A few days later, the winter solstice.
As the Chinese New Year approaches, the atmosphere in the palace becomes more relaxed.
But at this moment, news came that the Queen was ill.
The reason is that Qin Tianjian is preparing for the sacrifice at the end of the year.
The new emperor and the new queen have just come to power, so it is indispensable to pay homage to their ancestors.
The queen seemed to have been frightened that day. She heard that after returning to Fengluan Palace, she had constant nightmares.
She shouted that the late emperor always came to her dream, which was like a dream and very realistic.
The late emperor in the dream even wanted to take her life and chased her everywhere with a sword.
There was no other way but to invite the master to come to the palace to perform rituals.
But after a religious ceremony, Xie Nianyao not only did not recover, but also developed a high fever.
I heard from the palace attendants at Fengluan Palace that she couldn't sleep well and had nightmares whenever she fell asleep.
But I was not in good spirits when I was awake. I kept mumbling: "Don't come to me, I didn't mean it."
The whole person looked haggard and unsightly.
There were rumors in the palace that she was disrespectful to the late emperor and offended the late emperor's soul.
That's why the late Emperor, a gentle person, did not hesitate to turn into a vicious ghost and haunt her.
In short, neither the imperial doctor nor the mage could do anything, and Xie Nianyao was becoming more and more crazy.
Even when Wei Yanzhou went there, Xie Nianyao didn't recognize anyone.
Chunhua placed a bowl of glutinous rice balls in front of Cheng Ning and told her what she had just heard: "She deserves it. Who told her to disrespect the late emperor's spiritual throne in Yong'an Palace that day?"
On the day Cheng Ning was punished, Xie Nianyao turned off all the lights in the hall in order to block Cheng Ning's sight when copying books.
Cheng Ning had scared her back then.
Cheng Ning picked up the glutinous rice balls and took a bite. His mouth was filled with sweetness.
There was a cold look on her eyes, and it was difficult to distinguish her expression.
But I couldn't help but sneer in my heart. Xie Nianyao was too brave to be intimidated.
She just used some hints from folk ghosts and gods at the altar of heaven where she was worshiping that day to stimulate Xie Nianyao's memories of Yong'an Palace.
It was easy for her to fall into the mentality of disrespecting the late emperor.
If you think too much, you will naturally have nightmares.
With Cheng Ning's words, 'Your Majesty is not afraid of the late Emperor coming to you', Xie Nianyao's fear will continue to deepen.
I just didn't expect that she would be so scared.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Chunhua said again: "Empress, should we go and take a look? I heard that several noble concubines have passed by today."
Knowing that Cheng Ning didn't like to join in the fun and was recuperating these days, Chunhua didn't dare to disturb her much.
Today is the winter solstice and the weather is very good.
Cheng Ning put down the bowl: "Go ahead, there's no reason why I shouldn't go and see the queen's illness."
But before he could go out, Wei Yanzhou was greeted.
It seemed that he had just come from court. His Majesty the Emperor was in a hurry and his face did not look good.
"Your Majesty, be safe." Cheng Ning saluted: "What's wrong? You are so angry."
After shooing away Chunhua and other palace attendants, Wei Yanzhou looked at her pitifully: "You're not good at teaching me, are you?"
In this case, it's time to call the troops to investigate.
Cheng Ning sat down again, poking at the glutinous rice balls in his bowl: "What do you mean?"
"Don't pretend to be stupid with me," Wei Yanzhou said, "I met Ouyang Xi."
Ouyang Xi?
Since I went to see Ouyang Xi, it must be because of the prison matter.
Knowing that Xie Nianyao poisoned the Cheng family with toxins, instead of looking for Xie Nianyao, he came to her first?
"So?" Cheng Ning spread his hands and continued to play dumb: "What does Concubine Shu have to do with me?"
"Cheng Ning, are you taking revenge on the Queen because she stepped on your sore spot by mentioning Fu Youting, or are you blaming the Queen for the fact that her Cheng family was almost killed?"
What does counting mean?
Who else would attack the Cheng family in prison besides Xie Nianyao?
Cheng Ning clasped her palms: "Without any evidence, Your Majesty, you just opened your mouth and condemned me?"
It turned out that he was really nervous about Xie Nianyao. After getting some information from Concubine Shu, he was anxious to question her.
He could even directly separate the Queen from the Cheng family.
Cheng Ning didn't know that Wei Yanzhou was such a protective person.
Can't he see clearly what kind of person Xie Nianyao is?
"Cheng Ning," Wei Yanzhou reached over and grabbed Cheng Ning's neck: "Don't play such ignorant tricks with me. I know your temper very well."
He was originally suspicious of Xie Nianyao's sudden madness, so he went to Ouyang Xi to test a few words and found out what happened in the prison.
Combined with the greetings and Ouyang Xi speaking to Cheng Ning that day, he could better guess that it was Cheng Ning who reminded the Ouyang family to pay attention to the movements in the prison.
If he hadn't been careful, how could he have even noticed such a subtle murder method as a toadstool.
Then something happened to the queen.
It was difficult for him not to attribute this incident to Cheng Ning.
Tightening his fingers, Cheng Ning's neck was only a thin section in his hands.
Even the pulse is close to the palm, and it is not difficult to feel the beating.
He warned Cheng Ning not to touch Xie Nianyao.
But she just didn't listen. No matter what she did, she put the Cheng family first, disobeyed him, and turned a deaf ear to his words.
Thinking like this, he couldn't hold back his strength.
Cheng Ning was pinched until she couldn't breathe, but she still persisted and looked at him stubbornly, neither struggling nor giving in.
Wei Yanzhou's hand suddenly loosened, and Cheng Ning fell to the ground and coughed violently.
She was recovering from her illness and had lost a lot of weight. She was leaning on a chair, with her dress held up by butterfly bones behind her back.
This weakness stung Wei Yanzhou's eyes.
The only sound in the entire hall was Cheng Ning's cough.
But this was not the first time. This was not the first time that Wei Yanzhou showed his unprovoked murderous intention to Cheng Ning.
She chuckled: "Your Majesty, why don't you just kill me?"
Kill her.
Wei Yanzhou also thought about it.
When Cheng Ning was first escorted back to Yanjing, Cheng Ning was imprisoned in prison.
He issued an order, and the entire Cheng family was escorted to prison, and he also acquiesced in the punishment.
In order to get the Cheng family to admit the crime of treason, severe punishment and torture were used, and everything was used.
With Wei Yanzhou's acquiescence, whether intentionally or not, the officials who tried the Cheng family's case even had issues with the Cheng family.
Therefore, the whip that was thrown at Cheng Ning did not weaken in the slightest.
Her hand tendons were severed, and she was imprisoned in a water closet for a period of time. She was so cold from the waist down that she couldn't feel anything at all.
Cheng Ning once thought she was going to die, but she gritted her teeth, holding on only to the belief that the Cheng family's injustice would be cleared up.
Wei Yanzhou went to prison several times.
He hid aside and saw that Cheng Ning was covered in blood. He gritted his teeth and kept repeating: "The Cheng family is not plotting rebellion."
At that time, he hated the Cheng family so much that he thought it would be better to kill her. After she died, there would be nothing left and his hatred would subside.
But when Cheng Ning was like a pool of blood, paralyzed in a prison full of rats crawling over, not knowing whether he was alive or dead.
He will panic again.
Later, Wei Yanzhou convinced himself that death was too cheap and Cheng Ning should live with him.
She hated the palace, but he wanted to imprison people here.
Make it impossible for her to run away, make her life worse than death.
Only by being unhappy with him can his hatred be reduced.
"Do you want to die?" Wei Yanzhou forcefully pressed Cheng Ning into his arms, gently and cruelly: "That would be too easy."
