On this moonlit night, Wei Yang lowered her head, and she gently kissed the makeup on Shen Shuzhao's forehead.

Shen Shuzhao closed her eyes, only quietly breathing and enjoying Wei Yang's gentle kiss. At that time, the bright moon under the shore and the lotus fragrance were bursting, if she was reborn in the palace to make up for the regret of meeting Wei Yang, then she would have no regrets in this life and stepped into the quagmire again.

There are so many things in this world that are not clear.

Why did she have to figure everything out?

"Lone will protect you."

Wei Yang's words fell lightly in her ears at this time.

"Lone will always protect you."

accompany

Along with the spirit and soul, she was held in the palm of this woman's hand. Shen Shuzhao pressed his head deep into Wei Yang's neck.

Wei Yang ......

I wish only that you,

Never fail me.

Returning to the Qinglian Pavilion, Shen Shuzhao was reluctant to part with Fang Cai and Wei Yang, and fell asleep peacefully. In the east wing, the eldest sister Shen Zhuangzhao couldn't sleep peacefully on the agarwood bed, and couldn't help but turn around again, the bed "creaked", she frowned, and was even more upset.

Queen She ...... What kind of person is it? She looked at the deep darkness outside the pear wood window lattice at a loss, unable to figure it out, and couldn't sleep.

The night of Changle Palace is long and endless, and everyone's mind has its own merits, and it is entangled in a chaotic red line in the night sky, and there is no solution.

The next day, the Queen Mother summoned Shen Shuzhao to Yongshou Hall early, and the eldest sister's entry into the palace was already a certainty, and what they were most concerned about now was the next move of the Xiao and Chen families.

At the same time, in the early morning, the queen mother and the emperor together canonized General Xiao Hussar as General Sima had been issued. The Queen Mother and the Emperor summoned - it was really a slap in the face, and after the Xiao family got this imperial order, their faces must have become extremely pale.

When Shen Shuzhao arrived, she saw the back of Taiwei Chen and King Liang leaving, and wondered why the Chen family, who had always been good with the Xiao family, came to Changle Palace alone to see the Queen Mother? Entering the hall, the Queen Mother took the fold copied by Gao Dezhong in her hand and was pondering on her cheeks. "Shuzhao, look, the news of Li Chong's disappearance has spread to the inner court, and his family has returned to the capital to inform the government. There is a lot of talk between the DPRK and China. ”

Shen Shuzhao replied to her: "The time has come, now is the time for the Queen Mother to stand up." ”

"The mourning family ordered the court lieutenant to strictly investigate this matter, and the area from Jingzhou to Luoyang is being searched strictly, and in a few days, Li Chong's body will soon be found. By the way, is it okay over there in the Bitter Cold Mountain? ”

"Back to the Queen Mother, everything is appropriate, only the murder case is settled."

"Okay, you can do things and mourn your family," the Queen Mother said and took a sip of Biluochun with the Qinghua Shouzi teacup, and then said with a smile: "Have you seen Taiwei Chen and King Liang coming?" ”

"The courtiers saw it, but Taiwei Chen had always been inseparable from Xiao Cheng before, but now it is rare to see him once."

"He came today to talk to the mourning family about the concubine."

Shen Shuzhao was surprised: "What do you say?" ”

In fact, when you investigated Li Chong before leaving the palace, he entered the palace alone to get closer to the mourning family, and the mourning family did not take him to heart at that time. After this incident, he came again today. The mourning family told him that there are many concubines from the family of powerful ministers in the harem, but there is no daughter of the Chen family, and the Taiwei has worked hard for the Wei Dynasty for so many years, but the family has not produced a princess, which is a pity, why not let the Son of Heaven accept the daughter of Chen who has not left the cabinet as a concubine? ”

Shen Shuzhao suddenly realized, she knew that it was not so simple for Chen Lao Fox to enter the palace, on the surface it was to remind the Queen Mother, but secretly it was hinting that the Queen Mother was benefiting herself. The Shen family has a queen mother, the Xiao family has a queen, but his family does not, and it is really reasonable for the queen mother to tempt the concubine.

"And then?"

He wanted to excuse himself first, saying that his little daughter didn't understand the world and couldn't climb the royal family, and he was afraid that it would be difficult to enter the eyes of the mourning family. The mourning family said why not, the Son of Heaven admires a simple and consistent woman, so he agreed to push the boat down the river. The mourning family immediately chose a day and said that they would take his daughter and the eldest niece of the mourning family into the palace on the same day. ”

Shen Shuzhao was overjoyed after hearing this: "Congratulations to the Queen Mother, the day of the eldest sister's concubine has finally been set!" ”

"It's decided, it's just a bit off."

"It's not too late to decide on the position in the future, let's see the next reaction of the Xiao family, it's hard to guarantee that the queen won't get in the way."

"Now that even King Liang and his ministers are speaking out for the concubine, the Xiao family can't play any new tricks." The Queen Mother lightly stroked the flowers in the vase on the table.

Shen Shuzhao hesitated slightly, she knew that King Liang was an ambitious person, in the previous life, the emperor and the queen mother had been fighting secretly for so long, King Liang was like a person who was ambushed in the shadows and fought for the benefit of the fisherman, although the emperor still sat firmly on the throne of the Son of Heaven, but she faintly felt that after she was given wine, King Liang must have made a big move on the throne, and he still wanted to replace him.

But this qiē is just a guess, after all, King Liang has not shown anything now.

"The Queen Mother is careful, the courtiers think that King Liang is not a simple person."

The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes slightly, and her fingers tapped on the corner of the table, "Oh? ”

Shen Shuzhao said: "The matter of the concubine involves the conflict of interests of the four big families, the courtiers are the ones who assist the queen mother, the emperor is the watch-and-see and mediator, the cold mountains and the like are just props to use, and what role does King Liang play?" Why was he so interested in who was in the palace? ”

He ...... Lost his mother since childhood, was brought up by the first emperor let the palace people, usually very low-key, he has had respect for the mourning family since he was a child, and the mourning family let the emperor seal him in the beam after he was very grateful to the mourning family, and often entered the palace to visit the mourning family. ”

"Anyway, this person should be careful." Shen Shuzhao said cautiously, "Li Chong's matter should be staged in a few days, and the eldest sister has decided to enter the palace again, and the two things are combined into one, which catches the Xiao family off guard." ”

The Queen Mother leaned on the phoenix chair and smiled.

Sure enough, in this world, the power is still the most reliable.

Shen Shuzhao knew what she thought, the emperor and the queen mother had already had a rift since she listened to the government on her behalf, if the relationship between the mother and her son was so fragile in the harem, it was better to get real power and stability.

Within a few days, after the festive atmosphere of the Queen Mother's Thousand Autumn Festival had faded slightly in the harem, there was a sudden thunderclap on the ground - the news that Li Chong had disappeared came! This incident immediately shocked the government and the opposition. This is the old henchman of the Queen Mother, or the former Prime Minister Si Zhili. As a result, all forces on the sidelines are in a wait-and-see mode.

The Queen Mother was grief-stricken in the Changle Palace, and spent a lot of money to buy the first literati in the capital, Yan Hanshan's literary endowment, to mourn Li Chong, for a while, most of the poets in the capital rushed out, and published poems hoping to get the Queen Mother's blue eyes, a large number of good poems about the Queen Mother's cherished talents and virtuous ministers appeared, caught up with this trend, and others also used this subject to practice writing and making a big fuss, so the Queen Mother's good reputation spread.

In the end, even the emperor had to come forward to commend Li Chong's past achievements.

Shen Shuzhao couldn't help but shake his head every time he turned to these poems in the cabinet, these literati and writers described things they had never seen before, as if they had witnessed Li Chong's loyalty and the Empress Dowager's love for good ministers!

The good concubine smiled like a pear blossom, reluctantly closed her hand lightly on the poetry book, and said, "Don't look at these nonsense things anymore." ”

Shen Shuzhao sighed in his eyes, "It is worthy of the cold mountain, after his work out of the mountain, everyone paid attention to the cause of Li Chong's death." ”

"The more attention Li Chong's matter gets, the more beneficial it will be to Concubine Na?" Concubine Liang asked while fanning the embroidered tangram fan in her hand.

Shen Shuzhao replied with a smile, "But...... It's very advantageous. The light in his eyes flowed, and his finger pointed at the poem presented to the Queen Mother by the big Moxuan Pavilion, "Any careerist must have a pen to speak for himself." ”

"Are these people all you wooed for the Queen Mother?"

"Hmm."

The good concubine sighed: "The second lady has sharp teeth, and the concubine is beyond her reach." ”

She looked at the concubine, in fact, she had been very busy a few days ago, and she had to be free to receive this lonely woman recently, and the queen mother also treated her a little better because of the concubine's repeated loyalty, so she allowed herself to get close to her, so the concubine came to her from time to time as a guest. It's just that she is not favored by the emperor and has no use value, so the queen mother does not plan to promote her in the harem.

Shen Shuzhao thought for a while and said, "Since you have followed the queen mother in the harem, the queen's people must be hostile to you, you have to be careful everywhere, it is no longer the days when you were alone in the past." ”

After the eldest sister enters the palace, those high-ranking concubines and favored concubines will definitely not be loyal to her, only these helpless and slightly powerful concubines will chase her wholeheartedly

"What about you?"

"Me?"

She was stunned by the concubine's sudden questioning.

The clear eyes of the good concubine were like a stream bathed by the newborn sunrise, and she said calmly and gently: "Yes." What is the second lady going to do? Could it be ...... Haven't you ever wanted to stay in the palace? ”

Shen Shuzhao said firmly: "I will not stay here forever. After speaking, she walked out the window, "The world is so big, I won't be trapped in this place for the rest of my life." ”

As soon as she said that, she realized that something was wrong. "Don't take what I just said to your heart. The palace is very good, many women have not been able to see the holy side in their lives, you are a concubine, you are already better than many people. ”

"Alas......" The concubine walked over and looked at her sadly, "But when the imperial concubine is at ease as an ordinary small household, Daddy was actually very unhappy when he heard that the first emperor was going to enrich the harem and choose concubines." Mother said that there are so many prestigious families, it will definitely not be our turn to be a small official, but I didn't expect it...... In the end, the women who were selected were all from the same background as the concubines. ”

Shen Shuzhao was full of emotion at the moment, it seems that the first emperor was also very afraid that the power of the powerful family would affect the government of his son the new emperor, but with the queen mother as a hindrance, the power of relatives is more and more infiltrating the palace, how unfortunate is this?

She patted the concubine on the shoulder, "If you come, you will be safe." The emperor is a talented and good-looking person, and he is worthy of you. ”

The good concubine was gloomy: "The emperor is very good, but he is not only a concubine." ”

This sentence made Shen Shuzhao speechless, what else could he say except empty words of comfort.

"You'll be happy."

That's all she can say.

"Second Miss," said the concubine, "why are you so good to the concubine?" ”

All right? Shen Shuzhao hesitated, she looked at the girl in front of her who was as white as a piece of paper, and didn't know what to say. "Because...... You're mine...... Friend? ”

"Really?"

"Uh...... It's true. ”

The concubine's face flushed, "The second lady is the first person close to the concubine after entering the palace." Many people in the palace are very snobbish, and the concubines are not favored by the emperor, so they don't interact with the concubines much. In fact, as long as one of them is willing to be good to the concubine, the concubine will also be good to her. ”

Shen Shuzhao hesitated for a while before saying: "There are still many good people in the palace, such as ......" The scene of her getting along with other concubines when she was a palace concubine flashed in her mind, the cold and ruthless Empress Xiao, the glamorous and domineering Concubine Xi, the favored and ambitious upstart Gu Meiren, the difficult concubine and the concubine Ling, and the concubine Ling who likes women...... She finally put on the tail for a long time before she gave up and said, "...... Eldest sister, Shen Zhuangzhao. ”

What a terrible answer.

Who would have expected the concubine to sneer, "It's hard for the second lady." ”

Shen Shuzhao said: "......"

"Finally, Concubine Rong asks one more question, how long will the second lady stay in the palace?"

"Huh? Maybe it's a few months, and the eldest sister may return to the Shen Mansion soon after becoming a concubine. Thinking of this, she was a little worried about herself and Wei Yang.

Concubine Liang was suspicious: "The second lady has such a good relationship with the eldest princess, won't they not see each other in the future?" ”

Shen Shuzhao was confused: "Well, I won't stay here for too long, I will definitely go back after the dust settles on the matter of the eldest sister, the eldest princess has been with Sheng for a long time, if it weren't for the postponement of the national temple, she would have moved out of the palace a long time ago, at that time, the princess set up another eldest princess's mansion in the capital, and she and I may be able to see each other at any time." ”

"It's so good......," the concubine nodded, "After leaving the palace, she is not bound by the palace rules, and the concubine stays in the palace, so I really envy the second lady and the princess." ”

"If you don't have a companion in the palace, you can ask the Queen Mother to send a little eunuch who often leaves the palace to send me occasional letters." Thinking of this, Shen Shuzhao chuckled helplessly, "If they do anything bad to you, they can come and sue me, and I will find a way to solve the siege for you, you don't have to worry too much." ”

After all, these women in the palace -

But they were all defeated by her former subordinates.

The concubine nodded happily, and then smiled. "The concubine will write a letter, and the letter calls you Shuzhao...... Can a concubine call you by your name directly? ”

"Yes." Shen Shuzhao responded casually, and then she glanced at the sky, feeling that the hour was not short, so she said: "I still want to visit the eldest princess in the empty cicada hall, will you go?" ”

The concubine knew herself: "The second lady still has something, so the concubine won't bother." ”

Shen Shuzhao sent the concubine away, and she watched the weak woman slowly walk away, feeling pity. She only has calculations for her, but the concubine treats her as a person who can be confided with, and in her previous life, the concubine drowned for no reason, can she rewrite her fate? It's like rewriting yourself as a palace concubine?

This decision was secretly made in her heart, and then she went to the Empty Cicada Hall to be alone with Wei Yang with anticipation. The selection of concubines has finally come to an end, and she has a lot of time to spend with Wei Yang.

Now Wei Yang's palace maids all know Miss Shen Er, the big celebrity next to the Queen Mother, when she saw Wei Yang, Wei Yang was wearing a white dress practicing calligraphy on the side of the Qingzhu case, and after the palace people retreated, she called softly: "Wei Yang." ”

Wei Yang raised his head, then smiled calmly and peacefully: "You're here." ”

Naturally, the two of them are no longer commensurate according to the palace rules.

"Your handwriting is so good." Shen Shuzhao observed, "I have seen a lot of words you hung in Qinglian Pavilion, and I think you hung them before you left the palace. I am envious that you were only sixteen years old and you were able to write such excellent words. ”

As soon as the pen in her hand stopped, Wei Yang was stunned, and after a long while, she calmed down and said, "My words, do you like them?" ”

"I like it." Shen Shuzhao replied honestly. When it comes to practicing words and literacy, she has a little inferiority, in the last life, the eldest lady did not let her husband teach her well in the Shen Mansion, she taught herself after entering the palace, a lot later than other concubines, although the emperor didn't say anything, but after all, she was not qualified enough to talk. The Queen Mother then sent a female official to teach her to make up for her evil, so she had today's knowledge. has developed this habit, even now, she does not forget to study books at any time, so the concubines who love poetry and books are very kind to her.

Wei Yang looked forward to the circulation, and smiled indifferently: "Then I'll teach you, okay?" ”

Shen Shuzhao immediately rejoiced: "Okay." ”

"Come here." Wei Yang raised his hand, Shen Shuzhao walked over, Wei Yang took her into his arms with his backhand, and Shen Shuzhao kept pounding. Wei Yang hugged her and let her body against the desk, his body was close behind her, his left hand wrapped around her waist, and his right hand picked up the brush and gently placed it in her hand, while a low and hoarse voice grinded in his ear: "Follow me, understand?" ”

Shen Shuzhao didn't know what to reply, what else could she do except bow her head and blush. Wei Yang held her hand and pen and wrote the font in ink on the white paper. The hand around his waist refused to let go, and Shen Shuzhao was so nervous that he didn't dare to breathe loudly.

Each stroke is written very slowly, stretching a beautiful and slender figure on pure white. She hugged her from behind, quietly teaching her to practice calligraphy, and the whole room was as if she had left the mortal world, beautiful and pure. The breeze blew from the window, a few white gardenias, and the white poetry scrolls on the entire bookshelf were blown to a rustle, and the flowers fluttered among them, some fell on Wei Yang's shoulders, and some fell on Shen Shuzhao's sideburns.

In the end, Wei Yang took her to write down three big characters: "Qinglian Pavilion".

Shen Shuzhao saw that it became more and more familiar, and suddenly thought that this word was exactly the same as the plaque on the main entrance of Qinglian Pavilion, and said in surprise: "It turns out that the word on that card is also inscribed by you?" ”

Wei Yang said silently: "Hmm." ”

"Good word! That's the best word for Qinglian Pavilion. Shen Shuzhao felt that Wei Yang was beautiful and all-round.

Hearing this, Wei Yang raised the corners of his lips slightly, and said in a flat and flirtatious tone: "If my cousin wants to practice calligraphy, she can come to me at any time." ”

Shen Shuzhao turned back shyly, and then nodded silently. That's nice...... It's good to be able to be held like this by her all the time in the future.

The years passed slowly in getting along, and soon after, the daughter of the Chen family entered the palace and was arranged to live in the Chuxiu Palace to receive the ceremony, while Shen Zhuangzhao stayed in the Changle Palace and received the teaching of the grandmother as the special identity of the queen mother's niece.

The days of calm in the palace passed quickly, and within a few days, a news came from the Chaozhong galloping - Li Chong's head and body had been found! The matter was quickly reported to the emperor by the court lieutenant of the prison government, and the separation of the body of the former Sizhi Li Chong spread throughout the capital at once. A generation of virtuous ministers died tragically in the wilderness! The people were all shocked. So they gathered at the door of the Tingwei Mansion and demanded justice for Li Chong!

The Queen Mother moved her fingers, and the people in the capital, led by Yan Hanshan, soon began to write poems to force the government to investigate things thoroughly, and those who admired and admired Yan Hanshan joined the camp of denunciation.

The emperor gave a strict order to the court lieutenant in public: You must find out.

The rapid reaction to Li Chong's death made him and the Queen Mother make a good impression in the hearts of the people.

One day, Shen Shuzhao stood at the high point of Changle Palace, overlooking the entire capital. Now that the battle for the reputation of the DPRK and China is on the verge of breaking out, the time has come to stain the reputation of the Xiao family. Under such great pressure from the emperor, Tingwei began to secretly visit people who had a holiday with Li Chong, especially the people of the Xiao family.

Flipping through the long letter paper in his hand, this is all the things that Li Chong and the Xiao family have been in contact with after investigation. With just a small stain, she can make the eldest son of the Xiao family, who is also the current Great Sima General, into trouble.

She smiled, Xiao Jia...... You ready?

Behind her, the tall figure of the Queen Mother emerged in the dark, and among the dark shadows were the Queen Mother's ministers, the Queen Mother's palace people, the Queen Mother's eyeliner, the Queen Mother's Shen family, the Queen Mother's allies, the Chen family, the pseudo-friends of the Xiao family, and herself, all watching the Xiao family's every move.

They were all looking forward to the fall of the Xiao family.

Falling from the clouds from above.

Fall to the point where there is no place to be buried.

Perhaps sensing the Queen Mother's thoughts, the Xiao family began to endanger themselves, and Prime Minister Xiao Cheng strictly ordered that everyone must treat people well outside, and no one is allowed to have a holiday, Xiao Zhuru also put away his arrogant face. The Xiao family began to strictly enforce family discipline.

The queen was reading the secret letter sent by her father Xiao Cheng in the deep palace, and the fire in the court began to spread, and a little contamination could cause fire*, so he asked her to put away her high posture in the harem recently and be cautious. For the concubines who can be wooed, we must try our best to win them over.

The queen placed the letter on the candle flame and let the tongue of fire devour the paper, and the ashes fell little by little, like a fate that could not return to heaven.

No matter how cold her look was, she was still dyed with disappointment at this time. Someone is plotting against her family, but she is powerless to protect it...... Ten fingers clasped tightly and embedded in the flesh, she hated herself for being so incompetent.

"The queen lady ......," the palace maid said worriedly.

The queen couldn't bear the affection in her eyes, she raised her head, and said, "This palace is not afraid of anything unnecessary. The elder brother has made war exploits for the emperor in the north, and the emperor will not take anything from the Xiao family. ”

After speaking, she looked at the palace maid and remembered that Prime Minister Xiao Cheng asked her to pretend to be generous and show favor to Shen Zhuang first, so she ordered: "The glass-embellished pearl Minghuang hosta that the emperor rewarded by the emperor last year in this palace has been in the library for a long time, so give it to Miss Shen." You pick some good ones tomorrow and send them to the daughters of the Chen family and the Shen family. ”

The palace maid glanced at the queen worriedly: "Yes......"

She quickly withdrew, and soon she led a group of palace people to present her choice to the queen. The queen got up and walked down the steps, pacing unhurriedly from the first to the last. After a few casual glances, she nodded and said yes, and the palace maid said, "These are all selected for the Chen family's concubines first, and the next batch is for the Empress Dowager's niece, Miss Shen." ”

When the queen heard Miss Shen's four words, her eyes moved slightly, and she said in a casual tone: "Huh? Present. ”

The big palace maids clapped their hands and replaced them with a group of palace maids, and the queen slowly saw the last one from the first one this time.

The sapphire South Sea pearl earrings, magpie plum hairpins, white jade peacock hairpins, jade hanging fans and other good things presented by the palace maid are all lying peacefully on the red wooden box, these are all things that women will feel happy to receive.

The palace maid waited for the queen to look at it and nodded in approval, but after the queen pondered for a while, she suddenly said loudly: "Replace the blue earrings and these steps." ”

The palace people were stunned, why did the queen say this? These are all compliant.

I saw the queen's gaze gradually meaningful: "Replace these with red jade bead earrings, plum blossom hairpins, and red coral bracelets." ”

"The Queen's Mother—this, these are fine jewelry! is higher than the specifications of the Chen family's concubines, and the slave can ask more - is this why? ”

The queen calmly closed her eyes slightly, and said calmly:

"Hongu thinks she's suitable for red, do you need another reason?"