On the way back to Changle Palace, the nanny beside the queen couldn't help but whispered,
"Empress, are you really not worried? She's been given the power to manage the six palaces while she's still pregnant. If she gives birth to a prince, he might step on your head!"
The Queen waved her hand and frowned:
"Mammy, you're too impatient. We haven't even started yet, and you're already scaring yourself and worrying about it."
The Queen put her hand on the nanny's arm and walked slowly. She was calm and gentle, with a graceful demeanor, and her voice was neither hurried nor slow, as if she had expected this day to happen.
"She's rising through the ranks. Isn't it only a matter of time? On the day of the palace selection, the moment the Emperor entered, his eyes fell on her first."
"Although I don't know what it is about her that pleases the Emperor, I expected her to be favored by the Emperor and subsequently valued by the Emperor."
"It's just a little earlier than I expected. Let's just wait and see how things develop. Time will tell. Let's just focus on doing our own thing."
"By the way, Mammy, please spread the news as soon as possible and have my father and brother gather more information about the Su family father and son. We should prepare first so that if the situation changes in the future, we won't be caught off guard."
The Queen raised her eyes to glance at the azure sky, a smile on her lips. "I wonder what the situation is like in the Imperial Concubine's palace. She was quite clever yesterday, but unfortunately she picked up sesame seeds and lost watermelons. The loss outweighs the gain."
————
The imperial concubine was staying in her palace and throwing a tantrum.
The glass cups, jade cups, white jade plates, agate rings and other items in her palace were all destroyed.
It was placed neatly on the mahogany treasure chest one second ago, and the next second it was thrown to the ground, broken into pieces.
The imperial concubine threw everything she could in the palace, feeling unsatisfied, and wanted to curse loudly, but fortunately, she was held down by the senior palace maid beside her.
"Your Highness, please be careful with your words!" The senior palace maid held the Royal Concubine in the bedroom and would not let her go out, fearing that she would make a scene and lose her composure.
It would be bad if the emperor saw us.
"Your Highness, just throw some things and let this matter go. Please don't make any more trouble."
"Yesterday, the Emperor clearly showed sympathy for you, His Majesty the Imperial Concubine. Today, he even removed you from your position of managing the six palaces... If I'm right, the Emperor will surely come to our palace today to comfort you and give you an explanation."
"I will have the outer room cleaned up right away. You should also dress up and calm down. We will wait for the Emperor to come in looking beautiful."
The imperial concubine's face flushed the color of liver, her chest heaving violently. "Huan'er, will the emperor really come today?"
Huan'er nodded, pulled the imperial concubine up, changed her clothes and jewelry, and wrung a handkerchief with hot water to wipe her cheek carefully.
Then she personally applied powder, rouge, and flower ornaments on her face, and put on lip balm.
The imperial concubine, who had a face full of resentment and looked like a mad woman just now, was now bright and charming, full of charm.
The imperial concubine looked at herself in the bronze mirror, sighed, and said, "If the emperor doesn't come, and I lose my authority to assist in managing the six palaces, then I will really lose both my wife and my army."
Just as he finished speaking, he heard the eunuch's high-pitched voice coming from outside the palace, "The Emperor has arrived!"
————
Although the imperial concubine was stripped of her power to assist in the management of the six palaces, she regained Rong Zhou's favor from that day on.
Now, in this harem, the imperial concubine and Su Wanti are equally powerful.
Su Wanti drinks spiritual spring water every day, and she is in very good health and has not had any severe reactions during her pregnancy.
When she reached the second trimester, she was not as sleepy as other pregnant women. Instead, she was full of energy, had a clear mind, and did not feel heavy in her body.
This gave her the time and energy to arrange the affairs of the harem.
Over the past decade or so, the imperial concubine has not done nothing. She has placed people in the several departments and offices under her charge.
The first step Su Wanti took over was to find out the imperial concubine's people, keep them in place, and then select available people from various places and promote them.
Then slowly marginalize the imperial concubine's people.
In just one month, the imperial concubine's people were demoted one after another, and Su Wanti's people occupied these important positions.
The queen did not impose any restrictions on Su Wanti, nor did she secretly put obstacles in her way.
During this period of time, Su Wanti has been doing very well.
Time flies, and it is early winter in the blink of an eye.
The weather was getting colder, and the blue of the sky was becoming lighter. In the palace, only green trees such as pine, cypress, magnolia, and nandina stood tall in the cold.
The other trees were left with only bare branches, covered with a thin layer of fallen snow.
That day, just after dawn, the sign outside the palace was passed into the Yufu Palace.
It was Madam Su who came in with a sign, asking to see Su Wanti.
In a few days, it will be the day of Su Hanri's trial.
Madam Su was in such a hurry to enter the palace, she must have succeeded.
"Is mother waiting outside the palace gate? Let her in quickly, Yuzhu, go and pick her up yourself." Su Wanti ordered.
Then, she sat with her eyes lowered, calm and composed.
After a while, Mrs. Su arrived.
Today she was dressed in plain clothes, with her hair simply tied into a bun and pinned with a few silver hairpins.
After entering the door, she knelt down in front of Su Wanti, her cheeks pale and her eyes red and swollen like peaches.
"My Lady, the Master…he hanged himself to save your brother's life!"
"What?" Su Wanti stood up suddenly, and the milk tea in her hand rolled to the ground. The white porcelain bowl fell to the ground and broke into several pieces, and the milky white milk spilled all over the ground.
She staggered a few times and stumbled over. "Mother, you are lying to me, right? Father, how could he commit suicide?"
Two lines of clear tears slowly flowed down her cheeks, and the crystal tears dripped onto the white marble floor, blooming into small water splashes.
Madam Su lowered her head weakly, her face ashen.
Soon, Rong Zhou got the news.
He was afraid that Su Wanti would be sad, so he hurried to Yufu Palace after the court session.
When Rong Zhou arrived, Madam Su had already returned home. She had to go back to take care of the funeral arrangements.
Su Wanti locked herself in the bedroom, biting her lips, crying silently without making a sound.
Rong Zhou walked quietly into the bedroom and saw Su Wanti's back.
She was already six months pregnant, but she had not gained much weight. Her shoulders were still thin and hunched. Just looking at her back made him feel distressed.
"Wan'er, I heard about it." Rong Zhou put his arm around her shoulders.
He felt the person in his arms tremble and lean weakly against his chest.
"Your Majesty, although my father treated me coldly and was not close to me when we were in the Su Mansion, he is still my father. Your Majesty, my father took his own life for my brother. Your Majesty, can you please spare my brother for my father's sake?"
Su Wanti sobbed softly.
Rong Zhou couldn't bear it. "Okay, I'll do as you say. I'll go and convince Fu Xiang to withdraw the case. I don't think he wants to be known as someone who forced his colleagues to death."
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