Chapter 426 Coming for Xiaohua

Seeing General Cheng looking at him, Grand Tutor Sun also frowned.

When Marquis Yongning came to the mansion to discuss the drought in Jinzhou Prefecture, he felt something was wrong.

After all, the drought across the country has not been going on for just one or two days, and subsidized food has been distributed to the people, and there is no good remedial strategy for the time being.

What's more, the drought is not under the jurisdiction of Marquis Yongning, so why did he suddenly become so diligent?

I didn't want to come at first, but when I thought about how the drought affected the people, I followed him.

But now that he saw the Queen had also arrived, he vaguely felt that there must be something going on.

The adults following behind him also had different expressions, some looked proud, while others looked suspicious.

The emperor took in everyone's expressions, pretending not to see them, and turned to look at the queen who came in.

"Why is the Queen here?"

As soon as the queen came in, she glanced at everyone, raised the corners of her mouth in satisfaction, and bowed in front of the emperor.

"It's been hot these past few days, so I made some Qingxin porridge and sent some to His Majesty."

As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at Aunt Liu beside him.

The latter understood, and Matron Liu came forward with the food box and handed it to Eunuch Li.

Looking at the bowl of crystal clear white rice porridge in front of him, the emperor curled his lips.

"The Queen is so thoughtful."

After saying that, he picked up the bowl of porridge and started drinking.

The queen curled her lips as she watched the emperor drink porridge, then nodded at Marquis Yongning.

After the two exchanged glances, Marquis Yongning stepped before the emperor and was about to speak when he was interrupted by the emperor.

"The Queen has arrived just in time. I have something to ask you."

"Ah? Oh, Your Majesty, please tell me."

The queen was stunned, but quickly came to her senses.

"I heard that Lei'er recently built a new villa and hosted a banquet for many merchants from various countries?"

The emperor said this with a calm expression as he placed the bowl of porridge on the table.

"Oh...I don't know about this, but Lei'er has always liked making friends, so I guess it's nothing new."

The queen also had a calm expression on her face, but her eyes were looking at the Marquis of Yongning beside her, wondering what the emperor meant by this matter.

Marquis Yongning also glanced at his sister and gave her a look that told her not to act rashly for the time being.

The emperor continued talking to himself as if he saw nothing.

"Making friends is a good thing, but I heard that there are also some royal merchants from various countries among them, and it seems that they are quite frequent."

When the emperor said this, his face turned cold and he stared at the queen, his warning was obvious.

Since you don't let Xiaohua have an easy life, don't blame me for attacking your son.

The people are having a hard time making ends meet right now. If it weren't for the food Chen'er sent, they would probably be wailing everywhere.

But his good son was reveling every night, and his contacts were all royal merchants from various countries. Although he had not yet found out the specific details, his intuition told him that there must be something going on.

“…………”The queen looked shocked.

He subconsciously glanced at his brother beside him, wondering if the emperor had found out something.

Marquis Yongning's face turned ugly, and he thought the same as the queen. Could it be that the emperor knew about that matter?

The ministers behind them also had very grim expressions, as if they were facing a powerful enemy.

General Cheng and Grand Tutor Sun looked at each other and saw the same meaning in each other's eyes.

They seemed to have been fooled by Marquis Yongning today. They did not come here to talk about the drought in Jinzhou Prefecture.

Looking at the emperor's cold face, he looked at the empress and the constipated appearance of the Yongning Marquis.

The two looked at each other again, took a step to the side, and behaved like sculptures, ignoring everything and not looking at anything.

The emperor was not sure before, after all, there was no substantial evidence, it was just a gamble.

But at this moment, looking at the guilty looks of the Queen and Marquis Yongning, he became more and more certain that his guess was correct.

At the same time, he became worried. Could it be that Lei'er and those imperial merchants really had some ulterior motives? If that was the case, he would never tolerate it.

Everyone was thinking differently, and the entire imperial study was as quiet as a ghost. Eunuch Li stood aside with his head lowered, looking as if it had nothing to do with him.

After a long while, the queen smiled and looked at the emperor sitting on the main seat.

"I have lived in the palace for a long time and don't know about this matter. Take me back and ask Lei'er carefully. If this is true, you must warn him to be cautious in making friends. Since the emperor has important matters to attend to, I will take my leave first."

After saying this, he glanced at Yongning Hou casually and walked out of the imperial study slowly.

He was really filled with hatred in his heart. He thought that today, in front of all the ministers, he could make it clear that the vixen had left the palace secretly.

At that time, even if the emperor wanted to protect him, he would be unable to do so in front of all the ministers.

I didn't expect the emperor to do this. Today's matter can only be dropped. Otherwise, if the matter of my son is exposed, it will be much more serious than the matter of that vixen leaving the palace.

Watching the queen leave, Marquis Yongning was also discouraged. He thought he could bring down Concubine Jing this time, but he failed again and almost implicated the second prince.

The few confidants behind him lowered their heads and did not dare to look up. They were also frightened. Not only did they fail to pull Concubine Jing down, they almost got themselves involved.

After all, all those grains passed through their hands. If they were found out, they would lose their heads.

Watching them walk away one by one with their heads bowed, the emperor slumped back in his chair like a deflated ball, heaved a long sigh of relief, and sweat broke out in his palms.

It was a close call just now, Xiaohua’s secret was almost exposed.

Thinking of the humiliated looks of the Queen and Marquis Yongning just now, a hint of cruelty flashed across his eyes.

“…………”

Could it be that they really have something to hide? Otherwise, why did their faces look so ugly when this matter was mentioned just now?

What's more, this is an excellent opportunity to bring Xiaohua down, and it should be done at all costs.

The more he thought about it, the more strange it seemed. Suddenly, he remembered something and turned to look at Eunuch Li.

"Let Concubine Jing come back quickly!"

Although this incident has passed, given the Queen's temper, there is no guarantee that she will not cause any more trouble. I thought it would be better to let Xiaohua come back quickly to avoid any more trouble.

"Yes." Eunuch Li nodded and turned to leave.

On the other side, the memorial written by Han Muchen was already on the way back.

The family members have also been arranged in the tents and are now busy helping everyone prepare lunch.

Looking at the white rice in the pot, the children were drooling with greed.

Even the adults felt it was unreal. They thought it would be nice if they came earlier and could dig some wild vegetables to eat.

They never expected that the prince would not only keep them but also provide them with food, and the food was so good. It was like a dream.

Seeing that the steaming rice in the pot was ready, Concubine Jing raised the big spoon in her hand.

“Dinner is ready!”