In a palace in the deep palace, there was no lamp in the room, and the light was very dim. Queen Ma, who was sitting on the chair above, seemed to be hidden in the shadows, and she could not even see her face clearly. If it were not for a eunuch below who was respectfully facing her
Her direction makes it difficult to see where she is sitting.
"Cao Shen, how did the prince treat you before?" Queen Ma's voice was a little gloomy.
The eunuch hurriedly said: "I have been in the palace since I was a child. The emperor and the prince are my heaven. I live to serve the emperor and the prince."
"Very good." Queen Ma said, "Now the prince has been killed by a traitor. These are the murderers of God! What should you do?"
The eunuch was silent for a moment and said: "As long as the empress says a word, I am willing to sacrifice myself for the prince and follow him to Jiuquan to continue serving him."
Empress Ma said coldly: "What's the use of doing this? Isn't it letting the traitor go free? You should avenge the prince!"
The eunuch bent even lower and repeated stiffly: "Yes, I should remember the hatred of His Highness the Crown Prince... I wonder what the queen wants me to do?"
Queen Ma said: "Guo Jie's detailed work revealed a piece of news that Yu Qian, the governor of Jiangxi, had a private meeting with a puppet spy. This spy came to lobby Yu Qian to rebel against Zhu Wenbiao, so that the puppet army could successfully capture Jiangxi. The spy later contacted Nan
I contacted my comrades from Zhili. The comrades have been arrested and tortured by the minions of the temptress. Therefore, Zhu Wenbiao has already found out everything about Yu Qian, and he doesn’t even know it. Please bring me a letter to Jiangxi.
, told Yu Qian to be careful."
The eunuch was stunned for a while, and then he said nervously and inarticulately: "It's not difficult to win Qian's trust in this matter. Since we know the news, he has some concerns in his heart... But what's the benefit of doing this?"
Empress Ma slapped her palms on the chair and gritted her teeth and said: "I heard from Guo Jie that the King of Xiang did not want to act rashly against Qian, but wanted to rely on him to stabilize the tens of thousands of people surrendered by the King of Han. Jiangxi has no soldiers, and it cannot be fought without surrendering the army."
Win the battle. As long as Yu Qian is dissatisfied and even rebels against Zhu Wenbiao, the battle of Jiangxi will be a good one! Once Jiangxi is defeated, Huguang will have no danger to defend and will be taken over sooner or later! Hum, you still want to be the emperor and the queen mother?
Your ambition is not small, I told you to be a dog, just go down and be a dog!"
Eunuch Cao Shen stood stunned on the ground, speechless. Empress Ma asked, "Are you willing to go?"
"My maid, my maid... As long as your Majesty makes the decree, I dare not not... say a hundred yeses." Cao Shen persuaded again, "But please think twice before doing anything. It seems difficult to succeed in this kind of thing. We are not here."
The imperial court and officialdom also don’t know the reality clearly, so it’s too risky to do so. If the plan doesn’t work, I’ll just pay it off. I’m afraid that if everything fails, the humble life of this servant doesn’t matter, and I’m afraid that the empress will give me a hand.”
Queen Ma said angrily: "I'm not afraid of you, so what are you afraid of? Opportunities are hard to find, and I will never let it go. Even if it's hard to come by, I still have to give it a try. Besides, although Yu Qian has no dealings with us, he will
Isn’t it okay to reveal this kind of thing to Zhu Wenbiao? Isn’t that asking for trouble?”
"What if we are intercepted?" Cao Shen said.
Empress Ma thought for a while and said seriously: "Guo Jie contacted many people outside and was not intercepted. You were intercepted just after one trip? What are you doing for food? Don't bring letters and go directly to Yu Qian.
Send a message."
Eunuch Cao Shen had no choice but to obey. If he offended Queen Ma in his situation, what else would he have to do to survive? The emperor and queen in the palace were not the law. Killing an eunuch and a maid just depends on their mood, without any reason. Killing a person is as easy as killing a dog.
…
But the unfortunate thing had already been revealed to Cao Shen earlier, and he was arrested by spies from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The laughter of "Haha..." came from Yao Ji's room in Fengyi Building. This kind of laughter is very rare. Yao Ji usually smiles without showing her teeth. She would use her sleeves to cover up her smiles.
Are you laughing so loudly that half the building can hear you?
The white-clothed guards on the side and Qiuye, who was complaining, were both stunned. After Yao Ji laughed for a while, held her belly and panted and finally stopped, Qiuye continued: "The eunuch was taken by us as soon as he left the palace.
The people were following him, and it was strange to think about it. Isn't it strange for a eunuch to be sneaky and look like he was going to travel far away? But he didn't commit any crime, so our people followed him all the way to see what happened. When he arrived in Jiangxi, he went straight to Duchang.
On the way, we can guess that he really went out on business, maybe to meet Yu Qian. That place in Duchang County can only remind people of Yu Qian.
Anyway, he was just a eunuch, so we immediately arrested him and searched him, but nothing was found, so we tortured him. The results were not even half-way through, so the eunuch did something wrong, and the confession was written in his own hand. Madam, please read it."
Yao Ji dragged her long skirt and read interestingly with a piece of paper in one hand while walking slowly on the floor. After reading a passage, she waved the paper and said: "She is the queen after all. Because of Emperor Jianwen's
In the past, I didn’t dare to touch her casually. I just thought that since I couldn’t run away, I would slowly settle the old accounts with her over the years. Sometimes I was worried, in case something big changes and the world is unpredictable.
, what should I do if I don’t have a chance? Now it’s better to wash my neck and send it up. Oh, what a stupid woman.”
Yao Ji lowered her head to think, then raised her head to sigh. She was not anxious at all, as if she was savoring the joy of victory at this moment. She turned around and said: "Such a stupid person, I have been bullied by her in the past. Once she even asked the prince to pretend
He was poisoned, trying to frame me, and almost killed me!" Yao Ji seemed a little abnormal today, and she was not very particular about her choice of words. Normally, she never uses curse words.
She asked Qiuye: "Why does someone who bullied me feel no pressure at all now? Is she becoming more and more stupid, or am I becoming stronger?"
Qiuye carefully replied: "It must be because Madam is so powerful. If a villain wants to frame an adult like you, he is seeking death."
Yao Ji thought for a while, stopped smiling, called Xia Yu in, and ordered: "Send the confession to King Xiang to see first, and then show it to Zheng Qiao, Guo Jie and others."
Xia Yu reminded: "It's just Zheng Qia. Guo Jie knows very well that he belongs to Emperor Jianwen and Empress Ma. What if they destroy the things?"
Yao Ji snorted and ignored it. Xia Yu suddenly said: "I was confused for a moment."
Yao Ji added: "When everyone understands what's going on, you can bring a few attendants in white and take Queen Ma away directly. Then she says that Zhongzheng Hall is not suitable for her to continue living. She can live in another palace without making any public announcement."
"yes."
... When the ministers of various temples and Nangong ministers saw the confession, almost everyone remained silent on the scene. Only a few people lamented one or two words in private, "The harem should not be involved in politics, and Taizu's instructions must be followed."
Empress Ma stayed alone in the palace for a whole day and night without coming out. Early the next morning, she walked out of the palace gate without combing or washing her hair, and came to Nuange of Zhongzheng Hall to see the emperor, but was blocked by the eunuch.
She choked up and said to the closed door: "Your Majesty, we have been married for many years. I just want you to see me for the last time."
After a while, Jianwen's voice said: "Queen, please come in, and you all should step aside."
After entering the door, Queen Ma knelt down in front of Emperor Jianwen's chair and said, "I have acted wantonly and come to apologize to the Emperor."
Jianwen walked down with a livid face and helped her up with his own hands: "What's the crime?"
"Your Majesty..." Empress Ma looked at him in slight surprise. Zhu Yunwen said again: "You made a mistake, but you are not guilty. However, the pain of losing a child is unbearable, so you can be forgiven for doing something wrong.
"Empress Ma burst into tears immediately, and threw herself into Zhu Yunwen's arms. She cried more and more sadly. Zhu Yunwen patted her back gently. The couple had not had such an intimate behavior in how many years.
She had cried enough, and then she wiped her tears with red eyes and said, "The emperor wants to avenge Wen Kui. That witch and evil son don't recognize the emperor, so they were raised in vain!"
Zhu Yunwen had an expressionless face and was noncommittal. He pointed at a pot of wine on the table and said, "Drink and go on your way. You can let go of everything."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty... didn't you say that I am not guilty?" Queen Ma's eyes widened.
Zhu Yunwen said coldly: "I can't protect you, you have to pay for the wrong things you have done! You are the queen, and you have no choice but to die with dignity. Do you want to be locked up in the cold palace and be bullied and humiliated at will?"
Zhu Yunwen's tone was still stern: "Don't think that I ignore the harem and don't know anything about the past. How deep is the grudge between you and Yao Ji? Now that the situation is reversed, do you think she can easily forgive you?"
Queen Ma shook her head and said: "Is Wen Kui really dead? How will the emperor avenge him? I want to see the ending..."
Zhu Yunwen was silent for a moment, put his head close to her hair, and whispered: "I have been waiting for more than twenty years. I am not in a hurry. Everything has to wait for the opportunity. At least, I will enjoy the Ancestral Temple in a hundred years, and I will have a mention in the annals of history."
Year number."
Empress Ma gradually calmed down and said, "I can't die with such an unkempt appearance. I have to go back to dress up and change clothes. I'll take the poisoned wine with me."
She returned to the palace, slowly combed her hair, and tried on the stored silks and satins one by one. More than an hour later, the door of the palace was suddenly knocked open, and four women in white clothes and white skirts came in with swords.
Queen Ma came in. Queen Ma made a gesture and grabbed the wine bottle on the table. But immediately a woman rushed up, grabbed her wrist, and took the bottle away.
One of the women whispered: "Just take her out, put her in the carriage and tie her up."
The woman who grabbed Queen Ma's wrist said coldly: "Queen, please go alone, so that we don't have to tie you up in front of others and you will be disgraceful."
Empress Ma raised her head and laughed "haha", her whole body was trembling, she gritted her teeth and said: "Just leave, I will see what she can do!"
The woman in white looked at her from front to back and escorted her out. The eunuchs, eunuchs and maids in the palace all lowered their heads and turned a blind eye, and no one wanted to stop her.