It doesn’t matter who spread the rumor. What matters is that the rumor has already spread in the palace and may soon spread to the public.
Once some rumors spread among the people, they will become something that many ordinary people firmly believe in, and may even be passed down for hundreds or thousands of years, compiled into vernacular novels and operas, and become the topic of conversation for countless people after dinner.
"It must have been done by that woman Su Meidai."
Liu'an is the eldest son. In order to secure Yun Duqing's position as crown prince, Su Meidai will definitely find a way to eliminate the threat of Liu'an.
"That bitch." She was so angry that she was shaking all over. She lowered her head and asked the eunuch who was delivering the message, "What else is being spread outside?"
"It is said...it is said that you and the Patriarch of the Du family were in love when you were young and promised to spend your lives together, but the late emperor broke up the couple..."
"That's enough!" Concubine Xu interrupted the eunuch and laughed sarcastically: "Promise to each other for life?"
She really wanted to be with Du Qingke back then, but that cowardly bastard said that it was difficult to disobey the emperor's order and that as the young master of the Du family, he couldn't just care about his own pleasure.
Pooh!
The man's promise is not as good as the mud used to paste the walls in the village. The mud can at least protect against wind and rain, but Du Qingke, that waste, can only make her feel ashamed.
It's a shame that when I was young and ignorant, I fell in love with such bloodless things.
If he wasn't still useful now, she wouldn't even want to look at him.
"Even you know these rumors. I'm afraid they have already reached the emperor's ears." Concubine Xu took a deep breath and said, "Go to the kitchen and tell them that I want to cook in person."
She has been claiming to be ill and not going out these years, just because she doesn't want His Majesty to recall the mistakes she made when she was in the palace.
But now with this rumor, she must do everything she can to dispel His Majesty's suspicion.
She remembered that when she first arrived at the palace, there were no other women in the palace. She once cooked a bowl of health-preserving porridge for His Majesty, who ate it all up and praised her for her dexterity.
Having not cooked for many years, she had become very unfamiliar with the cooking method. She cooked two or three times before she was able to make a bowl of Tremella and Longan Porridge.
After putting the bowl of hot porridge into the food box, Concubine Xu went straight to Taiyang Palace.
"Empress Xu is here?" At the gate of Taiyang Palace, Liu Zhongbao seemed to have predicted her arrival and bowed to her: "His Majesty is waiting for you, please follow me."
"Thank you, Eunuch Liu." Concubine Xu's heart skipped a beat. She looked at the slowly opening palace door, hesitated for a moment, and then stepped in.
Liu Zhongbao reached out to stop the palace servant behind Concubine Xu: "Your Majesty is discussing matters with the Empress, no one else is allowed to enter."
Emperor Longfeng was sitting in front of the imperial desk reviewing memorials. Apart from him, there was no one else serving him in the hall.
"You're here?" Seeing her come in, Emperor Longfeng put down his pen and said calmly, "Sit down."
"I haven't cooked for many years. I have been feeling better in recent days, so I personally made a bowl of Tremella and Longan Porridge. Please have a taste, Your Majesty." Concubine Xu brought the porridge to Emperor Longfeng.
"I remember that you were not happy when you were granted the palace. You listened to Nanny's advice and cooked a bowl of porridge. When you brought it to me, your hands were shaking." Emperor Longfeng looked at the porridge that was still steaming. "I don't know where you got the wrong information and thought I liked Tremella and Longan Porridge. In fact, I have never liked eating longan since I was a child, and I don't like eating porridge with longan even more."
Concubine Xu froze and looked at Emperor Longfeng in disbelief.
"But you just arrived at the palace and you are unfamiliar with the place. I don't want you to be uneasy, so I ate the bowl of porridge reluctantly." Emperor Longfeng walked to the window, looked out with his hands behind his back, but did not look at her: "Concubine Xu, take this bowl of porridge back."
Concubine Xu knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I didn't know your taste and preferences. I was wrong."
"Get up." Emperor Longfeng said calmly, "You didn't want to marry into the palace in the first place. We were both helpless. You don't know my taste, and I don't know your hobbies. What's wrong with that?"
"Your Majesty!" Concubine Xu did not dare to speak out about the rumors in the palace, but she had to find a way to dispel His Majesty's suspicions, so she could only say, "You are Liu An's father, the emperor of Dacheng. As a concubine, I don't understand your taste. It's my fault."
"Although Liu'an is a bit reckless at times, he is a good kid." Emperor Longfeng said, "My uncle also had the same temper back then."
Concubine Xu didn't dare to respond. Because the late emperor was stupid, the Empress Dowager's family was wiped out, and your majesty's uncle was not spared either.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Concubine Xu was delighted. By saying this, His Majesty meant that he had no doubts about Liu'an's background?
So what if that bitch Su Meidai is favored?
In the eyes of men, children are more important after all.
Emperor Longfeng looked through the window and saw Empress Su coming over here, so he quickly sat back at the imperial desk and asked, "Concubine Xu, what kind of fragrance do you use?"
Concubine Xu was bewildered. She often claimed to be sick, so why would she use incense?
"Stay away from me."
Not too far away, I’m afraid I can’t explain it clearly.
"Your Majesty." Without waiting for the eunuch to report, Empress Su entered the palace directly. Seeing Concubine Xu kneeling in the room, she put the food box in her hand on the table and glanced at the porridge on the table that was no longer hot. "It's my bad luck to come here."
"You and I are husband and wife, there is no such thing as coincidence." Emperor Longfeng opened the food box and said with a smile, "This snack is so beautiful." As he said that, he was about to take it and eat it.
"Your Majesty, wash your hands and test for poison." Empress Su patted the back of Emperor Longfeng's hand and looked at Concubine Xu who was kneeling on the ground with a half-smile: "Madam Xu, please stand up. You are weak and cannot kneel for long."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Seeing Su Meidai's condescending attitude, Concubine Xu felt extremely hateful in her heart, but she did not dare to show it on her face. Instead, she looked grateful.
A maid from Mingyue Palace helped her up.
She watched His Majesty and Su Meidai eating snacks and chatting like an ordinary couple. She stood there, no different from the candlestick decorations in the hall.
She thought that Empress Su would mention her past with Du Qingke and take the opportunity to discredit Liu'an's background, but she said nothing. She even ordered people to send snacks to several princes in the Zhangliu Palace after His Majesty praised the snacks for being delicious.
What exactly does Su Meidai mean by pretending to be virtuous in front of His Majesty?
"Princess, have you heard the rumors in the palace?" Chunfen whispered as she was dressing Jiuzhu, "It has spread everywhere in just a few days. I think there is something wrong with this."
"What rumor?" Jiuzhu asked curiously.
"Some people say that His Royal Highness Prince Huai is not your Majesty's bloodline, but the result of an affair between Concubine Xu and Du Qingke, the head of the Du family."
"How is that possible?" Jiuzhu shook her head and denied, "Prince Huai's eyebrows and nose are exactly the same as your majesty's. No one with eyes can say such a thing."
Thinking of the gentle Princess Huai, Jiuzhu said, "I'll go to Zhangliu Palace later and find a few sisters-in-law to play with."
There is only one reason why rumors suddenly spread, and that is that someone deliberately spreads them.
My mother has always been kind and upright, and she will definitely not allow this rumor to continue to ferment in the palace.
"You stay with your elder brother and his wife for lunch at noon. I will be there later." Prince Chen walked to her side, lowered his head and kissed her forehead gently: "Wait for me."
The one who was feeling the worst at the moment was King Huai. He was a descendant of royal blood, but suddenly everyone around him suspected that his mother had cheated on his father, and the way they looked at him was not right.
The most outrageous thing was that when he met his third brother, Prince Jing, just now, the other party saw him from afar and turned around and took a detour. With so many palace maids and eunuchs present, the third brother's behavior was almost pointing at his nose and telling everyone, come and see, there is really something wrong with my eldest brother's identity!
I never thought that my third brother, who is usually quiet, is so insidious and not a good person.
"My Lord, please stop walking around in front of me. Are you annoying me?" Princess Huai said, unable to bear it any longer. "What's the point of you getting anxious here? The most important thing now is not what the palace maids and eunuchs say, but whether the emperor believes you."
"Can I go before my father and bring this up openly?" Prince Huai pounded the table in anger. "This kind of thing is like tofu falling into a ash pit. It can't be praised or criticized."
"You said this..." King Huai lowered his voice and said, "Could it be that the lineage of Queen Su is plotting against me?"
Princess Huai shook her head slowly: "Father is already going to appoint my fifth brother as the crown prince, why does the queen need to do this?"
"As a woman, how can you understand the interests involved?" But the King Huai disagreed with the words of the Queen: "Don't forget, I am the eldest son."
"If you despise me for being a woman, then don't discuss this with me." Princess Huai finally couldn't stand it anymore and flipped the table: "Go find those concubines of yours!"
Frightened by her sudden temper, King Huai's momentum weakened a bit: "It's just a rumor. I'm still King Huai now. Are you in such a hurry to cross the river and burn the bridge with me?"
Princess Huai was so angry that she laughed. She raised the tea bowl beside her and was about to smash it when she heard Ming Jiuju's voice coming from outside the yard.
"Are you there, brother and sister-in-law?"
Princess Huai put down her tea bowl and hurried out: "Fifth brother's wife?"
"Sister-in-law, brother." Jiuzhu glanced at Prince Huai who came out with Princess Huai and bowed to them. "The weather is good today. My Highness and I want to come to your place to ask for lunch. I wonder if Sister-in-law and Brother are willing to let us go?"
Before King Huai could react, Princess Huai nodded with a happy face: "Don't hesitate to give it up. Whatever Fifth Brother's wife wants to eat, just tell me. I will definitely satisfy you. I hope you don't mind."
"What delicious food is there? Sister-in-law didn't even call me?" Princess An appeared at the gate of the courtyard and walked in with a smile: "I just heard you mention lunch."
"If there's something delicious, you'll definitely be there." Seeing that Prince Huai was still standing there stupidly, Princess Huai raised her eyebrows and said, "Your Highness, why don't you go and tell the kitchen to prepare it?"
His fifth brother's wife came all the way from Qilin Palace just to help him debunk the rumors, so how come he is so clueless?
Could it be that the future Crown Prince and Crown Princess really want to have lunch with them?
King Huai was startled, and his brain finally reacted: "Fifth brother's wife has honored me. How can I be stingy as a brother? I will go to the kitchen and watch them prepare the ingredients." He glanced behind Jiuzhu, but Yun Duqing was not there: "I wonder when fifth brother will come?"
"My prince has just been summoned by the emperor, and he will be here soon." Jiuzhu smiled: "Before his prince left, he specifically told me to ask my brother to prepare good wine and food, because he wanted to come over for a big meal."
King Huai smiled brightly: "Ah, eat as much as you want, eat as much as you want."
He had lived for more than twenty years, and for the first time he felt that Yun Duqing was so likable.
Prince Chen was in Taiyang Palace. After finishing his business with Emperor Longfeng, he stood up and prepared to leave.
Emperor Longfeng tried to stop him: "You still have memorials to review this afternoon, where are you going?"
"Father, I'm going to have lunch at my elder brother's place today. Will you give me half a day off?" Prince Chen rubbed his hands and smiled, "My elder brother is the host, so I want to eat more."
Emperor Longfeng was stunned for a moment, then he smiled, a smile of relief.
"Go ahead." He closed the memorial in his hand and said, "I'll give you half a day off. Eat more."
The best way to dispel rumors is not to force people to shut up.
Instead, use practical actions to make people feel that those rumors are jokes that only fools believe.
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