Chapter 227 Palace Power
She entered the palace for this reason.
Her family had already told her that her cousin had died suddenly and the cause of death was suspicious. Something must have happened.
Once she enters the palace, she may never be favored in her life.
She was indeed prepared for this and her goal was clear.
If you can't get favor, you need power.
The power of a palace concubine is not enough, she wants more noble power.
Therefore, that position can only belong to Yuchuan.
The determination in Xie Xiuyi's eyes flashed away, and she turned to ask another question, "Have you found out about Fenghe Palace?"
When she was paying her respects recently, she discovered something unusual.
Although the queen was dressed in her usual makeup, her eyes and brows showed signs of fatigue, and one could also smell a faint scent of medicine on her body.
But she had not heard that the queen was unwell.
Could it be that...
I heard that the queen vomited blood before she entered the palace. Could it be that her old illness has recurred?
Lan Hui shook her head. "The people in Fenghe Palace are very tight-lipped. Even if I offered money, I could only get a little bit of information. They only said that the medicine the Queen gave was for boosting her spirits, not for nourishing her body."
Xie Xiuyi frowned slightly. "A drug to boost your spirits? It would be great if the Queen is really not in good spirits. I'm afraid..."
Lan Hui bowed and asked her what she hadn't said yet: "Madam, what are you afraid of?"
Xie Xiuyi said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid the Queen is dying."
Lan Hui was shocked. "No way! The Queen is only 24 years old now, in the prime of her youth. How could she just die out of nowhere?"
"This is just speculation." Xie Xiuyi frowned irritably. "I've heard from my elders that people who vomit blood won't live long. The Queen vomited so much blood before, it's very likely she won't live long either. I'd rather it weren't so. It wouldn't matter if the Queen were alive. It would be her death that would be a problem for us!"
Lan Hui's eyes flickered, and she understood the implication of her words, "Your Majesty is worried that if the Empress passes away, the Imperial Concubine will take that position?"
Xie Xiuyi sighed softly, "Yes. Even though the Imperial Concubine's family background isn't prominent, she currently holds the most prestigious position among the concubines. Furthermore, given her favor, she's very likely to become the new Empress. If the Imperial Concubine ascends to the Empress position, the Fourth Prince will become the legitimate son. The Daqi Dynasty has always chosen the eldest legitimate son as the heir, and the legitimate son is the most honorable. By then, the Fourth Prince will not only overpower us, but even the First Prince."
Lan Hui frowned: "Is this legitimate son really so noble?"
Xie Xiuyi scoffed, "There's a precedent for this. The late emperor favored his second son over our emperor, but so what? The emperor is both the eldest and the legitimate son, and he's supported by the majority of court officials. So, the late emperor had no choice but to give up the favorite concubine's son and let the emperor take over the Eastern Palace. This is what I'm really worried about. The fourth prince can be the favorite concubine's son, but he can't be the legitimate son. So, no matter what, Concubine Chen can't be allowed to take that position."
Lan Hui asked cautiously, "What does your Majesty plan to do?"
Xie Xiuyi sneered and said, "Even if the Queen passes away, it will take several years to appoint a new one. And...and if the Queen dies, will the noble family be left without a concubine? Who knows, they might even send another woman into the palace. So, let's not rush, just take our time and plan."
"yes."
*
The matter of King Xuan is settled.
Xiao Si finally has two study partners.
One is the prince of King Xuan, and the other is naturally the eldest grandson of the Pei family, Pei Yu, the nephew of Pei Tingyue.
Pei Tingyue was very satisfied with this arrangement.
She looked at Xiao Si in the rocking cot and said with a smile, "Grow up quickly and go to school with you brothers."
Xiao Si didn't understand what she said, but he saw that she was very happy and smiled with dimples.
“Ahh—”
Pei Tingyue smiled and poked his soft face, "Little naughty boy, let Aunt Yunshu carry you to find the Queen Mother, okay?"
After seeing Yunshu, the dimples on Xiao Si's face became even deeper.
Pei Tingyue instructed: "Just play with him for a while. If you see that the Queen is not feeling well, bring him back."
Yun Shu responded, "I understand."
After the hall returned to peace and quiet, Pei Tingyue went to the small study in the east room.
She has recently begun to take control of the palace.
The power in the palace was roughly divided into two parts: the Imperial Court and the Imperial Household Department.
Each department in front of the emperor is operated and managed independently, so Pei Tingyue does not need to intervene for the time being.
She is now only in charge of the Guangchusi, Finance and Shenxingsi among the seven departments and three courts of the Imperial Household Department.
The Guangchusi was in charge of the palace's gold, silver, jewelry, porcelain, tea, silk, embroidery, etc.
The Finance Department was in charge of the royal estates, land rent, taxes and other income, and distributed monthly allowances to palace ladies.
The Ministry of Punishment is very familiar. It is the place where palace maids and eunuchs who have committed mistakes are dealt with and interrogated.
These are the three most important departments in the Imperial Household Department.
Empress Cui handed everything over to Pei Tingyue.
So during this period, Pei Tingyue was extremely busy because there were too many palace affairs!
Moreover, she was new to the job, so even if she followed her old habits, she wasn't very skilled at it.
But Pei Tingyue was not discouraged.
She is a person who will never be content with the status quo and likes challenges.
Otherwise, she should have just kept quiet and tried to survive instead of risking her life to win the emperor's favor.
While Pei Tingyue handled the palace affairs herself, she also asked two palace maids, Zhichun and Zhixia, to come and learn.
If she took over the entire Imperial Household Department in the future, there would be more palace affairs, and she would not be able to handle them all by herself. Therefore, it was necessary to train helpers.
When Zhichun and Zhixia grow up, she can share the less important palace affairs with them, and she will be able to handle the important official duties more easily.
Why choose these two instead of Yun Shu and Yun Zheng?
Pei Tingyue thought about it carefully.
She still wanted Yunshu to leave the palace and live the life of a noble lady.
As for Yun Zheng, after asking her, she said she didn't want to leave the palace in her life, so Pei Tingyue could only let her go.
Needless to say, she was even smarter and more resourceful than the twin sisters Zhichun and Zhixia. She was originally capable of handling these palace affairs.
But Pei Tingyue had already decided where she was going.
The prince can only live with his biological mother until he is five years old. After that, he has to move to the prince's residence.
Pei Tingyue wanted Yun Zheng to go with Xiao Si.
If Xiao Si really has the ability in the future, Yun Zheng's future will only be brighter, and she might even become the highest-ranking female official in front of the emperor.
Therefore, the task of helping to handle palace affairs fell on Zhichun and Zhixia.
Pei Tingyue also promised them benefits.
A first-rank imperial concubine has four first-class palace maids, and if they perform well, they will be promoted.
Just let Zhiqiu and Zhidong bring a few palace maids up.
Over the past few days, Pei Tingyue often read palace books and documents until dark, and sometimes he was so tired that he fell asleep without even noticing.
When I woke up, I was in bed.
Upon asking, it turned out that the emperor had been there.
Pei Tingyue thought about it carefully. They hadn't seen each other for many days, and she still missed him a little.
Unfortunately, she could never find the time to go to Chengming Palace for a night or spend time with him properly.
Empress Cui's health was getting worse and worse. She had to learn what she didn't understand quickly before Empress Cui collapsed, and ask for help if she couldn't learn. She had to suppress those who needed to be suppressed and show favor to those who needed to be shown favor, so as to completely grasp the power of the palace in her hands.
Otherwise, once Queen Cui died, she would not be able to dominate the harem, and she, the imperial concubine with real power, would become a laughing stock.
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