The empress followed the instructions and sat down beside Emperor Zhao. "Look at all these people criticizing Qi'er."
Looking around, there was actually a pile of them. The Empress pulled out a memorial from among them, examined it carefully, and said with a smile, "This is all nonsense. I believe that the Emperor will make his own judgment."
"They are just taking advantage of my old age and blurring my vision to make small moves right under my nose. Those who are truly interested have already taken sides."
The Queen smiled and said, "Your Majesty is in the prime of life and should take good care of yourself. Don't let such trivial matters harm your health."
"I know." Emperor Zhao patted the empress's hand and soothed her, "I want to stay with Zi Tong forever. I will never be a villain just because of slander."
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. It is getting late. Please move to the cabinet for dinner."
"Zitong," Emperor Zhao asked, "To whom do you think the throne should be passed?"
The Queen was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that the harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs?"
"I allow you to say it."
The Empress shook her head, refusing to answer the question. Speaking out now would inevitably make Emperor Zhao feel even more concerned. She was not only the mother of a country, but also had the Shen family behind her. If she missed the big deal for a momentary pleasure, then it would be her fault. The Empress avoided the question. "I only want to fill your majesty's stomach at this moment. The rest is none of my business."
"The more you love me, the more you become sneaky and cunning." After Emperor Zhao moved Yu away, he concealed the sadness in his eyes.
If Yi'er were still alive, he and Zitong wouldn't be so estranged. With Yi'er helping him govern, life would be easier. But it's a pity that things are unpredictable...
As for Xie Yunqi, it all depends on how far he can go. He can't help much at the moment. He has to rely on himself to resolve the trouble he has caused.
After a few days, fewer people came to Qinghe Garden to make memorials, while the originally deserted Prince Qin's Mansion was visited by many distinguished guests.
Xu Jing knew that many of these court officials who came to petition him were interested in power and status, so he accepted the gifts from all of them without offending them, and happily sent them away.
The epidemic has been brought under control for the time being. If nothing unexpected happens, Emperor Zhao will be able to return within three months to continue handling state affairs.
Those who came to give gifts at this time were simply because they had sensed the trend of Emperor Zhaodi selecting a crown prince and came to check out the situation in advance.
Xu Jing asked his housekeeper Xiao Ziye to pack the gifts according to categories, and then went back to find similar items and gave them to each family as gifts.
In the afternoon, the secret guard informed Emperor Zhao of the gift from Prince Qin, and Emperor Zhao summoned Concubine Lin to accompany him.
Concubine Lin was completely clueless. After diligently serving Emperor Zhao, Emperor Zhao asked, "Has Qi'er contacted you recently?"
"In reply to your Majesty, Qi'er hasn't contacted me for a long time."
"Oh? Didn't you contact the Lin family either?"
Concubine Lin's hair stood on end as she trembled and replied, "The harem cannot interfere in government affairs. I don't know anything about this matter..."
"Yin'er. Do you think Qi'er's personality is more like yours or mine?" He had been pretending to be stupid for over twenty years, so stupid that everyone believed him. Why didn't he pretend anymore? Did he want to fight for his own chance?
Concubine Lin fell to her knees, terrified. "Your Majesty, Qi'er was only protecting herself and didn't do anything out of the ordinary. I hope Your Majesty will understand."
"Yin'er, do you really not know or are you pretending not to know?" Emperor Zhao stared at Concubine Lin for a long time. Concubine Lin was frightened and broke out in a cold sweat, her face as pale as paper. "I don't know."
"Qi'er is smart. She has known how to hide her talents and bide her time to avoid attacks from both sides." Emperor Zhao sighed and extended his hand to Concubine Lin. "Get up."
Concubine Lin placed her hand in Emperor Zhao's and let him pull her up. Even as he held her in his arms, Concubine Lin felt uneasy. They say that serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. Just now, she felt like she was about to die.
"You were the one who made Qi'er and Xiu'er become friends, right?"
Concubine Lin lowered her eyes and said, "I am good friends with Concubine Min, and Qi'er and Xiu'er have been together for a long time, so they have developed a brotherly relationship."
"You want to leave a way out for Qi'er?"
Emperor Zhao, worthy of his title, saw right through Concubine Lin's subtle intentions. At this point, she could only speak frankly. "Qi'er and I simply wish to live a life of luxury and leisure. We hope Your Majesty will grant us this."
"Qi'er is not willing to be a rich and idle person."
Concubine Lin was startled and was about to kneel down to beg for mercy when Emperor Zhao stopped her. "I know you and Concubine Min have a deep bond. I always allowed your relationship because I didn't want the brothers to fight each other. Now it seems I was wrong. I always forgot that there can't be any rabbits around a wolf. They both have ambitions, so how could I let it go?"
"Your Majesty means..."
"Just go ahead and do it. Qi'er's path is much more difficult than Xiu'er's, so please help him more." Emperor Zhao could tacitly allow the two of them to do things under his nose. As long as no one was killed, it was a trivial matter.
Concubine Lin was silent for a long time, bit her lip and said, "Yes, I understand."
That night, Concubine Lin wrote a letter and asked Fengchun to bring it to Xu Jing.
At this time, Xu Jingzheng and Xie Yunxiu were drinking and singing, looking very happy.
Ling Yuan, dressed in black, walked slowly over. Seeing Xu Jing, he knelt on one knee and said, "Master, the imperial concubine has sent a letter."
After reading the letter, Xu Jing's face became solemn.
Xie Yunxiu asked Nuo Yu, "What did Auntie say to Fifth Brother that made him look so unhappy? Could it be that she wants to find him a wife?"
"You're being so dishonest every day. I should write a letter to Concubine Min and ask her to pick a strong wife for you and take good care of you." Xu Jing threw the letter to him. After reading it, Xie Yunxiu said, "This is a good thing. It seems that your aunt is worried about you. If I have an aunt who wants to help, I don't have to worry about not being able to accomplish anything big."
The list of people Consort Lin had compiled for Xu Jing was made up of those who had previously received favors from the Lin family. By using these people, Xu Jing would be eligible to compete for the position of crown prince. However, the quality of the people on the list was uneven, with some good and some bad, so it would take some time to sort through them.
The fact that Concubine Lin's letter could be sent from Qinghe Garden shows that Emperor Zhaodi was already aware of this matter. He allowed himself to build up his own power in order to wait and see if he could climb up the ladder through his own abilities.
It is easy to use the people above you. As long as you marry into the family, no one will not stand on his side when it comes to matters of mutual interest.
However, if he were to marry, he would lose the opportunity to be with Zhou Siheng. This was a bit putting the cart before the horse.
Xu Jing drank his wine and changed the subject. "What has Zhou Siheng been doing lately?"
"He was accepted as a disciple by Chen Song and worked under his watch. I heard Chen Song even introduced his daughter to him to win him over." Xie Yunxiu's words abruptly stopped. A glimpse of his surroundings revealed an incredible scene. His frail, incapable fifth brother had effortlessly crushed a wine glass. "This..."
Xie Yunxiu was dumbfounded. When did his fifth brother become so powerful?
"Don't worry about me, just keep talking."
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