Chapter 7] The Queen Mother-in-law is Here

"The Queen has arrived!"

A report came from the eunuch at the palace gate.

Queen Qin Mengyue walked in, holding the back of her personal maid's hand with one hand.

Chen Fenghe looked up and was stunned when she saw it.

The queen looked haggard, with swollen eyelids, and she hadn't even put on makeup properly. In just a few days, her originally black hair had turned almost white.

Women in ancient times got married early, and the queen should be only in her thirties, but the signs of aging are already so obvious!

Presumably, the prince's execution for treason was a great blow to her.

Seeing Concubine Duan's arrogant look, Qin Mengyue frowned and scolded: "Concubine Duan! How dare you! The Crown Princess chosen by the late emperor, how dare you, a mere concubine like you, beat her to death with a stick!"

Upon seeing this, Concubine Duan's face revealed a sinister expression. She sneered, "Empress... If I remember correctly, the Emperor's decree should have banished the Empress to the cold palace! Even your Qin family was sentenced to exile and confiscation of property for conspiring with the Crown Prince! It's only a matter of time before you are deposed as Empress. Why are you so arrogant?"

The imperial edict that banished the queen to the cold palace was delivered together with the imperial edict sent to the Eastern Palace.

However, the queen had a token of immunity from death left by the late emperor in her hand. She took it out in a hurry, and the eunuchs who were about to send her to the cold palace did not dare to stop her.

The Queen had originally planned to risk her life to go directly to see the Emperor, but she was worried about Chen Fenghe being alone, so she came to the East Palace.

Concubine Duan couldn't understand why the emperor didn't depose the queen immediately, but instead just banished her to the cold palace?

Chen Fenghe understood that the reason why he didn't kill her was the same as the reason why the dog emperor wanted to gain fame and reputation, and was afraid that people in the world would say that he was cold-blooded!

After all, the crown prince is already dead, and the remaining women pose no threat, and they have no offspring. Why should he kill them all and end up being branded a tyrant?

The Queen was kind-hearted by nature, and her face turned red with anger after being scolded by Concubine Duan, but she didn't know how to fight back.

After a long pause, she spoke in a trembling voice, "The Qin family has been loyal for generations, and the Crown Prince is a man of both civil and military skill. How could he possibly plot a rebellion? The Emperor has simply been blinded by your treacherous and wicked lies. I will go to the Emperor right now. Considering the bond between husband and wife and father and son, the Emperor will surely revoke his order and clear the Crown Prince's name!"

This was the first time that Chen Fenghe met her "mother-in-law". The original owner didn't have many memories of the queen, just the impression of her as a kind and amiable elder.

Now it seems that the Queen... is somewhat love-sick and naive.

The prince died inexplicably, she was banished to the cold palace by the dog emperor, her family and daughter-in-law were confiscated and exiled, and she actually still fantasized about asking the emperor to revoke his decision?

As the queen spoke, she stepped forward, took Chen Fenghe's hand, and said, "Good child! Go with your mother to see the emperor. The emperor will definitely revoke his order!"

Chen Fenghe knew that it would be useless to go, but since the queen was pulling her there, she couldn't refuse directly, so she had to go with her.

Eunuch Xu tried to stop him, but the Queen showed him her golden token of immunity from death and rebuked him, "Xu Qing! You dare to stop me with a token bestowed upon you by the late Emperor?"

Eunuch Xu was so frightened that he quickly bowed and retreated, and he and his men had no choice but to follow the queen closely.

Palace of Heavenly Purity.

Emperor Yucheng's face was extremely gloomy.

"Report... Report to His Majesty, not only was the treasury stolen and emptied, but even the treasuries of Concubine Duan's Zhongcui Palace, the Prince of Jin's Mansion, and the Minister of Personnel Chen's Mansion were all emptied!"

The leader of the guards reported tremblingly.

He...he was also wronged.

Putting aside the Prince of Jin's and the Chancellor's residences, which are located outside the palace, the guards inside the palace were clearly acting normally last night, not even encountering a troublesome cat. How did the inner treasury and the Zhongcui Palace get emptied?!

Jingzhao Yin, who was in charge of the security of the capital, also wiped his sweat and reported:

"Your Majesty, not only the palace and the Prince's Mansion, but also the Jingzhao Yin Mansion was crowded with shop owners early this morning, all coming to report thefts. I have roughly counted that at least ninety shops in the city have been robbed, and without exception, all of them have been emptied of their goods! In addition..."

The Jingzhao Yin paused, raised his eyes and glanced at Emperor Yucheng.

The leader of the Imperial Guards, fearing for his own life, urged, "Old Li, what else? Tell me now!"

It’s better to find a scapegoat now, otherwise, all the emperor’s private money will be taken away, and he will lose his head!

The Jingzhao Yin was also afraid, and seeing that Emperor Yucheng did not move, he had no choice but to continue speaking.

"Those who reported to the authorities all said something strange was going on. It might be... a ghost messenger coming to the mortal realm to demand offerings! And... it's spread among the people, saying... that the emperor is tyrannical, the crown prince has been wronged, and the Ten Kings of Hell are speaking up for the crown prince, so... that's why they released the ghost messenger into the mortal realm to steal the gold, silver, and other goods..."

The leader of the Imperial Guards was a fool. After hearing this, he immediately agreed, "That's right! Your Majesty! This must be the work of ghosts..."

Emperor Yucheng's face turned increasingly grim, and he slammed the dragon throne!

With a "bang!", the princes and ministers in the Qianqing Palace immediately knelt on the ground.

The Third Prince was a clever man, observing the Prince's demeanor and quickly speaking, "Father, in my humble opinion, the Crown Prince's rebellion was not unjustified. The thefts in the palace and the capital are certainly unrelated to the Crown Prince's rebellion. I believe that the years of war have left the souls in the underworld destitute of food and money, which is why... Please understand!"

Seeing this, the Sixth Prince quickly echoed, "Yes! Father, I also thought the Crown Prince was plotting a rebellion. Your Majesty has already spared the lives of everyone in the Eastern Palace. Your benevolence is known to the sun and moon, so how can you say he's violent?"

When the other ministers heard this, they all understood the logic and quickly bowed their heads and agreed with the two princes.

Emperor Yucheng's expression finally eased a little, and after talking a few more words about the follow-up investigation, the ministers left one by one.

As soon as the ministers left, Emperor Yucheng's face became gloomy again.

This matter is indeed strange, but... so many places in the capital were robbed at the same time. If it is said that it was done by thieves, it is really unbelievable!

Is it really that God is angry?

Humph! So what if he's angry? If anyone dares to threaten his throne, even if it's his own son, he'll kill them all!

At this time, the queen rushed in pulling Chen Fenghe.

"Your Majesty! Please understand! The Crown Prince has been respectful and filial since childhood, how could he have plotted treason? There must be some misunderstanding! Please, Your Majesty, for the sake of our relationship of over twenty years, clear the Crown Prince's name!"

The queen knelt down with a thud and banged her head on the stone floor. After two or three hits, her forehead was broken and blood was flowing.

Chen Fenghe had no choice but to kneel down reluctantly, lowering his head and listening silently.

When Emperor Yucheng saw the empress, he was stunned at first, then a flash of surprise appeared in his eyes. He looked at Eunuch Xu who came and knelt down.

Eunuch Xu quickly explained, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I deserve to die! The Empress is holding the late Emperor's death-free token, and we dare not stop her..."

After hearing this, Emperor Yucheng's eyes became even gloomier.

What he hated most in his life was others using the late emperor to pressure him, and the queen actually dared to threaten him with this!

"Empress! I have only banished you to the cold palace because I appreciate your kindness and dedication, and your years of service in managing the harem. Yet, you dare to plead for that rebellious son!"

The Queen raised her head in disbelief and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, that's our Shuo'er, how could he..."

"Enough! Xu Qing, why don't you send the queen to the cold palace quickly? The rest of the people who were exiled or had their families confiscated should also be dealt with immediately. There must be no mistakes!" Emperor Yucheng waved his hand impatiently, turned his back and ignored the queen.

The queen still couldn't believe how her husband, who had treated her with respect for many years, could suddenly become so cold-blooded and ruthless!

Several eunuchs were ordered to come forward and pull the queen, but the queen suddenly struggled desperately.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Our Shuo'er has been found without a trace, and you are his biological father. How could you...how could you bear to let him suffer such an unjust injustice?! If Your Majesty does not redress Shuo'er's innocence, I...I will...die in this palace!"