Chapter 14: Mother and Son

In the Furong Hall in the Jiade Palace, it is slightly stuffy, and the newly replaced window screen is as thin as cicada wings, as light as light smoke, but it can't stop the arrival of the midsummer weather. The warm wind blew the light veil slightly, with the soft sound of the leaves, gargling the ground, like a drizzle, as if far away, and as if whispering in the ears.

The light smoke coming from the dragon-patterned incense ding of the copper tortoiseshell is faint, reflecting the fragrance of the room. On the wide couch, there is a golden brocade jacquard animal pattern brocade quilt. Empress Dowager Dou was half-lying on the couch, caressing her head, listening to the palace people tell what happened in the court.

Liu Zhao wore a purple and gold crown with a white jade carved dragon pattern on his head, and his delicate face had a nervous look, today he was the first to deal with the government and politics, and quietly suppressed Dou Xian's party, and clearly raised the status of the three dukes, he didn't know how the queen mother, who was in charge of the world and controlled the government, would think of this matter.

Empress Dowager Dou slowly got out of bed and collapsed, stood in front of Liu Zhao, and said in a low voice, "Emperor, who do you think the murderer is?" Her voice was low, but it had a gloom that sent chills down her spine.

Liu Zhao bit his lower lip, since he was a child, the queen mother has rarely been intimate with him, and in his impression, the queen mother has never even hugged him or kissed him. It was as if he was a red-hot piece of iron, always kept away. He has never had the happiness of being doted on by his mother, only the fear he has felt since he was a child, like a dark cloud, which will never go away.

"The queen mother, the sons don't know who the murderer is, so they called the three princes to investigate. If it is not handled properly, please modify it into a life. Liu Zhao's heart is cold, forbearance, this word was taught to him by the imperial brother and his teacher, and now he is fledgling, so he can only endure.

"Han Ling is a shrewd and capable person, but he is too upright, and the Mourning family only gave him a position of Shangshu and refused to reuse it. But there seems to be some truth in what he said about this. Empress Dowager Dou stood up straight, and habitually touched the ring of the golden chrysanthemum on her hand, which she would get used to every time she thought about it. Therefore, Liu Zhao's heart gradually relaxed, which means that Empress Dowager Dou's heart is also wandering.

"Queen Mother, since this is the case, it is better to let the Taiwei Song You investigate, if you think that the stakes are very high, he will not dare to neglect his duties." Liu Zhao said tentatively.

"Emperor, you handled the government for the first time, and you did a good job, the queen mother has no intention of revising it, so she will do what you want, the emperor's first imperial decree, how can the mourning family change it? What's more, the emperor did a good job. ”

Empress Dowager Dou nodded with a smile and said to Wang Yin'er beside her, "Yin'er, you can send some pine nut osmanthus cake to the mourning family from the imperial dining room today." He has loved sweets since he was a child, and this cake is soft and sweet, which is just the taste of the emperor. ”

Wang Yin'er replied "yes" and retreated.

Liu Zhao hurriedly thanked, "Thank you for the reward from the queen mother, and the queen mother still remembers the preferences of her sons." When I was a child, every time I was punished by my father, my mother would bring a plate of soft and fragrant pastries to my sons, and every time my sons would eat it up. When I think of the scene when I was a child, I can't help but feel warm in my heart, and a smile comes on my face.

Empress Dowager Dou was slightly stunned, thinking that she also remembered the old scene, and she was stunned for a while, with a little love between her eyebrows.

Liu Zhao thought of the deceased emperor, and couldn't help but feel sour in his heart, the two of them had their own hearts, and they didn't even speak anymore. Wang Yin'er came out with a food box, but when she saw that the two of them had nothing to say, she couldn't help laughing and said, "I heard that the emperor has been naughty these days and messing around with those little eunuchs below, was he scolded by the Queen Mother?" She watched Liu Zhao grow up, often took him to play when he was a child, and was the queen mother's maid since childhood, so she was more casual than other palace maids.

Liu Zhao smiled, "Aunt Yin'er, the queen mother didn't know, if you say this, she will scold me!" ”

Wang Yin'er sneered, "Your Majesty, this time Cai Lun is by your side, I want to be much freer!" ”

When Empress Dowager Dou heard her say this, she couldn't help but say, "That old guy, I want to go to the emperor's side, he is very old-fashioned, I want to come to the emperor to listen to his nagging every day, and my ears will hear the cocoon!" ”

Liu Zhao shook his head with a wry smile and said, "It's hard to say. I am now like a caged bird, and he looks at it to death. ”

"Well, Emperor, he is an old minister of the two dynasties, although pedantic, he is a very wise and dedicated man, but he is loyal to the emperor. With him by his side, the mourning family is also relieved. Okay, emperor, the mourning family is also tired, you can retire! ”

Empress Dowager Dou suddenly changed her tone again, stiff and cold, as if she had changed someone. Liu Zhao had no choice but to get up and leave, Wang Yin'er sent him outside the palace, and whispered, "Your Majesty, although the Queen Mother didn't say anything today, it is difficult to ensure that she has an opinion on the affairs of your court today, the Emperor is still young, and you have to ask the Queen Mother's opinion on everything, and you can't do it willfully in the future!" ”

Liu Zhao nodded and said, "Thank you Aunt Yin'er for your teaching, I will pay attention to it in the future." ”

Wang Yin'er returned to Furong Hall, but saw Empress Dowager Dou standing in front of the window and had opened the window. The breeze was blowing, and the room was much cooler.

The garden outside the window was rebuilt by the Queen Mother when she first entered the Jiade Palace. The pavilions are opposite, the red walls and green tiles, and a rockery stands in the middle of the green bushes. The Queen Mother likes osmanthus very much, and the osmanthus in the garden is the most fragrant, sweet and sweet, and always feels a domineering insistence, just like her personality.

She leaned against the window and said lightly, "Yin'er, I suddenly feel helpless. ”

"Queen Mother!" Wang Yin'er looked at her slightly thin body worriedly, and called her distressedly.

Zhao'er grew up little by little, and when he knew that his biological mother was Liang, not the mourning family, he didn't know what to think. The mourning family worked hard to raise other people's children, which may be to make wedding clothes for others. His actions in the court today were not only done right, but also extremely decisively. And these are the fundamentals of being an emperor, he will be a good emperor. ”

She sighed lightly, "Yin'er, why don't I have a child of my own!" It's fate! ”

"Queen Mother, the slave maid will accompany the Queen Mother to the garden to relax, you will always get sick here." Wang Yin'er said worriedly.

"Yin'er, except for Cai Lun, the rest of the eunuchs and palace maids who are beside the emperor are all replaced with secret deaths. The mourning family didn't want these people to follow him for too long, and sooner or later it would get in the way of the mourning family's affairs. ”

Wang Yin'er was stunned for a moment, and felt unbearable in her heart, "Queen Mother, it's better to punish them to go outside the palace to guard the tomb of the emperor, they haven't committed any major mistakes." ”

"Yin'er, you have been with me for a long time, you know that if you want to survive in this palace, you can't have a trace of mercy, and they can't guarantee that someone will become the emperor's henchman." Empress Dowager Dou looked at Wang Yin'er and was dissatisfied.

"Queen Mother, the slave maid knows, but after all, it is a human life, and when you get to the palace, Your Majesty will not see them, and nothing will happen. The slave and the maid are guaranteed with their lives. Wang Yin'er knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily to the Empress Dowager Dou.

"That's it, since you say so, tomorrow when the emperor goes to study, send them away, the newly replaced eunuchs and palace maids must be sure that they don't have any background!"

"Whoa! The slave and maid thanked the Queen Mother for their deep kindness! ”

The next day, Cai Lun took Liu Zhao to see Huan Yu and came back, only to find that all the eunuchs and palace maids had been replaced. Huang Jun was gone, Liu Zhao was shocked, tears almost burst out of his eyes, but he still desperately held back, swallowed, as if he didn't see anything, entered the dormitory, closed the door, but the tears could no longer be supported, rolling down.

Cai Lun also noticed that something was wrong, and asked the newcomer to the palace loudly, but no one could tell what was going on. I had to reassign the palace deacons and arrange for the people who served the emperor, etc., and were busy until night came, before I came to see the emperor, but when I saw that the palace door was closed, I had to sigh and leave.

When he got up early, Liu Zhao quietly left Deyang Hall to see Wang Yin'er. He knew that Wang Yin'er would go to the imperial dining room every day to personally check the ingredients for the Queen Mother, and he was alone, hiding in the shadows. When he saw Wang Yin'er and the other two palace people, he deliberately threw a stone at her feet, and then looked at her.

Wang Yin'er saw that it was Liu Zhao, so she said to the two palace maids, "You go first, I forgot something, go back and get it." ”

The two palace people didn't see Liu Zhao and left quickly. Wang Yin'er opened her eyes and looked around to see that there was no one, then she came over, took Liu Zhao's hand and whispered, "Your Majesty, it's early in the morning, why did you run here alone?" ”

"Aunt Yin'er!" Liu Zhao has often been taken care of by Wang Yin'er since she was a child, knowing that she is very good to herself, when she asked, tears flowed out again!

"What's the matter, don't cry, Your Majesty, this makes the slave and maid not know what to do." Wang Yin'er wiped his tears with his cuffs and said hurriedly.

"Aunt Yin'er, what happened to the people in the palace of the queen mother, was it given to death? Why didn't anyone recognize me when I returned to the palace? "At this time, Liu Zhao is an eleven-year-old child, where is the former shrewd and decisive king of yesterday.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, they're fine, they're just sent to him by the Queen Mother." Wang Yin'er had to comfort him.

"Where did they go? They often play with me, and I still want them to serve, and I don't want to change people! ”

"Your Majesty, don't make trouble, you know the character of the Queen Mother, what she decides, you can't help it." Wang Yin'er sighed, and also had a lot of complaints about the Queen Mother's skin in her heart.

"You tell me where they are, I'm going to see them, even if it's to give me all my heart, serve me, and finally let me say goodbye, okay?" Liu Zhaobei came from it, and he was about to cry again, Wang Yin'er had to cover his mouth and say, "Your Majesty, whisper!" The slaves and maids told His Majesty that they had been sent by the Queen Mother to guard the tomb of the former emperor. ”

"Thank you, Aunt Yin'er!" Liu Zhao respectfully saluted Wang Yin'er, "Auntie, if Zhao'er returns to politics in the future, she will never dare to forget her aunt's great kindness." ”

Wang Yin'er took his hand and said, "Your Majesty, just say this to the slave maid, you must be careful in the future, you, you are after all, alas, be careful, I have to go!" With that, he lowered his head, wiped his eyes, and trotted a few steps away.

Liu Zhao watched her leave, the depression in his heart was relieved slightly, he lowered his head and walked towards the Chongde Palace. saw Cai Lun with a group of palace maids who were in prison and hurriedly walked over here. When I saw him, I shouted, "My little ancestor, where have you been this early in the morning, but you have scared your subordinates to death." ”

Liu Zhao looked at the old waiter with gray temples and smiled, "Let Cai Qing's family be anxious, I just went out for a walk, the weather is really good today." After reading the book for a while, it's good for us to leave the palace, since my father passed away, I haven't left the palace for a long time. ”

"What, how can this work, Your Majesty was the crown prince at that time, and it was free to go out of the palace and enter the palace, and now that he is the Son of Heaven, how can he leave the palace if he wants to!" Cai Lun shook his head and said that he would not agree to die.

"If you don't accompany me, I will leave the palace by myself, and see who dares to stop me!"

Liu Zhao glared fiercely at the eunuch palace maid behind Cai Lun, and the disgust in his heart was even worse, and he stopped saying a word, and strode towards the Chongde Palace.