Chapter 162 Abnormality
Gu Xiaoran was sent to Nianci Temple overnight, where there were only nuns practicing asceticism.
Xiao Chenglan sent her out of the palace in the name of praying for Daye.
This time, Gu Xiaoran left the palace for a grand tour, but he could not go back.
On the way to Nianci Temple, Gu Xiaoran huddled in the carriage, and Xiao Chenglan's words were still ringing in her ears.
——Since you are indifferent to fame and fortune, and disdain material possessions such as positions and rewards, then the tranquility of a place with green lamps and ancient Buddhas is most suitable for your detached nature.
Gu Xiaoran felt very aggrieved.
His father was now a marquis and a general, and she was at the peak of her career, but she had to go to such a place to practice hardship.
Your Majesty is truly merciless.
After General Gu learned that Gu Xiaoran had been sent away, he requested to see the emperor at night to plead for Gu Xiaoran.
General Gu had no idea what was going on, he only vaguely heard that his daughter and the emperor's favorite concubine had an argument.
Although he did not dare to use the achievements in the southwest to gain favor from the emperor, he was really disappointed that the emperor showed no mercy to Xiaoran for the sake of his favorite concubine.
"Your Majesty, my daughter has offended Concubine Yu. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy to me and give me a chance to apologize to Concubine Yu. Your Majesty, please issue an order to send my daughter directly to Nianci Temple. I am truly saddened!" General Gu spoke earnestly, with tears glistening in his cloudy eyes.
Xiao Chenglan looked at him and said calmly, "General Gu, I have shown mercy to Gu Chongyuan several times before dealing with her. Now, it is because of your contribution to pacifying the southwest that I have given her the punishment of leaving the palace to pray for blessings. I have been very merciful and decent."
General Gu paused, looking at the emperor in front of him, who looked normal but had cold eyes, and hesitated.
Xiao Chenglan recounted the previous events, "Since Concubine Yu holds the Phoenix Seal, she is one with me. Whether it's a reward or a punishment, as long as it's bestowed by her, it's all heavenly grace. Concubine Yu bestowed grace upon Gu Chongyuan, but she disobeyed. This is one of the reasons."
"Yesterday, while hunting, she overestimated her abilities and left her guards to go into the woods alone. If I hadn't saved her, she would have been eaten by the beasts, leaving no trace of her body. I was also injured in the process. This is the second reason."
Having said this, General Gu's face was already dull, and he looked at Xiao Chenglan in horror.
Could it be that tiger? No wonder Xiaoran was so distracted yesterday. To think such a thing could happen, and even cause His Majesty to injure the dragon body!
Yet, he had never known any of this! His Majesty hadn't mentioned it yesterday, much less punished Xiaoran.
"I didn't want Concubine Yu to worry, so I ordered everyone present yesterday to keep my injury a secret. However, she harbored evil intentions and went to Concubine Yu to expose the matter. She also deliberately provoked her, causing Concubine Yu's displeasure. This is, at best, gossiping, and at worst, disobeying the Holy Spirit. This is the third point."
Xiao Chenglan stopped and looked at General Gu with a calm yet sharp gaze: "General Gu, isn't this enough mercy from me?"
General Gu was now pale, his lips were trembling, and he was unable to speak.
After a long moment, he kowtowed deeply to Xiao Chenglan and apologized, "My daughter has overstepped her bounds and repeatedly offended your majesty. This old minister is ashamed!"
Xiao Chenglan looked at the old General Gu with gray hair on his temples, sighed slightly, walked over to help him up, and said nothing more.
After General Gu left, Xiao Chenglan looked in the direction he left, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
There were too many people who had pleaded for his daughter in front of him.
Song Zhang, Su Wenyue, Shen Xi, Gu Zheng.
No matter whether they are treacherous ministers or loyal people, they always show the same expression when talking about their daughters.
Too much concern leads to confusion.
But as for his Concubine Yu, no one pleaded for her.
Even at the last moment, her father and mother looked at her with such resentful eyes.
He didn't dare to think about how much suffering she would have to endure in her life if he had not taken that step, had not taken her into the mansion, and had not planned to seize the throne.
Xiao Chenglan let out a long breath, closed his eyes and rubbed his eyebrows.
Fortunately, she is now in a position like him where she doesn't need anyone to plead for her.
Now she only asks others to beg her for favors.
Thinking of this, Xiao Chenglan's depression caused by heartache finally dissipated a little.
When I returned to the palace after the autumn hunt, the whole place was already dyed with the colors of late autumn.
Perhaps it was really the sadness and loneliness of autumn that made Jiang Yingli feel depressed every day after returning from Xiangshan Villa.
Especially before going to bed every day, she would think about Xiao Chenglan leaving her to go to court early the next morning, and she would actually start crying just thinking about it.
Xiao Chenglan thought that when they were hunting in Xiangshan Villa in autumn, she ate and slept with him, and were together during the day, so she was not used to it when she returned to the palace.
He coaxed her every night, thinking that she would be fine in a few days. However, he did not expect that just after the morning court session that day, before he returned to Changqing Palace from Chengqian Palace, he was hurriedly blocked by Lian Qiao holding a golden waist badge.
"Your Majesty! Please forgive me, today a maid accidentally broke a vase, and the Empress lost her temper and cried uncontrollably, demanding to see Your Majesty. The Empress is truly heartbroken, and I beg Your Majesty to come and see her."
Xiao Chenglan frowned slightly, feeling a little confused, but still turned to Fu Wanquan and instructed:
"Go to Changqing Palace and tell them I have something important to attend to. Let those ministers go back to their duties first."
“Yeah.”
Xiao Chenglan went to Zhaohua Palace. As soon as he entered the palace, he saw a little palace maid kneeling outside the palace, wiping her tears, with broken porcelain pieces beside her.
Xiao Chenglan walked over, and the little palace maid was so scared that she knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty! This servant deserves death!"
Xiao Chenglan's eyes fell on the pile of porcelain pieces.
A very ordinary blue and white porcelain vase with twined branch pattern.
It wasn't something he gave her.
Jiang Yingli never punished her servants for destroying anything while sweeping, cleaning, etc. Besides, the things were not given to her by him, so if they were broken, she would not take it to heart.
It was indeed a bit abnormal that she got so angry and cried over an ordinary vase today.
"Get up." Xiao Chenglan ordered lightly and walked into the hall with his hands behind his back.
Today was the first time the little palace maid saw Concubine Yu get angry in the palace. She was terrified and blamed herself for breaking the vase that the Concubine cared about. Even after being pardoned by Xiao Chenglan, she was still wiping away tears quietly.
As soon as Xiao Chenglan entered the hall, he saw Qiuxia leaning over the couch, her arms rising and falling rhythmically, gently patting Jiang Yingli's back to comfort her.
Jiang Yingli curled up on the couch, her eyes red, as if she was tired of crying.
Hearing the voice, she quickly looked up, and after seeing Xiao Chenglan, he ignored everything and ran towards her with his clothes loose, and suddenly threw himself into his arms, her eyelashes wet again.
"Your Majesty, my vase is broken... wuwuwu..."
Xiao Chenglan hugged her and comforted her gently, "You like vases like that. I'll ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send you a few more."
Jiang Yingli couldn't stop crying in his arms. She couldn't explain why the vase made her irritated. Anyway, now, she just wanted to hear Xiao Chenglan coax her.
"But I want that one."
Xiao Chenglan's voice was still gentle: "It's already broken into pieces. Even if I glue it back together for you, it won't look good anymore. Let's not have it, okay?"
Jiang Yingli paused, but finally nodded, then raised her eyes and looked at Xiao Chenglan with tears in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, why are you frowning? Do you think I am being unreasonable and are annoyed with me?"
"No, I'm just worried that you might hurt yourself from crying."
"Then Your Majesty, please don't leave. Will you stay with me today? If Your Majesty doesn't leave, I won't cry." Jiang Yingli hugged him and refused to let go, acting coquettishly with a crying voice.
They had just finished the morning court session today, and they hadn't dealt with any important matters yet. But Jiang Yingli was crying so hard, and he didn't have the heart to say that he could only stay with her for an hour.
"Okay, I'll have the memorials delivered to you, and you just stay by my side."
Jiang Yingli finally felt better when she saw that he didn't leave.
Xiao Chenglan carried her back to the couch.
All the important memorials were sent to Zhaohua Palace, and Xiao Chenglan sat on the edge of the couch to handle government affairs. Jiang Yingli rested her head on his lap, quietly listening to the sound of him flipping through the memorials.
Xiao Chenglan read a few memorials and looked down again. Jiang Yingli had fallen asleep.
He stretched out his hand and ran his fingertips over the corners of her eyes, which were slightly red and moist.
Thinking of her unusual behavior in the past few days, he suddenly felt an indescribable emotion in his heart.
"Qiuxia."
Qiuxia heard Xiao Chenglan calling her and hurried forward.
"What are your commands, Your Majesty?"
"Go call Doctor Zhang over."
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