In Jingci Palace, Fangyi was holding a tea bowl and passing it to the Queen. The thing in the tea bowl was neither medicine nor curative. It was not medicine, but it did have the effect of conditioning and curing diseases. This was given by Feng Yuheng. During the time when she left the capital and Baicaotang in Beijing was closed, the Queen had been reluctant to drink it, and had to eat a few bitter medicine soups prepared by the director of the Imperial Hospital from time to time. Now Feng Yuheng finally came back, and the medicine was delivered a few days ago. The Queen was relieved and felt relieved to drink the medicine on time again.
At this moment, looking at the soup that looked like medicine and tea, the queen felt emotional and said in a daze, "I hope I can drink the medicine given by this girl for a few more years."
Fang Yi wanted to persuade her not to think about those things, but at this moment, a young eunuch from Jingci Palace walked in with his back bent, bowed in front of the queen, and said, "Your Majesty, Noblewoman Yuan wants to see you."
"Noble Lady Yuan?" Fang Yi frowned first, feeling repulsive. "What is she doing here again? Madam, you should rest now. Don't see her anymore. Just send someone to send her away."
The queen was about to nod when she heard the voice of Concubine Yuan coming from the door, and it was getting closer and closer. It was obvious that someone had barged in without her nodding. "I know that the queen wants to rest, but she hasn't slept yet! I think it won't be a problem for you to chat with me for a few words." As she spoke, she came closer and knelt respectfully, saying, "I pay my respects to the queen."
Behind him, the maid Yuexiu also knelt down, feeling a little nervous. Last time she accompanied Concubine Yuan to Jingci Palace, she was beaten. Although she was not wrong this time, her master came in uninvited. If she angered the queen, she might be the one to be beaten and punished again.
Fortunately, the queen did not get too angry this time. She just put the tea bowl on the table with a little more force, and heard a "bang". But when she spoke again, her tone was calm. She said, "Get up! Since you are here to pay your respects, then sit down." After that, she waved her hand and dismissed the eunuch who came to deliver the message.
Fangyi took a stool for Concubine Yuan to sit on, feeling a little embarrassed. After all, her words that she wanted to send Concubine Yuan back were obviously heard by others, and it would be bad to say something that was not tactful. So she said, "The Queen is taking medicine, and the doctor said that she should rest after taking the medicine, please don't blame her."
Noblewoman Yuan smiled and said to Fangyi, "It's okay. I'm just a noblewoman, I can be dismissed at will. Just like my maids, if they don't behave properly, I will be beaten. But I can't compare to the people on the side of the Empress, they are all precious and can't be punished no matter what."
After hearing this, Fang Yi was helpless. This noble lady Yuan was obviously unwilling to give in. She might have come here in anger today. After hearing her words, she must be trying to save face for her maid! Forget it. Looking at this domineering aura, especially if the matter is related to the one mentioned last time, the queen will be in trouble. So she knelt on the ground and took the initiative to say: "It is my fault for speaking out of turn. Please punish me, queen."
The queen frowned: "What is this for?"
Concubine Yuan smiled softly, "See! The Empress is indeed protective of her own people. This little girl beside me is really pitiful. The last time she came to Jingci Palace, she was beaten for no reason."
"Don't feel wronged, my lady." Fang Yi kowtowed to the Queen, "I admit my fault. I will go out and take ten punishments myself." After saying that, she stood up and walked out on her own. When she glanced over, she saw Yue Xiu standing behind Noble Yuan, and she raised the corner of her lips slightly, with a smug look on her face.
The queen was so angry that she kept coughing, but no one was waiting for her. Concubine Yuan motioned Yuexiu to come forward to help, but the queen waved her hand and said, "Don't bother. I can't afford your people."
Yuexiu had taken two steps forward, but she froze in the middle when she heard this. Concubine Yuan shrugged and said indifferently, "Then Yuexiu, you can come back. It's true. The Queen's body is a thousand years old, don't let us damage it." After that, she saw the Queen pick up the tea bowl. She sniffed and smelled that it was not the smell of medicine. She couldn't help but say, "You just said you wanted to drink medicine, why does it smell sweet? When did the Imperial Hospital in our palace prepare sweet medicine?"
The queen didn't like to hear her talk, but now that someone was sitting in front of her, she couldn't ignore her, so she could only say, "This was given by Princess Yu, not from the Imperial Hospital."
"Oh." Concubine Yuan nodded thoughtfully, "No wonder." She looked at the queen again, pondered for a while and said, "You look good, I guess you are relieved. You seem to have gained some weight, too. The saying 'a relieved heart makes a fat body' probably refers to someone like you."
The queen didn't understand, "Which eye of yours saw that I've gained weight?" She had obviously lost a lot of weight in the past few days. Thinking about it again, it was obvious that Concubine Yuan was here to pick a fight, so she didn't bother to care about it anymore and just asked her, "What do you want to say when you come to Jingci Palace?"
Noblewoman Yuan rubbed her chest and sighed, "The Empress is relieved, but I am getting more and more upset, getting worse day by day. Now there is no more pomp and ceremony as before, and no one is willing to hang out with a mere noblewoman like me, so I feel so upset and have nowhere to talk to. After thinking it over, I can only shamelessly come to the Empress to tell her about my grievances."
"What's your suffering?" The queen mother said to her while drinking herbal tea. "Since you're here, I have to tell you even if I don't want to hear it. So don't beat around the bush and tell me!"
Concubine Yuan nodded, "Okay, then I'll tell you. I'm upset mainly because of what happened on my natal side. I have a concubine sister who married a sixth-rank official in Pengzhou as a concubine. Originally, my second sister and I were both concubines in the palace, and we could fight for the concubine sister's face so that she wouldn't be bullied in the mansion. But since my sisters and I were demoted one after another, the concubine sister's life in Pengzhou has been getting worse and worse. She was bullied by her in-laws and cried every day. A few days ago, my niece came to the palace to see me. When she talked about this, I was so sad that I couldn't eat or sleep for several days. I became thinner and thinner."
The queen didn't understand. Was Concubine Yuan blind or was she blind in heart? Could she really not tell fat from thin? Seeing that this woman's face was fat and round, it was obvious how comfortable her life was. She insisted on saying that she was thin. It was really... She was helpless and didn't bother to care, so she said: "No matter what, she is the concubine's aunt of the current prince. How dare the in-laws treat her harshly?"
"Alas!" Concubine Yuan sighed, "Your Majesty has lived in the palace for too long, and few people have ever told you about things outside. You don't know that the people in the outer mansions are not as harmonious as you imagine, and there are many things going on behind the scenes."
The queen must be so upset! Few people even tell her about the outside world? Is this a mockery of her not having a prince? But what can she say? This is the fact. It is precisely because she has no prince that she can sit on the position of queen and sit there safely for so many years. If she had a son, Emperor Tianwu would never let her be the queen.
As she was thinking, the voice of Yuan Guiren came again: "I have been sitting on the noble position for such a long time, and I have always been honest. The Eighth Prince used to guard the border and made great contributions to Dashun. Now he is also wholeheartedly thinking about the emperor and sharing his worries. Your Majesty, you may want to ask if everyone in the capital praises the Eighth Prince for his dedication to the people! I think, since the Eighth Prince can think so carefully for the emperor, then your Majesty, can you also think about me?"
The Queen frowned when she heard this: "What do you want me to think about you?"
"Your Highness asks even though you know the answer."
"If you mean being demoted to a noble lady, I'm sorry I can't do anything about it." She put down the tea bowl in her hand, stared at Noble Yuan and said, "The emperor issued an order to demote you to a noble lady. How capable am I to go against the emperor's wishes?"
"I didn't ask you to be disobedient." Yuan Guiren raised her head and said, "But you are the queen, and the emperor will at least listen to you. Unlike us sisters in the harem, it is difficult for us to see the emperor. Queen, you have been in the central palace for so many years, and you should more or less speak for the sisters in the harem. Not to say that the emperor should treat us equally, but at least we can't be ignored like this. Good things don't think of us, and when it comes to lowering our status, it is really clear. I, your concubine, say something presumptuous. As the queen, you can't be so high and mighty when your sisters are suffering. You are originally far away from us in status, and you can't let people feel that you are divided into the south and the north." As she spoke, she emphasized the word north, and at this time, the caning began outside, and Fangyi's scream of "ah" was also heard.
The queen was annoyed and asked coldly, "Are you saying something else?"
"Yes." Concubine Yuan nodded seriously. "There is indeed something behind her words, but if the Queen doesn't care about that matter, then it's fine. But I would like to remind you, don't think that you can be worry-free just because you have no children. Think more about the Cheng family. The Cheng family is innocent. No matter how broad-minded the Queen is, she can't ignore her mother's family at all."
"That's enough!" The Queen slammed the table. "How dare you threaten me? You are so brave!"
This slap frightened Yuexiu, but Yuan Guiren was not afraid at all and said confidently: "If you say it is a threat, then it is a threat! It's not the first time anyway."
The queen took a few deep breaths and thought about it. She wanted to get rid of Concubine Yuan as soon as possible, but she forced herself to suppress the thought. It was easy to get rid of Concubine Yuan, but she was the biological mother of the Eighth Prince. Not to mention that the Eighth Prince would pester her endlessly because of her death, the source of the information alone was enough to scare her. She sighed heavily and spoke again, very weakly: "I really can't help you with your matter!"
Concubine Yuan shook her head and said, "You can't be so absolute. As long as the Empress wants to help, she can. The Eighth Prince has a good reputation now, and the Emperor will be able to show some respect. As long as you raise the topic, I believe the Emperor will not reject your intention."
"Hmph!" The Queen snorted, "Why didn't you consider the future of yourself and your son when you did it?"
"Why didn't I make any plans?" Yuan Guiren smiled and said, "But there are many things that we cannot control. At the beginning, our emotions were aroused and things were done. There is no point in talking about it later. Just like you, your majesty, don't you have many things that are beyond your control?"
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