Chapter 422: A Plan Within a Plan

The emperor was slapped.

This is the cause.

The emperor and concubine Zhengui have just returned to the palace.

Shen Zhaoyi was so angry that she lost her mind and rushed up to slap Concubine Zhengui.

She was not given a chance to explain.

Being beaten for no reason, there was no reason for Zhenfei not to fight back.

When it comes to fighting, how could she, who grew up in the countryside, be afraid of a delicate young lady?

The two men wrestled with each other.

Pulling hair, slapping, chewing and biting...

Her hair was disheveled and her hairpins and rings were scattered all over the floor.

The emperor, who was feeling unwell and was about to return to the palace to rest, stopped and was stunned.

The concubines who were weak and helpless in front of him in the past have now all turned into shrews.

It's indecent.

The palace maids also stared wide-eyed.

Tsk tsk!

She was completely different from the usually high-and-mighty imperial concubine. She looked like a shrew in the street, completely disregarding her decent image.

When the emperor saw the concubines fighting, the palace servants did not dare to stop them without giving any orders.

As he watched, he saw Concubine Shen Zhaoyi slapping over, and Concubine Zhengui dodged.

The slap landed hard on the emperor's face.

The air suddenly became stagnant.

The palace maids opened their mouths wide, but dared not make a sound.

The mother who lost her child went a little crazy, and Shen Zhaoyi thought that Concubine Zhengui was the murderer of her son.

The blow was quite severe.

Half of the emperor's face immediately turned red.

Zhenfei widened her eyes, covered her mouth, and looked at the emperor with horror.

Did Shen Zhaoyi miss her and hit the emperor instead?

This must be the result of using all your strength.

She didn't care about her own mess and immediately asked the maid to bring the ointment: "Your Majesty, I will apply the ointment for you. Concubine Shen must have been traumatized by the loss of her beloved son, so..."

The emperor was a little dazed after being beaten.

He touched his cheek, which was burning.

He was actually beaten?

Apart from the late emperor, no one in this world dared to hit him.

Shen Zhaoyi looked at the emperor's slightly red cheeks, then looked at her own hand that had not yet been put down.

When she saw the emperor's cold gaze again, she instantly came to her senses.

She beat the emperor.

It’s over, I’m dead!

Her face suddenly changed color, and she knelt down with a plop: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I deserve to die... I didn't mean to do it. It was our prince who died. I was so angry... Your Majesty, please stand up for the prince. It was Concubine Zhen who harbored hatred and killed our prince..."

Shen Zhaoyi spoke incoherently.

The emperor was speechless.

If it were any other concubine, according to palace rules, she would have been dragged away and sent to the cold palace.

But she is the daughter of the Shen family, and her child has died.

Look at her face, she looks so embarrassed and distraught.

After all, they are an old couple, and I can’t bear it.

He understands the pain of losing a child.

Although I have experienced many things, big and small, my heart will become numb, but it will also hurt.

Besides, Xiao Ba is the candidate for the crown prince that he carefully cultivated besides the third brother.

He died like this, and his pain was no less than Shen's.

He also wanted to find the murderer as soon as possible and cut him into pieces.

The emperor looked at Shen Zhaoyi, who was kneeling on the ground. "How do you conclude that Xiao Ba's death is related to Zhen Fei? Do you have any evidence?"

Zhen Fei was so nervous that she clenched the handkerchief in her hand, fearing that Shen Zhaoyi would really produce some evidence.

Many people died unjustly in this palace.

If a bottle of poison is found in your room for no apparent reason, or a palace maid suddenly appears, they will insist that it is you.

Even if you have a thousand mouths, you can't defend yourself.

It was true that the emperor doted on her, but she was not sure she could surpass her own son.

But she was overthinking it.

"Evidence?" Concubine Shen smiled bitterly. "Your Majesty, what murderer would leave evidence at home waiting to be caught? The one who died was your own son. Are you planning to protect her?"

"How dare you." The emperor was a little annoyed by her attitude: "Chen Jin, I think you are talking nonsense because you are too sad to think of the loss of your beloved son. Since you don't know what is good for you, then go back and reflect on your mistakes. Don't come out until you have figured it out."

The emperor did not pursue her case. He asked the imperial physician to examine her and instructed the palace servants to take good care of her.

Shen Zhaoyi had no intention of leaving. She came to seek justice for her son.

She won't be satisfied until she skins this bitch alive today.

The mother of her son had died, and she had the support of her mother's family, so the emperor could not do anything to her.

Concubine Zhen said it wasn't her, but Zhaoyi Shen didn't believe it.

Either she is Prince Chen or Princess Chen, they are birds of a feather anyway.

She had to find an outlet...

During the scuffle, Concubine Zhengui fainted and bled.

Shen Zhaoyi was dumbfounded.

This trick of using miscarriage to put the blame on others is common in the palace.

Is this an attempt to rely on her?

Very good, it can be considered as a life for a life, I have no regrets even if I die.

After diagnosis by the imperial physician, it was confirmed that Zhenfei was pregnant.

But she had just had a fight and had a miscarriage, and the baby was gone.

When Zhenfei woke up, she sat in a daze for a long time.

She touched her flat belly and couldn't believe that she was pregnant.

But... the child is gone again.

Now that she has miscarried, she doesn't know whether to be happy or sad.

She clearly longed to have a child of her own, but what she hoped to have was a prince.

Calculating the time, she hasn't had her period for two months.

However, during the time she was pregnant, the emperor was ill and did not touch her.

She felt a little guilty, but also a little relieved.

This child has no connection with her.

But she really didn't mean to have a miscarriage through Shen Zhaoyi's hands, it was purely a coincidence.

Instead of seeking justice for her son, Shen Zhaoyi got herself involved.

It was unclear whether the emperor was considering the affection between them or the prestige of the Shen family.

He simply confined her to his own palace forever and cut off all her salary.

Only three meals a day are provided.

This is tantamount to imprisoning her.

It's not much better than being in the cold palace. You will still be trapped in the deep palace walls and die alone.

But she was unwilling to accept that she failed to avenge her son.

The emperor didn't even look at Shen Zhaoyi who was dragged away, his attention was only on the bleeding Zhengui Fei.

He thought he had a son in his old age and was very excited.

However, just as I found out, before I could even blink an eye, the child was gone again.

Suddenly sad, suddenly happy.

The emperor is not feeling well and is ill.

After taking the pill, I felt much better.

He thought he could live for many more years, but unexpectedly he collapsed suddenly.

But there are still many things he can't let go of.

There is still no good news from the frontier, Xiao Ba's murderer has not been found, and the true crown prince of Daliang has not been decided.

He couldn't just go like that.

When I reach the underworld, I will be speechless when I see my ancestors.

Every time I wake up, the first thing I ask is, is there any news from the border?

Has the person who caused the eighth prince to fall off his horse and died and pushed the crown prince into the water been found?

…

When Princess Yuqing heard that her father was ill, she prepared to go to the palace to visit him.

Mainly because she heard other news.

Concubine Shen actually hit her father, and the Shen family was impeached by the censor for failing to educate their daughter.

Shen Zhaoyi has become an abandoned child, and I'm afraid she can only fend for herself in the future.

She also heard the news that Concubine Zhen had a miscarriage.

What a coincidence.

She had just said she wanted to adopt a prince and asked her for a fiefdom, but now she got pregnant and had a miscarriage.

It is impossible for my father to have another child in his current condition.

It’s just that the emperor himself doesn’t know it.

Then this child...

So she had to go to the palace.

No bathing today.

Princess Yuqing planned to meet with Cui Yan first to hear his opinion before entering the palace.

Miaomiao got up very early.

I took Xiao Yuer and followed the princess mother out to Yipinju to see my father.

The few days before the New Year should have been the most relaxing time for officials of all ranks. They had no intention of working and were just waiting for the New Year.

In ancient times, the Chinese New Year was the most solemn and grand festival of the year.

Singing and dancing, family reunion, drinking and talking happily...

However, this year everyone is very busy and does not take a single day off before the New Year.

For Cui Yan, the chief minister, the word "xiu mu" was just a noun, not a verb.

Especially now, the queen is under house arrest, the eighth prince suddenly fell off a horse and died, and the emperor is sick again.

Prince Chen was eyeing the emperor covetously, and when he failed to win him over, he wanted to take advantage of the emperor's serious illness to seize power from him.

How can we sleep peacefully when we have internal and external troubles?

But no matter how busy he is, he will make time for Yuqing and his daughter if they want to see him.

Miaomiao was shocked when she saw her father.

I haven't seen Dad for a while. He has lost weight and has dark circles under his eyes.

There's nothing good about being the Prime Minister. He's a complete workaholic. He can't marry the woman he wants to marry, and he can't recognize the daughter he wants to recognize.

They also have to work like a slave for the emperor's grandfather.

The emperor himself knows how to enjoy himself.

I heard that when the eighth prince died, he was out with his beautiful wife and family to enjoy the hot springs.

Miaomiao thoughtfully presented the gift she had carefully prepared: "Dad, this is a soft pillow that Mom and I prepared for you. There are agarwood shavings in it. It can calm your mind and promote sleep. You must remember to sleep with it every day."

Cui Yan took it and smelled it, and a refreshing woody fragrance came from it.

He was obviously trying to calm his mind, but at this moment he felt a little moved.

He also has a wife and children who care about him.

It’s a very cold day, but my heart is very warm.

It dissipated the fatigue of the past few days.

"Thank you. Although... it's a bit ugly, it doesn't affect its effectiveness at all."

Cui Yan said she was ugly, but she was actually very beautiful in her heart.

Princess Yuqing looked at the pillowcase she had sewn with an embarrassed look on her face.

Originally she wanted to ask the embroiderer to sew it, but Miaomiao insisted that she do it herself.

What’s most important is what you mean.

She said that only if it was sewn by her own hands could Cui Yan feel her thoughtfulness and know that it was sewn by her own hands, and not sewn by someone else or bought somewhere on the street.

But she didn't realize at all that Cui Yan felt her feelings.

His mouth was full of disgust.

This guy, why is it so difficult to get something nice out of him?

Cui Yan was so focused on feeding his daughter snacks and cracking walnuts that he didn't notice the princess's gloomy face.

But Miaomiao noticed it.

Why!

These two people have to part without her.

One has no mouth, the other is sensitive and thoughtful.

While peeling walnuts, Cui Yan stuffed the kernels into his daughter's mouth.

From time to time, he would put a few on the plate in front of the princess.

Miaomiao looked at Cui Yan: "Daddy, do you like this pillow?"

"Yeah, I like it."

"Daddy, do you like the person who makes the pillow?"

"Of course I do."

"So do you like people who sew pillows?"

"I like it..." Cui Yan was stunned after saying that, and continued to crack walnuts with his head down.

But the ears are red.

When Princess Yuqing heard the word "like", she was also stunned, and then she smiled with her eyes curved.

Miaomiao and Xier looked at each other and smiled.

After getting along with her, she found that although the princess mother looked aloof and cold, she was actually very easy to please.

Princess Yuqing was in a better mood and told Cui Yan the purpose of her visit.

"I'll leave the two children in your care for a few days. I have to go back to the palace for a while. I'm worried about Queen Mother and the Crown Prince. Yu'er almost drowned, and Xiao Ba is gone. It seems that Prince Chen is getting impatient. I'm worried that his next target will be Queen Mother or the Crown Prince."

"Wait a little longer, don't go into the palace for the next few days."

"What are you waiting for?" Princess Yuqing clutched Cui Yan's hand tightly, her face filled with anxiety. "If I wait any longer, I won't have a mother or a brother anymore."

Cui Yan knew she could no longer conceal the truth. "Last night, the imperial guards captured a man, the eunuch who was in charge of the Eighth Prince's horse. After the incident, he hid in the cold palace. We interrogated him and got some information that was unfavorable to the Queen..."

"There was a needle hidden in the saddle, and the one who ordered him to do this was a eunuch in your mother's palace..."

Princess Yuqing's heart skipped a beat; the thing she feared most had finally happened.

After going around in circles, he finally came to his mother.

After getting rid of the Eighth Prince and Concubine Shen, and then getting rid of the Queen Mother and the Crown Prince, Prince Chen's power is so great that even his father would be unable to do anything to him.

It's like raising a tiger to cause trouble. I wonder if my father regrets it now.

"Cui Yan, it's not the Queen Mother. That eunuch is the problem. Besides, if the Queen Mother wanted to do anything to Shen Zhaoyi and her son, she would have done it long ago. Why wait until now..."

"I believe it."

"What about my mother? Where is she now?" Princess Yuqing was about to stand up, but was pulled back by Cui Yan.

"Don't be anxious, listen to me. As long as the emperor doesn't give the order, no one dares to do anything to the queen. The prince and the queen are protected by people. In a critical situation, they will escort the queen and the prince out of the palace." Although Cui Yan could not enter the harem, the situation inside was very bad.

In fact, since the emperor returned from the palace that day, it was said that he fell ill, but he did not summon the princes and princesses.

Even when he asked to see her, he didn't see her.

The secret guards hiding in the palace were unable to get close to the emperor's bedroom, so he suspected that something had happened to the emperor.

But he didn't dare say these words to Yuqing.

With Yuqing's personality, he would definitely go deep into the tiger's blood. If he were born as a human being, he would do the same.

But he would not allow his lover, the mother of his child, to take risks alone.

Cui Yan touched Princess Yuqing's shoulder and said, "Qing'er, listen to me. Prince Jing and I are responsible for the palace affairs. But right now, there is one more important matter, and that is Prince Jing's wife. She should be giving birth soon, and Prince Jing is not around. Her safety depends entirely on you."

Princess Yuqing gritted her teeth and agreed: "Okay..."

Indeed, my fifth brother has been away for more than a month.

Qianxue is the apple of the fifth brother's eye and also Mu Yunji's biological sister.

Now she is about to give birth.

At this moment, the safety of mother and child is more important than anything else.

The back garden of Yipinju.

Miaomiao accompanied Xiaoyuer to build a snowman in the yard. In fact, she really didn't like snow.

But Xiao Yuer likes it.

The little guy who had been silent for several days finally spoke, and the first thing he said was that he wanted to go play in the snow.

Maybe it was because he was in the palace, and his grandmother and the prince didn't let him play, for fear that he would get sick.

The children in the palace were raised with great care, but many of them died young.

Miaomiao and Xier wrapped him up tightly and rubbed his little face: "You can only play for a short while, otherwise you will be scolded by mother."

The little guy nodded obediently.

It’s called playing in the snow, but in reality it’s just running in the snow.

Because the little guy's hands were wrapped tightly by her, he couldn't touch the snow at all.

Miaomiao stood aside and listened to Jiujiu talking.

…