Chapter 62: Continuing the Glory
Qin Jieyu bit her lower lip, and a faint taste of rust came from her mouth.
Admit your mistake?
She didn't think she had done anything wrong.
But her aunt's anger was too terrible, so she didn't dare say this. After a pause, she finally spoke: "Please tell me clearly, aunt."
The dim candlelight cast a shadow on Queen Mother Qin's face. She turned and sat down on the couch. "Ask you, are you dissatisfied with the position the Emperor has bestowed upon you?"
Concubine Qin choked: "Yan'er doesn't dare."
Queen Mother Qin slapped her hand on the small sandalwood table and scolded, "Tell me the truth!"
Qin Jieyu was frightened by the sound. Knowing that she couldn't hide it, she went over the words in her mind several times and said, "The girl from the Li family is just a branch of the family. She was given the title of Jieyu by virtue of the favor of the late Emperor's Empress Li. Yan'er is my aunt's niece and the Emperor's cousin. Her status and position are far beyond the reach of a branch of the family like her. But the Emperor didn't give Yan'er any favors and gave her the same Jieyu position. That's why Yan'er feels wronged."
Queen Mother Qin looked at her coldly and said, "I tell you the truth, your position as a Concubine is too high!"
Qin Jieyu looked up in disbelief: "Aunt..."
She couldn't understand why her aunt, who usually loved her so much, was acting so abnormally tonight?
Queen Mother Qin said coldly, "After Empress Li passed away, Achen, then still the Crown Prince, saw his status decline. The Qin family, his maternal family, was too afraid to declare their loyalty to him. Instead, the Li family, a generation away, stood firmly by his side. In my opinion, your position shouldn't exceed that of the young lady from the Li family! Yan'er, I'm warning you: put away your wishful thinking."
Qin Jieyu agreed reluctantly.
Queen Mother Qin narrowed her eyes and asked again, "I heard that you lost your temper in the palace tonight?"
Qin Jieyu's heart skipped a beat and she looked at Nanny Meng beside her. Nanny Meng stood straight and didn't even glance at her.
Qin Jieyu could only bite the bullet and admit: "It's Yan'er's fault."
Queen Mother Qin's eyes were cold and stern: "I don't want this to happen again."
Qin Jieyu quickly said, "Yan'er knows."
Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, Queen Mother Qin's cold voice came from the couch again: "Tell me, how do you plan to harm Qu Baolin and Concubine Pei?"
Concubine Qin looked up in surprise.
She said all this in the bedroom. Only Fuling knew about it. How could my aunt know about it?!
The hairs on her body slowly stood up.
Queen Mother Qin observed her reaction and said slowly, "Yan'er, I have something to tell you today. There is no impenetrable wall in the world. It's a good thing that I know about it today. If others knew about it and made some moves in secret or fanned the flames, you would die without knowing how in the end!"
Qin Jieyu's scalp suddenly tingled, but she was stubborn and wanted to argue again: "This is just Yan'er's angry words..."
"Do you think I'm a fool?!" Queen Dowager Qin's voice was as cold as frost, her words sharp. "I entered the palace at the age of sixteen, and it's been thirty years now. If I didn't have some real skills, how could I have given birth to the late emperor's eldest son in this dangerous harem? And how could I have survived all the way to the throne of Queen Dowager?"
"Yan'er, you relied on me to enter the palace. I can get you out with just one word."
"So, stop using those clumsy little tricks, and don't make me angry again!"
Concubine Qin was so frightened by these words that she was trembling all over.
She knew that if she didn't tell the truth, she would really be sent out of the palace!
At this point, she no longer dared to hide anything and confessed everything.
"Qu Baolin was of a low rank, so Yan'er found a pretext for insubordination and punished her by crippling her hands so she could never play the pipa again."
"As for... As for Concubine Pei, she's so favored. Yan'er doesn't want her to live. She's going to make her take some... some poison and then put the blame on Concubine Li."
Queen Mother Qin laughed in anger, throwing the teacup on the sandalwood table in front of her. "She truly is my good niece! She only entered the palace tonight, and in just a few hours, she's already come up with so many sinister ways to harm the concubines. How wonderful!"
Concubine Qin was so frightened that she dared not move or even speak.
The atmosphere in the hall was silent for a while.
Queen Mother Qin twirled her Buddhist beads and said, "Put aside these vile thoughts of yours. If I ever discover you have attacked a concubine, you will be confined to the rear hall of the Cining Palace, where you will be accompanied by the ancient Buddha for the rest of your life."
Qin Jieyu's tears fell like beads from a broken string: "Aunt, Yan'er admits her mistake. Yan'er really won't dare to do it again."
She cried pitifully, and Queen Mother Qin loved her after all, so her tone softened a little: "Especially Concubine Pei, don't touch her, understand?"
At this time, Qin Jieyu didn't dare to refute, she just nodded and promised.
Queen Mother Qin heaved a long sigh of relief. She seemed extremely tired and waved her hand, saying, "Go back to the palace."
Only then did Concubine Qin dare to stand up. Her legs and feet were numb from kneeling, and she walked unsteadily.
The palace maid came to help her, but she pushed her away.
Queen Mother Qin watched this scene in the hall and shook her head.
"After this slap, Yan'er might hate me."
Madam Meng consoled her, saying, "Jieyu is young and inevitably naive. When she grows up, she will understand the Empress Dowager's painstaking efforts."
"I hope so." Queen Mother Qin sighed, "I hope this slap can wake her up and prevent her from going astray. Even if she hates me, I will accept it."
Nanny Meng gently massaged her shoulders: "The Empress Dowager has emphasized this time and again, and Concubine Jieyu will definitely take it to heart."
Queen Mother Qin placed her Buddhist beads on the small table and pinched her brows. "If she really doesn't listen to my advice and insists on disrupting the harem, I will personally lock her up in the back hall. But what I fear most is that I won't even have such an opportunity."
Madam Meng whispered, "The Empress Dowager is referring to Concubine Pei?"
Queen Mother Qin looked melancholy: "If Yan'er really did something to Concubine Pei, I'm afraid I won't be able to protect her."
Nanny Meng understood: "After so many years, this is the first time that the Emperor has said in front of you that he wants to bring a concubine to you for your inspection. It's obvious that he is really interested in her."
Queen Mother Qin sighed, "The Emperor was born to me, and as his mother, I know him best. The previous emperor was affectionate, but the Emperor is too cold-blooded. I originally thought that love and affection were useless to him, but I never expected that he could be moved. Once a heartless man like the Emperor is moved, he is determined and will not change."
"If one day Yan'er really attacks Concubine Pei and the Emperor becomes angry, I will definitely side with my son and have no choice but to abandon this niece."
Nanny Meng said, "If that day ever comes, the Empress Dowager need not be sad. You have already done your best for the Qin family and for Concubine Jieyu."
Queen Mother Qin looked far away and said, "Yes, I have done them very well. It is they who are too dissatisfied."
After the emperor ascended the throne, she did not blame the Qin family for their estrangement in the past. Instead, she asked for a title for the Qin family.
Because of her, the Qin family changed from a family of officials to a prestigious noble family in Kyoto.
But they were not content with just one life of wealth and glory, and wanted to produce another queen or queen mother to continue this wealth and glory.
So he couldn't wait to come to her and ask her to send Qin Yan into the palace.
Queen Mother Qin murmured, "I have given you everything you desire. As for the rest of the journey, you have to walk it on your own. If you take the wrong path, don't blame me for being cruel."
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