Chapter 511 Negligence
The dethronement of the queen seemed to be a signal, and all kinds of monsters and demons emerged.
There were people in the harem trying to get close to the emperor. Some of them petitioned the emperor to establish a new queen, some petitioned the emperor to take in new women, and some petitioned the emperor to distance himself from Chu Liuzheng, the vixen who seduced the emperor.
The ministers who had been cheated in the tax reform tried their best to make the emperor unhappy. Memorials piled up on the imperial desk like snowflakes, which made Xiao Jingfan angry and headache. What's more, there was a heartless person who was gloating over the emperor's misfortune.
As a result, Chu Liuzheng, who was secretly watching the show, received several memorials urging him to get married and to establish a queen.
She muttered to herself as she approved the document.
[You're not going to marry me off, so why do you need my approval? ]
"By the way, didn't Chenxing and Mitsuki say that the Tyrant wanted to see me jealous? How about I just act a little and then get away?"
How do you act like a jealous person? Do you have to find fault first?
Chu Liuzheng thought and composed himself, trying hard to recall how other concubines in the harem behaved when they were jealous.
Xiao Jingfan, who heard it clearly: "..."
Not to mention, he was actually quite curious about how Chu Liuzheng would perform.
So he pretended to be clueless and continued reviewing the memorials.
On the other side, Chu Liuzheng gave up halfway through her planning. Acting was too exhausting. She might as well think about what to eat in the evening. She was craving for chicken noodle soup.
Xiao Jingfan, who was waiting to see what was happening, waited in vain and angrily changed rice noodles to noodles.
[That's fine.]
Chu Liuzheng accepted the change from rice noodles to noodles. She picked up a handful of noodles with her chopsticks and ate with relish.
Xiao Jingfan: "..."
His Majesty the Emperor muttered to himself: Forget it, forget it, forget it… I’m used to it, I’m used to it…
In the blink of an eye, it was March again. Chu Liuzheng and his men picked two baskets of roses in the imperial garden, intending to send them to the imperial kitchen and ask Chef Qiao to make some flower cakes for them to try.
Unfortunately, when he turned a corner, he ran into the Queen Mother.
There was no reason to just turn around and leave. Chu Liuzheng stepped forward to greet her, "Greetings, Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother wanted to leave Chu Liuzheng alone for a while before calling him up, but Chu Liuzheng stood up on his own after performing the blessing ceremony, showing great self-awareness.
The emperor exempted her from performing rituals in the palace, but the empress dowager was the emperor's mother. She performed the rituals to fulfill the etiquette of the younger generation for the emperor's sake, and that was all.
The Queen Mother's face looked unhappy as she felt a tightness in her chest. Nanny Zhao, who was supporting her, gently patted her arm. The Queen Mother then said, "I haven't seen you for quite some time. Come back to the palace for some tea. I have something to ask you."
[Here it comes, I knew there was more to the story.]
Since he couldn't avoid it, he had to go. Chu Liuzheng agreed and ordered someone to send the petals to the imperial kitchen, and then took Chen Xing and Si Yue back to the palace with the Queen Mother.
On the way, the two of them didn't say a word.
In the Wanshou Palace, Concubine Xie, who was copying scriptures in the small Buddhist hall, heard that the empress dowager had returned and hurried out to greet her.
The emperor asked her to reflect on her mistakes behind closed doors, and only after the empress dowager pleaded for her was she allowed to come to Wanshou Palace from time to time to accompany the empress dowager, but she was not allowed to go anywhere else.
As soon as she called out "Aunt," she saw Chu Liuzheng walking beside the Queen Mother. Her face immediately darkened, and she pointed at Chu Liuzheng and demanded, "Aunt, why is this bitch here?"
The Queen Mother glanced at her and asked, "Have you finished copying the scriptures for today?"
Concubine Xie was most afraid of her looking at her like this, so she immediately shrank her neck and said weakly, "There are still two more to go. Aunt, please don't be angry, I will go back and copy them right away."
After saying that, she glared at Chu Liuzheng fiercely and took her people back to the small Buddhist temple.
Chu Liuzheng: “…”
If she had complained to the emperor, she wouldn't even be able to keep her position as a concubine. Why couldn't she learn her lesson?
Didn’t they say that everyone in the palace has good eyesight?
The Queen Mother seemed to have just remembered that there was someone like Chu Liuzheng beside her. She glanced at her and said, "Yu'er has a childlike nature and always does things directly. The Emperor likes this most about her."
This sounds like an explanation for Concubine Xie, but the focus is actually on the last half of the sentence: the emperor likes it.
Chu Liuzheng seemed not to hear and smiled: "I don't bother with children."
The Queen Mother: "...Go in and sit down and talk."
"Okay." Chu Liuzheng followed the empress dowager into the main hall. Chen Xing and Si Yue were stopped outside by the eunuchs guarding the door.
Seeing Chu Liuzheng looking back, the Queen Mother said, "There are people waiting in the palace."
"You don't know, I'm used to using my own people." Chu Liuzheng didn't care about that and said outside, "Siyue, come in."
With the emperor's orders in place, Siyue and Chenxing only obeyed Chu Liuzheng's orders, and even the empress dowager's words were useless.
Hearing Chu Liuzheng's call, Siyue directly pushed away the eunuch's hand and walked in, standing behind Chu Liuzheng.
Seeing this, the empress dowager's face darkened. Just as she was about to lose her temper, Nanny Zhao pinched her arm again.
Nanny Zhao winked at her: Don't be angry, don't be angry, the important thing is the business.
Anyway, they didn't want to do anything to Chu Liuzheng, so it didn't matter who they used.
The Queen Mother suppressed her anger and sat down in the main seat.
After years of immersion in the palace, she no longer gets angry easily, but for some reason, when she meets Chu Liuzheng, all her years of cultivation are useless, and she is often so angry that her heart aches at Chu Liuzheng's actions.
On this point, the emperor and his mother should have a lot in common.
This woman has the ability to make people angry to death without them knowing it.
Without the Queen Mother's instructions, Chu Liuzheng took a seat at the head of the table and said straight to the point, "What does the Queen Mother want to ask me?"
[I have to go back and eat some flower cakes, hurry up.]
The Queen Mother asked: "Have you seen the painting of a hundred children that I sent you?"
Chu Liuzheng nodded and answered truthfully: "The embroidery is exquisite. Not only did I see it, I also sent it to His Majesty."
The Queen Mother said "hmm" and waited for her to continue. Unexpectedly, Chu Liuzheng stopped talking after saying this. He picked up the tea that had just been served and lowered his head to take a sip of the tea fragrance.
[The Queen Mother has so many good things here.]
The suppressed anger suddenly rose up. The Queen Mother held back her anger and asked, "Do you understand what I mean?"
Chu Liuzheng put down his teacup and looked up at the Empress Dowager, whose eyes bore no resemblance to the Emperor's. "I'm not very clever, Your Majesty. If you think I understand something, please speak frankly."
Hearing this, the Queen Mother was too lazy to argue with her, lest she become angry and her heart ached. She said, "The Emperor has few children. You have enjoyed the Emperor's favor for many years, yet you have never given birth to a son or daughter for the Emperor. Chu, you have failed in your duty."
The greatest obligation of the women in the harem is to give birth to children for the emperor. This is also what the empress dowager is most dissatisfied with Chu Liuzheng.
Although she hoped that Concubine Xie would give birth to a prince, the emperor was bewitched by Concubine Chu and did not even look at other women, so she had to settle for the second best and hoped that Concubine Chu would give birth.
But it has been almost four years, let alone having two children in three years, there has not even been any sign of pregnancy from Chu.
She secretly asked the imperial physician, and learned that her son's hidden illness had long been cured. Since it wasn't the son's problem, then it must be that Mrs. Chu was infertile.
A woman who cannot bear children is the only one who enjoys the emperor's favor. This is a disaster for both the country and the family. The empress dowager cannot sit idly by.
Listening to the Queen Mother's accusations, Chu Liuzheng was speechless.
"Hasn't the Queen Mother seen the records of the Imperial Household Department? The Tyrant and I did sleep together, but we were always covered in blankets, just pure... uh, not so pure chats, okay?"
(End of this chapter)
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