Chapter 34: My Concubine is Kind
Song Zhao woke up in the evening of that day.
When she woke up, she heard the rustling sound of papers flipping not far away, so she raised her eyelids slightly and glanced in the direction of the sound with her peripheral vision.
She saw Xiao Jingheng sitting in front of a small table not far away, reviewing memorials while watching over her.
She withdrew her gaze and looked out the window at the sky dyed red by the setting sun. She thought that she had only been unconscious for two hours. If she wanted to act pitiful and weak, it was obviously not enough to be unconscious for such a short time due to poisoning.
So I simply closed my eyes again and went back to sleep.
When I woke up again, it was completely dark and almost midnight.
Xiao Jingheng was still sitting in front of the small table, his elbows against the table, his left hand supporting his forehead, his eyes slightly closed, looking like he was asleep.
Song Zhao looked at the flickering candlelight reflected on his face. The flickering warm light made him look even more handsome.
There are so many women in the palace, and even when the queen had a heart attack, Xiao Jingheng had never stayed by her side for so long.
It can be seen that Song Zhao’s decision to poison himself this time was not wrong.
“Ahem…”
The girl's weak cough woke up Xiao Jingheng from his light sleep.
When he saw Song Zhao wake up, he quickly got up and walked to sit beside her, looking at her with pity on his face.
"Finally you're awake. How are you? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
Song Zhao shook his head in confusion, and soon his eyes sparkled, as if he had thought of something extremely terrible. He suddenly sat up from the bed and threw himself into Xiao Jingheng's arms, hugging his thin waist tightly with both hands, and said in a trembling voice:
"Your Majesty...someone wants to kill me!"
"Don't be afraid. I will protect you. No one will dare to harm you again."
Xiao Jingheng's broad palm gently swept across Song Zhao's back, and his tone was extremely gentle, "You are not poisoned too deeply, the imperial physician has removed the remaining poison, you will be fine. As for the person who hurt you, I have ordered her to be strangled, I am sorry for making you suffer this time."
Song Zhao snuggled in Xiao Jingheng's arms, took two deep breaths, and asked timidly, "Who wants to harm me?"
"Li." Xiao Jingheng subconsciously hugged Song Zhao tighter, "She was the one who put the arsenic in your food."
"Sister Li?" Song Zhao suddenly raised his head and looked at Xiao Jingheng in astonishment, "Why did she want to hurt me? I have never offended her..."
Xiao Jingheng looked at Song Zhao's face, which was not made up but still bright and beautiful, and couldn't help but gently stroke the smooth skin of her cheek with his fingertips, saying:
"The man is innocent, but he is guilty of possessing a treasure. Li was jealous of you and wanted to get rid of you as soon as possible, so she murdered Shu Fei and her son, intending to put the blame on you. Seeing that I want to investigate this matter thoroughly, she has the murderous intention to kill you and silence you."
Hearing this, Song Zhao was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses.
She clutched the collar of her shirt tightly, and said with fear and grievance:
"I have never harmed Sister Li. Why did she treat me like this? And if she looked down on me, she could have vented her grievances on me. Why did she want to murder Concubine Shu? The little prince was supposed to be born in two months. When I think of this, I feel very uncomfortable."
Her tone was indifferent when she spoke of herself, but when she mentioned Shu Fei and her son, tears suddenly flowed out of her eyes like beads from a broken string.
Xiao Jingheng wiped her tears and comforted her:
"Don't cry, you are weak, and being too sad will only hurt yourself."
Song Zhao nodded with tears in her eyes. "Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for clearing my name. Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for believing in me."
After hearing this, Xiao Jingheng remained silent for a moment and only nodded slightly in response.
He didn't trust Song Zhao that much. To be more precise, he didn't trust anyone and only believed the facts before him.
Song Zhao also knew when to stop and didn't act too pretentiously.
She knew that Xiao Jingheng was not happy about losing his child, so she comforted him instead.
"Your Majesty said that I have lost weight, aren't you the same?"
Her soft and boneless fingers slid across Jamel Xiao's cheek, and she said distressedly:
"I know that the emperor is also worried about the little prince. When I was young, I heard from my aunt that the deceased relatives will always meet us again in the near future. The emperor and Empress Shufei are still young. When Empress Shufei recovers, I believe that good news will come again soon. By that time, the little prince will come back to meet the emperor."
Xiao Jingheng nodded in agreement and held Song Zhao's hand tighter.
"You have to get well soon, and don't make me feel bad, understand?"
'Bang, bang, bang'
There were several very light knocks on the door, and Jiang Deshun whispered outside the door:
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
"Come in and answer the question."
Jiang Deshun pushed the door open and walked in, bowed to Xiao Jingheng and Song Zhao, and said:
"Your Majesty, Li is causing a lot of trouble in the prison. After Lord Li learned about this, he sent someone to make a suggestion to Your Majesty."
Xiao Jingheng's eyebrows sank, and he asked solemnly, "What did he say?"
"Lord Li said that Li had made a big mistake and it was hard to correct it. It was because he failed to discipline her properly. He asked to be fined one year's salary and begged the emperor to show mercy and allow Li to have a whole body."
Xiao Jingheng said, "Find someone to tell Li Heng that his daughter committed a serious crime that will implicate the entire family. I have given him enough face by not pursuing the Li family. Let him take care of himself!"
Song Zhao was listening from the side. Even though Xiao Jingheng was so angry, he did not allow Jiang Deshun to say anything harsh to the Li family, which showed that he was also afraid of the Li family.
He had been on the throne for four years and was still not fully grown. Many of the people were veterans from the previous dynasty and could not be easily offended.
Besides, it is August now, and the autumn harvest in September is the time for water transport. Li Changzai's father, Li Heng, is the governor of river transport, and all water transport matters in the country are under his jurisdiction. If Li Heng is offended at this critical juncture, and he becomes resentful and makes mistakes in his work, then it will be a big problem.
Xiao Jingheng is the emperor, he has to save face. Even if he is afraid of Li Heng, he cannot just agree to everything Li Heng asks for.
So at this time, someone has to find a way for him to save face.
So Song Zhao said timidly: "Your Majesty... Sister Li made a wrong decision at the time, which led to such a big mistake. Although she violated the law and deserves death, I am familiar with her after all, and I don't want to see her end up with her head and body separated. If possible, I would like to ask Your Majesty to give her the last dignity as a woman and leave her body intact."
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, Jamel Xiao took over.
"She hurt you like this, and you want to forgive her?"
"But I was not harmed by her after all. I just feel sorry for Concubine Shu..." Song Zhao slowed down and said, "Your Majesty, I actually want to see her again and ask her why she treats me like this."
Xiao Jingheng was silent for a moment and then nodded in agreement, "She owes you an apology. Well, since you pleaded for her, I will show her extra mercy and allow her to commit suicide."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Seeing Song Zhao wanted to stand up and salute, Xiao Jingheng quickly held her down.
"You are good in every way, except that you are too kind. You are so kind that it makes people feel distressed."
As he said this, he leaned over and gave her a hot kiss on the forehead.
Jiang Deshun saw what was happening and quickly stepped out to help them close the palace gate.
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