"The third one is not a good guy!"
Queen Mother Pei complained about Liu Yan, and then she asked Gu Jiu, "Queen, what do you think about this matter?"
Gu Jiu said, "Now that the truth has been ascertained, let's handle it impartially."
Empress Dowager Pei frowned.
Xiao Qin'er secretly observed the reactions of the two men and whispered, "Although the truth has been revealed, the third brother refuses to hand over the person. He says he can't afford to lose this person, and even if Cai dies, she can only die in the palace. The Jingzhao Yin certainly doesn't have the courage to go against the palace, so it looks like this matter will definitely come to nothing."
Empress Dowager Pei frowned, "Are you going to keep this woman, Cai, alive for the New Year instead of executing her? What does the Third Brother think?"
Gu Jiu said lightly, "Executing Cai now will inevitably lead to accusations of guilt. The Third Brother is concerned about his reputation, so I guess he wants to wait until the storm is over before giving Cai a bowl of heartbreaking medicine."
Empress Dowager Pei snorted coldly, "Have His Majesty issue an order to reprimand the Third Brother and see if he keeps on being honest."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "It's just a small matter, there's no need for His Majesty to intervene."
Empress Dowager Pei looked at her and asked, "Does the Queen intend to handle this matter personally?"
Gu Jiu said, "My daughter-in-law has been busy lately and hasn't had time to attend to the Third Brother's affairs. Over the years, there's been unrest in the Third Brother's family, and I've often heard about it. Someone died from taking food at the Third Brother's wife's pharmacy, and my people have mentioned it a few times, but I didn't expect the truth to be so horrible. It was actually the Cai family who was behind this."
Empress Dowager Pei looked confused. "The Queen keeps talking nonsense. What's the point?"
Gu Jiu said softly, "Didn't your mother say that life was boring? Why don't you take care of this matter yourself? Your mother should also pay more attention to other royal relatives."
It was obvious that Gu Jiu was looking for something to do for Empress Dowager Pei.
People cannot be idle. Once they are idle, they tend to think about random things and want to do something even if they have nothing to do.
The royal family is a huge group, probably tens of thousands of people.
This does not include those Liu clan members who are far away and have already been out of the fifth generation.
Anyway, over the years, Gu Jiu didn't recognize all the people and was too lazy to care about the messy affairs of the royal family.
In the past, she was the wife of the emperor's grandson and the prince, so of course she could be lazy.
Now that she is the queen, many matters concerning the royal family will inevitably be reported to her and she will be asked to handle them.
She was extremely busy, and she also had to deal with internal issues within the royal family.
Forget it, forget it, it’s better to leave the royal family issue to Empress Dowager Pei.
If something really big happens, it won’t be too late for her and Liu Zhao to step in.
Empress Dowager Pei was surprised, "You want me to take care of the Third Brother's family?"
Gu Jiu nodded, "Is there any difficulty for the Queen Mother?"
Empress Dowager Pei rolled her eyes and coughed twice. "I know you're busy and don't like to deal with trivial matters. But you are the empress, and the empress is supposed to share the emperor's worries. You must keep a close eye on the royal family for His Majesty and be careful that no one has second thoughts."
Gu Jiu said, "What you said is true, but I am really busy, not intentionally being lazy. During the time of the previous emperor, you were the one who took care of these matters. Now your daughter-in-law has the audacity to ask you to worry about them for a few more years. What do you think, mother?"
"What is the purpose of living a lifetime? Isn't it just to worry about your children? Forget it, forget it. It's my fate to be a hard worker. I will take care of this matter for you, and I will also keep an eye on the royal family for you."
Queen Mother Pei agreed reluctantly, but she was cheering in her heart.
Unexpectedly, Gu Jiu called Xiao Qin'er's name again.
"Fourth brother's wife is a capable person. Why not let her assist mother and share her worries?"
Xiao Qin'er pointed at herself, "Me?"
She looked shocked.
This is a fire pit!
However, being able to interfere in the clan's internal affairs and hold power, Xiao Qin'er suddenly felt courage and desire again.
Gu Jiu looked at her with a smile, "Is Fourth Sister-in-law in trouble?"
Xiao Qin'er waved her hands repeatedly, "No, no. The Queen Mother ordered me to assist her and do my best."
After she finished speaking, she secretly glanced at Empress Dowager Pei, who happened to look over and their eyes met.
Empress Dowager Pei's eyes were clearly filled with dissatisfaction.
No one likes to have their power taken away from them.
Empress Dowager Pei coughed lightly and said, "Speaking of the internal affairs of the imperial clan, with the Ministry of the Imperial Household and the Imperial Clan Affairs Bureau, I can't do much. Furthermore, I'm afraid the Ministry of the Imperial Household and the Imperial Clan Affairs Bureau will have objections to the Empress's arrangements."
Gu Jiu nodded, looking as if he deeply agreed. "Your Majesty is right. However, the Shaofu and the Zongzheng Temple can handle disputes between households and the division of family property between brothers, but they cannot control the inner and backyards of each family, nor is it convenient for them to inquire about matters in the inner courtyards. That's why I thought of you, Your Majesty and Fourth Brother's wife, and asked you to step forward to avoid disputes like the one between the women in the Third Brother's house as much as possible. It even caused a death, so it really needs to be strictly rectified."
Xiao Qin'er glanced at Empress Dowager Pei, then said cautiously, "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. Matters in the inner chambers must be handled by women. Men only care about the affairs of the court, and have no idea what women are thinking."
Empress Dowager Pei narrowed her eyes and glanced at Xiao Qin'er with displeasure.
Xiao Qin'er straightened her back and pretended to be a naive person who knew nothing and could not understand the deep meaning in the Queen Mother's eyes.
Empress Dowager Pei snorted softly, "I can take care of this matter. It would be better if Qin'er could assist me. This would make it easier for me."
"I know that our mother is the most loving and kind." Gu Jiu said with a smile, "Fourth sister-in-law, you must assist our mother wholeheartedly in the future."
Xiao Qin'er was beaming, "Don't worry, Queen, I will definitely work hard and help you."
Empress Dowager Pei held Xiao Qin'er's hand and said, "You have been impulsive since childhood, and you never think before you speak or act. When you work around me, you must not make the same mistake again."
In this situation, what can Xiao Qin'er do?
She could only smile awkwardly, "Thank you for your concern, mother. I will definitely correct my bad habits and let you and the Queen rest assured."
"That's great!" Empress Dowager Pei said happily.
Xiao Qin'er was unhappy, but she could only endure it.
There are undercurrents between the two of them, and Gu Jiu will not interfere.
She had important things to do, so she found an excuse to leave first.
Xiao Qin'er followed suit and left the palace.
She returned home, unable to conceal her excitement.
He ran to Prince Duan Liu Yi to show off.
"Do you know who I met when I entered the palace today?"
Liu Yi rolled his eyes and didn't want to talk.
I'd taken a toll on myself from drinking, and it took me half a year to recover. Even though I was feeling better, I still couldn't muster up the energy.
Perhaps because he hadn't been out for a long time, his face was very pale and he had lost a lot of weight. He looked weak and powerless. I'm afraid he couldn't even beat a slightly stronger woman.
Xiao Qin'er didn't care about his attitude, she just wanted to find someone to show off to.
"I met the Queen. Guess what she asked me to do?"
Prince Duan Liu Yi finally reacted. His eyes moved and he asked, "What did she ask you to do?"
Xiao Qin'er was extremely proud. "The Empress asked me to work with the Queen Mother to take care of the clan affairs, mainly the disputes between the women in the inner courtyard of the palace."
"oh!"
Prince Duan Liu Yi's reaction was very indifferent.
Xiao Qin'er was very disgusted. "Don't just say that. This job may seem trivial, but it carries a lot of power. The first thing you do is to target the Third Prince's family. Do you think the Queen's move is a signal? Is His Majesty planning to let you take charge of the court?"
Liu Yi glanced at her and said, "Don't let your imagination run wild. As for the affairs of the Third Prince's residence, it's best for you to stay out of it and let the Queen Mother handle it."
"Why? The Queen personally called my name, how can I just stand by and watch?" Xiao Qin'er was a little dissatisfied.
Liu Yi rubbed his brows and said, "You're always the first to offend others. Are you sick?"
"You're the one who's sick! You were tricked by the second brother, and you've damaged your body by drinking too much. If I hadn't sought justice for you, you would still be half dead."
Liu Yi secretly rolled his eyes. "All the benefits went into your pocket, but I didn't ask for a penny. What else do you want?"
Xiao Qin'er laughed. "You're giving me advice. I've always disliked certain people. It's rare for me to have the power to openly interfere in the clan's affairs. I'm going to make those people suffer."
Liu Yi sneered, full of disdain. "You hold power, only to do things that harm others and benefit yourself. You're truly mentally ill. I dare say this: if you abuse your power for personal gain and retaliate, the Empress will make you vomit out everything you've eaten in less than six months. Don't you even look at the people working around the Empress? Who dares to take advantage of you? Who?"
Xiao Qin'er was stunned and asked in a low voice, "No one around the Queen dares to take action? You're exaggerating."
Liu Yi sneered and looked at Xiao Qin'er as if she were a mentally retarded person.
"Then tell me, who among the people around the Queen has done something helpful? You have money, who can you bribe around the Queen?"
Xiao Qin'er was speechless.
She frowned and said, "Everyone around His Majesty can be bribed, but the people around the Empress can't be bribed. This is too incredible."
"Otherwise, how could the Empress have built such a large business? You wouldn't understand even if I told you this. Let's talk about the Gu family. Who in history would dare to grant a title to Gu Ting, bypassing his father? Gu Ting refused to observe mourning for his stepmother, Xie, and the court was in turmoil. His Majesty didn't say a word, yet Gu Ting was able to escape unscathed. Has anyone in history ever done such a thing?"
Xiao Qin'er shook her head honestly, it seemed, as if, no one would do that.
Liu Yi continued, "Anyone who dared to do this would have long since been crushed to dust, nailed to the pillar of shame, and never allowed to rise again. Yet, look at the Gu family, look at the Imperial Palace—they're perfectly fine. The Empress's simple tricks were enough to confuse those noisy courtiers, and they quickly forgot all about Gu Ting. Let me tell you, the Empress is the master at manipulating power and guiding public opinion. Otherwise, even a mere warrior like Liu Zhao would have been torn to pieces by those courtiers long ago."
Never underestimate the combat effectiveness of civil servants.
With the promotion of newspaper media, the court officials' ability to quarrel has also steadily increased.
But she still couldn't beat the Queen, the leader in this industry.
"But what does what you said have to do with my affairs?" Xiao Qin'er asked.
Liu Yi looked so disgusted that he couldn't bear to watch, and Xiao Qin'er's IQ suddenly dropped.
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