The smile on his face faded and he said coldly: "She must know some important things, but she doesn't realize that those things are important. Qing family, go get this matter done and let her talk about it. To put it into detail, the value in her has not been completely squeezed out!"
…
After the person who interrogated him left, Su Xiangnian finally broke free from the almost suffocating pain and slumped on the seat, his eyes were glassy and he was breathing heavily.
After an unknown amount of time, along with the sound of metal colliding, a familiar cold wind carrying the smell of blood blew onto her.
The door to the interrogation room opened and the man came back.
Su Xiangnian fell into long-term pain.
She couldn't sleep or rest. The other party interrogated her non-stop, asking about everything that happened after she entered Beijing in her previous life.
What's worse is that the other party's interrogation is not in chronological order. At this moment, he is asking about what happened in the third month after she entered Beijing. The next moment, it may suddenly jump to the third month. In the spring of the second year, she was even asked to repeat what she had said before again and again...
What Su Xiangnian didn't know was that this was part of the interrogation itself.
In order to confirm the authenticity of the confession, it is necessary to test it repeatedly. Specially trained spies will be exposed because of this, let alone an ordinary woman like Su Xiangnian.
The intense interrogation lasted all night. In the end, Su Xiang was in so much pain that she continued to retching, but the other party refused to let her go and asked again: "What did you say? The brother of the county magistrate of Chengning was assassinated?" !”
Su Xiangnian was like a fish out of water, breathing hard: "Cheng Ning's brother... ah, he died... how did he die? How did I know? I just heard someone mention it... It seems It was an accident when I left Beijing..."
The commander of the inner guard said: "How do you know?"
Su Xiangnian's almost empty eyes after being tortured suddenly burst into tears: "He came to see me, he said he was sorry for me, and said it would be fine after a while... But when the time came, he He changed his story again... He said that Cheng Ning's brother was dead and he was in a very difficult situation. He couldn't do what he promised me..."
The Lord of Chengning County has only one younger brother, and that is the current emperor’s grandson, the only heir of the late Dong Palace!
He is also one of the most powerful contenders for the throne after King Wu and King Xin!
The commander of the internal guards just wished he could grab her neck and shake her twice: Why didn't you tell me about such an important matter earlier? !
Worried that Su Xiangnian was going crazy, he asked again: "Are you sure? The brother of the head of Chengning County is dead?"
Su Xiangnian frowned in a daze, and after a long while, she finally said: "I'm sure... After that, my life started to become difficult... Maybe Cheng Ning tortured me to vent his hatred after his brother died. Bar……"
If what she said is true, then——
King Dai was assassinated. The time at that time was compared with the present time. An accident happened when he left the capital...
Two days before taking the throne, I went out to the capital with the head of Ding'an County to pay homage to my late father!
The commander of the inner guard broke out in a cold sweat and hurried away from here, shouting sternly: "Come here, prepare your horses!"
…
The commander of the inner guard left in a hurry.
Su Xiangnian slumped weakly on the seat, her mind wandering with thoughts. She raised her face and stared blankly at the dim yellow light in front of her.
Once, twice, three times...
Her eyelids closed quietly, and she vaguely saw a few figures in her sleep.
Su Xiangnian met the enemy from her previous life.
He fell to the ground, black blood kept pouring out of his seven orifices, and his body was twitching weakly. Her heart tightened when she saw it.
In front of him sat a young and elegant woman, smiling and talking to him.
"When I learned about that thing that day, I was very angry. The prince must know that I am also a daughter raised by a family of the Haoying family, so I am somewhat arrogant."
"You can not love me, you can treat me coldly, but you can't use me, insult me, intend to use me as a springboard to break the bones of my mother's family, suck out the marrow, and then abandon it like old shoes!"
Su Xiangnian saw her husband move his lips with difficulty, and asked feebly: "Ms. Su, is it you..."
The young woman suddenly laughed softly: "My lord, oh my lord, you are really confused all your life, and only for a moment!"
"Have you never thought about it?"
Her voice was faint, like the drizzle on a spring night, but it made the listener's heart tremble: "The Duke of Qi can take in the Su family just to show goodwill to you, so why can't they take in the Su family just to show goodwill to His Majesty?" Execute Su?"
King Wu's pupils contracted violently, and a hint of disbelief appeared in his expression.
He looked worried: "The Duke of Qi..."
Then he said with difficulty: "Really...not you?"
The young woman said calmly: "I did think about killing her, but in the end I was persuaded by Your Majesty. Su just loves the powerful, but her crime is not a crime that leads to death. The root cause of this matter lies with you, not her."
Her face showed sarcasm: "Being born between heaven and earth, how can you be a person who is afraid of the strong and bullies the weak? How can I strive to become stronger by squeezing a stupid woman to death? It's so satisfying to squeeze you, the culprit, to death!" "
Chapter 88
Just when Su Xiangnian's family was being escorted to Beijing, the emperor ordered all the kings to have a banquet at Tianxiang Palace. Many important officials in the court, such as Ding Guo Gong and Qi Guo Gong, were also present. Wu Shuren's former wife, Ning, also Got the call.
Ning was not sure of the emperor's intentions in summoning her at this time, and because she had already submitted a petition to become a female Taoist priest, she was not sure whether she, as a monk, should accept it.
Go ahead, it seems that this monk has a dishonest mind. He is in the Taoist sect but his heart is in the world of mortals.
If you don’t go...who dares not to give the emperor face!
Ning sent people home to ask Duke Ding what he meant, and Duke Ding replied happily: "Go!"
The emperor held this palace banquet just to clear away the bad luck caused by the death of King Xin and King Wu. It had to be lively and noisy with flowers.
The reason why Ning, the former daughter-in-law, was allowed to go was to show her kindness to Duke Dingguo, and to treat the former Wu Princess Ning with the same courtesy as the edict she had issued before she remarried. The princess is seated firmly.
When King Wu died, the Ning family, as his wife, would inevitably be affected to a certain extent. As the wife of King Wu, the Dingguo Palace would inevitably be criticized. The Ning family was still able to attend the palace after King Wu's death. After everyone saw the banquet, they could understand the emperor's thoughts.
Ning felt a little relieved after hearing this.
…
The reason why Tianxiang Hall is called Tianxiang Hall is because thousands of peonies are planted outside the hall. When the peonies are in full bloom, Yaohuang, Zhaofen and Yulou’s emerald green trees complement each other and create a beautiful scene. Looking at it, it is so beautiful.
It was already past the season when peonies were in full bloom, but whatever the emperor wanted, there was nothing he couldn't do. The Shang Palace Bureau summoned more than a thousand skilled people to make flowers from brightly colored silk, with gemstones and pearls as cores. , in just one day, the peonies outside the Tianxiang Palace bloomed one after another. In spring, the beauty of the country and the fragrance of the sky are here again.
Accompanied by several newly favored concubines, the emperor arrived at the Tianxiang Palace. After stopping to watch for a moment, he nodded slightly: "The Shang Palace Bureau did a good job."
The Jieyu Fang family has been the most favored recently, and she is also very courageous. She is in a good mood with the emperor, so she joked: "In the past, the Ming emperor used the thousand-leaf peach blossom as a delicate flower and tied it into the palace concubine's temple. But I don’t know if we sisters are so lucky today and are we blessed by His Majesty?”
The emperor laughed loudly after hearing this, and actually took off a silk flower and tied it to her temple. He looked at her carefully and nodded before walking into the palace.
Fang Jieyu smiled sweetly and followed step by step. The other concubines were envious and jealous, but they did not dare to say anything.
The kings and clan ministers were already present, and the older concubines sat at the top with smiles. After saluting the emperor, Concubine Shu even praised Fang Jieyu with a smile: "The silk flowers on the temples are really beautiful. Not bad."
Fang Jieyu was not without pride, but she did not dare to be presumptuous at such a palace banquet. She thanked Concubine Shu for her compliments and sat down on her own table.
Duke Dingguo could guess why the emperor was having a banquet today. The kings were not stupid. One after another they stood up and said auspicious words, or danced with swords and played the piano to cheer up. There was also a little emperor who recited the words neatly. When the emperor was young, he wrote imperial poems and successfully won the applause of the whole house.
With children and grandchildren in the house and the world in control, what reason is there to be unhappy?
The emperor is in good spirits and has a smile on his face. At a glance, he really looks like an old man who is teasing his grandchildren and enjoying family happiness.
After drinking for three rounds, the emperor's smile faded and he sighed softly.
With that sigh, the sound of ritual music suddenly became lower, the talking and laughter stopped abruptly, everyone stopped what they were doing and concentrated, or carefully focused their attention on the emperor. .
King Chen stood up and said respectfully: "My father is worried because his ministers did not try their best. Today, the king and his ministers get along well with each other, and everyone is very happy. Why do you sigh?"
The emperor put his hands on the table and looked solemn: "Just yesterday, Rong Di sent an envoy to Shu to ask me to follow the old practice of the late emperor's time and send the princess to the fortress to make a marriage. For this reason, they I am willing to use the sixteen cities of Beizhou as a betrothal gift, what do you think?"
As soon as the words fell to the ground, the whole hall fell into silence.
Dear...
The concubine gave birth to a princess of the right age, and her heart was in her throat.
Concubine Yuan was the first to speak unconsciously - her daughter was eleven years old and was old enough to get engaged.
"Send a concubine to bring peace to the country, but I don't know how to use generals? How can the country be peaceful and peaceful if a princess and a bride can achieve it?"
Her trembling voice echoed in the silent hall.
The emperor had no words.
Concubine Shu scolded her in a serious tone: "Sister Yuan, how can a woman from the harem intervene in the important matters of the previous dynasty? I know you feel sorry for the princess. Could it be that His Majesty doesn't love your daughter? The late Emperor didn't care about her." Do you have a deep love? It’s all for the sake of the country, it’s just a last resort.”
Concubine Yuan is several dozen years younger than Concubine Shu, but now they are both in the same position, which shows how favored she was in the past, but once a person becomes powerful, he will inevitably become arrogant. Liang Zi formed a knot many years ago, but the consequences But it didn’t come out until today.
Concubine Shu pouted and said that the harem was not allowed to interfere in politics, and then she laid out the story of the late emperor sending the princess to marry her. Concubine Yuan couldn't say anything no matter how much she loved her daughter.
She had served him for many years, so she was well aware of the emperor's nature, so she didn't dare to say anything more, she just lowered her head and wept silently.
But the emperor asked Concubine Shu: "How do you think I should handle this matter?"
Concubine Shu replied without revealing anything: "I am just a foolish woman in the harem, how can I understand the important affairs of the court? This world is your Majesty's. Of course, only you can make the decision whether it will succeed or not."
The emperor laughed twice, but did not comment on her words.
He lowered his eyelids slightly, and fixed his eyes on the older princes one by one, starting from the adult prince with the lowest teeth, all the way to the seat where the crown princess and the mother and daughter of Chengning County were sitting, and finally threw out a A bomb: "I am determined to establish a reserve this year!"
Then, without giving everyone time to react, he sternly asked King Chen, Queen of Xin and the oldest among the kings: "Old Liu, do you think I should agree to the marriage?" Should, or shouldn’t, say it!”
King Chen had a psychological shadow on the emperor as his father. When he heard him speak loudly and with a stern voice, he began to be frightened: "My son thought that in recent years, the border has been restless and bandits have appeared..."
The emperor threw the spoon in front of him with his hand: "Damn beast, I ask you whether you should agree to the marriage, what are you talking about?! Should you, or shouldn't you?!"
King Chen hurriedly stood up to apologize and grabbed the ground with his head: "I think it should be!"
The emperor suddenly turned his head to look at King Ying: "Old Qi, what do you think?!"
King Ying bowed and said, "I think it shouldn't be the case!"
The emperor went to ask the next person: "Lao Ba?!"
King Ji paid his respects and said, "I think it should be done!"
…
After all the adult princes were questioned, the emperor finally turned his attention to the seats in the East Palace.
Everyone thought that the emperor wanted to ask the Crown Princess or the Lord of Chengning County to answer on behalf of the King who was not in the capital. However, they did not expect the Emperor to say: "I want to treat Ding'an as the princess and marry outside the Great Wall. What does the Crown Princess think? ! "
The Crown Princess realized almost instantly that it was coming!
For this so-called marriage, the emperor never thought of choosing between the princess or other clan daughters. From the very beginning, the one he chose was his own daughter!
In the final analysis, it was because of the previous incident of King Wu Xin that the emperor was suspicious of the East Palace. Allowing the second daughter of the East Palace to marry outside the Great Wall was not only an extension of political means, but also a blow to the possible ambitions of the East Palace family.
