Chapter 055 Chapter 55
Chapter 55
The queen was a little surprised by the emperor's decision, and her eyes moved back to the inner hall, but the twisting beads in her hands did not move again.
The handkerchief that Meng Guiren had been holding tightly in her hand suddenly loosened, her beautiful eyes lost color, and she stepped forward involuntarily on her brocade shoes embroidered with double-petaled lotus flowers. She had been leaning on Liu Jin, but now she wanted to move forward without waiting for Liu Jin to support her. Seeing this, Liu Jin hurriedly pulled Meng Guiren back, and shook her head slightly when Meng Guiren looked over.
Meng Guiren had to swallow back the words she wanted to say at this moment, and looked in the direction of Shen Chongyi without moving. However, she did not hear the words she wanted to hear until the emperor was about to get up and leave.
Just as Yan Shiyu returned to Zichen Palace, Qingling suddenly rushed out from the inner hall and knelt in front of Yan Shiyu, "Your Majesty, the Second Prince was born after much hardship from my young mistress. Please let my young mistress see the Second Prince once, I beg you, Your Majesty."
The Queen stood behind the Emperor and glanced at Qing Ling lightly but said nothing.
Yan Shiyu said coldly: "She is not worthy of being a mother."
The concubines all gasped when they heard this. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that it was Concubine Du who did this. Concubine Du was willing to harm the dragon fetus in her belly in order to frame Concubine Ying. It was obvious that she had never expected that she would give birth prematurely, and she really did not take the dragon fetus seriously.
Qing Ling choked and fell heavily to the ground, "Although you made mistakes, you gave birth to the second prince for His Majesty. His Majesty will let you meet the second prince for your hard work even though you have no merits."
Seeing that the emperor had no reaction, Qing Ling turned around and asked the empress again, but the empress was unwilling to pay attention to the matter and just stood there quietly.
Noble Meng sneered and said, "The Second Prince has a weak constitution and has been suffering from a weak disease since his mother's womb. It's good that the Emperor didn't punish you, but how dare you ask the Emperor to keep the Second Prince and let you see him?"
Qingling wanted to say something, but saw the emperor had already walked out of Yinlanxuan without stopping.
The Queen said calmly, "You young masters do not need to leave Yinlanxuan anymore. I will order the Ministry of Eunuchs to deliver meals to you every day. If Yinlanxuan needs anything, just let the Ministry of Eunuchs know."
Qing Ling watched with despair as the wet nurse followed the empress and carried the second prince away. There was blood on her forehead, but she did not care about that. She went into the inner hall and silently shed tears when she saw Concubine Du who was still sleeping.
Eunuch Deng soon learned about Yinlanxuan's situation. He waved his hand and said to his apprentice, "Since Concubine Du has been demoted, there is no need for so many people to serve her. Bring back the remaining people, as well as Yinlanxuan's ornaments. Just leave a few for presentation. The Empress has ordered that if Concubine Du wakes up and smashes things again, there is no need to make up for it. Tell this to the palace maids of Yinlanxuan."
The apprentice immediately understood what the master meant, "Master, don't worry, I will definitely take care of it."
…
Fengyi Palace.
The Queen entered the inner hall, and the wet nurse held the Second Prince in her arms and stood aside, waiting for the Queen to speak.
The Queen only glanced at the Second Prince in the nurse's arms and said softly, "Clean up the side hall. Take good care of the Second Prince during these days and don't let anything go wrong."
Several wet nurses knelt down and said, "We know."
Qiyue personally led people to clean up the side hall, while Ranxia stayed behind to serve the empress. She helped the empress stand up and took off the hairpin on her head. Ranxia said in a very soft voice: "I'm afraid Concubine Du will no longer be able to raise the Second Prince. Your Majesty has no children, and the Emperor intends to let you raise the Second Prince. Why don't you take this opportunity to legitimately register the Second Prince under your name?"
The queen looked at herself in the bronze mirror and asked, "Am I any different from nine years ago?"
It had been so long that even the empress had forgotten what she used to look like. Ran Xia wiped away the tears from her eyes with her hands, "Your Majesty has not changed at all, you still look the same as before."
The Queen smiled and shook her head, "How could it not have changed? How could I not know how much I have lost? Now I am the Queen, and all the children in the harem must call me Mother. My duty is to protect them from birth and growth, and to continue the royal bloodline. It is too tiring to think about anything else. Look, how could I have these fine lines around my eyes before? I am old."
Ran Xia couldn't help but shed tears. "Your Majesty has sacrificed too much over the years. In order to maintain the stability of the harem, she never mentioned anything again. The Emperor personally asked Your Majesty to raise the Second Prince. Your Majesty..."
The queen still said: "In this life, I only feel guilty about my child. I really don't have enough energy to take care of him."
Retracting her gaze from the bronze mirror, the empress took off the oriental pearl earrings from her earlobes and said, "It's been a long time since I last saw Ming Zhaoyi."
Ran Xia finally had no choice but to say in a low voice, "It's been four years."
The queen combed her black hair and said nonchalantly, "It's been four years. It's time for me to see her again."
Glancing at Ran Xia who was still kneeling, the Queen put down the wooden comb in her hand and said, "Stand up. Even if I don't mention it, Concubine De will definitely mention it. Tomorrow is the fifteenth. Why should I let Concubine De take advantage of this?"
Ran Xia had no choice but to bite her lower lip and said, "I will go and ask the Majesty to prepare the flower dew to cleanse your hands."
…
Swiss Court.
Ruan Yun opened the window and placed her arms slightly bent on it, her fair and tender face resting on her arms, faintly visible.
Ying Ning walked in quickly, and Ruan Jun turned around to look at her, "Give birth?"
"It's a little prince." Ying Ning looked at the young lady with some concern, "After all, she is the biological mother of the second prince. If the young lady wants to prevent today's incident from happening again, I'm afraid she will have to be a little cruel."
Ruan Jun took the cake that Ying Ning had just made and said calmly, "Don't worry."
Before Ying Ning could say anything more, Ting Xu walked in with a smile on her face, "It's done."
Ruan Jun ate the cake slowly, "Did she agree?"
Tingxu nodded, "The maid's name is Danxing. Concubine Du threatened her with her family members, forcing her to deliberately spill the water. After the incident was exposed, she knew she couldn't escape, so she told me everything."
Ruan Yun frowned and asked her, "Have you told her that I can't save her family and can only do my best to protect her?"
Tingxu said: "She was hesitant at first, but then she probably thought that if Du Xuanshi fell, no one would be able to threaten her family, so she agreed."
Ying Ning had been standing beside them while the two were talking. Ruan Jun did not let her leave but allowed her to listen.
Putting down the pastry, Ruan Yun's voice became very cold, "Give her the bitter cold tea and let her add it to Concubine Du's food every day. This is very risky. I can't trust anyone except you."
Ying Ning and Ting Xu looked at each other, and Ying Ning spoke first: "Don't worry, my lady. I used to work in Yunling Pavilion, and I am familiar with every place in the palace. I am willing to do this."
Ruan Jun's fingertips gradually sunk into her palms, her heart beating wildly, "Don't let anyone find out."
After all, Concubine Du is the biological mother of the Second Prince. No matter what, the Emperor would never punish the biological mother of a prince because of her. But Concubine Du used such a clumsy method today, and even did not hesitate to hurt the Second Prince in order to harm her. Putting the new and old accounts together, why should she swallow this anger?
Tingxu was a little worried, Ruan Jun patted her and shook her head, saying, "I'm fine."
…
Pronunciation: Lanxuan.
Concubine Du woke up slowly, and when she opened her eyes she could only see Cheng Chen. For a moment she even forgot what had happened before she fainted.
But she reacted quickly, and touched her belly, which was flat. She struggled to sit up, ignoring the pain, and grabbed Qingling tightly and asked, "Child, where is my child?"
Qing Ling was dizzy but she did not forget to support Ji Xuanshi and cried, "My lady, the imperial physician said that you should not be too radical and should cultivate yourself well!"
Concubine Du suddenly pushed Qing Ling away and said, "Where is that bastard? Has the emperor punished that bastard? And what about my child? Tell me quickly."
Qing Ling could only cry and tell Du Xuanshi everything, "The Second Prince is now in the Empress's palace, Concubine Ying... The Emperor probably knows about it and has not punished Concubine Ying."
When Du Xuanshi heard the smell of blood coming from her throat, she slapped Qingling on the face and said, "You useless bastard! You can't even handle these things!"
As he said this, he stood up and was about to get off the bed. "Make way, everyone, make way for me. I want to go to the Queen's palace. That's my child. How could the Emperor give my child to someone else to raise?"
The excitement in her words made Concubine Du look even more ferocious. Qingling couldn't help but look at the maids standing in the corner, not daring to move, and shouted angrily, "What are you all standing there for! Are you all dead?"
Several palace maids looked at each other before they dared to step forward, but before they could touch Concubine Ji, a voice came from outside the palace, "Concubine Du is fine."
Qing Ling wiped the tears from her face and looked at Qi Xu warily, saying unhappily, "What are you doing here?"
Qi explained it appropriately, "Since Lady Du was demoted to Yinlanxuan, she naturally didn't need such fine things as decorations."
He glanced at the palace maids standing in the corner with frightened faces, and continued, "Yin Lanxuan doesn't need so many palace maids to serve her. I am here to take the people away and move the things away."
"You..." Qing Ling gnashed her teeth in hatred, "My mistress is the second prince's biological mother, please don't go too far."
Qi Xu ignored Qing Ling's threat and raised his hand, "Move the things away."
Lady Du endured the pain and said, "You actually listened to that bitch Ruan Yun and humiliated me. You are so bold!"
The expression on Qi Xu's face faded instantly, and he bowed his body and said respectfully: "Don't say anything nonsense. The Ministry of Internal Affairs only obeys the orders of the Emperor and the Empress. If what Concubine Du said gets to the ears of someone with ulterior motives, we servants can't afford to offend her."
Then he said directly: "Take it away."
Du Xuanshi was powerless to stop it, so Qing Ling could only go over to take care of Du Xuanshi first, and watched Qi Xu and the Ministry of Eunuchs move out most of the furnishings in the palace, and even in the end only two people were left to serve.
For a while, Yinlanxuan was extremely deserted, and the eight-treasure shelves were empty.
Du Xuanshi's eyes went dark, and she forced herself to say, "I will make that vixen Ruan Yun pay the price she deserves, and I will raise my child myself."
After saying this, Lady Du could no longer hold back and passed out. No matter how Qing Ling shouted in the inner hall, no one went to call for the imperial physician.
…
The queen took the blood swallows and listened to what Eunuch Deng said. She put down the bowl and cup, covered her lips with a handkerchief and said, "All the allowances are based on the status of the selected concubine. You don't have to give her anything else. If she wants anything else, you can do it as you see fit, but don't go beyond your duty."
Eunuch Deng hurriedly said, "I understand."
The Queen looked at the blood swallows on the table and said slowly, "Madam Du is weak after giving birth, so send some blood swallows over every day. If there are not enough, find out which concubines in the palace don't need them and send them to Yinlanxuan."
Eunuch Deng immediately understood what the Queen meant and knelt down and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely take care of it."
…
tilt palace.
When Meng Guiren returned to the palace, he touched a white porcelain vase with gold and blue painting. He wanted to smash it but stopped himself. He kept walking back and forth. Liu Jin supported Meng Guiren and said, "You have been tired for a long time. My lady, please sit down and rest."
It was early summer now, and Liu Yu was fanning Mr. Meng to make him feel more comfortable.
But Mr. Meng snatched the fan and pressed it on the table. "The emperor clearly knows that I want a child. He knows that. Why can the second prince be given to the queen but not to me? Is the relationship between me and the emperor fading? Is it because the emperor knows that he doesn't trust me anymore?"
For a moment, all the words spoken by Meng Guiren were full of humiliation. Liu Jin comforted the young lady and said, "My lady, please don't scare yourself. Concubine Du has been demoted, and the Second Prince is weak and has a medical condition. The Emperor is afraid that the young lady will be tired, so he asked the Empress to take care of him."
Meng Guiren fell on the stool and said, "But I haven't been pregnant for a long time. Even though I have the child in Ji Cairen's belly, how can the emperor let me raise the child unless Ji Cairen makes a big mistake? My only hope is the second prince."
Liu Yuping dismissed the palace maids from the Qingyi Palace and patiently advised: "My lady is still young, and you never know when you will get pregnant with a dragon descendant. Besides, you have been drinking the pregnancy medicine, so you will definitely get pregnant."
However, Mr. Meng just shook his head, "No... I can't wait until that day. What if... what if it never happens? Yesterday, my father wrote to me saying that the emperor has entrusted many matters related to the official assessment to Young Master Yu. The emperor... he is different from before."
As Mr. Meng spoke of this, he felt a chill all over his body. He fumbled around on the table with his hands until he grabbed the fan on the table. He felt better and said, "Go, call Shen Chongyi to me."
Liu Jin was a little embarrassed. "Shen Chongyi is now in a higher position than you and is obviously not on the same page with you. You still want to..."
Meng Guiren bit her tongue and said, "As long as I am still the daughter of the Meng family and my father is still the imperial tutor, Shen Chongyi will still have to rely on me to support her family even if she becomes a noble concubine."
Seeing this, Liu Jin had no choice but to get up and take a palace maid to Yuechun Palace.
…
Purple Palace.
Shen Chongyi stood gently beside Princess Xinsi, looking at her with loving eyes.
Princess Xinsi was clamoring to be held by her father. Seeing the little princess, Yan Shiyu became particularly gentle and held her in his arms without paying attention to etiquette. "Xin'er has gained some weight."
Princess Xinsi immediately turned to look at Shen Chongyi, "Mother said Xin'er should eat more now."
Yan Shiyu hugged the little princess and looked at her with his dark eyes, "Xin'er, why do you say that?"
Princess Xinsi tilted her head and thought for a while, "Mother said that Xin'er had a younger brother, and Xin'er had to be stronger to protect her brother. Mother Meng was also very happy when she heard this, and kept saying that Xin'er was sensible."
Turning her head to look at her father, the little princess hugged his neck childishly, "Father, is Xin'er right?"
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