Seeing Bai Yuzhi remain silent, Jin Xiumin thought she had hit the nail on the head and was extremely pleased with herself. "Why is Concubine Heng silent? Could it be that she feels I'm right and can't refute me? So even if she's pregnant, how can a lowly bastard be compared to the Empress?"
Before Jin Xiumin realized what she had said that was worthy of death, she actually said to Bai Yuzhi in the Qin harem, "A bastard's son is of lowly status and is not as good as the queen."
Except for the servants who were carrying Bai Yuzhi's sedan chair, all the other servants around him had knelt on the ground, even Wang Chonghai, the chief eunuch of the palace, was no exception.
Wang Chonghai had felt something was wrong when the Queen and Bai Yuzhi were arguing with each other. Now he regretted even more why he had accepted such a task. He thought that he would just escort Concubine Heng back to the palace on the orders of Emperor Qin Huan, but now he had found himself caught up in the conspiracy between Concubine Heng and the Queen. This damn Princess Goryeo even spoke such outrageous words. If the matter got out of hand, how would he explain it to Emperor Qin Huan when he asked about it?
Bai Yuzhi looked at Jin Xiumin as if he was looking at some fool who was trying to fight a rock with an egg without knowing the consequences.
"Jin Xiumin, do you know that you have been taken into the harem by His Majesty?"
Jin Xiumin was confused: "Of course I know!"
"Then do you know that you can no longer call yourself the Princess of Goryeo?"
"I do understand this bit of etiquette," Jin Xiumin said, proud of her understanding of the Daqin etiquette. "Daqin is similar to our Goryeo. Both emphasize obedience to the husband. Now I am your majesty's concubine, not a Goryeo princess."
Bai Yuzhi laughed, thinking she was quite shrewd, jumping right into the trap he had dug for her without even a hint of resistance. "Since that's the case, as a concubine in the harem, you don't have a rank yet. And as a second-rank imperial concubine, what right do you have to teach me a lesson, and what right do you have to be so presumptuous of my unborn child?"
"Or rather, who are you relying on? What does the Empress think?"
In this confrontation between Bai Yuzhi and the Queen, Kim Soo-min is ultimately just a pawn, and the final target is naturally the Queen.
The queen's face turned ugly when she heard that Jin Xiumin dared to interfere with the royal heir in Bai Yuzhi's belly, but Jin Xiumin chose to oppose Bai Yuzhi under the banner of protecting the queen. If the queen did not step forward at this time, she would completely lose her prestige in the eyes of everyone.
The fact that the envoy mistakenly identified the queen during the visit to the Sun Palace banquet had already made her lose face. The queen could not bear to be humiliated again, otherwise how could she maintain her dignity in the harem? She would definitely become a laughing stock.
Bai Yuzhi also knew this, so he held on to the queen tightly, forcing her to come forward, so that he could catch the queen's flaws.
The Queen stopped Jin Xiumin, who was about to continue arguing out of embarrassment, and said, "Noble Concubine Heng is being too aggressive. The princess has just arrived, so it's understandable that she was not able to react for a while. For my sake, please let it go."
Bai Yuzhi shook his head, disagreeing. "That wasn't what the Empress taught me back in Kunning Palace. Now that you're old, have you become soft-hearted? But Jin Xiumin looked down on my unborn child today. I really can't swallow this. Since the Empress wants to save face, I won't punish him severely. Just kneel for an hour."
Being punished to kneel at the gate of Jixian Palace where people were coming and going could be seen not only by the eunuchs and maids in the palace, but even by foreign envoys coming in and out. This was a great humiliation.
The Queen gritted her teeth and spoke almost word for word, "Noble Concubine Heng, please don't push your luck. You're being too presumptuous. After all, I'm still the Queen!"
This is on the verge of going crazy.
Bai Yuzhi pressed on with her victory, pretending to be provocative. She leaned down, bringing her cheek close to the Queen, her brows lowered. She looked pitiful, but in reality, she was incredibly arrogant. "So what? Will the Queen punish me to kneel, too?"
"you!"
Bai Yuzhi knew that the queen would not dare. If she had the courage to punish Bai Yuzhi by making him kneel, Emperor Qin Huan would immediately know about it and come out of the palace banquet, deposing the queen in front of everyone on the charge of being unkind and unfilial.
After staring at each other for a long time, Bai Yuzhi could see the resentment and murderous intent hidden in the queen's eyes. It seemed that the queen now wished to get rid of Bai Yuzhi as soon as possible.
In the end, because Bai Yuzhi was pregnant, the queen was at a disadvantage and had to compromise.
She said to Jin Xiumin, "Since Concubine Heng has punished you, you should kneel here for an hour."
After saying that, Baoqin helped her onto the Queen's carriage.
Wang Chonghai seized the opportunity and quickly ordered the eunuchs carrying the sedan chair to lift it. Bai Yuzhi and the queen then parted ways, one went to Kunning Palace and the other returned to Zichen Palace, leaving Jin Xiumin, the cannon fodder on the battlefield between the two, kneeling in humiliation outside the gate of Jixian Palace.
Once upon a time, Bai Yuzhi was cannon fodder on the battlefield between the Queen and Concubine Rong. The two of them could control her with just a flick of their fingers. But now it is different. Because of the child in her belly, Emperor Qin Huan and the Queen Mother have long been infinitely biased towards her.
Arriving at the Purple Palace, Wang Chonghai personally helped Bai Yuzhi into the palace and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will not say anything about what happened today in front of Your Majesty, and none of the servants would dare to do so either."
Wang Chonghai was talking about the dispute between her and the queen. Jin Xiumin being punished to kneel was not a big deal, and Jin Xiumin was kneeling at the gate of Jixian Palace, so everyone knew that she was punished.
"My Lord, you are loyal to Your Majesty and do not need to hide too much from me."
This is what Jean meant.
Of course it had to be said. If Emperor Qin Huan didn't know about this, wouldn't it be a waste of words? Bai Yuzhi had enough confidence. Emperor Qin Huan was a person with extreme likes and dislikes. Now he would take everything Bai Yuzhi did for granted. He could find a reasonable excuse for her in his heart without Bai Yuzhi saying anything. But it was different for the queen.
She had originally intended to depose the empress, wanting her to make room for Bai Yuzhi so that her unborn child could take over the throne of the legitimate Qin Huandi. Now it seems the empress is wrong in every way. And then there's that incredibly clueless Kim Soo-min. Should we say the empress's selection of candidates is truly poor? The first was her, Bai Yuzhi, playing the pig to eat the tiger, and the second, Kim Soo-min, assisting the enemy.
Jin Xiumin's words "I am a lowly bastard" hit the nerve of Emperor Qin Huan, and it was also the Queen's lifeline.
Bai Yuzhi knew that to deal with someone like the Queen, who appeared ruthless and ruthless but was actually confused and arrogant, she had to make sure she understood her desperate situation before she could take ruthless action. Only if she made a big move would Bai Yuzhi have a chance to investigate the dispute between her and Emperor Qin Huan.
Wang Chonghai was worthy of being someone who had served Emperor Qin Huan for many years. He naturally understood what Bai Yuzhi meant when he heard it. He reported it to Jixian Palace as soon as he returned. When the banquet ended that night, it was the first time since Bai Yuzhi became pregnant that Emperor Qin Huan did not return to Zichen Palace. Instead, he entered the gate of Kunning Palace for the first time.
The servants in Kunning Palace thought that the queen was going to regain her favor, and they all happily welcomed the emperor. However, when Emperor Qin Huan saw the queen, he had a cold face. He didn't look like he wanted to favor his queen at all, but rather as if he wanted to kill someone.
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