The virtuous concubine was half asleep, and she kept muttering to herself, "The first thing to do when accompanying the emperor in the imperial study is to speak loudly. The second thing to do when accompanying the emperor in the imperial study is to make the tea hot. The third thing to do when accompanying the emperor in the imperial study is to make sure the windows and doors are wide open."

"Master, the Imperial Study is where the Emperor handles official business. Speaking too loudly might startle the Emperor. Also, the tea being scalding hot is inappropriate."

"You think it's inappropriate? You know nothing! How can the Queen's personal teachings be wrong?"

The virtuous concubine refused to listen to the advice, and the palace maid was scolded and left in disgrace.

When Gu Yinwei was about to leave for the Imperial Study, a eunuch came to tell her, "Gu Gengyi, you'd better hurry up. Concubine Xian has already arrived at the Imperial Study."

Gu Yin smiled slightly, "It's okay, the emperor still has a while to go to court."

The virtuous concubine kept fiddling with things, trying to leave a good impression on the emperor. The eunuchs came in with memorials and placed them on the imperial table according to different categories.

The virtuous concubine pouted and said, "How can the memorials be placed randomly? It looks so ugly with them piled high and low." She took advantage of the eunuch's inattention and arranged them according to her own preferences.

The maid poured a bowl of tea on the table. Concubine Xian reached out and touched the bottom of the cup. "The tea is not hot enough. Change to boiling water."

The maid hesitated.

"Why, you don't listen to me."

The palace maids and eunuchs in the imperial study serve the emperor all year round and are more cunning than thousand-year-old foxes.

Without arguing, he brought a pot of boiling water to replace it.

When the emperor returned to his study after leaving court, Concubine Xian raised her voice and called out, "Good luck to the emperor."

She roared so loudly that Fugui'er trembled with fear. The emperor was not deaf, so there was no need for him to shout so loudly.

"Very good, very energetic."

The virtuous concubine received the emperor's praise and raised her voice again, "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."

The emperor sat down to read the memorials. Today the memorials were placed in a mess. The memorials from the Ministry of Works were mixed with those from the Ministry of War, and the memorials from the Ministry of Justice were mixed with those from the Ministry of Personnel.

The emperor asked, "Who does good deeds without leaving a name behind?"

Concubine Xian knew that the emperor was speaking in a sarcastic way, so she lowered her head and pretended not to hear.

The eunuch who was placing the memorials knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, when I left, the memorials were still there."

The memorial had been tampered with, and only Concubine Xian was in the imperial study, so the answer was obvious.

The emperor did not blame the eunuch, but asked him to classify again.

He was a wise emperor and would not let trivial matters affect the progress of his official duties.

He picked up the tea bowl and tried to drink some tea to moisten his mouth, but the tea was scalding hot and difficult to swallow.

"My virtuous concubine, do I have a body of bronze and a heart of silver?"

"Your Majesty, the tea is too hot. I'll give you another cup."

"No need to change. Come, take a sip and show me."

The tea in the bowl was steaming hot. Concubine Xian Guipin sat aside with the tea, intending to wait for it to cool down before drinking it.

When Gu Yinwei came in, Concubine Xian was sitting facing the window with her eyes wide open. The autumn wind was bleak and her eyes were red.

His body was cold and his eyes hurt, but he still refused to close the window. He was a cruel person.

Gu Yinwei found a book to read, and Concubine Xian followed suit and also read the book.

Reading a book was like tasting a delicious dish for Gu Gengyi. When she read, the words in the book were like sharp needles, constantly pricking her eyes.

Half a day passed and she didn't read a single word.

Just sitting there with no one talking, this was nothing like what she had imagined her escort to be like.

After finally getting to lunch, Concubine Xian Gui ran away in a panic.

Concubine Xian returned to Qiwu Palace and recounted her experience accompanying the emperor to the empress. "Your Majesty, the Imperial Study is not a place for a concubine. The Emperor was only busy reviewing memorials and never spoke to me."

"Gu Gengyi can stay, why can't you?"

"Gu Gengyi doesn't talk to me either. She is so serious about reading the picture book."

"Empress, please have mercy on me. I don't want to accompany you in the imperial study."

"You have to go, and not only go, but go joyfully."

The virtuous concubine had no choice but to go.

Sitting there for three to five days like she was in prison, Concubine Xian Gui became visibly thinner.

Whenever the palace maids mentioned the word "Imperial Study" in gossip, she would breathe quickly and become extremely nervous.

It was not until Prince Xiaoyao brought the Buddha's bones back to the palace that the Queen Mother learned that the Third Prince was trapped in the enemy camp. She angrily went to the Emperor to argue with him. She finally breathed a sigh of relief. She no longer had to accompany the Emperor in the Imperial Study, and she had plenty of time to waste.

They were enjoying the flowers in the Imperial Garden, playing with parrots in the Bird Bureau, making clothes in the Palace Bureau, and the virtuous and noble concubines were having a lot of fun.

The Empress Dowager did not have the leisure time like Concubine Xian Guipin. She went to the Imperial Study with only one purpose, which was to force the Emperor to send troops to rescue the Third Prince.

Xun He personally raised the curtain. The Queen Mother glared at him and said, "Among the many eunuchs in the harem, you are the best at wagging your tail and begging for mercy."

Xun He was always by the emperor's side, and had never been scolded like this before. He lowered his head and said nothing.

The empress dowager had no place to vent her anger, so she threw down the curtain and walked into the imperial study.

"Your brother is in imminent danger, and you still have the time to review memorials? In your eyes, your third brother's life is less important than those peasants."

"Mother, my third brother's life is indeed precious, but aren't the lives of the people also precious? Isn't my third brother's throne, and my throne, earned through the support of the people, bit by bit?"

"I can't care about that. I just ask you to send troops to rescue your third brother."

"My third brother is trapped in the enemy camp. How does my mother want me to rescue him?"

"As an emperor, can't you come up with a perfect plan?"

"May I ask, Mother, what is the perfect plan?"

Judging from the current situation, there is no perfect plan at all. The Third Prince has been captured, Dongzhou has the upper hand, and Kyoto is completely at a disadvantage.

"I have a request, and you have a thousand excuses. If you refuse to save your brother, I will go to save him myself. Even if it costs me my life, I will have no regrets."

"I will set off for Dongzhou tomorrow. I want to see how many ministers in the court can support you, a disloyal and unfilial emperor."

"My Queen Mother, do you want to deprive me of my power and leave me without any ministers to serve?"

"You are so selfish that you won't even save your own brother. Don't you want me to do it myself?"

The Queen Mother walked in a hurry and tripped over the carpet on the ground. The Emperor was quick to support the Queen Mother, but she angrily shook off his hand.

"I don't need your hypocrisy. The emperor is ruthless. The mother-son relationship between you and me is severed today."

The emperor stood there motionless like a stone statue. It was obvious that the empress dowager's words had caused him indelible harm.

"The Queen Mother is too partial." Xun He complained silently.

"It's more than just partiality. The Empress Dowager doesn't care about the Emperor at all. Maybe the Emperor is not her biological son at all." Fugui answered casually.

Xun He's heart surged, "Say it again what you just said."

"Perhaps the Emperor isn't the Empress Dowager's biological son at all. Otherwise, how could she have the heart to rebuke him like this? Everyone in the court, civil and military, knows that the Emperor is a virtuous ruler. The Empress Dowager doesn't praise the Emperor, but instead forms cliques and factions. She even uttered harsh words just now. I heard it clearly. I'm going to teach Master."

Fugui raised his orchid finger and said, "I want to see how many ministers in the court can support you, a disloyal and unfilial emperor."