Are they all from Yangzhou?
The Empress Dowager was confused, wondering if she was overthinking it.
Although Gu Jinqiao's features are somewhat similar to that person's, he should not be that person's descendant.
The Empress Dowager's real name was Song Qinglan, and she was the daughter of the renowned General Zhenbei.
When she was young, she had a close friend, Shen Ruolan, the daughter of Duke Shen.
Logically speaking, their hobbies and interests are so different that it is impossible for them to become friends.
But the course of events was unexpected, and the two of them became best friends.
The two of them often made appointments to go out and play together. When she danced with a sword, she would play the piano beside her, and when she played an instrument, she would listen beside her.
The two girls with completely different personalities gradually developed a revolutionary friendship and became close friends.
But later, something even more outrageous happened.
They became enemies because of a man.
Sixteen-year-old Song Qinglan fell in love with the high-spirited major general who grew up with him, but he never told anyone and was too embarrassed to say it.
After the other party returned triumphantly, she invited everyone to visit the general's mansion.
Alcohol emboldened the coward, and that was the time she made up her mind to express her feelings to the other party.
For this, she prepared privately for a long time.
But what she didn't expect was that the man she liked fell in love with her good friend at their house at first sight.
One is a young general with high spirits, and the other is a talented woman famous in Kyoto. To outsiders, they seem to be a perfect match.
But in her view, this was a naked betrayal.
After that, the two of them met frequently behind her back.
She has always been brooding over this matter.
At that time, Song Qinglan vowed to make the other party taste the feeling of betrayal.
So she tried countless times in secret to break up the two, but their love was stronger than iron, and no matter how hard she tried, she failed.
Later, she became more and more crazy and would do anything to achieve her goal.
So, she chose to enter the palace and become the emperor's concubine.
Her lifelong wish is to marry the person she loves, but this dream will never come true.
Then why is she the only one suffering among the three people?
She is unwilling to accept it!
After she entered the palace, she climbed up desperately, just to reach the height that countless women avoided.
Finally, she achieved her goal a few years later, but the price she paid was considerable and only she knew it.
By then, they had already gotten married, and their married life was extremely loving.
Why did she live such a miserable life while the two of them lived such a happy life? Why?
Later, there was indeed an opportunity.
Suddenly, someone reported that the Duke Shen's Mansion had embezzled disaster relief funds, and the incident caused a sensation. For a time, the Duke Shen's Mansion, which had been in good standing for a century, lost face and was despised by court officials.
The emperor was furious and sent an imperial envoy to investigate the Shen family's corruption.
When Shen Ruolan entered the palace and knelt before her to beg her, she felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction in her heart.
Chenchen Ruolan, who has always been as proud as an orchid, would unexpectedly beg for help in a humble manner.
Unfortunately, how could she get what she wanted?
She asked them to divorce, and she went to plead with the emperor to give the Shen family a way out.
Shen Ruolan naively agreed.
But the emperor's heart is unpredictable. The emperor already wants to deal with Duke Shen's mansion. How could she become the evil one?
Later, the Duke Shen's family was confiscated and the family was exterminated. Although Shen Ruolan escaped the disaster because she married out, she was devastated.
To make matters worse, news came from the front line that the defeated General Xiao was missing. For a time, the court suspected that the Xiao family was collaborating with the enemy and committing treason.
Many people sent troops to search for him, but in the end they found nothing.
This hit Shen Ruolan hard, and she resolutely went to the front line even though she was pregnant.
Three months later, news came from the front line.
Xiao Xun's body was found, and the Xiao family did not commit treason, but Shen Ruolan did not come back.
I heard that he could not accept this result and chose to die with Xiao Xun.
The two people she hated the most died one after another.
But the hatred in her heart not only did not dissipate, but became even worse.
The two of them were so deeply in love that they wanted to die together. This result made her even more crazy.
…
"Royal grandmother?"
Seeing that the Empress Dowager kept staring at Gu Xiaoqiao, Emperor Mian couldn't help but shout.
Song Qinglan suddenly came to his senses.
"Grandmother, what's on your mind?"
Seeing that the Empress Dowager's face was very gloomy, Emperor Mian opened his mouth and asked.
"I'm fine."
The Empress Dowager shook her head. "It's just that Lady Gu did remind me of someone I once knew. What a pity... she's long gone."
After saying that, he sighed.
When Emperor Mian heard her words, his heart sank.
He rarely saw the Empress Dowager with this expression when she mentioned an old friend. That was not the look of remembrance for an old friend, it was clearly the look of thinking of an enemy.
I feel really sorry for Qiao Qiao...
"Since the old friend has passed away, please stop thinking about him, lest you cause unnecessary worry."
These words seemed like consolation, but in fact they were just speaking on behalf of Gu Xiaoqiao.
The Empress Dowager understood what he meant and couldn't help but sneer in her heart.
This girl really has some abilities. After only two months in the palace, she has already charmed the emperor to death.
It seems that what Concubine Ning said was not entirely false.
"Um."
The Empress Dowager nodded lightly, then turned her attention to the other concubines. After asking them a few symbolic questions, she gave everyone a gift.
Then he sat at the head of the table and said in a loud voice, "You are all still young, at the prime of your life. You must work hard. The issue of royal heirs is of great importance, and I do not want to say much. I hope that you will soon be able to have children for the royal family and continue the royal family."
That's true, who doesn't want to have children? But do they still have a chance in the current situation?
"Grand Empress Dowager, it's not that I don't want to work hard, it's just that sometimes we can't even see the Emperor."
Concubine Rong spoke first.
Her tone was a little sour. She glanced at Concubine Ning and Gu Xiaoqiao beside her and continued speaking.
"What you don't know is that in recent years, whenever the Emperor visits his other sisters, Concubine Ning always suffers a sudden heart attack.
I can still see the emperor once a month, but the other sisters are in a miserable situation.
That means I won't be able to see the Emperor for several months. How can I conceive a child if this continues for a long time?"
As she spoke, she sighed leisurely, "I've been looking forward to the newcomer entering the palace, but now there's another Concubine Gu.
The Emperor spent two-thirds of the month with his sister, so how could he have any time for us?"
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