If he had only doubts about the Queen Mother before, now Yu Jin was certain that there was something wrong with her.
"First it was Aunt Duo, then Aunt Ping. Cining Palace has had problems time and again. If the Queen Mother was really such a blind person, she wouldn't be in this situation today."
Although the empress dowager married into the royal family as the crown princess, looking back at the past, how many people were able to become empress and then empress dowager from being a crown princess?
In the quagmire of the royal family, sometimes taking the lead too early is not necessarily a good thing, but a death warrant.
But the empress dowager has lived a peaceful and stable life until now. She is not afraid of having no children. She adopted Emperor Jingming to be the emperor and Princess Rongyang to relieve her boredom. She has both sons and daughters and lives a noble life.
Could such a woman be deaf or blind?
Yu Jin didn't believe it at all.
In his opinion, only the emperor, who was blinded by the love between mother and son, was so naive.
"The Queen Mother was really decisive. When she saw that the case was linked to Aunt Ping, she cut off her own arm first, which not only brought the subsequent investigation to a standstill, but also put herself in the position of the victim to clear herself of suspicion, making my father feel guilty..."
Jiang Si nodded: "Of course the Queen Mother is not that simple. After this incident, I'm afraid it will be difficult for Father to doubt the Queen Mother in the short term."
When one reaches their level, evidence is often not that important. What matters is whether the superiors doubt and are willing to believe.
Yu Jin put down the teacup and said in a cold voice, "You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. The Queen Mother cannot be overthrown in a few days. Now that the fox tail has been exposed, the more you do, the more mistakes you make. We have a long way to go."
Jiang Si thought for a moment and said, "I should go to Yining Marquis's Mansion a few more times and try to get some clues from my grandmother."
The past is like smoke, and many secrets are buried in the long river of time. If you want to dig them out, it is undoubtedly most convenient to find the person involved.
"Well, let's talk about it after a few days."
Yu Jin had just become the Queen's son, but he had not been doing well when visiting relatives and friends recently.
The couple was exhausted after working for most of the day, so they tidied up and went to rest.
The sun gradually moved westward, and a day passed in the blink of an eye.
The news that the Queen Mother was unwell spread from inside the palace to outside the palace. Prince Qi and others took the opportunity to visit the Queen Mother in the palace and naturally went to their respective mothers to inquire about the news.
What he was asking about was, of course, the fact that Yu Jian had become the empress's son.
Prince Lu patted his chest, a little scared: "Mother, fortunately you only gave birth to a son, otherwise when I woke up, my brother would be someone else's. What would you do?"
"What should we do?" Concubine Ning, who was born in a military family, smiled coldly, with thick eyebrows and handsome eyes. She slapped her hand on the table, and the teacup on the table suddenly jumped up, then fell to the ground and broke into pieces.
Looking at the tragic end of the tea pigeon, King Lu blinked and suddenly felt that his fear was unnecessary.
When his wife touched the kitchen knife, he didn't dare to do anything even if he was covered by a fairy. It seems that his father felt the same as him.
Thinking of this, King Lu's heart moved, and he laughed and said, "Mother, your son has a favor to ask of you."
"Speak." Concubine Ning uttered a word.
The Emperor suddenly registered the title of Prince of Yan under the Empress's name. Although it did not have a big impact on her, she was still a little unhappy.
The emperor, who usually seems to have a good temper, acted too quickly, which made people feel completely insecure.
This time, the Prince of Yan was registered under the name of the Empress. Who knows what strange thing will happen next time?
Thinking about these, it would be strange for Concubine Ning to be in a good mood.
"Mother, you see Le Ge'er has grown up, and your daughter-in-law might even be pregnant with a granddaughter. It's not a big deal for your son to be a prince forever..."
Concubine Ning glanced at her son and asked with a half-smile, "So?"
Prince Lu smiled more brilliantly: "So you can say a few good words for your son in front of the emperor and ask him to raise your son's title. I don't ask for a high title, just a prince will do..."
Concubine Ning pointed to the door and said, "Get lost!"
"Mother..." Prince Lu stood up pitifully.
This is my own mother. It would be fine if she didn’t agree to help, but isn’t this reaction a little too cruel?
Concubine Ning didn't care about her son's thoughts and pointed at the door with her slender fingers again.
After taking a look at the tea pigeon that had fallen to the ground and had not been picked up yet, King Lu walked away in shame.
The smoky green brocade curtain with floral patterns that had just been replaced was swaying slightly. Concubine Ning withdrew her gaze and sighed softly.
Everyone wants to make progress. After she gave birth to a prince, she was promoted to Concubine Ning. Of course, she had thought about going a step further, but as her son grew older, she decided to cheer herself up and enjoy life.
Allowing a son of this character to fight for that position is like forcing him to die.
She only has this one son, and she's counting on him to take her away and live happily with her in the future, so why would she be so unhappy?
The prince is the best amulet in these chaotic times.
I hope my son is safe and has many grandchildren.
As Concubine Ning thought about this, she felt even worse. She kicked the tea pigeon, which was now only a piece of the bottom of the cup, far away and turned around to walk into the inner room.
On Concubine Zhuang's side, the scene was completely different.
The King of Shu entered the palace earlier than the King of Lu. At this time, he was sitting opposite Concubine Zhuang, drinking tea in silence.
"Is your wife still quiet?" Concubine Zhuang blew on the teacup gently and took a sip.
In order to make it easier for the mother and son to talk, the King of Shu deliberately did not bring the Princess of Shu into the palace. Upon hearing this, his expression showed a bit of sinisterness.
Seeing this, Concubine Zhuang advised: "You are still young, there is no rush."
"But I'm not in a hurry. I'm afraid someone else is."
Concubine Zhuang put the teacup on the table and said with a smile, "Are you talking about the Prince of Qi or the Prince of Yan?"
The King of Shu was silent for a moment, then said, "My son originally only considered the fourth brother as his opponent, but he didn't expect the seventh brother to show up halfway. He was really caught off guard."
Concubine Zhuang smiled and said calmly, "Since you are caught off guard, let's slow down a bit."
"Mother, what do you mean——"
Concubine Zhuang raised her hand to tuck her drooping hair behind her ears, with a faint smile on her lips: "If the Queen Mother hadn't been unwell, I would have found a chance to talk to you. You are not the legitimate son, nor the eldest son, so you are at a disadvantage. You only have the Emperor's preference for you and your grandfather's foundation of having many students all over the world, but these are ultimately nothing compared to the orthodox rules—"
"Mother—"
Concubine Zhuang sighed: "Listen to what mother has to say."
It is not uncommon in history for a son to be chosen out of love, but there is not much hope for the emperor.
Of course, when the son is older, a mother and concubine who wants to compete can only help as much as possible, but helping is still helping, and when you see that things are not feasible, you should slow down.
"Now the Prince of Yan has become the Queen's son. Although he is not the Queen's biological son, he has been forced to take the title of 'legitimate'. For some ministers, this is even more important than the Prince of Qi being the eldest. You might as well step back and let the two of them compete for supremacy."
"But mother, if one of them stands out, then there will be no chance for your son—"
Concubine Zhuang said calmly, "If you want to reap the benefits of the old man, there will be risks of failure, but the worst case scenario is that things will remain the same, which is better than deposing the Crown Prince and the King of Jin. Sixth son, just listen to your mother, wait and see, and then act accordingly."