Chapter 176 Is she more important than the prince?
The officials and their families in the front hall were still waiting. Without an imperial decree, no one dared to leave the palace at will.
After waiting for so long, and just when everyone was getting anxious, the queen finally arrived.
But the emperor did not come.
"Everyone," the queen said with a smile, her back straight, "Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a day of reunion. The emperor sympathizes with the hard work of all the officials and invites everyone to come here to attend the palace banquet."
"The emperor is happy and has a few more glasses of wine. He has now drunk the hangover soup and is taking a short rest."
"I will prepare some mooncakes and have the palace servants distribute them to everyone later. Everyone will have a share."
"Your Majesty is merciful. I hope you all will remember that the court and the country are of one mind. Set a good example for the people and don't let the people think that the court and the palace are places where filth and dirt are hidden."
These words were so clear and understandable that all the officials understood them. They were being told not to spread what happened today.
The emperor was not drunk, but he was probably very angry and didn't want to come out again.
Everyone left with their own thoughts.
Su Huaiyuan separated from the old lady and Su Zhiyi, and they met in the courtyard in the east and west halls respectively. He looked around and saw that Yu Shengsheng had not returned yet, so he couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
The old lady said angrily, "Okay, forget about her, let's go."
"Mother, how can that be possible? We are all here together as a family, how can you just leave her behind?"
"I'll go look for her."
The old lady whispered, "Where are you going to find her? This is the imperial palace, how can you walk around randomly? Something happened to the prince today, you better not cause trouble again."
Su Zhiyi was upset, and after hearing what the old lady said, she blurted out: "The prince will be fine, grandma, don't talk nonsense."
The old lady choked and looked at her: "Anyway, everyone go home. If Yu Shengsheng is fine, she will go home. If she is okay... her last name is not Su!"
After the old lady finished speaking, she turned around and was about to leave without giving Su Huaiyuan a chance to refuse.
Suddenly someone said, "General Su, please stay."
Everyone turned around and saw that it was the nanny who had just stood beside the queen.
Su Huaiyuan clasped his fists and said, "Mammy, do you want to talk to me about something?"
"The Queen invites the General to come into the palace to speak."
Su Huaiyuan hesitated for a moment, and the old lady looked at him, signaling him to agree quickly and not be in a daze.
"Yes, please lead the way, Madam."
There were no officials or their families in the hall anymore. The remaining seats were still there, but no one was seen, which made the hall seem even more desolate and sad.
The queen was sitting alone at the top. Su Huaiyuan walked to the bottom of the steps and said, "Your Highness Su Huaiyuan, I pay my respects to the queen."
The queen didn't say anything for a while. She looked at him for a long while before she said slowly, "When you first returned to the capital, you used your military merits to exchange Yu Shengsheng for the title of princess. You really love her."
Su Huaiyuan lowered his head: "Reply to the Queen..."
As soon as she opened her mouth, the queen waved her hand and said, "I don't want to hear that. The prince is in trouble this time."
Su Huaiyuan looked up, slightly surprised: "What does the queen want me to do?"
"He is my child and my hope. I will protect him at all costs."
Su Huaiyuan frowned slightly: "Then he..."
"He didn't kill Concubine Yu, he was wrongly accused!" The Queen was agitated, her head aching as if it were splitting open again. She reached out to touch it, "Yu Shengsheng was also implicated."
Su Huaiyuan's expression suddenly changed: "What? Shengsheng..."
"Oh," the queen smiled grimly, "Why? Is a lowly girl like Yu Shengsheng more important than the crown prince?"
Su Huaiyuan pursed his lips: "I dare not."
"Don't think I don't know your relationship with her," the queen threatened, "You must help the prince and stand on his side, otherwise... I can't protect Yu Shengsheng's background. By then, not only her, but your entire Su family will be guilty of deceiving the emperor."
Su Huaiyuan let out a deep breath: "I understand."
"So?" The Queen raised her voice slightly.
"I will help the prince."
The queen nodded with satisfaction, stood up and walked down the stairs. Her gorgeous dress brushed against the cold steps, making a tiny, delicate sound.
"You have helped the prince wholeheartedly, and I will remember your contribution," the queen said softly.
Su Huaiyuan suddenly looked up, saw her very close, and quickly took a few steps back.
The queen grabbed his wrist and said, "I have another one."
Su Huaiyuan's throat rolled slightly: "You say."
"Kong Dezhao makes me unhappy in every way. I originally wanted him to marry Yu Shengsheng, but now he has to observe mourning, so it's impossible."
"What does your Majesty want?"
"Get rid of him."
Su Huaiyuan was silent for a moment: "My queen, Kong Dezhao is the only legitimate son of the Kong family and is highly regarded. If he is harmed, Nanshun will not give up."
"So what?" The Queen slightly curled her lips, her smile sinister and paranoid, "Your Majesty is afraid of Nan Shun, but I am not. If Nan Shun rises up in rebellion, wouldn't it be better?"
"When the time comes, you lead the troops to fight and wipe out Nan Sheng, which will be another great achievement. Looking at the generals of the entire dynasty, who can suppress you?"
Su Huaiyuan's heart was about to jump out: "Queen, Prince Yi and his maternal family are still here, what can I do for you..."
"So, if you destroy Nanshun, you can be on equal footing with them."
Su Huaiyuan raised his eyes and saw the madness in the queen's eyes.
At this time, Yu Shengsheng and Fu Qingyin had already left the palace.
Sitting in Fu Qingyin's carriage, you can take the convenient passage and have a smooth journey.
Yu Shengsheng sat in a corner, silent.
Fu Qingyin closed his eyes slightly, leaned against the wall of the car, and said nothing.
Even so, Yu Shengsheng could still feel his strong aura, which was very intimidating.
She had a lot of questions, such as, while assisting him in investigating the case, did she need to report to the Zhenqiao Building every day, or what?
I wanted to ask several times but didn't open my mouth. I decided to wait until the car stopped before asking.
Gradually, voices of people could be heard outside the car. They had already left the palace and were on the street. The bustling sounds made her feel a little more relaxed.
Quietly peeking out from the gap in the car curtain, I saw that the car was heading towards Zhenqiao Tower.
It doesn’t matter, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. When she arrived at Zhenqiao Tower, she would be able to go back to the Su Mansion by herself.
When leaving the palace, Fu Qingyin told her that he had let Jin Baobao leave the palace early.
Then she has nothing to worry about.
The car stopped and she was just about to get off when she heard laughter outside and the sound of footsteps. Someone walked out of the car in a few steps and lifted the curtain.
"Commander, I..."
The voice stopped abruptly, and a pair of round eyes, clear and black, moved around Yu Shengsheng's face.
"This young lady is..." His eyebrows were slightly curved, and he seemed to be very good-tempered.
"Black and white," Fu Qingyin opened his eyes, "Meet Princess Ruiyang."
Yu Shengsheng was curious, this person's name is Hei Bai? What a strange name.
Hei Bai was about eighteen or nineteen years old, quite handsome, with fair and smooth skin. He was not wearing the clothes of the Red Dragon Guard, but a black tights with silver edges on the collar and cuffs. There was a knife on each side of his waist, one long and one short.
"So it's Princess Ruiyang," Hei Bai smiled and bowed, "I've heard a lot about you."
Not sure if it was an illusion, but Yu Shengsheng felt that when he was "Princess Ruiyang", there seemed to be some other meaning.
What on earth does this guy do?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com