Hearing this, Bai Lu hurriedly hugged her little master and crossed the threshold and walked in.

After entering the hall and seeing the scene inside, she couldn't help but feel glad in her heart that she listened to Fourth Brother's words.

"My slave, please pay your respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager."

"Send greetings to Mother Ukuma and Mother Huang on April 4th."

After Bai Lu bent down and put the fourth brother in her arms on the ground, she immediately bowed to the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager who were sitting next to each other on the soft couch, and Yin Xiaozhen followed suit and saluted.

"Everyone, get up, Xiaosi, come here."

The Queen Mother saw the tears on Yin Xiaozhen's face, sighed in her heart, waved to him and said.

"Aunt Ukuma, Aunt Huangma."

Yin Xiaozhen immediately spread his short legs and ran towards the soft couch above.

Bai Lu also quietly retreated to the side where the palace people were staying, and observed the main hall that was now full of people without leaving a trace. Sure enough, the smart people all had similar ideas.

At present, Concubines Tong and Wen, as well as Concubines An, Jing, Hui, Yi, Rong, Duan, and Xi are all sitting on the left and right armchairs below. Everyone's expressions look anxious and distressed, and they are obviously worried.

I'm just waiting for the news.

In addition to these ladies in charge, all the mistresses in the palace are also staying here.

The two-and-a-half-year-old third elder brother with red eyes was sitting on his mother-in-law's lap, his little head drooping listlessly. The six-year-old second princess Mo Yaqi also moved a small chair and sat next to Ma Jia's face.

Her face was covered with tears, and she stretched out her hands to tightly grasp the armrests of her armchair, as if secretly cheering her up.

Born only three days later than His Highness the Crown Prince, the third princess Yilmu, who was in her early five years at the time, was not here because her biological mother-in-law Bu's status was too low, so she also moved a mahogany house like her second sister Mo Yaqi.

The small carved chair sat obediently next to their concubine, the empress of the Jingyang Palace.

The seven-and-a-half-year-old Princess Fulana, as the oldest child in the palace, is sitting on the soft couch next to their royal nanny Qi Qige, with the youngest sister, the fourth princess Ke Jing, in her arms.

Next to him lay the half-year-old fifth elder brother Yinqi, who was sleeping soundly with his white fingers sucking in his mouth and glistening saliva hanging from the corner of his mouth.

At the moment, except for the fifth elder brother Yinqi who is still breastfeeding, the one-and-a-half-year-old little Kejing understands that something has happened to Khan Ama, the prince brother and the eldest brother. Now she is biting her lower lip and being sensible.

He stayed quietly in the big sister's arms without saying a word.

Xiao Si walked up the three steps and ran to the Empress Dowager of the Second Palace. The Empress Dowager looked at the fourth great-grandson, who looked the calmest at the moment, and then raised her withered and wrinkled hands to touch his white and tender face.

Xiaosi couldn't understand the complicated look in Ukuma's eyes, but he saw the watery light hidden inside. He pursed his thin lips and looked directly at the Empress Dowager with a pair of bright black phoenix eyes. Xiao Naiyin

He said firmly:

"Mom Ukuma, Si Si believes that Khan Ama and Brother Prince, Brother Dawa will be fine."

Xiaosi stretched out two short arms and threw herself into the Empress Dowager's arms. Just like her mother usually comforted him, she put her arm around the Empress Dowager's waist and patted her back with her small hands and said in a sweet voice:

"My mother-in-law is very powerful and will definitely bring them all back."

"Don't be sad."

"What a good boy, Mother Ukuma."

The Empress Dowager also stretched out her two arms to hold Yin Xiaozhen in her arms, patted his back emotionally and whispered.

The Empress Dowager Qiqige who was sitting next to her also stretched out a hand and touched the back of Yin Xiaozhen's head without saying anything. It was obvious that Xiao Si was the second person besides her to consider the Empress Dowager's mood.

After receiving the news of the emperor's assassination, all the concubines were confused and rushed to Cining Palace to seek help from the Empress Dowager. However, they forgot that this old man, known as the Dinghai Shenzhen of the harem, was just an ordinary grandmother who was worried about her grandson.

That’s all.

If something really happened to the Emperor, the one who would be most heartbroken by so many people present must be the Empress Dowager, because Xuan Ye is not only her most beloved grandson, but also a generation of wise kings that she has spent so many years of hard work to cultivate. If this is really the case,

Suddenly gone, her old man will once again feel the heartbreak of a white-haired person giving a black-haired person...

The ladies sitting at the bottom also heard Brother Si's words and glanced at Xiao Si with complicated eyes.

They are all still young now, and most of them don't have a prince under their knees. Naturally, they sincerely hope that the emperor will come back. The younger prince and elder brother don't care. After all, if the emperor really dies unfortunately, they will wait until the new emperor takes the throne.

, they can only live as concubines and concubines living alone in the palace as widows. That kind of life is really hopeless...

Concubine Rong also had mixed feelings in her heart. She had given birth to six children for the emperor, so she naturally had feelings for him.

But if the emperor really can't come back, then the little prince and the eldest brother will definitely be in trouble. In this way, her third-ranked Yinzhi will be the eldest child. Isn't the emperor also the third elder brother of the late Emperor Fulin?

Well?

She knew she shouldn't think like this, but her thoughts couldn't help but think of what Wu Yashi said, "The third elder brother is the new king." Her mind was so confused, her heart was beating wildly, and she was worried.

When others saw the contradictory expression on her face, Ma Jiashi quickly lowered her head.

The Empress Dowager patted Xiaosi's back time and time again, squinting her already dim eyes and thinking secretly in her heart.

If, unfortunately, all three of them, father and son, were gone, then she would have to face the difficult choice again when Fulin passed away.

Should the new monarch choose the brother of the mature emperor or the young prince?

At that time, Fulin considered asking his cousin Prince An Yue Le to take over his class, but she and the German missionary Tang Ruowang sternly refused on the grounds that the transfer of the imperial line would cause a greater crisis. After a lot of twists and turns,

Only then did he finally settle on eight-year-old Xuan Ye, who had suffered from acne.

But today's situation is more complicated than at that time. If we consider Xuan Ye's half-brothers, the clan will inevitably support Fuquan, Chang Ning and Long Xi, and then the Qing Dynasty's imperial line will completely shift from this generation, but

As the royal mammy, she knows the nature of her grandchildren best. Fu Quan is loyal and honest, Chang Ning is reckless and lazy, and Long Xi is simple and fun-loving. None of these three have the appearance of an emperor, and they will definitely not be able to survive the current stormy Qing Dynasty.

of.

If she chooses a prince to ascend the throne, the third elder brother Yinzhi who stutters will be directly eliminated in her heart, and then only the fourth elder brother Yinzhen can be considered.

Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but lower her head, touched the back of Xiaosi's head and sighed.

Even when Xuanye ascended the throne at the age of eight, there was still Obai as the authoritative regent. At that time, he still had the strength to control the government and intimidate and balance the four ministers.

But Xiaosi is only two years and two months old now. When she sits on the dragon chair, her two short legs are hanging in the air and cannot touch the ground. She doesn’t know how many years she has left to live. The monarch is too young.

The civil and military ministers in the court will definitely become quarrelsome, and it is also possible for a relative to become a regent. Both of these methods will shake the foundation of the Qing Dynasty, which she does not want to see from the bottom of her heart.

The Empress Dowager couldn't help but squeeze her palms tightly, her eyes dimmed, and she felt an old helpless feeling in her heart.

She closed her eyes and prayed to Changshengtian in her heart, hoping that Xuan Ye and his son could come back safely...

The atmosphere in the hall was extremely depressing, and the sky outside the window had completely darkened.

All the candles on the candlesticks were lit, and the hall was as bright as day. The swaying candlelight illuminated everyone's figures, and the chirping of cicadas and crickets could be heard faintly through the glass windows.

I don't know how long it took, but suddenly there was a movement at the door of the hall.

Everyone hurriedly braced themselves and looked over there, and saw a young guard with a knife, whose clothes were torn and torn, with dirt and blood stains on his face and body, running in staggeringly in tears.

"My escort was in trouble, and my search in the mountains yielded no results. Please forgive me, the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager."

The young guard knelt down on the ground with a "plop". With trembling hands, he took out two shabby little things stained with blood and put them on the carpet.

The Queen Mother of the Two Palaces said.

Hearing his words, the Queen Mother, who had just stood up from the soft couch, immediately swayed.

"Huang'e Niang!" Empress Dowager Qiqige quickly raised her hand to support her body.

Xiaosi also hugged her legs tightly and raised his little head to look at her worriedly.

"Baoqing, Baoqing, this is the jade pendant on Baoqing!"

Sitting opposite Concubine Rong, Concubine Hui recognized that the half piece of broken sapphire on the carpet was the unicorn jade pendant that Bao Qing was wearing. Her pupils contracted and she was so frightened that she slipped off the armchair.

"Empress!"

The eldest palace maid Xi Lian hurriedly bent down to help Hui Bin, who was weak in hands and feet. Nala rushed to the guard on the ground and then grabbed the broken jade pendant with trembling hands and put it on her heart. Tears burst into her eyes in despair.

Crying: "Bao Qing, E Niang's Bao Qing!"

The jade stubble cut her soft palm open, and drops of blood fell on the carpet along the gaps between her fingers. Xilian half-knelt on the ground and used her body to support Hui Bin, who was crying heartbrokenly and fell to the ground.

Hui Bin's cry woke up little Wu Yinqi, and the half-year-old little baby immediately started crying at the top of her voice. Yi Bin, who was sitting on the armchair on the right next to An Bin and Li, immediately reacted conditionedly.

I just wanted to stand up from the chair and rush forward.

However, before she could get up, a nanny in green clothes stood beside the soft couch and hurriedly took the crying fifth brother carefully into her arms and went to the side hall to breastfeed.

Yi Bin's bright peach blossom eyes also dimmed instantly, and she sat back again feeling a little disappointed.

At this time, the Empress Dowager also supported the Empress Dowager and slowly walked down the steps. When she saw another thing, it was a broken small wide-brimmed hat. There were obvious signs of being gnawed by animals on the edge, and Nala

But there was no reaction to it, so it goes without saying that the owner of this little straw hat must be Prince Yinreng.

"Tell me clearly, how were you assassinated?" The Empress Dowager forced herself to calm down and frowned and said to the young guards.

Except for the grief-stricken Nala, everyone else also turned their attention to the guards.

When the news of the emperor's assassination reached the palace, the Empress Dowager immediately arranged for Prince Yu Fuquan to take the imperial guards to rescue him. Because time was urgent, no one knew the detailed process.

"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, Her Royal Highness the Crown Prince shot a deer at the beginning of noon. The Emperor was very happy, and we were about to return to the palace. Unexpectedly, when we passed by the 'Sin Locust Tree', as soon as we got off the horse, he suddenly jumped out of the dense grass.

Dozens of flying arrows coated with poison were shot out, and before the slaves could react, dozens more highly skilled, masked men in green clothes jumped out from over there, shouting "Reverse the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty"

.”

"Then we started fighting. Because Jingshan and the Forbidden City are very close, the emperor did not bring many people or secret guards with him on this trip. They were well concealed and carried out sneak attacks. Later, a large wave of masked men appeared.

, we failed to resist in the end, and after we recovered our senses, we discovered that the emperor, the prince and the eldest brother were all missing."

The young guard lowered his head in shame and said.

The Empress Dowager was also shocked. The old locust tree with a crooked neck was the place where the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen and Zhu Youjian, hanged himself. Her son Fulin later tied an iron chain to it. In order to win over the people, he specially stipulated that the royal family

When people pass by this place on horseback in Jingshan, they must dismount and pass by on foot. 2.

They actually chose this place to assassinate the emperor. The mountains are lush with greenery in the midsummer, and these rebels are all wearing green clothes. It is obvious that they have planned this in advance!

"If you haven't found anyone, just keep looking. Khan Ama and the others must still be alive!" Yin Xiaozhen was extremely angry when he heard this, and his little face turned red from holding back.
Chapter completed!