Chapter 160: tail docking
Jiang Boyou asked to check Xiao's family in a memorial, which can be said to have dared to stroke a tiger's beard, and the Xiao family was naturally extremely furious from top to bottom. What's more, in the government and the opposition, and in the market, many people are already guessing when Jiang Boyou will be unlucky.
The Xiao family is the relative in power now, the mother family of the Empress Dowager!
As the emperor, Shen Lang's attitude towards the Xiao family in the past few years has been seen by everyone, which can already be called "indulging". Although a servant of the household department is considered a big official in the court, what is it in front of the emperor?
"This Jiang Shilang doesn't seem to be a troublesome person at ordinary times. Why did he lose his head this time and come here to argue with Mrs. Xiao?"
"I'm afraid it's for your own daughter?"
"Yes, I heard that in order to choose Linzi Princess, these rich and powerful families in Beijing are secretly holding back their energy. Isn't the Jiang family girl's bad reputation first passed down by people from the Xiao family?"
"The arm can't twist the thigh, so why bother?"
"It's a pity, it's a pity."
No one thinks that Jiang Boyou can please Xiao Shi.
Sure enough, the discussion from the top is the discussion, but there are not many people who really stood up to support Jiang Boyou. After the memorial was handed in, it didn't get an approval, but it was withheld by Shen Lang and refused to be issued.
So Xiao Yuan was full of ambition, and threatened to make Jiang Boyou look good.
But no one expected that after only one day, the memorial that was originally prepared would be sent directly to the cabinet, and handed over to several auxiliary ministers to discuss whether to approve the reply.
Although it's just such a small action, it has a lot of meaning in the eyes of caring people.
Everyone can't help but secretly calculate.
The ministers of the cabinet sat around the memorial that was placed in the center of the table, and they looked at each other in blank dismay, silent for fear that they might guess the meaning of the emperor wrongly.
That afternoon, Xiao Yuan panicked.
After all, he is a foreign minister, and if he enters the palace to meet the Queen Mother at this time, it will be too revealing, and he is afraid of being caught by others, so he asked Xiao Shu, a junior, to pay the Queen Mother a greeting.
The Ci Ning Palace in the evening was shrouded in a twilight atmosphere.
The palace people serving dinner filed out.
Xiao Shu, who was dressed in a fine attire, showed a vigor that was incompatible with the Palace of Compassion and Ning against the dim yellow light of the bleak sky. She stood still for a moment and waited for the call from inside before entering the palace gate to meet her.
Seeing her, Empress Dowager Xiao laughed and said, "When I was as young as you, I also had such elegance. You must be here because of what happened in the past few days, right? I've heard about it."
Xiao Shu's heart suddenly turned cold.
She faintly sensed that something was wrong, when did this noble aunt who ruled the six palaces in the past have such a dull tone, and how did she start to recall the past?
"It's hard for Ashu to match my aunt's splendor today, let alone back then?" Xiao Shu bowed and saluted, then got up and moved closer as usual, "My aunt is also very predictable, and my father has found it difficult to settle down these days. You know that he has always been a person who can't make up his mind, and he is thinking about the beginning of spring, hot and cold, and changing solar terms for no reason, so I came here to greet you, and I hope you can give me some pointers."
Xiao Shu's speech has always been impeccable and very pleasing, if she listened to it as usual, the Empress Dowager Xiao must have laughed at this moment, and pulled her in front of her to talk.
But at the moment, he just stared at her.
After a long while, seeing the smile on Xiao Shu's face gradually lost, she slowly said: "How could the Ai family compare to you back then? You also said that it is your father who needs the advice of the Ai family. My useless brother! Why did you ever need it?"
As soon as these words came out, Xiao Shu leaned over and knelt down in front of her, her voice sounded a little panicked: "Auntie, why are you so serious?"
There was no trace of a smile on Mrs. Xiao's back, and she even showed a bit of cruelty. She gritted her teeth and said, "My stupid brother really raised a good daughter! The Ai family usually only knows that you are smart, and you seek profit and avoid it." Harm, you are the only person in this capital who is worthy of sitting in the position of the Lord of the Six Palaces! You really live up to it! You are at home, and you really have a good plan for your father!"
Xiao Shu looked up at her in astonishment.
Empress Dowager Xiao sneered and said: "The discussion of getting married is raging, and Mrs. Xiao is a thorn in the flesh of others, a living target! Your father can't figure it out, but it's impossible for you not to know, the more you can't act rashly at this time. But you What idea did you give your father? You even used the Tongzhou incident to pour dirty water on Jiang Boyou's daughter!"
Xiao Shu still didn't seem to understand what the Empress Dowager said, and said, "Jiang Xuehui is Ah Shu's biggest opponent. If she is gone, I will be the princess of Linzi. Did Ah Shu do something wrong?"
"Confused!"
Seeing that she didn't understand at this time, Empress Dowager Xiao was so angry that she slapped her across the face!
"Snapped!"
Xiao Shu staggered from the beating and fell to the ground.
Empress Dowager Xiao pointed to her nose and scolded her with hatred: "It's useless to teach you for so many years. I didn't expect that you were born by my stupid brother and a stupid woman outside. It's useless to look smart on weekdays. The key You always have wax in your head! You used Jiang Xuening's matter to pour dirty water on Jiang Xuehui. Although Jiang Xuehui was hurt, didn't you expect that he would fight back? What's more, the market is talking about you now. Pushing you to go to Tatar for marriage in Leyang, how could Jie’er choose you as a concubine if she knows the current situation?! There are so many mouths in the world, and one mouthful of saliva is enough to drown him! Even if you don’t choose Jiang Xuehui, you will still There is Chen Shuyi, Zhao Shuyi! Where is your turn?!"
The maids retreated outside early, and the whole hall was filled with coldness.
Xiao Shu's lowered eyelids trembled slightly, but when she raised her head, she seemed to have just thought of these key points, and her whole body was lost.
After a while, she seemed to panic, knelt down in front of Empress Dowager Xiao, kowtowed and said, "It's Ah Shu who was so confused that she even forgot this layer, but now a big mistake has been made. Aunt, Aunt, you are in the palace. For many years, the Holy Majesty has been your close relative, there must be a way? I'm really afraid that they will really send me to be married..."
Tears fell down.
Empress Dowager Xiao usually treats her as a close relative to teach, because she is not so playful and spoiled, so sometimes she treats Xiao Shu even better than Shen Zhiyi who is her own daughter.
But seeing that she was out of order at this moment, I felt a little annoyed and disappointed.
She said coldly: "If you don't do this foolish trick, maybe the Ai family can protect you. After all, my Xiao family is very powerful. If I send you to be married, the emperor will feel like a thorn in his heart. Be on guard." The Xiao family colluded with the Tatars to usurp the throne. But you are good enough to hand the sword to the emperor, so that he has an excuse to weaken the Xiao family first!"
Empress Dowager Xiao closed her eyes, looking at her as if she was an abandoned child, and she felt that it was a waste of time to look at her more, she just said: "You came up with a bad idea, and you found out the emperor's intentions by mistake, now leave it alone. Ai's family will have to clean up the next pile of messes, and even Ai's family is powerless about getting married. You can go back by yourself, and you won't have to come to the palace often to pay your respects in the future."
Xiao Shu didn't seem to believe that she was so heartless.
Looking at the aunt, she asked, "Auntie, is she going to watch Ah Shu go to that dangerous Tatar to marry her?"
Mrs. Xiao was expressionless from behind, unmoved and said: "Zhiyi is the flesh and blood of Ai's family, she can go, why can't you go?"
Xiao Shu lowered her head.
Empress Dowager Xiao got up and ignored her, leaving only one sentence: "The Tian family has no father and son, it's because you are too dull, don't blame the Ai family for being too cruel."
After saying these words, the figure of Empress Dowager Xiao has disappeared behind the painting screen.
The dusk outside also fell completely, and the hall was dark.
So no matter whether it was the Empress Dowager Xiao who left or the maid who came in, they didn't see it. At the moment when the figure of Empress Dowager Xiao disappeared and the darkness shrouded, Xiao Shu's originally bright and beautiful face showed respect, fear, and sadness. All of them faded away as if a layer of color on the painting had been stained with water, leaving only a beautiful face with exquisite facial features embedded.
like a dummy.
There was even a sense of treachery.
She got up very calmly, with the five finger marks left by Empress Dowager Xiao's slap on her cheek, she walked out of the hall.
The maids were carrying palace lanterns to send her out of the palace.
Because Yue Yue heard that the Queen Mother in the palace was furious, he didn't dare to look at her carefully, and then lowered his head after taking a look.
Only halfway through, Xiao Shu stopped in her footsteps.
The maid was surprised and looked back.
But I saw Xiao Shu standing under a palace wall, raising her head to stare at a certain place above: there was a small gecko lying on the edge of the vermilion wall, which is not unusual in other places, except that the tail was a bit short, which looked like a lizard. It was bare, and it turned out that there was a broken mark.
The maid was taken aback: "It must be that the eunuchs in the palace were not careful, why is there such a thing?"
She came up to drive the gecko away.
The gecko was frightened, and quickly crawled along the edge of the wall, disappearing immediately.
Xiao Shu lowered her eyes, but her expression was slightly gloomy, and an inexplicable sense of sadness welled up in her heart: If someone had told her before, she would be forced to the point where she is now struggling to survive. She wants to treat this person as nonsense and make him beat him out with sticks.
But now...
The reality of the situation was cruelly placed in front of her.
Just now, Empress Dowager Xiao's cruel words in the Palace of Compassionate Ning still echoed in her mind, but it did not arouse her disappointment and sadness, let alone the slightest bit of shame.
How could she not know the consequences of discrediting Jiang Xuening with the Tongzhou incident?
It is even more impossible not to be ignorant of the current situation, not to mention Linzi King Shen Jie, but anyone with a little discernment in Beijing would not marry her at this time, causing countless troubles for their own family.
Jiang Xuening!
Xiao Shu remained calm, took the palace lantern from the maid's hand, and said: "Give it to me, I know all the roads in the palace, if I want to be alone, I can go out of the palace by myself."
Firstly, the maid did not dare to talk too much, but secondly, she was happy and relaxed, so she hesitated for a while and did not object.
But after the maid left, Xiao Shu turned her footsteps, and the direction she was walking was not at all the Shunzhen Gate in the northeast corner, but the Qianqing Palace located in the center of the entire palace!