That night, after receiving the emperor's verdict, Concubine Xi sat dazed by the bed, as if she had lost her soul.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in through the window and extinguished the candles in the bedroom.
Because all the eunuchs in the palace were taken away for investigation, there were no candles left, and the palace fell into darkness.
She could only get up and light the candle by herself, but unexpectedly she was suddenly hugged from behind.
Concubine Xi was stunned, and a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, is that you?" she asked expectantly.
The man behind her had already kissed her.
In the dim light, she couldn't see the man's appearance clearly, but she thought that perhaps after spending this night, she could become the noble person she once was.
She tried her best to please him, and she didn't know how much time had passed. Only after Concubine Xi felt that the person next to her had fallen asleep did she get up and light the candle.
But after seeing the appearance of the man lying next to her, she fell to the ground weakly.
It's him
The guard who had an affair with him.
Xiao Shengxing did not really have the intention to kill him. According to the investigation of the secret guards, the two of them were quite compatible.
Su Lijin remembered that their affair in the previous life had ended in nothing, so she suggested that the guards be sent out of the palace, thinking that Concubine Xi would also leave the palace after some time.
Who knew that the guard was so worried about Concubine Xi that he actually came back.
Concubine Xi covered her mouth, trying hard not to cry out.
Why him, why not the emperor?
What if he hadn't deceived himself into thinking he was the emperor?
What if he hadn't looked at her with such tender eyes in the Imperial Garden?
If I were pregnant with Xiao Shengxing's child, would I be able to rise to a high position in the world?
Tears rolled down Concubine Xi's cheeks. She picked up the scissors beside her and moved step by step towards the man who was still sleeping soundly on the bed.
The next morning, the eunuchs finished their investigation and came to Concubine Xi's palace one after another. When the palace maid pushed the door open, they saw a strange man lying on the bed with a pair of scissors stuck in his chest.
There was also Concubine Xi, who was lying in front of the table, neatly dressed but had already committed suicide by cutting her wrists.
The affair of Concubine Xi became known to everyone, but the truth of her suicide was suppressed by Xiao Shengxing.
It would not be good for anyone if the truth of this matter got out, and the two people are already dead, so it is better to let it go.
The Queen Mother's birthday banquet that followed diverted the attention of the people in the palace.
Gradually, the matter of Concubine Xi was no longer mentioned.
After all, in this harem, how long can a person who lost the dragon fetus and committed suicide by cutting his wrists be remembered by people in the palace?
On the day of the birthday banquet, all the civil and military officials were present in the court. Su Lijin sat next to the emperor and watched the opera troupe performing below, which she found very interesting.
When everyone was in high spirits, only the Queen Mother had a bad look on her face.
She looked at Su Lijin with a cold face for a whole day, then said in a cold voice: "Humph, the Queen is too perfunctory. My birthday banquet is so sloppy."
In fact, the birthday banquet was almost the same every year, and even included the Empress Dowager's favorite opera. The only reason now was that Su Lijin and the Empress Dowager had a dispute over the investigation of Concubine Xi's miscarriage.
The Queen Mother just wants to take advantage of the situation.
Su Lijin listened to the Queen Mother's words without feeling annoyed at all. She even smiled and said, "What your Majesty is teaching me is that I am still young after all and have no experience in many things. I will need your guidance in the future."
The Queen Mother did not expect that Su Lijin would actually agree with what she said, and a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.
Although I was unhappy, I had to shut up in the end.
Seeing that Su Lijin didn't move her chopsticks much, Xiao Shengxing thought that she didn't eat much, so he personally picked up some food for her.
"Try it. The imperial kitchen has just made some new dishes. They taste very good. You will probably like them."
Su Lijin chuckled, agreed, and ate the food on the plate.
This loving scene was somewhat dazzling to the empress dowager's eyes.
He simply doesn't understand the rules and has no sense of propriety.
While she was still looking sullen, Concubine Shu suddenly spoke.
"Empress Dowager, today is your birthday. I have specially sent someone to find purple coral from the South China Sea. May your blessings be as vast as the East Sea and your life as long as the Southern Mountains!"
Wei Shu's words brought a smile to the empress dowager's face.
She usually likes these things, and she is particularly fond of the rare purple coral.
Su Lijin looked at Wei Shu below and saw Wei Shu smiling at her. She knew without a doubt that she had shifted her target to herself.
As expected.
"My ability is limited, and I ultimately failed to give the Queen Mother a better gift. However, today is the Queen Mother's birthday banquet, and the Queen has decorated this place so beautifully. I'm sure she's also prepared a gift carefully, right?"
It really doesn't let people have peace for a moment.
Sighing helplessly in her heart, Su Lijin stood up, took the gift box handed to her by the palace maid and came to the Queen Mother.
She leaned forward and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, this is my birthday gift."
The Queen Mother opened the gift box, thinking it would contain some rare treasure, but it turned out to be just a heavy box of Buddhist scriptures.
The Queen Mother's expression changed slightly, and she frowned in dissatisfaction, and was about to say something.
Before she could even open her mouth, Su Lijin expressed her feelings directly.
"I believe the Empress Dowager will be pleased with this gift. If it weren't for your daily devotion to Buddha, the harem would never have a peaceful day. It's clear that the Empress Dowager's sincerity has moved the gods and Buddhas."
"I know I'm foolish, but I also want to emulate the Empress Dowager, so I copied these Buddhist scriptures myself, praying to the gods and Buddhas to make everything go smoothly for the Empress Dowager and keep her safe and sound."
Although the Buddhist scriptures in this box are indeed not valuable.
But what Su Lijin said elevated the meaning of this gift.
Even if the Queen Mother wanted to lose her temper now, she couldn't say anything else.
Although she felt disgusted in her heart, the Queen Mother still reached out and took the Buddhist scriptures with a smile on her face.
"Your Majesty is so thoughtful. I really like your birthday gift."
Su Lijin remained calm on the surface, but she was already smiling brightly in her heart.
After all, she just asked a palace maid to copy it for her, so it can be said that she didn't contribute anything to this birthday gift.
On the contrary, it prevented the Queen Mother from expressing any dissatisfaction, killing two birds with one stone.
However, Su Lijin's actions made others somewhat dissatisfied.
The prime minister sitting below looked at the scene in front of him and couldn't help but speak.
"The Empress is the mother of a country, after all. How come she can't even give a gift to the Empress Dowager on her birthday? At least the Consort Shu gave her purple coral."
Su Lijin turned around and looked at the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister continued, "Could it be that the Empress doesn't have enough money to prepare a birthday gift from the embezzled money?"
The Prime Minister's words clearly mocked Su Yuan's corruption.
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