Chapter 188: Was your mouth bitten by a bug? (Part 2)
Yongning Palace.
"The Lantern Festival is coming in a few days. Just now, Chief Steward Liu came to ask if we need to prepare the pots for the Lantern Festival banquet. Your Majesty is still resting, so I took the initiative to send Chief Steward Liu back first. Later..."
"No need." The empress dowager half leaned against the golden soft pillow, her long hair scattered on the pillow. Without the heavy makeup on her face, she revealed a younger face.
Actually, the Empress Dowager was only in her thirties, and due to proper care, her skin was as fair and tender as a woman in her twenties. However, she usually dressed maturely, so she looked older.
"I don't have the mood to hold a banquet now, so I won't hold the Lantern Festival banquet this year," she said.
"But in previous years, ladies of honor had to go to the palace to pray for the empress during the Lantern Festival. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to cancel it this year?" said the old nanny.
"What's wrong with that? You know how people outside are denouncing me now. Those ladies are praying for me. Just don't make fun of me when they do."
"You are the Queen Mother, who dares to laugh at you?"
"Hmph." The Queen Mother sneered and said nothing.
After a while, someone outside shouted, "The Emperor has arrived!"
The two looked at each other, and the old nanny immediately said, "I will go out to greet you."
"This old servant respectfully welcomes His Majesty!"
The old lady crawled on the ground, banging her face against the ground for a long time and couldn't get up.
The emperor stopped and asked, "Is the Queen Mother awake?"
The old nanny didn't say anything, but her shoulders began to tremble. Then she raised her tearful face and said, "Your Majesty, you are finally willing to come to see the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager has been awake for a long time and has been looking forward to your arrival."
Hearing this, the emperor strode in and saw the empress dowager being helped to sit up.
He paused and bowed politely: "Mother."
The Queen Mother turned sideways, straightened her back, and didn't look at him.
The atmosphere was a little tense.
At this time, the old nanny hurriedly crawled into the hall to persuade her: "Your Highness, why are you so upset? You have been looking forward to the Emperor's arrival. Now that the Emperor has come, why are you so angry? This is your own flesh and blood, the child you carried for ten months and gave birth to with untold hardships. Blood ties are thicker than water. After all, Your Highness and the Emperor are mother and son. How can a mother and son hold grudges overnight? Look, the Emperor is filial and has come to visit you."
In a moment, she crawled to the emperor's feet again: "Even if I have to risk my life to not tell you today, I have to tell you what's in my heart. The Empress Dowager has had a very hard time these days. Although I am angry, I am thinking of you. Apart from other things, I was sick and vomited blood a few days ago, but I didn't tell anyone about it, for fear that the emperor would worry. But even if the Empress Dowager beats me to death, I will tell the emperor about this. The Empress Dowager has suffered a lot. Many things seem unpopular, but they are actually for the good of the emperor. The emperor is wise and powerful. What misunderstanding can't be resolved?"
"You talkative old hag! Get out of here!"
After saying this, the Queen Mother turned her face away and wiped the corners of her eyes.
The Emperor listened to these words and remained silent. After a while, he asked, "Is your mother feeling better?"
The old nanny was delighted and immediately quietly left the hall.
The snow in front of Yongning Palace had been swept clean. The old nanny stood on the steps, looked up at the sky, and whispered, "It's finally going to be sunny."
The young eunuch serving tea didn't understand and looked up at the sky: "Godmother, my son looks no different from the past two days."
The old nanny spat at him, "What can you see? Wait until you spend half your life in the palace like your godmother did, and you will be able to guess most of the things going on in the palace."
.
Two months later, the emperor stepped into Yongning Palace again, and the news immediately spread out of the palace.
At the Mansion of Duke Xin, Marquis Cheng'en hurried into the study, his mouth foaming with anxiety.
"I heard that the Emperor went to visit the Empress Dowager. This is not a good thing."
"What are you panicking about?" Mr. Xin Guogong was reading the letter without frowning.
"How can I not be anxious?" Marquis Cheng'en sat down, not even having time to take a sip of tea. "I heard that Jingzhao Prefecture found the grandfather and grandson who were crushed to death. The coroner examined them and found that they were dead long before the Buddha statue collapsed. This clearly shows that the story of the Buddha statue's collapse is full of loopholes, and public opinion can change at any time."
Speaking of this, he wondered, "Who was responsible for this Chong'an Temple incident? Why is it so confusing?"
Duke Xin put down the letter and sat back down. "The matter at Chong'an Temple is very strange. Someone has noticed our plan and is playing tricks on us."
"who?"
“We don’t know who it is yet.”
"Then what should we do?" asked Marquis Cheng'en. "I heard the Emperor even went to Yongning Palace. It seems he must have softened his heart. If he sides with the Empress Dowager, wouldn't all our efforts have been in vain?"
Duke Xin sneered, "I don't think so."
"How do you say that?"
"The Hezhou case concerns the Liang family, so naturally someone from the Liang family must take responsibility." Duke Xin said, "It's either me or the Queen Mother."
"You also said it was either you or the Queen Mother, but now that the Emperor and the Queen Mother have a more relaxed relationship, why would he push the Queen Mother out?"
"But don't forget, the Emperor still has to rely on me in the fight against the Japanese pirates in Minzhou. Tell me, at this critical juncture, who will the Emperor support?"
"But isn't the war in Minzhou almost over?"
"What if I let it continue fighting?" Xin Guogong said.
Upon hearing this, Marquis Cheng'en suddenly raised his eyes and asked, "You mean... there will be another war?"
Duke Xin said nothing, but handed him the letter on the table and said, "Look, the current situation in Minzhou is just right for me."
Marquis Cheng'en took it and read it quickly. The more he read, the more shocked he became.
.
Pei Mansion's study.
"Have you heard about the emperor visiting the empress dowager in Yongning Palace?" Shen Yi asked.
"Yeah." Pei Xingju was reading a book calmly.
"What do you think of this game?"
"What do you mean?"
"Of course it's a contest between the Queen Mother and Duke Xin. Who will win?"
Pei Xingju closed the book and drank his tea leisurely. "This struggle was a foregone conclusion. The moment Duke Xin decided to give up the Queen Mother as a chess piece, she lost."
"But the emperor has gone to Yongning Palace. Doesn't this matter still depend on the emperor's attitude?"
Pei Xingju smiled. "The Emperor may appear weak, but he's actually just as ambitious as the late Emperor. It's true that the Empress Dowager is his mother, but she's worn away the Emperor's filial piety over the years. If the Emperor still cared about family, how could he have allowed things to develop to this point? I'm afraid... the Emperor is also taking a skeptical approach."
"Besides..." he continued, "The Emperor is currently relying on Duke Xin to fight the Japanese pirates, so he will naturally not touch Duke Xin. However, the affairs of Hezhou must be taken care of by someone, and that can only be the Empress Dowager."
After hearing this, Chen Yi was stunned: "Then why did the emperor suddenly go to Yongning Palace?"
Pei Xingju: "So the Queen Mother is still smart. Her bargaining chip now is Miss Liang. If she can control Miss Liang, she can control both Duke Xin and the Emperor."
After chewing on this for a while, Shen Yi finally came to his senses: "You mean, the emperor actually cares about Miss Liang?"
Pei Xingju said nothing, but his face had a look that said "You can't even see this".
Chen Yi curled his lips: "Do you think everyone is like you, analyzing people's hearts and..."
He paused and slowly moved closer to Pei Xingju to take a look.
"What's wrong?" Pei Xingju took a sip of tea.
"Your mouth..." Shen Yi noticed that the corner of his mouth was slightly broken and asked curiously, "Was it bitten by an insect?"
Pei Xingju almost spit out a mouthful of tea. He suppressed a cough for a while and looked at Chen Yi with a complicated expression.
Shen Yi was baffled by his gaze, but still had an expression of "knowing everything." "Your wound is neither deep nor shallow, and you can tell it's an insect bite. I've been solving cases in the Ministry of Justice for many years, and I'm as meticulous as a hair. How could you possibly hide this from me?"
"Yes." Pei Xingju nodded: "Master Shen has a keen eye and a keen eye. I admire him."
Shen Yi was unexpectedly praised, but he always felt that something was wrong.
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