Looking at Yu Yiluo's innocent smile, the Queen's depressed mood after being rejected by the Prime Minister improved a lot.
She chuckled, "I'll let Luo'er eat her fill then."
He looked at Concubine Xian and said, "I did this to announce your identities and at the same time lure the snake out of its hole. I might use my cousin Yao'er. What do you think, cousin Yao'er?"
The queen directly stated her purpose, not wanting her cousin to think too much about this move and think that she just wanted to use her.
Concubine Xian was surprised by the Empress's frankness and said gently, "It's up to the Empress to decide."
"I know you don't trust me in your heart, cousin," the Queen said in a low voice, "but it doesn't matter. I will use time to make you and Luo'er believe that even if the prince is gone, I can still take good care of you."
"I believe you," Concubine Xian looked at the Empress with a smile, "I will always remember your care for me and Luo'er."
She could see that the Queen wanted to be nice to her and Luo'er, but she was worried that being too enthusiastic would seem like she had ulterior motives, so she restrained herself.
The Queen's kindness to her and Luo'er was probably due to her mother's kindness, or perhaps out of guilt.
No matter what the reason is, as long as it doesn't hurt Luo'er, she doesn't care.
"Okay," the Queen said, tears welling up in her eyes and her voice a little hoarse, "Just trust me."
Since Queen Jun left, Qing'er is the only relative around her.
But Qing'er is a troublesome person who only knows how to get into trouble and has no idea of her own difficulties.
Every time he cleaned up the mess for her, the Queen's blaming face would appear in his mind.
Day after day, Qing'er got into trouble and she cleaned it up. The people complained bitterly and the ministers submitted countless impeachment memorials.
She has been exhausted over the years. Even the Prime Minister, her childhood study partner, has drifted away from her because of Qing'er's affairs. Although Ling Le, who is by her side, is smart, he is still young and never dares to say anything outrageous in front of her.
Now that she had finally found her cousin, she felt that she could finally express some of the things that had been weighing on her mind.
Yu Yiluo looked at the Queen and felt a little sad.
She walked up to the empress and said, "Auntie, you are too grown up to cry."
The queen was amused by her serious look and put away her sadness.
"Luo'er was mistaken. The Imperial Auntie is not crying."
Yu Yiluo looked up at her for a while, blinked, and ran back to Empress Xian.
"Cousin Yao'er, will she feel resentful because of my punishment of Qing'er?"
Empress Xian did not answer directly, but instead said.
"I've heard a lot about the princess recently. Everyone has a lot of complaints about her."
How could I not have any complaints? They robbed men and killed innocent people when they were unhappy. They are even more despicable than those bullies.
[The bully has a place to seek justice for his crimes, but she is a princess, and has the Empress's support. The common people can only swallow their anger.]
[Eh, no wonder the Prime Minister is unwilling to assist such a princess. I wouldn't be willing to do that either.]
[The Queen is truly amazing! She's usually quite intelligent, but why did she lose her mind over Feng Qingqing's situation? She only knows how to clean up her mess and doesn't know how to fundamentally solve the problem.]
[His achievements were completely destroyed because of Feng Qingqing. No wonder he was later abused by the people. It's not unfair at all.]
Seeing that the Empress remained silent, Concubine Xian continued, "Since the Empress considers me a relative, I will dare to say more."
"What does Cousin Yaoer want to say?"
"Is what the princess did true?"
Concubine Xian stared at the Empress.
"true."
"If it's true, why doesn't the Queen solve the problem fundamentally?"
Concubine Xian spoke calmly, "This time she kidnapped Luo'er and me. Because of mother, you recognized me and rescued us. What about the others she also kidnapped?"
"They don't have powerful relatives. They are just ordinary people. The princess can rob them if she wants, and kill them if she refuses. The people outside are complaining and have no place to seek redress. The princess is your daughter, so you can't bear to punish her severely."
Empress Xian paused and continued to ask.
"What about those people she killed for no reason? They also have mothers and are children loved and cherished by their families. Every time you indulge her, another soul is lost in the world."
[Mother, of course the Queen knows what you're talking about, but we can't wake up someone who's pretending to be asleep.]
[It's because of the Queen's treatment of Feng Qingqing that I can't immediately reveal my trump card. Although she's treating us well now, she might not necessarily stand on our side when it comes to Feng Qingqing.]
Ling Le, who was standing by, felt cold sweat on his back as he listened to Concubine Xian's outrageous words.
She raised her eyes slightly and glanced at the Queen. The Queen seemed stunned by these words and sat upright.
After a while, the empress looked up at Concubine Xian and asked with suppressed anger.
"Cousin Yao'er, what do you think I should do? Kill the princess or depose her?"
"Does the Queen think it is a wise choice to hand over the Kingdom of Li to the Princess?"
Empress Xian was also somewhat displeased, but since she had already started, she had no intention of backing down.
"You are not just a mother, you are also the ruler of Li Country. As their ruler, how can you watch their lives being trampled upon so casually? To put it another way, Queen, in order to be worthy of one person, you have done things that are unfair to the people of Li Country. Is this really what that person wants to see?"
She now truly understood what Luo'er said: you can't wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep.
I said this out of sadness for my mother and the people of Li Country.
"Ling Le, take them away."
The queen rubbed her brows and shouted.
[Ah, angry? No wonder Feng Qingqing is so lawless. No wonder.]
I was originally thinking of using gentle means to let you know the truth, but since you won't listen, I can only use rough means.
Ling Le hurriedly raised his hand and asked Empress Xian and Yu Yiluo to leave.
Empress Xian had said all she wanted to say and didn’t want to say anything more. She picked up Yu Yiluo and walked out of the imperial study directly.
"Dear guest, please speak less in the future."
Walking some distance from the Imperial Study, Ling Le whispered a reminder, "The Emperor's Achilles' heel is the Crown Princess and the late Empress. If it were you who said this today, the Empress would probably have lost her temper on the spot."
"What is your relationship with that Ling Changshi?"
Empress Xian walked slowly while holding Yu Yiluo, seemingly asking casually.
"There's no connection." This wasn't a secret, so Ling Le didn't hide it. "The Queen's surname is Ling, and I'm from a branch of the Ling family. Attendant Ling has served the Queen since he was young. The Queen was kind and gave him the surname Ling."
"Since Ling Changshi is the one who serves the emperor and the empress, why does the empress dislike him so much? Shouldn't you love the whole family as well?"
"Your Excellency, you may not know that after the Queen passed away, the Empress wanted to expel everyone around her from the palace. Ling Changshi refused and took the opportunity to plot against the Emperor. The Emperor, mindful of the Queen's request before her death, kept Ling Changshi and the Second Princess."
[No wonder she gave birth to Feng Hongyu despite being plotted against. It turned out to be because of the Queen.]
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