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Chapter 79 Concubine Jing
After dinner, Wu Jie came to the backyard.
Yuan Jing didn't sit in the corridor as usual, Wu Jie was a little disappointed, and breathed a sigh of relief. Now she doesn't know what to say when she sees Yuan Jing.
She walked out of the yard and continued to walk backwards. After walking for a while, she accidentally saw Yuan Jing's figure.
These days, in order to avoid being recognized by others, Yuan Jing almost stays at home. Why did you come to the grove today?
He was squatting on the surface of the stream, under the big willow tree, and was...
Burn paper!
Seeing clearly what he was doing, Wu Jie opened her eyes wide.
Ching Ming Festival is over, what are you doing burning paper at this time? Aren't you afraid of attracting the attention of the palace people?
She stepped forward.
Hearing the sound behind him, Yuan Jing stood up, without looking back, but knew that the person behind him was Wu Jie.
She didn't need to ask, she just explained, "I received a good news today, I think I should tell the people below, so I came here and burned it for her."
"After all, during the Ching Ming Festival a while ago, I forgot to burn some paper money for her. As a son, I am really unfilial."
The smile on Yuan Jing's face was extremely sarcastic.
"Who?" Wu Jie couldn't help asking. The meaning of Yuan Jing's words seemed to be referring to the Queen Mother, but the ceremony of the Queen Mother and her elderly has just been completed, so there should be no shortage of paper money.
"It was the previous owner of this Changqiu Pavilion. One of my father's concubines. Her... title is 'Jing'." Yuan Jing smiled, and turned to look at Wu Jie, "Coincidentally, she is also From a faraway land, like you."
Wu Jie was a little surprised, she had known for a long time that Yuan Jing's biological mother was not the Queen Mother, but Concubine Jing, but she never thought that Concubine Jing lived in Changqiu Pavilion before her death.
After she fell out of favor in her previous life, she was sent to live here. What was Yuan Jing's mentality at that time, and why did she make this arrangement? Do you think the feng shui of Changqiu Pavilion is suitable for foreign women?
Wu Jie didn't make a sound, but Yuan Jing continued talking on his own.
"Concubine Jing is just like her name. She is a quiet woman. She is very low-key in this harem, and she hardly shows it to others. She died of illness at a young age, and after she died, she left no trace. Not many people in this palace know about her. The only thing I still remember now is probably her son."
"She's my biological mother."
Yuan Jing lowered her head, looked at the burning paper money in the fire, and then looked up at Wu Jie, her gaze was like a torch.
"You should have known it a long time ago. I am not the parent of the Queen Mother."
Wu Jie was startled: "I..."
"Last time I said that not only the queen wanted to kill me, but also the queen mother wanted to kill me. This matter was kept secret, but you didn't show any shock."
"This..." Wu Jie thought for a while, and said simply, "Occasionally, I heard the palace people discuss it, but I can't make it right based on speculation."
"What are you talking about? The relationship between me and the Queen Mother?" Yuan Jing smiled self-deprecatingly, "Rumors in the palace are so rampant in places that I couldn't see before."
Wu Jie didn't speak. Anyway, a lot of palace people died in a flood, even if Yuan Jing didn't believe it, there was no way to investigate it.
Yuan Jing didn't dwell on this topic either, and continued talking on her own. "My biological mother is Concubine Jing who lived in Changqiu Pavilion before. She is not from Wei, but from a distant country. She once had a son in her hometown. During the few years in Changqiu Pavilion, she has been Concerned, now the son she has been thinking about is finally promising..."
Wu Jie's heart trembled.
Concubine Jing's son...has finally made a comeback!
Yes, but promising! They are all emperors!
If before today, Wu Jie still had doubts about these ambiguous references, then after today, she already knew who this concubine Jing was.
She is the big Zhou family of South Chen! Emperor Tiankang's original wife!
When she discovered that Yuan Jing looked very similar to Chen Jiao, Wu Jie had this weird thought.
It is not uncommon for people in the world to resemble each other, but to be so similar and to be so beautiful is really unusual.
Today, in the Nianhua Pavilion, she carefully checked the movement of the Northern Dynasty when South Chen Emperor Tiankang came to the throne.
Twenty years ago, the old emperor of the Southern Dynasty was seriously ill, and the Northern Wei Dynasty wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make money. At that time, Emperor Zhanghe personally led the army and went south to station at the frontier pass, hoping to wait for an opportunity to invade.
As for South Chen, Emperor Tiankang Chen Yan, who was still the prince, was kicked out of Capital City by the old emperor and exiled in Guanghan City. He was kicked out of the power center at this juncture, and Chen Yan was short of an edict to abolish the prince.
In fact, a few months later, the edict to abolish the prince was actually sent.
However, Chen Yan was also ruthless. He directly tore up the imperial edict in public, scolded the treacherous ministers for coercing the imperial edict, and then beheaded the emissary. He played the banner of the Qing emperor and returned to Capital City with his troops.
It stands to reason that this civil strife was a good time for the Great Wei to send troops south to attack, but at that time Emperor Zhang He was sitting on the front line with a large number of troops, and he actually watched Nanchen as a mess, and did not raise any troops from the beginning to the end. intention of.
Wu Jie carefully reviewed the deployment of soldiers and horses and military resources at that time. Although the Great Wei did not intervene in this civil war, during that period, many military supplies in the Northern Wei army were frequently coming and going.
Wu Jie couldn't help but have a guess that Great Wei didn't send troops on the surface, but in private, he actually supported Nan Chen secretly.
Recalling the night when he was poisoned by snake poison in the Buddhist hall and half unconscious, he asked Chen Jiao about his past.
Chen Jiao mentioned his father with contempt, "The family was so poor that they couldn't get rid of the pot. In the end, they could only beg for food. They couldn't even get much money for begging. They just gritted their teeth and sold his mother cruelly."
She thought he was just making up and fooling her, but now it seems that every sentence is the truth, every word is heart-piercing.
Chen Yan, who was still the prince, was severely suppressed by the old emperor in those years. Although he also operated secretly, he didn't have many soldiers and horses in his hands. The probability of success in rebellion is extremely low.
In desperation, he gave his wife Da Zhou to the Emperor Zhanghe of the enemy country in exchange for the capital to rebel.
Whether it was Emperor Zhanghe who heard the good name and deliberately asked for it, or Emperor Tiankang offered it on his own initiative as a hostage, Wu Jie couldn't guess.
Just counting the time, the Da Zhou family at that time should have just given birth to Chen Jiao. She was sent to the hands of the enemy by her husband, and then had a second child.
The age difference between Yuan Jing and Chen Jiao is only one year!
Wu Jie felt a chill.
In this troubled world, the beauty of a woman is actually a sin, which will only bring disaster and misfortune to oneself.
"My mother is a foreign woman, she misses her hometown very much..." Yuan Jing whispered.
Not only a foreign woman, but also a foreign queen. Wu Jie added secretly. After Emperor Tiankang succeeded to the throne, he posthumously conferred the posthumous title of the Da Zhou family as Empress Jing'an.
"Father actually dotes on mother very much. It's a pity that because of her background, she can't be too ostentatious."
On the northern side, Emperor Zhanghe really dotes on the Great Zhou family. It can be seen from the fact that Emperor Tiankang has not had a single child born after Yuan Jing for more than ten years. Although she was still in the prime of life, she was extremely pure-hearted and ascetic. After the death of Concubine Jing, the draft was abolished.
Even this doting extended to Yuan Jing, who chose a noble mother's family and a powerful wife's family for him. Even in order to protect Yuan Jing, he didn't let this young son come into everyone's sight too early, but watched the several sons fight endlessly with cold eyes, and finally caught them all to make way for Yuan Jing.
But is this kind of admiration really what the Zhou family wants?
Yuan Jing's voice was low.
"She lived a hard life in this palace, and I can only gradually understand it when I grow up. She has always cared about her hometown, her beloved, and the child who was forced to separate before she had time to take a second look." Yuan Jing gave a low laugh, a little vicissitudes.
"But now, her son in his hometown is finally promising. She must be very happy to hear the news."
He knew about Chen Jiao's succession so soon! It's just that he will never know that his elder brother from the same mother has been separated from him by a wall for many days.
Wu Jie didn't know how to evaluate this story.
She turned her head and looked back at the attic where she had lived for two lifetimes.
Changqiu Pavilion, Long Prison Pavilion.
In such a cold and lonely attic, what kind of days did the Zhou family spend their last years here?
Compared to herself, she was even a little thankful that at least she was in her hometown, and she didn't have any lovers or children she couldn't let go of. Although I miss my parents and sister, I am also worried about it.
"Actually, what she always misses is her son in her hometown, and she hates me and the emperor so much. When she died, it should be a kind of relief."
Yuan Jing stared at the fire, her voice gradually lowered.
"Her death, I knew it was the scheme of the Queen Mother and Prince Fu. But I never thought of revenge. Sure enough, an unfilial bastard like me is not worthy of her concern."
Although he found out the truth about Queen Mother Hong's attack on Concubine Jing, he never thought of taking revenge. In his eyes, Queen Mother Hong's kindness in raising her is far greater than that of her biological mother. Unfortunately, Queen Mother Hong refused to believe it. From the death of Prince Fu to the inexplicable signing of the document, they finally turned their mother and son into enemies.
Wu Jie suddenly thought of another thing. Back then, Empress Dowager Hong rebelled in a hurry and wanted to kill Yuan Jing, which obviously never happened in her previous life. Moreover, Empress Dowager Hong herself was not ambitious about the government. Why did she go to kill Yuan Jing? What about your route?
It's all Chen Jiao's fault!
When he was in Chongsheng Temple, Chen Jiao secretly changed the signature, and later complained to himself, "Why didn't you scare that old woman to death?"
She asked him what signature he changed, Chen Jiao smiled triumphantly, saying that he had predicted the death of Queen Mother Hong.
Now that Wu Jie thinks about it, what is written above should indicate that the Empress Dowager Hong will die at the hands of the son of the Great Zhou Clan. It was Chen Jiao's intentional intimidation. He was originally planning to assassinate Hong Taihou.
How could the Queen Mother Hong have expected that the eldest son of the Zhou family who was far away in South Chen would lurk in the palace to kill her for revenge? , and the ready-made son of Empress Zhou in the palace has one... Empress Dowager Hong was superstitious about these Buddhist and Taoist signatures. Coupled with Prince Fu's death, he believed Yuan Jing's killing intent towards her, so he took the first shot.
And Empress Dowager Hong finally died in the hands of Empress Da Zhou's son, which can be regarded as fulfilling the signature Chen Jiao gave her at the beginning.
With such a coincidence, Wu Jie couldn't help but want to light a candle for Yuan Jing. In this matter, he really deserved the disaster.
Does Chen Jiao know Yuan Jing's life experience? He probably didn't know before, but when he mentioned that Yuan Jing was not the Queen Mother Hong's biological son last time, he was shocked. It's just not necessarily now...
A gust of night wind blew by, and the small pile of paper money under the tree by the river burst into a final light, which quickly went out.
Only a piece of remnant ashes remained, exuding curls of white smoke.
After a while, under the blowing of the night wind, even the ashes dissipated.
Yuan Jing finally withdrew his gaze, and still had that brief mourning mood.
His gaze returned to calm and clear, like a river under the moonlight, all the rapids and surges were submerged under the calm water.
He stared at Wu Jie, and suddenly asked, "What kind of person is he?"
ah? Wu Jie was still shocked by the previous speculation, and did not respond to his question.
"What kind of person is the person you admired in your hometown?" This was the second time Yuan Jing asked him this question.
Wu Jie was dumbfounded for a moment.
Yuan Jing laughed lowly: "I don't have any other intentions, it's just that I feel a little hard to understand."
"He..." Wu Jie didn't know how to deal with this problem. After thinking about it, have you ever admired or moved your heart before?
There are very few men she comes into contact with on a daily basis, except for her father, prince and elder brother, probably only...
"Probably a shameless pervert."
Listening to Wu Jie's words, Yuan Jing's eyes straightened.
"On weekdays, I look like a fool, but in fact, it is still very reliable at critical moments."
"Martial arts are very good, and things are done neatly."
"Looks good." Well, that's the most important thing.
Yuan Jing silently sketched the impression of this person in his heart, looks, martial arts, etc., he seems to be not bad, the only difference may be personality.
"Is it the guard who was in Dongyue before?"
Not a guard, but a maid. Wu Jie thought silently, but did not deny Yuan Jing's words.
Even though she knew the biggest secret of the court, Wu Jie still slept soundly that night.
The next day, the sun was just right, and Wu Jie went to relax in the pear blossom forest outside Changqiu Pavilion.
Stopping and walking along the way, gradually arrived at the edge of Dongsheng Pool. Ever since the rumors that the ghosts in Dongsheng Pond dragged Mother Qiu into the water and killed them spread widely, this place has become much colder and quieter than before. Walking by the pool, the cool wind really has a sense of desolation.
Wu Jie strolled around a rockery, and unexpectedly saw a person.
Concubine Lijin is standing by the water, staring at the mighty water in a daze.
Hearing the footsteps behind her, she turned around, saw Wu Jie, and greeted with a smile: "Toffee lives in seclusion all day long, I didn't expect to have time to come out today."
Wu Jie said with a smile: "I just come out occasionally to relax." Then said, "I heard that the emperor fell ill a few days ago, and he must have recovered now."
A few days ago, the little prince who had just ascended the throne contracted a cold, and Concubine Li Jin was busy taking care of her. Seeing her come out today, Wu Jie expected her condition to improve.
Concubine Lijin said with a smile: "The condition is still the same, it's not bad, it's procrastinating, and I feel anxious to take care of the children every day, so I came out to take a breath."
Wu Jie didn't know what to say, she wanted to comfort her politely, but she felt that Concubine Lijin didn't want to hear such words.
The two stood side by side on the edge of the lake, the water sparkling and rippling with the wind. Concubine Lijin's voice rang in his ears.
"Looking at the surface of this lake, it makes people feel something. Life is like this water flowing, there is no place to stop, no place to rest."
Wu Jie's thoughts moved slightly, and she turned her head to look at Concubine Li Jin in surprise.
She has known this woman for two lifetimes. At first, when she was Li Chongrong, she was one of Concubine Hongshu's dog legs. Of course, she was different from Xia Guiren's low-end dog legs. After all, Li Chongrong was also a lady from a famous family. Knowledgeable and sensible, with both talent and appearance.
Later, saw a good show between her and Hong Chongyue in the Palace of Compassion and Peace. Li Chongrong, who was indifferent and desolate in memory, turned out to be flattering on the bed, which was impressive.
But now, Concubine Li Jin in front of her seemed to have another face.
She was wearing a silver-gray cloak embroidered with plum patterns, and her jet-black hair was combed into a high bun. Apart from a string of beeswax beads, she had no decorations on her whole body. The whole person was extremely clean, which added to her originally beautiful face a kind of dusty air.
In Wu Jie's eyes, Concubine Lijin's beauty has always been a bit vulgar, but this time she looks like a fairy without a trace of fireworks.
"The empress has lost a lot of weight. It must be too hard to take care of the emperor." Wu Jie sighed. Concubine Lijin is indeed extremely thin.
"It's too tiring, just get through these few days." Concubine Lijin said quietly, "Anyway, such a tiring day will eventually come to an end."
Wu Jie's mind moved slightly, and she looked up. Concubine Lijin's face was facing the sun, and the expression was unclear, but the tone of voice was full of vicissitudes.
Pausing for a while, Concubine Lijin seemed to realize that she had lost her composure, and sighed: "Thinking that we can talk here in peace, we are already much better than the previous sisters."
"I don't know how many innocent souls are hidden in this water."
Wu Jie looked at the water again, the previous concubines all died in the water.
"Even Mammy Qiu stepped into this Dongsheng Pond and drowned, maybe there is really something unwilling in this water." Wu Jie said along the words.
After the death of Mother Qiu, there was a vague rumor in the palace that nearly a thousand palace people were drowned in the low-lying garden in the tragedy of the Emerald Garden. Why do so many people not run to the gate of the palace, but go to the west? Because someone in power in the palace ordered everyone to gather in the west and leave the palace together. Even the queen mother and her elderly were killed on the way west.
Concubine Lijin shrugged: "No matter how widely the rumor spreads, it is actually useless."
Wu Jie understood what she meant. Now that General Gao is in power, Gao's confidants are replaced inside and outside the court. Although these rumors can hurt Gao's face, they cannot shake the foundation.
"Speaking of which, I heard that the palace is investigating the cause of Nanny Qiu's death recently. A few days ago, even my two stewards were called in for questioning." Concubine Lijin smiled.
Wu Jie was taken aback by this unexpected news.
"Maybe it's because the empress doesn't believe in the words of karmic retribution."
Concubine Lijin shrugged, turned and left.
Mother Qiu's death is not over yet!
Wu Jie felt a little apprehensive, and this apprehension soon became a reality.
In the afternoon of that day, as expected, guards from the imperial army came to the door to investigate the death of Mother Qiu.
Yuan Jing, didn't he say that there would be no future troubles?
Waiting for the female officer to invite people into the main hall, seeing clearly that the person who came to investigate was actually Yin Changqing, Wu Jie's heart skipped a beat.
It turned out to be this difficult guy!
Yin Changqing's attitude was rather respectful, and he politely asked a few things about the daily affairs of Dongshengchi.
Because of Concubine Li Jin's reminder before, Wu Jie was well prepared, and her response was impeccable. Originally, she had nothing to do with Mother Qiu. Several times, Phoenix Rite Palace took the initiative, and Wu Jie just pretended to be ignorant.
Yin Changqing didn't say much, and quickly took his leave and left.
Wu Jie politely ordered the female officer to send the person out, and was reviewing in her heart whether there were any flaws in the response just now, when suddenly out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yin Changqing's footsteps stop when she went out.
She looked up and was suddenly dumbfounded.
This guy Yuan Jing was so desperate to die, he entered the courtyard through the side door at this moment.
He stays in the room dishonestly, what is he doing out there! It's fine to go out, why come back at this time?
Wu Jie couldn't help standing up, Yin Changqing and Yuan Jing were separated by garden flowers and trees, but heard that martial arts practitioners have very sharp eyesight. Will recognize it.
At this moment, Wu Jie didn't have the ability to turn back time, so she could only kneel down and pray for the protection of gods and Buddhas.
Yin Changqing didn't seem to care, he continued to walk forward. Wu Jie finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the gods and Buddhas have not completely abandoned her.
However, the breath was half relieved, and the female officer who saw the guests outside the courtyard greeted cheerfully: "Gui Po, you are back."
Watching Yin Changqing tremble, he stopped.
Wu Jie's heart sank.
Yin Changqing, remember being very interesting to Gui Po.Chi Rui mentioned that when this guy was on patrol in the palace, he ran into Gui Po several times and wanted to talk to him, but Chen Jiao refused him thousands of miles away.Afterwards, he slowly lost his mind.
How could she have forgotten this, she really shouldn't have asked Yuan Jing to take care of Chen Jiao's lack.
Yuan Jing stopped in his tracks. He raised his head and looked in the direction of the greeting. When he noticed Yin Changqing, his eyes tightened.
Yin Changqing also heard the name Gui Po, and immediately turned around and took two steps towards him, then paused again.
Yuan Jing didn't move either.
For a while, the two of them looked at each other from a distance, separated by flowers and trees.
This scene was so eerie and weird that Wu Jie felt her legs go weak.