Chapter 70: Stepmother and Empress Dowager (Previous Life Extra)
On the 20th day of the first month of the second year of Chong'an, a fire broke out in the residence of the general, a family of a hundred years old. All 210 people in the residence were killed in the flames.
Soon the imperial court announced to the world that General Gu Jian'an was collaborating with the enemy and committing treason. In addition, his family members were accused of selling official positions, oppressing the people, and occupying fertile farmland.
Among them, Empress Dowager Gu committed debauchery in the palace and took the opportunity to spy on government affairs in the name of visiting relatives.
The Gu family fought to the death and accidentally caused a fire.
After the fire, it was already the second day, and the sky was as white as a fish's belly.
The once glorious general's mansion has now become a pile of ruins.
The guards came and went, clearing the bodies.
A tall and dignified man stood in front of the door.
"Brother, are you sad? I don't really understand you. You could have saved her, so why did you choose to burn her to death?"
Yu Shengxue was wearing a reed hat and her face was vaguely visible, but she knew all this and was even helping Yu Huainan.
Yu Huainan stood there for a long time. He had watched her turn into a handful of ashes with his own eyes. What could he do if he loved her even more? She no longer belonged to him.
"Isn't this the result you wanted?" He turned around, his eyes as cold as ever.
Yu Shengxue suddenly laughed and pointed at herself. "Brother, how could that be? How could that be what I want? This is never what I want. Gu Wan is just a stepping stone for me."
Yu Huainan's eyes were as deep as an ancient well without ripples.
"You advocate being together for life so much, but the emperor has a child with her, don't you care?" He knows what she cares about most?
The smile on Yu Shengxue's face disappeared in an instant.
"Brother, we are just each other." After saying that, she turned around and prepared to leave.
Yu Huainan looked at her back, "Do you think Shao Jingzhou really has no feelings for her? The daily companionship, the bond in bed, and the child in her belly, do you think he will regret it?"
There was a moment of panic in Yu Shengxue's eyes, but it only lasted for a moment. He clenched his fists and left.
"Prince Yu, all the visible bodies have been found and are here."
The Guards reported.
Yu Huainan looked at the corpses neatly arranged on the ground. He knew that Gu Wan's was not among them. It was a good thing that way. She was so afraid of the dark and timid, and would get lost. If she was burned to ashes, she could live in this world and not be afraid of the darkness.
"Well, once you're sure you can take it away."
He walked into the general's mansion with his hands behind his back. This was where she had lived. He still remembered that there was a swing here and she loved sitting on it the most. But now it was still pitch black. This man was dead. He was killed by them and deceived by them. He died so tragically. He shed a tear and it fell to the ground.
The guard holding the seal outside the door was surprised to see Prince Yu still standing inside.
"Prince Yu, the General's Mansion has been inspected and is now sealed."
Yu Huainan agreed and left the house.
The gate was sealed with an official seal.
Yu Huainan looked at the seal and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart. "Wanwan, come and seek revenge on me in your next life."
After Gu Sui returned from suppressing bandits in the southwest, the Gu family's affairs had been settled.
Shao Jingzhou summoned him to the imperial study again.
"Uncle, I hope you can take over the Gu Family Army. Among the royal family, only you have military merits, and only you can command the support of the people. More importantly, you are my uncle, and you grew up with me. I trust you."
Shao then bowed and refused directly, picked up a pen and wrote down his resignation on the desk. He wanted to be a leisurely prince and no longer be involved in the affairs of the court.
Shao Jingzhou frowned, with a hint of anger in his eyes.
"Uncle, is this because of the Gu family?"
Shao Sui didn't say anything, but his eyes were neither humble nor arrogant, not even perfunctory.
Shao Jingzhou sighed helplessly.
"Uncle, the Gu family is collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country. I can do nothing about it."
Shao Sui snorted lightly, his eyes full of mockery, then turned and left, passing Yu Huainan and Yu Shengxue at the door.
Shao Jingzhou looked at them coming over, with a hint of fatigue between his brows.
"The emperor's uncle refused and has already resigned."
Yu Shengxue was still dressed as a man. "Your Majesty, don't worry. It's okay for now even if there is no suitable candidate."
Yu Huainan reported today's affairs and then left.
Yu Shengxue did not leave. She walked around and stood behind Shao Jingzhou, reaching out to pinch his head.
"We can always find someone. Otherwise, let Zhao Zicheng take on both roles."
Shao Jingzhou was a little upset.
"Okay, you should go back first."
He waved her off as well.
Yu Shengxue remembered what her brother had said to her that day.
“Jingzhou, when will you let me enter the palace? The Gu family’s affairs have been resolved.”
Shao Jingzhou took a deep breath, opened his eyes and held her hand.
"Sheng Xue, wait a minute. I need to take care of all these things. There's been a lot of talk in the army about Gu Jianan's departure."
Yu Shengxue nodded, "I know, I'll wait for you."
Shao Jingzhou forced a smile and watched Yu Shengxue leave the imperial study before he put it away and scattered all the memorials on the desk to the floor with one hand.
Zhao Jiukuang was standing outside the door and trembled with fear. Ever since that person left, the emperor's mood has become more and more unstable and abnormal.
In the evening, Shao Jingzhou took a walk in the Imperial Garden. His father was right. Sitting in this position, he felt endless loneliness. He raised his eyes and looked at the moon in the night sky. Yes, today was the fifteenth day of the lunar month.
"Zhao Jiukuang, do you think the moon is round today?"
Zhao Jiukuang bent down slightly and took another look, "Yes."
The moonlight casts a clear glow.
Shao Jingzhou suddenly thought of Gu Wan. In fact, he would take Gu Wan out for a walk every day after dinner. At that time, he felt very humiliated. After all, he not only brought trouble to the Gu family, but also had to deceive a woman like this.
"Return to Chengqian Palace."
Zhao Jiukuang didn't know what happened to the emperor, but he had no choice but to follow him immediately.
A month after Gu Wan's death, Yu Shengxue moved into Xiangfu Palace and was named Yingfei.
Shao Jingzhou passed the night, but he just felt absent-minded. He sat for a while and then stood up and prepared to leave.
Yu Shengxue didn't expect that her kindness and tenderness tonight didn't keep him, so she gritted her teeth.
"Shao Jingzhou, are you really in love with her?" She said with tears on the verge of falling.
Shao Jingzhou's back froze as he left. "Shengxue, you're worrying too much. I'm just not feeling well today."
Yu Shengxue quickly walked up to him again and looked up at him, "Jingzhou, we are obviously very good to each other. Please don't alienate me because of her, okay? I really love you."
Shao Jingzhou reached out and touched her long hair. "Really, no. I'm tired today. You should have a good rest. I'll go back to the imperial study to review memorials." After saying that, he brushed past her and left.
Yu Shengxue reached out to wipe away her tears, forcing herself not to cry anymore.
Zhao Jiukuang thought Yu Shengxue would sleep with him today, so he hurriedly followed her, "Your Majesty, are we returning to the Imperial Study?"
Shao Jingzhou slowed down his pace and said, "You don't have to follow me. I want to be alone."
Zhao Jiukuang waved his hand to signal the people following behind him to disperse, and he also retreated silently. He just felt that the emperor's mind was really difficult to guess. When the empress dowager was with the emperor, he saw it clearly. It was obvious that the two of them had feelings for each other, which could not be pretended. But he did not expect that one body would result in two lives.
Shao Jingzhou was walking alone in the imperial garden, feeling the breeze. After wandering around for a while, he looked up and saw the three words "Zhaohua Palace". He smiled at himself, thinking that he had deceived himself with his acting. He could still walk here even though no one was there.
Zhaohua Palace is still maintained as before. He had previously instructed that nothing inside should be moved. The maids and eunuchs in the palace were actually arranged by him, and they are still working in Zhaohua Palace as usual.
A eunuch came out of the hall and saw Shao Jingzhou, and knelt down hurriedly.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." But I haven't seen him for a while.
Shao Jingzhou just nodded lightly, pinched his fingers and went in.
The eunuch was somewhat puzzled. Logically speaking, didn't the Emperor hate the Empress Dowager? He had been so kind to her, yet he had never expected the Gu family to be collaborating with the enemy and committing treason.
When Shao Jingzhou stepped in, he saw the peach tree planted in the hall. It was Gu Wan who insisted on him to plant it. He thought it would definitely not survive at the time, but he still let her order people to plant it. Now it seems that it really will not survive. She was just too stupid.
He continued to walk inside, and when the maids and eunuchs saw the person coming, they all knelt on the ground.
Shao Jingzhou asked them all to leave, and Zhaohua Palace remained the same as it was before she left the palace.
She said that she wanted to go home to apologize and tell her father and brothers that she had done something foolish and shameless, and asked for forgiveness.
Shao Jingzhou looked at the handkerchief that fell on the couch and picked it up. There seemed to be a fragrance on it. It was the one she usually used. She was still so forgetful. He had reminded her before not to forget anything.
But she said that if she forgot, she could just forget it. Don’t you remember it for her?
At that time, she looked at me with such confidence.
Shao Jingzhou sat on the soft couch and saw half a knee pad in the sewing basket. He had said that they would go hunting in the spring. She was worried when she heard it and said that the wind in the spring would be very strong, so she hurriedly asked Zhuxiang to make the knee pad.
Shao Jingzhou saw a trace of blood on the knee pad, probably because she was careless and kept hurting herself.
He smiled and sighed, but for some reason there was still a wet spot on his knee pads.
Next to the sewing basket was a pair of children's shoes. They were really small, twice as big as his palms.
Shao Jingzhou's hands were shaking when he picked up the shoes. That child was his child. She would always nag the child, saying that when she grew up, she must be like her father, and that her father was the smartest. But it was he who destroyed it all with his own hands. He didn't want her with his own hands. He knew how much she loved him. He could tell when he saw her for the first time that her eyes were always on him.
Shao Jingzhou left Zhaohua Palace after a long time. Apart from the slightly red circles under his eyes, there was nothing unusual about him.
He just called Yu Huainan to the imperial study.
"Did she say anything before she left?"
Yu Huainan knew who he was talking about and replied in a deep voice, "The fire was raging. Even if she spoke, no one would have heard her. But she was crying so hard."
Shao Jingzhou just nodded blankly and let him go.
Before Yu Huainan walked out, he heard the crackling sound of something falling from inside.
Later, Zhao Jiukuang recalled that day.
The emperor did not leave the imperial study for three days and three nights, and after that he often sat in a daze alone. When Yu Shengxue became the queen, there were more and more people in the harem, but the emperor's temper became more and more tyrannical.
The maids in the palace always warned the new maids that there was a place and a person they must never mention, otherwise their brains would be separated from their bodies.
Zhaohua Hall has remained the same year after year, and even the objects inside have never been moved.
It was strange that the peach tree came back to life only after Shao Jingzhou passed away.
The author has something to say:
I don't believe that Shao Jingzhou didn't like Gu Wan in his previous life. Unfortunately, he doesn't know what is most important. In the next life, the next life, and every life after that, he will never have the chance to be with Gu Wan again. Just like that peach tree, it will only sprout again after Shao Jingzhou dies.
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