The Queen looked at her only son and said dissatisfiedly, "I told you then not to rush into a confrontation with her. It's not a done deal. If we lose our secret line, we can just build another one. As long as someone has the conditions, there's no need to worry about not getting the news. But you insisted on involving so many people. Look at the result. Although there aren't many eunuchs in the West Six Palaces on a normal day, with so many gone all of a sudden, how can the Emperor not become suspicious?"
Prince Cheng frowned unhappily when he heard the Queen say this. "Father, how could he care about this? There are so many servants in the palace. If someone wasn't gossiping in his ear, he would care about this. Queen Mother, instead of investigating who is gossiping, she is here blaming me. Are you sure I'm going to let the Second Brother scheme against us without fighting back? Humph, even though he didn't get any advantage in the palace, just wait. After this, I'll make him suffer a few more losses outside the palace."
The queen looked at her son's fierce face and closed her eyes. She knew that her son was a hopeless person, but she had to help him. There was no other way. She only had this one son. If he could not sit in that position in the future, if it was replaced by someone else, she would definitely not have a good end.
Princess Cheng watched the mother and daughter blush and swell up, not daring to utter a word. She stood there with her head bowed, analyzing the information coming in. If it was indeed Consort Xian who did this, then she was incredibly clever. Using only a single woman, Hu Niang, she had provoked a confrontation between her own prince and Prince Duan, and even caused the Empress to arouse the Emperor's suspicion.
The Empress pretending to be sick is not a long-term solution. The Emperor may not investigate thoroughly out of consideration for the sake of their relationship, but who knows if the Emperor will bring up the past again after this has passed or when the Empress gradually gets better?
After all, the Emperor's frequent headaches had made this his favorite activity. On a different note, even if the Emperor didn't bother investigating, how could he allow his concubines to establish their own secret networks within the palace? While every prince possessed hidden influence within the palace, as long as it wasn't brought to light, until the Emperor discovered it, it was a matter of both parties, a competition of who could hide it best.
Prince Cheng also felt that his attitude was not good, so he calmed down and asked, "How long do you want your mother to be sick for?"
"It can't be too long. The Emperor's birthday is in more than a month, and it wouldn't be good to let that person take care of it." The Queen said quietly as Princess Cheng helped her lie back down.
"What happened to Concubine Lian yesterday? Was it your idea?" Prince Cheng asked softly while sitting beside the bed.
The Queen thought for a moment and said, "She doesn't have that ability yet. If she sees the Emperor scolding me, I'll definitely get her back."
Prince Cheng narrowed his eyes. "If your mother finds those two annoying, why don't we practice on them first? They pose no threat to us, but having them around all the time is annoying."
"Don't be impulsive. Now is not the time to deal with them. Besides, even if they do fight, just watch the fun. You also said that on your wife's birthday, the second son's wife was so angry at the sixth son's wife that it almost burned up the second son's eyebrows."
Prince Cheng smiled slightly, "That's right, the second son's stupid wife is more of a hindrance than a help. He still has to keep Tianling by his side."
The Queen thought for a moment and said, "I always feel uneasy about Meng Hai. Will he?"
"No, he wouldn't dare. Don't worry, my people just came back from the northwest, and Lao Er is eagerly waiting for his letter. Humph, we have to make him let his guard down for a while."
Princess Cheng huddled in the corner of the bed, unable to speak a word. You say she's trusted by the Queen and the Prince, yet they don't let her get involved in anything. You say she's not trusted by them, so they wouldn't tell her such confidential information behind her back.
Sometimes she really didn't want to hear these things. If any words were accidentally spread out, even if it was said by the prince himself, she would definitely be blamed.
The Queen was about to ask something else when she heard Nanny Sang outside shout, "The two princesses are here early."
Princess Jing and Princess Duan entered the east room one after another. Prince Cheng greeted them and left the room first.
Princess Jing first glanced at the Queen, who had her eyes tightly closed, then took Princess Cheng's hand and asked softly, "Are you feeling better?"
Princess Cheng took out a handkerchief and pressed the corners of her eyes, "I woke up once and only drank two mouthfuls of rice porridge. Why did you come so early? It's not time yet." Princess Cheng said as she looked up at the sky which was not yet dark.
"Second sister-in-law is very thoughtful. Although you are scheduled for the day shift, you and Yong'an have been tending to the patient since last night. You have enough people coming and going this day to deal with. If we come earlier, you can rest earlier. Where's Yong'an?"
"She hasn't eaten properly since yesterday, and her eyes are swollen like walnuts from crying. I told her to go back to the East Side Hall and at least apply some compresses to her eyes. If they're still that swollen tomorrow, I'm afraid the Emperor will..."
Princess Jing patted Princess Cheng's hand and said, "That's right. In that case, you can go to Yong'an to rest. Leave this to me and my second sister-in-law."
Princess Duan, who had been looking at the Queen, turned back when Princess Jing mentioned her. "Fourth sister-in-law is right. Go and rest. Then go see how Yong'an is doing."
Princess Cheng glanced back at the pale-faced Queen, feeling worried, but unable to leave. She recalled how Prince Cheng had been furious when he heard the news early that morning that the Emperor had ordered the other princesses to come to the palace to tend to his illness.
The mother and daughter didn't want to make a big fuss about this matter. They just wanted to divert the emperor's attention and prevent him from becoming suspicious of them.
But now this situation has arisen. Last night, all the princes were summoned in. When the emperor came in the morning, he personally ordered Concubine Xiang to send someone to summon all the princesses to the palace, and also asked Concubine Xiang to arrange shifts for everyone to take turns to attend to the sick.
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