Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1104 Zhen Huan Enlarged to 30

Jiang Xinxin originally had no intention of giving any face to Concubine Shu, but when she left the palace to practice, she was under the banner of praying for the late emperor, and she also had an adult son, Prince Guo, standing there. Even though the royal family looked down on Prince Guo, the seventeenth son of the late emperor who had Baiyi blood, they would not tolerate others looking down on him.

And Big Fat Orange didn't want to approach Concubine Shu rashly. After all, although Concubine Shu was nominally their stepmother, she was actually their peer.

Jiang Xinxin took the time to talk to Concubine Shu about returning to the palace: "Concubine Shu has been praying for the late emperor in Ganlu Temple for three years. Now I think her merits are fulfilled. It's time to return to the palace to enjoy her life."

Concubine Shu was not very willing to return to the palace, especially since the life in Ganlu Temple was quiet and comfortable. Moreover, even if the empress dowager was closed in the palace and did not see anyone, her status was still there. If she accidentally caught the empress dowager's eye, it would be difficult for her to escape.

So Concubine Shu declined, saying, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. But I have not yet completed my merits. I heard that the Empress Dowager was seriously ill in bed. I am willing to pray for her."

Jiang Xinxin was too lazy to beat around the bush with Concubine Shu, so she went straight to the point: "I don't want to embarrass Concubine Shu, but she is young and has lived outside the palace for many years, which is also detrimental to the emperor's reputation."

Concubine Shu's breathing stagnated. It's not like she didn't have spies and informants in the palace, so she was still well-informed about the news in the palace. But she didn't expect the Queen to speak so directly and not even give her the slightest bit of face. She could only hold back her grief and indignation and answer with a smile that she was willing to return to the palace.

Jiang Xinxin was satisfied, nodded and smiled, "It is still the Queen Mother who is kind and will not let us young people suffer any blame. If the Queen Mother likes to worship Buddha, why not go to Baohua Palace more often? And when my seventeenth brother marries a wife in the future, the Queen Mother can also leave the palace to enjoy the blessing of having children and grandchildren around her."

After hearing the last part, Concubine Shu finally felt relieved and was no longer unhappy.

However, Concubine Shu turned around and sent a message to her own son, Prince Guo. Prince Guo thought that his mother was being bullied and could not contain his anxiety. He rushed to Ganlu Temple that night and secretly met with Concubine Shu.

Seeing her son sweating all over after working all night, Concubine Shu couldn't help but shed tears. Prince Guo felt that his mother had been wronged, and held her hand and asked with concern: "How are you, mother? I was really worried when I saw your letter..."

Concubine Shu wiped her tears quickly and explained, "Mother has not suffered any injustice. It's just that the Queen said that compared to the other concubines, Mother is really young. Even if there is an excuse to pray for the late emperor, it is not appropriate for her to stay outside the palace for too long. Now these three years have been stolen."

Prince Guo hated his brother, Fatty Ju, deeply. At this moment, he was surrounded by his own people, and the person in front of him was his own mother who had taken the trouble to plan for him. He could not help but grit his teeth and said, "They are really interesting. My mother has taken refuge in Ganlu Temple, but she still won't let us go!"

"The queen is the same. She used to look like a loving sister-in-law, but now she is helping the tyrant."

Concubine Shu quickly covered her son's mouth, trembling with fear for a while, "Why are you saying these things! There are so many imperial guards in Ganlu Temple now. You are taking a huge risk by coming here at night, and you still say these things!"

Prince Guo looked at Concubine Shu's gray monk's robes. Her long black hair could only be hidden under the monk's hat. There was not a single bit of makeup on her face, and she couldn't even use hair oil. He felt so aggrieved.

Prince Guo slightly raised his head and closed his eyes, forcing back all the tears. He did not want Concubine Shu to see his loss of composure. But a mother knows a son best, and how could Concubine Shu not know what her son was thinking?

She let out a long breath, as if to expel all the depression of the past few years, not letting these emotions affect her clarity of mind, and advised: "Son, since the death of the late emperor, we have been the prey of the queen mother and her son. Mother knows that you are hiding your grievances, but the more dangerous the time is, the more careful we must be."

Prince Guo had no choice but to lower his head so that Concubine Shu wouldn't see the sadness on his face. "But mother, when my fourth brother gathered the royal family together to clean up the Imperial Household Department's bannermen, I didn't get any news at all!"

Concubine Shu had known the news for a long time. Almost all the staff she had arranged in the palace were cleared out. Now there were only some young palace maids and a few eunuchs serving in remote places who could be used. The rest were almost all in Changchun Garden or the temporary palace. Many of them took the opportunity to go back, but compared with the past, they were really hesitant.

Moreover, those people were frightened by the fierce tactics of the emperor and the royal family, and dared not do anything easily. Concubine Shu had not received any news from the palace for a long time, and she did not dare to contact the nails who were still in Shoukang Palace and had not been used.

But returning to the palace will undoubtedly bring greater confidence to those people, and the manpower of mother and son in the palace also needs to be re-managed.

Neither the mother nor the son knew whether the emperor's decision to return to the palace was a sudden impulse or a premeditated one, but since the queen had already mentioned it, they had to go back.

Prince Guo came at night and left in a hurry without disturbing anyone. Jiang Xinxin guessed that Prince Guo should have come, but was not interested in doing anything and just took note of the matter.

Three days later, Dapangju and Jiang Xinxin returned to the palace in the rain, and they were accompanied by the late emperor's widow, Concubine Shu.

This rain-praying activity was very successful, and Dapangju's reputation among the people was further enhanced. In addition, Prince Heng made great efforts in the Longkodo matter and made many of Longkodo's crimes public. The most important one was that he had failed to show kindness to the previous emperor and attempted to overthrow the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, with this information, the suspicion that Big Fat Orange is usurping the throne is reduced a lot.

Of course, everyone knows that the rumor that Big Fat Orange seized the throne was probably just a rumor fabricated by Prince Lian and his party, but some people with ulterior motives insisted on using it as an excuse to satisfy their own selfish desires.

Big Fat Orange was very satisfied with Prince Heng's actions on the Longkodo incident, and was genuinely relieved about releasing Old Nine. However, he had just hinted to Prince Heng that he could release Old Nine alone, and then he brought up the matter of Old Ten contacting Nian Gengyao, so Big Fat Orange just pretended that he had said nothing before.

This is the real reason why Prince Heng insisted on breaking up with the Ninth and Tenth Princes, and insisted on persuading Concubine Yi to give up the Tenth Prince.

Jiang Xinxin did not put Concubine Shu into Shoukang Palace, but sent her to Ningshou Palace.

She was hoping that the empress dowager would die sooner, and she was worried that if Concubine Shu entered Shoukang Palace, it would instead stimulate the empress dowager's desire to survive, and make her vent all her frustrations on Concubine Shu. Wouldn't all her previous efforts then be in vain?