Chapter 47: Deliberation

In the early morning, the sun had not yet fully jumped, and the air was still filled with the dew and moisture left over from yesterday night, and the slightest cold feeling was penetrating into the skin through the thin fabric.

Zhong Lishuo walked briskly on the road in the palace, his heart was eager as he had never been, but his body was a little cold. When he went out in the morning, he was in a hurry, and he didn't think too much about it, and he got into the carriage directly after coming out of the house, and naturally he didn't feel how cold it was, but now he was walking like this, but there was a cold feeling that kept coming, making him unconsciously shrink his neck.

As soon as he walked to the main road outside the Feixia Palace, Zhong Lishuo stopped, turned his head to look at the sun that had not yet fully risen, it was a little inappropriate to go to the emperor at this time, in case the emperor had not woken up, although the crime of disturbance was not big, but after all, the emperor's body was not as good as before, if he rushed in, it was really a bit hasty to report directly without investigating clearly. Thinking about it, the emperor can hand over such an important matter to Zhong Lishuo to do, naturally it is important to him, in case this matter is not well considered, then his weight in the old emperor's heart will become lighter, so he may not trust him, so reckless, it is indeed not the slightest benefit.

Zhong Lishuo hesitated a little, the current situation was not very powerful for him, if he lost this last handle in his hands, the consequences would be unimaginable. However, the statement about whether Shangguan Hong still has a son is decades ago after all, and not many people know about this matter, and most of those who know about it are old or dead. If you ask now, you will not find strong evidence. Just when Zhong Lishuo was in a dilemma, he saw a palace maid coming out of the Feixia Palace, and her figure was somewhat similar to the palace maid next to Concubine Jing.

He couldn't help but be a little puzzled, at this time, it seemed a little unreasonable for the palace maid next to his mother to appear here. Unexpectedly, when he hesitated, the palace maid had already seen him and hurried towards him.

The palace maid walked up to Zhong Lishuo and stood still, blessed his body, and said:

"Has Your Highness come to greet Your Majesty so early?" Zhong Lishuo frowned slightly, and did not answer the palace maid's question, but asked lightly:

"It's just a short time of dawn, why are you here?" The palace maid lowered her head slightly:

"Your Majesty is not in good spirits these days, and you can't sleep at night, Concubine Jing asked the slave maid to come early every day to bring your Majesty the tea brewed by Niangniang herself, so that Your Majesty can take it in the morning. I heard Niangniang say that His Majesty asked Niangniang to make tea whenever he was troubled when he was young, which had the effect of awakening the mind and calming the nerves. Zhong Lishuo nodded as he listened, and followed the palace maid's words and asked:

"Calm your mind? How many days has my father slept well? "The palace maid's jaw:

"It's much better to listen to the waiter. Yesterday, His Majesty also met with Niangniang. Zhong Lishuo's furrowed brows expanded, as if he had heard the palace maid talk about the emperor's youth. If you calculate the time, the old emperor was close to the year when he quit his concubine to Zhong Lishuo, and he was not born at that time, but it was estimated that his mother Jing Guifei was already married to the emperor. And Shangguan Hong did not send his sister to the palace at that time, so it is very likely that his mother knew about the old emperor giving a concubine to Shangguan Hong. If you listen to your mother, it is more credible than asking your father if he wants to come. So Zhong Lishuo decided to follow the palace maid to his mother's palace first.

"The concubine is already up?" Zhong Lishuo pretended to ask idly, and when the palace maid heard this, she hurriedly raised her head:

"If I go back to His Royal Highness, Niangniang will get up a long time ago because she wants to make tea for His Majesty. I should be a little sleepy now, so I guess I should take a break in the palace. When Zhong Lishuo heard this, he nodded:

"Since the concubine has risen, then I will go to greet the concubine first." The palace maid listened, nodded, and followed Zhong Lishuo to Concubine Jing's palace.

In the Chaohua Palace, Zhong Lishuo heard the palace maid say that his mother had not yet been freshened up, so he waited in the main hall. However, in the time of half a pillar of incense, Concubine Jing came, and as soon as she entered the door, Zhong Lishuo saw the face of her mother's concubine, and she couldn't help but be a little frightened. After saying Fu'an, after listening to Concubine Jing's words, she sat at the table, raised her eyes to see if Concubine Jing was still pulling her face, and said tentatively:

"What's wrong with the concubine, the sons don't seem to be very happy to see you." When Concubine Jing heard this, she snorted coldly:

"You also know I'm not happy, where have you been these days?" Zhong Lishuo took a breath and lowered his voice:

"Father sent his sons to investigate some things." When Zhong Lishuo said this, "some things" were deliberately aggravated by him, and Concubine Jing understood what he meant when she heard it, and her face instantly looked much better:

"Mother knows you're busy, but you always have to pay attention to your body. By the way, you didn't come to the palace so early just to say goodbye. As she spoke, a subtle smile rose at the corner of Concubine Jing's mouth. Zhong Lishuo naturally understood what Concubine Jing meant, and nodded:

"Erchen has something to ask his mother and concubine. Does the mother still remember that her father gave a woman to Shangguan Hong when she was young? As soon as the words came out, Concubine Jing's face changed, and she seemed to be a little displeased:

"What are you asking for?" Zhong Lishuo blinked deliberately:

"The son-in-law wants to ask, and there is naturally a reason for the son-in-law, and it is inconvenient to discuss it with the mother concubine now." Concubine Jing looked at Zhong Lishuo's expression and understood that he must have some inconvenient evidence in his hands, but it was always a little strange for him to ask about it. And for Concubine Jing, it was taboo for the emperor when he was young, and sometimes when he said it, disaster would follow. But seeing the affirmation in Zhong Lishuo's eyes, it was not easy to say anything. Zhong Lishuo saw that Concubine Jing was a little embarrassed, so he continued to ask:

"It's hard to say about the concubine. The mother concubine knew whether the woman given to Shangguan Hong by her father had an heir, and whether the woman had a connection with the Western Regions. As soon as the words came out, Concubine Jing immediately understood what Zhong Lishuo meant, and said:

"The woman did have a son with Shangguan Hong, but when she was young, she contracted the epidemic with her mother and died. I know that the woman was born of an intermarriage between a native of the Western Regions and a Han Chinese, and that she was a famous Kabuki. I've only seen her once, but I haven't seen her resemble any resemblance to the people of the Western Regions. Hearing this, the corners of Zhong Lishuo's mouth couldn't help but rise, he already had a complete grasp. He wouldn't say these words, but with this evidence, it was a trivial matter to seduce the old emperor's thinking.

Concubine Jing saw the smile on the corner of Zhong Lishuo's mouth, but she couldn't figure it out:

"Shuo'er, what are you doing with all the questions you ask to write about your brain?" Zhong Lishuo looked up at his mother, the smile on the corner of his mouth slowly enlarged unconsciously, he made an unspeakable movement on the side of his hand, and got up:

"I can't tell my mother yet, but I ask my mother to believe that my son will be able to win in one fell swoop at this moment." After speaking, he walked out, stopped after just two steps, turned around and said:

"Erchen will go to his father to say goodbye first, and then come to the palace of the concubine later." After saying that, he went out.