, and without asking too much, she asked him to retreat first. He took the tea brought by Aunt Hongcalyx again, moistened his throat, and looked leisurely at the concubines and palace maids kneeling in the hall, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "The matter has come to this, what else do you have to say?" ”

Ruan Jia had been kneeling with her eyebrows down, her calves were completely numb, and when she heard the Queen Mother's trouble, she couldn't help but say without waiting for Concubine Lan to speak: "The Queen Mother, things are the same, and people are similar." The slave maid just happened to look similar to one of the concubines of the first emperor, and the slave didn't understand, what does this have to do with Concubine Lan? ”

Duan Hong was about to leave the hall, and when he heard this, he seemed to be talking to himself: "It seems to be ...... It doesn't seem to be ......," he shook his head and went out.

The Queen Mother didn't expect her to refute it, and laughed and said, "What a well-spoken person!" Yang, your cousin doesn't seem inferior to you! ”

Hearing her say the word "cousin", Concubine Lan's fingertips trembled slightly, and her heart sank straight to the bottom. I only heard the Queen Mother say sharply: "Liu Fuquan, bring that servant surnamed Ruan too!" ”

Concubine Lan lost the last trace of blood on her face, and looked back at Ruan Jia in panic, but saw that she seemed to be confident, and quietly winked at her.

Ruan Minghui was rushed into the palace last night, when he was still doing opera and singing at the house of a minister in Beijing. He was a famous actress, and when he heard that the Queen Mother ordered him to enter the palace, he originally thought that he was going to enter the palace to sing for the Queen Mother, and he couldn't help but feel a little proud. Who knew that when I entered the palace, I waited in a dark room until midnight, and no one cared. The eunuch who brought him into the palace only asked him to wait, saying that when the queen mother wanted to see him, she would naturally summon him.

As soon as this person entered the hall, he made a big bow in a dignified manner, just like the performance in the play, kneeling three times and bowing nine times, and he did not fall. There are words in the mouth: "Ruan Minghui, a servant in the grass people of Beijing, wish the Queen Mother a thousand years old, a thousand years old, and wish the Queen Mother a ......."

The Queen Mother saw that his skin was white and greasy, and his phoenix eyes were slightly hanging, and he was indeed born with a good skin, so she interrupted him and said: "That's it, that's it, raise your head and speak, the mourning family has something to ask you." ”

Ruan Minghui leaned over and said: "The grass people must know everything, and they will say everything. ”

The Queen Mother was also tired of his slippery tone, and pointed at Ruan Jia and said, "Do you know this woman?" ”

Ruan Minghui didn't pay attention to the two kneeling people in the hall at first, but when he looked at it now, he suddenly exclaimed: "It's you!" ”

Regardless of the position of the female dependents in the palace, they are all compiled and recorded by the Ministry of Internal Servants. Ruan Jia knew that if the Queen Mother was suspicious of her identity, she would definitely go to check the register of the palace maid of Luanqing Palace at that time, and pass on her biological father to come to identify her. At this time, he was prepared, so he only pretended to be indifferent, and looked at him coldly: "Who are you?" I don't know you. ”

Ruan Minghui was stunned, looked at it carefully, and saw her haggard face, so he wondered if his daughter had committed something and would harm herself. He already had no feelings for this daughter, and as soon as his eyes rolled, he wanted to break up with her: "Oh yes, yes, the grass people seem to have seen the wrong ......"

The red calyx said sharply: "In front of the Queen Mother, how can you be allowed to speak upside down, and speak in vain!" Don't tell the truth, watch your head! ”

Ruan Minghui was originally a timid person like a mouse, and when she drank like this, the three souls went to the seven spirits, and said: "It's a little like, it's a little like ......."

The Queen Mother said with a pleasant face: "Okay, okay, don't scare him, Hongcalyx, take a closer look, is she your daughter?" ”

Hongcao said again: "You can see it, the person the emperor has taken a fancy to, can't be unidentified, something went wrong." ”

When Ruan Minghui heard this, he was suddenly overjoyed in his heart, and hurriedly said: "The grass people see clearly, she is the daughter of the grass people!" He turned his head sideways to look at Ruan Jia again: "Good daughter, don't you know your father?" In the past, you always complained that your father was not good, and sold you to be an official maid, isn't this also for your good? You see, as long as you enter the palace, the palace is full of dignitaries and nobles, why don't you worry about not getting ahead? ”

The Queen Mother asked, "Did you really see it clearly?" ”

Ruan Minghui was in a hurry, and his voice became more sharp: "Why is it not clear?" The daughter of the grass people, of course the grass people can see it clearly! ”

Ruan Jia was extremely disgusted in her heart, and said with a straight face: "Back to the Queen Mother, the slave and maid really don't know this person. The slave's parents were exiled for committing crimes in their early years, and later the slave and maid had been in the court since they were born, and they never knew any servants. ”

The Queen Mother said: "This is not up to you to argue." She turned to Ruan Minghui: "You said that she is your daughter, but what proof do you have?" ”

After a moment of hesitation, Ruan Minghui scratched his head, suddenly his eyes lit up, and he smiled: "Yes, yes!" The grass people remember that above the left arm of the little girl, there was a small half-moon-shaped red birthmark. ”

The Queen Mother said: "Red calyx, you go and take a look." ”

Aunt Red Calyx agreed and walked quickly to Ruan Jia's side, but Ruan Jia didn't show any timidity, and only calmly stretched out her arm to let her look. The red calyx eagerly rolled up her sleeves, revealing a snow-white wrist, and then looked up, but she was stunned, how could there be any birthmarks! The whole arm was covered with dark red blood scabs, and in some places the blood had not dried up......

"Queen Mother...... This ......" She looked up at the Queen Mother, speechless in shock.

Ruan Minghui wanted to say more, but the Queen Mother's face was already as iron, she brushed her hand to silence him, and glared at Concubine Lan and said, "Okay!" Good! Yang's ah, Yang's, the mourning family still remembers that two years ago, it was because your father endured humiliation and suffered a lot for the emperor that he pointed you to the emperor. Even if some people say that you are a fox and a fool of the Lord, the mourning family should only be jealous and never blame you. Now it seems that it is the fault of the mourning family! You two sisters are so scheming! ”

Such a terrible scar is by no means depicted with fat powder like last time, how can Concubine Lan not be shocked in her heart? I had to reluctantly tremble and said: "The Queen Mother is angry, Ah Yuan's acne rash has not healed, and there are some scars on her body." Now that the queen mother is unwell, the concubine pleads for her. ”

Since stepping into this Changning Palace, Ruan Jia has actually expected today's events, but she has also figured it out: she is just an ant, and if the Queen Mother wants her life to be easy, she doesn't need any excuses at all. But Concubine Lan is different, she is the emperor's favorite concubine, and she has a family background, if there is no conclusive evidence, even if she is the queen mother, she cannot be blamed at will. Therefore, as long as he insisted that he was not a martyred concubine, and at the same time did not leave any evidence for his biological father to identify himself, he could leave Concubine Lan with his whole body. Last night, when she endured the pain in her heart and peeled off the birthmark with a hairpin, she had already made up her mind, even if this move made the Queen Mother angry and wanted to put her to death, it was just a life for a life. She is a person who has already died, so what is there to fear?

Rao is arm epithelial flesh burning pain was unbearable, Ruan Jia only felt extremely happy at this time, her lips pursed into a line, and said loudly: "In this case, it can be seen that the slave maid is really similar to the daughter of this servant, and it is difficult for her biological father to distinguish between them." However, the slave maid is indeed not the person the Queen Mother is looking for, and Concubine Lan did not deceive the Queen Mother and the emperor, and hoped that the Queen Mother would be clear. ”

Ruan Minghui only refused to recognize him when she hated herself very much, and said repeatedly: "Queen Mother...... The Queen Mother...... The grass people really didn't read it wrong......"

The more he said this, the more convinced the Queen Mother was that the two sisters had joined forces to defile the harem, so she was so angry that she threw the porcelain cup in her hand down and shouted angrily: "Presumptuous! You are so deceitful, are there any queen mothers in your eyes! ”

Or I haven't seen the queen mother so angry for a long time, and the palace servants in the palace are all panicked and knelt on the ground. For a while, everything was silent, and the entire Changning Palace was full of cold and murderous atmosphere, which made people shudder.

Suddenly, I heard the emperor's deep voice sound outside the hall: "What's the matter?" Who made the queen mother angry? ”