Chapter 172 She Must Become the Queen
Meng Yan listened to the message and nodded slightly. "Go back and report to the Empress Dowager. I know everything. But there is one more thing I would like to trouble you with. There is an epidemic in the garden, and I am no longer suitable to raise the princess here. I will send Princess He'an over after I have made all the arrangements. I hope the Empress Dowager will take care of her for a while."
The palace maid obeyed the order and left when she saw that the imperial concubine had no other instructions.
After sending the palace maid away, Meng Yan ordered the princess to be called over.
After the order was passed down, only a moment later, the sound of footsteps was heard, and a small pink figure ran in from outside and threw herself into Meng Yan's arms.
Meng Yan leaned over, touched the child's head, and said with a smile, "Look at how sweaty she is! Her new dress, which she just changed into this morning, is already covered in mud. What have you been doing?"
Doukou raised her sweaty little face and giggled, "Catching cicadas and katydids in the backyard!"
As she spoke, she raised her little hand, holding a small bamboo cage, and there were indeed a few katydids buzzing inside.
The nurse behind her said helplessly, "Your Highness, other young ladies love flowers, but our princess, a princess of great wealth, spends all her time playing with insects. The other day at the flower viewing banquet, several young ladies were playing and competing with each other for flowers and grass. Our princess stretched out her hand, and two crickets appeared in her palm. The young ladies were so scared that they burst into tears, while Her Highness was bewildered, wondering what had happened."
Doukou pouted, "I just shared my favorite things with them, who knew they would all start crying! I didn't bully them!" Then she suddenly laughed, "Only Chenchen didn't cry. I had a lot of fun playing with Chenchen."
Meng Yan asked with a smile, "Who is Chenchen?"
Doukou replied, "Chenchen is Chenchen."
Meng Yan knew that she didn't know either, so she looked at the wet nurse.
The nurse understood and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, this Miss Chenchen is the eldest daughter of the Zhenyuan Marquis family. Her maiden name is Liu Chenxi. She accompanied her mother to the flower viewing banquet and got along well with our princess."
Meng Yan listened and smiled slightly, "That's great, Doukou can have his own little friend now. You always stay with me, but no one can see you. So, I want to send you to live with your grandmother for a while..."
“No!”
Before she finished speaking, Doukou interrupted her loudly, staring at Meng Yan with her dark eyes, "Mother, I won't go. I won't go anywhere... I don't want to leave you..."
As she spoke, her originally raised mouth suddenly deflated, and big tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes like beads.
"Mother doesn't want Doukou anymore..."
This soft, crying child's voice pierced Meng Yan's heart.
She leaned over and picked up the child, comforting her softly, "How could mother not want Doukou? But look, you have been with mother for such a long time. Your grandmother has been alone without a companion. Isn't it pitiful? Doukou is the best and most obedient child. She will definitely not bear it, right? The grandmother used to be so good to you..."
The child lost her father and mother at a young age. Although she has grown up with him and is now much better, she is still deeply afraid of being abandoned by her mother.
However, the child cannot always follow her, she needs to learn to be independent and grow up.
Meng Yan herself had a lot of important things to do right now, and not only did she have no time to take care of the child, she was also afraid that if she was not careful, she would pass the illness on to the child.
It would be better to keep Doukou in Shou'an Academy.
After coaxing her for a long time and making a lot of promises, Doukou gradually stopped crying. Although she still had a pout on her face, she nodded.
Meng Yan ordered the wet nurse and palace maids who usually served the princess to pack their luggage and move to Shou'an Academy with the princess.
Just as she finished dealing with this matter, Bai Yuxin came in with a roll of names. She got straight to the point, "Sister, I've figured out everything you asked me to investigate these past two days. Besides Qiuyu, there are five other palace maids and seven eunuchs who are somehow connected to the man in the imperial city."
Meng Yan smiled, asked her to sit down, and asked the palace maid to serve tea.
Bai Yuxin had been busy under the scorching sun for half a day and was genuinely thirsty. She drank most of her tea before wiping her mouth with a handkerchief and continuing, "These aren't just new nails. They were all placed here when Concubine Liang was in charge of the palace. Now that the Emperor and the Empress Dowager are here, and something so serious has happened, who knows if they'll all be put to work." At this point, she looked at Meng Yan and said, "Sister, do you want to take them all away?"
Meng Yan slowly shook her head and smiled, "No need, leave them alone."
Bai Yuxin was slightly puzzled and asked, "Leave it there? Sister, aren't you afraid that they will spread the news over there?"
Meng Yan smiled and said, "Then let them pass on the news. I was originally worried about how to let Concubine Liang know about what's happening here. With them here, it saves me a lot of trouble."
Bai Yuxin understood immediately what she meant and said nothing more, "So, what will happen to Qiuyu?"
"Did she confess?"
"No, I don't know what they're holding her hostage with. This maid is really tough. Don't look at her skinny body. She was scared like a sick chicken when my sister asked her about it. She suffered so much punishment in the Ministry of Punishment, but she bit her tongue and refused to utter a word. She just kept saying she wanted to die."
Meng Yan's expression was cold. "What else could it be? Either they promised money or they took their family. I've never seen anyone who would sincerely risk their life for money, so it must be their family. This trick may be vulgar, but it works. Forget it, just leave her alone. Notify the Ministry of Punishment and have her imprisoned for the time being. Find a royal physician to treat her injuries. Don't let her die. I still have some use for her."
At this point, she turned and asked, "Have you found out who the eunuch who died of illness had contact with recently?"
Bai Yuxin opened her eyes wide, quite puzzled, "Sister, this eunuch died of illness, how could it be..."
Just as she was about to say this, she looked into Meng Yan's deep eyes and suddenly understood something. She was horrified and fell silent. After a while, she said, "This... is too cruel."
Meng Yan said coldly, "This is how it is in the imperial palace. Other people's lives are nothing more than stepping stones for me. From the previous dynasty to the Great Zhou, when the harem was in turmoil, there were countless cases of palace maids dying tragically for no reason. It's nothing surprising!"
Bai Yuxin lowered her head in silence. After a while, she suddenly looked up and said, "Sister, you must become the queen."
Or perhaps, only someone like Sister Yan can change the vicious habits of the harem if she ascends to the throne!
Meng Yan was stunned at first, but then she came to her senses and smiled. She did mean that.
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