Chapter 173: Rage
Yuan Shou Zhu's hand holding the silver needle could not help but tremble. He was really afraid that something might happen to His Majesty, and then he would not be the only one to lose his head.
Keeping his mind calm, he could only think about getting through this hurdle first.
In a blink of an eye, the first snow fell in the imperial city. The fluttering snowflakes were like torn cotton wool, falling freely from the lead-gray sky.
Yanrong walked into the bedroom carrying a pot of charcoal fire, "My queen, it has suddenly become cold today. Fortunately, we have enough charcoal fire."
"Have you arranged everything for the harem? We must not neglect the concubines just because the servants are stingy."
"Don't worry, Madam. The people below are very smart now. They know that Madam Madam values you, so they wouldn't dare to do anything even if they were given the courage."
"Even though that's the case, let's have more people go take a look. We also have to take care of the palace ladies. Our Yuxiu Shop is making quite a bit of profit now, so we can still afford some charcoal money."
"Your Majesty is kind-hearted. The palace ladies can enjoy the happiness with you. I will give the order now."
As soon as Yanrong walked out of the palace gate, Yanfu secretly pulled her aside.
"You scared me, damn girl. Where are you taking me?"
After finding a side hall, Yanfu spoke only after seeing that there was no one around.
"Sister Rong is really generous. Haven't you heard that the former dynasty is urging His Majesty to select beauties? Today I received a letter from Xiao Zhuzi saying that His Majesty has agreed."
Yanrong's heart skipped a beat. For some reason, His Majesty seldom came to Fengyi Palace in the past two months. Most of the time when he came, he would perform the Zhougong ceremony with the Empress and then leave in a hurry, never staying overnight.
The queen didn't say it, but she could see that she was unhappy. If they knew about the beauty pageant, wouldn't the harem, which had just been peaceful, be in chaos?
"These are all groundless rumors. If the selection is to happen, the queen will be involved. Remember, don't let the queen know about this. The queen's body can't stand the slightest bit of anger."
Yanfu nodded repeatedly, saying that the empress had been very sleepy recently. Female official Wu said that the empress might be pregnant, but the pregnancy was still young and could not be diagnosed.
The two reached a tacit understanding and returned to the main hall, but they did not expect to see the empress walking out angrily.
Yanfu's face turned pale. It was all over. Who was the one with the bad mouth who brought this matter to the attention of the Empress?
Yanrong reacted quickly. She took the paper umbrella from the little palace maid and held it above Xu Nian's head, then carefully helped her walk out.
In fact, she was struggling with her conscience and her desires as to how to comfort her. If the Queen and His Majesty had a dispute over the selection of beauties, it would surely lead to impeachment from the historians.
Along the way, Xu Nian's face was so cold that the palace maids who followed him were so angry that they dared not speak. They never thought that the kind queen could be so scary when she was really angry.
Yanfu and Yanrong only dared to whisper "Don't get angry" and didn't dare to say anything else. It was also the first time for them to see such a frightening empress.
Mo Yan was dozing off outside Yu's study. When he heard the noise, he looked up and saw that it was the empress. Before he could get excited, he shuddered in his heart when he saw the person's expression.
"Is your Majesty himself in there?"
"Your Majesty, it's His Majesty..."
Before Mo Yan could finish his words, Xu Nian had already walked in and the palace door closed behind him.
Mo Yan looked at Yan Fu and Yan Rong in confusion. Without waiting for their answer, he roared, making the three of them shudder.
"Luo Jin'an, get out of here—"
Yanfu's face turned pale and she asked Yanrong beside her in a trembling voice.
"Sister Rong, His Majesty will not kill the Queen, right?"
Yanrong glared and said, "What nonsense are you talking about?" But in fact she was also very unsure.
"Oh, my two aunts, why is the Queen so angry? Please talk to our family as soon as possible."
The two looked at each other hesitantly. If they said it was because of the beauty pageant, wouldn't that tarnish the Empress's reputation?
Mo Yan looked at the two people who were puzzled and sweat broke out on his forehead. But there was no need to ask any more questions because there was a sound of porcelain breaking inside, which made the three of them unable to stand and rushed into Yu's study.
The palace door opened, and Mo Yan and the other two all stood there in a daze. Their faces were as pale as the snow outside.
The emperor, the supreme ruler, was seen half-kneeling in front of the empress, holding her skirt with red eyes.
"Luo Jin'an, if you want to die, I won't stop you, but don't expect me to think about you and miss you after you die."
"I will only keep seven or eight concubines in my Fengyi Palace and have fun with them every day, and you will just sit there in the ground and watch me make love with others."
Luo Jinan watched the hem of the skirt in his hand being pulled away little by little, and his heart became emptier little by little. His big tears hit the floor tiles, leaving a puddle of water.
This time Nian Nian was really angry and would not forgive him.
Yan Fu and Yan Rong ran after Xu Nian in a daze. They were also confused. Wasn't it about the beauty pageant? Why was he talking about life and death again?
However, the two of them looked at the figure on the phoenix chariot with great admiration. The Queen was so majestic that she even talked about keeping a lover in front of His Majesty.
Mo Yan did not share the good mood of the other two. He crawled over tremblingly and helped His Majesty up with shaking hands.
He is now very panicked because the evil deeds done by His Majesty have been exposed and he is still an accomplice.
If even kneeling down to the Empress Dowager doesn't work, then he will lose his life.
The more he thought about it, the sadder he became, and the more aggrieved he felt. He couldn't help but burst into tears. Luo Jin'an, who had been secretly grieving, was startled back to his senses.
"I haven't cried yet, why are you crying?"
"I feel sorry for your Majesty for having suffered for so many months in vain."
Luo Jinan's throat choked. Why did it sound so unpleasant?
"Stop howling, Nian Nian is really angry this time, hurry up and get back to the right place."
Mo Yan really wanted to complain loudly, "Your Majesty, it's all your own fault," but unfortunately he didn't dare.
While the two cobblers here were still trying to find ways to coax people, Xu Nian, who had returned to Fengyi Palace, calmed down instead.
When she received the news that Luo Jinan had stopped taking the medicine for several months, she was really sad and scared, and at the same time she felt a little guilty for not discovering it earlier.
It's not that she didn't realize the abnormality of these days, but she deliberately ignored it and didn't dare to delve into the reasons.
But she never expected that Luo Jinan was such a fool. After wiping away her tears, she picked up the pen and began to write a letter to Master Yun Xin.
Since he was only 50% sure, she would work harder on the medicinal materials. It would be good if she could increase the probability by 10%.
There are two lively scenes to watch in the palace recently. One is the beauty pageant hosted by the Queen Mother. Young ladies who have reached marriageable age in every family in the court can voluntarily participate in the selection, but I heard that only three people will be selected.
The second is that His Majesty would go outside the Fengyi Palace every day with a medicine jar to admit his mistakes, without entering the palace or speaking a word. After drinking a bowl of medicine, he would return to his study to handle government affairs.
"Your Majesty, are you still not going to let His Majesty enter the Fengyi Palace?"
"But what did he say to you?"
Yan Fu bit her lip. His Majesty didn't say anything, but he couldn't stand the fact that Manager Mo cried in front of her every day.
Thinking of Manager Mo's tearful look, Yan Fu couldn't help but shudder.