Chapter 44 The old emperor saw Concubine Li and the eunuch together
Upon hearing Ji Jinyou's voice, the Thirteenth Prince panicked: "Mother, please hide quickly."
Concubine Li sneaked out, intending to just take a look and leave, but she didn't expect that several princesses would come to Jingming Palace, and she felt a little nervous.
Seeing that the Thirteenth Prince was so panicked that he was about to cry, she had to keep her composure on her face: "Don't be afraid, they have never been close to you and will definitely not come to you."
The Thirteenth Prince had just been severely beaten, and was very frightened. He lowered his voice to a very low tone, "Mother, the Seventh and Eighth Sisters will not come to my place, but there is still that annoying Little Nine, who loves to meddle in other people's business. It was she who went to Father to complain yesterday, saying that I bullied the Fifteenth, and caused me to be beaten five more times."
Concubine Li's eyes were filled with resentment, and she cursed in a low voice: "You brothers were fighting and making trouble, but Fifteen didn't say anything. How could she be so mean as a little bastard, causing my son to get beaten up."
Thirteen reached out and tugged at her sleeve: "Mother, please stop scolding me. Be careful that she hears me and complains to you again."
Seeing her son trembling with fear, Concubine Li felt even more resentful, but she was also afraid of being discovered, so she stopped talking, sat down beside the bed, and gently stroked the Thirteenth Prince's head: "Don't be afraid, it's okay if you can't leave for a while, your mother will just stay with you for a while."
The Thirteenth Prince had no other choice but to nod: "Okay."
Concubine Li suddenly remembered and asked, "Oh, by the way, you fainted yesterday, so I didn't have a chance to ask you why you suddenly wanted to kill that little proton?"
The Thirteenth Prince couldn’t say it yesterday, but now he wants to try again: “I heard…, heard…, heard…”
He still couldn't say it, and he was so angry that he kept pounding the bed.
Concubine Li didn't understand and complained, "You child, you were hesitant when you came to me yesterday, and today you are still like this, starting with the beginning and not going on. What's wrong with you? Why don't you tell your mother what you want to say?"
The Thirteenth Prince was extremely depressed and too lazy to make any further excuses, so he just lay on his pillow without saying a word.
Concubine Li thought that he didn't sleep well last night and was tired, so she stopped talking, gently stroked his head, and coaxed him softly: "Go to sleep, sleep for a while, your mother will watch over you."
---
Outside, Ji Jinyou held one of her sisters in one hand, stood at the gate and shouted, "Fifteenth brother, Youyou is here to see you."
She and her two sisters had nothing to do, so she thought of inviting her seventh and eighth sisters to Jingming Palace to show up, and asked them to come more often when they had nothing to do in the future.
In this way, everyone in the harem, whether they are masters or palace maids, will know that they have a good relationship with the Fifteenth Brother, and will not bully him easily in the future.
So even though the young eunuch had clearly opened the door, she still didn't go in, but stood at the door and shouted loudly. She wanted to make a big fuss and let as many people know as possible.
When the fifteenth prince heard the noise, he ran out in a hurry, stood at the door, greeted the seventh and eighth princesses, then reached out and touched the little tuft of hair on Ji Jinyou's head and called her "Xiaojiu".
Ji Jinyou smiled and said, "Brother Fifteen, we are here to play with you."
The fifteenth prince was somewhat surprised, but very happy. He hurriedly let a few people in and called his personal eunuch, "Chang Xing, go and prepare tea and snacks."
Now the three most favored princesses in the palace actually came to play with their young master who was in a difficult situation. Chang Xing was very excited. He responded happily, smiling and hurriedly went to make tea and prepare snacks.
The three followed the Fifteenth Prince into the house. As soon as they entered the door, they found that the Fourteenth Prince was still lying on the couch. They all looked at the Fifteenth Prince in confusion.
No one understands whether the two brothers reconciled for some unknown reason, or whether Fourteen enslaved Fifteen to serve him.
When the Fourteenth Prince saw several people coming in, he hurriedly struggled to stand up and tried to kneel down to pay his respects.
Previously in Yu Garden, the Fourteenth Prince did not leave a good impression on Ji Jinyou, so she did not try to stop him like she did with Xue Yili. She put her hands behind her back and watched quietly.
In the past, the Fourteenth Prince was a follower of the Thirteenth Prince. The Seventh and Eighth Princesses disliked the Thirteenth Prince, and as a result, they disliked the Thirteenth Prince as well, and they didn't like their younger brother, the Fourteenth Prince, very much either.
Seeing him grimacing and getting up in pain to greet him, they just watched coldly without saying anything to stop him.
Instead, the Fifteenth Prince stepped forward and helped the Fourteenth Prince, and waited until he had paid his respects to his two sisters before helping him back to lie down on the couch.
Seeing this scene, Ji Jinyou asked directly: "Brother Fifteen, is there anyone bullying you?"
Although the little girl did not mention anyone by name, everyone knew that she was talking about the Fourteenth Prince.
The Fourteenth Prince looked ashamed and quickly clarified: "Don't worry, Xiaojiu, I was wrong before, and I will never bully my Fifteenth Brother again."
Ji Jinyou had heard from Tongtong that the Fourteenth Prince was a man without his own opinion. She did not believe that he would become a better person overnight after being beaten with a few sticks. So she asked the Fifteenth Prince, "Is what he said true?"
The fifteenth prince nodded and spoke for him: "It's true, the fourteenth prince has apologized to me, and he has not bullied me anymore."
Just because he was beaten with five sticks, Fourteen went from being Thirteen's little follower to being Fifteen's good brother?
Ji Jinyou didn't understand, but she was still worried. She pointed at the couch with her little hand and said, "Why is he lying in your room and asking you to help him?"
The fifteenth prince explained, "The Concubine Shun sent wontons to the fourteenth brother this morning, and he came to bring me a bowl. After eating, stay here and we can chat for a while."
Ji Jinyou pondered for a moment. According to what everyone said about the Fifteenth Prince's temper, if he was really bullied, he would not help the Fourteenth Prince to hide it. He nodded his head and said, "That's good."
After saying that, he looked at the Fourteenth Prince, raised his fist, and warned him: "If you bully others again in the future, I will tell my father and let him beat you again."
The Fourteenth Prince nodded quickly and said obediently, "Don't worry, Xiaojiu, I'll remember it."
Seeing that he admitted his mistakes with a good attitude, Ji Jinyou was satisfied, and then looked at the Fifteenth Prince, with an especially serious tone: "Fifteenth brother, you too, if you encounter any problems, go directly to the emperor, don't swallow your anger, otherwise those people will bully you again."
The little girl was so fierce that the Seventh and Eighth Princesses couldn't help laughing. The Fifteenth Prince also reached out and touched her little head: "Thank you, Little Nine, for helping me out."
Chang Xing quickly brought up tea and snacks. The fifteenth prince personally handed them to the seventh and eighth princesses, and also gave a piece of mung bean cake to Xiaojiu.
Ji Jinyou took it and chewed it slowly, asking as he ate, "What about that bad boy Thirteen? Did he come to cause you any trouble?"
The fifteenth prince smiled and shook his head: "No, he can't get out of bed yet."
Ji Jinyou nodded her head, "That's good, I feel relieved then."
The little kid spoke like a little old lady, making everyone in the room laugh.
Ji Jinyou didn't mind. After finishing the mung bean cake in his hand, he chatted for a while. Seeing that the seventh and eighth sisters seemed bored, he stood up and said goodbye.
The fifteenth prince escorted them all the way out of the courtyard before turning back.
---
Seeing that they had finally left, the eunuch in the Thirteenth Prince's room hurried in to report: "Madam Li, the princesses have left."
"Okay, go and keep an eye on them, and come back to report when they're far away." Concubine Li gave the order, and the eunuch responded by running to the gate of the courtyard and peeking out.
The fifteenth prince was standing at the door of the west wing hall when he saw this scene. He snorted coldly and turned back to the house.
The eunuch waited for a while, and when he saw the princesses walked a long distance away, he ran back into the house.
This time, Concubine Li did not hesitate any longer. She gave the Thirteenth Prince a few more instructions before leaving the house with the palace maids.
When the two of them walked out of the gate of Jingming Palace, they saw that the three people in front of them, with the palace maids, were almost at the fork in the road ahead. Seeing that they were about to turn, Concubine Li breathed a sigh of relief, slowed down her pace, followed the palace maids, and walked forward along the wall.
Ji Jinyou held the hands of her two sisters and walked forward leisurely. Suddenly she stopped and said, "Seventh sister, Eighth sister, Youyou wants to go see the little prince of Yao State."
The only task of the Seventh and Eighth Princesses now is to take care of Xiaojiu. They are eager to take Xiaojiu to meet people everywhere. In this way, they might hear something important or interesting. Of course, they will agree to hear it.
So the three of them held hands, changed direction, and walked back.
Concubine Li followed the maid with her head down and did not see this scene, but the maid in front of her saw it clearly. When she saw the three princesses and their maids coming towards her, she immediately panicked and stopped, "Your Majesty, it's bad, the princesses are walking back again."
Concubine Li was startled, and when she looked up, it was true. She cursed inwardly, stretched out her hand to push the palace maid, and whispered, "Don't stand there like an idiot. Keep walking, don't let them notice anything strange."
The maid immediately stepped forward and walked forward as if nothing had happened.
Not long after, the two men passed by the three princesses and their entourage. According to etiquette, they stood against the wall and bowed to them.
But because she was guilty of being a thief, Concubine Li's head was almost lowered to her chest.
The seventh and eighth princesses didn't care too much about it. After all, there were all kinds of servants in the harem, and many of them were timid.
But Ji Jinyou was short and stocky, so even if Concubine Li lowered her head, she could still see Concubine Li's face at a glance from her perspective.
She was stunned and asked in confusion: [General, wasn't Concubine Li confined by His Majesty? Why did she run out? ]
Upon hearing that she had been discovered, Concubine Li's heart tightened and she subconsciously lowered her head even more.
When the Seventh and Eighth Princesses heard Xiaojiu's voice, they turned around to look, but they had both grown up. Concubine Li had her head drooped, so they could only see the top of her head and not her face. The Eighth Princess immediately shouted, "Raise your head."
But the maid in front of her fell to her knees with a thud, prostrated herself on the ground, kowtowed several times, and begged for mercy in a trembling voice: "We are rude and have offended several princesses. Please forgive us."
Concubine Li bent her waist, looking submissive and timid.
The system spoke at this time: [Youzi, I don’t know about this. In the original plot, Concubine Li was not confined at all, so I don’t know how she ran out. ]
Suddenly a man's voice was heard, and he was talking about her. Concubine Li was startled and subconsciously wanted to look up to see what was going on.
But she raised her head halfway, then forced herself to suppress her curiosity and lowered her head. She still had a sense of luck in her heart, hoping that she could get away with it and escape this disaster.
The seven or eight princesses were already displeased and stepped forward, wanting to go over and see what was going on.
When they heard Tong Tong's words, the two smiled at each other, stopped walking, and looked excited as if they were watching a good show.
Ji Jinyou didn't want to intervene at first, but when the Eighth Princess suddenly stopped and asked Concubine Li a question, she thought that the Eighth Princess had seen through it with her sharp eyes.
But she didn't expect that Concubine Li would actually deny it and shamelessly pretend to be a palace maid. She was really shocked inside.
I couldn't help but ask the system again: [Master, what kind of person is this Concubine Li? My Eighth Sister has already discovered her, but she's still pretending.]
Concubine Li was a concubine, a concubine who gave birth to a prince, so her status was not low. It would have been fine for her to sneak out disguised as a palace maid, but she was discovered by the younger generation and she had no dignity to continue pretending.
The seven and eight princesses looked at Concubine Li with contempt. See, even our three-year-old Xiaojiu knows what is appropriate and what is inappropriate. This Concubine Li is really hard to describe.
The system looked at the character summary: [Li Fei is a selfish and vicious person. She always puts her own interests first and will do anything to achieve her goals. The phrase she often says to the Thirteenth Prince is "If you don't work for yourself, you will be punished by heaven and earth."]
Ji Jinyou sighed: [No wonder Thirteen is so bad, it turns out it was Concubine Li who taught him that. ]
System: [Who says it’s not true? This is what they call like mother, like son. The mother and son are of the same blood.]
Ji Jinyou: [She is simply wicked. If you say she is so wicked, how did Your Majesty fall in love with her back then? ]
System: [The old emperor can't really be blamed for the Li Fei incident. At that time, the country was in great trouble both internally and externally. In order to stabilize the court, he accepted the advice of his ministers to recruit concubines. At that time, Emperor Wen Zhao had never even looked at those noble ladies. He immediately took in all the noble ladies on the list submitted by the ministers. Li Fei was one of them. Her father was the Minister of Revenue of two dynasties who held real power. Otherwise, how could Emperor Wen Zhao have taken a fancy to her with her average looks and bad character?]
Listening to the two of them talking about her in front of her, Concubine Li was furious. She clenched her fists in anger and wanted to slap the unrestrained brat.
But she didn't understand what was going on. Only she and her maids were present, and only three princesses and their maids were standing in front. There was clearly no man in sight. Who was he and where was he hiding and talking?
Also, is she the only one who can hear it, or can others hear it too?
She was anxious and wanted to ask for clarification, but seeing that the Seventh and Eighth Princesses did not say anything or come over, she did not dare to raise her head. She just hoped that they would not expose her because she had lowered her status and leave quickly.
But the Seventh and Eighth Princesses knew very well who Concubine Li was, and they also knew that the Empress and the Imperial Concubine had never liked Concubine Li. So now that they had this opportunity, how could they let it go?
The two of them each held Xiaojiu's hand and stood there quietly, hoping that Xiaojiu and Tongtong would talk more.
Ji Jinyou: [What was the final outcome of Concubine Li? ]
System: [Dead.]
Ji Jinyou: [Who died first, her or Thirteen? ]
System: [She died first.]
Concubine Li's hands trembled. Is she dead? Thirteen is also dead? What's going on? Why does this man know what will happen next?
Ji Jinyou: [Then how did she die? ]
System: [According to the synopsis, after the Imperial Concubine was killed by the old emperor, there was a fierce struggle in the harem to compete for the vacant position of the Imperial Concubine. Concubine Li had a high opinion of herself and thought she was fully qualified, so she also got involved.]
[She plotted to have Concubine Jing and the eunuch have an affair, but Concubine Jing used the trick against her and killed the eunuch, and then called the old emperor to catch them in the act.]
[The old emperor saw Concubine Li and a young eunuch having an affair with each other, and he was so angry that he went crazy on the spot, drew his sword, and stabbed her to death.]
Ji Jinyou's eyes widened in shock, [She harmed others and got herself harmed, so Concubine Li is reaping the fruits of her own actions. ]
Is it really that exciting? The seven or eight princesses' pupils all trembled, and their mouths opened wide, enough to fit an egg.
After hearing these words, Concubine Li could no longer bear it. She raised her head abruptly and stared at Ji Jinyou with vicious eyes.