Chapter 163 An Lingrong 104
After the emperor returned from his first visit to Ganlu Temple, the queen had a bad premonition.
Unfortunately, no matter how she sent people to test the waters, the servants in the Yangxin Palace remained tight-lipped. The tighter the servants kept their mouths shut, the more the empress felt something was amiss.
Less than half a month later, news spread that the emperor had gone to Ganlu Temple to look for Zhen Huan.
It's no wonder that the Queen knew about this. Perhaps the Emperor had never had this special kind of interest before. In addition, Zhen Huan looked like Chun Yuan and had a gentler personality.
There was a sense of surprise at seeing an old person being reborn, and the excitement of secretly keeping a mistress probably suited the old man's taste. He had been there so many times in the past half month, and he did it under the pretext of praying for the empress dowager. It was really impossible for others to guess.
Unfortunately, the Queen had no other options. If Zhen Huan really decided to live outside the palace, even Yixiu would be powerless to stop her. Even if she could control everything, how could she control an emperor who wanted to keep a concubine?
I could only watch outside the palace and grit my teeth silently.
"Don't be angry, Your Majesty. She's already been deposed, and the Emperor just treats her as a toy." Jianqiu saw the Queen was angry and hurriedly offered her some tea. "Besides, Your Majesty still has the Third Prince. I heard he's been studying very hard these days."
"With his talent, if he doesn't work hard, he won't be liked by the Emperor." The Queen said this, but after all, he was her eldest son, and for the sake of her future position as Empress Dowager, she couldn't just abandon him. "Forget it, pack some food and come with me to the prince's residence to visit the Third Prince."
"Yes, my lady."
As soon as the queen's sedan chair arrived at the door, the third prince came out to greet her and respectfully called her "mother".
The queen supported him, her eyes full of love, and they went to the third prince's residence together, which really showed the love between a loving mother and a filial son.
The Fourth Prince glanced through the branches at the Empress's back, and the sound of his already clear reading became even louder. The Empress asked a few questions about the Third Prince's health, and then she turned to listen to the fluent recitation.
"Is it the Fourth Prince who is reciting the book outside?"
"It's my fourth brother. He's always diligent in memorizing."
"Third prince, you and your brother study together. What do you think of his grades?" The queen looked at the fourth prince, who had grown into a handsome young man, with a dark look in her eyes.
The third prince at the back didn't think much of it and said truthfully, "Master said that although fourth brother started learning late, he is talented and hardworking. Given time, he will become a great man."
"How does that compare to you?"
The Third Prince was cheerful and even a little proud. He leaned close to the Queen and whispered, "Although Fourth Brother is smart, he started school late, so naturally he can't compare to me."
"Just because you can't compare to him now doesn't mean you won't be able to compare to him in the future. You also said that he is very talented and intelligent. He seems to be more hardworking than you. I'm afraid that in time you will not be as good as him." The Queen glanced at the Third Prince and saw that he lowered his head because of what she said. She asked again:
"How is the Noble Concubine's Sixth Prince?"
"Sixth brother is even younger, with a dull and quiet personality. He only shows up for his homework and completes whatever the master assigns. He never puts in the effort and is just lazy."
The Queen nodded at this. The third prince, who was most likely to ascend the throne in the palace, was in her hands. The sixth prince was too young. Even with a favored mother, it would be difficult for him to shake the status of his two older brothers.
But the Fourth Prince...
That night, the Fourth Prince studied even harder than usual. He buried himself in his studies late into the night, refusing to rest. The nurse who cared for him felt sorry for him and quickly ordered mung bean and lily bud porridge for him as a midnight snack.
Unfortunately, the Fourth Prince was so distracted by his studies that he couldn't eat anything. He just ordered the nanny to drink and not bother him anymore.
"Clang—"
When the Fourth Prince Hongli looked up, he saw the nanny falling to the ground in front of him. Blood immediately flowed from all seven orifices and she was dead.
"Mammy! Mammy!" Hongli was filled with panic, but he remembered his previous behavior in front of the Queen. He originally wanted to attract the attention of the Empress Dowager, but he didn't expect that it would bring him a fatal disaster.
Hongli didn't dare stay in the prince's residence for a moment, and ran away stumbling all the way to Shoukang Palace.
In the prince's residence, the Sixth Prince, who was sitting cross-legged on the couch, looked at the little Youzi beside him and asked, "What's going on outside?"
"It seems like something happened to the Fourth Prince?"
The Sixth Prince paused as he was turning the pages of the book. "Someone died there?"
"That's right, it seems that the nanny beside him is gone. The Fourth Prince went to Shoukang Palace in a panic." Little Youzi lowered his head even more, but his voice remained neither hurried nor slow.
"Quite smart," Hongyao held the eighteen pieces that Khan Ama had awarded him two days ago in one hand, and flipped through the "Imperial Essay on Factions" in front of him with the other.
In addition to attending school every day with his master, he is often taken care of by Khan Ama, and his homework naturally contains all kinds of private information.
However, Hongyao always had a photographic memory and could understand ten things after hearing one thing. Even if Khan Aman had three or five times more homework, he could handle it easily, so there was no need to stay up late. Tonight, he just had nothing better to do and decided to read more.
Unexpectedly, I ran into another secret affair in the harem.
"What's going on with Third Brother?"
"Third Prince, um...slept very well."
"...Never mind, this is also his advantage." Hongyao pinched his eyebrows and said, "Let's settle him down. I have to go visit Mother, Yongan, Hongmin and the others after school tomorrow."
When Hongyao mentioned his mother and younger siblings, his face showed a warm touch. Little Youzi swiftly helped the Sixth Prince rest, then carefully closed the door and left.
The Empress Dowager stopped the matter of the Fourth Prince's murder after he moved into Shoukang Palace. The Emperor was not very concerned about this son, so he naturally let the Empress Dowager handle the matter.
The Queen thought she had completely controlled the Queen Mother and acted even more arrogantly. After hearing that Zhen Huan was pregnant and that the Emperor seemed to intend to welcome her back to the palace, she immediately created a series of ominous signs.
Not only did the prayer incense break, people twisted their ankles while walking, but they even deliberately set fire to Shoukang Palace.
Even Lingrong hadn't expected that in her previous life, the Empress Dowager was also dissatisfied with Zhen Huan's return to the palace. Although she didn't care about it in this life, she didn't approve of it either. She didn't expect the Empress to actually send people to set fire to the palace. She was really fearless.
However, the Queen's actions were indeed correct. If someone else's palace had been burned, others would have definitely taken it to heart. For example, Lingrong would have tried every means to bite off a piece of the Queen's flesh to get revenge. But the Queen Mother had to cover up for her because of her maternal family, and even helped her to clear up the traces.
"That fire last night really scared me to death. Fortunately, the emperor finally understood and postponed the return of the deposed concubine to the palace. Otherwise, who knows how many unlucky things would have happened."
Concubine Qi patted her chest, looking frightened.
"Yes, there has never been such an old rule that a deposed concubine returns to the palace. That Wanpin is just dreaming." Although Zhenpin has never met Zhen Huan, she feels a sense of crisis seeing the emperor's energy these days.
"What Wanpin? She's just a nun in Ganlu Temple now. Bah, she's still so shameless even after becoming a nun. If I were her, I would have hanged myself with a rope long ago!"
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