"How dare I talk nonsense about such things?" The palace maid assured again, with a serious look in her eyes and a solemn expression on her face.
The Queen stared at her expression for a long while before slowly retracting her gaze and biting her lips tightly. She could not believe that the Emperor, knowing that Concubine Rong was having an affair, would only punish her to reflect in the ancestral temple.
"Your Majesty, there is one more thing. I don't know whether I should tell you or not..." Seeing that the Queen's expression had gradually accepted what she had just said, the palace maid spoke again, but this time her face looked extremely embarrassed, with hesitation between her brows. It seemed that there was something difficult to say.
"Speak!" Hiding the resentment and jealousy on her face, the Queen calmed herself down and then slowly asked. Right now, what else could be more upsetting to her than what just happened?
"Your Majesty, the Emperor seems to still be thinking about Concubine Rong. When I went to the upper room just now, I saw Eunuch Yu seemed to be coming back from the direction of the ancestral temple." The palace maid half closed her eyes and whispered her discovery.
Upon hearing this, the Queen immediately raised her eyes, staring at the maid in front of her with suspicion. She asked in a cold voice, "You seem to dislike Concubine Rong? You repeatedly mention Concubine Rong in front of me, and always try to stir up my hatred towards her. Tell me, who are you?"
The maid fell to her knees with a thud. She didn't cry out for justice or defend herself. She only half-lowered her head and spoke calmly, "Your Majesty, you should know how this servant has treated you. Looking around the palace today, while Your Majesty is revered as the principal empress and has a little princess, a princess is not a prince. Even if Your Majesty has the Ruan family behind her, since ancient times, would anyone on the throne allow a woman to sit on it? Furthermore, Concubine De already has a crown prince. If he ascends the throne in the future, do you think he would treat you, his legal mother, with sincerity? Furthermore, there's another variable in this palace: Concubine Rong. She committed such a serious offense, yet the Emperor only lightly punished her with a punishment of consigning her to the ancestral temple. This level of favor is unprecedented in His Majesty's sight. Don't you understand? The Emperor has set countless precedents for Concubine Rong. I'm afraid that Concubine Rong's belly will eventually swell. If she gives birth to a prince, Your Majesty, your position as principal empress will be in jeopardy!"
The maid calmly explained the situation in the palace to the queen. Her voice was extremely calm, as if she was an outsider. Her words were not mixed with too much personal subjective consciousness, but they touched the queen's heart.
An unprecedented sense of crisis swept over the Queen's heart, causing her face to change suddenly. Her clenched fists were shaking uncontrollably. The calmness in her eyes was instantly shattered, and she was filled with boundless anger and jealousy.
"Your Majesty, please don't forget how the two senior palace maids around you died! Your Majesty, you have a kind heart and don't want to get involved in the fights in the palace. You just want to stay with the princess, but they won't let you go! Now you still have the support of the Ruan family and can sit on the throne of the queen, but if you continue to be so indifferent to the world, and you haven't given birth to a prince, can you guarantee that the Ruan family will not abandon you? I have a short life, and saying these disrespectful words today is a dead end. It's just that I feel sorry for your Majesty and don't want your Majesty to always be suppressed by them and unable to turn over! If your Majesty thinks that I am meddling in other people's business, then grant me death, and I will have no complaints!" After saying this, the palace maid kowtowed three times to the queen, and said no more, only the queen's decision.
After listening to her words, the Queen sat there quietly for a long time, until night fell, until Xiao Luzi came in with a lit candle. The Queen's eyes flickered, and then she turned to the palace maid kneeling in front of her, reached out to help her up, took her hand and patted it gently, and said with a hint of melancholy: "I understand your feelings, go down and get busy!"
"Yes!" The palace maid stood up, bowed respectfully to the queen, and then quietly retreated.
"Your Majesty..." Seeing that the queen's expression seemed a little different from usual, little Lu Zi stepped forward with some worry, but was stopped by the queen.
"Xiao Luzi, you should go down too!" The queen continued to sit in the same place, with one hand on the table and the other holding the handkerchief, but no one knew what she was thinking in her heart.
Seeing this, Xiao Luzi could only put away the candlestick and leave...
In the residence of the Prime Minister of Chu.
"Where is the princess?" When Chu Feiyang returned to the prime minister's residence, it was already dark. He stepped into Mengxin Cottage, but saw several maids sitting outside embroidering. He couldn't help but feel curious.
"Greetings, Your Highness! The princess is resting in the inner room!" Seeing Chu Feiyang coming back, several people immediately put down their work and stood up to salute. Mu Chun answered Chu Feiyang's questions on his behalf.
Chu Feiyang nodded, raised his hand to signal them to sit down and continue working, and he carefully lifted the bead curtain and walked into the inner room.
In the dim light, Yun Qianmeng lay on the bamboo couch with her eyes closed, covered with a thin quilt. The book in her hand had already slipped and fell to the ground. A gust of evening wind blew in from the window, lifting a few pages, and a small sound suddenly rang out in the inner room.
Seeing this scene, Chu Feiyang knew that Yun Qianmeng must be fast asleep, otherwise how could she not even notice that the scroll had fallen to the ground?
Chu Feiyang couldn't help but shake his head and smile. He walked over quietly, picked up the scroll from the ground and placed it on the table. Then he bent down and picked up Yun Qianmeng horizontally, gently placed her on the bed, and pulled the quilt over her to prevent her from catching a cold.
But after all this trouble, Yun Qianmeng still hadn't woken up. I wonder if she was too tired from rushing to the Sea King's Palace today.
Chu Feiyang bent down and placed a kiss on her pink cheek. He stood up and walked to the window, intending to close it to prevent the night air from invading the inner room, but he found Chu Nanshan striding into the yard. The grandfather and grandson looked at each other through the window and immediately understood what was in each other's eyes.
After closing the window, Chu Feiyang glanced at Yun Qianmeng. Seeing that she was still asleep, he walked out of the inner room and asked Mu Chun, "Princess, have you had dinner yet?"
Mu Chun immediately put down the embroidery in her hands and stood up. Seeing that the prince had lowered his voice, she also replied in a low voice, "The princess doesn't eat much."
Hearing this, Chu Feiyang frowned, but calculated the days in his heart before ordering: "Ask the kitchen to prepare some porridge. If the princess is hungry, let her have some porridge."
"Yes!" Not daring to be negligent, Mu Chun immediately bowed and agreed. He left Yingxia to guard the outer room and quickly walked out of the main house and headed towards the small kitchen.
Arriving in the courtyard, Chu Nanshan was indeed waiting outside. Chu Feiyang stepped forward and called out softly, "Grandpa!"
Chu Nanshan turned around, the cynicism on his face had long disappeared, his eyes were full of solemnity, he nodded to Chu Feiyang, and the grandfather and grandson walked out of Mengxin Cottage at the same time and came to the room.
"Grandfather, cousin!" Inside the room, Patriarch Xiahou and Xiahou Qin had already been waiting for them. The four of them sat around a round table, and the atmosphere was heavy.
"Prince Chen's private actions have become more frequent recently, and the tens of thousands of troops stationed outside the capital under Hai Chenxi's command are also training every day. Feiyang, what do you think?" Chu Nanshan was the first to break the silence. He spoke in a serious tone, his eyes filled with depth, giving people the feeling of a wise man.
Chu Feiyang gently turned the teacup in his hand. After listening to his grandfather's account of the recent events in the capital, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he said calmly, "This is inevitable. The emperor has begun to put pressure on us. Prince Chen and Prince Hai will definitely not tolerate it any longer. What's more, Concubine Yuande is now under the control of the emperor, and Hai Tian has been sent to marry a foreign prince. Prince Chen must be unwilling to accept this, and Prince Hai, with the external force of Qi Jingyuan, will not wait any longer."
After hearing Chu Feiyang's words, Chu Nanshan sighed heavily, his brows furrowed instantly, and he spoke with a hint of regret, "In the beginning, I supported the Jiang family to ascend the throne because I was afraid of causing a dispute between the Ancestor Emperor and the Sea King. But now it seems that it is too early for us to be relieved. Once this country is shaken, the people will suffer."
"Over the years, Prince Chen may seem to have only a city defense force, but he's secretly been expanding his army. With the Yuan family backing him up, I'm afraid Prince Chen's influence has spread throughout Western Chu. Dealing with him is definitely not a simple matter." Chu Feiyang put down his teacup, put away the faint smile on his face, and spoke calmly, "As for Hai Quan, let alone him. After decades of painstaking efforts, he must have many more men under his command, and they're probably all elite soldiers. Plus, he and Hai Chenxi are both extremely skilled in military tactics, so getting rid of them will be extremely difficult."
"Are we just going to sit here and wait for death?" Xiahou Qin's mood sank when he heard these words from Chu Feiyang. He knew that those two people were definitely not ordinary people. It would be extremely difficult to eradicate them completely. However, if he did nothing, he was afraid that the Chu family would suffer in the future.
"Grandpa, what do you think?" Chu Feiyang asked Chu Nanshan. The kingdom of Western Chu was founded by his grandfather, and everything the Chu family had was earned by his grandfather. Chu Feiyang naturally respected Chu Nanshan's opinion, and no matter whether Chu Nanshan attacked or defended, he would accompany him to the end.
Seeing Chu Feiyang handing him this most difficult problem, Chu Nanshan's expression gradually grew heavy, with a dark light in his eyes. His fingers tapped the table intermittently. After a while, he slowly spoke, "We must be both offensive and defensive. We can attack and defend, and we can defend and attack!"
Although the words were extremely obscure, the other three people present understood them.
"Qin'er, you will go to Luocheng tomorrow, count the troops in Luocheng, and make full preparations." The Xiahou clan leader was the most decisive. As soon as Chu Nanshan's decision came out, he began to give orders to Xiahou Qin.
"No, all the Xiahou clan's troops should protect themselves!" But Chu Feiyang spoke immediately after his grandfather finished speaking, causing the Xiahou clan leader to look puzzled.
Seeing the confusion in the Xiahou clan leader's eyes, Chu Feiyang smiled and explained, "The Xiahou clan is related to the Chu family by marriage. This is something everyone knows. There's no guarantee that it won't become a handle for others to threaten the Chu family. Therefore, the Xiahou clan's mission is to protect themselves. This is also considered to be conserving their military strength. Unless it's absolutely necessary, they must not lose a single soldier! What's more, Lu Xin's 60,000 troops are in the south, closest to Luocheng."
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