NovelsAlex Chapter 702 Aftermath
Chapter 702 Aftermath
Chapter 702 Aftermath
At the same time that Jiao's family was reunited.
In Chuxiu Palace.
The Empress and Concubine Wu are at one end of the kang table, the Empress is sitting dignifiedly with her legs together tightly, Concubine Wu is lazily reclining on the cushion, her petite figure almost sinking in.
"Didn't Jiao Shun have practiced martial arts? Otherwise, how could he fight two assassins alone without getting hurt? I've heard that the weapons in the hands of the two assassins are all coated with poison that sees blood and seals their throats." Woolen cloth!"
While Wu Guifei asked curiously, she moved her feet subconsciously, sometimes spinning gracefully, sometimes straightening and tensing, and sometimes drawing a graceful arc, as if she was dancing between the beds.
Even though she was in her bedroom, even though she was facing sisters who shared a secret, the queen's sitting posture was still impeccable.
She shook her head lightly and said: "I've never heard of that, I just said that he went to elementary school for two years—maybe it's because of his physical strength, seeing his stature, it shouldn't be difficult to fight one against two. "
When she said 'the strength is not lost', her face was inexplicably hot, and she hurriedly picked up the almond tea and took a sip to cover it up.
Concubine Wu Gui stared at the corner of the Queen's mouth with bright eyes, until the Queen put down the teacup and wiped off the tea stains from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, then she looked away, digressing: "Is this almond tea still good? "
While speaking, the originally rhythmic feet tightened quietly.
"The taste is okay, but the brewing is a bit thicker and muddy."
The queen answered casually, and suddenly came to her senses, she gave Wu Guifei a reproachful look, and said, "I said my sister came as soon as she came, why did she bring her own tea, but it turns out... next time I won't be fooled by you again." !"
Wu Guifei covered her mouth and smiled straight. Her biggest hobby recently is to do everything possible to bring fantasy into reality.
It is said that there are a thousand Hamlets for a thousand readers. Although Jiao Shun’s two memorials are far inferior to the masterpieces, they also have a similar effect-the queen subconsciously substitutes herself in it, but Wu Guifei always substitutes the queen in it. .
When the two were laughing, someone outside suddenly reported that Concubine Xian De had been summoned.
The queen hurriedly said, "Please come in quickly."
With that said, he got up again and went to the outside room.
Concubine Wu Gui was a little reluctant, but she still got up and followed.
Ever since the queen mentioned the allusion of 'removing the mother and saving the child', she has restrained herself a little in front of people, but as the saying goes, it is easy to go from frugal to extravagant, and it is difficult to go from extravagant to frugal. She is used to doing whatever she wants in front of people, and now she wants to restrain herself , It is also extremely difficult to return to the previous appearance of being cautious in words and deeds, keeping a low profile and being a small person.
But they said that they greeted each other with Jia Yuanchun outside, and then led her to the inner room to sit down.
The Empress and Concubine Wu Gui still occupy one end of the kang table, while Jia Yuanchun sits on the chairs temporarily added by the maids. The three of them are all first-class outstanding figures in the palace. It can be said that Chunlan Qiuju gathered together Each has its own victories.
The empress is superior in her temperament, dignified and elegant, her frown and smile show her royal demeanor, she looks like a spring breeze on her face, but she is awe-inspiring and inviolable; Concubine Wu is good at dancing and music, her figure is exquisite and compact, and she is well-maintained and tender. The only woman among the people who had ever given birth looked like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl.
As for Jia Yuanchun, he originally took the gentle and dignified route like the queen, but after going through all kinds of things recently, his beautiful facial features have added a bit of indifference and alienation. Coupled with the tall figure of the golden ratio, he is properly cold and proud. demeanor.
But said that Concubine Wu Gui had already sat down, glanced at the table from the corner of the eye, suddenly stood up and poured a cup of tea courteously, and brought it to Concubine Xiande in person, said with a narrow smile: "Little sister, try it quickly, this is the empress's favorite tea." for drink."
The queen was listening, and couldn't help but gouged her out again.
Concubine Wu Gui didn't care at all, she sat back in her seat with a smile, and filled a glass for the queen, which made the queen's cheeks flush.
Jia Yuanchun thanked him first, then took a sip of the almond tea, and then repeatedly praised 'good tea', thinking that he would be favored by the empress.
Seeing this scene, Concubine Wu Gui laughed even more happily.
Jia Yuanchun also laughed, and the atmosphere appeared to be very harmonious on the surface, but she could always feel a sense of estrangement.
It was not the first time Jia Yuanchun felt this feeling.
Ever since she reciprocated and approached the Queen and Concubine Wu Gui, she found that there seemed to be some kind of tacit understanding between the two, which always made her feel excluded from time to time.
At that time, I thought it was because we needed to get used to each other so that we could get used to the re-established relationship.
But as time went by, no matter how hard Jia Yuanchun tried, it was still difficult to break through this barrier, and it even tended to intensify.
Ordinarily this is normal, one is the mistress of the six palaces and the mother of the world, even if the emperor dies, she will not lose the empress dowager's dignity;
In comparison, she is nothing more than a concubine with an uncertain future.
But Concubine Xiande always felt that it was not just the difference in status that caused the estrangement between the two parties, but also another unspeakable thing.
What exactly is this 'thing'?
Jia Yuanchun, who desperately wants to find someone to rely on for the future, has speculated more than once, but he still can't find the answer.
After tasting the tea, the empress wanted to chat with Jia Yuanchun for a few words, but Wu Guifei was impatient with her, and said straight to the point: "The empress and I invite you here, mainly to ask, this time Jiao Changqing What happened to the assassination?"
Concubine Wu Gui seemed to be at ease, and she even had time to joke with the queen, that was based on the fact that Jiao Shun was safe and sound, it didn't mean that she would take this matter lightly.
You know, he was pinched and destined to become his son's confidant. If he was killed for no reason, wouldn't it be a big loss?
When she heard her straightforward question, the queen also calmed down, looked at Jia Yuanchun with a serious expression, and waited for her to explain——when she noticed the plain long dress on Concubine Xiande, the queen seemed to realize something in her eyes .
Jia Yuanchun was slightly taken aback, never expecting that the Empress and Concubine Wu Gui came to him to inquire about this matter.
Immediately she said cautiously: "Sister asked me, I should have known everything, but firstly, this matter involved outside the palace, and secondly, His Majesty backed away at that time, and I couldn't..."
"We didn't ask you what you heard, what you saw."
Concubine Wu Gui interrupted her pretext directly, and said unquestionably: "We just want to know how you view this matter—and more importantly, will such a thing happen again?"
"This……"
Concubine Xiande hesitated for a moment, thinking of her current situation, she tried her best to admit it: "Lord Jiao has made many enemies, it's hard to say who did it - but most of the people behind the scenes are undoubtedly in Beijing."
"How do you know that person is in Beijing?"
"It may be possible for Yan Xiao to send someone to assassinate the prisoner, but it is absolutely impossible to go to the boat to assassinate the imperial envoy. Then it can be inferred that the assassin's goal is probably Mr. Jiao from the beginning-and this time Mr. Jiao was ordered to go there by accident. The Tongzhou supervisor did not have any warnings in advance, and those who could get the news in time and send people to Tongzhou to assassinate in time must be well-informed people in the capital."
Jia Tanchun talked eloquently and unraveled the doubts of the two, but what followed was even greater doubts.
Concubine Wu Gui asked curiously: "Since it wasn't because of the smuggling case, why did Lord Long Live take so many officials from Jiangsu and Zhejiang in one go?"
"This one……"
The real purpose of the emperor doing this, Jia Yuanchun was like a mirror in his heart. After all, the cost estimates of the Beijing-West Railway and the laying of wired telegraphs had to be communicated to the emperor through her hands.
But it is really hard to explain this matter clearly, so I can only say vaguely: "Perhaps your Majesty has other considerations."
"That……"
"Let's not mention these first."
Concubine Wu Guifei was waiting to ask further questions, but the queen suddenly said, "I heard that Wang Taiwei's son is still detained in Dali Temple? As the so-called legal principles are nothing more than human feelings, even if he is really involved in the case, he should wait until the king's son is finished. Let’s talk about Taiwei’s afterlife—if my sister is inconvenient to speak, I will mention it to the emperor tomorrow.”
Concubine Wu Gui then remembered that Jia Yuanchun's uncle had just died.
Jia Yuanchun actually didn't want to meddle in the Wang family's affairs at this time, but the queen did it out of good intentions, she couldn't refuse, so she stood up and said, "Thank you for your success, I will thank you for your kindness on behalf of my uncle's family."
As he spoke, he bent his knees and wanted to kneel.
The queen hurriedly got up to help.
The two backed off for a while, and finally it was Concubine Wu Guifei who spoke before returning to everyone.
…………
In Chuxiu Palace, there are three pillars, and in Wenyuan Pavilion, the same is true.
Cifu He Tiren's face sank like water, Xu Furen, a scholar of the Wuyingdian University, sneered, and Wang Zhe, a scholar of Dongge University, sat around a square table in a calm and composed manner.
"Tell me."
The first one to speak was of course Cifu He Tiren. He tapped on the table lightly with his fingers: "About His Majesty bypassing the cabinet to promulgate the central decree this time, how should we deal with it?"
"What's there to say?"
Xu Furen scorned Wang Zhe, who was opposite him, and said with a smile: "Whoever breaks the rules should naturally clean up the mess—by contrast, the emperor promulgated a thorough investigation of the assassination of imperial envoys in anger. It’s not a bad rule.”
Wang Zhe turned a blind eye to his sarcasm, but He Tiren frowned slightly and said: "How can you make a rash judgment on those speculative things? The most important thing now is that His Majesty takes this opportunity to intentionally connect the telegram from the palace with the Shuntian Mansion—" As soon as this example is opened, the telegraph offices built in the future will have to go directly to heaven from time to time? If so, what use is it to keep me waiting?"
After Xu Furen heard this, his attitude finally changed, but he still stared at Wang Zhe.
At this time, Wang Zhe finally said slowly: "In my opinion, His Majesty is now in a rage, so instead of making a strong defense, it is better to make a compromise for the time being, and take the initiative to request that the confidential yamen in the capital be connected with Wenyuan Pavilion by telegram first." , and then the cabinet will summarize and report to the imperial court—isn’t this Wenyuan Pavilion also in the palace?”
"Humph~"
Although he felt that this idea was quite desirable, Xu Furen still sneered and asked, "But I don't know if we should ask someone from engineering to take care of it when the telegram comes in, or should we ask your so-called New Confucianism to take care of it?"
"Brother Xu!"
He Tiren snorted softly, frowned and said: "It's fine for outsiders to talk nonsense, don't you and I know that Master Wang did all this to preserve the way of a saint."
It was obviously a scolding, but the intimacy and distance of the address revealed his true inner thoughts.
Naturally, Xu Furen could hear it, so he gave Wang Zhe another look, and said, "I'm afraid that some people are saying one thing in secret, talking about the way of saints, but in fact they want to replace that country's traitor Jiao Shun, and take advantage of the situation to make a fool of himself." Gu Ming Chief Assistant!"
Hearing what he said so bluntly, Wang Zhe's face finally changed drastically, and he immediately jumped up and said angrily: "Master Xu, Wang..."
At this moment, there was a knock on the door outside.
He Tiren hurriedly took the opportunity to make a silent gesture, and then raised his voice to order the little official outside the gate to come in and report the matter.
The little official saluted after entering the door, then went around to He Tiren's body and whispered a few words.
After hearing this, He Tiren waved his hand to signal the little official to back down, then shook his head and said: "It's really a troubled time, and the case of Jiao Changqing's assassination has changed again - the people of Shuntian Mansion have already found out that the two assassins came from the south early this morning. The capital city where they left the door is now doing its best to track down their movements in the city."
Xu Furen let out a 'huh', and wondered: "This Jia Shifei has always been procrastinating and hesitant in his work, why is he suddenly so shrewd and capable now?"
He Tiren chuckled lightly and said: "How many of these Shuntian governors are not deaf-mute mothers-in-law? But this time it's not that Jia Yucun worked hard, but that the Inspectorate urged him too hard."
"The Inspectorate?"
Wang Zhe frowned: "Zhao Rongheng, the censor of the right capital?"
"Who else but him?"
Xu Furen snorted and said, "Zhou Chang doesn't dare to stand out now, isn't this a good opportunity for him to win people's hearts?"
Officials from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang lines have always been strong in the court, and Sui Shoufu, who had angrily retired and returned to his hometown, was originally the co-owner of this line.
After Sui Gelao became an official, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang officials in the court were roughly divided into two factions, headed by Zhou Chang [chang], the right servant of the household department, and Zhao Rongheng, the right capital censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
Most of the officials involved in this case are from Zhou Chang's faction.
He Tiren and the other two finished expressing their opinions, and then continued: "Zhao Yushi has always been upright, this time breaking the rules of avoiding suspicion, I think it must be thoroughly investigated to the end - whether it is good or bad for the court, I'm afraid I have to be careful Think about it."
He was full of words about the imperial court, but Xu Furen immediately looked at Wang Zhe with a sarcasm after hearing this.
Wang Zhe got up slowly again, and said to the two: "No matter what you two think, but Wang can swear to God, this matter has absolutely nothing to do with me."
"Hmph~ That would be the best."
Xu Furen got up without a smile on his face, cupped his hands, and said, "I still have work to do, so please stay with me."
As he said that, he left the flower hall without looking back.
He Tiren watched him go out, then turned his gaze to Wang Zhe.
Wang Zhe sighed helplessly, bowed his hands to him, and strode out of the flower hall.
He Tiren watched Wang Zhe go away again, and when he was the only one left in the flower hall, his originally upright figure leaned back on the back of the chair and murmured: "Gu Mingshoufu, Gu Mingshou auxiliary……"
(End of this chapter)