The winter in Bian Tang is always very short, and it is already March in the blink of an eye.
A few days ago, news came from Huai Song that King Jinjiang of Huai Song, using the excuse that Emperor Song was in poor health, led a group of officials who supported him to request the Imperial Medical Office to announce the emperor's physical condition, but was flatly rejected by Nalan Hongye and the situation almost broke out in battle. There are now rumors in Huai Song that the eldest princess is autocratic and dictatorial, and there are even rumors that the late emperor was killed by her. The people of Huai Song are in panic. Prince Jinjiang is secretly training troops in the East China Sea, and several royal vassal kings have responded.
Li Ce frowned slightly when he talked about this matter, and said lightly: "If it's okay, why don't you shut those people up?"
Chu Qiao did not say anything either, but she vaguely guessed something. She was probably not the only one, but there were probably countless eyes staring at Huai Song. And how should the woman who had single-handedly supported the Nalan family for many years deal with these hidden and open attacks?
She couldn't help but think of the slightly scribbled piece of letter she saw in Yanbei many years ago: There are trees on the mountain and branches on the trees, I love you but you don't know it.
Even if you appear to be as tough as iron, you will eventually feel sad and heartbroken. Who can remain steadfast forever?
On the ninth day of the third month, Li Ce's second son Li Qiaoan died of typhoid fever at the age of three. When Li Ce learned the news, he was inspecting the dike at Xianghu Lake. He hurried back, but only had time to see the child's body.
Li Ce now has two sons and one daughter. The eldest son is six years old and the daughter is four years old. The child who died is Madam Nanyun's son. After the child died, Mrs. Nanyun was so sad that she fell ill and passed away three days later.
After all, the child was still young and could not be put into a coffin. He was only cremated in Nantian Temple and buried in the temple.
Li Ce drank a lot of wine that night. It was the first time Chu Qiao saw Li Ce drunk. In the past, he always seemed to be sober at all times. Even when he couldn't walk, his eyes were still clear.
That night, he held Chu Qiao's hand, squinted his eyes and smiled lightly, and murmured while drinking: "Have I killed too much?"
His strength was so great that it hurt Chu Qiao's wrist. The hall was very quiet. A cold wind blew in, raising a cloud of misty dust. Frogs chattered among the willows, making the place seem even quieter. Drops of red wax were melting on the copper crane-top candlesticks, like a woman's tears rolling down her rouge-stained cheeks and falling silently.
On the second day, Li Ce posthumously conferred the title of Concubine Yun on Lady Nanyun and buried her in the imperial mausoleum so that her family and brothers could enjoy the honor of mourning.
In a blink of an eye, it was already May. Madam Ziming, who had gone to the imperial estate to rest and give birth, returned to the palace and gave birth to a son, and the whole palace celebrated. Li Ce named the child Qing Rong, and gave him a title, making him King Rong. Madam Ziming became the leader of the three concubines and was given the title of noble concubine.
The maids in the palace were all discussing this imperial concubine privately, saying that she had a son in such a short time since entering the palace, and had even climbed to the position of concubine, and that she would soon become the empress.
However, some people also said that she was born in a humble family, her family had fallen into decline, her father was a criminal, and even though her brother was gradually showing his prowess in the court, his status was inconvenient and he could not ascend to a high position. Without the support of her family, Concubine Ming would have found it difficult to achieve anything.
Chu Qiao then remembered that this Imperial Concubine Ming was not someone else but had a close relationship with her. When Zhao Chun'er was hunting him, Zhao Song entrusted Zhan Ziyu to find her. Zhan Ziyu was the brother of Concubine Ming.
Chu Qiao didn't want to ask about Li Ce's affairs in the harem, and she rarely paid attention to them. Suddenly remembering something, she asked Qiu Sui, "Why didn't I see the Empress Dowager at the Imperial Concubine's canonization ceremony?"
Qiu Sui replied, "After the death of the late emperor, the empress dowager left the palace and went to Anyin Temple. She has not returned to the palace for many years."
Chu Qiao suddenly realized, and thought of the Queen Mother's ill-fated life, and couldn't help but sigh.
A few days ago, Zhuge Yue sent someone to bring her a pair of Hudi double-winged birds. They were very beautiful, with brightly colored feathers. It was said that these birds were born in pairs, and if one died, the other would never live alone.
Chu Qiao was so fond of them that she fed them herself every day and renamed them Lovebirds, loving them very much. The female bird seemed to have a very good relationship with Chu Qiao. Gradually, even after being released from the cage, it did not fly far away. It just circled in the hall, occasionally landing on Chu Qiao's shoulder and rubbing her cheek with its neck. The male bird always got very angry when it saw this, and flew around the room and made strange noises, making all the little maids laugh.
Li Ce seemed to like the pair of birds as well and would tease them from time to time.
One night, Chu Qiao was sleeping, and suddenly she felt as if someone was looking at her. As soon as she opened her eyes and sat up in the dark, she immediately fell into a strong embrace.
The man's breath was very familiar, his breathing was a little low, spraying on her neck again and again, with a strong smell of alcohol. He hugged her so tightly, as if he had used up all his strength, that it almost hurt her. She did not struggle. She seemed to be able to feel his loneliness and pain through his cold clothes. She gently reached out and patted his back.
The moonlight shone sadly on them. The man's clothes were embroidered with fine dragon patterns in red thread. The thread was so thin that it seemed to blend into the layers of bright yellow. A faint vein looked like a wrist oozing blood.
Gradually, Li Ce let go of her.
Chu Qiao asked carefully: "Li Ce, do you mistake me for her?"
Li Ce was stunned, turned his head to look at her, and raised his eyebrows slightly.
Chu Qiao suddenly felt a little embarrassed, like a child who accidentally discovered someone else's secret, and whispered, "I heard from the servants that Princess Fu used to live here, right?"
Li Ce looked at her steadily, his gaze so deep, like a quiet ancient well, containing clear and profound meaning.
At that time, Chu Qiao might not be able to understand the look in his eyes. She just felt uncomfortable being looked at by him.
"Heh." Li Ce suddenly chuckled, and then said lazily in a drawn-out tone, "Fu'er's figure is much better than yours."
That night, Li Ce left Mi Heju and went to Concubine Ming's Roufu Palace. As soon as he walked out of the hall, Chu Qiao saw a shiny object on the table. It was Li Ce's jade ring. She quickly ran to the window and shouted, "Li Fox! Your ring!"
Li Ce turned around and smiled brightly at her, his smile was so handsome that it was dazzling under the moonlight. "A moment of spring night is worth a thousand gold. I will come back to get it tomorrow!" After saying this, he went towards the direction of Roufu Palace.
Chu Qiao held the ring in her hand and glared at the naughty emperor. When she turned around, her toe accidentally kicked on a raised door sill, causing her to feel excruciating pain. She sat down with a frown, only to see that her toes were bleeding a lot, staining her white nightgown red.
A sense of panic suddenly arose in her heart.
At about four o'clock in the morning, a burst of hurried footsteps was heard suddenly. Chu Qiao felt a little uneasy. She had not slept well to begin with, so she sat up suddenly. Just then, Meixiang and Qiusui hurried into the hall, their faces pale as if they were dead, and they said:
"Your Majesty has been assassinated!"
Bang! In the dark night, the white jade ring suddenly fell to the ground, but it did not break. Only a corner was broken off and it rolled away along the smooth floor.
When she arrived at the Yixin Palace, there was already a sound of wailing outside the hall. The entire Imperial Hospital was waiting outside the palace. Several senior imperial doctors gathered inside. They saw basins of blood being brought out continuously, like sharp knives, piercing deeply into the bone marrow, causing excruciating pain.
Qiu Sui said that Li Ce was stabbed when he was staying in Concubine Ming's palace at night. The assailant was an elderly eunuch who claimed that Prince Luo was his benefactor. After the success, he bit his tongue and committed suicide before the guards could question him.
Chu Qiao clenched her fists tightly. At this moment, she could not enter the inner hall, and she didn't even have the qualifications to kneel and cry outside. She frowned in confusion. Not to mention that Roufu Palace was heavily guarded and Li Ce was surrounded by first-rate guards, how could an old eunuch of unknown origin sneak into the inner palace and succeed in the assassination? Just take Li Ce's own skills as an example. He would never let a stranger get close to him without his knowledge.
She looked from afar and saw a thinly dressed woman kneeling alone in a small square in front of the hall. Her hair was disheveled and her face could not be seen clearly because her back was facing away from her.
Qiu Sui said, that is Concubine Ming, who has been kneeling there from the beginning until now.
At this moment, the door of the hall suddenly opened, and Sun Di came forward with a group of loyal ministers and asked nervously, "How is your majesty's injury?"
The old doctor in charge wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Your Majesty is safe, but he still needs to rest."
As soon as these words were spoken, the concubines all burst into tears in relief at the same time. Then, from the other side of the square, Imperial Concubine Ming's body softened and she fainted on the ground.
"Sir Sun, His Majesty wants to see you." The old doctor said, and then his eyes turned around. When he saw Chu Qiao, he suddenly said, "And this girl."
At that moment, all the ambiguous and strange gazes were focused on him. Chu Qiao took a deep breath, walked forward calmly, greeted Sun Di, and walked into the hall under the gaze of everyone.
The hall was airtight and filled with a heavy smell of medicine. Sun Di went in first, and came out after a long time. He said to Chu Qiao, "Your Majesty is not in good spirits, so let's be brief."
"I understand." Chu Qiao nodded, walked into the inner hall, and passed through the layers of curtains. Li Ce was lying on the bed that could almost be called a huge dragon bed.
He indeed looked very bad. Chu Qiao had never seen him like this before. His face was ashen, his eye sockets were blue, and his lips were almost bloodless. He looked at her steadily, his eyes seemed a little dull. Just as Chu Qiao began to panic, he suddenly revealed a strange smile, and said in a hoarse but relaxed voice: "Scare you to death."
Time went back, and the years flowed backwards in an instant. They seemed to have returned to the day when they first met. The young prince was pulled down from his horse by her and punched hard, leaving him with a black eye and a swollen face. He screamed "Ouch, ouch" and gave her a strange smile, like a heartless scoundrel.
"Li Ce." She called out in a trembling voice, and saw a deep knife wound across his chest. If it was just an inch off, it would have pierced his heart. She looked at him in fear, her scalp tingling. She wanted to grab his hand, but she didn't dare. She just kept saying, "It's okay, take care of it slowly."
"Originally," Li Ce spoke intermittently, "I wanted to prepare your dowry in person these few days, but now, it will be given to Sun Di. I don't know... I don't know if he will embezzle it."
Chu Qiao forced a smile and said softly, "Don't worry, I'll go see him."
"Yeah." He seemed very tired, and his face turned even paler after saying these few words.
Chu Qiao quickly said, "Go to sleep first and stop talking."
"Qiao Qiao, stay with me."
"Okay." Chu Qiao nodded quickly, "I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay here with you."
Li Ce fell into a deep sleep, during which time the imperial physician came to change his medicine. Chu Qiao saw the wound with her own eyes, and her doubts about his injury deepened, but now was not the time to deal with these things.
Three days later, Li Ce's injuries had improved and his complexion looked much better.
That morning, Chu Qiao was fanning him in the inner hall when she heard a commotion outside. She raised her eyebrows and looked over. Qiu Sui hurried in and whispered in her ear, "The Queen Mother has returned to the palace."
Chu Qiao was startled and walked out quickly.
Before leaving Yixin Gate, they saw the empress dowager's phoenix carriage approaching. She paid her respects to the Queen Mother and followed her all the way back to the Yixin Palace. The maid lifted the curtain and revealed the empress dowager in a simple green dress. Chu Qiao looked up and was shocked. It had only been a few years since they last saw her, but the empress dowager seemed like a different person, looking extremely old. His hair was all white, his wrinkles were deep, and his eyes were almost sunken and red.
As soon as she stepped out of the sedan chair, tears started to flow. She asked in a sad voice, "Emperor? How is the emperor?"