After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 287 The seventh day of the lunar month

What did Concubine Sun do to Empress Wu and the third prince?

If the surviving palace servants around Queen Wu did the same thing to the sixth prince, from the outside world, it would only be regarded as tit for tat, right?

At least he or she hasn't taken action against Concubine Sun yet.

It's also possible that there wasn't enough time.

If it was true that the palace staff around Queen Wu did something, then it would be reasonable for Concubine Sun to believe that "the murderer is related to the Wu family." At that time, the harem was all under the control of Concubine Sun. The only thing she could not control was the Cining Palace of Empress Dowager Zhou. It is equally logical to suspect that the Cining Palace hid the murderer.

Similarly, it is impossible for the Gui family who lives in Cining Palace not to recognize the confidants around their eldest aunt, Empress Wu. Her words in front of Zhen Guogong and his family were actually made clear.

But if this is really the case, why would Gui Shi be so vague? When facing the Zhou family at the Zhenguo Palace, she didn't need to hide the existence of this person at all, right?

Hai Jiao couldn't help but said: "This Mrs. Gui is really yin and yang... Since I have never heard of the rumor that the Queen Mother Zhou hid the murderer of the Sixth Prince in my previous life, then the matter must not have been revealed. That loyal The palace maids don’t know whether they are dead or alive... Empress Dowager Zhou and the Marquis Chengen’s Mansion will not leak the news, so why would Mrs. Gui say such vague words? She could either say that she was wronged and had never done anything, and Sun The imperial concubine was just suspicious, and the sixth prince actually died unexpectedly; or she would have directly confessed that she knew what had happened. Do you think she was trying to hide the truth by telling you she was half-hidden?! Now the people in the Zhenguo Palace have to worry, the Empress Dowager Zhou Did he have any influence on the death of the Sixth Prince? If he did...it would be a big trouble if the emperor knew about it!"

Haitang said: "How could the Queen Mother Zhou get involved in such a thing? Whichever prince ascends to the throne is the same to her. Besides, she also sent Concubine Xu Xian to the emperor. If the Queen Mother Zhou is really suspected of harming the sixth prince, the Emperor How can she trust the person she recommended? Let alone stay in Cining Palace to recuperate and receive treatment during a serious illness!"

The more Hai Jiao thought about it, the more puzzled she became: "Did Queen Wu's courtiers make their own decisions? It's not surprising that she would hate Concubine Sun, but Queen Mother Zhou was willing to keep her in her palace for protection, and even took in the three survivors of the Wu family. , you have to consider the consequences, don’t you just control people? How could you let people roam around the palace? The Sixth Prince wouldn’t come to the grounds of Cining Palace for no reason? What happened to the palace people? What about the one who met the Sixth Prince? If she was really loyal to the Wu family, hadn't she considered what harm she would do to the three survivors of the Wu family if she missed it? She would also hurt the Queen Mother. She couldn't bear it. After so many years, can’t we endure it a little longer? At least we should send Gui’s mother, daughter and Wu Ke out of the palace first, right?”

What exactly happened in Cining Palace at that time, Haijiao and Haitang could only rely on guesswork to deduce. Hai Jiao believes that his speculation is likely to be close to the truth, but more information is needed to draw a conclusion. He planned to make more trips to the Zhenguo Palace to collect more information.

In addition, he believed that Gui had probably met Concubine Xu Xian before she was named a concubine, and perhaps knew her true identity. It would be bad if Gui Shi talked nonsense in front of the Zhou family and affected Jin Jiashu.

The news that the survivors of the Wu family were living in the Zhenguogong Mansion has not yet spread in Chang'an City. Hai Jiao thought it was best not to write this matter down on the stationery, lest something go wrong along the way and the news leaked out. The safest way is for him to tell Jin Jiashu the news face to face. But now that he couldn't spare any time, he planned to discuss it with Jin Jiashu in detail after collecting more information.

After Haitang discussed it with her brother, she secretly drew a map of Da Chu's harem according to her memory. Although it was fifty or sixty years ago when she left the palace in her previous life, in the past fifty or sixty years, except for the reconstruction of Kunning Palace after the fire, no large-scale palaces were built. It's just repairs or renovations and reinforcements, so the layout of the various palaces in the harem should generally remain unchanged.

She looked at the map, showing the distance between Kunning Palace and Cining Palace, as well as the rows of palaces and courtyards along the way, including Wan'an Palace where Concubine Sun lived.

I remember that when my cousin Xie Wenzai was chatting with the two elders Cao and Lu, he once mentioned that Concubine Sun's palace was actually connected by the two palaces of Wan'an and Yongshou. It was still called Wan'an Palace, and it was the largest place in the palace. The building complex, including the attached small garden, exceeds the size of Kunning Palace in terms of area. In the old days, this was one of the proofs that Concubine Sun was more popular than Empress Wu. Many courtiers thought it was inappropriate, but because the emperor acquiesced, Empress Wu did not say anything, and Concubine Sun continued to live like this. Although she has not been granted the title of queen for so many years, nor has she moved into Kunning Palace, the pomp and splendor of this Wan'an Palace is enough to show that her honor and favor in the imperial court has not diminished.

Although Concubine Xu Xian became a concubine and gave birth to a prince, she was far inferior to Concubine Sun in terms of reputation. Wan'an Palace occupies such a large area, and Concubine Sun is surrounded by countless palace servants. Not to mention Xu, the wet nurse of the quasi-prince who had just entered the palace that year, even the senior palace confidants around Empress Wu wanted to break through these many palaces and escape from Kunning Palace under the eyes of Concubine Sun and her minions. Escape to Cining Palace is not an easy task. How did Concubine Xu Xian and her companions do it back then?

Haitang always felt that there might be some secret hidden here. I wonder if she would find out one day?

The next day was the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, and it was also the day that the town government had decided early to host a New Year’s banquet.

Early in the morning, the Hai family got up to freshen up, ate some simple pasta, and then began to dress up.

Ma paid great attention to today's banquet at the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion. Not only did she wear genuine makeup, the most gorgeous new clothes, and a full set of gold and jade hair and face, she even personally selected each of her grandchildren's clothes and jewelry. , and will never allow their children to be disrespectful in any way in the Zhou family.

The clothes and accessories of Haixi Cliff were also carefully selected by Ma. He himself had no objection and allowed himself to be manipulated by his wife. After getting dressed, he sat by the kang, reading the newspaper and waiting for notifications from Xie Wenzai and others in the front yard.

Today, I received a message to visit the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. Not only the Hai family, but also Xie, Cao, and Lu. Madam Ma had also arranged their clothes and accessories early, and she would never let anyone laugh at her for not taking good care of her guests.

Hai Changan also received the post, but he was not interested in meeting too many outsiders, so he declined early and was responsible for staying to look after the house.

It was still a long time before noon, so Ma urged the family to get on their horses and get into the car.

Hai Liao unaccustomedly adjusted his black suede fox fur cloak with silver thread embroidery. He always felt that it was very heavy. Now he felt uncomfortable even getting on his horse.

Just when he was about to complain, he saw his sister Haitang, dressed in a gorgeous dress, walking to the carriage with dignified and elegant steps, but jumped onto the carriage lightly and quickly, without even using a step stool, and with the beads on her head between her hairpins. Hua Liusu only swayed slightly twice, and he couldn't help but marvel.

He asked Haitang in a low voice: "When did you learn this skill? Why haven't I seen you use it before?"

Haitang glanced at her brother proudly: "This is a secret. Don't ask about girls' abilities!" She could still tell the truth. This was a combination of the palace etiquette she learned in her previous life and the martial arts she had practiced hard in this life. ?

Hai Jiao didn't have much experience in getting along with ladies, but he remembered that Miss Zhuang, whom he had met in his previous life, also walked with a beaded crown on her head, but could not move at all. It seems that this is really a unique skill of girls. .

Neither the younger sister nor Miss Zhuang complained. He was just wearing a thick and pointy cloak, so what was there to dislike?

Hai Jiao immediately straightened his back and climbed onto his horse with agility.

(End of this chapter)