"What's the big deal? Even if she is the Queen Mother, she can only be regarded as your Majesty's stepmother. In this world, how many stepmothers can truly do good for their children?"
A woman carrying a vegetable basket spoke very convincingly.
When everyone heard this, they thought it made sense.
"It seems that Your Majesty is indeed a bit pitiful!"
"It's more than just pitiful. I also heard that the Prime Minister's poisoning this time was also the work of the Queen Mother, who wanted to pin the blame on Your Majesty!"
"Oh, I never expected that the Queen Mother would be such a person!"
"Yes, yes. I heard that when the Queen Mother was still a virtuous concubine, she was as quiet as a chrysanthemum and never mingled with others. I didn't expect that it was all just an act!"
"Tell me, why does the Queen Mother dislike His Majesty so much? Why does she care so much about the Regent?"
"I know this. I just happened to read a book called 'The Romantic Regent and the Pretty Widow' these past two days. Doesn't this match up with everything?"
"Ah, this book? I've read it too!"
...
...
Seeing the rumors about the affair between the Queen Mother and the Regent spreading like wildfire and getting more and more intense, the woman with the vegetable basket, the scholar in plain clothes, and the owner of the restaurant all retired after their success, leaving only the people of the city. In just half a day, they spread the news of the day throughout the surrounding area.
Su Jianyue was right. Nothing could create momentum better than public opinion. People were particularly interested in these secrets.
After the prime minister woke up, Duan Chengzhi personally sent him back to the prime minister's residence to recuperate.
Overnight, the situation in the court became even more tense.
The Queen Mother attacked Your Majesty in court, causing Your Majesty to be seriously injured and not recover from the depression, and he fell ill.
Before daybreak, the Grand Tutor, along with a group of civil officials, knelt outside the Xuanwu Gate and questioned the Empress Dowager in court.
"The Queen Mother spends a fortune on His Royal Highness the Regent, regardless of whether they are relatives or not. What is the meaning of this?"
"The Queen Mother will not care about the mother-son relationship and will make Your Majesty so angry that he will fall ill. What is her intention?"
"It is unacceptable for a hen to crow at dawn, and it will bring disaster to the country. I, an old minister, implore the Queen Mother to give up her power, return half of the tiger talisman, live in seclusion in the harem, and not interfere in court affairs, so as to rectify the government."
"Your Highness, we implore you to give up your power, return half of the tiger talisman, retire to the harem, and not interfere in court affairs, so as to rectify the government."
Once a call comes, thousands of calls will follow.
Every word is sonorous and thought-provoking.
The Queen Mother was so angry that she was shaking all over.
"That bastard must be faking illness so that I can't get off the tiger and return the military token."
She waved her sleeves, and the extremely precious jade and porcelain fell to the ground with a clinking sound.
"If Lin Shen was awake, how dare he be so rampant?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the empress dowager's mind suddenly became clear.
"Yes, that's right. Why didn't I think of that? The poison was clearly given by the emperor himself. The assassin must have been arranged by the emperor himself. Otherwise, why would he seize the opportunity to attack?"
At the critical moment, the Queen Mother regained her senses.
It's not like you're just shooting yourself in the foot.
Not even a prime minister, I am using stones from other mountains to polish jade.
From beginning to end, this assassination was the emperor's work.
Even the witnesses and physical evidence Duan Chengzhi found, one by one, pointed to Lin Shen and the people around her.
But, that was all the emperor crying "stop thief".
His purpose was to take advantage of the opportunity to seize power.
The half tiger talisman in her hand is the emperor's ultimate goal.
It turned out that the once docile dog had been raised into a wolf right under her nose.
"Report!"
San Qian, the young eunuch who was originally responsible for guarding the gate of Ci'an Palace, came in hurriedly.
He knelt before the Queen Mother and reported tremblingly: "Queen Mother, something terrible has happened. The Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, along with half of the people in the city, has also knelt outside the Xuanwu Gate and joined the Grand Tutor's camp. Please, Queen Mother, come forward and give us an explanation!
"presumptuous!"
The Queen Mother felt a surge of fear in her heart.
She was inappropriate in posting a notice to seek medical treatment.
But she never imagined that things would be so serious.
If she withdraws the notice at this moment, wouldn't it make her look even more guilty?
The Queen Mother looked helplessly at Xiao Linshen, who was lying on the couch with his lips already dark blue.
Tears fell.
"Lin Shen, wake up quickly, I... I'm scared!"
She took Xiao Linshen's hand, trying to gain courage from his palm.
But he found that Xiao Linshen's body was terribly cold.
"What's the use of crying?"
A cold female voice sounded from behind the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother turned around abruptly and saw Xue Qingyan's face which made her extremely disgusted.
"How did you get in? Get out of here."
Xue Qingyan walked step by step to the Queen Mother, "If I don't come, I'm afraid that after Your Highness wakes up, he will really have nothing and have to start from scratch!"
She looked at the Queen Mother with contempt.
"A good-for-nothing idiot."
What else could she do besides causing trouble for the prince?
"Who do you think you are? How dare you scold me?"
"Does the Queen Mother really want to waste time on such trivial matters?"
Xue Qingyan's cold eyes showed a hint of tenderness the moment her gaze fell on Xiao Linshen.
The Queen Mother spoke in sign language.
"Hasn't the Queen Mother noticed that Your Majesty's behavior this time is different from before?"
This one sentence completely awakened the empress dowager.
Your Majesty is wearing a golden soft armor, how could you be injured by an arrow?
This can only mean that the emperor has been waiting for this moment to happen since the banquet.
In that situation, the emperor, A Shen and the prime minister, no matter who was safe and sound, would be suspected of being the mastermind behind the assassination.
The emperor must be injured in order to turn himself into a victim and naturally be in a weak position.
Afterwards, he and the prime minister recovered one after another, but Ah Shen was still not awake. He calculated that she would lose her composure.
So, using himself as bait, he secretly instigated the Grand Tutor and Marquis Zhongyong to join forces and force her to hand over the tiger talisman.
If it were in the past, the emperor would certainly not have bothered to use such a roundabout way to get the tiger talisman in her hand.
He would avoid assassinations, watch Ah Shen and the Prime Minister coldly, and sit on the mountain to watch the fight between tigers.
"It must be that woman who gave advice to the emperor. I should have known that she was not an ordinary person."
Last time, the emperor and the woman teamed up and scared her badly.
This time, he had a better grasp of her mind, making her worry and panic.
One day, that woman will surely fall into her hands, and she will make sure that she will neither be able to live nor to die.
"Not so stupid."
Xue Qingyan added: "If you negotiate with His Majesty at this time, resign your power and retire, and from then on, do not interfere in government affairs, in exchange for His Majesty's antidote, I believe he will agree."
"Why should I trust you?"
"You can either give up your rights or return the tiger talisman. It's your choice."
The Queen Mother was very displeased with Xue Qingyan's attitude.
"Many years ago, between power and His Highness, you chose power. Now, the old scene reappears, and you are still hesitating."
Xue Qingyan was full of resentment, "How could someone like you deserve His Highness's deep love?"
Outside Xuanwu Gate, more and more officials and civilians joined the team.
Within the palace walls, Duan Chengzhi pushed a memorial in front of Xiao Yuqi.
"This is the document of the Minister of Revenue, Lord Ge, retiring to his hometown. Your Majesty, please take a look."
How could Xiao Yuqi look sickly and pitiful at all?
He took the document and said, "Mm." "Master Ge is really as the rumors say, he knows how to handle current affairs!"
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