Xiao Langyan's thin eyes were cold and dark, hiding deep oceans.
"Concubine Shen, it's really inappropriate for you to hide your dragon origin and travel around. I have to punish you." After he said it calmly, Shen Dingzhu stood up.
Her graceful posture did not show any timidity, only her bright and beautiful eyes were always looking at him, waiting for the next step.
The ministers held their breath and speculated in their hearts, how the emperor would punish Concubine Shen?
Should she be demoted, grounded, or deprived of her right to raise a princess?
After all, the candidate for the queen has not yet been decided. After the emperor's eldest daughter returned to the palace, given Xiao Langyan's love for Concubine Shen, she would definitely return the child to her knees to raise her.
However, when Xiao Langyan opened his mouth, he said: "In five days, the ancestor worship ceremony will be held. I will fast for three days in the national temple for the late emperor and ancestors. You will accompany me then. Kneel down in front of the memorial tablets of the late emperor and all our ancestors and admit my mistake."
Shen Dingzhu was stunned, and the other courtiers were also stunned.
What kind of punishment is this?
What is the difference between taking Concubine Shen to worship ancestors and elevating her to the position of queen? Throughout the dynasties, only the queen was qualified to accompany the emperor in worshiping his ancestors.
There was also a generation of emperors in the Jin Dynasty who brought their favorite concubines with them when worshiping their ancestors. They were accused by their ministers and people in the world of disrespecting their ancestors.
"I accept my orders." Shen Dingzhu was blessed, her long eyelashes drooping, hiding the surprise in her beautiful eyes.
She originally thought that Xiao Langyan would at least symbolically ground her, or deprive her of her rights as a concubine, so as to show off to the ministers.
But he never expected that he just said lightly and accompanied him to worship his ancestors.
Her heart became slightly hot.
Old Master Du had already spoken out, as if in disbelief: "Your Majesty, Concubine Shen went to worship her ancestors, which is inconsistent with the etiquette system! All the emperors in the past dynasties brought their wives to the main palace to worship their ancestors."
Xiao Langyan's thin eyes turned to look at him with a cold expression: "First of all, I took Concubine Shen to worship her ancestors just to make her confess her crimes in front of her ancestors."
"Secondly, there is no queen in the palace yet. I follow the rules of etiquette, but there is no one to choose. Mr. Du, aren't you putting me in trouble?"
Mrs. Du lowered his head in fear: "I don't dare."
Xiao Langyan pursed his thin lips, and under the imperial crown, his dark sword eyebrows were slightly frowned, showing even more majesty.
He looked at Master Cui and Master Sun: "When the time comes for the two of you, Sun Aiqing, I remember that your little daughter is good at Buddhist scriptures and calligraphy, so please ask her to come with you."
The implication is to ask Mr. Sun to take Sun Qingya with him.
Xiao Langyan's move was tantamount to revealing a message to the court: he intended to appoint a woman from the Sun family as his queen.
Mr. Sun was neither humble nor arrogant, so he stepped out and held his hands: "Thank you for the honor, Your Majesty. I will definitely urge my daughter to accompany you."
After that, Xiao Langyan asked Shen Dingzhu to return to the palace first. Even though she had many things to say to him, she now knew that he still had many trivial matters to settle, so Shen Dingzhu left the palace.
The wind and rain were blowing sideways, and the hem of her purple gauze skirt floated slightly, and the water vapor dyed her temples black, highlighting the unparalleled beauty's face under the umbrella.
"Your Highness, please stay!" Xu Shou chased after her from behind.
Shen Dingzhu was about to get on the sedan when he heard the words and turned around, his eyes twinkling: "Eunuch, what else does the emperor have planned?"
Xu Shou took a look around. He saw that the guards were far away and there were no other people around. He lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty knows that the sinner Chun Yun has no choice but to escape the death penalty. But Your Majesty knows that your empress is a soft-hearted person. Let me tell you this, you still have a chance to see Chunyun one last time."
In the wind and rain, Shen Dingzhu's beautiful and flawless face was slightly startled.
Xiao Langyan actually considered this for her.
When he returned to the palace, he promised to bring their mother and daughter back to the palace, and he completed it step by step.
Shen Dingzhu's cheeks were powdered, and her eyes were dark: "Okay, then I will see her one last time."
Xu Shou arranged for his apprentice Xiao Linzi to take Shen Dingzhu to the violence room.
Before leaving, he smiled and reminded in a low voice: "The emperor only allows the imperial concubine to visit Chunyun. There is no need for the imperial concubine to see Chun Yun."
Shen Dingzhu nodded, and she naturally understood that even if Xu Shou didn't say it, she would not look at Fang Suifeng. Xiao Langyan was a domineering person, and he had already done this for her, so she should know better.
Chunyun hit his head and fainted at the time, but Xiao Langyan arranged for Dr. Cen to diagnose and treat Chunyun. When Shen Dingzhu went there, Chunyun had already woken up, but his head was still unclear.
"See you, my dear, the sinner has just woken up and may be a little confused." Dr. Cen said.
"It's okay, I just want to ask a few words and leave." Shen Dingzhu asked someone to open the cell, and her light and clean embroidered shoes stepped into the dirty haystack in the prison.
The atmosphere in the storm room was turbid, filled with the smell of rust and blood. There were many puddles on the stone pavement in the corridor, which contained the blood accumulated over the years and were already dark red and stained.
Chun Yun's head was covered with thick white bandage, and her expression was ashen. When Shen Dingzhu went in, her eyes rolled around, as if lifeless, motionless.
"The emperor will not be lenient to you, and I will not plead for you."
Chunyun was still looking ahead blankly, as if he didn't care about life or death.
"However, the emperor wanted to kill the nine tribes. Chunyun, the people behind you sacrificed you and your daughter."
Hearing this, Chunyun seemed to suddenly come to life, his bloodshot eyes filled with fear.
She crawled two steps weakly, and the guards at the door immediately protected Shen Dingzhu.
"Sanniang, Sanniang, I beg you to plead for Minmin. I didn't mean to harm you, they took Minmin away! I have to compromise, Sanniang, you know me, I have never harmed you! "
Shen Dingzhu looked at her begging for mercy, and there was a hint of pain in the depths of her beautiful eyes.
She chuckled sadly: "When we were in Nanzhou, we had no background. You helped me in many ways. I am very grateful to you. But this time you went to Beijing to retract your confession. If you succeeded, you would let me and I My daughter has no place in Beijing!"
The capital was a cannibalistic place, and she had been cautious and treading on thin ice.
Shen Dingzhu knew that he shouldn't be soft-hearted, so he wiped away the tears with his fingertips and turned his back, his graceful figure looking a little cruel.
"Out of past friendship, I have come to give you a final farewell. After you write down the person behind the scenes with a pen and paper, and submit the confession to the emperor, I will plead for your Min Min and have her buried with you. Together."
After that, she quickly left the cell, and Chun Yun's hoarse cry came from behind her——
"Sanniang! Sanniang, I was wrong! Please save my daughter, Sanniang..."
Shen Dingzhu walked out of the cell quickly until such tragic cries no longer lingered in her ears. Heavy rain poured down and dark clouds surged. Shen Dingzhu felt a headache and swayed.
Shen Bi hurriedly stepped forward to support her: "Mother, you have worked so hard for this, but you can't get cold in the rain anymore. Let's go back to the palace quickly."
"Okay." Shen Dingzhu turned to get into the sedan. After thinking about it, she still lifted the curtain, revealing a beautiful face full of tears, "Mr. Cen... don't let her suffer too much."
Imperial Physician Cen handed over his hand: "Wei Chen understands that the emperor has ordered that if the interrogation fails, he will be given poisonous wine, but within three seconds, he will be killed."
Shen Dingzhu sighed heavily and put down the curtain: "Let's go."
She had a severe headache. After returning to the palace, Aunt Song gave her a bowl of hot ginger soup. After Shen Dingzhu drank it, she fell asleep. In her dream, the bloody faces of Chun Yun and Fang Suifeng lingered in front of her eyes. .
Their shrill cries seemed to still be in her ears.
"Don't catch me... let go, let go!" Shen Dingzhu muttered uneasily. She dreamed that Fang Suifeng was soaking in a pool of blood, grabbing her ankles and trying to drag her down.
In the dream, the sky was blood red and pitch black, and there were ghosts and ghosts all around, and the ghosts and monsters were about to engulf her.
Until a pair of warm hands held her arm tightly.
"It's me, don't be afraid." A very familiar voice...
She slowly opened her eyes, her vision changed from blurry to clear, and then she saw the brightly lit hall, Xiao Langyan's handsome face, very close at hand.
Shen Bi wiped her tears and rejoiced: "Your Majesty, I finally woke up. It seemed like I was having a nightmare just now. I couldn't wake up no matter how I screamed. Fortunately, the Emperor is here. He really scared the slaves."
Shen Dingzhu was sweating profusely, her black and silky hair stuck to her cheeks, her black pupils flickered uneasily, her beautiful face was fair and delicate, and her neck was lightly pink.
She covered her heart and gasped uncomfortably. Xiao Langyan pressed his big palm on her shoulder. Her body gradually stopped trembling, as if she had drawn a lot of reassuring strength from him.
"Don't be afraid, there's nothing wrong. I've taken care of everything." Xiao Langyan's tone was low, as if he had just taken a bath, and there was a faint scent of bamboo silk on his body.
"Concubine... I dreamed of many evil ghosts, and Fang Suifeng also wanted to kill me." Shen Dingzhu raised his red eyes and looked at Xiao Langyan lovingly.
Xiao Langyan sneered and put his arms around her shoulders: "I kill people, I give orders, and evil spirits are looking for me. If I'm blocking you, what are you afraid of?"
He said, his broad palm grazing her tear-stained cheek: "Stop crying, get up and eat, and then I will tell you good news."
Shen Dingzhu slowly calmed down and raised her long slender eyelashes: "I happen to have something that I want to tell the emperor."
