Chapter 187 Don’t Blame Yourself for Such a Person
After Rou agreed to leave, the entire hall fell silent for a moment. Everyone was worried that the emperor's anger might accidentally spread to them.
"Your Majesty, it is my fault. This banquet was originally planned by me to celebrate Concubine Hua's birthday, but I didn't expect such a misunderstanding to occur. I only agreed to let Rou participate in this banquet because of her sincere promise. I didn't expect her to encounter such an unexpected situation."
The queen was the first to stand up and kneel before the emperor to admit her negligence. She knew that she had miscalculated this time.
The emperor looked at the queen kneeling in front of him, and the look in his eyes became unfathomable. He looked at her deeply for a few times before slowly speaking.
"Queen, you are now increasingly unable to handle the affairs of the harem. Do you feel that you have been in this position for too long and have forgotten your duties?"
The emperor's words showed no regard for the queen's dignity at all, and the queen's face turned pale in an instant.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I would never dare to have any other thoughts. I never thought that Rou would do something that would damage the reputation of the royal family."
At this moment, the queen wanted to drag Rou out and vent her anger. She had thought that she could use this opportunity to win the emperor's favor and regain his favor, but she didn't expect that she was so useless and now she had to bear the emperor's anger.
"I hope the Queen will remember what she said. If it happens again, I think it's time for you to abdicate and let someone else take over."
The emperor's words made everyone look stunned. Over the years, because of Queen Chunyuan, the emperor had never embarrassed the queen in public like this.
"Yes, I will definitely keep the emperor's teachings in mind."
The queen still looked respectful to the emperor as usual, which was something that made Nian Shilan particularly admire her. This kind of patience was really rare for ordinary people.
"Alright, I still have some government affairs to attend to in the Yangxin Palace. You guys can continue."
The emperor's mood was completely ruined, and he no longer had the leisure to continue dining with them.
"It is your birthday today, my concubine. I will visit you in your palace later."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Nian Shilan was reluctant in her heart, but she still showed the emperor a gentle and virtuous attitude on the surface.
As soon as the emperor left, considering what had just happened, no one was in the mood to stay here anymore.
"I have other things to do, so I'll leave now. You can do whatever you want."
At this moment, the Queen had no mood to deal with Nian Shilan and others. She was anxious to go back and investigate what Rou Da Ying had just caused. She was still a little confused. Logically speaking, Rou Da Ying was a cautious person and such an accident would never happen. Moreover, she was the one who organized the banquet herself and the people she hired were trustworthy. How could such a thing happen?
"Farewell, Her Majesty."
After the Queen left, almost all the remaining people were sisters who were on good terms with Nian Shilan. Everyone was no longer restrained and the atmosphere became lively.
"Huan'er, do you think what I did just now was a bit too insidious?"
Zhen Huan knew that Nian Shilan was referring to what had just happened to Rou Ying, but in her opinion, all of this was Rou Ying's own fault.
"Sister Hua, you don't have to feel guilty about this person. If we really let her regain our favor today, she will definitely seek revenge on us in the future. When that happens, she will definitely not leave us any room for maneuver."
She had fought with Rou Ying several times, and Zhen Huan saw clearly that although Rou Ying looked like a weak woman, her mind and methods were extremely cruel. In her heart, as long as she could achieve her goal, no matter what means she used, it didn't matter.
At first, after learning that the Queen and Rou had been in close contact during this period, Nian Shilan guessed that they must be plotting something. Later, when the Emperor proposed to hold a birthday banquet for her, she knew that the Queen and others must be using this banquet to do something.
She secretly asked Zhou Ninghai to keep a close eye on Chuxiu Palace, and finally she discovered something unusual inside. When she learned that Rou agreed to use this to win her favor, Nian Shilan was ready to "help" her.
Although she did not want to be embarrassed in front of everyone at the banquet, Nian Shilan also knew that this was the best way. Only when the emperor completely disliked Rou Da Ying would the queen completely lose this helper.
"Huan'er, the more we have to be careful with the Queen at this time, the more I am afraid that what happened to her today is related to me. However, she will not delve into it. I am afraid that she will set a trap for us somewhere else in the future."
Just as the Queen knows Nian Shilan well, after so many years of fighting, Nian Shilan also has a certain understanding of the Queen.
It was just as she expected. After returning to Jingren Palace, the Queen only asked Jiang Fuhai to investigate the matter secretly and had no intention of making a big deal out of it.
The Queen herself knew that her motives in today's incident were impure. If a major investigation really took place, even if Rou could finally agree to find out the truth, she would no longer be able to hide her thoughts.
"Jianqiu, why do you think the Emperor treats me this way? I was by his side when he was still a prince. He promised me that if he could give birth to a firstborn son, he would make me his consort. But what I waited for was that he made my sister his legitimate consort, and my eldest son went from being the legitimate eldest son to being a concubine. Today, he can say such words in front of everyone. My feelings for him over the years are like a joke."
The emperor's words really hurt the queen's heart. She thought she had given up on the emperor a long time ago, but she didn't expect that she would still feel so heartbroken today.
"My lady, please take care of yourself."
Seeing the Queen's appearance at this moment, Jianqiu felt very distressed, and she even wanted to cut Nian Shilan and Zhen Huan into pieces.
She had followed the empress for so many years and had never seen her suffer such humiliation. The empress was framed by concubines and was scolded and reprimanded by the emperor in front of everyone. There was no such thing in the world.
"My Lady, now that Zhe Rou has agreed to be this chess piece, we must be even more careful in our actions from now on."
"Now I can see clearly that the concubines in the harem appear to be respectful to me, but in reality they have already been bribed by Nian Shilan and Zhen Huan. I can no longer rely on them."
The Queen has a clear understanding of the current situation. Her greatest support now is the Fourth Prince.
"Has the Fourth Prince been studying seriously recently? Has he made any progress in his studies?"
"Don't worry, Madam. I ask the maids who take care of the Fourth Prince every day. They all say that the Fourth Prince is very hardworking and spends almost all of his time studying."
This is also what makes the Queen happy. If the Fourth Prince can gain a firm foothold in the Emperor's heart, then the current dilemma will be nothing.
"The Sixth and Seventh Princes are still young, and the Third Prince is extremely dull. After his marriage, he has been focusing all his attention on his wife. The only prince the Emperor can use is my Fourth Prince. It seems I should contact some court officials to discuss the matter of appointing a crown prince."
The Queen no longer had the patience to wait any longer. She wished she could trample Nian Shilan and Zhen Huan under her feet the next moment.
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