Chapter 40: Beautiful Daughter vs. Heirless Emperor 40
It takes time for the emperor to leave the palace, and both the court and the harem become busy.
Apart from the Empress Dowager, the Empress and Concubine Chun were certain to accompany him, and the other concubines all tried their best to hope to be able to follow him out of the palace. There were few concubines outside the palace, so maybe it would be their turn to be favored.
At the court meeting the next day, Prime Minister Liu donated 100,000 taels of silver to the court for disaster relief. All the ministers in the court said that Prime Minister Liu was a wise prime minister who served the country and the people.
Prime Minister Liu stood up straight, knelt in the Golden Palace, tears streaming down his face, "I feel guilty, and I only regret that I cannot stabilize the country and the people and share your worries."
"I was born in my old age, and I was reluctant to discipline her harshly. Now that I have angered Your Majesty, it is my fault. But my mother is old and she has become ill from missing her granddaughter. As a son, I have no choice but to ask Your Majesty for mercy."
On that day, the emperor lifted the confinement order on Concubine Liu. The old lady of the Liu family came to the palace to visit Concubine Liu. Concubine Liu knelt for a long time at the gate of the Qianqing Palace and performed the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows to express her gratitude for the emperor's great grace.
The emperor did not meet Concubine Liu, but rewarded Old Lady Liu as a consolation.
After that, Concubine Liu changed her arrogant and domineering attitude and became extremely low-key.
The disaster relief work of the previous dynasty finally made progress. The Liu family won a great victory and placed many of their own people there.
The Ministry of Revenue arranged several officials to accompany him to manage silver, money and grain, and Ji Gongming was among them.
The emperor stared at the memorial for a long time, and finally wrote his comments in red without changing a single word.
After the imperial edict came down, the major event was settled, and both the court and the harem felt much more relaxed.
Jingren Palace.
The concubines from all the palaces came to pay their respects to the Queen. Concubine Liu arrived neither too early nor too late, with a humble attitude, and sat quietly opposite Ji Yunhuan.
However, the look she gave Ji Yunhuan was not very friendly, and it was obvious that her acting skills were not up to par yet.
"The Queen is here~"
The concubines stood up and saluted one after another. Before Ji Yunhuan could bow, she was helped up by Chunfen who was beside the queen.
The queen took Ji Yunhuan's hand and smiled kindly, "It's enough that your intention is there. Please sit down."
"You are in poor health. His Majesty and I have exempted you from the formalities, but you still come every time. No wonder the Queen Mother often praises you for being sensible. Others can't be as calm as Concubine Chun."
Naturally, everyone followed the queen's words and praised her.
Liu Fei clenched the handkerchief in her hand, trying her best to suppress the hatred boiling in her heart. If looks could kill, Ji Yunhuan would have been riddled with wounds.
Ji Yonglian stood behind Concubine Liu. She was originally assigned to Changchun Palace. When Concubine Liu was under house arrest, she became even more attentive to her because she knew that with the support of the Liu family, Concubine Liu would be released sooner or later.
Now, Concubine Liu felt a sense of friendship with her, as if she had shared weal and woe, and she trusted her even more.
"I think your belly seems to be getting bigger. Considering the month, it shouldn't be this big. Could it be twins? You have to be careful. Twins are not easy to deliver."
Ji Yunhuan touched her belly. Her actual pregnancy was more than two months bigger than it appeared, so it was normal for her belly to be a little bigger.
"How could Ji Ying, a virgin girl, know about pregnancy? The imperial physician said that my pregnancy is very stable, and I will be able to give birth smoothly regardless of whether it is twins or not."
Huipin immediately responded, "If your Majesty hadn't told me, I would have forgotten that Ji Ying is still not in the emperor's favor. If someone didn't know, they would have thought that you had given birth to so many children that you could help your Majesty predict the pregnancy."
The concubines around all laughed, and they talked one after another, making Ji Yonglian unable to raise her head.
When it comes to insulting others, all the women in the palace are experts.
Ji Yonglian wanted to try a few more times, but now she couldn't utter a single word.
"Okay, we've laughed enough and made enough noise, now it's time to talk about business. Your Majesty is going to the temporary palace, and I really can't decide who should go and who shouldn't."
"I have discussed this with Imperial Concubine Chun and have decided that the heads of each palace should go together, and each of them can bring along one or two concubines of lower rank that they like. This will make things more lively."
As soon as the queen said this, everyone stood up to express their gratitude.
Concubine Liu was also happy. She had been worried that she couldn't bring Ji Yonglian over with her, so this was exactly what she wanted.
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Inside Changchun Palace.
There was a table full of delicious food in front of Concubine Liu, but she had no appetite.
Ji Yonglian came forward to serve, and Concubine Liu waved her hand, "Sit down and serve together. You don't have to stand and serve anymore."
Shi Liu came over to serve food to Concubine Liu. The previous Shi Liu had died, but Concubine Liu was grateful for her loyalty, so the senior palace maid beside her was still called Shi Liu.
Ji Yonglian tried her best to persuade her, "Your Majesty, this trip to the palace to escape the summer heat is our best chance. If this can be accomplished, Ji Yunhuan will surely die!"
Concubine Liu looked at the bowl of soup in front of her and threw her chopsticks in annoyance, "How stupid! I don't like pigeon soup, are you dead?"
Shi Liu fell to his knees with a plop, his body trembling, but he did not dare to beg for mercy.
"Get out!" Concubine Liu kicked her and Shi Liu rolled out.
Ji Yonglian replaced a bowl of soup for Concubine Liu and sighed, "Ever since Sister Pomegranate passed away, the people who serve her are always not to her liking."
"My queen, Sister Shi Liu died unjustly. Ji Yunhuan is ambitious and will never give up. She is so cruel that she even drove her own father out of the house. Is there anything else she can't do?"
"Will your Majesty be able to escape unscathed next time? If we don't take the initiative, we will only end up dead!"
Concubine Liu was still a little hesitant. "But now is a time of trouble. Daddy said that he won a game in the previous dynasty. Everything is too much or too little, so he told me not to act rashly."
"My grandmother also came in to tell me to keep a low profile. As long as the Liu family is still there, I will be the queen sooner or later. There is no need to fight for the moment. At worst, I can leave the mother and keep the son. I have many ways to deal with it."
Ji Yonglian continued to persuade her, "Your Majesty, you are confused! If you really let her give birth to a prince, the sick queen can still hold on for a few more days. With her current status, the position of queen may be hers!"
Concubine Liu was silent for a while, and finally made up her mind, "Okay, but you must be careful and cautious, and never implicate me."
Ji Yonglian knelt on the ground and said loudly: "Your Majesty is wise, I will not let you down."
At the same time, inside Jingren Palace.
Chunfen is helping the Queen Mother to unclog her hair. Every night she does this for the Queen Mother a hundred times, which can unclog the meridians and relieve fatigue.
"Your Majesty, I think what Ji Da Ying said makes some sense. Concubine Chun's baby is indeed a little big. Do we really not need to check it out?"
The queen looked at the woman in the mirror. She was only in her twenties, but she didn't have a trace of vitality and looked as weathered as an old woman.
This is what the mother of a country should be like. The Queen Mother and His Majesty are both very satisfied with her, and no one cares what she wants.
"Chunfen, do you think His Majesty is a fool? Even if there is something hidden in this pregnancy, it must be His Majesty's own intention to hide it. Why should we go looking for trouble?"
"Your Majesty is wise. Concubine Liu is leaving the palace so frequently. She must be planning something. Should we intervene?"
The queen lay on the bed and closed her eyes tiredly. "No need, let them make trouble. Does Ji Ying really think he can overthrow Concubine Chun? He really doesn't know his own limitations!"
"Liu Fei is used to having everything go her way. She didn't learn her lesson after suffering a loss. She was shaken by a few instigations. Let's add fuel to the fire. Aren't they looking for someone? Then give them a hand..."
The queen's voice became lower and lower, and she fell asleep before she finished speaking.
Chunfen wiped the tears from her eyes and tried hard not to cry out loud.
The queen's health is getting worse and worse. I don't know if she can hold on until the day Concubine Liu dies.
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