"Okay then." Anyway, the fourth princess's loss of her child was a foregone conclusion. There was no point in going there now except to comfort her. I would go and visit her after she left the palace and returned home.
The two of them returned to the palace in silence as they rode in a carriage. Once the palace door was closed, they began to discuss what had happened today.
"How come you came so quickly? Did you hear that something happened in the palace?" Xu Yixing didn't see the fifth and sixth princes just now, so he guessed they hadn't arrived yet.
"It's just that I saw that you didn't come back after noon, and I was waiting for news from the palace. Naturally, I hurried there when I heard it." Lu Anyuan picked up a few plates of small cakes and pushed them all in front of Yixing, worried that she hadn't eaten anything.
Xu Yixing readily followed suit, grabbing the piece and eating it, while continuing incoherently, "The Emperor has deposed Concubine Ying and banished her to the cold palace. Did you hear this outside?"
"I didn't hear it, but now I know." A hint of satisfaction crossed Lu Anyuan's face, but he quickly suppressed it. "When I entered the palace, I asked my people to inquire about it. They said that the Fourth Princess and her third sister-in-law went to the Fahua Hall together. When they saw Concubine Ying, the fourth sister, they started to mock her. As a result, Concubine Ying got angry and hit the Fourth Princess in the stomach, causing her miscarriage."
"Huh?" Xu Yixing couldn't believe it. Even if Concubine Ying was angry, she couldn't deliberately bump into the Fourth Princess. She could have taken it out on the Third Prince's wife. This was too strange. "Is this a trick?"
"I don't know. Anyway, there are only three of them in the palace. That's what the third sister-in-law told people. Concubine Ying kept complaining, but the fourth sister really lost her child, so no one believed her."
The two people are at odds with each other and their testimonies cannot be counted, but Xu Yixing understands that even if there is some inside story, the emperor will definitely side with the fourth princess.
"I also heard that she wanted to ask you to go with her. Why didn't you go?"
"This is what I think is wrong. The Fourth Princess is so stubborn. She went there to humiliate Concubine Ying. I didn't want to get involved, so I didn't go. But now something has happened. How can people not be suspicious?"
"You are so smart." Lu Anyuan kissed Yixing on the forehead, full of approval for her behavior of keeping herself out of trouble.
"I am afraid of your family." Xu Yixing patted his chest, feeling lucky. But then he thought of the Queen Mother, and he became conflicted again. Should he ask Lu Anyuan?
"What are you thinking about? Why do you look so sad?"
Xu Yixing looked up. "Since you asked me, it would be inappropriate for me not to tell you." "Yuan, do you remember what you said before about pushing me into the well?"
Lu Anyuan froze. Even though Yixing said he forgave him, why did he bring it up for no reason? "I remember. Why?"
"I want to ask, after you went back, did you ask anyone to come to the well and rescue me?"
"Uh..." Of course not. At that time, I was just busy pretending not to be there, so I didn't have the mind to think about it.
As soon as Xu Yixing saw his reaction, he knew he definitely didn't care about his life or death. He snorted coldly, "Hmph, isn't that strange? The place where you attacked me was near the cold palace. Apart from the patrol team, no one passed by, let alone checking the dry well. How did I get rescued and returned home so quickly?"
"This...you might as well just tell me what you think." Lu Anyuan had never thought about this before, and even that memory was sealed by himself, and he didn't want to think about it.
Xu Yixing told Lu Anyuan all the words that the Queen Mother had tried to test him with today, and suggested to him that the Queen Mother might not be ill, which made Lu Anyuan frown.
"According to you, someone witnessed everything in the dark, saved you, and helped me clean up the mess. And this person is most likely one of the Queen Mother's men?"
"That wasn't what I said, it was the Queen Mother. And think about it, why did my father use medicine to erase my memory? Was it because of the Queen Mother's warning or something else?"
"What you said does make sense, but I still find it very bizarre. The empress dowager has been ill for more than ten years, and everyone has seen her seeking medical treatment during this period. Do you think she can pretend for so long?" Lu Anyuan's feelings for the empress dowager are still a bit like those of a normal grandparents, so he cannot accept Yixing's speculation.
"Maybe she's sometimes good and sometimes bad. I can't really tell. Anyway, I feel like something's wrong with the Queen Mother today."
"Okay, okay, even if what you said is true, why did she pretend to faint today? What's the reason?"
"Of course, she doesn't want to interfere with the outcome of the treatment of Concubine Ying. If she were awake, she would be the first person to know about the Fourth Princess's accident and would have to go to the scene. Then the Emperor would have to ask the Empress Dowager about how to deal with Concubine Ying, and she doesn't want to get involved."
"Hahahaha! How could the Empress Dowager, who has been in seclusion for many years, interfere with Father's decision-making? You really think too much. As for the matter of the well you mentioned, even if the Empress Dowager was speaking from a clear perspective, it just proves that she saved you. What's the harm in that?"
Xu Yixing remained silent. She and Lu Anyuan had very different opinions on the judgment of the empress dowager. Neither of them could convince the other, so it was better not to discuss it.
"What will happen if the Second Prince finds out that Concubine Ying has been demoted to a commoner?"
"Well," Lu Anyuan thought for a while, "He can either submit a petition to beg for mercy and be a filial son, or simply use this opportunity to sever ties and escape from Concubine Ying's control."
"Which one do you hope for?"
"Either is fine." Just when Yixing said the emperor's decree, Lu Anyuan felt that the time had come. This was a good opportunity to strike his second brother hard and make him doomed to failure, with no chance of ever succeeding to the throne!
So no matter which of these two methods he chooses, it doesn't matter, because Lu Anyuan hopes that he will take the third path.
"All? Don't you think this is a good opportunity to step on the Second Prince? Why don't you take advantage of it?"
"Of course it's a good time. I already have a plan. Thank you for the good idea!" Lu Anyuan hugged Xu Yixing and kissed him on the mouth. No matter how she asked for the next question, he didn't say anything else.
This is a secret. Of course, this kind of thing must be done quietly and not publicized.
In the evening, the two who had just finished dinner received a reward from the palace, which was specially given to Xu Yixing. After the empress dowager woke up, she told the emperor what had happened. The emperor naturally knew that it was the daughter-in-law who informed the empress dowager in time, which prevented a more tragic outcome, and naturally praised her.
Xu Yixing looked at the gold, silver, jewels, and rare medicinal herbs, and was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. After being married to Lu Anyuan for so long, she finally felt the benefits of being a prince's consort. The rewards she received were also precious, which was indeed much more generous than that of ordinary official families.
"Hehe, it's so nice to marry you. From now on, please take me around more often. Maybe one day the emperor will give you the throne, hahahahaha!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
