Chapter 579 The Queen's Apology
Shufei held the Queen's blood letter in her arms, feeling mixed emotions, but her steps were extremely firm.
This is not just a letter written in blood, but also a reflection of the Queen's deep trust in her.
The night was deep, and Concubine Shu and Jixiang shuttled between the palace walls, each step seeming particularly heavy.
After returning to her palace, Concubine Shu began to give orders.
"Jixiang, please change me into a simpler outfit tomorrow."
The next morning, Concubine Shu dressed neatly, held the blood letter in her hand, and went to the imperial study with Jixiang.
Along the way, she repeatedly thought about how to speak when she saw the emperor, so as to move the emperor without angering him.
Outside the imperial study, the guards were tight. Concubine Shu took a deep breath, adjusted her mood, and walked forward slowly.
"Eunuch, please inform me that I have something very important to discuss with the Emperor."
In the imperial study, the emperor was buried in a mountain of memorials, most of which were requests to depose the crown prince, and he was feeling very annoyed.
A young eunuch came in.
"Your Majesty, the Concubine Shu is outside asking for an audience. She said she has something very important to discuss with Your Majesty."
Emperor Tianyuan frowned slightly, but then regained his usual composure. "Why is Concubine Shu here at this hour? Well, let her in."
Concubine Shu came in quickly and knelt down to pay her respects.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."
Emperor Tianyuan just glanced at her indifferently.
"You said there was something important you wanted to tell me. What is it?"
There was a barely perceptible tremor in Concubine Shu's voice when she heard this.
"I do have something important to report. Before that, I would like to apologize to the emperor."
Emperor Tianyuan spoke with some doubt upon hearing this.
"Oh? What's wrong with you?"
Concubine Shu spoke hurriedly.
"I am a fool by nature. I beg Your Majesty not to be angry later and listen to what I have to say first."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Tianyuan spoke slowly.
"Okay, go ahead and talk. I'm listening."
Concubine Shu calmed herself down before continuing to speak.
"Your Majesty, for so many years, in this complex harem, thanks to the Empress's constant care, I have been able to always be by Your Majesty's side. Even when I gave birth to the third prince, it was the Empress who was there with me. I am deeply grateful to the Empress. This time, I have no idea what the Empress has confined me to.
"I am foolish and timid, and dare not pry into the reason, but two days ago, Jixiang accidentally bumped into the eunuch who was delivering food to the Empress. The food he delivered was not only not very good-looking, but even had a faint smell of sourness. I was grateful for the Empress's kindness and could not help but go to Fengyi Palace to visit the Empress. I only brought some cakes and small change, and I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."
Emperor Tianyuan felt irritated whenever he heard the words "Queen" and "Crown Prince", and his face showed obvious displeasure. However, seeing that Concubine Shu looked frightened, he finally spoke.
"Forget it. You usually have a restless temperament, and you are on good terms with the Queen. It's not surprising that you can go to see the Queen. Go back."
Seeing that Emperor Tianyuan did not punish her, Concubine Shu finally breathed a sigh of relief. She then gritted her teeth, took out the blood letter from her bosom, and presented it with both hands.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has a deep affection for you. For many years, you and the Empress Dowager have respected and loved each other. This is a letter from the Empress Dowager, and I sincerely hope that Your Majesty will read it."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Tianyuan fell silent. After a long time, he gave Zhao Ping a look.
Seeing this, Zhao Ping stepped forward, took the blood letter from Concubine Shu's hand, and handed it to Emperor Tianyuan.
Emperor Tianyuan took the blood letter, slowly unfolded it, and took the jade pendant inside. As the contents unfolded, the emperor's expression gradually became complicated, with both shock and heartache.
After reading the blood letter, the emperor was silent for a long time, and finally heaved a long sigh.
"The Queen is too persistent after all."
Then he looked at Concubine Shu, with a hint of tenderness in his eyes.
"You, I don't know what to say to you. Go back and don't get involved in anything in the future. Live your life well in your own palace. As for the Queen, this matter is of great importance. I need to consider it further, and you don't need to pay attention to it anymore."
Upon hearing this, although Concubine Shu felt unwilling, she also understood the emperor's difficulties and could only kowtow to express her gratitude.
"Yes, I thank you, Your Majesty."
Then he left with good fortune.
Looking at Concubine Shu's back as she left, Emperor Tianyuan rubbed the jade pendant in his hand. This was the token of love he had received when he was engaged to the Queen.
I didn't expect that she would use this jade pendant to ask me to see her. We are husband and wife.
"Zhao Ping, go and ask the Queen to come over."
In Fengyi Palace, the queen sat in front of the window, looking out, her thoughts flying far away.
My marriage to the Emperor was arranged by my parents when he was still the Crown Prince. After I became his Crown Princess, we had a loving relationship. But later on, in order to win over the court officials, he brought concubines into his palace one after another. After he ascended the throne, there were batches of new people in the palace. Many times, I could only see him on the first or fifteenth day of the lunar month.
Bizhu suddenly ran in with a happy look on her face.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, that's great! Eunuch Zhao, who is with the Emperor, has come and said that the Emperor wants you to come over."
The queen slowly came back to her senses after hearing this, her expression remained unchanged, as calm as a lake.
She looked at her plain clothes and even raised her hand to pull out the two hairpins on her head.
"Come on, accompany me to apologize to the Emperor!"
Biju spoke hurriedly.
"My Lady, I will serve you. First, change your clothes and then comb your hair..."
The queen had already walked out.
"No need, let's go and meet him like this."
Zhao Ping, who was waiting at the gate of Fengyi Palace, was surprised to see the queen dressed like this.
"Empress, you...how about I wait for you a little longer so you can change your clothes?"
The Queen spoke calmly.
"No need. Please, Eunuch Zhao will lead the way."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ping looked at the queen, and finally just shook his head slightly, extending his hand and making a gesture of invitation.
The queen walked steadily towards the imperial study.
It seemed that every step she took carried the weight of her past, and relief slowly appeared in her eyes.
Walking through the long palace corridor, those past memories flashed through my mind like a passing scene.
Two tears flowed from the corners of the queen's eyes, then she raised her hand and wiped them gently, then continued walking forward.
As Zhao Ping pushed open the door of the imperial study, what came into view was the slightly tired but still majestic figure of Emperor Tianyuan.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."
The Queen's voice was calm and firm, without the slightest ripple.
Emperor Tianyuan stood up and slowly walked towards the Queen. The distance between them gradually shortened, yet it seemed as if there were thousands of mountains and rivers between them.
"Well, get up!"
The queen did not stand up after hearing this.
Instead, he continued to speak while kneeling.
"Your Majesty, I have come to you today to plead guilty."
"As the queen, I failed to manage the harem properly, which accidentally caused Liang Guiren to have a miscarriage. This is one of my crimes."
"As the Queen, in order to secure her position, she wholeheartedly supported the Hua family and helped them rise to prominence. This is her second crime."
"I, out of concern for my family's honor, instigated the Crown Prince to look after the Hua family, hoping to strengthen my mother's clan. I also instigated the Hua family and the Crown Prince to engage in the crime of buying and selling official positions. This is my third crime."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Tianyuan looked at her in shock.
"Queen, do you know what you are talking about?"
The queen saw the anger on his face, but there was no fear in her eyes. Instead, she kowtowed heavily.
"I, your Majesty, have been jealous of the new brides you bring into the palace one after another. I'm worried that my own guard will be unstable, and I've coveted power. This is why I've taken advantage of the Hua family and the Crown Prince to make money while supporting those I can use to ascend to power. My crime is unforgivable, and I beg Your Majesty to punish me."
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