Chapter 36: Some clues pointed to Lao Wu
In the main hall of Furong Palace, there were only the Imperial Concubine and the Sixth Prince, mother and son.
The Sixth Prince had a gloomy face, clenched his fists and cursed fiercely: "Despicable, shameless, villain."
The Royal Concubine drank her tea leisurely, admiring her son's colorful face, feeling very happy.
Her stupid son finally stood up. But he was not cunning enough, nor did he have enough self-control. Look how angry he was.
But it must be interesting to watch my silly son grow up.
The Sixth Prince cursed angrily for a while, then looked up and saw his mother drinking tea leisurely with a smile on her face. He was so angry that he stood up and said, "Mother, your son is so angry, why are you still laughing at me?"
How could the Imperial Concubine admit that she was laughing at him? She immediately denied it: "You are wrongly accusing me. I am not laughing at you. I just remembered something funny."
"Oh." The Sixth Prince sat back, but immediately reacted and became even more unhappy. He was almost mad to death, but his mother was still thinking about other things and not listening to him carefully. What a mother he could have.
Seeing her foolish son about to get angry again, the Royal Concubine suppressed her smile and said, "Tell me, who is the one who is so impatient that dares to plot against our Sixth Prince like this?"
The Sixth Prince: "I am not completely sure yet, but I have found some clues, all pointing to the Fifth Prince."
The fifth prince? The imperial concubine frowned slightly: "Pointing at the fifth prince, then it means pointing at the third prince."
The Sixth Prince nodded and said, "That's what I thought too. How could the Fifth Prince come up with such a meticulous plan? The Third Prince must be behind it, but I haven't found any evidence yet, so I can't prove it was the Third Prince."
Imperial Concubine: "Did the brothel girl find out anything?"
The Sixth Prince was angry: "I asked, but they only said nonsense. I didn't get any useful information. The family who pretended to be her parents and brothers disappeared. The house and shop were all rented. Now they are all empty. Not even a ghost can be seen."
"The woman was only sent to the capital from the south by the brothel owner. She didn't know who the person behind her was and she had never seen him once."
Imperial Concubine: "So, she was forced?"
The Sixth Prince shook his head: "Not entirely. She herself also covets glory and wealth and wants to be the prince's consort."
The Royal Concubine was puzzled: "If he coveted glory and wealth, why did he plot to harm you later?"
The Sixth Prince: "I don't know about that. It hasn't happened yet, so I can't tell her anything. But she swore and said that she absolutely has no intention of harming me."
The Imperial Concubine took a sip from the teacup, and after a moment of silence, she said, "Yes, if it is really the Third Brother who is behind this, he is so scheming that he would not easily reveal his identity, nor would he reveal his trump card so quickly. He probably plans to use his ultimate move after you get married."
"I guess that's what they planned." replied the Sixth Prince.
After talking for so long, he felt thirsty, so he picked up a pear from the table and started to chew it.
Seeing him eating the fruit without a care in the world, the Imperial Concubine knew that he had let down his temper and asked, "What are your plans next?"
The Sixth Prince swallowed the pear in his mouth and replied, "I have no idea yet, but I talked to my eldest brother and he told me not to act rashly and to continue investigating in secret until I get evidence that can kill him."
The Royal Concubine nodded and said, "Your eldest brother is a man of great wisdom and judgment. You are right to listen to him."
The Sixth Prince took another bite of the pear and said unhappily, "Mother, you always praise my eldest brother. Why don't you praise me?"
The Royal Concubine couldn't help laughing: "Our little six is full of energy, innocent, upright, pure-hearted, and talented in both civil and military affairs..."
The Royal Concubine used almost all the good words she could think of.
The Sixth Prince was overjoyed by the compliment and laughed, "Mother, I am not as good as you say."
The Imperial Concubine rolled her eyes and hurried him away: "Hurry up, your mother sprained her ankle and is resting. She sent all the palace affairs to me. I have a lot of things to do."
"You always chase me away. Am I that annoying?" The Sixth Prince muttered, stood up, bowed, and walked out: "Then I will go to serve my mother."
The Imperial Concubine called out to him, "Don't go today. Your mother is tired and has gone to bed. Don't disturb her."
"Oh, I see." The Sixth Prince responded and walked away while chewing a pear.
Seeing the heartless look of the Sixth Prince, the Imperial Concubine shook her head helplessly, "How come none of these troublesome ones are as obedient as Little Nine?"
Hong Yu came in with a stack of account books: "Madam, do you want to continue looking at the accounts?"
The Imperial Concubine nodded, took the account book, flipped through a few pages, and put it down again, asking, "Has the Fifth Prince come to the palace to see Concubine Chun recently?"
The Imperial Concubine assisted the Empress in managing many matters in the harem. As the Imperial Concubine's personal maid, Hong Yu's main duty was to find out the movements of all the concubines in the harem. Although she couldn't know everything, she knew all the major things clearly.
Hearing this, he replied, "I just came here yesterday afternoon. I was in a hurry when I came, as if I had something urgent to do, but when I left, I looked normal."
The Royal Concubine sneered.
This is a conspiracy that has been exposed. Concubine Chun is asked to come up with ideas. But with Concubine Chun's stupid head, what ideas can she come up with?
Thinking of the grievances and hurts the Sixth Prince had suffered before, she threw the account book in her hand on the table and said, "Send someone to call Concubine Chun and tell her that I want to copy the account book and let her grind ink for me."
---
Miaoyunxuan.
The rain outside the window was pouring down. Rupin was sitting on the couch embroidering a fan for the empress. Youyou leaned on Rupin and watched her embroidering. She pointed with her chubby hand and made suggestions in a baby voice: "Mother, the flowers are beautiful. It will be even better if you add some leaves."
Rupin looked around at the single peony flower on the round fan and nodded with a smile, "I thought it seemed to be missing something. Okay, I'll listen to you and add a few more leaves."
Ji Jinyou was very happy that his opinion was accepted and laughed.
The little girl squinted her eyes, revealing a row of tiny milk teeth, and looked so adorable that Rupin also laughed and she picked her up and gave her a kiss.
Ji Jinyou reciprocated the favor by hugging Rupin's neck and kissing her cheek, then sat obediently aside and watched.
Rupin asked while embroidering: "Youyou, the Queen sent some food to mother yesterday, but what did you say?"
Ji Jinyou shook his head: "Youyou didn't say it, it was the Empress who proposed it herself, and she also sent a copy to Fifteenth Brother."
"That's good." Rupin was relieved and reminded her gently, "Youyou, mother knows that you are filial and always think about mother, but no matter how popular you are in other people's palaces, you are still a guest. Don't ask mother for anything. If you eat and take at the same time, it will be annoying, understand."
Ji Jinyou nodded her head: "Don't worry, mother, Youyou knows."
Rupin knew that the little girl was always well-behaved and obedient, and was afraid that she might go too far, so she added, "However, if the Empress, the Imperial Concubine, or the sisters give you something, you should take it. Don't just refuse it. Otherwise, it would be too polite."
Ji Jinyou nodded again: "Okay."
"Youyou is so good," Rupin went over and kissed the little girl, then picked her up and walked out: "Let's go, let's go eat."
After lunch, Ji Jinyou went to take a nap.
---
Luoxia Palace.
Emperor Wen Zhao walked in, not looking very happy.
Concubine Hui knew that she had made a big mistake today, and had been feeling uneasy since she returned. When she saw Emperor Wen Zhao coming with a dark face, she became even more nervous, and she lifted up her skirt and was about to kneel down to apologize.
Emperor Wen Zhao took into consideration that she was pregnant and remembered the empress's instructions, so he reached out to support her and sat down on the couch together.
Emperor Wen Zhao asked, "It rained today, can you call the imperial physician to see me?"
Concubine Hui nodded hurriedly: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. The imperial physician has examined the child and he is fine."
Emperor Wen Zhao hummed and said no more.
Ever since Concubine Hui entered the palace, Emperor Wen Zhao always had a smile on his face whenever he came to her. Even if he sometimes came with a sullen face, she would coax him into a good-humored state with a few words. This was the first time that he had a sullen face towards her.
Concubine Hui was terrified and reached out to grab Emperor Wen Zhao's sleeve: "Your Majesty, I made a big mistake today."
In the past, if someone dared to let the cat hurt the empress, Emperor Wen Zhao would have directly reprimanded him.
But Concubine Hui was pregnant, so he couldn't speak for a while, so he waited for her to confess. When he heard this, he nodded and said, "Tell me, what's wrong?"
Concubine Hui tried to start with the small mistake: "I am pregnant, and I shouldn't go out on a rainy day. But I don't know what happened to me. I felt bored in this room, so I wanted to go out for a walk. That's why I didn't control my feet. But your majesty, don't worry. From now on, I will stay in the house to take care of my pregnancy and don't go out unless necessary."
Seeing her say this, and thinking of the empress's talk about the woman being pregnant, Emperor Wen Zhao's expression eased a little, "These are all trivial matters. It's not good to stay in the room all the time. If you want to go out, go out. I don't blame you for this."
Hearing the hidden meaning behind the words, Concubine Hui immediately responded: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I was wrong for carrying Lingdang out. I should have taken good care of her after carrying her out. But I did not do these two things well, which frightened the Empress and caused her to sprain her ankle."
As Concubine Hui spoke, she carefully observed Emperor Wen Zhao's expression. Seeing that his brows relaxed slightly, she knew that she had hit the point. She also instantly guessed that His Majesty must have gone to the Empress first and had already understood what had happened.
She dared not hide the slightest thing and reflected deeply on herself: "My body is precious, and I made a big mistake, but I did not repent. I even disobeyed the queen's order and kneeled down to force her to return the bell. Your Majesty, I really know that I was wrong. Can you forgive me this time?"
見慧妃所說，和他聽來的，以及皇後說的都沒有出入，又肯老老實實認錯，文昭帝臉色緩和了。
抓過她的手拍了拍：“皇後寬容大度，一向又看重皇嗣，這是你們這些妃子的福氣，你們要懂得感恩，多體諒皇後，她一個人管着這麽大個後宮，事事操心，也夠累的。”
一聽這話鋒，慧妃就知道這事算是過去了，心頭一松，眼淚差點兒掉出來。
可她哪裏敢哭，她一個犯了錯的人，她有什麽資格哭，那樣陛下一定會嫌她矯情。
皇宮裏頭那麽多女人，陛下為什麽喜歡到她這裏來，無非就是她從不抱怨，從來都是笑臉相迎，陛下在她這裏待得舒心而已。
若她和那些哭哭啼啼的女人一樣，她萬分肯定，不出幾日，陛下就會厭棄她了。
她忍着淚重重點頭：“陛下，嫔妾知道了，嫔妾往後一定不給皇後娘娘添麻煩。”
見慧妃精神不濟，眼眶通紅，文昭帝點點頭，“行了，這事就算結了，你莫多想，好生歇息吧。”
說罷，起身就走。
這一次，也是頭一次，慧妃一句挽留的話都沒說，恭敬行禮：“陛下慢走。”
等文昭帝走遠，慧妃轉身回屋，撲到床上就嗚嗚哭了起來。
嬷嬷吓了一跳，忙把門關上，走過去低聲安慰：“娘娘，這一劫這不是過去了嘛，您莫哭，對孩子不好。”
慧妃趴在床上哭得傷心：“陛下問我可瞧了太醫，我說、孩子好好的，陛下就放心了，可他都沒問一句我好不好。”
“陛下可是天子，娘娘怎能奢望尋常夫妻之間的相處之道。”嬷嬷嘆氣，伸手輕輕去扶慧妃：“娘娘快起來，這樣趴着，壓着孩子了。”
一聽這話，慧妃賭氣捶床：“孩子孩子，好像我就是個生孩子的傀儡，早知道就幹脆在禦花園跪沒了好了。”
這話大逆不道，嬷嬷吓得連忙看向門口，見門關的好好的，她松了一口氣，上前用了個巧勁把鑽牛角尖的慧妃扶着躺好。
慧妃仰面朝天躺着，任由眼淚順着眼角流個不停，也不去擦，低聲喃喃不語：“嬷嬷，你說，當初要是我不聽我爹娘的，不入宮，就找個尋常人嫁了，是不是會更好一點。”
“娘娘，咱莫要回頭去看，毫無用處，人哪，得往前看。”嬷嬷好聲好氣地哄：“今兒這話，往後切莫再說，被人聽了傳出去，那可是掉腦袋的死罪。”
慧妃短暫地悲觀過後，快速調整心情，點了點頭，扯過被子擦了擦眼睛，伸出手，露出一抹笑容：“嬷嬷，快去把鈴铛抱出來吧，關了這麽久，快悶壞了。”
想着文昭帝很有可能來興師問罪，她怕他見了鈴铛再下令把鈴铛處置了為皇後出氣，一回來就把鈴铛送到偏殿藏好，還特意拿竹筐扣了起來。
嬷嬷見她笑了，放下心來，應好，轉身出去，很快把鈴铛抱了回來，送到慧妃手裏。
慧妃抱着小黑貓在臉上貼了貼：“鈴铛，我的小鈴铛，委屈你了。”
說罷，翻身，面朝裏躺好，吩咐一句午飯不吃了，就那麽抱着貓睡了過去。
嬷嬷扯着薄被給她蓋好腰身，默默退了出去。
---
季瑾悠一覺醒來時，雨停了，天放了晴，天空出現了彩虹。
見沒人來找她玩，她就決定自己出去溜達溜達，如嫔忙着繡花，就讓金杏跟着。
想到禦花園裏那一叢叢開得好看的栀子花，季瑾悠便往禦花園走，想去摘一些回來插到花瓶裏。
沒想到路上遇到十五皇子，見他耷拉着腦袋貼着牆根走，也不知道在想什麽想的出神，倆人都錯身而過了，他都沒看見自己，季瑾悠便拽住他袖子，打了個招呼：“十五哥哥。”
十五皇子回神，一看是小九，他笑了，伸手摸摸她的小腦袋：“小九，是你啊。”
季瑾悠眼尖，一下看到他胳膊上露出的一塊青紫，她一把抓住，撸起袖子一看，不光青紫，還破了一大塊油皮，傷口還浸着血珠，一看就是新傷。
她仰着小腦袋看他：“你打架了？”
十五皇子臉上的笑容頓時沒了，立馬把手拽回去，袖子往下一扯，手往身後一藏，“不小心摔的。”
小姑娘往前走了步，歪着小腦袋仔細打量他，見他眼神躲閃，她立馬拆穿：“你撒謊，你就是和人打架了。”
十五皇子啞口無言。
季瑾悠有些擔心地問：“你被人給打了？”
先前母妃和金杏唠嗑，提到皇宮私下裏都在傳，說敦妃不知道突然抽哪門子的風，居然不要十五皇子了。
當時她還吃了一驚。
原本昨天在崇德殿吃飯的時候，皇後娘娘說的是，十五皇子到了年紀，才從秋華宮搬出來住的，沒想到竟然是敦妃不要他了。
皇宮裏頭什麽人都有，十五皇子沒有母妃庇護了，想必是挨了欺負。
小姑娘奶聲奶氣的關心，讓內心惶恐不安的小男孩突然不知所措，猛地轉身過去：“沒有，你別瞎說。”
聽出他的哽咽，季瑾悠繞到他前面去，見他眼淚在眼眶裏轉，眼看着要哭，她越發肯定自己的猜測。
哎，可憐的孩子。想到自己以往那些無人撐腰的艱難日子，季瑾悠感同身受。
她想了想，抓住他的手，拽着就走：“是誰欺負你，我帶你去找皇貴妃娘娘，讓娘娘給你做主。”
先前鳳儀宮傳了消息出來，說皇後娘娘崴了腳在修養，有事就找皇貴妃。
不是她愛多管閑事，只是現在這劇情已經偏離很多了，她就想着，遇到什麽不好的事，她要是能管就管一下，說不定歪打正着就管對了。
十五皇子搖頭：“我沒事，我不去。”
季瑾悠踮着腳尖，伸手點了點他眼角的淚：“沒事那你哭什麽哭。”
十五皇子一向自诩大丈夫，被比他小那麽多的妹妹看到哭鼻子，頓覺丢了大臉，“你玩你的去，不用管我。”
他小臉緊繃，把那只緊緊抓着他袖子的小胖手拽下來，撒腿就跑，八歲孩子的腿腳不是一般地快，嗖嗖嗖，一溜煙就跑沒影了。
季瑾悠氣得跺腳，奶兇奶兇的：“熊孩子，不聽話，看我以後還管不管你。”
小小年紀，說話老氣橫秋的，金杏在一旁憋不住笑。
季瑾悠想管閑事沒管成，只好繼續往禦花園走，邊走邊問：【統統，今天十五哥哥那裏有什麽劇情嗎？】
系統：【沒有的。】
季瑾悠：【那你知道敦妃為什麽不要他了嗎？】
系統也困惑：【不知道啊，原劇情裏頭也沒這回事啊。】
季瑾悠：【不過，現在這樣也挺好的，敦妃不要十五哥哥了，沒人故意縱容他，他就不會變壞了。只是，沒娘護着的孩子太可憐了，哎。】
系統在綁定悠崽之前，對她有過了解，知道她嘆氣，大概率是又想起她上輩子做孤兒的那段過往了，忙安慰道：【抱抱我們悠崽。】
季瑾悠：【統統，你真好。】
系統：【不，悠崽是你真好。】
【是你好。】
【你也好。】
季瑾悠和系統相互誇了起來，走到禦花園那片栀子花從，伸手去摘花。
可她高估了她這雙小胖手的力道，折了半天愣是一枝就沒折下來，只好轉身看着一旁笑着等她的金杏，招招小手：“杏杏，幫忙。”
“來了，小主子。”金杏最喜歡聽小姑娘喊她杏杏，笑着上前，在那只小手的指點下，折下幾枝半開不開的花。
折好了花，兩人拿着往回走，走到一處花牆，就聽前頭有兩個男孩在小聲說話。
“十三皇兄，我們剛才打了十五，他會不會去告我們的狀？”
“告什麽告，敦妃娘娘都不要他了，他往哪告去。”
“可皇後娘娘昨兒還特意讓人給他送菜了呢。”
“不過就是送了一次菜而已，就他那樣的廢物，不好好讀書，也不好好習武，就連以前那麽喜歡他的敦妃娘娘都不要他了，你以為皇後娘娘會高看他？不過是見他剛搬出來，給他個面子罷了。”
“那他當真不會去告狀？畢竟，昨天那些菜我們搶過來吃了。”
“不會，放心吧，哪怕以後我們天天搶他的飯菜，天天打他，他也不敢說出去，不信我們現在就回去揍他一頓試試。”
說罷，這個男孩幸災樂禍笑了起來。
惡劣，缺德，欠打！
聽着那惡劣的笑聲，季瑾悠氣死了，她生怕他們兩個真的回去打十五皇子，趕緊邁着小短腿跑過花牆，跑到兩人面前。
小姑娘兩只小手往圓蔔隆冬的小胖腰上一叉，兇巴巴放狠話：“你們的話我全聽到了，十五哥哥不敢告狀，我敢，我現在就去告訴皇貴妃娘娘去，我還要告訴父皇，你們倆給我等着。”