Chapter 164 Memories
On the second day after returning to the palace, Pei Yan went to court to discuss matters with the ministers. On the one hand, it was to resolve the backlog of government affairs, and on the other hand, it was to let all the ministers know that the emperor was still fine, so they should not panic, and even more so not have any other thoughts.
Jiang Shuyi had just brought Yuzhu back from Wenhua Palace when the Queen summoned her over.
It was now time for the morning meeting, and Jiang Shuyi didn't want to be surrounded by everyone and looked at like a monkey, so she planned to go to Zhaoyang Palace to take a look at Zhang Miao first.
Zhang Miao was staring at the tip of the embroidered shoes in a daze. She raised her head when she heard the announcement. After being stunned for two moments, her round eyes immediately turned red.
The little girl ran over with her skirt lifted, threw herself into Jiang Shuyi's arms, hugged her tightly, and cried, "Mother..."
Jiang Shuyi was a little confused.
She felt that she was not that close to Zhang Miao.
"Why are you crying?" Jiang Shuyi looked down and saw that she was crying. She guessed, "You miss your mother, right?"
Zhang Miao cried and shook her head: "Mother, I thought I was unlucky for mother... My mother was fine in the princess's mansion, but because of me, she was scolded by my grandmother and disliked by my uncle and aunt. After I entered the palace, you disappeared again. I, I don't know if it's because of me..."
Jiang Shuyi thought it was funny: "What does it have to do with you? Hey, do you miss your mother? I will send you out of the palace to find your mother."
Zhang Miao raised her tearful eyes and asked aggrievedly, "Doesn't my mother want me anymore?"
Jiang Shuyi pinched her face and said, "I don't know how to coax a child, let your mother do it."
Zhang Miao quickly held back her tears.
Jiang Shuyi found it interesting and couldn't help teasing her: "Your mother and grandmother both said you are smart. Are you really smart?"
Zhang Miao blinked her big watery eyes and looked at her: "Does mother like smart guys or stupid guys?"
Jiang Shuyi thought for a moment and said, "I'm not very smart, so I naturally like people who are smarter. Otherwise, what will happen if two of them become stupid together?"
Zhang Miao nodded vigorously: "My daughter is smart!"
Jiang Shuyi smiled: "That's great, I'll take you to Kunning Palace later. You've pissed off the ladies so much that they can't speak. I like you."
Zhang Miao choked: "Daughter... do your best!"
In Kunning Palace, Jiang Shuyi was ready to show off her power, but after leading Zhang Miao in, she found that there were only Queen Shen, Miao Wangshu, Feng Yiyue and Concubine Rou in the palace.
The other concubines who were not on good terms with her or were not familiar with her were not there.
When Feng Yiyue saw her, she didn't care about etiquette. She ran over with red eyes, took her hand and asked in a trembling voice: "Madam, are you okay?"
When Jiang Shuyi saw her like this, she knew that her leaving the palace had become known to everyone.
She could only say a few words of comfort and then looked at Miao Wangshu and Roupin.
Both of them had red eyes.
They had their own thoughts, so if the queen didn't say anything, they wouldn't ask. Only Feng Yiyue asked worried questions. Jiang Shuyi couldn't tell them that she was deceived and escaped from the palace, as it was too embarrassing. So she followed Pei Yan's instructions and just said that she went on a private visit with the emperor.
Miao Wangshu and Roupin could naturally tell that this was a perfunctory statement. The imperial concubine disappeared outside the palace, and no matter what she did during her disappearance, she was bound to be discussed and speculated. Only by saying that she was with the emperor from beginning to end could they shut up the gossips.
But Feng Yiyue couldn't hear it, so after feeling relieved, she asked her if there was anything interesting on the way.
Just as Jiang Shuyi was thinking about how to make up a story, Miao Wangshu pulled Feng Yiyue away and seemed to have twisted her.
Although Feng Yiyue felt aggrieved, she was also tactful enough to realize that she had probably said something wrong again, so she suppressed her curiosity and did not ask any more questions.
Jiang Shuyi felt her sleeves being gently tugged at this moment. She looked down and saw Zhang Miao with a bewildered look on her face. She asked cautiously, "Mother, are you still going to make them angry..."
Jiang Shuyi: ...
She asked Wangshu and the others to take Zhang Miao out to play, and then looked at Queen Shen.
Queen Shen’s expression was as calm as always, but this time there was no hostility.
She was appointed in a time of crisis and had been ruling the country from behind the scenes for dozens of days. Naturally, she knew that the emperor did not go on a secret visit with Jiang Shuyi, but left the palace to find Jiang Shuyi.
"What happened? How could you get lost for no reason?"
Jiang Shuyi was not used to Queen Shen's caring tone, and habitually retorted: "Your Majesty, you are so happy that I am lost, right? Why do you have to pretend? Your Majesty is not here."
Queen Shen was so angry that she almost said it was outrageous, but she held back in the end.
She tried her best to be patient and said gently, "Noble Concubine Jiang, I just want to tell you that you are already the mother of the prince, so don't think too much. If you feel uncomfortable in the palace or someone makes you unhappy, you can tell His Majesty or me. Run out of the palace without saying a word. If you encounter any problems, it will be too late for you to regret it."
Jiang Shuyi's hair stood on end, and she looked at her as if she had seen a ghost: "...The Queen has been lowering the curtains for a few days, has she gone insane?"
Queen Shen couldn't help it anymore and said angrily: "Jiang Shuyi, you are so presumptuous!"
Jiang Shuyi breathed a sigh of relief.
Queen Shen found that there was no way to reason with Jiang Shuyi!
During the twenty-one days that His Majesty had been away with Jiang Shuyi, she had sat alone in the court and had truly experienced what it felt like to be sitting on pins and needles.
If something happens to His Majesty, the two princes are still young, and she cannot say a word in the court. Her mother's family has no help, so it is not known whether she can support the princes to succeed to the throne. If the Nineteenth Prince becomes disloyal and takes the opportunity to rebel and proclaim himself emperor, her honor and the honor of her mother's family will come to an end.
Queen Shen didn't know that Jiang Shuyi was the queen of the harem, and what was she dissatisfied with? She insisted on running away. His Majesty also went crazy and even left the government to chase her in person.
After nearly a month of trembling in fear, they finally came back. The court was not in chaos and the honor was still there. Queen Shen was really afraid that Jiang Shuyi would do something again.
Jiang Shuyi didn't understand what she was worried about, so she took a plate of cakes from Kunning Palace and went outside to feed Zhang Miao.
*
The downfall of Grand Tutor Wei implicated many officials, including Concubine Xue's father.
She wore plain clothes and took off her hairpin outside the Qianqing Palace, kneeling down and begging Pei Yan to spare her father's life.
After listening to Cheng Shouzhong's report, Jiang Shuyi immediately straightened up and looked at Pei Yan, with an expression as if she would start making trouble if he dared to listen to Concubine Xue.
Pei Yan pressed her back into his arms and looked at Cheng Shouzhong coldly: "Do you have to report this kind of thing?"
Cheng Shouzhong groaned in his heart, but he could only admit his mistakes repeatedly and then retreat and chase the man away.
After the nosy person left, Pei Yan continued to pat Jiang Shuyi, lowered his head and asked gently, "Just now you said that I would avenge you, and then what?"
These days Pei Yan always asked Jiang Shuyi to tell him about her past life. Although she wrote it in the letter, it was only a brief summary. Pei Yan wanted to know all the details.
Jiang Shuyi has already finished telling everything about her previous life, and now she has started talking about the nightmares she had after her rebirth.
When she thought of those dreams, she still felt sad, so she snuggled into Pei Yan's arms and told them.
"Pei Yi and Pei Yu are both dead. Your Majesty can only choose a capable person from the royal family to inherit the throne. After much deliberation, you chose Pei Shen, the great-great-grandson of the former King of Shu. He was fifteen years old at that time, and should be only five or six years old now. Both his parents passed away early, and he grew up relying on the royal salary. Your Majesty appointed him as the crown prince, and then..."
Jiang Shuyi choked up when she said this, remembering the scene in her dream where he drank poison and lay beside her body. Her throat felt like it was blocked by a stone, heavy and painful.
She couldn't continue speaking and buried her face in Pei Yan's arms, tears streaming down her face.
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