After the first fool

Chapter 64 Checking and Balancing the Two Powers
Mo Xiaoran, who was in the dungeon at this time, was completely kept in the dark about the movement from all sides. When she arrived at the dungeon with the imperial guards, she looked at the various instruments of torture hanging on the dark walls. , her eyebrows twitched slightly, there were long-dried blood stains on the wall, and there was a rusty smell in the air. I don't know how many innocent souls have died here.

The further you go into the sky prison, the temperature is getting colder and colder. There are many serious criminals in the prison cells inside the wooden piles. Most of them are yellow and thin, wearing gray prison clothes. They look dejected and their eyes are gray. angry.

A prison chief led Mo Xiaoran to the innermost cell of the sky prison. The cold air rushed towards her face, and Mo Xiaoran couldn't help shivering.

"Empress, please." The prisoner played with the key in his hand, opened the wooden door, and pushed Mo Xiaoran. She frowned, and with a light movement of her shoulders, she easily broke free from the prisoner's shackles.

"Don't touch me, I'll go by myself." Even in the prison, there was still no sign of flinching on her face, only a look of cold arrogance and determination.

"Hey, did you think you were a noble queen? You're just a prisoner." The prison chief cursed secretly, and locked the wooden door. A narrow air vent, outside the stake, there was the faint light of torches and oil lamps. After the imperial guards sent her here, they went back to report.

When the prison head left, he was still yelling and cursing. From time to time, there were wailing sounds from other cells, like a fierce ghost, which was extremely desolate.

Mo Xiaoran glanced at the empty cell, a cold stone bed, with smelly straw under her feet, and nothing else. She folded her arms and sat in the corner, closing her eyes, lingering Surrounding the nostrils, there is a steady stream of stench, the ears are buzzing, and there are even the sound of mice chirping in the corner.

Mo Xiaoran closed her eyes peacefully as if she hadn't noticed it.

I don't know if Bai Zixu will order to abolish the empress this time. For the sake of the prime minister, he should not dare to kill himself, but the anger in his heart has no place to vent, maybe in a fit of anger, he will really abolish the empress.

If that's the case, all the better.

It's just that Xiaozhu has been wronged, and she doesn't know if she will suffer any torture after being separated from him.

Mo Xiaoran carefully analyzed the current situation. Obviously, Bai Zixu did not dare to kill her. Either he would teach himself a lesson, or he would abandon him. No matter which one it was, it seemed that she would survive in the dungeon. Have a short period of time.

If Bai Zixu knew that Mo Xiaoran, who he thought he would live in pain in the dungeon, now seemed so leisurely as if he was in his own backyard, he would be extremely angry.

In the imperial study room, the bright sunlight came in from the window, Li Quan wiped the sweat on his forehead, stood outside the room, listening to the movement inside, the emperor had been in for half an hour, why was there no sound at all?

It stands to reason that the emperor should be furious, how could there be no movement?

Li Quan rolled his eyes, trying to figure out the holy meaning.

Could this be the calm before the storm?I don't know how the emperor will deal with the queen, but this queen is really so bold that she dares to bully the emperor!Even fighting with the imperial guards, Li Quan secretly shook his head, thinking, Mo Xiaoran's position as queen might be on the verge of shaky.

The prime minister rode his horse into the palace, walked at the gate of the palace, bypassed the winding red-painted corridor, walked outside the imperial study, and saw Li Quan, the chief eunuch, standing alone on the stone steps from a distance, his heart groaned , There is a faint sense of foreboding.

"Eunuch Li." The Prime Minister walked forward with a smile on his face.

Li Quan leaned over slightly and saluted, "Your Excellency."

"I don't know the emperor..." Mo Qing winked at Li Quan, secretly took out a bank note from his sleeve, and slipped it in. Li Quan smiled and said, "The emperor is in the imperial study." , there is no movement for the time being."

If Bai Zixu gets angry, the Prime Minister has a solution, but what if he remains silent?

Mo Qing's eyes sank, she already had an idea in her mind.

The sun was high, and the prime minister was dressed in a purple court dress with a white crane patch embroidered on his chest. He knelt outside the imperial study room, his back bent, and he silently pleaded guilty to the emperor.

Cining Palace.

The Empress Dowager was sitting at the top, and Nanny Gui was rubbing her shoulders behind her. Wearing a luxurious brocade robe, she carelessly fiddled with the Buddhist beads in her hand, and the eunuch who was going to inquire about the news ran in quickly.

"See the Queen Mother."

With a pause of her fingers, she moved the beads to her wrist, and the Queen Mother opened her eyes slightly, with a twinkle in her eyes: "Speak."

"Yes!" The eunuch prostrated on the ground, with sweat dripping from his forehead: "The servant just went to inquire. It is said that during the day, Concubine Xue heard that the Empress was ill, so she went to Fengqi Palace to visit. I don't know what Concubine Xue and the Empress said. , the two empresses had a quarrel, the empress accidentally hurt Concubine Xue, just at this time, the emperor arrived and stopped the empress."

After finishing speaking, he paused, raised his head, and looked carefully at the Queen Mother's face.

"Continue talking." The Empress Dowager's expression remained calm, and her eyes became deeper and deeper.

She had to figure out why the emperor ordered Mo Xiaoran to be sent to prison.

"Yes," the eunuch trembled, and continued: "I heard that it was Xiao Zhu, a court lady next to the empress, who overturned the tea and scalded Concubine Xue. The emperor ordered that maid stick to be used, and then...then..."

"En?" The queen mother's nasal voice became so frightened that the eunuch dared to hide it, so he went all out, and reported loudly: "Then the queen suddenly became not stupid, overthrew the imperial guards, and argued with the emperor. Into the dungeon."

The empress dowager's eyes sank, and she said slowly: "The empress is not stupid all of a sudden?"

What does it mean not to be stupid all of a sudden?
The eunuch's face was pale, and he could only feel the pressure from the empress dowager on his head, which made him breathless, "This... the servant doesn't know, it is said that the empress fought against the imperial guards for the maid, and finally threatened the emperor and released the maid, the emperor Unwilling to compromise, use the maid to threaten the queen and put her in prison."

"Go down." After a long time, the Empress Dowager's icy voice came from above, and the eunuch ran out of the Compassionate Ning Palace, covered in cold sweat.

"Gui Nanny, tell me, what's going on?" The Empress Dowager looked sternly, looked at the nanny behind her, and asked in a deep voice: "Why is the queen not stupid all of a sudden? And she can overthrow the imperial guards?" ? Where did she learn it?"

Nanny Gui rubbed the empress dowager's shoulders unhurriedly, and said with a smile: "I see, my servant, why don't the empress dowager send the maid to ask carefully, she must know something when she serves the empress personally."

That's right, now I can only hope to get something out of the palace maid.

Did Mo Xiaoran get better overnight, or was she never stupid?
A trace of murderous intent flashed across the Queen Mother's deep eyes. If Mo Xiaoran has been pretending to be a fool all along, then what is her purpose?Does the prime minister know?A woman who can pretend for 16 years, how deep is her scheming?

"Send someone to bring that court lady." The Empress Dowager felt her mind was in a mess, and waved her hand to ask someone to bring Xiao Zhu over.

At this time, a court lady hurried into the hall, "Queen Mother, Eunuch Li sent a message to the servants, saying that the prime minister has been kneeling outside the imperial study for an hour, and the emperor still refuses to see the prime minister, begging the queen mother to go and have a look. "

The Queen Mother frowned slightly, and got up from the soft couch with a flick of her sleeves: "The Prime Minister has been kneeling for an hour?"

She asked eagerly, now that the emperor has just been in charge, many places need to rely on the prime minister, how can he treat him like this?
The maid hurriedly nodded: "Yes."

"Let's go, set up the Royal Study Room, the Ai family has to go and see for themselves." Nanny Gui immediately supported the Empress Dowager, took a phoenix outside the Palace of Compassion and Ning, and hurried towards the Royal Study Room.

"If the court lady arrives at the Palace of Compassion and Ning, let someone send her to the Buddhist hall, lock her up for a while, and give her a little help." The Queen Mother lifted Feng Chuan's light yellow curtain, and instructed Nanny Gui.

"Hey, the servant obeys the order."

After crossing Ai Qingshi Road, Feng Huan stopped outside the Imperial Study Room, and immediately two maids stepped forward, one left and one right opened the curtain, Nanny Gui bent down to help the Empress Dowager out of the carriage.

From a distance, Prime Minister Mo Qing was seen kneeling under the stone steps outside the Imperial Study Room, his knees were covered by his robe, his body was trembling slightly.

The queen mother's face was full of anxiety and worry, she broke away from Nanny Gui's hand, and walked to the prime minister, "Prime Minister, what are you doing? Why don't you get up soon?"

Mo Qing's body trembled a few times, a layer of water appeared in his eyes, and he kowtowed to the queen mother with tears running down his face: "Your Majesty, my minister is unfilial and committed a serious crime of deceiving the emperor. I am here only to ask the emperor to go online." Be open."

"Prime Minister, you have worked hard for many years, and you are the pillar of my Dongyao. If you have something to say, you can speak up and kneel down. How can your bones bear it?" The queen mother said worriedly, and waved her hand to signal Li Quan to help him up quickly. No matter what, now, they still have to rely on the prime minister's power in the court, and they must not offend him.

"Is the emperor in the imperial study?" Seeing the prime minister limping up, the queen mother was relieved and asked.

Li Quan bent down to wipe the dust off Mo Qing's knees, nodded and said: "Back to the queen mother, the emperor is in the imperial study, and has been in for almost two hours."

What did the emperor shut himself up in?The Empress Dowager stepped up the stone steps and knocked on the closed carved wooden door herself: "Your Majesty, the Ai family has come in."

There was silence in the room, the Queen Mother frowned, opened the door and walked in.

Then he saw memorials scattered all over the place in the huge imperial study room, and the dragon table was empty. Bai Zixu sat on the top of the dragon chair, with his eyes closed, his expression was gloomy, and there was a terrifying hostility all over his body, the empress dowager's heart skipped a beat. , Immediately gave Li Quan a wink, he and Nanny Gui backed out, and closed the door again.

The Prime Minister fell to his knees at Bai Zixu's feet with a thump, his temples were covered with white hair, and he cried and shouted: "I have no face to see the emperor, I beg the emperor to grant me a death."

Bai Zixu remained silent, as if he didn't notice the prime minister in the room, he leaned lightly on the dragon chair, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The prime minister's heart went up and down, he had never seen such an emperor before, he couldn't help swallowing a mouthful of saliva, and a cold sweat rolled up his back.

The empress dowager hurriedly smoothed things over: "My lord, let the prime minister get up first, he is quite old, and his bones can't bear to be tossed about."

Only then did Bai Zixu open his eyes, his eyelashes fluttered slightly, his cold eyes were filled with a terrifying murderous look, "Prime Minister, you have such a good daughter." His voice was cold to the bone.

(End of this chapter)