Snow Breaker (6)
Xu Ning was stunned, and a hint of regret appeared in Empress Dowager Feng's eyes.
At this time, Aunt Hechun came back in after going out at some point and whispered a few words into Empress Dowager Feng's ear.
Zhao Mingchang talked about how naughty the baby in her belly was, which made Empress Dowager Feng laugh so hard that she couldn't stop. Xu Ning and Qu Xiang rarely responded.
This Empress Dowager Feng didn't seem as scary as imagined, but her every word and action was full of hidden daggers. As she spoke, she mentioned Xu Ning again.
"Your mother died in an accident that year, and I felt very guilty. Later, the emperor brought her body back and conferred the title of General Fengying on her."
Xu Ning looked at Empress Dowager Feng in confusion. "Is there such a thing?" Her father had never mentioned it to her.
Empress Dowager Feng: "Why? Ye Yulan didn't tell you?"
Xu Ning shook his head.
"That's true. No one likes to glorify their love rival."
Empress Dowager Feng pursed her lips and smiled faintly: "You may not know this, but the emperor also liked Fang Hongzhi in the past. It's a pity that your mother didn't want to."
"How could a free bird be willing to be trapped in this deep palace?"
Xu Ning wanted to ask Yan again, but Yuwen Xin came in at this moment.
After paying his respects, he took a cloak and covered Zhao Mingshang with it.
"It's getting cold, and you don't even put on more clothes." Yuwen Xin smiled softly and affectionately.
Xu Ning got goosebumps all over her body and couldn't help but touch her shoulders.
Zhao Mingchang raised her eyes to look at the man in front of her, curling her lips into a faint smile: "I've been pregnant recently, and I'm already bloated. It won't look good if I put on more clothes."
Did I hear it wrong? Zhao Mingchang, a woman with eight hundred tricks, also acts like a spoiled child?
Although Xu Ning was a little bit unbelievable, but thinking that they were an official couple after all, she didn't think about it any more.
The weather warmed up in May and it was not too cold in the afternoon. Tang Xixu looked for Xu Ning for a long time but could not find him. After most of the afternoon, he received a message from Yuwen Xin's servant and learned that Xu Ning had met the empress dowager, so he came here quickly.
"Little girl, I'm going to win again." Empress Dowager Feng smiled and was very kind.
Xu Ning bit her lip and worriedly tried to find a way out.
A maid came in from outside and whispered a few words to the Queen Mother with Aunt Chun.
"Yin Zhao finally came to see me after such a long time."
Tang Xixu pushed the door open and walked in, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Xu Ning was safe and sound.
"Greetings to the Queen Mother."
"Get up." Empress Dowager Feng had the chessboard removed.
"You've been in the capital for so long, yet you only came to see me today. Decades have passed, and Yin Zhao remembers the emperor but not me. I'm very sad."
Empress Dowager Feng pretended to be sad.
Tang Xixu now understood that Yuwen Xin sent him a message to Wanfo Temple with the tacit consent of the Empress Dowager. If he had been told directly that the Empress Dowager Feng wanted to see him, he would definitely not come. But now that Xu Ning was there, he had to come.
"I hope the Empress Dowager will forgive me. It's not that Yin Zhao didn't mean to miss the event. I've just been busy paying respects to relatives and friends recently, so I haven't had time to spare."
Empress Dowager Feng raised her eyelids and glanced at Tang Xixu. The way he bowed and listened to the instructions was exactly the same as Mo Wenqing.
The Queen Mother then raised the corners of her lips and said, "It's okay. It's not your fault."
"Back then, the entire Mo family sacrificed their lives for the country. I'm very happy to know that you're still alive."
Tang Xixu sneered in his heart, happy? Really happy? I'm afraid she's just hoping that I'll turn the world upside down and make things easier for her.
The young man raised his eyes and met the phoenix eyes of the middle-aged woman sitting in the main seat.
"Thank you, Queen Mother, for your concern over the years. My father would surely be deeply grateful in his afterlife."
Xu Ning planned to say goodbye and leave first.
“Ah—ah.”
Suddenly there was a cry of surprise from outside the door.
"Let's go and see what's going on." Empress Dowager Feng said slowly, changing the candles on the gilded cup.
Aunt Hechun understood and went out to check.
Xu Ning was startled to realize that it had grown dark outside. A gentle breeze blew by, making the wooden door creak.
A small Buddha statue in the center of the dark-colored hall table frowned and glared at everyone. The silent Buddhist hall inexplicably revealed a hint of eeriness.
A maid who was lighting incense fell to the ground, her face horrified, her voice trembling: "Queen Mother, the Buddha statue, the Buddha statue is bleeding."
When they heard the sound, several people looked over and saw that the small golden Buddha statue had blood flowing from its eye sockets, and its angry expression made it look even more terrifying.
Empress Dowager Feng's pupils suddenly dilated, and the string of beads she was twisting in her hand broke, sending the sandalwood beads tumbling all over the floor. Just then, Aunt Hechun came in and saw this scene. She frowned and said, "Empress Dowager, the Buddha statue in the main hall is also bleeding, and the eternal lamp is out."
The Queen Mother's eyes turned into sharp arrows and looked at Hechun.
Then he sent people to seal off the place and walked quickly towards the main hall.
"Where is Prince An?" Empress Dowager Feng's voice was cold and serious, completely devoid of her previous patience and gentleness.
"Replying to the Queen Mother, Princess An is feeling unwell tonight, and Your Highness is accompanying her."
"Then let him come over." Empress Dowager Feng took a few steps and turned around. "This matter must not be reported to the Dali Temple, and certainly not to the Emperor."
Hechun paused for a few seconds and said, "Yes."
When something like the Buddha statue was bleeding, all the monks in charge of the temple came out.
"Amitabha, Queen Mother, please calm down." The old monk who has the most say in the temple came over.
"There are two thousand eternally burning lamps here. If the Buddha statue bleeds and the lamps go out, it means there is an unresolved case, making it difficult for the deceased's soul to reincarnate."
"Unjust case? What kind of unjust case is this?" Tang Xixu looked at the old monk jokingly.
Empress Dowager Feng's eyes were filled with panic, but she quickly calmed down. "The world is peaceful now, and there are no unjust cases. Huitong, you miscalculated."
The middle-aged woman looked indifferent, but her eyes were firm.
Master Huitong lowered his head, his white beard and eyebrows pressed against his skinny face, making him look completely devoid of any aura.
Tang Xixu raised his eyebrows. The more anxious Empress Dowager Feng was, the more likely it seemed like there was something fishy going on.
He asked, "May I ask, Master, for whom does this ever-burning lamp serve as a guide?"
Hui Tong looked up at Tang Xixu, then turned around and met Empress Dowager Feng's murderous eyes.
"this."
"Hui Tong, tell me the truth. I want to see what kind of case and what kind of soul could be so unjust." Emperor Ganping strode in.
When passing by Xu Ning, Emperor Gan Ping looked at her in surprise and said nothing else.
At that time, killing Xu Ning was a secret order from Emperor Gan Ping, which was not justified in the first place, and there was no right to say anything about it now.
Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, the old monk knelt down and replied, "Your Majesty, this temple has recently been lighting eternal lamps for two people, one for the fifth prince and the other for the sixth princess."
Yuwen Xin gave Tang Xixu a wink, and the two of them understood each other so well that Tang Xixu nodded in tacit understanding.
"My two brothers passed away twenty years ago. Why did the Queen Mother light the eternal lamp for them? And as far as I know, the Queen Mother has been personally guarding the eternal lamp every year during this time for the past twenty years."
Emperor Ganping looked serious.
"Many princes and princesses have passed away in the palace. Why did the Queen Mother only keep the eternal lamp burning for these two?"
Empress Dowager Feng narrowed her eyes and replied after a long pause, "Little Five and Little Six are both my children. Is it wrong for me to light more eternal lamps for them?"
"That's true, but is it really because of filial piety? I think the Queen Mother is guilty." Zhao Mingshang asked Cuizhu to help a sixty-year-old old woman into the palace.
Empress Dowager Feng was furious, no longer as dignified as before: "How dare you! Where did this lowly servant come from! How dare you speak so arrogantly here!"
"I allow it." Emperor Ganping looked at everyone from the main seat.
The old woman continued, "The Empress Dowager was a princess of a fallen nation, yet she became pregnant with the blood of the enemy emperor. Traditionally, the Empress Dowager should have aborted the baby, but the late Emperor became suspicious and ordered careful care, saving the child. This time, the baby was twins, a boy and a girl. The first to be born was a little prince, and the second was the Sixth Princess. The Empress Dowager ordered this servant to strangle them to death. Concubine Li also gave birth that day, but unfortunately, her fate was unfortunate, and the baby was stillborn. To avoid being punished, this servant, unable to bear the consequences, swapped the two princes with Concubine Li."
"When Concubine Li gave birth to a prince, the late Emperor was overjoyed and bestowed upon her the title of Imperial Noble Concubine the very next day. The Fifth Prince was a gifted and intelligent man, possessing a photographic memory and mastering everything he learned at a glance. Concubine Li, therefore, rose in the Emperor's favor due to his son's status. The Empress Dowager, feeling threatened, ordered a servant to send the Sixth Princess to play with Concubine Li. While Concubine Li was away, the Empress Dowager smothered the Sixth Princess, who was less than a year old, and framed Concubine Li. She was banished to the cold palace, where she died of depression. The Empress Dowager then regained the Emperor's favor, unmatched by anyone else."
The old woman has weak legs and feet, and her eyes are blurry and she can’t see clearly.
Tears welled up in her eyes, her voice trembling. "The Queen Mother adopted the fifth prince, the Prince of Qi. When he grew up, he became quite capable, so I told the Queen Mother the truth, and she broke one of my legs for it. But the Prince of Qi never considered rebelling back then. It was the Queen Mother who was so determined to restore the kingdom that the Prince of Qi had no choice but to help his biological mother."
"Shut up!" Empress Dowager Feng showed her ugly face, roared and grabbed the old woman's shoulders.
"Someone come here." Emperor Ganping ordered, signaling someone to come and hold the empress dowager.
Hechun rushed over to protect the empress dowager, but was also caught.
Tang Xixu no longer hid his feelings. A breath of anger surged into his heart and he looked at the empress dowager with anger in his eyes.
"When my father heard about the Prince of Qi's rebellion on his way back to Ye County, he immediately returned to the capital. Before the Prince of Qi's rebellion, the Queen Mother wanted to drag my father into the water, but my father remained loyal to Your Majesty." Tang Xixu turned his head and looked at Emperor Ganping.
The old emperor hunched his back and frowned in thought.
"My father tried his best to dissuade the Queen Mother, and she agreed on the surface. Later, my father wrote a letter to His Majesty, but he never expected that the secret letter was intercepted." Tang Xixu took out a yellowed letter from his sleeve. This was the letter Mo Tingzhou gave him a few days ago.
Emperor Ganping took it and found that the letter was written by Mo Wenqing himself and even had a seal on it.
Pei Xianzheng and Pei Yuanchi also rushed over after receiving the news from Yuwen Xin.
"I know the truth about this matter. Wen Qing originally turned a blind eye to it out of gratitude for the Queen Mother's sponsorship of his education when he was young. However, I never imagined that the Queen Mother would collude with the State of Jin and the Wu Clan to frame Wen Qing on the battlefield between Jin and Daxin, resulting in the deaths of 50,000 Daxin soldiers!"
Emperor Gan Ping raised his eyes and asked, "Prime Minister, do you have any evidence for what you said?"
At this time, Mo Tingzhou walked in slowly. His leg had not healed yet and he still walked with a limp.
"Your Majesty, I, Mo Tingzhou, pay my respects to you."
Emperor Gan Ping was shocked, his pupils dilated in disbelief, then he smiled and said, "You, you really are Ting Zhou?"
"Your Majesty, it is true." Mo Tingzhou told Emperor Ganping about his experiences in the past few years.
He also told him that he had also been poisoned by a Gu. The reason why Daxin suffered heavy losses was because someone put Gu poison in the water, and Su Wujin was incompetent and killed the wrong person.
Mo Tingzhou only briefly brushed aside Su Wuji's story, saying he was poisoned and framed. The emperor was never wrong, and would never admit it. Given the Emperor's minions, he must have known about Su Wuji's affairs.
When Mo Tingzhou said this, he undoubtedly slapped Emperor Ping in the face in public.
They said he was not good at judging people and had been deceived by villains for so many years.
Emperor Gan Ping understood what was going on. He stood up, put his hands behind his back, looked at the Buddha statue in front of him and sighed. He suddenly remembered the scene when he met Feng Jin in the imperial garden when he was young.
At that time, Feng Jin was still Concubine Jin, the most beautiful of the imperial harem. She appeared cheerful in front of her father, but in reality, she was gloomy and unhappy. Emperor Qianping had been disfavored in his youth. Having witnessed Feng Jin's tactics, he begged her to become his mother, despite their being only six years apart. Feng Jin had helped him greatly in his early years, and if it weren't for her overly ambitious nature, Emperor Qianping would have allowed her to live out her later years in peace.
"Remove the title of Queen Mother, confiscate the Phoenix Seal, and never leave Zhaoyan Tower for the rest of your life."
The Phoenix Seal was originally in the hands of the Empress, but due to the Empress Dowager's power, she had always held it. The coffins of the consorts who had committed crimes throughout history were stored in the Zhaoyan Pagoda, and the Empress Dowager was undoubtedly there to reflect on her past and to keep vigil.
Several servants came up and tried to hold down the Queen Mother. She shook her hands and said coldly, "No need, I will leave on my own."
Before leaving for the door, Empress Dowager Feng looked back at the aging emperor, the man with whom she had fought for most of her life.
A spring breeze rises, and the ever-burning lamp is lit again. Ten years later, the truth is revealed, and the living save the dead.
After this incident, Emperor Gan Ping announced the truth to the world, and those who had insulted or misunderstood Mo Wenqing came to the gate of Mo's mansion to repent.
Many ordinary people went to the temple to burn incense and light candles for the Mo family soldiers who died on the battlefield.
In order to appease the Mo family and calm the people's livelihood and the court, Emperor Ganping appointed Mo Tingzhou as Duke of Dingguo, and Tang Xixu inherited Mo Wenqing's title as Marquis of Dingxi. He also issued pensions to all the soldiers who died tragically in the battle that year, and all soldiers with military ranks above the sixth rank had their names engraved on the hero monument.
The two had no choice but to accept the official positions.
Tang Xixu smiled bitterly and glanced at Yuwen Xin. The real battle had just begun.
…
Mo Tingzhou was given a mansion alone. Tang Xixu tidied up the Mo family home and prepared many things for the wedding.
Tang Xixu went to Wangyue Tower with ten carriages of betrothal gifts.
After Ye Yulan came back from Yaowang Valley, he changed his route to Wangyue Tower.
"Father-in-law, I'm sorry, I broke my promise." The young man in brocade clothes smiled as if he were in the spring breeze.
Ye Yulan was a little angry, but he didn't try to stop it.
Xu Qiubai stroked his long beard and said to Ye Yulan with a smile, "I think this kid is capable."
Ye Yulan rolled his eyes: "I didn't say he couldn't do it."
Everyone in the capital knew that Marquis Dingxi had married a new bride.
As Qu Yi was the bride sent by Empress Dowager Feng's family, he was quite happy even though Empress Dowager Feng's plan failed.
Qu Xiang helped Xu Ning out of the sedan chair.
Tang Xixu had been waiting at the gate of the mansion for a long time. When he saw someone coming, he walked forward and took it: "Ningning, I finally married you."
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