Qinse is in the imperial court, forgetting both favor and disgrace

In the side hall of the Chonghua Palace, in the luxurious house in the deepest part of the corridor, the smoke is filled, the incense is lingering, and the smell is strong.

No matter how clear the rules were, the two maids who accompanied Empress Xie inside couldn't help losing their composure until they burst into tears and sneezed again and again.

Empress Xie wrapped her arms around her sleeves, without looking sideways, without being affected at all, she went straight to the small flower hall outside the building, and went straight into the inner room. The inside of the dormitory was the source of the unusual smog. There were one or two extremely painful groans, enough to make one's hair stand on end.

The voice was intermittent, and stopped abruptly in the deliberate sneer of Empress Xie, followed by a weak weeping of misery and despair, the voice was so hoarse that men, women, and children could not be distinguished: "Madam, Please do me a favor, let me die..."

The corners of Empress Xie's lips showed a cold expression, her eyes were already red like blood, it was unknown whether it was because of the excitement in her heart or just the smoke.

She took a few steps forward, and a small wooden bed gradually appeared in the thick smoke. On the bed, a person was tied up with thorns. The pleas of sex and pain undoubtedly came from this person, but upon closer inspection, one can see But you will find that this is a weird and terrible incomplete thing, an object under heavy restraints, no limbs, only a head and a body like two meat balls, connected together awkwardly and shriveled.

"Death?" Empress Xie looked down at the unwilling meat ball, without any pity in her eyes, she showed color on the other side, she smiled, "Why die? Life is better than death, it is the most suitable for traitors, isn't it? "

She coldly admired the turbid, yellow bloody liquid gushing out from where the man's eyes used to be, and said to the maids on both sides: "Go and bring the wine jar."

As soon as these words came out, the inhuman form let out a fierce howl again, and the strength that erupted caused the wooden bed to rattle.

Empress Xie spent all her time waiting for the maid to bring a small jar of wine into the house. She rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward, took the small spoon from the presentation with a smile, scooped a spoon from the wine urn held by the kneeling maid, and sniffed it closely. Sniff, exclaimed: "It really is a good wine, this wine is mellow and strong, do you like it?"

Glancing at the trembling person again, the unbearable empress Xie's eyes were fleeting. She placed the wine spoon on the severed limb with bloody flesh and clear bones, and said softly: "Nurse, you should never have done that." You shouldn’t, you shouldn’t have poisoned my son, that’s the crown prince, that kid will be the emperor in the future, you’ve left him sick and weak all his life, isn’t this serious sin not enough for you to survive?”

She took a long breath, filled with sadness, tears brimming with tears when she looked up, she didn't know if she would have a chance to see the prince again in this life, thinking of her son's immature face, as if there was still warmth in her hands, Empress Xie suddenly cried Trembling, the wine in the spoon poured out, pouring out a tragic cry.

Empress Xie didn't seem to have heard of it, she didn't show any joy, her big eyes were lifeless and unfocused, and the corners of her mouth curled up into a smile that was not a smile, and she muttered to herself: "I can't die, life is better than death, maybe life is better than death." ...you can still...revenge..."

The little prince who was exhausted after a day of tossing about what Queen Xie did when he was relegated to the Chonghua Palace would never know. He seemed to finally believe that his mother was seriously ill and could not see each other. Crying and making a fuss, after being carried into the chariot by Zhao Rang, she suddenly sank into an unusual tranquility.

Zhao Rang saw the little prince's eyes were straight and his expression was dull, he couldn't help worrying secretly, he looked at his face and felt his pulse, and knew that his heart was hurt, and his inner organs were so tender that he couldn't think of it in a hurry. If there is anything to distract the child, the only thing is to hold the prince in his arms, and when he was about to speak, the little prince suddenly woke up like a dream, tightly clutching Zhao Rang's sleeve, and asked in a choked voice: "Mother... Is it going to die?"

Zhao Rang hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "No, Your Highness."

Even if the other party is just a childish son, he does not want to deceive and deceive. Since Empress Xie was relegated unreasonably by Li Lang, it is only a short distance away from the decree being abolished. I am afraid that it will not be of much use to the Xie family, and she is already Knowing that her biological father is malicious, so that the forces on both sides will no longer be attached to her, and it will become a gap for the woman to live.

The little prince was silent for a moment, he poured his whole small body into Zhao Rang's chest, and said softly: "I know what death is, noble concubine, if you die, others will not be able to see you, and there is no need to do anything , as long as you play every day."

When the voice fell, the little prince coughed violently as if he was choking on a foreign object, bowed like a shrimp, Zhao Rang felt a chill in his heart, silently took the little prince's hand, and pressed between his fingers. It worked, the little prince stopped coughing, panting unceasingly, even more dazed, with the other hand still holding on to Zhao Rang's clothes, his eyes were already closed.

Seeing this, Zhao Rang felt sad, and silently hugged the little prince again, thinking to himself that if he sees Li Lang again, he must talk to him about the prince's upbringing. With my father, how can I be so careless and indifferent?

Even though... Li Lang is determined to be easy to store after the overall situation is settled, Zhao Rang sincerely hopes that the child who is sleeping in his arms can save his life and grow up safely.

After all the twists and turns of the prince, when Zhao Rang first sent him back to the Tai'an Palace where the Queen Mother was, it was already the end of the day, and he hurried to the Leng Palace to meet with several servants who had completed the investigation on the ruins after the catastrophe. We met, but the principal was not there. After questioning, we found out that a charred corpse was dug up from the ruins, and the principal had to report it.

Zhao Rang was shocked when he heard the words. Since he couldn't see the body, it was difficult to judge the identity of the deceased, but a vague ominous sign was trapped inside the cage. He pondered for a while and said, "I'll go inside and have a look."

The servants looked at each other and did not move away. The supervisor of Chengxian Palace quickly stepped forward and said with an apologetic smile, "Your concubine, this is not appropriate, your gold..."

Fearing that the eunuch would come with a "golden branch and jade leaf" without any cover, Zhao Rang said with a smile: "It's okay, I won't go deep, and you can't lose me if you lead and follow."

This noble concubine made her point clearly, and no one in the entire harem can refute it now. Although the inner courtiers were frightened, they had no choice but to support Zhao Rang tremblingly, and stepped into the ruins of the cold palace. Without saying a word, they went straight to the depths of the ruins. Apart from checking, they also fumbled and picked them up regardless of their status and manners.

This team was moving forward in silence, when a young courtier hurriedly caught up and reported to Zhao Rang: "My concubine, an old monk came outside, saying that he was ordered by the queen mother to come to rescue the dead." .”

Queen Mother?Zhao Rang immediately realized what was wrong, even he only got the report in the afternoon, and now he personally came to the place where Zhu Rong stayed, how could the Queen Mother, who was said to be ignorant of common affairs, be so well-informed and able to report in such a short time? Nei Xiayi's decree and the visitor were completed in one go.

The old monk, Zhao Rang, pressed the boulder on his chest. When he really saw the outsider outside the ruins of the cold palace, he clasped his hands together and saluted. He returned the salute calmly and asked, "Dare to ask?" Master's name?"

After a long chanting of the Buddha's name, the old monk replied with a smile: "The poor monk named Haixuan, presided over by the Da Chong'en Temple in Wangcheng, was summoned by the current Empress Dowager to enter the palace to chant sutras for the souls of the dead in the Shura fire..."

Zhao Rang nodded and said, "Master moves fast. But came here alone?"

Haixuan didn't answer the first half of the sentence, he just shook his head and said: "The little apprentice came with the poor monk and is preparing the magic weapon. Do you want to see the noble concubine?"

"That's fine," Zhao Rang readily agreed, "I invite masters and apprentices."

The person who came to answer the announcement was wearing a gray monk robe, leggings and cloth shoes, chanting the Buddha's name to salute, and he sounded like a young man. The reason why it is difficult to be sure is that apart from a pair of white and well-shaped eyes, this person is There is no normal visible part of the whole face. The black and purple raised bubbles spread from the forehead and invaded the neck. It is disgusting to see. Everyone present looked away and looked away. Those with insufficient concentration even exclaimed.

The only exception is Zhao Rang. He didn't hide his surprise at first, but he stared at the young monk's face intently. He lowered his head even lower.

Haixuan said with a smile: "Your concubine, please don't dislike the ugly appearance of this son. Among the disciples taught by the poor monk, he is the one with the highest understanding and the deepest connection with Buddhism."

"Master, I'm afraid that noble disciples are not born with this terrifying appearance, can you tell us about your background?" Zhao Rang still didn't look away.

"When this child was abandoned at the gate of Da Chong'en Temple, he was seriously ill and dying. After being rescued by the poor monk and others with all his strength, he was finally rescued by my Buddha's mercy, but... this skin is already It is so ruined that it is difficult to be seen by others, and it has tarnished the noble concubine's eyes, Amitabha!" Haixuan said apologetically, but his tone was extremely light.

Zhao Rang smiled slightly and didn't answer. It happened that the young monk raised his eyes, and the two looked at each other.

And Li Lang, who was negotiating with Wei Yixiao in the imperial study, also learned that the cold palace caught fire and burned one person to death. At the same time, news came in that Changle Chengxian Palace was missing, and Zhao Rang ordered it to be sealed. The mysterious disappearance of the queen made Li Lang, who had just been entangled with Zhao Rang last night, vigilant and uneasy.

At this time, Wei Yixiao had seen the king's anxiety, so he tried to say: "My lord, this matter is related to the former prince's family, and it should not be handled by the servants in the harem. According to what I see...whether it is handed over to the Imperial City Secretary?"

The emperor was startled, and then smiled: "Yixiao, do you want to hand it over to your subordinates? You are not afraid of acting rashly, but it is not good?"

The Imperial City Division is directly under the emperor, specializing in espionage. It can be called the eyes and ears of the emperor in the Jiuzhongshen palace. There were no female officials in it. It was after Wei Yixiao was in charge of the Imperial City Division that the female department was specially set up.Although he is now the leader of the forbidden army, there are naturally confidantes in the women's department. It is very convenient to borrow those women with unique skills and talents to investigate strange things in the harem.

Wei Yixiao's proposal was actually very appropriate, but Li Lang was obviously hesitant. After thinking for a while, he slowly said: "You choose the person first, and we will discuss it tomorrow. That's right, go out of the palace The event of ascension is approaching, I would like to take this opportunity to visit the Lianhu lake where strange things have happened frequently, and by the way... also go to the Da Chong'en Temple, burn incense and worship Buddha, and pray for the peace of the country and the people."

When the words fell, the smile on the corner of Li Lang's lips was full of sarcasm.