"Noble Concubine Yun only has this one niece."
The voice of Emperor Zhaowu came.
The queen was startled as if a spring thunder had struck the ground. She looked up and met the deep and unfathomable gaze of Emperor Zhaowu who was sizing her up. She was stunned for a moment.
She broke out in cold sweat on her palms. Emperor Zhaowu had been so good to her in the past six months, so good that she had forgotten how cautious she had been in his presence before. The look Emperor Zhaowu gave her just now made her recall the past scenes, and she said haltingly, "Your concubine..."
She quickly calmed down and said with a guilty smile: "I was confused for a moment and confused Concubine Xian with Concubine Yun. Concubine Xian has several nieces."
Emperor Zhaowu's gaze was still on her, and he did not move away for a while. Empress Jiahe was panicked. Although she wanted to immediately grab a palace maid to ask what was going on with Jiang Rao, Emperor Zhaowu kept looking at her and she could not find a suitable opportunity.
Empress Jiahe looked away slightly.
Emperor Zhaowu smiled faintly, "Zi Tong may be tired."
His voice softened, "When the weather gets warmer, stay at the villa for a few days, and you won't be confused like this again."
Queen Jiahe looked at the gentle look in the man's eyes and smiled shyly with her head down.
Although she believed that her treatment of Emperor Zhaowu was insincere and perfunctory, that smile was involuntary, and there was some sincerity in it.
Seeing Emperor Zhaowu's reaction, Empress Jiahe was relieved.
I hope the emperor will not pursue her misconduct.
While Emperor Zhaowu was sitting down at the first seat on the Qingluan Terrace, she dragged a palace maid over and said, "Quickly leave the palace and ask the father-in-law about the news in Qingrui County."
Although the news that came earlier did not clearly state that Jiang Rao died in the fire, she thought that since Jiang Rao had concealed her identity and was traveling, it was natural that the people in Rui County did not know who she was. When she asked someone to make the arrangements, she made it clear that the most important thing was to save Jiang Rao's life. Among the dozen people who died in the fire, Jiang Rao would not be the only one.
Queen Jiahe was worried about Jiang Rao and no longer had the mood to watch the competition in the arena.
Empress Jiahe returned to Emperor Zhaowu with a heavy heart. As soon as she sat down, Emperor Zhaowu leaned over and asked in the empress's ear: "Why do you look so sad?"
He smiled and pointed at the scene in the arena. "Didn't you just swear to me that Yuan'er could help me regain my face? I'm waiting to see."
The queen came back to her senses and smiled reluctantly, "Perhaps it is true as the emperor said. I am a little tired."
she
She found an excuse for herself, "Since the beginning of spring, there have been many things going on in the harem, big and small, but I have never mentioned them to the emperor."
"I'm sorry to have troubled you."
Empress Jiahe lowered her head and smiled faintly, but she did not hear what Emperor Zhaowu said.
Her mind was occupied by what Jiang Rao was going to do, and her hands were sweating uncontrollably.
Jiang Rao lives...
What does the letter that He Huairong sent to her father mean?
Even if something went wrong with He Huairong, Jiang Rao was not dead. The spies she arranged around Jiang Rao were no pushovers. If Jiang Rao was okay, they would definitely send a message back. How could they let Jiang Rao return to Beijing without receiving any news from her?
Could it be that Qin Yun was jealous of her favor and said some nonsense to scare her?
That’s not right. Qin Yun may not know what happened to Jiang Rao in Rui County.
Afraid that Emperor Zhaowu would notice her uneasiness at the moment, Empress Jiahe said softly, "I will not feel tired if I can share the worries of His Majesty. Your Majesty has always loved watching this kind of competition. I dare not delay His Majesty."
Emperor Zhaowu smiled and shifted his gaze back to the arena.
When Empress Jiahe saw that Emperor Zhaowu was no longer looking at her, she loosened her fingers. But she was always uneasy and her eyes were always glancing towards the east.
There are two gates on the east and west sides of Qingluan Terrace. Shuxiang Palace is on the east side. If Concubine Yun went to pick someone up, she would probably come in from the east gate.
Empress Jiahe just kept looking at that place.
She was waiting for Concubine Yun and Jiang Rao to appear there, but she was also afraid that they would actually appear.
If only Qin Yun came, then she would think that all this was just Qin Yun's trick to play tricks on her.
Hatred was already in the eyes of Empress Jiahe, while the foreign envoys on the side saw that the competition would not bring up Emperor Zhaowu's sorrows, and this year they would not lament Rong Ting's leg injury in front of Emperor Zhaowu as they did in previous years. Instead, they smiled and toasted Emperor Zhaowu.
In the arena, no one can defeat the warriors from foreign countries.
Empress Jiahe waited a long time for Concubine Yun and Jiang Rao to appear, and when she saw the foreign envoys coming to toast her with a smile on their faces, she suddenly remembered the things she had arranged before.
Last night when the foreign envoys brought the warriors to the restaurant for dinner, she asked someone to mix muscle softening powder into the warriors' food.
This medicine will not take effect immediately. It has to wait until the warrior has fought a few times with others and his blood starts to flow. Then the medicine will gradually take effect and make the warrior lose more than half of his strength.
Now is the best time for the Seventeenth Prince to compete with him.
Queen Jiahe pinched her palms and forced herself to calm down. Even if Jiang Rao was fine, wouldn't she be forced by her to not dare to go to Huaizhou again? As long as she was in Jinling, she wouldn't have to worry about her finding out something in Huaizhou and bringing her back trouble.
She glanced over and saw that the Seventeenth Prince was competing in archery with foreign warriors.
The warrior who had previously been able to hit the target almost every time shot an arrow, but the result was not satisfactory.
Queen Jiahe naturally knew what was going on.
She calculated the timing just right. At this moment, the warrior's strength was reduced to the weakest under the effect of the muscle softening powder.
She already knew in her heart how the outcome would be. If the Seventeenth Prince could win, she could then naturally request an order to build the Seventeenth Prince's mansion in Wuyi Lane, the most prosperous area in Jinling. In the eyes of outsiders, the Seventeenth Prince's mansion being located in Wuyi Lane was a reward from Emperor Zhaowu, so she was not afraid of people bringing up old accusations that she was partial to her own son and mistreating Rong Ting.
Seeing that the Seventeenth Prince was going to win, this comforted Queen Jiahe, and a smile gradually appeared on her face.
When the seventeenth prince defeated the warriors from foreign countries in both archery and fighting, the smile in Emperor Zhaowu's eyes made Empress Jiahe feel even more relieved.
In the arena, the warrior threw the bow in his hand angrily.
The envoy looked at the field and narrowed his eyes. "Adanu... is obviously extremely strong. It stands to reason that he should be able to break this bow easily. Why..."
Queen Jiahe took the initiative to say: "Today, there is a strong wind in Qingluan Typhoon. Perhaps Adanu suffered a loss because of this."
"If the warriors are dissatisfied, they can go to the martial arts arena for another fight." Empress Jiahe looked at Emperor Zhaowu, "Your Majesty, what do you think of this?"
According to her calculations, Adanu might not be able to make it to the martial arts arena. His limbs would be weak and he would not be able to exert much strength. Even if he made it, it would only be a disgrace.
She smiled faintly, and the arc at the corner of her mouth was like a scorpion's hook, tempered with poison.
The envoy looked at Emperor Zhaowu and said, "This matter will be decided by the emperor."
Emperor Zhaowu glanced at Empress Jiahe, rubbed his finger bones twice, and said, "Then let's go to the martial arts arena."
Queen Jiahe smiled slightly, but felt a little regretful in her heart. Although this competition was just a secret test within the palace, it was more or less related to the diplomatic relations between the two countries. She wanted to save some face for the foreign tribe, but unfortunately the envoy could not see the situation clearly.
You're really asking for trouble.
Taking another look at the moon gate on the east side of Qingluan Terrace, she saw neither Jiang Rao nor Concubine Yun. Empress Jiahe raised her eyebrows and felt more and more that Jiang Rao's return was just a farce played by Concubine Yun to tease her.
She calmed down and accompanied Emperor Zhaowu out of Qingluan Terrace.
The smile that had arisen from the seventeenth prince's victory in the martial arts test instantly collapsed.
The people walking towards this side at the end of the palace road were Concubine Yun and Jiang Rao.
Empress Jiahe looked at Jiang Rao and Concubine Yun in astonishment.
Concubine Yun was holding Jiang Rao's hand with red eyes.
Jiang Rao noticed the Queen's gaze and looked towards her.
She had been talking with Concubine Yun all the way, so she was late in arriving at Qingluan Terrace. Her face had the same gentle smile as when she faced Concubine Yun, and her look at Empress Jiahe was also clean and clear, which made Empress Jiahe feel horrified and stopped in her tracks.
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