First Lady of the Crown Prince

 Chapter 777 Auntie’s meeting (two updates)

 The king turned around.

 Xiao Heng smiled.

 Laughing too much.

He switched states in one second. He was weak, pale and on the verge of death, as if unable to speak. "You also need to take care of yourself."

"Yes." The monarch nodded with a complex expression, put his hands behind his back, and led Zhang Dequan and the nanny holding the little princess out of the Qilin Hall.

 …

Gu Jiao stayed in the intensive care unit until dawn.

 She sat on a chair in the middle of the night, lay on the edge of the bed and fell asleep. When she woke up, the Imperial Master was no longer there.

The two dead soldiers resumed guarding outside the iron gate. The two men saw Gu Jiao coming out without much reaction.

“What did the Imperial Master tell you?” Gu Jiao asked the two of them.

One of them said: "The Imperial Master said that except him and Young Master Xiao, no other person can enter."

Gu Jiao let out an ooh and muttered secretly: "That's pretty much it."

Xiao Heng opened the door of the room and walked towards Gu Jiao: "Are you tired? I asked someone to make porridge, go and drink some."

"Okay." Gu Jiao walked towards his house with him, "Where's the clearance?"

 The two dead soldiers were behind him. Xiao Heng carefully said his words: "He went to school, and his sister came to pick him up."

 This is telling Gu Jiao that everything is safe in Xiaojingkong with Gu Chengfeng.

 Gu Jiao felt relieved and went to Xiao Heng's place to have a bowl of porridge.

Although it was hot in the summer, her physical exertion was great, but her appetite was still good. She ate another big meat bun.

 “Where is the little princess?” she asked.

Xiao Heng said: "I returned to the palace with the monarch. In addition, the monarch seems to have restored my mother's status as a princess."

Although Xiao Heng did not go to court, the monarch personally called Princess Shangguan Yan San this morning, which is correct.

Gu Jiao nodded with satisfaction: "That's great."

 After paying such a high price, he finally did more than just depose the prince.

 First restore the identity of the princess, and the next step is to plan for the position of the princess.

  Mentioning this, Gu Jiao suddenly remembered the conversation she had with the National Preceptor in the intensive care unit in the middle of the night.

She took the handkerchief, wiped her mouth, and said to Xiao Heng: "You don't need to find an excuse to go to the Prince's Mansion. I already know who stabbed Gu Changqing. He is Concubine Han's staff, a very powerful master. , people in the world call it Dark Soul."

 “Dark soul?” Xiao Heng muttered.

This title sounds unclear and harsh.

 “Did the Imperial Preceptor tell you?” he asked.

"Yeah." Gu Jiao nodded, "He also told me the secret of Han Wuye. Han Wuye's youthful graying was all due to premature aging due to poisoning, but he also improved his skills as a result."

Xiao Heng was confused: "Premature aging? Improving skills? What kind of poison is this evil?"

Gu Jiao shook her head: "I don't know. I'll look for a chance to ask Master Nan later. But I think Qi Xuan came to the Han family for so long and still hasn't gotten rid of the poison on Han Ci. I'm afraid the origin of the poison is not simple. In addition, the Imperial Master He also mentioned a person, I wonder if he is Long Yi."

 At that time, the late emperor left a total of eight Longying Guards, the younger ones were given to His Majesty Zhaoguo, and the older ones were given to Princess Xinyang.

 These dead soldiers were all bought by King Lao Liang through the underground martial arts field. At the time of the purchase, the two parties concluded a ten-year contract and were trained by dedicated personnel in accordance with the requirements of the late emperor.

 The Long Shadow Guards given to Princess Xinyang are the first batch of dead soldiers and have almost been trained. If they still need to continue training in the camp, Long may have been exposed early.

 Life is full of coincidences sometimes.

Gu Jiao talked to Xiao Heng about Killing Heaven and Dark Soul.

Xiao Heng asked: "Do you think Long Yi is the Sky Slayer?"

Gu Jiao thought for a while and said: "If it were just the Imperial Master who said this, I might not easily think of Longtou, but last time I saw a portrait from the third floor in the library, the young man in the painting Very similar to Long Yi."

 Xiao Heng was silent.

 The third floor.

The entire Guoshi Palace, no, to be precise, the biggest secret of the entire Yan Kingdom is there.

If the person in the portrait is really Long Yi, then Long Yi is really big and rich.

 …

 A quarter of an hour later, Gu Jiao was taken to the third floor of the library by Ye Qing.

 She obtained permission from the Imperial Master and was able to browse a designated area, but she was still not allowed to wander around the rest of the area.

She looked at the three-meter-high bookshelf in front of her and said in a daze: "I'm just looking for the portrait of Shi Tian, ​​so there's no need for such a grand display..."

 Can she see this large bookshelf that takes up almost an entire wall?

Ye Qing pointed to the bookshelf and said, "There are portraits of Killing Heaven and Dark Souls in here."

Gu Jiao was slightly startled: "What do you mean?"

Ye Qing explained: "Slaying Sky and Dark Soul never show their true colors to others. These are portraits drawn by people in the world who claim to have seen Killing Sky and Dark Soul, and they were collected here by my master."

Gu Jiao squeezed out a few words through her teeth: "This, so many... I have to see the year of the monkey, the horse and the moon?"

How about I draw it directly for you and you help me identify it?

Ye Qing added: "None of us have seen Killing Heaven, you can only identify it yourself."

 I recognize a hammer.

So even if I see Long Yi’s portrait, you can’t be sure that he is Killing Heaven, right?

 …

 Father and son fighting each other is a scandal.

If this kind of thing happened to the Emperor of Zhao State, the Emperor of Zhao State would definitely adhere to the concept that family scandals should not be made public, suppress the news tightly, and then find other reasons to punish the prince.

The King of Dayan was not the case. He didn't care. As soon as he went to court, he announced that Shangguan Qi had ulterior motives, slandered Shangguan Yan, and killed his father and regicide. He also asked Zhang Dequan to publicly announce the imperial edict to abolish the crown prince.

  Along with the imperial edict of abolishing Chu, there was also an imperial edict to restore Shangguan Yan's royal status.

 Since then, Shangguan Yan has been the third princess of Dayan.

 The whole court was shocked.

Even though the news was received last night, the fact that it actually came from Jinluan Palace still made Concubine Han very angry!

She was so angry that her chest was about to explode: "What assassination! What slander! That man named Long Aotian was clearly the spy sent to the Prince's Mansion by Shangguan Yanan! Is Your Majesty an old fool? How could he even see such a big flaw? Don’t come out!”

She sent someone to the Prince's Mansion last night and learned all about Long Aotian's visit to the Prince's Mansion. Traps, they were all traps!

“Oh my lady, don’t say such nonsense!” The **** Xu Gao took a step forward in fright, “Be careful not to let anyone listen.”

Concubine Han hummed: "This is my bedroom, who dares to spread the news?"

 Xu Gao smiled dryly: "That's what I say, but be careful when sailing."

 Xu Gao went to the Prince's Mansion to find out about Long Aotian. To be honest, the third princess's move was indeed exquisite and she could predict the monarch's thoughts.

He has been in the palace for so many years, and it is rare to see someone who can accurately predict the king's thoughts.

 Who the king punishes and who he does not punish is generally the king's own will. Those who follow the trend and take the opportunity to stumble the victims are actually just turning a blind eye, which does not count how smart they are.

Xu Gao said: "My dear, I'm afraid there is an expert behind the third princess."

Concubine Han thought thoughtfully: "What you said makes sense. I watched Shangguan Yan grow up, and she was just a straightforward person. She didn't have too many thoughts, otherwise she wouldn't have been plotted by others back then."

Xu Gao said hurriedly: "Isn't it true, my empress? She has such scheming intentions, why wait until now? She has already returned to Shengdu to compete with His Highness for the position of crown prince. Moreover, the emperor's eldest grandson's temperament is also different from before. He is alone It's just fair to say that they changed, but they both changed at the same time. If there isn't someone behind the scenes, who would believe it?"

Concubine Han said coldly: "We must find out the master behind them! I want to see who dared to go against me after eating the bear-hearted leopard!"

Xu Gao smiled proudly: "Don't worry, Madam, our people have been sent to the Palace of Imperial Preceptors."

Concubine Han smiled when she heard this: "Oh? So fast? There won't be any flaws, right?"

Xu Gao smiled and said: "Zhang Dequan personally selected them all, and they are all his confidants. Even if we check the eighteenth generation of our ancestors, it has nothing to do with us."

Concubine Han smiled coldly: "It is not easy to place confidants around Zhang Dequan. The chess pieces that have been buried for so many years were originally intended to be used in more important places. However, who makes Shangguan Yan mother and son so annoying? I will use Eunuch Zhang's hand to eradicate them for me. Get rid of these two thorns in your side!"

 Xu Gao flattered her: "Your Majesty, you are wise!"

Concubine Han has already begun to imagine the fruits of victory: "After it is accomplished...who should I frame for? I think Concubine Wang Xian is good, and Concubine Dong Chen is also good."

She said and laughed heartily.

On the other side, Zhang Dequan took four palace officials to the Imperial Master's Palace.

Gu Jiao went to the library, and Xiao Heng was the only one in Shangguan Yan's room.

Zhang Dequan bowed respectfully to Xiao Heng who was sitting on the seat: "Your Highness Changsun, the few palace servants outside are selected by the servants. They are quick in their hands and feet, hardworking, and smart. Let them serve the third princess first. With His Highness Changsun. Your Highness Changsun, please rest assured that their backgrounds are all clean."

 “I know.” Xiao Heng said.

 Zhang Dequan smiled: "If there are no other orders, I will go back to the palace first."

 Xiao Heng nodded.

After Zhang Dequan left, Xiao Heng opened the curtain and looked at Shangguan Yan, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, holding half a watermelon and eating it with a spoon: "Can Zhang Dequan be trusted?"

Shangguan Yan ate a spoonful of watermelon balls: "Oh, he is not bad."

Xiao Heng said: "So, how many people can stay outside?"

Shangguan Yan thought for a while and said, "Keep it for now. Zhang Dequan is the only person in the palace who will not harm me."

 …

 Lingbo Academy.

 A carriage was parked in the alley diagonally opposite it.

This alley was originally used to park carriages for college students. Just because this carriage came the earliest, it occupied the first position.

At this point, the coachman's task was completed, and the old priest settled the fare for him.

 The driver took his reward and left satisfied.

 Lao Jijiu and the Queen Mother Zhuang were waiting in the carriage.

 “Are you sure you’re waiting here?” Queen Mother Zhuang asked.

Old Jijiu said: "Jingkong is in class at Lingbo Academy. He will get out of school soon. A-Heng will definitely come to pick him up. If A-Heng doesn't come, Jiaojiao will come too."

The summer in Yan State is hotter than that in Zhao State, and today's weather is extremely sultry, so the carriage was turned into a steamer in a short time.

 Empress Dowager Zhuang became like a little steamed shrimp, sweating like rain.

She leaned against the wall of the car helplessly: "Didn't it rain just last night? Why didn't it cool down for a long time before it got hot again?"

Old Jijiu took a fan to fan her, and he was sweating profusely: "It's so hot in Yan country, I don't know if a few children can bear it."

Empress Dowager Zhuang didn't even have the strength to speak. She felt like she was suffering from heat stroke, and she slumped on her seat like a limp shrimp.

Seeing how hot she was, Old Jijiu couldn't bear it and said, "There is a tea shop next door. You can go to the tea shop and have a cup of tea. I'll just wait here."

Empress Dowager Zhuang glared at him and said weakly: "You don't need money to drink tea?"

 Things are so expensive in Yan country, and the expenses for raising a few children must not be enough, so she has to save money for Jiaojiao.

 Of course there is another very important reason, she wants to see Jiaojiao as soon as possible.

 Although it may not be Jiaojiao who comes to pick up Jingkong.

 The two of them waited from morning to afternoon, and they were so hot that they lost their temper.

 Finally, classes at Lingbo Academy began to end, and students in uniforms walked out of the academy in high spirits.

 Empress Dowager Zhuang looked at her with disbelief: "Why don't you see the child? Go and find out if the prodigy class is over?"

 The old man went to offer wine.

However, since the little princess had been kidnapped near the academy, the academy's level of vigilance has increased a lot, and they are always wary of strangers who come to inquire about information, especially information about the prodigy class.

The guard said sternly: "Don't inquire about the academy! If you don't leave, I'll call the officer and arrest you!"

There are actually additional patrol officers nearby.

Old Jijiu was a gangster, so naturally he couldn't fall into the hands of officials. He wanted to say that he was a family member of a certain student, but he looked down at his extremely shabby dress and swallowed the words that came to his lips.

 In order not to let the thieves notice them along the way, they all dressed up in poverty, their clothes were the simplest, and their carriages were the shabbiest.

Old Jijiu planned to go to a nearby shop to ask. As soon as he turned around, he heard the guard and his companions saying: "Keep an eye on the old man."

 Lao Jijiu twitched the corners of his mouth. Was he being taken for a thief?

 What's going on with the academy in Yan State!

He didn't ask for any information, so he could only wait honestly: "Don't worry, I asked about it at the inn. This is the only door you can go through after school, and Qing Kong will definitely come out from it."

“Don’t interrupt, go aside!” Empress Dowager Zhuang ruthlessly turned his face away, staring intently at the gate of Lingbo Academy.

 Finally, Huangtian paid off, and a child about ten years old came out.

Her eyes lit up: "The prodigy class is out!"

 The prodigy class is indeed over.

But Xiao Qingkong and Xiao Princess are always the two slowest ones. They collected books and received Master Lu's doubts about life.

The little princess said to her classmate: "Jingkong, you go to my house to play today!"

 Xiao Jingkong asked: "Where is your home?"

"Well... there!" The little princess pointed in the direction of the palace (which she thought was the palace), "I've been to your place so many times to play, but you haven't been to my house yet!"

 This is what a small headroom means.

 “Okay, but I have to go and talk to Master Cheng.”

 He has tutoring from Master Cheng after school today.

 But in his opinion, one can take leave for tutoring, and he didn’t think much of it anyway.

 The two little Doudings put their school bags on their backs and went to Master Cheng to ask for leave.

The little princess put her hands on her hips and looked at Master Cheng eagerly. Master Cheng didn't even dare to disagree.

“Just now, someone was asking when the prodigy class will end. I wonder if there is another little thief who is interested in the princess? For safety reasons, we will go directly to the academy to pick up the little princess.”

"yes!"

 A carriage that looked ordinary but was actually extremely luxurious inside drove into Lingbo Academy with the privileges granted by the monarch and stopped directly at the entrance of the child prodigy class.

 Four Ouchi masters lined up.

The nanny stepped out of the carriage and took the little princess’s book bag: “Little princess, it’s time for us to go back.”

The little princess said: "Today I want to invite Jingkong to play at my house!"

The nanny smiled and said, “If the young master’s family has no objections, of course it’s okay.”

 “No opinion, no opinion.” Xiao Jingkong made his own decision.

  It's not like he's a bad brother-in-law anyway, so Brother Chengfeng can't control him.

 Two little beans got on the carriage.

 Two of the four Ouchi masters were sitting on the carriage, and the other two were escorting on both sides on horseback.

 Old Jijiu looked around at the entrance of the alley.

 The carriage passed him.

 Another half an hour later, the last student came out of Lingbo Academy, and the guards of Lingbo Academy began to close the door.

The old Jijiu was startled: "Hey! What's going on? Why is it closed?" He turned back to look at Queen Mother Zhuang in the carriage, "Did it just come out? Did you see it?"

 “Didn’t come out.” Empress Dowager Zhuang said.

 She was old, but not yet blinded by old age. She was extremely sure that she had not missed it.

 Lao Jijiu asked suspiciously: "Did...Jingkong didn't go to school today? It couldn't be that they didn't come to Lingbo Academy and something happened to them? They..."

 Empress Dowager Zhuang said coldly: "Shut up!"

 Lao Jijiu was silent in anger.

 The sky, which had been sultry all day, began to roll in dark clouds, and it looked like it was going to rain.

 Old Jijiu said: "How about we find an inn to stay in first and come back tomorrow."

Empress Dowager Zhuang stared at it and said: "The door is not closed yet. There is a crack left. Wait a moment."

The aroma of fried meat with garlic sprouts drifted from the restaurant next door, and Lao Jijiu felt hungry. Then he remembered that they had only been waiting for someone and had not eaten all day.

 He was already hungry, and Zhuang Jinse was so greedy that it wouldn't be much better if he thought about it.

 “I’m going to buy some food.” He said, touched his withered money bag, coughed slightly, and said to Queen Mother Zhuang, “I’ve run out of money.”

 It was all his money that was spent along the way.

 Empress Dowager Zhuang hugged the bundle in her arms warily: "It's for Jiaojiao!"

 Can't spend even a penny!

Old Jijiu had no choice but to dig up and down his pockets, and finally found two knife coins that had fallen in from the broken layer of his sleeves.

He was lucky. Normally, he could only buy one steamed bun with two knives. Today, it was going to rain. The boss was in a hurry to close the stall and gave the last two steamed buns to Lao Jijiu.

 Lao Jijiu gave the older one to Queen Mother Zhuang.

 The heavy rain in Shengdu comes as soon as it comes.

A hole was torn in the sky, and the heavy rain poured down impatiently. Mixed with the howling wind, all the stalls on the roadside were blown over!

Lao Jijiu held the remaining half of the steamed bun in his mouth, quickly closed the car window and lowered the car curtain.

However, the weather was so bad that the curtains of the carriage were blown open with a snap, and the violent wind and rain poured in mercilessly towards the carriage.

Old Jijiu stood up in a hurry, intending to use his thin body to block the wind and rain. He clung to the door frame with both hands, but unexpectedly in the next second, the roof of the carriage was blown away.

 Lao Jiejiu was so wet that he couldn't open his eyes. He went to grab an umbrella and tried to open it to protect Empress Dowager Zhuang from the rain. Unexpectedly, the umbrella did not open and he was blown to the ground first.

"This can't go on like this! We have to find a place to take shelter quickly!" He wiped the rain off his face, tried to open his eyes, and stretched out his hand towards Queen Mother Zhuang, "Come down quickly! I'll catch you!"

It is very dangerous for two elderly people to be exposed to such extremely bad weather. If they are not careful, they may fall down and never get up again.

Empress Dowager Zhuang could no longer open her eyes, so naturally she couldn't see the hand he stretched out. She held the bundle in her arms tightly with one hand and grabbed the wall of the carriage with the other, moving down step by step with difficulty.

She slipped and the all-powerful Empress Dowager Zhao sat in a puddle of water in embarrassment.

 Lao Jijiu asked loudly: "Are you okay?"

 Empress Dowager Zhuang protected the bundle in her arms: "It's okay."

 She tried to stand up, but fell back several times.

Lao Jijiu spent a lot of effort to finally come near her, and he reached out and grabbed her arm.

He had just pulled Queen Mother Zhuang up, but before they could stand firmly, they both fell to the ground.

At this moment, a beggar in his early twenties suddenly rushed over from behind the two of them, snatched the bundle from Queen Mother Zhuang’s hand, and ran away!

 “Distress!”

 Empress Dowager Zhuang’s eyes turned cold!

That was the money I brought for Jiaojiao. I was frugal along the way and didn’t even spend a single silver note, but was robbed by a thief?

 Empress Dowager Zhuang is angry!

She didn’t know where she got the strength. Regardless of the injuries and bruises all over her body, she picked up the stick on the ground and threw it at the little beggar!

"oops-"

The little beggar was hit by the stick and fell into the rain with a squeak.

Empress Dowager Zhuang took the steps of an old lady chasing away her unfilial grandson. She angrily came to the young beggar, picked up the stick on the ground again, and beat the beggar!

 “I’ll let you rob the Ai family’s things!”

 “Let you steal Jiaojiao’s money!”

 “Let you sneak around!”

 “Let you stop doing serious things!”

It was raining heavily, and Empress Dowager Zhuang was so angry that she spoke in Zhaoguo dialect. The beggar didn't understand a word of it, but the blows from the stick on his body were clearly visible.

"Ouch! Stop fighting! Stop fighting! Give it back to you! Why don't you give it back to you! You **** bitch, why are you so strong!"

 The beggar is about to be beaten into a pig's head.

How could he have expected that a little old lady who couldn't get up after a fall would hit someone so hard?

 This attack is too heavy!

Empress Dowager Zhuang struck down the stick again, almost killing all his sons and grandsons. The beggar trembled and looked at the stick that fell between his legs.

Had the stick been half an inch further forward, he would have—he would have—

 He looked at the old lady in front of him again, and saw that the woman's eyes revealed the murderous aura of a superior, and he felt fear in his bones.

He didn't even dare to play tricks anymore, he threw the bundle in his hand at the old lady, and while the old lady was picking up the bundle, he rolled away and ran away.

　　The baggage was scattered, the silver ingots inside fell to the ground, and the silver notes were blown out by the strong wind, flying everywhere in the alley.

 Empress Dowager Zhuang knelt down to pick up the banknotes.

Old Jijiu had just sprained his foot, and it took him a long time to limp over. He looked at Empress Dowager Zhuang who was squatting on the ground picking up silver and banknotes, and suddenly felt mixed feelings in his heart.

She was the legitimate daughter of the banker. She was born noble and became the queen upon entering the palace. When the late emperor died, she became the regent and queen mother.

She has been standing in the clouds all her life, and has never bent her noble body to pick up anything from the ground. Let alone a mere stack of silver notes, even if an antique worth thousands of gold fell on the ground, she never took a second look.

 But now, she is——

 He opened his mouth: "Zhuang Jinse..."

Empress Dowager Zhuang picked up a banknote that had drifted into the cesspool and wiped it on her sleeve: "When I first arrived in the country, my family was not rich. Jiaojiao had to go to the mountains to dig wild vegetables and pick mountain products every day before dawn. She went to the market to sell them. In order to save two copper coins for transportation, she carried the heavy mountain goods on her back and walked for more than ten miles."

"She was only fourteen at that time. She couldn't bear to eat even a bowl of hot noodle soup outside. She only ate a hard cold steamed bun in the market in the winter. But she didn't lose Liu Lang's money, and the family ate it. She never lacked the meat and vegetables. She didn't eat them herself, leaving them all for Liulang, Xiaoshun and Aijia to eat. Later, the little monk came, and she spared no effort to buy everything that should be bought for the little monk. She only bought it for herself. A pair of cloth shoes, together with Rokuro’s.”

 Lao Jijiu was shocked.

 Empress Dowager Zhuang lowered her eyes and said: "If the money is not enough, she will always be short of herself... The Ai family doesn't want Jiaojiao to suffer, and they don't want her to suffer at all."

 Lao Jijiu's eyes were slightly red, and he didn't know whether it was for Gu Jiao or Zhuang Jinse.

 He knelt down and said, "I'll pick it up with you."

They both squatted on the ground and silently picked up the banknotes that were wet by the rain.

 Empress Dowager Zhuang was picking it up when she suddenly felt someone coming.

 She moved her body forward to cover a few banknotes in the puddle in front of her.

A young man wearing a raincoat and a bamboo hat, holding a red-tasseled gun, entered the alley from behind her.

 Empress Dowager Zhuang didn’t pay much attention and continued to pick up the banknotes.

 The young man walked past her.

When he reached the entrance of the alley, the young man's steps suddenly stopped.

There were only the last few banknotes left, and there seemed to be more people coming to the alley, so Queen Mother Zhuang accelerated the speed of picking up the banknotes.

Her legs were going numb from squatting, when suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind her.

 “…aunt?”

 (End of this chapter)