Hongli looked at Qingyu with displeasure, "What are you planning to do now?"
Qingyu didn't reply to Hongli's question, but instead turned to one of the midwives and asked, "Is this child a boy or a girl?"
Everyone was startled by the child's unusual appearance and didn't care whether it was a boy or a girl.
"It's a little princess," the midwife said weakly, clearly also afraid of the child.
"Then we absolutely cannot let them be burned to death!" Qingyu said with a serious expression.
"Does saying we can't burn her to death mean we can't? I'll say it again, you're just an empress, there are many things you can't decide." Hongli frowned, his disgust for Qingyu had reached its limit.
“If the Emperor dares to burn her, the consequences will be unimaginable.” Qingyu said earnestly, her expression growing increasingly serious.
“If we keep her, the consequences will be unimaginable,” Hongli retorted.
“No…” Qingyu shook her head, “This child is the reincarnation of the Snow Goddess. If the Emperor dares to burn her, the gods will not forgive you.”
She was spreading alarmist rumors, suggesting that the only way to save the child was to use ignorance to defeat ignorance.
Upon hearing this, Hongli fell silent. He looked at the little girl in the nanny's arms. Her eyes were closed, her mouth was slightly open, and her skin was as white as falling snowflakes.
"Could she be the Snow Goddess?" Hongli muttered softly.
Seeing that Hongli was about to change his mind, Wei Yanqing became anxious. She said sternly to Qingyu, "Just because you say she is the Snow Goddess doesn't mean she is. Even demons look like this. What if she is a demon?"
Because of her words, Hongli's mindset changed again, and his gaze toward the child was no longer gentle.
Qingyu wasn't angry; instead, she smiled faintly. "The capital hasn't seen rain for three months. The land is parched, many crops have withered, and the people are starving. Yet, as soon as this child was born, a timely snowfall occurred. Do you still think she's a monster?"
"I..." Wei Yanqing was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say, and could only look helplessly at Hongli.
Qingyu didn't give Hongli a chance to speak, but continued, "If you insist on believing that this child is a demon, then you may as well burn her. Just don't blame me for not warning you. If the gods are angry, you will be the villains of this world."
After saying that, she took advantage of the crowd's inattention and snatched the baby from the nanny's arms. Only when she held the child in her own arms would she feel safer.
"Your Majesty..." Wei Yanqing looked at Hongli with pleading eyes.
Hongli remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "Keep this child here for now. If the weather is favorable, she will be the Snow Goddess; if natural disasters or man-made calamities occur, she will be a demon. In that case, don't blame me for disregarding our familial bond."
"Ha...you have feelings for your own flesh and blood?" Qingyu thought to herself with a hint of sarcasm. She knew that the reason Hongli kept the child was because he was stunned by her words.
What a ridiculous person! He clearly doesn't love the people that much, yet he pretends to love them like his own children. He's not even a tenth as good as his father, yet he still wants history books to record this as the Kangxi and Qianlong era of prosperity, completely disregarding Yinzhen.
What's even more ridiculous is that, in order to make up for his inferiority complex, he had the historian write that he was favored by Emperor Xuan Ye from a young age and raised by Xuan Ye's side.
It's absolutely ridiculous.
The snow lessened, and Hongli looked up at the dark sky. With Wei Yanqing's support, he gradually walked away.
What's heartless is that he didn't even ask Ziyan to get up when he left, even though she was the one who gave birth to his child on the verge of death!
Qingyu couldn't bear it any longer, and after Hongli left, she quickly had someone help her into the house.
"Thank you, Empress, for saving that child's life."
As soon as Zi Yan entered the room, she was about to kneel down again, but fortunately Rong Yun stopped her.
"No, I'm just trying to accumulate some good fortune for myself," Qingyu said casually, offering a reason.
Zi Yan's face was already covered in tears. "I am truly grateful to Her Majesty the Empress for her magnanimity in not holding my past offenses against me."
Qingyu shook her head. "It's all in the past. People should look forward. Consort Shu, don't hold a grudge."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Zi Yan nodded repeatedly.
"By the way, how did you get into a conflict with Consort Ling? Was it just for that thousand taels of silver?" Qingyu asked, placing the sleeping child in the cradle.
Zi Yan grumbled in dissatisfaction, "I really couldn't stand her overstepping her bounds, so I couldn't help but say a few words to her. I never expected her to be so ruthless." As she spoke, a hint of hatred flashed in her eyes.
"Next time, don't be so impulsive." Qingyu's eyes darted around, revealing shrewdness and wisdom.
"Yes! Your Majesty, I understand."
......
When Qingyu returned to Kunning Palace, it was already midnight. She was exhausted and closed her heavy eyes as soon as she lay down on the bed.
When she opened her eyes again, it was already Chen Shi (7-9 AM). Upon hearing that a light snowfall the previous night had nourished the earth, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
But then she heard that Hongli had the historian record that it was because he knelt before the Four Heavenly Gods to pray for blessings that the snow fell, which immediately made her face darken.
"What a self-aggrandizing person," Qingyu muttered.
To reward those who prayed for blessings, Hongli will be preparing to travel to Jiangnan in just a few days.
Since Wei Yanqing had already raised enough money and had been there many times before, there was no need to prepare too much.
After noon, Hongli left with Wei Yanqing and her entourage, and Fupei temporarily took over the administration of the court.
With their departure, the palace instantly calmed down considerably, which was exactly what Qingyu wanted to see. As long as Hongli wasn't in the palace, she would be happiest.
However, this peaceful period did not last long. A month later, news came that Tibet had been invaded.
In the imperial court
The ministers began to argue, each offering their own opinion.
"If we don't send troops to attack the Gurkha now, are we just going to let them bully and humiliate our Tibetan people?"
The first person to speak was Fu Pei. Although he was over thirty years old, he was tall and slender with a commanding presence. At this moment, he looked solemnly at the minister with a fierce face standing opposite him.
Fortunately, he returned; otherwise, this burly minister with a fierce face would have been in charge of the court.
"His Majesty is not in the palace, so none of us have the right to issue this decree on his behalf," the minister retorted.
“My brother is already in Yunnan. Even if we inform him as quickly as possible, it will take a month. The people of Tibet cannot wait that long.” Fu Pei was furious, his face flushed. How could there be such a stubborn minister in the court?
"Hmph, whether they can wait or not is their business. In any case, everything must be done with the Emperor as the supreme authority. If you raise an army and go to war without informing the Emperor, that would be treason." The minister stroked his mustache and said with a smug look on his face.
"Heshen!" Fupei could no longer contain himself and angrily pointed at him, saying, "You dog official who only knows how to curry favor with the Emperor, you are the one who is committing treason by obstructing me from saving the people."
The argument between the two was witnessed by Qingyu outside the palace. As soon as she heard Yongji say that someone was trying to prevent Fupei from going to war, she rushed here.
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