fleeting photos

In the evening, Jiang Zhao was reviewing the memorials in the Imperial Study Room, with Gao Shengan accompanying him.

She was careless, and it took a long time to finish the approval of a book, the imperial pen was still hanging, and she didn't know what to think.

Hearing some movement suddenly, Jiang Zhao raised his head and saw Yuan Xiang coming in from outside the hall, holding a letter in his hand, carefully handed it to Gao Sheng'an, and Gao Sheng'an presented it to the imperial case.

"Your Majesty, this is the news you got from asking your servants to investigate Xu Shangshu's daughter."

Yuan Xiang nodded slightly, lowered his eyebrows, and stood aside to report.

When Jiang Zhao heard the words, he put down the memorial, took the letter and opened it to read it.

The more she looked, the tighter her brows frowned.

Xu Wen's youngest daughter, Xu Ruoyun, was an ordinary lady, the only thing that seemed special was probably the refusal of marriage that Lu Cangyu and Jiang Zhao had talked about, she really had some character.

However, Jiang Zhao didn't know that she was related to the Zhao family.

The letter said that Xu Wen's wife was the daughter of Zhao Xiang's brother, that is, Zhao Taifei's cousin. In this way, Xu Ruoyun would call Zhao Taifei's aunt.

It turned out that it was such a cause and effect that made Xie Jin encounter such a difficult situation.

Jiang Zhao hated her so much, but Concubine Zhao was the late Emperor's concubine and Jiang Zhao's elder, and Xie Jin's status was indeed not that valuable, so she couldn't make Concubine Zhao pay any price for it anyway.

She looked at Gao Sheng'an, held back her anger and asked, "I can't touch Concubine Zhao, that ruthless dog slave beside her, is there nothing I can do?"

Gao Sheng'an nodded and said: "Aunt Cheng was brought into the palace by Concubine Zhao from her mother's house. She has been with her for 30 years and has a deeper relationship than ordinary masters and servants. If His Majesty wants to punish Aunt Cheng, the concubine may be..."

"I don't want her old life." Jiang Zhao said: "But she has to pay the price."

Gao Sheng'an hesitated, seeing that His Majesty's face was livid, obviously it meant that there was no discussion.

"The servant understands, and will arrange for someone to do a good job."

Jiang Zhao nodded, looked at the letter again, and couldn't help feeling very dissatisfied with someone.

Yuan Qi.

As the saying goes, there are many troubles for beautiful women, but who knows that the same is true for men.

Did he know that Xie Jin was in trouble because of him?

The more Jiang Zhao thought about it, the angrier he became, crumpled up the letter and threw it aside.

Gao Shengan sighed inwardly, walked over and picked up the ball of paper and hid it in his sleeve, and heard Jiang Zhao ask again: "The informer and the witnesses in Gong Zhengsi, have they all been investigated?"

"The slave has already been checked carefully, and I think there will be an answer soon."

Jiang Zhao nodded, and heard Gao Sheng'an ask her: "Your Majesty...how do you want to deal with those people?"

He looked cautious, as if Jiang Zhao was going to destroy the nine clans in the next second, Jiang Zhao was annoyed by him, and deliberately said: "They killed my most important person, how do you think I should deal with them, father-in-law?"

Gao Sheng'an was taken aback by her words "the most important person", and said dryly: "Of course they should be punished, but His Majesty is benevolent, and the Longevity Day is coming, and you also said that blood should not be shed."

"That's just an excuse for Concubine Zhao."

Jiang Zhao admitted his selfishness without hesitation, and then looked at Gao Sheng'an with a smile that was not a smile, his eyes were condensed, making people dare not look directly at him.

Gao Shengan lowered his head and stared at his toes, and heard her say: "I am not a benevolent person."

In most cases, Jiang Zhao is not willing to be a faint or tyrant.

Although she doesn't feel that she is a crape myrtle star descending to earth, a real dragon emperor, she has also learned how to convince all the officials and make the people worship.

Being a king, generosity, benevolence, is just a face of the Taiping rule of the world.

The courtiers like such a majesty, and the people also like such a monarch, so Jiang Zhao learned to be such an emperor.

But in the thousands of years of history, there have been countless foolish kings, and many of them have earned the reputation of being too lenient.

In addition, it is natural to say that one thing is true. Even if an emperor who surrenders with an iron fist has never shown weakness in his life, as long as he has outstanding political achievements and expanded his territory, he can still be named as a wise king for generations.

From King Zhaowu thousands of years ago to Emperor Taizong of the Great Meng Dynasty today, they are all models.

Naturally, Jiang Zhao never thought of comparing herself with Emperor Taizong, so she has always been obediently wearing a mask, not only to give the courtiers a sense of distance, but also to give them a sense of trust.

But after she understood her feelings for Xie Jin, she was fully prepared to be a foolish king.

Although a woman is an emperor, she must face more difficulties, and she must be thoughtful in every way, so that she cannot make mistakes.

But as a gentleman, one cannot keep my sister safe, and the other cannot protect my lover well.

To be such an emperor is a bit too aggrieved.

Jiang Zhao is willing to be a benevolent king, but he does not want to be an overly benevolent person.

She lowered her eyes and set her eyes on the imperial case, looking at the memorial, the ink brush, and the gold seal.

That is power.

It is the power that can make her dare to love and even more dare to hate.

When the sun was setting, Jiang Zhao went back to Xihe Palace for dinner, and when Qing Shi said that Xie Jin had woken up, she wanted to go and have a look, but was stopped by Qing Shi.

"Xie Sizheng, I'm afraid I don't want to see you."

Xu was afraid that she would think too much, so he added: "She said that she looks hideous now, and even slaves don't want to see her."

Jiang Zhao wanted to say that she didn't dislike her, but then she thought about it, her ugly appearance was just an excuse, Xie Jin probably thought her ugly, so she didn't want to see her from the bottom of her heart.

As for Aunt Qingshi, she was probably dragged down by her.

With things in mind, Jiang Zhao felt that the food was tasteless, and dinner was useless.

"Your Majesty, the side hall has been taken care of and arranged properly."

Knowing that Jiang Zhao didn't mean to send the person out again, Qing Shi decided to take the initiative and cleared out the side hall where no one lived.

She wanted to ask for instructions on when to let Xie Jin move in. After all, it will be late at night and His Majesty should go to bed.

Jiang Zhao stood outside his sleeping hall, silent for a while, Fang said: "She doesn't want to see me, so I won't bother her, let her take care of her, and don't disturb other things, I will go to the side hall to sleep by myself."

"Your Majesty." Aunt Qing Shi gasped and persuaded, "This is against the rules."

Jiang Zhaodao: "Rules are made by people, and what I say is the rule."

As far as she said, what else can Qingshi say.

Jiang Zhao stared at the closed door of the dormitory for a while, and then remembered something again, and said, "By the way, there is news from Gong Zhengsi, don't worry Liu Gongzheng and Xu Sizheng."

Qing Shi said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, the two Xie Sizheng's whereabouts have been informed, but they didn't say anything unnecessary."

Jiang Zhao nodded and said nothing.

Although the bed in the side hall is not as spacious and comfortable as the dragon bed, Jiang Zhao is not a hypocritical person, but there is something hidden in his heart after all, as long as he closes his eyes, he will think of Xie Jin's swollen cheeks and the blood flowing from the corners of his lips.

Obviously not asleep, but it was like a nightmare, making her restless.

Jiang Zhao sat up, wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead, sat quietly for a while, and then got out of bed under the moonlight.

There was movement on her side, and the candlelight was lit outside, and the night watch maid came in to salute and ask for instructions, Jiang Zhao said: "I can't sleep, so I just walk outside the hall, you don't have to follow."

The palace maid hesitated, Jiang Zhao waved her hand and walked out.

The moon was very bright tonight, and the guards of the palace saluted one after another when they saw her pass by, but Jiang Zhao stopped them one by one with gestures.

She walked to the door of the dormitory and saw candles burning inside, and Xie Jin couldn't fall asleep even thinking about it.

Jiang Zhao stood at the door for a while, then walked slowly to the window.

Now that the weather is warm enough, the windows of the sleeping hall are not always closed tightly, and now there are just openings.

A figure was reflected on the window paper, Jiang Zhao knew who it was, although it was just a silhouette, she was still fascinated by it, until her eyes were sore, she slowly looked away.

She hesitated for a moment, then stretched out her hand and knocked on the window lattice a few times.

"who?"

A familiar voice came from inside, Jiang Zhao's throat tightened inexplicably, and he was almost speechless.

She opened her mouth, made a swallowing movement, and watched the figure on the window paper move, presumably walking to the window.

"Sister." She still opened her mouth.

Xie Jin's figure didn't move, and he didn't respond to her. Across the first floor of the window, he seemed to be relatively speechless. Looking at her figure, Jiang Zhao felt very sad.

"I'm sorry for you." Jiang Zhao reached out and touched the window paper, gently tracing the outline.

Xie Jin still ignored her, Jiang Zhao continued: "I know you can't accept my identity for a while, and you will definitely blame me for deceiving you, and you are my benefactor. Selfishness trapped you within this palace wall, even if it wasn’t for my selfishness, you wouldn’t have experienced what happened today.”

"I'm not the well-behaved Ah Zhao in your heart. I'm selfish and confused. I'm not worthy of being your sister. Just as I regret not sending you out of the palace early, you must also regret that you gave me a good meal back then."

"To you now, I'm probably just a white-eyed wolf who will repay your kindness with revenge."

"I lied to you, firstly because I didn't want to be separated from you, and secondly because the late emperor was an accomplice to wronging your family, I was afraid that you would stay away from me, and even more afraid that you would hate me.

And now, whether you hate it or not, it is beyond my control, but I just want you to know that Jiang Zhao has never been half-hearted towards Xie Jin. "

Jiang Zhao knew that Xie Jin didn't intend to talk to her, so he talked to himself, wishing he could give her his sincerity.

"It doesn't matter if you don't want to see me or talk to me."

"When your body recovers, I will let you go out of the palace to reunite with your family. They are doing well now. Don't worry, I will reverse the case for the Xie family as soon as possible and give you justice."

"Sister, this is me, the last promise I can make to you."

Jiang Zhao's voice became deeper and lower, and he leaned his forehead close to the window, as if he could get closer to Xie Jin.

Although she didn't expect Xie Jin to respond, when she saw the lights in the hall suddenly go out and everything was plunged into darkness, her heart felt like a falling stone, and she felt extremely uncomfortable.

Jiang Zhao closed his eyes, expelled the moonlight, and stood there for a long time.

It wasn't until the cold night breeze dried the tears on her face that she slowly took a step back, lowered her head to wipe her face clean, and then returned to the side hall with heavy steps to go to bed.

After blowing out the candle, Xie Jin, who was plunged into darkness, finally raised his hand and pushed open the window after a long while, leading the moonlight into the hall and shining all over her body.

There was no one outside the window, Xie Jin blinked, as if he could imagine Jiang Zhao standing there.

She reached out and touched her left ear, but she still couldn't hear it there, and she didn't talk to anyone about it.

What Jiang Zhao said just now, because her voice was not loud and she was separated from the window, she had to put her entire left ear very close to hear every word she said clearly.

Xie Jin naturally has a grudge against Jiang Zhao. No matter who has been coaxed by someone he trusts for six years, he will not be able to accept everything calmly in a short while.

But it was far from being hate.

She is not a person who likes to vent anger. Jiang Zhao shouldn't be responsible for what the late emperor did wrong.

Besides, she has been with Jiang Zhao for six years, so she has a little understanding of her nature. His Majesty was like a legend to her in the past, a person who could not be expected, let alone attained.

But that person became Ah Zhao, and the meaning to Xie Jin seemed to change accordingly.

She should have guessed already, shouldn't she?

Although Jiang Zhao had concealed something from her, but when he really thought about it, he also revealed a lot of flaws.

If she is just an ordinary imperial maid, why can she always walk freely in the palace, and often go to her at night, is it just because of His Majesty's kindness?

Also, Ah Zhao's birthday is on the same day as His Majesty's Longevity Day, Xie Jin thought it was just a coincidence.

In addition, there are little details, from the little girl she picked up in a mess six years ago, to watching the little girl grow up day by day, from the neglected princess to the ninety-five supreme being above ten thousand people .

She should have discovered it long ago, but how could she have thought that the empress who was only heard of by others and made everyone keep a secret, and Ah Zhao, who was soft and deceitful in front of her, would be the same person?

Jiang Zhao is not confused, it is Xie Jin who is confused.

She looked up at the moon, her clear and bright eyes were full of sorrow.