Chen Zhuoxin sighed secretly. He did not have a deep impression of Chen Meiren. Although he was now one of the important figures in the court, he could not enter and leave the inner palace at will.
What's more, even if you enter and leave the inner palace at will, the women in the palace are like flowers in the royal garden. Except for a few dazzling flowers, who can remember the rest?
When there are major celebrations, that is, you can see the empress dowager, concubine Lu, the empress, and the fourth concubine, who are more respected women in the palace. Those low-level concubines are either not qualified to participate, or if they do, they are far away. It was far away in the corner and couldn't be seen clearly at all.
Sometimes, these low-level concubines are not as impressive as the dancers on the dance floor.
After many years, Chen Meiren's matter was brought up again, and Chen Zhuoxin felt waves of worry in his heart for no reason.
When Chen Meiren first died, Chen Zhuoxin was a little confused, but because Chen Meiren was nothing to fear from him and it was impossible to shake him in the slightest, he didn't pay too much attention.
But now that he thought about it, he felt that there were many doubts in it.
For example, how could it be so coincidental that the fourth prince and the fifth prince began to fall ill alternately, and then rumors spread that the fourth prince and the fifth prince had incompatible fates?
If this was purely a coincidence, Chen Zhuoxin felt that this coincidence was a bit too deliberate.
But if it was controlled by Chen Meiren, it would be possible for her to control the fifth prince's illness and recovery.
But how could Chen Meiren control the fourth prince's illness?
The fourth prince is the son of Concubine Han De. Even if Mingrui Palace is not guarded with iron walls, Concubine Han De has been in charge of Mingrui Palace for many years. The manpower inside and outside must be very well arranged, and she will not be so easy to attack.
Even if it is easy to do something, with Concubine Han De's deep and steady temperament, it is unlikely that others will succeed every time.
So what if Concubine Han De did it? Could it be that Concubine Han De believed the rumors, lost her sense of propriety for a moment, and really wanted to harm the fifth prince for the sake of her son?
However, since their fates were incompatible, why did the fifth prince and the fourth prince not fall ill and get better alternately after Chen Meiren's death?
Ordinarily, if the two people were really incompatible with each other, it should have nothing to do with Chen Meiren's death.
It can't be that Chen Meiren uses her own life to bargain with God, right?
"My lord!" Yin Hong's low shout interrupted Chen Zhuoxin's distant thoughts.
Chen Zhuoxin composed himself, looked into Ji Jun's clear eyes, then smiled and said to Shaoyao:
"You did your job well, what reward do you want?"
Ji Jun's heart is a little confused. How can Chen Zhuoxin be so kind? It can't be a trap, right?
Will peony make a lion open its mouth? Make Chen Zhuoxin bankrupt?
With so many women in Chen Zhuoxin's back house, does he still have money to give Shaoyao?
Hi! Thinking too much, Chen Zhuoxin could not let Peony take over. He was probably just teasing Peony and diverting everyone's attention.
While I was thinking about it, I heard Shaoyao laughing and saying,
"Thank you, Mr. Guo! I said you were helping, so I'm sorry to ask for a reward! If you really want to give it, just give me the hairpin in the cat's mouth!"
Ji Jun is speechless, this maid knows her stuff well, she wants a limited edition one!
"No!" Yu Jue couldn't help but said,
"This beaded hairpin is custom-made by the palace for the ladies who are running for the title of princess. You are a maid, do you think it is worthy? I won't be afraid of breaking your neck!"
Yu Jue felt uncomfortable thinking that in the future, she might wear the same hairpin as Shaoyao!
Shaoyao showed her eight small white teeth and ignored Yu Jue, but treated Chen Guo fairly.
"My lord, why don't you give me the cat? Is the hairpin a gift? Just like the burritos in our store, if you buy a set of burritos, you will get a drink for free! If you go to our store to make a purchase, we will definitely shed tears and give it away !Designed to your satisfaction!”
Yu Jue was so angry that smoke was rising from her head!
Don’t forget your business experience at all times!
You also gave me a cat, why don’t you want Duke Chen’s Mansion? In that case, both the cat and the hairpin are gifts!
snort! Profiteer!
"No!" Zhou Biao suddenly stopped,
"My lord, I can't give her the hairpin. Maybe the hairpin is a murder weapon!"
Chen Zhuoxin appeared surprised, but it was fleeting.
A few people were in a stalemate when they heard a voice from far away,
"Prince Huan, Prince Li, you are well!" The voice was soft and crisp.
Ji Jun and others followed the sound and saw a graceful woman approaching.
When she moved, she was light but not fragile. Every step she took was calm and steady. Her whole body was as light as a willow, but Ji Jun could feel that this woman did not have the same kind of beauty as other descendants. Home girls are as charming and shy as Aunt Gui and Aunt Zhu.
On the contrary, she carries a heroic spirit. It's a bit like the aura of those "children of the world" that Ji Jun has seen before.
Zhou Huan and Li Mi looked at each other, and Li Mi frowned and shook his head slightly.
Zhou Huan narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at this woman. This woman was beautiful, with watery eyes and delicate features, but there was a sharp look between her eyebrows.
Neither of them knew what the phrase "stay well" meant.
While thinking about it, the woman had already expressed her deep gratitude to Chen Guogong and said,
"My lord, I am late."
Chen Guogong raised his hand to signal her to excuse herself and asked,
"How did you come?"
The woman replied calmly,
"I heard that my cousin's incident has disturbed the Duke and all the distinguished guests, so I came here to apologize to the Duke."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Cheng seemed to be explaining to everyone and blaming the woman, saying,
"This is why Aunt Xiang, you can be so calm, the old lady was so scared that she fainted!"
Everyone knew clearly that the visitor turned out to be Chen Guogong's aunt Xiang.
There was no emotion on Chen Zhuoxin's face, so he said calmly,
"What do you mean by this? What crime is there?"
He bowed his head slightly to his aunt and said in an unhurried voice,
"Actually, my cousin came to the house secretly the day before yesterday to ask for some money from me. At that time, he took out this pearl hairpin and said that he had picked it up. He had no use for it. He wanted to go to the pawn shop, but he was worried that the pawn shop clerk had deceived him. , he insisted on using this pearl hairpin to exchange for some money with me. However, I saw that the pearl hairpin was very valuable, and I was worried that he had stolen it. I accepted it for fear of getting into a lawsuit, so I refused. When I received the pearl hairpin, I just wanted to give him some scattered silver to spend. Unexpectedly, my cousin was dissatisfied with the small amount of money and insisted on exchanging the pearl hairpin with me for a thousand taels of silver. If he didn't give it to me, he would kill me. As a result, there was a dispute. During the process, he was stabbed in the chest by a pearl hairpin, but his failure to come back caused his old internal injuries to relapse, and he died unfortunately. I was frightened at the time, and I caught up with the family to hold a wedding event the day before, and was afraid that the old lady and the Duke of Guo were worried. To punish my concubine, I led my men and threw him into this dry well, hoping to wait until the wedding was over and then deal with him quietly, but unexpectedly he got into trouble."
Zhou Biao couldn't help but chuckled.
"Auntie Xiang came just in time!"
Aunt Xiang gave Zhou Biao a deep blessing, then stood up slowly and said with a smile,
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your compliments. Now that I have entered the Duke's palace, I will naturally share his worries. What's more, this matter happened because of me, so I can no longer sit back and watch."
After hearing this, Ji Jun looked at Aunt Xiang a little bit. This was not the aura that a concubine competing for favor in the back house should have!
Aunt Xiang looked at Zhou Huan,
"Huan Shizi, do you still remember me?"
Ji Min was shocked. She felt that there was something in Aunt Xiang's words.
Ji Jun also thought the same way, and his mind quickly opened up. Could it be Zhou Huan's "old lover"? Due to various reasons, Zhou Huan separated from him, and she turned to Chen Zhuoxin because of love and hatred?
But looking at her age, she is several years older than Zhou Huan. Of course, "sibling love" is not impossible!
However, Zhou Huan seemed confused and did not seem to be faking it!
No, just now, she mentioned Li Mi!
Could it be that it was with Li Mi? Was Zhou Huan disrupted?
The more I think about it, the more it looks like! snort!
Ji Jun just wanted to complain that "men don't have any good things"!
Then I heard Zhou Huan speak, seemingly a little unsure,
"You are, you are, from Puwei Mountain. Are you the daughter of the leader of Puwei Mountain Village?"
Smiling at my aunt,
"Prince Huan has a very good memory. I am indeed a bandit from Puwei Mountain. Back then, the prince of Jiangxia County led Mr. Li and Prince Huan to destroy our Puwei Mountain. Mr. Li made my brother useless in martial arts and was seriously injured. , became a cripple at a young age. My father and I were imprisoned, but thanks to the rescue of the Duke, I have a place now. Now you two have chased me to Duke Chen's mansion, are you going to kill me?"
Ji Jun and Ji Min both breathed a sigh of relief secretly.
Li Mi's expression also relaxed. He also wondered what he was worried about just now. For just a moment, when he saw Ji Jun's face darken, he began to feel inexplicably nervous.
Zhou Huan shook his head and said,
"You misunderstood. I am here to handle the case this time and it has nothing to do with you."
Xiang Auntie smiled sadly and said,
"What kind of case is Prince Huan doing? The person on the ground is my cousin. If Prince Huan doesn't believe it, you can go and see that there is a mark of "mountain" three inches above his left ankle, and three inches above his right ankle There is a mark of "power" in the place. Back then, the first batch of brothers who went up the mountain had such a mark."
Upon hearing this, Yin Hong walked forward, took off the socks of the person on the ground, and looked at them. Zhou Biao also followed, and they both nodded to everyone.
Zhou Huan felt a little uneasy, as if something unfavorable was about to happen.
Suddenly, Yin Hong, who was about to get up, found that the ground on Bi Si'er's upper body was seeping black blood bit by bit!
Yin Hong quickly stood up to avoid Bi Si'er's body.
At this moment, Ji Jun saw ants starting to gather around the bloody water through the sunlight!
Upon seeing this, all the noble ladies onlookers retreated, but Chen Zhuoxin, Yin Hong, Zhou Huan and the Ji sisters did not move.
Seeing that everyone was staying away, Aunt Xiang looked at Zhou Huan, her eyes were cold, and there was a smile on her lips. The smile did not reach her eyes, and she said in a low voice,
"Huan Shizi, that masked man was arranged by me. The old lady has a temperament that follows the wind, and she was also deceived by me. My purpose is to lead you here. Take a look at the bracelet the old lady gave you. Is it still safe? That is a gift from the emperor! If it is damaged, it is the crime of deceiving the emperor! Your Jiangxia County Prince's Palace is waiting to destroy the family!"
Zhou Huan hesitated.
"Don't listen to her!" Li Mi reminded hurriedly,
"Be careful if she snatches the bracelet away!"
