"Princess — —"
"Greetings, Princess — —"
"Greetings, Princess Chang Ning — —"
※ ※ ※
Chu Ning swaggered through the palace, followed by a group of palace maids and eunuchs. Everyone who passed by knelt down and greeted her politely. Although Chu Ning was the eldest princess of the late Emperor, but in her body flowed the blood of the Chu clan, and the elders of the Chu clan and the current Emperor were still of the same family.
Moreover, the current King of the Hui Kingdom cherished Chu Ning very much and regarded her as his own daughter. Not only did he retain her title and treatment as Princess Chang Ning, but he also allowed her to walk freely inside and outside the palace. She was a hundred times luckier than her brothers who were either killed or demoted.
Among the crowd, there was a delicate and pretty little eunuch with his head bowed, cautious and reserved. However, as he walked, he kept glancing out of the corner of his eyes at the twists and turns of the forbidden area, as well as the visible and hidden guards.
In the entire West Wind Kingdom, besides the small courtyard where the old immortal of the Song family lived, this was the most difficult place to conquer?
Chu Ning did not even glance at those people, nor did she make any response, and still maintained her arrogant and willful temperament.
It was said that this move made the children of the Hui Kingdom very dissatisfied, thinking that she still did not know how to restrain herself in the face of a disaster, and extremely stupid. But the King of the Hui nation was full of praise for this behavior of hers, calling it 'frank and straightforward', forcing his daughters to hold back and suffer internal injuries.
Chu Ning led the crowd into the back palace, where the Emperor's concubines and the previous Empress Dowager lived. From time to time, Chu Ning would come to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager and the other concubines, so she was very familiar with this area.
Her hurried footsteps suddenly came to a halt, Chu Ning turned to the crowd behind her and said: "I'm going to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager, you all wait outside. I left a Dzi bead in the carriage, Little An Zi, help me get it back. That's the gift I want to give to the Empress Dowager. "
"Yes, Your Highness." The young eunuch with delicate features replied, turned around and walked outside.
After Chu Ning gave the order, she took her two trusted servant girls to the Empress Dowager's Pure Flowers Palace.
The little eunuch hurried all the way in the back palace, moving as fast as a ghost. Even the Imperial Guards with good eyesight only saw a blur before the figure disappeared like a phantom.
Ice Spring Palace.
The location of this palace was not eye-catching, and it looked cold from the outside. It was like an ice spring, devoid of any worldly aura.
Most of the people in the palace were snobbish, and the palace maids and eunuchs were even more so. The more favored a concubine was, the more people would try to curry favor with her. In a place like the Ice Spring Palace, apart from the elders in the palace, no one would come to kowtow and greet them during festivals.
Bang bang bang bang bang …
The melodious sound of a wooden fish came from inside the house.
Obviously, the person living in the Ice Spring Palace was probably a master who liked to eat vegetarian and worship Buddha.
Li Muyang's body was hidden in the dense foliage of a Golden Phoenix Tree. He calmed his heart and waited for a while. After confirming that there were no abnormalities in his surroundings, he moved his body and disappeared from the treetop of the Golden Phoenix Tree.
Bang bang bang …
The woman in palace attire was chanting sutras with her eyes closed, when she suddenly felt a cold wind blowing around her, and an uncomfortable feeling of restraint all over her body.
She abruptly opened her eyes and saw a little eunuch dressed in a black inner servant uniform standing in front of her, sizing her up with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"Who are you?" The palace lady asked in a low voice.
"You're not afraid of me?" Li Muyang asked in a puzzled tone.
"You trespassed into my residence, you should be afraid of me. Why should I be afraid of you? "The palace lady bellowed. The pair of gentle and calm eyes were enraged, with a hint of majesty and murderous intent. "Who are you? Why did you trespass into my residence? "
Li Muyang gently sighed, bowed deeply to the woman, and said, "Muyang pays respect to Aunt."
"— —"
The palace lady was first taken aback, and then looked at Li Muyang with a face full of shock, exclaiming in a low voice, "You are Li Muyang?"
"I am Li Muyang." Li Muyang nodded.
"You — — you're not — — why are you here?" The palace lady's face revealed a horrified expression. Li Muyang was not only Li Muyang, he was also a dragon. The dragon was not in the sky, nor was he far away, but in front of her. Why did he come looking for her? What was his purpose?
"I want to ask Aunt a question." Li Muyang looked at the beautiful woman in front of him, who looked somewhat similar to his mother Gongsun Yu.
This woman was called Gongsun Shu, the cousin of Li Muyang's mother Gongsun Yu, and not his sister from the same father and mother. Gongsun Shu's father Gongsun Haoran and Li Muyang's maternal grandfather Gongsun Haoze were cousins, and also belonged to the core members of the Gongsun family.
The Gongsun family married his mother Gongsun Yu to the Lu family, and sent a daughter to the Chu palace to be a concubine for the late emperor. The strange thing was that Gongsun Shu had never been favored by the late emperor. Not only did she receive the title of second-rank Madam Hua Rui, she did not leave a son or daughter for the late emperor. The Lu family rebelled, and the late emperor died, so the Gongsun family was naturally implicated.
However, the difference between the Gongsun family and the Lu family was that although they also had core members in the court, most of their energy was focused on business. Moreover, they were the biggest spokespersons of the Chu royal family among the people, and many royal merchants' businesses were managed by them.
Therefore, even if this time the Song family and the Cui family wanted to exterminate the Lu family, they did not attack the Gongsun family excessively. First, the Gongsun family did not rebel with the Lu family — — Whether the Lu family did or not, the people of Tiandu did not know, but did the people in charge of the Song family and the Cui family not know?
Besides, even if the Gongsun family was regarded as a member of the Lu family because of the marriage, the Gongsun family still had a daughter in the Chu palace as a concubine. Was the Chu family also a member of the Chu royal family? Besides, the Gongsun family had always believed that they were trusted by the royal family, and they always believed in money. Therefore, countless officials had been corrupted by the Gongsun family. Eradicating the Gongsun family would not be good for the stability of the court.
One could say that the Gongsun family had escaped unscathed this time. Apart from a few important positions that had been taken, most of their heads were saved.
Besides, many of the businesses of the Chu royal family were still managed by the Gongsun family. The Chu royal family had always been favored by the emperor, and the day of recovery was close at hand.
Li Muyang had always wanted to enter the palace. He wanted to have a good talk with this aunt of his, and find the answer to the question in his heart. Before, he entrusted his idea to his most trusted friend, Yan Xiangma. However, unexpectedly, Song Yu and Song Fuxiao's impromptu move caused Yan Xiangma to be seriously injured, and then he was executed by the family. Therefore, Li Muyang's plan had to be put on hold.
Later, Chu Ning suddenly came to him, and Li Muyang knew that his chance had come again. He knew that Chu Ning's enemies were the same as his own, the Song family, the Cui family, and the current emperor, King Hui. Chu Ning didn't believe that her father was assassinated by Lu Suokong. Instead, she firmly believed that her uncle killed her father.
Li Muyang discussed with Chu Ning for a while, then disguised himself as Chu Ning's guard and sneaked into the palace to meet this aunt of his, who he had never seen before.
"What do you mean?" asked Gong Sun Shu.
"Aunt, you seem to be … living a peaceful life in the palace?"
"The late emperor died a little earlier, and left a widow to live a difficult life. In this Ice Spring Palace, there is nothing but peace. So, you are not wrong … I am indeed living a peaceful life in the palace. "
"They didn't cause you any trouble?"
"Who would take a weak girl seriously?"
Li Muyang looked sharply at Gong Sun Shu and said, "I want to know, why did the Lu Consortium collapse so quickly?"
"What?" Gongsun Shu looked at Li Muyang in astonishment, asking aloud.
"A thousand years and a hundred generals, that is our Lu Consortium … What I don't understand is, why did the Lu Consortium collapse so quickly? It was as if overnight, the forces that were originally loyal to the Lu Consortium disappeared. Or they were eliminated, or they changed sides at the last moment, or they surrendered to save their lives … But, if this is the case, how did the Lu Consortium's illustrious reputation come about? "
"This is your Lu family's matter, why are you asking me, a widow living deep in the palace?" Gongsun Shu got up from the futon, stood in front of Li Muyang and asked in a loud voice.
"It is because Aunt lives deep in the inner palace that I wanted to come and see you — —" Li Muyang said aloud. "Moreover, Aunt is the person who sleeps beside the late Emperor, don't tell me you can't even detect a little bit of his intention? If aunt is really so stupid, it would be impossible for her to live such a peaceful and worry-free life after the late emperor passed away. So, what kind of secret is hidden here? Aunt, we are a family, why hide? "
Gong Sun Shu avoided Li Muyang's gaze and said, "How would I know the late emperor's thoughts? She was originally a pitiful woman who was not favored, I don't even have the chance to see her … "
"It seems aunt is still not willing to tell the truth." Li Muyang said with a face of regret. "What is the reason? Who is manipulating all this behind the scenes? Besides that, why did Song Yu die? Who killed the people of Yu Garden? "
"These … aren't you manipulating all of this in secret?" Gong Sun Shu finally bravely looked into Li Muyang's eyes and said, "Everyone in and out of the palace says so."
A faint smile appeared on Li Muyang's lips. He said, "It seems aunt is in frequent contact with people outside the palace."
"There will always be some news that reaches my ears. After all, I am also a member of the Gongsun Clan. "
"Gongsun Clan …" Li Muyang looked at Gong Sun Shu and said, "Is grandfather well?"
"Very well …"
Before Gongsun Shu finished his words, that young man had already disappeared from his sight.
Soon, the sound of soft footsteps came from outside. Cai Momo, who had been waiting by her side, walked in and said, "Madam, it's time to eat."
"Okay. Go first, I will go over after I finish reciting the Medicine Buddha Sutra. "
When Cai Momo walked far away, a man in a black robe walked out from behind the huge Bodhisattva statue. Looking at Gongsun Shu's pale face, he said in a deep voice, "I didn't expect that he would still come … I knew this day would come."
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