The prince is very fierce

Dong Dong——

The sky is like a curtain, the sea of ​​lights is like a tide, and one hundred and eight dusk drums are ringing through Chang'an. Among the palaces and corridors of the majestic imperial city, the palace maids and eunuchs are walking in an orderly manner, peaceful and solemn, and there is no 'singing songs and dancing swallows' as imagined by the common people. , wine pools and meat forests', even the sound of harp and harp is rare in each palace.

When the emperor Song Ji inherited the throne, he devoted himself entirely to the affairs of the court. The lights in the royal study were kept on until late at night. Sometimes even the little eunuch accompanying him couldn't stand it and had to change shifts to keep watch.

It is naturally a good thing for the king to attach great importance to the country, but it makes the concubines in the harem miserable. They cannot see the emperor several times throughout the year. As for the struggle for favor in the palace, no one is favored at all. When the queen was around, Song Ji would still go to the harem. After the queen died of illness a few years ago, Song Ji rarely went to sleep in the palace of his concubines.

Even many concubines are suffering from the misery of "no one can see their flowers falling every year", not to mention the Queen Mother who stays alone in Changle Palace.

After the death of the late emperor, according to the "concubine system" left over from the founding of the country, palace servants with lower status were given silver taels to find their husbands' families, and concubines with higher status were sent to the imperial mausoleum for three years, after which they could remarry. However, The queen is not included in this list. Unless Guo Zuo changes, it is impossible for the queen to marry a second man. As for the Queen Mother, it is estimated that no one dares to marry or become the emperor's stepfather. After all, no one wants to see the emperor's mother being bullied during the day and at night...

The Queen Mother had no heirs, so she could not be taken to live in peace and happiness like the concubines who gave birth to the prince. She could only live alone in Changle Palace for ten years. Although Song Ji often came to greet her and call her "Mother", they were not related by blood and it was just a formality.

The Queen Mother did not have the power and qualifications to be involved in politics, and her future path could basically be seen at a glance - she was probably buried in the imperial mausoleum together in her forties or fifties, and was recorded in the history books.

It was getting dark, the palace lanterns were lit on the corners of the eaves, and a few palace maids walked through Changle Palace, bringing plates of exquisite meals to the living room.

There was a heater in the room, and the Queen Mother, who was dressed in gorgeous palace clothes, was lying on her side on the couch, with her left hand supporting her cheek, playing chess with the palace maids, her skirt hanging on the couch, like a peacock spreading its tail. Revealing a pair of small palace boots and delicate ankles.

Maybe I felt sleepy after waiting for a long time, and occasionally I would cover my lips and yawn.

It's not that the Queen Mother is lethargic, but that she stays in Changle Palace to 'take care of her old age' and has nothing to do. She usually goes to bed after dark, which has become a habit over the years.

After calculating the time, the Queen Mother glanced outside the palace: "Qiao'e, why hasn't Xu Buling come here yet?"

Qiao'e knelt down next to the soft couch. After placing the pieces on the chessboard, she said softly: "Actually... the Queen Mother should not have asked Prince Xu to enter the palace."

"Um?"

The Queen Mother raised her eyes and looked at Qiao'e, slightly confused.

Qiao'e is the Queen Mother's personal maid. She grew up in Huainan. She was taught since she was a child to help her young ladies compete for favor among princes and the palace's back houses and make suggestions. Needless to say, she has the ability to analyze situations.

Qiao'e pondered for a while before speaking: "There is a widespread rumor that there is a vassal king plotting to unify. As for which vassal king it is, it is not stated clearly, but King Su has the most military power, so it is self-evident who he refers to. And there are people in the court. Some people say that the Holy One wants to cut down the feudal vassal. Although the Holy One has never expressed this intention, the rumors will not spread by themselves. "

The Queen Mother said lazily "Hmm~" and signaled Qiao'e to continue.

Qiao'e thought about it carefully: "These two rumors are trying to sow the relationship between the Holy Lord and the vassal king. I can't tell what maid is hiding behind it, but it must not be a trivial matter... My Xiao family spans three dynasties and has been for generations. Prime Minister, your position is very special. The Queen Mother is not allowed to be close to you. If the courtiers suspect that my Xiao family is deliberately trying to win over Prince Su..."

Qiao'e was obviously reminding the Queen Mother not to fall in line casually, as it would be troublesome if she stood in the wrong line.

But the Queen Mother had long since given up her thoughts of getting involved in the court. She sighed quietly and threw the chess pieces into the chess basket: "My second brother and third sister are in charge of the Xiao family. I married into the palace ten years ago and it was the Song family. It’s just common sense to ask Xu Buling to come over for dinner. Let them guess.”

Qiao'e hesitated for a moment: "Also...my Xiao family is very involved. Prince Xu was ambushed in Weihe and was also infected by the extinct Dragon Lock Gu. The power behind it must be quite big..."

The Queen Mother looked slightly condensed, raised her upper body with her elbows on the soft couch, frowned and thought for a moment:

"Are you saying that the poison was administered by my Xiao family?"

Qiao'e staggered, raised her hand and waved it anxiously, and said anxiously: "Queen Mother, don't say this, it will be troublesome if others hear it... I, the Xiao family, are not pawns. I never make plans before taking action. How could I do this? This is a matter of fact.”

The Queen Mother blinked her eyes and lay down on the soft couch again, looking a little helpless: "That's okay, I have my own sense of proportion..."

During the chat, footsteps sounded outside the palace. The palace maid walked outside the palace and whispered:

"Queen Mother, Prince Xu has arrived."

The Queen Mother gathered some energy and stood up to go out to greet him. She stopped halfway and picked up the bronze mirror from the soft couch to take a look at it.

Qiao'e hurriedly walked over, tidied up the messy bun, smoothed the palace skirt, and then followed the Queen Mother out of the door...

————

The words were divided into two parts. In the afternoon, merchants and pawns were coming and going in the back streets of Dayefang, and Goulan, the gambling shop, was just about to open its doors.

Zhu Manzhi wandered around the streets alone, occasionally running to the vicinity of Qingshi Lane to take a look. Unfortunately, Prince Xu never came back in the past two days.

As a girl of only sixteen, she was not very shrewd to begin with, so Zhu Manzhi naturally over-thought, thinking that maybe she had left without saying goodbye the day before yesterday, which had angered Master Xu.

She was just a little detective born in the market, not even a Jianghu person, and her status was very different from that of the prince of a vassal state. She should be careful when she met and talked to him, so how could she be so petty with Master Xu...

But Master Xu was not such a stingy person, why would he not come to see her because of such a small matter...

Zhu Manzhi's big round eyes were obviously a little disappointed. After walking around the street twice, she walked to a roof at the corner, squatted on the steps, broke off a small branch and drew circles on the ground.

Although she was young and cheerful, Zhu Manzhi was not stupid. After waiting for two days without Xu Buling coming, she became more and more depressed.

Recalling the details of these days - first drawing the sword to help in the back street, then being a hero in the alley to save the beauty, going to Baimazhuang to kill people, entering the case library...

Everything seems to be a coincidence, but there is obviously an invisible thread connecting them.

Since the encounter in front of the restaurant, everything happened around the purpose of "entering the case library"...

Xu Shizi... could he be using me...

Thinking of this, Zhu Manzhi's heart trembled violently, and the small branch in his hand broke with a "snap" sound.

No, no...

Zhu Manzhi shook his head and laughed, thinking that he was a little whimsical. How could Xu Shizi, such a good person, use her?

But as he laughed, he couldn't laugh anymore.

She... seemed useless...

This thought came to his mind, and Zhu Manzhi didn't know why her nose suddenly felt sour, and she pursed her lips tightly, and her slightly immature face looked at the end of the back street.

After staring blankly for a long time, the shadows of people coming and going on the street appeared, but the handsome young man in white clothes still did not appear.

Zhu Manzhi bit his lower lip, hummed inaudibly, picked up the small branch on the ground, and continued to draw circles.

Not long after drawing, the sound of horse hooves suddenly stopped in front of him.

Zhu Manzhi's whole body trembled slightly, and he raised his head suddenly.

Unfortunately, the surprised look in his eyes soon dimmed again.

Liu Houer and Wang Dazhuang led three horses, looking down at Zhu Manzhi squatting under the eaves, a little puzzled: "Manzhi, why are you crying?"

"No...sand got in my eyes...what are you doing here?"

Liu Houer spread his hands, a little puzzled: "Today I went to the post station outside the city to investigate a case. My brothers and I waited outside the government office for a long time for you to come. If you don't leave, you will be scolded by the commander."

Zhu Manzhi just remembered this, stood up and patted her clothes, then climbed on the horse with her head down, without saying a word, looked back at the end of the street again, and then shouted "Gee~", galloping out of the city.

Liu Houer and Wang Dazhuang couldn't figure out the little girl's mind, so they followed her and headed out of the city.

Next to a tea stall in the back street, two vagrants wearing bamboo hats looked at each other, and when the horses were about to disappear, they threw a few copper coins on the table, and stood up and untied the reins on the hitching post...

Next to another tea stall, a man who was drinking tea, when the two vagrants were about to disappear, threw a few copper coins on the table, and stood up and untied the reins on the hitching post...