Chapter 293: Confinement in the Palace
The chief and deputy envoys of the Imperial Observatory bowed their heads and whispered to each other, then went to the warm room to discuss for a while.
Then he reported to the emperor,
"Replying to the Imperial Concubine, I have heard of the unusual events surrounding Zhongzheng, and after examining Xiuyi's birth chart, I have deduced from them repeatedly and suddenly realized that Xiuyi's five elements are unbalanced, and her fate is plagued by misfortunes. Fire is overpowering, while water is extremely weak, like a raging fire burning an abyss, unable to sustain water. The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches are in conflict, with the Year Pillar and Day clashing, and the palace is damaged. Over the years, evil spirits will gather, and I'm afraid it will be very detrimental to her within the palace. The fact that the incense burned out today during the sacrificial ceremony is a warning."
As soon as he finished speaking, the whole hall fell silent.
Among the concubines in the six palaces, those who didn't understand cast glances of surprise or fear at Xie Xiuyi, while those who were extremely intelligent and could understand remained silent.
Xie Xiuyi's face turned even paler. She moved her lips but couldn't speak.
Until now, she has become a fish on the chopping board, to be killed or cut, at the mercy of others.
Is her defense useful?
It's useless.
There's no escape after all.
Hearing this, Pei Tingyue, who was sitting in the main seat, seemed surprised: "Is that so? Could it be that the chief envoy and the deputy envoy made a mistake in their deduction?"
Before the chief and deputy envoys could reply, Qu Baolin, standing below, covered his mouth and exclaimed, "Your Highness, the two gentlemen just said that they had deduced the situation several times. Not to mention that the two gentlemen are proficient in this technique, they must be right. Xie Xiuyi...she has a fate we could never have imagined."
Hearing this, Pei Tingyue remained silent.
Qu Baolin seemed to be frightened, and asked the two envoys from the Imperial Observatory in a trembling voice, "Excuse me, my lords, do you have a good way to crack this?"
The two men couldn't stop laughing. "This is a fixed fate, and we can't change it. The only way is for Empress Xiuyi to confine herself to the palace, so as to reduce her influence on the palace."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall looked at Xie Xiuyi.
No one spoke.
Perhaps knowing that she had no way to retreat, Xie Xiuyi gradually stopped trembling and took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
After wiping it clean, she slowly exhaled and scanned the hall.
Finally, she stood up and knelt in the center of the hall to plead. She smiled sadly, "It turns out that my fate is in conflict with this palace. I am not blessed enough to enjoy the wealth and honor of the imperial family. To ensure the continued glory of the emperor and the peace of the palace, I request to be confined to Yichun Palace. Please grant this, Your Majesty."
Sitting in the main seat, Pei Tingyue was silent for a long time before sighing softly, "I am now the head of all the concubines. I must fulfill my duties and consider the Emperor and all the concubines in the palace. In that case, Xie Xiuyi, you can go. In addition, I have specially allowed the Second Prince to visit Yichun Palace once a month."
Xie Xiuyi's eyes were dim and dead, and she kowtowed and said, "Your Highness, I thank you very much."
After this incident, the concubines did not dare to say anything. As it was getting late, they all dispersed.
Arrived at the gate of Chengning Palace.
Xie Xiuyi did not get on the sedan chair. She was lost in thought as she looked at the clouds in the sky.
Then he walked alone through the long palace corridor and stepped straight into the gate of Yichun Palace.
*
After this day, everyone in the palace knew that Xie Xiuyi's fate was unknown, and she confined herself to the palace.
The palace maids lamented privately that it was possible that this Empress Xiuyi would never be able to leave the gate of Yichun Palace again.
There was fresh news coming out of the palace one after another, but this incident only caused a few days of commotion, and then it was like stagnant water, with no further news.
After the clan members found out, they tried to find a way to test the court, but soon they lost interest.
Xie Chenqiu later settled accounts and severely punished a group of people, stripping almost half of the Xie clan's titles and official positions.
The clan members were so busy protecting themselves that no one cared about what was happening in the palace anymore.
This year's Mid-Autumn Festival is still a small family gathering, no big celebration.
But it's a lot quieter than usual.
Although Queen Dowager Qin rarely attended banquets, she would show up every Mid-Autumn Festival. This year, she rarely appeared.
The emperor and his concubine did not show up either.
So the one who led the concubines to the night banquet was Wen Zhaoyuan. She was not good at speaking and didn't say much.
During the banquet, the concubines were also uninterested and had no intention of appreciating the moon.
Finally, it was Qu Baolin's turn. He suggested a few rounds of flying flowers. The concubines laughed and drank a lot of wine, and the atmosphere became lively.
The atmosphere here is very hot, and it is no less so in Chengming Palace.
The two were clearly admiring the moon under the corridor, but Xie Chen insisted that the full moon's brightness was not as bright as the person in his arms, and the two began to kiss.
Lips and tongues continue to entangle.
In the end, Pei Tingyue felt a numbness in her waist and softened in his arms. She lowered her head and looked at him, her lips were red and swollen.
Feeling something strange on his lips, Pei Tingyue secretly glared at the person in front of him and hurriedly asked someone to bring the ointment.
She warned in a low voice: "We still have to go to the suburbs to pray for rain tomorrow, Your Majesty, please don't go too far."
Xie Chen saw that she was about to apply it and reached out to stop her.
Pei Tingyue looked over in confusion.
Xie Chen held her head, moved closer again, and kissed her gently.
Pei Tingyue struggled at first, but when she noticed that the man was shaking, she stopped retreating.
This kiss was different from the previous ones. It did not contain any desire, but was gentle and soft, like protecting a treasure in one's heart.
Pei Tingyue responded to him and suddenly realized that her face was wet.
She opened her eyes and was speechless for a moment.
After the two separated, she was silent for a moment and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
Xie Chen shook his head: "It's okay."
Pei Tingyue kissed him on the side of his cheek and whispered soothingly, "It will be fine. I will give birth to Zhaoyang safely, and I will live long with the emperor."
Xie Chen lowered his eyes and responded hoarsely, "Yueyue and I will live and die together."
Pei Tingyue smiled, but the corners of her eyes slowly turned red, "Yeah."
The two hugged each other and continued to admire the moon.
It was not until late at night that he returned to the palace to rest.
Just after washing up, Liang Yao reported that the second prince had arrived.
Xie Chen frowned slightly: "It's late, let him go back."
Pei Tingyue suddenly realized.
Today is Mid-Autumn Festival. The Second Prince entered the Yichun Palace and learned about Xie Xiuyi's situation. He must have come to plead for Xie Xiuyi. He didn't see Xie Chen at the banquet just now, so he came to Chengming Palace to ask for an audience.
She sighed.
She vaguely remembered a time when this child praised her for being pretty and gave her the candies he had hidden.
Looking at it now, they are now completely in a hostile position.
Things change, nothing can remain the same.
It's really sad.
After receiving the order, Liang Yao hurried to report.
But after a while, he came back with an embarrassed look on his face, "Your Majesty, the Second Prince is kneeling and refusing to leave."
Xie Chen's dark eyes flashed with a sneer: "Then let him kneel down."
Pei Tingyue nudged him and said, "Why get angry with the child? It's getting late and the dew is heavy. It would be bad if he hurts the Second Prince. Your Majesty, go and take a look."
"No, let's take a rest."
Pei Tingyue sighed: "Go ahead, go ahead. Once it's dealt with, I can rest in peace."
Xie Chen went after all.
After a while, there were faint sounds of scolding and sobbing outside the hall. Then the scolding became softer, and then nothing could be heard.
Xie Chen came back soon.
Pei Tingyue woke up from her daze and asked, "Have you made an agreement with the Second Prince?"
"Yeah." Xie Chen tucked the quilt in for her, "Alright."
Pei Tingyue snuggled into his arms and found a comfortable position: "Then go to sleep. I will take good care of my spirit, then pray for rain and give birth to Zhaoyang, the lucky star."
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