Huaibi

There were faintly audible moans of pain from the corner of the side courtyard of the cold palace, and the whipping accompanied by convulsions was very depressing and dull, as if a person in pain was gagged by a ball of cotton cloth, even if he shouted, he refused to let him scream out.

Ping Huaizhen paused as he passed by the wall, stopped slowly and leaned against the wall to stand still, raised his eyes to the bright sky, listened attentively to the sound of pain, and listened more carefully. The more he listened, the more his heart felt like a knife was twisted, and he couldn't help thinking about how He Jinyi was in so much pain back then.

He Xiaoye, who was born to be pampered and pampered, is the one who even holds the crown prince in his palm. How could he have been subjected to such abuse?But he was very stubborn, and when he was released from prison, the tooth marks on his lips were still covered with blood scabs, and he was afraid that he would bite hard and refused to cry.

Now it's good to go back for him.

Ping Huaizhen has always hated the torture in the palace, but now he patiently listened to the rest of the session.

I don't know how long it took until there was no more fading sound from the wall, and the long whip continued to wave a few times, until the torturer realized that there was no response from the person, and then stepped forward to check his breath. The blood-stained whip was thrown into a bucket of cold water beside him.

Ping Huaizhen closed his eyes, brushed away the images in his mind, straightened his body away from the wall, walked around for a while and entered from the main courtyard.

When I arrived at the courtyard, I saw Jiang Chang rushing over. After meeting him, he bowed down and said, "Prince, it's clean."

"Leave no trace."

"Slave understands." Jiang Chang no longer went out to look for him, followed him back to the direction, and said, "Miss Yantong has also been picked up, and she is waiting inside."

Hearing the words, Ping Huaizhen was not in a hurry to enter the hall, and sat down on the stone table under the pavilion in the courtyard, motioning Jiang Changxing to come to him and ask questions: "Do you have time to inquire about the other person in the harem?"

Jiang Chang knew who he was talking about: "The slave couldn't tell where he was from last night, but he just went to Ye Ting Palace, but he heard some unknown rumors from the mouths of the two palace officials, saying that the one had escaped... now People from Qiuhua Palace went to Lou Kong, almost all the palace people died, only a few clever ones survived by hiding in other places."

Ping Huaizhen expected to be close to ten, silent for a while, seeming to ask and talking to himself: "I think the old sixth hall should be empty."

"That's right, don't talk about the sixth prince, according to the slaves, even the Wei mansion outside the palace should be ruined. It's a shame that Rongyi is going to climb up to this house that has nothing to do with the prince." I have a daughter and..." Jiang Chang was talking, when he suddenly met Ping Huaizhen's gaze, which did not mean to blame him, but it also made him a little less presumptuous, so he quickly stopped talking.

However, Ping Huaizhen didn't blame him for talking too much, the reason why he glanced at it was nothing more than thinking a little more from these few words, thinking that the Wei family had given birth to a son for Ping Huaihao, and the child was still babbling, so What a crime at an age of incomprehension.

But back then, what happened to the He family?

Difficult Ping's old things were turbulent in his heart, Ping Huai was suffocated, and when he looked up again, he saw the door of the palace not far away was half opened, and his thoughts stopped there.

He got up and walked forward, Yantong inside the door also walked out, after a long absence, when he met the prince again, he looked very moved, his eyes were full of joy, and he bowed to him like before: "servant to the prince Say hello."

Ping Huaizhen reached out to help her up.

Yan Tong endured it all, Fang had already cried a lot when he was reunited with the queen, as if he had vented all the hard work he had swallowed in the past few months, and he no longer had to hide it alone, now the tears fell again with great difficulty , fearing that the prince would be overjoyed, he held the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and showed a little smile.

"The servant girl congratulates the prince again. Now that he has won a complete victory, it will be the time for the new king to show his sharpness."

"It's too early for the word 'Xinjun'," Ping Huaizhen didn't scold her for being unrestrained, but just stopped her half a sentence lightly, and said with a smile, "One day before he ascended the throne, he will be the crown prince for one day. Right now, he is happy." It is the Empress Welcoming Mother who returns to the palace, for the sake of her position."

"The prince is right." Yan Tong's eyes were stained with joy, and he was deeply moved, "The empress...has been waiting for a long time."

Ping Huaizhen could hear the meaning in her words, and he was not without shame, lamenting how long the empress had spent for him for decades, and how long she had waited.

It was because he came late, and from then on he bowed himself to his filial piety, and with power in his hands, he would never teach others to bully his queen mother.

In the palace alley outside the hall, there is a long line of sedan chairs waiting respectfully.Gold tassels fall from the eaves of the sedan chair, and occasionally snowflakes adhere to them, making it more crystal clear and luxurious.

The morning sun has risen, completely driving away the colors of the old night.

Yantong went back to the palace to help the queen out, Ping Huaizhen bowed his knees regardless of the snow, the queen felt the rustling of the hem of the clothes, hurriedly approached where he was, and leaned over to caress his hair.

"Mother, Yuguan is cool, let's get into the sedan chair first." Ping Huaizhen looked after her frailty, and it was obvious that she was reluctant to leave her hand for a long time, and for some reason, she was more sympathetic than every time she got close, so she couldn't help laughing and persuaded, "When we return to Fengyi Hall, the minister will chat with the queen mother again."

The words fell silent, and after a long time, the queen put her hands back and straightened up, and said "OK" with her curved lips in a low voice.

Ping Huaizhen couldn't feel anything strange, got up and patted the snow and mist on her knees, escorted her all the way to the chariot, and personally lowered the curtain embroidered with phoenix blossoms, closing the curtain so that the cold wind could not penetrate, Only when everything is in order will you be willing to go to the front of the queue.

Jiang Chang saw that the crown prince was going to bow and lead the sedan chair team forward, so he and Yan Tong guarded the queen's side. Before leaving, he shouted to the front and back of the sedan chair: "Be careful that your feet are slippery on the snow, you can carry the car." It's safe!" That's all, tilting his head slightly, he sang the long and bright words "Get up the sedan chair" with his voice.

The sound pierced through the walls and alleys, like a bell ringing, piercing the ears of palace officials.

The chaos of the night was like a wave sweeping past. Although the storm stopped, the decline did not end.

There are still a lot of shocked people in the palace. They have not recovered from the palace change, and they saw the prince leading the sedan chair on foot, welcoming the lord of the main palace back to the Fengyi Hall with arrogance. go.

Fengyi Fengyi, even those who don't know a few big characters can hear the weight, how can any woman be able to bear it?In the past, it was uncommon in the palace to stage a scene of who would compete with someone for power. Some people gain their ambitions for a while, or some lose their power for a lifetime, but they can be fought over and over again. In the end, the one who can get on the sedan chair is the rightful master.

The palace people knelt and bowed their heads along the way, their humility imprinted into the snow.

The first snow that arrived at the end of autumn fluttered from the middle of the night until dawn and still did not stop. Ping Huaizhen was concerned about the wind and cold, so he did not take a long way around, but chose the shortest way to move forward slowly, leading the sedan chair team behind him steadily.

Perhaps it was because of the slowness of the footsteps, even though the road was not far away, it took a long time, until all the people carrying the sedan chairs were sweating, and finally arrived at the place where they had been away for a long time.

Several palace people in the Fengyi Hall got the order of the crown prince early in the morning, and they kept the place spotless every day. Last night, no one escaped with their lives. They were even more happy this morning. When they saw the sedan chair, they knelt down and greeted them. When the queen appeared, she shouted Chitose.

Ping Huaizhen looked very satisfied, raised his hand to signal the sedan chair to go straight into the center of the courtyard, and pressed his palm again to make the sedan chair fall carefully.

"Mother, you've arrived at the palace."

The words were gentle and low, I don't know if it was because the voice was too soft, there was no response from the sedan chair.

Hearing the words, Yan Tong turned his eyes away from the familiar eaves and pillars, walked around the palace man who carried the sedan chair, and stepped forward with a smile to raise the curtain of the sedan chair door.

"Your Majesty, go back to the palace."

Thin snow fluttered into a few flowers along the curtain, and melted softly beside the queen's feet. Yantong stretched his hand in, touched the warmth for a moment, and then the cold wind swept in, blowing out the heating in the sedan chair, making her fingertips lightly Tremble.

"Miss?"

The queen sat upright as before, her eyes still closed with a smile on her face, and she came back with a light sway, her hairpins and beads were not messed up at all, and the folds of her clothes were also neatly arranged, dignified as she was when she first took the back seat, The palms overlapped and pressed on the knees, as if they were holding down the entire palace and even the entire country for Emperor Hongxuan.

Up to now, this gesture has suppressed the prince's promising future.

"Your Majesty..." Countless panic surged in Yan Tong's heart, his voice trembled uncontrollably, and gradually lost control, "My Lady... Your Majesty!"

The smile on Ping Huaizhen's lips disappeared in an instant, following her crying, she quickly approached her, swiped the half-raised curtain vigorously, and accidentally pulled it to make a harsh sound of tearing silk, which made Jiang Chang's legs go limp, and he crawled up before he knew it. He got up and rushed towards the Tai Hospital.

But the people in the seat remained motionless, motionless like a sculpture, with their backs straightened, showing the warm and mellow smile unique to a loving mother in the eyes of the visitors.

Ping Huaizhen tightened his fingers, and the curtain was twisted into messy wrinkles, as if it was about to shatter under his palm.

Everyone in the courtyard looked dazed, until seeing Yantong as if he had lost his bones, he slid and knelt down against the sedan chair door, and shook silently at the queen's feet for a while, and soon wept again, causing the whole courtyard to cry and cry.

Ping Huaizhen listened to the weeping, and the corners of his eyes were heavily stained with scarlet.

"Welcome...the Queen back to the palace."

After a long time, he spit out a few more words from his dry throat, leaned over and pushed Yan Tong away from his shoulders, and carried the queen out of the sedan chair.

Xiaoxue slipped on her phoenix robe, and Ping Huaizhen hugged her even tighter, and led her back to the palace.

The Rongrong stove has already warmed the inner room, and the cloud and mist fragrant tea boiled on the stove is bubbling with smoke, and it is clear that everything is as before.

Regardless of etiquette, Ping Huaizhen put the queen on the phoenix couch, held her hand and knelt beside her, slowly stroked the flying dragon jade crown on the top of her hair with her cold palm, and rubbed her fingers over it inch by inch. texture.

The crying outside the palace seemed to be separated from him, Ping Huaizhen closed his eyes and said nothing, recalling the empress's lingering caress when Fang was still in the cold palace, he realized that she had sensed it long ago, and she had spoken to him silently Life and death are farewell, but he doesn't know anything, and he still laughs and says something to the queen before making gossip.

It was time for him to make amends.

The mother gave him half his life's painstaking efforts, but this day of success was actually the beginning of her absence...

Ping Huaizhen took off the queen's palm, and silently placed it on her forehead.