According to the rules of this dynasty, for the first seven days after the emperor's death, all officials in Beijing must go to the palace to guard the palace. After that, they will take turns to guard the palace according to the actual situation, so as not to affect the important affairs of the government.
That afternoon, Jiao Shun was summoned by the empress to the Qianqing Palace for questioning after the rotation of duty was over. In order to avoid suspicion, it was still in the name of the emperor.
It hadn't been long since he last entered the harem, but this time he could clearly feel that the atmosphere in the palace was a bit depressing, and the little eunuch who led the way was not as fawning over Jiao Shun as before.
It seems that the recent joint pressure exerted by King Zhongshun and his courtiers has been quite effective, and it is time to pour another bucket of oil on it.
It is still in that side hall, but the difference is that this time, in addition to the queen, Concubine Wu and the prince, there are also many virtuous concubines, Jia Yuanchun.
She was seen standing beside the queen quietly with her eyebrows lowered. Even when Jiao Shun walked in from outside, she never raised her head to look at her.
This is probably the most different thing between her and Tanchun. She is obviously the most gorgeous beauty in the Sixth Palace, but she can actually stop her work without taking over the spotlight - and Tanchun is always unwilling to remain unknown no matter when or where she is.
In other words, when Jia Yuanchun returned to the center of power this time, did he regain the trust of the queen and Concubine Wu, or was he forced to use her under pressure?
While Jiao Shun was thinking about this, he respectfully stepped forward to greet each other.
"Master Jiao, please forgive me without any courtesy."
Perhaps because she was under the greatest pressure, the queen looked a little haggard. When Jiao Shun stood up, she was about to speak, but Concubine Wu next to her rushed to ask: "Mr. Jiao, have you ever done the errand that was entrusted to you last time?" Are you coming up with any new ideas? If you keep procrastinating like this, I'm afraid you won't be the first to reap the rewards!"
"Mother concubine."
The prince called softly, apparently wanting to remind his biological mother to pay attention to her superiority and inferiority.
Concubine Wu turned around and glanced at him, but she said nothing.
However, Jiao Shun thought for a while and then asked proactively: "May I ask, Madam, if there is any progress after poisoning?"
"What progress can be made?!"
As soon as she heard this, Concubine Wu's nose was not her nose or her face, and she said angrily: "That bitch has been biting her to death and refused to speak, but I don't know what to do with her. No one else can make progress!" "
Although she said it with great certainty, in fact, how could she, a harem woman, know anything about executions and interrogations? She refused to let others intervene and had to do it herself. Otherwise, even if Concubine Rong had some hard-headedness, she would never be able to survive now.
After saying that, she glared at Jiao Shun impatiently: "Now it's my wife and I who are asking you for countermeasures!"
This was what Jiao Shun had expected.
He took a deep breath, solemnly raised his hands and said: "I think that now we can arrest and arrest the relevant persons together. Then the three cao will confront each other, and we won't be afraid that the truth will not be found out!"
"Integrated arrest and detention?"
The queen's hands clasped in the white fox fur suddenly tightened, and she hesitated: "You mean, even King Zhongshun wants to..."
Without waiting for Jiao Shun to reply, she shook her head again and again: "After all, he is a dignified uncle. How can we touch him without real evidence?"
Only then did Concubine Wu finally understand what Jiao Shun's words meant.
Her eyes shone at first, and she looked eager to try, but when she heard that the Queen disapproved of arresting King Zhongshun, her face changed to a look of hesitation.
At this time, Jiao Shun further advised: "If we want to investigate and deal with him at this time, we only need a team of dragon guards to arrest him. But if we continue to tolerate the traitor, I am afraid that he will be in trouble in the future and regret it too late."
After hearing this, Concubine Wu thought it was reasonable, and she gritted her teeth and wanted to be cruel.
"this……"
The queen hesitated for a while, then shook her head and said: "We are still in the period of national mourning. If there is real evidence, it would be fine. Now it is just your conjecture. Once there is no evidence, how will you deal with it? I'm afraid that the DPRK will also
There will be criticism."
Concubine Wu's momentum has plummeted again. A loyal and submissive king can only pay it back. If she offends those big headscarves, there may be many troubles. Thinking about all the things she has encountered while accompanying the queen behind the curtain to listen to politics these days, she started fighting again.
Back off.
Jiao Shun tried to persuade him a few more times, but when he saw that the queen refused, he had no choice but to say: "In this case, I have no choice but to make some articles based on public opinion - I relied too much on newspapers before, so I faced no pressure from the scholars.
Since I have no power to fight back, this time I plan to start with the people, first causing a certain amount of noise in the streets, and then taking the opportunity to launch an attack."
After that, he added a few more specific measures.
The queen listened very seriously, but Concubine Wu pouted frequently, and the public opinion in the newspaper was just a response. With a few words from a few mud-legged people, could they really stop King Zhongshun?
If Jiao Changqing only had this little ability, how could he be expected to assist Prince Zuo in the future?
If she hadn't listened to Jia Yuanchun's analysis before and knew that abandoning Jiao Shun at this time would not only not help the situation, but would also be self-defeating, she would definitely want to sell out the emperor's New Deal.
Concubine Wu changed her sitting position a few times in her impatience. Her eyes fell on Jia Yuanchun inadvertently, and she suddenly said: "I wonder, Concubine Xiande, what do you think of Lord Jiao's countermeasures?"
"It seems feasible."
Jia Yuanchun gave her a slight salute and analyzed without any emotion: "But the former is too desperate. Although there is a chance to cut off the mess quickly, if things don't work out, there will be backlash; as for the latter... Although King Zhongshun has always been domineering, but
Most of them are aimed at aristocratic families, and the public does not feel deeply about them, so I am afraid that they may not be able to create a surge of public opinion."
These words almost completely negated Jiao Shun's claims.
Concubine Wu glanced at Jiao Shun with a smile on her lips, thinking that she had specifically asked him to stay away from Concubine Xian De, but she didn't expect that it was Concubine Xian De who was the first to attack. Now let's see how the two of them get along!
Although the Queen had the same opinion as Jia Yuanchun regarding the arrest of King Zhongshun, seeing how straightforward she was, she still quickly smoothed things over and said, "This matter is inherently difficult, and it is extremely rare that Mr. Jiao can come up with a countermeasure."
.”
"That's what the Queen said."
Jia Yuanchun bowed and immediately returned to his previous state of looking at the eyes, nose and heart, like a clay-embedded wood sculpture in front of the public.
But her heart was not idle.
On the contrary to Concubine Wu, after carefully understanding Jiao Shun's contribution to the New Deal and his several battles with civil servants, Jia Yuanchun had no doubts about Jiao Shun's ability.
But precisely because of this, she didn't understand why Jiao Shun had fallen so short of standard recently.
Could it be said that Fengrui was frustrated by the current situation?
Or is there something else hidden in it?
She was suspicious, but Jiao Shun bowed his head to the ground and said solemnly: "Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty. I have received Your Majesty's great kindness. Even if I am shattered to pieces and my reputation is ruined, I will never sit back and watch the great situation created by Your Majesty be destroyed in one day!"
Such a show of loyalty made the queen very happy, but it did not make her feel at ease.
So he tried his best to say a few words to Jiao Shun and ordered him to leave the palace.
Not to mention what the three women discussed after Jiao Shun left.
But it was said that after Jiao Shun left the Qianqing Palace, he looked at the blood-red clouds on the horizon and felt that his liver and gallbladder were still open.
To the Queen and others, it was just a futile discussion, but to Jiao Shun, it was like blowing the clarion call to death!
Because after leaving the palace, he would take the initiative to tell King Zhongshun about today's performance, especially the sentence 'It only takes a team of dragon guards to make him capture without mercy'.
Having come this far, who would be willing to just sit back and wait to die?
Even if the queen vetoes her proposal, King Zhongshun will definitely be suspicious and restless, and then he will try every means to improve his sense of security and pursue forces that can counter it.
There is no doubt that another old friend will make an appearance by then. After all, in order to reduce the emperor's suspicion, King Zhongshun mainly targeted military lieutenant generals in addition to nobles.
It can be said that he has offended the three major battalions in the capital. If he wanted to build an armed force of his own in a hurry, he might have to resort to the Tianjin Guards Navy.
And this is exactly what Jiao Shun expected.
As the saying goes, "If you want to make someone die, you must first make him crazy." Only by letting King Zhongshun show his domineering side can he stand up and turn the tide and King Qin come to his rescue.
As for whether King Zhongshun will see through this...
First of all, the picket team has always been ignored. Even when they went out for target training, they were only testing guns and repairing them. King Zhongshun could not have foreseen that Jiao Shun would lead a group of 'craftsmen' to rebel against him.
Secondly, this was a conspiracy. Even if King Zhongshun knew that what he was doing might arouse more fear in the palace, for the sake of his own life, he would never do nothing.
And as long as he makes this move, Jiao Shun is sure that he will never be able to look back!
…………
The sun sets in the west, Jiao Mansion on Zijin Street.
After Xiren went to the toilet to relieve himself, he went to the small kitchen to wash his hands. He returned absentmindedly to the door of the main room, and when he heard the sound of shuffling cards inside, he knew that the game of playing cards would continue for a while.
She thought for a moment and didn't rush in. Instead, she stood in front of the railing and stared at the yard, which was not too big.
At this time, a person came out from the inner room through the curtain and saw her on the corridor. He was stunned for a moment, then stepped forward and asked with a smile: "Xiren, what are you doing outside?"
Xiren looked back, but it turned out to be Ping'er.
The two were good sisters at the beginning, and they even comforted Yuanyang together in the original novel, but at this moment Xiren opened his mouth and didn't know what to call Ping'er.
Ping'er saw her embarrassment and immediately laughed and said: "What's the relationship between us sisters? If you get separated from me for no reason, I won't accept it!"
Xiren breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and said helplessly: "Why do I want to be separated from you? Today is really different from the past..."
"It's true that today is different from the past."
Ping'er snatched what she was saying and asked with half-truth and half-false curiosity: "You have always been attached to Baoyu, but why did you follow the third girl to our house today?"
Xiren did not rush to explain, but raised his finger and pointed inside: "You don't need to play cards with me anymore?"
"Siqi just replaced me."
"Then, let's go to your room to talk."
Naturally, Ping'er would not refuse Xiren's proposal, so he took her to the west wing and ordered Yindie to serve her some fragrant tea.
Xiren didn't dare to lift his weight, so he stood up and took it with both hands and put it on the table. He took advantage of the opportunity to scan the decorations in the west wing and saw that each one was not as good as Yihongyuan, but it was better.
Much better than Aunt Zhao.
She was secretly envious in her heart, but she also knew that even if she married the third girl, she would never be able to overshadow the friendship between Ping'er and Uncle Jiao since childhood.
But who would let someone who was brought up in his family be useless?!
She stabilized her mind and then told the story that Baoyu was about to go south with Jia Zheng, and Mrs. Pian Wang was inspired by the mandarin duck, and wanted the maids around the old lady to go to the temple to serve the second girl, and incidentally burn incense and pray for the old lady.
When she mentioned that Baoyu was pretending to be ill and was obsessed with becoming a monk, and was discussing Buddhism and Zen with herself, she felt aggrieved and angry, and couldn't help but wipe the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
After a long while, there was no response from Ping'er. She raised her head in confusion, only to see Ping'er mumbling something thoughtfully.
"What's wrong?"
"It turns out that Yuanyang is also..."
Ping'er finished half of his sentence, then quickly changed his words: "Nothing, nothing, I just didn't expect that Mr. Bao has not given up the idea of ​​becoming a monk until now."
"How can he be sure? It's not just from moment to moment!"
Xiren smiled bitterly and shook his head, and then got to the point: "Because he really couldn't be counted on, I approached the third girl, hoping that the third girl could help him turn things around. It's just a bit more difficult and tiring. I'd rather die than do it.
Imitate Miaoyu and become a fake nun!"
"What did the third girl say?"
"The third girl said...said..."
Xiren turned his head shyly and said calmly: "It's because there is a shortage of people around, so I'm going to ask my wife to ask for me."
"this……"
Ping'er naturally understood what Tanchun meant when he said there was a lack of people around him, and since Xiren had already followed, it goes without saying that he must have agreed.
After a while, she couldn't help but shake her head and said: "I didn't expect that even you..."
Xiren heard that there was something in her words and asked curiously: "What does sister mean by this?"
In fact, in the past, she and Ping'er mostly addressed each other as "you and me", but now, even if Ping'er condescends to Yu Yu, she no longer dares to sit on an equal footing with Ping'er.
"nothing."
Ping'er waved his hand and reminded Han Hu: "Since you have made up your mind to be with the third girl, then use the same single-minded energy as when you were in Yihongyuan. Don't slack off just because you are sad and frustrated."
"Of course I understand that."
Seeing that she was willing to give him some advice, the attacker cautiously inquired: "I wonder if there are any taboos in this house. My sister told me that I should keep it in mind at all times to prevent Xilihutu from hitting the muzzle of the gun.
"
"There are no taboos."
Ping'er smiled and said: "It's just that the rules are stricter, but I have clear rewards and punishments. If you do well, you will definitely get rewards."
She knew what Xi Ren really wanted, so she added: "The master is planning to build another courtyard nearby so that he can marry the third girl. When the time comes, there will naturally be more opportunities for single-family households than here."
After hearing this, the anxiety in people's hearts immediately disappeared.
What she was most worried about was that she couldn't compete with the old people in the mansion. But if she were to build a house by herself, the only one who could compete with her would be the servants. In this way, the chances of raising her aunt would naturally be much higher.
Chapter completed!