Huaibi

"Why is there so much noise outside the palace, Mianchun," the queen called softly from the curtain in the inner room, "The prince is here, Mianchun, quickly help me get up."

Ping Huaizhen clenched his fists, stopped looking at the corpse on the beam, stepped into the hall and hurried towards the curtain.

Not long after, there was a gentle voice coaxing considerately: "Mother, slow down, Mianchun is not in this hall."

The empress half-opened her dull eyes, her eyebrows frowned in confusion: "Fang is still there."

"Yes, I just left. The reason is that my family members are sick and want to see her. Mianchun didn't dare to disturb your rest, so I came to beg my son." Ping Huaizhen prevaricated, only wishing to hide it from her, apologizing Said, "Your minister allowed her to leave the palace on his own initiative, and there is no one around the godmother to take care of her."

"There is no shortage of people to take care of this place. It is a kind act of the crown prince to allow her to leave the palace." The queen couldn't bear his self-blame, so she hurriedly answered the words and held her hand to comfort him.Ping Huaizhen didn't reply, but nodded and held her thin hand for a moment, carefully put it under the quilt.

Outside the curtain, Jiang Changmo listened to a few words, and his heartbeat gradually slowed down like a drum. Looking back, he saw that Wu Yangcheng had restrained the frightened palace maid to hide in the palace, and closed the two high doors closely.

Jiang Chang was stared at by him like a torch in this dark night, and when he came back to his senses, he hurried forward to cover the mouth of the palace maid for him, and let him approach alone with free hands, to hug Mian Chun's stiff body to the ground .The servant girl watched halfway, as if she was stared at by Mian Chun's eyes, she was so frightened that her eyes rolled down with tears, but she couldn't cry out anymore.

There are only a few layers of gauze tents, and the outside is like a ghost walking through hell, treacherous and silent, while the inside is a loving mother and filial son talking softly in the world.

The queen still doesn't know the truth, let alone Mianchun's body is already cold in what she said, and she is just a few feet away.She believed everything the prince said, and she indeed went out of the palace when Mianchun begged for mercy. She took care of her daily necessities and food for the past two days. Careful."

Ping Huaizhen's heart was filled with soreness, recalling the Fengyi Palace where the power was all over the harem, no one in the hall could compare with Yantong's considerateness, only this one person is enough.

It's hard to find someone as careful as Mianchun like today.

There was a lump in his throat, he slowed down for a moment and tried to make the voice come out with a smile: "My son will find you again."

The queen almost opened her mouth to refuse, but when the words came to her lips, she didn't say a word, she smiled and nodded in response.She knew that people around her really needed someone to take care of her, so instead of trying to be brave, she might as well follow the prince's wishes, so as not to make him worry all the time, that's all, Heyue's face turned sad again, and she became worried.

"It's not peaceful recently. I heard that the Ministry of Criminal Justice in the front hall just lost a minister a few days ago."

As soon as Ping Huaizhen heard her words, she knew that there were doubts in her words. Considering that there were people in the outer hall, she couldn't answer too clearly, so she approached a little in a low voice and said politely: "My son was also surprised."

As soon as the words came out, the queen knew that this matter had nothing to do with him.

However, there is nothing to do but something to do, the perpetrator is Lianhua, and the reason affects the life and death of more than a hundred dead servants. Although Ping Huaizhen didn't know about it in advance, he couldn't leave it completely behind.That's why so few of them at the moment are just for the empress's heart. He is no longer a young man, and now he doesn't want the empress to bother him any more. Feng Yidian pleads guilty and clears the crown prince's grievances. The queen is under her feathers.

"Your father..." The empress didn't notice his many emotions, and finally asked the most concerned thing, "Your father, is your body getting better today?"

Ping Huaizhen still didn't tell her the truth: "How dare the imperial physicians be negligent, the queen mother should not be too sad."

"You say so, the emperor is..." The queen smiled resignedly, and without much hesitation stretched out her hand lying under the quilt, groping to find Ping Huaizhen's arm that was close by, and using a little force to draw him closer From ear to lips, he said in a very light voice, "You are the crown prince, and the reserve position has not been changed for many years, and in the heart of the emperor, it will never be changed again. If the empress mother can understand this truth, others should be able to understand it. There are many difficulties and dangers in stepping, and you can't protect yourself unless you are extremely cautious. Do you understand, Xiaoer?"

Suddenly evoked a nickname.

Ping Huaizhen frowned and listened, and only then did she suddenly understand that the queen's worry was not at all about the emperor's health or not, but that she watched her son step on the last stage with a hanging heart.

If you succeed, you will establish the heaven and earth; if you fail, you will fall into the abyss.

There is no way out.

"My child understands." So Ping Huaizhen no longer condescended in his words, and kept the mother's advice in mind, like engraving a chapter of amulets deep in his bones.

The queen nodded after hearing this, temporarily letting go of her unyielding heart all day long, loosened her fingers inch by inch, and tried to smooth out the wrinkles on the sleeves.

The wind blows outside the hall, blowing out a porch lamp.

The bright moon was covered by clouds and half covered, Ping Huai looked out the window, saw the dark moon and wind, and the chill was chilling, after a while, he looked away, lowered his eyes and said: "The moonlight is good today, and the weather at night is so dreary here." It's still cool in summer, and my mother will surely sleep well." He helped her to lie down while talking.

The queen bent her lips and closed her eyes, had a brief chat with him, and fell asleep peacefully.

Ping Huai was guarding silently by the couch, his ears filled with the cicadas' chirping deep in the vegetation, the more he listened, the quieter he felt.

After an unknown amount of time, the queen fell into a deep sleep, and he also got up to leave, raising the curtains gently without making a sound, and when he passed the outer hall, his feet rested next to the three people who had been waiting for a long time.

The maidservant of the Night Watch Palace, with dry tears on her face, immediately knelt down towards him with weak knees, Ping Huaizhen didn't even look at him, and whispered to Wu Yangcheng: "Clean it up."

Wu Yangcheng knew what he was referring to, knowing that he was referring to the corpse of Mianchun, but the maid was thinking wildly, thinking that she was going to silence her, so she begged for mercy in a panic, Jiang Chang covered her mouth tightly after only half a word .Ping Huaizhen looked back and glared, Jiang Chang was sweating in his heart, and when the prince suppressed his anger and turned around to walk out, he restrained the maid to follow out of the palace in a hurry.

In the middle of the journey, there was no sound of footsteps behind him, and Ping Huaizhen went back to Xu'an Hall alone, without anyone being allowed to light the lamp, and sat silently in the dark night.About a stick of incense passed, and footsteps came from outside the hall. He raised his eyes and waited for Jiang Changsui to walk up to him and tell him what to do next.

"Prince, the servant girl has been careful, and she will never say a word about what happened tonight."

"It's best like this," Ping Huaizhen gently rubbed the center of his brows, "Don't forget to point her at all times, if you want to get out of the body, remember to keep your mouth in check. If you are clever, you will benefit from her."

"Hey, the servant said, the prince is tolerant, as long as she is sensible, she can live a good life, and she will be promoted to a first-class court lady in the future."

Ping Huaizhen was very satisfied to hear his retelling, so this matter was revealed, and then he ordered: "There are two things, you can do it tomorrow when you get up."

Jiang Chang bowed his head and nodded: "The prince will give orders."

"Find out the cause of Mianchun's death, don't make any publicity about what you do, and teach Wu Yangcheng not to leave any traces."

"Your servant complies, and I will investigate carefully." Jiang Chang memorized it verbatim, and then asked, "Prince, what is the other matter?"

Ping Huaizhen thought for a while, as if he was still hesitating, for a while, he put aside his worries and said to him: "Go to Yeting Palace to have a look."

Jiang Chang was taken aback for a moment, then lowered his eyebrows: "Hey."

The night is very long.

The next day, the sky was pale, but Jiang Chang, who had slept for a long time, got up diligently, and read the prince's order to go around the Shaoren Palace Lane to Yeting.

In the vast imperial city, apart from the most important dining room, this tired place alone wakes up the earliest.As an old man in the palace, Jiang Chang naturally knew that most of the people trapped in Yeting were slaves who committed crimes and punished them. To put it mildly, it was the master who pardoned the death penalty, but whoever entered this place was tortured and tortured for life. Better to die.

In the past, no one ever thought that Yantong, who was beside the queen, would end up like this one day.

Early in the morning, Ye Ting Palace was filled with all kinds of noises, vaguely mixed with the sharp voice of humiliation and scolding from the eunuch in charge, scolding those tired and lazy people to the point of blood.Jiang Chang felt pity when he heard this sound from a distance, but he was even more worried when he walked closer and looked at the prematurely aging palace talents with disheveled temples and dull faces.He raised his eyes and searched around, but he didn't see Yantong, but the supervisor saw him, his ferocious face was filled with flattering smiles, and he came forward to meet him courteously.

"Hey, isn't this Eunuch Jiang! What wind brought you here?"

Jiang Chang was not the most senior in the palace, but after being with the prince for so many years, his status was a little lower than that of the eunuch in front of the emperor.He understands this principle, but he understands the principle of being prepared for danger in times of peace even better, so he never puts on airs in front of others, greets everyone with a smile, and always reciprocates courtesy and smiles back.

At this moment, staring at the person who is very close to please, Jiang Chang said with a smile on his eyebrows without thinking: "Mr. Annoyance recognizes me."

The eunuch in front of him was flattered to see him treat him politely: "Eunuch Jiang said this...you are a celebrity around the prince, how many people in the palace don't recognize you?" After speaking, he covered his mouth and laughed.

Jiang Chang laughed a few times along with him, when the time was right to pull the person a few steps away, he turned his back to the crowded place, and handed a silver ingot to his palm by virtue of his wide sleeves.The eunuch took out the shape of a silver ingot, was startled for a moment, pretended to refuse, and was pushed back by his wrapped palm: "Elder-in-law deserves it, there is no one who asks for help and does not give money for hard work, don't you think so?"

The overseer then hurriedly nodded with a smile, and accepted the silver without hesitation, with flattery words in his mouth: "Eunuch Jiang has something to say, how dare the young one neglect you!"

Jiang Chang didn't care about the hypocrisy, seeing that he had collected the money, he said straight away: "I don't want to hide it from my father-in-law, I'm here today because I want to see someone, just one time, please arrange it with me."

The eunuch guessed vaguely, and deliberately pretended to be confused with him: "Which Eunuch Jiang wants to see, the younger one will arrange it right away."

"Miss Yantong."

Jiang Chang was straight to the point, and the eunuch was also tactful, knocking on the forehead with the hand that was not wrapped in money, showing a dazed look.

"Eunuch Jiang is waiting in the side courtyard, and I will find you the little one."

"Thank you, father-in-law." The person in front of him stepped forward, Jiang Chang smiled deeply, and suddenly called him back. "Dare to ask your father-in-law's name?"

The man paused, and answered cautiously: "My surname is Chen."

"Eunuch Chen," Xu Yang rose slowly, and the backlight came, suddenly reflecting the smile on his lips coldly, "I will definitely keep it in my heart."

The eunuch shuddered suddenly, a drop of cold sweat rolled down the back of his neck, the next moment he came back to his senses, his face was less flattering and more respectful and fearful, Wei Wei complied.

Jiang Changsong turned around with an expression on his face and walked towards the side courtyard.