"It's because you, my sister, are more careful. Unlike us, we all followed the Queen in drinking after seeing her drinking."
Hearing this, thinking of the medicine Shen Nian'an mentioned before, Zhou Beichen finally understood.
It seems that the queen is really relying on the fact that she is his legal wife and is jumping around his bottom line like crazy.
He said so? He hadn't had any children for so many years, how could it be that he was impotent? It turned out that this vicious woman had done something to make all his concubines unable to conceive.
Blood rushed to his head, veins popped out on his forehead, and Zhou Beichen clenched the fist of the hand that was not holding his daughter. He wanted to rush in and ask for clarification immediately, but he couldn't. He had to endure it. He had to see what else the two women inside could say.
Shen Nian'an looked at the gritting Concubine Xian and immediately shrank her neck. "Sister, I dare not. I'm afraid that the emperor will get angry and strangle me again. What if the two children are not around and he gets impulsive and strangles me to death?"
Zhou Beichen: “…”
His fingers moved slightly. Was he that cruel? Definitely not.
Concubine Xian: “…”
I rolled my eyes at Shen Nian'an and thought to myself, "Sister, you are really good at acting, it seems like the real thing."
"It's okay, it's okay! I have served the emperor for so many years. As long as we don't commit a capital crime, the emperor will not kill us casually. Just rest assured, sister. In fact, the emperor is still a good person."
The virtuous concubine spoke sincerely. Over the years, although Zhou Beichen did not favor her the most, he never gave her less than what he deserved.
Shen Nian'an nodded timidly, "Sister Xianfei...Okay."
Zhou Beichen: It was Concubine Xian who understood him. Although he had many concubines, he never showed favoritism to any of them.
Having heard enough, Zhou Beichen thought for a while, held his daughter, walked out of the gate of the Pepper Room, and then held his daughter again and stood at the gate of the Pepper Room. After giving his daughter a fatherly warning and a bribe, he gave Deshun a look.
Deshun: “…”
You must be seriously ill. You're walking around here by yourself for no reason, and you're bringing the princess with you like an idiot.
He stretched out his voice and immediately shouted loudly in a shrill voice.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
Shen Nian'an thought Zhou Beichen had left secretly. At this moment, she and Concubine Xian winked at each other, walked to the door together, and knelt down, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Long live the Emperor!"
Zhou Beichen came in expressionlessly. When he saw Shen Nian'an, who bowed her head and looked listless, he felt indescribable pain in his heart.
Why did this woman suddenly make him so worried?
With a casual glance, he walked over with an elegant step, "Get up!"
The virtuous concubine got up, Shen Nian'an thought about it, got up as well, and then knelt in another place.
Zhou Beichen: “…”
Seeing the woman kneeling at his feet with her head down, he was startled and almost dropped the child in his hands.
Calming himself down, Zhou Beichen lowered his eyes and looked at him.
"Empress Hui, is there something wrong?"
After calming down, Shen Nian'an lowered his head, not looking at him, and spoke calmly.
"Your Majesty has not come for so many days. I think it must be because of that day. My words and actions were rude and offended Your Majesty. I apologize to Your Majesty and ask for your forgiveness."
Zhou Beichen: “…”
It’s boring, he was very annoyed, just now, he thought Shen Nian’an had told her about the queen, the queen deserved to die! But he had to wait until he found out, and he wanted her to die willingly.
"Get up. I don't blame you for that day."
After holding it in for a long time, Zhou Beichen managed to utter such a sentence. He put his daughter on the ground, squatted down, and personally pulled Shen Nian'an's hand to help Shen Nian'an up, regardless of the surprised looks of Shen Nian'an and Concubine Xian.
He smiled and said, "I have been busy with the affairs of the previous dynasty recently, including the flood and the imperial examination, so I did not enter the harem."
Afraid that Shen Nian'an didn't understand what he meant, he patted Shen Nian'an's hand and said again.
"Actually, it's not just you. During this period of time, I haven't visited any of my concubines. I don't blame you for what happened that day."
Shen Nian'an's eyes changed from timidity to surprise, and Zhou Beichen's heart lit up. Then, he saw clearly that Shen Nian'an's eyes turned into fear when he looked at him. In an instant, he felt hopeless.
"Your Majesty is Your Majesty. Thunder, lightning, rain, and dew are all His Majesty's grace. I dare not ask Your Majesty for an explanation. From now on, I will do whatever Your Majesty says."
Zhou Beichen: “…”
He was wrong, isn't that enough? Can you talk to him nicely instead of being sarcastic?
"Just relax, my beloved concubine. Come over tonight after I finish my official duties."
To his surprise, Shen Nian'an showed no joy or discomfort, she just nodded meekly and even saluted him.
"Then I will be ready in a moment, burning incense and bathing, ready to welcome the Emperor."
Shen Nian'an's performance made Zhou Beichen want to kowtow to her. After talking for a while, seeing that Shen Nian'an had no intention of mentioning the matter of the Queen, Zhou Beichen did not intend to force her and stood up and left. He still had a lot of things to do and had to finish dealing with the palace examination before he could have lunch.
After the people left, Zhou Zhaonuan stared at Shen Nian'an and Concubine Xian with his confused eyes wide open, and the little guy spoke eagerly for talents.
"Mother, Empress Xian, after Daddy and Nuannuan stood at the door for such a long time, why did they go to the main gate again and let Eunuch Deshun inform them before coming in?"
Shen Nian’an: “…”
Concubine Xian: “…”
The two looked at each other and immediately felt that the matter of the queen was settled.
When Zhou Beichen just arrived at the palace examination, all the candidates had handed in their test papers and left. Only the fat and big-eared candidate was still trembling, and another one, who was so scared that he peed his pants, was changing his pants.
Seeing Zhou Beichen walking towards him, the scholar felt like he had seen a ghost. He crawled backwards until he had nowhere to retreat. Then he struggled to stick to the corner of the wall, closed his eyes, and kowtowed.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I did not intend to leak such filthy things to pollute Your Majesty's palace. Please spare my life."
When he said this, Zhou Beichen almost laughed out loud. He had glanced at what this guy wrote before and had some insights into it.
"Alright, get up. I don't blame you. I just want to ask you, I'm not a tiger, why did I scare you like this?"
"Also, raise your head and look at me."
The man's name was He Man. When he was asked this question, he was stunned and forgot to shiver.
After a long while, he answered with his eyes closed.
"The Emperor was furious earlier and reprimanded the two examiners. Then I defiled the palace. The Emperor is so majestic and dignified that I dare not look him in the face."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
