Bright Spring

Duan Xuehen shook his head.

She was silent for a while, and murmured: "When I was in Yunnan, the Holy Majesty treated me kindly in every possible way, even offending the Mu Mansion. Later, I had nowhere to go, and the Holy Majesty went to the streets of Kunming City to find me in person. Some people said that the Holy Majesty was trying to win me over and use me." ..."

Zhu Gaoxu asked: "Who said that?"

Duan Xue hated to answer, and continued: "But after I understand it, I feel more comfortable and more at ease.

Because the Holy One was really kind to me, I still remember that night when there was cold rain, I seemed to be a superfluous person in the world, I didn’t know the future path, I didn’t know where to go, and looking back on the past was even more meaningless.Until the Holy Majesty's carriage appeared on the damp | wet and dark road.I still remember that the light was very warm, and the lambskin carpet in the car was soft, clean and white. "

Duan Xuehen really seldom said so much, she was often taciturn, Zhu Gaoxu could only guess her thoughts from her demeanor, behavior, and reaction.So tonight she was willing to talk, Zhu Gaoxu was very patient and listened very carefully, without any intention of making fun of her.

Her voice was very low, "So whether you want to use me or humiliate me, I don't hate it, on the contrary, it makes me feel better..."

Zhu Gaoxu thought in his heart: It seems that some things are requested by her, no wonder I.

Duan Xuehen thought for a while, then pondered: "At first I felt guilty, but when the Holy Majesty went mad, I felt that I had been punished and could forgive myself. Later, I did let go of the Mu family, but I still wanted the Holy Majesty to be even more cruel to me. .Maybe the Holy Majesty should do that, so I feel that I am a bit useful, repaying your kindness, and less indebted? I can't tell."

Zhu Gaoxu asked: "Are I going to find a rope?"

Duan Xuehen shook his head, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty can do what you want, but it's usually too embarrassing to let others do it."

Want to do?Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a while, and gradually felt aroused|excited.Duan Xuehen has been with him for several years, and he never thought that he could still feel his heart beating like a "thump".

Chapter 7 Weakness

At the beginning of March, the imperial concubine Mu's family was about to give birth.Zhu Gaoxu returned to the harem and guarded the East First Palace; but according to experience, men are not allowed to enter the delivery room, otherwise it will be unlucky for pregnant women.He can only listen outside.

The imperial concubine's palace first summoned many female officials and maids, as well as several midwives.Unexpectedly, from daytime to midnight, Mu Zhen still did not give birth to a child.Zhu Gaoxu ordered the medical officers of the imperial hospital to enter the palace overnight to stand by.

Later, Park, a virtuous concubine from North Korea, came to Dongyi Palace, and said that the Park family wanted her to enter the North Korean King's Palace at first, so they taught her medical skills from an early age, and she could help.Zhu Gaoxu then allowed her to enter the delivery room.

He stayed up all night in the East Palace until dawn.Until the next morning, the people in the delivery room finally reported that the imperial concubine had given birth to a prince.

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu heaved a sigh of relief.He waited a while before entering the delivery room.The palace maid brought the baby over, and he hugged him in her arms. He looked carefully at the crying baby with his eyes closed, and suddenly felt an indescribable sense of intimacy.

He turned his head and told Mu Zhen the name he had already thought of: "His name is Zhan Qi, what does Zhen'er think?"

Mu Zhen lay on the bed and nodded her head weakly.

According to the rules Taizu set for his descendants, the descendants of Zhanhe Zhanqi's generation must use the name next to Obito.There are so many descendants of the clan, it is not easy to find a suitable name.And the word "Qi" has the meaning of boundary, which suits Zhu Gaoxu's heart very well.

He said some comforting words to Mu Zhen, and then sent eunuchs to Qian State's mansion to inform the imperial concubine about the birth of a prince.

... The imperial concubine giving birth to a prince is a big event in the palace, and it almost spread throughout the palace on the same day.In view of the succession of the throne of the two emperors Taizu and Taizong, even the ministers of the court are very concerned.

There is a person who is almost forgotten by people, Guo Yan. When she heard the news, she also had mixed feelings.Guo Yan could already guess the pressure from her sister and the entire Guo family.The emperor's concubines are in groups, usually there is more than one prince, and it is very common to have a second son; but it is the prince born to the daughter of the Mu family, which is different.

This means that members of the Guo family are even less willing to let Guo Yan continue to be in the palace and create trouble for the queen.

Of course, Guo Yan hasn't had a good time in the past month.

As the queen's elder sister, she will never lack food and clothing in the palace, and no one dares to embarrass her; when the weather is good, she can still go for a walk in the imperial garden during the day, so life is not difficult.Guo Yan had a relatively tight life when she was in her natal family, so she would not feel that the living expenses are poor for the current luxury.The most tormenting thing is probably the state of mind.

Worries about the future kept her from falling asleep many nights.

When I was young, I went to Fengyang Imperial City to live in seclusion. I had no family, no children, no relatives and friends, and no hope. Most of the people living there were old court ladies and eunuchs.Guo Yan shuddered at the thought of spending the rest of her life in such a lifeless and long way.

Because of her restlessness, she will bring disaster to the maids who serve her.The court ladies were afraid of the queen's status and power, so they didn't dare to contradict her face to face, but spoke ill of Guo Yan behind her back.The people in this courtyard once had a bad relationship.

Sometimes she would be sad and depressed, thinking about the time when Zhu Gaochi was in power, the fat prince and emperor once disappointed Guo Yan; Guo Yan has nothing to rely on.

Sometimes she was filled with anger and hostility.

The death of her son Zhan Kai not only filled her with resentment towards Ma Enhui's party and other suspects, but also made her resent the world!Because Guo Yan gradually understood that the collapse of the Hongxi court was the root of everything.She is just drifting with the tide in front of the huge wave-like general trend of the world.

The despair in front of her made her hate her natal family.Because of her status as a concubine, she thought of the injustice she suffered at home since she was a child; because she was the wife of the "deposed prince", she was now disgusted and abandoned by them.In the long cold night, she endured the engulfment of injustice in her heart.

Guo Yan has always had nothing to do, the most important thing now is to ponder over and over again, how to change her gradually doomed fate.

Her only subtle opportunity came from the current emperor Zhu Gaoxu; before that, when she made that request to her sister, she had already understood this truth.Now only Zhu Gaoxu who is sitting on the throne is the one who decides everything!

But what to do, she didn't plan properly.From last month to now, Guo Yan has been thinking about this matter day and night.

Guo Yan thought about it very carefully.She tried her best to think about Zhu Gaoxu, hoping to find some kind of weakness in him.Like her younger sister Guo Wei, her weakness is that she has a lingering sense of guilt towards Guo Yan, that's why she agreed to let Guo Yan face the saint. Such a request is unreasonable.

Judging from what Zhu Gaoxu has done, he seems to have a very paranoid desire, that is, the more he should not touch a woman, the more he wants to touch, and the more he should not do, the more he wants to do.He seems to be venting|venting something, resisting something, causing a seemingly distorted mind.Maybe it was born as the second son of the first emperor, a prince who was good at fighting, and he faced too much pressure before?

Guo Yan didn't have much contact with Zhu Gaoxu, so she didn't know the reason.She just guessed from the women that Zhu Gaoxu canonized.Like Miao Jin, Guo Yan used to call her little aunt; there are also nuns, brothel (Fuleyuan) singing girls, and even Ma Enhui, who may have an unusual relationship with him.Apart from the regular wife appointed by the empress and the Mu family's marriage, how many of Zhu Gaoxu's concubines are normal?

Guo Yan couldn't help having an illusion that her own identity was also very special.If it is really useful, Guo Yan is willing to compromise given the current situation.

But Guo Yan thought about it more carefully, and felt that it was too late.If it had been a little earlier, and this retreat had been slowly paved before, it might still be possible.But if we do it now, I'm afraid it will only bring shame on ourselves!

Because Zhu Gaoxu is likely to feel that Guo Yan is teasing him for his immoral things; he will have a bad mood of being despised and belittling his virtue.So after careful consideration, Guo Yan felt that this method would be counterproductive.

When she was full of hostility, desperate and helpless, a crazy idea popped up once.If Zhu Gaoxu didn't take pity on her, she would think of hiding a sharp weapon and attack Zhu Gaoxu at the opportunity of Miansheng!

Zhu Gaoxu is strong and strong, but Guo Yan is weak, and it is impossible to find lethal weapons, at most hairpins and the like. She also knows that it is impossible to succeed...but she will ask the Guo family to go into the water!Guo Yan has the urge to retaliate, to retaliate against their selfish actions.

However, most of the evil in people's hearts is just thinking about it.

Guo Yan just had such an idea, but she gave up after a while; fear and weakness instantly ate into her heart.

She feels that women are too weak, even if they have nowhere to go, they will be intimidated by violence.If she really did that, she would definitely suffer violent revenge from the angry emperor; thinking of those tortures, Guo Yan shuddered.

After calming down for a while, Guo Yan thought about her younger sister's guilt and her father's kindness.Even if the Guo family treats her unfairly, it is better than those irrelevant people in the world.In this indifferent world, what's the point of taking revenge on those close to you and making those strangers talk about insults|swearing...

At this moment, a court lady hurried in and said, "Mrs. Guo, the empress is here!"

Guo Yan put away her ecstatic thoughts and went to the yard, and sure enough, she saw her sister had already walked in.As she stepped forward to greet her, she became a little worried.The Mu family just gave birth to the prince yesterday, and today the younger sister Guo Wei is here; will the younger sister break her promise and not let Guo Yan face the saint?

Guo Yan welcomed the queen into the living room.The queen stopped the eunuchs and maids around her and stayed outside.

The two sisters sat down separately, and Guo Yan said, "I'll ask someone to serve tea."

"No need." The Queen said.

Guo Yan fell silent, waiting to hear what her sister wanted to say.

The queen really took the initiative to say: "Recently, the Holy Majesty will confer the concubine Li and the Concubine Shen the Concubine Zhuang. Before that, the Holy Majesty should come to Kunning Palace to discuss with me; It’s the same when I’m a human, and I’ll probably come back early. If it’s the same this time, I’ll invite the Holy One to come to the Royal Garden for a walk. At that time, when my sister comes to the Imperial Garden, she will be able to meet the Holy Majesty.”

Guo Yan hurriedly asked: "What day?"

The queen said: "It's hard to say now, when the time comes, I will send the eunuch Huang Gou over to inform my sister in advance."

Guo Yan agreed.

The queen said again: "In case the Holy Majesty did not come to Kunning Palace specially, or he came too late. Let's put this matter aside for the time being. I will find another opportunity to let my sister see him."