Chapter 151: Who is this ghost in the painting?
It was already late at night when Concubine Xiao received the news that her son was imprisoned in the death row.
She was just about to go to bed when she heard the news.
"What? Old Fourteen was put in death row?"
"What did he do to deserve to be thrown on death row?"
Concubine Xiao was so frightened that her face turned pale. She only had Fourteenth Son. All her hopes and reliance for the rest of her life were on him. And yet Fourteenth Son was thrown into death row?
She hurriedly got out of bed, put on her shoes, and got up to get ready.
The visitor continued to report, "Madam, it is said that the Fourteenth Prince slandered Princess Yongle as a monster."
"This is not a big deal. It's just a joke between children. There's no need to be thrown into death row!" Concubine Xiao was very confused.
"This is indeed not a big deal. The problem is that because the emperor did not deal with Princess Yongle but dealt with him, the Fourteenth Prince was anxious and said that the emperor was seriously ill."
"What?"
When Concubine Xiao heard this, her heart beat faster and she felt like she was having a heart attack.
"Empress, would you like to take some medicine?" The maid hurriedly brought medicine for treating heart disease to Concubine Xiao and fed it to her.
After eating, Concubine Xiao took a few breaths and said, "Old Fourteen is such an idiot. How dare he say that the emperor is seriously ill? This is a blatant insult and curse to the emperor!"
"If someone were to use this as a topic of discussion, it could be linked to a plot to usurp the throne, and they would say that the Fourteenth Prince does not wish the emperor well and wants to replace him."
"He committed a big taboo!"
"It would be strange if he wasn't thrown into death row."
"This is a shameless thing."
Concubine Xiao was so angry that she pounded the bed.
"Your Majesty, what should we do now? We can't just let His Highness be locked up in the death cell, right? That's a death cell?" the maid Lu Yin asked worriedly.
"Of course not."
While Concubine Xiao was blaming the Fourteenth Prince in her heart for not listening to her and causing trouble for Qiu Shui Ju as well as herself, she rushed to the door of Emperor Zhaoning's bedroom overnight and knelt down at the door, begging to see Emperor Zhaoning.
She wanted to plead for mercy for the Fourteenth Prince.
But she knelt all night, and Emperor Zhaoning showed no intention of seeing her.
The next day, after Emperor Zhaoning got up, he went to court.
In a hurry, Concubine Xiao went to ask the Empress Dowager and the Queen for help, but unfortunately she didn't even get to see them.
Finally, she returned to the original place and asked to see Emperor Zhaoning.
During this time, she saw the young eunuch delivering something to Qiu Shui Ju.
The things were packed in boxes, but I didn't know what they were.
But Concubine Xiao began to think of asking Concubine Li and Jiujiu for help.
In this situation, the only people who can speak for her in front of the emperor are probably Concubine Li and Jiujiu.
No matter how much she disliked them, she had to beg them.
·
Qiu Shui Residence.
Dijiang was teaching Jiujiu how to write, and he taught every stroke with great care.
He was afraid that if he was not serious, Jiujiu would stop learning from him and go to find Qi Zhongshu.
He had heard that Qi Zhongshu had been begging the emperor to issue an edict to allow Jiujiu to be his closed disciple.
Qi Zhongshu had requested it several times before, but Emperor Zhaoning took Jiujiu's opinion into consideration and did not agree for the time being.
Emperor Zhaoning was thinking that he would wait until Jiujiu was a little older and Dijiang would no longer be able to teach her.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor sent someone to deliver something to you." The maid Qiu Shuang walked into Concubine Li's room holding a box.
"What is it?"
Jiujiu stopped writing, stretched his neck, and looked outside the house curiously.
That gossipy look on his face is so adorable.
Dijiang coughed twice and pretended to be pitiful and said, "Jiujiu, don't you like Brother Dijiang teaching you to write? That's why you are so indecisive?"
"How about I change Master Qi for you?"
"Although Brother Dijiang will be sad about this, he will be fine after a few days. Your opinion is the most important."
“No, no, no.” Jiujiu was anxious. “Brother Dijiang is the best. Jiujiu likes to be taught by Brother Dijiang.”
"And mother also said that brother Dijiang is knowledgeable, knows everything, and knows how to teach Jiujiu. He is more suitable to be Jiujiu's teacher than Master Qi."
"Although Master Qi is the greatest scholar, he is not necessarily better than Brother Dijiang in teaching."
"Brother Dijiang knows how to get Jiujiu to learn on his own initiative."
The last part is true.
For example, at this moment, Jiujiu was no longer indecisive because of Dijiang's words. She concentrated on writing without any distractions.
She even said disdainfully: "What's so interesting about the excitement? Jiujiu doesn't want to watch the excitement anymore."
Di Jiang smiled with relief. What he wanted to see was that Jiujiu could concentrate on his studies.
"Brother Dijiang now believes that Jiujiu likes to be taught by Brother Dijiang."
"Of course."
Jiujiu was practicing calligraphy seriously. Dijiang was watching from the side. From time to time, he held Jiujiu's hand, with red ears, and guided Jiujiu to write a few words.
Dijiang loved reading since he was young. When he came to Western Chu as a hostage, he read books every day and often practiced calligraphy.
His handwriting is very good, which makes Jiujiu admire and believe in him very much.
Jiujiu liked Dijiang teaching her to write, and after he finished teaching her, she started practicing on her own.
She was immersed in writing and wrote for a long time before stopping.
Di Jiang saw her handwriting and said, "Jiujiu's handwriting has improved recently."
"Brother Dijiang taught me well."
"Okay, that's all for today's study!"
Dijiang saw that the time was almost up, so he put the books he brought into a box and prepared to leave.
Jiujiu said: "Jiujiu helps brother Dijiang."
Jiujiu helped Dijiang collect the books. Unknowingly, her hand touched Dijiang's hand several times. Dijiang's ears would always turn red and his heartbeat would speed up, but she couldn't notice it.
After the boxes were packed, Dijiang took them and hurried away with Chuyang.
After leaving Qiushuiju, Chu Yang asked in confusion: "Your Highness, why are you walking so fast?"
"No one is chasing us."
·
After Jiujiu had some free time, she finally had time to see the things that Emperor Zhaoning sent the eunuch to send to Concubine Li.
It's a portrait.
Portrait of Concubine Li.
Emperor Zhaoning drew this himself last night after dealing with the Fourteenth Prince.
After finishing the painting, he told the eunuchs around him to deliver it to Concubine Li at dawn.
Jiujiu and Li Fei don’t know this.
At this moment, Concubine Li stared at the portrait for a long time but couldn't see anything.
Don’t read it anymore, just throw it aside.
The painting is so ugly. The eyes, nose and mouth of the person in the painting are all squeezed together, making it a dark mass. It is impossible to tell what he looks like.
Nan Yuanxiang is here too.
Jiujiu and Nan Yuanxiang looked at the paintings and started discussing them.
“This painting is so special.”
"Who is this ghost in the painting?"
Princess Li, who was drinking tea, couldn't help laughing after hearing this, and shook her head and said, "I don't know."
"I don't know either. Look at the painter. Did he paint this in his sleep?"
Nan Yuanxiang said this, covering her mouth and burst into laughter.
Jiujiu nodded in agreement, "Yes, it was painted by sleepwalking, but I don't know who painted it? It's hard to look at it directly. Did the emperor send the wrong thing?"
Just as he finished speaking, Concubine Xiao arrived.
Concubine Xiao entered Qiushuiju crying. As soon as she entered, she knelt in front of Concubine Li and Jiujiu and begged, "Concubine Li, Princess, please, save me!"