Thin Mei·Love Fragrance Quilt

Chapter 80

Zhou Emperor Tang Tianxiao, who called back to Ruidu, didn't like to hear anything about him, and he didn't want to mention anything about him.Occasionally mentioned what he heard, he changed his usual gentleness, and was kicked out of the palace after being severely punished.

Therefore, such traitors and thieves are not mentioned.

And he...

Naturally, he would not be more infatuated and unrepentant than Tang Tianzhong. Love is as deep as the sea.

Since then, the power of the imperial guards has also been returned to the royal family, under the command of Tang Tianqi in name, but no orders from the empress dowager or the emperor are allowed, and large-scale deployments are not allowed.

Looking at Zhuo Rui and Chen Cai who were always following the sedan chair, Qian Mei was no longer suspicious, but more and more confused.

She couldn't help asking Xiang Zhuo Rui: "Hey, Zhuo Wuyong, what happened? Why do you want me to go to Dali Temple?"

Zhuo Rui paused, looked at her in surprise, did not evade, hesitated for a moment, then whispered: "Ms. Concubine Shu, what was the last sentence you said to the guard's servant last night?"

"What is it?"

But Qian Mei asked, and she was also thinking back.

The servant knew that she should be fine, and seemed to be trying to please her, not only telling her that Concubine Du Xian had confessed to Xueyan, but also reminding her to be careful of Empress Shen's revenge...

At that time, she advised him to be careful not to speak out.

She even sneered, "It's really not ordinary luck for a person like you to survive till now!"

The sedan chair was a bit stuffy, she lifted the curtain and clenched her hands into fists, angrily said: "Someone hurt me?"

Zhuo Rui glanced at his followers before and after, and then said softly against the curtain: "Don't admit what you didn't do. I don't think the emperor will stand by and watch."

He only said this, and then walked a few steps forward, still walking side by side with Chen Cai, and continued walking as if nothing had happened.

He is Tang Tianxiao's confidant guard, and he can guess his thoughts pretty well.

But he didn't say that the emperor would protect her, only that...he would not stand by and watch.

Could it be that with her intimacy with him, couldn't he make her a promise to protect her?
But Qian Mei's heart was pounding, and she suddenly thought of all the cold and heartless things Tang Tianxiao had heard and seen, as if a chill poured down her spine, trying to freeze the blood all over her body.

He would sacrifice Concubine Du Xian because of her, and why would he sacrifice her?

She was puzzled and couldn't figure it out.

Just because his trade-offs are the emperor's trade-offs...

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The layout of Dali Temple is naturally not as good as that of the imperial palace. Although the corridors are large, the green walls and pillars are already old, and the colors of the paintings under the eaves and couplets have long been blurred. It should still be the building of the Southern Chu Dynasty. It has been well repaired, I don't know if it is in response to the rule of thrift advocated since the Great Zhou unified the Central Plains.

The sedan chair enters through the vermilion mottled gate on the left side of Dali Temple, walks around the front hall and walks all the way to the back, gradually reaching a small courtyard, but even the iron gate is full of rust spots. The ground has long been potholed, but the weeds grow vigorously between the brick cracks.

In front of the row of old blue-brick houses in the back, there are two old locust trees with their branches piercing the sky. The only living creatures in between are groups of crows.

Wings are fluttering solemnly, the sound of flying is hoarse, and when hovering, it is like a large black cloud covering the head, covering the sky in darkness, but the half-open wooden door in front of the house is even more gloomy, with a big mouth like a monster, and it is open. The strong smell of blood waits for its prey to throw itself into the net and devour it in one bite, leaving no bones behind.

But Qianmei felt cold in her heart, even though she had received Zhuo Rui's vague warning in advance, she still remembered the story of inviting the king into the urn for no reason.

Sitting and waiting to die was never her style, so when she got out of the sedan chair, she didn't follow the instructions of the guards to go to the gloomy blue brick house, but stood in front of the sedan chair and looked up at the courtyard wall.

The courtyard wall was peeling and sloping, and there was no piece of corrugated tile on the top. There were many tall and thin weeds growing in the gaps, but they were not very tall.

When she was thinking about it, Zhuo Rui stepped forward suddenly, put one hand on her shoulder, but stretched the other forward, and said to her: "Ms. Concubine Shu, please!"

But Qianmei tried to avoid it to the side, and felt that his hand immediately increased his strength, and actually clasped her shoulder blades tightly, and even pinched her entire arm until she lost strength in the pain.

She was startled, and said angrily: "Zhuo Wuyong, you dare to come and throw stones at you?"

Zhuo Rui lowered his head, but the strength in his hand did not decrease at all.He said in a low voice: "Concubine Shu, I dare not. I will act according to the order, and please Concubine Shu..."

His hand pointed persistently and resolutely at the wooden door.

The wooden door was slowly opened, like the mouth of a monster slowly opening, and the shiny teeth could be seen - there were people in the room with swords and halberds, ready to fight.

Doing what you're told...

Ke Qianmei took a deep breath and walked slowly towards the door.

Her fingers unconsciously stroked the pouch again, but even she couldn't figure out whether she was habitually stroking the long whip that was in that position, or was nostalgic for the concentric knots of two people's breaths scattered in the pouch. .

Under the drowsy shadows of trees and crows, the pursed moon-white brocade face looked pale and weak, and the round eyes of the lovebird suddenly became dark and haggard.

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Stepping into the threshold of bluestone slabs, the gray old house pressed against her like an iron pot.

The occasional sharpness of the knife and halberd was like scorching sparks flying away.

But Qian Mei frowned, and the stale smell between the beams and pillars became stronger and stronger, rushing to the tip of her nose along with the bloody smell, making her feel nauseous for a while.

Zhuo Rui had already let go of her, but followed behind her relentlessly;

In the room, officers and soldiers in armor pulled her over, pushed her into the room, turned around a corridor, and entered a room full of damp and musty smell.

It turned out to be a room with no windows on all sides. As soon as the door behind him was closed, the surroundings were immediately dark, except for their own chaotic footsteps and the heavy breathing of some people, nothing could be heard.

Someone behind her was exerting force on her shoulders and back, trying to force her to kneel down; when she was about to break free, her wrists were already tightly held by someone, and at the same time, someone stretched out a foot from the side at the bend of her knees, slapping her hard. She kicked, and the pain made her bend her knees and fell to the ground.

She gritted her teeth and didn't let out a sound, but there were thin beads of sweat on her forehead.

He could vaguely hear a person sitting in the middle, breathing a bit short of breath, but coughed majestically, and said slowly: "Hold the lamp."

On the uneven blue brick wall, several oil lamps were lit one after another, and the dim light was only enough to see things.

Rather than saying that this is an airtight cell, it is more like a torture room ready to torture prisoners at any time.

Its two walls are hung with instruments of torture, dark and dirty, and the original color can no longer be seen.

Although the floor was covered with green bricks, it was already dirty. One couldn't help but wonder whether the stench in the room came from the instruments of torture and the blood of the prisoners that could not be cleaned up on the floor.

In front of the ebony case, a middle-aged official was sitting upright, with a long face and black beard, eyebrows like lying silkworms, purple clothes and gold belt, wearing a gold fish bag, it was the one who ordered the lamp just now, stroking his beard and looking at Ke Qianmei, very sharp eyes;

Two more armchairs were moved to one side, and each sat an official in scarlet clothes, wearing a whitebait bag.

There are eight more servants standing below, although they are dressed as ordinary yamen servants, their skills are extraordinary, but Qian Mei's skills are superb, but two of them grabbed her arms and wrists, and she was unable to move.

In the official system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, officials of the third rank and above are allowed to wear purple robes. The person in charge is obviously a first-rank or second-rank official in the court.But Dali Temple's highest official title, Dali Temple Qing, is only a third-rank official title, but it doesn't deserve purple clothes or goldfish bags at all.

The official saw that Ke Qianmei was forced to kneel down, but she showed no fear. She stared at him coldly with a pair of obsidian-like black eyes, like sparks in the wilderness. burn to him.

He couldn't help coughing again, and then said in an official tone: "The official minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Xing Yuewen, was ordered to conduct a secret trial on the case of Concubine Keshu's theft of military defense plans; these two are Dali Temple Shaoqing Xie Lord Mo Xie and Lord Chi Tianci are ordered to assist in this case. Concubine Shu, the emperor is in charge, if I offend you, please forgive me!"

He spoke politely, but his demeanor was not polite at all.

But with a wave of his hand, someone grabbed the shackles and rushed forward, no matter how Ke Qianmei struggled, they tightly bound her hands and feet.

In an instant, she was a bird in a cage, a turtle in a urn, hard to fly without wings.

She only felt that her wrists and ankles were being strangled, and even her breathing seemed to be difficult.

But that's probably just the beginning.

She turned her eyes from the various instruments of torture on the wall, and finally saw Zhuo Rui and Chen Cai who escorted her here.

They stood in an inconspicuous corner at the back, and the oil lamp on the wall cast a thick shadow on them, as if to melt them into the blue-black dirty wall.

Although she couldn't see their faces clearly, her pounding heart seemed to be much more stable because of it.

That was Tang Tianxiao's confidant guard.

If Tang Tianxiao was really ruthless and wanted to put her to death, then they could just leave after escorting her to this place.

Even if you are worried about the interrogation, you can ask other confidantes to monitor secretly. There is no need to leave the two most trusted guards here to wait for the development of the situation.

After a few thoughts in her mind, she took a deep breath, and although she was forced to kneel, she stood her shoulders upright, and looked straight at Xing Yuewen with her dark eyes: "What military defense map? I don't know I haven’t seen it before, so what are you talking about stealing? Mr. Xun is in charge of the Ministry of Punishments, but for some reason he has taken over Nestle and come to Dali Temple? Could it be that the officials of the Ministry of Punishment are tired of being an official and want to change to another official?”

Xing Yuewen's brows were frowned, like a black silkworm bent forward to bite.

He said in a loud voice: "Your official is dedicated to serving the country and the people, so how dare you seek your own personal gain? Dali Temple Minister Ding You returned to his hometown, and there was no suitable candidate to replace him at the moment, so the emperor appointed this official to try the case himself. Besides, who doesn't know?" Concubine Shu is very favored, if there is not [-]% proof, who would dare to break the ground when she is too old? At that time, it will be a small matter to lose the official business, and give Concubine Shu a whip and send her to reunite with the emperor's heir, then there will be no place to sue for injustice!"

What he said was inside and outside, but he was implying to those present that the concubine Yuwen's concubine was conceived by Ke Qianmei in secret.

Sure enough, as soon as his words fell, the two young ministers of Dali Temple with slightly lower official ranks showed resentment.Among them, Chi Tianci bowed his hands to Xing Yuewen, and said: "Master Xing, according to my official opinion, the matter of stealing pictures and dragon heirs, one wants to break the iron bucket of my Great Zhou, and the other wants to break my Supreme Dragon Vein of Great Zhou." , in fact, there is no difference, and they can be combined into one trial for interrogation."

Another Shaoqing of Dali Temple, Xie Mo, also commented: "The lower official also thinks the same way. Everyone in the court knows that the virtuous concubine and empress know the books and rites, and the virtuous name is famous all over the world. How could they do such a thing?" Great rebellion? Always a demon concubine harming the country and framing Zhongliang!"

But Qianmei immediately understood where the two people's injustice came from.

Dare to feel that they are crying out for Concubine Du Xian who has been tortured!
Thinking that although his father Du Desheng was a civil servant, after all, he was a veteran of the two dynasties. He had been a minister for more than ten years.

These two don't know what kind of relationship they have with the Du family.

Only she came from far away Beihe, and she has nothing to rely on except the emperor's favor.

But seeing who Tang Tianxiao sent to interrogate her, she began to feel uneasy again from her somewhat stable heart.

Xing Yuewen had already taken over the words of the two young ministers of Dali Temple, and said: "The two lords are right! I also hope that I can join hands with the two lords to punish evil and sycophants, and work together on the side of the Qing Dynasty!"

But Qian Meiyan saw that the expressions of the three were harmonious, and said with a sneer: "The three adults share the same hatred and are loyal! But I don't know, how can I, a concubine in the harem who doesn't care about political affairs, become the evil sycophant in the mouths of the lords?"

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(End of this chapter)