Zheng Ying took a glance and was overjoyed. She hurriedly reached out to take it and repeatedly said, "Yes, yes, that's it! Why did you have it? Why didn't you take it out earlier … "Halfway through her words, a chill suddenly rose in her heart. Her gaze slowly moved up the sleeve of the person holding the wooden figurine. She saw Fulin standing in front of her with a grave and stern expression. His face seemed to be covered with a layer of frost. She was so scared that she dropped the wooden figurine that she took a few steps back. The fear on her face had not yet disappeared. Fulin caught the wooden figurine and coldly said, "So you are very clear about the origin of this thing?"
Zheng Ying was so scared that she swallowed her anger and did not dare to say another word. Fulin was also impatient to wait for her to answer. He raised his voice and called out, "Deshou! Deshou! " Not long after, an old man with a grizzled beard that reached his chest quickly rushed in. He saluted and said, "Chen is here! Old Chen pays his respect to Your Majesty. May His Majesty … "
Fulin straightened his face and interrupted him, "Deshou, some time ago Zhen asked several trusted aides to discuss what kind of gift to give to Consort Yun. There were many opinions, and it was inevitable that it would fall into the conventional pattern. Finally, you came up with the idea of wood carving. Zhen knows that you are proficient in the art of micro-carving, so Zhen entrusted this task to you. How is the progress so far? " The old man, Deshou, said, "Old Chen received Your Majesty's order and did not dare to be negligent. I worked day and night and finally completed it within the imperial deadline. I have already given it to Your Majesty in private when the court retreated today. You … how could you forget? "
Fulin sneered and said, "Is that so? Then … "He threw the two small wooden figurines on the table and said," These are your handiwork, right? How do you explain it? "
Deshou trembled as he poked his head out. He first saw Shen Shiyun's wood carving, then he looked at the masterpiece that he was so proud of. He raised his hand and pointed, saying, "That's right, isn't this …" He thought, could it be that His Majesty thinks that my carving of Consort Yun is not beautiful enough? When he saw the wooden puppets lying side by side, his face turned pale with fright. He said, "Your Majesty, this … how did it end up in your hands?" He was so frightened that he lost his voice. Fulin snorted, "You'll have to ask yourself."
De Shou knitted his brows, he thought hard for half a day, and then he was suddenly enlightened. "Your Majesty," he said, "I am guilty! At that time, Concubine Zhen once brought a portrait and asked this subject to sculpt a man based on that portrait. She also repeatedly urged this subject to sculpt exactly the same. This was the inspiration for the miniature sculpting that she suggested to the Emperor. I also resent this official for being greedy. I should have known that I should not ask for too much of a good thing. Otherwise, I would not have been so flustered. This subject hurriedly rushed over and finally completed the task. However, at the last moment, this subject made a big mistake. I had my little apprentice package the puppets. Because of carelessness, this subject forgot to check again. As a result, this subject mistakenly gave the puppet that was supposed to be presented to Your Majesty to Imperial Concubine Zhen instead of the one that Imperial Concubine Zhen entrusted to Your Majesty … I ask Your Majesty for forgiveness! I ask Your Majesty for forgiveness! "De Shou kowtowed again and again.
Fulin sighed, waved his hand, and said warmly, "Forget it, it's not your fault. It's just that zhen was worried about face, so zhen hurriedly stuffed it into his sleeve in the imperial court and did not look carefully." His tone suddenly took a sharp turn, "But zhen doesn't understand one thing. You said that this puppet was entrusted by Imperial Concubine Zhen, so how could it be found in the Snow Song Palace?" De Shou said, "This … this old subject really doesn't know."
Fulin cast a glance at Zheng Ying, and said indifferently, "Imperial Concubine Zhen, who is this man?" Zheng Ying blushed. She remembered that not long ago, she had righteously said something like, "The women in the palace must be more virtuous." Now, from all sides, it seemed that she had been moved by love. She moved her lips, and said in a low voice, "Replying to Your Majesty, this concubine … this concubine also doesn't know." Fulin sneered, "Don't know? For a stranger, you specially asked someone to draw a portrait, and then carved it into a wooden sculpture for your collection? I really don't know where your thoughts go every day! "
When Yinyin saw that Zheng Ying was in a predicament, she was eager to protect her master, so she hurriedly helped her out, "Replying to Your Majesty, he is the Wulin Alliance Head Li … Hero Li. Master knew that Imperial Concubine Consort Yun had something important to discuss with him, and hoped that he could do something for the country and the people, so he asked Mr. De Shou to carve this puppet so that Imperial Concubine Consort Yun could give it to Alliance Head Li as a gift as a favor. "
Although her intentions were good, in Zheng Ying's ears, it was no less than adding oil to the fire. This excuse was really full of loopholes. Previously, she had ridiculed Shen Shiyun in front of Fulin for "not lacking in gifts" and "being a woman is enough." She also said that "the gift is light, the sentiment is heavy, and the gift is considerate." The implication was clearly that this gift was given by her wild man. It was impossible for him to have known about it long ago, and to have specially helped her as a favor.
Naturally, Fulin also thought of this layer, and his face gradually showed disdain. He said, "A while ago? Didn't Consort Zhen say that she was sick? " Yinyin said, "She was indeed sick. As for the request to De Shou, as well as the purchase of the box and so on, this servant will take care of it." Fulin said, "But the people who are watching the portrait everywhere, are they also people from your palace?" As he said that, he looked straight at Zheng Ying.
Zheng Ying had nowhere to hide, and had no way to avoid it, so she could only say, "Yes." Fulin flicked his sleeve and said, "It seems that the imperial bodyguards in your palace are all very idle, doing some senseless shady business. Zhen's palace doesn't keep idle people. Since you don't need these extra people, leave a few servants to serve you. The rest of the people will be transferred to the Snow Song Palace to be responsible for protecting Consort Yun's safety. Hu Wei, this new team will be handed over to you. "
Hu Wei said loudly, "As you wish! This humble servant accepts the decree and thanks for your kindness. " Fulin nodded. Hu Wei secretly smiled at Zheng Ying when he wasn't looking, and whispered, "Wonderful, really wonderful. Lifting a rock and smashing it on your own feet, such a good show, it's not every day that you can see it."
In the second round, Zheng Ying lost face again, and suffered a crushing defeat. She returned in low spirits, and didn't dare to underestimate Shen Shiyun anymore. But she felt that she was scheming deeply, sinister and cunning, and was really a strong opponent that wasn't easy to deal with. If she blindly played tricks behind her back, she would only continue to suffer losses. So Zheng Ying decided to change her strategy, from "fighting in the dark" to "fighting in the open".
On this day, she rushed to the Snow Song Palace early in the morning, and saw many of the imperial bodyguards who used to work in her palace. Those people had a new backer, and when they saw her, they all showed a look of disdain. Zheng Ying suppressed her anger, thinking that if she followed the example of a shrew and cursed in the street, it wouldn't be worth it to ruin her image for these ungrateful animals. With a belly full of resentment, she rushed into the palace hall, grabbed Shen Shiyun's wrist, and pulled her away.
Hu Wei and Luo Jin pretended to stop her. Hu Wei said, "Niangniang, where are you taking our master? In any case, you should tell us, so that we servants know the way." As soon as Zheng Ying saw Hu Wei, she couldn't help but get angry. Thinking that it was this dog servant who humiliated her in every possible way in front of the Emperor, she angrily said, "How dare you! Do I have to report to you first before doing anything? You dog who bullies others because of your master's power, quickly get out of my way! "
Hu Wei laughed and said, "I don't dare. What you do is your freedom, other people can't persuade you. "Zheng Ying coldly snorted and said," It's good that you know. "Hu Wei laughed and said," Isn't it obvious? If a person is determined to not turn back until they hit the southern wall, what can other people do? They can't possibly accompany you to hit the wall, can they? "
Zheng Ying hated this kind of seemingly joking and mocking tone the most. She was just about to curse when she heard Shen Shiyun say with a smile, "Hu Wei, don't be so talkative. It seems that Concubine Zhen Jiejie is in a good mood, she always wants to invite me to go for a walk with her. For this reason, she visited me one after another. As the saying goes, it's impolite not to reciprocate. It's fine if we don't reciprocate, but we should at least respond. Pass down the order, tell them that I'll be back soon. "
Zheng Ying sneered and said, "That's right, I'm not a scourge or a fierce beast, why are you afraid that I'll eat her? You're the one worrying blindly on the side. The emperor is not worried, but the eunuch is worried to death. "After saying that, she pulled Shen Shiyun and quickly walked outside.
The two of them sped along the way. They were even faster than a traveler. This kind of speed was something that had never been seen before in all of history. Shen Shiyun pursed her lips and followed closely behind her without saying a word. When they reached a deserted area in the imperial garden, Shen Shiyun suddenly opened her mouth and asked, "Concubine Zhen Jiejie, where are you taking me? Can we slow down a bit? Meimei really can't walk anymore. "She was slightly out of breath.
Zheng Ying was originally walking with her head down, but when she heard what Shen Shiyun said, she raised her head and looked around. Seeing that there were few people around, she felt satisfied. She shook her arm and shook Shen Shiyun off. She sneered and said, "Shen Shiyun, there's only the two of us here. I'll have to trouble you to stop pretending, okay? I'm not the emperor, I won't be moved by your pitiful little lamb appearance. Your soft and bone-chilling tone will only make me feel disgusted! "
The more Zheng Ying tried to provoke her, the more Shen Shiyun didn't get angry. She still smiled calmly and said, "What is Jiejie talking about? How come I don't understand? "
If she was really kept in the dark, it would be a different matter. But knowing that the other party was lying, the more she pretended to be innocent, the more infuriated she was. Zheng Ying was so angry that she sneered three times. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and pursed her lips, "I say, woman, did you come from an opera troupe? How can you be so good at singing? Your singing was really wonderful. Even I want to slap the table and praise you. If you were angry and scolded me or kicked me, I would still think that you were showing your true feelings and would look at you more favorably. But you're too good at pretending. You've even lost your sense of self. That's really sad. Don't you think that recently, misfortunes have been happening especially frequently around you? Everything was a trap set up by me. I've been using crafty plots and machinations to make you so miserable. Don't tell me you don't know that it was me who did it. I don't believe you're that stupid! "
Shen Shiyun smiled faintly and said, "It's not hard to guess. What's there to not think of?" Zheng Ying stared at her and nodded, "You're finally willing to be honest? Very good. Since you know, how can you not be angry at all? Don't say you don't hate me. I don't believe you're that magnanimous. "
Shen Shiyun said, "Don't you think it's boring to speak according to the lines you've designed? It's just that I really don't hate you. 'Hate' is also one of the seven emotions. It takes a lot of effort and time. You're not worthy of my time. You said you set up a trap to make me miserable. How come I didn't see it? Originally, His Majesty was so busy that he neglected me. It was all thanks to you that I won back the Emperor's favor. You were willing to sacrifice your face and self-esteem to pave the way for me to reach the peak. How can I hate you? "She spoke tirelessly, but her tone was very sincere. Zheng Ying didn't want to admit that she couldn't win against her. She covered it up and said, "I didn't have such a noble mind. A gentleman keeps his word. I was deliberately sabotaging you. Who knew that you would escape all of it. I can only say that your luck is amazing …"
Hearing this, Shen Shiyun's smile slowly faded. Her face became gloomy. Her eyes were like two knives falling on Zheng Ying's body. She coldly interrupted, "It should be said that it's because Bengong is one step ahead of you. All of your movements are under my control, including all of your thoughts and actions. Everything is going according to my train of thought. But you're so obedient that it makes me feel bored. It's like I'm enjoying a play that I've already heard by heart. If I don't say something, I'm afraid you won't be able to figure it out. I'll make it clear to you. Everything depends on human effort. There aren't that many coincidences in the world, waiting for you to bump into them. Deshou was careless and sent the wrong puppet. Do you think he's really old and muddle-headed? When working for His Majesty, the slightest carelessness could cost him his head. How could he be so careless? Taking a step back, could it be that he couldn't even tell which puppet was decorated with a box? "
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