"who?"
Zhu Yuyao gave a sharp shout and was about to walk out, but stopped again.
She stepped forward quickly, pulled out the sword from the wall, and then walked towards the door.
But when she saw that the visitor was Queen Zhou, she was stunned and said with a surprised look on her face: "Mother, why are you here?"
Empress Zhou saw tears appearing on Zhu Ailao's face and her hand holding the sword trembling slightly. She felt sad again in her heart.
She lovingly wiped away the tears on Zhu Ya'ao's face, and then forcibly took the sword away from Zhu Ya'ao's hand, and then said softly: "Duan'er, you are fine!"
Hearing this, Zhu Aao's tears fell uncontrollably again.
Seeing this, Empress Zhou handed the sword to Fei Zhen'e who stepped forward in time, hugged Zhu Aina and comforted her softly.
At this time, Zhu Cixi also limped out.
When he saw Queen Zhou, he was slightly startled, and then asked with concern: "Queen Mother, you haven't recovered from your illness, why are you here?"
Empress Zhou gently patted Zhu Yuluo on the back. After letting her go, she said to Wang Chengen who was not far away: "Have people been sent to guard the surroundings?"
Wang Chengen bowed and said: "Don't worry, Queen, I have ordered my close followers to guard all the passages and keep an eye on the people of Duanben Palace. No one will know that you have been here."
Zhou Hou nodded with satisfaction and walked towards the house.
Seeing this, Zhu Cixiang and Zhu Ainao also hurriedly followed in.
After Zhou Hou entered Zhu Cixiang's palace and saw the blood stains on the bed, her heart trembled slightly. Then she looked at Zhu Cixiang who had just walked in and said, "Lang'er, do you hate your mother?"
Zhu Cixiang saw that although Queen Zhou looked sick, she was extremely energetic and full of energy. After being slightly stunned, he bowed and said: "My child acted recklessly and broke the system of our ancestors. He should be punished!"
Empress Zhou sighed softly and said lovingly: "You have this city at such a young age, and you are able to break the rules. My mother is very pleased. I shouldn't punish you."
"Because there are many people in the palace and you are usually obedient, you suddenly violated the ancestral rules today. If the queen mother does not punish you severely, others may not believe it..."
When Zhu Cihong heard this, he realized that Empress Zhou was just acting before, and he said hesitantly: "Empress, what about your illness?"
Empress Zhou smiled slightly and said: "My mother has been in charge of the palace for more than ten years. How could she not know about those evil tricks? The reason why my mother pretended to be ill was just to lure out the people behind the scenes."
Zhu Cixiang had some doubts just now, but after hearing Queen Zhou's words, he immediately beamed with joy and said: "Queen Mother, you are really fine...it's great."
Seeing the sincerity on his face, Empress Zhou felt happy in her heart, and then said seriously: "Lang'er, the battlefield is dangerous and dangerous. It's not a child's play. Are you really ready to lead the army on an expedition?"
Zhu Cixiang heard this and said solemnly: "Mother, my child has been protected by you and my father, and has been living a carefree life."
"Now that my father is not in the capital, I should shoulder this responsibility whether it is for the sake of the Ming Dynasty or for my sister and younger brothers. I hope that my mother will fulfill my wish."
After Zhu Cihong finished speaking, he knelt down to salute again.
When Zhou Hou saw that Zhu Cixiang had changed his identity, although he felt sorry for him, he did not dissuade him.
But when she saw Zhu Cixiang behaving in a difficult manner, she couldn't help but show a look of reluctance on her face, but it was quickly hidden.
Seeing this, Zhu Ainao on the side was about to step forward to stop her. Seeing that Queen Zhou didn't say anything, she had to stand where she was and look at Queen Zhou with a pleading look on her face.
Although Empress Zhou saw Zhu Yu'ao's gaze, she ignored it and just looked at Zhu Cixiang quietly.
She saw that although Zhu Cixiang's body was trembling, there was nothing out of line, and a glimmer of satisfaction flashed in her eyes.
After Zhou Hou observed Zhu Cixiang for a while, he signaled Zhu Ya'ao to help Zhu Cixiang up and said in a deep voice: "My mother is very pleased that you have taken this responsibility."
"It's just that you acted a little recklessly today. Why didn't you meet Wang Chengen first before going to Hongde Hall?" 33
Zhu Cixiang was stunned for a moment, then bowed and said: "Because things happened in a hurry, I thought that state affairs were more important than family affairs, so I went to Hongde Hall first."
Empress Zhou glanced at him and said, "I'm afraid it's more than that. I heard that you transferred Zhou Jing out of Duanben Palace!"
Hearing this, Zhu Cixi hurriedly apologized and said: "Mother, please forgive me. It's not that I don't trust the captain of the bodyguard. It's just that he has been acting a bit domineering in recent days. I was worried that he had broken the rules, so I transferred him out!"
Empress Zhou nodded and said: "You handled the matter of the captain of the guard appropriately. The queen mother mentioned this not to blame you, but to tell you that at any time, you should not let things go wrong because of others."
After she finished speaking, she shouted toward the door: "Bring in!"
As soon as Queen Zhou finished speaking, Wang Chengen walked in with a eunuch in tow.
When the eunuch saw Zhou Hou and others, he kowtowed and begged for mercy.
Seeing this, Queen Zhou glanced at Wang Chengen, who immediately kicked the eunuch to the ground knowingly and shouted: "If you want to survive, tell Wang Dehua's plan in detail."
When the eunuch heard this, a gleam of panic flashed in his eyes, and then he saw Zhu Cixiang's eyes showing murderous intent. After his body trembled for a while, he told the story.
It turned out that this eunuch had nothing to do with Wang Dehua on the surface, but in fact he was Wang Dehua's confidant and was ordered to lurk next to Queen Yi'an.
After Wang Dehua's incident, because he was hidden very deeply and because Queen Zhou and others respected Queen Yi'an very much, he was not dug out during the last harem cleaning.
Unexpectedly, a few days ago, Wang Dehua suddenly sent a message to him, asking him to take action against Zhou Hou, and gave him a list of people lurking in the palace.
So he followed Wang Dehua's plan and had a maid next to Zhou Hou poisoned, and then blamed the incident on a registered apprentice of Wang Chengen in an attempt to disrupt the harem.
He originally planned to escape after the incident was completed, but because although Zhou Hou was seriously ill, he did not die, and there was no chaos in the palace.
Worried about being punished by Wang Dehua, he took the risk and stayed again, hoping to take another opportunity to complete the task.
So today, when he learned that Zhu Cihong was going to make peace with the Jurchens, he instigated Zhang Yan to question Empress Zhou.
He originally hoped that Queen Zhou, who was seriously ill, would be angry to death because of this, but he did not expect that Queen Zhou would be angry to death. Instead, he himself was captured by Wang Chengen after the news of Zhu Cihong's beating was spread.
Zhu Cixiang listened to the eunuch's story and said worriedly: "Mother, have you caught the poisoned maid?"
Hou Zhou said: "They have been exposed a long time ago. They are only here today because they are required to deliver the news. Now I will not let any of them go."
"It's just that although they have spread the news of your punishment, Wang Dehua's sudden appearance makes the queen worried that besides the rebels and Jurchens, there may be other soldiers in the dark outside the capital."
As Zhou Hou said, he looked at Zhu Cihong and said, "Do you still insist on leading the army to the expedition?"
Zhu Cixiang was silent for a while and said, "Queen Mother, are you worried about Zuo Liangyu?"
Empress Zhou nodded and said: "Yes, although Zuo Liangyu was deeply favored by the emperor, he had other intentions. It is said that it was because he cut off Gong Yonggu's return that Gong Yonggu died in the battle."
"And Wang Dehua and Zuo Liangyu have been secretly communicating. Now that Wang Dehua has appeared, Zuo Liangyu's troops may have also sneaked in. If you go out again, you will easily fall into their scheme!"
Hearing this, Zhu Cixiang said with a proud look on his face: "Don't worry, mother, I have sent people to investigate before. Zuo Liangyu's army is still in Shaanxi and Datong."
"And in order to prevent accidents, the boy has secretly ordered Huang Degong to strictly guard the various fortresses, so even if he sends people to come, the number of people will not be too many."
"Furthermore, judging from Wang Dehua's poisoning, they must be afraid that we will fight to the death, so they will take risks. Moreover, it has been reported that the queen mother beat the child. They must not have expected that the child will lead the army on an expedition."
"In addition, the child knows this and is carrying out a latent attack. The rebels will definitely be defeated in one fell swoop..."
Seeing Zhu Cixiang's resolute face, Zhou Hou felt worried but also very pleased.
She nodded with satisfaction and said, "Okay, since my son has such courage, my mother will not stop you."
"However, this trip is dangerous, and you must have a trustworthy person by your side. Now that the captain of the guard has been transferred out of Duanben Palace by you, recruiting him back will easily arouse suspicion."
As she spoke, she looked at Wang Chengen and said, "Fortunately, Wang Chengen is not bad at martial arts. He is also a general and has good military skills. You can take him with you!"
Zhu Cixiang glanced at Wang Chengen with embarrassment and said: "Mother, the palace is full of crises now, and you need capable people around you..."
"The Queen Mother knows what you mean. It's just that your father has previously issued a decree not to allow eunuchs to accompany the army. In addition, the generals in the army are quite dissatisfied with the eunuchs. You are afraid that Wang Chengen's joining the army will affect the morale of the army."
"But have you ever thought that the battlefield is dangerous and if you don't have a trustworthy person to protect you, your life may be in danger at any time..."
After Zhou Hou interrupted Zhu Cixiang, he spoke seriously and sincerely.
However, she was still looking at Zhu Cixiang at first, but later she looked at Wang Chengen.
A look of perseverance flashed in Wang Chengen's eyes. After bowing and saluting, he actually retreated.
Just when Zhu Cixiang was confused, he suddenly heard an exclamation outside the door.
When Zhu Cixiang heard the sound and went out, he saw that Wang Cheng'en had disfigured himself. Then he saw Wang Cheng'en kneeling on the ground and said: "My appearance has changed. No one should recognize it. I also ask the Crown Prince to accompany you to protect me."
Some people died, but not completely...
