After becoming a concubine, Wu Jie did not live in Bixiao Palace for too long.

After all, this is the residence of the concubines. After the New Year, she moved to the North Palace where the concubines and concubines lived according to the palace rules.

Among all the palaces, Wu Jie chose Changqiu Pavilion as her place of residence.

Changqiu Pavilion happens to be located at the junction of the North Palace and the Harem. Strictly speaking, it is not the residence of the Concubine, but now the Harem is empty, almost no one is there. Wu Jie chose to retire here, and the head of the inner palace would not disobey the master's wishes for such a trivial matter.

After going around in circles in this life, actually returned to this familiar attic again.

Wu Jie was full of emotion, but Yuan Jing heard the news that she chose to live in Changqiu Pavilion, she was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "It's not bad, the scenery there is very good, and it's clean."

He wouldn't misunderstand that he chose there because of the days when he was healed. Wu Jie looked at his complicated expression, secretly thinking.

After the New Year's Eve, on a sunny day, Wu Jie moved into the Changqiu Pavilion with a dozen newly dispatched palace servants to serve her.

Not long after checked in, it was the Ching Ming Festival.

According to the usual practice, the palace organized sacrifices and prepared a banquet in the evening.

The banquet was arranged in the Zhaixing Building. Empress Gao and Concubine Lijin were both in low spirits. They had a dull meal and then ended.

Wu Jie was on the way back to Changqiu Pavilion, looking in the distance, the banquet in the front hall was still going on.

The banquets of the civil and military officials and noble clans were presided over by the tall generals, so they must still be lively.

She withdrew her gaze and continued to walk forward. Seeing that she was almost at Changqiu Pavilion, she paused, and at some point a tall figure appeared in front of her.

"Miss Zifen." Gao Zimo's eyes showed surprise.

Wu Jie coughed, "General Gao." Gao Zimo was promoted to General Zhenwei of the third rank a few days ago.

This unfamiliar address made Gao Zimo pause, and then smiled wryly: "I made you laugh."

"Why are you here?" The banquet in the front hall was not over yet,

"I didn't go to the banquet tonight. I was in charge of inspection."

It was only then that Wu Jie remembered that he had now been promoted to be the commander of the West Feather Guard. This month's palace prohibition rotation is Xi Yuwei's. It's just that he shouldn't have to come here in person on night duty, especially since the vicinity of Changqiu Pavilion is so desolate.

"I was walking in the woods and wanted to be alone, so I came here before I knew it." Gao Zimo said in a low voice. He has a very complicated mood these days, and he is used to staying alone in remote places.

"Is there anything else to worry about, my son?" Wu Jie said flatly. Now that General Gao is in charge of the government, and the Gao family is going smoothly, what troubles are there?

She is not a stupid person, rebellion is a big project, it cannot be decided this year, and it will be completed next year. Over the years, the Gao Clan has taken root in the Northwest, won people's hearts, and expanded their strength. They should have been preparing for many years. Before Gao Zimo revealed that he would secretly return to the Northwest, it shows that the layout of the Gao family started very early.

Even afterwards, Phoenix Rite Palace suddenly became murderous towards her. At first, she couldn't figure out why, but now that she thinks about it, she may have suspected that she knew some secret from Gao Zimo, so she asked Divide and fast.

Wu Jie didn't say anything, but her tone was very straightforward. Gao Zimo's body trembled. He was struggling these days because of this. My Gao family has been loyal all my life, and I have fought on the battlefield all my life, but my father only thought about power and that position in his later years.

Miss Zifen's tone really looked down on the rebellious officials and thieves.

In fact, Wu Jie didn't think there was anything despicable about the Gao family's dominance of power. The world was divided into north and south, and there had been wars for many years. Not to mention the world of the Great Wei, many territories were conquered by the Gao clan.

"I didn't know about my father's plan, neither did my sister." Gao Zimo said in a low voice, "Father was afraid that we young people would be overwhelmed, so he didn't even tell Fourth Brother Yin. The cronies around him are just Remind me that I was going to return to the Northwest, but I didn't expect..."

Gao Zimo's tone was a bit messy.

The young man's face was pale, and there was a blue color floating under his eye circles. He must have not slept well for many days. He was really conflicted and conflicted.

A kind of pity rose in Wu Jie's heart,

She has never realized so clearly for a moment like now that the young man in front of her is pure in heart. Perhaps the Gao family has lost several successful sons in a row, and she especially cherishes this only remaining young son. Although Gao Zimo is smart and alert , but lack of experience in these political affairs.

Or, he has seen a lot, all on flimsy paper, that really happened around him. His once kind relatives turned against each other for the sake of power, and only then did he realize that these changes are so cruel.

Wu Jie imagined that if her father, Prince De, and uncle, Emperor Zhengen, were strangling each other to the death for the throne of Dongyue...she would be in such conflict and pain.

"You don't need to be so worried. No one in the world can change the choice of the general. Sometimes you are in a situation and you can only follow the trend."

This helpless feeling has been experienced by Wu Jie since entering the palace. However, I am a person from a foreign country and have no roots at all. Now it seems that even the sons of the rich and powerful are not immune. Not only the Gao Zimo in front of him, but also the one who lives in his apse now can only feign death and hide himself.

Gao Zimo smiled wryly: "Actually, he treats me pretty well, and my sister and I are also married after all. I never expected..."

Before he finished speaking, there were scattered footsteps ahead.

Wu Jie looked up, a group of guards came out from the shadow opposite, the leader was Yin Changqing.

She took the opportunity to say: "I'm going to take a step first, take care, my son."

After finishing speaking, before Gao Zimo could speak, she turned and left.

Quickly walk out of this forest, and the Changqiu Pavilion is in front of you. She returned to the bedroom, took off her outer robe and changed into loose clothes under the service of the maid. When he came to the back, he saw Yuan Jing sitting on the porch.

Wu Jie suddenly felt a little guilty, and wondered if Yuan Jing had seen what happened just now, looking from the open gate in the backyard, it happened to be the peach blossom forest.

Speaking of which, this guy said at the beginning that he had a way to leave the palace, and he only hid by his side for a few days, but several months passed in a blink of an eye, and he did not see him leave.

These days, on the surface, Yuan Jing looks relaxed, but Wu Jie understands that this is just the appearance.

From the death of Mother Qiu before, she can be sure that he never gave up the government and control of the court.

Wu Jie never asked him how to fight back, she didn't want to know these things, and even if she asked, Yuan Jing might not be willing to tell her the truth.

She can be sure that there will be a palace change in the near future.

Who will be the winner then?

"The banquet ended so soon?" Yuan Jing greeted idly.

"There are only three people, what kind of banquet can we have? In order to take care of my son, Concubine Li took the first step." Wu Jie recounted the banquet just now, and she felt awkward in retrospect.

After Concubine Li left, she was left sitting opposite Empress Gao, extremely bored. And Empress Gao looked in a bad mood.

"Perhaps the banquet in the previous court was more lively."

Yuan Jing laughed: "The former dynasty was even more boring, just drinking and toasting non-stop, and saying auspicious words. Being the emperor was even more miserable. He straightened his posture all the way, showing a majestic and decent smile. Otherwise, someone would secretly speculate, Is there any other meaning? I feel my face is stiff after one night."

"At the palace banquet the year before last, when it was the Minister of Rites's turn to toast, I was distracted for a moment and my face was not very good-looking. As a result, the old man became terrified. Afterwards, it was rumored in the court that he caused my dissatisfaction because of his conflict with Gongsun Liang. .That's bullshit, I didn't even know these two had an argument."

I didn't expect that I would elicit so many complaints from him. I really didn't realize that this guy could talk like that before.

"The concubine thought you were too happy to miss Shu,"

"Ha, because the banquet in the harem is also very boring. Watching a group of women play games, it's better to discuss a few sentences about the government."

Yuan Jing sat on the porch, looking at the moon like a silver plate in the sky, he rarely had such moments of relaxation, since he succeeded to the throne, and even since he was established as the prince, he has tightened every string, trying hard to be A good emperor never let up in the slightest.

"It's a pity that it seems to have failed. People rebelled one after another. Sometimes I think about it, is it like the father, who is more liked by the courtiers?"

Wu Jie had also heard that Emperor Zhanghe was a gentle and elegant person, and he was very kind to the nobles and clans in the court, but rarely harsh. Therefore, the ruling and opposition parties are full of praises. In fact, Emperor Zhanghe seems to have no achievements during his 20 years in office.

During the civil strife in South Chen before, he also led troops south, trying to take advantage of the fire to loot. As a result, from beginning to end, the South Chen incident lasted for several months, until Emperor Tiankang ascended the throne, and no action was taken. It makes people feel the emperor's hesitation.

Perhaps one of the most decisive things that Emperor Zhanghe did in his life was that in his later years, when several older princes were fighting for the position of crown prince, he killed them and killed them all at once, either belittling them, or debating them. Ban, and then passed on the throne to the youngest son Yuan Jing.

Even in order for him to succeed to the throne smoothly, let him recognize Concubine Hong as his mother and marry Gao's daughter as his wife. He gave him the two major boosts of North Korea, Chinese and military.

From this point of view, Emperor Zhanghe should love Concubine Jing very much, so he is actively planning for her son.

But he probably didn't expect that the support set up at the beginning would become an obstacle after the young emperor succeeded to the throne.

The conflict between an ambitious emperor with both civil and military skills and a deeply entrenched family in power will soon be inevitable.

From this point of view, the reason Yuan Jing has fallen to where he is today is really because he is too aggressive.

Wu Jie let go of her thoughts and was engrossed in her thoughts when suddenly there was a meowing sound.

Wu Jie looked down, and a kitten came out from nowhere, and landed in Yuan Jing's palm on the corridor.

He kept dawdling, making a cute meowing sound, and looked at Yuan Jing with big green eyes expectantly.

Yuan Jing smiled, followed its meaning, and raised her hand to stroke its back.

The kitten immediately purred comfortably, curled up into a ball, and changed its position after a while, exposing its white fluffy belly for Yuan Jing to stroke.

Wu Jie was dumbfounded,

She knew this cat, it was the one that jumped from the big willow tree when she and Chi Rui first came to Changqiu Pavilion a few days ago. Pure black fur, white forehead and four paws.

I remember in my previous life, this little white claw was a top dog in the wild cat circle near Changqiu Pavilion. Despite its delicate body and weak body, it was actually very ferocious when fighting.

When Wu Jie was extremely bored, she would occasionally feed the wild cat with some small dried fish, and every time this little thing took the lead to grab the food into its mouth.

This cat not only dominates the woods behind, but also often goes to the small kitchen to steal food.

Yuan Jing teased the cat, looked up at Wu Jie's shocked expression, and laughed dryly: "I don't know why, but I was especially liked by cats and dogs when I was young."

"I remember when I was four or five years old, I often encountered wild cats by this small river, and occasionally brought them food."

Wu Jie knew that the Changqiu Pavilion area was quite cold and quiet, and it was always the base camp where wild cats gathered in the palace. But when Yuan Jing was the prince, did he often come here?

Before she had time to think deeply, Yuan Jing continued: "One time I met a kitten whose hind leg was injured and couldn't walk. I took pity on it and took it back to the residence. It's a pity that the concubine mother didn't I was allowed to keep this, so I had to throw it away."

"That cat looks a lot like this kitten, maybe it's its offspring."

"However, when I was six years old, I went to Hong's house, and I was finally free. My uncle heard about my hobby and gave me a pure white puppy. It is said to be a famous product of western territory. It is very smart. Every time I When you enter the house, you will follow behind with your shoes in your mouth.”

Yuan Jing said with a look of nostalgia.

Wu Jie smiled casually: "The emperor has raised him for many years."

"I haven't raised it for many years. Maybe it's because I like it so much that it shortened its lifespan." Yuan Jing was silent for a moment before continuing: "About the second month after I adopted it, one day, The puppy is gone."

"The servants searched the mansion all over, but they couldn't find it. They said that the dog was wild, and they probably slipped out of the mansion while people weren't looking, ran to the street, and were picked up by someone."

Wu Jie immediately raised an objection: "The door of Prime Minister Hong's mansion can't be so rash."

Yuan Jing laughed: "I didn't believe this kind of statement at the time, I knew... Chongyue did it."

ah? Wu Jie opened her eyes wide.

Yuan Jing buried her face in her arms with a smile, and raised her head after a while: "I secretly went to Chongyue's backyard to search, and I found a small mound. The color of the soil is quite new, and I doubt my The puppy was buried in it."

"Did the emperor quarrel with him?"

"No, and I can't produce evidence,"

"Didn't the emperor ask someone to dig it out?"

"No, I pretended not to know, and quietly went back to my yard." Yuan Jing was silent for a moment, and then said, "But that night, I sneaked in by myself, dug up the mound, and inside was a skinned animal. The bloody thing. I can't tell what it is."

Yuan Jing's voice was low and slow, and no emotion could be heard.

"I buried the mound back again and didn't say anything."

"Chongyue can be regarded as my first friend. It's rare to have a child who is about my age and who is not hindered by his status. I am afraid that if I really find a puppy, this kind of friendship will be lost."

"Actually, I know that Chongyue hates me very much. Probably before I came to Hong's family, he was the most beloved boy in the whole family, and Lan Zhen also liked to cling to him. After I went, after all, he was of royal blood. He is very respectful, and even Lan Zhen likes to get close to me, so he is naturally unhappy. On the surface, his cousin calls him affectionately, but in his heart he dislikes me very much. He feels that I have taken away everything that belongs to him."

Yuan Jing's clear voice gradually became melancholy.

Thinking of Hong Chongyue, he felt melancholy, but in fact he didn't want to kill him. But step by step retreat, in exchange for an inch...

The family ties and friendships that I had when I was young all ended in such a withered ending. Maybe I'm really not suitable for these things that are too soft, whether it's feelings, or small furry animals in the palm.

Wu Jie listened, her heart was full of pity, she couldn't help but said: "It's so pitiful..."

Yuan Jing was stunned, and looked up, there was mist floating in those big bright eyes, was she talking about herself, such a straightforward emotion of pity was really fresh.

"...that puppy." Wu Jie continued, filled with righteous indignation, "How could you treat it like this."

Yuan Jing: ...