After this scream of painful gasps, a choking cough sounded slightly. Dong Lingjiu listened attentively, and gradually heard the rapid breathing and suddenly excited tone of the female officials serving inside the screen.
　　"The queen... opened her eyes..."
　　"Master Xu——"
　　After another half a minute, Zheng Yuheng, who was covered in blood and bitter medicine, walked out, bowed and saluted, and breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission. After taking medicine and acupuncture, the queen Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief. She still needs to be taken care of for one night. After this life-threatening night, her life will be saved."
　　His white forehead was covered with a layer of fine sweat, which was a little damp and cold due to the wind. The fingers of the acupuncture were also slightly numb. When
　　he said this, the imperial doctors waiting on the side were a little embarrassed. They glanced at each other quietly, and read a kind of timidity and inexplicable anger from each other's senior and experienced faces, but a few of them also showed shame and relief.
　　Dong Lingjiu's eyes suddenly fell over, and everyone's backs stiffened. They bowed and kowtowed, their shoulders trembling slightly. Queen Wang, who was holding the Queen Mother's hand, didn't know when her tears dried up, and she pursed her lips and said nothing.
　　"Doctor Zheng," she said, "You stay here tonight and you can choose your assistants from these people at will."
　　"I obey your order." Zheng Yuheng replied.
　　"If Concubine Xu is blessed to survive, she should thank you for saving her life." Dong Lingjiu flicked her sleeves, "If the assistants are ineffective, you can tell me directly."
　　She didn't say what the consequences would be, but it still made the medical officers feel cold on their necks. Then, Dong Lingjiu stood up and left, holding Queen Wang's hand with his fingers, leaving her almost no room for refusal.
　　Queen Wang followed her to the Cining Palace. Outside, there was a dense drizzle in late spring, and the raindrops fell on the glazed tiles, pouring like beads on a broken string. She clenched her hands into fists, and when she saw the Queen Mother dismiss the female officials and eunuchs, she knelt down without saying a word.
　　Dong Lingjiu smiled: "What fault does the Queen have to admit?"
　　Queen Wang said: "I failed to protect Concubine Xu and the baby in her belly. Please punish me."
　　In front of her eyes was the embroidery on the Queen Mother's clothes, and the sound of jade beads turning in her ears more and more urgently.
　　"He is in the Ministry of Justice, and he was escorted directly to the Ministry of Justice without being asked a single question or even a confession." Dong Lingjiu said, "Does the Queen expect the officials in the Ministry of Justice to find out what happened in the inner palace?"
　　The inner prison is in the palace. The head of the inner prison is Xu Xiang, the eunuch in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who also serves as the chief judge and is Dong Lingjiu's confidant for many years. The emperor seemed to want to hide this matter from his mother.
　　Queen Wang stiffened her neck, and a deep tooth mark was imprinted on her lips.
　　"The emperor also thinks this matter is not decent, it's too hasty and too inappropriate. He was afraid of my criticism, so he bypassed it under my nose." The empress dowager laughed in anger, like a sudden wave on a mirror-like lake, showing only the violent waves for a moment. "He called you Zi Tong, and you humbled yourself a little, but you became soft-hearted and helped him do whatever he wanted. As the queen, have you any role in persuading the emperor? I chose you from all the noble families because you have your own opinions, can speak, and can give advice, not to make you his minion."
　　Queen Wang finally showed panic: "Mother, please mother--"
　　"Don't say anymore." She said coldly, and the sudden storm seemed to stop at this moment. "When will you stop asking others for help? Meng Zhen died because of this word 'ask'. He didn't listen to me and train him more, so you raised your husband, that bastard who has not made any progress!" The
　　empress dowager scolded the deceased emperor and the current emperor, but Queen Wang had no choice but to keep silent and her face turned pale.
　　Dong Lingjiu stood in front of her, staring at Queen Wang's pale face. While she was disappointed, she also slowly developed a kind of sympathy for her.
　　The Queen Mother sat back in her chair. She stretched out her hand, and the snow came out from under the table and rubbed into her hand. Dong Lingjiu quietly put her hand on it, and suddenly said: "It's not that he couldn't stand the insult and disrespect of Xu Shangshu when he presented the memorial, nor that he couldn't stand the attack of the censor on the Xu family, Concubine Xu, and even his personal character. Meng Cheng just couldn't stand smiling at a woman he hated, pretending to be honored, and even giving birth to a child with him."
　　She turned her head and asked softly: "Is that right?"
　　Queen Wang, who had been tense and spirited, finally broke into pieces under such a heart-wrenching questioning. This time, she really and collapsed into Dong Lingjiu's arms, fell on her knees and cried, the pain was unspeakable.
　　"Mother... Mother, I was wrong, I was wrong..." She said, "Xu Qi and I have had some disagreements for a long time, but I never thought of killing her! The emperor said that it was, it was just a medicine to prevent her from getting pregnant, so I believed it. He rested his head in my arms and told me... He was so upset that he couldn't eat when he thought about sweet-talking and pretending to have love with a woman who had no feelings for him. I am older than him, and I am his first wife!"
　　Dong Lingjiu supported her shoulders with deep fatigue in his eyes.
　　She said, "He was wronged. Didn't Concubine Xu suffer more serious grievances than him when she sacrificed for the family?"
　　Queen Wang's fingers holding her sleeves suddenly tightened.
　　At this moment, Dong Lingjiu thought of Meng Zhen who was buried in the imperial mausoleum at an inappropriate time.
　　On the night of the 13th year of Xining, Meng Zhen held a copper pick and gathered the lights into a line. Between his low eyebrows, there was a deep depression and resistance. When the light flickered, he said to Dong Lingjiu beside the table: "Zitong."
　　Dong Lingjiu raised his head.
　　He said: "I don't want to see Concubine De again. Can you help me think of a way?"
　　Dong Lingjiu was silent for a moment, and then said: "We still need to use Concubine De's maternal clan, father and brother, to build water conservancy for Shenzhou. The canal cannot be built without her father. In the construction of the canal, the Ministry of Works can't add a second person, and the craftsmen are complete and the cost is huge. If this canal is opened, it will be a hundred benefits and no harm..."
　　She said here, because Meng Zhen looked at the lamp and closed his eyes under the candlelight. He said: "Okay... okay."
　　Dong Lingjiu felt a common sadness from this man who had already firmly established the country and knew how to sit on this country. This king actually had to get used to using his own honor and favor, his own "favor", to give his ministers a piece of illusory royal grace, in order to calm the hearts of the courtiers, and to gain an invisible power that could weigh the political situation.
　　He was the emperor, but in Dong Lingjiu's eyes, he sometimes did the same things as a prostitute, the most expensive face and plaything in the world, and a precious gift to maintain the relationship between the monarch and his ministers. His body, his preferences, and his love did not belong to Meng Zhen himself.
　　When she lowered her eyes again, she heard the sound of Meng Zhen getting up. She knew that he was going to Concubine De. Before leaving, Meng Zhen suddenly looked back, twisted the heavy door curtain in winter, and said to her: "I still want to accompany Tan Niang."
　　Tan Niang was Dong Lingjiu's childhood name.
　　After that, he left. Later, until he fell ill a few years later, and even in his lucid days before his death, Emperor Mingde never mentioned this matter again, as if some things were tested once, and on the surface they were passed over and not worth mentioning, but in fact they had already tried their best.
　　When Queen Wang's crying faded, Dong Lingjiu's faint memories also vanished.
　　She said, "You can go back."
　　The Queen Mother raised her hand and wiped the tears from her face. Wang Wanrou stared at her in a daze. She seemed to have suddenly realized what her husband meant by "dare not". It was not only about his reliance on his mother, but also about his unshakable faith in a senior who was almost a "saint" in governing the country. As long as their mother was there, they had an indestructible pillar in their hearts.
　　Queen Wang took a deep breath, bowed her head, and then slowly stood up, wiped her tears and left.
　　When she left the Cining Palace, she vaguely heard her mother's calm and calm voice, and she didn't know who she was telling: "Pass my oral order to Wei Que, the Minister of Justice, and tell him that I allow the execution, and there is no blame for the death penalty."
　　...
　　After issuing this oral order, Wei Que, the Minister of Justice, interrogated the doctor overnight and obtained an oral confession, saying that the imperial physician had received favors from the political enemies of the Xu family. Although the benefactor had passed away, Guo Yuyi remembered it deeply, so he took this desperate measure to retaliate against the arrogance of the Xu family.
　　After writing the confession, Guo Yuyi committed suicide in prison out of fear of crime.
　　A humble slave who was supposed to be pushed out to be a scapegoat did not know that her life had been transferred from the hands of the King of Hell to the hands of Empress Dowager Dong while she was still unaware, thus avoiding her cruel fate of becoming a political victim.
　　When this confession was handed into the Cining Palace, it was just dawn.
　　When Ruixue was helping the empress dowager clean her hands and wash and change her clothes, the eunuch presented the confession from the side. Dong Lingjiu just glanced and asked, "Is the person still alive?"
　　The eunuch whispered, "He committed suicide."
　　Dong Lingjiu didn't say anything. Her forehead was throbbing with a faint pain and she had symptoms of tinnitus. She thought that the emperor would see a Xu family that had restrained its arrogance as he wished, using a loyal life.
　　But there are too many results in this world that have been exchanged for human lives. Among the memorials that Dong Lingjiu personally approved and rejected, there were many policies that were filled with blood and flesh and could only be successfully implemented after checks and balances were made on all sides. In the past, those who were involved in corruption, treacherous officials, and rebels did not even have an identity, but these policies could benefit the people if they were implemented.
　　This is not a multiple-choice question. Neither she nor Meng Zhen had an option. We can only try our best to protect these fragile people under the power struggle on the premise of achieving our goals.
　　Halfway through her dressing, Ruixue was putting gold hairpins, tassels and other things on her hair, when she suddenly saw a strand of pure white silver thread. She carefully glanced in the mirror and hid the silver hair in her black hair.
　　At this moment, the eunuch led Zheng Yuheng back. He had not slept all night, but he did not look tired, and his expression was even a little excited as if he had brought a patient back to life. As soon as
　　Zheng Yuheng entered the hall, he first saluted Dong Lingjiu, and then asked Ruixue: "Aunt, has the empress dowager's medicine been boiled?"
　　He came back in such a hurry that he didn't even have time to change his clothes, just to supervise the empress dowager to drink the medicine in the morning, instead of being disturbed by another request from someone unknown.
　　Ruixue hadn't spoken yet, Dong Lingjiu said first: "Stop, let's talk business."
　　Zheng Yuheng stopped walking to the medicine room, his eyebrows were clear, his body was covered with cool morning dew, and his eyes were shining: "Empress Xu is fine now. As long as she takes good care of herself and takes the medicine according to my prescription, she will be able to walk and recover as usual in less than half a month."
　　Dong Lingjiu nodded slightly, without avoiding him, and said directly to the female official: "Send a letter out in the afternoon, and let the Imperial Observatory think of a way to make up a pretext to let Concubine Xu leave the palace. When she can walk, I will send her to Kunning Palace to accompany Concubine De and recuperate."
　　Ruixue answered yes, but Zheng Yuheng was stunned for a moment, and the hot blood on his head was poured out by a basin of ice water. He didn't know why the queen mother did this, but he restrained his expression and pursed his lips.
　　Dong Lingjiu waved: "Come here."
　　Zheng Yuheng moved over. Because the Empress Dowager was dressing, he also lowered his body, knelt beside Dong Lingjiu's knees, and looked at the person in the mirror.
　　Dong Lingjiu said: "You are really brave beyond my expectation. What will happen to you in the Imperial Hospital after this? Have you thought about it?"
　　Zheng Yuheng is not an insensitive person. He pondered for a moment and said: "I have thought about it, but..."
　　"But how can we not save her? Right?" Dong Lingjiu's tone softened, looking at him with a smile, reaching out and touching the shoulder of the young doctor Zheng, as if to comfort him.
　　Zheng Yuheng nodded.
　　"I hope that when you are 28 years old, you will still have the same sincerity and courage in your heart."
　　She asked again: "How confident are you in saving Concubine Xu?"
　　Zheng Yuheng thought for a while and said truthfully: "Before the acupuncture, only 30%...about."
　　The smile on the lips of the person in the mirror suddenly faded.
　　Just when he wanted to explain a little to ease the risk of this answer, Empress Dowager Dong took off her armor and slapped him with a calm look.
　　The sound was crisp and the surroundings suddenly became quiet. Ruixue paused, and the dozen or so eunuchs and ladies serving in the Cining Palace, although they did not hear the conversation, also knelt down on the ground when they heard the noise.
　　Zheng Yuheng was stunned for a moment, his teeth scratched his mouth, the root of his tongue tasted fishy and sweet, and his handsome and fair face was scarred, but he quickly adjusted his expression, knelt down again in a polite and upright manner, and bowed his head in silence.
　　Aunt Ruixue put on the golden hairpin, held up the empress dowager's hand, and said distressedly: "My empress, please be careful, your hand hurts. You are so precious, how could you just reach out and hit her?"
　　The pain in Dong Lingjiu's forehead became more and more severe, and her ears were buzzing. She raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose and said slowly: "...I can't bear it."
　　She was holding back a breath in her heart, which was blocked and painful. At this moment, it suddenly vented, as if she had found a gap for the surging emotions, and they surged up like clouds and seas.
　　Dong Lingjiu brushed Ruixue's hand away and turned to look at the person kneeling in front of her. Her clean embroidered uppers came closer, and Zheng Yuheng's hands suddenly curled up as if shrinking, and the base of his fingers trembled.
　　He finally knew that he was afraid. From the beginning, the awe and fear of this person were only on the surface, and never deeply penetrated his essence. When
　　Dong Lingjiu approached, his hand subconsciously avoided it, until the embroidered shoes pressed against his fingers, Zheng Yuheng took a hasty breath, and there was no escape.
　　The Queen Mother did not step down, but blocked his hand as if to give a hint, and then - the long-lost warmth came over. Dong Lingjiu held his cheek with her hand, and the two looked into each other's eyes.
　　The Cining Palace was warm and the temperature was appropriate, but it made Zheng Yuheng stiff and hot, and he almost sweated. His eyelashes trembled, the corners of his lips were broken, and the wounds in his mouth were oozing sporadic bright red blood.
　　He said, "Your Majesty..."
　　Dong Lingjiu took out a silk handkerchief and wiped the corners of his lips.
　　The surging, terrifying and overwhelming power suddenly faded from her behavior. Zheng Yuheng, who had just realized the pain, forgot the pain in shock.
　　Dong Lingjiu wiped the blood from his lips and stroked his scarred cheek with her fingertips. This was the only excessive contact between the two in several months, and the meaning changed from scolding and teaching to a very ambiguous situation.
　　Dong Lingjiu helped him up and hugged him like she hugged Queen Wang. In this era where there was a strict separation between men and women and people under the age of nine were not allowed to sit together, Zheng Yuheng's heart seemed to be lifted up, crushed, and then held together.
　　She quickly let go of her hand and said, "I'm sorry."
　　Zheng Yuheng was speechless and spoke in a hoarse voice after a long while: "...I was wrong. I...will do things that I am sure of from now on. I know I was wrong."