I remembered the way Shen Xiyao looked at Concubine Liu that day, and suddenly understood. Thinking about it now, it clearly recalls the past.

A few months after Concubine Liu entered the palace, Shen Xiyao became pro-government, but he was suppressed by his father and the queen mother everywhere, and his heart was not at peace. At that time, what he needed most was a woman who could relieve his melancholy. Concubine Liu should have laid down her love in the future.

However, this alone is not enough to make the king love Zhi Si, there must be other reasons.

"But there was a mess during the dinner. The assassin appeared to assassinate the emperor. It suddenly appeared. No one responded. Only the Liu concubine was injured in front of the dagger, but the emperor was greatly moved. ."

Hui Ju sighed as he spoke, shook his head and continued: "Concubine Liu's injuries were serious. The emperor immediately sent an imperial doctor and stayed with her for a while before returning to the palace. After Concubine Liu recovered, the Liu family won two emperor lists. One is that he was punished strictly for failing to prevent it, and he was fined three years of salary, which is an understatement."

"And the other one is..."

Hui Ju didn't finish speaking, I took her words and said: "It's a canonized emperor list. This is the most important thing."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head, so the doubt in his heart was solved.

Concubine Liu did not rely solely on her beauty and talent to get the emperor's affection. Although she was famous and talented, it still remains to be verified how much she really is. However, only with the merits of this simple escort, coupled with the shared joys and sorrows afterwards, the friendship between her and Shen Xiyao is incomparable to others.

This is also the reason why Shen Xiyao has forgiven her again and again.

I sighed and picked up a cup of tea to drink, but couldn't swallow it for a long time, and a question came up.

Looking at Hui Ju over the edge of the bowl, I slowly asked, "Did the assassin catch it?"

Hui Ju thought for a long time and didn’t answer. I smiled to myself and said, “Presumably it must have been caught. Otherwise, how could she easily spare her Liu Family. Even if the emperor likes Concubine Liu, it’s not because of poor protection. Petty crime."

Hui Ju nodded, her face brightened, and she smiled and looked at me and said, "I caught it, and the guards next to the emperor took it in one fell swoop. The man took poison and killed himself when he saw the assassination failed."

Huiju shuddered slightly: "I hid it in my teeth beforehand, and immediately died of poison, so I didn't investigate and deal with the main envoy behind the scenes."

After Huiju finished speaking, he added another sentence curiously: "But it is strange that I was not when Daxi established the state. The emperor was not in power at that time. If it is a critical matter, then how can he not harm the emperor, but the prime minister."

After she finished speaking, she realized that she had made a mistake and knelt down.

I looked at her with a smile: "You are right, get up."

"That person is a foreigner, and later it was said that Fanbang had sent someone to disturb stability."

My hand holding the tea froze, foreign...

I didn't continue this topic, I just embroidered the little clothes on my hands intently, changed the water-red silk thread, and embroidered a koi under my hand.

Hui Ju kept staring at me with a touch of pity in her eyes.

I met her eyes: "What's the matter?"

Hui Ju shook her head: "Niang, the servant girl thinks that Niangniang is different from when she first entered the palace."

I put down the work in my hand and looked at her with the softest smile: "Different? Where is it different?"

Hui Ju lowered her head: "The slave and maidservant can't tell me, just think it's different. Especially..."

She huffed for a long time before saying, "Especially after the empress and the emperor are released."

I trembled and paused in my hand: "Really? My palace doesn't think it."

Hui Ju lowered her head deeply: "Manny, the servant girl felt that before you met the emperor, you were like a lily in the valley, elegant and noble, and not eating the fireworks. But after you met the emperor, you became A bright peony..."

She didn't finish, but I took it up naturally: "It becomes this worldly thing, right?"

Hui Ju opened her eyes and looked at me: "No, Niang Niang, you have always been so noble, like a fairy in the heavenly palace. The maidservant just feels that you have become a peony in the mist, which makes people unable to see clearly. "

After she finished speaking, she suddenly knelt in front of me: "I hope my mother will forgive me. The slave and maidservant said this disrespectful thing."

I stretched out a hand to pull her up, looked gently into her eyes and said, "No, I won't blame you. I really want to know how you think."

Hui Ju pursed her mouth for a long time before saying: "Manny, the servant girl feels that before she met the emperor, she was the real you, but after meeting the emperor, she hid a lot."

She sighed: "They all said that Empress Liu was moved by her true temperament. After all, this harem..."

Hui Ju did not finish, but I knew what she was going to say.

Yes, this harem is full of masks. As the emperor, it is not unknown. Behind that Zhang Mingyan smiling face, what is the face. Behind that seemingly peaceful and quiet, there are actually what violent storms. Everyone has his own mind and purpose. The small one is nothing more than a review of the king. The big one is the chair in Kunning Palace.

The emperor had been used to seeing ministers wearing masks in the previous dynasty, and he was aware of the intrigue and bloodshed between them, and the power struggles that ebb and flow were exactly what he wanted to use. So when he returned to the harem, he naturally did not want to see the same scene again. However, the battle between you and me in this harem is far beyond that front hall.

At this time, a woman of true temperament, a woman who confronts the emperor with her most primitive self, is naturally what the emperor needs most. It's just that the emperor didn't understand. Even if he liked it, not every woman wanted to do it.

The emperor didn't even know that even if he wanted to do it, even with his pampering and protection, in this **** harem, it would never be possible to maintain a sense of innocence.

Concubine Liu, I believe she must have been a woman with clear eyes at the beginning, with the most beautiful face and the most moving style. It should be precisely this that kept Shen Xiyao's eyes on her for a long time. However, in this day after day life in the harem, even if she has his protection, she has lost the clarity in the fleeting years.

And when I saw the large number of front attendants in front of Kunning Palace that evening, I had already hidden myself.

Hui Ju didn't understand, even if all the women in the harem took off their masks, I would still wear them.

Because I am a queen, the queen is a woman who chooses her mother's rites, so I can't fight for favor like a concubine without any scruples and lose my status. I want to always keep a gentle smile and a generous posture. I must be peaceful, gentle and virtuous.

I can't be jealous, can't blame, can't hate, even if I have, I must hide under that dignified smile. I cannot show the truest side, because that would only bring disaster to me. After all, my husband is an emperor, an emperor with three thousand beauties.

He smiled indifferently, didn't answer Hui Ju's words, only shook his head lightly, focusing on the embroidery in his hand.

Hui Ju didn't speak any more, and in the days that followed, we didn't talk about this topic again.