Chapter 110 Complaint
When Concubine Yu returned to the palace, she had a fit and threw the teacup to the ground.
Ruolan leaned forward and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down."
Concubine Yu's eyes were filled with anger, her chest heaving: "That old witch, the Queen, actually asked me to copy the Female Commandments!"
"And Concubine Zhao! How dare you openly oppose me!"
Ruolan said cautiously, "My Lady, please calm down first."
"Zhao Fei is so presumptuous because she's relying on the Emperor's favor. Now that General Ruan has returned victorious, the Emperor is overjoyed. If he knew you'd been wronged, he wouldn't necessarily side with Zhao Fei."
"Of course. To the Emperor, women are not as important as the country."
"Is the celebration party still going on?"
Ruolan replied, "Not yet."
Concubine Yu raised her chin, her red lips curled slightly: "Go, tell the emperor that I am not feeling well, and ask the emperor to come over."
Now that the Ruan family has made great contributions, Concubine Yu believes that the emperor will definitely come.
Because he would give his father some face.
Besides, whenever I was not feeling well in the past, the emperor would basically come.
Therefore, Concubine Yu felt even more confident.
At the banquet, there was singing and dancing, and drinking and toasting.
Xiao Heng personally toasted: "You have worked hard in this battle, Ruan Qing and King Beichen. Especially Ruan Qing, you have fought hard at the border for two whole years. I will definitely reward you generously!"
Ruan Fei quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "It is my duty to share the emperor's worries and help the people solve their problems. As for the generous reward..."
He paused slightly and said, "I have no other request. My wife has passed away, and all I care about is my little daughter. If the Emperor wants to reward me, why not give this privilege to my little daughter?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.
Many ministers were whispering to each other.
"General Ruan's intention is probably to seek a higher position for Concubine Yu."
"General Ruan has made great military achievements, and Concubine Yu has been in the palace for many years. It is reasonable for him to be promoted."
"General Ruan has already moved out his deceased wife, the Emperor will definitely agree."
Many people in the court knew why Ruan Fei's wife died of illness.
It was for this reason that the emperor, out of guilt, reused Ruan Fei and treated Concubine Yu well.
Xiao Heng looked at Ruan Fei with a gloomy expression and was silent for a long time. Just as he was about to speak, he saw a young eunuch hurried over and whispered a few words in his ear.
After a moment, Xiao Heng raised his head and said with a pleasant expression, "I will certainly consider what Mr. Ruan said. Since Concubine Yu said she is not feeling well, I will leave first. My dear ministers, please feel free to do as you please."
When everyone heard this, they quickly stood up and saw him off.
After Xiao Heng left, many officials raised their glasses to toast Ruan Fei, trying to win him over.
That night, under the coquettish and sweet words of Concubine Yu, Xiao Heng naturally stayed in Yiyuan Palace.
The next morning, after court, Xiao Heng went directly to Yaohua Palace.
In Yaohua Palace, Concubine Zhao was copying the "Instructions for Women".
Hearing the familiar footsteps, Concubine Zhao didn't even raise her eyelids.
Xiao Heng looked gloomy, as if he had something on his mind. He walked slowly to her side.
The dark figure was cast on the rice paper, and Concubine Zhao's long eyelashes trembled slightly.
"Jiaojiao." Xiao Heng called in a deep voice.
Concubine Zhao copied the "Female Commandments" on the table one by one calmly and leisurely.
She said calmly, "Your Majesty, are you here to question me? Or are you here to see me copying the Instructions for Women?"
Xiao Heng frowned slightly and snatched the brush from Concubine Zhao's hand.
"Don't copy it, just talk to me."
Concubine Zhao looked back at him and said indifferently, "This is the Queen's punishment to me. The Emperor has forbidden me to copy it. Does that mean that the punishment is waived?"
Xiao Heng had finally regained his warmth, but now seeing Concubine Zhao's cold face again, he felt even more upset.
"You shouldn't be arguing with Concubine Yu in the palace. As the Queen, she must be the master of the six palaces. Otherwise, how can the concubines under her trust her?"
"Oh?" Concubine Zhao smiled sadly.
"Is the Emperor speaking in favor of the Empress? I haven't even said anything bad about the Empress, and yet the Emperor is already defending her like this."
"Your Majesty, do you think that I was at fault last night? I was disrespectful to the Empress and caused Concubine Yu to suffer injustice, so after receiving the news, you rushed to Yiyuan Palace to comfort Concubine Yu."
"And the Emperor has come to Yaohua Palace now to reprimand me, right?"
She stared at him deeply, with sadness and resentment in her eyes.
Xiao Heng stared at her for a moment, then slowly looked away: "Zhao Fei, could you please stop misinterpreting my meaning?"
"Misinterpretation?" A sad smile appeared in Concubine Zhao's eyes.
"Then Your Majesty, please explain to me what I have misinterpreted."
Xiao Heng closed his eyes slightly and opened his thin lips: "I am the emperor, I don't need to explain to anyone."
After saying this, Xiao Heng turned and left.
Concubine Zhao moved her lips but never called out to Xiao Heng.
Because she saw clearly that he did not hesitate for a single step.
After returning to the Qinzheng Palace, Xiao Heng sent away all the palace people and stayed there until Liu Yuetang arrived.
Liu Yuetang held the red plum in her hand and stepped forward to salute: "Your Majesty, your concubine pays respects to you."
She was wearing an apricot-colored dress, and the luscious red plum blossoms made her face look like a peach blossom, with bright eyes and white teeth.
In the past, Xiao Heng would have definitely held her in his arms and praised her profusely.
But now he just smiled lightly: "Tang'er is here."
Seeing his unhappy expression, Liu Yuetang stopped talking and replaced the flowers in the vase on the table with freshly picked red plums.
A light and elegant fragrance hit his nose. Xiao Heng placed the chess piece on the chessboard and looked up. He saw clusters of red plum blossoms in full bloom, like a touch of red clouds in winter, adding a bit of warmth.
"Freshly picked?" he asked calmly.
Liu Yuetang adjusted the branches: "I picked them from the plum garden."
"The Qinzheng Palace is all dark in color. I hope this touch of red plum blossoms can brighten the emperor's eyes and bring joy to his heart."
Xiao Heng nodded slightly: "Very beautiful."
After saying that, he picked up another chess piece.
Liu Yuetang smiled and said, "Your Majesty, do you want me to play chess with you?"
Xiao Heng knocked lightly on the table, indicating that she should play the white chess piece.
Liu Yuetang picked up the jade-like chess piece and slowly put it down.
Chess pieces fell alternately on the board, and a fierce battle unfolded on the board without any smoke.
At the beginning, the white pieces had the upper hand, and the black pieces followed closely behind.
Just when Liu Yuetang was careless for a moment, she saw more and more black pieces and the white pieces were in a dead end.
Liu Yuetang smiled sweetly: "Okay, Your Majesty, please let me relax my guard and then slowly lure me in. My white chess pieces have been surrounded by you and cannot escape."
Liu Yuetang's casual words made Xiao Heng dazed for a moment, but then his brows relaxed.
He didn't expect that what he was thinking could be revealed by the woman through the chess game.
What he had in mind was to make people arrogant and let their guard down, and then slowly make plans to catch all those with bad intentions in one fell swoop.
Regardless of whether this was her unintentional remark, it at least made her more aware of the situation.
Xiao Heng's lips curled up slightly: "Tang'er is smart. Although she lost the game, she also gained some enlightenment."
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