Chapter 274: The Death Medal
Outside, the rain fell more heavily.
The curtain of water falling from the eaves is like a shimmering net, blocking the view.
Although Xiao Jingheng agreed to Concubine Chen's request and agreed to spare her father and brother's lives,
But for some reason, Concubine Chen was still worried and uneasy, and could not feel at ease for a moment.
She looked out the window at the sky pouring down, thinking about the many muddy mountain roads she would have to walk on to get back to Kyoto from Suzhou.
If she is delayed on the way, she will not be able to return to the capital before her father and brother are executed.
How could she feel at ease leaving her father and brother's life and death in the hands of others?
Seeing Concubine Chen staring out the window in a daze, Xiao Jingheng asked her gently,
"I promised you, why do you still look so worried?"
Concubine Chen came back to her senses from her trance and looked at Xiao Jingheng with eager eyes.
"Your Majesty...I beg Your Majesty to allow me to personally deliver the death-free gold medal back to Kyoto!"
"Ridiculous!" Xiao Jingheng stopped her, "You are a woman, this journey may be thousands of miles, a long journey on rugged mountain roads, and you have just finished your confinement. Are you doing this to make me uneasy? This is absolutely not allowed!"
"Your Majesty!" Concubine Chen pulled Xiao Jingheng's sleeve, half coquettishly and half pleadingly:
"I have accompanied His Majesty on the autumn hunt. His Majesty knows that I am proficient in horsemanship and my riding and archery skills are not inferior to those of men! If His Majesty does not let me go in person, I will definitely have difficulty swallowing food and sleep at night..."
Seeing Xiao Jingheng turned his head away and didn't even look at her, Concubine Chen knelt on the ground again and said in a crying voice:
"Your Majesty has already promised me once, so please allow me to be willful once more! If Your Majesty refuses to promise me, then I will kneel here forever!"
She was clearly threatening Jamel Xiao.
What she relied on was Xiao Jingheng's pity and love for her.
Concubine Chen knew that Xiao Jingheng was worried about her.
In the past, no matter what time it was, no matter how absurd her request was, as long as she made a fuss or threw a tantrum, Xiao Jingheng would always obey her.
They were in a stalemate for a while. When Jiang Deshun came over with the golden medal of immunity from death, Xiao Jingheng lowered his eyebrows and looked at Concubine Chen, saying with helplessness and pity:
"Okay. Okay!"
He sighed, helped Concubine Chen up, took the death-free gold medal and handed it to her.
"I will have Vice General An and his men protect you along the way. You must also promise me that you will do everything within your ability, and if you are not able to do it, do not try to force yourself. You have just come out of confinement, and I am really worried about you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Concubine Chen forced a smile, bowed to Xiao Jingheng to express her gratitude, then tightly grasped the golden medal of immunity from death and rushed into the storm regardless of everything.
Xiao Jingheng looked at her determined running figure, and felt a pang of pain in his heart.
Seeing that Jiang Deshun was still standing there in a daze, he quickly scolded him, "What a fool! Hurry up and have someone follow the imperial concubine and make sure she is well protected!"
"I obey your order!"
*
At the same time, in the Queen's room.
As long as the rain in Suzhou continues, the Queen will not be sent back to the palace.
At this moment, she opened the window wide and sat on the warm seat under the window, listening to the sound of rain while copying Buddhist scriptures.
Even though half of the Buddhist scripture had been wet by the raindrops, she still had a calm smile on her face.
'Squeak'
As the door was pushed open, air convection created a gust of strong wind, which blew the Buddhist scriptures that the queen had copied all over the sky.
Shuang Ruo bowed and entered the room. Seeing this, she quickly closed the door and hurried to the window to pull the bolt.
"Why is the Queen sitting here with the window open? Look at you, your clothes are all wet..."
She took a clean towel and wiped the water droplets on the queen's clothes. She said, "The emperor is thinking of the years of love between you and him, and he doesn't really want to punish you. This time, Tong Changzai had a miscarriage. It's clear that someone wanted to frame you. Who do you think it is?"
"Who else could it be?" The Queen sneered, "It is clear that the Imperial Concubine and the Imperial Concubine Yi are joining hands to defeat me. But even if they try their best, what can they do? Not to mention that they have wronged me, even if this matter was really my fault, the Emperor will not do as they wish and depose me as the Queen."
She slowly stood up, walked to the bed and lifted the moon-shadow veil.
On the bed, there was only a phoenix robe spread out neatly, with golden threads and oriental pearls shining faintly on it.
The queen took off her armor, gently stroked the golden phoenix feathers on her phoenix robe, and said calmly:
"Deposing the Empress would be a disgrace to the royal family, and would also make the whole world laugh at the Emperor. The Emperor is very concerned about his reputation, and he always does his best to show off. So even if the Emperor dislikes me, he will never depose me."
As she spoke, the queen placed her other hand over her belly, a flash of disappointment flashed across her eyes.
"I am already infertile and disliked by the Emperor. Are you afraid that he will dislike me even more?"
She slowed down, smiled bitterly and shook her head.
"Nothing else matters. As long as I am still the queen, I can protect the glory of the Wang family. When the new emperor ascends the throne, I will be the only queen mother and queen dowager, living in the six eastern palaces, and I will be the legitimate and respected one. What is there to fight with these concubines who are not legitimate?"
"Your Majesty is right." Shuang Ruo echoed the Queen, then leaned closer to her and said in a low voice:
"There is another piece of news that I just heard. The imperial concubine... rode back to the capital in the afternoon."
"What did you say?" The queen was surprised and glanced out the window subconsciously. "It's raining so hard outside, why is she going crazy?"
Liu Yue said: "The Imperial Concubine knows about the Ning family's affairs."
The Queen frowned, "How did she know? The Emperor asked the old ministers to keep silent about this matter. Father had to investigate the matter himself before he could pass on the news to me."
Shuang Ruo explained: "I heard that when the imperial concubine went to see the emperor, she heard the emperor talking to the court officials outside the door, and then she learned about this. She has an impatient personality and barged in without any rules.
But the emperor seemed to still remember their friendship... The imperial concubine pleaded for mercy and the emperor was really moved. The emperor awarded her a gold medal of immunity from death, and she said she wanted to go back and save people herself, so the emperor agreed.
She spoke with a hint of worry, her tone gradually sinking, "We rushed back to Kyoto from Suzhou, traveling day and night, and somehow we arrived in three days. It seems that this time... the Ning family still has a chance to survive?"
"A way to survive? Hahahaha~"
The queen burst into laughter, and it continued for several times without stopping. Her facial features were distorted with laughter, and even Liu Yue was frightened when she saw it.
After a while, the queen sat aside, holding the table, and shook her head and said jokingly:
"Do you think the emperor gave Ning Wanshuang a golden medal of immunity from death? In my opinion, it should be a death warrant for the Ning family!"
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