Concubine Yuan and Yuexiu angrily rushed to Jingci Palace, but the palace was closed. She was told that the Queen was not feeling well and the imperial physician was treating her inside, so no one was seeing her at the moment. The palace servants even said, "For some reason, the Queen looked bad after returning from the Qiankun Palace. It seemed that she had an argument with the Emperor and collapsed not long after returning."
Concubine Yuan couldn't enter the palace, so she had to go back to her own palace. Seeing that she was still angry, Yuexiu had to persuade her: "I'm afraid this matter was the emperor's unilateral idea. If the queen had a dispute with the emperor in the Qiankun Palace, it should be because of this matter. Master, don't be too angry. I think the queen should have mentioned it, but the emperor didn't respond. In the final analysis, this matter still depends on the emperor's opinion. I think the queen doesn't play a big role."
Yuexiu's analysis made sense, and Concubine Yuan also understood it. The reason why she went to the Queen was because she had no other choice. In this palace, apart from the Queen, there was no one else who could help her. But now that the Queen had also been defeated, it would have been fine if the Emperor did not respond, but he restored Concubine Li's position as a concubine, and even used the name of Zhu Kongshan's charity. What kind of thing was this? Could it be that the Sheng Palace spent money on charity, but the credit was attributed to the Sixth Prince and Concubine Li? She was extremely puzzled, but she did not dare to ask for justice from Emperor Tianwu. Everyone knew that there was no justice with Emperor Tianwu. Everything depended on whether he wanted to, was willing, and was happy. And in this matter, she thought about it and could only come up with one conclusion: Emperor Tianwu's feelings for Concubine Li were better than for her.
"Send someone to tell the Eighth Prince to come to the palace tomorrow. I want to see him." Concubine Yuan suppressed her anger and gave the order. The lame eunuch Rong Zhen hurried to do it. She herself walked around in the inner hall, unwilling to rest for a moment.
The next day, the Eighth Prince Xuan Tianmo came to Cunshan Palace immediately after the morning court session. He had heard about Concubine Li's situation the night before, and knew that his mother would not be able to bear this blow, so he wanted to come in and persuade her, but it was already late, the palace gates had been locked, and he could not get in.
I met Concubine Yuan today. Although her emotions were not as impulsive as yesterday after a night of calming down, I could still see anger and deep resentment on her face.
"Mother." He was still used to this name. "Now that things have come to this, it's useless for you to be angry. Why don't you think of a way to turn a bad thing into a good thing."
"Don't call me mother!" Yuan Guiren said angrily, "I'm just a small noble, I'm not qualified to let my son call me mother! But your aunt is now in glory, and the old prince can openly call her mother again. It's really hateful to think about it!" She asked Xuan Tianmo puzzledly, "Why do you think this is the case? It's obviously you who paid for charity, and the emperor can't reward her even if he wants to. Why is there no movement on my side, but she has been restored to the position of concubine with a great fanfare, and even moved to Changning Palace? Do you know where Changning Palace is? It is the palace closest to the Central Palace. I think the emperor was thinking about giving it to Concubine Yun!"
"So what?" Xuan Tianmo was not in a hurry. He just pulled Concubine Yuan to let her sit back down, and then said, "Whether you are a Concubine or a Concubine, you are still my mother. Now there are no outsiders. It is only right for me to call you Mother Concubine, and sooner or later I will have to call you Queen Mother."
Concubine Yuan was moved, but she was worried again: "Will there be such a day? Look at the current situation. The emperor is clearly trying to suppress you. You have to be careful in your actions. Don't let the sinister Ninth Prince scheme against you, and then let your father, the old fox, scheme against you. That would be a loss."
"Don't worry, mother." He advised again, "The one who is in glory first is nothing. What matters is how long she can maintain this glory. Now that this has happened, we must be stable on this side, especially you, mother. You are in the harem, and you are a sister of Concubine Li. You can't let father think that you are jealous and want to compete for the favor of your own sister. My son still says the same thing. Since things have come to this, why don't we think about how to turn a bad thing into a good thing."
"Can it still change? I'm a noble lady and she's a concubine, there are several levels of status between us." Noble Lady Yuan felt helpless.
Xuan Tianmo told her, "The most important thing is that you must not take the initiative to make trouble. If you really can't swallow this breath, think more about the reputation your son has worked so hard to earn outside. No matter what happens in the palace, at least the people in the capital are thinking of your son, and your son has no intention of giving up his efforts outside just because of this matter. As the saying goes, he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. There are many ups and downs in this process, and you can't end up in vain because of such a small matter."
Yuan Guiren let out a long sigh, nodded and said, "Now that you said that, I feel much more relieved. I just feel sorry for you and Kongshan. You have made so much effort, but it only helped others. You must have a good talk with her when you go back, so that she can calm down and not get discouraged, understand?"
Xuan Tianmo smiled and said, "That girl is much calmer than mother. When the news reached Prince Sheng's Mansion last night, my son did not deliberately hide it and asked the servants to send a letter to her. But the servants reported to her that they just listened, nodded, and continued to do the work at hand. It seems that they said that they would send compensation to those people whose treatment was delayed by fake medicine this morning."
Yuan Guiren knew that the so-called fake medicine was the last time when the Eighth Old Man got a Persian doctor to cheat people, so she nodded and said, "She is really a thoughtful child. So in your opinion, what should we do about this matter? Let's just pretend that nothing happened?"
"That's definitely not possible." Xuan Tianmo shook his head. "You are both concubines in the harem, and you are sisters. How can the elder sister ignore her when her younger sister gets promoted? Mother, you should know that reputation is not only your son's reputation in the capital, but also your reputation in the palace. It's okay with the queen, but at least you have to let others say good things about you, so that your son can speak better to those ministers."
He was referring to the ministers who were sent by his party. Yuan Guiren understood, "Don't worry, I have won over all those people. Not only do they visit each other frequently, but I will also remember to share some of the good things you bring in with them."
"Just those people are not enough." Xuan Tianmo gave her advice, "Father is old and values family affection more. This family affection is not just the family affection of the royal family, but also the family affection between you sisters. You and Concubine Li are sisters. If you don't express your feelings at this time, Father will think you are heartless and ungrateful, and then he will be prejudiced against his son." He mentioned himself at the end, poking Yuan Guiren's heart. Even if she was unwilling to accept it in her heart, she couldn't help but think about her son!
Yuan Guiren nodded unwillingly, "Forget it, then tell me, how do we do this?"
"Go and congratulate her!" Xuan Tianmo advised her, "You are the elder sister, so you should act like an elder sister. Of course, you should also show her due respect. After all, she is now a concubine and you are a noble lady. No matter what you think in your heart, you must show your respect on the surface. Also, she is your son's aunt, which is not a bad thing. Mother, do you still remember that the fourth young lady of the Feng family went to Jingsi Palace? Do you still remember the idea that your son told you about?"
Yuan Guiren's heart was moved, "You mean the 30,000 soldiers in the hands of the Sixth Prince?"
"That's right." Xuan Tianmo nodded. "Originally, a mere 30,000 troops were not worth my son's attention. But you know that something unexpected happened in the South Territory. The entire 300,000 troops were taken by Old Nine and that girl, which directly cut off my son's lifeline. So, even if there are only 30,000, I must fight for it now. What's more, his 30,000 troops have been secretly moved outside the capital and handed over to Old Seven, but the military tokens and military power are still with Sixth Brother. If Mother and Aunt reestablish their relationship, do you think she will help her own nephew or an outsider?"
Yuan Guiren said, "Of course my nephew is more reliable." At this point, she completely understood Xuan Tianmo's intentions, and the resentment in her heart disappeared, replaced by deep calculations. "I understand, you can do your work without worry, I will take care of everything in the harem."
Xuan Tianmo nodded, secretly relieved. He was really afraid that Concubine Yuan would get angry and make a scene, which would cause worse effects and more irreversible consequences. "After I go back, I will tell Kongshan to come to the palace when she is free and go to Changning Palace to congratulate. After all, she is the nominal position, and the aunt can't just not express her feelings when she sees Kongshan. Kongshan is also more talkative. Let her go and make peace, and the relationship between us can be eased. Mother, please go to Changning Palace to congratulate as soon as possible! Remember to bring a generous gift. By the way, I will also remember to send another set of white jade tea sets that you broke yesterday, so mother, don't worry."
Xuan Tianmo comforted and explained to Concubine Yuan for a long time, and finally calmed her down. Then he hurriedly left the palace and returned home.
At this time, in Prince Sheng's mansion, Zhu Kongshan had not yet left the house, and was checking the list of people who had been harmed by the fake medicine with the servants. She had collected this list with great difficulty in the past few days, and she had already prepared enough money, and was just waiting for the list to be checked and sent out in the next two days.
When Xuan Tianmo came back, he saw Zhu Kongshan calculating on the abacus herself, looking very smart and capable. He became more and more satisfied with his cousin.
Seeing him coming back, Zhu Kongshan did not stand up. The two of them were no longer as unfamiliar as when they first met, and had become familiar with each other. Zhu Kongshan said to him: "Cousin, my accountant has paid out three thousand taels of silver to compensate these victims. I don't know if it is enough. I will calculate it again, and it should not be much."
Xuan Tianmo nodded: "I've already told you that you can withdraw money from the account office as you wish, and you don't need to report it to me. Just do whatever you want to do, and I'll always support you behind the scenes."
Zhu Kongshan smiled and said, "I still have to tell you. After all, it's a lot of money. By the way, I heard last night that when we were doing charity in the capital, the second aunt was promoted back to the position of concubine in the palace. Is this true?"
"Really?" Xuan Tianmo sat down opposite her and asked, "What do you think about this matter?"
Zhu Kongshan said: "It's not a bad thing. She is still my aunt. Promoting her position is better than promoting someone else. We should congratulate her and be happy for our second aunt."
"But don't forget that Second Aunt also has a son." Xuan Tianmo stared at Zhu Kongshan, "She is the mother of the prince. I don't believe that she has no intention of helping her son ascend to the throne." Xuan Tianmo did not say this in front of Yuan Guiren, but discussed it with Zhu Kongshan...
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