Chapter 35: Husband and Wife
By the time the emperor heard the news and rushed to the Pepper Palace, Concubine Ning had been beaten to death.
She was lying on the ground, her clothes on the back soaked in blood, it was a horrible sight.
The emperor immediately ordered people to help Concubine Ning up.
"Send her back to Misty Rain Palace and have the imperial physician examine her."
Eunuch Liu responded respectfully, "Yes."
He personally led people to send Concubine Ning back to the Yanyu Palace.
Queen Qin stood up and saluted. Her movements were so standard that it seemed as if they had been measured with a ruler. No one could find any flaws.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
The emperor frowned and asked, "What did Concubine Ning do wrong? Why did you punish her with a stick?"
Queen Qin asked coldly, "She poisoned the prince, shouldn't she be punished?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Queen Qin recounted what had happened, and the palace maid Zhenzhu came forward holding a silk handkerchief with the round jade pendant inside.
The emperor did not recognize the jade pendant, but he knew that the queen would not lie to him about something that could be revealed with a simple investigation.
The emperor said in a deep voice, "Even if this jade pendant really belongs to Concubine Ning, it cannot prove that she was the one who instigated Tanhua to poison and murder the prince. The truth has not yet been found out, and you are taking action against Concubine Ning. Aren't you afraid of being criticized?"
Queen Qin said calmly, "If Your Majesty feels that my actions are unfair, you can remove me from the position of Queen and banish me to the cold palace."
"you!"
The emperor was obviously really angry, and there was fire in his eyes as he glared at her.
"Don't think I dare not touch you!"
Queen Qin spread her arms and said, "I am right here. If you don't like me, you can do it at any time."
The emperor gnashed his teeth and said, "Just wait for me!"
After saying this, he left angrily.
Queen Qin bowed calmly and said, "Your Majesty, I respectfully send you off."
After the emperor walked away, Zhenzhu got up from the ground and carefully advised: "Empress, why are you doing this? You and His Majesty are married. As long as you explain the matter clearly to His Majesty, His Majesty may not stand on your side."
"A married couple?" Queen Qin smiled softly as if she heard a joke, and her laughter was full of sarcasm.
There had never been a trace of affection between her and him from the beginning to the end.
There never was, there isn’t now, and there won’t be in the future.
…
The news that Concubine Ning was beaten quickly spread in the palace.
Baoqin recounted what had happened in vivid detail.
Seeing that her master was still cracking melon seeds and had no intention of expressing his thoughts, she had to take the initiative to speak.
"My Lord, why are you silent?"
Xiao Xixi asked back: "What do you want me to say?"
Baoqin said excitedly: "Faced with such cruel harem fighting, shouldn't you be motivated to strive for favor and win the position of Crown Princess? Only if you become Crown Princess, you will have the possibility of becoming Queen in the future. Only if you become Queen, you won't have to be as pitiful as Concubine Ning."
"How can Concubine Ning be pitiful?"
"She was beaten like that, isn't that pitiful enough?"
Xiao Xixi said lazily, "She deserves it. If she hadn't had any extra thoughts, she wouldn't have displeased the queen, let alone been beaten so severely. So, it's better to be a salted fish. Don't think about anything, don't fight for anything, just lie comfortably at home and wait for death."
Baoqin was so disappointed with her master that she felt she had failed to live up to his expectations!
Just then, Luo Qinghan walked in.
His sudden appearance startled both Xiao Xixi and Bao Qin, and they hurriedly knelt down to greet him.
Luo Qinghan looked at Xiao Xixi meaningfully and asked.
"You married into the East Palace just to eat and wait for death?"
(End of this chapter)
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