What promises were made?
After a moment of contemplation, Zhou Jingzhi finally remembered that in order to ascend the throne smoothly, he had promised to help Consort Yu become empress in the future.
His eyes darkened, and he lowered them, saying, "Of course I remember."
The King of Dingbian snorted coldly.
"Your Majesty, you made Prime Minister Jian's daughter Empress despite the objections of the officials, while relegating the granddaughter of an old minister to the rank of concubine. Is this how you treat Yu'er now?"
Zhou Jingzhi did not respond.
Thinking the emperor was guilty, the Prince of Dingbian raised his voice and continued, "It's one thing for Your Majesty not to keep your promise, but to show such favoritism, don't you feel ashamed?"
The main hall was completely silent.
Throughout the entire world, the only person who would dare to so aggressively question the supreme ruler is probably the Prince of Dingbian.
How could the emperor, who was high above all others, tolerate such humiliation?
The emperor pressed one hand on the dragon head on the armrest, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes!
But he quickly regained his composure and rationality.
No, now is not the best time for a head-on confrontation!
The Prince of Dingbian has made outstanding contributions and holds significant military power; he remains untouchable.
In the blink of an eye, he put on a slightly ingratiating smile.
"My dear minister, you misunderstand. How could I bear to truly punish Yu'er? Confining her to her quarters was a decision I had no other choice."
"Was it done out of necessity? Why does Your Majesty say that?"
The emperor nodded obsequiously and said, "Yesterday, it was indeed Yu'er who went to Weiyang Palace to provoke us and threatened to assassinate the Empress. Many palace servants witnessed this, and I had no choice but to do so!"
After he finished speaking, he even showed a pained expression.
The King of Dingbian was taken aback, never expecting the reason behind it to be like this.
But he still said with displeasure, "Your Majesty, you know that Yu'er has been spoiled since childhood, so why punish her so severely!"
"Of course I can protect Yu'er, but there are too many people in the harem and too many eyes. If others use this as an excuse to attack you, I really can't bear to see that happen."
I see……
The King of Dingbian's anger was completely extinguished by the emperor's flattery and submission.
The emperor's obedient and compliant attitude made him feel completely comfortable!
Moreover, what the emperor said did indeed make some sense.
The civil officials in the court had long disliked him, and the Censorate would submit a memorial impeaching him from time to time.
He doesn't seem to care, but that doesn't mean he won't get annoyed.
Since the emperor was thinking of him, let's drop the matter!
However, he has no intention of letting Jian Yang go for now.
He knew his granddaughter well; although she was a bit spoiled and domineering, she would never cause trouble for no reason.
If the empress hadn't provoked her, how could she have dared to defy her superior?
Just as the Prince of Dingbian was about to say something more, Eunuch Zhang rushed over.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Censor Zhao has arrived!"
Upon hearing that it was his mortal enemy, the Imperial Censor, the Prince of Dingbian immediately fell silent.
"It's getting late, this old minister shall take his leave!"
After Dingbian Wang finished paying his respects to the emperor, he strode out of the palace.
The emperor leaned back wearily in his chair.
Eunuch Zhang quickly stepped forward to massage him.
"Didn't they say Lord Zhao had arrived? Why haven't you let him in yet!"
Eunuch Zhang stopped what he was doing, knelt down before the emperor, and said, "This servant deserves to die. I saw that the Prince of Dingbian was becoming increasingly aggressive, and I was afraid that he would anger Your Majesty, so I made up a lie..."
The emperor was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Yongfu, do you know that deceiving the emperor is a capital offense?"
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Zhang turned pale with fright and began to kowtow to the emperor.
"Just kidding, get up."
Zhou Jingzhi finally smiled.
Fortunately, this eunuch was quick-witted; otherwise, it's hard to imagine what unreasonable demands the Prince of Dingbian would have made.
Eunuch Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief and cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, would you like to lift Consort Yu's confinement?"
"No, lock her up for a while longer to deflate her arrogance."
These days, after witnessing Jian Yang's "iron-fisted" governance methods, the concubines in the harem have become much more obedient.
At least if minor squabbles arise, we can resolve them privately if possible.
Otherwise, if the Empress is alerted, they might end up like Consort Yu.
Therefore, Jian Yang has been living a very comfortable life these past few days, at least she has time to take a nice afternoon nap.
That was the last time I experienced the bitter days of being exploited.
But perhaps the heavens couldn't bear to see her idle. That noon, just as Jian Yang lay down on the chaise longue, preparing to take a nap, Lian Xia walked in from outside the palace with a letter in her hand!
"Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from the Prime Minister's residence."
Jian Yang said unhappily, "Didn't I previously instruct that all letters from the Prime Minister's residence be refused?"
Lianxia shrank back and whispered, "The people from the Prime Minister's residence said that this letter is extremely important, and they beg Your Highness to take a look."
Since that's what they've said, she had no choice but to take the envelope, open it, and read the letter.
She skimmed through the letter, then tossed it aside with a disdainful look.
"I thought it was something very important, but it turns out that the lady is ill and wants me to go back and see her!"
That lady was the cousin of the original owner's mother, Madam Kang.
That mistress who seduced the original owner's father and angered the original owner's mother to death to rise to power!
She is also Jian Yang's current stepmother.
"Does Your Highness wish to return to visit them?"
"Hehe, she's just faking illness to deceive people."
Lianxia stared at Jianyang in shock.
"Your Majesty... You haven't returned to the Prime Minister's residence for a long time, how did you know that Madam was faking illness?"
Jian Yang laughed and said, "You know she's always been healthy, but she fell ill after Jian Fei was reprimanded by the Emperor. Isn't it obvious that she still wants to use me to send the Second Miss into the palace?"
Lianxia suddenly realized.
"Alright, let's pretend we didn't see this letter. I'm tired."
After saying that, Jian Yang yawned and leaned back into the chaise lounge.
She thought the matter was over, but the next day, after Jian Yang went to Fuxi Palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager as usual, she was actually kept behind.
She immediately exclaimed that she was doomed.
In the past, being left behind never brought anything good.
I imagine today will be no exception.
As expected, the Empress Dowager slowly spoke, "Empress, I have heard that you have not returned to the Prime Minister's residence to visit your family for quite some time?"
Jian Yang nodded: "Your Majesty, I am truly unable to spare the time due to the many affairs of the palace."
The Empress Dowager took the tonic that the nanny brought over, and while drinking it, she said, "Since you have some free time recently, why don't you go back and see your mother? I heard she's ill?"
Jian Yang sighed silently and said, "Reporting to Mother, I heard that you have indeed been feeling unwell recently."
The Empress Dowager nodded: "I have two thousand-year-old ginseng roots here. Take them back and give them to your mother to help her recover. Now that you are the Empress, you must not give people anything to gossip about."
Well, they've got us cornered!
She had no choice but to agree.
Upon returning to Weiyang Palace, Jian Yang's first action was to replace the two thousand-year-old ginseng roots with ten-year-old ginseng roots.
His expression was extremely fierce.
“Your Majesty…” Lianxia was speechless at Jian Yang’s evasive behavior.
Jian Yang chuckled and said, "She's not worthy!"
She plans to hoard these two thousand-year-old ginseng roots, and when she resigns from the palace, she'll take them out and exchange them for a lot of money!
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