Chapter 326 A Big Defeat, Another New Way
When Shazhou was ready to fight in cooperation and thoroughly eradicate Kuang Shihan and his son, something in Imperial Palace, Jing City, happened.
In Hall of Taishi, Palace of Ganquan, everyone was frightened.
“Xue Chang! The Jiang Family!” Empress Dowager Gu’s face was ferocious. She hysterically swept all the furnishings from the table in front of her. Her favorite curiosities crashed in an instant, which also could not calm her down. “Are you all rubbish? You don’t know when Xue Chang joined the Jiang Family and even let them cooperate in front of me.”
Tang Zimo and others of the Empress Dowager’s party were silent and didn’t dare to speak.
Usually, even if other people didn’t dare to speak, Tang Zimo was sure to persuade Empress Dowager Gu. But at present, he was also among the people that Empress Dowager Gu scolded, and even specifically he was scolded by her. After all, besides Empress Dowager Gu in the Empress Dowager’s party, the most important member was him.
He usually took the advantage first. But now when something went wrong, he was responsible.
It took Empress Dowager Gu who was so mad an hour to stop. Seeing that she was exhausted, Maid Zheng immediately served a cup of tea to her.
After drinking some tea and moistening her throat, Empress Dowager Gu lifted her eyelids and looked at the crowd fiercely, “Now what will you do? Say something.”
There was a commotion in the crowd. After a very careful meeting, Tang Zimo stood up and saluted, “As for Your Highness, Prince of Zhou… I’m afraid you have to give him up.”
To be honest, he also felt very sad when he said this. Although Princess Zhou was Gu E’nuo, the Princess Shou’an, who he hated, his granddaughter Tang Xinqiong was the concubine of Prince of Zhou.
He had failed to invest in Tang Xinyao, Princess Yan. But even if Prince of Yan was not expected to inherit the crown, it was still a great honor that his granddaughter was a Princess. Prince of Zhou’s current affair was regicide, also patricide. If he could commit suicide by imperial oder, it would be the kindness of Emperor. As for family members, they would be reduced to common people at least. If it was more serious, they should die.
But Tang Zimo’s heartbreaking proposal only made Empress Dowager Gu sneer, “Give up? Prince of Yan has been given up, and now it is Prince of Zhou. Even if I have many grandchildren, do you think the prince is worthless? ”
Tang Zimo deliberated for a while and then said cautiously, “Your Highness, it’s not that I don’t want to speak for His Royal Highness Prince of Zhou. It’s because that Xue Chang has taken out the evidence about His Majesty’s poisoning. We have been deliberating these days, but we have no idea. Moreover, Xue Chang has a very high reputation in the community and we are not equal to him. Now that he has announced evidence, we are afraid that the public won’t believe our explanation for Your Highness Prince of Zhou.”
He knew that abandoning Prince of Zhou would bring a great blow to the Empress Dowager’s party. The Crown Prince they supported was a person who killed Emperor and rebelled against his family. In addition, Xue Chang was also ruthless and defined that Prince of Zhou was fighting for the status of crown prince. As long as the Empress Dowager’s party admitted or acquiesced the crime of Prince of Zhou, it was to admit the crown prince of the Seventh Prince.
This meant that Empress Dowager’s party failed completely.
But Tang Zimo did not admit defeat. He continued to a.n.a.lyze, “His Majesty was poisoned and the tomb of General of Warrior was dug. The two things happened in a short period. They were connected and were done by the same person in Xue Chang’s view. We think that Xue Chang had already cooperated with the Jiang Family. He just pretended to mediate before.”
“So?” Empress Dowager Gu asked indifferently with a gloomy face.
“So since Xue Chang dares to attack his Royal Highness Prince of Zhou, we think that even if we try our best to protect his Highness Prince of Zhou, our efforts may be expected by Xue Chang and the Jiang Family.” Tang Zimo said in a silent voice, “At that time, they will be ready to defend, but we will be in a hurry. The end will be just like this time. We will possibly lose.”
Empress Dowager Gu said angrily, “Enough! My ears are not deaf. You don’t need to keep saying that you want to give up Prince of Zhou. I’m asking you what to do after giving him up. Should I quit and then wait for the b.i.t.c.h Jiang Tianluan to give me a cup of poisoned wine and kill me?”
“Your Highness, we are sorry.” Hearing this, Tang Zimo and others all kneeled down to plead guilty.
After Empress Dowager Gu calmed down, Tang Zimo continued to say, “Your Highness, it’s only Prince of Zhou and several palace people who are responsible for the regicide. It has nothing to do with you. You are the birth mother of Your Majesty. Will you do harm to your children? You are a mother. No matter how well Xue Chang’s reputation is in the public, he dares not slander you like this. Otherwise, with his ambition, how could he only aim at His Royal Highness Prince of Zhou? ”
Empress Dowager Gu sneered, “So what? Without Prince of Zhou, even if I support Prince of Cai or others, according to the current situation, can we fight against the b.i.t.c.h Jiang? Xue Chang kept saying that he supports the Seventh Prince as the crown prince.”
Tang zime said, “Your Highness, even if the Seventh Prince becomes the owner of the East Palace, he will respect his grandmother, won’t he?”
Empress Dowager Gu frowned and thought of something. She murmured,
“The world knows that the Seventh Prince is smart, so he is appreciated by Empress.” Tang Zimo squinted and said, “Your Highness, please think more. Since the prince is such a man with wisdom, how can he be willing to be a puppet of the Jiang Family? What’s more, everyone knows that the Jiang Family is irascible, and Empress is tricky and cruel. She doesn’t have the tolerance that Empress should have. And Your Highness holds the government yourself. You are close to His Majesty and the Seventh Prince after all.”
“Do you mean to win over the Seventh Prince?” Empress Dowager Gu hesitated, “But Empress watches him so cautiously that my people can’t see him at all.”
Tang Zimo heard that Empress Dowager Gu had already moved. She just thought it was not so easy to poach from the Jiang Family, so he offered his advice and said, “Empress may be able to stop the people sent by Your Highness and the Seventh Prince may be afraid of Empress and don’t dare to see them. But what if Your Highness goes to see your grandson yourself? Can Her Majesty stop you? And the Seventh Prince doesn’t dare to refuse to see you.”
“And now there’s a good chance. That is Empress Dowager Ye’s death. Although officials in the court don’t remember her, Empress seems to have the intention to bury her according to the Empress Dowager’s system. In this way, the Crown Prince, all princes and princesses, including Your Majesty and Empress, will come to the memorial ceremony. It’s reasonable that Your Highness goes there in person, and then you will be able to contact the Seventh Prince.”
Although Empress Dowager Ye was only the step queen of the former emperor, Empress Dowager Gu was only the former emperor’s concubine. It was right for concubines to go to mourn queens.
It was just that Empress Dowager Gu never respected the former queen after her son became the emperor. If it was not that Empress Dowager Ye had some means, she would have been dead for a long time, let alone keeping her position as Empress Dowager. Moreover, it was Empress Dowager Ye who instructed Empress Jiang to have Princess Yongfu at that time. Fortunately, she was only a princess. If she was a prince, Empress Dowager Gu would have fallen behind. After all, most people would support the idea of making the first-born Prince the Crown Prince. According to the character of those people in the Jiang Family, if they had a first-born prince in the palace, they would never allow other princes to live.
So when Empress Dowager Gu thought about this old enemy, she felt angry.
“The Seventh Prince was not born by the Empress. The Empress was not kind to the concubines and princesses. The reason why she supported him was that she just wanted to make use of him. There was no love between them.” Tang Zimo also knew that Empress Dowager Gu had despised Empress Dowager Ye for a long time, and this time she fell into a bad situation, so she could not walk out for a while, or could not put down her face, so he continued, “as long as Your Highness meets the Seventh Prince every once in a while, and shows him love and support, even if the Seventh Prince does not dare to say or do anything, the Jiang Family will be suspicious. At that time, forgive me, if the Seventh Prince wants to survive, he can rely on no one but Your Highness.”
Finally, Empress Dowager Gu was talked into it, “Then I’ll go to his palace later.”
Compared with the fate of death after the complete failure, it would be nothing for a grandmother to get close to her grandson and lose her face.
But when Empress Dowager Gu planned to give up Prince of Zhou and win the Seventh Prince of the Empress’ party under the persuasion of Tang Zimo, Princess Gu E’nuo, Princess Zhou, was in a hurry, “d.a.m.n Xue Chang! d.a.m.n the Jiang Family! The most d.a.m.ned thing is… ” She bit her lip to stop blurting out a few names,” d.a.m.n it. They can’t even hear a word about such a big thing ahead of time. ”
Concubine Tang Xinqiong was used to listening to her before they both got married. Although they became a rival after they got married, she still instinctively asked, “What should we do now? Sister, do something please.”
“I’m thinking. Don’t make any noise.” Gu E’nuo glanced at her in disgust, biting her lips and pondering bitterly, “Xue Chang is shrewd. Since he dared to say that Prince attempted to kill Emperor, he must be well prepared. If Prince got such accusation, people of this Mansion would be in danger. No, no, servants might still have the chance to escape or survive. I would possibly die with Prince. I can’t allow this to happen. ”
But now Prince of Zhou’s day was gone, and even Tang Zimo, his father-in-law, had taken the lead in advising Empress Dowager Gu to give up her grandson. Even if Gu E’nuo was very scheming, there was nothing she could do under this circ.u.mstance.
However, three days later, Duke of Huainan, the Minister of Zongzhengshi, brought a decree jointly issued by the two empresses. It was expected that he declared Prince of Zhou guilty of regicide. Because Emperor was safe now and he spoke for him, and also Prince of Zhou was a member of the royal family, he should commit suicide…
As for the family members, the wife and the concubine shall die together.
Before Empress’s decree was finished, Tang Xinqiong, the concubine, fell to the ground. She couldn’t accept the result that she was going to die with her husband in less than a year. She just pa.s.sed out.
At this time, Prince of Zhou was out of his mind and couldn’t take care of her. Gu E’nuo looked at her husband, trembled for a while, moved to the side of the Duke of Huainan, and asked miserably, “Prince, I don’t know if my grandmother and mother will let you return to the palace immediately? If not, may I serve my husband to take a bath and change his clothes before we accept Empress’s decree?”
Duke of Huainan was a member of the neutral party. Although Xue Chang suddenly joined hands with the Jiang Family this time and the position of the neutral party seemed not so neutral, the Duke of Huainan was not willing to choose side. He had a generous name in the royal clan. At the moment, Gu E’nuo’s request was proper, so he nodded and said, “It should be OK for me to go back to the palace before evening.”
It was morning and so she still had a few hours.
Gu E’nuo was relieved. She kowtowed to him as a thank-you. She went back to the back hall and summoned her confidants in a hurry, “Do as I have told you.”
When Princess Zhou left her husband and the concubine to save herself, Madame Tao was happy and held Jiang Qizheng’s hands in the Mansion of Marquess Qin. She said, “Two months? You even don’t know how to cherish yourself at all and you only find out now. ”
Today, Jiang Qizheng went back her mother’s home as usual to ask about Qiu Feng’s information. As a result, her husband was not found. When her brother and sister-in-law kept her to have a meal, she ate a few mouthfuls of fish and vomited. Qiu Yelan was frightened and asked a doctor to diagnose. It turned out that she was pregnant. It was known by Madame Tao and she rushed to see her.
Although Madame Tao didn’t pay as much attention to Jiang Qizheng as she did to Jiang Yashuang, Jiang Qizheng was also her child, so she was glad to hear that she was pregnant.
She was happy for Jiang Qizheng and felt regret and displeased for Qiufeng’s leaving at the same time, “Your husband shouldn’t have left. There is chaos in Shazhou. It is useless for him to go alone. It would be better to stay at home with you than to cause trouble to the people over there.”
At this time, Jiang Yashuang was called away by Marquess Qin again. Madame Tao asked Qiu Yelan, who was sitting beside her, “Have you found her husband? Call him back! There is no elder in the princess’s Mansion. As soon as he left, Zheng’er now has to take charge of all affairs in the mansion. What if she is tired? It’s not good for the baby.”
Qiu Yelan smiled bitterly. Jiang Qizheng cared about her love for her husband. Except for Qiu Yelan, she even refused to say about her awkward relationship with her husband in front of Jiang Yashuang. The reason why she didn’t often go back her mother’s home was not that she was in love with her husband and reluctant to go out. This time, Qiu Feng left without saying goodbye. The whole Jiang Family thought that he was faithful and went to Shazhou to help his “good friend” Qiu Jinglan.
The problem was that although they found tracks of Qiu Feng going south, no one noticed yet. How would she answer Madame Tao?
Fortunately, Jiang Qizheng took over the topic in time, “Grandma, don’t blame him. It’s my fault. I asked him before about justice when he was in the Jianghu. He mistakenly thought that I wanted him to go to Shazhou.”
Qiu Yelan was relieved and quickly changed the topic, “Grandma, since Jiang Qizheng’s husband is not in Jing City and sister is pregnant now, it’s hard for her to live alone in her mansion. Why don’t we leave sister at home for days? And then everyone can rest a.s.sured.”