Chapter 242: The Truth (2)

Yun Fenghuang was stunned for a moment, thought for a moment, and said frankly: "The grandson's daughter-in-law should pretend that she doesn't know about it at all, and then... secretly accumulate strength and take revenge!"

"So, if it wasn't for Aijia's infertility as you speculated." The Empress Dowager seemed a little tired, she walked slowly to a seat not far away and sat down, and said slowly, " Aijia almost thinks that you are the biological daughter or granddaughter of Aijia who has been separated for many years... Even Aijia's niece, Ji Sheng, doesn't think so similarly to Aijia."

"Aijia did the same thing at the beginning."

She said lightly, "At that time, although the first emperor was still an unsuccessful vassal king, the Qu family was quite favored, and he was even registered as the successor of the emperor soon after, with a distinguished status. Every time the Ai family saw her, they would pay a big respect. So, how do you retaliate against them?"

Yun Fenghuang said without hesitation: "Even if Empress Qu is Sejong's new favorite, and even ranks as an empress, she is Sejong's fourth empress after all, and all of Sejong's heirs have grown up. The thorn in the flesh of the elderly emperor's heirs and even the concubines and relatives seems to be dignified, but has many flaws. As long as you look for opportunities, it is not difficult to deal with. On the other hand, the first emperor of Shenzong, even if he was unsuccessful at that time, it was precisely because of his lack of ambition that ordinary people Generally, you will not take the initiative to deal with him. And you are his concubine, and you will be prosperous and hurt with him, but it is tricky."

"You thought the same as the Ai family at that time." The Empress Dowager said lightly, "And because King Shu saw that he was abandoned in front of the imperial court, although he might not have a chance to stand up because of his favor in front of Sejong, the other heirs of Sejong did not. He will sit back and watch him regain favor, so the siege and interception against King Shu's faction emerges endlessly. Even the Ji family has lingering fears, and has plans to abandon King Shu and support the late emperor. After all, Qu's Yin was quite popular with Shizong after he was crowned empress, and she often In front of Shizong, he recommended the late emperor... so that the late emperor was originally inconspicuous, but because of the Qu family, he gradually emerged in front of the imperial court."

Yun Fenghuang was thoughtful.

I heard the Empress Dowager continue to say: "The first emperor met with Empress Qu more and more times without telling the Ai family, and the Ai family even found out that the late emperor had a close relationship with the imperial guards who guarded the palace at that time... Ai family and his family They are young couples, they met before their big wedding, and they always thought they were in love. Therefore, after thinking about it, I still couldn't help it, and took the risk of insinuating. But I didn't expect that the late emperor was silent for a long time after hearing this, but found He made an excuse and sent Ai's family to live in a village outside the city. Moreover, he didn't say when he would take Ai's family back."

She showed a look of disappointment, "Tell me, if you were faced with such a situation, what would you do?"

"..." Yun Fenghuang had a vague guess in her heart, but she couldn't grasp the thread for a while, she pondered for a while, and said truthfully, "If it's the grandson's daughter-in-law, I'm afraid... she will be ready to be a young widow .”

The Empress Dowager turned her head, looked at her for a while, and smiled self-deprecatingly: "It seems that our mother and daughter want to go together! The Ai family was very sad and angry at the time, and felt that the first emperor probably forgot the oath when we married... …Actually, Ai’s family grew up in a prominent family, and they were used to seeing all kinds of dirty things in the back house, and they never expected to grow old. Born with talent and appearance, he was not a high-ranking emperor. How can I say that there should be a heart-to-heart relationship for ten or eight years? In the future, even if the emperor is willing to transfer his love to another, as long as he is willing to follow the rules and hand over the back house to Ai's family Make the decision, don't teach the concubine to climb on the head of the Ai family, and give the heirs of the Ai family the dignity and things that their children should have... Even if the Ai family is disappointed, they can accept it calmly..."

Not to mention the family background of the Ji family, it is like Yunfenghuang, who was reprimanded by the emperor's high school as a poor family in a remote place, because the family still has some money and influence in the village, and since childhood, they are also used to fathers, brothers and uncles. In addition to the main wife, there are many concubines, and even keep the concubine outside and make friends with prostitutes.

Growing up in this kind of environment, even if it is a daughter-in-law who is held in the palm of her hand, if she is not out of her mind, who would expect to marry a well-matched husband in the future and be able to stay with him forever?

Maybe there will be some fluke expectations when the love is strong, but you must know the reality in your bones.

Yun Fenghuang was like this, and the Empress Dowager had the same attitude when she was young, so it's not that she couldn't accept Emperor Shenzong's transference, but she just didn't expect that Emperor Shenzong's transference was so fast.

How many days had she been out of the cabinet at that time?

Young and young, this can't keep her husband's heart, so what can I expect in the future?

If her husband and son-in-law are just the sons of ordinary nobles, that's all right, after all, relying on her mother's family, unless she loses her mind and goes crazy, she will not dare to be harsh on her openly, even if she respects each other like ice, it may not be difficult to live on. But the first emperor of Shenzong was the prince, and when the position of crown prince was in the balance, he was secretly involved with his stepmother... One bad thing, and the whole army would be wiped out!

In this case, revenge is the second priority, the key is to protect yourself, and even the family behind it, if you don't send this husband to die, what else can you do?

Anyway, Yun Fenghuang thought so.

"At that time, the Ai family also felt that they would be subject to chaos if they continued, but it was not for their own sake. The Ji family gave birth to the Ai family, and there was absolutely no reason why they should be implicated by others entrusted by the Ai family." The Empress Dowager said sadly, "So the Ai family stayed in Zhuangzi for a few days, adjusted their mood, and never mentioned their doubts from then on. They just pretended that nothing had happened, but they kept writing letters to the late emperor, recalling the past, and expressing their longing... Sorrow When I did this, my heart was quite uneasy. I was afraid that if he didn't care at all, then Ai's family would really have nothing to do. The emperor simply remembered that after staying for about a few months, he finally took Ai's family back. government."

The next thing was logical. After she returned to the mansion, she perfectly played the role of a concubine who had a deep affection for Emperor Shenzong. , and ready to be a widow.

And at this moment, the Empress Dowager suddenly felt unwell.

Her first reaction was that she was in the right place, so while being cautious about drinking water, she didn't dare to call the imperial physician openly, and she didn't even dare to let Shenzong know that she wanted to see a doctor.

So she disguised herself, went out to choose a hairpin under the pretext of going out, and concealed her identity outside to find a doctor with a good reputation.

Yun Fenghuang listened intently while holding his breath.

The Empress Dowager's tone has always been very flat, and when she said this, the muscles on her face twitched: "...The doctor said that Ai's family has been given the drug to kill children, and there is no hope in this life."

"Grandson's daughter-in-law also..." Yun Fenghuang was interrupted when he opened his mouth, and the empress dowager said lightly: "You directed and acted on your own back then, and the choice of medicine, brewing, and dosage were all under control, with the greatest degree of protection." Myself, plus your future emperor's favor, can find the best doctor for diagnosis and treatment, and under smooth sailing, there is no psychological drag, so there is a glimmer of hope. But the Ai family is different. The Ai family is harmed by others. I am afraid that Aijia can be cured, so I will not be polite! Otherwise, Aijia will not find that he is unwell!"

She was silent for a while, and said, "At that time, the Ai family was most suspicious, of course, was the late Emperor, or his concubine, or the two of them together."

Yun Fenghuang's heartbeat almost stopped, she clenched her fists forcefully: "So, Shenzong's first emperor has no heir... is it your fault?"

"..." The empress dowager's eyes were a little misty for a moment, and after a moment, she softly "hmm".

Yun Fenghuang only felt that it was a bit difficult to breathe: "... No wonder the first emperor of Shenzong slaughtered his clan members wantonly after he ascended the throne!"

Although he knew for a long time that the reason why Shenzong killed his blood relatives indiscriminately was because he couldn't find the real culprit, so he could only kill the wrong ones rather than let them go.

However, considering the ability of the Imperial City Secretary before being cut off, before Shenzong ascended the throne, it was fine if he could not find the real culprit. All Sejong's bloodlines were slaughtered... Yun Fenghuang was not without doubts.

Only now did I realize that the real culprit had been on Shenzong's side all along, and that he and Shenzong had both prosperity and loss!

No wonder Shenzong never knew the truth.

"The Ai family attacked the first emperor not only because of what happened to me." The empress dowager lowered her eyes and said wearily, "It is also because the Ai family suspects that the son of the son of that lowly maidservant of the Qu family...may be The late emperor and her adulterous son, not Sejong's blood."

Yun Fenghuang was taken aback, this was something she had never expected before.

if it is like this.

So, maybe Shenzong's marriage to the Empress Dowager itself was a conspiracy?

"The Ai family just told you that although Qu's background is not bad, but her stepmother is in charge of the family, she is in a bad situation. This is why she will enter the palace later." The Empress Dowager said softly, "At that time she entered the palace. Even if she is the daughter of the Qu family, it is not a good job."

This is true, after all, Sejong is old, and all the emperor's heirs have grown up.

Even if it is a noble daughter of a noble family, if she enters the palace at this time, even if she gives birth to a prince and is still favored, she may not be able to compete with those full-fledged brothers and sisters.

When Sejong leaves, he will be a young widow.

Even a bad one, like Empress Qu herself is a clear example: her reputation was ruined, and she couldn't even keep her children.

"After she entered the palace, she was in the same situation at the beginning. Relying on the legacy left by the Empress Yuan, Shizong still took care of her, but it was just taking care of her. Later, when she became pregnant, Shizong paid more attention to it..."

Yun Fenghuang couldn't help asking: "Grandmother, but Shizong didn't lack heirs at that time. Did this late emperor value his concubines so much? But I heard that King Shu and other favored heirs don't seem to be heirs?"