Chapter 218 It’s time to meet old friends
Seeing Yao Zhaoyi wiping her tears, the emperor took the handkerchief handed to him by the servant and wiped her tears.
"Okay, stop crying."
"I have already punished the previous incident. In this case, Concubine Li really went too far."
"I will punish her."
The emperor was really in love and couldn't tell right from wrong. This matter obviously looked suspicious, so the queen spoke up immediately.
"Your Majesty, I think this matter can still be investigated. Didn't Xiao Guizi also say that he didn't poison..."
Upon hearing this, Yao Zhaoyi started crying.
"Your Majesty, it seems that everyone in this palace wants me dead. Why don't you just grant me death? This will save me from living in fear every day. Your Majesty is busy with state affairs, and I don't want to bother you all the time."
Emperor Xuanyuan held her hand.
He looked up at the Queen.
"Okay, Queen, you can go back first."
The queen frowned somewhat unwillingly.
"emperor…………"
Emperor Xuanyuan's face turned cold.
"I ask you to go back to your Fengyi Palace first."
Seeing this, the queen had no choice but to salute respectfully.
"I have said too much. I will take my leave."
When Concubine Li, who was kneeling outside, saw the queen coming out, she hurriedly knelt down and walked towards the queen, reaching out to grab the hem of the queen's skirt.
"Empress, what does the Emperor say?"
"I am truly wronged. Please help me, Queen."
As he spoke, he kowtowed to the queen.
"Empress, I have no children, and the Emperor's attitude towards me over the years has been... If I were truly wrongly accused of poisoning, I'm afraid I'd be dead."
Most of the women in the harem were pitiful people. The queen bent down and reached out to help Concubine Li up.
"I know you can't think of something like poisoning. Even if you did, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to do it. But it's useless for me to trust you. The emperor needs to trust you first. The emperor asked me to return to Fengyi Palace first. You should wait for his judgment!"
"Don't panic too much. Even if you really end up in the cold palace, I will have people take care of you and won't leave you alone."
At this time, in Yao Zhaoyi's room.
Emperor Xuanyuan looked at Zhaoyi Yao and spoke.
"Don't be afraid. We still have Prince Rong. My beloved concubine, how are you going to deal with Concubine Li?"
When Yao Zhaoyi heard this, a gleam flashed in her eyes as she lowered her head.
"Your Majesty, I know that I was terribly wrong back then. I was young and loved Your Majesty too much. Lipin frequently provoked me, showing off in front of me how much Your Majesty doted on her, how good you were to her, and how many rewards you gave her. I couldn't help but want to scare her, but I didn't expect that scare would..."
"This is all my fault, isn't it? What right do I have to punish Concubine Li?"
"Your Majesty, I will not punish her. My careless act back then caused her to lose her child, and now she has taken half of my life. Your Majesty, can you please talk to Concubine Li? Let's call it even from now on. From now on, please beg her to spare my worthless life."
Defei listened and sighed.
"Alas, Sister Yao, I'm afraid that even if you think so, it will be hard for Concubine Li to accept her personality. You know, back in Fengyi Palace, she wanted to kill you. If she hadn't been stopped by the palace, I'm afraid you would have already..."
Upon hearing this, Yao Zhaoyi grabbed the emperor's hands with a frightened look on her face.
"Your Majesty, would you mind... letting Lipin come in? I'll bear all the beatings and scoldings she wants. Or, Your Majesty, please banish me to the cold palace. I only beg Lipin to spare my life."
Emperor Xuanyuan looked at Yao Zhaoye, who looked frightened and helpless, and felt a pang of distress in his heart. In all the years since she entered the palace, when had she ever lost her composure like this? He looked at Yao Zhaoyi and spoke.
"My beloved, don't worry. I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter."
"Come here, bring Lipin in."
Yao Zhaoyi hurriedly looked at Emperor Xuanyuan and shook her head.
"Your Majesty, I know that you, Lipin, only want to avenge your child. I owe her this. If Your Majesty really punishes her, I will feel uneasy."
"As long as she doesn't harm me in the future, everything in the past will be written off."
Seeing this, Concubine De spoke.
"Your Majesty, since Sister Yao has said so, then forget it. It's just that Sister Yao's safety... Your Majesty, you don't know that the servants in this palace flatter the powerful and bully the weak. Even if the poisoning hadn't happened, in such a cold winter, without charcoal fire and nothing to keep warm, I'm afraid Sister Yao wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer."
"Sister Yao contracted a chronic illness when she gave birth to His Royal Highness Prince Rong. This winter, she's particularly susceptible to colds. Right now, whether Concubine Li will be punished isn't the most pressing issue. What should Sister Yao do?"
Prince Rong also spoke from the side.
"Father, someone dared to put arsenic in Mother's food today. I'm afraid someone will dare to do something else in Mother's palace tomorrow. After all, Mother has been managing the six palaces for many years, and the concubines in the palace have all been punished or reprimanded to some extent. If someone takes the opportunity to retaliate... Father, I really don't dare to think about it. If something like today happens again, I really don't know what to do."
After hearing this, Emperor Xuanyuan fell into deep thought.
The Queen Mother spoke from the side.
"Emperor, Concubine Yao has been under house arrest for so long, and now she's had a near-death experience. Why not release her from that confinement?"
Emperor Xuanyuan nodded.
"What the Queen Mother said is true. Pass on my order. From now on, the feet of the Yonghe Palace will be untied."
Upon hearing this, Yao Zhaoyi hurriedly struggled to get out of bed and kowtowed to Emperor Xuanyuan.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
He kowtowed to the Queen Mother again.
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Queen Mother."
He saluted Concubine De again.
"Thank you, Madam Defei, for saving my life."
Defei hurried to help her.
"Sister Yao, please get up quickly. It's only right that you thank the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. We've been sisters for many years, so why are you still thanking me?"
Only then did Yao Zhaoyi kneel down before the emperor again.
"Your Majesty, I have committed a grave sin. If I were to be released like this, I'm afraid the sisters in the harem would be displeased. I have caused Your Majesty a great deal of trouble these days, and I no longer have the face to serve You. Why not allow me to go to Shou'an Palace to serve the Empress Dowager? I am too ashamed to face Your Majesty now, and I only ask to accompany the Empress Dowager to show my filial piety, and also to show my filial piety on Your Majesty's behalf."
If he really relieved himself like this, I'm afraid Concubine Shu would make a fuss. Emperor Xuanyuan pondered for a moment.
"Well, since you have such filial piety and want to serve the Queen Mother, I will allow it."
Upon hearing this, Yao Zhaoyi kowtowed hurriedly.
"I thank Your Majesty for your help. Your Majesty, rest assured that I will do my best to serve the Queen Mother."
But there was a glimmer of success in her eyes as she lowered her head.
Ningbo City.
It was snowing heavily.
Wen Ying walked in covered in snowflakes and bowed to Xuanyuan Jing and Xiao Fuguang who were playing chess.
"Your Highness, Princess, this is the third time the bandits have broken through. Su Yan has eliminated quite a few of them in the past two days. Furthermore, when the bandits broke through today, they asked for peace, but Su Yan refused and simply killed the bandits who came to negotiate."
Xiao Fuguang dropped a piece, and a cold look flashed in his eyes.
"Your Highness, please keep this chess game for later. We should go meet up with our old friend."
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