sisters
"Assassination is assassination, and adultery is adultery. How can the two things be confused?" The queen sneered. Seeing that His Majesty still had no intention of speaking, she summoned the palace servants to call the monk into the hall.
Qi Qinghe knelt in the middle, straight, without even turning her head, just listening to the footsteps approaching and stopping on her left and right.
"My Buddhist name is Kong Jing. I pay my respects to Your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..." There was a hint of trembling in the monk's voice.
"Let me ask you, at 1:00 PM today, did you have an affair with the Crown Princess in the Wanguo Temple, disregarding the laws of propriety?" asked the Queen.
"This... The Crown Princess has given an order, and I dare not disobey..." The monk named Kong Jing's lips trembled and he spoke haltingly.
"Deceiving the emperor and lying to superiors is a capital crime. Think carefully before you speak." Qi Qinghe said calmly, "Are you sure it's 1:00 PM?"
"Just speak, why try to scare me?" the Queen chuckled. "Go ahead and tell me everything you know. Your Majesty and I will definitely make the decision for you."
"It was 15:00 PM. I won't be mistaken." Kong Jing quickly glanced at the Crown Princess and silently moved aside. "Your Majesty didn't come in person. It was the maid who told me to wait in the empty side room at 15:00 PM."
Qi Qinghe then turned her head to look. The young monk was fair and handsome, about seventeen or eighteen years old, and quite tall. Even when kneeling, he was still half a head taller than her.
After a while, she smiled lightly, "It's 15:00 in the afternoon. I'm kneeling and praying with Her Highness Shao Yao in the main hall. When can I split myself up and meet with others?"
"There were many palace maids accompanying me at that time, and they can all testify on my behalf." She took a deep breath and met His Majesty's gaze. "As for the matter of delivering the message, just draw the maid who delivered it, and then summon the palace maids of the Eastern Palace."
"Do you have anything else to say?" Qi Qinghe turned to Kong Jing.
The Queen frowned slightly and was about to speak when she heard His Majesty speak.
"Alright, you still think the noise isn't enough?" The emperor rubbed his brows, feeling a headache from all the noise. "The Crown Princess has a point. Should we question every single one of the East Palace servants one by one? How can that be proper?"
"I think we should just let this go. Don't trust a monk's words completely, and there's no telling what misunderstandings might be involved." Seeing that the quarrels had subsided, the emperor said, "The Crown Princess has acted erratically and caused misunderstandings. Considering this is her first offense, she will be punished with two weeks of solitary confinement, ordered to copy Buddhist scriptures a hundred times, and her salary will be reduced by half."
"Don't mention this matter again." The emperor nodded and put the matter behind him.
The monk was furious and immediately kowtowed three times to the ground. "I was coerced by Your Majesty and made such a terrible mistake. Now, Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for your grace."
The emperor hadn't looked at the monk since he entered the hall. Now he lowered his gaze calmly and asked, "Why, do you think my punishment is unfair?"
"I dare not." The monk was frightened when he met the emperor's gaze. He lowered his head and dared not look again. "I will take my leave."
Qi Qinghe had already thanked him, her legs trembling, and was helped by the palace maid to sit down beside the prince.
The Crown Prince, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke: "At noon today, I received a secret report that an assassin was planning to attack the Temple of Nations. I happened to run into them when I went there. Someone in the temple was colluding with the assassin and forced him to retreat."
"So, I came up empty-handed. All the assassins in the temple either fled or committed suicide, leaving only one alive. Master Kong Jing, do you want to explain this?"
He slowly stood up and stared down at the monk. "Don't say you don't know. There are corpses all over the temple. How could there not be a single monk who didn't know?"
What Kong Jing wanted to say was blocked by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He stood there in shock for a moment with his mouth open before kowtowed fiercely, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I really didn't know..."
In a moment, the carpet on the floor of the hall turned blood red.
"Whether it is true or not, we will know after interrogation." Xiao Junbai bowed to his father, and then a palace servant dragged the man away.
The silent queen seemed to have found something to say, and she said slowly, "The Crown Prince didn't ask any questions, and tortured me like this. This is not in accordance with etiquette. As the Crown Prince, you should be cautious in handling government affairs..."
Before she could finish, the emperor interrupted her, "Don't you know what the second son's temper is like? When has he ever been arbitrary?"
After being scolded by the emperor, the queen swallowed the rest of her words in dissatisfaction. She wanted to say that the prince was deceived, it was unfair, and he was unworthy of being the prince, but now she could only swallow it all and dared not say anything more.
Qi Qinghe, who was listening attentively, felt cold all over, his hair stood on end, his fingers curled into fists subconsciously, tightly grasping the handkerchief in his hand, with only one thought in his mind.
The prince knew that there was something wrong with this person, but he said nothing and did not speak up for her. He just let her kneel there and fight back.
Thoughts were swirling in her mind, and she was overwhelmed by unspeakable grievances. She had to hold on to the handrail tightly and clench her handkerchief tightly to maintain a faint smile on her face. Her fingers turned white from exerting force, and her palms were stained with blood, but she was still unaware of it.
Xiao Junbai turned his head and saw that the Crown Princess looked distracted, with her eyes red and dull.
He just thought that the person was frightened, so he immediately took his leave from his father and returned to the Eastern Palace with the Crown Princess.
"If you're not feeling well, just get some rest." Xiao Junbai pursed his lips. He wasn't very good at coaxing people. "Your sisters can come to the palace to accompany you in two or three days."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Qi Qinghe spoke weakly at this moment. She really didn't have the energy to speak. Her whole body felt as if it was floating. She just wanted to collapse on the bed, wrapped in the quilt, and isolate herself from the world and everything around her.
Whatever you want, you're a colluder, you're an assassin, you're the prince, get out of here.
Seeing this, Xiao Junbai didn't say much. He left Cheng Xi to watch over the matter and sent a palace maid to call the imperial physician.
Qi Qinghe did not sleep well. Even in her dreams, she saw the distorted faces of the queen, the imperial concubine and others, with sarcasm, ridicule, indifference and resentment. These faces, filled with complex emotions, flashed by.
And she, alone, stood blankly in the darkness, seeing no one else.
The feeling was so real that it made her breathless.
The next moment, the person in the sleep suddenly turned over and sat up, gasping for breath.
Yun Tao and Yun Xing gathered around. The two maids saw that the Empress's face was pale and bloodless, and asked hurriedly, "What's wrong with the Empress? Did you have a nightmare? The imperial physician summoned by His Highness is outside the palace. Would the Empress like to invite someone in?"
Imperial physician? Qi Qinghe was stunned for a moment, then nodded almost inaudibly, drinking some tea from Yun Xing's hand to moisten it.
"Your Majesty's pulse shows that you are too worried and exhausted. I can only do my best to help you recuperate. Please eat more and worry less, and take care of your health." The imperial physician sighed.
Cheng Xi sent the imperial physician out, and now only the Crown Princess and two maids were left in the palace.
While the maid was decocting the medicine, Qi Qinghe sat down in front of the window, watching the breeze blow the fallen leaves and the clouds roll by. His empty body and mind suddenly gave rise to a sense of comfort.
"Empress! It's so windy outside, why are you sitting by the window?" As soon as Yun Tao stepped into the hall, she saw their Empress sitting in front of the window in a daze. She was shocked and hurriedly took the cloak to cover the Empress.
"It's going to snow soon." Qi Qinghe muttered to himself as if he didn't hear anything.
"Yes." Yun Tao didn't know what the Empress was thinking. She agreed casually, "In the past, the snow in the capital usually fell in early November, which lasted for about a month."
"I'm hungry. Ask the kitchen to bring me some food." Qi Qinghe retracted her gaze. Unlike the imperial kitchen, the small kitchen in the East Palace was set up by the prince himself. The food there was light and delicious.
"Okay, I'll go right away." When Yun Tao heard that the Queen wanted to eat, she smiled happily and was about to go and make arrangements without hesitation, but was stopped by the Queen in the end.
"I want some spicy dishes, not the light ones like the prince's." Qi Qinghe touched her stomach and seemed to be more open-minded.
She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to stay in the East Palace for long. She had already offended everyone, so why should she care about these trivial details? She should just do what she wanted.
Yuntao ran quickly to make arrangements.
She was about to get up when she heard a voice suddenly float down from the window above her, "So you like this kind of food."
The sudden explosion startled her and she almost jumped up. When she looked carefully, she saw His Royal Highness the Crown Prince standing in front of the window.
"Why is there no movement from Your Highness?" Qi Qinghe patted his chest and complained softly.
Xiao Junbai strode into the hall, "Did the imperial physician say anything?"
"It's just a mental illness. Your Highness doesn't need to worry. Just take good care of yourself." Qi Qinghe stood up, sat in front of a low table, and drank tea slowly.
She had been thinking that His Highness had not spoken up for her and explained everything. Although she wasn't angry, she did feel lost and aggrieved. As soon as she saw His Highness, she felt depressed and unhappy.
She couldn't explain why.
Soon, the palace maids filed in. The light porridge and side dishes that the Crown Prince was accustomed to were completely different from the ones ordered by the Crown Princess herself.
It looks very beautiful in red.
Qi Qinghe obviously loved these dishes and ate two small bowls of rice before putting down his chopsticks.
Xiao Junbai stared at her for a moment before picking up his chopsticks. "If you want to eat in the future, just let me know."
Qi Qinghe responded, "I am not feeling well today, so I will not stay with Your Highness for long. Please do as you please." After that, she stood up slowly, went straight out of the hall, and sat on a lounge chair in the corridor to bask in the sun.
There were two maids beside her, fanning her, adding clothes to her and giving her water.
Xiao Junbai finally figured out what was going on. He looked at the Crown Princess in surprise as she was enjoying herself, then lowered his head to look at the table full of dishes. He was really confused. He waved to Cheng Xi and asked Fu Jingxuan to come into the palace.
Qi Qinghe thought that the Crown Prince was just comforting Qi Qingyu about her being able to enter the palace.
I never thought that Qi Qingyu really entered the palace.
As soon as she heard Chengxi coming to invite her and saying that her sisters had arrived, she thought she had not yet woken up.
He stood up and walked to the corridor, where he saw a gentle and generous person wearing a light purple dress, standing gracefully in the corridor. The palace maids passing by could not help but take a second look at her.
"Sister!" Qi Qingyu's eyes curved as she looked at her, and she held her arm affectionately. "Sister, why did you suddenly summon me to the palace? Could it be that you missed me? I've been bothering my uncle and aunt for a while."
"I knew it." Qi Qinghe smiled slightly when she saw her like this. "How could they not be happy to enjoy the good life in the palace?"
The two sisters had not seen each other for a long time, so they sent their attendants away and carefully closed the window.
Before Qi Qinghe could ask, Qi Qingyu grabbed her hand and said softly, "Don't worry, sister. I have a way."
As she spoke, she leaned close to her sister's ear and told her everything one by one.
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