Summer wraps autumn, water keeps wind

The days in the palace passed quickly, and the leisurely and quiet life made it rare for Liji to be clear-headed. Although occasionally a few ciphertexts sent by Chudi annoyed him, it was not like that if he casually lit a candle and threw it into the basin. care.

The documents sent in today are different. They are the information sent by spies who used Liji for his own use after he entered Beijing. He does not have many cronies, and he is surrounded by people from various factions of the Yi family and spies in the palace, so Liji works very carefully. careful.And the most important thing he asked these spies to investigate was in this secret letter.

Li Ji stopped tracing in his hands, picked up the secret letter, stroked the letterless envelope with his fingers, and was about to reveal the long-standing suspicion in his heart.Liji read the book word by word, and his slightly calmed emotions were aroused again, every word was telling about this ridiculous and nasty thing.

At night, someone suddenly visited Qingxuexuan, and it was Jiang Shen who was supposed to be in charge of affairs in Prince Yi's Mansion.Li Ji heard the transmission, but he didn't stop painting, and Jiang Shen hurried into the room to say hello.

"The retainer Jiang Shen has met the third master." Jiang Shen eased his eager expression and asked for peace.

"Sir, sit down." Li Ji looked indifferent.

"Shen sees you late at night, just to relieve the third master's worries."

"My king is very good. If you have nothing to do, sir, you should leave earlier. There are many inconveniences in the palace. I am afraid that your majesty will ask you."

"This matter involves the strategy of the clan, the third master must be careful, and must not miss a major event because of a moment of compassion."

"Big event?" Li Ji put down his pen, raised his head, stretched out his hand and pulled the loops on his body, and said again: "Today, a small matter fell into my ears, and it involved a life in the capital and tens of thousands of lives on the border. .”

"It's really inappropriate for the uncle, even the old prince didn't know it at the beginning. Everyone in the family felt that the third master was under public criticism and shouldn't be involved in Chu's plan, so they didn't tell the third master, it was also for the sake of the third master's actions in Beijing. Leave no excuses."

"Sir, if you want to talk to Chu Di, why explain it here?"

Jiang Shen frowned. He knew that some people in the mansion were from Weiyi Palace on the surface, but they were already Yi Wang's cronies, but he thought that they were all family members, and it was the same when working for Yi Wang. It doesn't matter if the family's interests are at the disposal of Chu.But today Jiang Shen received the news that someone had quietly entered the palace to deliver a secret letter to Li Ji without passing it on. Only then did he find out that Li Ji had been secretly investigating Liu Huanghu for more than a year. Tou, I don't know why he is like this, he is afraid that Liji will take the opportunity to fight with the uncle and damage the foundation of the Yi family, so he hastened to visit the palace overnight to listen to Liji's words and give more advice.

"Chu is also the hometown of the third master. The uncle is your brother and the master is your father."

"This is the capital city, so you should be cautious about what you say in private in Chu."

"Third Lord, the old minister said these things in the hope that you will understand who is the same clan and who is the blood of the family. Your association with people in the capital is only for the prosperity of the family, not to provoke internal fighting within the family."

Li Ji said as if he had suddenly realized: "So, sir, I asked this king to befriend Huang Hu just to deceive people, so that the big brother's arrangement can be logical."

"Everything that the uncle does is for the sake of the Yi family. The old minister has no right to ask questions, and the old minister has no intention of deceiving the third master. It is just that the third master must understand that the old prince has entrusted you with entering Beijing. You should not live up to his expectations." .” Said and kowtowed to the ground.

Liji took a few steps forward to support Jiang Shen and said, "Sir, you don't have to be like this." Then he said in a calm tone, "But sir, you should also understand that you are now a member of the Yi Palace, not a retainer of the Weiyi Palace."

Jiang Shen's heart trembled, and he hurriedly said, "Why do you have to make such distinctions?"

"A family is true, but you should know who is your real master." Li Ji glanced at Jiang Shen and shuddered, and then said: "Mr. has two sons, one works in the old palace, and the other To do things for elder brother, this king has been waiting for my husband to introduce two sons to me, but unfortunately I never waited for such an opportunity. I don’t know if Mr. sees that Xiao Wang is too young to bear the heavy responsibility, or he has never really regarded this king as your only master. ?”

"The old minister is negligent, and the dog is too stupid to be in the eyes of the prince."

"Mr. Jiang has been a loyal servant for many years. He is thinking of his father and elder brother or other people in his heart. This king understands it very well, but a domestic servant must recognize the master in order to have a beginning and end. If you can't stand wholeheartedly in this king's position, Prince Yi's Mansion can't afford your big Buddha." Liji said, picked up the tea bowl and drank half of it.

Jiang Shen also picked up the tea bowl to ease his tension. Liji's seemingly polite words actually put enough pressure on him. He wanted to persuade him, but he was in a very passive position.

"What the lord is admonishing is that the veteran thought that as long as it is for the good of the Yi family, he is loyal. He didn't think about it carefully. I hope the lord will not abandon the old minister." Jiang Shen stood up and bowed again.

Liji patted him on the shoulder and said softly: "This king, I fell in love with Huang Hu at the first sight and regarded him as a close friend. Now that his life is lost, it is they who caused it. They colluded with Minister Quan Rong Zuo Yi and provoked a war to separate themselves. Take advantage of the chaos to seize power and persecute political enemies. As early as when Prince Xuan wanted to take Huang Hu back, he started to set up a situation, so this king will never let it go. If you can help, sir, you will naturally be Zhan Shi of Yi Wangfu, a teacher that this king admires; If you can’t see these things, you can write a letter to Chudi, and return home with honor.”

Jiang Shen was sweating coldly from his forehead. There was no room for him to step down when he was carried to this position. He bowed, "Only the prince will follow the lead."

During the Wanshou Festival in August, no one expected that Concubine Liu would be released from the confinement. Just slap her in the face in public.

In the past few months, Rouyan has fanned the flames in the harem and created a lot of rumors. In addition, Concubine Ning was rejected by the emperor, and there must be no room for turning around if she angered the queen mother. But I didn't expect the emperor to meet her alone not long after returning to the palace. After a few days, the confinement was lifted, and the emperor at the banquet looked like nothing had happened, even chatting with Wanzhao, the two of them seemed to have never had any grievances.

Rou Yan was dissatisfied, it's not that she didn't know about the private meeting between Wan Zhao and Prince Xuan, and any instigation of Concubine Chun was just a fool's talk.She knew well that the emperor was angry and banned because Wan Zhao had no clear relationship with the emperor's younger brother. Taking advantage of this momentum, Rou Yan asked people to secretly collect the secrets about Wan Zhao and Prince Xuan over the years, and then added fuel to create momentum in the palace. , causing gossip in the palace, but now it seems that these things have no effect on the emperor at all.

After the banquet, Rou Yan's sour and hateful energy hadn't passed yet, but Wan Zhao personally waited on the way to greet her.

After losing her title, Wan Zhao was not as honorable as Rou Yan, so she gave a little salute and said, "I haven't seen my sister for a long time, and I don't look as good as before."

Rou Yan snorted coldly and said, "My sister is so noisy just after she got off her feet, she really didn't have enough chat with Prince Xuan."

"I recently saw that Prince Xuan was still at the palace banquet, and I didn't say a word, and I don't know who spread the rumors. A while ago, I was chatting with the emperor. The emperor said that the gossip in the palace should stop, my sister said. If this is to be thoroughly investigated, who will take the blame?" Wan Zhao said with a smile.

"If you walk upright and sit upright, you won't be afraid of being told. Everyone knows who is who and what kind of character they are." Rou Yan said with hatred in her eyes, gnashing her teeth.

There was a hint of contempt in Wan Zhao's expression, she approached Rou Yan, patted Rou Yan's clothes with a handkerchief, and said, "Younger sister should really want to know what the emperor said when he saw this palace, in fact, that is to say It’s time to discuss the matter after the closure.”

He brought everyone back to the palace a month ago.Wan Zhao was confinement in the Yonghe Palace for more than two months, but her mood was surprisingly calm, because she was finally able to let go of all distracting thoughts and quietly chant scriptures and Buddha in the palace.The string of sandalwood ritual Buddha beads was twisted until it gave off a slight luster, and there was no need to go to the Queen Mother's Palace to ask for safety and stand in order all day long, and the knee injury also eased a lot, as if the whole person was healthier than before.

During these days, only Qingyang and Juanli sent a few things quietly, and no one else came to bother them, like those concubines who were usually polite, they all avoided it, and some palace people who didn't make it in time to go to the palace to escape the summer heat Yin and Yang were pointing and cursing Huai under the palace wall in a strange way, which made Qin Huan so angry that she insisted on standing at the gate of the palace and scolding those people, Huaxin dragged her inside, and Qin Huan wanted to vent her anger in the yard for a while.

Wan Zhao has long been indifferent to these human relationships. Since the last private meeting happened again and she was imprisoned in the Yonghe Palace, she has seen a lot.Maybe Liu Fu can deceive others, but in Wanzhao's eyes, she can see through what Liu Fu said to him from the bottom of his heart, because she also treats Liu Fu in the same way, so she sees Liu Fu's heartfelt words to him like this. Clearly, even a half-time vacation cannot be done.

A bystander can see how He Xin used to deceive himself and others to favor his concubines and take care of Liugong, and those women pretended to be stupid, but Wan Zhao couldn't be more clear.The poems she transcribed in Zichen Palace probably amounted to half a volume, which was worth the favor of Tong Shili.

In the first few days of the confinement, Wan Zhao couldn't help laughing, he was such a self-deceiving emperor, such a self-denying prince, who used to put on so many appearances, one deceiving others and the other deceiving himself.Afterwards, Wanzhao couldn't laugh anymore, she just lay on the bed and wept, shed tears for her last delusion to be shattered.I don't know how long it took Wanzhao to think about it. After taking off the shackles, she no longer needs to care about so many things. Even the two most noble people in the world can't have sincerity, and what is her own sincerity? Abandoning the house earlier is indescribably comfortable and joyful.

When the other party came, the startled little girls made a mess and broke a bucket for fetching water.Wan Zhao was not surprised, she put down the prayer beads in her hand, turned around and worshiped.

He looked at Wanzhao, who was wearing a paddy field garment, combed into a single bun, covered with a scarf, and hung a long silk sash, like a secular disciple of Buddhism.He couldn't see any annoyance at all, so he found a seat and sat down, just like an ordinary emperor visiting his concubine, and said: "This bun is unique, it's not common."

"Your Majesty, it's just the wonderful bun of a woman in Wuzhong." Wan Zhao lifted Bi Xin's hand, stood up and sat aside.

"After these days of purification, there is probably no news from outside to disturb your practice." Bi Xin said this casually, and patted his leg twice with his hand.

"The emperor doesn't want his concubines to be disturbed, so naturally his concubines will not be disturbed." Wan Zhao lowered her eyebrows and did not raise her head.

"Yesterday I read a few poems you copied, and recalled some of the past when I was young. Back then, Fu'er picked up your note and asked what kind of person he wanted to meet. Seeing it under the cherry blossom tree, it is really different. Now You have become my concubine, and you are separated from him, you must have some sentimentality in your heart." Bi Xin seemed to be a little emotional.

Wan Zhao twisted the Buddhist beads tightly in his hand, and said with a normal expression: "The concubine can't remember those old things clearly, I just remember that I used to be the servant of the princess, but now I am the emperor's concubine."

"Zhao'er, I have always valued your humility and prudence, but is this your sincerity? Or is it just a means for you to survive in this palace." Bi Xin pushed the tea in front of Wan Zhao a little bit, and said softly .

"Your Majesty, it doesn't matter if you are sincere or not. The concubine has been in the palace for many years and only remembers the word "rules." Wan Zhao said in a panic, pretending to be calm.

"So Yuhua Pavilion is also your rule?" Bi Xin asked coldly.

"The concubine is guilty of meddling in politics, and the emperor will not punish her too much, but the concubine has nothing to do with Prince Xuan." Wan Zhao pleaded guilty.

"In the end, when did it start?"

Every word Bi Xin pierced Wan Zhao's ear more coldly.Wan Zhao recovered for many months, but when Bi Xin really questioned her, she still couldn't help trembling.

"The concubine and Prince Xuan can learn from each other, and the concubine is willing to swear by the prosperity of the family!"

"Let me guess, when did your heart move, was it when he came to save you or gave you snacks? Maybe it was when he was talking about himself in the pavilion, or it might be when I don't know. "

"Your Majesty, the concubine is guilty. It was the concubine who lured Prince Xuan into a private meeting to seek personal gain, but Prince Xuan remained unmoved. He hated forming a party for personal gain and reprimanded the concubine for being ridiculous. Prince Xuan is only loyal to the emperor." Wan Zhao lay on the bed. She didn't dare to raise her head on the ground, so she could only plead guilty loudly to hide the panic in her heart.

"You know him well, I don't even know him, but you speak so confidently, it seems that you have said a lot in private."

Wanzhao saw that he was approaching her step by step, and the crisis in her words became more and more deadly. She tried her best to get rid of the chaos in her heart, and forced herself to answer her thoughts clearly.

"Does the Emperor know why Concubine Tao died?"

"Oh, what do you say?"

"Concubine Tao has been suffering from depression for many years, just because the first emperor regarded her as just a concubine, and she had a sense of arrogance in her heart, she wanted to be favored and loved by the emperor alone, and the first emperor suspected her of being jealous, and he refused to pamper her alone , So Concubine Tao suffered from this dementia, and finally passed away, and the late emperor regretted it many years later. Now why does the emperor repeat the same mistakes again?"

"You want to compare yourself to Concubine Tao?" Bi Xin snorted coldly.

"No, but it is Prince Xuan who is currently in the position of concubine Tao."

Bi Xin was stunned by these words, his expression lost his bearing just now, he thought of holding up the tea to cover up, he raised his hand twice but failed to pick up the tea mop, he slapped the table and said: "Nonsense!"

"The meaning of the concubine is that Prince Xuan's position in the emperor's heart is better than that of concubine Tao in the past. Prince Xuan is also a person with pride. If your majesty doubts his sincerity, I'm afraid your majesty will regret it in the future."

"You are quite courageous, dare to say such words." Bi Xin was already confused, so he could only reply.

"Your Majesty! The courtiers and concubines are nothing to cherish, but Prince Xuan is your sibling, the younger brother you watched and grew up with. You can't trust the courtiers and concubines, and you can't trust him, Your Majesty!" Wan Zhao tried to impress him with his life.

Bi Xin couldn't explain a single word to these words. He was silent for a long time, then tapped Wan Zhao's chin with his toes, and asked the last fatal question: "Then I ask you, why should I believe you?"

"Because the concubines only want power and status in order to prosper the family lineage. Only a high position can live up to the pain and suffering of these years in the palace." Wan Zhao stared at Bi Xin and said firmly.

Bi Xin put back the toe of his boots, took a sip of tea, and gently knocked the table with his hand, Wan Zhao fell a little before standing up.

"Whatever your status is, you should do what you do. You should intervene in the front court before the matters in the harem are settled. You should reflect on it. Of course, your father and the others will take care of the outside affairs. You are the one who fulfills the responsibilities of the concubine." After all, there are not many concubines who can match the latter."

"The concubine knows that Liu's family is blessed by the emperor, and the concubine is willing to be loyal to the emperor and clean up the obstacles in the harem for His Majesty."

"Zhao'er can understand my heart, I am very pleased. There are many things that I can't do well, and I have to take into account the dignity of many families. If you can relieve me a little bit of troubles, you are a well-deserved model concubine." Bi Xin squeezed Wanzhao said with relief on his shoulders.

Wan Zhao pursed her lips, her heart sank to the bottom, and finally, after wearing away the last trace of warmth, she used her interests to maintain her superficial decency. The so-called imperial concubine is just two identities in the palace wall, and the only way to get rid of the unnecessary ties In order to truly grasp the center of power.