Chapter 88: Hanging Beam

Chapter 88

"Niang Niang, you are complaining about my concubine now because you feel that my concubine lied to you about Concubine Xian's birth." Yun Fenghuang said lightly, "But think about it, Concubine Xian is still outside the palace. Why is it that the concubine is unreliable in such a hurry, why has it not been confirmed yet?"

She said confidently, "Besides, even if Uncle Xingning's mansion and the loving mother Empress Dowager had no intention of forcing the son of the virtuous concubine to you, the Eighth Prince would not have the status of a son-in-law, and he would be raised by his own mother. What good will it do for you and your future sons to be crowned king? Today, a loving empress dowager can ask for an early canonization for the eighth prince and His Majesty, and tomorrow she can ask for more for the eighth prince! At that time, even if your son The prince enters the East Palace, and the Eighth Prince has all the benefits in hand, can you rest assured?"

Gu Zhen's face was sinking like water, he really wanted to say this kind of thing, your imperial concubine should be the first one to want to do it, right?

But after thinking about it, although Yun Fenghuang's ambition is almost written on his face, it is true that Queen Mother Yuan is not a fuel-efficient lamp.

Rather than letting one of them support the eighth prince, and the other support the king of Qin and the seventh prince with love, and threaten the status and power of the East Palace when they grow up, it is better to drive away the wolves and join forces with Yun Fenghuang to solve the Queen Mother Yuan!

... It's not that Gu Zhen dislikes Queen Mother Yuan more, but considering that the three heirs under Yun Fenghuang's knees, King Qin was enshrined together with King Chu. The king will also be affected.

Princess Zhaoqing is a girl, and she looks good, and she is the eldest daughter of Chunjia, she has always been favored, so it doesn't make much sense to target her, and it may annoy Chunjia.

As for the Seventh Prince, this grandfather is famous for protecting the calf.

In this way, it is also weakening the other princes, so it is better to stop the eighth prince.

Of course, after preventing the eighth prince from accepting the registration in advance, the empress definitely wanted to sell Yunfenghuang again.

Yun Fenghuang actually thought so too, and after communicating with the queen about how to use Concubine An to stir up disputes, which made the loving mother Empress Dowager feel wronged first, it would be difficult to ask for extra favors from the Eighth Prince, so she left.

Now the harem is mainly decided by the two of them. Now that an agreement has been reached, the action is very fast.

The next day the concubines went to the Chongchang Palace to pay their respects, and after paying their respects, they said a little about palace affairs, the empress let the crowd disperse, and when Qu Hongzhuan went down the steps, she fainted without warning.

Although this incident was sudden, the status of Qu Hongzhuan was not too serious, so everyone watched the empress order someone to send it to the side hall and ordered the imperial physician to be invited, and left a few words of concern to the empress and noble concubine Listen, and leave.

As a result, half a day later, I received news that Qu Hongzhuan was happy.

This is a girl from a poor family who entered the palace at the same time as Yi Xingen, her appearance is actually on the same level as Yun Fenghuang's, but she is slightly inferior to Yi Xingen's.

When she was a concubine in Xuanqing Palace, she was also very favored by Yun Fenghuang, but her luck was not very good, and she was always overwhelmed by Yi Xingen.

Now it is finally happy, not only the former lord Yun Fenghuang gave words of encouragement on the spot, but also sent a large number of rewards to her palace. The real foothold here is the barrier.

That's right, for a low-born concubine like Qu Hongzhuan, even if she was lucky enough to become a concubine, her future would still be uncertain.

This has nothing to do with the emperor's favorite. The main thing is that according to the rules of the country, once the emperor dies, all childless concubines will be sent to the emperor's mausoleum or palace to observe festivals.

At that time, those with noble backgrounds may still have family members to take care of them, so they can live a more relaxed life.

For those with poor backgrounds, life and death are really in the hands of the guards.

Except for the main palace, only those who have heirs under their knees, even if the heirs are not concubines raised by themselves, are eligible to enjoy the family happiness of following the new empress dowager to spend the rest of their lives, and occasionally being reunited.

So after Qu Hongzhuan returned to her palace, there was an endless stream of visitors, all of whom came to congratulate her.

This incident was quite lively in the palace for two days, even Chunjia heard it and laughed at it.

Then, within a few days, when the concubines asked Anbi to disperse as usual, there was a sudden exclamation from the crowd, followed by Qu Hongzhuan rolling down the steps, and when the palace servants who served her jumped down in panic to help her up , the nearby concubines were surprised to see that her skirt was already blood-colored!

It didn't take long for Concubine An to overthrow Qu Hongzhuan in public, causing the latter to have a miscarriage. The news spread throughout Liugong!

The whole harem was in a panic all of a sudden.

After all, everyone knows that Qu Hongzhuan came from a humble background, and the emperor's pet is not very good, not to mention his status. Looking at it like this, even if he was cheated by Concubine An, no matter whether Concubine An did it on purpose or not, this loss can only be taken for granted. So swallow it.

But Qu Hongzhuan is not completely without support, she is the one who goes out under Yun Fenghuang's subordinates, she has been going to Xuanqing Palace every now and then, serving tea for Yun Fenghuang, she is as attentive and considerate as if she was still a palace concubine.

Now that she has suffered so much and lost her hard-won heir, how could she not ask Yun Fenghuang for help?

Yun Fenghuang was also willing to give her a head start, over there Qu Hongzhuan was still crying on the couch for her unfavorable child, and here Concubine Min Gui led someone to kill her in the Zhuzhu Palace!

Empress Gu Zhen arrived just one step too late, and stopped the noble concubine who was about to make a scene in Ningbi Hall: "There are rules in the palace, not to mention that everyone saw it at the time, Concubine An didn't push Qu Shi down the steps on purpose. In fact, there were so many people when we left, and all the attendants went out of the palace together, it was very crowded, so I pushed by mistake... This is an unintentional mistake, why is the imperial concubine so aggressive?"

"Unintentional mistake?" Yun Fenghuang said with a contemptuous expression, "The people who took care of His Highness the King of Chu at the beginning also made an unintentional mistake, which caused His Highness the King of Chu to suffer. I have never seen my mother forgive me and let them go. ?”

Mentioning the king of Chu, Gu Zhen's face darkened, and he said coldly: "It's only natural for a slave to serve the master. If you don't serve him well, of course you have to be punished! Otherwise, how can they have a long memory? But what is the status of Concubine An? This is your majesty's son. Concubine of Jing, she shouldn't be careless about meeting Qu Shi, but Qu Shi clearly knows that she is pregnant, why can't she be more careful? Concubine An is at fault in this matter, so is Qu Shi right?"

Yun Fenghuang sneered and said: "No matter how wrong Mrs. Qu is, the pain of losing the emperor's heir, isn't this price enough? However, as the lord of the six palaces, the Empress Empress has not visited her palace so far to comfort her, she is too busy Come here to protect Concubine An, this inevitably makes me feel, did the empress know that such a thing would happen?"

This is short of directly saying that Qu Hongzhuan's miscarriage was not an accident, but the empress ordered Concubine An to do it.

Gu Zhen was furious: "What kind of thing is Qu, even if she is lucky enough to conceive, if she gets a man in one fell swoop, it's hard to shake this palace's position? Is it worth this palace to take such a big fight against her?!"

"If that wasn't the case, then the empress is also troubled by her inability to continue her majesty's heir personally, so how can she show no pity for the Qu family who just lost her heir?" Yun Fenghuang raised her eyebrows and asked, "On the contrary, she is thinking about the good-looking Concubine An ?”

The two sides quarreled for a long time, and the atmosphere became more and more stagnant, and the atmosphere on the left and right did not dare to come out!

At this moment, a palace official rushed out of the room, crying, "My mother can't think about it, she's hanging on the beam!"

Gu Zhen and Yun Fenghuang were startled when they heard the words, and looked at each other with embarrassment.

The matter of Qu Hongzhuan miscarriage is of course a lie, anyway, the harem is decided by the two of them, they just want to plant a charge of miscarriage on Concubine An before Yuan Zhiniang's mother and son return to the palace.

With Yuan Niangniang's special status, this matter will not do anything to her.

However, the loving mother Empress Dowager has no reason to fight for special treatment for Yuan Zhiniang and her son.

But this concubine An, who was domineering when she was favored and not soft after she fell out of favor, how could she not think about it?

This is a bit embarrassing.

After hesitating for a while, the empress and noble concubine made up her mind to do one thing and not stop, now that she has reached this point, she will stop here, and the loving mother, the empress dowager, is afraid that she will not give up.

It would be better to simply crucify Concubine An for murdering the emperor's heir, so no matter if Concubine An is dead or alive, they have no responsibility anyway!

Immediately the queen shouted: "Then hurry up and save people!"

He also said to Yun Fenghuang, "Even if Concubine An has committed crimes, she is not guilty of death. Now that you have avenged your private revenge and caused her death, are you satisfied?"

These words seem to be still defending Concubine An, but the meaning has quietly changed.

Just now he said that Concubine An didn't do it on purpose, but now he has admitted that it was Concubine An's fault.

Yun Fenghuang knew it in his heart, so he sneered: "I am a noble concubine, with the right to assist the six palaces, and a pregnant concubine who was pushed down in public to have a miscarriage. For such a big matter, it is only natural to come to Huzhu Palace to inquire about the culprit? As a result, it's been a long time, and I only saw the empress's protection of Concubine An, Concubine An herself hanged on the beam without saying a word, who knows if she was forced by her concubine, or committed suicide in fear of crime?!"

"Concubine An has six princes under her knees, and she has always kept her own law and order in the past two years." The queen shouted sharply, "But what reason is there to murder Qu's heir?!"

"Your Majesty also said that it's been the past two years for Concubine An to keep her own life. What about the first two years?" Yun Fenghuang laughed, walked two steps closer, and leaned into the Queen's ear, using a voice that could be heard by everyone nearby. Said loudly, "Let's not talk about other palaces, just this Huzhu Palace, how many concubines and emperors who died unjustly, empress, you, an old man who entered the palace when His Majesty got married, should be better than the concubine. Yes! As the saying goes, old habits are hard to change, who knows if Concubine An is addicted to murdering the emperor's heir, and seeing Qu's happiness, she feels unhappy, and it doesn't feel good if she doesn't push her?"

Seeing the empress frowning, she said, "Besides, no one in the six palaces knows that the concubine and Concubine An have always been at odds. And Qu's, she got out under the concubine's skill. She was able to become a concubine at the beginning because of the concubine's promotion!"

Gu Zhen said with a sullen face, "This is just your guess!"

"Then what evidence does the empress have to say that the concubine is a public revenge?" The imperial concubine asked with a sneer.

While they were arguing, the palace servants had already rescued Concubine An with all their might, and they came to report in panic, saying, "Madam Anfei is still alive now, but the imperial doctor just saw that the concubine is depressed, and I'm afraid she can't bear the excitement. .”

Before the queen opened her mouth, Yun Fenghuang said coldly: "The palace and the queen are both here, and this eye is hanging on the bone. It would be strange if he could die! What is depressed and careless? I don’t know the thoughts of these people going back and forth? After being called over, they really couldn’t find out the problem, so they had to prescribe a prescription, so they used this as an excuse!”

This is tantamount to saying that Concubine An is putting on a show and using the hanging beam as a means.

Hall Ningbi was very angry, but Emperor Chong, who was photographed by the imperial concubine, dared not say anything.

It was the queen who stood up and said a few fair words, telling Yun Fenghuang to shut up: "They are all people who serve His Majesty, Concubine An is still your senior in terms of seniority, and now she is still alive, you have to go even further and say her No, don't you have any pity in your heart?"

"Your Majesty, Mrs. Qu is also someone who serves His Majesty. Even if her seniority is not as high as that of Concubine An, she has made contributions to her Majesty's succession." Yun Fenghuang said lightly, "Now that one of her well-behaved children is gone, instead of going to comfort her She, on the contrary, patronizes and protects Concubine An, but where is the empress's mercy? It is true that Qu's family background is the same as that of a concubine, and it is not very good. But she has married and followed her husband. Could it be that in this palace, the status is not high or low It is determined by the position, but by the husband's family? What is the face of the concubine, who occupies the position of noble concubine?! The empress herself is a noble daughter of a family, so she tried every means to favor the noble daughter. Is the woman disregarding her life or death?"

Gu Zhen's face was gloomy, and he said: "I received the news that you came here aggressively, and I was afraid that you would do stupid things in a fit of anger!"

"But the fact is that the concubine didn't do anything, but the fact that Concubine An caused Qu's miscarriage is for all to see!" Yun Fenghuang didn't budge, "Since the empress is afraid that the concubine will do something stupid, this matter should be done." But what are you going to do? Could it be that you persuaded the concubine to go back to the Xuanqing Palace, and just let it go?!"

She looked at Gu Zhen and squinted her eyes slightly, "Or in your mother's heart, it's just as you wished that Qu's child was gone?"

"Stop spitting blood here!" Gu Zhen's eyes sharpened, and he shouted, "I am a queen, even if she is a concubine's heir, why don't you call me a 'mother queen'? The Qu family has no heirs, you can't be my palace Sad?! But the state-owned state-law family has family rules, the matter has come to this point, even if you want to deal with Concubine An, you should follow the rules, what right do you have to make trouble in private?!"

"Did the concubine come here to make trouble?!" Yun Fenghuang said coldly, "The concubine just came here, and the empress acted as if the concubine had done something outrageous! Those who didn't know thought it wasn't An An who made the mistake. The concubine is a concubine! And what the concubine said just now, I followed what the empress said, so how does the empress plan to deal with Concubine An?!"

The empress and the noble concubine quarreled so much, the concubine Shu was pregnant, the concubine De was pretending to be deaf and dumb, the concubine Xian was still confinement outside the palace, and the concubines below all shrank their heads and dared not touch the bad news. Arriving at the Spring Palace, Queen Mother Yuan sighed deeply, and said: "What crime did the Ai family do? They thought that they would be able to calm down after the Ji family, but they put on such a worry-free thing!"

Zhan Liu looked sad, and said: "Why don't you rest first, and the maid will go to see what's going on for you? An Fei's temperament has changed a lot in the past two years, and she really isn't that kind of messing around. or there is some misunderstanding."

"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, you still don't know what a noble concubine is like?" The Queen Mother Yuan sighed, "She is the kind of master who wants to fight for three points without reason, let alone the Qu family who was brought up by her. Now A good child is gone, how can she let it go? Not to mention that she and Niang Niang have always had a grudge, and she would let go of such a good opportunity to make use of it? At this moment, she may not be willing to let go even if it is Aijia, let alone you. .”

After a pause, she said, "But Niangniang has finally learned a little bit smarter, this time the hanging beam is good, and finally gave the Ai family some room to speak."