Chapter 52 The Emperor Has His Eye on You!
Before Emperor Yongming could finish speaking, a eunuch suddenly rushed out from the side, his face pale and his voice trembling: "Your Majesty, something has happened."
"Wang Zhaoyi and Liu Jieyu are fighting!"
Emperor Yongming's forehead veins throbbed, clearly displeased that his mood had been interrupted, but his eyes remained fixed on Shen Qingci's face: "If you're going to fight, then fight. A bunch of women are always bickering and fighting over men, isn't that annoying?"
The eunuch gritted his teeth and knelt down: "Consort Wang was pushed off the artificial hill by Consort Liu, and she miscarried the imperial fetus!"
Emperor Yongming finally turned his head sharply, a look of astonishment on his face: "What? A miscarriage?"
"Let me go take a look!" He stood up and walked towards the back hall, but he couldn't help but turn back frequently, his disgusting gaze sweeping over Shen Qingci several times.
Shen Qingci frowned; it seemed she was in trouble!
"Ladies, His Majesty is unwell and has urgent matters to attend to in the palace. Let us end our thanksgiving here today. Ladies, please leave the palace on your own."
"Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty!" The crowd bowed before standing up.
A group of people filed out and were led away from the palace by palace servants.
As Shen Qingci stepped out of the palace gates and was about to board her carriage, she heard someone calling her, "Madam Huo! Please wait!"
Shen Qingci turned her head and saw a woman in her thirties dressed in the attire of a third-rank noblewoman hurrying towards her. The woman's face looked somewhat familiar, as if... she had seen her somewhere before.
She walked quickly to Shen Qingci and said, "Qingci, do you still remember me? I am Aunt Jing. Your mother and I are good friends. I even held you in my arms once."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci immediately remembered: "So it's Aunt Jing. It's been so many years. I'm so sorry I didn't recognize you at first. Please forgive me, Aunt Jing."
Wang Yajing waved her hand and sighed, "It's not your fault. Five years ago, my husband was transferred to Weizhou, so we moved the whole family there. We were only just recalled to the capital last month. But who would have thought... Alas, life is unpredictable!"
Wang Yajing took a deep breath, not wanting to bring up the painful memories of the Shen family again, which would upset Shen Qingci.
She gripped Shen Qingci's hand tightly, lowered her voice, and solemnly reminded him, "Qingci, His Majesty is a depraved and insane man, especially fond of beautiful women. Just now in the Taiji Hall, the way he looked at you clearly... he's taken a fancy to you!"
You must be very careful!
Although she kept saying she was being careful, her heart sank. She knew perfectly well how absurd and erratic the current emperor's actions were. Now that the Shen family was completely gone and could no longer protect Shen Qingci, who was a newly widowed woman whose husband had died in battle, she was like a fish on a chopping board, completely at the mercy of others!
"If all else fails, run!"
A resolute glint flashed in Wang Yajing's eyes as she bit her lip: "The most important thing is to stay alive. As long as you're alive, there's hope for everything. If you encounter any difficulties, you can send someone to find me."
"Although I don't have any other skills, I can still get you out of the capital. I can find a way to send you to Weizhou! We've been doing quite well in Weizhou these past few years, and I won't let you suffer there."
A warm feeling welled up in Shen Qingci's heart, and her eyes welled up with tears. When the Shen family had just encountered trouble, she had witnessed the coldness of human nature, but she never expected that someone would be willing to risk offending the emperor to lend her a helping hand.
"Okay, thank you for your advice, Aunt Jing. I will remember your kindness. Don't worry, Aunt Jing, I... I have my own way of dealing with this."
Although the emperor is the ruler of a country, the real power in the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty is now in the hands of Chu Jichen. She is going to marry Chu Jichen, so Chu Jichen naturally cannot allow the emperor to set his sights on her.
She even had a vague feeling that the eunuch who rushed out in a hurry in the Taiji Hall and interrupted the emperor's filthy thoughts at just the right time was probably... Chu Jichen's man!
Wang Yajing felt that Shen Qingci was having trouble speaking to her. She remained silent for a moment before letting out a soft sigh: "That's good. Anyway, if you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me."
"Back then... when my husband had an accident in the capital, your mother helped me a great deal without reservation..."
After bidding farewell to Wang Yajing, Shen Qingci boarded the carriage. Wanqing did not accompany her into the palace, but she overheard most of what Wang Yajing had said to her.
Her face was full of surprise and uncertainty: "Miss, what happened in the palace? What did the emperor do? That tyrant..."
Shen Qingci quickly covered Wanqing's loose tongue: "You can't say that! This is the palace gate, are you out of your mind?"
Seeing Wanqing shaking her head with wide eyes, Shen Qingci finally let go of her: "It's nothing, don't worry, the Regent is here."
Even the emperor probably couldn't cause much of a stir.
However... entering the palace today gave her a profound understanding of the emperor's debauchery and tyranny.
The imperial edict ordering the execution of the entire Shen family came from the hand of this tyrannical emperor!
Previously, she was of low status. Even though she knew that her father had been framed and slandered by villains, and that those charges were fabricated, she was powerless to do anything about it and could only watch helplessly as her family was destroyed and her relatives died tragically!
But... she is about to marry Chu Jichen, the powerful regent.
The desire in his heart to seek justice for his father and to avenge the entire Shen family reached an unprecedented peak after witnessing this muddle-headed and incompetent emperor with his own eyes today!
If she successfully marries Chu Jichen and becomes the Regent's Consort, it doesn't seem entirely impossible.
Shen Qingci's mind was filled with thoughts of exonerating the Shen family. Not long after returning to the Yongning Marquis's residence, people from the palace indeed came again, bringing rewards.
This time, the reward was delivered directly to Shen Qingci's courtyard.
After receiving the reward and seeing the eunuch off, Shen Qingci took out the imperial decree of marriage bestowed upon him by Chu Jichen, along with the imperial decree conferring upon her the title of a third-rank noblewoman, as planned, and then went to the old lady's place.
Somewhat unexpectedly for Shen Qingci...
Liu Ruolan was also there.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were talking about something, and both of them looked rather unpleasant.
As soon as Shen Qingci entered, Old Madam Hou slightly suppressed her displeasure and forced a smile: "Qingci is here? Is there something you need?"
Shen Qingci nodded and gently raised the two bright yellow imperial edicts in her hands. Her voice was gentle and respectful: "Mother, your daughter-in-law was previously granted the title of Third-Rank Imperial Lady because of Yun Zhan's death in battle. After entering the palace to express her gratitude today, His Majesty issued another decree, giving your daughter-in-law... a very generous reward."
Shen Qingci smiled slightly. It was indeed a very generous reward. The reward was for Shen Qingci to marry the regent Chu Jichen on an auspicious day!
"I think that whether it is the honor of being a third-rank imperial consort or the generous rewards His Majesty has given us today, in essence, it is all because my late husband Yun Zhan sacrificed his life for the country."
"This honor rightfully belongs to our entire Huo family."
"Therefore, I dare to suggest... that I send both imperial edicts to the Huo family ancestral hall for worship, to comfort Yun Zhan's spirit in heaven, and to let our ancestors see the loyalty and bravery of the Huo family's sons. Mother, what do you think?"
Before Madam Hou could speak, Liu Ruolan, who was sitting to the side, couldn't hold back and snorted coldly, her tone full of disdain and sarcasm: "She's just a third-rank noblewoman, how dare she be enshrined in the ancestral hall?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci blinked in feigned surprise: "It's not just that. There's not only a third-rank imperial decree, but also an imperial edict of conferment. His Majesty has bestowed many fine things this time, including silks and satins, gold and silver jewels, and all sorts of other things. Would you like to open it and take a look, sister-in-law, and broaden your horizons?"
As she spoke, she deliberately handed the two imperial edicts to Liu Ruolan!
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