Chapter 13 Chapter 13

On Shenlai Island, the boatman paddled to the shore. A long wooden plank extended from the shore to the stone steps that went into the water. The emperor walked steadily, and when he stepped onto the shore, he did not forget to turn around and pull Concubine Zhen.

The Queen led all the concubines to stand up and pay their respects to the Emperor.

The emperor raised his hand and said, "No need for that. I have come to see what Yang Qing can do. You may do as you please."

A flattered smile immediately shifted from Concubine Zhen's face to Concubine Yang's face.

Lady Yang's face was flushed with pink. The scab on the wound on her neck had not yet faded, but she did not try to cover it up to avoid others.

The emperor only took a glance and asked: "Better?"

Concubine Yang knew he was asking about her injuries: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am fine now."

She had previously asked His Majesty if he would come, but from what he had said, he seemed uninterested in this small banquet. Concubine Yang had already found a reason for him: the previous banquet had been so tedious and tedious, and His Majesty naturally needed to rest in time, so why bother rushing to join in the fun?

At that time, she pursed her rosy lips, imitating the sensibleness of a palace lady. But after all, this was a banquet she had to host despite her injuries, so how could she not secretly be looking forward to the emperor's visit?

Although it was just a small banquet for the new concubines to drink, chat, and get acquainted with the old ones, she had put a lot of thought into it. For example, she had the palace servants use green silk to imitate vines, inserting mugwort and calamus, and decorating the corridors and pavilions. She also took into account the magic troupe that would perform later...

Seeing the Emperor take his seat, Concubine Yang became more lively than before. "Your Majesty, please try this honey-pear dish. I specially prepared it for you. It uses acacia honey and pears, simmered over a low heat, then left to cool. It's just perfect for this season, moistening and clearing away heat."

The emperor seemed to be thinking for a moment, but he said without a trace: "Well, Yang Qing is thoughtful.

He was also considerate: "You are still injured, it is not appropriate for you to drink."

Concubine Yang had originally prepared some fruit drinks for the concubines who were not good at drinking, and she herself was drinking scented tea. She smiled and said, "I will save you money."

During the banquet, the colorful faces were obviously more radiant and lively, but also more pretentious. Even when they were raising their glasses or picking up their spoons, they did not forget to raise their heads with a lively look. The bizarre colors of wine brought out a sea of ​​rosy beauties and rouge-faced smiles.

However, they both admired the emperor and were afraid of him, and did not dare to take the initiative to toast and celebrate the festival. The ones they envied the most were undoubtedly Concubine Zhen and Concubine Yang.

The emperor took the initiative to ask Ming Zhaoyi, who was also drinking in silence, "How has Huaixuan been these past two days?"

Ming Zhaoyi seemed a little absent-minded, but when asked, she still smiled politely, "He knows that the emperor is thinking about him, so how dare he not be nice?"

Concubine Zhen was almost laughing with anger. She hadn't forgotten either her old or new love, and she also had a biological mother to look after. If she had known earlier, she shouldn't have invited His Majesty. He always had a way of making her feel jealous and upset.

"If you agree on it now, you might get sick again later, right?" She sarcastically said that Concubine Ming always used the eldest prince as an excuse.

The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Forgive me."

"Don't joke about that."

Concubine Zhen knew that the emperor had always cherished this son: "I just hope that His Highness can be safe and sound, and you can worry less."

Most of the palace concubines were also curious about who was more important in the emperor's heart, Ming Zhaoyi or Zhen Jieyu, and they all tried to spy on her without showing any expression.

The queen, like them, kept watching with her eyes wide open.

Ever since the Emperor arrived on the island, she hadn't received even a single bit of favor from him. He wouldn't even look at her!

On the other hand, the Queen was so jealous of Concubine Zhen, Concubine Yang, and Concubine Ming... Especially Concubine Ming, who had gained so many benefits that others could not even dream of just by having a son!

Just when she was secretly hating herself so much that she couldn't even taste the food, she suddenly started to vomit.

The queen instinctively reached out to cover up the unceremonious sound.

However, her body reacted violently one after another without her control.

"What's wrong, Madam?"

"Your Majesty is not feeling well, please go and get the imperial physician!"

The queen didn't hear clearly who said this. She tried to stop him alertly, but when she looked up, she immediately bent down in pain, her stomach churning.

Even with this delay, the emperor had already issued an order: "Go and call the imperial physician."

Upon receiving the order, the palace maid immediately sailed away from the island to call the imperial physician.

The queen was anxious and wanted to stop it. If the person she invited was not hers, and the imperial physician took her pulse in public, wouldn't the abnormality in her body be discovered?

There is not even a palace on this island, so there is no place to do anything without being seen.

But just as she was about to speak, she saw the Emperor looking towards her. Fearing he might notice something was amiss, she naturally chose her words with great care. She couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. Only then did she finally enjoy the attention that this phoenix coronet and robe deserved...

Concubine Zhen muttered softly, "Another one coming to join in the fun."

Seeing the Queen covering her mouth, she suddenly remembered the time when Ming Zhaoyi was pregnant. She muttered, "Your Majesty, are you pregnant?"

"Indeed, where is the imperial physician? Have you summoned him?"

Seeing that Concubine Yang was the center of attention, Concubine Zhao finally found her own opportunity to shine: "Today is the Dragon Boat Festival banquet. Perhaps Your Majesty is expecting a baby. May Heaven bless Daliang and prolong the country's prosperity. I am here to offer my congratulations to Your Majesty!"

The emperor ignored her winking, put down his wine glass, and said indifferently, "It's a little early."

After saying that, he stood up and walked towards the Queen, without giving Concubine Zhao another chance to speak.

Zheng Xiuyi hurriedly had someone push Zhao Cairen back to her seat: "Don't make things worse."

The Queen's face was pale, and she was still nauseous. When the Emperor finally spoke to someone, she quickly pulled Jinyu to her side and ordered in a low voice, "Come with me and get the imperial physician. I have a severe stomachache. Go get the imperial physician Zhu. Someone must be trying to harm me. He's the only one I trust!"

As soon as Jin Yu was ordered to leave, the emperor walked to the queen who was almost exhausted from vomiting, and the chaotic situation at the banquet finally calmed down.

"Is it serious?" asked the emperor.

The empress wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief. Perhaps because of the emperor's concern, her face regained a little color, but her panic in her heart became even worse. "I am fine. I am sorry to have caused Your Majesty to worry."

At this time, a splash like someone falling into the water was heard from the distance on the Taiye Lake, but the smoke and waves were so thick that no one could see clearly what had happened. They only knew that the imperial physician had landed on the island after a while.

The queen's face turned pale.

Jinyu did not come back, and this person was not Doctor Zhu.

The sound of falling water just now...

Her stomach still felt uncomfortable, but it was not as painful as she described. It was more like the groggy symptoms a woman would have when she had morning sickness.

But she knew there was no possibility that she was pregnant.

As the unfamiliar old doctor with white hair and beard approached, the queen's hands and feet were cold and her lips were trembling...

The queen couldn't even handle such a small matter, and she even wanted to skin Jin Yu alive.

The emperor seemed to notice her restlessness and said, "The queen can rest assured in the medical skills and ethics of Imperial Physician Lin."

The Queen was about to cry.

She forced a smile that was uglier than crying: "Your Majesty... I don't seem to be in any trouble now. Let's continue the feast. Don't let Lady Yang go to waste all her hard work just for me."

"Is he really alright?" The emperor raised an eyebrow. "Let the imperial physician take a look. Only then will I feel more at ease."

The Empress was at the end of her strength and wished she could faint immediately to escape this impending ordeal. She said in a panic, "Then later, after the banquet, I will ask the imperial physician to see you."

Just when she was hopelessly thinking that her deep illness would eventually be exposed and that she had already stepped into the gates of death, the emperor unexpectedly glanced at her and said, "That's fine."

Did he just agree to that?

The queen endured the pain in her belly, which could no longer be revealed, and just now she felt a little surprised that she had survived the disaster.

Unexpectedly, Concubine Xue was no longer silent today and suddenly spoke: "Your Majesty's health is so important, otherwise..."

Ming Zhaoyi shook her head at her across the table.

Concubine Xue said, "Why not go back and rest early?"

The queen's miserable expression suddenly improved.

Initially, her mind was in a state of confusion, her thoughts racing. She wondered why she had suddenly developed these symptoms. Was someone deliberately harming her? Was it Concubine Yang? Then she wondered if the emperor had let the matter slip so easily, not forcing her to see the imperial physician, because he probably didn't really care about her health.

She knew she couldn't stay at the banquet. If she fainted, she would be a lamb to be slaughtered. The empress, trembling, stood up and pleaded with the emperor, "Sister Xuepin is right. I'm afraid I won't be able to eat anything today. I'd like to go back and rest."

The emperor readily agreed.

At that moment, a magnificent pleasure boat came across the water. Standing on the deck were several well-dressed and powdered barbarians, each holding a strange instrument. The sound of stringed instruments filled the boat, setting the mood. The water magic trick that Concubine Yang had meticulously designed had finally begun, but few people were interested in watching it.

"This illusion is truly miraculous. How could such a large person emerge from the box? And how did that bird fly out from between the stamens? Did you see it clearly?"

"It's all just a trick. But the Empress... Your Majesty has not had many children, so could it be that the Empress is really pregnant?"

"The fruits and vegetables of this season are mostly cold and difficult to digest. It's possible that someone might get sick from eating them. With all this commotion, Lady Yang's banquet must have been a waste of effort."

The performance was over, the emperor granted amnesty, and the banquet ended hastily ahead of time. The concubines were taken back to the shore by their own boats, and the afterglow of the setting sun was cold in the sky.

Concubine Xue looked everywhere for Ming Zhaoyi, but saw that Zhaoyi and the emperor took another boat together and headed east, and did not return with the others.

"Hurry, follow."

*

There is only a two-story building on Yingzhou Island, and the rest is dense clusters of green trees, stretching out in a long and winding manner, almost extending from the island to the lake.

Spring ends in May and the tung flowers have fallen.

Qingzan was sitting in a small pavilion on the island, with Xu Delu by her side. When Concubine Xue arrived, she saw only the two of them. After looking at Qingzan inquisitively for a moment, she softly asked Xu Delu, "Where are His Majesty and Zhaoyi?"

With her master here, Qingzan naturally stopped sitting there indifferently, but her figure and appearance were there, and as a woman, Concubine Xue had a natural sensitivity. Moreover, when she first came to the island, she saw that the palace maid was clearly sitting in the pavilion.

It must be extraordinary.

But now she has no time to care about it.

"Why is Master Xue Concubine here?" Xu Delu feigned ignorance. "If Master wants to see His Majesty for something, I'll just tell His Majesty. But if you want to see Empress Zhaoyi, you should go to the Chaoyun Hall in Guanju Palace. Why are you here?"

Concubine Xue, who was usually gentle and delicate, sat down in the pavilion with a strong attitude. This eunuch was very slippery and no one could pry open his mouth about things he shouldn't say, but it didn't matter. She could wait.

She said to Qingzan, "You take your seat, I'll wait for mine."

Instead of sitting down, Qingzan took a step back.

Thinking of the cake recipe, and looking at the delicate hand pinched tightly under Concubine Xue's sleeve, she lowered her head and said stiffly and deliberately, "I can't take advantage of today's festive occasion and elegant banquet and the masters' leniency and forgiveness to break the rules."

But it was this deliberateness that allowed Concubine Xue to glance sideways even when she was extremely nervous and stiff.

Forgiveness... ?

Qingzan was actually not sure what Concubine Xue was nervous about, but she was sure that when the emperor and Zhaoyi went upstairs, they did not look worried.

At this moment, in the viewing pavilion on the second floor of the small building, a plate of untouched honey pears was placed on the lacquered table in the center. Because they had been left for a long time, the pear flesh had almost turned amber.

There are two ends of the table, one of which is the emperor.

"I remember that the Queen likes to eat pears."

"Your Majesty and the Empress are deeply in love, truly enviable." The woman on the other side wore a high bun like clouds, her glossy black hair devoid of elaborate ornaments, clean and neat as cool black satin. Her face, shimmering with pearls and jade, held a proud gleam in her eyes even as she faced the emperor.

It was Ming Zhaoyi.

The emperor's expression remained unchanged, but his words were a little sharper: "Zhaoyi is not suitable for playing fools."

Seeing that Ming Zhaoyi was still drinking tea steadily, showing no sign of repentance, the emperor gently pushed the plate of honeyed pears on the table forward an inch. "Not long after entering the palace, the Empress killed a palace maid over a plate of pears. I certainly remember this incident. But I never favor one over the other. I also remember Yang Qing saying that many of the people available for today's banquet were generously lent by Zhaoyi."

The implication is that we only need to investigate these people, but if they have ulterior motives, they will naturally be exposed.

Ming Zhaoyi finally felt a little guilty, having been exposed, and admitted, "I didn't do anything. Your Majesty didn't come originally, it was just a little show. Everyone here obeys the Empress. If the Empress doesn't want to be treated by the imperial physician, who can force her? Why are you being pushed so hard?"

The emperor chuckled softly, "If I hadn't come, I'm afraid the honey in this pear would have been filled with the Ecstasy Powder."

Fortunately, she had the idea to put the materials on the island and pour the remaining materials into the Taiye Lake, so that there was no evidence to verify it afterwards.

If the queen is unconscious, all the concubines present will respect Zhaoyi as the most respected, and no one can stop her from investigating.

At this moment, even though the person sitting in front of her was not a tyrannical monarch, Ming Zhaoyi still felt a chill down her spine.

No one likes the feeling of being controlled by others.

Today, she is no longer the bold and fearless girl who said, "If you have no heart, I will give up." She is also afraid of being disliked by the emperor and afraid that her son will lose the chance to ascend the throne. She used to pride herself on having first-class vision and character, but now she cannot escape the worldly barriers of her closest relatives.

Ming Zhaoyi sat motionless and took a deep breath. "I live in the deep palace, and my access is restricted by others. How can I possibly come into contact with these things?"

"I heard that a eunuch in Guanju Palace was recently punished by being sent to work in the stables for offending Zhaoyi."

Ming Zhaoyi lowered her head, knowing that there was no need for her to resist any longer.

When horses became ill and refused to cooperate, the palace servants would give them herbs that would quickly induce sleep. While horses possessed spirits, they were still animals and could not speak. Therefore, while the whereabouts of the medicine were recorded, they could be tampered with at will. Conversely, the Imperial Hospital's medication regulations were extremely strict, and her presence there was a visible presence, making her removal of the medicine easily exposed.

As for the vomiting-inducing melon stem powder, that's even easier to get... At this time of year, the palace has a lot of melons, so isn't it ready-made?

The intelligent woman seemed to suddenly understand and nodded slightly: "Your Majesty has known about this for a long time. No wonder Your Majesty came."

No wonder the emperor specifically informed in advance that he would not attend the banquet, and then changed his mind. He has never been such an unstable person.

No wonder the palace maids were already there when she and the emperor arrived on the island. His attendance at the banquet wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision.

No wonder he knew exactly how she got the drugs.

But he knew she was going to take action, but he didn't stop her. Instead, he deliberately let her go, and then caught her red-handed. So his terrifying nature wasn't just because he had already grasped her every move—

Ming Zhaoyi finally felt the need to defend herself. She must not let the emperor misunderstand her and affect her son's future because of this incident.

She wasn't good at begging for mercy, but that didn't mean she couldn't speak politely. "I heard a rumor long ago. Back then, the current Empress was still in her boudoir and had been reluctant to marry Your Majesty. Rumors circulated that the Empress was suffering from a serious illness. I'm acting this way to dispel these rumors and give the Empress justice."

The emperor did not sit across from her at the table. He stood up and walked to the observation deck extending from the attic.

Beyond the red railing in front of me is the boundless blue wave, and in the center of the wave is a whole piece of constantly agitated green. I don’t know if it’s because the building is too low or the trees are too tall, but I have lost my vision when I get close. I can only see the green and strong forest canopy, swaying with domineering vitality in the wind.

The emperor didn't see what he expected to see. He leaned against the railing with his hands behind his back, his yellow robe with wide sleeves rustling leisurely. He seemed to have a solemn and cold air that was closer to the sky and more inhuman than human. "How fair! Zhaoyi truly serves the country and the emperor. Huaixuan has a good mother."

When Ming Zhaoyi heard the emperor's name, her expression suddenly changed: "Your Majesty!"

"That's enough."

The emperor turned around and asked, "Zhaoyi, have you ever considered how the royal family would lose face if you asked the imperial physician to describe the pulse diagnosis in public?"

Ming Zhaoyi seemed to realize something and looked at him in disbelief. "So you... knew all along? If you truly can't conceive and bear an heir, how can you be considered the Queen Mother?"

"I also heard that the Yongning Marquisate arranged for an extremely beautiful maidservant to accompany the Empress into the palace. This is clearly a premeditated plan. Not only is this deceiving the Emperor, but their intentions are also blatantly evil."

"That's enough." The emperor's voice fell silent for a moment, and he slammed the table in finality: "The Queen will always be the Queen. There is no need to investigate this matter further."

"You go ahead."

He was standing at the edge of the balcony, quite far away from her. However, Ming Zhaoyi seemed to be strangled by his hand, and she struggled to stand up: "Your Majesty..."

The queen is the only person in the palace who poses a threat to her son. If the queen gives birth to a child, he will definitely choose a legitimate heir as the crown prince.

So for the sake of her son, she couldn't miss any opportunity to overthrow the queen, but she never expected that the emperor knew about it long ago.

It seems that all the arrangements and plans since the Queen entered the palace were completely wrong.

It was as if the mast suddenly collapsed, the oars were broken, and the boat was sinking in the sea, and I didn't know how to go on.

"Hmm?" The emperor smiled slightly. "Do you really want me to punish you before you leave?"

The emperor doesn't care about some things, they are as trivial as a feather.

Whether it was putting vomiting-inducing melon stem powder in the mother of a country's meals, or hiding her disability due to illness and marrying into the royal family.

Seeing that he had already pardoned her, Ming Zhaoyi still stood there in a daze, no longer with her former conceited and proud demeanor. The emperor could not bear to see her, so he put on a playful smile and said, "I will not pity you. I am afraid that Huaixuan will settle accounts with me when he grows up."

Ming Zhaoyi came to her senses and said, "...I'll take my leave." She walked downstairs in a daze.

Before leaving, she finally managed to calm down and calm down. She turned around and said to the others, "Your Majesty understands everything, but this one sentence is wrong. Huaixuan loves his father the most, so I won't blame anyone but Your Majesty."

*

Ming Zhaoyi descended from the upper floor. The sky had darkened. The setting sun had sunk into the water, wiping out its last rays of light. The heavy night swallowed up most of Yingzhou Island. Only under the tung trees that framed the winding path leading to the small building, the eunuchs, lighting palace lanterns, one every ten steps, made the path bright.

Ming Zhaoyi saw the people in the pavilion.

The Imperial Eunuch Xu Delu, Concubine Xue, and the beautiful palace maid standing there.

Looking at Concubine Xue who was walking towards her hurriedly, Ming Zhaoyi said helplessly, "What are you doing here?"

Just as Concubine Xue was about to speak, the sound of a piano suddenly came from the upstairs building in the center of the island, making her pause.

The sound of the zither reveals a solitary figure sitting on a high-rise building, his aura boundless. A single pair of powerful fingers, distinctly articulated, gently plucking the strings within a small space, as if he were a king, commanding the four directions and commanding the eight poles.

The cool wind blows hard and the evening rain falls.

"Let her come up."

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Our dog still has a little sense of ritual~~[Let me see]