Chapter 202: Don’t Be Greedy (Part 2)
The chaos of the Lantern Festival night was quickly quelled under Li Jinyu's absolute control. Duke Xin entered the palace that night, and no one knew what they said. No one mentioned the Red Wind Battalion's march to the capital again, as if the mutiny had never happened.
On the 18th day of the first lunar month, the imperial court opened its doors. After a long period of silence, the court was not as lively as expected. Everyone held their breath, quietly waiting for the long-brewing storm to arrive.
Sure enough, on the third day of the court's opening, a memorial impeaching Imperial Guards Commander Duan Hongyuan for rebellion caused a stir, with officials and even the people of the capital discussing the rebellion. Strangely, the Empress Dowager was never mentioned at all in this incident; the Emperor and Duke Xin seemed to have tacitly distanced themselves from the matter.
At the same time, the person who was bombarded by public opinion, the commander of the imperial guards, Duan Hongyuan, disappeared as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth.
This series of political changes seems to hide a huge conspiracy, and the conspiracy contains unspeakable secrets.
"What's the reason?" Chen Yi didn't understand. "If the Emperor doesn't want the Queen Mother to be involved, then that's fine. But Duke Xin was clearly fighting the Queen Mother to the death before, but now he's suddenly changed his attitude."
He paced back and forth in the study, his hands behind his back, his brows almost furrowed together.
"The strangest thing is the relationship between Duke Xin and the Emperor. When did these two become so in tune with each other?"
He was very curious and turned around, only to see Pei Xingju staring at the wound cloth in his hand.
Oh, it wasn't a wound cloth, but a piece of colorful silk. The colorful silk was covered with gauze, and it was tied with an exquisite bow as if to cover up the ugliness.
It's just... effeminate, what's so good about it?
"Why don't you help me analyze this?" Chen Yi said disdainfully, "You don't know that many people are also confused right now."
Especially those who had just passed the imperial examination and entered the court last year, for a moment they were like headless flies and didn't know how to stand on the side.
Pei Xingju shifted his gaze from the bow that Zhuang Wan had tied for him, glanced at Chen Yi, and said slowly, "This isn't hard to guess. Think about it, why was the Queen Mother able to silence both the Emperor and Duke Xin?"
Chen Yi paused: "Could it be that... the Queen Mother has something important that concerns the two of them?"
"Ah!" Chen Yi pondered the matter for a moment, then suddenly realized, "I understand. Could it be that the person who made the Emperor and Duke Xin so concerned and afraid to act rashly is Miss Liang?"
Pei Xingju curled his lips and said, "The Queen Mother is not stupid. She brought Miss Liang into the palace early and held her in her hands. Perhaps she also noticed that the Emperor cares about Miss Liang, so she has nothing to fear."
"So, Miss Liang is in imminent danger."
"Whether she's in imminent danger is unknown, but Miss Liang must be hidden. Or perhaps..." Pei Xingju pondered, "she's been hidden by Duan Hongyuan."
"How did you know Duan Hongyuan was hiding her? Why would the Queen Mother let someone else take care of such an important hostage?"
If it were him, he would feel at ease knowing that the hostage was in his own hands.
Pei Xingju raised the corners of his lips slightly: "But what if even the Queen Mother doesn't know where Miss Liang is?"
Chen Yi was surprised: "You mean... Duan Hongyuan secretly betrayed the Queen Mother and secretly took Miss Liang away?"
"It's not impossible. Duan Hongyuan is a cunning man. He won't surrender so easily."
"So what should we do next?"
"We must find Duan Hongyuan as soon as possible, and..." Pei Xingju's brows furrowed, "We must find Duan Hongyuan before Duke Xin does. We must not let Duan Hongyuan fall into his hands."
.
In the empty hall, candlelight was bright, and the emerald green bead curtain reflected its dazzling and cold luxury under the light.
Just like the owner of this palace, she wore gorgeous palace attire even at night to show off her noble status. Her makeup was exquisite and imposing, and she sat upright on the soft couch embroidered with gold thread and peony flowers, like a lifeless sculpture.
The Queen Mother sat calmly, as if deliberately concealing something, stubbornly refusing to show any sign of embarrassment.
"You're finally here! I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
Standing in the center of the hall was Emperor Li Jinyu.
Li Jinyu slowly looked at this woman who was familiar yet unfamiliar to him. She was his mother, and also the person he hated.
"Where is my cousin?" Li Jinyu asked.
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Your Majesty, why did you come so late? Is this the only thing you want to ask?"
"What does the Queen Mother want to mention?"
The word "Empress Dowager" was filled with coldness and indifference. The Empress Dowager's expression changed slightly, but she quickly recovered.
"You can see Liang Yixin if you want, but I have a request."
Li Jinyu listened silently.
The Queen Mother said, "What happened in Hezhou cannot be blamed on me."
"But the Hezhou incident originated from the Liang family, so someone has to take responsibility." Li Jinyu said.
"I didn't do what happened in Hezhou!"
The Queen Mother suddenly roared.
She stared at Li Jinyu resentfully, "You...you are all so cruel and cold-blooded. He has forgotten how I have supported the Liang family over the years. Have you also forgotten how I gave birth to you and protected you?"
After she finished speaking, the empress dowager suddenly lowered her head and suppressed the moisture in her eyes.
Li Jinyu's throat moved, and after a while, he said, "I haven't forgotten. It is precisely because I haven't forgotten that I tried my best to cover up your scandal."
When this was mentioned, the Empress Dowager suddenly froze.
She slowly turned her head away: "How... did you know?"
Li Jinyu lowered his eyelashes and smiled bitterly, "Does Queen Mother still treat me like a child? How could I possibly hide what's happening in this palace from my eyes? It's true that you gave birth to me and protected me, but everything you do is only for your own sake. For your own glory and wealth, you completely disregard my kingdom and the people, even resorting to mutiny."
"Have you ever thought about... what would happen to the capital? What would happen to Da Zhao if Duke Xin really rebelled?"
"You..." The Queen Mother was startled, and gradually understood: "Did you plan all this? Did you also predict the Lantern Festival mutiny?"
Li Jinyu didn't answer, but his silent expression made it clear.
He acquiesced to everything that happened, watched the Queen Mother go looking for Duan Hongyuan, watched Duan Hongyuan act in front of him, and finally added fuel to the fire and caused Yuan Xiao to lose control of his behavior.
But Li Jinyu expected everything, but he didn't expect that Liang Yixin would disappear in the palace.
In the past two days, he searched the entire palace and even the entire capital but couldn't find anyone. The only thing he could think of was that Liang Yixin had been taken away by Duan Hongyuan.
But Duan Hongyuan couldn't find it, so he could only pin his hopes on the Queen Mother in Yongning Palace.
After a moment, he spoke, "I know everything about you and Duan Hongyuan. It is precisely because of this that I have tried so hard to conceal this scandal from the world. As for your claim that the Hezhou incident cannot be blamed on you, I can agree to it, but there is one thing I cannot tolerate."
"What?" the Queen Mother asked slowly.
"You can no longer stay in Yongning Palace, you can no longer continue to be the empress dowager, and you cannot be buried in the imperial mausoleum a hundred years later."
The royal mausoleum is related to the destiny of a country and will not tolerate any filth.
"No!" the Queen Mother screamed, "You can't do this to me! This is no different from letting me die!"
She worked hard all her life, and what she was most proud of was this palace dress, this luxurious palace, and this supreme and honorable position of power.
If she can't stay in Yongning Palace and can't be the empress dowager, what's the point of her living?
"Li Jinyu, you can't do this to me, I'm your mother!"
The emperor ignored her hysterics and remained silent for a while before speaking: "Mother, one should not be greedy. One cannot enjoy and calculate everything and still want everything."
"The only dignity a son can give you is a peaceful old age."
After saying that, Li Jinyu turned and left.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
