Chapter 54: Avoiding Trouble or Inviting Trouble
Concubine Chen's life in the palace is getting worse and worse, the people around her are dead and the death is only a month left, so many things have happened around her, Concubine Chen's mood is undoubtedly terrible, I don't know where the cause of the incident came from, or who made the stumbling block, and wanted to call herself isolated in the palace.
Although Concubine Chen's matter has no clue and is really angry, it is not easy to tell her son, because the poisoning incident that is making a lot of noise outside is in an urgent situation, and a bad one is really going to capsize in the gutter, as for her own mother's family, she has thought about delivering the news, but since the palace has disposed of many palace maids and eunuchs, the palace has issued a ban on strictly prohibiting palace people who are not from the procurement bureau from leaving the palace without permission. Not to mention delivering news outside the palace, it is much more difficult than before, and I am afraid that my actions will cause trouble to my son who is outside the palace, so I can only swallow this evil breath first and wait patiently for the progress of my son's side.
The second prince placed people next to his mother, in order to get the news in the palace and help his mother to do things, and now so many palace people have died in the palace, which naturally arouses many suspicions, the situation of the mother concubine is worrying, but he can't find the real murderer behind the scenes, it is really hateful, he wants to stretch out his hand but can't vacate the space, the eldest prince is chasing after him, and he has to let it go first, fortunately, there will be no danger of life on the mother's side.
The most proud person in the palace is Concubine Yuan, although she is not instructed by herself, the women in ** are not stupid, they know when it is most advantageous to start, and they are accustomed to holding high and stepping on low skillfully to meet each other, and Concubine Chen's current situation is not the best example.
Even if Concubine Chen has a lot of unsatisfactory life, the concubines in ** still don't dare to underestimate it, and they can't tell when they will turn over again.
How can you not see the benefits and disadvantages of your career for many years, and you have to be hidden and not easy to be discovered, which is the best way to survive.
**The women in ** have their own thoughts, and now that Concubine Chen is out of power, although I can't see how much the emperor still cares about Concubine Chen, but the occasional reward has not fallen, it seems that this is just another scam, I don't know who the leader is.
During this time, there was a miasma of smoke outside the palace, which made people feel quite irritable. **Chinese people are even more panicked, for fear that the next disaster will be themselves, which makes the already strict ** add a touch of tension and heaviness.
Everyone in the palace is sensitive and alert, and for those who have lived for several years and are accustomed to life in the palace, they can more or less detect the undercurrents hidden in the sun.
Concubine Shu hadn't been so anxious for a long time, and she didn't dare to close her eyes for two consecutive nights, not because of her body but because of her fear. From the series of events that happened around Concubine Chen, you don't need to think about it to be able to see a hint very obviously, she never thought that Concubine Chen would be excluded, suppressed or even thrown into the cold palace, all she could think of was not falling into the well or sending charcoal in the snow, everyone has a rule of survival, no one can get involved, especially the ** where power is intertwined.
Concubine Shu thought about it for two whole days, and finally made up her mind that she wanted to stay away from here to avoid this period, since she had no ability to fight, it was better to protect herself than Mingzhe, Concubine Chen's loss of power indicated a change of power, and even more so, it was an intuitive expression of the previous dynasty struggle, her family was not able to take the opportunity to develop, let alone protect herself and the princess in the palace.
Concubine Shu is extremely happy, she gave birth to a princess and not a prince, otherwise how can she survive in the palace, even if she doesn't want her son to compete for that position, but the person who sits in that position will not believe that the chair is not tempting, these things can only be thought about by herself, occasionally midnight dreams back and sighs, why did he agree to his father to enter the palace in the first place? Although the palace is gorgeous and magnificent, it can't hide the darkness and blood inside, she just wants to live a more stable life, is this also a luxury that is just a fool's dream.
No matter what the situation in the palace is, the concubine instinctively chooses to protect herself and her children, the princess is now about to be fifteen years old and Xu, and when she becomes an adult, she will be assigned to marry by the emperor.
Concubine Shu went to Yuan Guifei for a day, and said what happened all day, her face was slightly afraid, and she wanted to take advantage of the day to go home every six months to ask for a grace, and go to the imperial temple to worship and ask for peace.
How did Concubine Yuan not understand the reason why Concubine Shu wanted to hide out at this juncture, it was nothing more than that she was afraid that something would happen in the palace and she would be pushed out as a scapegoat. She didn't mean to embarrass Concubine Shu, who was very good at being a person in the palace and never participated in battles, which was why Concubine Shu was able to give birth to a princess safely. Concubine Shu's attitude determines that she can get the final peace, and she won't care too much about Concubine Shu's suggestion.
Mothers always have more concerns, Yuan Guifei nodded and agreed to Concubine Shu's suggestion, and kindly wanted to personally present the emperor, going to the incense and only Concubine Shu alone was not enough to show the royal prestige, and vaguely proposed to help Concubine Shu, so that Concubine Shu could take the princess with her wish.
Concubine Shu was extremely happy to hear this, and sincerely thanked Yuan Guifei and left to return to the palace, she believed that Yuan Guifei would not deceive her if she did what she said.
Mu Haoyu listened to what Yuan Guifei said, his face frowned slightly, but he rarely had a smile in his heart, someone sent a pillow when he was really sleepy, and he came at the right time, he was still thinking about what kind of reason to use, which expected to be sent to the door now, in order not to arouse the suspicion of others, he decided to use the filth inside and outside the palace, fearing that the evil spirit would invade and order ** All the concubines who have a princess should take the princess to the imperial temple to pray for blessings, and copy a few Buddhist scriptures for everyone in the palace to get lucky.
There are five concubines in the palace who have princesses, except for the princess who is almost fifteen, the rest of the princesses are eleven old, the youngest is only three years old, and the royal forest army was sent to escort them all the way to ensure safety.
The will is issued, the happiest is not the concubine, but the other concubines who can leave the palace, but the concubines are not allowed to leave the palace after entering the palace, except for returning to their hometowns and provincial relatives once every six months, they can only stay in the palace, even if they are not favored concubines are not released from the palace privilege, being able to go out of the palace is simply like a bird out of the cage, and the joy is beyond words.
Concubine Shu knew in her heart that this was already the emperor's extra kindness, if it weren't for the frequent incidents during this time, how could there be such a grace, but she didn't want to worship the Buddha and immediately return to the palace, her purpose was whether she could stay outside the palace, even if it was only for a day or two. It's nothing to be there, but I'm afraid that my family will be confused for a while, do something I shouldn't do, and bring myself to implicate a large family.
Concubine Shu specially asked to meet the emperor, and simply and bluntly stated that she wanted to stay in the imperial temple for a few more days, she knew in her heart that the emperor did not like people to play tricks in front of him, so it may be better to get the emperor's permission directly.
Sure enough, after waiting for a while, the emperor agreed, but he could only stay outside for five days, which was not extraordinarily gracious, and Concubine Shu would not be uninterested in making excessive requests.
All of them are proceeding according to Mu Haoyu's plan, no matter whether the intermediate process will be sideways, the final result will definitely be what he hopes.
Puhua Temple is a royal temple, not only the temple is magnificent and the incense is prosperous, the royal background in this issue played a decisive factor, and the people naturally believe in the success of what the temple is asking for.
Although Concubine Shu and her party are relatives of the royal family, according to Mu Haoyu's intentions, they do not plan to directly seal the entire Puhua Temple, just for the convenience of Concubine Shu and her party. The people heard that there were palace concubines who came to incense, but most of them were curious, but no one dared to embarrass themselves in front of the solemn Buddha, not only the Praetorian Guards separated the curious people, who dared to be presumptuous in front of the sharp weapons, but also because the concubines and their entourage were wearing hats, and they couldn't see it from a distance.
Puhua Temple is not far from the palace, take a carriage for about an hour to arrive, after bathing and changing clothes, the concubine and his party worshiped the Buddha and asked for a peace charm, one is for the emperor to beg, and the rest is for the concubines and heirs in the palace.
The scenery in the temple is charming, everyone stayed until the afternoon before leaving to return to the palace, only the concubine Shu took the princess to stay in the temple, of course, the Praetorian Guard left a part of the guards.
Concubine Shu took the princess to live in the temple for four days, get up early every day to chant scriptures, after lunch will copy some Buddhist scriptures, although the princess is young but very well educated, although the eyes are curious about the outside, still able to endure the temperament and copy the Buddhist scriptures with the concubine.
On the fifth day, Concubine Shu left Puhua Temple and drove to her mother's house, which happened to be her provincial relatives for half a year.
The princess sat in the carriage with her mother and carefully lifted the curtain, revealing a little gap and looking out, she remembered that she was a princess and did not dare to do anything too out of the ordinary.
Seeing the excitement in her daughter's eyes, Concubine Shu did not blame her daughter for not doing this as usual, she touched her daughter's cheek lovingly, let the child be happy, it is not easy to come out once.
Suddenly, the horse pulling the cart on the road was frightened, broke free from the driver's hand and rushed forward, so frightened that passers-by gave way to dodge, and many people were still pushed and fell in a panic and were injured.
The mother and daughter who were sitting in the carriage felt the body shake violently twice in an instant, and pulled forward to crash forward, because of inertia, the two were brought down and fell together.
Ouyang Lin was about to go to the yamen to find someone to ask about things, and when he passed through this road, he saw the bright and swaying head in front of him at a glance, and knew that it was the palace concubine who avoided the side and waited for the group to go first, but unexpectedly, there was a neighing sound of horses, accompanied by scattered horses' hooves, and the screams and exclamations of the people everywhere, it must have been a big incident.
Without waiting for Ouyang Lin to think for a moment, the sound of the horse's hooves gradually approached, and the people fled one after another, judging from his experience, the horse was frightened, and there was a car behind him, and it was very likely that the mother and daughter of the concubine were sitting in the car.
Ouyang Lin's mind flashed several thoughts in an instant, and before he could make up his mind, his body took the lead in making a judgment over his brain, he galloped two steps, jumped up and jumped on the horse's back, pulled the reins tightly with his right hand, patted the horse's neck with his left hand to calm the horse, and joined forces with the only remaining driver on the carriage to stop the carriage.
The carriage finally stopped, Ouyang Lin turned over and dismounted and walked to the side of the carriage to salute and greet him, and asked if Concubine Shu's mother and daughter were injured.
Concubine Shu couldn't see a foreign man, so she didn't show up and only said a few words through the car window, but fortunately, her mother and daughter were not injured, as for the person who gave a helping hand, I heard that the person's identity knew that this person was Ouyang Lin, the eldest son of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Ouyang Lin already had a plan in his heart at this time, saving the mother and daughter of the concubine was not simply saving people's lives, the first thing that came to mind was the benefits that would bring to him after saving people, even if there was no concubine and daughter, there could be no mistakes, and the Praetorian Guards were not all vegetarians.
The matter has been settled, and it should be on the road, and it can't be blocked in the middle of the road to affect the surrounding people, Ouyang Lin respectfully retreated to the side and waited for the car to start.
Concubine Shu was very scared after the truth, and turned around to see if her daughter was frightened, but her daughter opened the curtain to look outside, and Concubine Shu did not immediately reprimand her daughter for being reckless, for fear that her daughter would be frightened and could not bear to blame again.
The car drove slowly forward, Concubine Shu sat beside her daughter, her eyes swept abroad, and she happened to see Ouyang Lin standing on the side, turned her face to look at her daughter, and wanted to tell her daughter to put down the curtain quickly.
The unconcealable light in her daughter's eyes made Concubine Shu startled, and she hurriedly pulled her daughter's hand to lift the curtain, put the curtain down, and looked at her daughter with a pair of eyes very seriously and strictly.
The daughter's eyes showed the shyness and admiration of a little daughter, and she would not be wrong when she was a mother, but Concubine Shu didn't dare to think about whether her daughter had taken a fancy to Ouyang Lin at a glance.
Concubine Shu thought about things in her heart and did not take the lead in asking her daughter's thoughts, she was not a person who couldn't hold her breath, and decided to go back to the palace after a few turns of thought, hoping that her guess was not true, maybe she would forget if she didn't see anyone in the palace, after all, her daughter was still young and was born in the palace and grew up in the palace, and she had never seen a foreign man, maybe it was just a momentary throbbing.
Raising his eyes to ask Ouyang Lin, he noticed the girl looking out of the car window at a glance, a shallow smile appeared on her lips, and her heart was really a royal princess, not only beautiful and moving, but even the middle air of her whole body was even more eye-catching.
The carriage left slowly, the curtain was lowered, looking at the shadow of the car in the distance, Ouyang Lin suddenly had a trace of regret in his heart, turned around and left, and ignored the matter as a small episode.
Ouyang Lin didn't know that in the future, he would be planted because of this seemingly ordinary trivial matter, which made the entire Prime Minister's Mansion unpeaceful from then on.
When they arrived at their mother's house, the mother and daughter were placed in a wide courtyard to rest, gossip with their parents after dinner, and faintly mentioned to their father the restlessness in the palace, so that his father had a bottom in his heart.
Concubine Shu tossed and turned at night, it was really difficult to sleep, as far as she observed her daughter's expression today, she could already be sure that her daughter had her own careful thoughts, which made her persuade her daughter Ouyang Lin that she was not a good person.
Concubine Shu looked at her daughter in a trance from time to time, endured it and didn't speak, today is the day to return to the palace, and set off early in the morning after cleaning up after breakfast.
When I returned to the palace, I first went to Yuan Guifei to say hello, and then returned to her palace, and I didn't sleep all night, plus I had no energy to ask about my daughter, and I thought about it, anyway, I was not in a hurry, my daughter should be tired, and it would not be too late to rest for a day or two.
After the morning of the second day, Mu Haoyu rewarded Ouyang Lin who rescued people, and the reward was quite rich, and he set up a banquet in the palace to entertain Ouyang Lin.
Ouyang Lin was flattered, and stepped forward to receive the order to thank him, never expecting that the emperor would actually hold a banquet only for himself to save the mother and daughter of the concubine.
Ouyang Ye frowned slightly, and there was a slight suspicion in his heart, but he didn't really go to his heart, and he didn't say anything after glancing at his son.
Ouyang Lin didn't receive a hint from his father, and he felt a lot more at ease, it was nothing more than a small banquet that was not worth bothering about.
In addition to Ouyang Lin, the protagonist of the small banquet, he also ordered someone to call the mother and daughter of Concubine Shu to have a banquet together.
Concubine Shu was shocked at first after receiving the will, and secretly wondered why she only invited Ouyang Lin alone, and at the same time let her daughter go with her, which is a bit of a fuss, even if the reward is just, why do you need to set up a banquet. She really didn't think that the emperor attached much importance to herself and her daughter.
Concubine Shu had a lot of thoughts in her mind, and she still couldn't understand the reason why the emperor did this, was it really a layer of meaning on the surface?
As soon as the princess heard the palace maid say that her father ordered her to go to the banquet with her mother, the reason was just to thank the man who saved her and her mother that day, and she was not afraid when she remembered the situation that day, but when she saw the rescuer, her heart beat half a minute faster, and she had already forgotten her fear.
When I thought of seeing that person again at the banquet, my heart beat like a drum hammer, and my cheeks couldn't help but be dizzy, I grew up in the deep palace since I was a child, and I had never seen a foreign man in the palace except for my father and brother, and I didn't know what was wrong with me, so I was looking forward to seeing that person again.
At the small banquet, Ouyang Lin was a little restrained, this was the first time he was alone in the same room with the emperor and ** Niangniang, and the young princess cast his gaze on him from time to time, making him even more casual.
From time to time, the princess glanced at the man sitting at the lower place, her cheeks were slightly red, but she just couldn't help herself from looking.
Concubine Shu has been paying attention to her daughter, and when she saw that her daughter had been peeking at Ouyang Lin, her heart suddenly sank, and her face was not easy to show, so she had to pull her daughter's sleeve under the table to make her daughter more restrained.
Mu Haoyu can see how much his daughter cares about Ouyang Lin just from the corner of his eye, which just suits his own wishes, and Ouyang Lin is not a real righteous gentleman, since this is the case, he doesn't have to worry about the twisted melon is not sweet.
At the small banquet, Concubine Shu was worried, for fear that her daughter would lose her sense of proportion and dislike the emperor.
After the banquet, Mu Haoyu did not leave in a hurry, but asked: "Why does my princess look absent-minded?" ”
Concubine Shu's face turned pale when she heard this, and she was very worried, and she took the lead in speaking before her daughter answered: "The princess is close to the emperor for the first time, and she is a little more restrained. ”
"Oh." Mu Haoyu glanced at Concubine Shu thoughtfully and said, "What do I think of the princess?" Although he asked, the tone was very affirmative.
"This, how is this possible." Concubine Shu immediately retorted, and as soon as the words came out, she realized that she knew that her words were messed up.
"My good daughter is going to die in two months, so it's time to point out a suitable colt." Mu Haoyu looked at his eldest princess with a gentle smile.
"Your Majesty." How could Concubine Shu listen to the emperor's words, whether it was a temptation or something else, "The princess is still young, and the concubine wants to keep the princess by her side for a year or two." ”