northernbook Chapter 377 Each has his own word
Chapter 377 Each has his own word
The Queen Mother's words were not without reason, but how could the general and his gang, who had already made up their minds to use this matter to bring down the Queen Mother, listen to them? Facing the Queen Mother's sophistry, the general sneered and said solemnly, "Queen Mother, if there is no absolute evidence, I would never dare to act rashly. But it is precisely because of the fatal evidence that I have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure and force you to reveal your true colors. As the general of the Tianyou Dynasty, I have the heavy responsibility of upholding justice and have to seek clarification for the royal orthodoxy. If I have offended you, please forgive me. But if the Queen Mother refuses to admit it, don't blame me for not being able to treat you with courtesy."
Although these words were spoken slowly and calmly, the terrible threat behind the words had already penetrated the ears of the Queen Mother.
"Can't you treat me with courtesy? Humph..." The Queen Mother glanced at the general with disdain.
At this time, Minister Bao, who had been silent in the room, finally spoke up and said, "General, maybe it's just a misunderstanding. Before the truth is revealed, it's better not to make it public. Now the people in the palace are in a panic, and everyone is nervously speculating about what happened..."
Before Minister Bao finished speaking, the Queen Mother's cold gaze swept over him. After feeling the terrible cold current, Minister Bao closed his mouth stiffly.
Under such circumstances, asking who Princess Tianning's biological father is is just a terrible torment for Minister Bao. Before, he had already told the Queen Mother that he did not participate in the planning of the assassination last night. The reason why he appeared at the scene was purely due to his job, and he was forced to go when the incident happened. He is the Minister of Justice. Whenever a major case needs to be tried, the Minister of Justice and the Criminal Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are two indispensable seats. But the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs happened to be the Queen Mother's brother. In order to avoid shielding, the general had to pull Minister Bao, who had a slightly more distant relationship with An, to the scene to testify.
After Bao'er's death, Minister Bao had already considered resigning and returning home, but he had not made a decision yet because there were still people in the palace whom he could not bear to abandon.
But this relationship was destined to be a wrong one from the beginning. After paying an extremely heavy price, Minister Bao no longer dared to hope for its continuation.
It is not difficult to imagine how anxious Minister Bao was when the general came to visit last night and said that a good show was about to be staged in the Queen Mother's palace. Minister Bao could not ask any details from the general, and only when he came to the scene could he know the true meaning of the general's words. Minister Bao came to the palace with the heart of protecting the Queen Mother, but his appearance aroused the Queen Mother's pain.
At this moment, the general and the emperor did not know that the biological father of Princess Tianning, whom they could not force out, was standing in front of them with a cold body.
Although Minister Bao pleaded for mercy, the general was adamant and said, "No, this is a serious matter. The Queen Mother must give an explanation."
"Kang Qingyuan, what do you want? Haven't I explained it clearly enough? Don't even think about making a fuss out of my words!" The cornered empress dowager shouted out the general's real name in anger.
The Queen Mother and the General each held adamantine opinion, and it seemed difficult to make any further progress.
Long Mohan watched the situation silently, his expression indifferent, as if he didn't care about the truth, but he was actually thinking about something else. Just as Ji Anni told Yanniang, Long Mohan didn't care whose child Princess Tianning was. Compared with Tianning's life experience, he cared more about the cause of Huifei's death.
When Concubine Baogui saw the Empress Dowager and the General staring at each other and looking like they were about to swear, she hurried to try to reconcile them.
The Queen Mother asked sarcastically, "If Tian Ning is not the daughter of the late emperor, then whose daughter do you think she is?" Her eyes fell on Minister Bao's face, "... Lord Bao, what do you think?"
Minister Bao was startled by the Queen Mother's sudden question, but he quickly regained his composure and took silence as his final answer. He knew that the Queen Mother was not really trying to force him to give an answer, but was just using such a tricky question to make him anxious and at a loss.
At this time, the door knocked twice. After everyone focused their attention on the door, Liuguang walked in from outside. He came behind Long Mohan and whispered, "Your Majesty, the princess is here."
Although his voice was very low, in the silent and solemn atmosphere, everyone could hear clearly the unexpected news he brought.
The Queen Mother's expression became obviously panic. In front of the general, she could insist that Tianning was indeed the daughter of the late emperor, but in front of Tianning, in front of her poor daughter, she couldn't bear to lie any longer. Minister Bao and the Queen Mother's eyes suddenly crossed, and after a brief look, they both looked away and sighed silently. Both sighs were for Tianning.
Tianning was a victim. From the moment he was born, he was destined to be an innocent victim.
"Let her in. She must be the one who wants to ask the empress dowager the most in person." Without waiting for Long Mohan to respond, the general gave the order.
Liuguang took the order and left. Soon, the sound of Princess Tianning's rapid footsteps could be heard.
With a loud "bang", Princess Tianning pushed open the door and rushed into the room, almost knocking Long Mohan who was standing at the door away.
"Mother, what's going on? What on earth is going on?" Princess Tianning threw herself into the Queen Mother's arms, with a few faint tears hanging in the corners of her eyes.
After several days of study and practice, Yan Niang could already imitate Princess Tianning vividly.
The Queen Mother subconsciously hugged her beloved daughter tightly, and her heart was filled with mixed feelings, bitter, astringent, and even more sorrow. But she couldn't say it, and didn't dare to say it. At this moment, the only person who could understand the Queen Mother's feelings was Minister Bao. But the two people who knew the secret didn't dare to tell the truth, fearing that it would set off a huge wave.
"Mother, whose child am I? Who is my biological father?" Princess Tianning asked in pain with tears in her eyes.
"Silly child, how could you believe those words? They were all said by your mother in a desperate situation to protect you. Who would have thought that these treacherous villains would make a big fuss out of them..." As she said this, she glared at the general with hatred.
"Really?" Princess Tianning wiped her moist eyes with the back of her hand.
"Of course it's true. Are you going to interrogate me like them?" The Queen Mother gently stroked the back of Tian Ning's head. Only when she felt Tian Ning by her side could the Queen Mother gradually calm down.
Princess Tianning bit her lower lip, not knowing what to say.
At this time, Long Mohan finally spoke up: "Mother, I don't want to go into the details of Tianning's life story. However, you have to meet someone in the palace. Let's take this opportunity to ask about the strange incident three years ago."
With just one sentence, the focus shifted from Tianning to three years ago.
The Queen Mother was not angry, nor did she show any surprise. She was so calm that it seemed as if she had already expected Long Mohan to ask this question.
All these procedures were planned, and no one present, including the general, raised any objections. Only Minister Bao's slightly surprised expression revealed that he was unaware of these details.
The Queen Mother continued to stroke the back of Tian Ning's head, and said slowly and unhurriedly: "I understand what the Emperor means. You just think that I am the murderer who murdered Concubine Shui Cong three years ago. But Concubine Yu is just a lunatic. Can you believe her words? What's the point of meeting her or not? If you want to bring me down, then show me some decent evidence. Do you want to force me to confess?"
Long Mohan said: "Although she is a lunatic, the timing of her madness is also strange. Why did she go crazy after Concubine Shui Cong died? And you should not have forgotten, mother, that Concubine Baogui was possessed by Concubine Shui Cong's ghost, and she said that you killed her..."
The fact that Concubine Baogui was possessed by evil spirits three years ago was something that was forbidden to be discussed in the palace. Things that could not be discussed should have been gradually forgotten by everyone after three years.
However, the silver hair left by Yun Zhen when he exorcised the evil spirit for Concubine Baogui reminded everyone all the time that Concubine Baogui had been possessed by an evil spirit, and what Concubine Baogui had said when she was possessed by the evil spirit...
When the queen mother heard Long Mohan talking about those old things, she sneered, "You foolish king, you are just stirring up trouble with your crazy words. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"
"It is precisely because I was unconscious that I want to make things clear..." Long Mohan said calmly. He was not afraid of being scolded, because the Queen Mother's scolding was considered merciful.
"If you have any other tricks up your sleeve, just show them off together. I'll accompany you to the end." The Queen Mother was completely enraged. She slapped the armrest in anger and stood up suddenly.
"Well, go get Concubine Yu." Long Mohan ordered Liuguang. His voice was still light and gentle, not hurried or slow, which made the Queen Mother's fury more vivid.
The Queen Mother was so angry that her lungs were about to explode. She wanted to find someone to have a big fight with, but everyone except her was indifferent and calm, leaving her with no place to vent.
"Mother, don't be angry..." Princess Tianning pulled the Queen Mother's sleeve.
After hearing her beloved daughter's voice, the Queen Mother finally calmed down. She stared at Liu Guang's departing figure with a dull look in her eyes, and slowly sat down at half the speed of normal movements.
The scars of the past were uncovered one by one by this group of men, and were exposed in broad daylight, in front of the two people she loved the most and the two people she was cruelest to, Tian Ning and Bao Shangshu. The Queen Mother, who had always wanted to forget the past, really did not have the courage to face Concubine Yu. Even if that was just a madman, even if that was just a defeated general...