It’s Better to be the Empress Dowager

Chapter 30 Past

Zhao Chengjun did not answer for a long time. Master Tang originally thought that Zhao Chengjun didn’t want to speak. After a while, she found that Zhao Chengjun’s body temperature was constantly lowering. Master Tang hurriedly touched Zhao Chengjun’s hand, which was already cold.

Master Tang was panicked and asked quickly: “Master, how are you doing?”

Zhao Chengjun seemed to be unable to hold it at last, holding on to the tree next to him, his face pale. Master Tang was frightened, she quickly helped Zhao Chengjun to sit down, Zhao Chengjun did not speak for a long time, Master Tang courageously touched Zhao Chengjun’s face, and the result was also cold.

He lost too much blood, his lips were pale, his limbs were cold, and his pulse was very fast. Master Tang didn’t know how he got here, he had been silent before, and Master Tang thought he was all right.

As a result, it turned out to be so serious.

Master Tang hurriedly looked around and asked, “Where is the grass that can stop bleeding? Lord, wait, I will look for it.”

“No need.” Zhao Chengjun stopped Master Tang’s movements, suppressed his breath, and said slowly, “You don’t have to work in vain. Listen, I have just notified them, and someone will come soon. If the person coming is Jiang Jiu, Or the faces you have seen in the study, then you follow them. If they refuse to take off their masks, or hesitatingly refuse to declare their identity, it is internal response. You don’t care about me and run by yourself. The woods here are deep, They dare not search the woods wildly, as long as you hide until dawn, you can be saved.”

Zhao Chengjun said these things in a low voice, and sometimes had to stop before he could continue. Master Tang’s eyes widened unknowingly: “Master, what are you doing?”

Why is it the same as confessing the last words?

Zhao Chengjun had to prepare for the worst. He has lost too much blood now, and his vision is blurred, no matter who the next person is, he has no power to resist. The palace in the first half of his life and the army in the second half of his life had long taught Zhao Chengjun not to put hope in case. The first to arrive may be from the palace or the Tatars. Zhao Chengjun doesn’t know how God’s will arranges. He only knows that he must take advantage of the present to arrange his affairs.

He deserved to die as early as the second year of Yongxi, and if he could live for eleven more years, he was already fighting against Hades. However, Master Tang shouldn’t die here. These people came for him, and had nothing to do with Master Tang, she should have lived squeamishly and freely.

Zhao Chengjun lowered his head and breathed slowly. After he had enough strength, he continued to say: “When you go back, take this jade pendant to find Liu Ji and tell him that there is a letter from Angri that explains my post-death arrangements. , Let them do what the letter says. After these words are passed to Liu Ji, you can leave, and Liu Ji will help you arrange your entanglement and identity. After that, you will be free.”

Zhao Chengjun talked about the next piece of jade pendant and handed it to Master Tang. Master Tang watched for a long time, then suddenly held down Zhao Chengjun’s hand and pushed Yu Pei back to Zhao Chengjun’s side.

Master Tang said: “Master, this is your personal jade pendant. If I bring it back, it is hard to say whether Grandpa Liu will believe me. It is hard to say whether the people in the palace can let me go, or even whether I can live until tomorrow. I will not spread the word for you, nor will I leave. If the prince is really worried, then go back to the house and make arrangements in person.”

Zhao Chengjun looked at her in surprise: “You…”

“Master, you are the backbone of the Jing Palace.” Tang Shishi stared at Zhao Chengjun closely and said, “If you are gone, many things will not develop according to your vision. There is no perfect plan in the world, only you are in the center. In order to achieve perfection.”

Zhao Chengjun did not respond, but he did not continue to stuff the jade pendant to Master Tang. Seeing that his mind is getting weaker and weaker, Master Tang kept talking to him, trying to wake his attention: “The prince, the son has not been found yet, he is not under the cliff, then where is he?”

“His concubine has not yet entered. If there is no prince staring at him, the prince will probably escape marriage again. He loves Zhou Shunhua like that. If no one in the palace takes care of him, he must do something to dote on his concubine and exterminate his wife. The prince, Are you really relieved?”

Master Tang talked a lot about Zhao Zixun, picking Zhao Chengjun’s most taboo things, but Zhao Chengjun still closed his eyes without any movement. Master Tang confided, risking a big deal, and said, “Master, do you have any regrets?”

Naturally there was no answer. Master Tang knelt and sat under the tree, warming Zhao Chengjun’s hands in vain, and whispered, “I do.”

“My mother is obviously a concubine. She helped Tang Mingzhe so much back then, but now she is living a solitary life. She is trampled under the feet by a concubine and swallows her voice; I have worked so hard to become Qi Jingsheng’s wife, reading what he likes. Book, learn the skills he likes, to please Qi family up and down, but in the end, Su just blew a pillow of wind in Tang Mingzhe’s ears, and Tang Yanyan took my marriage away. Why do they?”

Ye Yu murmured, and the rain wet her clothes. Master Tang felt a little cold, slowly hugging her knees, and shrank in the corner surrounded by Zhao Chengjun and the tree: “I’m not convinced. I don’t believe that my life was born to be humiliated. Yes. I entered the palace without any resistance. On the day of retiring, Qi Jingsheng and the Qi family sisters came, but I sat in my boudoir and never went out. I want to return to my hometown, I want to get ahead in the palace and spoil my concubine. A female officer, or a courtier as a wife or concubine, I can do it. As long as I can gain power, so that I can smile to Tang Mingzhe and tell Tang Mingzhe, sell the Su clan, and he has to follow. For this, no matter what I need to pay Whatever, I am willing.”

“Zhou Shunhua and Ren Yujun disliked my utilitarianism. They stepped on top of 10,000 people since they were born. They have everything. They have never felt poverty or embarrassment, taxation or corvee, nodded and bowed, and they have not tasted the taste of being arbitrarily manipulated with fate. Of course, they can be kind. Generous, indifferent to fame and fortune. But I am not, I have a lot of things to achieve, I am not willing to spend my life like this mediocrity, I don’t want to die, it is an ant in the hands of others.”

In fact, Master Tang was also extremely tired. The cold and shock consumed her energy greatly. Master Tang’s face was leaning on her knees, and her voice slowly became quieter: “Master, you were a prince when you were born. Will you be unwilling?” ”

Teacher Tang hugged his knees and naturally did not see, Zhao Chengjun’s eyes moved slightly. Zhao Chengjun seemed to be soaked in ice water, his consciousness sometimes clear and sometimes sinking, he vaguely heard a woman ask him, are you unwilling?

Not reconciled? Of course he has.

His mother, no, he can’t call her a mother, but a noble concubine.

Concubine Guo Gui and Sejong met at the age of six. It is a pity that because of the rules of the ancestors, the daughter of the family’s noble relatives could not be made the first concubine, and Sejong could only consider the Guo family as the side concubine. After ascending the throne for many years, Sejong and Concubine Guo had a strong relationship. They stayed in the palace of the concubine Shen for more than half a month. Together they gave birth to three children, the eldest Zhao Chengshuo, the second Zhao Chengyong, and the young Zhao Chengjun.

Among all the children, only Zhao Chengjun was the most favored. When he was enlightened when he was a child, Sejong repeatedly said “this child is like me”. He studied and practiced martial arts, all of which were taught by Sejong.

Zhao Chengjun was appointed King Jing at the age of ten, and he was the first prince to be appointed king. Sejong bypassed the above three sons, and was the first to give Zhao Chengjun the title of king. Later in the second year, for the sake of face, Sejong named the eldest son of the emperor Zhao Chengting the king of Chu, the second son of the emperor Zhao Chengshuo as the king of Xiang, and the third son of the emperor Zhao Chengyong as the king of Teng.

From the title, you can also see Sejong’s preference for Zhao Chengjun. In the first thirteen years of his life, he was distinguished, respected, respected by his father and concubine, and his mother and concubine were gentle. Both his elder brothers loved him, and both the Taifu and the courtiers praised him. Everything about Zhao Chengjun was top-notch, but at the age of thirteen, everything came to an abrupt end.

During the Sejong dynasty, Empress Yao was nothing but the name of the empress. Sejong didn’t even know Queen Yao before marriage, and rarely went to the Queen’s Palace after marriage. However, Empress Yao really had a good fate. She was pregnant with a child on the first night when she got married. She was the eldest daughter of the emperor, Princess Nanyang. Five years later, Sejong was drunk and rested in Queen Yao’s house. Queen Yao became pregnant again and had a son. It was the eldest son Zhao Chengting.

Zhao Chengting took the name of the protagonist and was embraced by the rites and laws. After Sejong fought for a long time, he still had no choice but to set up Zhao Chengting as the prince. Later, Sejong died of a serious illness and the crown prince became the throne. Empress Yao spent many years and finally became the empress dowager. The first thing she turned over was to order Concubine Guo to be buried for the first emperor.

The court has always had the custom of burial of concubines for the first emperor, but this is only for the low-ranking concubines who have not given birth and are not favored, and even the court ladies. Concubine Guo is the daughter of the family of Guo, the founding hero of Wuding Hou. She has been extremely favored in the palace for many years, and she also gave birth to three princes. It is impossible for her to be buried either in terms of reason or jurisprudence.

However, Queen Mother Yao insisted that Concubine Guo chose to hang herself in order to save her three children. However, Guo Guifei’s retreat did not satisfy the Queen Mother. Yao’s appetite grew stronger and stronger, and she even took action on the emperor’s heirs, squeezing the charcoal fire in the winter. The third prince Zhao Chengyong died of his mother immediately after the loss of his father. He was originally weak and contracted cold after being frozen. He was crushed by the Queen Mother and was unable to seek medical treatment. He died only one month later.

Overnight, Zhao Chengjun lost three relatives one after another. In November, his father died of illness, and his mother was buried in the same month. In December, the third brother who loved him the most suffered a cold and died.

The imperial concubine’s burial was shocking, and the third son of the emperor died. Afraid of being blamed, the Queen Mother hurriedly drove Guo Guifei’s only two sons to Jifan, regardless of whether she could get on the road or not. Zhao Chengjun was fourteen years old and had a high fever, so he was stuffed into Jiu Fan’s carriage. The place where he is coming is still remote and sinister northwest.

Queen Mother Yao made no secret of her heart, she just changed her way and forced them to die.

Zhao Chengjun had a high fever on the road repeatedly and almost died several times. But he just survived, and it wasn’t until August of the following year that he finally recovered. However, after this time, Zhao Chengjun’s health was greatly damaged, and he coughed all year. Zhao Chengjun was sick and recovered in Xiping Mansion. Before he could recover, he heard news from Xiangdi that his second brother, Zhao Chengshuo, died of the epidemic when he was infected.

A mother and three brothers, now he is the only one left. And he couldn’t even go to see the second brother for the last time.

Zhao Chengjun was seriously ill, and after waking up, he completely changed himself. The four princes who were once arrogant and favored in the palace are dead, and the one who survived is King Jing who licked blood on the tip of a knife. Zhao Chengjun abandoned the delicate habit he had cultivated in the court, and personally took a knife to the battlefield, fought desperately with the Tatars, and relied on the battle exploits soaked in blood to gain a foothold in the northwest.

Does Zhao Chengjun have any regrets? Of course he has. The remains of the second brother lingered in Xiangdi, the cause of death of the third brother was unknown, and the soul of his birth mother remained in Dingling for a long time, but his enemy sat high in the temple, enjoying the honor of the empress dowager.

How could Zhao Chengjun not hate? How can you not complain? The Queen Mother Yao hasn’t died yet, and that woman’s offspring still occupy the dragon chair. How could Zhao Chengjun willingly die like this?

Zhao Chengjun’s fingers moved slightly, but Master Tang was also frozen, and he could not feel these slight changes at all. She kept warming Zhao Chengjun’s hand and talking to him. In the end, she didn’t know what she was talking about.

Master Tang didn’t know how long it took, the rain gradually became smaller, and her consciousness floated along with it. Master Tang felt painful in her mind, she felt that she might be ill.

In a daze, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the forest. Shishi Tang woke up in a moment, she instinctively went to see Zhao Chengjun, but Zhao Chengjun closed her eyes, his face was pale, his face was quiet, and she had fallen into a coma.

Master Tang’s heart slowly lifted, and she struggled to hide herself and Zhao Chengjun under the bushes. After doing these things, she was almost exhausted. Master Tang was about to hide, and she glanced at Zhao Chengjun’s knife from the corner of her eye. She thought for a while and hugged the knife vigorously.

The footsteps are so many and complicated, I don’t know who saw them and shouted: “Come on, they are here!”