“Bang!”
Not only Wei Shuyi, but even the Queen Mother was shocked for a moment before she sternly rebuked, "Noble Concubine Jin! The Buddhist temple is pure land, what are you doing?"
"Your Highness, Concubine Wen was rude and repeatedly spoke disrespectfully in front of the gods and Buddhas. I could not bear to hear her, so I took action."
"Your Highness the Queen Mother! I was only praying for the eternal blessings of the descendants of the Great Zhou royal family. What's wrong with that?" Noble Lady Wen continued to accuse, covering her reddened cheeks. "It's Your Highness the Imperial Concubine who's overly sensitive. She always thinks others praying for children are mocking her childlessness, which is why she's so embarrassed and angry!"
The sisters' reactions foreshadowed the end.
The Queen Mother sighed softly: "I told you not to come, but you didn't listen. Now look at you..."
"Your Highness, it's time for a nap. Go back and rest. I'll handle this for you," Wei Shuyi volunteered. "I may not be able to handle this perfectly, but I can guarantee it won't be unfair."
"You're pregnant, it's not worth arguing with them! Why don't you go to the side hall of Shoukang Palace and rest for a while? Yinzhu has been looking forward to your visit for a long time, so it would be nice for you to chat."
After all, she came from Shoukang Palace, and the empress dowager's attitude towards her never changed from beginning to end.
Compared with other concubines, she was more tolerant and kind.
Wei Shuyi didn't refuse and looked at the two people in the Buddhist hall. "That's fine. The Imperial Concubine and Lady Wen may be tired of kneeling. I'd like to ask for mercy here and let them rest in the side hall. How about that?"
"Well," the Queen Mother added, "Xi Changzai's body is precious. If I find you misbehaving again, hurting or frightening her, I will hold you responsible!"
Concubine Jin lost face in front of the lower-ranking concubines. Her expression was cold and she stood up again after a while, looking at her without saying a word.
Wei Shuyi made way for her: "Your Highness, please."
"I have nothing to say to you. Only by continuing to kneel and worship in the Buddhist temple can the Queen Mother's anger be alleviated. Whoever wants to rest, go ahead!"
Noble Lady Wen didn't hesitate to get up, rubbed her swollen and painful legs, and walked towards her with a changed expression.
"Sister, don't stand there! I'll accompany you to the side hall!"
Holding hands, they were much more intimate than the two serious sisters of the Qu family.
In this way, they entered the side hall.
Wen Yu cautiously stood guard at the door, to prevent anyone from eavesdropping nearby. Wei Shuyi rested on the couch, observing the movements of Concubine Wen.
"Is my sister okay? It happened so suddenly that day, and no one informed me. I was really shocked to learn that my sister had fainted in the house!"
Concubine Wen is indeed a natural actress with first-class acting skills. To outsiders, she is indeed a woman who is worried about her health and her eyes are full of sorrow.
But she knew very well that the matter of Guanyin, the Goddess of Childbirth, was closely related to this person!
"My sister once promised me a generous gift to prevent the Imperial Concubine from taking away the heir. If I'm not mistaken, her demotion this time was orchestrated by you, right?"
Noble Lady Wen smiled again without answering. She opened the window and admired the flower garden in Shoukang Palace. "Sister, look, if a flower is well cared for, shielded from the wind and rain, it will become delicate and easily broken over time. The defenses it should have had have been worn away, making it easy for someone to take advantage of it. Well, no one is to blame!"
"The Imperial Concubine has left a stain on the Emperor's heart. She will be the first to be excluded from raising the royal heir in the future," Wei Shuyi analyzed to himself. "After all, she once tried to kill the child. The Emperor wouldn't dare take that risk."
"The hidden arrow has been eliminated. The rest depends on you, sister." Concubine Wen turned around, still apologetically, "I'm sorry, sister. I have carefully controlled the dosage. I didn't expect that I would still torment you all night..."
"Everyone says that the fifth daughter of the Qu family is good at dancing, but I haven't heard anything about her other abilities. I just discovered today that she's also quite good at pharmacology."
"Although my father was only a fifth-rank official at first, he disciplined my siblings and me very strictly. He said that if you want to stand out, you can't just master one thing and become the best. That's not enough! If you want to learn, learn everything so that you can be prepared for any emergency. Unfortunately, I'm still a little stupid. If I were truly proficient in pharmacology, I wouldn't have let my sister suffer so much!"
Qu Wenhe actually said such a thing?
Wei Shuyi subconsciously recalled the rat-like face at the banquet. Especially the upward corners of his mouth when he squinted his eyes and smiled, which always revealed a cold and intimidating look.
Is this the kind of person who once argued for the Wei family?
She tried to forget the uncomfortable exterior and reminded herself of the truth: "It's thanks to the Imperial Concubine that the Emperor was able to discover Mr. Qu's talent. Now he's loyal to the court and has become a second-rank official, which is also very good..."
"My father wasn't one to rely on his children to gain respect." Noble Lady Wen always had endless topics to talk about when she mentioned Qu Wenhe. "Even before my eldest sister entered the palace, he had made many small moves that caught the late emperor's attention. It's a pity that the Prime Minister's family was so dominant that they didn't allow my father to successfully advance."
Having said this, the other party paused intentionally and stopped talking in time.
Then he looked at her with a smile and said, "Sister, actually, before you entered the palace, father was quite concerned about you. He tried his best to get me to agree and help you!"
"Why?! I don't even know Master Qu."
"I don't know either. Perhaps, in father's heart, my sister is different from the other concubines?"
Noblewoman Wen stretched her body and stood up to say goodbye. "Sister, I have to go. If I'm late, my elder sister will say I'm not sincere and complain to the Queen Mother. That would be troublesome!"
"Okay, take care, sister."
Only when the hall returned to peace did Wen Yu come back with a lot on his mind.
"Girl, did you know before that this matter had something to do with her?"
"yes."
"Lady Wen can come up with such a vicious plan, you have to be careful!" Wen Yu advised kindly, "She can even harm her own sister from the same clan, let alone someone like you who has no relatives. Moreover, the tutor of that Lord Qu is also..."
"Wen Yu, in your opinion, does he have good intentions to save the entire Wei family?" Wei Shuyi interrupted her. "From what I've seen, my parents haven't had any involvement with officials in Yongzhou. We've lived in the capital for a long time, and our friends are all high-ranking officials in the court. Why would Lord Qu risk being targeted by the Prime Minister and send a petition across thousands of miles to plead for mercy?"
This question really stumped Wen Yu.
She knew very little about this matter in the Prince Lian's mansion. Xie Yanqing had only briefly mentioned it in general terms and had not discussed it in depth with her.
Naturally, she couldn't understand Qu Wenhe's intentions.
"Liu...Xi Changzai!" Yinzhu pushed open the side hall door and ran in, panting, "You're here... Hurry back to the palace!"
"What's going on?"
"Ms. Liangcai's condition isn't good. The imperial doctors are about to surround Fengluan Palace!"
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