How could the blood come from the Emperor!?

The queen was worried, her voice full of concern: "Your Majesty, what happened? How did your body get hurt? Could it be that spies from Xixia have infiltrated the harem again?"

The emperor was very embarrassed. "Queen, please don't ask me anymore. I was just careless for a moment. It's not a big deal."

As for the origin of this drop of blood...

After a sleepless night, the emperor's mind was already somewhat confused. After hearing Wu Qing's words, the emperor bent down and barely dodged the oncoming sword.

But this hiding caused trouble.

The emperor's foot twisted slightly and he accidentally fell onto a stool.

...And that stool happened to be the one where Wu Qing originally hid the needle.

Wu Qing stopped and looked at him suspiciously.

[Strange, why do I remember putting a needle in the middle of this stool? ]

[Maybe I remembered it wrongly. The emperor's expression didn't change at all, so it definitely wasn't that stool.]

emperor:……

What could he do? He had worked so hard all night, and he couldn't let it all go to waste here.

In order to maintain his image as an omnipotent emperor who could turn danger into safety, the emperor had no choice but to swallow his anger and pretend that the needle never existed.

Later, perhaps when the emperor and Wu Qing were fighting on the bed, blood accidentally splashed onto the quilt, causing Wu Qing's bloodstains.

So... this was just a beautiful misunderstanding.

It doesn't matter if I get pricked by a needle, at least Lady Ji finally gave up the idea of ​​assassinating me. The emperor comforted himself.

The queen sighed softly, with helplessness and fatigue in her eyes.

She added: "Your Majesty may not know how many people in the harem passed the news to me in just one morning. I hope I can persuade you."

"What's going on?" The emperor, who had just recovered from his shock, was a little confused.

He clearly ordered that all concubines were not allowed to disturb the queen while she was recuperating.

Who is so bold as to disobey his orders and send the news to Kunning Palace?

The Queen asked, "It seems that the Emperor almost missed the morning court today. Is this true?"

A trace of unnaturalness flashed across the emperor's face.

He clenched his fist and coughed.

When the queen saw it, she immediately understood what was going on.

The Queen said tactfully, "Last night, Concubine Ji passed water four times. Moreover, I heard that many eunuchs heard the noise coming from Concubine Ji's room, and they said that... the sound was very loud."

"I'm afraid this will cause some unnecessary speculation and discussion. Your Majesty, people's words are scary," the queen said earnestly.

The emperor was speechless, knowing that he was in the wrong.

He understood.

It goes without saying that the concubines in the harem must have thought that he favored Concubine Ji too much.

I'm afraid they all hate Concubine Ji now.

The Queen advised: "Your Majesty, Concubine Ji is of great use. If you do this, I'm afraid she will become the target of public criticism and cause unnecessary trouble."

"How could I not know this?" The emperor sighed, sat down, held the queen's hand, and said slowly, "Does the queen know that Concubine Ji has been trying to commit suicide these days?"

"I am too greedy. I want to borrow her Book of Secrets and I don't want her to die."

"The incident at Xiangguo Temple caused a great stir in the city. I went to comfort her, but I heard her thoughts of suicide. I had no choice but to pretend that I was immune to all poisons and could turn danger into safety, so as to stop her thoughts."

After hearing this, the queen showed a bit of helplessness on her face. She knew too well that Concubine Wu was trying to commit suicide.

When Wu Qing first came to this world, the first person he chose to kill was the Queen. The Queen still cannot forget the day when Wu Qing spoke nonsense to everyone in Kunning Palace.

This most noble couple in the world actually saw helplessness in each other's eyes at the same time.

"I have no choice but to do this." The emperor said tiredly, "Don't worry, Queen, I won't make such a big fuss again in the future."

At least after last night, Concubine Ji would no longer think of assassinating him.

Having not touched the emperor's clothes for the entire night, Wu Qing was now hiding in a corner of the Linhua Palace crying.

The Queen held the Emperor's hand and whispered, "That's fine. Your Majesty, Concubine Ji has the Book of Heaven's Secrets in her hands. You must not treat her as an ordinary concubine. At least, you can't let her sleep with you anymore."

In the palace, only the Queen dared to advise the Emperor in this way.

The emperor nodded: "I understand what the queen means. Queen, rest assured, from now on, I will never allow anyone to harm Lady Ji in the slightest."

…

After meeting with Concubine Ji, the emperor finally made up his mind to settle the long-standing account of the Huguo Temple once and for all, and would not allow any delay or leniency.

All those on the Golden Lotus Society's list who were officials in the court were beheaded.

Pang Fei, Ye Qichang, Lin Zhao, Liu Xi and other well-known figures in the Golden Lotus Society were sentenced to have their homes confiscated. All their property was confiscated, and their wealth disappeared overnight.

Those who were involved in officialdom and also committed crimes related to the Golden Lotus Society were exiled three thousand miles away.

As for the disciples of Huguo Temple, although they were deceived by Tongguang, it cannot cover up the fact that they assisted the tyrant and committed evil.

Therefore, except for those novice monks who had not yet been ordained, all other disciples were made official slaves.

The main culprit, Tongguang, was sentenced to death by beheading and executed the following year.

On the day the imperial edict was issued, voices of injustice in the capital city rose and fell like a tide, one after another, endless.

When the common people passed by the usually magnificent gate of the mansion, they found that those arrogant gatekeepers had disappeared without a trace.

After asking passers-by, they found out the truth of the matter.

"Bah! Such an unkind official!" "Serves you right!"

The people showed disdain on their faces and spat at the gates of these mansions.

The situation in the former dynasty changed suddenly, and the harem was not spared from the storm.

Although Concubine Sun was the head of a palace, she sold all the jewelry in the palace and bribed Tongguang. In just a few years, she gave ten golden Buddha statues to the Huguo Temple.

Considering that his original intention was to have a child, his sentence was reduced. However, as his virtue was not worthy of his position, he was demoted to a noble, confined to his home and fined as a punishment.

And Concubine Ning...the Emperor was very distressed.

In fact, Ningpin had not done anything inappropriate with Monk Liaokong. But the unspeakable feelings in her heart were noticeable to everyone.

The emperor originally wanted to order the execution of Concubine Ning as a warning to others.

The Queen said earnestly: "Ningpin served the Emperor diligently in the past. Even if she has no merit, she has worked hard. Considering her past kindness, the Emperor should spare her life."

The emperor was still furious, his voice was chilling: "She is having an affair with a man outside her family!"

Where is my dignity?

The Queen advised softly, "If the Emperor really punishes Concubine Ning severely, it will be announcing her crimes to the world. I think it would be better to send her to be a nun, so that she can spend the rest of her life with the green lamp and the ancient Buddha. This can also be regarded as a punishment for her."

In the end, the emperor nodded, tacitly agreeing to the queen's proposal.

The eunuch at the side drafted the imperial edict and handed it to the emperor for review.

The emperor took a glance and stamped his seal.

After all the trivial matters were dealt with, the emperor mentioned the matter of Concubine Qi in a casual tone.

"Qi Changzai is very scheming and has framed Lady Ji many times. She should be executed."

The head eunuch obeyed the order respectfully, with a barely perceptible ruthlessness flashing in his eyes. He winked slightly, and the two young eunuchs followed suit.

Half an hour later, a young and lively person disappeared silently in the palace.

When the eunuch reported back, he said that before the oral order could be passed on to the palace, Concubine Qi had hanged herself.

When the queen found out, she sighed and said, "Forget it. It's just a life after all. Wrap the body and bury it in the suburbs."

"yes."

"Xiwen." The queen called softly.

"I'm here, your majesty." Aunt Xiwen responded quickly.

The queen turned her head and looked at the bright sunshine outside the window. "The day of the selection seems to be approaching."

Xiwen understood in her heart that the Queen was once again lamenting the passing of time and the replacement of old people with new ones.

"My lady, it is next month."

The queen nodded.

New people will only keep coming in, but when old people leave, no one will remember them.

The struggle in this palace will never stop, even if the price is to sacrifice one's own life like Qi Changzai.