Zhao Shijiao came out of Cining Palace, walked not far, and saw a soft sedan chair coming up on the north road, Zhao Shijiao hurriedly stood aside, the small sedan chair went to his side, the soft curtain of the car window was rolled up from the inside, and Concubine Xie poked her head out, "Lord, enter the palace to ask the Queen Mother for peace?" ”

Zhao Shijiao saluted, his attitude was respectful but not close, "Say hello to the concubine." ”

This Concubine Xie is the youngest of several concubines, a few years before and after the death of the first emperor, quite favored, the good times did not last long, the first emperor died, and moved to the North Palace.

"I heard that the queen mother's body is not safe, this palace wants to go over to see, and I am afraid of disturbing the queen mother's purity, the queen mother is really blessed, there is a prince who is filial, unlike this palace, alone, there is no one to talk to in Zhenri."

Concubine Xie has no children, the North Palace is silent all day long, these first emperors and concubines, live a lonely and lonely life, all day long to participate in Zen and worship the Buddha, and the sound of wooden fish floats out from time to time in various palaces of the North Palace.

Zhao Shijiao listened and did not answer.

Concubine Xie looked at him with a complicated gaze, Zhao Shijiao raised her head slightly, and a kind smile appeared on her face, "When will the fourth prince come back?" Does the prince know the way? ”

"The retainers don't know" Zhao Shijiao usually speaks very little, and when he enters and leaves the palace, he treats the former queen and concubine politely, and he does not feel close or cold.

"I heard that the prince went on a long trip? Is it to Qiantang? That's a great place. "Concubine Xie is in this deep palace, and there is little contact with the outside world, and when the king of Anyang has returned from Qiantang County, the uncle of the country entered the palace to cry to the queen mother, she got a little rumor, only vaguely heard that because of a woman.

Zhao Shizhi sighed.

Concubine Xie saw that he had something on his mind, so she had no intention of chatting, and said with interest: "The prince is busy, go to Sister Cao's palace in this palace to have a look." ”

Zhao Shijiao said goodbye to Concubine Xie, went out of the inner court, and just walked out not far away, he heard a voice calling him from behind, he stood still, and looked back, it was a personal eunuch in the Queen Mother's palace, and he caught up, "Lord, the Queen Mother asks the prince to go back." ”

Zhao Shijiao was surprised, just came out of Cining Palace, the queen mother immediately ordered someone to chase him out, she figured it out, and hurriedly asked the eunuch, "What is the matter with the queen mother's call to this king?" ”

The eunuch shook his head, "The slave doesn't know what to do." ”

Zhao Shijiao returned to Cining Palace, and after the ceremony, he couldn't wait to ask: "Have you considered the marriage of Erchen?" ”

"The queen mother still can't believe that the Shen daughter will really seek death if she is a concubine." Empress Dowager Guo saw her son's anxious appearance, her heart was sour, she didn't see him in such a hurry when she entered the palace, it can be seen that she is interested in the Shen girl.

"What does the queen mean? Could it be that the Shen family does not seek death, and the queen mother will order her to be a concubine, if so, let alone her, even the son will not agree, the son would rather not marry her, and do not want her to suffer this humiliation. ”

Empress Dowager Guo really thought so, she was broken by her son's words, hated her son for not being angry, only knew how to protect the woman, pressed down and pressed the fire, her son ate soft and not hard, and tried to ease her tone, "Being a concubine insulted her, then your side concubines and concubines, that is not a good background, they are all carried into the palace by the white daughters, don't they want to live?" She is the only one who is hypocritical, refuses to make trouble, and is your concubine to promote her, and dares to expect a wife. ”

What Empress Dowager Guo said is also the true thought in her heart, if the Shen family is wronged, how can other women live?

"If the queen mother says so, the son has nothing to say, the weak water is three thousand, the son only wants to take a scoop of drink, and the son doesn't want to delay the daughter of a good family."

Zhao Shijiao seems to be angry and authentic, the queen mother is stuffed with people in the house every day, and the concubines are in groups, competing for favor and pity, full of tricks, and there is no clean day.

"Do you mean that the mourning family forced you to set up side concubines and take concubines?" Empress Dowager Guo couldn't help but feel aggrieved, and her voice couldn't help but be high, "The queen mother is hardworking, and you don't appreciate it, so you can say such things." ”

"Mother, is there any point in discussing these things? And they were all carried into the king's house. Zhao Shijiao didn't want to say more, otherwise there would be some entanglement, and the words stopped.

Cui Changhai was in a hurry, and gave the Queen Mother a look beside him, and the Empress Dowager Guo glanced at him, put away her resentment, and turned to the topic, "The mourning family has an idea, if you respond, the mourning family will come down to make a decision." ”

Zhao Shijiao looked at the Queen Mother a little vigilantly, afraid that the Queen Mother would say something to hurt Shen Wanzhen, "Queen Mother, please speak." ”

"She doesn't want to die, the mourning family will give her a cup of poisonous wine, how about fulfilling her?" The Queen Mother twisted the amber Buddha beads in her hand, and said in a flat tone, as if talking about an ordinary thing.

Zhao Shijiao tightened his body, his five fingers slowly brought together, clenched his fists, stared at the Queen Mother, and said coldly: "Erchen doesn't agree." ”

Empress Dowager Guo looked at her son's stiff face due to nervousness, sighed slightly, and thought, who is this like, like his father, when the emperor was alive, he only favored that woman, and when the woman died, his heart died.

The Queen Mother didn't move, and said lightly, "The mourning family hasn't finished talking yet." ”

Seeing that his son's lips were pursed, he listened attentively, and then he said his idea.

After the Queen Mother finished speaking, she looked at her son's face, and the tense muscles on his son's face relaxed slightly, but the nervousness made him breathe a little short.

"What is the idea of mourning the family? Isn't it mourning and unbelief? Is it because the mourning family has suffered a lot over the years, so you have to be careful, you are my son, can the queen mother still harm you? To say a good word, to say yes or not to agree? ”

Zhao Shijiao lowered his head slightly, was silent for a long time, and nodded heavily, "My son agreed, but it was ......." ”

"Don't worry, the queen mother knows how to do it, so it's decided."

"The queen mother's words are true, if they are ......." Zhao Shijiao looked at the Queen Mother, and wanted to make sure of it, but he was afraid that the Queen Mother would change her mind temporarily.

"The mourning family is once the queen mother, and it can still be a child's play."

"Okay, just follow the mother."

"Master, the prince has been gone for so long, why hasn't he come back?" Qiao Shan went out to look several times, but she didn't see the figure of the prince, so she couldn't help but be anxious.

"The little girl just can't hold her breath, how old is the prince just now, and he is in a hurry like this?" Mama Yan glared at Qiao Shan, blaming her for upsetting her master.

Shen Wanzhen was also anxious, and several people were settled in the Anyang Wangbei Courtyard, and their hearts were not steady.

Embroidered chrysanthemum fiddled with the placket, rubbed back and forth, the prince went for almost two hours, there was no news, I don't know whether it was good or bad, and when people were anxious and restless, they walked out.

As soon as I walked to the front yard, I heard a strong knock on the door, and the janitors hurriedly ran to look, and the guards thought that the prince had returned.

The old family's legs and feet were a little slower, and the knock on the door was louder, and the male duck outside the door pulled his neck and shouted: "There are all dead people inside?" I haven't opened the door yet, and I can't eat when it's late. ”

As soon as the old family heard that these lords outside the door were very upright, they pulled the latch and poked their heads out, but the door slammed open outside, and an old eunuch came in, "Is Miss Shen inside?" ”

As soon as the old family saw that there was someone in the palace, they didn't need to ask, they knew that it was either the emperor or the queen mother's master, and they were busy groveling with a smiling face, "The father-in-law is looking for the girl sent by the prince, and in the back house, the old slave immediately sent a message in." ”

"Hurry up, the Queen Mother is waiting."

Xiuju hid behind the courtyard wall, heard this conversation, and hurriedly ran back to report to the master.

Xiuju ran in panting, tripped at the door, almost fell, and hurriedly held on to the door frame, out of breath, "Master, the queen mother in the palace sent someone to order the master to enter the palace to meet her." ”

Shen Wanzhen's heart was slightly cold, and an ominous premonition hit her heart, and Mama Yan and Mama Qian all stared at her, as if asking her what she thought.

Shen Wanzhen smiled bitterly, what idea could she have, how far she ran, and she couldn't escape from the palm of the queen mother's hand, her heart was horizontal, whether it was a blessing or a curse, and she couldn't avoid it.

Shen Wanzhen put on her clothes and walked out of the middle gate, the eunuch waited at the gate with people, and when she came out, her attitude was not as tough as Fang Cai, she bowed her body, and said humbly: "The slave greets the girl." ”

"Let's go, I'll go into the palace with you and meet the Queen Mother." Shen Wanzhen said, and went out.

The eunuchs in the palace don't know how many masters have been waiting, who knows that the master flew up the branch and turned into a phoenix, they all had to wait carefully, and the people waiting behind Shen Wanzhen also followed, and said with a smile: "Miss Shen, the Queen Mother announced that Miss Shen entered the palace alone, and the people were still waiting in the house." ”

Shen Wanzhen turned around and gave a few words, then followed him out, got into the car, and went to the palace, all the way to think, why didn't King An come, it was the Queen Mother who sent someone to take her into the palace, could it be that King An entered the palace and was detained by the Queen Mother, and she couldn't get out, if so, she was in danger, she lifted a gap in the car curtain with her bare hands, and hugged the front and back of the car, and the palace guards were lined up in front of and behind, and this formation was to prevent her from escaping.

The car arrived at the palace gate, entered the palace from the north gate, changed to a soft sedan car, walked about a stick of incense, and stopped.

"It's here, Miss Shen, please get off the sedan chair." The eunuch raised the sedan curtain, and Shen Wanzhen stepped down.

Stand firm, look ahead, the palace is majestic, magnificent, red gold Kowloon green land plaque, the plaque is written with three big characters of Douda, "Cining Palace'

Shen Xuanzhen was led into the palace gate by the eunuch, bypassed the main hall, went to the side hall, and entered the door, but the eunuch who led the way did not enter, and as soon as she entered the door, she saw the lattice door behind her gently closed.

There was an old lady in the room who seemed to be waiting for her to arrive, looked her up and down a few times, and said in a long voice: "The girl has taken off her clothes." ”

This sentence startled Shen Wanzhen, thinking that she didn't hear clearly, the old lady saw that she didn't move, and said at the same speed, "Please take off your clothes." ”

Shen Wanzhen covered her clothes with her hands and stepped back, the old lady took a few steps forward, Shen Wanzhen retreated to the corner, stared at her vigilantly, and said, "What are you going to do?" ”

"The old slave was ordered by the Queen Mother to examine the girl's body." There was nothing unusual about the old woman's voice, as if she had long been used to it, and at first, it was like this.

Shen Wanzhen understood in a trance that this procedure was indispensable to marry into the emperor's family. Could it be...... She didn't dare to think about it.

"Girl, hurry up." The old lady urged again, but she was not impatient.

Shen Wanzhen couldn't help but be shy, slowly took off her outer clothes, and left her inner clothes, slowly, a little hesitant, and the old lady urged again: "Hurry up, the queen mother is waiting, even the old slave is blamed when it is late, and the girl did not embarrass the old slave." ”

Shen Wanzhen gritted her teeth, quickly took them off, closed her eyes and let the old woman inspect them.

After the old lady finished the inspection, she didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly went to report to the Queen Mother.

When Empress Dowager Guo heard her affirmation that Shen Wanzhen had not budded, she felt at ease and became a little more angry.

As soon as Shen Wanzhen waited for the old lady to finish, she hurriedly dressed and was taken to the Queen Mother's bedroom, kneeling on the main hall of Cining Palace.

The majestic voice of the Queen Mother came from overhead, "Raise your head, look at the mourning family, what kind of woman is it, and the son of the mourning family is fascinated." ”

Shen Wanzhen was a little flustered in her heart, and forced herself to suppress it, so she tossed it around, her face was gloomy, and she raised her head, but she didn't dare to look directly into the eyes of the Queen Mother.

Empress Dowager Guo has read countless people, there are no beauties in the harem, beautiful, charming, delicate, gentle, delicate, talented, and versatile, this Shen is really nothing special, her appearance can be regarded as first-class in Qing Shui, I heard that she has no talent, I can't help but be curious, what does her son like her, incredible.

The Shen daughter is not like the fox she imagined, but she can capture her son's heart, which shows that the means are good, and the queen mother has to face it with twelve points of spirit.

"Shen, the mourning family asked you, you answered truthfully, if the mourning family asks the emperor to send you to the Anwang Mansion as a concubine, do you really want to die?" The Queen Mother must understand the true intentions of this woman, if she is a scheming woman, seeking death is a show, she can deceive her son, but she can deceive her eyes.

Shen Wanzhen was thinking about how to answer, and the Queen Mother added, "Are you really not afraid of death?" ”

"I'm afraid of death, but it's better to live than to die."

"Good backbone, the women who are concubines are like you, isn't it that no one is a concubine, and they are all wives." The Queen Mother disagreed, the same woman, born in different eras, with different education, and different views.

"People have their own aspirations, and the temperament of the people's daughters is difficult to change, and the husband is half master and half servant, and the people's women really can't do it, so they have to disobey the queen mother." Today, she is desperate to die, so she simply talks about it.

"Ambitious, this character is a bit like the mourning family when I was young." Empress Dowager Guo saw that this woman was weak, and she spoke hard, and she believed her words a little, but she was always suspicious, if she played tricks and forced her to comply, wouldn't she fall for her, if she really had the will to die, then she admired her fortitude.

Empress Dowager Guo slapped her face twice, and the echo in the empty hall was crisp and loud, and a palace maid walked out from behind the curtain with a tray in her hand and a glass of wine on it.

"Since you insist on not wanting to be a concubine, don't you want to die? The mourning family will give you a happy drink, drink this cup of poisonous wine, and in half an hour, you will die. ”

Hearing this, Shen Wanzhen raised her head, and the palace maid squatted in front of her, Shen Wanzhen looked at the silver tray that the palace maid was holding in her hand, and there was a transparent amber cup on it, which was filled with dark brown liquid.

"If you don't want to drink, take a small sedan chair, carry it into the palace, and be your concubine obediently."

Shen Wanzhen stretched out her hand and picked up the cup, her hand trembled slightly, the Empress Dowager Zhidao stared at herself, her heart was flustered, and the corner of Empress Dowager Guo's lips seemed to have a mocking smile, just waiting to see a good show.

Shen Wanzhen was sad in her heart, this life passed in a hurry, and she really died, she was a little nostalgic and a little reluctant.

She slowly raised her head, the afterglow swept over, and suddenly found that the corners of the dark golden auspicious cloud pattern robe behind the curtain flashed, and disappeared behind the curtain, she instantly had a bottom in her heart, and suddenly, as soon as she raised her head, she drank the whole cup of poisonous wine without hesitation.

She was a little dizzy and fell to the ground, unable to lift her head heavily.

Empress Dowager Guo sat still, to her surprise, she actually drank it, she thought in her heart, this Shen Wanzhen could not know the truth of the Dao, her son and her had not even met her, it seems that this Shen girl is different, this kind of courage not afraid of death is admirable.

At this time, Zhao Shijiao hurriedly walked out from behind the curtain, stepped forward to pick up Shen Xuanzhen and walked towards the back.