Peach concubine

"Bai Qi." Xiao Jingmo opened his mouth, straight to the point: "Let me ask you, how much does the matter of the Great Buddha Temple have to do with you?"

Bai Qi's face was expressionless, but after a moment, he lowered his eyelids and remained silent, thinking about something.

"Dynamite was buried at the bottom of the Great Buddha Temple. Only a few of us know about it. Your Majesty, Qi You, I... and you are the other one. Over the years, although I have had fun, I have kept you As a sincere brother, I will never hide anything from you." Xiao Jingmo's eyes were terribly sharp: "I don't believe a word about the dry weather and the gunpowder fuse accidentally ignited spontaneously! Bai Qi, if you still treat me as a friend, Just tell me the truth."

Bai Qi's eyes dimmed, and he sighed softly, "Why don't you doubt Qi You?"

"Him? He's not that kind of person..." Xiao Jingmo smiled wryly, "I also thought that you wouldn't be that kind of person."

In fact, Xiao Jingmo had already realized that explosives were secretly buried at the bottom of the Great Buddha Temple. To trace the origin, we still have to start with a basket of oranges.

I didn't pay too much attention to that weird taste when I tasted it for the first time, but later, when the prince supervised the grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, all kinds of clues were revealed—after all, there is no impenetrable wall in the world—Xiao Jingmo made many guesses and verified it. Prepare for the worst first.The emperor offering sacrifices to the heavens is no small matter, and there can be no mistakes.

Xiao Jingmo had already discussed with Qi You about the discovery of gunpowder and reported it to the emperor.

However, what Xiao Jingmo didn't expect was that after some deep thinking, the emperor ordered them to secretly clean up the gunpowder buried underneath, and not to let any news out.As for the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, it will still be held as scheduled.

It's not that Xiao Jingmo is not without doubts, but when he was ordered to withdraw, he inadvertently saw the emperor sitting on the seat tiredly with his forehead stroked, and he suddenly understood a little bit.

Today's emperor's posture is weak. Although it is rumored that the emperor only favors Pingyanghou's son, in fact, he still has an innate affection for his three sons.The so-called deep love and deep responsibility, not to mention that the eldest prince Xiao Ligui is the crown prince, so he can't tolerate even the slightest mistake.

How would the emperor feel when he heard that the prince planted gunpowder to plot to usurp the throne?

What kind of considerations and struggles made this emperor, who was known for his thunderous skills, soft-heartedly expect to expose the matter, conceal the news, and secretly save the crown prince?

It's just that no one thought that when the dawn was approaching, there would be a loud noise, and all the painstaking efforts would be burned.

Injured more than a hundred lives, even if the emperor wanted to cover up and indulge him, he was powerless.

──This is what made Xiao Jingmo feel the most angry and terrified. The battle between emperors actually involved innocent lives.It is a fact that the person behind, no matter who it is, ignited the explosives intentionally, it is a fact that he injured more than a hundred people and escalated the situation, and it is also a fact that the ultimate goal is to point the finger at the prince so that he cannot stand up!

Besides, if it wasn't for this innocent explosion, Wanzhen wouldn't have given birth prematurely and died of bleeding...

Xiao Jingmo used great self-control to control himself not to lose his composure: "Won't Bai Qi tremble when you kill more than a hundred people beside the Great Buddha Temple?"

Bai Qi pursed her lips, took a long time to let out a long breath, and turned to face Xiao Jingmo, "I can't believe that you are also a student from the Martial Arts Hall? Yes, it is to use all means, as long as the goal can be achieved, sometimes sacrifice something, then it is unavoidable. The art of controlling people and the way of life... don't you have learned less?"

"Things? Is that a thing? That's a hundred living lives!!"

"Jing Mo." Bai Qi's tone was still low, calm and indifferent: "All I can say is sorry for hiding you for so long, and even betraying the news when you didn't know it. As a friend, this The point is that I have lost my faith, so I have nothing to say. As for the human lives you mentioned... they are just means, some price to be paid to achieve the goal. Once you succeed, you will die, and you will not step on others If you put a corpse on the ground, you will become a corpse and be stepped on by others. I don’t need to say more about this truth.” After saying this, Bai Qi also knows the little friendship between himself and Xiao Jingmo. , It is irrevocable: "I said long ago that you are not suitable to be born in the royal family, Jing Mo... your heart is too soft."

Xiao Jingmo could only smile wryly: "You're right...but, Bai Qi, don't forget that Wanzhen also died because of you."

Bai Qi's expression darkened, his eyes flickered, and he stopped answering.

Xiao Jingmo went on to say: "Today is the last time that you and I will meet as friends. As you said, if we disagree, we will not seek each other. If you plan for your bright future, Xiao can no longer accompany you."

The friendship of more than ten years was paid off overnight.

After Xiao Jingmo said goodbye and left, Bai Qi still sat where he was, for a long, long time without moving.

The next day, Prince Xiao Li was deposed and imprisoned in the Punishment Division.

More than a hundred people died, and they were at the feet of the emperor again. The people's grievances were overwhelming, and it was difficult to control.

The emperor turned gray overnight - among the three sons, only Xiao Li was the most capable emperor. He almost devoted all his efforts to cultivating him step by step to learn the way of the emperor, and announced to the world that he can be crowned prince. Stabilized the hearts of the world.

But how can people's hearts be satisfied? Xiao Li has been the prince for many years, and even his father, who supported him, didn't know when the child who was protected by him at the beginning was born and wanted to be alone!Xiang's ambition?

That night, the emperor secretly summoned the deposed prince Xiao Li in the bedroom.

The whole night until dawn, no one saw Xiao Li retreating from the hall wearing a gray linen cloak.

No one knew about the conversation that night, and only some clues could be seen from the emperor's increasingly tired face: Even though Xiao Li was rebellious, the emperor was still reluctant to deal with it according to the law when the matter came to an end.

When the situation escalated to the end, an official was traced out, claiming to have buried gunpowder in the Dafo Temple with the intention of assassinating him.

And later... Xiao Jingmo had no time to care about it. The turmoil in the court was changing rapidly, not to mention that the emperor's heart was unpredictable, and the final result had nothing to do with him.

The fall of this year in Jinling Shengjing was spent quietly amidst the case of the prince and the death of the Xie family.

After the beginning of winter, the palace began to get busy—the emperor's fiftieth birthday was approaching, and the Ministry of Rites was almost exhausted preparing for the birthday celebration—the depressed atmosphere caused by the abolition of the crown prince was finally overthrown. The coming joy was alleviated, and the palace was decorated with lanterns and festoons, and the red lanterns reflected the white snow, which was extraordinarily magnificent.

The weather that had just snowed was still a bit chilly. Jian Ruolin came from the south, and this was the first time she experienced such heavy snow and low temperature. She hid in the room all day and burned a few big stoves, but it was not enough.

Xiao Jingmo laughed at him, saying that people from the south of the Yangtze River are really made of water, and they can't stand the cold at all.

Jian Ruolin was already unbearably cold, no matter how Xiao Jingmo made fun of him, she rubbed her hands and leaned against the stove to keep warm.I don't know whether that face is cold or hot, but the redness is very cute.

Xiao Jingmo always likes to pinch his face at this time, and said with a smile while pinching, show me if it is really made of water.

Jian Ruolin was so angry that she stretched out her hand to hit him, but it was a pity that Xiao Jingmo caught him as soon as she slapped him, and held it warmly in his palm, refusing to let go, and then said with a smile: "Okay, I shouldn't have teased him." You... oh, why are your hands still so cold..." Finally nothing came of it.

At night, Xiao Jingmo climbed over the wall and came in with a stern face, and very consciously got into Jian Ruolin's quilt, and hugged him to sleep together. It was called "automatically coming to the door to make a free living body heater", but he always hugged and hugged him. Hands began to touch irregularly up and down...Of course, Xiao Da pervert was still concerned about Jian Ruolin's thin skin, but he touched his shoulders, his hands, and occasionally his waist and thighs...In the end, he always used Jane Ruolin's anger and Xiao Jingmo bowed his head and admitted his mistake.

Dreaming back in the middle of the night, when waking up, what echoed in the night was the long breathing sound of two people melting together, and the hot temperature when they were close to each other. good.

On the day of the emperor's fiftieth birthday, Xiao Jingmo entered the palace early in the morning.

One door after another, one after another with red lanterns, Xiao Jingmo solemnly put on the royal robe embroidered with python, greeted the queen mother first, greeted the queen mother for a while, and then went to the palace of the noble concubine Chen---this noble concubine Chen, with his biological mother Mrs. Xiao is a brother-in-law sister. When Xiao Jingmo was specially allowed to study in the Shangshu when he was a child, he was often taken care of by Concubine Chen, so once he entered the palace, he had to show courtesy and pay a respectful visit.

It's just that when Xiao Jingmo went in, he didn't expect Mrs. Xiao to be there, and when he opened the curtain, he was stunned.

It was Concubine Chen who came to her senses first, and greeted with a smile: "It's Mo'er, come and sit here."

Xiao Jingmo walked in, still knelt on one knee to pay his respects according to the rules: "I see the imperial concubine and empress."

Concubine Chen told him to get up quickly and reprimanded him: "This child, the older I get, the more I will be born. After all, I am still his aunt. Why do the family still do these vain gifts?"

Mrs. Xiao said in a timely manner: "Although it is an empty courtesy, it must not be discarded. After all, there are differences between monarchs and ministers."

Concubine Chen giggled and said, "Okay, okay, my sister is going to preach again."

Xiao Jingmo stood aside, a little embarrassed, Concubine Chen and Mrs. Xiao were both a generation older than him, and it was two women who were gossiping, even if he was good at dancing, he couldn't get in.Moreover, the mother-child relationship between him and Mrs. Xiao has always been cold, and Mrs. Xiao sat there, which made Xiao Jingmo more reserved for no reason.

Only Concubine Chen said suddenly: "Mo'er, you have been messing around outside for so many years, is it time to come back and do something serious? I remember when you were still studying, your homework was always the best. Later, for some reason, I refused to continue reading in the palace for no reason. At that time, you were young and vigorous, so I let you go. Now you have been at ease for a long time, you know , Your Majesty talks about you every day."

"Isn't the imperial concubine happy to take the minister? The minister is a piece of rotten wood that cannot be carved, and the empress is afraid that the minister is overestimating the minister."

Concubine Chen pointed at Xiao Jingmo, turned to look at Mrs. Xiao, feigned anger and said, "Look, look, as soon as I told him to stay in the capital, he started to give me sloppy eyes."

Mrs. Xiao lowered her brows and restrained her face, and said calmly: "Mo'er is naturally unrestrained, even my mother has nothing to do with him."

Concubine Chen said with a smile: "I still don't believe it, no, I have to find a way to let you stay in the capital obediently, so that the emperor won't think about it every day."

Xiao Jingmo could only reply: "Your Majesty is joking."

Chatting like this, until the evening, before the birthday banquet started, Imperial Concubine Chen took a bath and changed her clothes, Mrs. Xiao also went into the inner room to rearrange her appearance and clothes, Xiao Jingmo waited outside the hall, and followed the two to the imperial court for the banquet .

The imperial palace was extremely lively that night, all civil and military officials, relatives and relatives of the emperor gathered together.

Xiao Jingmo was finally used to spending time and drinking, looking at the tens of thousands of lights hanging high, illuminating the imperial court like daylight, he felt a little too tired and too dazzling for a while.Everyone's bodies were shining with silver and jewels. Inside and outside the main hall, there were dragon sandalwood incense cauldrons all over the place, and jade vases half as tall as a person were filled with evergreen pistils. It was a royal atmosphere, extremely noble and gorgeous.

A loud voice resounded from a distance, shouting: "The emperor is here──"

Everyone stood still in an orderly manner, fell to their knees with a clatter, and said in unison: "Long live the emperor, long live, long live." A man in a bright yellow imperial robe walked past slowly until he was in the imperial court. Sitting down on the luxurious dragon chair in the middle, the eunuch shouted loudly again: "Get up---"

Everyone thanked each other and got up.

The emperor smiled kindly, and said, "Today is my birthday banquet, everyone can feel free, don't be too restrained."

Everyone answered "yes" in unison, but when they sat down, they still sat upright, and there was no lack of proper manners. The emperor could say that casually, but as a courtier, no matter what the situation was, he would not Dare to take a wrong step.

It wasn't until after drinking for three rounds and the singing and dancing gradually started that the atmosphere of the banquet eased up a little.

The emperor was in a good mood, as if he was not affected by the turmoil of the previous period at all, he talked and laughed with his concubines with a charming smile.According to the usual practice, all the princes and princesses will come forward one by one to offer gifts and say auspicious words. Although Xiao Jingmo was not born by the emperor, he has been favored since he was a child, so he must also have his share.

Xiao Jingmo filled the wine and walked forward: "Your Majesty, I'm probably tired of hearing those auspicious words every year. When I get here, I might as well just save my life for the Emperor. I only wish the Emperor good health and longevity." Drank it down.

As soon as the emperor saw Xiao Jingmo, he smiled, but deliberately put on a sullen face: "You monkey, no one cares about you, you just look like this."

Concubine Chen was sitting next to the emperor, she smiled and said, "No, I should find someone to take care of him."

The emperor pondered for a while, then murmured something as if talking to himself: "It's a pity that child Wanzhen's life is so bad..."

Concubine Chen saw that Xiao Jingmo's face was slightly gloomy, so she covered her mouth and said with a low smile: "Other princes and grandchildren at his age have already married several wives and concubines. Zhen. I think it's better to take advantage of this time to book another marriage for Jing Mo...It happens that the youngest daughter of Lan Xiang's family, Lan Siqi, is just at the right age, and she will be in her boudoir..."

The more Xiao Jingmo listened, the more he felt that something was wrong. His palms were sweating and his back felt cold. Then he looked at the emperor's expression of "just what I wanted", and he was agitated in his heart. He quickly knelt down: "The imperial concubine Mo Nachen is joking, Wanzhen's body is not cold yet. , the minister has no intention of marrying a wife and continuing the strings."

The emperor straightened his face: "I know your friendship for Wanzhen, but everything must be forward-looking. The youngest daughter of the Lan family is well-educated and reasonable, so she will never humiliate you." Then he softened his face slightly: "That's all. It's settled, I will choose a day to give you a marriage..."

Xiao Jingmo gritted his teeth and interrupted the emperor's words: "I beg the emperor to take back his order."

The emperor's face darkened: "What did you say?" The atmosphere during the banquet suddenly became depressed.

The wrath of the emperor is no small matter, and the crime of resisting the decree cannot be borne by him alone.However, Xiao Jingmo has already lost Bai Wanzhen in this life, since he has made an alliance with Jian Ruolin, how can he marry again at this juncture.So--

"I can't marry the daughter of the Lan family, I can't wrong her, and I can't wrong Wanzhen." Xiao Jingmo knew that he would offend Long Yan, and knew that this was a crime of disobedience, but he still insisted on saying: " After Wanzhen's death, I made an oath that I would never marry anyone else in my life. In this life, I will only have Bai Wanzhen as a wife! I pray that the emperor will be aware and sympathize with my feelings."

Imperial Concubine Chen originally intended to make a match, but Xiao Jingmo would refuse, and the situation froze. Seeing that the emperor was about to explode, she could only come out to smooth things over: "Your Majesty, what Jing Mo said is the same, that child Wanzhen has a hard life, she just left her The child has left, and Jing Mo will marry again, it is really hard to get rid of the misfortune... Jing Mo is still young, and the future will be long, or if Jing Mo changes his mind in the future and has someone else he likes, it will not be too late to ask the emperor to marry him."

After all, the emperor loved Xiao Jingmo very much. Although Xiao Jingmo offended Long Wei, with Concubine Chen's words, it was considered a step down, so he waved his hand and said, "That's all, I won't force you."

Xiao Jingmo kowtowed twice: "I thank the emperor for your kindness."

The emperor seemed to be extremely tired, and got up in a dispirited way: "I'm tired, let's drive back to the palace."

Accompanied by Imperial Concubine Chen, before leaving, she gave Xiao Jingmo a hard look, and finally shook her head and swayed away.

A group of ministers and relatives looked at each other, and kneeled down in fear to send the emperor and imperial concubine Chen away, fearing that it would harm Chi Yu.None of them thought that the emperor's fiftieth birthday would end like this. They secretly thought that there were Xiao Jingmo who didn't know what was good and what was wrong, and there were also those who slandered Xiao Jingmo because he was favored and arrogant.

Only Mrs. Xiao, with the same eyebrows and eyes as usual, stared at Xiao Jingmo who was kneeling there, looking and looking.

Writer's words:

The prince’s affairs and the Xie family’s affairs are all foreshadowing and leading lines for writing about the love between Xiao and Jian. As mentioned above, I believe everyone is not interested in this, right? (Actually, I am incompetent in writing, scheming and so on... It hurts my brain...==|||) So the follow-up of these two incidents was just mentioned in one stroke.Also, Xiao Jingmo resisted the order and refused to marry, Jian Ruolin is going to be unlucky...why nirvana?Please see the breakdown in the next chapter──