"Mother is getting better these days?"

King Yan broke the silence and cared, but his tone was unfamiliar.

Concubine Han was cold, without much expression, and her answer was concise, "I'm fine." ”

Then there was silence again.

Since returning from the paddock, Concubine Han has been staying in Rongping Palace to recuperate, and she has not heard anything outside the window as before.

Strictly speaking, arson is a serious crime, but the emperor loves the house and Wu intends to protect it, so it will not be solved and not investigated.

But it was also because of Concubine Han's excesses, risking death to seek justice for the lord of Yunsang County, and even recklessly accusing the Queen Mother, the slightly relaxed relationship between mother and son fell into the ice cave again, separated by a high wall.

The mother and son get along again, as strange and awkward as strangers.

King Yan glanced at his mother, who was sitting like a mountain opposite, and a trace of desolation rose in his heart.

His own son is not as good as the county lord of Yunsang, which can arouse his mother's emotions more.

It's no wonder that she is the daughter of the Holy Lord, and the Holy Lord will always be the first in the heart of the mother.

The daughter of the Holy Lord is naturally more important than him.

With a light snort, King Yan took the tea and sipped it lightly, hiding the sad smile at the corner of his mouth.

"The mother concubine asked the county lord about the news of the palace people around her before, and the son has already checked it. The palace people who served by the county lord's side before were all there, but only the one named Tian Guangfeng was buried in the sea of fire. ”

"Are you sure you're dead?"

King Yan didn't know why his mother cared so much about a chamberlain, presumably because she was the one who entered the palace with the county lord, and her heart was sour.

"Sure. The corpse did not suffer serious burns, the face was intact, and there was no mistake. ”

"Just be sure."

Concubine Han looked out of the window lightly, and a light soft color spread on her cold side face.

Concubine Han's attitude made King Yan curious, "Is there anything wrong with that chamberlain?" ”

"It's just an unsmart man."

King Yan subconsciously leaned forward, "Could it be the Queen Mother?" The county lord already knew? ”

I heard that Tian Guangfeng was newly collected by the county lord on the road before entering the palace, and he was willing to go down to the silkworm room in order to continue to serve the county lord, which can be described as a cronie, and he didn't want to be a pawn arranged by the queen mother.

The queen mother has really been planning for the county lord for a long time.

"People are dead, and the past is passing away at any time, so there is no need to say more."

Concubine Han blocked King Yan's curiosity, and it was okay to care about him in the house, and it would be his birthday in a few days.

"What do you want for your birthday?"

"It would be nice if the mother could come to celebrate her son's birthday."

King Yan subconsciously expressed his expectations in his heart, and when he saw Concubine Han's stunned moment, his expectations dimmed again.

"Last time, I made an appointment to go to the palace to live in the palace for a few days before returning to the palace, but the mother concubine couldn't make it."

There was a childlike grievance in his tone, and he felt embarrassed after speaking, and his face was secretly hot.

Concubine Han was so focused on Fu Yingran that she forgot her agreement with King Yan, she felt guilty, and said after a moment of silence, "Next time, the concubine will never miss the appointment again." ”

King Yan lifted his eyelids and looked at her, as if to explore the truth and falsehood, "The mother concubine has to say something." ”

Concubine Han's heart was moved, her expression became softer and softer, and she responded softly, "Okay." ”

The mother and son made an agreement again, but the two didn't know that this small agreement could not be fulfilled in the end.

……

Imperial Palace, Xuande Palace.

The empty hall was silent, and the waiting attendants held their breath and were cautious, even if they were so tired that they didn't dare to relax in the slightest.

The entire hall was enveloped by a depressing aura.

The emperor after the dragon case was working hard to write, his yellowed face was blue, and his eyes were red and bloodshot, obviously he was overtired and had not rested well.

Since returning from the paddock, the emperor has been immersed in dealing with the government all day long, and has not given himself a little time to rest and breathe, and has never taken a step in the Xuande Palace, not even the harem.

There are too many things happening in the paddock, the queen mother is in prison, the holy lord is manifested, and the county lord of Yunsang is missing, each of which is like a heavy stone pressing on him, and also on the entire twilight court.

"Your Majesty, Hu Xiangguo is here." The middle attendant preached.

The emperor didn't raise his head, "Please." ”

Hu Xiangguo hurried over, and after asking for peace, he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, a village a hundred miles away was slaughtered last night, and it is rumored that it was done by the Fuyi soldiers who were hiding in my twilight country and pretending to be bandits. ”

"What?"

The emperor raised his face from the twists and turns like a mountain, and his voice was very slow, but it grinded and murderous.

Hu Xiangguo said solemnly, "According to rumors, the county lord of Yunsang and his personal guards were in the village at that time, and the thieves attacked, and the county lord's personal guards killed all the thieves, and there was no one alive. ”

The emperor stood up suddenly, walked out from behind the dragon case with a few big steps, and asked impatiently, "Where is the county lord now?"

Hu Xiangguo looked at him nervously, his eyes flashed, and he replied, "When the local officials arrived at the scene, the county lord had already left and didn't know where to go." ”

"I can't find anyone, what's the use of you!"

The emperor was furious, and everyone in the hall immediately knelt on the ground, and Hu Xiangguo shouted for His Majesty to calm his anger.

Hu Xiangguo observed the emperor's face and said tentatively, "Wasn't the county lord kidnapped by Feng Lian, and how could he appear in the village with the guards." According to the villagers, the two were newlyweds who were passing by for the night, not abducted. ”

The abducted man was leisurely playing in the mountains and rivers, and he could guess what was going on in the middle with a little thought.

Fu Yingran acted in a hijacked play, but in fact, he escaped from the twilight city.

But the emperor couldn't listen to Hu Xiangguo's questioning at all, and only cared about where Fu Yingran was.

"Since it was last night, the county lord should not have gone far, and immediately sent people to chase after him, and all directions around the village must not be missed, and people must be retrieved."

Hu Xiangguo wanted to say something, but at the emperor's sharp eyes, all his thoughts were suppressed, and he bowed his head in response.

The hall fell silent for a while, Hu Xiangguo was silent for a while, and saw that the emperor's mood calmed down a lot and then said, "Your Majesty, Hu Jiao'e of Fengxiao Hall is sick, and she has not recovered after taking medicine for half a month, so I implore Your Majesty to allow the minister to go and see Hu Jiao'e." Hu Jiao'e is still young, raised in the deep boudoir and has no experience, she doesn't know the severity, and it is inevitable that she will be used by those complicated people outside to do wrong things. Hu Jiao'e was full of remorse, copied the scriptures every day to atone for her sins, and repented wholeheartedly, and the ministers dared to beg His Majesty to give Hu Huan'e another chance. ”

Hu Xiangguo's forehead touched the ground, and his voice was sonorous and sincere with the vicissitudes of age.

Since Hu Huan'e's scribbling questionnaire was revealed, she has been confined to the dormitory and has not seen the light of day.

Hu Jiao'e is the expectation of the Hu family in the harem, and she can't be so annihilated and silent, she can only bring more glory to the Hu family by coming out and standing up.

When the emperor heard Hu Jiao'e, his finger clicked a few times in the air, "By the way, I forgot about her." Hu Jiao'e's gold and jade were defeated on the outside, and she did not have the graceful demeanor of everyone, so she was demoted to the common people and sent to the nunnery for cultivation from now on. ”

With a bang, there seemed to be a big thunder exploding above Hu Xiangguo's head.

Hu Xiangguo's eyes widened in disbelief and blurted out, "Your Majesty! ”

The emperor, who walked up the imperial steps in front of the dragon case, suddenly turned his head and glanced at him, and that glance contained too many things, like a deep pool that could swallow people, cold and faint.

Hu Xiangguo was caught by that glance, his tongue was stiff and unable to speak, so he heard the emperor fly a few words coldly, "What, Hu Xiangguo has an opinion?" ”

Hu Xiangguo's lips trembled uncontrollably, "Your Majesty, that is the only bloodline of the younger brother who died early, please forgive your Majesty!" ”

With a cold snort, the emperor slowly sat back behind the dragon case, and a smile appeared on his solemn face, but the smile was even more chilling than when he didn't laugh.

"Spare her, how to explain the conditions of the envoys of the three kingdoms who were forced to agree to the courtiers? Could it be that the prime minister has a high position and power, and he doesn't take other courtiers in his eyes at all, or the girl of your Hu family is more important than national affairs! ”

The emperor's words are not serious, Hu Xiangguo was immediately frightened and asked for guilt, "The minister doesn't dare, the minister has no such intention, Your Majesty knows it." ”

The oppressive aura filled the hall, and the tense atmosphere made all the palace people waiting in the hall hold their breath.

The long silence was like a scale, constantly increasing the scale, pressing Hu Xiangguo so much that he couldn't breathe.

After a long time, the emperor spoke lightly, and finally warned, "Xiangguo is the head of a hundred officials, please set an example." ”

Hu Xiangguo repeatedly expressed his loyalty, and when he came out of the Xuande Palace, he found that his entire back was soaked with sweat.

……

The women selected from all over the state were screened through layers of screening and finally entered the supreme palace.

The emperor has been in a bad mood recently, he has no intention of the harem, the queen mother was imprisoned again, and there is no one in charge of the entire harem, so these girls are temporarily placed in Qianxiu Palace waiting for canonization.

Most of these selected show girls are daughters from official eunuch families, some are daughters of local officials, and some are ladies of big families in the imperial city.

At this time, they were all women, and although they had not yet been canonized, they had already formed many small groups.

Those of noble birth are naturally flattered, and those of low birth are cautious and sycophant.

The harem is a bloodless arena, some fight for their origins, some fight for their holy favors, and some fight for wisdom, which will not yet officially become a concubine, the only thing that can fight is only the background, and the noble birth is naturally superior.

And the background often determines the position of the first time to enter the palace, and it is the biggest reliance on the future life in the harem.

Not only the women with a slightly lower status, but also the palace people and grandmothers who are waiting for them are all on the pole to climb and flatter, giving priority to the best things for the noble-born girls to choose, and the lowly ones are only picking up the leftovers.

Cilian is one of the low-born picking girls, and the other picking girls from the same background have all found their own thighs, but she is the only one who goes alone and does not interact with others.

Ci Lian looked at the dinner in front of her, a bowl of porridge and two dishes of vegetarian dishes, which was extremely simple.

The person who delivered the meal looked at her with a hint of mockery in his eyes as he left.

These picking girls will be the concubines in the palace in the future, and no one can say which one will become a person who can't be provoked in the future, so although the palace people who serve have different attitudes, they are polite to the picking girls, and there is no shortage of things, except for Cilian.

Cilian not only has a bad family background, but even her appearance and temperament are the worst, she is afraid to see people, showing her childish spirit, and she can't be on the stage, so it's no wonder that such a person can be liked by the emperor.

Therefore, the palace people who served her were not very polite to her, and the food was also deducted.

Cilian didn't care, sat in front of the meal for a while and ate it contentedly.

When night fell, the Qianxiu Palace lit up, and there was a lively laughter in the other women's houses, but Cilian brought back hot water and prepared to wash her face and rest.

She fumbled her face with her hands, slowly tearing off a human skin mask, revealing the charming face behind it.

The pair of peach blossom eyes like a sea of stars, and the natural smiling lips, are all reading a name - Fu Yingran.

"It's uncomfortable to suffocate me."

Fu Yingran rubbed his face, the delicate skin was very uncomfortable with glue, and he felt stinging when he touched it lightly.

She couldn't wait to hold water to warm her cheeks, wash off the glue on her face, and the whole person instantly felt comfortable.

She didn't expect that she would enter the palace in this way, pretending to be a selected girl.

This was arranged by Su Dailing, the owner of Mo Fang Fang, and the reason why she was looking for Su Dailing was because of a coincidence, when she and Fu Yu returned to Twilight City, they were accidentally seen by Su Dailing.

Su Dailing was suffering from a hidden disease, and Fu Yan knew the whereabouts of the divine doctor Canglang, so he used this as a condition to keep Su Dailing secret, and at the same time sent Fu Yiran into the palace.

As for Fu Yu, there is no trace of him.

Fu Yiran washed her face and was about to go to bed, when a dark shadow appeared outside unconsciously, and she didn't notice it at all, until the other party took the initiative to speak.

"The villain has seen the county lord."

Fu Yingran was startled by the sudden sound, opened the door and walked outside, and saw the familiar face of Grandpa Yu.

She instantly rejoiced as if she had seen a relative, and she longed to hug him and approach the two steps, "Why are you only here now, I've been waiting for you for a long time." ”

"Your Majesty has been staying in the Xuande Hall these days, and the villain has not been able to pull out of the left and right, please forgive the county lord."

As he spoke, he was about to kneel down and plead guilty, but Fu Yingran grabbed his kneeling body.

"I'm just saying, I don't blame you. It's this human skin mask that makes it uncomfortable. ”

Yu Gong said fairly, "The villain will find a way to let you see Your Majesty as soon as possible, the county lord, please bear with me." ”

Fu Yiran nodded, "By the way, do you know where Fu Yu is now?" ”

She hasn't been seen since she returned to the palace.

Grandpa Yu lowered his eyelids slightly and replied, "The villain doesn't know. ”

Father-in-law Yu told Fu Yingran some skills and precautions for wearing a human skin mask and left quietly, and no one in Qianxiu Palace noticed that he had to come and go.

Father-in-law Yu returned to his residence, and when he entered the house, he saw Fu Yan sitting in his room, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

Fu Yan asked out loud, "How is the county lord, are you okay?" ”

Yu Gong said, "The county lord is all right." The villain arranged for someone to take care of it secretly. ”

As he spoke, he glanced at Fu Yan carefully and asked, "Why did the hall master and the county lord come back again, but what are the new plans?" ”

Fu Yan glanced at him, did not give him an answer, and only said after a while, "Did you find what I wanted?" ”

Father-in-law Yu hung his head, frowned tightly, and said, "I haven't found it yet, the emperor is hiding deeply, and no one has told him." Please give the villain more time. ”

Fu Yan's cold eyes darkened even more, without a trace of warmth.

"The temple never needs an incompetent person."

Dropping this warning, the man disappeared into the house.

Father-in-law Yu secretly exhaled, and the pressure doubled.

。