(2-in-1.) I am not feeling well, and I have no change today. ）

Guo Chong coughed and sat down, Qian Delu poured a cup of tea, and Guo Chong almost spilled the tea because of his excitement. He took a few sips on Qian Delu's hand, and then slowly wheezing and calming down, and the coughing stopped.

When he raised his eyes and saw that the three people in front of him were still kneeling there, he couldn't help but get angry and shouted: "If you don't retreat, you won't be able to die in front of you?" ”

Lu Zhongtian said in a deep voice: "The emperor is angry, if the emperor is angry with us because of this matter, please surrender the crime." The old minister was also very hesitant, feeling that this matter should not be reported to the emperor. After all...... It's about royal decency and face. However, if the ministers do not come to report the report, it is disloyalty. After thinking about it, the old minister still decided to come, even if the emperor was angry and angry, the old minister couldn't tell the truth. ”

Guo Chong said angrily: "Lu Zhongtian, you still say such things. This is obviously fake, and you actually come to report it in a serious way. Are you really confused or fake? ”

Yang Jun said in a deep voice: "The emperor is angry, and both the old minister and Lu Xiang think that this matter is true. That's why I came to report it. This matter is about the royal face, and the ministers don't know it, and it is disloyal if they don't report it. The Emperor Mingjian. ”

"Is this true? Crazy you guys, I don't understand my own business? How can it be so bizarre as you say? Are you making up a script? Big joke. Guo Chong shouted.

"Your Majesty, it took Vice Minister Wu two months to find out about this matter, and there are all the witnesses and confessions. If this is not the case, how dare the ministers come to report it? Yang Jun said in a deep voice.

Guo Chong's gaze fell on Wu Chunlai's pouting buttocks, and shouted: "Wu Chunlai, what evidence do you have?" I want to hear it. If you talk nonsense, I will not spare you. ”

Wu Chunlai was so frightened that he raised his sweaty face, swallowed and spitted: "The emperor is angry, and the ministers have reported this matter originally, and they don't dare to say half a word of nonsense." Otherwise, there will be no place for the ministers to die. ”

Guo Chong shouted coldly: "Then you don't tell the truth!" ”

Wu Chunlai nodded again and again, organized the wording, and said softly: "Your Majesty, the minister knows about this matter also out of inadvertentness. That was still last year, and when the minister once entered the palace to face the saint, he happened to meet the woman named Green Dance of the Lin family entering the palace. The emperor knew that the minister and Lin Jue had some origins, and they had some contacts, so this green dancer had seen her. The minister was just a little puzzled, how could this Lin Jue's side room enter and leave the palace at will? The minister asked the chamberlain a few more words, and learned that Concubine Rong summoned her into the palace. The minister didn't pay much attention to it at the time, after all, it was common for Concubine Rong to interact with the families of officials outside. It was not unusual for the family members of the officials to enter the palace to serve Niangniang, so they did not care about this matter. Not...... Until one day, the minister was invited to the palace of His Royal Highness King Huai as a guest, and talked about it for some reason, His Royal Highness King Huai said that he had some impressions of this woman called Green Dance, and said that he had heard Concubine Mei Niangniang say that this woman often went in and out of Concubine Rong's palace, and ...... And the appearance and demeanor are somewhat similar to Concubine Rong's mother. Concubine Rong seems to like her very much, often summoned into the palace to talk, and rewards a lot of things, so that the minister feels that this matter is a little strange......"

Guo Chong shouted angrily: "It's so bold, it turns out that the topic of your relationship behind your back is actually to discuss the matter of the palace." Guo Xu is also not growing, and when he talks these words to the minister, are there any rules? Bastard stuff. ”

"The emperor is angry, and the minister deserves to die. This matter has nothing to do with His Royal Highness King Huai, and that time it was the minister who first mentioned the matter of the green dance entering the palace. His Royal Highness King Huai just said what the ministers said. If the emperor wants to blame, the minister is willing to take responsibility. It is the ministers who do not choose to speak, and they should not talk about these things. Wu Chunlai kowtowed.

Guo Chong snorted coldly and frowned, but he actually understood in his heart that the officials were feasting and drinking in private, and the topics were wide-ranging. The affairs of the palace are actually a very common topic, although there is a suspicion of taboo, but if you want to care, then I don't know how many people will be arrested.

Wu Chunlai continued: "His Royal Highness King Huai told Weichen that the emperor actually knew about this matter for a long time, and asked His Royal Highness King Huai to investigate this matter. His Royal Highness King Huai said that it was inconvenient for him to investigate the matter of Concubine Rong, after all, he was an elder. Therefore, the ministers should pay more attention to this matter. Otherwise, the minister would not have dared to investigate this matter. ”

Guo Chong was stunned for a moment, frowned and shouted: "Nonsense, when did I let him investigate this matter?" ”

Wu Chunlai said softly: "His Royal Highness King Huai said that in the Cuiwei Hall last summer, the emperor said it himself...... Could it be that King Huai lied? ”

Guo Chong suddenly remembered. Last summer, I went to Cuiwei Hall to hang out, and overheard the private conversation between Guo Xu and Concubine Mei's mother and son. I couldn't bear to disturb their mother and son, so I stopped outside to rest. As a result, the mother and son talked about the similarity between Concubine Rong and a concubine of the Lin family, and the two of them actually guessed what the topic of connection between this woman and Concubine Rong was. Guo Chong rushed in and drank them. I did have doubts in my heart at the time, and maybe I did say that I wanted them to investigate secretly. After that, the Qingjiao was in turmoil, and everything in the court was complicated, and he almost forgot about it. Guo Xu led the army to investigate the matter, told Wu Chunlai about it, and asked Wu Chunlai to investigate it secretly, which is also possible. In this way, I blamed them for it.

"You go on." Guo Chong snorted coldly.

Wu Chunlai nodded and said: "The minister knows that such a thing has to do with the royal face and the majesty of the emperor, so the minister has never dared to speak out, but only secretly did some small investigations. But the more he investigated, the more he felt that things were not simple. Concubine Rong was also too good to this green dance, giving her the privilege of entering the palace at any time, and summoned her to the palace in three or five days to talk, and rewarded her many times, which seemed to be very fond of it. Suspicious, the minister wanted to know what the origin of this woman named Green Dance was. So the minister sent someone to Hangzhou to investigate secretly and found some unusual clues. The specific situation has been clearly written by the minister. The minister suspected that this woman was the daughter of Lu Feiming, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, who suffered the fire that year. This case became an unsolved case that year, and although Lu Feiming died, his wife and three children escaped the disaster. In order to find out about this matter, the minister sent people to investigate secretly in Hangzhou for several months, and finally found Lu Feiming's widow Chen. The Chen woman had already married someone else incognito, but the minister still found her in the vast sea of people. ”

Speaking of finding Lu Feiming's widow, Wu Chunlai still couldn't hide his pride. Indeed, that's really the crux of the whole thing. Find this Chen woman, and the matter will be clear. And only he, Wu Chunlai, would think of starting with this Chen woman. Although Guo Xu, the king of Huai, also wanted to find clues, compared with himself, the king of Huai was obviously not resourceful, he only knew how to investigate in the capital, and he did not know how to find another way.

Guo Chong said coldly: "You have taken great pains. Shall I reward you? ”

Wu Chunlai hurriedly said: "The minister is not a reward, in fact, the minister is also very conflicted. The minister knew that this matter was very important, and the minister was actually terrified. But if someone deceives the emperor and does something that damages the emperor's reputation, how can the minister do nothing? How can the ministers also maintain the majesty of the emperor and maintain the dignity of the royal family. After the minister found the Chen woman, she quickly explained the whole thing. In fact, in early February, the minister had already gotten the clue of the whole thing from the Chen woman's mouth. But the minister didn't dare to believe her alone, so the minister still looked for evidence and verified it according to the facts she confessed out of prudence. After everything was confirmed, the minister did not dare to be self-conscious, so the minister reported the matter to Lü Xiang and Yang Shumi, two important ministers in the court. Let them decide. After careful consideration, the two adults felt that this matter could not be hidden from the emperor, and it must be reported to the emperor for the emperor's decision. After all...... This involves...... Concubine Rong ....... That's why today, I came with the two adults to report. Please let the emperor decide. If the emperor did not want to publicize the matter, the minister immediately destroyed all the evidence, and no one knew about it again. In short, the emperor made a decision, and the courtiers only reported the truth. ”

……

Wu Chun told the truth, Lu Feiming's widow Chen had been secretly brought to the capital as early as the twenty-second day of the first lunar month. Wu Chunlai personally interrogated Chen. Chen knew that the stakes were high, and at first he refused to speak. Until Wu Chunlai brought a pair of Chen's sons and daughters to her and ordered someone to torture the two siblings. When she threatened to torture the two siblings in front of her, Chen finally broke down in the face of the screams and cries for help from her children.

Chen was fully aware of what happened back then. Chen gave birth to a son himself, but in the end he got a daughter back, and Lu Feiming naturally had to confess the secret of the whole thing to Chen before doing so. Although Chen was reluctant, she had no choice for the sake of her husband and the safety of her family. She naively thought that after her husband did this for Concubine Rong, she would have nothing to do with it from now on, and the family would be able to live in peace and stability from now on. So she agreed to it with tears in her eyes. That night, a weakened Chan watched as her husband carried the child out of the door, and soon after, brought back a baby girl.

Chen knew that this baby girl was the daughter of the crown prince and Concubine Rong, and took care of her in every way since then. It's not so much love as awe and worry, for fear that there will be a mistake and cause trouble in the future. And so it went on for eight years. In the past eight years, she did not dare to ask her husband what happened to her son who was sent to the prince's mansion. For countless nights, she wept in tears, but she was not known to outsiders.

Still, disaster came. That night was chaotic and a fire broke out in the house. The husband is not at home. She was at a loss when a group of strangers barged in and told her to leave immediately with her children, and that someone was going to kill their entire family. She also said that her husband had died on the long street. Chen's brain was stunned, and his whole body was numb. The only belief in my heart is that we can't let the children die here. So he got into the carriage with the group and went out of the city. After that, they ran all the way south. Feeling unsafe everywhere she went, she arrived in Hangzhou after several months, and finally she couldn't go any further. Because she was in a hurry, she didn't have time to bring anything. The jewelry items on the body are pawned clean, and there is no money left, and the mountains and rivers are exhausted.

The winter in Hangzhou seems to be more gloomy and cold than in the capital, huddled under the stone fence bridge in Hangzhou to avoid the cold wind, and the three children around him are cold and hungry, crying mournfully. The feeling of being cold to the bottom of my heart and helpless to the bottom of my heart made Chen desperate. She really wanted to take her three children and throw them into the icy water. But she was unwilling, she didn't know what was happening, she didn't understand why her peaceful and happy life was shattered overnight. Her husband's life and death are unknown, and the children around her are innocent, how can she bear to let them die with her.

In the midst of all these entanglements and pains, a carriage stopped in front of them, and a woman with a beautiful face came to her. Looking at them, the mother and daughter frowned.

"Oh, poor thing. How did such a cold day fall to this? I don't have a little maid at home, this sister-in-law, if you sell your children, I can take one home. I promise to treat her well and not teach her to endure hardships. The woman said.

Chen was taken aback, she had never had the idea of selling her children. Besides, she had heard that there was a Qinglou that specialized in robbing by fire, and bought someone's daughter to send to the fire pit. How could she be? Immediately hugged the three children and shook their heads repeatedly.

The woman nodded and said, "It turned out that the slave family had misunderstood, and I saw that the little girl had a straw mark on her head, thinking that it was to be sold." It turned out that it wasn't. yes, who will sell his own flesh and blood? Who would let his children leave him if he were not in a desperate situation? It's the slave who is rude. Here are five taels of silver, and the sister-in-law will take them and buy some food for the children. It's such a cold day, and I can't get through it like this. Adults can still survive, but children will get sick and die. ”

The woman handed over five taels of silver, sighed, and turned away. Chen took the five taels of silver and didn't know what to say. These five taels of silver are life-saving money, but Chen suddenly thought: Five taels of silver can cope with a momentary emergency, and what if it runs out? So what to do? How many days can these five taels of silver be dealt with? The woman was right, the children would die, so why not find a way for them to live? What if you gave your life to yourself?

"Madame, walk slowly, may I ask if you really bought it to be a maid?" You're not a trafficker in Qinglou? Chan asked.

The woman turned around and smiled: "It turns out that you are afraid of this, the slave family is from the Lin family in Hangzhou." I'm the side room of Master Sanfanglin. The slave family has a son who is ten years old this year, and there is a lack of a little maid to play with. So I want to buy a maid to accompany him. If you don't believe it, you can ask others, I believe it, my husband's name is Lin Boming. ”

Chen nodded and said, "Don't ask, I believe in Mrs. We fled and are now unaccompanied. If the lady is willing to take it in, the slave family is grateful. But I don't sell my children. This is my eldest daughter, Qingping, who just turned eight years old this year. Madame may lead her there, and give her a bite to eat. I don't want money. As long as the lady is gracious, and gives her food and clothing, she will be kind to her. ”

The woman sighed, "I don't think you look like an ordinary woman, I'm afraid it's because you've suffered a disaster." Ay. I'm not in a good place, or I'd have brought you all back. But it doesn't work. You don't want money, so what can you do with these two children? So I will give you twenty taels of silver, not to buy money, but to give you alms. I will take your eldest daughter away, and if you want to come back and recognize each other in the future, I may be you. What do you think? ”

Chen was grateful, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing. The woman dropped a money bag, then looked at the little girl standing aside with wide eyes and a delicate face, and said, "What a handsome little girl, your name is Qingping?" Come with me, okay? I have a little boy in my family, you can play together in the future. Well, the name Qingping is not very good, her life experience is like Ping, and she is a little miserable, so let's change your name to Green Dance. Come with me, okay? ”

The little girl Qingping nodded, turned her head to look at Chen and said, "Mother, don't cry, Ping'er knows that you can't do it." Mother remember to come to me, mother, you must remember to come to Ping'er. Brother and sister, I will miss you. ”

Chen hugged her and cried, and the little girl wiped her tears, hugged her younger brothers and sisters and kissed her a few times, and then took the woman's hand and got into the carriage and left. Chen ran a few steps after the carriage and was heartbroken when he saw Qingping's little face peeking out of the car window. The two children behind him started crying again, and then they had to stop.

The carriage was gone, and Chen turned around to take the money bag and found that it was heavy inside. When I opened it, it was not only twenty taels of silver, but ten taels of silver ingots, plus a pair of bracelets and a gold hairpin, which was worth at least thirty or forty taels of silver. The woman was not lying, she did not have much money, and even gave herself jewelry. Chen was not only grateful, but also more relieved. It can be seen that this woman is kind-hearted and will not be harsh to Qingping. The reason why the Chen family let Qingping go with the woman was not because she was reluctant to give birth to her own children, but because she finally protected Qingping. Qingping's identity is different, she is the daughter of the prince and Concubine Rong, she and her children can die, but she can't die.

With those dozens of taels of silver, Chen survived this winter with a pair of children. But she couldn't move an inch. The money was spent quickly, and it was gone in a few months. Fortunately, when Chen was in the boudoir, he learned some female red, so he bought some silk embroidery to make handkerchiefs and sachets and sell them for money. But the meager income is not enough to support the two children, and although it is cheap to live in a small inn, the money for living in the hotel is also a lot of money. Chen's original birth is a sign that some indiscriminate people often come to harass him. The old shopkeeper of the inn saw it in his eyes, so he intended to match for him and give the mother and son a place to live. Chen resolutely disagreed at first, but the situation forced a pair of children to be fed, idlers and hooligans always came to harass, so they couldn't live like this, so they gritted their teeth and stomped their feet, and agreed.

The old shopkeeper was very responsible, and found a small businessman family with a gentle personality for the Chen family, with an average family background, but at least he could live. That businessman's wife died of illness three years ago, and he had no children and no daughters at home. But after seeing Chen, he was attracted by her beautiful temperament, and did not dislike her with a pair of children with oil bottles, so in the spring of the following year, Chen married the merchant after a year of filial piety for her dead husband.

In the following days, Chen wanted to visit the Lin family countless times and find Qingping. But after thinking about it, I gave up again. It's not because of anything else, she's really afraid. She vaguely realized that the tragedy in her family was caused by Qingping, and she was now incognito and finally able to settle down, if Qingping came back, maybe there would be waves again. Besides, she inquired and learned that Mrs. Wang regarded Qingping as her own, and saw Qingping accompany Mrs. Wang and the handsome little boy to play in the market several times, talking and laughing very harmoniously, if Qingping wanted to come back at this moment, it would be unfair to that lady, maybe Qingping herself was unwilling.

In short, under all kinds of entanglements, Chen still chose not to break this rare peace.

Twelve years have passed in a flash, and Chen never expected that someone would still find her door after twelve years. Two years ago, her husband passed away due to illness, and Chen supported the family's shop by himself, and his life was peaceful. However, that night, when more than a dozen fierce and vicious people broke into the door of the house in the middle of the night, Chen knew in his heart that the matter was not over.