I dare not

The Empress Dowager turned around and walked to the bedside without waiting for his answer.

Doctor Tang answered again, saying that the wound was not serious, and the poison on the knife was also a common poison, which had been cured.Quickly, two or three hours, slow, tomorrow morning, His Majesty will wake up.

The Empress Dowager clasped her hands together, said "Amitabha" a few times, and told the maids who were watching the night to take care of her, and report to the Hall of Compassion immediately if there is any situation.

The little palace lady agreed, and the Imperial Physician Tang said again: "I will stay in the imperial hospital tonight, if your majesty has a fever at night, call me over immediately."

"Yes."

The Empress Dowager sat holding Xiang Zenan's hand for a long time, and did not return until it was completely dark.

Watching the queen mother walk out, Shangguan Boya quickly stood up and gave Gu Qiao a hand, "Are you okay? Your face is a little swollen."

Gu Qiao lowered her head, "I'm fine."

The empress dowager's well-maintained long nails had drawn a few thin bloodstains on his face, making his originally fair face look shocking.

Shangguan Boya sighed, "Blame me, the Empress Dowager... I will explain to her tomorrow when she loses her temper."

"No, she's right. General, go back first, I'll wait here." Gu Qiao lowered her eyebrows and looked very depressed.

Shangguan Boya didn't know how to comfort others, so he had to stay by his side.After standing for a while, he asked Gu Qiao: "Do you know that assassin?"

"Huh?" Gu Qiao looked away from Xiang Zenan's face, his brain was a little slow to react, "Hmm...Huang Qi, a member of King Yi, has fought against us many times."

"Agumen?"

Gu Qiao knew that Agumen was a killer organization in the hands of the old emperor, and was later mastered by King Yi. They were a group of mobs who recognized money but did not recognize people.Xiang Zenan sent someone to investigate, and after King Yi fell, the group disbanded.

"This person has done a lot of things for King Yi, so he should be a confidant or something."

Shangguan Boya stroked his chin, "Hasn't King Yi already gone to Yanzhou Island? Are you still determined?"

Gu Qiao calmed down, "On the day King Yi took control of Emperor Qing'an and issued an imperial edict, Huang Qi rescued Du Yuwen from the palace. Then Du Yuwen fell into the hands of King Yu, but there was no whereabouts of Huang Qi. It should have been expected that Huang Qi would return Lurking around the palace, we are too careless."

"Since King Yi is not dead, we can't leave this trouble behind."

Gu Qiao said, "Your Majesty promised Emperor Qing'an to protect Queen Yi's mother and son well, and he will not do anything."

Shangguan Boya smiled, "He promised but I didn't."

Gu Qiao was silent for a short while, and thought about it: "General Shangguan may not understand that he has been in the north all year round. In fact, to go to Yanzhou Island, he will pass through the Yanzhou Strait, where there are pirates all year round. Counting the days, they will soon reach the seaside. gone."

Shangguan Boya nodded thoughtfully and said, "Okay, I'll make arrangements."

It was late at night, and the candles in the hall danced and made a slight beeping sound. Gu Qiao woke up suddenly while sitting on the low stool beside the bed with her head propped up.

He reached out and touched Xiang Zenan's forehead, not sure if his temperature was considered high, so he put his own forehead on it to try again.

The little maid next to her watched nervously, swallowed and asked, "Your Majesty doesn't have a fever?"

"Well, no."

Gu Qiao turned to look at her and saw that she was too sleepy to stand still, so she said, "Go down and call Xiao Anzi over."

The palace maid curled her lips and burst into tears, "Little Anzi... he's... already dead."

"What?!" Gu Qiao was shocked, "What's going on?"

The little maid sobbed and said intermittently, "Yesterday, the Empress Dowager came over and lost her temper, and called all the maids and eunuchs on both sides of Chengxuan Hall and Qianyang Hall together... saying that the people serving His Majesty were unfaithful, something went wrong , punished a lot of people. Xiao Anzi is His Majesty's personal eunuch, and the punishment is the heaviest... After a hundred punishments, people are already dead..."

She began to cry, and Gu Qiao's whole body seemed to have fallen into the ice cave, shivering from the cold.

Xiao Anzi's voice was still in my ears,

"Gu Shiyi, do you still remember the little one?"

"It's enough for Gu Shiyi to call Xiao Anzi..."

"Gu Shiyi, the Prince's Palace invites you to go over..."

"Gu Shiyi, this is the freshly baked velvet puff pastry. Xiao Anzi packed two big boxes for you..."

There was a sharp pain in Gu Qiao's left chest, as if a sharp knife had been pierced into his heart, and the pain slowly climbed to his throat, making him want to cry out loud.

At this moment, he felt Xiang Zenan's hand move, and he hurriedly closed his eyes, swallowing the pain back.

"His Majesty?"

The eyes of the person on the bed slowly opened, as if they had been focusing for a while before they could see clearly who was in front of them.

Gu Qiao wanted to give him a smiling face, but the corners of her lips curled up, her smile was uglier than crying.

Xiang Zenan raised his hand and touched his red and swollen left cheek, his voice was hoarse, "What's wrong with you?"

Gu Qiao didn't speak.

Seeing that the emperor had woken up, the maid hurriedly poured warm water, and Gu Qiao took the cup and helped him up to drink.

Xiang Zenan was not fully awake at this time, and his head was in a daze. He glanced at the maid who was still sobbing strangely, "Why are you crying?"

Palace people are not allowed to cry in front of the emperor. The maid knew she had violated the palace rules, so she knelt down on the ground with a plop, and kowtowed, "Your Majesty, forgive me."

Xiang Zenan frowned, "Okay, stop crying."

The little maid was so frightened that she cried more and more and couldn't stop.

Xiang Zenan was annoyed by her crying and wanted to wave her out. Gu Qiao said, "Your Majesty, she is crying because...Xiao Anzi is dead."

Xiang Zenan was also taken aback, "How did you die?"

Gu Qiao glanced at the palace maid, "Say yes... the empress dowager punished them, Xiao Anzi couldn't stand it..."

"Why?" Xiang Zenan's pale face was filled with anger, "Is it because of leaving the palace today?"

The maid replied, "Yes...the court ladies and eunuchs, as well as the guards, have all been punished."

"Where's Wu Heng?"

"The chief guard also received a hundred boards and was sent to the Imperial Hospital for treatment."

Xiang Zenan thumped the bed with clenched fists, his face turned bloody with anger.He raised his hand to pinch Gu Qiao's chin, looked at his face left and right, "Is this also beaten by the Queen Mother?"

Gu Qiao looked away, "I'm fine...the Empress Dowager is also worried about Your Majesty."

"Worried about me?" Xiang Zenan was incredulous, "Worried about me and killed me at will?"

He didn't expect that the imperial grandmother would do anything to Gu Qiao, she had clearly promised him not to make things difficult for Gu Qiao.

Gu Qiao helped him to lie down, "Your Majesty, don't get angry, and be careful of the wound."

Xiang Zenan lay down, caressed the few bloodstains on his face, then lowered his hands and sighed, "Blame me for being too weak."

"We did something wrong in this matter." Gu Qiao held his hand and put it in his palm, "It's just that Xiao Anzi is too innocent."

Xiang Zenan turned his head and said to the little maid: "You go out first."

The little maid stood up and walked out the door backwards.

"We were at fault for this matter. Your Majesty, please don't quarrel with the Empress Dowager because of this. Little Anzi...needs to be buried properly. If he has parents and family members, he should also be properly cared for."

Xiang Zenan was silent for a long time, "The imperial grandmother interfered too much with me."

Gu Qiao's heart skipped a beat, "But she...she is the Empress Dowager after all."

"Hmm." He stopped talking, staring at the top of the bed wondering what he was thinking.

After a while, Gu Qiao asked, "Is Your Majesty hungry?"

Xiang Zenan shook his head and stepped in, "Come up."

"No, Your Majesty needs a good rest."

"Come up." This time with an unquestionable tone.

Gu Qiao took off her shoes and lay down with her clothes on.

The two were lying side by side, and Xiang Zenan held his hand, "I'm to blame for this incident, I'm sorry for bothering you."

"Your Majesty, don't say that. It's also my negligence for not persuading Your Majesty."

Xiang Zenan stood up and stared at him with a gloomy expression, "Are you sure you want to tell me this now?"

Gu Qiao was taken aback by his appearance, she didn't know why he was so angry all of a sudden.

But the moment Xiang Zenan stood up, he suddenly felt dizzy and made his eyes go black, he didn't want Gu Qiao to see it, so he lay down again, took Gu Qiao's whole arm in his hand and said, "Go to sleep. "

Neither of them slept, but neither spoke.

Gu Qiao's heart was in a state of confusion, and many words were scrambling to come out of her mouth, but her throat was blocked and she couldn't utter a word.

It's been a long time since Xiang Zenan ascended the throne, and they haven't talked properly.

Maybe it was deliberately avoiding, but every time he talked about what to do in the future, Gu Qiao himself became timid, not daring to ask or say anything.I covered my ears and covered my eyes, as if the problem didn't exist.

Gu Qiao knew in her heart that he should stand in a proper position for a monarch and his subjects, and should stand among the officials with loyalty and piety, instead of lying here beside the emperor in a non-embarrassing capacity.

He often stayed up all night, repeatedly building his own armor in his heart to resist the temptation called Xiang Zenan.But as long as Xiang Zenan beckoned to him, he would immediately throw away his helmet and armor and be defeated.

It was already a complete failure.

He felt that every step he took was like stepping on thin ice, and he didn't know which step he would make the seemingly safe ice surface collapse.

This time the wrong thing killed Xiao Anzi, will it cause even bigger disasters in the future?

When Xiang Zenan woke up the next day, the person next to him was gone.

Doctor Tang came over early in the morning to feel his pulse, "Your Majesty is fine, pay more attention to rest these few days, and he will recover soon."

"Well, thank you, Doctor Tang."

He got off the bed and told the maid to change his clothes and prepare to go to court.

But the palace lady said: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has sent someone to the previous court, saying that the court has been cancelled."

Xiang Zenan frowned, "When will the harem be able to decide the affairs of the former court?"

The maid immediately knelt down, "Last night, Eunuch Li from the Ciming Palace came to tell you."

It was only then that Xiang Zenan realized that the court lady looked strange, "Who are you?"

"The slave is the sapphire sent by the Empress Dowager yesterday."

"Sent by the Empress Dowager yesterday?" Anger rose in Xiang Zenan's heart, "Where's the maid from before?"

This court lady turned out to be the eldest court lady next to the Empress Dowager, and she was quite calm in the face of danger. Facing the emperor's angry questioning, she replied in a calm tone: "The Empress Dowager tidied up the harem yesterday, and the servants in each palace The people have been changed, and the former maid may have been assigned to another palace."

"Rectify the harem?" Xiang Zenan laughed angrily, "It's good to tidy up the harem."

The court ladies who washed the emperor came in one after another holding trays, and four of the five were unfamiliar faces.

Xiang Zenan knew that it was useless to get angry at his servants, so he took a deep breath and stood dumbly to let them serve him.

At this time, the sharp voice of Eunuch Li from the Hall of Ciming came from outside the door: "The Empress Dowager is here."