Chapter 60 Chapter 60 [VIP]
The empress wore a composed expression. Noticing the beauty sitting opposite her seemed to be trembling with fear, she smiled and ordered a palace maid to come in and lead her away. She consoled her, saying, "Your Majesty may occasionally have words to pass on, but they are of no consequence. They are none of your business."
Shen Youyi nodded in agreement, but did not follow the palace maid out through the side door. Instead, she stood up calmly and said with a smile, "Miss, there's no need to see me off. I know the way back. I'll sit for a while, have two cups of tea, and then I'll leave."
Her habit of carrying silver with her was occasionally useful. A small gold leaf was enough to make the palace maid smile. The queen had fallen from power, so the servants had better keep out of trouble. Although they had some doubts in their hearts, they withdrew as they were told.
Shen Youyi tiptoed from the warm room to the front hall, followed the light to find the queen, crawled down, and stuck behind the screen.
From the young and shrill voice, it was not difficult to tell that the man was Zhao Yuelai, Chen Rongshou's godson, who was sentenced to death by imperial decree.
The Queen was quite amiable towards the eunuchs from Chang'an and asked with concern, "Is Your Majesty well?"
Zhao Yuelai sighed softly and smiled bitterly, "Although Your Majesty is furious, he has not vomited blood after receiving acupuncture treatment from the imperial physicians these days. However, he only eats once or twice a day and sleeps for only two hours at night, sometimes staying awake all night. The steward is worried..."
The Queen rebuked him with a hint of disapproval, "Zhao Lishi has served in the palace for a long time. Your Majesty's pulse and diet are so important. How could you so easily tell me about a man who is about to be crippled?"
Zhao Yuelai was slightly startled, then immediately tried to comfort her, "Your Majesty, why are you so worried? Even when Madam Shen was here, His Majesty only wanted to choose a quiet and beautiful place for you to recuperate. He didn't intend to do anything immediately. Moreover, how could he easily consider deposing or enthroning someone at this moment?"
The empress naturally would not believe his words. After being married for more than twenty years, Emperor Yuan Shuo's intention to depose and enthrone the empress was obvious. Otherwise, if he cared so much about his reputation, even if the love between husband and wife was weak, he would not have gone to so much trouble to promise her many graces and benefits, even benefiting her parents and brothers, just to teach her to take the initiative to write a letter and maintain their hypocritical reputation as a couple.
But when I think about it now, I just feel happy and don’t take it too seriously.
Not only did his beloved woman have an affair with his own son, she was not even willing to conceal it and continued to beg for the king's mercy with sweet words.
Thinking of the beauty who might still be hiding in the palace, she was impatient to deal with the emperor's messenger: "I am tired tonight. The city gates are closed, and the strong man can't return tonight. If there is anything important, it will be the same tomorrow."
Zhao Yuelai said quickly, "The steward sent me to ask if Madam Shen has woken up... According to the rules, a letter of thanks should be written so that the palace can set a time for the funeral."
Shen Youyi's heart was hanging high, but the queen said lightly: "I thought it was nothing. Although Shen Shi hasn't woken up yet, this is just a small matter. I can ask the female historian beside me to do it for me."
A maid came to serve tea. Shen Youyi seemed to hear Zhao Yuelai's voice lower. She was talking to the queen about taboos in the palace such as witchcraft and sorcery. She wanted to listen more, but the queen concealed a lot from her and her words were inconsistent. If someone found her here, she didn't know whether she could be allowed to return safely. She didn't care about her embarrassment and crawled back the way she had come. After making sure that no one saw her, she stood up and tidied her appearance. She calmly ordered several maids to prepare some midnight snacks for the queen, asked for a bright lamp, and walked out of the side door calmly.
Her heart was beating like a drum. She avoided several patrolling imperial guards and recalled the roads she had seen on the way here. She walked and stopped, and pondered several times before returning to the corridor of Cuihu Pavilion.
The queen liked to live near water, so she would inevitably pass by this place when leaving the main hall where she lived.
The weather was cold in late autumn, and even if the palace servants did not burn large amounts of mugwort, there would be few mosquitoes on the lake.
Zhao Yuelai knew that she shouldn't have too much hope when she came here, but the Queen had always been so indifferent and aloof. She looked gentle and worried, but in fact she didn't have much genuine concern for His Majesty. Even if what the Imperial Concubine said could possibly influence the Emperor's will, she was so heartless and now that she was free, she might not be willing to wade into this muddy water again.
Your Majesty is willing to listen to the Imperial Concubine's sophistry, which is already an exception of tolerance due to the affection they have had over the years. In the past, the Emperor and the Concubine loved each other so much that Your Majesty would not care and even condoned the Imperial Concubine's inquiries about the Emperor's whereabouts. But now, if he knew that these people had private dealings with the Imperial Concubine and took the initiative to reveal what was happening in the Purple Palace to her, I am afraid they would end up with their heads and bodies separated.
He was worried, but suddenly his attention was attracted by a bright light in the mist. He subconsciously looked towards the lake pavilion hidden by branches and leaves. The beautiful woman in a straw hairpin and cloth skirt was like a ghostly mountain elf, leaning alone on the porch pillar in a daze, watching the koi carps gathered in the pond, begging for non-existent fish food.
He could hardly believe his eyes. He approached with light steps, fearing to startle Mudan, who was sleepwalking in the foggy night. He whispered, "Why is there no one serving the Imperial Concubine? Is it because the people in the palace are not attentive?"
Shen Youyi seemed to have just noticed his presence and felt a little uncomfortable. "A man who has been sentenced to death doesn't need anyone to serve him.
If the beauty of Zhao were to know about this, she would not know how she felt. She sighed softly and said, "My lady, why are you doing this? Your Majesty, I just want to send you out of the palace and give you a large sum of gold and silver.
Thinking of the Queen's cover-up, she said softly, "In the harem, His Majesty loves and cherishes you alone. Even if others have given birth to princes, they cannot surpass you. I had some dealings with you recently and was angry with you for a few days, but I didn't stop my decree to embroider Yiyi for you, and I made a special return."
However, the beauty who was kept in the dark was unaware of the situation and did not appreciate it. She was only one step away from the throne. She no longer went up to the tower to embroider for the monarch she served, but was keen on interacting with concubines and ladies. Naturally, she did not notice the lingering gazes coming from the library in Qingping Palace.
"Your Majesty rarely drinks except at palace banquets. But I heard Your Majesty ask about the story of Emperor Wu and the deposed Crown Prince Rong.
Shen Youyi lowered her eyes. Although she had been prepared, she still felt a little sad when she heard these things again.
The Han Dynasty had many young rulers. Emperor Jingdi loved beauties. He deposed Queen Bo and first loved Concubine Li and then Queen Wang's sisters. They gave birth to many children. The deposed crown prince born to Concubine Li was more than ten years younger than Emperor Wu. However, because of the glory of the Jingdi and Wudi dynasties, few people accused him of favoring concubines over wives and deposing the eldest and enthroning the youngest.
Falling in love with the same woman as his son was naturally a great shame and humiliation for him. She laughed softly. This was the result she had hoped to see, though she still felt a little sad at times. "But Your Majesty still chose to cover up the shame for His Royal Highness, didn't he?"
The prince took her virginity, and the two even had a sweet and romantic time together. In that man's eyes, this was much more serious than the prince replacing a death row prisoner.
Zhao Yuelai smiled bitterly and said, "My lady probably doesn't know the funeral etiquette in the palace. Anyone who survives a capital punishment will be allowed to live, and no questions will be asked about past crimes... The wine was just a formality. If my lady can think things through after a night, she can still stay with His Majesty."
Both of them were very angry at night and might say anything. His godfather told him to take the imperial concubine to the center of the lake and also gave him two oral instructions.
If the imperial concubine came to her senses and made a request, her body would be left in the palace and returned with the emperor, and she could still live in Zhaoyang Palace.
However, the imperial concubine had chosen another path herself. How could he dare to please the emperor and fabricate a will to present to Emperor Yuan Shuo on his own initiative?
Given the current situation in the palace, even if the imperial concubine changed her mind after hearing these words, he dared not conclude whether His Majesty would still be willing to put aside the past grudges and accept the imperial concubine into the palace after being rejected again and again by the imperial concubine.
"His Majesty suspected that the Crown Prince had rebellious intentions, so he brought Concubine Yun and the Prince of Hengshan into the palace first, ordered someone to select a son for the Second Prince to adopt, and searched and counted the armor in the Eastern Palace. Unexpectedly, this involved many people from Nanzhao. He was furious and had everyone in the Eastern Palace detained..."
He looked deeply at the imperial concubine and said softly, "I only know a few words. I am not as well-born as you, my wife, who comes from an official family. Even if I love you deeply, I will criticize you harshly. But if the crown prince is involved in witchcraft, what will happen to him? You know better than me."
The cruelty in the palace was far beyond the imagination of the beauty who ignited all this. Otherwise, his godfather would not dare to risk his life and pin his hopes on the person who tied the bell.
If Emperor Yuan Shuo still wanted to protect the heir, this matter could not even be put on the surface for investigation. He had already given up the beauty. Shen Youyi believed that the prince would definitely get through this without any danger.
——He was indeed very afraid of his father. Even though he controlled the Ten Rates Palace, he might not dare to rebel.
But the emperor seemed to be willing to give up far more than she had imagined. She calmed herself down and said, "Your Majesty rarely speaks harshly. It was just a moment of rage. He is your beloved son, and it is understandable that he has suffered some hardship. It shouldn't be that serious, right?"
These are all things of the past. Zhao Yuelai said, "Someone reported that the Crown Princess was so frightened that she hid a puppet in the palace, cursing Your Majesty's death. I didn't expect to find such dirty stuff."
The Crown Prince's words and deeds have been abnormal these days and his health is extremely weak. At first, they thought that the death of the Imperial Concubine was too much of a shock to the Crown Prince and he became sick due to grief, so they did not dare to ask more questions. However, based on the confession of the Crown Princess's maid after being tortured, it seems that this is far from the case.
This even touched upon a past incident involving Emperor Yuanshuo and the Imperial Concubine enjoying a romantic moment in their carriage. Zhao Yuelai cryptically explained, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had long intended to divorce, but His Majesty prevented him. The Crown Princess, enraged, used some poison on the Crown Prince to persuade him to change his mind."
Shen Youyi thought of the unusual affection between the Crown Prince and his wife, and the Crown Princess's excited and bright eyes that were a little strange. A gust of cold wind blew past, and she shivered slightly.
Seems a little crazy.
When Shen Youyi first met the Crown Princess, she only felt that she was gentle and quiet. If she had to use the hand of this legal wife to leave the Crown Prince, she did not want to be so arrogant in front of a pregnant woman.
In just a few years, she has reached this point!
Zhao Yuelai waited for her to calm down before saying, "If it weren't for this, I wouldn't bother you, my lady... You're usually the most considerate of us servants. Even if I could write a letter of thanks, perhaps it would help to ease your majesty's anger a little."
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