Chapter 18: All the Bad Stuff
Sun Cairen is here again. Your Majesty, it's so lively here. Ji Jinyou asked curiously, "Master, what plot does Sun Cairen have today?"
System: [Originally, she had been kneeling on the road. When the old emperor found out, he went to bring her back and comforted her, and also gave her many good things as a reward.]
Ji Jinyou: [But Concubine Sun was sent back by someone sent by the Imperial Concubine, and Your Majesty did not go to hug her. ]
System: [Yes, the plot has changed again, but according to the original plot, the greenhouse delivered a beautifully blooming tiger jasmine in the morning. Your Majesty originally planned to bring it to the Queen when he went to dine with her in the evening, but seeing that Concubine Sun was crying pitifully, he gave it to her casually to cheer her up.]
Ji Jinyou glanced at the fragrant jasmine on the table in the room and said, "It's quite pretty. But if Your Majesty really does this, will the Empress know?"
System: [Of course. The Queen has been in charge of the harem for so many years. She has eyes and ears all around. Nothing in the palace can be hidden from her eyes.]
Ji Jinyou: [Is the Queen angry? ]
System: [That was not stated explicitly, but the Queen informed the greenhouse to send all the beautiful jasmines to Sun Cairen. Later, when the old emperor came to his senses and went to the greenhouse to choose another pot for the Queen, he could not find any pot that was good enough.]
The Queen smiled and glanced at Emperor Wen Zhao.
Everyone in the palace knew that her favorite flower was jasmine. If there were any good flowers blooming in the greenhouse, the eunuch in charge would send them to His Majesty, who would then give them to her.
It has been like this year after year. It has become an unwritten custom and everyone knows it.
But Your Majesty gave her flowers to someone else just for a palace maid who fell from a tree? This bastard man is really heartless.
The empress smiled gently, and her eyes were calm, but Emperor Wen Zhao felt inexplicably guilty. He looked at the empress for a few seconds, then looked away and looked at Xiaojiu again.
He took a look at Xiaojiu before he realized what was happening. It hadn't even happened yet, so why was he feeling so guilty?
So, he bravely looked the queen in the eye again.
Liang Quan was still waiting at the door. Seeing that the emperor and the empress were silent, they just looked at each other with such a seductive look in their eyes that his old face turned red.
Alas, young couples are different. Your Majesty and the Queen are already an old couple, but they are still so loving and affectionate. We shouldn't disturb them at this time.
So he asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, Madam, do you want Sun Cairen to go back first?"
Emperor: "It's up to the Empress to decide."
The queen snorted in her heart. One of them just slept and threw the rotten stall to her after pulling up his pants, and the other one got a little power and acted like a demon. They were all terrible things.
Thinking of what the Royal Concubine said, that Cairen Sun would use the child to frame her in the future, the Queen no longer had any good feelings towards Cairen Sun.
A person who can even sacrifice his own child can be very cruel.
The queen was disdainful in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. She said gently, "Let Sun Cairen wait outside for a while. I will have some tea first."
Liang Quan responded, bowed and left, saying, "Mr. Sun, the Empress wants you to wait a moment."
When he heard that the Empress was also there, Cairen Sun's face froze and he subconsciously wanted to leave, but he couldn't, so he could only nod and say yes.
Earlier, on the path beside the Yu Garden, she met Noble Yue and Noble Fang. They were jealous of her because she was favored by His Majesty, so they took advantage of her to bully her.
She was so angry, but she couldn't talk back because of her low status. She just knelt on the ground, cried and admitted her fault humbly. Then the two of them left with embarrassed faces.
Afterwards, she asked her maid to find a young eunuch from the same hometown, gave him a gold bracelet, and asked him to find someone to deliver a message to His Majesty.
Everything was planned well, but who would have thought that the Imperial Concubine would suddenly show up and let the nanny carry her back with a fake smile.
Not only did the two maids carry her back to the palace, they also watched over her while she knelt for a long time, saying that it was the Imperial Concubine's idea that since she liked kneeling so much, the room was cool and there was no sun, so she could kneel for as long as she wanted.
Fortunately, she was very aroused. She knelt for a while and then pretended to faint. Only then did the two maids leave. Her knee still hurts now.
She used to be a palace maid. There were too many masters in the palace, big and small. When there are too many people, there are more troubles. When a master was unhappy with her, she would be taken out for revenge. It was common for her to be punished and beaten. She suffered a lot of injustice.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to climb up.
We are all human beings. Why should she be a slave, endure hardships and be bullied?
To be honest, compared with what I've experienced before, the time I knelt down today wasn't really an unbearable injustice.
Besides, it was the Imperial Concubine who was almost on equal footing with the Empress who punished her. She was a young talent who had just been favored, so she could only bear it.
Moreover, considering the Royal Concubine's cruel behavior in the past, treating her like this today could be considered extremely gentle.
Therefore, she did not come to His Majesty to complain.
It was just that the strange conversation that suddenly rang in her ears made her hair stand on end and her back shivered whenever she thought of it.
She didn't know whether the person who was speaking was a human, a god, or a ghost?
Why didn't she see anyone, but the two voices rang clearly in her ears?
And that man said that she was used by someone to harm the Imperial Concubine, and was eventually killed by the Imperial Concubine?
God knows, she only wants to gain His Majesty's favor and live a good life under His Majesty's protection. She has never thought of harming the Imperial Concubine.
She admitted that she used dishonorable means to become His Majesty's concubine, and now everyone in the palace was probably talking about her and making fun of her.
But she doesn't feel ashamed, and she doesn't care what others say.
At least now she could live alone in a side hall. The room was spacious and bright, the bed was soft and comfortable, the meals were rich and delicious, the clothes were beautiful, and there were two palace maids to serve her.
She had been secretly planning for so long, and finally she had escaped from being a slave. From now on, she would no longer be ordered around by others, made to run around in circles, or be beaten or scolded for no reason.
Such a good life is hard to come by, and she doesn't want to die.
After being in the palace for so long, she had already realized that none of the women in the harem could be trusted.
No matter who she supports or which team she joins, she will probably be used as a gun.
She knew too well how chaotic the harem was. In order to survive, the only person she could count on was the emperor.
Although His Majesty is in his prime and very brave, she doesn't say that she loves His Majesty very much. She just wants to have a child as soon as possible, whether it is a boy or a girl, while His Majesty still likes her.
It would be best if it was a daughter, because a daughter would not threaten anyone's status and would be able to survive well.
She did not have much ambition and would not covet the position that did not belong to her. She just wanted to have her child by her side when the emperor was not around. After all, the child was of royal blood, so she would have someone to rely on.
But how did she get used? How did she harm the imperial concubine? How did she die?
Also, she originally wanted to tell His Majesty about these things, but now that the Queen is here again, she has to tell the Queen.
But the Empress and the Imperial Concubine are as close as sisters. If she were to hear these words, would she still have a good life in the future?
Otherwise, why not just surrender to the Queen?
But in that case, she would inevitably be controlled by the Queen. If the Queen asked her to find an excuse not to sleep with the Queen, then who would carry her child?
Sun Cairen stood in the outer hall, hesitant and anxious.
In the inner palace, the emperor saw that Xiaojiu didn't like talking to him, didn't let him hold her, and didn't talk to Tongtong, so he pulled her aside and insisted on teaching her how to play chess.
Looking at the chubby little girl kneeling in front of the chessboard with a serious face, fiddling with the chess pieces with her pucker-filled little hands, the queen thought she was so cute that she watched her while leisurely drinking her tea.
After the father and daughter had finished their meal in a messy manner, she got up and went to the outer hall.
After Sun Cairen paid her respects, the empress smiled and asked her to stand up. Then she asked, "What happened? Why did you rush to see Your Majesty?"
Looking at the empress's smile, Sun Cairen was startled in his heart. He weighed the pros and cons as quickly as possible and then made a decision.
She knelt before the queen and said, "Your Majesty, I am guilty."