Under the huge scene of the eldest princess of Weiyang's car, the royal gate was wide open, and the car drove in. Passing through the long road and going straight to the Changle Palace in the clouds and smoke on the top of the mountain, Shen Shuzhao opened the soft Luo smoke curtain and looked at the golden phoenix eaves corner of the misty palace on the top of the mountain in the distance, it revealed a magnificent and insurmountable glorious spirit, all the scenery has not changed, only the mood of the person has changed.

Entering the Changle Palace, after telling the Queen Mother, Mrs. Li, who had finished searching, was led by Shen Shuzhao to the Queen Mother to summon the cabinet of the ministers, "The courtiers visit the Queen Mother, and I wish the Queen Mother a thousand years old." ”

"Get up."

"This is the widow of Li Chong, the former master of the Si Zhi, the Li family."

The Queen Mother's phoenix eyes rolled, looking at Mrs. Li's cold and elegant appearance, Shen Shuzhao was sweating for her step by step, but fortunately, Mrs. Li did not have the slightest fear on her face, I hope she can have evidence that she can get her hands on, otherwise she will be held accountable for introducing the Queen Mother to her.

"What is the matter?"

"Li's ......" Shen Shuzhao was interrupted by Mrs. Li before her words fell, "The concubine is here for her deceased husband." ”

"Huh? The mourning family heard that you have already made a confession, why do you still want to enter the palace to ask to see the mourning family? ”

"The official of the concubine died because of the queen mother, and the concubine should naturally come to meet the queen mother."

The Queen Mother was indifferent and calm, "The tone is not small, with your words, the mourning family can immediately cure you for capital crimes." ”

"What is the fear of death? The corpses of the officials are □□, yin and yang are separated, and staying in the world is worse than life and death for the concubine. ”

The Queen Mother ignored her, and said, "Shuzhao." ”

"The courtiers are here." Shen Shuzhao hurriedly replied.

"If the Li family came to vent their grievances, the mourning family has no spare time to listen, and the subordinate who just retired is here for the important affairs of the Li people in the capital, if he sees through the trivial matters of a woman and is retired, how can the mourning family establish prestige in the future?"

This was said strictly, and Shen Shuzhao hurriedly bowed his head: "The courtiers don't dare." ”

Mrs. Li sneered: "If that lord knew that the queen mother and the emperor's forces were separated, and water and fire were incompatible, would he still stand on the side of the queen mother's henchmen?" ”

"How can a woman be allowed to speak falsely in the affairs of the court?" The Queen Mother's sarcasm of Mrs. Li has always been as bland as water.

"If others know what the Queen Mother did to the concubines and officials, I am afraid that they will only have the word poisonous woman left in their hearts, and they will not dare to be loyal anymore."

"Presumptuous." The Queen Mother slapped coldly on the red sandalwood case, her voice was extremely high, but her expression was still extremely majestic, "Come on, drag it down!" ”

Shen Shuzhao thought that Mrs. Li was pregnant, and hurriedly persuaded: "The Queen Mother is slow, the Li family once said that there is evidence in his hand that can prove that the Queen Mother has nothing to do with Li Chong. ”

"Li's three words are not to the point, Shuzhao, you let her practice her words and deeds first, and then come to see the mourning family."

Seeing that the Queen Mother had no intention of listening, Shen Shuzhao pulled the corner of Mrs. Li's clothes and whispered, "Madam, why don't you do what the little girl said before?" Now let's say something to calm the Queen Mother's anger. ”

Mrs. Li just lowered her eyes and tears faintly appeared, "The concubine doesn't know if the others will stay with the queen mother, but the concubine knows that the officials will." ”

After hearing this, the Queen Mother immediately said coldly, "So your official left evidence of the mourning family's trust in him and waited for today?" ”

"The Jiang family was destroyed, King Lan usurped the throne, the Xiao family forced Liu San, the Marquis of Guannei, and Li Roufei died...... Everything was done by the officials for the Queen Mother, how could he have thought that one day in the future, the Queen Mother would use Xiao Zhuru's method to treat Guan Neihou in the same way? ”

When the mourning family needed him, he withdrew from the struggle with the Xiao family and left the capital, why did he think that the mourning family wanted to protect him for future generations? The Xiao family had the intention of using him to leave Beijing to attack the mourning family, and he would not have made this move if he was really loyal. ”

"If the concubines don't do this, will the Queen Mother still have peace of mind today?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Shen Shuzhao heard their questioning, and wished that there was no one for her here, so she buried her head as low as the second female chief in the house.

Mrs. Li looked directly at the Queen Mother, "At the beginning, the Xiao family pressured the officials to leave Beijing on the grounds that the emperor and the queen mother were fighting for power, but the officials did not listen to the threats of the Xiao and Chen families, until the emperor's confidant Xu Guangluxun appeared...... Her voice gradually weakened, "The emperor wanted to break the arm of the mother, and at that time, the concubines and officials turned the tide and saved many people with their own strength, but the price was that the officials withdrew from the court forever." ”

The Queen Mother closed her eyes and recalled the situation at that time, it was indeed pressing, the Queen Mother saw that the previous dynasty was temporarily resting, and the harem began to be chaotic headed by the queen, and the urgent thing at the moment was to set up a concubine of the Shen family with status to protect the power of the Queen Mother in the harem, so there was Shen Shuzhao and their entry into the palace to choose a concubine.

Mrs. Li continued: "The Empress Dowager will not understand the state of mind of an official of the court when he is told by the Son of Heaven that 'there is no way out', and the concubine was worried about the officials at that time, and from then on the officials knew that the only solution was for the Empress Dowager to stay away from the government, in order to protect the entire Shen family. As the former arm, the emperor will be the first to take out the official who is from a poor family in the future, and the concubine is pregnant at this time, how do you let the concubine's official make a choice? ”

Shen Shuzhao secretly sighed on the side that the emperor had begun to lay the groundwork for today, and he was really the same as the two in his previous life, and then Mrs. Li took out a neat piece of rice paper from her shirt, and her face was faintly sad, "Later, the concubine repeatedly persuaded the officials to leave the capital, a place of right and wrong, and after the officials gave other orders, they finally withdrew before Xiao Zhuru was awarded the title of General Sima, and before leaving, the officials burned all the important ciphertexts. ”

"Burn them all?"

Mrs. Li said coldly: "He wants to burn them all, so the concubine naturally has to keep an eye on it." The queen mother is a woman like Empress Lu, how can the concubine let the officials not have the last bargaining chip, so when the concubine was beside him to help him, she secretly hid some letters. ”

"And then?" The Queen Mother finally became interested.

"And the official destroyed a cipher about you, and later sifted out evidence against the Xiao family. The concubine watched him behind his back and said that they were secretly hidden, and the concubine felt a chill in her heart at that time, and understood what kind of mentality the officials had to do everything. Mrs. Li glared at the Queen Mother fiercely, "He was in case of accidents, afraid that he would have an accident and put the Queen Mother in a dilemma, so he left all the evidence to help the Queen Mother, who would have thought that you would let him have an accident in the future?" ”

"The mourning family didn't make a move on him, life and death are in the sky, he was injured by talc."

"Did the official really die then?" Mrs. Li was so angry that she trembled, "Why do you want to behead him when he dies?" What about his death sting the scab in the concubine's body and soul that has not yet healed? Or is it just that all of you are waiting for him to die? ”

When he heard this, Shen Shuzhao's heart suddenly tightened.

Memories of her past life suddenly flooded out, making her unable to breathe, as if she had been instantly pressed into the deep dark waters.

But on the shore, it was all people who stood and watched her sink into the lake.

The Queen Mother did not answer, so the annoyed Mrs. Li stood up and walked forward.

Shen Shuzhao didn't persuade her late, but the female imperial chief quickly stopped her in front, "Bold! Don't go back yet! Mrs. Li didn't care about it, but smashed the letter on the queen mother's body at once, "This is his real suicide note!" It shouldn't have been used on this day, and if your people could save him at that time, the concubine's official might not die early! ”

The Queen Mother was stunned for a moment, and then opened the letter, the paper was wrinkled, and it looked like it had been read many times, even mottled with tears.

This was written by the official the night before he left Beijing, and he knew that this trip was dangerous and the Xiao family might want to do something to him, so he left evidence in favor of the Queen Mother...... and this suicide note to the concubine. ”

Shen Shuzhao saw Mrs. Li silently shed a tear, and then she half-knelt down weakly, "The concubine doesn't understand why the officials should respect you so much, he often said to the concubine that the queen mother is empty and talented can only be wronged by the woman, in the years when the first emperor retired to recuperate, the queen mother did a qiē comparable to the first half of the first emperor's life, the Wei Dynasty was invaded by the north and the south, and what the dynasty needed was an iron-fisted master, not a weak character like the first emperor, or a person who could not be relieved like the emperor's love between men and women." He also said that the queen mother brought the cold family, not like the first emperor and the emperor only reused the famous background, how many people with lofty ideals were given the way to the sky, and the concubine did not know that such a loyal subordinate could be suspected of being against the queen mother, and who would be trusted by others? ”

As Shen Shuzhao, who once served the Queen Mother, became more and more silent at this time.

Holding it in her hand, the Queen Mother read it for a long time, and her eyes fell silent.

"'On who is in charge of the world, the husband always thinks that only the Queen Mother is also, and the Wei Dynasty should be needed'," Mrs. Li silently read the last sentence in the suicide note that she had read many times, "'If one day the accident happens, the husband is sad to leave Rong'er alone in the world, and I am disappointed that in my lifetime, I will not see the Queen Mother ascend to the end, calm the external strife, and restore the Wei Dynasty to the prosperous era of the past...... It's a big regret for my husband. When the concubine's husband wrote the suicide note, he was still worried about the queen mother's political career and was depressed. "I was choked up when I said the last sentence.

All of a sudden, it became quiet.

In the vast empty hall, only the sound of the wind passing gently remains.

The curtain moved slightly with the wind, and the Queen Mother took Li Chong's family letter, looked at the last sentence, and read it for a long, long time.

Mrs. Li did not speak again.

Li Chong is gone, leaving only a pregnant wife and a lord who has never trusted him and is in a deep quagmire, and it is easy for those who leave, but it is even more difficult for those who live in the world.

In the end, the Queen Mother didn't say anything, just asked them to step back.

Shen Shuzhao turned around when she left the inner hall, she always felt that the queen mother was reading the letter behind the curtain of listening to the government...... Looks a little lonely.

I never thought that Li Chong would be such a person.

She always thought that he was just serving the Queen Mother like herself for the sake of his career.

Faithful to the Lord, but the Lord does not know the truth.

How sad!

Mrs. Li returned to the main hall and said weakly to Wei Yang, who had been waiting for a long time, "Concubine, thank you for letting the concubine enter ......the palace this time."

Wei Yang, who knew what it was like to pass by outside, didn't know what it was like, so he just said, "It's okay." ”

Then Mrs. Li said to Shen Shuzhao again: "Second Miss Shen, you must be wondering why the concubine's handwriting is so similar to that of officials, right?" ”

Shen Shuzhao waited quietly for her answer.

"In fact, when the officials in the palace were dealing with political affairs, most of the transcription when he was busy was handed over to the concubine, so the concubine's handwriting was exactly the same as him for many years, so he knew a lot of things." Mrs. Li suddenly burst into tears, "If you know the feeling of losing the love of your life, you know how painful it is for the concubine to read the last note written by the official herself. Now that the matter is over, the queen mother is innocent, and the emperor has also benefited, but in the family house...... The husband of the concubine will never come back. ”

A hand was silently placed on Mrs. Li's body, cold and fragrant, Wei Yang looked at her softly, and soothed: "Lone can understand." ”

Mrs. Li involuntarily let go of the last strength in her heart, tears burst out of her eyes, but she still held back her voice, and just kept saying to Wei Yang: "Thank you, eldest princess." If the concubine did not enter Beijing again, I never thought that such a strong woman as the queen mother, there is a kind and elegant concubine, you and the rest of the palace are different, the concubine can see from your body, the heart is different from others, you and the concubine are the same person. ”

Wei Yang bowed slightly, "Thanks to Madame's praise." ”

Sending away Mrs. Li's carriage, Shen Shuzhao stood at the gate of Changle Palace, looking at the direction of her departure under the sunset, and her heart felt like empty. "Sookaki." Wei Yang called her name lightly, and Shen Shuzhao finally came back to her senses.

"What's wrong?" Shen Shuzhao saw that Mrs. Li's carriage had disappeared into the sky.

"I'll sue you for one thing," Wei Yang looked at him with shame, "Actually, I was also present when Li Chong was killed that day. ”

"What-"

She looked at Wei Yang in shock, but only saw a calm look.

"I was there and I saw what happened."

"It's the Queen Mother...... Or the emperor? ”

"Both."

Shen Shuzhao suddenly realized, and sure enough, as Mrs. Li said, everyone was looking forward to his death.

"It rained heavily that day, and it was very dangerous to follow him," Wei Yang recounted, his expression fell into the sadness of memories, and Shen Shuzhao felt distressed for her to have such an expression, "I listened to the order of the queen mother to protect Li Chong out of the city to Lingshan safe and sound, and encountered the secret guards of the Xiao family on the way, and after a hard battle, all the secret guards sent by the Xiao family died in this woodland. When we caught up with Li Chong's pace again, we saw that he happened to fall down from the road with people and carriages. ”

Shen Shuzhao listened to her speak slowly, and at the same time touched Wei Yang's back soothingly, "You say." ”

"Although I wondered why there was a talc here alone, I went down with them to look for Li Chong, and saw Li Chong, who was dying, lying in a pool of blood, he had suffered a lot of injuries, but it was not fatal, and if the carriage passing behind me found signs of a landslide, it would definitely come to look for him. I didn't know what to decide, so I sent someone back to inform my mother, and I got a quick reply...... But it was the queen mother who wanted to put him to death. ”

Hearing Wei Yang say this, Shen Shuzhao finally understood that Li Chong did not die first and then divide the body at the beginning, and she also knew the Queen Mother's methods, so she was not surprised, but said: "So the person was killed by the order of the Queen Mother?" And not to die from talc? ”

"Well, the queen mother said that his destiny has been decided, so it is better to use the opportunity to frame the Xiao family."

"It's really pitiful for Li Chong's family......"

"I hesitated, and I have been protecting him in a coma, but when Gao Dezhong arrived here with the Yellow Gate secret guards, and saw that I was slow to kill him, he came over by himself and a sword shadow, and Li Chong's head had fallen to the ground." Wei Yang looked at Shen Shuzhao sadly. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do."

Shen Shuzhao sighed, "I always thought that Li Chong died because of the Xiao family, but now that I look at it, the most likely thing is impossible, and the most unlikely thing is the culprit." ”

"Later, I remembered that the road he fell down on was the section of the road that the emperor ordered someone to inspect." "In the heavy rain, I can't see who is serving the emperor on the mountain, but I know that there must be someone there who, like us, is wearing the secret guard uniform of the hidden mountain, and is peeking at the qiē here. ”

"So you're saying that the talc may have been ordered by the emperor?"

"It doesn't matter if it's right or not, from the moment Li Chong's carriage drove into Lingshan, there were three forces in different places on all sides of him, eyeing each other. The emperor did not tell me whether the talc was done by someone he sent, but you and I both understand that Li Chong will not come out of the mountain alive after entering the mountain. ”

Shen Shuzhao hugged her, "It's hard for you." ”

"Everything I do, I have a reason to do it." Wei Yang hugged her back and whispered, "Only in this way can we truly live together forever." ”

"It doesn't matter if you can't live anymore, as long as I can be with you before I die, I don't care. I hate this, this palace, this land, I hate it deeply. I came here with hatred, I understand how the Queen Mother is a woman of the court, her ambition is more than the harem, so I serve her, and stay away, I never thought that I would like you in the future, her daughter. ”

Wei Yang hugged her half moved and half worried: "Alas, do you know...... No matter how much you do, the queen mother will not treat you as an important confidant? ”

Shen Shuzhao remembered his previous life, and couldn't help but smile sadly at himself, "I know." ”

"It's not because she's suspicious, Shuzhao, but the Shen family won't allow it. You are from a concubine's background, and the Shen family will not let you press on your daughter-in-law's head. The queen mother takes into account their feelings, so she can't use you too much. ”

"I understand, and the eldest sister is beautiful, and she has been pinned on by the Shen family to become the queen since she was a child, needless to say that Queen Xiao is a thorn in their side, in fact, any woman is." Shen Shuzhao said one by one, "If I am not qualified to enter the palace and be summoned by the Queen Mother, I am afraid that under Xiao Chen's joint efforts to suppress the concubine, the Queen Mother will solve her urgent needs, and it may be me to become a concubine in the future, not the eldest sister, and the situation will be even more complicated at that time." ”

Wei Yang's eyes slowly sank in the dark, and Shen Shuzhao continued: "Wei Yang, I'm tired, I'm tired of fighting, and what happened today makes me feel tired like never before. Take me away when you want, or stay with you forever. ”

"It won't be too long." Wei Yang said, "Shuzhao, come to me, come and fight them with me." ”

"How?"

Wei Yang bowed her head and there was a long lingering in her affectionate eyes, she felt that Wei Yang and her own heartbeats could be heard by each other, if she had the opportunity, she was willing to immerse herself in this pair of beautiful hopes for the rest of her life, and never sober up again. Wei Yang said to her slowly: "Shuzhao, join forces with the emperor, I can't change your situation with the queen mother and the Shen family at all, with them for a day, you won't be able to get real freedom." ”

"And the emperor?" Shen Shuzhao asked, "How could the emperor tolerate me coming from the Queen Mother's side?" ”

"In fact, he has been looking forward to everyone around the Queen Mother to defect to him."

"Wei Yang ......"

"Huh?"

"Do you hate your birth mother?" Shen Shuzhao asked cautiously. Although she didn't know the reason why the emperor and the queen mother turned against each other to such a point, she wanted to understand Wei Yang's.

"I don't hate her," Wei Yang said, "Actually, I love everyone, and the emperor has grown up with me, and I treat him like my own brother, and so does my mother." I did this to protect her. ”

Shen Shuzhao was silent.

"If you don't come now, it will be very dangerous in the future." Wei Yang said firmly, "If you are in danger, what I have done will be meaningless. ”

"No matter what happens in the future, I only choose to stand by your side." Shen Shuzhao replied in a voice, "Everyone has become like a madman because of power, selfish, ruthless, and indifferent, and you are different, Mrs. Li and I feel similar, even if you are in a struggle, but you are also involved in disputes for the sake of others, what you want is never yourself, I can't bear to see you like this." ”

Then she leaned forward and took Wei Yang's lips in her mouth, the clear spring water flowed like in her lips and tongue, running through the blood, and Wei Yang also gave her the response she wanted, * After the top was something more sublimated, thicker than ordinary love, more reluctant to separate, as if the souls had lived in each other's bodies, heavy and meaningful.

After a long kiss, Shen Shuzhao looked at Wei Yang helplessly, "Wei Yang, you sue me, how can you not always sacrifice for others like this and give up yourself?" ”

Wei Yang didn't speak for a long time, her eyes were filled with a cloud of sorrow that had passed through a thousand years, "You are the reason why I sacrificed a qiē." ”