Chapter 170 Ghost Talk
Xie Rongying's lips twitched slightly, one hand tightly grasping her sleeve. She lowered her eyes and replied, "This, your Highness, I really don't know."
"You don't know, or you don't dare to say?"
When she was young, Concubine Chen was a pretty girl from a small family. But after she followed Emperor Ren De, she exuded majesty from the inside out. Although her tone was gentle, she gave people a sense of awe without even being angry.
Xie Rongying listened to the words of Concubine Chen with her eyelids half closed, and she seemed to know what happened last night.
She couldn't help but feel a chill down her spine. It seemed that the things she thought were hidden were just her own thoughts.
She half-truthed, "I really didn't know. It's just that my father was in poor health, and because that woman from the brothel was too greedy and hurt the people in the Yongyi Marquis's mansion, and my grandmother didn't want to see my father lingering in brothels again, I got rid of that woman to put an end to the trouble forever."
It was said in a flawless way, yet it made sense.
The Concubine Chen's eyebrows moved slightly, and her red lips raised: "But I know the truth."
Xie Rongying raised her eyes and looked directly at the woman in the high position, a trace of fear on her face: "Your Majesty, are you saying that there is something else behind this woman?"
"Nothing else?" The smile on Concubine Chen's lips deepened, and her gaze on Xie Rongying became more serious: "Madam Qin is a smart person, but she is too smart in front of me, and I am not very happy."
Xie Rongying lowered her eyes and said, "Your Majesty, please speak frankly."
Concubine Chen stared at Xie Rongying, then slowly leaned over a table beside her and said, "The Shi family went to the Yongyi Marquis's residence to kill and silence her, so you're convinced that the Shi family is behind that woman, right?"
Xie Rongying looked at Concubine Chen indifferently without commenting.
Concubine Chen continued, "But you are still wondering, the Shi family and the Xie family are old friends, how could they arrange for such a woman to be close to your father?"
Xie Rongying then frowned, her eyes solemn: "What does the Queen know?"
When Concubine Chen saw the look she had hoped for finally appear on Xie Rongying's face, she felt much better. "In the past, the Shi family certainly wouldn't have done something like this, but the Shi family is different now. Did you know that the Prince of Wei and the Shi family's eldest daughter are about to get married?"
Xie Rongying pondered for a moment: "Does this have anything to do with the Xie family?"
"The Xie family is now the emperor's trusted confidant. The war between Dayin and the Jin people is still unknown when it will end. The financial resources, supplies, and medicinal materials in the hands of the Xie family are all a boost to the frontier troops. In the eyes of everyone, the Xie family is the emperor's people."
Xie Rongying seemed to understand something, but also seemed to not quite understand. Her brows were almost twisted into a knot. "Your Highness is saying that the Xie family belongs to the Emperor's family, which means they are enemies of the Empress Dowager and the King of Wei. The Shi family's daughter will become the King of Wei's consort, so if you want to dismantle the Emperor's family, you have to deal with the Xie family first? Now that the Xie family is headed by my father, the only way to better deal with the Xie family is to tear a hole in my father's power. As long as the Xie family slowly collapses, it will also destroy one of the support points in the Emperor's hands."
Chen Fei saw that Xie Rongying analyzed the situation so thoroughly after she had only given a small reminder.
Her smile deepened: "I still like talking to someone as smart as you."
Xie Rongying sneered silently: "How true is what the Queen said?"
"The Empress Dowager lives deep within the palace, yet she knows the entire situation in Dayin like the back of her hand. She has countless advisors around her, and the late emperor's old ministers remain in the court. The situation has long been split in two. You thought the Xie family could play it safe, but you didn't realize you've already fallen into the game of the emperor and the Empress Dowager."
Concubine Chen spoke slowly, looking at Xie Rongying with a hint of interest. "Both of them want to win, so they don't care about the feelings of the pawns in the situation. For example, Dayin is currently facing internal and external troubles. If it weren't for the financial resources of your Xie family, do you think the emperor could safely deal with the Grand Empress in the palace today?"
Xie Rongying took a deep breath.
"Your Highness is the Emperor of Dayin, so naturally he would be concerned about the situation on the border. However, Your Highness is solely focused on regaining the throne, so her thinking isn't as long-term as your Highness."
"To attack your Xie family is to attack the very foundation of the soldiers on the border. If Xie Yi loses to the Jin, the emperor will naturally be labeled incompetent. Plus, your position is not legitimate, so the Empress Dowager will have reason to force you to abdicate and the King of Wei to take the throne."
"Don't you think so?" Princess Chen smiled after saying this.
Xie Rongying laughed, "So the Xie family has such an extraordinary status."
Concubine Chen's eyes were still sizing up Xie Rongying, and she said with a half-smile, "Young Madam, aren't you curious about why I'm telling you this?"
"Your Majesty, do you want to use the Xie family for your purposes?" Xie Rongying raised her eyes and looked at the Concubine Chen. It was true that the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. The Concubine Chen, who was almost invisible in the court and the harem, saw the current situation so clearly.
"I just want to tell you that you have to be careful if you touch the Empress Dowager's people." After saying this, the Concubine Chen hummed and laughed, as if she was about to see a good show.
Xie Rongying nodded: "Thank you for your reminder, Madam."
"Okay, I'm tired too, you can leave the palace." As soon as the Concubine Chen finished speaking, the eunuch at the gate walked in.
"Young Madam, please."
Xie Rongying stood up and saluted, her gaze lingering on Concubine Chen for a moment longer. She repeated, "Thank you for your reminder, Your Majesty. I'll take my leave."
The moment Xie Rongying turned around, the voice of Concubine Chen came from behind: "If you don't believe it, you can use your own way to find out."
Xie Rongying walked out of the hall without saying anything.
After the main hall quieted down, a man in official uniform walked out of the side hall and said, "Is this trick of your majesty useful?"
"Whether it works or not, just watch the show from now on."
*
Xie Rongying returned in silence along the same route. When she reached the palace road where she had just gotten off the carriage, the carriage she had come from had been waiting for a long time.
Gu Xun and Cuizhi sensed the coldness lingering around Xie Rongying, and neither of them spoke.
When the master, his servant and his two companions were about to get on the carriage, a voice tinged with joy came from the palace gate at the other end.
"Rong Ying?"
Xie Rongying came back to her senses and looked in the direction of the voice. She saw a girl in light green brocade clothes walking towards them, followed not far behind by the King of Wei in a dark purple brocade robe.
"Rongying, it's really you," Shi Jiyue's eyebrows were filled with joy: "Why did you come to the palace?"
Xie Rongying's gaze lingered on Shi Jiuyue, and she smiled faintly: "It's still Brother Ting's marriage."
"Ting'er's marriage? Which family?" Shi Jiuyue asked curiously.
Xie Rongying's smile deepened: "The Concubine Chen is interested in being a matchmaker, and the girl is from the second house of the Yongyi Marquis's mansion."
Shi Jiyue didn't have a good impression of the Yongyi Marquis' Mansion. She frowned and said, "Why is it the girl from the second room of the Yongyi Marquis' Mansion? Is the Concubine Chen randomly matching people up?"
At this time, the King of Wei spoke up: "Jiyue, you are not allowed to make up stories about the Concubine Chen."
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