The queen's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately stood up and knelt on the ground with her head lowered and her eyes lowered: "I don't know."
The emperor fiddled with the ring on his finger and said calmly, "Didn't I tell you last night to put away those inappropriate thoughts? This position will only belong to the crown prince, and only to the crown prince. Did you hear that?"
The emperor's voice was soft and one couldn't tell whether he was happy or angry, but the queen knew what would happen if the anger suppressed under this calm appearance erupted.
The Queen still bowed her head respectfully: "Even if I say I don't have that thought, Your Majesty probably won't believe me. I am the Queen, and Xiao Liu is the Prince. Why can't I have a little thought?"
"But since His Majesty has spoken, even if we fight, we won't get it, so why bother struggling in vain?"
The emperor stared at the queen with serious eyes, not even missing the slightest movement of her hair.
After a long pause, the emperor spoke calmly, "Did you know that the Xuanwu Marquis's residence was attacked by an assassin last night?"
"What? How could someone be so audacious?" The Queen looked up in surprise, as if she had never heard of such a thing before. She was stunned, surprised, and angry. After a moment, she suddenly realized, "So Your Majesty thinks I did it. Last night, after seeing Your Majesty off, I went to sleep and never left home again, let alone contacted anyone. If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, you can interrogate everyone in my palace."
"This matter will take some time to investigate, and the people around you will also need to be investigated, so after tomorrow, you will slowly hand over the palace affairs to Changping." said the emperor.
The Queen was very reluctant. She smiled miserably and said, "Have you already condemned me in your heart, Your Majesty?"
The emperor looked at the face that bore a striking resemblance to Empress Yuan, and softened his tone, "Xiao Liu is getting old, and it's time you found a marriage for him. Once he gets married, you can expect to have grandchildren."
The Queen looked at the Emperor in shock. "Are you completely depriving me of my rights as Queen? If Your Majesty doubts me, you can let the Imperial Concubine take charge of the palace affairs, or you can let Concubine Min and the others do it. Qin... Changping has just entered the palace and is not familiar with palace affairs. What if she is suddenly handed over to you and something goes wrong? This is the palace, not the Marquis's residence."
The emperor looked up at the queen and said, "Give it to them? You can take it back later, right?"
This was what the Queen had planned, but she couldn't admit it. She denied it again and again: "What I meant is that the Crown Prince and Changping are both old. After they get married, the most urgent thing is to get pregnant and have a child."
"Palace affairs are tedious and exhausting. Your Majesty, think about it. After Changping got married, she just got familiar with the palace affairs, and not long after, she became pregnant. How could she have the energy to manage palace affairs? Therefore, I think it is not appropriate to give palace affairs to Changping."
The emperor thought seriously for a moment. He realized that raising an heir was a matter of great importance and could not be neglected. He said, "Then let Concubine Li and Concubine Min manage the palace affairs together. As for you, you will take sick leave starting tomorrow. We will investigate whether you were responsible for yesterday's incident and we will know for sure."
The Queen's expression changed slightly. Today was the wedding, and tomorrow the bride would serve tea. Didn't the Emperor even give her this face?
The assassination attempt on Marquis Xuanwu's mansion must have been known to the entire capital by now. As the queen, if she does not attend the tea ceremony for the newlyweds tomorrow, who knows how the news will spread.
The Queen argued for herself one last time: "Your Majesty, tomorrow it is the bride who will serve tea."
"You are not the prince's mother." The emperor looked at the queen and smiled, but the coldness and sarcasm in this smile completely chilled people's hearts.
The empress stared at the emperor for a long moment before she kowtowed deeply and said, "I will go change my clothes first."
When the Queen left the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the cold wind blew, and her sweaty back seemed to freeze in an instant, making her feel cold from her skin to her bones.
The female official took the cloak and stepped forward to put it on her: "Your Majesty?"
The Queen looked up at the sky. It was blue and white, and the air was clear. What a pity. Such good weather. "Go back and change clothes."
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is deep and large, and even such a good vision cannot reach its deepest part.
The hall was brightly lit, but the flickering candlelight seemed a bit eerie at this moment.
Eunuch Zhang offered a cup of hot tea: "Your Majesty, please have some tea."
The emperor took the teacup, picked up the lid and scraped off the foam, then suddenly let go. A crisp "clang" sound echoed in the hall for a long time.
The emperor looked at Eunuch Zhang with a deep gaze and asked, "Do you think it's the queen?"
Eunuch Zhang bowed deeply, not intending to reply. However, the Emperor remained silent, clearly waiting for his response. He said carefully, "I am not a worm in Her Majesty's stomach, so how could I know?"
The emperor looked at Eunuch Zhang thoughtfully, watching him bend more and more. He took a sip of tea and cursed with a vague smile: "Slippery old man."
Eunuch Zhang didn't dare to respond.
The emperor frowned and said, "Let someone investigate. If she really did it, she doesn't need to be the queen anymore."
Eunuch Zhang bowed and took the teacup, saying, "Yes."
The emperor looked up into the distance. The light at the gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony was so dazzling that he felt dizzy for a moment and squinted his eyes.
He gently pressed his temples with his hands. If Empress Yuan had not passed away early, how could he have been so deliberate and planned to pave the way for the prince?
Aren't you worried that the prince will be ruined by others?
But the hearts of the other princes have also been raised by him.
The emperor sighed quietly. If the prince was really deposed, he would be so angry that he would die. Fortunately, the prince was very capable and married a very capable wife.
The emperor chuckled and whispered, "Queen, do you like this daughter-in-law?"
Unfortunately, no matter which queen the emperor was referring to, no one answered him.
The hall fell silent again for a moment.
The emperor thought of the news the prince brought back last night, his eyes darkened, and he hoped that it was not the queen who did it.
otherwise……
The emperor sighed and said, "Queen, you see, your sister is not as good as you."
"Father!"
A clear and cheerful shout broke the tranquility of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The Sixth Prince, dressed in new clothes, rushed into the hall with brisk steps. He seemed to bring in the sunlight, making the entire hall appear much brighter. "Father, the Crown Prince has come to pick up my sister-in-law. I saw that the Crown Prince had won my sister-in-law back after overcoming many difficulties. I hurried to report to you, Father. They will be here soon!"
The emperor looked at the Sixth Prince, who was like a little sun, with a sincere smile in his eyes. He extended his hand to the Sixth Prince.
The Sixth Prince immediately sat down at his feet, letting him stroke the top of his head. He smiled at the Emperor and said, "Father, let me tell you about the process of Crown Prince Brother's bride reception."
The emperor laughed and said, "Your brother must have made a fool of himself, right?"
"The Crown Prince wanted everyone to know that he was going to marry my sister-in-law. As soon as he left the Eastern Palace, he had people walk around the capital, distributing wedding money as they walked."
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