Chapter 67 Two Choices
Empress Dowager Wen was speechless. Those things really happened. She had no way to refute it. She could only burst into tears and look at Pei Yan with fear and regret.
Pei Yan was curious: "Does the Queen Mother regret not killing me earlier, or does she regret being sorry for me?"
Empress Dowager Wen just shed tears and trembled constantly.
"Oh." Pei Yan's face suddenly showed enlightenment: "Mother has no regrets. Mother is very scared now."
He tilted his head and told Wei Mama in a gentle voice, "Go and boil another bowl of medicine. I will personally watch my mother use it."
Queen Mother Wen immediately showed horror on her face, and her whole body was filled with strong resistance: "No! I don't want to drink the medicine!"
But it was Wei Ma, who was brought into the palace by her, who didn't listen to her at all and went out to do what the emperor ordered.
Queen Mother Wen panicked. She covered her chest where her heart was beating rapidly, and said to Pei Yan in a trembling voice, "Yan'er, I... I know I have been sorry to you in the past. You have a son now. Think about it, if your father gave your brother's son to you to raise, would you treat him the same as your own son? Besides, since Chen'er passed away, I have treated you as my own child. You can't do this to me!"
Pei Yan smiled, lowered his eyes and adjusted the sachet with fine stitching on his waist: "I know that I also have a favorite person now, and I will also treat other people as playthings and give them to her to entertain her like my mother did."
"Yes!" Empress Dowager Wen saw hope and said almost pleadingly, "It's good that you can understand me, mother. We can still be loving mothers and filial sons in the future. I will just pretend that what happened during this period of time never happened, okay?"
Pei Yan raised his head and looked at her with a smile: "Okay, but you still need to take the medicine for a while. I am worried about my mother being awake."
Queen Mother Wen shook her head desperately, and Pei Yan said patiently: "This medicine is indeed a bit harmful to the body, but it will not kill you. Just think of it as paying back the grievances I suffered in my childhood. When the news of my uncle's death comes, you won't have to drink it. I will still be filial and respectful to you as before. Of course, you can't act recklessly and bully my people as before."
"What did you say?!"
Queen Mother Wen froze for a moment, suspecting that there was something wrong with her ears. Her pupils shrank suddenly: "Brother? What's wrong with brother?"
Pei Yan did not answer. Nanny Wei brought the heated medicine back to him. He stood up and made way for her, saying gently, "Feed it to your mother."
Queen Mother Wen tried to catch him but failed, and she became agitated again: "Tell me! What happened to my brother! What happened to my brother!"
As soon as she gathered her strength, the dizziness came over her again. Madam Wei called two palace maids, who easily held the empress dowager down and forced the medicine into her mouth.
Empress Dowager Wen lay on the edge of the couch, coughing incessantly, and then she felt extremely sleepy.
She raised her red eyes and looked at Pei Yan who was standing not far away. She asked with her last bit of strength: "You have always been pretending to be nice to me. Don't you have any mother-son love at all..."
Pei Yan smiled and answered truthfully: "There is still some point, otherwise I would not let my mother drink the medicine for so long, it is too troublesome."
Empress Dowager Wen no longer had the energy to ask any more questions and she fell asleep.
*
After the first victory report from the northwest came back, Pei Yan began to busy himself with the affairs of the previous dynasty again.
It happened that Jiang Shuyi was about to have her period, so she moved back to Zhaoyang Palace again. Pei Yan saw that Fang Chu got along well with her, so he took her away with him.
As soon as Jiang Shuyi returned to the palace, she learned that Pei Yu had been sent to Wenhua Palace.
"Is it your Majesty's order?"
Yuzhu was afraid that the queen didn't know, so she quickly replied, "Yes, Eunuch Cheng came to take it away yesterday, and he said it was the queen's idea."
Jiang Shuyi then remembered that she was woken up by Pei Yan in the middle of her sleep last night. He was strong and asked her in a hoarse voice whether she still meant what she said before that she didn't want Pei Yu.
She had no time to think about anything else and just kept humming.
Jiang Shuyi came back to her senses, touched her slightly hot cheek, and said to Yuzhu: "Yes, it was my idea."
She had indeed had this plan a long time ago, but she was concerned that Pei Yu was too young and was afraid that she would be criticized for being too hard-hearted as a mother. Now that Pei Yan had issued an edict, it had nothing to do with her.
Yuzhu also knew that the queen did not want the little prince anymore, and it was useless to persuade her, so she stopped talking to annoy the queen and only asked, "Jinzhu's illness has long been cured, does the queen still want to see her?"
Jiang Shuyi recalled the last time Jin Zhu approached Pei Yu without permission, and nodded, "Bring him here."
After Jinzhu arrived in the palace, she knelt on the ground and cried without waiting for Jiang Shuyi to ask, "I know that the queen believed the slander and refused to get close to me anymore, but the little prince is innocent. How can the queen take her anger out on the little prince because of me and send him away?"
Jiang Shuyi: ...
She took the tea from Fangchu, took a sip, and asked with genuine curiosity, "Why didn't I notice that you were so shameless before? Are you worthy of taking your anger out on the prince for you?"
Jin Zhu was stunned for a moment, then quickly stopped crying and asked anxiously, "Why is that? Did the Queen offend His Majesty and implicate the little prince? The little prince is too pitiful. The Queen should apologize to His Majesty. As a mother, what can't she do for her child?"
Jiang Shuyi gritted her teeth, but before she could say anything, Fang Chu stepped forward and slapped Jin Zhu in the face.
"Who gave you the guts to speak to the Queen like that?"
She had changed from the gentle and smiling girl she was in the Palace of Heavenly Purity to a cold expression. Yuzhu knew that she was a person in front of the emperor, and was frightened for a moment, looking at the empress for help.
Jiang Shuyi felt extremely relieved.
As a favorite concubine, it was unbecoming for her to hit someone. Jinzhu was previously rampant and could scold or beat those who overstepped their authority. But after she was reborn and drove Jinzhu away, every time she was provoked, there was no one to hit her to vent her anger.
"Jinzhu, I remember that you were loyal to me when you were at home, but not long after you entered the East Palace, you began to take advantage of our childhood friendship and said things that I didn't like to hear and did things that annoyed me."
Seeing the disgust in the queen's eyes, Jinzhu suddenly felt a little scared and quickly explained: "My queen, I...I treat you as a sister, that's why I speak so openly to you!"
"You also know that you are a slave, and you call me sister. Are you looking for death?"
Jinzhu's eyes were hurt and she couldn't believe it: "My queen..."
Jiang Shuyi calmed down. Pei Yan was right. She was a favorite concubine. She didn't need to get angry when facing someone of low status and whose words had little influence. As long as she didn't want to, the other party wouldn't even have the chance to speak.
"Since you treated me and my aunt sincerely when we were young, I will give you two choices. Either I will report to His Majesty and let you leave the palace to marry, or I will transfer you to serve Jiang Wanqing. The relationship between you and me as master and servant will be severed. If you talk to me like this again, I will beat you to death."
Jinzhu felt a chill rising from the soles of her feet and a chill on her spine. She wanted to crawl to the side of the empress, but Cheng Lu quickly stopped her and said, "How dare you disturb the empress?"
Jinzhu could only beg: "My queen! I don't want to serve others! I only want to serve you for the rest of my life!"
Jiang Shuyi drank her tea leisurely: "If you don't choose, I will choose for you. You are old enough, it's time to leave the palace and get married..."
"I don't want to marry!"
Jinzhu's eyes were blurred with tears, and what appeared before her was the emperor's tall, handsome and divine figure.
There is no man in this world better than Your Majesty!
She looked at Jiang Shuyi who had made up her mind and bit her lip: "I am willing to serve the Second Miss. Please grant your approval, Madam!"
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