Chapter 36: Some clues pointed to Lao Wu
In the main hall of Furong Palace, there were only the Imperial Concubine and the Sixth Prince, mother and son.
The Sixth Prince had a gloomy face, clenched his fists and cursed fiercely: "Despicable, shameless, villain."
The Royal Concubine drank her tea leisurely, admiring her son's colorful face, feeling very happy.
Her stupid son finally stood up. But he was not cunning enough, nor did he have enough self-control. Look how angry he was.
But it must be interesting to watch my silly son grow up.
The Sixth Prince cursed angrily for a while, then looked up and saw his mother drinking tea leisurely with a smile on her face. He was so angry that he stood up and said, "Mother, your son is so angry, why are you still laughing at me?"
How could the Imperial Concubine admit that she was laughing at him? She immediately denied it: "You are wrongly accusing me. I am not laughing at you. I just remembered something funny."
"Oh." The Sixth Prince sat back, but immediately reacted and became even more unhappy. He was almost mad to death, but his mother was still thinking about other things and not listening to him carefully. What a mother he could have.
Seeing her foolish son about to get angry again, the Royal Concubine suppressed her smile and said, "Tell me, who is the one who is so impatient that dares to plot against our Sixth Prince like this?"
The Sixth Prince: "I am not completely sure yet, but I have found some clues, all pointing to the Fifth Prince."
The fifth prince? The imperial concubine frowned slightly: "Pointing at the fifth prince, then it means pointing at the third prince."
The Sixth Prince nodded and said, "That's what I thought too. How could the Fifth Prince come up with such a meticulous plan? The Third Prince must be behind it, but I haven't found any evidence yet, so I can't prove it was the Third Prince."
Imperial Concubine: "Did the brothel girl find out anything?"
The Sixth Prince was angry: "I asked, but they only said nonsense. I didn't get any useful information. The family who pretended to be her parents and brothers disappeared. The house and shop were all rented. Now they are all empty. Not even a ghost can be seen."
"The woman was only sent to the capital from the south by the brothel owner. She didn't know who the person behind her was and she had never seen him once."
Imperial Concubine: "So, she was forced?"
The Sixth Prince shook his head: "Not entirely. She herself also covets glory and wealth and wants to be the prince's consort."
The Royal Concubine was puzzled: "If he coveted glory and wealth, why did he plot to harm you later?"
The Sixth Prince: "I don't know about that. It hasn't happened yet, so I can't tell her anything. But she swore and said that she absolutely has no intention of harming me."
The Imperial Concubine took a sip from the teacup, and after a moment of silence, she said, "Yes, if it is really the Third Brother who is behind this, he is so scheming that he would not easily reveal his identity, nor would he reveal his trump card so quickly. He probably plans to use his ultimate move after you get married."
"I guess that's what they planned." replied the Sixth Prince.
After talking for so long, he felt thirsty, so he picked up a pear from the table and started to chew it.
Seeing him eating the fruit without a care in the world, the Imperial Concubine knew that he had let down his temper and asked, "What are your plans next?"
The Sixth Prince swallowed the pear in his mouth and replied, "I have no idea yet, but I talked to my eldest brother and he told me not to act rashly and to continue investigating in secret until I get evidence that can kill him."
The Royal Concubine nodded and said, "Your eldest brother is a man of great wisdom and judgment. You are right to listen to him."
The Sixth Prince took another bite of the pear and said unhappily, "Mother, you always praise my eldest brother. Why don't you praise me?"
The Royal Concubine couldn't help laughing: "Our little six is full of energy, innocent, upright, pure-hearted, and talented in both civil and military affairs..."
The Royal Concubine used almost all the good words she could think of.
The Sixth Prince was overjoyed by the compliment and laughed, "Mother, I am not as good as you say."
The Imperial Concubine rolled her eyes and hurried him away: "Hurry up, your mother sprained her ankle and is resting. She sent all the palace affairs to me. I have a lot of things to do."
"You always chase me away. Am I that annoying?" The Sixth Prince muttered, stood up, bowed, and walked out: "Then I will go to serve my mother."
The Imperial Concubine called out to him, "Don't go today. Your mother is tired and has gone to bed. Don't disturb her."
"Oh, I see." The Sixth Prince responded and walked away while chewing a pear.
Seeing the heartless look of the Sixth Prince, the Imperial Concubine shook her head helplessly, "How come none of these troublesome ones are as obedient as Little Nine?"
Hong Yu came in with a stack of account books: "Madam, do you want to continue looking at the accounts?"
The Imperial Concubine nodded, took the account book, flipped through a few pages, and put it down again, asking, "Has the Fifth Prince come to the palace to see Concubine Chun recently?"
The Imperial Concubine assisted the Empress in managing many matters in the harem. As the Imperial Concubine's personal maid, Hong Yu's main duty was to find out the movements of all the concubines in the harem. Although she couldn't know everything, she knew all the major things clearly.
Hearing this, he replied, "I just came here yesterday afternoon. I was in a hurry when I came, as if I had something urgent to do, but when I left, I looked normal."
The Royal Concubine sneered.
This is a conspiracy that has been exposed. Concubine Chun is asked to come up with ideas. But with Concubine Chun's stupid head, what ideas can she come up with?
Thinking of the grievances and hurts the Sixth Prince had suffered before, she threw the account book in her hand on the table and said, "Send someone to call Concubine Chun and tell her that I want to copy the account book and let her grind ink for me."
---
Miaoyunxuan.
The rain outside the window was pouring down. Rupin was sitting on the couch embroidering a fan for the empress. You leaned on Rupin and watched her embroidering. She pointed with her chubby hand and made suggestions in a baby voice: "Mother, the flowers are beautiful. It will be even better if you add some leaves."
Rupin looked around at the single peony flower on the round fan and nodded with a smile, "I thought it seemed to be missing something. Okay, I'll listen to you and add a few more leaves."
Ji Jinyou was very happy that his opinion was accepted and laughed.
The little girl squinted her eyes, revealing a row of tiny milk teeth, and looked so adorable that Rupin also laughed and she picked her up and gave her a kiss.
Ji Jinyou reciprocated the favor by hugging Rupin's neck and kissing her cheek, then sat obediently aside and watched.
Rupin asked while embroidering: "You, the Queen sent some food to mother yesterday, but what did you say?"
Ji Jinyou shook his head: "Youyou didn't say it, it was the Empress who proposed it herself, and she also sent a copy to Fifteenth Brother."
"That's good." Rupin was relieved and reminded her gently, "You, mother knows that you are filial and always think about mother, but no matter how popular you are in other people's palaces, you are still a guest. Don't ask mother for anything. If you eat and take at the same time, it will be annoying, understand."
Ji Jinyou nodded her head: "Don't worry, mother, Youyou knows."
Rupin knew that the little girl was always well-behaved and obedient, and was afraid that she might go too far, so she added, "However, if the Empress, the Imperial Concubine, or the sisters give you something, you should take it. Don't just refuse it. Otherwise, it would be too polite."
Ji Jinyou nodded again: "Okay."
"Youyou is so good," Rupin went over and kissed the little girl, then picked her up and walked out: "Let's go, let's go eat."
After lunch, Ji Jinyou went to take a nap.
---
Luoxia Palace.
Emperor Wen Zhao walked in, not looking very happy.
Concubine Hui knew that she had made a big mistake today, and had been feeling uneasy since she returned. When she saw Emperor Wen Zhao coming with a dark face, she became even more nervous, and she lifted up her skirt and was about to kneel down to apologize.
Emperor Wen Zhao took into consideration that she was pregnant and remembered the empress's instructions, so he reached out to support her and sat down on the couch together.
Emperor Wen Zhao asked, "It rained today, can you call the imperial physician to see me?"
Concubine Hui nodded hurriedly: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. The imperial physician has examined the child and he is fine."
Emperor Wen Zhao hummed and said no more.
Ever since Concubine Hui entered the palace, Emperor Wen Zhao always had a smile on his face whenever he came to her. Even if he sometimes came with a sullen face, she would coax him into a good-humored state with a few words. This was the first time that he had a sullen face towards her.
Concubine Hui was terrified and reached out to grab Emperor Wen Zhao's sleeve: "Your Majesty, I made a big mistake today."
In the past, if someone dared to let the cat hurt the empress, Emperor Wen Zhao would have directly reprimanded him.
But Concubine Hui was pregnant, so he couldn't speak for a while, so he waited for her to confess. When he heard this, he nodded and said, "Tell me, what's wrong?"
Concubine Hui tried to start with the small mistake: "I am pregnant, and I shouldn't go out on a rainy day. But I don't know what happened to me. I felt bored in this room, so I wanted to go out for a walk. That's why I didn't control my feet. But your majesty, don't worry. From now on, I will stay in the house to take care of my pregnancy and don't go out unless necessary."
Seeing her say this, and thinking of the empress's talk about the woman being pregnant, Emperor Wen Zhao's expression eased a little, "These are all trivial matters. It's not good to stay in the room all the time. If you want to go out, go out. I don't blame you for this."
Hearing the hidden meaning behind the words, Concubine Hui immediately responded: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I was wrong for carrying Lingdang out. I should have taken good care of her after carrying her out. But I did not do these two things well, which frightened the Empress and caused her to sprain her ankle."
As Concubine Hui spoke, she carefully observed Emperor Wen Zhao's expression. Seeing that his brows relaxed slightly, she knew that she had hit the point. She also instantly guessed that His Majesty must have gone to the Empress first and had already understood what had happened.
She dared not hide the slightest thing and reflected deeply on herself: "My body is precious, and I made a big mistake, but I did not repent. I even disobeyed the queen's order and kneeled down to force her to return the bell. Your Majesty, I really know that I was wrong. Can you forgive me this time?"
Seeing that what Concubine Hui said was consistent with what he had heard and what the Empress said, and that she was willing to honestly admit her mistake, Emperor Wen Zhao's expression softened.
He grabbed her hand and patted it: "The Queen is tolerant and generous, and has always valued the royal heir. This is a blessing for you concubines. You should be grateful and considerate of the Queen. She is in charge of such a large harem by herself, and she is worried about everything. It must be tiring enough."
Upon hearing these words, Concubine Hui knew that the matter was over. She felt relieved and almost cried.
But she didn't dare to cry. As a person who had made a mistake, what right did she have to cry? His Majesty would definitely think she was being hypocritical.
There are so many women in the palace, why does His Majesty like to come to her? It’s simply because she never complains and always greets you with a smile, so His Majesty feels comfortable staying with her.
If she was like those crying women, she was absolutely sure that His Majesty would abandon her within a few days.
She held back her tears and nodded heavily: "Your Majesty, I understand. I will never cause trouble to the Empress in the future."
Seeing that Concubine Hui was in low spirits and her eyes were red, Emperor Wen Zhao nodded and said, "Okay, this matter is over. Don't think too much about it and have a good rest."
Having said that, he got up and left.
This time, for the first time, Concubine Hui didn't say a word to persuade him to stay, but bowed respectfully: "Your Majesty, take care."
After Emperor Wen Zhao walked away, Concubine Hui turned around and went back to her room, threw herself on the bed and started crying.
The nanny was startled and quickly closed the door. She walked over and whispered to comfort her, "Madam, this disaster is over now. Don't cry. It's not good for the child."
Concubine Hui lay on the bed and cried sadly: "His Majesty asked me if I had seen the imperial physician, and I said that the child was fine, and His Majesty was relieved, but he didn't even ask if I was okay."
"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. How can you expect to get along with your wife like a normal couple?" The nanny sighed and reached out to gently help Huifei: "Your Majesty, please get up quickly. You are pressing the child down lying like this."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Hui angrily pounded the bed and said, "My child, it seems like I am just a puppet giving birth to a child. If I had known this earlier, I would have just knelt down in Yu Garden until death."
This was an extremely outrageous statement. The nanny was so frightened that she quickly looked towards the door. Seeing that it was closed tightly, she heaved a sigh of relief, stepped forward and used some skill to help the stubborn Concubine Hui lie down.
Concubine Hui lay on her back, letting her tears flow down her eyes without wiping them away, and murmured in a low voice: "Mammy, tell me, if I had not listened to my parents and not entered the palace, and had married an ordinary person, would it have been better?"
"Madam, don't look back. It's useless. You should look forward." The nanny coaxed in a gentle voice: "Don't say what you said today again. If someone hears it and spreads it, it will be a capital crime with the loss of your head."
After a brief moment of pessimism, Concubine Hui quickly adjusted her mood, nodded, pulled the quilt over her eyes, stretched out her hand, and smiled: "Mammy, go and get Lingdang out. She's been locked up for so long, she's almost bored."
Thinking that Emperor Wen Zhao might come to call for punishment, she was afraid that he would see Lingdang and order her to be punished to vent his anger on the Empress. So when she came back, she sent Lingdang to a side hall and hid her, and even covered her with a bamboo basket.
When the nanny saw her smile, she felt relieved, agreed, turned around and went out, quickly brought Lingdang back and handed it to Concubine Hui.
Concubine Hui held the little black cat close to her face and said, "Lingdang, my little Lingdang, I'm sorry for wronging you."
After saying that, he turned over, lay down facing inward, told the cat that he didn't want to have lunch, and fell asleep with the cat in his arms.
The nanny pulled the thin quilt to cover her waist and then quietly left.
---
When Ji Jinyou woke up, the rain had stopped, the sky was clear, and a rainbow appeared in the sky.
Seeing that no one came to play with her, she decided to go out for a walk by herself. Rupin was busy embroidering, so she asked Jin Xing to follow her.
Thinking of the clusters of beautiful gardenias in the Yu Garden, Ji Jinyou walked towards the Yu Garden, intending to pick some and put them in a vase.
Unexpectedly, she met the Fifteenth Prince on the road. He was walking along the wall with his head down, and she didn't know what he was thinking about. They passed each other and he didn't even see her. Ji Jinyou grabbed his sleeve and greeted him, "Fifteenth Brother."
The fifteenth prince came back to his senses and saw that it was Xiaojiu. He smiled and reached out to touch her head: "Xiaojiu, it's you."
Ji Jinyou had sharp eyes and immediately noticed the purple bruise on his arm. She grabbed it, rolled up her sleeves and took a look. Not only was it purple, but there was also a large piece of broken skin. There were blood beads on the wound, so it was obviously a new wound.
She looked up at him and asked, "Did you have a fight?"
The smile on the Fifteenth Prince's face disappeared immediately. He immediately pulled his hand back, pulled his sleeve down, and hid his hand behind his body. "I accidentally fell."
The little girl took a step forward, tilted her head and looked at him carefully. When she saw that he was avoiding her gaze, she immediately exposed him: "You are lying. You just had a fight with someone."
The fifteenth prince was speechless.
Ji Jinyou asked worriedly, "Were you beaten?"
Earlier, when my mother was chatting with Jin Xing, she mentioned that there were rumors in the palace that Concubine Dun had suddenly become crazy and didn't want the fifteenth prince anymore.
She was surprised at that time.
Originally, when we were having dinner in Chongde Hall yesterday, the Empress said that the Fifteenth Prince would move out of Qiuhua Palace when he was old enough, but unexpectedly, it was Concubine Dun who didn't want him anymore.
There are all kinds of people in the palace. Without his mother's protection, the fifteenth prince must have been bullied.
The little girl's childish concern made the frightened little boy suddenly at a loss, and he turned away abruptly: "No, don't talk nonsense."
Hearing his sobs, Ji Jin walked around to him and saw tears welling up in his eyes. He was about to cry, which made her more certain of her guess.
Alas, poor child. Thinking of the difficult days when he had no one to support him, Ji Jinyou felt the same way.
She thought for a moment, grabbed his hand, and dragged him away: "Who bullied you? I will take you to find the Royal Concubine and let her make the decision for you."
Earlier, news came out from Fengyi Palace that the Empress had sprained her ankle and was recuperating. If there was anything, please contact the Imperial Concubine.
It's not that she likes to meddle in other people's business, but the plot has deviated a lot now, so she thought that if she encountered something bad, she would intervene if she could, maybe she would do the right thing.
The fifteenth prince shook his head: "I'm fine, I won't go."
Ji Jinyou stood on tiptoe and reached out to touch the tears in the corners of his eyes: "If you're fine, why are you crying?"
The Fifteenth Prince always prided himself on being a real man. He felt embarrassed when his younger sister, who was much younger than him, saw him crying. "Go and have fun. Don't worry about me."
His little face was tense. He pulled down the chubby hand that was tightly grabbing his sleeve and started running. An eight-year-old boy's legs were extremely fast. Whoosh, whoosh, he disappeared in a flash.
Ji Jinyou stamped her feet in anger, and said fiercely: "You naughty child, if you don't listen, I will see if I will still care about you in the future."
Despite his young age, he spoke in an adulterous manner. Jin Xing couldn't help laughing.
Ji Jinyou wanted to intervene but failed, so he had to continue walking towards Yu Garden, asking as he walked: [Boss, is there any plot with Brother Fifteen today? ]
System: [No.]
Ji Jinyou: [Then do you know why Concubine Dun doesn't want him anymore? ]
The system was also confused: [I don’t know, there is no such thing in the original plot. ]
Ji Jinyou: [However, it’s good now. Concubine Dun doesn’t want Brother Fifteen anymore. No one is deliberately tolerating him, so he won’t become bad. But, it’s too pitiful for a child without a mother to protect him. Alas.]
Before tying up Youzi, the system had some understanding of her and knew that she was sighing because she was probably thinking about her past as an orphan, so it quickly comforted her: [Hug our Youzi. ]
Ji Jinyou: [Tongtong, you are so nice. ]
System: [No, it’s great that it’s you, Youzi.]
【Hello.】
【Hello to you too.】
Ji Jinyou and the system started praising each other, walked to the gardenia field in Yu Garden, and reached out to pick the flowers.
But she overestimated the strength of her chubby little hands. After trying for a long time, she still couldn't pick a branch. She had no choice but to turn around and look at Jin Xing who was waiting for her with a smile, and waved her little hand: "Xing Xing, help me."
"I'm here, young master." Jin Xing liked to hear the little girl call her Xing Xing the most. She walked forward with a smile and, under the guidance of the little hand, picked a few half-opened flowers.
After folding the flowers, the two of them walked back with them. When they reached a flower wall, they heard two boys talking in low voices in front of them.
"Brother Thirteen, we just beat up Fifteen. Will he report us?"
"What is there to sue? Concubine Dun doesn't want him anymore, so where can he sue?"
"But the Queen Mother specially sent food to him yesterday."
"It's just a delivery of food. He's such a waste. He doesn't study hard, and he doesn't practice martial arts well. Even Concubine Dun, who used to like him so much, doesn't want him anymore. Do you think the Empress will think highly of him? She just gave him face because he just moved out."
"So he really won't complain? After all, we robbed and ate those dishes yesterday."
"No, don't worry. Even if we steal his food and beat him up every day, he won't dare to tell anyone. If you don't believe me, let's go back and beat him up now and see."
At last, the boy smiled with a happy face.
Evil, immoral, and deserves a beating!
Hearing that vile laughter, Ji Jinyou was furious. She was afraid that the two of them would really go back to beat the Fifteenth Prince, so she quickly ran over the flower wall with her short legs and ran in front of the two of them.
The little girl put her two hands on the fat waist of the round and chubby boy and said fiercely: "I heard everything you said. Fifteenth brother doesn't dare to complain, but I do. I will go and tell the Royal Concubine right now, and I will also tell my father. You two just wait for me."
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