"Minmin, did the Imperial Master give you any instructions? For example, how to spend money to ward off disasters?"
Even though the two had returned to Lin'an Palace, Liang Cairen was still curious about what happened in the backyard of Yiqingtai.
Wei Shuyi was unable to remove the broken bones he had used for divination, so he could only respond ambiguously: "The Imperial Master said that everything that follows will be auspicious, so I don't need to worry."
"Really?! That's great! I knew the Emperor would grant you a favor and allow you to raise your child well."
is that so?
Good fortune follows misfortune, and misfortune follows good fortune.
Is the "secret" that Yu Huai wants to tell her really a good thing for her?
The door of Fengluan Palace finally opened.
The Empress personally went to the Hall of Eternal Life to remove her hairpin and plead guilty for her recent disobedience to the Emperor: "I have failed in my moral conduct. In my extreme frustration, I even spoke disrespectfully to the Emperor. I beg the Emperor to forgive me!"
"Are you sincerely repentant, or is this the Prime Minister's arrangement?"
Xie Yanci's eyes never left the memorials, and his right hand wrote red comments from time to time, as if he was having a conversation with his mediocre queen as usual.
Even so, at this moment she had a sad face and was kneeling on the ground under the gaze of the palace servants, her expression filled with shame and anger.
"Of course I have figured it out. I sincerely hope that Your Majesty will forgive me, calm down, and stop taking my words that night seriously."
He raised his eyes to look at the woman under the imperial desk. She was dressed in plain clothes and had disheveled hair. She had also let go of her pride, and her hands on the ground were trembling slightly.
"You are the queen, how can I punish you?"
"Deduction of salary! Confinement! I can accept it."
"Prime Minister Meng has a wide network of contacts. Even if he were to deduct salary, he wouldn't want to make his precious daughter suffer. As for the house arrest, you don't like to go out anyway, so there's no point in punishing you."
The Queen responded in surprise, "Then, Your Majesty, what do you want to do? Depose me?"
"You are the mother of a country. How can you change your status as an ordinary concubine?" Xie Yanci walked up to her and gently helped her up, but his words were extremely cold. "I have thought about it for a long time. If a son is not well educated, it is the father's fault. Let the Prime Minister take the punishment instead!"
"What?! Father..."
"I haven't even mentioned the punishment yet, why are you panicking? The Prime Minister is old, and I'm not crazy enough to punish him physically!"
The Queen's expression softened, and she secretly regretted her impulsiveness. "Yes, Your Majesty, you are right."
"The Prime Minister was originally the head of the First-Rank Civil Service. After I ascended the throne, there was a lot of work to be done, and I couldn't find more talented people. So I gave him the jurisdiction of some of the capital's guards. Now, the world is peaceful and prosperous, and it's time to return it to me."
"Father has worked diligently for decades for the Great Zhou. When the capital was in turmoil, there were always lawless people harassing the innocent people. It was father who established rules and punished the leaders, and only then..."
Xie Yanci raised an eyebrow in dissatisfaction and tightened his grip on her hand. "Why? Is it so difficult to return the things I temporarily gave away? I thought this wasn't a punishment and would save the Prime Minister's dignity. Who knew the Queen didn't think so?"
“Your Majesty…”
The Queen was caught in a dilemma: on the one hand, she did not want the Meng family's power to be weakened because of her. On the other hand, if she did not accept the Emperor's proposal, she feared that it would bring more disaster to her father.
"How is it? Have you figured it out?"
"I am so stupid that I only just now understand the emperor's good intentions. I would like to thank you on behalf of my father!" She knelt down again and mentioned another matter. "I have thought about this carefully when I was repenting in the palace. The first three months of childbirth are the most arduous for a woman, and she is also prone to unexpected events. Therefore, I earnestly ask the emperor to arrange for Concubine Xi to go to the side hall of Fengluan Palace to rest and rest during the pregnancy."
Xie Yanci had just returned to the imperial desk and sat down when he heard these words.
Was she using his heir as a threat? Or did she truly want to protect the child?
"The Queen is just impatient, but she's not bad by nature. She's a good person!"
The words of the Empress Dowager rang in his ears again.
Since he had already ignored her for several days and reduced the Meng family's power in the capital, he should not continue to question this woman and make her cold-hearted.
After giving the Meng family a slap in the face, they must be given some sweet rewards at the appropriate time.
So, Xie Yanci nodded and said, "Okay, I will entrust the care of Concubine Xi's unborn child to the Queen."
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!"
This matter soon grew wings and flew to Lin'an Palace.
Wei Shuyi had no objection to this, but the noble lady next door, Song Guiren, was furious.
"Shiqing, tell me, has the Queen just abandoned me?! She made me a pariah, and now the Emperor doesn't even pay any attention to me. You know how difficult it is to turn things around!"
The senior palace maid tried to persuade him feebly, "My lady, your mother's family works for the Prime Minister after all. Now that you've been in trouble, why not ask the master to plead for mercy? Who knows..."
"Do you think I haven't tried?" Concubine Song pushed the fruit plates aside in frustration and smashed them to the ground, still unsatisfied. "The Prime Minister relied on his high position and power to repeatedly deny my father access to the court! They're really good at using the Song family! And then they leave them alone?!"
Shi Qing didn't dare to criticize the host. She just lowered her head to clean up the mess on the ground and said nothing.
This action only intensified Concubine Song's anger: "Now, you are also getting ahead of me and ignoring me? Isn't that right!"
"My lady, calm down! I didn't do that!" Shi Qing was startled and quickly knelt down. "I just felt that the Empress was punished by the Emperor to reflect on her mistakes behind closed doors some time ago. Now that she can't protect herself, she can't take care of us, so..."
"You bastard!"
She found the willow branch she had used to punish the palace maids and began to beat Shi Qing recklessly, cursing, "How dare you turn your elbows outward! You're speaking for the Queen? These bitches only know how to pick on me! They all deserve to die!"
Shi Qing rolled on the ground in pain, still unable to find a way out.
Only when she was tired and stopped fighting did Shi Qing get up again, covering her wounds and kneeling at her feet.
"My lady, please calm down! I know I was wrong! From now on, I will respond to whatever you say in a timely manner and will never speak for anyone who bullies you again!"
"Oh, look at how despicable you are now!" Concubine Song did not appreciate it. She thought of something else, "That witch Sang Yuxuan is still pregnant?"
"yes."
"God is truly blind! This witch got pregnant after just a few nights in bed, and even after all this time, she still hasn't miscarried? How did she do that? Or does she really have some witchcraft that can save the baby in her belly?!"
Concubine Song stood up and muttered to herself in front of the bronze mirror she used for dressing, muttering about the good fortune of others and thinking about how to break the deadlock.
Shi Qing was scared watching from the side, but she didn't dare to leave. She could only stay by the side with her body stiff. Every moment was a fatal torture.
"You damn girl, come here!"
Shi Qing moved over: "My lady, what's wrong?"
"You are my maiden. Before you entered the palace, my father should have told you that you must be loyal to me until death, right?!"
"yes."
"Good, very good!" Concubine Song came over sinisterly, "Now, your chance has come."
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