Xing'er has been having an unbearable time these days. It would be better if Gao Xuance didn't come back. If he came back, she would have to see him every day and feel sad. She had to hide it in front of Queen Hong, so every time she served Queen Hong, she would have a splitting headache.
But she still had to tell Gao Xuance about Queen Hong's movements. This was the only time she could get close to Gao Xuance.
But today, when she heard that Dongfang and Queen Hong had already hinted at murderous intent, she pursed her lips.
It was certainly good that Luo Yao's mother died. Her family had been ruined. It was said that her only promising second brother had joined the Zhou King's camp. The rest of her brothers were incompetent, and Luo Ge had already resigned from power.
Furthermore, her influence on Prince Chen is too great.
Before Gao Xuance married her, he had already threatened to commit suicide, not to mention now that he had married her and even after he entered into meditation, even the local officials were unwilling to deal with him and were desperately trying to get her back just for the sake of having a child.
Since ancient times, beauties have brought ruin to a country. King You of Zhou lost his country because of Bao Si, King Zhou lost his country because of Daji, and even Li Longji lost his country because of Concubine Yang.
Luo Yaoniang was indeed very beautiful. Anyone who had seen her appearance was captivated by her beauty. Even though she had given birth to three sons, when she sent something to her a few days ago, she was seen not wearing any makeup even during the confinement period, but she looked very pitiful.
For the first time, she did not tell Gao Xuance what Dongfang said.
In the bedroom, Queen Hong just kept silent and didn't say much, which gave Dongfang a lot of confidence, because she knew very well that no mother-in-law could tolerate her son liking her daughter-in-law too much.
If the Prince of Chen could still conceal his feelings in the past, now even she can see that he is obsessed with the princess just by entering the palace a few times. It is really rare that a man like the Prince of Chen, who is full of calculations and cruel, can be so obsessed with a woman.
Luo was once the daughter of a minister, her family background was prominent, and her father was in a high position of power, so they did not have any extravagant expectations. Presumably, Empress Hong would not want to throw away this helper, but now Luo Zhizheng is over fifty years old, and it is difficult for him to return to the court.
She has no family background, only the love of a man, and she makes the man too obsessed. Who as a mother-in-law can tolerate it?
It seemed that when Dongfang said goodbye, Empress Hong didn't know what she was thinking.
The next day, it began to rain. Gao Xuance would pay his respects to Empress Hong every morning and evening in the palace. Although he and Empress Hong were now separated, he still came to pay his respects often and was not distant.
"Your son pays respects to your mother and wishes her good health and happiness."
Queen Hong still liked her youngest son the most. Seeing him coming in the snow, she quickly asked Xing'er to bring him some hot drinks and said, "You don't have to come over in such a cold weather."
"The princess is in confinement and cannot serve you. I will come more often. If there is anything wrong with your mother, just tell me." Gao Xuance took the hot drink and took a few sips before putting it down.
In fact, adult men were not allowed to visit the harem often, so the excuse he used was a good one.
Queen Hong asked about Yao Niang's health: "I don't know how she is doing. You know that Yao Niang has always been very sensible and would not easily say that she is not good. You are her husband, you can't hide it."
Gao Xuance liked to hear people praising Yao Niang and saying that he was Yao Niang's husband. He suddenly became more talkative: "Yao Niang is the best girl in the world. Don't worry, your son will take good care of her."
When they first got married, he could still hide it in front of others, but now he can't hide it at all.
This made Empress Hong feel even more shocked. A ruler of a country should treat everyone equally without showing any preference, just like Emperor Jianzhang, who was sincere and kind to her, but also easily disliked the old and liked the new. A good emperor treats everyone equally, and only then will the harem not be resentful.
She had originally scoffed at Dongfang's words, even disdained them, but now she was a little hesitant, but she didn't show it on her face: "Good boy, it's hard for her to bear children for you, it's your duty to take care of her."
Gao Xuance nodded in agreement.
He brought up the matter of King Zhou again, and said to Queen Hong: "Don't worry, my second brother has already followed my father's order and stationed in the border area. It is right not to advance rashly now."
Of course, this was meant to fool Empress Hong. If they didn't advance rashly, they would have to wait for a few months until the food and grass ran out, and then the Donghu people would beat them to a pulp without leaving a single enemy behind.
If Dalin did not take drastic measures, he would have no idea how Donghu was doing now, nor how his own country was doing. The emperor only wanted to be a benevolent and righteous ruler and did not want to offend the bureaucrats. The surrounding countries were watching covetously.
I'm afraid no one knows that in another ten years, Dalin's territory will be reduced by 30%.
Even though Gao Shuo tried his best to govern the country, he eventually stopped doing anything.
The disease is incurable...
He was not that righteous, but the King of Zhou wanted to plunder his fruits, which was impossible, even for his brothers.
Empress Hong didn't know why, but smiled and said, "That's good, that's good. Your second sister-in-law and her husband have been fasting and chanting all day, and they are worried."
Gao Xuance smiled and said, "I think father is also very satisfied with my second brother."
There was no grudge against King Zhou in his conversation, and Queen Hong was quite relieved. No matter what, her younger son still had feelings for his brother.
Queen Hong looked at her son who was calm and composed, and wondered what would happen to her younger son if her eldest son returned with military merit. She couldn't help but ask, "I heard that when you, Taishan, resigned as prime minister, you told the emperor that you should be allowed to go to the vassal state. What do you think?"
Gao Xuance laughed and said, "Mother Yao is just in confinement after giving birth, and I have never thought about it."
"That's true, but you are my son, and I have always wanted the emperor to grant you a good fiefdom so that you can enjoy endless happiness in the future." Queen Hong sighed.
Gao Xuance, however, only talked about other things and did not take up the matter of becoming a vassal.
Queen Hong thought that her youngest son was always very smart and he might not give up until now. Her daughter-in-law was also very ambitious. When Emperor Jianzhang was seriously ill that year, she almost couldn't hold back. It was her daughter-in-law who took control of the situation and it was her final blow that made Emperor Jianzhang take ruthless action against Lin and her son.
The more such people are, the less aggressive they are in their daily lives. They are not like Xu Qingrong who tries to show off her desired fame to everyone. They are also not like Mu Wantong who is weird and cunning, but jealous to the point that even the emperor hates her.
Obviously, she was the most jealous person, yet she could make Xuan Ce willing to defile himself for her.
Perhaps, his son had already backed out, but his daughter-in-law wanted to be the queen more, and his son couldn't leave her, so this was the only way.
She touched the small bottle in her hand, which was the size of a thumb. It was filled with a colorless and odorless poison. It was placed in a tonic and could not be detected even by a silver needle. If Luo Yaoniang ate it, the imperial physician would only find that she died of puerperal disease and would not suspect her.
When Dongfang saw Hong Shutang coming back from the flower banquet, she looked so pretty and charming, and she couldn't help but feel proud: "I don't believe that your grandmother could raise an empress, let alone me. My daughter is proficient in poetry and calligraphy, has an outstanding appearance, and is considerate. There is no daughter in the Hong family who is more outstanding than you."
"Mother, please don't praise my daughter. In my opinion, Princess Chen is the most beautiful one." Hong Shutang could not forget the noble look of Princess Chen when she wore the prince's attire. She, a mere servant, could not compare to her. It was a pity that she seemed not as good as Princess Zhou in the eyes of Queen Hong.
Dongfang smiled and said, "She has given birth to three children already. She is already old and ugly. It is said that she even had urine leakage when she gave birth to Prince Chen's second son. What else can she do? No matter how beautiful a woman is, she will only be beautiful for a few years. After pregnancy, her body will be completely different even if she recovers well."
"How can she compare with a daughter like you?"
In Dongfang's mind, men fall in love with every girl they meet, and always love the youngest girl.
Hong Shutang smiled bitterly: "After all, my daughter is just a daughter of a noble family, but she is a princess."
Dongfang held her daughter's shoulders and said, "Soon, my daughter will become the princess."
Hong Shutang was stunned and couldn't help but smile.
As Gao Xuance was about to leave, he said, "My son is going to the government office now. Go back early today to accompany Yao Niang. She has not yet fully revealed her evil deeds and is not feeling well."
Queen Hong stared at her son in astonishment. She had not expected that a grown man would even know about Elu, which showed that he cared deeply about her.
If Luo Yao's mother is really gone, then her son must be very sad, right?
Thinking of this, Queen Hong suddenly said to him, "Don't worry, your mother will take good care of her for you."
She decided not to listen to Dongfang. As soon as Gao Xuance left, she put the bottle of medicine in the incense burner she usually used to melt it. The smoke remained curling, as if nothing had happened.
Not long after Gao Xuance walked out, Female Official Mo went out.
There was only one light in the dark room. Gao Xuance snorted coldly, "So, my mother threw away the poison?"
Madam Mo nodded: "Yes, the queen has lost them all."
"That's not enough. You have to keep an eye on them for me. As for the Dongfang clan, they are really cunning and they think I am a vegetarian. They actually dare to have such vicious thoughts." Prince Chen was furious.
Ms. Mo echoed in a low voice.
Prince Chen said calmly: "You should go down first. It will be bad if the Queen Mother finds out."
Lady Mo quickly said, "Yes."
That night, Dongfang was about to rest. At her age, it was not appropriate for her to rest in the same place as her husband. Before going to sleep, she thought to herself that according to her family's art of physiognomy, the Prince of Chen would surely have a great future. She came here to help, and her daughter would surely be a famous figure in the world in the future. Naturally, the future of the Hong family and herself would be limitless.
But just as she turned off the lights and lay down, she saw a dark shadow passing by. The man raised his knife and chopped Dongfang's head off to the ground...
A few days later, Yao Niang covered her chest and said to Gao Xuance in fear, "Have you heard? Aunt Hong was beheaded. Who did she offend?"
"Drink this first. I heard that this soup is the best for expelling lochia, and it's not bitter at all. I'll feed it to you." Gao Xuance blew on the medicine for her.
After Yao Niang finished drinking, she smiled and said, "Who knows? Why do you care about her?"
Yao Niang widened her eyes and said, "That's your aunt."
"So what? I have so many relatives, and I hate these crappy relatives the most." Gao Xuance continued to blow the medicine into her mouth and feed it.
Yao Niang covered his mouth and said, "Don't say bad words."
Gao Xuance was overjoyed: "This is called dirty talk... You little girls are really elegant."
In any case, while Yao Niang was talking to him, she finished the medicine. Gao Xuance stuffed a piece of candy into her mouth. Yao Niang put it in her mouth and it tasted sweet.