Chapter 34: Prison Visits

When Empress Dowager Xu heard that Qian Hongzuo asked to see her, she hurriedly stopped the official document she was approving in her hand and asked the palace maid to pass it on.

Qian Hongzuo hurriedly bowed to the Empress Dowager Xu, and then asked eagerly: "Queen Mother, I heard that Xie Xiangcun was ordered by you to be arrested and imprisoned in the forbidden army, I don't know what mistakes he made?" Please also ask the queen mother to make it clear. ”

Empress Dowager Xu motioned to the people waiting around her, withdrew from the hall, and waited until there were only two personal palace maids left, and then Empress Dowager Xu said: "Holy Lord, in the court today, Xie Xiangcun was disrespectful to Marshal Dai, didn't you notice?" ”

Qian Hongzuo said angrily: "Queen Mother, today Dai Yun roared at the court, it was Dai Yun who was disrespectful first. Xie Xiangcun replied according to my instructions, even if he reprimanded Dai Yun, it was to maintain the dignity of the king's power, and it was the duty of the guards with knives. Now that the queen mother has arrested him, who will dare to speak for us in the future? ”

Empress Dowager Xu said: "So the mourning family is not in the court to stop Xie Xiangcun; I didn't tell anyone why I put him in prison. ”

Qian Hongzuo said: "Do you still need to say this reason?" Dai Yun has always been arrogant in the court, and no one has ever dared to reprimand him like Xie Xiangcun. At the moment, I am afraid that the government and the opposition are talking about this matter, you catch Xie Xiangcun at this time, and a clear-eyed person will know what the reason is. ”

Empress Dowager Xu said: "That's just their speculation, don't mind." ”

Qian Hongzuo said: "What is the real reason? ”

Empress Dowager Xu said: "Since the Holy Lord ascended the throne, two prime ministers have died in three years, and the reason is that they disagree with Dai Yun's political views. And Xie Xiangcun is going to visit his master Qu Liuyu in Fangli Villa, Fangli Villa is located in the middle of nowhere, isn't the saint afraid that the next one to die tragically is Xie Xiangcun? ”

Qian Hongzuo was stunned for a moment and slowly calmed down. After a while, he said: "Xie Aiqing is strong in martial arts, as long as he sends more guards to escort him, that's it." Why let him suffer in prison? ”

Empress Dowager Xu said: "Open guns are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are difficult to prevent." What's more, being extra protective of Xie Xiangcun will only make Marshal Dai misunderstand that it was the mourning family who instructed Xie Xiangcun to humiliate him in public in the court. He will let Xie Xiangcun be regarded as a thorn in his side! ”

Qian Hongzuo still had to argue, but Empress Dowager Xu had already pulled him to sit down, took out a handkerchief, gently wiped the sweat from the corners of Qian Hongzuo's forehead, and said, "Holy Lord, you calm down first and listen to your mother tell you about the past, okay?" ”

Although Qian Hongzuo was in a hurry, he had to nod his head forcibly.

Empress Dowager Xu said: "After the mourning family married your father and queen, she was made a side concubine. At that time, the queen Ma was very harsh to the concubines. She stipulated that the concubines should ask her for peace every day, and often asked the concubines about their faults when they asked for peace. Even if there is no fault, just because she has a disrespectful attitude and untidy appearance, she may be severely beaten. ”

Qian Hongzuo held his mother's hand and said sadly: "At that time, the situation of the queen mother was really difficult. ”

Empress Dowager Xu said: "Not only me, but all the concubines are trembling. At that time, the mourning family was looking forward to giving birth to a little prince one day earlier, and the mother was more precious than the son, and the situation could improve. It was at this time that I found out that I was pregnant, and I told him the good news when my father came to see me. ”

Although Qian Hongzuo has not married, he has been in the inner courtyard of the palace for a long time and knows that the pregnancy of the concubine is a great joy for the royal family. "Father must be very happy. ”

Empress Dowager Xu shook her head and said, "Your father was ignorant at first, and then suddenly lost his temper, scolded the envoy of the Fujian State for being rude to him, and slapped me. ”

Qian Hongzuo said angrily: "Father beat you? How could he be so ruthless? It's not your fault that the Fujian envoys are rude......"

Empress Dowager Xu said: "Not only that, but he also ordered me to be imprisoned in the Min Concubine Palace. Without his permission, the mourning family can't take half a step out of the Min Concubine Palace, and no one else is allowed to visit me in the Min Concubine Palace. I was so sad that I just lay in bed every day, and I didn't seem to have the strength to move. I'm thinking: In vain, my true feelings for your father and king are just a rude insult to the envoys of Fujian, and one day if the two countries lose peace and go to war, the first to be executed is our mother and son. It is more appropriate to say that I am a hostage of Min than that I am a concubine of Fujian. But one day, when the queen came to visit me in person, and was blocked by the guards outside the palace of Concubine Min, and was not allowed to enter, I suddenly understood the intention of your father. Before me, many pregnant concubines had not had time to rejoice, either because the little prince they were pregnant with had an accident or they themselves died. And the custody of my father has saved me and you. It was then that I realized that sometimes 'love' is not gentle and considerate, but can be cold and fierce. It's just that ordinary people don't do that. Empress Dowager Xu stopped talking, as if caught in a memory.

After a long time, Qian Hongzuo stood up, bowed down and said, "The child is reckless, and it is too much to disturb the queen mother's review." ”

Empress Dowager Xu said: "After Xie Xiangcun is imprisoned for half a month, he will be restricted from going out in the forbidden army for three months, and he will not be allowed to step out of Luocheng for half a step during this period." When this period has passed, I hope Dai Yun doesn't remember it anymore.

The nature of the Forbidden Army Prison is similar to that of the Inner Court Prison, except that the objects of detention are different. The Inner Court Prison holds chamberins and female dependents who have committed crimes or are awaiting trial, and the Forbidden Army Prison holds soldiers who have committed crimes or are awaiting trial in the Forbidden Army. The inner court prison is in the palace, and the forbidden army prison is in Luocheng, where the forbidden army is stationed, which is a heavily guarded place, and few prisoners are transferred to the prison of the criminal department in Hangzhou City. Because of the inner court and the forbidden army, there are too many secrets that they don't want to be known by outsiders.

At dusk that day, Qian Hongzuo, who rarely went out of the palace gate, came to the Luocheng Forbidden Army garrison, surrounded by many entourages. What's even more surprising is that he did not go to the forbidden army to command the yamen, but to the forbidden army prison. Hearing that the saint was driving, the head of the jailer on duty rushed out with his subordinates to meet him.

Qian Hongzuo said to the people who were in a mess and knelt down to greet them: "You have your responsibilities, so go and get busy." The head of the team stays and listens to orders. ”

After everyone dispersed, Qian Hongzuo said to the jailer: "The lonely king is here today to learn the piano. ”

The head of the jailer team was confused, and peeked at Qian Hongzuo's entourage, there was indeed a person holding a long piano case.

Qian Hongzuo said: "Xie Xiangcun, a guard with a knife in front of the palace who was imprisoned here by the order of the Queen Mother today, is a pianist who taught the lonely king to play the piano, so the lonely king came here today to find him to take piano lessons. ”

The head of the jailer hurriedly said, "Holy Lord, please come in, Holy Lord, please come in." After thinking about letting the saint go to prison, he was very disrespectful, and hurriedly changed his words: "The last general will go and bring out the Xie guards." ”

Qian Hongzuo said calmly: "You go in first, find a remote and quiet room, and then come out to pick up the lonely king." ”

The head of the jailer team thought that Qian Hongzuo might be afraid of being hindered by idle people, so he immediately said yes again and again. Hurriedly rushed into the prison, found a room for the jailer to rest, roughly asked his subordinates to clean it, and then hurried out again and welcomed Qian Hongzuo into the forbidden army prison.

Wu Dezhang and the others, who were with them, entered the room first and carefully inspected them. Then Qian Hongzuo was welcomed in, and while placing the long qin, he asked the jailer team to carry Xie Xiangcun into this room.