The emperor's brows furrowed deeply, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was the case.
Gu Jue has always been cunning. If someone from Nanhao tried to assassinate Wuhejialou, would he sacrifice his life for Wuhejialou? !
impossible.
The emperor clenched the jade ring on his thumb and looked in the direction of Shouning Palace with complicated eyes.
If Gu Jue's life or death was really unknown, the people in Prince Chen's Mansion would definitely dispatch the Black Armor Army to the south, but they did not move.
This Chu Qianchen is a shrew. She can't be so weak and helpless. She must be crying on purpose for me to see...
Thinking of what happened last time when he summoned Chu Qianchen, the emperor's heart began to feel suffocated again. He was hanging there in the air, feeling depressed.
He repeatedly sorted out the existing clues and finally became sure.
He was almost, just almost, and he fell into Gu Jue’s trap again!
The emperor gnashed his teeth and said, "This Gu Jue is so insidious and cunning!"
He looked as if he wanted to drink her blood and eat her flesh. Veins popped out on his forehead and his chest rose and fell violently.
Anyone could see that the emperor was in a very bad mood at the moment.
Lu Siji, Eunuch Ni and others around were all silent.
The air froze.
“Boom!”
Deafening thunder came from the distance, like the sound of war drums, approaching this side, striking everyone's heart one after another.
Seeing that it was about to rain, the palace maids in Shouning Palace quickly closed the windows and lit two lanterns.
With the windows closed, the thunder seemed distant and less frightening.
Chu Qianchen sat next to Empress Dowager Yin, wiping her imaginary tears with a handkerchief. Her small face was bathed in the golden light, and her skin seemed to be glowing faintly.
Queen Mother Yin drank her tea elegantly, and with a stern face, she lectured Chu Qianchen, "You are the Princess of Chen, how can you panic when something goes wrong? Isn't this making the servants look down on you?"
"Ajue has always been resourceful, nothing will happen for sure."
At first glance, Queen Mother Yin's words seemed to lack confidence, as if she was just consoling herself.
"Mother, you are right." Chu Qianchen responded obediently.
Queen Mother Yin looked at the little girl, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. At this moment, her heart was very at peace.
An hour ago, when the sign handed by Chu Qianchen was delivered to Shouning Palace, Empress Dowager Yin was very surprised, because she also knew that the emperor and empress had always prohibited Chu Qianchen from entering the palace to visit them.
Queen Dowager Yin knew that something must have happened, so she followed the emperor's instructions and immediately summoned Chu Qianchen.
As a result, Chu Qianchen told her about the Nanhao coup as soon as she arrived, and cried and said that there had been no news about Gu Jue for more than ten days...
Queen Mother Yin was naturally panicked at the moment, but Chu Qianchen cried and quietly wrote the words "rest assured" on his palm. Queen Mother Yin was relieved and continued to act worried, cooperating with Chu Qianchen to put on a good show.
Since the emperor let Chu Qianchen into the palace, it was definitely not out of kindness, but because he wanted to get some information from them.
"Mother, I'm lucky to have you here, otherwise I would really be spineless." Chu Qianchen lowered his little face, still wiping the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief.
Her expression was so soft and fragile, like a cluster of wisteria flowers on a branch. If she was touched even slightly, tears would fall like petals.
"You have eaten less rice than I have eaten salt. You still have a lot to learn." Queen Mother Yin continued to scold, with a smile that could not be hidden in her gentle eyes.
Sometimes, she felt that she had lived decades longer than this girl in vain.
The relationship between them is actually the opposite. It should be said that this girl has become her backbone.
In the past, she was almost blind in this deep palace, like a canary trapped in a cage. But after Chu Qianchen took Lan Ruo away and subdued Nanny Yan, a gap was opened in Shouning Palace. She began to know some of the things happening outside, including Chu Lingxiao's affairs.
Chu Qianchen has secured huge benefits for Gu Jue and Prince Chen's Mansion. There is no doubt that she is on Gu Jue's side.
Thinking of this, Queen Mother Yin's eyes became more loving, and she thought: That's right, Gu Jue has already said that he trusts Chu Qianchen.
There are only a handful of people whom my son can trust wholeheartedly.
Since Gu Jue believed in Chu Qianchen, Queen Mother Yin naturally believed in Chu Qianchen as well.
This time, if Chu Qianchen had not been there, when she learned the news of Gu Jue's missing, she would probably be at a loss and lose her composure, which would have become the weakness of the Prince Chen's Mansion and even give the Emperor a chance to attack the Prince Chen's Mansion.
But now, when the news of Chu Qianchen's disturbance reached the emperor's ears, the emperor would probably start to become "suspicious and overthinking" again.
Queen Mother Yin turned to look at Nanny Yan and ordered in a pretentious manner, "Go get a basin of hot water for the princess to apply to her eyes!"
Nanny Yan immediately withdrew.
Queen Mother Yin accepted the headband and patted Chu Qianchen's hand meaningfully, "I understand your intention."
Her words were a double entendre.
Chu Qianchen was only fourteen years old, and she knew how to treat Gu Jue best in such a crisis situation. As a mother who had been in the palace for so many years, she certainly could not hold her daughter-in-law back.
Queen Mother Yin couldn't help but sigh in her heart, it's a good thing she had this girl.
Her Ajue, really had a keen eye and picked the best princess for himself!
Although she thought so, Empress Dowager Yin felt that she should not tell him after Gu Jue returned to Beijing, so as to prevent the boy from being too proud.
After a while, Nanny Yan came back with a copper basin with white steam coming out of it.
Jiang Yuan acted out the whole play and applied hot compress to Chu Qianchen's eyes.
When Chu Qianchen walked out of Shouning Palace, the corners of his eyes were slightly red, and he looked like he had just cried bitterly.
Along the way, many eyes were cast on Chu Qianchen, some scrutinizing, some speculating, some suspicious...
6◇9◇Book◇Bar
Chu Qianchen seemed to be in a state of disarray, unaware of this, and just walked out of the palace and got on the red-wheeled carriage of Prince Chen's Mansion again.
The sky was still gloomy, with thunder rumbling one after another.
When the door of the red-wheeled carriage closed, Chu Qianchen's temperament changed instantly, from a weak and helpless little white rabbit to an eagle overlooking the world.
Jiang Yuan was already used to this, and calmly ordered the driver to return to the palace, then poured tea and water for Chu Qianchen and brought some snacks.
The carriage was on its way, the compartment swaying slightly. Chu Qianchen took off the heavy Nine-Di Crown on his head, then leaned lazily against the compartment, his slender white fingers gently stroking the mutton-fat white jade pendant with a cloud pattern and a phoenix playing with a pearl on his waist.
The prince once said that people's minds are the easiest and most difficult to predict. Sometimes they are unfathomable, and sometimes they are clear at a glance. The most frightening thing is that a person has no desires or demands.
Fortunately, the emperor had a request, and it was quite a big one.
When a man has only one thing, he can put it all on the line.
When a person has too much, he becomes hesitant and afraid of losing it.
Next, she still needs to be careful and take every step carefully so that she can move forward steadily and help the prince guard the Prince Chen’s Palace and the capital.
As Chu Qianchen thought about it, he rubbed the patterns on the ring with his fingertips, slightly raised the corners of his mouth, and drew a faint smile.
When the prince comes back, he will definitely praise her!
So, even if she didn't complete her "homework", she should be forgiven, right?
While he was lost in thought, there was suddenly a burst of noisy sound outside the carriage.
Chu Qianchen was immersed in his own thoughts and hadn't reacted yet, but Jiang Yuan had already moved. She casually opened the curtains and looked out, raising her eyebrows with interest, adding a hint of liveliness to her usually dull face.
"Princess, it's Chu Lingxiao." Jiang Yuan reported in a flat tone.
Chu Qianchen blinked, then he remembered that today was September 25th, the day Chu Lingxiao was exiled.
"Stop the carriage on the side of the road." Chu Qianchen gave an order, and the coachman temporarily parked the red-wheeled carriage on the side of the road.
Chu Qianchen opened the curtain and looked out in the direction of the sound. He saw that there was already a lot of men, women, old and young gathered on another street ahead. They were all standing on both sides of the street, talking in a flurry.
Their eyes all looked in the same direction -
A team of escorting yamen runners.
The center of the team was Chu Lingxiao, who was wearing a dirty prisoner uniform, with heavy shackles on his neck and hands, and he walked forward with a staggering gait.
There was a scar on his forehead, as if a flesh-colored centipede was lurking there, making his originally handsome face look more ferocious. His lame left foot made him limp as he walked, and he looked in a miserable state.
He was escorted by four tall and mighty yamen runners in front and behind.
The 800-li exiles went to Qingzhou, and the 3,000-li exiles went to the wild northwest areas. Moreover, they would be recruited by the Northwest Army to suppress bandits from time to time.
In comparison, the task of being a 800-li exile is of course easier, as the prisoners only need to open up wasteland in Qingzhou.
But for a pampered marquis like Chu Lingxiao, walking 800 miles in shackles was not easy, and opening up wasteland in Qingzhou was tantamount to killing him. He would probably only blame the Chu family for not saving him, and from then on he would bear a grudge against the Chu family.
A few dozen feet behind Chu Lingxiao, Aunt Jiang, who was dressed in a green dress, followed closely behind him, escorted by four servants.
The only person sentenced to exile by the Three Courts was Chu Lingxiao. Aunt Jiang was not considered a criminal, so she was just escorted by people from Duke Mu's Mansion to prevent her from running away on the road.
At this moment, Aunt Jiang had become thinner, her hair was disheveled, and she was wearing a straw hairpin and cloth clothes. She had lost 50% to 60% of her former elegance and grace, and looked like a haggard peasant woman.
(End of this chapter)