A few days later, Zhang Yin prepared to secretly enter the palace late at night to pay homage to Queen Mother Zhang.
Empress Dowager Zhang had already heard about the farce that happened on Yan Xing's wedding day.
After all, he was the prince, and even if Empress Dowager Zhang wanted to punish Yan Xing for venting such evil words on behalf of her niece, but now that he was not in the officialdom, and Chen Rang was secretly protecting him, there was no way to teach him a lesson in the officialdom.
After much thought, Empress Dowager Zhang decided to take revenge on Concubine Chen.
Concubine Chen was terrified day and night during this period.
The man who could protect her passed away many years ago, and the harem now belongs to the Empress Dowager Zhang. She lives in fear and fear, but she still cannot avoid being embarrassed by the Empress Dowager Zhang.
Today, I am not calling her into Zhangtai Palace and ordering her to read over and over again the love poems written by literati for her and the late emperor, in order to destroy her mind; tomorrow, I am just pretending to have a headache. Yan Xiu has so many The beloved concubine, Empress Dowager Zhang, did not call her, so she was asked to come and attend to the disease day and night.
After all, Mrs. Chen was getting older. After just a few days, she suddenly looked much older and more haggard.
The fact that she was deliberately made difficult by the Queen Mother Zhang in the palace naturally reached Chen Rang's ears.
Chen Rang first went to her Zhongxiu Palace to visit her and secretly told her: "Now the Queen Mother is not the only one in the harem. If the Queen Mother wants to seek shelter, she might as well try to please Zhu Jieyu."
After all, Zhu Sijia has Yan Xiu as her backer, and the future owner of the harem will also change. How long can Empress Dowager Zhang stay in power? But Mrs. Chen is still young and cannot lose hope in the harem.
The speed with which Mrs. Chen wiped her tears with a handkerchief could not keep up with the speed of her tears. She burst into tears:
"You actually asked me to please that junior Zhu Sijia? Who is she? If she hadn't been unwilling to peacefully marry Yuan Zhi as the princess, tell me, would she still be able to stage such a big farce now!"
All in all, none of this is to blame on Yan Xing.
Chen Rang's face suddenly turned cold and he comforted her repeatedly: "If the concubine is unwilling to compromise and show her kindness to Zhu Jieyu, then I will have to find another way."
Concubine Chen immediately understood his plan to find another way and grabbed him:
"You are not allowed to go! As a dignified minister of the Qin Dynasty, you are willing to bow down and serve as her subordinate for many years! Do you think our Chen family has been living under her hands for long enough?"
Chen Rang smiled bitterly and said: "When my father asked me to recommend myself as a pillow, what was the purpose? Did the concubine forget it?"
As a handsome man who was supposed to have a bright future and was known throughout Xijing for a long time, how could Chen Rang not complain after serving Empress Dowager Zhang for so many years?
Isn't it because she is worried that Concubine Chen, mother and son, will fall into the hands of Empress Dowager Zhang and not live to see the sun after the death of the late Emperor?
Concubine Chen trembled and touched Chen Rang's face: "It's me, a useless sister, who has caused my brother and my son so many years in vain."
Chen Rang put away the emotion in his eyes, stood up and straightened his clothes: "I will leave first."
Watching Chen Rang's back walking away towards Zhangtai Palace, Mrs. Chen's heart felt like needles pricking her heart.
If her son became the Emperor of Qin, why would the Chen family be bullied like this?
She clearly remembered that when Chen Rang was forced to hook up with the old witch Zhang Fun, it was the day when Queen Mother Xiaowen passed away.
As if she remembered something, suddenly, the ginseng soup bowl in Mrs. Chen's hand was trembling and fell to the ground. She hurriedly shouted: "Mother Zhong, Mother Zhong, come here!"
Aunt Zhong put down the feather duster, trotted over and asked in a low voice: "What do you want to tell me, the concubine?"
Concubine Chen looked horrified: "Do you remember that it rained heavily on the night when Empress Dowager Xiaowen died sixteen years ago?"
Aunt Zhong: "I remember that the late emperor couldn't bear to see you, the concubine, keeping vigil until late at night, so he took you back to Yuxiu Palace in advance."
Emperor He was one of the three sons of Emperor Wen, and was originally the least valued by Emperor Wen and Empress Dowager Xiaowen.
At that time, there was another candidate for the crown prince, but the royal struggle was extremely cruel. In the end, only the little-known Emperor He could inherit the throne.
Naturally, he and Empress Dowager Xiaowen didn't have much of a mother-child relationship, and no one dared to comment on taking his beloved concubine out of the mourning hall early.
Aunt Zhong did not dare to mention the more obscure words. After all, as a confidant of Concubine Chen, she naturally knew about Chen Rang's sacrifice for her.
Concubine Chen said nervously: "If, if I remember correctly, that night, your majesty, Yan, was he in the mourning hall of Changle Palace?"
How much of what happened sixteen years ago can Grandma Zhong remember?
After trying hard to remember, she replied uncertainly:
"Old slave...Old slave is scared and really doesn't remember it. But on the night when Queen Mother Xiaowen passed away, even Prince Xiang, who was still young and not favored, was also present. As the grandson of the emperor, it's not surprising that he went to pay homage, right?"
Concubine Chen shook her head desperately: "But how could I remember that there was no sign of His Majesty in the mourning hall? As the most beloved grandson of Empress Dowager Xiaowen, he was absent in public! For this reason, the late emperor punished him afterwards, and even almost almost did it in anger. Destroy his position as prince!"
If his relatives hadn't tried to protect Yan Xiu, Yan Xing would have been in that position.
"But at the fourth watch of the second day, at such an early hour, he suddenly appeared in the mourning hall. I remember clearly the look in his eyes at that time. He was only eight years old at the time, but his expression clearly looked like he wanted to tear everyone apart. generally."
In other words, Yan Xiu stayed in Changle Palace from beginning to end. Although he was nowhere to be seen, he never left the house.
This means that everything that happened in the back hall of Changle Palace that year may have been seen by him.
What was even more coincidental was that the late emperor, who had always been healthy and healthy, became seriously ill that year. There was no cure, and he died three years later.
Emperor He's achievements were not even one-tenth of those of Emperor Wen. To put it nicely, he was a conservative king, and to put it worse, he was a mediocre king who indulged in beauty and pleasure.
But he could sit back and take over such a rich and powerful country without any worries, and honestly use the talents left by Emperor Wen. Why would he have any troubles and pressures? How could he die when he was only over thirty?
Aunt Zhong was shocked when she heard this: "Taifei, please calm down and prevent such a coincidence. With His Majesty's temperament and respect for Queen Mother Xiaowen, if he had discovered the clues back then, he would have had to hide and lie dormant..."
"But to this day, he has so many dragon guards at his disposal, but he has never doubted the Queen Mother and Lord Chen. Maybe he really doesn't know?"
After being comforted by Aunt Zhong, Mrs. Chen's heart finally beat less fiercely than before.
It better be so, better be so.
…
Zhang Yin rushed to Zhangtai Palace before the palace gate was closed. She was also an uninvited guest. She didn't have much reaction when she saw Chen Rang.
She even mocked silently in her heart that Zhangtai Palace might be a bit crowded tonight, with so many outsiders having to stay here.
After being moistened by the rain and dew, Mrs. Zhang's face was rosy, and her eyes and eyebrows were all charming.
After listening to Zhang Yin's narration, she played with her newly dyed impatiens juice nails today, and said in a melodious tone, "Is Siyi really determined to enter the palace?"
Zhang Yin: "Siyi said that she would respect the Queen Mother and the glory of the Zhang family as her first priority and never look back."
