Chapter 48 Disappointment

"Oh…"

Xuan Yi chuckled and lifted her up, his raised thin lips lightly touching her slightly cool forehead.

"Okay, go on."

"Well, after I entered the palace, my eldest sister was confined to the Earl's residence for assaulting her husband, and my third sister was sent to the farm by my father and brother for house arrest. They couldn't come to the palace to ask for my help, so my stepmother came up with this risky plan. She secretly brought them to the palace to see me and asked me to fulfill my promise that day."

The man's body temperature is very warm and his breath smells good.

Su Ci blinked her heavy eyelids.

"At first, everything was fine. Even though the eldest sister threatened me with my aunt to help her, I still agreed to plead for her with the Countess. But I didn't expect the third sister to also show up. Even more unexpectedly, before we could even say a few words, she suddenly pulled out a dagger and stabbed me..."

"...Luckily, Prince Chu grabbed the knife. The blood splattered on my face, and I was petrified... Uh-huh, Your Majesty, you should thank the Prince sincerely, otherwise your favorite concubine would have almost died..."

The whispering sound gradually faded away.

Xuan Yi lowered his eyes, staring at the person who was sleeping with even breathing. His fingertips gently touched the long feathery eyelashes, and a trace of fear and relief flashed in his eyes.

Yes, he must thank Chu Yunzhou very much.

Otherwise, this girl who had quietly conquered the walls of his heart would have been almost gone.

…

At the end of the year, during the palace banquet, the assassination of Concubine Shu in the Imperial Garden spread throughout the capital.

Although there was a rumor in the palace that a maid who was cleaning the house was jealous of Concubine Shu's favor and went crazy and suddenly attempted to assassinate her, fortunately, Prince Chu happened to pass by and rescued her. Concubine Shu was only frightened and was not seriously injured.

But the palace maid had been executed on the spot and was dead, leaving no witness to testify. The heavy imperial guards who surrounded the Moon Watching Pavilion that day, her cries for mercy faintly heard by a few people, the soldiers and eunuchs who were present afterwards kept their mouths shut, and the Su Mansion closing its doors to visitors for several days in a row, all meant that things were not that simple.

Rumors were flying everywhere, and the atmosphere in the Su Mansion was tense. The servants didn't even dare to walk loudly.

In the main room.

The old lady's face turned pale and her hands, which were counting the Buddhist beads, trembled slightly.

"Fortunately, fortunately the queen asked for mercy, otherwise our Su family would be in great trouble."

Su Yan was still frightened and lost a lot of weight in the past few days. Su Li was so frightened that he fell ill and looked haggard and pale.

"Mother is right. Fortunately, Your Majesty has the Emperor's favor, so His Majesty will be lenient with her. It's all my fault. I was so careless that I allowed Zhao to secretly bring those two evil creatures into the palace."

The old lady calmed herself down and looked at Su Li with a serious tone.

"You are the legitimate son of the Su family, highly valued by His Majesty. You bear the responsibility for the future of the Su family. You must not have a mother who has been divorced. I don't need to teach you how to act next, right?"

Su Li stood up and bowed with a firm look on his face.

"Grandson understands. The corpse of that evil creature has been sent out of the city. After some time, someone will come back to tell him that he has passed away due to a sudden illness. The people who followed him are all my confidants, so nothing will go wrong."

"Mother committed a capital crime. If it weren't for the Empress's plea, she would have been executed along with that evil creature Su Yin. Being able to keep her alive is already a great blessing. I have sent someone to the Zhao family to tell them that Mother has fallen ill and has been sent back to the ancestral home to recuperate. This is just to avoid attracting attention. It would be best to wait a year or two before announcing her death."

He has always respected and loved his mother. Even if his mother made mistakes, he would persuade and comfort her with earnest words, and never acted disrespectfully or unfilially.

Even after knowing that his mother had helped his uncle to do evil things, he was filled with anger but still secretly tried to find a way to get his uncle out of it as soon as possible, hoping to suppress the matter quietly.

But on the night of Gong Yan's assassination, he was completely disappointed.

His mother and two younger sisters completely disregarded their father and his future, the Su family's honor and disgrace, the lives of their entire family, and even his two newborn children, and foolishly did something that destroyed the family and the clan.

No matter how filial he was, he couldn't feel any compassion.

"Well, you've been following your father on his errands for the past few months. You've made great progress in your temperament, perspective, and interpersonal skills. I'm sorry for that."

The old lady nodded slightly. "Your Majesty spared Zhao's life and ordered those present that day to keep the assassination a secret for two reasons. First, His Majesty did not want our Su family to become a laughing stock in the capital. He protected your father and son's official careers, and also protected the reputation of the Empress in the palace."

"Do you know what the second one is?"

Su Yan pursed his lips and nodded slowly after a moment.

"The day Your Majesty admonished me in the Imperial Study, I realized something. Your Majesty was doing this for the Empress and her biological mother, Lin."

The old lady breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who could have thought that Your Majesty would be so favored by His Majesty after only entering the palace for a short time? No, this is no longer called favor, it should be called exclusive favor."

"Your Majesty is so young and beautiful, it's only a matter of time before you conceive a dragon heir. You and your son are both officials, and you have a longer-term perspective than an old woman like me. You also understand your future better than I do."

"Ms. Lin has a gentle and kind nature and has a good character. She has lived in the mansion for more than ten years and has never made any mistakes. It is more than enough for her to be the main wife."

…

Su Ci's first New Year in ancient times was very peaceful.

Because she was too lazy to deal with the concubines who were secretly or openly asking about the assassination in the imperial garden, she simply pretended to be sick and closed the door to visitors. She only asked Guyu to send some gifts to the empress dowager, the queen and the concubines in the palace to express New Year's greetings.

When it comes to gift-giving, of course there’s give and take.

Yanyu, Fulu Shaoyao and others were busy counting the gifts and putting them into the warehouse, while Guyu walked into the warm room carrying a bowl of warm milk.

"Master, Eunuch Zhuang has sent a message that His Majesty will come for dinner in the evening."

"Um."

Su Ci was copying Buddhist scriptures to practice her traditional Chinese characters. "What did the Empress Dowager say?"

Guyu knelt down and took a handkerchief to wash his master's hands.

"When I left, the Empress was there too. The Empress Dowager only told the Master to rest well. But when I left, Nanny Yi chased me out and mentioned the matter of the sacrifices to be made at the Emperor's Mausoleum on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month."

The imperial mausoleum is the ancestral temple of the royal family, and according to the rules, the emperor and empress must leave the palace on that day to pay homage.

Su Ci was slightly surprised and took a sip of milk: "What else did you say?"

Guyu was quite puzzled: "Madame Yi said that in previous years His Majesty only brought the Queen with him. She also mentioned the military report that General Shen was about to return victoriously. After saying this, she went back. I didn't understand what she meant."

"Young General Shen? The Queen's brother stationed in the northern border?"

Su Ci put down the empty bowl: "It seems that the Queen Mother is really angry about what the Queen has done over the years. Now that the Shen family has declined, the Queen Mother still does not want the Queen to take charge of the harem again."

"So, the Empress Dowager wants the Master to follow His Majesty out of the palace and prevent the Emperor and Empress from reconciling?"

"About the same."

Su Ci picked up the brush again and slowly sketched the strokes. "In the past, Your Majesty rarely summoned concubines to sleep with you except on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. You could be considered to have been the only one favored by your Majesty. But after the Empress gave birth to the eldest prince in the Qiandi Palace, she hasn't gotten pregnant again. Naturally, the Empress Dowager is worried."

"The Queen Mother favors me, firstly to suppress the Queen, and secondly for the sake of the heir to the royal family. However, since I entered the palace, His Majesty has never favored anyone else except me. This is not what the Queen Mother wants to see."

…