The earth-shattering reversal of the Xiao Mansion murder case caused an uproar inside and outside the court, and the number of people who poured into the teahouse to listen to books on weekdays more than doubled. Madame Li personally interceded for Xiao Zhuru, the general of Sima, a move that made those who had used the limelight of the emperor's thorough investigation to suppress the Xiao family's forces panic, and they felt terrified when they heard some disturbances.

In this matter of the wall falling down and everyone pushing it, the people who are still rational have chosen to protect themselves, and only the political enemies of the Xiao family are more ruthless than the other, especially the queen mother behind the Shen family.

This is good, and the storytellers sighed: "How many people have to capsize in this troubled water this time?" I'm afraid that even the emperor's mother, the queen mother, will cross the river like a mud bodhisattva - it will be difficult to protect herself! As soon as these words were introduced, the audience nodded in agreement.

At the beginning of September, when the emperor held a banquet in private, his henchman Xu Guangluxun brought four white-haired elders to attend, each of whom had white eyebrows and fairy spirits, which was a high profile that was better than the most famous literati in the capital, Yan Hanshan. The emperor wondered who was seated, and Xu Guangluxun replied: "This is the four Haos of Shangshan who live in seclusion in the mountains of Suzhou, namely the Duke of Mingshan, the Duke of Mei, the Duke of Return and the Duke of Fangweng. Wechen made friends with them a few days ago, and after hearing about the Xiao case in the capital, he decided to follow Wechen to the capital, saying that he had a heartfelt message to say to the emperor. ”

The emperor was surprised, "The four elders have been living in seclusion in Suzhou, but I didn't expect that there would be a day when they would go out of the mountain. ”

"Your Majesty," the former Mingshan Gong stroked a white beard and said eloquently, "You are often in the deep palace and don't know how the people outside the palace are talking about it, everyone thinks about the Xiao family's case, but unfortunately if these people's voices reach the emperor's ears, it will be a different scene." ”

"What do the people think?"

"General Xiao is a meritorious person who persuaded Beidan Yu to surrender, how can the emperor erase his hard work because he is suspicious? The people believed that the detention of General Xiao Sima on the grounds of Li's murder would be a loss of royal authority, but they did not dare to say much because of the power of the DPRK and China. The old man thought that the key witnesses in this matter appeared just right and did not leak, and the old man suspected that someone was behind the scenes, and implored the emperor not to be blinded by the traitors and listen to the voice of the people. ”

The emperor was moved, "I never thought that so many people outside the palace would intercede for the general, and even four elders could come to the capital from Suzhou. It's all because I'm too suspicious, and Li's case should be thoroughly investigated. ”

Xu Guangluxun echoed the emperor's wisdom, and the matter was settled, and the historian behind the curtain recorded this scene, because of the appearance of Shangshan Sihao, the emperor planned to replace people to find out the murder case again, and those who were sure that the Xiao family was the culprit in the past were all replaced, and most of the forces supported by the Shen family lived in it, and they were transferred to the new Qing officials.

These clean officials are truly upright, with clean sleeves and meticulous conduct.

They don't hide and deliberately suppress anything, so when Lee's widow presents the confession to them, the matter of the case begins to get delicate.

The culprit behind it......

It turned out to be the queen mother?

Naturally, this matter could not be publicized lightly, and they were as silent as a rock, so that no one except the emperor's cronies knew about the follow-up progress.

Others only said that it was a troubled murder case, and the emperor almost missed the good minister, but fortunately he reined in the cliff in time. But in the eyes of Shen Shuzhao, it was an increasingly fatal blow.

Shangshan Sihao?

Isn't it the momentum that the emperor wants to create for Xiao Zhuru to get rid of suspicion, what is the difference between this and her asking Yan Hanshan and other literati to write poems to praise the Queen Mother and belittle the Xiao family? The emperor just used the mouths of these worldly masters to say what he thought in his heart, and this kind of words can only be really useful if he is a "people".

Otherwise, where did Xu Guangluxun get such a big face to invite these four prestigious wise men out of the mountain?

Later, Gao Dezhong reported that Mrs. Li's recent actions were almost nothing unusual except for people who came into contact with the government and lived in the homes of friends living in the capital.

Shen Shuzhao decided to go to see Yan Han Mountain, if the emperor wanted the queen mother's reputation to be ruined...... It would have been too easy for him, and they would have had to resist with the strength of the Bitter Cold Mountain. Yan Hanshan is now completely controlled by the Queen Mother, when the Queen Mother needs him, this poor person always loses more in the Zhen family's Changhuanfang than the sum of the past, Shen Shuzhao came to visit with gold and silver, the deeper he fell into the quagmire, the more he couldn't get out.

"Second Miss Shen, this ......" Yan Hanshan stared at the silver in front of him and hesitated slightly.

Shen Shuzhao said: "What's wrong with Your Excellency? ”

"Hmm...... Now there is only the voice of General Xiao speaking outside, Yan does not dare to go against the general trend, and I am afraid that the Queen Mother will not be able to do it. ”

"The little woman hasn't told you what to do, and you already want to excuse yourself?"

"That's not ......"

"The Queen Mother has considered Your Excellency and will not let Your Excellency do anything that damages your reputation in the near future, but Your Excellency's loyalty to the Queen Mother is not enough, and the little girl understands." Shen Shuzhao made a look, and Wang Xian came over to prepare to pack up the silver.

Yan Hanshan subconsciously wanted to stop it, but finally lowered the hand in his long sleeve.

Shen Shuzhao took the opportunity to look out the window, and there were a few naughty children about twelve years old playing in the courtyard, "Your Excellency's children and grandchildren are so cute. ”

Wang Xian asked the other eunuchs to lift the silver box and open the door and walk out, and a line of people passed by the courtyard to attract the attention of the children. Shen Shuzhao walked out of the house and beckoned to them, smiling sweetly like Qingfu, and the children came over defenselessly when they saw Yan Hanshan walking to the door.

Shen Shuzhao ruffled the broken hair around his ears, leaned down and gently teased these children, "Your Excellency is so blessed to be able to get grandchildren who have fallen into such a mark." ”

"Second Miss lift."

"When the white head is full, the knees are full of children and grandchildren, and the joy of life is here. Your Excellency can let these lovely children under your knees grow up carefree in such a mansion, this is the greatest happiness. She said intentionally or unconsciously.

Yan Hanshan's face changed slightly, and he was still a little weak when it came to the affairs of the mansion, in fact, after rejecting the queen mother's money, he hadn't figured out how to fill the gap, but the emperor had already stopped, and it would be too unwise for him to meddle in the affairs of the court again.

After returning to the palace, the Queen Mother ordered Zhen Shangze to use all her strength to persecute Yan Han Mountain, and within a few days, Yan Han Mountain, who couldn't bear it, asked someone to find Shen Shuzhao again, telling her that she had changed her mind and was willing to be used by the Queen Mother. "Second Miss Shen, I hope you don't take the old man's last incident to heart."

"It's naturally good that Your Excellency can figure it out, it's just ......" Shen Shuzhao's eyes stared at his eyes that began to dodge, and the words changed, "Since you have chosen to stay with the Queen Mother, you should be loyal." If there is such a situation next time, don't blame the Queen Mother for not caring about your past feelings. ”

"Yes, yes."

"Your Excellency doesn't need to come forward for the widow of the Li family, just pay attention to the southern faction of the Xiao family, and there must be no recurrence of the last time the southern faction of the Empress Dowager made bad lies." Shen Shuzhao said sternly.

Yan Hanshan suddenly closed his eyes slightly, "Actually, talking about the widow of the Li family...... The old man recalled that a few years ago, the old man actually had a few encounters with her. ”

"What?" Shen Shuzhao became interested.

"That was when she and her husband first arrived in the capital as officials, when the old man did an on-the-spot poem in the capital, Mrs. Li suppressed many people with her excellent literary talent, because she was a woman, so the old man was very impressed by her."

"And what about her calligraphy?"

"Fortunately, the stroke of the pen can be seen to be a noble woman from the scholarly boudoir."

Thinking of the events of that day in the Yamen, Shen Shuzhao and Wang Xian glanced at each other, and after the plan in her heart took shape, she said to Yan Hanshan: "The little girl wants to ...... You may need to host another one. ”

"But...... It's going to take a lot of time. ”

"The little woman knows." Shen Shuzhao pondered for a while and continued, "Only one...... Well, the crossword poem, yes, to use the crossword to measure the fortune and evil, and then invite some highly respected monks, since Mrs. Li admires your talent, she may come over to avenge herself. ”

"Second Miss, what if she doesn't come?"

"Then it's just a matter of obeying orders." Shen Shuzhao said helplessly, with the strength of the emperor's conspiracy, it is too late to turn the tide now, "It can start tomorrow." Your Excellency is an elder like 'Shangshan Sihao' in the hearts of the people of the capital, and this time you will not be suspicious of coming out in the name of Moxuan Pavilion. As for the poems for people to fill in the words, there are so many students in Moxuan Pavilion, and it is not difficult to take some old ones to fill the number, right? ”

Yan Hanshan exclaimed, "Okay, this trick is wonderful." ”

Even Wang Xian was quite emotional, "The second young lady is smart, and she thought of a way so quickly." ”

"It's just a gamble to see if Mrs. Li will show up." Shen Shuzhao said in a far-reaching tone.

After the matter was decided, the Queen Mother also agreed. The next day, there was a lively scene in the capital, Moxuan Pavilion had lived outside the world for a long time and did not ask about the world's affairs, Yan Hanshan, a master who had come out to calculate for the people, with awe and novelty, many people got up early in the morning and went in and out of the place in the capital to ask for a signature, but most of the people who came over were just ordinary people.

Shen Shuzhao and Yan Hanshan sat in the inner room of the hall and watched the crowds of people on the long street downstairs, these requests for signatures were handed over to his disciples, even if they were making up nonsense, they were busy. There are all kinds of people who look at careers and seek marriage, but Mrs. Li just didn't appear.

She sighed, not knowing if she would be able to get her wish in the end.

When the time flickered to noon, Pang Yashi asked her if she needed to rest for a while, and Shen Shuzhao shook her head. This person was sent by Tingwei, and the Queen Mother also gave her a face, and asked the people from the Yamen to come and help her, but there was really no end to such an aimless wait.

In the evening, the sky gradually darkened, "Miss Shen Er, the old man thinks she shouldn't come today." Yan Hanshan looked at the slowly thinning people outside the hall and said firmly. Shen Shuzhao stood up, her legs were a little numb after sitting all day. Maybe this is fate, I haven't gained anything after waiting for a day, I don't know if Mrs. Li will come over tomorrow.

The lights were dim, and the lit candles reflected the red at the entrance of the lobby, but none of the faces that appeared were what she wanted.

"That's all for today."

After Shen Shuzhao finished speaking, Yan Hanshan, Pang Yashi and others finally breathed a sigh of relief, if they waited any longer, everyone would complain, but because of the queen mother behind Shen Shuzhao, they didn't dare to say it clearly.

The others turned around and walked downstairs, Shen Shuzhao stayed where she was, she unintentionally glanced at the joint, and her eyes suddenly froze. A black figure appeared around the corner, with a soft figure, and it was a woman at a glance. The woman with the light on her back slowly approached here, but the already dark environment made it impossible for her to see the woman's face clearly, but this slightly familiar figure made her heart thump, and she felt that it was most likely Mrs. Li.

"Wait a minute." Shen Shuzhao said, "She seems to be here." ”

Then the woman walked slowly, and the candlelight outside the hall finally reflected her face, desolate, melancholy, dignified and beautiful face under the slender eyebrows - this was Mrs. Li!

Shen Shuzhao hurriedly said to Yan Hanshan: "Quickly take out the poem prepared for her alone." ”

"Go!" Yan Hanshan instructed his disciple, and the man hurriedly ran downstairs. Mrs. Li stood at the door and hesitated for a moment, looking at the monks who were burning incense in the hall and the others who were sincerely seeking solutions, not knowing what she was thinking. "Will she even get in?" Wang Xian asked in a panic.

The red-hot incense spark flowed deep under Mrs. Li's pupils, and she looked at the Jade Guanyin in the center of the lobby under the plaque of Moxuan Pavilion with resentment. Shen Shuzhao was very nervous, but not long after, Mrs. Li still moved the lotus step lightly and walked towards the hall.

As everyone was almost gone, she quickly got the monk's guidance to enter and get a fill-in. After thinking about it for a while, Mrs. Li naturally raised her left hand and began to fill in the words, this action was clearly seen by everyone in the dark upstairs, and Shen Shuzhao said faintly: "She really ...... It is like writing with the left hand. ”

After it was written, the piece of paper was immediately presented upstairs, instead of being sent to the disciple who wrote the explanation for Yan Hanshan like everyone else, holding Mrs. Li's handwriting in his hand, Shen Shuzhao asked Wang Xian to unfold the confession she also wrote in the yamen, no matter where it was, it was obviously different, one looked rusty, the other looked exquisite, and the face of Pang Yashi became solemn.

Downstairs, the monk appeared in front of Mrs. Li again, and said politely to her: "Donor, Mr. Yan said that you need to write a few more sentences to get the result." ”

Mrs. Li was puzzled, "Why is this happening?" ”

"Everyone who comes here has something difficult and easy, life and death are big things, and marriage is just a small matter, so the donor needs to ask for a few more times to solve the hexagram."

Mrs. Li had no choice but to pick up the pen again, she took the paper given by the monk and read it out, "The flowers are deep, and the willows are yin." Du Liu wears flowers to find the letter, and the gentleman's heart bears the concubine's heart......" This is a Song man's words, the whole sentence means that a woman is tossing and turning to pursue her lost lover, Mrs. Li's expression became sad after reading it, "What are so many poems used for?" ”

"The donor can write down the poems that move him the most, and Mr. Yan will personally explain the divination for the donor after reading it."

At this point, Mrs. Li raised her pen hesitantly, she didn't understand why she was writing so much, but Yan Hanshan was sitting in it, so she didn't dare to say more, and after writing, she recited the content of the next page, "...... There is nowhere to find the old nest, who is working hard in Yuguan, who is singing and dancing in Yulou. ”

Shen Shuzhao, who was upstairs, listened to her read these poems softly, her voice was elegant, plain and suppressed, and she did have the demeanor of a scholarly lady. Shen Shuzhao looked down at Li Chong's suicide note in his hand, and the second paragraph was "The first year of Yongyuan is when I first found the person entrusted by the Queen Mother...... ...... that day", she hooked the corners of her lips and silently watched Mrs. Li write.

These poems have been carefully selected to lead Mrs. Li to write what should be written. For example, the flow of "flowers are deep, willows are yinyin" is meaningless poetry, she knows what Mrs. Li's mood is at the moment, "Du Liu wears flowers to find letters" means that a woman is struggling to find her lover in the world, if Mrs. Li reads such a sentence, she will be deeply touched.

Therefore, a search for a word can actually be seen.

The monks brought them to the cabinet, and Mrs. Li waited outside with anxiety, and she folded her hands to face the Bodhisattva, and said, "Husband, if you have a spirit in heaven, bless your concubine and children to be able to sue the Bodhisattva." ”。 In the middle of the night, she heard someone's footsteps coming, opened her eyes, but unexpectedly saw a girl in a green dress and a long skirt standing at the door, Fu Fan Shi Zhu's cold temperament, the peach blossom pupils were bottomless coolness, the girl stepped in, and a sneer was hooked on Dan's lips.

"I'm afraid your husband won't be able to bless you this time." Shen Shuzhao said.

Mrs. Li showed a faint panic, and Shen Shuzhao took out the poems she had just written, and compared them with Li Chong's suicide note, "Madam, can you tell me why the words you wrote are the same as your husband's suicide note?" ”

"You...... What nonsense. Mrs. Li's body began to tremble.

"Master Li must like calligraphy very much on weekdays, so the suicide note is also written in great style. Madame, listen to me read the last sentence: At the beginning of the first year of Yongyuan, after I was recognized by the Tai 'Hou', she abolished the original Xiao clan's Si Zhi and promoted me to 'Si Zhi'...... When I first 'searched' for the person "trusted" by the Queen Mother...... "who would have thought" that the "original" would use these things to coerce me...... "if" I' one day fell into the quagmire of the Queen Mother's struggle for power against the emperor, I dare not think about what will happen to my wife and children in the future. Mrs. Li, many of the words you just wrote are exactly the same as the handwriting on this suicide note. ”

Shen Shuzhao walked out beside many officials in official uniforms, Pang Yashou led them to stand in a row behind her, Mrs. Li retreated uneasily, Shen Shuzhao took his hand and said: "Madam, when I first met you that day, you used your left hand to taste tea and tea, but you used your right hand to write your confession, and you have always hidden your left hand in your long sleeves. Actually, these are not noteworthy things, until the second time I served you tea, deliberately placed it on your right hand, you picked up the teacup with your right hand, and when you wrote the confession again, you habitually used your left hand, and this was your biggest flaw -- after that, I began to suspect that this suicide note was written by you yourself, and you kept your left hand in the yamen probably trying to restrain yourself. It is impossible for a well-informed and well-educated woman to be so unfamiliar and ugly as written in her confession. I think that if Mrs. wrote with her left hand this time, if she showed it to others, she should be able to judge that you are the owner of the suicide note. ”

Mrs. Li trembled, but she didn't refute it.

Seeing that she hadn't spoken, Pang Yashi said coldly, "Madam, please come back to the yamen with us." ”

"If Madame has nothing to say, let them go." Shen Shuzhao's face was expressionless.

"......" Mrs. Li was so nervous that her left hand was hidden in her sleeve all the time, and it seemed that she already had a shadow.

Several officials were about to come over, and Mrs. Li suddenly said in a loud voice: "Second Miss, don't you want the truth?" I'll give you that. ”

Shen Shuzhao was silent for a moment before replying word by word: "Where is it?" ”

"Where I stayed." Mrs. Li was a little disappointed, "There is what you want there, you can come with me." ”

After glancing at each other with Pang Yashi, Shen Shuzhao made a decision, "Okay." ”

She and all the government officials led Madame Li to the mansion where she was temporarily staying, which was the residence of her businessmen and friends.

Mrs. Li calmly took Shen Shuzhao and approached the courtyard, some of the subordinates were so frightened that they didn't dare to breathe, but Mrs. Li ignored it completely, there was no trace of panic on her body that she was about to face torture, but calmly did not panic, and there was no shadow of fear.

There is a kind of arrogance, dignified and atmospheric maturity in this woman's temperament.

In the dark night of the lack of moon and the cold wind, Mrs. Li pushed open the door of the main house in her courtyard, "Second Miss, in fact, there is one of my distinguished guests in the house." ”

The people around her suddenly put their hands on the scabbard nervously, and Mrs. Li said calmly: "It's a distinguished guest that the second lady knows." ”

When he stepped in, Pang Yashi grabbed her arm with one hand and said fiercely: "If you play any tricks, your head will not stay on your neck the next moment." ”

Mrs. Li glared at him, anger hidden in her eyebrows. She was carried in, Shen Shuzhao followed, and when they approached the ear room, everyone stopped.

Shen Shuzhao was stunned in place, only to see that under the Siya leaky vermilion lacquer window in front of her, a beautiful woman sat elegantly, as if waiting for the return of the master, the evening smoke and haze color embroidered skirt on the ground, like a golden peony blooming, making the whole humble house bloom, her Su Xue Su embroidered thin jacket faintly revealed white as jade arms, a little red cherry under the moth eyebrows, apricot eyes Mingren, and listening to the sound of movement and the glance of the eyes, the Buddha was about to go to half of Shen Shuzhao's heart.

All the men were stunned.

I never thought that there was such a beautiful woman in this world.

Who is she? Where did it come from? What's your name?

All of a sudden, no one seemed to care about Mrs. Li's affairs, and then Mrs. Li walked over generously and said to the beauty: "I'm sorry, the concubine is late." ”

The beauty smiled lightly, and her voice sounded like a warbler from the ethereal clouds, enough to soften the three feet of ice on the tip of her heart, "It's okay, but why did these servants come with you?" ”

"This ...... It's time for you to ask her. Mrs. Li looked at Shen Shuzhao.

Facing the gaze of being cast, Shen Shuzhao was embarrassed.

"Come and sit down." The woman said to her.

Shen Shuzhao was next to Mrs. Li, and the beauty raised her hand to make a cup of tea for her, and said softly sultryly, "Use it slowly." ”

"Hmm......" Shen Shuzhao took it unnaturally, trying not to look at her chest exposed because of leaning forward.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The little finger of this beauty also secretly scraped the back of her hand when she handed it over, and the little finger scraped up gently, the touch was as light as a feather, and its flirtatious meaning was self-evident, and Shen Shuzhao's face was immediately full of crimson.

At this time, Mrs. Li said: "The concubine didn't expect that the second lady found out that the concubine was a person who wrote with her left hand early in the morning, and just now she spelled out the content of the suicide note with the words written by the left hand of the concubine. ”

"Oh?" The beauty raised her eyebrows, and Shen Shuzhao became very uncomfortable, "It turns out that this is how you have been busy leaving the palace these days...... There's no reason why you don't even want to see each other, cousin? ”