Just as the Jiao family was reunited...

In Chuxiu Palace.

The Queen and Concubine Wu were each occupying one end of the Kang. The Queen was sitting upright with her legs tightly together, while Concubine Wu was lazily leaning on the cushion, her petite body almost sinking into it.

"Did Jiao Shun have practiced martial arts? Otherwise, how could he fight two assassins alone without getting hurt? I heard that the weapons in the hands of the two assassins were coated with poison that would seal their throats when they see blood.

Woolen cloth!"

While Wu Guifei asked curiously, she moved her feet unconsciously, sometimes spinning gracefully, sometimes straight and tense, and sometimes drawing graceful arcs, as if she was dancing between the beds.

Even though she was in her own bedroom, and even though she was facing sisters who shared a common secret, the queen's sitting posture was still impeccable.

She shook her head slightly and said, "I've never heard of this. I just said that he went to elementary school for two years - maybe it's because he's strong. Looking at his size, it shouldn't be difficult to fight one against two.

"

When she said that she was strong enough, her face felt a little hot for no reason, and she quickly took a sip of the almond tea to cover it up.

Concubine Wu stared at the corner of the queen's mouth with dazzling eyes. It was not until the queen put down the teacup and wiped the tea stains from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief that she withdrew her gaze with unsatisfied thoughts and said in a digression: "Is this almond tea still good?"

"

As he spoke, his originally rhythmic feet tightened quietly.

"It tastes good, but it's a bit thick and muddy."

The queen answered casually, then suddenly woke up, gave Concubine Wu an angry look, and said: "I said my sister was here when she came, why did she bring her own tea, but it turns out... I won't fall for your evil deeds next time.

!”

Concubine Wu covered her mouth and smiled. Her biggest hobby these days is to do everything possible to bring fantasy into reality.

It is said that there are a thousand Hamlets for a thousand readers. Although Jiao Shun's two memorials are far inferior to the famous works, they also have a similar effect - the queen often subconsciously substitutes herself into them, but Wu Guifei always substitutes the queen into them.

.

While the two were laughing, someone outside suddenly reported that Concubine Xian De had been summoned.

The queen heard this and said hurriedly: "Please come in quickly."

With that said, he stood up and went outside to greet him.

Concubine Wu was a little reluctant, but she still got up and followed.

Since the last time the Queen mentioned the allusion of "eliminate the mother and save the son", she has restrained herself a little in front of others, but as the saying goes, it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. She has become accustomed to doing whatever she wants in front of others, and now she deliberately wants to restrain herself.

, and it is absolutely impossible to return to the previous appearance of being cautious in words and deeds, and being humble and humble.

But they said that they met Jia Yuanchun outside and greeted each other, and then led her to sit down inside.

The Queen and Concubine Wu were still sitting at one end of the Kang, while Jia Yuanchun sat on the temporary chair temporarily added by the ladies. The three of them were all outstanding figures in the palace, and it was said that the spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums were gathered together.

Everyone has his own victory.

The Empress is distinguished by her dignified and elegant temperament, and her every frown and smile show off her royal style. She looks like a spring breeze blowing on her face, but she is awe-inspiring and inviolable. Concubine Wu is good at dancing, has an exquisite figure, and is well-maintained to be tight and tender. Although she is a three-year-old

The only woman among the people who has given birth, she looks like a girl of fifteen or sixteen years old.

As for Jia Yuanchun, she originally followed the same gentle and dignified route as the Queen, but after all the recent experiences, her beautiful facial features have become a bit indifferent and alienated, coupled with her tall figure with golden proportions, she is a perfect cold and proud lady.

style.

But she said that Concubine Wu had already sat down. She glanced at the table with her peripheral vision, suddenly stood up, poured a cup of tea diligently, brought it to Concubine Xian De personally, and said with a narrow smile: "Sister, please try it, this is the Queen's favorite."

for drink."

The queen was listening and couldn't help but give her a hard look.

Concubine Wu didn't take it seriously at all, she sat back down with a smile and refilled a glass for the queen, which made the queen's cheeks turn red.

Jia Yuanchun thanked him first, then took a sip of the almond tea, and then praised it as "good tea", which was surprising for being favored by the Queen.

Seeing this, Concubine Wu laughed even more happily.

Jia Yuanchun also laughed. On the surface, the atmosphere seemed very harmonious, but she could always feel a vague sense of alienation.

This is not the first time Jia Yuanchun has experienced this feeling.

Ever since she reciprocated and moved closer to the Queen and Concubine Wu, she found that there seemed to be some kind of tacit understanding between the two people, which always made her feel excluded from time to time.

At that time, I thought they needed to get used to each other so they could adapt to the re-established relationship.

But as time goes by, no matter how hard Jia Yuanchun tries, it is still difficult to break this barrier, and it even tends to get worse.

Ordinarily, this is normal. One is the mistress of the Sixth Palace, and she is the queen mother. Even if the emperor passes away, she will not lose her position as queen mother. The other has given birth to a prince, and the mother will be honored by her son in the future.

In comparison, she is just a concubine with an uncertain future.

But Concubine Xian De always felt that what caused the estrangement between the two parties was not just the gap in status, but there was another unspeakable thing. 揵

What exactly is this ‘thing’?

Jia Yuanchun, who is eager to find someone to rely on for the future, has made speculations more than once, but can never find the answer.

After tasting the tea, the Queen wanted to chat with Jia Yuanchun for a few words, but Concubine Wu was impatient to be polite to her and went straight to the point: "The Queen and I invite you over, mainly because we want to ask about Jiao Changqing this time.

What happened to the assassination?"

Concubine Wu seemed to be leisurely and contented, and even had time to joke with the queen. This was based on the fact that Jiao Shun was safe and sound, and it did not mean that she took the matter lightly.

You know, that person was someone who was manipulated and destined to become his son's confidant. If he was killed for no reason, wouldn't it be a big loss?

After listening to her straightforward question, the queen also calmed down and looked at Jia Yuanchun with a serious expression, waiting for her to explain. When she noticed the plain dress on Concubine Xian De, the queen's eyes seemed to understand again.

.

Jia Yuanchun was slightly startled. He didn't expect that the Queen and Concubine Wu came to him to inquire about this matter.

Then she said cautiously: "When my sister asked me, I should have said everything I knew, but firstly, the matter involved outside the palace, and secondly, His Majesty withdrew at that time, so I couldn't..."

"We didn't ask you what you heard or what you saw."

Concubine Wu directly interrupted her excuse and said without any doubt: "We just want to know what you think of this matter - and also, will such a thing happen again?"

"this……"

Concubine Xian De hesitated for a moment, but thinking about her current situation, she tried her best to confess: "Master Jiao has made many enemies, and it is difficult to say who did it - but most of the people behind the scenes are undoubtedly in the capital."

"How do you know that person is in Beijing?"

"It may be possible for the Salt Owl to send someone to assassinate the prisoner, but it is absolutely impossible to go to the ship to assassinate the imperial envoy. So it can be basically deduced that the assassin's target was probably Lord Jiao from the beginning - and this time Lord Jiao was ordered to go there by chance.

The Tongzhou Supervisor did not have any warning in advance. Those who could learn the news in time and send people to Tongzhou to assassinate must be well-informed people in the capital."

Jia Tanchun's eloquent conversation revealed the doubts between the two of them, but what followed was even greater doubts.

Concubine Wu wondered: "If it wasn't because of the smuggling case, then why did Long Live Master take so many officials from Jiangsu and Zhejiang in one go?"

"this……"

Jia Yuanchun had a clear idea of ​​the emperor's real purpose in doing this. After all, the cost estimates for the Beijing-Western Railway and the laying of cable telegraphs had to be conveyed to the emperor through her.

But it was really hard to explain this matter clearly, so I could only vaguely say: "Perhaps Your Majesty has other considerations."

"That……"

"Let's not mention these for now."

Before Concubine Wu could ask further questions, the queen suddenly said: "I heard that Wang Taiwei's son is still being detained in Dali Temple? As the saying goes, the law is nothing more than human relationships. Even if he is really involved in the case, he should wait until the king is finished.

Let’s discuss the matters behind the Taiwei’s death—if it’s not convenient for my sister to speak, I can mention it to the Emperor tomorrow.”

Concubine Wu then remembered that Jia Yuanchun's uncle had just died.

Jia Yuanchun actually didn't want to interfere with the Wang family's affairs at this time, but the queen did this out of good intentions. She couldn't refuse, so she could only stand up and say: "Thank you for your support. I will thank you for your grace on behalf of my uncle's family."

As he spoke, he bent down on his knees.

The queen hurriedly got up and helped her.

The two pushed back and forth for a while, and finally it was Concubine Wu who spoke, and they returned to their respective places.

…………描

There are three pillars in Chuxiu Palace, and the same is true in Wenyuan Pavilion.

Cifu He Tiren's face was as dark as water, Xu Furen, the bachelor of Wuyingdian, was sneering, and Wang Zhe, the bachelor of Dongge, was calm and composed, sitting around a square table at an angle to each other.

"Tell me about it."

The first person to speak was naturally Cifu He Tiren. He tapped his finger on the table and said, "How should we respond to the fact that Your Majesty bypassed the cabinet and issued a decree this time?"

"What's there to say?"

Xu Furen looked down at Wang Zhe opposite him and said with a smile: "Whoever breaks the rules will naturally be the one to clean up the mess. In comparison, when it comes to the major case of assassinating an imperial envoy, the emperor was furious and issued a thorough investigation. It seems that

It’s not like breaking the rules.”

Wang Zhe turned a blind eye to his cynicism, but He Tiren frowned slightly and said: "How can you make rash judgments on those things that are based on rumors? The most important thing now is that your Majesty takes this opportunity to intentionally connect the telegrams from the palace to Shuntian Mansion——

Once this happens, will the telegraph offices built locally in the future have direct access to Tianting from time to time? If this is the case, what's the point of leaving me waiting?"

After hearing this, Xu Furen's attitude finally changed, but he still stared at Wang Zhe.

At this time, Wang Zhe finally spoke slowly and said: "In my opinion, your Majesty is currently in a rage. Instead of making a strong protest, it is better to compromise for the time being and take the initiative to request that the confidential yamen in the capital be connected with Wenyuan Pavilion via telegram.

, and then the cabinet will summarize it and report it to the emperor - isn't the Wenyuan Pavilion also in the palace?"

"Hmph~"

Although he felt that this idea had merit, Xu Furen still sneered and asked: "But I don't know if we should find people from engineering schools to take care of it when the telegram comes in, or our so-called New Confucians?"

"Brother Xu!"

He Tiren gave a soft drink and frowned: "It's okay for people outside to talk nonsense. Don't you and I know that Lord Wang is doing this to preserve the way of a saint?"

It was obviously a scolding, but the closeness and closeness of the title revealed his true inner thoughts.

Naturally, Xu Furen could tell. He glanced at Wang Zhe again and muttered: "I'm afraid that some people are doing one thing openly and secretly. They talk about the way of saints, but in fact they want to replace the national thief Jiao Shun and take advantage of the situation to become a sage."

Take care of your life!”

After hearing what he said so straightforwardly, Wang Zhe's expression finally changed, and he immediately stood up and said angrily: "Master Xu, Mr. Wang..."

At this moment, there was a knock on the door suddenly.

He Tiren hurriedly took the opportunity to make a silent gesture, and then raised his voice and ordered the clerk outside the door to come in and report the matter.

The clerk greeted him with a courtesy after entering the door, then walked around to He Tiren and whispered a few words.

After hearing this, He Tiren waved his hand to signal the clerk to leave, then shook his head and said: "It's really a troubled time, and there have been changes in the case of Jiao Changqing's assassination - people from Shuntian Mansion have found out that the two assassins came from the south early this morning.

The capital outside the city is now trying its best to track down their movements in the city."

Xu Furen let out a 'huh' sound and asked curiously: "This Jia Shifei has always been procrastinating and hesitant in doing things. Why is he suddenly so smart and capable now?"

He Tiren chuckled and said: "How many of the previous governors of Shuntian Prefecture are not deaf-mute mothers-in-law? But this time it is not that Jia Yucun is working hard, but that the Inspectorate is pushing too hard."

"Inspectorate?"

Wang Zhe raised his eyebrows: "Zhao Rongheng, the censor of the right capital?"

"Who else could it be but him?"

Xu Furen snorted: "Zhou Chang doesn't dare to come forward now, isn't this a good opportunity for him to win over people's hearts?"

Officials from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang dynasties had always been powerful in the court. The chief minister of the Sui Dynasty, who had resigned angrily and returned home, was originally the co-leader of this dynasty.

After Lao Ge took office in the Sui Dynasty, officials from Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the DPRK were roughly divided into two factions, headed by Zhou Chang, the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Zhao Rongheng, the right censor of the Imperial Palace.

Most of the officials involved in the case were from Zhou Chang's faction.

He Tiren and the other two finished expressing their opinions, and then continued: "Yu Shi Zhao has always been upright. This time he broke the rule of avoiding suspicion, and I think he must investigate it thoroughly - whether it is good or bad for the court, I'm afraid we have to be careful.

Thinking about thinking about it.”

He was talking about the imperial court, but after hearing this, Xu Furen immediately looked at Wang Zhe with a sarcastic expression.

Wang Zhe slowly stood up again and said to the two of them: "No matter what you two think, Wang can swear to God that this matter has absolutely nothing to do with me."

"Hmph~ That's naturally the best."

Xu Furen stood up and cupped his hands with a smile on his face, and said: "I still have official business to be busy with, so I won't accompany you."

With that said, he left the flower hall without looking back.

He Tiren watched him go out and then turned his attention to Wang Zhe.

Wang Zhe sighed helplessly, bowed his hands to him, and strode out of the flower hall.

He Tiren watched Wang Zhe go away again. When he was the only one left in the flower hall, his upright figure suddenly leaned back on the chair and murmured: "Gu Mingshou, Gu Mingshou."

auxiliary……"

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Chapter completed!