Chapter 124: Revenge on the spot
The day after Qi Wuhan left Beijing, someone came from the palace and the queen summoned Jiang Lan to the palace for an audience.
"Madam, don't worry. His Majesty thinks highly of the Marquis. He was just angry for the moment. He will still entrust you with important tasks in the future." The eunuch who came to pick her up comforted her on the way.
Although Jiang Lan felt it was a bit strange that the Queen summoned her to the palace at this time, she changed her mind and thought that maybe it was the Emperor's instruction.
The emperor asked her to stay in the capital, but I don't know whether he wanted to use her as a hostage or was afraid that the two would elope...
If she goes to ask the emperor for help, will he agree to let her go?
After entering the palace, Jiang Lan saw that the eunuch was not leading the way to the Queen's bedroom, so she asked about it. The eunuch replied that the Queen was admiring the flowers at the Shuiyue Pavilion.
"The flowers in the Imperial Garden have been blooming over the past two days. Taking advantage of the good weather, the Empress likes to take a walk in the garden, relax and enjoy the flowers, which naturally makes her feel better."
Jiang Lan guessed that the queen was probably worried about the prince.
"Madam, we are just ahead."
Jiang Lan looked forward and saw a pavilion hidden among the red flowers and green trees. When she approached, she was surprised and turned to leave, but was stopped by the eunuch. Then two palace maids came over and grabbed her arms tightly.
"You didn't expect it was me, did you?" Concubine Zhen walked over gracefully, a sinister smile on her beautiful red lips.
Jiang Lan really didn't expect that the other party would dare to impersonate the queen and falsely convey the imperial edict. He was really unscrupulous.
"You lied to me last time. How do you think I should punish you?" Concubine Zhen said with a sweet smile.
Jiang Lan knew that she couldn't pretend to be stupid this time.
"Why aren't you talking? Weren't you a good actor last time?" Concubine Zhen gestured to Hong Gu.
Hong Gu walked up to Jiang Lan carrying a cage covered with black cloth, lifted a corner and showed it to Jiang Lan. Jiang Lan felt numb all over and her face turned pale.
There was a poisonous snake coiled in the cage, raising its head and spitting out its bright red venom at her.
"If Your Majesty kills me, His Majesty will definitely get to the bottom of this." Jiang Lan's voice was trembling. The poisonous snake was only separated from her face by a cage. As long as the cage was opened, it would definitely bite her.
The venomous snake looked very aggressive and had already banged its head against the cage, eager to get out.
"If it weren't for you, he wouldn't have been demoted to guard the imperial mausoleum. You and that Pei Qian conspired to frame him. You're truly an adulterous couple, neither of you a good person. I don't know why he married you in the first place," Concubine Zhen said, glaring coldly at Jiang Lan's pale face. "It's probably because of this face. Today, I'll destroy it. Let's see how you can seduce him in the future!"
"Don't worry, ma'am. This snake isn't very poisonous. It won't bite you to death." Hong Gu was about to open the cage when Jiang Lan suddenly shouted, "Wait a minute!"
"Are you scared?" Concubine Zhen sneered, "It's too late. I've already given you one chance, and I won't give you a second."
"Your Majesty, you want to destroy my face. I'll do it myself." Jiang Lan said.
"You are still not obedient even when you are about to die. Open the cage!" Concubine Zhen ordered.
Hong Gu slowly opened the small door on the cage, and Jiang Lan began to struggle violently. The two palace maids did not expect her to struggle so hard, and they failed to hold her down for a while. She waved her hand and knocked the cage over, and the snake ran out of it, scaring the two palace maids pale.
The snake pounced on people it saw and bit Hong Gu's calf. It then quickly wrapped itself around her and tightly wrapped around her feet, frightening her so much that she fainted. The two palace maids did not dare to pull it away. They waited until the snake swam away by itself before they dared to go over and drag Hong Gu over.
Jiang Lan rushed forward with all her might and bumped into someone. The other person was knocked back two steps and almost fell to the ground.
After standing firm, King Rui looked down at the person who bumped into him, then looked behind her, but didn't see anyone chasing her.
"What's wrong with you?" Seeing Jiang Lan's pale face and trembling body, Prince Rui frowned, "Who scared you like this?"
"I'm fine." Jiang Lan suppressed the fear in her heart, turned around and walked away. King Rui reached out and grabbed her wrist. She immediately shook his hand away and shouted excitedly, "Don't touch me!" Then she ran away.
King Rui was stunned for a moment, then frowned, looking at her back as she fled in panic. He asked a guard to follow her and another guard to go in the direction she ran from to see what happened.
The guard came back and reported that he saw Concubine Zhen with two palace maids, carrying the senior palace maid Hong Gu away. Hong Gu seemed to have fainted.
"This stupid woman, I warned her long ago, but she still ended up bringing herself to me."
King Rui cursed the woman as a fool again and left with the guard.
"Where are the people?"
The guard following Jiang Lan pointed behind the rockery. King Rui went around to the back and saw Jiang Lan squatting on the ground with her head buried and her hands hugging her knees.
Seeing her like this, he actually felt a little sympathy.
"Didn't I tell you a long time ago to stay away from that woman? You just walked right into her door."
Jiang Lan didn't say anything.
After a while, Prince Rui spoke again, "Let me escort you out of the palace first."
Jiang Lan suddenly stood up and walked away. Prince Rui followed her and asked, "Where are you going?" Jiang Lan said nothing, and her pace became faster and faster. Prince Rui saw that she was heading towards the Queen's bedroom, so he grabbed her again and said, "Calm down." Jiang Lan shook his hand off and said coldly, "Don't follow me."
"If you want to die, it's up to you." King Rui said coldly and turned away.
The Queen was speaking with the Crown Prince and his wife when a maid hurried in to announce that the Marquis of Jin'an's wife had arrived. As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Lan rushed in, walked straight to the Queen, and knelt down, saying, "Concubine Zhen deceived me into entering the palace under the pretext of Your Majesty's will, intending to release a poisonous snake to disfigure me. Please, Your Majesty, intervene on my behalf."
The Queen, the Crown Prince, and the Crown Princess were all shocked by Jiang Lan's words.
"You should stand up and tell me first." The Queen had someone help Jiang Lan up. Jiang Lan knelt on the ground and could not get up. "If your Majesty doesn't believe me, just send someone to investigate Concubine Zhen's palace and you'll find out. She let the snake bite me, but it bit Hong Gu, who was beside her."
The Queen asked Yun'er to take two people to check on Concubine Zhen's palace. Seeing that Jiang Lan looked unwell, she asked someone to invite the imperial physician over. The Crown Princess also comforted her and told her not to be afraid.
After the imperial physician came and took Jiang Lan's pulse, he carefully said that she was suffering from heart palpitations and that she would be fine after taking two doses of tranquilizers.
When Yun'er came back with two palace maids, Jiang Lan's complexion had improved a little and her body was no longer cold.
Yun'er replied, "Her Majesty Zhen is unwell and has not seen me."
"You go back and have a good rest first. If this is true, I will give you an explanation." The Queen asked Yun'er to take people to send Jiang Lan out of the palace.
Afterwards, the Queen asked the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess to go back first, and then went to the Imperial Study.
On the other side, Concubine Zhen got angry and smashed everything in the house.
"Bitch, you dare to complain to the Queen? I won't forgive you!"
Qing'er and Gui'er were waiting at the palace gate. When they saw Jiang Lan coming out, they hurried forward to greet her with worried looks on their faces. Jiang Lan smiled and told them that everything was fine. The queen had just summoned her into the palace to talk and did not want to make things difficult for her.
After getting on the carriage, Jiang Lan took a deep breath, raised her head and blinked, then wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. She had avenged her revenge on the spot, so there was nothing to cry about.
Seeing the carriage leave, King Rui also ordered the coachman to leave.
Two days later, Princess Changle accidentally came across a dead snake while admiring flowers in the imperial garden, which frightened her to death and made her faint on the spot. When the emperor learned about this, he was furious and asked Eunuch Liu to go to Concubine Zhen's palace to convey an edict, fining Concubine Zhen half a year's salary and ordering her to reflect on her behavior.
After Eunuch Liu left, Concubine Zhen got angry again.
Princess Changle fainted from fright and had a nightmare that night, and was afraid to sleep.
After Cui Yan learned about this, he asked Cui Jingshu to go to the palace to visit him.
When Cui Jingshu came to Princess Changle's bedroom to visit her, the Queen and the Crown Princess were also there, and Cui Jingshu specifically mentioned Cui Yan.
"My brother learned that the princess has been feeling unwell these past few days and was very worried. He specially found some thousand-year-old ginseng and asked me to bring it to the princess to help her recover."
Princess Changle glanced at her, and Cui Jingshu said nothing else.
"Brother Cui is always so kind to me." Changle smiled brightly. "I heard that Brother Cui ranked sixth in the exam this time. I've prepared a gift for him. You can bring it back to him later."
Cui Jingshu agreed.
Changle comforted the Crown Princess, saying, "You don't have to take those rumors to heart. The Crown Prince is devoted to you and would definitely not be interested in a lowly palace maid."
"I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to make that palace maid his concubine?" Cui Jingshu gossiped.
The Crown Princess blushed slightly and felt a little embarrassed.
"What concubine? It's all nonsense. Stop talking nonsense." Changle said unhappily.
Cui Jingshu lowered her head and remained silent.
The Queen asked Changle to have a good rest and prepared to leave with the Crown Princess and Cui Jingshu. Changle wanted Cui Jingshu to talk to her for a while, so Cui Jingshu stayed.
Cui Yan was waiting at the palace gate. When he saw Cui Jingshu coming out, he quickly went up to her and asked, "Is everything okay, Princess?" Cui Jingshu replied, "Very well. I heard that you ranked sixth in the exam, brother, and I asked you to bring a gift."
Cui Yan was surprised and delighted. Qiu Tong presented the gift to him. When Cui Yan opened the brocade box, he was stunned for a moment.
Seeing his reaction, Cui Jingshu looked into the box and saw a jade pendant inside, which was nothing strange.
"Brother? Brother?" She called out twice before Cui Yan came to his senses. He quickly closed the box, said he had something else to do, and left in a hurry.
"What's wrong with you, brother?" Cui Jingshu asked curiously.
Qiu Tong speculated, "Could there be something strange about that jade pendant?"
Cui Jingshu glanced back at the palace gate and said to herself, "I shouldn't have shown it to my elder brother."
After hurriedly leaving the palace gate, Cui Yan never returned.
Until it was dark, the person still hadn't returned.
Princess Pingyang sent out a dozen guards to look for someone. Cui Jingshu also rushed over after hearing the news and told her mother about the gift. She guessed that it must be related to the jade pendant.
Around the second watch, Ji Quan brought back the drunk Cui Yan. Princess Pingyang quickly sent Cui Yan back to his residence and ordered people to take good care of him.
"Where did you find my brother?" Cui Jingshu asked.
Ji Quan replied, "I was planning to go to Wanhua Tower to listen to some music, but I happened to see the eldest young master coming out of the building. He was so drunk that he couldn't stand steadily. I was afraid something might happen, so I sent him back first."
Cui Hai got angry when he heard this, "This brat has even learned to drink prostitute wine?"
"Why would brother go there to drink? He never went there before." Cui Jingshu wondered.
"I don't know about this." Ji Quan said.
Princess Pingyang thanked Ji Quan and said, "Please don't tell anyone about this matter."
"Don't worry, Princess. I haven't seen the eldest master tonight, so I'll take my leave now."
Princess Pingyang asked the housekeeper to send Ji Quan away, and then asked Cui Jingshu to go back first.
"No, I have to wake this kid up and ask him clearly." Cui Hai was about to go find Cui Yan, but Princess Pingyang told him to come back, "It's none of your business." Cui Hai waved his hand, "Okay, okay, I don't care, you take care of it, I'm going to sleep." Princess Pingyang went to see Cui Yan again, and then went to the study to write a letter.
The next day, the letter was delivered to the Queen. After reading it, the Queen invited Princess Pingyang to the palace for tea and told her that Changle's marriage would be decided by the Emperor. Princess Pingyang was a little unhappy and talked about the original agreement of marriage.
"When the Empress was pregnant with the princess, His Majesty asked Yan'er if he wanted to be a prince consort when he grew up. Yan'er has always kept this in mind, but does it no longer count now?"
The Queen apologized, "Your Majesty still has the final say on this marriage."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Even if Yan'er can't become the prince consort, he will not bother me in the future." Princess Pingyang stood up and took her leave, looking a little unhappy as she left.
The Queen sighed softly and said to Yun'er, "I also like Yan'er. He treats Changle well and will surely not let her suffer any harm in the future. However, I alone cannot make the decision on this marriage. Your Majesty has his own considerations and will help Changle choose the most suitable marriage."
"Your Majesty and Your Majesty are both doing this for the princess's own good. The princess will surely marry a man of her dreams, live in harmony with her husband, and have many children and grandchildren." Yun'er comforted.
…
Since returning from the palace that day, Jiang Lan has never left the Marquis' Mansion, but she still knows the news from the outside world.
The first thing was that Xie Yun refused the emperor's reward and did not choose to serve as an official in the court. Instead, he went to the mountains outside the city to meditate and discuss Taoism with the monks in the temple, enjoying the mountains and rivers. He lived a free and easy life like a wandering cloud and a wild crane.
When the emperor learned about this, he bestowed upon him the title of "Jade Cicada True Man" and provided him with a monthly salary. He also gave him the privilege of having access to tens of thousands of scriptures and books in the palace library at any time. He also gave him a golden-winged jade cicada, allowing him to enter and leave the palace freely.
So some ministers followed suit and invited monks and Taoists to their palaces to practice Zen, hoping to please the emperor and gain his favor. However, they failed to show off in front of the emperor and were instead ignored.
The second thing was Princess Changle's marriage. The emperor summoned Cui Hai and Princess Pingyang to the palace, apparently to discuss the marriage.
Everyone envied the general's good fortune. His daughter became a princess, and his son was now going to be a prince consort. It was truly a glorious and unparalleled life.
The third thing is that Jiang Cheng is preparing to arrange a marriage for Jiang Shen.
In order to avoid suspicion, Jiang Cheng did not send anyone to inform Jiang Lan.
However, Jiang Lan also had her own way of getting the news. Her father had been close to Lord Wu recently, and she had previously revealed to her that he was fond of the third daughter of the Wu family, so it was likely that they had already decided on her.
The Wu family is a noble family, and the third daughter is both talented and beautiful.
I just don't know if her elder brother is willing...
It would be best if both of you like each other.
If her elder brother already has a lover, she will help him achieve his wish.
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