On their way to the East Palace, Rong Li and Rong Yang met the eunuch sent by Concubine Li. The eunuch respectfully blocked their way: "Concubine Li said that she hadn't seen your two highnesses for a long time, so she asked you to go there now."
Rong Yang subconsciously turned to look at Rong Li, obviously understanding the reason why the concubine summoned them: "Concubine, you know so soon?"
Rong Li didn't say anything and followed the eunuch to pay respects to Concubine Li. He entered the palace alone today and didn't bring anyone with him. Instead, the Eighth Prince was accompanied by a little book boy.
Entering Concubine Li's palace, the two brothers greeted their mother and concubine, only to find that Dou Huiran was also there.
"Rong Li." Concubine Li frowned slightly, her expression unsightly, "What's going on between you and Hui Ran? Husband and wife are one body, what should we say that we can't talk about without making it known to everyone?"
Rong Li glanced at Dou Huiran expressionlessly. Dou Huiran looked pale and stood silently, turning a blind eye to the arrival of Rong Li and Rong Yang.
The complaint here was not made by Concubine Li, but Concubine Li learned that Dou Shangshu was going to impeach Rong Li in the morning. She was puzzled and ordered people to summon Dou Huiran into the palace to understand the situation.
Now that the former dynasty and the harem know about this matter, they can't hide it even if they want to. The only solution is to find out the ins and outs of the matter and know the reason. If the misunderstanding can be solved, it will be good. If it cannot be solved...
Li Fei sighed. She actually understood her son's temperament. It was not his behavior to treat his wife poorly for no reason. He should be a responsible man.
So this thing was really beyond her comprehension.
"The three of you are here. I will tell you what I have to say." Li Fei motioned the two brothers to sit down and spoke earnestly, "I don't want to favor anyone, but Rong Li, you have been married to Hui Ran for more than five years. Yue, if there is a misunderstanding between husband and wife, you should resolve it earlier. If there is no misunderstanding, you should not neglect your wife, and you should not marry her in the first place, even if it is for the sake of the prince——"
"It's not for the crown prince." Rong Li said calmly, "Dou Huiran, I'll have a chat with my mother and concubine alone. You can go back first."
Dou Huiran was startled and looked at him with a pale face: "Your Majesty has neglected me for so long, and now I don't even have the right to know the truth?"
Even if she dies, she should die clearly.
Rong Li's tone was cold: "If you insist on knowing the truth, I will tell you everything tonight."
Dou Huiran pursed her lips, stood up and knelt down to Concubine Li: "In that case, my daughter-in-law will leave first."
Rong Li looked indifferent until she left, then he spoke calmly: "The person my son raised in the palace is not a boy, but a woman."
"Female?" Concubine Li was surprised, then frowned, "If you like someone, you can take her as your concubine, why bother to hide it and let Hui Ran misunderstand her?"
The palace maid made tea and served it. Rong Li held the tea cup and remained silent for a long time: "Rong Yang, please go out too."
"Can't I listen too?" Rong Yang's expression changed, and then he muttered something, stood up and saluted his mother, "My son, please leave."
Concubine Li became more and more suspicious and looked at Rong Li thoughtfully: "What on earth is going on?"
"Concubine, do you still remember that when you gave birth to your son Chen and Rong Yang, many ministers reported that the twins were unlucky and would bring bad luck to the Chu State?"
Concubine Li looked stunned, thinking about the past, she nodded with lingering fear: "I have lived in fear for so many years, just because of this incident, how can I not remember it?"
Even Rong Li and Rong Yang knew about this matter, but she revealed it accidentally. But it had been so long, why did Rong Li suddenly mention it?
"Many ministers were impeached by Zhezi, including Shangshu Dou."
Concubine Li pursed her lips: "Since many ministers were impeached back then, why do you have to hold grudges against Shangshu Dou? What's more, times have changed and you and Hui Ran have become husband and wife. Wouldn't it be nice to just smile and forget your grudges?"
Rong Li said calmly: "It sounds free and generous to forget grudges with a smile, but can the dead come back?"
Li Fei was startled: "What did you say?"
Rong Li narrowed his eyes and said: "The Minister of Civil Affairs at that time was not Dou Huiran's father. My mother and concubine should remember it, right?"
More than ten years sounds like an incomparably long time, but if you look back on the things that happened in the past - especially the unforgettable things, you will be surprised to realize that it seems like it happened yesterday.
Concubine Li had a very low status at that time and not only had no right to interfere in the affairs of the previous dynasty, she even had very little information. However, what happened that year was difficult for her to forget.
Because Su Shijiu was the Minister of Civil Affairs at that time, and his eldest daughter-in-law and Li Fei were close friends and had the best relationship with each other. They even joked that if they had children in the future, they could marry on the fingertips.
But when she was pregnant, Concubine Li was pregnant with twin princes, and the daughter-in-law of the Su family was also pregnant with a son.
The previous dynasty was headed by Prime Minister Gu, and the harem was headed by Concubine Gu. As if they had made an appointment, they all submitted documents to impeach the twins for being unknown. Only the official Su Shangshu cited scriptures to argue that the twins were unknown, which was nonsense. Common people had twins. There are so many that no one is unknown.
He said it was a gift from God and was by no means unknown.
In the end, the emperor neither adopted the previous dynasty's impeachment nor promoted Li Fei to the throne as usual.
Moreover, the queen had just entered the palace not long ago, and the unknown twins would inevitably affect the queen. The emperor was really unwilling to go to war over this matter, so the Gu family had to put aside this thought for the time being.
Fortunately, as long as Concubine Li was not promoted to the imperial concubine position, according to the ancestral system of the Chu State, the prince was not eligible to compete for the position of crown prince, so the Gu family and his party did not pursue her.
But Su Shangshu's "unsociable" attitude made Concubine Gu resentful.
It's just that Su Shangshu is an honest official. He doesn't keep concubines, keep outside wives, take bribes, or set foot in brothels, so the Gu family can't even catch him.
Then something happened when the Queen gave birth to the Ninth Prince, and the whole palace was immersed in sorrow, and then Prime Minister Gu died suddenly... A lot of things happened in those two years.
At that time, Libi was worried that a series of things would lead to the prediction of unknown twins. For two years, she stayed in the harem with her two sons and almost did not dare to go out. Except for the routine greetings, she wanted to leave the house at other times. He hid himself and protected his two sons to a morbid level. Even when the children were sick, they did not dare to go to the imperial doctor easily for fear of getting into the eyes of Concubine Gu.
Whatever is scary comes from it.
When Rong Li and Rong Yang were ten years old, it was Su Shangshu's fiftieth birthday. He held a banquet at home. A local official came all the way to give an inconspicuous vase, because it didn't seem to be a particularly expensive thing. The housekeeper and put it into the treasury.
It turned out that there was a secret hidden in the vase, and there was evidence of making false accusations about the prince.
The Su family was impeached and the whole family was exiled, including Su Shangshu's ten-year-old grandson.
Concubine Li couldn't believe it. Later, amid Concubine Gu's arrogant warning, she learned that Su Shangshu had made the concubine dissatisfied because he had defended the twins. If Su Shangshu hadn't been so hard to catch, he should have died nine years ago. .
The Su family died one by one during the exile, and they could not even reach the place of exile.
To this day, thinking of those events back then, Concubine Li still feels sad: "Isn't it Concubine Gu who masterminded all this? She has become a useless concubine, and her son has also become a useless person."
"In addition to Concubine Gu, there was another mastermind who was Shangshu Dou." Rong Li narrowed his eyes and said in a cold voice, "He was the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs at the time. Concubine Gu once promised that as long as Su Shangshu dies, the position of Shangshu will be his. In the vase back then, The matter of hiding the secret message privately was the result of Dou Shangshu’s instigation.”
