076

After the return of the Emperor Sun and his concubine, the harem was in chaos. Cui Yuhuai was busy appeasing the ministers of the previous dynasty and dealing with those who came to complain from the harem.

The ninth prince Xu Shi'an knelt in the main hall and would not stand up until he saw the empress.

Cui Yuyao had just woken up from a nap and felt a pang of pain in her forehead when she heard Yilan's message.

The Ninth Prince has always been a lukewarm presence in the palace. After all, he is His Majesty's prince, so how could he be bullied to this extent?

"Let him in."

Xu Shian limped in with a bruise on his forehead. When he saw her, he knelt down without giving her a chance to speak.

"Please, Madam Queen, help me!"

Cui Yuyao frowned: "Shi'an, you get up first..."

"No!" Xu Shi'an kowtowed heavily, "Please, Madam, save my mother. She is almost being tortured to death by the Imperial Concubine!"

Cui Yuhuai sighed: "She went to find Rongpin again, didn't she?"

Yilan whispered a few words to her.

Cui Yuying knew she had to go.

Although she didn't want to have any entanglement with the Emperor Sun and his concubine, she had to step in when it came to the stability of the harem.

She also couldn't understand why the Emperor Sun and his concubine would keep targeting Concubine Rong, when the two of them clearly had no relationship at all.

Xu Shi'an cried with joy: "Thank you, Madam!"

Rongpin's palace was remote and dark, and Fengyi was stuck in the road and couldn't get in, so Cui Yuhuai got downstairs and walked.

The palace was dark and damp, with a faint smell of mold in the air.

Cui Yuhuai covered her nose and asked, "Who arranged the accommodation?"

Xu Shi Anxi thought he was always leading the way.

"It was arranged by the Imperial Concubine."

Cui Yuyao was stunned and looked at Yilan.

Yilan explained to her that on the day Rongpin entered the palace, she was busy with other matters, so she handed over the arrangement of the residence for the newcomer to Consort Sun.

The status of the Royal Concubine Sun was second only to hers, and she was the perfect candidate.

Cui Yuying thought that the two of them were just fighting each other and would not deliberately make trouble for the newcomer because of this.

Rongpin has been in the palace for many years. When did the grudge between them start?

She knew nothing about it.

When they reached the palace door, there was a heavy crackling sound, accompanied by Rongpin's screams of pain.

Suddenly, a vase was thrown out and fell in front of Cui Yuhua's feet.

Yilan was frightened and protected her, scolding her, "How dare you! The Queen has arrived and you haven't come out to greet her!"

The sound in the hall stopped abruptly.

Soon, the Concubine Sun adjusted her temples and bowed with a smile.

"Hey, the Queen is here. I'm so sorry for the disrespect."

She glanced at the debris on the ground without any remorse.

Cui Yuhuai looked down and asked, "What is the noble concubine Sun doing in Rongpin Palace?"

Such a big commotion.

The Concubine Sun pretended to be puzzled: "Your Majesty, what you said is of course to talk to Sister Rongpin."

"Talk?" Cui Yuhuai sneered, "I just heard it clearly. As a royal concubine, are you so ignorant of etiquette? The Ninth Prince is of noble status, how can you do that to him?"

"No matter how much he has done wrong, he should be handed over to Your Majesty for punishment, and the same applies to Rongpin!"

The Concubine Sun glanced over and saw a large bruise on Xu Shi'an's forehead, and his legs seemed to be a little lame.

She turned her eyes away and said, "Your Majesty, you are joking. Why would I hit the Ninth Prince?"

If the crime of beating the prince is really pinned on her, His Majesty will definitely not sit idly by when he wakes up.

Although Your Majesty cannot favor every prince and princess equally, he still has some favoritism.

The concubine of Emperor Sun didn't want to end up in trouble.

Cui Yuying saw that she was going to retreat, and said lightly: "If it's not, why are you still staying here? Are you waiting for the person inside to come out so that I can see it with my own eyes?"

The noble concubine of the Sun Emperor clicked her tongue, clearly thinking that Rongpin did not dare to come out.

Cui Yuying gave her the steps to step down, and she naturally went down, but...

She approached him and said softly, "Cui Yuhuai, do you really think that as the queen you can control everything? I am letting Rongpin and I go today for your sake. Don't blame me for not caring about your feelings next time."

Cui Yuyao watched her leave expressionlessly.

What kind of grudge do these two have that even when she stepped in, the Emperor and Consort Sun refused to stop?

Xu Shi'an rushed in to find Rongpin.

Cui Yuyao turned her head and told Yilan something, then left first.

There was no intact part of Rongpin's body except for her face, and her breath was also very weak.

Yilan walked closer and said, "Ninth Prince, although the Queen came today, there is no guarantee that the Royal Concubine will not come again in the future. The Queen asked me to tell you that what will happen in the future depends on your words and actions."

Xu Shi'an's eyes trembled slightly, not daring to look at her: "I thank you for coming today... and I will also remember your words."

Yilan shook her head: "Ninth Prince, please don't hurt yourself next time. You will lose more than you gain!"

Xu Shi'an looked at her suddenly.

Did the Queen know about this?

*

The chaos in the palace could be hidden from the common people, but not from the well-informed Zhaiyue Tower.

Song Jin came to Qin Wan to get medicine, but he lost interest when he heard her talk about the things in the palace.

Qin Wan was surprised: "Why, did you expect this to happen?"

"No," Song Jin put away the prescription, "I happened to see the day when the Royal Concubine Sun returned to the palace. Zhao Wuan reminded me that this person is not as simple as he seems."

So what happened was completely within her expectations.

Qin Wan curled her lips: "What a talkative fellow!"

Song Jin shook his head in amusement.

The relationship between the two of them was just about to break through that layer of window paper.

"When are you going to talk to him about this?"

Qin Wan was surprised.

A few months ago, it was she who asked about Song Jin and Cui Huaiji, and now it was her turn.

Qin Wan waved her fan helplessly: "Alas, now is not the right time. Let's talk about it after things have calmed down."

Song Jin nodded: "That's right."

A hint of unclear light flashed across the sparkling eyes.

Qin Wan asked in an ambiguous tone, "Young lady, have you made up your mind?"

Song Jin paused, raised his eyes and looked at her: "Well, it is destined to be inseparable."

"Young lady, you have to know that your decision represents Zhaiyue Tower and also determines the future of Zhaiyue Tower."

"I understand." Song Jin stood up and opened the door, "But didn't Shopkeeper Qin decide to follow me a long time ago?"

Ever since Song Qin asked her to come to Zhaiyue Tower, he had intended to let her be in charge of Zhaiyue Tower.

Before coming to Sheng'an, he had already handed over the power of Zhaiyue Tower to her.

Qin Wan smiled but said nothing.

"One more thing. The envoys from Beidi are arriving soon. The Fifth Prince and Yang Chaoxue have both had private contact with them."

Song Jin waved at her without even turning his head.

It was not until Song left that she spoke with a deep look in her eyes: "Yes, I have already decided... I really can't hide anything from you, young lady!"

*

There was a light snowfall in the sky again.

The small stalls on both sides put up huge umbrellas for shelter.

Song Jin didn't bring an umbrella when he came, and stood under the eaves in a daze.

Someone came over with an umbrella.

The familiar tone of voice was, as always, a teasing tone towards her.

"Whose little girl is this? Oh, she's mine."

Cui Huaiji pinched her cheek and opened the cloak that he had kept warm along the way.

Song Jin frowned and walked straight over.

"How do you know it's your little lady?"

There was a clear heartbeat in my ears.

Cui Huaiji held her hand and touched her heart.

“It said.”

Song Jin was speechless and burrowed into his arms again.

Sheng'an after the New Year is not cold at all.

The two of them walked back to the Marquis's Mansion.

The people coming and going are all on their way home, and their hearts are beating hotly as they pass by each other.

Song Jin played with his hand bones: "How much do you know about the Fifth Prince and Yang Chaoxue?"

Cui Huaiji lowered his eyes and said, "I'm sure you don't know as much as the queen does."

Song Jin raised her head proudly: "Of course. They met with the envoys of Beidi in private. I still don't know what Yang Chaoxue's intention is, but as for the intention of the fifth prince, I think he should have decided to usurp the throne."

When the word "usurpation" came out, the atmosphere became somewhat solemn.

Cui Huaiji raised his eyebrows, still speaking in a relaxed tone: "Oh?"

At this time in the previous life, the emperor's health was already running out, and the struggles among the princes became more intense. The power in the court was almost divided into three factions, among which the crown prince and the seventh prince were the most powerful. The fifth prince knew that he could not defeat them, so he set his sights on the upcoming Northern Di envoys.

Unfortunately, he didn't know that the Beidi envoy had already colluded with Yang Chaoxue and used him to help Xu Nanheng.

At the banquet, the Fifth Prince teamed up with Beidi to usurp the throne. It seemed like a sure win, but Xu Nanheng intervened. The Beidi people turned against them on the spot and joined forces with Xu Nanheng to capture the Fifth Prince.

Usurping the throne is a capital crime.

The Fifth Prince knew that he had been fooled and was unwilling to accept defeat, so he turned to the Empress Sun, the person he was most reluctant to bow to, for help.

But he forgot that the person he was going to attack was the emperor, the person that Emperor Sun and Concubine Guifei cared about the most.

She could give up her own life, but she could never tolerate anyone harming the emperor.

Not only did the Concubine Sun not take into account the mother-son relationship, but she also asked the emperor to kill her own son for the sake of justice and punish the person who usurped the throne.

The emperor appeared in front of everyone, dragging his half-dead body, with a look of grief on his face, and punished the fifth prince.

At this point, the usurpation of the throne was completely over. Xu Nanheng was rewarded for his rescue and was favored by the emperor, becoming a strong candidate to compete with the prince.

The prince's party began to waver.

Song Jin recalled the entire plot and told him every detail.

Cui Huaiji pondered: "So, the Fifth Prince usurped the throne at the instigation of the Seventh Prince, using him as a stepping stone?"

Song Jin nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty, the original poison came from the Northern Di, and it was Xu Nanheng who secretly poisoned the Fifth Prince this time, and I think they were also behind it."

"It is his usual style to rise to the top by stepping on the corpses of others."

Her previous life was the best example.

Cui Huaiji noticed that she was in a low mood and hugged her.

Song Jin smiled and said, "How long will it take for the Beidi envoy to arrive? How is Fu Ji preparing?"

"There's still about a month left. It's enough time for me to arrange for the staff. The prince will also fully cooperate with us."

The prince... In his previous life, the prince died in a palace coup.

With Cui Huaiji's ability, why did the prince fail?

Song Jin's eyes darkened: "Fu Ji, do you think it's right to support the prince?"

Cui Huaiji didn't understand why she asked that: "Among all the princes, only the crown prince can take on the great responsibility. He may still have some shortcomings, but with my guidance, he will not be able to sit firmly on the throne in time."

If this is true, the prince in the previous life should not have been defeated.

Could it be that Cui Huai sent something unexpected?

Song Jin knew that he could hear her thoughts, so when it came to some things in front of him, she deliberately controlled herself not to think about them.

So what happened in the previous life?