Xie Xiang

The palace is sinister, and people are haunted by ghosts.

Before she entered the palace, her grandmother said so, after entering the palace, she also learned to calculate people's hearts.But Liu Zao didn't realize that something was wrong. If she wanted to survive, she couldn't expect them to let her go lightly. She had to do something.

However, Zhonghuangmen saw through her thoughts at a glance.Young and inexperienced, always timid.Liu Zao's complexion was pale, and he said slowly: "Zao grew up in Hanshu, and he doesn't know the affairs of the palace and the world. The Empress Dowager really chose the wrong person."

She avoided talking about winning people's hearts, and only said that she had no talent to be a king, and the queen mother chose the wrong person.

Zhonghuangmen's gaze was deep, and after thinking for a while, Fang said: "I will rely on the emperor's grandson, and the emperor's grandson should not forget the help of my servant today."

After finishing speaking, he looked at the eunuchs and ordered them to let go of Hu Ao and the others, then said his goodbyes and left in a hurry.

Zhonghuangmen's retreat was not to switch to Liu Zao, but to say that this matter was neither small nor big. He took a step back and made a favor with Liu Zao. If Liu Zao can restore the dignity of the Holy Son of Heaven in the future, he will make a contribution to it , if he can't, he won't lose much.

After all, it's just a matter of effort.

Liu Zao could clearly see that her meticulous calculations were just a matter of little effort to others. Such a comparison is really frustrating.But Liu Zao didn't feel depressed for too long, and cheered up again.

At least she succeeded.

Hu Ao and others stepped forward and said: "Thank you, the emperor and grandson, for saving me."

Liu Zao looked away from the gate of the courtyard, Hu Ao and others fell on the ground, she could only see the rear wings of their crowns.She didn't ask them to get up immediately, but Hu Ao and the others fell on the ground, not daring to move. Compared with before, they were very respectful.

Liu Zao pursed his lips slightly, and said, "There is no need to be too polite."

The four of them stood up.They already understood that the emperor's grandson may not be as powerful as the empress dowager, but he can also determine their life and death, and even save them in a critical situation.

Liu Zao returned to the couch and sat down, she began to think again.

Curious teenagers tend to think more, while calm and curious teenagers think deeper.

Liu Zao is always thinking, watching more, listening more and talking less, she has been like this since she was a child, presumably it is her nature.

This time, she was thinking about what the emperor said before he left.The disgust and hatred revealed in his words, like a leech, sucked on Liu Zao's body, making her uneasy as if she was being stared at by a poisonous snake.The hatred didn't seem to be just because she entered the palace, even if she didn't enter the palace, he still hated her so much.

"The emperor hates me very much." Liu Zao muttered to himself.

She was a little absorbed in her thoughts, when a voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

"Your Majesty, Mrs. Li and Sun Ye." It was Gongsun Chuo's voice.

Liu Zao regained consciousness, looked over, and asked, "Madam Li?"

Hu Ao's expression moved, but he didn't speak, nor did he stop Gongsun Chuo from continuing.

"Mrs. Li is Emperor Wu's favorite concubine, very similar to Empress Wei."

Liu Zao had a feeling, and asked with a smile, "Do you look alike?"

Gongsun Chuo shook his head: "Mrs. Li should be much more beautiful." After she finished speaking, she showed an uneasy expression, and said, "My maidservant and maidservant only hear about it when the old palace servants are free."

From her looks, she is only eighteen or nineteen years old, and probably has entered the palace for less than ten years, so naturally she has never personally experienced the affairs of Emperor Wu's dynasty.

Liu Zao was not disappointed at all, and did not immediately investigate whether what she said was true or not, but said with great interest: "It doesn't matter, just keep talking."

Seeing this, Gongsun Chuo became bolder and told all she knew.

Emperor Wu's empress Wei's family, her husband, was originally a kabuki in the residence of Princess Pingyang, the eldest sister of Emperor Wu.One day, Emperor Wu of the imperial family came to the princess's house to visit my sister.Princess Pingyang chose more than ten sons of good families to dedicate to Emperor Wu.However, Emperor Wu was not satisfied, but only looked at Wei Zifu singing in the hall.

Because of this, Wei Zifu was favored. After Emperor Wu returned to the palace, the princess sent her into the palace. When she parted, she also said: "You are precious, and you will never forget."

The son-in-law entered the palace and gradually gained favor.However, Emperor Wu's ambition was revealed, and he wanted to use troops against the Xiongnu who invaded every year. Wei Qing, Zifu's younger brother, was working in Jianzhang Palace at that time, so he fell into the eyes of Emperor Wu for some reason.Wei Qing was courageous and brave, and calmly knew the soldiers. He was a natural general, and Emperor Wu treated him with great kindness.

Afterwards, Empress Chen used flattery to injure people and invited them to favor her, and she practiced witchcraft in the palace. Emperor Wu was furious when he heard about it, and deposed Empress Chen and ordered her to retreat to Nagato Palace.

When the Chen family was abolished, the post became vacant. At that time, Zifu had been favored for ten years and gave birth to the eldest son for Emperor Wu.Emperor Wu had been on the throne for 12 years, and at the age of 29, he had a son, who was overjoyed and named him Shi.

Soon after, Wei Zifu was established.

Wei's family became a relative at once, and he was unparalleled.But Wei Qing is not like ordinary relatives who live in the favor of nepotism. Instead, he is dressed in military uniform and sent his troops to the north. The big man washes away the humiliation of marriage.

Wei's family, five of them were named Marquis, and became extremely noble in the court.

Liu Zao listened carefully, and when she heard Wei Qing's name, her eyes became more focused.My grandmother often told her stories, and the name of General Wei Qing was often mentioned, and Liu Zao admired him very much.

Prosperity must decline, and the story will take a sharp turn when it reaches its peak.After Gongsun Chuo continued speaking, his tone was not as passionate as before.

A woman's face will always age, her beauty will age, and the king's favor will no longer be, and the emperor's eyes will turn to other beauties.

Empress Wei has been favored for 15 years, and there are more and more beauties in Emperor Wu's palace.Mrs. Li, Zhao Jieyu, Mrs. Gouyi and many other beauties appeared one after another.

The emperor's grandmother was Mrs. Li.

Mrs. Li is similar to Empress Wei, first of all, they are similar in origin, Empress Wei was born as a singer, and Mrs. Li is a dancer.Another similarity is that Empress Wei came from Princess Pingyang's mansion, and Mrs. Li was also sent to the palace by Princess Pingyang.

The third similarity is that Empress Wei had a younger brother named Wei Qing, who went out to conquer the Huns, and was powerful and outstanding in military exploits.Mrs. Li has an older brother named Li Guangli, who also went out to conquer Dawan and the Huns, and was made a Marquis for his military exploits.

Such a comparison is really similar.

Liu Zao didn't know Madam Li, but she knew Li Guangli.No matter how calm a young man is, he will inevitably have his own likes and dislikes.Hearing Wei Qing's name, Liu Zao's eyes were full of light, and hearing Li Guangli's name, his eyes showed indifference.

It's not that Wei Shi is closer to her, but that Li Guangli's record is not very good.When he first conquered Dawan, he couldn't even capture a small city. He didn't think about how to capture the city. Instead, he was afraid of exhaustion and hunger, and wanted to return to the capital.Emperor Wu was so angry that he sent an envoy to stop in front of Yumen Pass, and scolded: "Soldiers who dare to enter the pass will be killed."

How can such a person be compared with the invincible general Wei Qing.

"Ms. Li once coveted the throne and competed with the Queen of Guards. But she died before she could do anything." Gongsun Chuo said, "There are rumors in the palace that it was the Queen of Guards who killed her. Presumably Your Majesty has listened to the rumors. .”

It turned out to be the case, Liu Zao suddenly realized.The emperor hated her grandmother for killing his grandmother.

Just as she thought so, Hu Ao who was silent by the side suddenly said: "There is another rumor in the palace that Mrs. Li and the queen have a deep relationship, and the queen took good care of Mrs. Li. Instead, she was weak after giving birth and died of a serious illness.”

She had just believed one kind of rumor, but another rumor came one after another.Liu Zao was surprised, paused for a moment and said: "Are there many rumors like this in the palace?"

Hu Ao said implicitly: "The rumors in the palace are that the elders say that the younger ones, the people who tell them are different, and the people who listen to them are different. There are inevitably differences between them. The people in those days are no longer there, and there is nowhere to ask for evidence. Gradually. Yes, I don’t seek the truth, but wonder.”

Liu Zao understood what he meant. He meant that there were many rumors, and the sources were unverifiable.

Grandmother's family is quiet, and the servants and maidservants will immediately implement what the master says, there are few mistakes, so naturally what they say is what they say.Liu Zao has always seen since childhood that one is one and two is two. He has never experienced such a situation where one thing can have many interpretations.

She wasn't used to it, but she didn't know why, and she felt that it should be so. It seemed that she was not so at a loss for such a situation, but... developed a strong interest.

She thought for a while and said, "Thank you for clarifying my doubts."

The four of them were terrified and did not even dare to speak.

She still wanted to know more, but she didn't know what the four of them knew, so she tentatively asked: "Is there someone guarding this palace?"

It was Hu Ao who answered, he was the head of the four palace guards: "There are Changle palace guards stationed here." He was very clever, and he was very open-minded. He had already seen the methods of the emperor and grandson, and he was afraid, so he never thought about it. Then, between the emperor and the empress dowager, without waiting for Liu Zao to ask again, he answered very frankly: "Since the late emperor passed away, the empress dowager will go to worship in front of the spirit every month on the [-]th, and today happens to be this day , Your Majesty must have known about this and came here at the right time. Although the Changle Palace Guards acted according to the Queen Mother's order, if the Queen Mother was not there, they would not dare to obstruct Your Majesty too much. Many things have not been sorted out, and it is inevitable that there will be gaps.”

The unavoidable omission means that there are many people in the Changle Palace, and not all of them may be interested in the Empress Dowager.

He spoke very detailed and well-organized, and Liu Zao understood everything. Apart from these things, she became curious about Hu Ao's background and asked, "Where did you serve in the past?"

Hu Ao hesitated for a moment, knelt down and replied: "Before serving the emperor's grandson, the young one sweeps the courtyard outside the Jiaofang Hall. The Empress Dowager moved to Changle Palace. The Zhonghuang Gate liked the young one's cleverness, and sent the young one to serve the emperor's grandson."

He said, afraid that the emperor's grandson, who was better than the folks, would not understand the layout of the palace, and explained: "The Jiaofang Palace is located in the Weiyang Palace, which is the residence of the Empress. When the first emperor was still alive, the Empress Dowager lived in this palace."

In this way, he was a member of the Empress Dowager's Palace from the very beginning.

Liu Zao looked at Gongsun Chuo, and Gongsun Chuo also knelt on the ground, and replied: "The servant girl was originally a flower planter in the Jiaofang Palace, and took care of the flowers and trees for the Empress Dowager."

Liu Zao then asked the other two people, their origins were not much different. They both served the queen at the time in the Jiaofang Palace, which is now the queen mother, but they were not very useful. There is a word in front of the Queen Mother.

They are not very powerful palace people, and it is useless to gather them together. If they are replaced by others, they may be frustrated, but Liu Zao is not. She is very happy. To her, anyone in the palace is very valuable and can be with her. Tell a lot of things she didn't know before.

She made them all stand up, and then asked her most concerned question: "What kind of person do you think Prime Minister Xie is?"

The four of them hesitated, Gongsun Chuo said hesitantly: "My grandson, we are all humble people, how dare we judge noble people."

Liu Zao hurriedly said: "It's not a criticism, just to say that she was the one who took me into the palace that day, and I'm a little curious about her." Fearing that they didn't know where to start, Liu Zao took the initiative to start the conversation and asked, "Thank you, Mrs. It seems that she is very young, when did she become the prime minister? I am afraid it will not be easy?"

She asked specific questions, and the palace people had something to say.

Hu Ao replied: "It's not long since Prime Minister Xie paid homage to the Prime Minister. This happened last year. The young one is in the harem and doesn't know the important events of the previous dynasty. The age of Prime Minister Xie is unknown."

The remaining three also said they did not know.

Liu Zao asked again: "Worshiping the prime minister last year? Did the late emperor rely heavily on thanking the prime minister?"

Hu Ao knows a little about this, but he only knows the general idea: "The first emperor practiced the old age, and there were many veterans in the court. The first emperor had many things that he couldn't do. I heard that Xie Xiang was very important to the late emperor because she could explain it. The predicament of the late emperor?"

Being able to solve the predicament of the late emperor means that she can help the late emperor to control the power, so that all government orders in the court are issued by the emperor instead of relying on old officials.

With such a great talent, it was reasonable for the late emperor to worship her as his prime minister.

Liu Zao became more curious about Xie Yi, wanting to know more, such as how she solved the late emperor's troubles, and why she joined the empress dowager's camp after the late emperor's death.

It's a pity that the palace people don't know about these things.

Liu Zao felt a little sorry.Then he asked about the Queen Mother.

This speech, then to the night.

This day is the most fulfilling day for Liu Zao since entering the palace.Seeing the reckless emperor, he gathered the four palace servants over. Although they could not be expected to be loyal, at least they were willing to tell her what they knew.

I also know many secrets about the court during Emperor Wu's time, and why Prime Minister Xie paid homage to Prime Minister.

Unfortunately, she didn't know enough about Xie Yi.

Before she went to bed, she was thinking about why Xie Yi didn't support Liu Jian with the Queen Mother at first, but instead came to the emperor's ascension to the throne.

She knew that if she only relied on the knowledge of the four palace people to think in this small palace, she would not be able to figure it out. At least she had to wait for her to go out from here and meet more people before she could find some clues.

Originally thought that it would take a long time to clear up the confusion, but he didn't expect that day to come so quickly, and it was Xie Yi who personally told her the reason.

At noon four days later, on the 11th day when Liu Zao entered the palace, she had lunch and sat in the courtyard to enjoy the flowers.

A small flower bloomed in the courtyard. I couldn't recognize its name, but it was very beautiful, and the flowers were crowded in clusters, very bright and beautiful.The palace people moved a couch from the room for the emperor and grandson to sit on.This couch can accommodate two people, and there is a long table in front of the couch, with several plates of fruits on the table.

Little Huangsun grew up among the people, but her style of conduct is not vulgar, perhaps because she is relatively calm, holding a cup of water to drink, and eating with chopsticks, all of which are not rushed, but instead show demeanor.

She looked at the fruit, but did not touch it, but picked up a glass.

The wine glass is a drinking vessel, which can hold wine or soup. There are many kinds of gold, copper, jade or wood.The wine glass Liu Zao held in his hand was made of jade and filled with honey water.Honey water is prepared by mixing honey with warm soup. It is slightly sweet and has a faint sweet fragrance. Liu Zao likes to drink it when he is at home.

She brought the wine glass to her lips, and was about to drink it when the courtyard door suddenly opened.Liu Zao paused, looked up, and saw Xie Yi walking quickly through the door.