Chapter 73 Framed
When Concubine Yao saw this, a hint of success flashed in her eyes, but quickly disappeared. She looked at Concubine Cui and scolded her angrily.
"Cui Zhaoyi, what else do you have to say?"
"On a normal day, you rely on the emperor's favor to act arrogantly towards the sisters in the palace. Now you almost took Madam Xiao's life. You are so cruel and vicious. How can you continue to serve the emperor?"
Seeing her presumptuous behavior, the queen spoke with displeasure in her tone.
"Noble Concubine Yao, I am still here."
Concubine Yao hurriedly spoke respectfully.
"Your Highness is right. I was too impatient. I invited Madam Xiao into the palace, and now she has suffered such a great punishment. I feel bad for her. That's why I wanted to quickly deal with Concubine Cui and give Madam Xiao an explanation."
"Your Majesty, you are the master of the harem. Now that the truth is clear, please make the decision for Madam Xiao."
Upon seeing this, Cui Zhaoyi cried out in haste.
"Your Majesty, I am wronged. I really did not push Madam Xiao."
Then he looked at Madam Xiao and shouted.
"Madam Xiao, I just asked you to hold the bait. You accidentally fell into the water. How can you blame me?"
Madam Xiao frowned when she heard this.
"Empress Zhaoyi, if I had fallen in by myself, I would have considered myself unlucky, but someone did push me."
"It's true that I have no grudge against Your Majesty, but hasn't Your Majesty disliked me since the moment we met?"
Cui Zhaoyi spoke upon hearing this.
“That’s…that’s…”
But she couldn't explain why. After all, she did intend to make things difficult for Mrs. Xiao.
The Queen spoke upon seeing this.
"As a concubine in the harem, Cui Zhaoyi has behaved improperly and acted arrogantly. Effective immediately, she will be demoted to a beauty and given twenty lashes..."
When Cui Zhaoyi heard this, she fainted.
The palace maid beside her hurriedly supported her and shouted worriedly.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty…”
At the palace gate.
Xiao Fuguang's carriage stopped in an alley not far away, and then he paced hurriedly at the palace gate.
Why didn't my mother leave the palace? Even if the concubines in the palace wanted to invite their family members into the palace to talk, they had to leave before the palace gates were locked. Unless the concubine was pregnant, she would stay in the palace for a short period of time with the permission of the emperor and the empress.
His mother had only come to the palace to drink tea with Concubine Yao, so why had she never left the palace? Thinking of the banquet that day when Prince Rong proposed marriage and the Queen and Concubine were at loggerheads, Xiao Fuguang felt more and more uneasy.
Liu Yue was comforting him from the side.
"Miss, Madam is blessed with good fortune, and nothing will happen to her. As soon as the sun rises, we will go to the palace to pay our respects to the Empress, and we will definitely be able to see Madam then."
Xiao Fuguang's furrowed brow didn't soften despite Liu Yue's words of comfort; the inexplicable unease in her heart surged like a tidal wave. As the night deepened, the palace gates were tightly shut, and amidst the dimming lights, she seemed to be able to peer through the walls and see the person she cared about.
Fengyi Palace.
The queen looked at the emperor sitting on the main seat and saluted respectfully.
"Your Majesty, I am sorry for disturbing you so late at night. However, I am unable to make a decision on today's matter."
"The Imperial Concubine summoned Madam Xiao to the palace for tea. When Madam Xiao was leaving the palace, she ran into Consort Cui. Consort Cui became dissatisfied with the etiquette between the two and asked Madam Xiao to bring the fishing bait as an apology. As a result, Madam Xiao was pushed into the water and nearly lost her life."
"Cui Zhaoyi is the daughter of the Cui family. I thought of lowering her rank and giving her twenty lashes, but I didn't expect that Cui Zhaoyi is pregnant. The imperial physician said she has been pregnant for over a month. This involves the heir to the throne. I ask Your Majesty to make the final decision."
The emperor frowned slightly when he heard this.
"How is Madam Xiao now?"
The Queen spoke respectfully upon hearing this.
"In reply to your Majesty, I asked the imperial physician to prescribe medicine for Madam Xiao. She has now woken up, but she was frightened and caught a cold. I'm afraid she will need to recuperate for some time."
The emperor spoke in a deep voice upon hearing this.
"Let Madam Xiao come in."
Soon Madam Xiao was brought in from the side hall.
"Your Majesty, your humble servant."
The emperor looked at Madam Xiao.
"Madam Xiao, you entered the palace to accompany the Imperial Concubine, but because of Concubine Cui, you fell into the water. How do you think Concubine Cui should be dealt with to give you an explanation?"
Madam Xiao was startled when she heard this. She hadn't expected the Emperor to ask for her opinion directly. She bowed slightly, trying to make her voice sound steady and respectful.
"Your Majesty, I am the wife of an outsider, and I dare not comment on the affairs of the harem. But since Your Majesty has asked, I dare to speak."
"Empress Zhaoyi is pregnant with an imperial heir, a member of the royal family, and must not be treated lightly. I, your humble servant, boldly request that Your Majesty prioritize the imperial heir and be lenient with Empress Zhaoyi. As for me, I only have a cold, and I will be fine after returning home to recuperate."
Upon hearing this, the emperor looked at Madam Xiao with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
"As expected of the wife of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, you are indeed very understanding."
After hearing this, Madam Xiao hurriedly spoke respectfully.
"Your Majesty Liao praised it."
"Your Majesty, I haven't returned home yet so late. I'm afraid my children at home are worried. I beg Your Majesty to send someone to escort me out of the palace."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuanyuan looked at Eunuch Su standing beside him.
"Su Ping, pick out some tonic jewelry and personally escort Madam Xiao out of the palace."
Then he looked at the queen and the imperial concubine.
"Concubine Cui is under house arrest for three months, and no one is allowed to visit her."
"The Empress and Imperial Concubine will be fined one month for any failure in managing the harem."
After saying that, he stood up and walked out.
The Queen and the Imperial Concubine bowed respectfully in haste.
"Your Majesty, I thank you very much and respectfully bid you farewell."
At the palace gate, Xiao Fuguang became more and more anxious as he waited, and his eyes turned red as he looked at the palace gate.
The palace gate suddenly opened and Xiao Fuguang stepped forward out of habit.
I saw Madam Xiao standing at the palace gate.
"Mother."
Tears welled up in Xiao Fuguang's eyes.
Madam Xiao quickened her pace.
"Fu Guang."
The mother and daughter hugged each other.
"Mom, are you okay? I'm so worried."
Xiao Fuguang's voice was filled with tears as he hugged his mother tightly, as if he was afraid that his mother would disappear if he let go.
Mrs. Xiao patted Xiao Fuguang's back gently and comforted him tenderly.
"It's okay, Fu Guang, mother is fine now. Thanks to the grace of the Empress and the Emperor, mother can see you so soon."
Eunuch Su on the side spoke.
"Mrs. Xiao, you are frightened today."
Then he glanced at the box carried by the two young eunuchs.
"This is from the Emperor to Madam Xiao."
"Please take good care of your health when you return, Madam Xiao."
Although Xiao Fuguang didn't know what had happened, he still spoke respectfully.
"Excuse me, eunuch. Please thank the emperor for us."
Eunuch Su spoke politely.
“Since Madam Xiao has family members coming to pick her up, our family won’t send her off.”
Madam Xiao also spoke politely.
"Thank you for your help, father-in-law."
Xiao Fuguang helped Madam Xiao into the carriage.
"Mom, let's go home."
He got on the carriage and held Mrs. Xiao's hand tightly.
"Mother, what happened? Why have you been in the palace and never left? We are all worried sick at home."
Xiao Fuguang touched her cold hand. This child must have been waiting for him here for half the night.
"It's okay, sorry to have worried you."
"It's just that I went into the palace a little late to drink tea with the Imperial Concubine, which delayed my departure."
Xiao Fuguang looked at the box in the carriage.
"Mother, you are not allowed to deceive your daughter. Why would the emperor give you a reward for no reason? Mother, have you been wronged in the palace?"
Mrs. Xiao didn't want to make Xiao Fuguang worry, so she spoke with a forced smile.
"It's okay, don't worry..."
But he started coughing.
“Cough cough cough…”
Xiao Fuguang hurriedly patted her on the back, took the tea poured by Liu Yue and handed it to Mrs. Xiao's mouth.
"Mother, have a sip of tea to moisten your throat."
Mrs. Xiao finished a cup of tea.
Xiao Fuguang saw that her face looked not very good and spoke anxiously.
"Mother, tell me what happened?"
"If you don't tell me, I'll find out for myself."
Amber beside her also spoke.
"Madam, why don't you tell Miss? Otherwise, Miss will be worried about it all the time."
Madam Xiao sighed when she heard this.
"It wasn't anything important, actually. I just left the palace late and ran into Consort Cui. We had a small conflict, and then I fell into the water."
A hint of coldness flashed in Xiao Fuguang's eyes when he heard this.
"Someone pushed Mother, didn't they?"
Mrs. Xiao nodded.
"Fuguang, let's try not to go into the palace from now on. Let's pretend that what happened today never happened."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Fuguang pondered for a moment. The Xiao family has always kept a low profile and has never made enemies with anyone. If there really was any hatred, it would only be what happened on the day of the banquet. Is all this really such a coincidence?
"Mother, tell me everything that happened to you in the palace. Don't miss a single detail."
Looking at Xiao Fuguang's solemn expression, Mrs. Xiao nodded.
He opened his mouth and recounted everything that happened today.
Xiao Fuguang frowned when he heard this, his eyes full of deep thought.
"This is not a simple matter!"
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