He certainly wouldn't do anything to her because of this.
But she just brushed it off so casually? Tsk, this woman's mind really works fast.
That's really quite frank.
He chuckled, then thought, "Well, she's right." He wouldn't have said it before, nor would he say it in the future; for now, he genuinely found this boisterous woman agreeable.
There's no need to worry about anything else.
That night, the emperor, preoccupied with many thoughts, caused quite a bit of trouble.
But I still haven't slept well.
Because it was still dark when they heard Yunji call out from outside.
"What is it?" Shu Chengfeng didn't even want to open his eyes; he was extremely sleepy.
"Your Majesty, Consort Qu... has passed away." Yun Ji thought to himself, what bad luck.
"What's going on?" Shu Chengfeng opened his eyes and frowned.
"He hanged himself... The servants didn't notice in time..." He died last night, and they only discovered him this morning, which shows how negligent the servants were.
That makes sense. Since Consort Qu has fallen out of favor and it's clear that she'll never regain it, none of the servants will care about her anymore.
However, it was a serious crime for a concubine to commit suicide, as it would implicate her maternal family.
Shu Chengfeng was also furious: "You vile woman! She did such a thing, and now I only punish her by demoting her rank, yet she dares to commit suicide! Go and issue an imperial decree: Lady Qu is neither virtuous nor wise, unworthy to be a royal consort, and is hereby demoted to commoner status. Her suicide today is an even greater crime. She is not allowed to be buried in the imperial concubine mausoleum! Tell the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs to find someone to bury her."
“Yes, the Naqu family…” Yunji asked again.
Shu Chengfeng paused for a moment, then snorted, "Since he's a commoner, he has nothing to do with the Qu family. But those servants, have them beaten to death!"
If you can't even keep an eye on a single person, you might as well not live.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. It's fine if Lady Qu is dead because she herself is contemptible. The people below may have made mistakes, but why should they be beaten to death? Just give them a beating and kick them out. Why bother?" Yan Nangui rubbed his eyes and hugged Shu Chengfeng from behind. "Your Majesty, it's so early in the morning. Don't get angry."
"You still dare to plead for me?" Shu Chengfeng's voice was unpleasant.
"Heaven have mercy, am I pleading for her? I just don't want to make you angry. What serious wrong have a few palace maids and eunuchs committed? If they were disloyal or treasonous, I would even support you having them executed by slow slicing. Right now, we just didn't keep an eye on her. Besides, who knew she was going to commit suicide? How could she dare to do such a heinous crime?" Yan Nangui said calmly, leaning on his back.
With the beauty behind him, Shu Chengfeng's anger gradually subsided.
"Fine, since you've said so, what else can I say? Yunji, let's do it this way," Shu Chengfeng said.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I'll go right away. It's still early, and there's no morning court session today. Your Majesty and Consort Chen, please rest a while longer." Yun Ji said, and then hurried off.
The two of them did indeed lie down. With this incident, naturally neither of them was in a good mood.
Shu Chengfeng only kept Qu Shi around because of old feelings, but now even that old feeling is gone.
Yan Nangui knew that if she hadn't been so insistent on feeding that person dragon bones, she probably wouldn't have died of despair.
But she will not regret it.
So what if she's dead? Didn't the Qu family also want to kill her?
But no matter what, it's impossible for those two to fall asleep.
I lay there for a while longer, then got up when it was just getting light.
In Fengxiang Palace, the Empress frowned: "What an unlucky thing, committing suicide in the middle of the Lunar New Year. It's good enough that His Majesty didn't punish their family."
“Yes, Your Majesty, I’m thinking that there are really few concubines of lower rank in the harem these days. Only Consort Mei stands out. Spring is almost here, Your Majesty, do you think we should arrange a few more for His Majesty?” asked Granny He.
The Dayan Dynasty rarely held talent selections.
It usually happens only once every five or six years, but if princes are old enough to be married, then a selection process will be held.
That's how Empress Ning was chosen for the Crown Prince. Of course, for women of their background, the selection process was just a formality.
It was decided long ago.
If no selection is made, His Majesty can simply choose from the households of his ministers to fill the harem.
Some were sent by ordinary people, for example, an official might say that there was a good one in the area and send it over.
This resulted in the women in the imperial harem of the Dayan Dynasty all having excellent backgrounds.
For example, Consort Wei, the mother of the late emperor, was an exception, but her family was really not well-off.
By the way, why is she still called Consort Wei? Because she was never posthumously granted the title of Empress.
The Helian clan did not have a rule that required posthumously honoring one's mother.
However, the reason why the late emperor did not posthumously confer titles on his mother was to tell the public that his mother had endured many hardships and should be properly respected.
This empress dowager was none other than the late Empress Dowager Jiang.
As for whether there were other reasons why the ban was not lifted, we don't know.
However, Consort Wei was probably the lowest-ranking concubine in the harem at the time, and she only rose to prominence because of her beauty.
As for Shu Chengfeng, he looked down on women from poor backgrounds.
For example, dancers, singers, and palace maids—none of them have a chance.
You can tell by the fact that when he was in the manor, he never touched any of the maids in the front yard.
Therefore, if the Empress wanted to find a suitable woman for Shu Chengfeng, she couldn't just choose someone beautiful; at the very least, she had to be a girl from a good family.
The Empress hesitated, "Only a few came in last year, and now they want to come again this year. I'm afraid His Majesty won't agree. Unless..."
“Your Highness, you can speak to the Empress Dowager. There are only a few children in the palace now, and I’m sure the Empress Dowager is anxious about it,” said Granny He.
"If the Empress Dowager takes the lead, wouldn't things be much easier for us?"
The Empress hummed in agreement: "It's not that I can't tell you. Since something has happened, I'll go right away."
Half an hour later, in Ruining Palace, the Empress and the Empress Dowager were sitting.
After the Empress Dowager passed away, the Empress Dowager did not move. This place is bigger and more comfortable than the Longevity Palace.
I don't want to move there in the future.
"As for Lady Qu's matter, it was also my fault for not managing it well. Now that she's gone, she deserves it. However, there aren't many people in the harem. His Majesty only likes a few. I was thinking that there aren't many princes and princesses, so I'd like to suggest that His Majesty select a few more beauties to serve him. What do you think, Mother Empress?" the Empress said with a smile.
"Your Majesty is very kind. I've been thinking about this myself these past few days. However, if we choose again, we can't choose those from too high a social class. Look at them, they all have such bad tempers." The Empress Dowager's words were also a veiled criticism that the Empress shouldn't even consider sending the Ning family's daughter in.
The Empress no longer thought that way.
"Yes, Your Majesty is right. Then I will discuss it with His Majesty later."
"Yes, the Emperor is going to Menghai Frontier this year. He will set off in March, just before he departs," the Empress Dowager said.
As a result, Shu Chengfeng disagreed with this matter.
"I've only been on the throne for a few years. Instead of thinking about how to be a good emperor and bring happiness to the people, what's the point of only thinking about filling the harem? You're all young and can't have children anymore?"
The Empress blushed: "Your Majesty, I only wish to make you more comfortable... My mother thinks the same way."
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