Yuexiu gave Concubine Yuan an idea. It would be better to find a way to prevent Miss Lu from entering the palace during the New Year, or simply prevent her from leaving the house. The Emperor would not be able to see her, and it would naturally be inconvenient to grant her the marriage. The longer it could be delayed, the better.
Concubine Yuan thought this was a good idea. She thought about it and came up with a further idea: "It would be best if Miss Lu fell ill and could not be cured. Such a sickly girl would not be worthy of the prince. After the New Year, Mo'er would return to the southern border in a month at most, so the marriage would be cancelled." As she spoke, she raised the corner of her lips and finally smiled. This smile was so sinister that even the corners of her eyes curled up. "Let's go!" Concubine Yuan stood up again, "Let's go see the Queen Mother. While it's not too late, let's go and talk to the Queen Mother for a while."
Concubine Yuan led the maid Yuexiu all the way to Jingci Palace. Yuexiu sighed as she walked, "Fortunately, the emperor only demoted the master's status, and did not confine her like Concubine Li did. This is a blessing in disguise. Otherwise, even our movements would be restricted, and wouldn't our lives be even more miserable?"
Besides, when she mentioned Concubine Li, Concubine Yuan could not help but snort coldly, "Who can be as stupid as her? She has not harmed anyone for decades, but once she harms someone, she is caught. She is caught, but she cannot even excuse herself. With so many old charges against her, it is really too light to be demoted and confined to her house."
"I heard that it was Princess Ji'an who begged for mercy."
"That's even more dangerous." Feng Yuheng's figure appeared in front of Yuan Guiren again, and she was so angry that her teeth itched. "Princess Ji'an has never had good intentions. If you ask for her help once, you don't know where you will get it back in the future. Don't think that favors from that girl are so easy to owe."
The two walked all the way to Jingci Palace. When they arrived, it was already dark and night had fallen. Fangyi was at the door of the bedroom receiving the bird's nest brought by the little palace maid. When she looked up, she saw Yuan Guiren walking towards her. She immediately felt impatient. But after all, she was a servant and the other party was the master, so she still had to be polite. So she saluted Yuan Guiren and said, "Are you here at Jingci Palace at this time? The Queen is not feeling well and is about to rest. She has told me not to see guests. If you don't have anything important to do, please come and pay your respects tomorrow."
Yuexiu glanced at Concubine Yuan and saw that she had no intention of leaving. She knew that she had to see the Queen today, so she quickly said, "Please tell Aunt Fangyi that our master really wants to see the Queen for something. I'm afraid it will be too late to wait until tomorrow!"
Fang Yi was puzzled, "Why are you so anxious?"
Yuexiu didn't say anything, but just said: "Please inform her, aunt. As for whether to meet or not, I believe the Queen will make the decision." What she meant was that it was the Queen who had the final say on whether to meet or not, and you, Fangyi, just had to inform her. But if you can't even inform her, then you would have failed in your job.
Fang Yi could not fail to understand what she meant, so she did not say anything. Others just shook their heads and turned to go into the bedroom. There were many concubines in the palace. Because the emperor had not entered the harem in recent years, these concubines were inevitably aggrieved. Some of them even felt distorted instead of aggrieved. Once the master became distorted, the maids around her also became abnormal. A maidservant around a little noble dared to speak to the head maid around the queen like this. She really needed a lesson.
Fang Yi held her breath, but still went to the Queen to reply. The Queen ignored Yuan Guiren's matter and asked Fang Yi, "Who made you angry?"
Fangyi repeated Yuexiu's words, but the queen frowned and shouted angrily, "It's getting more and more outrageous. If the harem is not cleaned up, those people will go to heaven!" After that, she waved her hand and said, "Ask that noble lady Yuan to come in. I want to hear what's so important that she has to come at this time. If it's as urgent as she said, I will definitely have to settle this matter with her."
With the Queen's words, Fangyi had no choice but to invite the two to come into the bedroom. Concubine Yuan led Yuexiu to kneel down and pay her respects, but they did not hear the Queen's voice calling them. Their feet were numb from kneeling, and finally Yuexiu could not help but look up, but saw that the Queen was leaning on the couch, squinting her eyes, as if she was asleep, and she could not help but cough lightly to remind them.
But just this cough almost cost her half her life!
The queen opened her eyes after hearing the cough, her brows furrowed, her face full of anger. Fang Yi scolded Yue Xiu, "You bastard, the queen is a light sleeper, even the emperor has said that no one is allowed to disturb her when she is not well and resting. How dare you, a mere maidservant of a noble, deliberately wake the queen up?"
Yuexiu shuddered, knowing that she had indeed crossed the line this time, so she quickly kowtowed and begged for mercy. Unexpectedly, the queen, who was always kind to others, did not want to forgive her, and directly ordered: "Drag her away and give her ten severe punishments."
Ten strokes of the cane may not sound like a lot, but in reality, it would tear your skin apart. Concubine Yuan was shocked when she heard this and wanted to plead for mercy, but she saw two strong eunuchs who appeared out of nowhere and dragged Yuexiu out of the bedroom. No matter how Yuexiu cried and screamed, the main lady inside remained indifferent once the door was closed.
Soon, the sound of "bang bang" of caning was heard, which made Concubine Yuan feel heartbroken. When she looked towards the Queen, there was a bit of resentment in her eyes.
The Queen finally straightened up and asked her, "Why did you come to see me? It is said that there is something urgent that must be discussed today. I want to hear how to deal with it. If you don't tell me the truth, I will not let you off easily."
Concubine Yuan was so ruthless that her teeth itched, but she was the queen and she was just a noble lady. The gap in status was too big, which made her feel powerless. Finally, she calmed down and Yuexiu's caning was over. A palace servant came in and reported that she had fainted, but she was still breathing. The queen asked someone to carry her back, and Concubine Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
After all the palace servants left, she said, "Your Majesty, I am really at a loss today, so I shamelessly come to ask for your help."
"Oh?" The Queen was puzzled. "You want me to help you? Then tell me what it is?"
Concubine Yuan glanced at Fang Yi and saw that she had no intention of leaving, so she did not force her to leave. She just said, "The New Year is coming soon. The Emperor has said that he wants to grant a marriage between His Highness the Eighth Prince and Miss Lu during the New Year. I have the audacity to come to ask Your Majesty, can you find a way to cancel this marriage?"
"What?" The Queen was puzzled. "How could the marriage promise made by the Emperor in front of so many people be cancelled? Lady Yuan, I think you are confused, right?"
Concubine Yuan looked at her and shook her head, "No, I am not confused. I just hope that this marriage can be cancelled. And I also know that as long as Your Majesty is willing to help, this matter will definitely be accomplished."
"Why should I help you?" The Queen was furious. "Noble Lady Yuan, everyone has their own destiny. You all gave birth to princes, but I have no children. Whoever wants to fight for the throne can fight for it. I can't control it, and I don't want to control it."
"Although your majesty has no children, you are the Empress Dowager, and all the princes of Dashun must respect you as the legitimate wife. No matter which prince succeeds to the throne in the future, you will be the undisputed Empress Dowager, but you say that all this has nothing to do with you?" Yuan Guiren stared at the queen, not letting her mouth go. "You clearly know that the marriage between the Eighth Prince and the Lu family was secretly rigged, and now that I am begging you, are you really not going to intervene?"
The Queen was furious again: "What do you mean by I knew it? What do I know? I only know that the Emperor has agreed to this marriage, and that it is a done deal and cannot be changed. Lady Yuan, I have no intention of pursuing your harassment any further today, so please go back."
"I can't leave." Concubine Yuan was very determined. "I came here today with the intention of achieving my wish. My personal maids were sent to Jingci Palace and beaten. How could Your Majesty send me back so easily?" She shook her head as she spoke. "No, I can't just leave like this. If I leave, my trip will be in vain, and Your Majesty will definitely regret it in the future."
"What?" The Queen was puzzled, and almost thought that this noble lady Yuan was crazy. "I regret it? What do I have to regret?"
"Your Majesty!" Concubine Yuan suddenly raised her voice and leaned forward. "Your Majesty, please don't be too decisive, and don't reject me too bluntly. You have to think about it carefully, think about those things that many people don't know from beginning to end. After thinking about it, please consider whether you want to help me, or just kill me to silence me?"
"You..." Suddenly, the Queen was stumped by Concubine Yuan's words. She stared at Concubine Yuan, her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she wanted to see some information from her eyes. Unfortunately, Concubine Yuan also looked at her cunningly. Neither of them was willing to lose. The Queen still failed to achieve her wish. She had to take the initiative to say: "I don't understand what you are talking about."
"Your Majesty, don't you really understand?" Concubine Yuan suddenly laughed, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. She reminded the queen again: "Your Majesty has said that you have no children, but my son is a general stationed at the border. Tell me, am I well-informed, or is your Majesty well-informed? Your Majesty, there are some things you have kept in your heart for so many years, and you have never been willing to show them to others. I don't believe that you are not uncomfortable. Of course, this kind of thing cannot be said. As long as you still want to sit safely in this position, that matter must be kept secret forever. But if you can keep it, can others keep it secret? For example, for me, the marriage of the Eighth Prince is a problem in my heart, and it has become a disease. If you are unwilling to lend a helping hand, I can't guarantee that I will not be able to bear it and accidentally tell it when the emperor grants the marriage. Your Majesty, if that matter is known to everyone, the consequences..."
"That's enough!" The queen swung her arm violently, and the bowl of blood swallows on the small table beside the soft couch was "slapped" to the ground, and the bowl was smashed into pieces, and the finest patch was spilled on the cold ground, which made people tremble. I don't know how long it took, just when Yuan Guiren was thinking that the queen was going to fight to the death, she heard the queen say: "You go back, let me think of a better way to deal with this matter."
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