Night, City God Temple.
The dilapidated temple exudes a damp, rotten atmosphere. A few strands of spider silk hang down from the beams and weave white nets in the corners, eating away the insects tied to the nets one by one.
In the center of the temple, many beggars huddled together and gathered around a burning fire to keep warm. Several emaciated corpses were placed aside, attracting the attention of crows outside the window.
"quack--"
The crows on the tree screamed twice, seeming to notice something, and dispersed.
The temple door creaked, and someone pushed it open, and a woman in a cloak walked in.
Iris put down her hood, took out a handkerchief and fanned her nose: "Why does it stink so bad? If I hadn't done something for the queen, I wouldn't have come here, bad luck!"
Iris took two steps forward, carefully stepped over several corpses, and stopped in front of an unkempt woman: "You, raise your head."
The woman slowly raised her head and looked at Iris.
All traces of the past pampering disappeared, replaced by pale sideburns and a thin body.
"May I have your name?"
"Aunt Bai."
"Do you know what I'm looking for you for?"
"revenge."
"Hmph! I guess you're wise." Iris snorted lazily and threw a piece of gold in front of Aunt Bai: "I heard that your daughter's bones are still buried in a mass grave. Use the money to buy a coffin. .”
The ingot of gold dropped by Iris is a shame and a charity.
But at this moment, in Aunt Bai's eyes, it is a life-saving straw!
Aunt Bai excitedly held the gold in her hands and shed tears: now that she has money, she can finally let Wei'er rest in peace.
"From now on, you are our queen's! Whatever the queen asks you to do, you have to do it. Do you understand?"
After Aunt Bai was so excited, her eyes turned cold: "Don't worry, I will definitely kill Shen Qingyi and avenge Wei'er!"
…
Mirror month fast.
Thin footsteps sounded from behind Qiao Jieyu.
Qiao Jieyu held a scroll of scriptures and read it carefully. She didn't even raise her head when she heard the footsteps: "Is everything done?"
Iris said obediently: "Ms. Qi, it's been done. Aunt Bai is sleeping well."
"Yes, I understand." Qiao Jieyu turned over a page of the scripture and looked at the silent Golden Elephant Bodhisattva.
In the past, she didn't understand why the Queen Mother had such a deep desire to worship the Buddha. After she personally strangled the neck of the deposed Queen Ye, and indirectly killed Jin Xiuyi and her maid Duckweed, she finally understood.
The more blood a person has on his hands, the more he will place his hope on illusory things. These things will not respond to you, but you can pour out your sins to them without reservation in order to gain forgiveness.
Haha, do you understand? How can it be forgiven?
But for her own status and her father's future...she must get rid of Shen Qingyi!
"call--!!"
A gust of wind blew out the candles in front of the Buddha statue.
Qiao Jieyu straightened her clothes and opened the door calmly and calmly: "I will be your bed attendant tonight. Go get ready quickly. Don't keep the emperor waiting."
Time flies like water, and it’s summer in a blink of an eye.
According to custom, when summer comes, the emperor and his concubines should go to the summer resort to cool off, but this summer, a big event happened.
War broke out in the Tubo Kingdom - the Tubo Khan was assassinated by his brothers, and the heirs left behind were all beheaded. However, the instigator of all this, Elennamin, ascended to the position of Khan, and after taking office, he instigated Other vassal states rebelled and attempted to annex the Central Plains.
As soon as the news came out, the government and the public were shocked.
Xiao Jingyan summoned ministers all night to discuss retreating from the enemy, but after deliberation for a day and night, the final result was to let Mu Taichi lead the army.
This result was the most unacceptable to Jamel Xiao.
You must know that Mu Taichi today has outstanding military exploits and no rewards. In addition, the Ye family, the only family that can restrain him, has disappeared. Today's Mu family is unrivaled in the world. But even if Xiao Jingyan was reluctant, he knew that the most important thing now was to retreat from the enemy, so he issued an imperial edict on the spot, restoring Mu Taichi to the title of "General of the State", leading 100,000 troops to attack Tubo, and Elun Namin must be captured alive. !
There was such a big turmoil in the previous dynasty, and the concubines in the harem did not dare to say "going to escape the summer heat" at this time. Therefore, Concubine Yu began to liven up.
Xiao Jingyan issued an edict to allow Concubine Yu to enter and leave the Zichen Palace without an edict to serve the Holy Master.
At this moment, Concubine Yu, although not a queen, is better than a queen.
After Shen Qingyi noticed the movements in the harem, she didn't take it to heart.
During this period of time, she had been inquiring about Aunt Bai's whereabouts, but no definite news came, and she was inevitably confused.
"Luluo, prepare some pastries, let's go see Concubine Xian."
"yes."
When Shen Qingyi entered Lingxue Residence carrying the cakes, she found that Lingxue Residence was quiet, with no palace maids or eunuchs. Not only that, Shen Qingyi also keenly smelled a faint smell of blood.
Um?
There are people injured?
The gauze curtain shook, and Concubine Xian walked out of the inner room with an unnatural expression: "Why is my sister here?"
Shen Qingyi put the cake down and looked to the left and right: "Why are all the servants in the palace missing?"
Concubine Xian's body stiffened slightly, and she forced a smile and said, "I always like to be clean and don't like too many people, so I sent them to work elsewhere."
Shen Qingyi saw that Concubine Xian didn't want to say more and didn't force her.
Unexpectedly, at this time, Xiao Wuzi, the eunuch beside the emperor, hurried in from the door: "Hey, two young masters, please go to Shoukang Palace and have a look, something serious is going to happen!"
Shen Qingyi asked quickly: "What's wrong?"
"The Queen Mother has just been assassinated, and now her life or death is uncertain!"
"What?!"
Compared to Shen Qingyi's shock, Concubine Xian's face turned pale and her breathing became rapid. However, at this moment, Shen Qingyi's eyes fell on Xiao Wuzi, but she did not notice anything unusual about Concubine Xian.
Xiaowuzi said with a bitter look on his face: "It's absolutely true. When I came here, I saw the Imperial Guards searching for assassins all over the palace. Such a big thing happened in the previous dynasty, and now the harem is also in chaos. This and this This...hey..."
Shen Qingyi and Luo Luo looked at each other, and they both saw shock in each other's eyes.
If we talk about who in the palace wants the Queen Mother’s life most, Shen Qingyi and Jamel Xiao are the first to bear the brunt!
But Shen Qingyi didn’t do this, and naturally it wasn’t Jamel Xiao.
Shen Qingyi knew that since Xiao Jingyan slaughtered the entire Ye family, in order to stop the mouth of Youyou and the pen of Yan Guan, the Queen Mother needed to be alive and well, but now someone has assassinated the Queen Mother before Shen Qingyi. So, Who could this person be?
After Xiao Wuzi finished passing the message, he left in a hurry.
Not long after Xiao Wuzi left, Concubine Xian suddenly knelt down to Shen Qingyi: "Sister, please save my life!"
Shen Qingyi was shocked and quickly helped Concubine Xian up: "You're so good, why are you kneeling down?!"
Looking at Shen Qingyi's concerned eyes, Concubine Xian gritted her teeth and finally couldn't help but said: "I did the assassination of the Queen Mother!"
At noon, Concubine Xian received a letter from her father, Chen Jiao, delivered from outside the palace. This letter was not a letter from home, but evidence of the crime left by the Queen Mother when she conspired against the Ye family. It clearly recorded the Queen Mother's The whole process of how to instigate the deposed Queen Ye and Grand Master Ye to exchange the child of the Concubine Xian and raise that child in the Grand Master's Mansion.
After Concubine Xian saw the letter, she was furious and wanted to expose the matter on the spot. However, her palace maid Ding Xiang and another maidservant dissuaded Concubine Xian. The reason was very simple - they saw the letter and It was not enough evidence to overthrow the Queen Mother. Even after the Xian Concubine took out this letter, she was likely to be targeted by the Queen Mother and died silently in the harem.
How could Concubine Xian not know this?
But is the pain of losing a son that I have experienced over the years just gone in vain?
After seeing Concubine Xian's hatred, Ding Xiang and another maid decided to assassinate the Queen Mother to avenge Concubine Xian.
Shen Qingyi looked at Concubine Xian kneeling on the ground, covered her mouth, and took two steps back: "Sister, you..."
Concubine Xian said bitterly: "I wouldn't have come to beg my sister if I had no other choice. Sister, you know, I have been in the palace for so many years and I don't need anything or give up anything, but my child is my heart's content. Ah!! My maid saw this, so she took the risk and avenged me..."
After Shen Qingyi calmed down, her brain thought rapidly: "Sister, who is the maid who assassinated the Queen Mother?"
"It's my dowry maid Luoying. She practiced martial arts when she was young and has great skills. My father sent her and Ding Xiang to follow me into the palace. It's also because they are both literary and martial arts and can solve many problems for me. However, assassinating the Queen Mother is difficult after all. She I killed two eunuchs and a palace maid, and when I stabbed the Queen Mother in the heart with a sword, I was stabbed by another guard. I forced myself to return to my Lingxue Residence, and I just breathed my last."
Shen Qingyi heard this and shouted: "Sister is confused! As your dowry maid, since she knew her end was coming, why didn't she lead the guards away? Instead, she came back and left evidence?"
Being scolded by Shen Qingyi, Concubine Xian was stunned: "She has a very close relationship with me, and she came back just to see me one last time..."
"This last meeting will kill you!" Shen Qingyi said immediately: "If sister can trust me, quickly cut the body of the palace maid named Luoying into several pieces, hide it in a swill bucket and transport it out of the palace, and then Burn everything related to Luoying, leaving nothing behind!"
The latter request is fine, but the former request...
Concubine Xian's eyes suddenly turned red.
She couldn't help but look at the woman who had grown up with her without even a complete corpse...
At this time, Ding Xiang held back her tears and stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, I have grown up with Luoying since I was a child, and we are like sisters. Therefore, I know Luoying very well. If Luoying knew that she would cause such a big trouble to your Majesty, she would definitely kill herself. Responsibility, so let this slave do it."
Concubine Xian took a deep breath and nodded helplessly.
There was a panic inside Lingxue Residence.
Half an hour later, a group of imperial guards suddenly appeared and surrounded Lingxue Residence airtightly: "Come here, search!"
With an order, countless guardsmen began to search the palace one by one, not letting go of any clues.
After Shen Qingyi and Lu Luo left Lingxue Residence, they still heard the sound of rummaging through boxes and smashing porcelain.
Luluo was trembling in her heart and was very happy: "I never expected that the maid next to Concubine Xian would actually assassinate the Queen Mother. My Lord, why did you help her just now?"
"The reason why I help Concubine Xian is very simple. Firstly, because I have a common enemy with her, and helping her means helping myself. Secondly..." Shen Qingyi's voice changed: "Concubine Xian owes me such a big favor, sooner or later. There will be time for her to return it.”
Lu Luo looked at Shen Qingyi slightly surprised.
Shen Qingyi said: "Luluo, do you think I am vicious?"
Lu Luo shook her head: "Little Master, I just feel sorry for you."
She saw with her own eyes that the young master had lost his mother since he was a child, and was beaten and scolded by Aunt Bai and Shen Weier all year round. Every day after entering the palace, he lived in fear, walking on thin ice. If Shen Qingyi was just a simple and harmless concubine, she would have been there long ago. Just died hundreds of times.
"My young master, I feel that Concubine Xian can be trusted. You might as well tell Concubine Xian about this matter and ask Concubine Xian to help us take revenge."
Shen Qingyi sighed: "I have already committed enough sins, but I hope that Concubine Xian, a mother, can be clean and bring her child back as soon as possible."
…
Shoukang Palace.
Because the Queen Mother was assassinated, all the concubines took turns going to Shoukang Palace to attend to the illness.
The imperial doctor withdrew his hand to check the pulse and shook his head slightly: "The injury is too deep. Whether he can wake up depends entirely on God's will."
Concubine Yu said with concern: "Is there no other way?"
The imperial doctor sighed.
Among the crowd, Concubine Xian raised her lips slightly.
After thinking for a long time, Concubine Yu looked at the concubine and said loudly: "You have all heard that the Queen Mother has been assassinated, and now the imperial guards are arresting the murderer. I, in accordance with the emperor's order, are responsible for the affairs of the Sixth Palace. You must fully cooperate with the imperial concubine." Guards, arrest the murderer!"
"I obey the order!"
After Concubine Yu showed her power, she looked at Aunt Zhuyu beside her: "Auntie, do you have the whereabouts of the murderer in your mind?"
Aunt Zhuyu wiped the tears from her eyes and said slowly: "Before she fainted, the Queen Mother once said that her hairpin stabbed the gangster's arm..."
Stabbed in the arm... Yu Guifei secretly wrote down these words and continued: "Is there anything else?"
Aunt Juyu shook her head.
It seemed that the only clue was the scar left on the assassin's arm by the Queen Mother before she fainted.
Concubine Yu pursed her lips, not satisfied with the result.
You know, because of her father, she has been quite favored by Jamel Xiao recently. If she can't catch the assassin this time, how will she convince the public?
The concubines dispersed in twos and threes because they took turns attending to the illness.
When Shen Qingyi passed by Concubine Xian, she left a note for her, and Concubine Xian took it calmly.
In front of the Queen Mother's bed, Concubine Yu looked at Shen Qingyi with disgust.
These are troubled times. Although she hates Shen Qingyi, she also knows the importance. The most important thing now is to find the assassin and take good care of the Queen Mother. As for Shen Qingyi, this bitch... After she becomes the imperial concubine, she will not be able to deal with it slowly. Late.
"You are on duty today. You must take good care of the Queen Mother. Do you understand?"
"Concubine knows."
"Huh!" Concubine Yu rolled her sleeves and left.
Shen Qingyi looked at the unsuspecting Queen Mother who was so close at hand, and tried her best to suppress the urge to give the Queen Mother a ride.
