Chapter 161 Pretending to be Sick
Zhao Shen held her hand and said, "Don't worry, it's just a sickness. Maybe it's the cold weather that's causing the cold. It'll be fine."
Ji Yunshu was very calm: "Do you think this was an accident?"
Zhao Shen also had a hunch that this was not an accident.
He knew that comforting Ji Yunshu would not reassure her, so he did not answer her question. Instead, he said gently, "Change your clothes first. I will accompany you to the palace."
On the way into the palace, Ji Yunshu was exceptionally silent. She knew that sudden illnesses at this time were mostly difficult to treat.
If it wasn't serious, the news wouldn't have spread outside the palace.
Zhao Shen held her cold hand and said, "Don't scare yourself. Maybe it's not that serious."
His words did not reassure Ji Yunshu, but she did not say anything.
When the two arrived at Ningshou Palace, they found it completely silent. The palace maids and eunuchs held their breath and dared not make the slightest sound.
Someone announced their arrival, and Emperor Jingming's voice came from inside: "Come in."
Ji Yunshu and Zhao Shen went in and found the Queen Mother lying on the bed, Emperor Jingming guarding the bed, and the Queen standing beside him.
The two bowed and before the emperor could say anything, the empress dowager said, "Get up quickly."
Ji Yunshu looked up and met the Queen Mother's clear eyes, who even blinked at her.
Ji Yunshu: “…”
Upon seeing this, the Queen asked Ji Yunshu and Zhao Shen to sit down, then she smiled and explained, "Cousin, you must be very worried. In fact, the Queen Mother was pretending to be sick. It's just that today is too dangerous. I don't know what the purpose of the murderer behind this is."
"Dangerous?"
Ji Yunshu's expression, which had just relaxed, became serious again.
Seeing her arrive so quickly and looking unhappy, the Queen Mother knew that the news of her illness had frightened her. She smiled and waved, "Ashu, come quickly. It's just that someone wants to assassinate me. This kind of thing has happened before. Don't worry."
When Emperor Jingming saw that the empress dowager wanted to talk to Ji Yunshu, he stood up and asked Zhao Shen to go out with him.
Ji Yunshu sat down beside the bed and carefully examined the Queen Mother's face. Seeing that she looked rosy and did not look sick, he was finally relieved.
Then he asked, "Aunt, what's going on?"
Seeing her deep concern for her, the Queen Mother began to explain in detail: "It's been cold these past few days, so I've been staying indoors. Today, seeing the beautiful sunshine outside, I went for a walk in the garden. Suddenly, a eunuch who was sweeping the floor pounced on me. Fortunately, the maid beside me blocked him in time."
Ji Yunshu understood, but was still a little confused: "Then why did you pretend to be sick?"
The Queen Mother laughed and said, "The eunuch committed suicide on the spot and left no other clues. The Emperor said that if the people behind this knew I was fine, they might take action. So, let me pretend for now and see what happens."
When Ji Yunshu heard the word "suicide", his heart skipped a beat.
She said with great fear: "Fortunately, my aunt is fine."
The Queen smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you are blessed by Heaven. Naturally, nothing will happen to you. Just rest assured, cousin."
Ji Yunshu nodded and stayed with the Queen Mother for a while. When the Queen was about to leave, she saw her off.
"Cousin, do you have anything to say?"
Seeing Ji Yunshu's hesitation and silence for a long while, the Queen asked.
Ji Yunshu gritted his teeth and asked, "Can I go see Concubine Shu?"
Before being banished to the cold palace, the title of Concubine Shu had been revoked, but the Queen did not care about this trivial matter of title. She nodded and said, "Of course, but the palace is not safe nowadays. You should bring more people with you."
Ji Yunshu nodded: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The Queen knew that Ji Yunshu could still see Xia Shi if she told the Queen Mother, but she told her only because she was in charge of the harem now and wanted to give her face.
Then he smiled and said, "Although the Queen Mother escaped a disaster today, she was still frightened. Cousin, you can stay with her in Ningshou Palace for a few more days."
Ji Yunshu thanked her again and waited for the Queen to leave before returning to the Queen Mother's palace.
When the Queen Mother saw her return, she asked, "What did you say to the Queen?"
Ji Yunshu did not hide it: "I want to meet Concubine Xia Shu."
The empress dowager didn't understand the connection at first, but she knew that Concubine Xia was banished to the cold palace because she poisoned the emperor.
She sighed, "Back then, I personally selected her to enter the palace. Who would have thought that in just a few years, she would become such a different person? The Emperor said that the incident with the little prince's wet nurse a while ago was also related to her. It's fine if the adults were fighting over it, but how could they be so cruel as to deal with such a young child?"
Ji Yunshu didn't approve of the emperor taking in so many concubines at all, and took the opportunity to say, "Too many women will easily cause trouble. The women in the harem all depend on the emperor for their survival, so they naturally want to compete for his favor. If my aunt doesn't like them, why let them into the palace?"
The Queen Mother said, "I knew it. As soon as I brought up this, you would criticize me. Well, anyway, I won't be involved in these matters anymore."
Ji Yunshu smiled and said, "That's great, it saves everyone a lot of worry."
The Queen Mother glanced at her and said, "Don't just meddle in other people's affairs. What about you? You've been married for so long, and there's still no movement."
Seeing her looking at her belly, Ji Yunshu felt a little embarrassed for a moment, but still said, "I heard from the doctor that giving birth at a young age is prone to accidents, so I discussed it with the prince and decided to wait a few years before having a child."
The sooner this matter is made clear, the better. She doesn't want people to keep staring at her belly.
Even though I know in my heart that my aunt is doing this for my own good, I still feel disgusted.
The Queen Mother sighed, "You're not young anymore, but it's a blessing for you that the Crown Prince is willing to indulge you. It's just that the Crown Prince was disabled before, so it wasn't a big deal for you to live your life behind closed doors. Later, the Emperor will soon make important use of the Crown Prince, and more and more people will be watching you. You should be mentally prepared."
Ji Yunshu naturally knew what preparations she was talking about.
She had actually thought about this question before.
She smiled and said, "In life, we should live one day at a time. Why think so much? Now that he is willing to stay with me, I will live a good life with him. If one day he doesn't want to, then I will have my own way of living. Aunt, don't worry about me. I have you and the Ji family as my backing, and I have a dowry that I can't spend in several lifetimes. I can live a good life no matter what."
The Queen Mother inexplicably heard a sense of determination in her words.
Thinking back to her wedding, she would rather marry the disabled Zhao Shen than Zhao Er who had an affair with another woman, she knew in her heart that she could not tolerate her husband having another woman.
After the news that Zhao Shen's leg had healed spread, although no one dared to say anything about it in front of her, how could she not understand the thoughts of these powerful people in the capital?
Knowing that Zhao Shen is the emperor's confidant and will be given an important position, I'm afraid that many people are now eyeing him.
But this niece is still a bit slow in the eye.
She says she can live well without a man, but that's just because she doesn't care that much.
However, being slow to react has its advantages. The Queen Mother laughed and said, "Before, you said you loved Zhao Shen and would marry no one else but him. You really were lying to me."
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