"It was me, Your Majesty. I did it all by myself from beginning to end. It has nothing to do with others. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
The rules and regulations in the harem are strict. It is impossible for Concubine Rong to get this medicine that even the imperial physician cannot detect by herself. She must have accomplices.
"Come here, announce my imperial decree, revoking the title bestowed upon General Xia, General Xia's Mansion..."
When Concubine Rong heard about her father, her expression changed immediately. "Your Majesty, this was all done by me alone. My father has devoted his life to the court. How can Your Majesty...?"
Gu Yanwei bent down and stared at Rong Fei with a pair of sharp eyes, like a lion standing up. The next moment, he would die under his claws.
"If you want to keep your father's title, tell me, who gave you the medicine, and who else wants to harm Qingqiu?"
Gu Yanwei's eyes at this moment were as sharp as an eagle. Concubine Rong was trembling with fear under his stare, and her tears fell like beads from a broken string.
"Yes, it's the Queen."
There was a loud thunder outside the window, and a flash of lightning tore through the darkness of the imperial study.
Li Wanting opened her eyes in a daze. At this moment, Chun'er had already prepared water for washing her face and placed it beside the bed.
"Empress, you are awake."
Li Wanting slowly propped herself up and sat up, rubbed her head and said, "Headache."
"There was thunder all night last night. I'm afraid your Majesty didn't sleep well. How about I take the water away, Majesty, and rest for a while."
Li Wanting shook her hand. "Forget it, forget it. Please change my clothes for me. Concubine De just gave birth to a child. As the queen, I should go and visit her."
"yes."
Before she could sit up, the emperor's order arrived.
"Her Majesty, please accept the order."
Hearing the sound, Li Wanting hurriedly got up from the bed and walked out of the hall.
She saw Eunuch Li waiting for her in the hall.
"Eunuch, does the Emperor have any urgent business this early in the morning?"
"Your Majesty, the Emperor does have an urgent matter and wants to see the Empress. Please change your clothes and move to the Imperial Study."
Although she was doubtful, she quickly asked Chun'er to help her put on makeup and hurried to the imperial study.
"Your Majesty, the Queen is already waiting outside the door."
When Li Wanting came in, the study had already returned to silence, and at this moment, Gu Yanwei was the only one left.
"Your Majesty." Li Wanting saluted.
Gu Yanwei turned around at this time, holding a bottle of medicine in his hand. When Li Wanting saw the bottle of medicine, her feet suddenly went weak and she fell down.
"So the Queen knows him." Gu Yanwei smiled coldly.
"Your Majesty, I, your concubine..."
"What's wrong with you?" Gu Yanwei lowered his head and pinched Li Wanting's chin. The force was quite strong and Li Wanting felt pain. Tears kept flowing, "Your Majesty."
"Let me tell you why. You instigated Concubine Rong to poison Qingqiu because you were afraid that the child in Qingqiu's belly would threaten your position in the future, and you wanted to prevent future troubles."
Gu Yanwei grew up in the palace, so how could he not know the methods used in the palace.
"Your Majesty..." Li Wanting grabbed the corner of Gu Yanwei's clothes and said, "It's not like that, Your Majesty, I..."
"I don't want to hear your explanation anymore. Someone, take the queen away!"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."
Listening to Li Wanting's voice getting farther and farther away, Gu Yanwei closed his eyes silently.
From yesterday till now, he had not closed his eyes, but he did not feel tired at all. As long as he closed his eyes, he could see Shen Qingqiu's pale face and the unborn child.
——
In the Golden City Palace.
"My dear ministers, is there anything else you want to report?"
Seeing that no one in the hall was talking, Gu Yanwei turned and signaled to Eunuch Li next to him. Eunuch Li nodded and took out an imperial edict from his sleeve.
"Empress Li has behaved improperly and is unfit to be the queen. From today on, she will be deposed and banished to the cold palace!"
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely not possible!" As soon as the imperial edict was read, there were voices of opposition from below.
"Your Majesty, I have heard about Concubine De's affairs. The Queen did make a mistake this time, but she is the daughter of General Li after all. General Li now holds great power and has just made great contributions in the war against the Xiongnu. If the Queen is deposed at this time, I am afraid that General Li will not let it go."
Everyone knows how important General Li is to the court.
"Yes, Your Majesty, we cannot depose the Empress. General Li played an indispensable role in the war against the Xiongnu, and the people all regard General Li as their savior. If we depose the Empress now, given General Li's temperament, we are very worried. Please think twice, Your Majesty!"
There were more and more voices of opposition from the audience. Gu Yanwei clenched his fists tightly and said, "The Queen's actions are unforgivable. What do you think should be done with her?"
"Your Majesty, the Queen is jealous and is indeed wrong. Your Majesty can temporarily confine the Queen to Fengwu Palace, but it is not a bad idea for you to slowly take back the military power in General Li's hands and make plans later."
Gu Yanwei couldn't bear to see Shen Qingqiu being wronged, but he couldn't use his country to seek justice for her.
——
In Fengwu Palace, Li Wanting had been sitting there in a daze for the entire morning. Finally, the person who was supposed to come arrived.
"Her Majesty, please accept the order."
Li Wanting looked up at Eunuch Li who was holding the imperial edict, smiled coldly, and knelt down.
"From today on, Queen Li is confined to Fengwu Palace. Without my order, she is not allowed to step out of the palace."
After leaving the imperial edict, Eunuch Li left. Li Wanting looked at the imperial edict in her hand and suddenly threw it to the ground, tears falling like beads.
"Gu Yanwei, why do you treat me like this? Why?!"
"My Queen." Chun'er shed tears and hugged Li Wanting tightly in her arms.
At this time, the news that the Queen was confined to Fengwu Palace had already reached General Li's mansion.
"Oh no, oh no." The maid ran in hurriedly.
General Li was having lunch with his wife. When he saw the maid running in so unbecomingly, he reprimanded her.
The maid swallowed and panted, "Master, Madam, it's bad, the Queen is under house arrest."
"What?!" Madam Li's chopsticks fell to the ground instantly. She got up quickly and looked at the maid in front of her and said, "Wanting was confined by the emperor. How could this happen?"
The maid said anxiously, "I heard from people in the palace that Miss, it was because Miss instigated Concubine Rong to drug Concubine De, causing Concubine De to have a miscarriage. The Emperor found out about this and had already drafted a decree to depose the Empress in the court today, but it was opposed by important ministers, so the Emperor temporarily confined Miss."
"What should we do? You and I both know how much the Emperor values Concubine De's pregnancy. How could Wanting be so stupid?" Madam Li looked at General Li anxiously.
General Li was also frowning at this moment. More than half a year ago, he had exchanged the position of Queen with the Emperor in order to let Li Wanting become the Queen. But now such a thing happened. How could he ask the Emperor to release his daughter?
Seeing that General Li didn't say anything, Madam Li was so anxious that she was about to cry. She grabbed his sleeve and said, "Master, you should think of a solution quickly. Wan Ting has never suffered such grievances since she was a child. Now she is confined to Fengwu Palace. She must be very sad and upset."
"Don't be sad, ma'am. I will find a way."
"Is there any good solution?" Madam Li burst into tears. "Wanting was very stupid this time. The Defei is the emperor's first child. How could she..." Madam Li covered her face and cried.
"The Emperor has deep feelings for Shen Qingqiu. According to the Emperor's temperament, he should have deposed the Empress Dowager for what Wan Ting did this time, but he didn't. I think he is still afraid of the military power in my hands. As long as I am willing to hand over the military power, I think Wan Ting may still be forgiven by the Emperor."
"But, sir, in that case you are not——"
"Madam, Wan Ting has been spoiled by you and me since she was young. You can't bear to see her being wronged, so how can I just leave her alone in Fengwu Palace? As long as my daughter can be free and the military power is returned to the emperor, what else can I do?"
"Master." Mrs. Li leaned in General Li's arms, silently shedding tears.
Early the next morning, just as Gu Yanwei opened his eyes on the bed, Eunuch Li walked in.
"Your Majesty, you are awake."
Gu Yanwei sat up, looked out the window and said, "Eunuch Li, what time is it now?"
"Your Majesty, you woke up early today, so it's not time for the morning court yet."
Gu Yanwei put on his shoes and got off the bed, saying, "I haven't seen Qingqiu in the past two days, so it's a good opportunity for you to accompany me to Chengchun Palace."
"Your Majesty, General Li has been waiting for you outside the palace for a long time."
Hearing General Li's name, Gu Yanwei was stunned for a moment, and then sneered: "He came so quickly, let him in!"
Outside the hall, General Li had been kneeling for a long time, and finally waited for Eunuch Li to come out again.
"General, the emperor lets you in."
When General Li came in again, Gu Yanwei had already changed his clothes.
"No one will see the emperor."
"General Li, you just returned from a victory. Why don't you stay at home and rest for a few days? You came so early, but what's the matter?"
"Your Majesty, I am here because of the Empress's matter."
Gu Yanwei turned to look at him, smiled and said, "Be honest, General Li, do you think my punishment of the Queen is inappropriate?"
"I dare not."
"General Li came here today, could it be that he just wanted to visit the Queen?"
"Your Majesty, I know that the Queen has made a big mistake this time, but can Your Majesty spare her lightly for the sake of my fighting in the Xiongnu? She is the queen of a country, and the fact that the Emperor doesn't care about her is already her sorrow. Now she is under house arrest, and she has become a joke in the court. How can the Queen be so..."
"Is it because of these that Concubine De's child deserves to die? The Queen is so cruel and merciless. I didn't depose her because of your face. How dare you come and plead for her?" Gu Yanwei was furious.
"Your Majesty, calm down."
General Li has always relied on the power he holds and the fact that he is a capable general of the late emperor, so he has always been so timid and servile in front of Gu Yanwei. But this time, he understands that Li Wanting has touched Gu Yanwei's bottom line.
"Your Majesty, if you are willing to spare the Empress, I am willing to hand over my military power."
——
In Chengchun Palace, after a few days of careful care by the imperial physician, Shen Qingqiu's body had improved a lot, but his spirit was still a little depressed.
Seeing Shen Qingqiu sitting blankly at the window again, Suo Xin sighed, walked to Shen Qingqiu, knelt down and said: "Madam, you just had a miscarriage, you can't stand the wind, and this late spring cold is also very severe, I'd better help you into the house."
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