Yutai Bi

Chapter 187 Battle Situation
The eyes of all the concubines lit up, this was a great opportunity to appear in front of the emperor.They all responded with coquettish smiles: "Since the Empress has given orders, there is no reason for the concubines to refuse."

Gaozong also thought it was good, so he smiled and said: "I will reward you for a good dance!"

A concubine who is good at dancing got up and changed her clothes.

Cen Meiren saw the queen nodding towards her from afar, so she also got up and left.

After a while, the palace music changed, playing the tune of Hu Xuanwu.There are many songs and dances in the Tang Palace, and Hu Feng is prevalent.While eating warm dishes, they suddenly heard the upbeat music, and everyone was refreshed.At the gate of the hall, a woman dressed in a colorful dance dress came in, stepping on a music beat and dancing around.

Turning around quickly, the dance clothes on her body are like a blooming flower, spinning and spreading out, the beauty is not in full bloom.The faster the drum beat, the faster it spun. For a moment, everyone's heart beat rapidly and they almost stopped breathing.

With a heavy hammer, the music stopped suddenly.The concubine who danced the Hu Xuanwu neatly stopped the dance, and knelt down on the ground: "The concubine has made a fool of herself."

"Good!" Gao Zong took the lead in applauding, seeing her raised her face, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and a red face, he blurted out praise, "What a beauty in lotus!"

Empress Cui laughed and said, "Cen Meiren has made great achievements in performing dances, what will the emperor reward?"

Cen Meiren hurriedly replied: "The concubine doesn't ask for anything else. I plant an old plum in the concubine's palace. I beg the emperor to have time to accompany the concubine to enjoy the scenery of the plum blooming."

Gaozong naturally agreed.

Empress Cui smiled slightly.Another concubine came forward to perform a dance, which was praised by the emperor, and they all begged the emperor to accompany him.The request was not too much, and Gaozong complied.

Empress Cui calculated silently in her heart that she could not rest in Wu Zhaoyi Palace for seven or eight days.I was thinking about the next step in my mind, when I suddenly saw a girl of a few years running towards the back of the palace.The nanny followed behind, and kowtowed when entering the hall: "The little princess wants to see the emperor, but the slaves can't stop her, the emperor forgives her!"

Gaozong saw that it was Princess Xuancheng, born to Empress Cui, who was five years old. He was very happy and waved, "Xuancheng, come to my father's side."

Princess Xuancheng was wearing a red jacket painted with gold, with two buns, her eyebrows were picturesque, and she was extremely cute.Hearing Gao Zong's gentle call to himself, he saluted crisply: "Xuancheng pays respects to father, mother, queen, concubines and wives!"

After finishing speaking, he ran over.

Empress Cui looked at her daughter's thoughts and immediately flew out of Jiuxiaoyun, only staring at her, for fear that she would fall.

Xuancheng ran steadily, and walked to the emperor with a smile.

Gaozong suddenly saw something protruding from her sleeve, and he was curious: "What is hiding in your sleeve?"

Empress Cui also looked curiously.

Xuancheng curled his mouth and took out the things in his sleeve: "It's a doll, it's so delicate!"

Hearing the word puppet, the faces of the people in the temple changed color.Witchcraft is the most taboo thing in the palace.Often once implicated, blood flowed like a river, and an unknown number of people were beheaded and exiled.

Gaozong also suppressed his joy, and picked up the doll.It's about three inches high, and it's made lifelike, with delicate features.With just one glance, he recognized that it was Wu Zhaoyi.

Empress Cui was shocked: "Xuancheng, who gave it to you!"

Her voice was too high-pitched, and Xuancheng trembled in fright: "...the queen mother, I found it in the queen mother's bedside cabinet!"

Wu Zhaoyi sat at the bottom, a foot away from the emperor and empress, so she couldn't see clearly what was in the emperor's hand.She sat quietly without saying a word, like all the concubines present, she looked curiously at the empress and the little princess.

Gaozong didn't even look at Empress Cui, and asked Xuancheng in a harmonious voice: "Don't be afraid, Xuancheng, tell Father, what else did you find?"

Xuancheng pouted: "Xuancheng saw that the doll was exquisite, and it was born exactly like Empress Wu, so he took it and played with it. He didn't pay attention to anything else."

Empress Cui said urgently: "Your Majesty, this is not mine!"

"Come on! Check!" Gaozong held the doll in his hand and ordered with a sullen face.

Empress Cui didn't even think about it, she pointed to Wu Zhaoyi who was at the bottom and said, "You black-hearted bitch, how dare you frame me!"

Wu Zhaoyi was so shocked that she left her seat and knelt down on the ground: "The emperor's lesson! My concubine... panic!"

Empress Cui has stretched out her hand to pull Xuancheng to her side, pointing to Wu Zhaoyi and said, "Xuancheng, who told you to go to the queen mother's bedside cabinet to find that doll? Is it her?"

Xuancheng was so frightened that he burst into tears: "Queen, Xuancheng doesn't dare anymore, don't be angry!"

Empress Cui was so angry that she almost fainted: "Tell the truth, who sent you to the queen mother's bedroom!"

Xuancheng cried and said: "Eunuch An said that grandma brought gifts for the winter solstice. There are many interesting things. I was curious and saw a small slit in the cabinet. I opened it casually and saw it."

Empress Cui turned to the emperor and said: "Your Majesty, this thing does not belong to the concubine, someone must have deliberately put it in the concubine's bedroom..."

"What's the rush for the queen, it's just a doll, and it's exquisitely made." Gao Zong said lightly.

He has read it carefully over and over again, and there is no such thing as stature or birth.With a move in my heart, I handed it to Eunuch Hu.

Eunuch Hu understood the meaning, took a pair of silver scissors and dismantled the doll by himself. After searching carefully, there was nothing inside.

Empress Cui was very nervous, seeing that nothing was found, she was secretly relieved.She knew she had been tricked, and said loudly: "Bring An Zi to the palace, I want to ask for clarification."

At this time, a voice sounded from the front of the hall: "Your Majesty, I have an urgent report on the military situation in the south of the Yangtze River!"

Gaozong's heart tightened, and he got up from the case: "Xuan!"

Wang Xiang hurriedly went to the palace, ignoring the concubines in the palace, and saluting: "Eight hundred miles south of the Yangtze River hastened to report, the thief woman Chen Ke claimed to be Emperor Wenjia, and the rebels had reached 5 people, and they surrounded the palace. Shezhou."

Gaozong didn't care about the puppet incident here, and left his seat in a hurry: "Xuanwei Xiangliu Xiangliu, Minister of the Ministry of War, Shangshu Zichendian discusses matters."

After the emperor left, the Winter Solstice Banquet ended.

Empress Cui held Xuancheng with one hand, watched Wu Zhaoyi Pingting get up, and wished she could tear her apart: "Don't Zhaoyi use the little princess who is only five years old, don't you think the method is too despicable?"

Wu Zhaoyi pretended to be surprised: "Why did your mother say that? The concubine is surprised by this matter. How could someone make a doll that looks like a concubine? Could it be that Madam Cui brought it in when she gave the festival gift? Poor little princess is still innocent, she only knows how to have fun, otherwise, the courtier and concubine won't know what's going on."

She lowered her head and asked the little princess gently: "Your Highness, did you find this doll yourself, or did someone give it to you? What are you going to do with it?"

Xuancheng leaned tightly beside the queen, pursed his mouth, and looked at her in horror. He didn't know where the courage came from, and suddenly ran towards Wu Zhaoyi, and punched him: "...you killed my mother, I want to prick it with a needle every day! It hurts you to death!"

"Xuancheng!" Empress Cui was too surprised to stop her, she stepped forward to hug Xuancheng, and shouted loudly, "Mommy, send the little princess back!"

All the concubines in the hall had not yet dispersed, and they all heard what the little princess said.

Wu Zhaoyi's tears flowed down her cheeks: "Does the empress hate the concubine so much? She hates the concubine so much that she becomes a puppet to harm the concubine? If that's the case, the concubine might as well go to Changchun Palace to eat fast and chant scriptures."

He covered his face and cried and left.

There was no sound in the hall, Empress Cui glanced at Cen Meiren, feeling extremely bitter in her heart.There was only one thought in her mind, why didn't she think of hiding things that were disgusting in Wu Zhaoyi Palace in advance?Now tell her to lay a trap for herself first.

She suddenly remembered the report from Jiangnan.It was really a timely rain, which divided the emperor's mind.He couldn't help secretly praying that Du Yansui's army would be defeated so that the rebellion would become more violent.

I made up my mind, and rushed back to the palace with the people.

As soon as he entered the palace gate, he saw a group of imperial guards approaching, the leader was not his own clan relative, General Cui Zhonglang, but a commander with an unfamiliar face.

"The emperor has ordered that the palace be sealed immediately, and no one in the empress's palace is allowed to leave the palace until the matter is clarified."

The commander waved his hand, and the imperial guards closed the gate of the palace.

Empress Cui stared blankly at the closed palace gate behind her, two lines of tears burst out, and she murmured: "Even if the Jiangnan rebels came fiercely, you never forgot to make decisions for her..."

For a moment, I was so cold that I didn't care about anything.

"Your Majesty, the most urgent thing is to find a way to get the news out!" The nurse beside her said anxiously.

Empress Cui glanced at her, and said coldly: "Concubines in the palace, do you still need us to send news? Where is Anzi? Call him here. I want to ask, why did Xuancheng suddenly go to my bedroom to turn over?" thing."

"Mother..." Mammy hesitated to speak.

"Say something!"

The mother bowed her head and said, "The emperor sent people to investigate earlier and took some things away. He also found Mr. An. He... hanged himself!"

"What?!" Empress Cui was shocked, and she gasped in hatred, "You Wu Zhaoyi, what a ruthless method!"

Seeing the nanny looking at her, Empress Cui forced herself to be calm: "I didn't do it. This matter will definitely be investigated. What can the emperor do to my palace? There are women calling themselves emperors in the Jiangnan Road rebellion. How about Du Yansui?" There is nothing he can do. The emperor is still counting on a group of old officials to share his worries."

Only rely on the soldiers of Huainan Road to enter Jiangnan Road.Without the cooperation of the various prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River, Du Yansui might not be able to sustain food and grass.After going for a month, the woman was actually proclaimed emperor, and the rebel army grew stronger again, gathering a total of 5 people.

The emperor has only been on the throne for three years, and the generals of the Zhechong Mansion are only guided by a few veterans.The emperor did not dare to treat himself as the empress of the Cui family.

Thinking of this, Empress Cui's disturbed heart calmed down again.

(End of this chapter)