(a)

The funeral of the Marquis of Changping was held ceremoniously, and the gentry from all walks of life came to the scene to mourn, and the palace also had a will to comfort and mourn the internal attendants.

Uncle Yan Guanxin has not cared much about the affairs of the court since he was old, and he has been at home for a long time, and he has married a three-room concubine.

He knew that although he was the benefactor and close relative of Liu Shen's mother and son, however, now that the empress dowager had passed away, the family relationship with the emperor had naturally decreased slightly, and many of his political views tended to be conservative, which was not quite consistent with Liu Shen's forge ahead, although Liu Shen has always been polite and respectful to himself, but he is not a dependent minister in Liu Shen's mind to create a new atmosphere of the new dynasty, and now he is also old, and often conflicts with the emperor because of political affairs, after all, it is not a good thing, for the sake of the future happiness of his children and grandchildren, it is better to take advantage of the situation to retire, in exchange for the promotion of the children and grandchildren. He has always been unaccustomed to Liu Shen's favor for me, and believes that I am not chaste before marriage, and I have an ambiguous relationship with the late general, so I am really not suitable for being in the main palace, but no matter how he knocks on the side, Liu Shen has always turned a deaf ear and is unmoved, and he is helpless. Seeing that the years are flying, and my grace is still the same, I have given birth to one after another with Liu Shen's princes and princesses, and the son has also been elected, and the position is clear, even if it is not pleasing to the eye, Liu Shen and my marriage is not pleasing to the eye, and everything is already in the boat, so I can only go with the flow, it is better to be out of sight and out of mind, and retire home, so I don't have to look at my various non-observance of women's virtues every day, and watch Liu Shen's various feelings and confusion, and my heart is painful and uncomfortable.

After the matter of the Marquis of Changping came out, Yan Guanxin, relying on his intuition of being an official in the court for many years, thought that things were by no means so simple. He called his son and the Marquis of Changping one by one to his yard, interrogated him repeatedly, and finally guessed what the Marquis of Changping did, and he knew why he ended up like this.

At the funeral of the Marquis of Changping, Yan Guanxin had a serious expression, and sat on the mourning hall with a gloomy face, watching the hundreds of officials shuttling back and forth, motionless and silent. When the officials of the Criminal Department came to mourn, they kept looking down at the ground, not to mention getting up to greet them, and they didn't even raise their eyelids. Everyone thought that he was old and lost his grandson, and he was sad, but for the sake of the Empress Dowager Wang's kindness and courtesy, and was deeply respected by the officials, they also understood him more and did not have any problems with him.

After the body of the Marquis of Changping was sent to the tomb, Yan Guanxin stayed in his courtyard for several days, silent, had little food, and refused to see his family. While his family was worried about whether he would be overly sad and mentally ill, the gate of his yard suddenly opened. Yan Guanxin walked out of the courtyard and asked his family to prepare, saying that he would enter the palace the next day to thank him.

Yan Guanxin's son, the father of the Marquis of Changping, looked at Yan Guanxin's face that turned black, and knew that his father must not have entered the palace this time to thank him, but to ask the teacher for his guilt. He wanted to advise his father, and everyone knew that this matter was tacit, so far, don't make any more trouble, however, as soon as he opened his mouth, he was forced back by Yan Guanxin's dagger-like eyes.

Yan Guanxin said coldly: "Now you come to persuade me." When my grandson was alive, did you persuade him like this?! ”

Yan Guanxin's son knew that the discipline was not strict, and his heart was empty, so he didn't dare to answer, so he had to pray silently in his heart that his father's entry into the palace this time would not cause any new storms, and that he would not further cause trouble to the door.

(b)

It was a cloudy day, it was almost noon, the sky was still pitch black, the weather was humid and muggy, even if you sat still, you could sweat and feel breathless. Such weather must be very difficult for Liu Shen, who is suffering from heart disease.

The handling of the affairs in the palace has been completed, I plan to go over to see Liu Shen again, check the situation of his service, at this time, the inner servant came to report, saying that Yan Guanxin asked for an audience outside the Zhaoyang Palace, he said that he was here to thank the emperor and empress, because the emperor was sick and could not receive him, so he came to Zhaoyang Palace to meet.

The chamberlain lowered his voice and whispered to me that he felt that Yan Guanxin's face did not look like Xie En, and he did not bring his son with him, which was not in line with Xie En's rules, so he carefully asked me if I wanted to meet him, or it was better to send Yan Guanxin directly to Liu Shen's side to say goodbye through the palace gate.

I knew in my heart that he must have come for the affairs of the Marquis of Changping. At this time, I can't hide and let him stimulate Liu Shen. So, I agreed to meet him.

Walking into the main hall, I saw Yan Guanxin wearing black mourning clothes, holding a boxwood dragon head cane rewarded by Liu Shen, standing there drooping and old. After a few years, his hair was all white, his back was not so straight, he walked tremblingly, and the backs of his hands were covered with black age spots. I can't help but feel a little emotional, time is fair to everyone.

Yan Guanxin saw me come in and turned to look at me, and he stood there coldly, standing without kneeling.

The chamberlain felt angry and wanted to scold him, but I raised my hand to stop him.

Following Yan Guanxin's cold gaze, I calmly stepped on the steps of the main hall and sat on the queen's throne.

I looked at Yan Guanxin condescendingly. Yan Guanxin was unconvinced, and looked up at me with blazing eyes.

I waved my hand again and retreated.

Now, there are only the two of us left in the hall.

I said: "I heard that the funeral of the Marquis of Changping has been completed, and people cannot be resurrected after death. ”

Yan Guanxin heard this, and let out a cold snort from his nose.

He looked at me hatefully, gritted his teeth and said, "The queen doesn't need to be pretendedly merciful!" I know you're the one who did it! My grandson, you were killed by those of your guards! ”

I looked at him sadly, fully able to appreciate and understand his hatred. It wasn't the end I wanted.

(c)

I said, "Uncle, you're wrong. Although the Marquis of Changping died by the sword, he was killed by his own ambition. ”

I said, "Since you have come to Xingshi to ask for your guilt, I don't have to hide it." This matter, because the emperor is sick, is handled by me on my behalf. The Marquis of Changping is young, and although it is regrettable to end up like this, he really deserves it, and he is not wronged. If the trial is conducted according to the law and handled by the emperor in person, I am afraid that there will be no such posthumous mourning at that time, and my uncle will not have the opportunity to come to Zhaoyang Palace to show off his power and stand without kneeling. ”

Yan Guanxin angrily struck the ground with a cane and said loudly: "Chen Qin'er! Although you are honored as a queen, you are still just a woman! The Marquis of Changping is a child of the clan and an official of the state, even if there is any fault, it is not your turn to take care of the harem! You are a woman, a woman, what qualifications do you have to kill and take away and punish without permission?! What qualifications can you instruct the guards to openly kidnap the imperial court officials on the streets of the capital in the middle of the night, set up a private court, and force interrogation? ! You have done such a nonsense thing, and you have long since lost your virtue and are in the middle palace again! has long violated the ancestral system that women are not allowed to interfere in politics! The emperor should know that interfering in the affairs of the harem is a sign of the destruction of the country, and he should deal with it decisively, depose your posterior, and punish him to the cold palace for reflection! ”

I said: "The world is peaceful, the emperor is seriously ill, the whole palace is worried, and I am not in the mood to care about outside affairs." However, there are those who want to take advantage of the danger of others to covet one of my sons and murder my other son, disobey their father's wishes, and destroy the peace of the whole country. Seeing that the arrow is ready to be reborn, as a mother, how can I sit idly by! Isn't it the duty of parents to discipline their sons not to cause calamity to the common people, not to kill each other, and not to bring harm to the country? Could it be that I am a mother, I should turn a blind eye and let these children mess around, make my brothers turn against me, make the blood flow in the palace, make the emperor heartbroken, make the emperor's condition worse, and make the death of the former queen mother unsightly, this is the virtue of a glorious woman, is this worthy of being in the middle palace?! ”

I said, "Uncle, I know you don't like me all along. But this is not a reason for you to indulge your own children to get involved in the affairs of the prince and provoke the princes to fight for the throne! I've been through the brotherhood twice in my life, and I know the pain inside, and I'm not going to sit back and watch my sons repeat it. ”

I said, "The sons of the emperor are the future of the country." If they are enemies of each other and fight each other, it means the division of the country and the resumption of war. The emperor and the late general devoted their lives to hastening unification and ending the war. Every gray hair on the emperor's head was born for this! Every effort is wasted by this! The general even sacrificed his life for this, and his bones are still exposed in the wilderness, and no one can find them! ”

I said to him, "And you, uncle, you are now gray-haired, and you can sit in the mansion in a pampered manner, with a group of wives and concubines, and servants like clouds, and you have enjoyed all the glory and wealth." But what about the soldiers who died for the unity and peace of the country? What about those who have not married and had children, and who have not enjoyed a day of stability and peace? They died painfully and lonely in the wilderness, and their families did not even have a chance to bury their remains! ”

I met his hateful gaze and said, "Think of what they have given up, think of what they have paid, and think of your discipline of your children and grandchildren!" He was slaughtered by your pride and indulgence! Don't you feel ashamed of the trust of the emperor and the sacrifice of the Han army as a grandfather? You still have the confidence to come here to ask for guilt! What you should do today is to come to the ground and plead guilty! ”

I said, "Uncle, listen, I will not allow anyone to use my sons to destroy the sacrifices and ideals of the emperor and the soldiers of the Han army for their own selfish desires!" Go and trap the world again! ”

Yan Guanxin once again pounded the blue brick floor of the main hall with his cane. He pointed at me with his cane in a hoarse voice and said, "You speak so eloquently! Are you really so fair and open? Four Princes! That precious son of yours, him! is the right one who commits crimes! Why does the queen selfishly favor her own son and only punish the children of other people's families?! Is my grandson's life as cheap as a mustard? Shouldn't the princes first correct their words and deeds, stop distracting thoughts, and become role models for the children of the clan? Could it be that the princes committed such a heinous crime that they could easily escape and go unpunished? Is this how you bend the law for personal gain to maintain the peace of the people of the world? ”

I said, "Uncle, whether you believe it or not, my original intention was to persuade your grandson to stop him before they start the matter, to give him a chance to rein in the precipice and turn his ways, so as not to cause trouble to the family and damage my uncle's reputation as a loyal protector of the Lord for many years." It's a pity that he couldn't understand my hard work and stubbornness, which caused the accident. However, uncle, there is nothing you can feel unjust, and I am not taking revenge on my uncle for the past. Based on these things done by the Marquis of Changping, and based on the remarks that he would frame the crown prince before he died, if the emperor knew about it, if it was publicly verified, he would definitely not be able to escape a capital crime. ”

I said, "Uncle." Taiping is the peace of the people of the world. The duty of the emperor is to protect this priceless treasure for the people of the world. Otherwise, why would the people of the world support the royal family? No matter who it is, no matter what kind of relationship he has with our royal family, as long as he wants to do this kind of thing that is contrary to the family and hurts the country, I will definitely stop him. Even if it costs my own life for this, I will not hesitate to do it! I don't care about being saddled with your hatred! ”

I said, "Uncle, you can rest assured. I will not only dispose of your grandson, but when the emperor is in better health, I will also ask for an order to dispose of my own son. ”

I said, "No one can do this kind of thing with impunity." Including my son, too, including you! ”

I said, "Please remember these words." ”

After I finished speaking, I stood up, glanced at him, and then left my seat and left the main hall, leaving my face trembling with sadness and anger, and standing alone on the main hall of Zhaoyang Palace. (To be continued.) )