from widow to dame

Chapter 132

Inside the palace, dark waves are raging.

Concubine Li of Yanxi Palace.

The fifth prince, Zhu Cong, nestled in his mother's arms a little uneasy, raising his head to look outside the palace gate from time to time.

"Your Majesty..." Concubine Li's personal maid hurried over.

"Why did you contact my natal family?"

The maid shook her head, and whispered: "The palace is under martial law, and the news cannot be spread."

When Concubine Li heard this, a huge disappointment appeared on her face, she bit her lower lip, obviously at this time she was also in a state of desperation.

"How is the emperor?" After a while, she asked, "Are you awake?"

"Still unconscious." The maid said cautiously: "I heard it's not good."

Concubine Li's face turned pale in an instant, and her arms holding her son were tighter and tighter.

"Your Majesty, you have to plan early!"

Concubine Li didn't understand this truth, but things happened so fast, no one thought that the emperor would suddenly be critically ill.So some things are simply too late to prepare.If the emperor just went like this... Concubine Li glanced at the son in her arms, and a look of resentment and dissatisfaction flashed in her eyes.Cong'er is His Majesty's youngest son, talented and intelligent, and was already extremely loved by his father. If the Emperor can live a few more years and let Cong'er grow up, he might have a chance to earn some money, but now - no, she I'm not reconciled to just sitting around like this.

"Change clothes for me." Concubine Li stood up, firmly grabbed her son's palm, and said word by word: "I want to personally serve the emperor."

Just when Concubine Li made a move, in a side hall of Yanxi Palace, Mrs. Lu, who hadn't been seen for a long time, was kneeling in front of the Buddha statue with folded hands. Her expression was very pious, but there was a trace of unnaturalness between her brows wildly.After a long time, she stopped beating the wooden fish with her hands and opened her eyes. "Why are you here?" she asked lightly.

Who is the person standing behind her, Zhu Ping, the king of Huai'an?

Facing his mother's indifferent attitude, a hurt look flashed across Zhu Ping's face, and he called out hesitantly: "My son is worried about mother, so—"

"Go back!" Before he could finish speaking, Mrs. Lu interrupted, "Go back to your own palace, so you can stay there."

From his biological mother, what Zhu Ping got was always such indifference, so he bowed his lower body and retreated with a dejected expression. Walking slowly along the sapphire corridor, he bumped into a person at the corner.

"I have seen His Highness the King of Huai'an."

Zhu Ping looked up, he was surprised at first, and then he showed a few sincere smiles and called out, "Master Yan."

Xuanyi and silver armor, face like a peach blossom, but don't have a certain awe-inspiring power, who is it if it's not Yan Hongzhen.

"Where are you going, Your Highness?"

Zhu Ping's gloomy look swept away, and he replied: "Go back to Qingyu Palace... Lord Yan, father, is he okay?" Although his nature is mellow and kind.But after all, I am not stupid, how can I not notice the turbulent waves in the palace these days, but the grandson of the emperor Zhu Houwen stopped all those who wanted to visit in the name of the emperor's need to rest and not to be disturbed.

"Your Majesty will definitely recover from the dragon's body. Don't worry, Your Highness." Yan Hongzhen smiled slightly at him, with the gentle appearance of an elder: "But before that, Your Highness should wait quietly in his own palace. Just in case Those young people took the opportunity to make trouble."

After Zhu Ping heard this, his heart trembled.He bowed his hands to Yan Hongzhen to express his gratitude.

Looking at Zhu Ping's disappearing back, the smile on the corner of Yan Hongzhen's mouth slowly disappeared, and an unpredictable shadow flashed across his face.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation, where the emperor's grandson resides.

All the confidantes in the Prince's Mansion of the Eastern Palace are here, and one of them is particularly noticeable. He is about fifty years old, with a gray beard, but he is full of energy. When he speaks at this moment, everyone around him is listening attentively. The color shows its extraordinary status.This old man is Huang Lao, a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion and the prince and Taifu.He is not only the teacher of the deceased prince, but also his daughter married to the emperor's grandson, Zhu Houwen, who became the prince's concubine and is the most staunch member of the "grandson" faction.

"Your Highness, can you find out whether the emperor has made a will?"

Zhu Houwen shook his head: "The emperor's grandfather did not issue any edicts."

Huang Taifu frowned slightly when he heard the words. Since ancient times, the first emperor was the queen, and the one who took over the throne was the prince. In history, there is no emperor's grandson who directly inherits the great treasure.Although Zhu Houwen is the son of the prince, he is not the prince after all. Without the imperial decree to pass on the throne, it is not so legitimate.

In this situation, Zhu Houwen is also clear in his heart, but despite this, his heart is still burning wildly with the desire called "ambition" like a weed in a fire. .fire.He has been waiting for too long, from a young boy to a middle-aged man in his thirties.He has been waiting, waiting for the day when his imperial grandfather died and he ascended the throne.

But year after year passed, the emperor's grandfather was still in good health, and the little princes and princesses in the harem jumped out one by one. He seemed to be able to live forever, which made Zhu Houwen a little desperate.

but--

But now it is different, this is a godsend opportunity, the strongest competitor Jin Wang is still far away in the fiefdom at this time.King Cheng was abolished and almost expelled from the royal family. The two younger ones below were young and not to be feared at all.But I have been running the court for many years, and I have the support of most civil servants behind me, so it shouldn't be a problem to board the plane so smoothly.

"Your Highness..." Looking at Zhu Houwen who seemed to be fanatical, Taifu Huang said remindingly: "The emperor hasn't gone yet."

This is a matter of time difference. If Zhu Chongguo dies like this, then he will ascend to the throne like lightning. By then, it will be done. Who can do anything to him, but the problem now is that he has not swallowed his last breath. , but the longer the delay, the worse it would be for Zhu Houwen. The spies reported that King Jin had received the news and was rushing to the capital.That's not a man easy to deal with, Zhu Houwen's win rate will be reduced by at least half when confronted with him.Suddenly, a thought inevitably rose from Zhu Houwen's heart, if only the emperor's grandfather could quickly swallow his last breath, that would be great!
"Your Highness, don't act rashly!" Taifu Huang seemed to see Zhu Houwen's inner thoughts, and said something like a reminder.

"The Tai Tuo's words are wrong." Obviously, some people disagreed with him.

I saw a young scribe coming forward. He had no white beard and looked very energetic in a blue shirt: "His Royal Highness, the son of the crown prince, is a well-deserved heir to the throne, and the country cannot live without a king. To be disrespectful, His Majesty is dying now, and I don't think he will have a long time to live, so we should make plans to support His Highness Taisun's ascension to the throne in the future."

"That's right!" As soon as this remark came out, it immediately won the approval of many people: "Scholar Huang, as well as the cabinet elders Yu and Qin, are all supporters of His Highness, if you act at this time, the chances of winning are great !" Supporting Conglong's power has made these people gradually lose their minds and become fanatical.

"If you don't stand upright, what can you do if you sit in that position?" Huang Taifu said with a firm attitude: "Your Highness, you should let go of everything now, and it is only right to serve the emperor wholeheartedly."

"Master Huang..."

"I dare not agree with this statement..."

Just when the counselors around him began to chatter endlessly, Zhu Houwen's eyes quickly flashed a cold light. At this moment, he is almost within reach of the supreme seat, and he is willing to do nothing like this , why wait?
Do not!
He was not reconciled.

Go to the capital, Yan Mansion, Su Huiniang's office.

After several days of autumn rain, the temperature dropped sharply. Su Huiniang opened the window, and suddenly, a cold air was blowing towards her face.She frowned, but her expression was full of worry, her daughter was not by her side, and Yan Hongzhen hadn't been home since the day of the accident, why didn't this make her feel uneasy?
"Madam, please close the window!" Fang'er came in with a tea tray, saw Su Huiniang standing in front of the window, and tried to persuade her nervously, "Now is the most important time for you, you must not catch cold."

Su Huiniang stroked her seven-month-old stomach after hearing the words, and sighed softly: "What an eventful year!"

So, another two days passed.Things like paper can't contain the flames. Some rumors about the emperor's critical illness began to spread in the capital. Almost instantly, the atmosphere in the entire capital became dark and turbulent. Many relatives of the emperor and dignitaries The gentry, either choose to stay behind closed doors, or choose to be active.

The Yan Mansion naturally belongs to the former. Su Huiniang had issued an order a long time ago to close the gates of the mansion, and Xiao Shunzi, who had been serving as an errand in Wucheng Bingma Si, also came back with people. The original guards in the upper mansion, a group of a hundred and ten people, guarded around the Yan mansion 60 hours a day, in the open and in the dark.

Even Mu Xiang, who had been married out of the mansion for many years, brought her children with her husband.Su Huiniang leaned on the soft pillow and chatted with her whom she hadn't seen for a long time.

Seeing that the master was always distracted from time to time when he was talking, Mu Xiang said: "Madam, why don't you sleep for a while, so that you can refresh yourself."

Su Huiniang was tossed about by the child in her belly for a long time last night, and she didn't get much sleep at all, so she was inevitably a little sleepy at this time.So Mu Xiang brought a cup of warm tea to soothe the nerves, and lit a piece of incense in the smoker before retreating.

Unexpectedly, during this sleep, she slept very deeply. If it wasn't for the commotion outside the door in the middle of the night, she might have slept until dawn.

"Wood fragrance" Su Huiniang sat up and called out.

"lady……"

"What's going on outside?" She pursed her lips and asked nervously.

(End of this chapter)