Zhao Shijiao woke up, the room was dark, he sat up suddenly, walked out in the dark, and Cheng Lu, who was following him, saw the prince come out and said, "The prince is awake, and the slave passes the meal." Speed updates are waiting for you, oh () on it! ”

Zhao Shijiao waved his hand, his footsteps did not stop and walked out, Cheng Lu followed to the door, "The prince hasn't eaten all day." ”

Zhao Shijiao didn't pay attention to it, and went to the main courtyard, Shen Wanzhen slept warmly, her head was refreshing, and she ordered Xiuju to cut the lanterns, and the room became bright.

The people brought by Wang Jin lived in the West Cross Courtyard where Shen Wanzhen lived, and Shen Wanzhen temporarily lived in Wu Yulian's main house, and Wu Yulian went to the second courtyard to rest.

Shen Wanzhen heard footsteps outside the door, and Xiuju raised her voice in the hall, "The prince is here." ”

Zhao Shijiao had already come in, and saw Shen Wanzhen sitting cross-legged on the kang, full of energy and peace of mind, "Miss Shen is better?" ”

"Don't get in the way, the people are yelling evilly." Shen Wanzhen wanted to put on her shoes and go to the ground, but Zhao Shizhen waved her hand to stop her, "Miss Shen is cold, and the ground is cold, so let's sit on the kang." ”

Shen Wanzhen hurriedly asked Xiuju to sit with the prince, and asked: "The prince hasn't eaten dinner yet, there is a hot meal in the pot on the stove, and the embroidered chrysanthemum is brought to the prince, let's eat it here, and it is cold again when I go to the east courtyard." ”

At dusk, Shen Wanzhen woke up and asked Xiuju to go to the East Cross Courtyard to ask, saying that the prince was asleep and had not woken up yet, and it was estimated that the prince was tired, and the meal was ready, and he couldn't bear to call him, so he asked people to leave the food in the pot.

Zhao Shijiao sat down in a chair under the window and talked to Shen Wanzhen.

"Lord, let's go back to the capital tomorrow! It's really inconvenient to disturb my sister for so long and eat and live with so many people. ”

Shen Wanzhen knew that it seemed that she couldn't live here, even if Wang An was willing to let her stay, the emperor and the queen mother would not let her go, and besides, it would be too much trouble for Wu Yulian, or go back to Beijing to meet the queen mother, she should always face it, blindly hiding, it seems that it is not a way, no matter what the result is, she has no choice, her arms can't twist her thighs, and she will make a break quickly, so she can save her worry about living a life.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to bear it." Zhao Shijiao planned to let her recuperate for a few days and be on the road, after all, the capital is far away and the journey is tiring.

"Lord Wang, don't worry, my body is fine." Shen Wanzhen just wants to leave as soon as possible, disturbing Wu Yulian for too long, and I'm afraid that the time to live is too often, in case Wu Yulian's identity is revealed, Wu Mansion comes to find trouble, Wu Mansion's daughter Wu Ailian was dismissed from marriage, Wu Mansion's face is greatly injured, and now it has not settled for life, the old family of the family is hindered by face, and most of them are unwilling to accept the women who have withdrawn from the marriage to preside over the feed, Wu Ailian's appearance is mediocre, her temperament is arrogant, and the marriage of her daughter has become a heart disease of Master Wu and his wife.

At this time, as soon as the curtain rang, Xiuju brought the food into the house and placed the food on the table next to Zhao Shijiao.

Smelling the fragrance of the food, Zhao Shijiao remembered that he was hungry, except for getting up early to pad some dry food, he didn't care about eating all day.

You're not welcome, pick up the silver chopstick, hold the bowl, and eat it in a big gulp, Shen Wanzhen saw that he was eating wolf, and quickly pulled in a full bowl of rice, and handed the empty bowl to Xiuju to add rice, Xiuju filled a bowl, compacted it with a spoon, and handed it to Zhao Shijiao, he took it and ate it all in the blink of an eye.

When he ate the third bowl of rice, he slowed down, and Shen Wanzhen was sad when she saw him like this, so she couldn't bear to look at it.

After dinner, the two discussed returning to Beijing.

Since it was decided to leave tomorrow morning, Shen Wanzhen asked Xiuju to tell Mrs. Qian a few things, pack up her things early, and leave tomorrow morning.

Zhao Shijiao didn't say anything else, only said, "Take the waterway, it's relatively easy, you are not tired, the dry road, the female relatives are afraid that they will not be able to bear it." ”

When Shen Wanzhen came, she took a dry road, knowing that she was hard, she listened to his arrangement to take the waterway, and thought that he was thoughtful, so she didn't raise any objections.

He ordered Qiaoshan to invite Wu Yulian out, Wu Yulian was a little surprised when she heard that she was leaving, "Sister is going to leave tomorrow, is it too hurried, how can it take a few more days to prepare." ”

Wu Yulian seemed to be talking to Shen Wanzhen, but she looked at Lord An, she thought that King An was in a hurry to return to Beijing.

"Ming'er left, it was my idea, I was away from Beijing for a long time, and I was in a hurry to go back." Shen Wanzhen was afraid that she would be worried, so she deliberately said so.

Wu Yulian's eyes flashed, and she wanted to speak several times, but because of the presence of King An, she was really not at ease, so she half swallowed and half vomited, "My sister is going back to Beijing to meet the Queen Mother, should I plan some things?" ”

Let's say, look at Zhao Shijiao, no matter how powerful King An is, he can't surpass the Queen Mother, not to mention that marriage is a matter of parents' lives, and the matchmaker said, not only the people, but also the emperor's family, but the emperor's family is more complicated.

"Madam, don't worry, I won't let Miss Shen be wronged." Zhao Shijiao was determined, obviously had thought about it and made up his mind.

Wu Yulian put down her snacks a little, and was busy making some food for Shen Wanzhen all the way, and because she was in a hurry, she packed up her clothes that night.

Zhao Shijiao abandoned his horse and returned to the capital by boat, there were many people, so he hired two boats, Shen Wanzhen took his subordinates to take a boat, and the king of Anyang took the guards to take a boat, as for Wang Jin, he hired another big boat, and the three big boats set sail and went north along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to the north, looking at the direction of the capital.

Guo Chang set off a day in advance, and he had nothing else to do along the way, that is, along both sides of the canal, the brothel of the Qinglou, the singer and the dancer had no intention of taking care of it, and the boat did not enter the house when he arrived in the capital, went straight to the palace, and knelt down in the main hall of Cining Palace, crying in front of the Queen Mother, chattering that he was almost killed by King An for the errand assigned by the Queen Mother, and his life was almost lost in Qiantang, and he almost couldn't see the Queen Mother.

After hearing this, the Queen Mother's face turned pale, and she was so angry that she didn't say anything for a long time, "Okay, good, I raised a good son, you are the uncle of the dynasty, he dares to kill, why didn't he take a sword and kill the mourning family." ”

"The Queen Mother, Prince An's six relatives don't recognize me, and they still recognize me as his uncle, but it's for a woman who is not outstanding, and the ministers are panicked." Guo Chang fell to the ground and cried, and kowtowed again, "The queen mother is the master of the minister, and King An will not finish with the minister in the future, and he will definitely ask for the minister's life." ”

"Okay, don't cry, if you don't move the Shen family, he wants to kill you, or do you do something too much to provoke him." The queen mother is angry, and her heart is still towards her son after all, Guo Chang shouted, "Wronged, the minister will scare and scare the woman, and the woman will throw herself into the water, which really has nothing to do with the minister." ”

"What, you said that Shen committed suicide by throwing himself into the water?" The Queen Mother was surprised when she heard this, staring at him in disbelief, "Are you telling the truth?" Did she make a gesture to throw herself into the water, but was stopped by someone, so she didn't jump? "Empress Dowager Guo didn't believe that Shen Wanzhen would really seek death, guessing that she was in front of her son, pretending to seek death, provoking her son's pity, her son was kind, and she really believed her, she deliberately provoked her son's fire, killed her uncle on the spot, and turned her face with herself, and Empress Dowager Guo thought it was Shen's trick.

"The queen mother, yes, Weichen just scared her, she jumped directly into the water, the minister knew that she was fierce, and wanted to scare a few words, she went back to Beijing with the minister to see the queen mother, who knew that she was really looking for death, and who knew that the prince arrived and saw her commit suicide by throwing herself into the water, and also jumped into the water, to know this, the minister persuaded her to not force her to take this step, so that King An hated the old minister." Guo Chang was still chattering to himself, but he didn't pay attention to the sudden change in the Queen Mother's expression.

"What? You...... And he said, King Ann ....... him...... Water ...... What about people? The Queen Mother was so frightened that her face turned pale, she stood up tremblingly, pointed at Guo Chang, and said for a long time, "King An...... He ......"

Cui Changhai saw that the Queen Mother was about to lose her position, and she was about to fall backwards, seeing this, his hands and eyes were quick, and he hurriedly held on, and his tone was very anxious, "Uncle Guo, tell the Queen Mother quickly, the prince is fine." ”

Guo Chang was only halfway through his words, and when he saw this situation, he was also stupid, and after being reminded by Cui Changhai, he quickly shook his hand: "The prince has nothing to do, the prince wanted to jump into the water, but he was desperately stopped by the guards." ”

The Queen Mother sat in a chair, weak, her eyes were straight, her son almost committed suicide, and the woman sought death together, if the son died, what was the interest of her wife alive?

Cui Changhai saw that the Queen Mother's face was very bad, as if she was going to faint at any time, and hurriedly instructed the eunuch, "Quickly pass on the imperial doctor." ”

The Queen Mother waved her hand and said weakly: "You don't need to mobilize the people, it's good that the prince doesn't have anything to do." ”

Emperor Zhao Shixian went to the court, and when he heard the palace report that the queen mother was not feeling well, he hurriedly took a car to the direction of Cining Palace.

Entering the inner court, halfway through, I saw the queen taking the imperial drive also in the direction of Cining Palace, Empress Li saw the emperor's car from afar, and was busy with the imperial court, kneeling on the side of the road to pick up the car.

Zhao Shixian saw Empress Li kneeling on the side of the road, and he didn't care that the queen was still kneeling, so he didn't wake up, so he asked: "Why is the queen mother not in good health?" ”

"The concubine only heard that Uncle Guo Guo came back and entered the palace to see the Queen Mother, but I don't know what to say, and the Queen Mother is not feeling well." As soon as Empress Li heard the report from the palace people, the queen mother's jade body was not safe, so she hurried over, and she didn't know the details.

"Get up." Let's say, the emperor drove first, the queen's royal car followed, and the emperor and queen went to Cining Palace together.

When I arrived at Cining Palace, there was silence in the palace, and I saw Uncle Guo Guo standing outside the palace, drooping his head, wilting, the Queen Mother was sick, he knew that he was in trouble, and he didn't dare to leave.

Seeing the emperor and queen coming, he was so frightened that he fell to the ground, "The minister pays a visit to the emperor and the queen." ”

At this time, Cui Changhai knew that Emperor Dao was later in Cining Palace, and he also trotted all the way over and knelt down, "The slave asks the emperor and the queen to say goodbye." ”

"How is the Queen Mother?" Zhao Shixian looked anxious and asked with concern.

"The Queen Mother took the medicine and fell asleep." Empress Li smelled the benzoin of the Queen Mother's bedroom, and it floated out faintly.

"Why is the Queen Mother annoyed, you slave from the truth."

Cui Changhai lay on the ground, peeking at him, and Guo Chang, who was kneeling next to him, was so frightened that he gave him a look with his eyes at the bottom.

I thought to myself, this uncle is the younger brother of the Queen Mother, whether he is close to the family or not, and he can't offend, so he avoided the important and said lightly: "The Queen Mother sent someone to find Miss Shen, Miss Shen didn't want to be a small child for Prince An, and she committed suicide by throwing water into the water, and the prince also wanted to throw water, but was stopped by the guards, and the Queen Mother and her old man were frightened when they heard it." ”

Guo Chang breathed a sigh of relief, Cui Changhai didn't say his fault, most of the cold sweat disappeared, and he lowered his head and didn't dare to raise it.

"Hyo-eun-hou, is that what happened?"

When Guo Chang heard the emperor call out his name, he was so frightened that he didn't dare to raise his head, his throat was dry and hoarse, and he said astringently; "Yes, Your Majesty."

Emperor Zhao Shixian glanced at the queen mother's bedroom, and listened to the quietness inside, knowing that the queen mother couldn't wake up for a while, and said to the queen: "The queen mother is asleep, it is inconvenient to disturb, go back to your Kunning Palace, and wait for the queen mother to wake up, and come over." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Hearing that the emperor had visited his Kunning Palace, Empress Li was secretly happy in her heart, and the Queen Mother was unhappy and inconvenient to show it.

"Cui Changhai." The emperor called, "The slave is here." ”

"Wait for the Queen Mother well, and return to me immediately if you have something." Say it, the emperor is going out.

"Yes, the minion obeys."

"Congratulations to the emperor and queen."

The emperor didn't even look at Guo Chang, walked out of the palace, got in the car and left.

Guo Chang got up, wiped the cold sweat on his head, and bowed to Cui Changhai, who had just gotten up, "Father-in-law Xie."

Cui Changhai hurriedly dodged aside, not daring to accept the salute, "Uncle Guo killed the minions." ”

Kunning Palace

"Dutong Wang Jin sent a letter back, saying that the Shen family and the third brother were rushing to the capital." The emperor was unhappy because of the queen mother's jade body, and his troubles seemed to dissipate.

"Is it true that Grandpa Cui said that Miss Shen committed suicide by throwing herself into the water?" The queen is also a little unconvinced like the queen mother, and even suspects that the Shen family deliberately made this strategy and forced King An to give it to her, the women in the palace are used to playing tricks, and things are simple and complicated.

"Well, it's true." Zhao Shixian was thoughtful, he was worried about the affairs of the court, the southeast coastal area, the rogue is rampant, it has not been peaceful, the officials are more favoritist and irregular, and the maritime trade has been hit hard.

"The third brother has a pure temperament and is generous."

Queen Li said in her heart, set up the Shen family as the concubine, the queen mother just nodded, and her heart was not comfortable, how to get along with her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the future is a problem for the Shen family.

After I finished speaking, I saw that my husband didn't think so, the man was rational, and he pretended to be a big deal in his heart, and the woman was emotional and short-sighted, and regarded the small things in the house as a big thing.

"The matter of the third brother, now I can't intervene, you can leave it alone, let the queen mother decide." Zhao Shixian instructed the queen, afraid that she would be reckless.

"The concubine understands."

Queen Li knows that the queen mother is very angry with the emperor because of Xu Jieyu's matter, if the emperor intervenes, it will inevitably make the queen mother more dissatisfied, and the knot will be more difficult to untie, although the queen mother and the emperor are not biological mother and son, the emperor's temperament is more like the queen mother's own than King An.

"However, there is something about the concubine, I don't know what to do?" Empress Li was a little undecided.

"What's the matter with the queen, let's talk about it!"

Empress Li waved her hand at the people in the palace on the left and right, signaling to retreat, the female eunuchs in the palace all quietly retreated, there were only two emperors and queens in the palace, Zhao Shixian was a little puzzled, the queen sent everyone out, I don't know what the big deal is? He was interested at the moment.

Before Empress Li could speak, her face was slightly red, she approached the emperor and whispered: "The concubine heard that the Shen family is a virgin, and she has not been married to the second son of the uncle of Changyi. ”

Your Majesty, 'Oh? A sound, a little puzzled, "I heard that the son of Changyi Bo has been married for half a year, how can there be no round house?" "The two sons of Changyi Bo are famous all over the capital, and naturally some people have mentioned it in front of the emperor, spoiling the concubine and killing his wife, and marrying a wife is this Shen family.

Empress Li whispered; "The reason for the internal reasons, family affairs, and concubines are not very clear, but I only know that the daughter-in-law of the head of Changyi Bo in Lu Dao has been married for a year, and she has never had a round house, and so is the Shen family who remarried."

"Could it be that Chang Yibo's son is sick?" The emperor couldn't think of anything else, so he naturally thought about it.

"I heard that both of them were pregnant with posthumous children." The queen has specially checked the affairs of the emperor, and it is necessary to inquire and understand, and it is not clear and unclear, which will make the emperor unhappy.

Empress Li was sympathetic to King An and the Shen family, and also wanted to share the emperor's worries.

Zhao Shixian didn't speak for a long time, and Empress Li didn't ask the emperor what he meant, and waited quietly, "You want to reveal this news to the Queen Mother, and pretend not to know anything else." ”

Empress Li got the emperor's will, and the next thing to do is to know what to do.

The next day, Zhao Shijiao and Wang Jin's big ship, only one day later than Guo Chang, Wang Jin entered the palace to meet the emperor, Zhao Shijiao properly settled Shen Wanzhen, still not at ease, sent cronies to protect Shen Wanzhen, issued a death order, if Shen Wanzhen has a mistake, all come to see.

Zhao Shijiao ran to the palace and went directly to Cining Palace, Empress Dowager Guo was frightened yesterday, and there was no big problem, and she heard the palace people report that her son was back, and her heart was at peace, and her heart was half better.

Zhao Shijiao went to the hall and knelt down, "The son asks the queen mother to say goodbye." ”

The Queen Mother remembered Guo Chang's words again, and she was still angry in her heart, and said coldly: "I heard that you almost killed your uncle, for that woman?" "Empress Dowager Guo is angry, her son is the meat that fell from his body no matter what, he doesn't look at the face of the monk and looks at the face of the Buddha, and even his uncle and his own brother are going to be killed, is there still a mother in this eye?

Zhao Shijiao knew that Guo Chang would come back for a day, and he would definitely play a book in front of the Queen Mother, he had long been blind to what Guo Chang did, and on weekdays, the dog fought against people, bullying men and women, "Uncle Guo forced Shen to commit suicide by throwing himself into the water, he knew that Shen was the woman that the king liked, and he dared to act boldly, but he was powerful." ”

"What kind of power is he fighting, is he mourning? Do you mean that he is doing something wrong with his mourning family? It was the mourning family who asked him to catch the Shen family back, if you are angry and rush to the mourning family. Cui Changhai was on the side, and when he saw that the mother and son were nervous at the mention of the Shen family.

For the sake of Shen Wanzhen, Zhao Shijiao had to endure it, "Erchen should die, he doesn't choose what to say, and he collides with the Queen Mother." ”

"Don't choose your words, the mourners see that you don't choose your words, but what you say in your heart." Empress Dowager Guo complained about her son, no matter what, killing her uncle is to slap herself in the face, her son seems to have long been dissatisfied with his mother's family, it is not a day, but his son talks little, never says much, and sometimes he doesn't know what he thinks in his heart, probably he has always complained in his heart that he protects his mother's family.

Zhao Shijiao saw that he was going to a foreign house again, and if he continued to talk about this topic, it would only make the problem more complicated, so he hurriedly pulled it back, "Queen Mother, Erchen has cut off contact with the Shen family, and the Shen family has left the country, why didn't the queen mother let her go?" ”

"What is the mourning family for? It's not for you, the good son of the mourning family, the mourning family looks at your face all day long, like what I owe you as a mother, since the Shen family left, when did you come to the mourning family and have a good face, you say? The more Empress Dowager Guo said, her voice was raised, and her heart was depressed, her son didn't understand the hard work of being a mother, and didn't think that being a mother was for his good, so she wanted to be a mother deliberately against him.

"What does the queen mother want to do when she catches Shen back?" Zhao Shijiao saw that the Queen Mother was angry again, so he didn't talk much and went straight to the point.

"The mourning family has already said that let the Shen family make you small."

"As a concubine, the Shen family will not agree to death."

Empress Dowager Guo sneered, "She doesn't love you, since she loves you, why do you care about your reputation?" ”

"Without dignity, there is no love." Zhao Shijiao argued.

"She wants to capture the old people, and use death to coerce you into submission, you are just pinched by her and lost your heart." Empress Dowager Guo can't watch her son do foolish things, marry a courtier and daughter-in-law, how to face a minister, her son is self-destructive.

"I want to add a crime" Zhao Shijiao didn't even think about it, and blurted out.

"Bold" Empress Dowager Guo was angry, wanted to use extreme measures, and had some scruples, and asked rhetorically, "Do you have to marry her?" ”

"Yes, ask the queen mother for mercy."

"If the mourning family kills her, how will you stay?"

"Forgive my son for being unfilial."

Empress Dowager Guo knew that her son was not said casually, if she killed the killer and the mother and son turned against her, she would lose her son forever.

She hesitated, hesitated, if she agreed to the marriage, she remembered that the daughter of the Shen family was the daughter-in-law of Uncle Changyi, and she was like swallowing a fly, and her heart was panicked.

The mother and son were at a stalemate, a little eunuch secretly approached Cui Changhai and pulled his sleeve, Cui Changhai glanced at the mother and son, didn't pay attention to him, and quietly withdrew, the little eunuch led him to a place where no one was, and then whispered something to him.

"It's serious." Cui Changhai's squinted eyes widened and he couldn't wake up, a little unconvinced.

"The minions heard about it, too."

"Don't say this in advance, wait for our family to play the Empress Dowager." Cui Changhai lifted the corner of his robe, walked back to the hall quickly, peeked at the mother and son with black faces, walked to the queen mother, and whispered quietly.

The Queen Mother suddenly raised her eyebrows, her apricot eyes widened, she glanced at Her Highness's kneeling son, and said, "You go back first, and the marriage will be considered by the mourning family." ”

King An retreated, and Empress Dowager Guo asked Cui Changhai, "Is the Shen family really white?" ”

"The minion heard about it, but I don't know if it's true." Cui Changhai didn't dare to say that it was full, in case it was a rumor, the Queen Mother would blame it, and it would be found to be untrue.

"It's not difficult to know if she is pale and white, it's no wonder that she doesn't want to be a concubine, but she is also from everyone, the granddaughter of Mrs. Shen."

Empress Dowager Guo thought secretly, if this rumor is true, she is still more comfortable in her heart, but there is still a little doubt about Shen Wanzhen, that is, if she is ordered to enter the palace as a concubine, is she really willing to die, if she is greedy for life and afraid of death, then it will be easy to do, a holy decree, a small sedan chair carried into the palace, let her make trouble, it will be too late, and she will not be able to turn the sky.

But if she is really fierce, refuses to be humiliated, and is bent on death, even if her son does not die with her, he will hate her as a mother in the future.

The Queen Mother closed her eyes, pondered for a long time, and opened her eyes, "King Xuan'an has come to see you." ”

"Yes, Queen Mother." When the eunuch went down to pass the word, Empress Dowager Guo said to herself: "Shen Wanzhen, if you are edified, if you pass this level, you will be the concubine of King An, if not, don't blame the mourning family for being ruthless." ”

whispered a few words to Cui Changhai, Cui Changhai smiled flatteringly, and said: "The Queen Mother's plan is very high. ”