bastard returns

"What did you say?" Shu Shi was taken aback by Ning Yuan's words, "It's not a human fetus? What does this mean? Could it be that the concubine Yue is not pregnant with a dragon fetus!?"

"Indeed, if I'm not mistaken, the fetus in Yue Concubine's stomach should have been 'implanted'." Ning Yuan said while seeing Shu's and Sikong Xuan's puzzled expressions, he explained in detail Dao: "There is a kind of Gu technique among the southern barbarians, which is to use the human body as the feeder, plant Gu worms into women's bodies, and use their own menstrual blood to stimulate the growth of Gu worms as if they are pregnant. A woman's body develops like a fetus, so her pulse will be exactly the same as when she was pregnant."

Shu's eyes widened, "You mean, Concubine Yue used that voodoo technique to plant some strange things in her body to fabricate signs of pregnancy and deceive the imperial physician and the emperor?"

"The biggest evidence is in these sweets." Ning Yuan pointed to the records of the imperial dining room, "Because the Gu worms grow rapidly and require a lot of nutrients, if the concubine Yue doesn't follow the rules, put more sweets in the food." In the belly, I am afraid that before the Gu worms grow up, she will be sucked dry first, and the jasmine incense burner in the Moon Concubine Palace is also used to appease the Gu worms, lest they cause the mother to be disturbed by excessive restlessness."

"So that's the case." Shu Shi half-covered her mouth in horror, "But Concubine Yue has lived in the deep palace for a long time, and where did she find these evil and heretical things?"

"Concubine Yue doesn't know. Naturally, there are people around her who will know." Ning Yuan sneered, thinking that the so-called demon heretics, Sikong Xu has collected a lot, if he hadn't seen it from him before, he might not be sure. can tell.

"Since that's the case, then I'll tell my father now, and let him punish Concubine Yue severely!" Sikong Xuan immediately walked out of the courtyard upon hearing this.

"Stop." Shu stopped him, "Why are you still so irritable, kid? You go and tell your father, and then you can. Do you have evidence in your hand to prove that your father will believe you or the imperial physician? When the concubine Yue came back with a false accusation, what do you do?"

"I..." Sikong Xuan stood on the spot, lowered his head angrily, he was only focused on avenging the Shu family, so he couldn't think so much.

"But there's one thing I still don't understand." Sikong Xuan stopped drinking, and Shu turned her head to Ning Yuan and said, "Isn't concubine Yue digging her own grave by doing this? She won't be able to conceive this baby for the rest of her life. Wait until October." When the pregnancy is ripe, how can she hide it?"

"Since Concubine Yue is pretending to be pregnant just for the sake of favor, then it is enough to attract the emperor's attention, and there is no need to really give birth to anything." Ning Yuan said slowly: "When the time is right, Concubine Yue will naturally find an opportunity to make her child disappear with a legitimate reason, but what kind of reason does the empress think she will find?"

Shu snorted softly: "Is there any other reason, it must be the one who puts it on the line, and the crime of endangering the dragon's fetus is not a small one, and the concubine Yue is really easy to calculate."

Sikongxuan listened to the side for a while, and at this moment he understood what the two of them meant, and said worriedly to Shu: "In this case, you must not get too close to her, concubine mother, she has always been jealous of concubine mother returning to the palace. Most likely, it will be on the mother's head."

"That's not necessary. For at least three months, the concubine Yue can't rely on others." Ning Yuan said again: "Gu worms are different from real fetuses. In the first three months, the fetus is not closely connected with the mother's body, so It is easy to have a miscarriage, but the first three months before the Gu worm enters the host is the time when it is most closely connected with the host's body. If the concubine Yue wants to send away the contents of her stomach at this time, she might lose half her life. She will definitely not take this risk. She will only start to play tricks after three months, when the Gu worms take shape and the connection with the host is not so close. Walk around, at least to make the emperor look like you are not angry because of the framing of the concubine Sun and Moon when you returned to the palace, but repaying your hatred with kindness, and everything is the emperor's heir."

"I understand. If you weren't here today, I wouldn't know that there would be such a famous hall in Fuyue Palace." Shu's eyes flashed, "Now that I know what concubine Yue is planning, I will It is impossible for her to succeed. Since she has played so many tricks to match the praying mantis that catches the cicada, I will have to see the truth. When she finds out that what she wants to catch is not the cicada but the oriole, what will happen? How to react."

For a long period of time after that, the palace was very peaceful. The concubine Yue, who had been neglected at first, became the emperor's favorite because of her pregnancy. Many concubines were upset, and the concubine Yue was usually domineering and domineering. She is not very popular in the palace, and now that there are many people who are jealous, no one will visit her Fuyue Palace, except for one person, Concubine Shu Hui who has just returned to the palace.

Because of the farce at the gate of the palace on the day when Concubine Shu Hui returned to the palace, most of the concubines felt that Concubine Shu Hui and Concubine Yue must be the kind of people who never get in touch with each other. , others naturally thought that Mrs. Shu had other ideas, such as wanting to get rid of the fetus in the womb of the concubine Yue, so they waited patiently for the arrival of this farce amidst the endless gossip. Months, three months, three full months passed, and the concubine Yue's fetus was still safe and sound. Those people realized that the Shu family always went to Fuyue Palace not to get rid of Concubine Yue's child. Really going to chat with her about abortion?

For a while, there were rumors about Concubine Shu Hui's lack of heart in the palace. They all said that Concubine Shu Hui was so stupid that she would give her heart and soul to those who wanted to frame her, and she would only deserve it if she met a white-eyed wolf.

However, three months later, Mrs. Shu suddenly complained to the outside world that she was sick, and she never took a step outside the gate of the Hall of Huanqing. Concubine Yue probably felt that it was strange that Mrs. Shu, who had been diligent in the past, suddenly stopped coming, and sent Several waves of people came to invite Shu Shi to have tea, but they were all refused by Shu Shi on the grounds of health.

Then, soon came the twelfth lunar month.

The winter cold has come, and all the palaces have set up charcoal stoves for warmth. In the academy where the princes study knowledge, Ning Yuan is wearing a big cloak and standing on the edge of the courtyard, instructing Sikong Xuan to write on the snow with a brush.

"Dipping a brush in hot water and practicing calligraphy on the snow is an excellent way to train the mastery of your brushstrokes, which the bachelors who come to the academy will not teach you." Ning Yuan said while pointing On the ground Sikong Xuan just finished writing and said: "Look, it's because you wrote too hard, the snow melted too much, and the characters changed, so how can you practice calligraphy well and make your father happy. "

The emperor attaches great importance to Confucianism and Chinese studies, and is quite accomplished in calligraphy. Sikong Xuan is the youngest prince. He is inferior to Sikong Yue in terms of power, inferior to Sikong Xu in terms of scheming, and is not as unique as Sikong Xi and Sikong Ao. If you want to please the emperor, practicing good calligraphy is a good way, and it is also a task assigned to him by the Shu family. Unfortunately, like other energetic young men, Sikong Xuan is very obsessed with boxing kung fu. Things that require concentration are useless, so Ning Yuan took advantage of the snow in winter and dragged him outside the yard to practice calligraphy.

"You kid, you thought you knew some heresy methods, so you thought of arranging our serious bachelors. Believe it or not, I immediately asked the emperor to throw you out of the palace." The old man with the goatee, "Don't forget that you can enter the palace and accompany His Highness the Sixth Highness as an accompanist. Except for the Sixth Highness who said all the good things in front of the emperor, there is no old man to go along with the flow. You can't even step in the palace gate."

Ning Yuan smiled wryly, and could only salute the old man, "What Xueshi Tian said is that Ning Yuan has been taught."

Tian Buwei used to be very close to Gao Yu in the Hanlin Academy. After Gao Yu's accident, he has been complaining about his former colleague, and because of his stubborn personality, and even though he is Xie Changqing's mentor, he can see him The champion of the new discipline also seemed to be hidden by the snow, but was gradually squeezed out by other scholars who were good at changing the direction of the wind. It just so happened that Concubine Shu Hui and the sixth prince returned to the palace at this time. The academy for a long time, let Sikongxuan go in to make up lessons, Tian Buwei asked himself to be transferred from the Hanlin Academy, and went to this palace academy where he had neither money nor power, to teach Sikongxuan while hiding away.

Seeing that Ning Yuan was so convincing, Tian Buwei blew his beard and waved his hand and said without arguing with him, "Forget it, this is the end of today's class. The old man wants to rest now, so I won't send you off." Your Highness the Sixth Prince." After speaking, he took a step back and slammed the door shut.

Ning Yuan smiled helplessly, and Sikong Xuan had already put down his pen, stretched his waist and said, "It's almost noon now, why don't you come and have dinner with me, my lord."

"Your Highness, please don't relax too early, I'm afraid you won't be able to relax right now." Ning Yuan helped Sikong Xuan put on a cloak, Sikong Xuan didn't know why, and was about to ask what Ning Yuan was trying to do, when he saw a celebration The servants of the palace suddenly walked into the courtyard and saluted him: "Your Highness, my lord, the servants are here to convey the message for Concubine Hui. Your Majesty is now leaving for the Empress Dowager Hall to greet the Queen Mother. Let the servants come and take you along."

"Hey, my concubine has been hiding for such a long time due to her illness. Today, there is snow on the ground and it's not easy to walk. Why did she come out?" Sikong Xuan muttered, but the palace servant was indeed Shu's personal servant, he There is no doubt about him.

The snow fell last night, so today has become the coldest day in the palace since the beginning of winter. Sikong Xuan and Ning Yuan happened to meet Shu Shi and his party in the imperial garden, and they joined the team and headed towards the Empress Dowager's Palace .Mrs. Shu obviously dressed up specially, with light makeup and few jewelry on her body, but she looked a bit sick and weak. At least she used the excuse of being sick to hide in the palace for so long. Please go to the Queen Mother on time. Don't let the Queen Mother feel that you are This person is obviously flushed, where did the disease come from?

The people in the Empress Dowager's Hall probably didn't expect Concubine Hui to come over suddenly, they hurriedly cleaned up the snow outside the palace, and then entered the courtyard to welcome Concubine Hui. The Empress Dowager was leaning on the couch in the main hall, drinking tea while Reading an account, seeing Mrs. Shu coming, he quickly put down the book in his hand and said with a smile: "You are really a rare visitor. I heard from the emperor that you have been ill recently. It is freezing cold. Why do you want to come if you don't have a good rest."

"The concubine was suffocated in the palace, and wanted to come out to get some air, so she specially took advantage of the snowy scenery to greet the Queen Mother, so that she could walk around." After a salute, Mrs. Shu sat down, and her eyes fell on the book in the Queen Mother's hand , said: "What is the Queen Mother looking at?"

The queen mother said: "Look at the end of the new year, there are so many people in the palace, and the annual festival expenses are extremely huge. This year, because of the drought and floods, there have been many turmoil for several months. The emperor said that everything should be kept simple and mourning for the family. With nothing else to do, I asked for the account book of the harem's expenses from the queen, intending to see how much money was saved."

"The emperor is sympathetic to the people of Liming, and he is diligent and thrifty in the palace. No matter how much money he saves, it will be a blessing for me." Shu echoed: "My concubine walked this way, and saw the place in the palace that I wanted to compare with the lights and festoons. It’s a lot less, and the Imperial Dining Room and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have also started to calculate carefully to avoid a lot of waste. Thinking about this New Year’s Eve, they should be able to save a lot of money.”

"Yeah, it's time to save a lot of money." The queen mother couldn't see much joy on her face, but said with a somewhat helpless expression: "It's just that no matter how frugal other places are, as long as there is a place that spends money like water, No matter how much money you save, it’s useless.”

Shu Shi wondered: "What does the Queen Mother mean?"

The Queen Mother didn't speak, but just handed over the account book, "You can read it yourself."

Mrs. Shu took it, looked at the number on it, and counted with her fingers again, and said in surprise: "The Fuyue Hall costs more this month than the Empress Dowager Hall and Queen's Hall combined?"

"In terms of ingredients alone, the expenditure of Fuyue Hall is three times that of the Empress Dowager's Hall. I think that with such a small body, Yuegui Concubine really has a lot of food." It has been a long time since anyone has conceived, and once she conceives, it is more expensive after all."

Shu said: "The emperor is also happy. These days, if there are any good things, they will be sent to Fuyue Hall. Now that Yuegui's concubine is stable, it is the credit that the emperor values."

The queen mother smiled, "Oh, I hope she can really give birth to a grandson for the Ai family in peace, and she can be regarded as my great Zhou's hero."

At this time, Mother Kang, who was accompanying the Queen Mother, came in with a white jade cup, and said respectfully: "Queen Mother, General Zhao sent someone to send a high-quality Snow Ganoderma lucidum this morning. I found it on Liangshan Mountain, and my servant thought that snow ganoderma is the best tonic for the cold weather recently, so I made a cup of ganoderma three-treasure soup with the best matsutake mushroom, Hericium erinaceus and black-bone chicken." After finishing speaking, Mother Kang revealed When the lid of the white jade cup was opened, a strong aroma immediately permeated the whole room.

The Empress Dowager nodded and said to Shu: "Thinking that Mother Kang cooked too much, Ai's family can't finish it. It just so happens that you come, so I will accompany Ai's family to eat some." With a wave, Mother Kang immediately understood, poured the steaming soup into two bowls, and presented them to the Queen Mother and Shu Shi in turn.

The Queen Mother took a sip and said with a smile: "It really is a good thing, just one sip will make your whole body warm, Concubine Hui, you should try it too."

Shu Shi held the bowl without moving for a long time.

The queen mother wondered: "What's the matter, could it be that you are not feeling well and your appetite is poor?"

"No." Shu raised her head and said with a smile: "I just think that snow ganoderma lucidum is rare, and it would be a waste for my concubine to eat such a good thing. In winter, pregnant women are cold, so this soup is just right for my concubine Yuegui."

The Queen Mother nodded at her, "You are virtuous, here at Aijia, you still think about Fuyue Temple in your mind, Aijia heard that Yuegui concubine was pregnant for the first three months, and you always walked around Fuyue Temple , you don’t stop sending any good things in your hand, I see that compared with the emperor, you are more like a child in the womb of the concubine Jinguiyuegui."

Shu lowered her head and pursed her lips, "The empress dowager is serious. No child has been born in the palace for many years, and the concubine is also happy for the emperor."

The Empress Dowager said: "Forget it, since that's the case, Mother Kang, you can send this bowl of soup to Fuyue Palace, and it will be faster to save it from getting cold."

"It's such a small matter, how can I bother the people around the Queen Mother, Madam Li." Madam Li is an attendant by Shi Shi's side. Seeing Shi Shi calling her, Mama Li hurriedly stood up, took the bowl of soup, and carefully used a food box. After installing it, he bowed and exited the hall, heading towards Fuyue Hall.

The Empress Dowager chatted with Shu Shi for a while, and seeing that it was getting late, she stopped by Shu Shi for dinner. The imperial dining room did not bring much color, but it was more exquisite, and was having a good time when a famous court lady hurried in. , knelt down with a pale face, and said: "Qizhen, the queen mother, something is wrong, concubine Yuegui... she had a miscarriage!"

"What!?" The queen mother trembled, and the chopsticks in her hand were not stable for a moment, and they fell to the ground.

Shu's face also suddenly turned pale, Sikong Xuan turned his head subconsciously, glanced at Ning Yuan, saw Ning Yuan nodded slightly to him, he lowered his head as if he understood something, and sneered cryptically .

Fuyue Hall was already in chaos.

In the bedroom, several palace servants came in and out with hot water, and several nurses and imperial physicians who induced labor also came, and they all stayed in the hall and talked a lot, while the concubine Yue was lying on the bed and screaming miserably. Very painful.

The emperor was originally in the study room discussing matters with the ministers of military affairs. When he heard the news, he couldn't even care about state affairs, and rushed over immediately. He was sitting at the entrance of the hall with a gloomy face. out, afraid that the emperor will anger them.

The Empress Dowager couldn't come right away because she needed to change her clothes, so Shu Shi rushed there ahead of time. Seeing the situation, a horrified expression appeared on her face: "What the hell is going on!?"

"You're here." The emperor saw Shu, and his face softened a little, "Concubine Yuegui's incident happened suddenly, and the imperial physician is now inside. If the imperial physicians try their best, they want to come..." But the emperor hadn't finished speaking, and the imperial physician Doctor Zheng, who was in charge of the hospital, came out, knelt down and said, "My Majesty's condolences, your concubine has already had a miscarriage."

Hearing this, the emperor's face immediately turned cold, and he walked into the palace without thinking, and the Shu family immediately followed him in.

There was a faint smell of blood in the hall, and the screams of Concubine Yuegui had disappeared, and turned into whimpers. The maids went out one after another holding the blood-stained cloth strips. Helping Concubine Yue make the quilt beside the bed, the emperor also stood there without saying a word.

"Your majesty..." Concubine Yue stared at the emperor with a pair of watery eyes, "The concubine is in pain, the concubine's child is gone..."

Her pitiful expression seemed to hurt the emperor's nerves, his lips trembled, he looked back at Zheng Taiyi depressedly and said: "Tell me, what's going on, why your concubine who is so good will suddenly have a miscarriage!"

"Your Majesty, calm down." Imperial Physician Zheng showed a sincere and fearful expression, "Your concubine's pregnancy has been very stable in the first three months. After giving birth, the product is nothing but a piece of blood, it can be seen that the fetus has suffered some accidents in the mother's womb and melted away, such a situation can only happen, only possible..."

"Someone murdered?" The emperor took the words.

"Your Majesty, calm down." Imperial Physician Zheng kowtowed again, "The thing that can melt the fetus in the womb must be an extremely powerful abortifacient, or something that is extremely yin and cold, and your mother can't even touch such a thing. How can it be swallowed into the stomach, it really makes me puzzled."

"Investigate! Let me investigate! Who is making trouble and daring to murder my child!" The emperor suddenly yelled, and the child he was looking forward to suddenly disappeared like this, and he was poisoned by someone's means. I'm afraid. Any man would be furious. His majestic eyes swept around the bedroom, and suddenly pointed to one of the maids and said, "Tell me, what did your concubine eat before the accident happened!"

The palace maid was so frightened that she immediately knelt down and said stammeringly: "Your concubine...the lady was having lunch before the accident, and all the things were presented by the imperial dining room. There is nothing else for the empress... Ah, when the empress was halfway through the meal, the Li mother next to the empress sent a bowl of soup, saying that the empress specially gave it to our noble concubine empress to make up for her body of……"

"Soup making?" The emperor frowned, glanced at Shu Shi who was standing behind him, and asked again: "Have you tried making soup?"

"The servants originally wanted to test it, but the empress said that since it was sent by the concubine Hui, there would be no mistakes, so she took it directly and used it. After a while, the empress began to have abdominal pain..." Then The palace maid was obviously frightened, and after finishing her speech tremblingly, she kowtowed non-stop, begging the emperor to spare her life.

"Concubine Hui!" Hearing what the maid said, the emperor looked at Shu Shi in amazement, "Could it be related to you?"

"Your Majesty... don't blame Concubine Hui..." Before Shu Shi could speak, Concubine Yue lay on the bed and said angrily, "Concubine Hui has always treated me very well, how could the Emperor doubt her...it must be The concubines are not good themselves, and don't know what dirty things they ate in a daze..."

"Yue'er, don't talk, be careful." The emperor was in a hurry, and called out all the names he used when flirting with Yue'er, "Don't worry, I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly, if anyone dares to murder my child , no matter who it is, I will not let it go!"

Shu Shi stood aside, watching all this with cold eyes, did not speak, and showed no expression of nervousness or worry.

"Princess Zheng, carefully inspect all the food that your concubine eats for me, and you can't let go of any of them." After appeasing Concubine Yue, the emperor waved his sleeves and ordered to imperial physician Zheng.

Imperial Physician Zheng took the order, and immediately led the other two imperial physicians to a table not far away. Concubine Yue was in a hurry, so all the food she ate just now remained on the table, untouched by the three imperial physicians. The division of labor was meticulous, and the exquisite dishes were carefully inspected one by one. In the end, Taiyi Zheng took a bowl of soup that had been cooled down, tried it with silver needles, and then smelled it. , put a last touch on the tip of the tongue, immediately his complexion changed drastically, he quickly turned around and knelt down and said, "My Majesty, there is a bowl of soup on the table that has been mixed with Huataisan!"