"If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext." Mu Henayun snorted coldly and said slowly, "If you like it, you can give it to the emperor. The emperor is wise and will make a wise decision."
"But I want to hear my sister's explanation."
Muhenayun slowly turned around, her eyes as white as snow, staring coldly at Concubine Shu. The graceful aura of the royal family was overwhelming. She smiled proudly, the corners of her mouth raised, and smiled faintly, "If I were you, I would never do this today."
Concubine Shu was not expecting her to say this suddenly and was stunned.
Mu Henayun continued, "Women in the palace are judged by their family background, the emperor's favor, and the offspring they have. Imperial Concubine Shu, you and I entered the palace in the same year, and we both started out as young ladies. You are not inferior to me in any aspect. Why am I the queen ten years ago, but you are still an imperial concubine? Have you ever thought about the reason behind this?"
Concubine Shu's face turned cold and there was no trace of smile on her face anymore. Mu Henayun said in a deep voice: "Because you are stupid, you only know some trivial tricks, you are short-sighted, arrogant, and have the face of a villain who has succeeded. You will never achieve great things. You are lucky that you are born into a good family and have a good brother."
"How bold!" the maid beside Concubine Shu shouted.
The female official behind Muhenayun said sternly, "You are so bold! When the queen is talking to your master, how can you, a lowly servant, speak?"
"The Muhe family has fallen. If I were you, I would not be standing here at this moment. Don't you think that the person in Lanxuan Palace is more threatening to you than me at this moment?"
Mu Henayun raised the corner of her mouth and laughed sarcastically, "Do you think the emperor will still tolerate the Wei clan becoming the next Mu He clan? Although the Mu He clan has fallen, I am the best candidate to check and balance all parties. You will never be the queen in this life. No matter how glorious the Wei clan is outside, you are just a concubine in the palace of Da Xia. I advise you to learn what etiquette is, and understand the way of advancing and retreating, and the etiquette of paying homage. The queen of Da Xia can only be me, Mu Henayun. I was, am, and will be. You? Give up."
A long wind blew, lifting up the corners of Mu He's deep purple clothes. The woman in her forties had a sharp face and long hair like a waterfall. She looked like a woman in her thirties, and her figure and behavior were full of nobility and pride.
Concubine Shu stood there, watching Mu He's receding figure with a gloomy look in her eyes. She immediately turned around and paused when she passed by the eunuch kneeling on the ground. She said in a deep voice to the person beside her: "Take him away and execute him."
"Your Majesty!" The eunuch was shocked and knelt on the ground and shouted loudly, "Your Majesty, please spare my life!"
Concubine Shu did not look back and quickly disappeared into the courtyard. Sparrows chirped on the corridor, and the lake was quiet, reflecting the soft light.
The door opened and light from outside shone in. Chu Qiao narrowed her eyes slightly and looked to the side.
The man was tall and slender, dressed in a dark red robe with a black flying eagle embroidered on the belt. He had eyes like stars and red lips as he looked over slowly.
The cold wind passed between them, bringing with it a faint chill. The man's eyes were as cold as ever, without a trace of emotion.
This man seemed to have always been like this, as cold as a sculpture.
Chu Qiao slowly took two steps back and looked at the man in front of her calmly, as if she had never seen him before.
The early spring wind blew up the dust from many years ago and passed through the cold air. Then, they shifted their gazes at the same time, looking ahead of each other, passing each other and moving straight forward.
From the beginning to the end, they have been on different paths. Even if fate occasionally arranges a teasing encounter, it can only be a brief meeting, and then they pass by each other, and disappear in the vast sea of stars along their own orbits like shooting stars.
"Master," a man dressed as a eunuch came forward and said in a deep voice, "everything is ready."
In the dense bamboo forest, the dark red clothes moved in the wind. Zhuge Yue frowned slightly, but remained silent for a long time. The weather was not hot, but the servant was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead.
After about half an incense stick of time, Zhuge Yue finally nodded and said, "Let's get started."
The cold wind blew back, and the Shengjin Palace was filled with blood.
As soon as she walked to the front hall, she saw people moving around. There were large pieces of purple hibiscus flowers on the square. Yan Xun, tall and graceful, was waiting for her in the distance.
Chu Qiao took two quick steps, and Yan Xun also saw her. He smiled and walked over.
"Qiao Qiao!" Li Ce was also standing aside, wearing a gorgeous red suit, waving at Chu Qiao vigorously.
Before Chu Qiao's disgusted expression could spread, a sharp bell rang throughout the palace. Everyone looked up in horror and looked in the direction of Xiefang Palace.
"There's an assassin! The queen is dead!"
The eunuch's sharp voice spread throughout the front hall square like a death knell with a crying tone. Everyone was shocked in an instant. Guards in black military uniforms shuttled between the palaces and rushed towards the direction of Xiefang Hall where the incident occurred like a tide. Everyone in the square was stunned for a while, and then a cry was heard from somewhere. Then a large crowd was stunned, and the crying sound echoed above Shengjin Palace.
Empress Na Yun of the Muhe clan was born into the Muhe family, which was once the head of the seven great clans. She entered the palace at the age of thirteen, ascended the throne at the age of thirty, and held the phoenix seal for ten years. All the palaces were obedient to her and no one disobeyed her.
Chu Qiao's face suddenly turned pale. She raised her head and looked at Yan Xun, but saw the same fear in his eyes.
At this moment, the chaotic palace was exactly where she had just walked through. If the assassination had happened a moment earlier, she would not be standing here alive!
The funeral bells rang continuously, nine times in a row. All the walking and standing soldiers, palace maids, eunuchs, princes, ministers, civil and military officials turned around and looked towards the harem, paying homage.
The Imperial Palace was dead silent; even the noisy front hall was silent for a moment. The bells and drums paused for a moment, then rang again, even louder.
So, first one person, then two people, ten people, a hundred people, a thousand people, all of them knelt down together, bowed their heads and kowtowed towards the direction of Xiefang Palace.
Chu Qiao opened her mouth but could not utter a word. Her mind immediately recalled the fierce woman who represented the Muhe clan, held the position of queen, and almost controlled half of Daxia for ten years. She remembered her decisive words still ringing in her ears: The queen of Daxia can only be me, Muhe Nayun. I was, am, and will be.
The words are still ringing in my ears, but the person is already dead. What kind of terrifying blade is hidden in this seemingly glamorous palace?
The huge wails immediately pierced through the sky and came from far away outside the Purple Gold Gate.
On the ninth day of the fifth month in the 773rd year of the Baicang calendar, the queen passed away. All officials cried outside the Zijin Gate, and the people mourned. The whole country was in mourning. On May 16, the tomb was opened on Taiqing Street, with carriages and horses stretching for dozens of miles. King Xihuai, in mourning, followed the coffin all the way to the royal mausoleum at Jiuen Mountain.
There are only a few historical records about Empress Muhena Yun. Behind her seemingly prosperous and glorious life, there was not even a posthumous title bestowed upon her. No one talked about the cause of death. The word "hong" represented that the Muhe lineage, which was once prosperous and glorious, had truly withdrawn from the stage of history. Only six of the seven great families of the Council of Elders were left, and the vacant positions caused by the defeat of the Muhe family immediately attracted the covetousness and peeping of more great families. This peeping became more blatant because of the death of Muhe Nayun.
On the day of Queen Muhe's funeral, Chu Qiao stood on the bell and drum tower in the southwest corner of the imperial palace, looking at the white silk floating in the sky, covering the empty sky. Everything seemed like a prosperous dream. Yan Xun stood beside her, his eyes indifferent, and it was impossible to tell what emotion he was expressing. But when he turned and left, Chu Qiao noticed that the railing he had just held had five clear fingerprints on it.
How could we forget that the first cavalrymen who set foot on the Yanbei Plateau were the brave soldiers from Mu He's lineage. How could we forget that Yan Hongxiao's eyes were filled with humiliation, unwillingness and hatred that could not be closed by the Lengshui River.
With the death of the last person in power of the Muhe clan, the blood feud between Yanbei and the Muhe clan was finally settled in blood.
On the way back to Yingge Courtyard, Chu Qiao unexpectedly met the seventh prince Zhao Che. The young prince wore a light blue robe, with only the belt and sleeves being moon-white, which was totally out of place with the pale color of the entire palace.
Zhao Che had a calm expression as he stood in the tall Yuanshan Pavilion. The fine drizzle spread across the sky, creating a mist that made it impossible to see his features. Chu Qiao was holding a green umbrella, with her head slightly tilted back. The drizzle wet her shoes and also wet a small part of her skirt.
Zhao Che was seen looking up at the western sky. Chu Qiao knew that there stood a rolling plateau there. Legend has it that the ancestors of the Great Xia Golden Clan came out of those mountains. They rode their horses and opened up this vast land with blood and faith, making the chaotic Hongchuan Plateau submit to one regime. After their death, their souls will return to their hometown and sleep forever on that red land.
The underground imperial mausoleum of the Great Xia Dynasty is also located at the foot of Jiu'en Mountain in the northwest. People have passed down from generation to generation that there is a huge temple on the mountain, with whale oil lamps flashing day and night for thousands of years.
The drizzle fell obliquely, hitting the oil-paper umbrella. The girl's figure was hidden among the flowers and trees, with only the hem of her white skirt fluttering quietly in the air.
In order to restrict the Muhe family, the seventh prince Zhao Che was given to Empress Yuan, the daughter of the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Pavilion, when he was born. As the only concubine favored by the Emperor of Daxia in his life, Concubine Yuan was a special one in the harem. She came from Bian Tang with Yuan Daxueshi and was born in a water town in the southeast. Although she did not have a prominent family background, she was deeply favored by the emperor for seventeen years. However, on Zhao Che's seventeenth birthday, Concubine Yuan committed suicide by jumping into a lake in front of many maids and palace servants.
No one knew the reason for Concubine Yuan's death. It was rumored in the palace that Empress Muhe was jealous and poisoned her, forcing Concubine Yuan to commit suicide, but the emperor did not respond to this. After Concubine Yuan died, he attended court and handled state affairs as usual, which was completely in line with the style of a wise monarch. However, from then on, he never took in any concubines.
Zhao Che also gradually drifted away from his biological mother because of the death of his adoptive mother, and finally turned against his mother's family because of their different political views. When he was exiled to the frontier, no one was willing to lend him a helping hand.
It was also because of this that after Muhe's downfall, his younger brother, King Xihua, and his younger sister, Princess Chun, both lost their status and were implicated, but he was the only one who was not affected and continued to hold power and lead his troops as usual.
Many times, what appears on the surface may not be true. Chu Qiao turned around and no longer looked at the lonely figure of the young prince who was so prominent in front of the crowd.