Qinse is in the imperial court, forgetting both favor and disgrace

The prince was rejected by the queen mother again, maybe he was already prepared, or because his father was in front of him, he didn't lose his composure and cry, tears welled up in his eyes, and after bowing his head, he left silently surrounded by his attendants .

Li Lang waited for the prince to stay away, retreated the crowd, smiled at Empress Xie and said, "How did Lan'er become so hard-hearted? Don't you always cherish the prince the most? This is you, and the cornerstone of your Xie family's future success. "

Empress Xie was indifferent, she looked at Li Lang with empty eyes, she worshiped under Li Lang, lifeless, like a wooden puppet, and even her tone was like a dead branch with fallen leaves: "My concubine is guilty .”

"Convicted?" Li Lang said with a smile, he lowered his head and stared at Queen Xie, with the corner of his mouth slightly raised.

If you were an ordinary person, this is his first marriage partner. On the day of his wedding, he lived under the shade of the Xie family, trembling like walking on thin ice. With this mentality, he was courteous to this domineering woman. , Swallow your breath.

It is unbearable to look back—what kind of arrogant and arrogant person was he?

To this day, this woman is still able to wear a queen's court dress and a round crown decorated with nine dragons and four phoenixes. The majesty and awe-inspiring appearance of the mother of the country seem to allow no offense.

Li Lang sneered, feeling extremely intrusive, but still bent over, helped Empress Xie up, and said: "Lan'er has given herself to the palace, my harem can be said to be well-organized, peaceful and peaceful, what is the queen's fault?"

He took Empress Xie into the seat, and felt that the woman's arm was as cold as a stone, but the sympathy that had just arisen was dazzled by the clothes behind her, and it disappeared. As soon as he let go, Empress Xie straightened Straight into the chair.

Li Lang stood with his back to Empress Xie, pondered for a moment, and then looked back, but Empress Xie prostrated herself on the ground again, took off her crown and put it aside, he frowned slightly, feeling unhappy, this always stupid and arrogant woman, how could she seem Reborn, how to advance and retreat?

After pondering for a while, Li Lang asked straight to the point: "You handed over the Empress's Jade Seal to someone else, and you don't want to meet the Crown Prince. Did you already foresee what will happen today?"

Empress Xie's expression did not change, as if she had never heard of it, she said: "The concubine thought that he would never see His Majesty again in this life. Not only did His Majesty come here in person, but he also brought the prince with him. Can the concubine be lucky? Your Majesty is still thinking about the last half of the husband and wife. Feelings?"

She finally raised her head to look at Li Lang, with a bit of sadness leaking from her wooden expression.

Li Lang was not completely unmoved by the haggard description of this incomparable person. After all, how could it be possible for a young couple to have no lively and loving past?

He sighed to Empress Xie, and said, "Sit down and talk—you know I'm here today, just..."

Li Lang frowned again, he couldn't bear to tell the cruel decision in front of Queen Xie.

Empress Xie was unmoved, nodded and said: "Yes, I know that I have sinned deeply. Whether it is a foot of white silk or a cup of poisonous wine, I will kneel down to thank His Majesty for your kindness, and I have no complaints. It's just...just, Before the concubine goes on the road, there are some things that I have only come to realize recently, so I have to tell His Majesty one by one, so that I can feel at ease."

She slammed forward on her knees, knocked her head on Li Lang's feet, and said in a trembling voice: "The concubine knows that if your majesty wants to get rid of the concubine, you must not keep the concubine alive. Even for the prince, the concubine must die." No—but, but, it is for the prince! Concubine, concubine can't just watch His Majesty put the prince in danger!"

When the words fell, Empress Xie was choked up, her arched back trembled violently, and after a while, she tilted her body and fell down in front of Li Lang, panting endlessly.

Li Lang wanted to see Empress Xie's death to the west today with his own eyes, but at last he moved the benevolence and brought the crown prince to meet his birth mother for the last time, but he didn't think that it was this kindness that made the daughter of Xie's family die. Determination.

He ordered Empress Xie to be woken up, helped her into the bed in the sleeping hall, and after she drank some warm water, slowly recovered, Li Lang drove away the idlers again, stood on the bedside, and looked at Empress Xie calmly.

Empress Xie struggled to get up, got down from the couch with difficulty, and still knelt down for Li Lang.

Li Lang didn't stop him, and said calmly: "You don't need to worry about the prince's future, as long as he doesn't make a big mistake, I don't intend to keep it easy."

"Your Majesty, my concubine will repay you in the next life." Empress Xie said with tears in her eyes, her eyes were dry, she looked at Li Lang and said, "What this concubine wants to tell Your Majesty is about Xie Lian, Xie's family and people in the harem. .Your Majesty worries about work during the night and works hard on state affairs, and cannot be distracted by the harem. The courtiers and concubines are named masters, but in fact..."

She let out a long sigh, and didn't wait for Li Lang to ask questions one by one. She explained all the visions in the harem over the years, in the way she could, to the best of her knowledge.

The more Li Lang listened, the more frightened he became, his complexion gradually darkened. He suppressed many emotions and did not interrupt Empress Xie's narration, but only pulled her up halfway and made her sit on the couch.

Even though he knew that the gentry headed by Xie Lian was powerful and astonishing, if it hadn't been for Queen Xie's mouth, Li Lang's eyes, which were accustomed to focusing on the court, soldiers and horses, would not have turned back to his own harem.

According to Empress Xie, the master of the harem is not her, the empress who is supporting Xie's daughter, but the real person who manages it is the empress dowager who appears to be indifferent to world affairs.

Since the Xie family helped the clan of Eastern Chu to plan the river and found the country, firmly occupying the left side of the river, and pushing the territory to the border of the Huaihe River, the Huainan Salt Field located in the south of the Yangtze River has been in charge of the family. No matter whether it is cooking salt or even collecting taxes, it is all on behalf of the officials. Monopolized, after a few years, not to mention the wealth is incomparable to the country, but it is really rich and rich.

In recent years, Li Lang has been slowly weakening the power of the Xie family, including the means of using the power of the country to raise money. As far as he knows, the money Xie Lian hoarded, apart from opening up the joints of the court and managing the capital, is still secretly feeding. Death.

It was precisely because he was worried that Zhao Rang would be assassinated by Xie's family that day, so he rushed out of the city overnight to welcome the tyrant who had surrendered from South Vietnam.

Just like yesterday.

Empress Xie didn't pay attention to Li Lang's strange expression, and continued, Xie Lian spared no effort to spend a lot of money to keep the only blood of the Li family from the Xie family, and secretly handed it over to Empress Xie, ordering her to bribe the Empress Dowager, cheat the world, and buy the eyes and ears of the entire harem, Lay down the sky and the earth.

It is impossible for Li Lang to be unaware of such unscrupulousness, but he has never regarded the emperor's heir as the most important thing, so he just opened his eyes and closed his eyes.

However, I heard that the empress dowager did not care about it because she got the money from the Xie family, not because she was cowardly and indifferent by nature. Recalling that the empress dowager had always tried to persuade him to give more rain and dew, Li Lang felt a sense of coolness, although he did not fully believe in Empress Xie. As he spoke, he remained calm, and asked calmly, "How did your father send money, silk, gold and silver into the forbidden area of ​​the harem? Could it be that all the people around me are used by your Xie family?"

Empress Xie shook her head and said something even more astonishing.

It turns out that the money used for bribery is not real gold and silver, and of course it is not copper, iron, cloth and grain. It originated in the Kingdom of Shu, and in Eastern Chu, it was based on the powerful financial resources of the Xie family and other gentry. Make a voucher.

There is a denomination on this item, and once you leave the palace, you can exchange it with Xie's family for cash, which is convenient and concealed, and is especially liked by the eunuchs in the palace. A secret carrier.

Empress Xie said: "The Empress Dowager is not just devoutly paying respects to the Buddha. As far as my concubines know, since your majesty ascended the throne, the incense offerings to Da Chong'en Temple in the palace have been cut off by the empress dowager all these years. The huge amount of small and small expenses for supporting the monks was all secretly sent into the palace by my father Xie Lian, and then exchanged by others."

At this point, she saw that Li Lang's face was gloomy, and she was still silent. She was afraid that Li Lang would still be suspicious of her and slipped again in desperation. Knowing that you are bound to die, why bother to speak out and separate His Majesty's mother and son? It's just that the concubine's father has deep roots, and the concubine is afraid that His Majesty will not be able to beat him, so the concubine will not die with peace!"

Li Lang was finally moved. He looked at Empress Xie, and said with a smile: "You hate Xie Lian so much, it can't be that you and I are deeply in love with each other, right? There is an old saying that 'everyone can be a husband', but the father is only one person, you want me to believe it How can I trust you?"

"Because of the prince." Empress Xie's answer was sonorous and forceful, "Xie Lian poisoned my son to be weak and weak so that he could control it in the future because of the power of the Xie family; and... the queen mother knew the root cause of this matter, but she also did it for the sake of the Buddha's gold." Yin, turning a blind eye to the life and death of his grandson."

She smiled sadly, shook her head and sighed, "The poor child seems to be born noble, but in fact he is worse than ordinary people. They don't care about the bond of flesh and blood, so why should Lan'er be so devoted to them?"

"...So you were looking for Zhao Rang that day, and it was Tuogu?" Li Lang raised his eyebrows, "You believe that he will win my favor in the future, and you can't continue the emperor's heir, so you handed over the crown prince to him?"

Empress Xie finally had tears in her eyes, and the moment they rolled down, she bowed her head deeply to Li Lang.

Li Lang sighed: "This is the nature of your mother and child. I will not blame you. Born in the emperor's family, you have to suffer and suffer. You are willing to sacrifice your life for the prince. This is the prince's blessing. He will certainly not." Forget about you loving mother."

After a short pause, the topic suddenly changed, and the warmth in Li Lang's tone disappeared, "It is imperative to break up with your father, and regardless of whether you can be of any use in it, as long as you live, It will be difficult for the crown prince to completely sever the Xie family, not to mention retaining the reserve position, I am afraid that even the prince's honor will be difficult to retain, and it is not impossible to be demoted to the common people."

"The concubine knows. Please make an order from your majesty. The concubine... can be sent on the road by your majesty. I am overjoyed in my heart. I just beg your majesty. Even if the situation changes suddenly in the future, the prince will no longer be the prince, and it will be seen in his current situation. For the sake of suffering, let him live."

After finishing speaking, Empress Xie bowed her head again, but never raised her head again.

Li Lang was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Okay, I promise you."

He didn't say any more, and he didn't even look at Empress Xie again, turned around and summoned his servant, and said in a low voice: "Bring the treasure given to the empress, and leave the rest to you, I... won't stay here for long. "

In the middle of the night that day, Chonghua Palace, where Empress Xie moved, was ravaged by Zhu Rong. The flames shot up into the sky, and the flames were raging. Fortunately, the rescue was timely, and the fire did not spread, and only the palace was burned.

The Empress Xie was buried in the sea of ​​fire that night, and her posthumous title was mourned.