Chapter 48 Only the Madam is Enough
“Cough… cough cough…”
Zhao Yiban began to cough, and his thin body was trembling.
After a while, he stopped coughing and looked up to see Shen Qingtan looking at him with a smile, as if saying: See, I was right.
“…”
Zhao Yi felt pain in his chest, not sure if it was from coughing just now or because he was angry with her.
But at this moment, she had a bright smile on her face, and it seemed that she was in a much better mood because she had the upper hand in front of him.
Zhao Yi rubbed his eyebrows, feeling somewhat helpless and indulgent. "Madam is right. You are virtuous and generous, so you naturally don't mind me taking a concubine. If it were me, my body wouldn't be able to handle it. Just having Madam is enough for me."
Shen Qingtan heard that he was accommodating her and deliberately giving in to her, so he said these words to coax her.
It can be seen that his serious self-mockery is inevitably a bit funny.
She did smile, and with a smile on her face, she said, "Second Master is not only well-educated, but also knows how to analyze who he is as a person and face his strengths and weaknesses squarely. This kind of character is so rare and precious. No wonder you are the youngest number one scholar."
Zhao Yi raised her eyebrows. She was deliberately mocking him for being self-aware.
It was rare for them to get along so relaxed and unrestrained, and the atmosphere in the room became easy.
Zhao Yi's fatigue dissipated, and he leaned lazily against the soft pillow, looking at her across the oil lamp: "The emperor summoned me today and asked me to bring you to the palace to meet him tomorrow."
Shen Qingtan looked at Zhao Yi in surprise: "The Emperor wants to see me?"
Zhao Yi nodded slightly: "It's just an elder meeting a younger person, don't be nervous."
Shen Qingtan frowned, thinking of an old story about Emperor Jing'an.
Emperor Jing'an was not favored when he was young. When the Great Zhou Kingdom and the Northern Qi Kingdom exchanged hostages, Emperor Jing'an was sent to the Northern Qi Kingdom as a hostage by the previous emperor.
Later, the two countries went to war. Emperor Jing'an was already walking on thin ice in Northern Qi. Because of the war, his situation became even more difficult. He was often bullied and persecuted by the royal family and aristocratic families of Northern Qi.
It was not until the previous emperor was seriously ill that Emperor Jing'an fled back to the Great Zhou from Northern Qi.
However, according to what Shen Qingtan knew from rumors, the reason why Emperor Jing'an was able to overcome all difficulties and avoid being hunted down and return to the Great Zhou Kingdom was because Duke Zhao sacrificed his life to help him.
It was precisely because of this relationship that Emperor Jing'an respected Duke Zhao very much and often visited Duke Zhao at his mansion. During this period, he met Duke Zhao's legitimate daughter and fell in love with her at first sight.
At that time, Emperor Jing'an was just a prince. He asked the late emperor to grant him a marriage with the legitimate daughter of Duke Zhao and took her as his principal wife. After he ascended the throne, he canonized the legitimate daughter of Duke Zhao as Empress Yuanrong.
Empress Yuanrong always enjoyed the emperor's favor, but unfortunately, she was short-lived and died during childbirth.
Because Empress Yuanrong doted on Zhao Yi during her lifetime, Emperor Jing'an poured all his feelings for Empress Yuanrong and his regret for the stillborn child into Zhao Yi, as if he regarded him as his spiritual sustenance.
"Then what preparations do I need to make?" Shen Qingtan had attended palace banquets before, but had only seen Emperor Jing'an from afar. Tomorrow they would meet privately... She said coquettishly, "Now that you mention being nervous, I really am a little nervous."
Zhao Yi looked at her pretending to be angry, and the way she glanced at him sideways had a unique charm.
She probably didn't realize it herself, but the closeness she showed to him unintentionally seemed to indicate that she had begun to trust him and no longer had the initial wariness towards him.
He said with a smile on his lips: "No need to prepare anything, just go."
"I won't talk to you anymore. I'm going to pick out clothes and accessories for my meeting with the emperor tomorrow."
Shen Qingtan got off the kang and called Liuyue and Tingxue to the inner room to give her advice.
Although she was a little nervous, she was still relatively calm.
Emperor Jing'an doted on Zhao Yi and seemed to never interfere with his decisions, completely obeying his wishes. It can be seen that he was not a dictatorial and overbearing person.
What's more, Emperor Jing'an was a benevolent monarch.
Thinking of this, Shen Qingtan calmed down completely.
——
The news that Shen Qingtan was going to the palace to meet the emperor spread among Duke Zhao. The old lady specially sent someone to invite Shen Qingtan to Shi'an Hall and reminded her of some rules and taboos for entering the palace.
When the second wife heard the news, she brought Shen Mingzhu to Shi'an Hall, hoping that the old lady would give the order to allow Zhao Jue and Shen Mingzhu to go to the palace to meet the emperor together.
In Shi'an Hall, the old lady sat on the kang, and Shen Qingtan sat on a stool next to her.
The Second Lady pulled Shen Mingzhu to sit aside, with a smile on her face: "Mother, the Emperor wants to see his niece-in-law. I brought Mingzhu here to listen to the rules, so that she won't be ignorant of the rules tomorrow and offend the noble."
Finally, she sighed again: "Jue'er is a military commander, unlike my nephew who is a civil official and serves in the palace. He has a closer relationship with the emperor. The emperor always tells his nephew first if he has anything to say."
How could the old lady not understand the second lady’s thoughts?
He simply wanted Shen Mingzhu to enter the palace.
But the following words were somewhat disturbing. The Second Madam was implying that Emperor Jing'an wanted to see both of the new wives of Duke Zhao, not just Shen Qingtan. It was Zhao Yi who had selfish motives and did not inform the Second Madam of the meeting, fearing that the Second Madam would compete for his favor.
"When the Emperor wishes to see someone, he will naturally send his eunuchs to deliver the order to the person concerned." The old lady gave her no respect at all: "Do you think the palace is your own backyard garden, where you can go whenever you want?"
The second wife clenched her handkerchief, secretly resentful.
Originally, she was planning to have Zhao Jue come to the palace to meet the emperor, and have Zhao Jue tell the emperor that Duke Zhao had dismissed him from his post, and lobby the emperor to restore his post.
As long as the emperor ordered Zhao Jue to continue on duty, Duke Zhao would never dare to disobey the imperial order.
But Zhao Jue had no chance to meet Emperor Jing'an.
Zhao Yi is the nephew of Empress Yuanrong. Isn’t Zhao Jue also the nephew of Empress Yuanrong?
Why does the emperor favor Zhao Yi so much?
She was resentful, but what could she do if she was unwilling?
Who made her son have a healthy body?
The second wife believed that it was because Zhao Yi died young that Emperor Jing'an felt more sympathy for him.
She didn't think that Emperor Jing'an really doted on Zhao Yi, otherwise he would have promised Zhao Yi a high position and generous salary instead of deliberately suppressing him in his career.
Because the new top scholar is usually appointed as a sixth-rank Hanlin Academy editor. If he has outstanding abilities, he can enter the cabinet in the future and his future is limitless.
Although Zhao Yi was the top scholar, he was only a seventh-rank secretary, without much power, the meager salary, and no future at all.
As the saying goes, "Only Jinshi can enter the Hanlin Academy, and only Hanlin can enter the cabinet."
From this, the Second Lady realized that Emperor Jing'an's favor for Zhao Yi was nothing but a castle in the air and superficial splendor.
Therefore, they dared to fight with Zhao Yi openly and secretly.
After all, Zhao Yi gained the favor of Emperor Jing'an because of Empress Yuanrong, and Zhao Jue was also the nephew of Empress Yuanrong. Emperor Jing'an would never interfere in their family's internal strife.
As long as they are not abandoned by Duke Zhao, they have nothing to worry about.
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