Xie Hengwu admitted that she really didn't want anything to happen to Xiao Yanzhou.
First of all, on the second day after she arrived in Beijiang, the king was assassinated and died. She was still present, so Xie Hengwu couldn't be cleansed even if he jumped into the river.
Secondly, if he really blocked Xiao Yanzhou's life, he would have to keep her for a few more days.
It's a pity...she didn't block it and even scared herself.
Xie Hengwu was a little embarrassed, and lowered his eyes to avoid Xiao Yanzhou's gaze: "This happened suddenly, I am really worried about Your Majesty..."
Xiao Yanzhou seemed to be smiling but not smiling. He took the brocade handkerchief and carefully wiped the blood stains on her face: "You are too underestimated."
"Zhao Quan, investigate carefully and don't let anyone go."
When Xiao Yanzhou said this, he stared at Xie Hengwu seriously, his movements were so detailed that she was horrified.
...Oops, he still doubted himself.
But judging from the reactions of Xiao Yanzhou and Zhao Quan, it seems that such assassinations have long been commonplace.
Xie Hengwu felt unspeakable complexity in her heart. She raised her eyes and met Xiao Yanzhou's deep and narrow eyes.
"Beauty knows what to say and what not to say, right?"
Xie Hengwu nodded stiffly and smiled: "Your Majesty, I haven't seen anything."
He looked at her and said slowly: "Huo Heng, send the beauty back."
Huo Heng is the commander of the Yulin Guards beside Xiao Yanzhou. As soon as he finished speaking, a tall man in military robes entered the hall and said in a deep voice.
Not long after Xie Hengwu returned to Shicui Palace, rewards from Zichen Palace also came one after another, which was very comforting.
The matter of the assassin was strictly sealed, and even the palace officials of Zichen Palace had no idea about it, let alone Shicui Palace.
Everyone in the palace thought that Xie Hengwu had won the favor of the Holy Emperor and became the first concubine in Beijiang to be favored.
How could Xie Hengwu not know this truth?
The moment she saw the reward, she understood that she could not be an unknown vase in Beijiang as she had previously imagined.
As soon as the news reached the previous dynasty...the ministers from Beijiang knew about it, and they were afraid that they would test the draft, and then the noble girl from Beijiang would enter the palace...
Xie Hengwu's head felt heavy when he thought about it carefully.
"Third Mistress, did your Majesty yesterday..."
Li Luo walked into the dormitory with a smile, her words were ambiguous.
Xie Hengwu glanced at her angrily: "Why are you here now?"
Li Luo rubbed her hands awkwardly and muttered: "Aren't you busy counting and storing His Majesty's rewards? My lady doesn't know something. My maid is looking at it. It seems that there are some tribute treasures there."
Xie Hengwu raised his eyebrows, thinking to himself that Xiao Yanzhou was really... generous.
This was like putting her on the fire.
"Forget it, let the small kitchen cook something first, I'm so hungry." Xie Hengwu waved his hand irritably, asking Liluo to go out.
Seeing Li Luo walking outside the bead curtain, Xie Hengwu suddenly remembered something and quickly called her.
"Wait, come back," Xie Hengwu looked at Li Luo who didn't know why, and said word by word, "Don't call me Sanniangzi again in the future."
Li Luo was used to calling Xie Hengwu this way. At first, she thought she might not adapt to it when she first came to Beijiang, so she didn't change her tune.
"It's the young master. My servant has taken note of it." Li Luo bowed respectfully and quietly left.
Xie Hengwu sighed softly. Seeing that there was no one in the bedroom, he felt under the pillow of the bed.
The heavy weight in her palm made her feel at ease.
This is the money she has accumulated in the Changping Marquis Mansion over the years.
According to her original thought, Xiao Yanzhou was not a womanizer. If she was smarter and could survive, Xiao Yanzhou would not care about her.
Maybe he would forget her in the harem.
Then she could use a small deception and escape with her money. When the sky is high and birds can fly, it will be the freedom she dreams of.
Just thinking about this, the corners of Xie Hengwu's mouth gradually curved into a smile.
However, after she smiled for a while, the raised corners of her mouth fell down.
But why is the reality different from what she thought?
It seemed that Xiao Yanzhou would remember someone like her for a long time.
Not only him, but also the ministers of the previous dynasty remembered it.
--
In the main hall of Zichen Palace, Xiao Yanzhou was leaning on the dragon chair with his eyes closed, his knuckled fingers resting on the cold armrests inlaid with gold and jade, tapping lightly.
In the empty hall below, there was only an old man with white beard and hair.
That is the envoy of Zhou Yuan.
"Your Majesty, during this travel, I did find some methods that can cure your Majesty's illness, but..."
"Stop talking nonsense." Xiao Yanzhou opened his eyes, his eyes as cold as ice.
Zhou Yuanshi was dripping with cold sweat and touched his forehead.
Xiao Yanzhou was feared successively when he was a child, so he was poisoned. Later, although the poison was detoxified, the root cause of the disease was also left, and the disease would occur almost every few days.
Every time I have an attack, I have a splitting headache and endless pain.
Although there were many chambermaids in the palace who massaged Xiao Yanzhou, they knew nothing about it and only thought it was Xiao Yanzhou's hobby.
Anyone who accidentally peeks into the secret has already turned into a handful of bones at the bottom of the Forbidden Lake.
Except for Xiao Yanzhou and a few confidants around him, no one knew this secret.
"Reporting to your majesty, I do have a solution, but the most critical medicine will not be available until spring." After the Zhou Yuan envoy finished speaking tremblingly, he held his breath and looked at death with a look on his face.
"You mean, you want me to wait a few more months?"
Zhou Yuanshi broke into a cold sweat and even said he didn't dare. He was searching his guts to think of words to defend himself.
"Your Majesty, as the saying goes, illness comes like a mountain falling, and illness goes away like a thread. I am convinced that this medicine can cure your Majesty's illness. This day... still has to wait."
Xiao Yanzhou snorted with unknown meaning, causing Zhou Yuan's knees to weaken and he almost fell to the ground.
"Forget it, I'll give you some more time."
Zhou Yuan almost thought that he had heard wrongly. He looked up in disbelief and saw Xiao Yanzhou's cold face, with a faint murderous intention, and hurriedly lowered his head.
"But you have to look after someone for me."
How could the envoy of Zhou Yuan dare to say anything more, and he kept agreeing.
It is the most rare thing for His Majesty to have the patience to wait for him. It just depends on the individual, so what does it matter?
"Yes...Your Majesty, there is one more thing..."
Xiao Yanzhou threw a knife in the eye.
"Say it."
Only then did Zhou Yuanshi dare to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and said: "When I entered the palace today, I met Duke Cui..."
Cui Gong is Cui Zuocheng, the man who holds great power now.
Xiao Yanzhou remained expressionless, but the hall became obviously colder.
"Gong Cui said... If His Majesty is satisfied with the princess, can the draft be put on the agenda?"
Every time Zhou Yuanshi said another word, the hall became a little colder. By the time he finished conveying his words, the sound of pindrops could be heard in the hall, as if the cold wind from outside was blowing straight in.
After a long time, Xiao Yanzhou chuckled softly and said sadly,
"If he cares so much, why doesn't he come to the palace himself?"
Zhao Quan on the side did not dare to express his anger, and he uncontrollably imagined the scene of the very old Cui Zuocheng entering the harem, and his face almost turned purple.
The envoy of Zhou Yuan laughed: "I just convey Duke Cui's words, I have no other meaning. It all depends on your Majesty's wishes."
Xiao Yanzhou was impatient to listen to Zhou Yuan's flattery, so he waved his hand to make him stand down.
Zhou Yuan made a sound in response, and at this young age, his beard and hair were all white, but his hands and feet were extremely nimble, and he exited the Zichen Palace as if his soles were oiled.
Xiao Yanzhou's long eyebrows were lowered, his eyes were slightly depressed, and his hand on the armrest was still tapping lightly.
He didn't want to be drafted. Firstly, because his foundation was not stable, he was busy in the past, and he had no time to deal with the harem. Secondly, he didn't want those aristocratic families to think that there was an opportunity to use the harem to influence him.
The reason for accepting Nanliang's marriage was because the wars had become more frequent in recent years, which forced Nanliang to cough up some money to pay for the soldiers in the border areas.
By the way, let them relax their vigilance, and then send their troops south to annex them in the future.
Xiao Yanzhou was calculating step by step in his mind and thought about Cui Zuocheng again.
The current Queen Mother is from the Cui family. In fact, Xiao Yanzhou should call Cui Zuocheng his uncle.
This is why all the court officials avoided Xiao Yanzhou, but Cui Zuocheng was the only one who dared to remonstrate with him.
Xiao Yanzhou pressed his eyebrows and thought to himself,
Cui has been a little restless lately.
--
National Temple.
The Buddha statue lowers its eyes with compassion, incense smoke curls up in front of the Buddha, and the sound of Sanskrit is gentle.
A woman in rich clothes knelt in front of the Buddha, clasped her hands and closed her eyes, muttering in her mouth.
A nanny pushed open the door gently and entered, then leaned over and whispered in the woman's ear.
The woman remained unmoved and continued to recite Buddhist scriptures in a low voice. It wasn't until the distant bell rang outside that she stopped and opened her eyes.
Mammy stood aside, looking anxious: "The Queen Mother, look..."
As soon as the woman raised her hand, the nanny immediately fell silent and stepped forward to help her.
She turned around with a pair of sharp eyes.
Xiao Yanzhou also had eyes like this.
"After all, he is a married woman. If he is not related to Bei Jiang, it is normal for him to do whatever he wants." Empress Dowager Cui twisted the beads between her fingers and said slowly.
"But the Queen Mother, that person has never..."
"Hmph, he deliberately went against the Ai family to disgust the Ai family." Empress Dowager Cui said coldly, "This is the princess he chose for himself, so can he not take it more seriously?"
"What did Cui Mansion say?"
Mammy said respectfully: "Reporting to the Queen Mother, Cui Gong has mentioned the draft to Your Majesty after the court this morning. Tomorrow, several ministers will also write to Your Majesty."
"...That's fine. If the emperor doesn't want it, the Aijia will let him do it."
"But Madam, what should I do if Your Majesty still refuses to comply?" Mammy asked worriedly.
After all, when Empress Dowager Cui asked the courtiers to force Xiao Yanzhou to draft a talent show, Xiao Yanzhou directly ordered the Yulin Guards to kill the ministers at court, which frightened the ministers into taking leave for several days and not daring to go to court.
Later, Empress Dowager Cui went to Xiao Yanzhou's harem without authorization. As a result, those women were skinned alive, made into real "beauty couches", and sent to the national temple.
That was the most terrifying scene that Mammy had ever seen in her entire life.
Queen Mother Cui was so angry that she became ill for a month.
"Don't worry, wait until the emperor gets tired of marrying someone, then everything will be easier."
"But my dear, if the emperor really loves the princess, what should he do...?"
"What's the difference between a marriage princess who is used to please and someone who pays tribute?" Empress Dowager Cui put her arm on Grandma's arm and walked out, unable to hide her contempt in her words, "The emperor is just doing it for fun, how can he really like her?"
"The queen of Beijiang must be from the Cui family."
Mammy said softly: "Then what do you want to do with her?"
Queen Mother Cui smiled, her eyes twinkling, "Since the emperor still likes her, he will keep her for a while longer. By the way, let her do something for me."
