Chapter 23 - Adding Insult to Injury
Gu Zhen knew that since Princess Minghui had messed with Chunjia while standing with the regent in the temple, she must be hostile towards this brother-in-law in her heart.
But she didn't expect her to have such a reaction. After all, the eldest princess had always had a good impression in the minds of the concubines who entered the palace during Chunjia's wedding.
At that time, Concubine Zhenxi Shu was one of the few concubines that the common man Ji Sheng disliked the most, which also showed that Princess Huichang was a nice person, and would help to intercede when the common man Ji Sheng made things difficult for his concubines.
Over the years, Gu Zhen has also received similar assistance from Princess Minghui.
So she was stunned for such a reaction by the Eldest Princess before she came back to her senses, and quickly comforted her: "Your Highness, don't think that way, His Majesty has no such intentions, just thinking that His Highness also has..."
"This palace is the princess of the Gongxiang clan. Even if she stays in the palace until she is a hundred years old, she will be raised by the ancestors of the Gongxiang clan. Could it be that your majesty raised it with you?" Princess Minghui said unceremoniously. Interrupting her words, she sneered, "Can you and His Majesty manage it?"
He also said that Gu Zhen was ungrateful, "When the queen mother was the empress dowager, she was very strict with the rules. You, concubine Zhenxishu and others were not dignified and respectful enough, and they were often hated by the queen mother. Every time the queen mother asked questions, it was my palace. Help smooth things over. At that time, you all vowed to remember me. What happened? Where were you when the queen mother set herself on fire? Who remembers when I was alone in the palace? Now, even in this palace, Ben Gong is not allowed to stay any longer? Ben Gong tells you that although the father, queen and queen are gone, I will not let you bully me! I will not marry! You have the ability to choose someone at random, and tie Ben Gong up. Go over!"
Gu Zhen's heart was blocked when he heard this, because these words brought back the memories of the time when the common man Ji Sheng was still the empress dowager and Chun Jia was not yet in power.
At that time, Princess Minghui was probably the most carefree one in the palace.
It's only been a year or two, and Tianzhijiao, Jinzhiyuye, has become as sensitive, thoughtful and extreme as before. To be honest, as someone who watched Minghui grow up, Gu Zhen has sympathy for her in his heart of.
The common man Ji Sheng has thousands of bad things, at least when she was alive, when she was in power, she protected this daughter very well.
After sympathy comes grievance.
Yes, compared to commoner Ji Sheng, Princess Ming Hui at that time was much more lovable.
As a person who once received the favor of Princess Minghui, Gu Zhen is not indebted to this empress.
But the problem is, when the common man Ji Sheng had an outbreak, the harem was silent like cicadas. As Ji Sheng's beloved biological daughter, there was no risk for Ming Hui to step forward to rescue her.
And when the mother and daughter are in crisis?
In that case, how can Gu Zhen speak?
If she really thought of Princess Minghui's affection and bit the bullet and stepped forward to help intercede, let alone herself, even the Gu family would be deeply troubled.
Chunjia kept saying that the demise of the Ji family was not what he wanted, but that the regent was just impulsive, but he joined forces with the regent afterwards to instruct the Luo family, Ouyang family, Meng family, and Yin family to clean up the remnants of party discipline from the ruling and opposition parties. Not soft at all.
If Gu Zhen said something he shouldn't have said during this process, who knows what kind of impact the Gu family will suffer?
"Your Highness, it's not like this." Gu Zhen endured the grievances, persuaded Princess Minghui to calm down, and listened to himself, "I always remember Your Highness's friendship, but His Highness was in the palace at the time, and probably didn't know enough about Miyagi. It is clear. At that time, the front and rear palaces were all in danger. I was just a wife, and even the former empress was banned in Yanfu Palace in disguise. Order, I sincerely want to find a good husband for Your Highness."
Princess Minghui sneered slightly, and said: "Oh, Your Majesty ordered you to find a good husband for this palace sincerely? So, if His Majesty hadn't mentioned it, you wouldn't have mentioned it? You are looking at it on purpose. Do you think I wasted my golden years in the palace, or did I forget about Bengong so early in the morning that I can't remember it at all?"
Gu Zhen hurriedly said: "How could I have forgotten His Highness's lifelong event? But I was thinking that it has only been more than a year since Lingtang passed away. I am afraid that His Highness is still in sorrow, so I dare not say more."
He also said, "His Highness's kindness at the beginning, I will keep it in my heart, so how can I be malicious towards His Highness?"
"Why don't you have any malice towards this palace?" Princess Minghui asked back, "Back then, when the queen mother was still there, even if you were concubines, when you arrived at Mianfu Palace, who was not trembling and respectful? They are far inferior to you, but because of your mother, you dare not not respect me. Even for the sake of me being able to intercede with your mother when she gets angry, you all showed extra love for me in private. As a result, your mother is gone. , you don’t need to curry favor with me any more, and even, because of some teachings from the previous mother and queen, you are eager to get back the position from me, right?”
She sneered, she was too lazy to listen to Gu Zhen's words, she only said that she had seen through it, that in this palace, it was the custom of stepping down and bowing to the top in vain.
Even if you are the empress dowager or the eldest princess, once you lose your power and status, you will be trampled on like mud under your feet.
Let Gu Zhen stop pretending.
Anyway, when she was in the most difficult time, this successor had no intention of helping her as if she was dead. If so, why did she come out to cheat the corpse now?
Isn't it good to continue to be a dead person?
Ming Hui also mentioned Yun Fenghuang, and said, "If the noble concubine comes to talk to me about the marriage right now, I will feel more at ease, because I haven't said anything good to the noble concubine. And the noble concubine has always spoken to me. It’s not considered coaxing, in comparison, the noble concubine is much more real than you!”
After she vented her anger, she stood up and left. Before she left, she kicked over the banquet that Gu Zhen had carefully prepared for her.
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Eldest Princess must have said that on purpose." When this person walked away, Gu Zhen endured and endured, and still couldn't help crying, asking the left and right if he really couldn't do it. Even the eldest princess thinks that she is not as good as Yun Fenghuang?
Of course, the left and the right denied it, and persuaded her, "After all, in the past two days, the news that you have accepted the power of the six palaces from the imperial concubine and the empresses has been spread all over the palace and harem. How can Her Royal Highness the eldest princess not know? You know it too. Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess has listened to the instigation of the Prince Regent, and these days, she and Her Majesty are not very harmonious."
"Yes, empress, Your Highness the Eldest Princess is now deliberately confronting His Majesty, how can she have good intentions towards His Majesty's concubine? She is deliberately instigating. You must know that the noble concubine does not have much respect for the common man Ji Sheng. As the common man Ji Sheng, the Eldest Princess His biological daughter will have a good impression of the noble concubine? How can it be possible to say that the noble concubine is good?"
This kind of view is actually reasonable. Guan Minghui's actions during this period of time have always been obedient to the words of the Empress Dowager and the Regent, and how to make things difficult for Chunjia.
Therefore, it is reasonable for her to take advantage of Gu Zhen's invitation to her as a guest to add fire to Chunjia's already poor concubine relationship.
But Gu Zhen still couldn't stand the elder princess saying that she was inferior to the noble concubine... Even so, she still had to endure the grievance and resentment to plead guilty to Chunjia.
Because she didn't get things done, she could even say that she messed things up.
Listening to the process and the result, Chunjia didn't feel any fluctuations in his heart, he knew that the queen couldn't handle Princess Minghui at this moment, otherwise he wouldn't have given the job to the queen.
"It seems that Minghui has a deep prejudice against us." The emperor didn't lose his temper immediately, he said to the empress with a pleasant face, "But marriage matters can't let her be so willful, otherwise after three or two years, she will wake up and regret it. But what should I do?"
Due to his lack of reason, Gu Zhen couldn't show the indifference and neither humbleness nor overbearing of the past two days in front of him at this moment, so he carefully asked for instructions: "Then, regardless of the thoughts of the eldest princess, continue to choose a good husband for her?"
"Isn't such words too arbitrary and domineering, making Minghui displeased even more?" Chun Jia shook his head disapprovingly, "What good is the friendship between me and her brother and sister, and your friendship with her sister-in-law?"
"...Then what does His Majesty mean?"
Chunjia looked at her with some disappointment, the disappointment in this look was very obvious, even if Gu Zhen lowered his eyebrows and was pleasing to the eye, he could still feel that she clenched her hands subconsciously.
Hearing the emperor's silence for a moment, he sighed and said in a tone of "Queen, why are you so stupid? I really hate iron and steel": "Minghui has a deep prejudice against us. If you ask her so directly, she will either refuse to say, or What she said was all angry words, but she doesn't treat everyone like this, you can choose someone who she has no prejudices and is willing to speak the truth to ask for advice, won't you not delay the matter?"
Gu Zhen subconsciously said: "Your Majesty wants me to go to the imperial concubine for advice?"
As soon as she said this, she regretted it, and when she looked up, Chunjia looked at her in surprise and bewilderment.
The emperor and the empress looked at each other for a while, Gu Zhen collected himself, and said dejectedly: "I was in a daze just now... I will go to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager later."
"...the empress dowager is not the only one." Chunjia pointed out rather speechlessly, "there are also Minghui's servants. When they are not on duty, you can also inquire about it in private. The first emperor is just such a daughter-in-law. Now She is the only unmarried golden branch and jade leaf in the palace, so we have to pay more attention in order to be worthy of the late emperor's kindness."
When Gu Zhen left the Xinxintang, he almost didn't cry.
Not only did she feel embarrassed by saying that she thought Minghui was "unprejudiced and willing to speak the truth" but was Yun Fenghuang, but also because she didn't want to see the imperial concubine, but she also didn't want to see the emperor. Queen Mother.
She still remembered the last time the empress dowager specifically kept her behind and suggested that Minghui should descend to the children of the Gu family.
Now go to see the Empress Dowager and ask her about Minghui's marriage. What will she do if the Empress Dowager mentions the old story again?
Or the Empress Dowager hated this matter and was unwilling to help?
She went back to Woxia Tower gloomy and gloomy, and after struggling for a while, she asked someone to prepare her chariot and go to the Empress Dowager's place.
After all, hiding is impossible.
It turned out that this trip was even sadder than she thought, and she didn't know that Princess Minghui had received the news in advance, so it was just a coincidence.
When she passed, Ming Hui was paying her respects in front of the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager is of course very fond of her granddaughter, who is still a granddaughter of her natal blood. She embraces Minghui and calls her "heart", all kinds of doting and obedience.
Gu Zhen saw this scene as soon as he walked in. Before he finished his ceremony, Minghui glanced down and started complaining to the Empress Dowager in front of her, saying that Gu Zhen had looked at her before. He thought he was a good person, but now he is broken. Not only did he not miss the kindness he gave her in front of the concubine Ji Sheng, but he helped Chunjia drive her out of the palace, so he couldn't see her staying in the palace!
The empress dowager's expression immediately darkened when she heard this, Gu Zhen wanted to defend herself, but the grandparent and grandson didn't even look at her, and didn't even give her a chance to speak.
After Minghui finished talking about how her brother and sister-in-law treated her badly, she then asked the emperor's grandmother to let her stay in the palace, she didn't want to descend.
"Minghui, don't worry, as long as you don't want to, no one can drive you out of this palace!" The Empress Dowager agreed to her granddaughter's request without hesitation, and finally coaxed Minghui to go , and changed her stepmother face with her feet, she just reprimanded Gu Zhen!
It is said that as a queen, she doesn't have the kindness and love that a queen should have. She can't even tolerate her sister-in-law, let alone treat concubines and heirs?
The Empress Dowager specifically mentioned the Queen's recent takeover of power: "When the Ai family heard about this, I was a little puzzled. You are not a capable person, and the concubines and the others are usually very decent. The king is good, and I can breathe a sigh of relief, as for taking power in such a hurry? You are such a person in your bones! It really disappoints the Ai family!"
Waiting for Gu Zhen to cry and saying that there is no such thing, and it is Chunjia's intention to find Ming Hui a consort, and it is for the benefit of the eldest princess!
How could it be to drive the eldest princess out of the palace?
The empress dowager said with a cold face: "The emperor manages everything in his day, and it is inevitable that he will make omissions. As a queen, you should fill in the gaps for him, instead of obeying what you say, without any ideas of your own! If you can only be obedient, the emperor will What are you doing? Is there not enough servants in the royal family? Furthermore, since the emperor had good intentions, why did Minghui cry when he heard your words, and even came to Ai’s house to complain? Isn’t this what you conveyed? Question? The Ai family knows that you have never been a person who can talk, but since you are a queen and you are sitting in this seat, you should think carefully about what you should do to be worthy of the phoenix seal in your hand!"
"You are the only one who makes you cry today. You are all royals after all. No matter how wronged you feel, you won't be able to tell it to you."
"In the future, similar mistakes will be made under the watchful eyes of the public, which will make the royal face face!"
The empress dowager scolded with justification and evidence, but Gu Zhen couldn't get in his mouth at all, and finally endured the monstrous grievances and kowtowed to thank the empress dowager for her instruction, and burst into tears when he returned to Woxia Tower.
Seeing this, the left and right looked at each other, wanted to persuade but didn't know what to say, in the end they could only hug the third prince to the door, let him go in and call his mother, and pestered Gu Zhen to hug him, finally forced Gu Zhen to hold back his emotions, at this time Dare to go forward to appease: "Your Majesty, anyway, you have been to the Empress Dowager's place. Even if there is no answer there, you should tell His Majesty the truth, saying that the Empress Dowager and His Royal Highness the Eldest Princess are still angry now, so it is not appropriate to forcefully ask the Empress Dowager." Her Majesty’s preference, so I plan to find the children of each family first, and after a few days, when those two have calmed down, I will submit it. In this way, it will be difficult for Your Majesty to say anything.”
If Chunjia must be picky, of course she can be picky.
But after all, there is a Gu family behind Gu Zhen, even if Chun Jia deliberately finds fault with the queen, she can't make it too obvious.
"...Then let's do this first." Gu Zhen bit her lip, after much deliberation, she didn't have a good idea, so she hugged the third prince tightly, and said in a low voice, "Also, tell the family and ask them what idea?"
What do the Gu family think?
The Gu family was very surprised when they heard that the empress and the concubine had seized power, and then became angry, because Gu Zhen has been very well-behaved in the past many years in the palace, and has never taken the initiative to cause trouble for the family, so he wondered whether his daughter might also be forced. To the extreme?
They are currently watching the situation, preparing to speak to Chunjia when the time is right, and to support Gu Zhen.
At this moment, I finally received a message from the person in front of the queen, and after figuring out the ins and outs, I was... very speechless.