Chapter 094 Chapter 94
【Chapter 94】
After Concubine Xian finished speaking, she looked at the Queen Mother in disappointment. But when she heard the second prince's babbling voice, she felt a little more hopeful.
The Queen Mother glanced at Jing Qiao who was standing beside her. Jing Qiao understood what the Queen Mother meant and immediately walked towards the outer hall.
For a while, the only sounds in Shoukang Palace were the sound of Concubine Xian teasing the little prince and the little prince's cries.
Jing Qiao quickly came in from the outer hall, stood beside the Queen Mother, leaned over and whispered a few words to her.
The Queen Mother frowned, looking unhappy, "Is the Emperor in the Purple Palace now?"
Jing Qiao did not dare to hide it and said, "The emperor is with Ying Chongrong at the moment."
The Queen Mother suddenly stopped moving the beads in her hand, her eyes closed slightly, and her eyebrows twisted together unconsciously:
"Send someone to invite the emperor over and tell him that I have something to ask."
Jing Qiao nodded, and as she left, she asked again, "Do you want Ying Chongrong to come as well?"
The Queen Mother held her forehead with her hand and waved it away, saying, "As a palace maid, your vision and knowledge are really shallow."
Jing Qiao understood the Queen Mother's intention and sent someone to Lin Xuan Palace.
When Concubine Xian heard this, there was obvious disappointment in her eyes. She patted the Second Prince's hand absentmindedly and let the wet nurse take him away.
"Although Ying Chongrong was born a palace maid, she is very good at pleasing the emperor. Not only that, even the queen likes Ying Chongrong very much and often persuades the emperor to visit Ying Chongrong. Since I returned to the palace..."
The more Concubine Xian spoke, the more aggrieved she looked. Several times, she almost blurted out what she wanted to say, but swallowed it back into her stomach.
When the Queen Mother saw Concubine Xian's expression, she looked even more distressed. "But is there anything you want to tell me? You are a child who always keeps things to yourself."
When Yinli saw her mother's expression, she clenched her nervous hands a little tighter.
Concubine Xian even grabbed the handkerchief, the two thoughts in her head were constantly pulling at each other. Just when she wanted to tell the Queen Mother everything, the news from outside came in, making Concubine Xian swallow back the words she was about to say.
Standing up to greet him, Concubine Xian lowered her head, and a strand of hair fell down from her temple.
Yan Shiyu had not noticed Concubine Xian at first, and only paid his respects to the Queen Mother, "Your son pays his respects to the Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother moved her hand slightly, letting Yan Shiyu sit beside her. Thinking that he would arrive soon, she couldn't help but slow down her tone:
"During the days since I returned to the palace, you have not been to the harem very often, and you have been mostly at Ying Chongrong's place. If she is a lucky person, there should be some movement in these days. You don't have many children, so you should consider the descendants of the dragon. Even if you don't want to go to other concubines, you should go to the concubines who have royal heirs more often."
Concubine Xian turned her face away uncomfortably, and Yan Shiyu's eyes fell squarely on Concubine Xian, making her extremely nervous.
The Queen Mother noticed Yan Shiyu's gaze and said, "What are you looking at Concubine Xian for? She has been coming here with the Second Prince recently. I am surprised, so I asked you one more question. Do you want to blame Concubine Xian for telling me the truth? Do you want Concubine Xian to deceive me?"
Yan Shiyu said calmly: "My son doesn't dare."
Aunt Jingqiao placed the teacup next to Yan Shiyu's hand and said, "Your Majesty, have some tea."
Yan Shiyu stared at the cup at hand, lifted the lid of the teacup, smelled the fragrance of the tea leaves, and asked, "My mother, have you been back in the palace these days? Are you used to living here?"
The Queen Mother frowned in dissatisfaction, "Emperor, you clearly know what I mean."
Yan Shiyu then looked at the Queen Mother straight in the eye, "I am very happy that you can return to the palace again, but whose palace I go to is my own business, so please don't worry about it."
"Emperor!" Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother suddenly pressed the twisting beads in her hands on her legs, and her voice suddenly rose, making the atmosphere particularly uncomfortable.
Yan Shiyu just looked at the Queen Mother indifferently, and even looked a little lazy. "Since the Queen Mother has returned to the palace, you should be well taken care of in the palace. My son has something else to do, so I won't talk to you anymore."
After saying this, Yan Shiyu stood up and left.
When the empress dowager saw Yan Shiyu's background, she was so angry that she couldn't stop coughing.
Aunt Jingqiao hurried forward to help the Queen Mother with her back, "Queen Mother, please don't get excited. Be careful."
Concubine Xian also stood beside the Queen Mother, with tears in her eyes, and said, "It's all my fault. I made the Queen Mother sad."
The Queen Mother held Concubine Xian's hand, patted the back of her hand twice, and placed one of Concubine Xian's hands between her own. "What does it have to do with you? The Emperor is not young anymore, but he still acts without measure. If you were the Queen, how could this happen?"
A glimmer of light flashed in Concubine Xian's eyes. She knelt down beside the Queen Mother with a crying voice and put her face on the Queen Mother's lap. "It's good that Songshuang can always stay with the Queen Mother. I don't dare to ask for anything else."
The Queen Mother couldn't help feeling heartbroken when she saw Concubine Xian crying so sadly. She put her hand on Concubine Xian's head and looked at her eyebrows and eyes which were similar to hers, and felt uncomfortable in her heart.
In the past, she had already agreed with the late emperor to choose Concubine Xian as the emperor's princess consort. Unexpectedly, the emperor later chose the empress, a daughter of the Yang family of Mingdu. She was satisfied with this status. However, the empress was not virtuous, and the emperor did not make it public. At that time, Concubine Xian had already entered the palace to accompany her. On the surface, everyone knew that Concubine Xian was preparing to enter the prince's palace to be the emperor's concubine. Who would have thought that the emperor actually refused this.
Song Shuang, who harmed her, lost face in front of the noble families. She jumped into the lake and was rescued. Only then did the emperor allow her to enter the palace as a princess.
The Queen Mother was also heartbroken when she thought of these past events. She stroked Concubine Xian's black hair and said, "Don't worry, I will be with you in the future. You accompanied me in Putuo Mountain for those few years, and your life was too hard."
Concubine Xian cried and hid a little in the Queen Mother's arms. The Queen Mother felt particularly pity for this aggrieved little girl.
Aunt Jingqiao watched from the side and sighed silently.
…
After the Emperor was called away by the Queen Mother, Ruan Yun was a little upset, but more worried.
Why did the Empress Dowager have to come to see the Emperor at this time?
The dinner on the table had not been touched yet. The little palace maid came into the hall and asked Yingning cautiously.
Yingning and Tingxu looked at the empress's appearance and were a little unsure of what to do.
Ruan Yun said in a slightly depressed voice, "Retreat."
When the palace maids heard this, they dared not say anything and quickly cleared the food from the table and prepared to put it back to the small kitchen.
Just as my hand touched the bowl, a cold voice came from the door, "My wife is so angry that she won't even let me eat."
In the past, Ruan Yun was unruly and always acted according to the emperor's expression. If the emperor was really angry, she would not dare to do anything.
When Ruan Yun heard the emperor's words, he immediately bowed and squatted, "Your Majesty."
The maids stopped immediately, and Ruan Jun looked at the emperor pitifully, "Your Highness...Your Highness, you will not come."
After saying that, she took a step forward and grabbed Yan Shiyu's sleeve. The dragon pattern embroidered with gold thread on it made her hand ache:
"Your Majesty, please don't bother me. I won't do this again. In the future, I will definitely..."
Seeing that she was getting more and more flustered, Yan Shiyu held her hand tightly and passed the remaining warmth in his palm to hers, "I won't blame you, let's eat."
After what happened just now, Ruan Yun finally realized that something was wrong after hearing what the emperor said.
Her almond-shaped eyes sparkled. She took the handkerchief handed to her by Tingxu and wiped the tears from her little face.
Ruan Yun would occasionally pick up the jade chopsticks to serve the emperor dishes. Yan Shiyu noticed her unusual thoughts and said in a deep voice, "It's just some trivial matter that my mother asked me to go."
Ruan Yun held the chopsticks tighter and said in a gentle voice, "I understand."
Because of the Empress Dowager's incident, Ruan Jun's expression behind the curtains always seemed a little strange.
With her hands on her belly, there was little joy on her face, and she clenched her teeth to prevent any sound from leaking out.
Yan Shiyu's dark eyes fell on Ruan Yun's face. He saw through her appearance. He pinched her jaw and drove his long tongue straight in. The tip of his tongue entangled in one place and did not calm down for a long time.
…
Purple Palace
Yan Shiyu looked at the memorial handed over by Young Master Yu and asked calmly, "How are you preparing for the provincial and metropolitan examinations?"
Young Master Yu said truthfully: "When I went to Yangzhou, I met the governor of Yangzhou. I thought he was a useful person. He was an honest official and came from a poor family. He was dedicated to the country and the people. He was indeed a rare talent."
Yan Shiyu slowly closed the memorial in his hand, took another memorial from the side and gave it to Young Master Yu.
After receiving it, Young Master Yu took a quick look at it and immediately became somewhat alert, "Master Meng took the initiative to ask the Emperor to be the chief examiner for next year's spring examination?"
Seeing that the emperor did not say anything, Young Master Yu said, "This... Master Meng has deep roots in the capital. If there are really children of aristocratic families who have some talent and enter the Spring Examination, knowing that Master Meng is the chief examiner, it is inevitable that the family will go to pay a visit. In this way, it is no different from the past."
Then Young Master Yu realized that what he said was not quite right, and said, "This is all my one-sided statement. Master Meng was once the emperor's teacher. His character and ability are among the best. I think he just made a mistake by chance in the past."
Wei Maoyuan was extremely respectful. He took the memorial from Young Master Yu, placed it next to the emperor, and then stepped aside without making a sound.
Yan Shiyu sneered, "When did you learn to talk like that? You are quite unfamiliar with me."
Young Master Yu knelt down immediately and said, "I dare not."
After that, the young prince Yu hesitated for a long time before speaking, "I have something to ask for, Your Majesty's grace."
Yan Shiyu paused while holding the memorial, then said with a half-smile, "Which lady do you like? Is she married? If not, I will arrange a marriage for you."
Young Prince Yu raised his head and spoke in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, with every word spoken clearly, "Yes, it's about Ying Chongrong."
…
Ran Xia helped the queen to walk into Shoukang Palace. Just as they were about to enter the inner hall, they saw Aunt Jingqiao in front of them. Ran Xia lowered her voice and said, "Queen, do you want me to go to Zichen Palace and talk to the emperor?"
The Queen glanced at Ran Xia and said, "The Emperor has a lot of things to do. Why bother him with such a small matter? Besides, why would the Queen Mother come to me to scare the Emperor?"
While the master and servant were talking, Aunt Jingqiao stepped forward, greeted the empress first, and said, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is waiting for you inside."
When Ran Xia supported the empress and wanted to go in together, Aunt Jing Qiao smiled and continued, "The empress dowager said that she hadn't seen the empress for a long time and wanted to have a private talk with her."
The queen nodded and said softly, "You wait for me outside."
Ran Xia wanted to say something, but since the Queen had already said so, as a servant, she really couldn't do anything else.
Jingqiao went in to greet the empress. She neither ordered anyone to serve her tea nor said a single word. She simply retreated from the inner hall and asked all the palace maids in the hall to leave.
For a moment, only the Queen Mother and the Empress were left in the inner hall.
The Queen Mother put down the tea cup in her hand, flipped the twisting beads in her hand, and turned a page of the scripture, "Do you know what the Ai family asked you to do?"
The Queen stood in front of the Queen Mother politely, "Your Majesty, you called me here for a reason."
The Queen Mother looked at the Queen coldly, then took her eyes off the scripture and looked at the Queen, "From the beginning, the candidate I preferred for Queen was not you, but the Emperor's wish. I had no choice but to fulfill the Emperor's wish."
"I didn't say much about the past, but now you can't even do what a queen should do."
The Queen's expression did not change. When she heard the Queen Mother say this, she just apologized, "I have done something wrong. Please don't be angry, Mother."
The Queen Mother placed the twisting beads in her hand on the scripture, "Of course you are wrong. The harem was originally meant to open up branches for the emperor, but the emperor went to the palace of one person one after another. You did not dissuade her, and even appreciated Yingchong Rong a little more. What? Maybe you were thinking that your health was not good, so you had to recruit one more person, so that after a hundred years, you can secure the position of the queen mother."
The Queen's face turned pale when she heard the Queen Mother's next few words.
She knelt in front of the Queen Mother with her skirt lifted up, and said softly, "I dare not."
"Don't dare?" The Queen Mother snorted coldly, "Then tell me, the Emperor went to Ying Chongrong's place more often, but not only did you not dissuade him, you didn't even give Ying Chongrong the slightest hint. What were you thinking?"
Seeing this, the Empress couldn't help but say, "Ying Chongrong is gentle and virtuous. Although she is young, her words always please the Emperor. I think that the Emperor is busy with state affairs, and he needs a concubine like Ying Chongrong to accompany him."
The Queen Mother stared at the Empress quietly and said, "She was originally just a maid in the Flower Chamber. The Emperor was attracted by her beauty and I would not have stopped him. But she was of low status, crude and shallow, and did not know how to do anything. You repeatedly indulged her and did not advise her. This matter is your fault."
For the first time, the Queen's face changed into a different expression. Her eyelashes were a little heavy, and she bent her waist and said, "My son has made a mistake. Please punish me, Mother."
The Queen Mother waved her hand, "I don't mean to punish you, but since you are sitting on the throne of the Queen, you must consider the royal bloodline and the Emperor, and you must not do anything else because of your own selfish desires."
After saying this, the Queen Mother frowned and said, "Jing Qiao."
Aunt Jingqiao came in quickly, without looking up at the scene in front of her, and even ordered people to close the door of the inner hall.
"Just kneel here and think carefully about what you should do. If you can't figure it out, there's no need for you to be the queen."
The Queen Mother said these words calmly and walked past the Queen.
When the door of the hall was opened, the draft from outside blew into the house, and the Buddhist scriptures on the table turned a page gently.
The queen wore a golden crown with huge oriental pearls on it, which showed her status.
Beneath her usually gentle and kind face, there was a hint of deep fatigue.
Kneeling motionless in the same place, she watched the setting sun shine in dimly and then go westwards, until finally, the shadow was stretched very long, and then the queen heard the sound of the door behind her being opened.
Aunt Jingqiao walked into the inner hall and helped the empress up.
The Queen was very gentle. Because Aunt Jingqiao had served the Queen Mother in the past, the palace ladies always showed her a lot of respect.
Jing Qiao said, "The Queen Mother asked the Empress to go back and send ten Buddhist scriptures to Shoukang Palace every day. When the Queen Mother sees that the Empress has figured it out, she won't have to copy them anymore."
The Queen looked at the Buddhist scriptures spread out on the table and responded to the Queen Mother's order, "I understand."
Walking slowly out of the palace, Ran Xia and Qi Yue were extremely anxious and came over to support the empress.
The Queen slightly blocked Ran Xia's hand that was eager to reach for her leg, "I have nothing to do, please go back to Fengyi Palace."
Ran Xia, who is usually calm, is now rash in doing things, not to mention Qi Yue.
Qiyue wiped her tears silently. The queen sat on the carriage and looked to the side. Her voice was filled with a subtle sense of fatigue. "Why are you crying for no reason?"
Qiyue said in a dull voice, and quickly wiped the tears from her face with a handkerchief, "We servants listened to the Empress and did not go to the Purple Palace to invite the Emperor. But even with such a big incident, the Emperor did not even ask a single question."
I'm afraid that the entire harem knows that the Empress went to Shoukang Palace today, and she hasn't come out of the palace all afternoon.
But the Emperor, who was most likely to make the Empress suffer no punishment, did not even send anyone over to ask a single question.
The queen smiled faintly, rubbing her knees, trying to ignore the pain there. "Your Majesty is very busy with state affairs. If you came to Shoukang Palace just for me, it would make me unable to sleep or eat."
Qiyue wanted to say something else, but Ran Xia had returned to her usual self. After pulling Qiyue down, she shook her head to signal Qiyue not to say anything more.
Seeing Ran Xia's expression, Qiyue realized that she had said the wrong thing, and she quietly followed the carriage back to Fengyi Palace.
The two did not ask what had happened in Shoukang Palace. With so many servants here, it would be embarrassing for the Empress.
When the carriage landed at the gate of Fengyi Palace, Ran Xia put her hand in front of the empress, but the empress was in a trance and did not notice it for a moment, so she did not put her hand on it. When she stood up, the pain in her knee was obvious. The empress, who had been trying hard to endure it, swayed because of the pain.
Fortunately, the palace maids waiting beside the carriage were quick to act and quickly supported the Empress.
After the queen stood up, she dodged their hands and said softly, "It's okay, Ranxia, Qiyue, you help me go in."
The two were the dowry of the Queen when she was still in the hidden residence. Seeing this, he understood a lot of things. He could only lower his head to hide the tears in his eyes and helped the Queen into the inner hall.
As soon as she entered, Qiyue couldn't help herself and wanted to ask someone to call the imperial physician, but the queen stopped her, "I'm fine, just apply some medicine and it will be fine."
Ran Xia had already taken off the empress's dress. The thin shirt underneath was pulled up a little, and the large bruises on the empress's knees were seen by Ran Xia and Qi Yue.
Qiyue was very sad. "How can you not let the imperial physician and the female physician come to see your Majesty when she is like this?"
Qi Yue ignored her own status and said, "Your Highness is the Empress. Even if she did something, the Queen Mother shouldn't treat you like this. What's more, Your Highness has always been a kind person. You never say a harsh word to the concubines in the harem. Your mother's family, the Yang family of Mingdu, is a century-old aristocratic family. What's wrong with your Highness!"
The queen shouted, "Shut up!"
After she finished speaking, she wanted to talk more, but she couldn't stop coughing, as if she wanted to cough out all her internal organs.
The empress had been working hard for many days and had suffered a lot of torture from the empress dowager today. She felt a blackout before her eyes and fainted.
…
Linxuan Palace
"What?"
Ruan Yun stood up in surprise, even Concubine Ji, who usually kept a straight face, was very surprised.
"The Queen fainted?"
Ying Ning was also extremely anxious, and nodded, saying, "Yes, the Fengyi Palace has urgently invited the imperial physician to come. The Emperor was originally in the Zichen Palace discussing matters with Young Prince Yu, and now he has also gone to the Fengyi Palace."
Ruan Yun turned around and looked at Concubine Ji. Recently, Concubine Ji had not come to Xuan Palace for a long time because of the little princess. After paying her respects this morning, she heard that the Queen went to the Empress Dowager's palace and had not come out for a long time. Ruan Yun felt that something was wrong, so she asked someone to invite Concubine Ji over.
The Emperor has not said what position he will give to Concubine Ji today, and probably he has not yet gone to the Empress's palace. Who would have thought that such news would come out today.
The two of them ignored everything else and hurried out, still asking Yingning what was going on.
Ying Ning supported the Empress, fearing that something might happen to her. "I am not very clear, but I only know that not long after the Empress returned to Fengyi Palace, she summoned the imperial physician. The concubines should all be heading to Fengyi Palace at this moment."
When the empress was ill, all the concubines had to go to take care of her. Ruan Yun was worried about the empress. The empress was usually gentle and did things calmly. Her fainting must be related to the empress dowager.
However, Ruan Jun only dared to think about this in her heart and did not dare to say it out loud.
Jipin was also very worried after hearing this. She sat in front of the ceremonial procession and said to Yicui, "Tell the wet nurse who is taking care of the little princess to be more careful. I probably won't be returning to the palace today."
Yicui nodded, and the moment the ceremonial procession was raised, she hurried towards Xihua Palace.
When the two arrived at Fengyi Palace, there were already a lot of ceremonial guards outside, and Ruan Yun even saw the servants in front of Yu.
The Emperor has also arrived.
Zeqin saw Ying Chongrong hurrying in, and after paying his respects, he said, "The Emperor is inside now, I'm afraid it's not convenient for the Empress to go in."
He was the Queen's personal eunuch, so he naturally understood the Queen's feelings for Ying Chongrong. He did not mean to stop Ying Chongrong by saying this, he was just speaking the truth.
Ruan Yun breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Is the Queen feeling better?"
Zeqin said, "I am much better now. I am sorry for the trouble, Your Majesty."
Ruan Yun nodded and sat down in the outer hall with the other concubines.
Neither Concubine De nor Concubine Xian came, and Shen Chongyi was under house arrest. Now among the concubines, she had the highest rank. Seeing concubines whispering not far away, and even looking expectant as they wanted to go to the inner hall, Ruan Yun's almond-shaped eyes turned cold as she looked at the concubine.
Inner Temple
The empress leaned on the pillow, her face full of weakness, while Yan Shiyu sat beside her, listening to the imperial physician Sun's reply:
"The Empress is suffering from a temporary attack of blood and qi, coupled with an old illness, so she should just rest and recuperate."
The queen smiled weakly, "We have Doctor Laosun."
After taking a look at the emperor's eyes, Imperial Physician Sun calmly packed up his medicine box and walked out.
Yan Shiyu turned the white jade ring in his hand and naturally understood what happened today.
"I'm sorry to have wronged you today."
The empress wanted to get up from the pillow, but Yan Shiyu held her shoulders. The empress shook her head and said, "I am the empress, and I am also the role model of the entire harem. If I did something wrong, it is for my own good."
Yan Shiyu was silent for a while, then patted the back of her hand and said, "You have done a great job over the years."
The queen forced a smile and couldn't help coughing, "It's all my duty."
Yan Shiyu saw the empress's expression and realized that she wanted him to leave, so he stood up and said, "You should take a good rest. I will come to see you tomorrow."
After walking out of the inner hall, all the concubines stood up to pay their respects. Yan Shiyu just glanced around casually, and his black eyes suddenly became cold.
Ruan Yun didn't look up, but just stood aside.
Wei Maoyuan said hurriedly, "The eldest prince caught a cold after school today. The Empress Defei couldn't spare him time, so she has sent someone to Fengyi Palace to apologize."
Then he lowered his voice and whispered, "The Concubine Xian...did not send anyone over, nor did she come to attend to the illness."
Yan Shiyu's voice turned cold, "I have eyes."
Wei Maoyuan didn't dare to say anything else and just lowered his head.
Yan Shiyu thought of Young Master Yu who had not left Zichen Palace yet, and glanced at Ruan Yun. Seeing Ruan Yun looking towards the inner hall with worry, he said in a cold voice: "Let Concubine Xian come over to take care of him."
After saying this, he strode out of the Zichen Palace without leaving a single word.
Ruan Yun stood obediently aside. Although the emperor only asked Concubine Xian to take care of him, these words undoubtedly gave the Empress a lot of face.
The Queen fell ill after returning from the Queen Mother's palace. No one knew what happened, but Concubine Xian was the Queen Mother's niece.
Ran Xia walked out of the inner hall, and Ruan Yun asked calmly, "How is the Queen? I want to go in and see her."
Ran Xia said respectfully, "Your Majesty, please allow the ladies and ladies to enter."
Ruan Yun walked in front, and together with Concubine Ji, they quickly went into the inner hall.
The queen half sat up, with Qiyue serving her medicine.
Ruan Yun wanted to take the medicine, but when she raised her skirt, the empress held her arm down and said, "No need, I'm fine."
The concubines all stood behind the screen, not daring to go in without the Queen's permission. The Queen said softly, "It's just a minor illness. You don't have to take care of him. Go back."
Everyone looked at each other, and no one dared to leave.
The queen coughed again, avoided the tea handed to her by Qiyue, and looked at Ruan Jun. The meaning in her eyes was self-evident.
Ruan Yun had no choice but to stand up, walk behind the screen, and say, "If there is anything, I will send someone to inform you."
Only after Ying Chongrong's words did the concubines leave.
The Queen looked at Concubine Ji standing beside her, frowned and said, "The little princess is young and has just come to your palace. You should also go back to the palace and spend more time with the little princess. Don't stay in this palace and carefully pass on the disease to the little princess."
Jipin knelt beside the bed, with a faint smile on her lips, and said: "Don't worry, your majesty, the little princess has recovered a lot and has been in good health these days. The most important thing is for your majesty to take care of your own health."
When the queen heard this, she did not say much to persuade him.
Ruan Yun looked at the soup Qiyue was holding and couldn't help asking, "Madam, do you have an old illness? Why haven't you gotten better after taking the soup for so long?"
Qiyue was about to answer for the Queen, but Ranxia suddenly appeared behind the screen and said:
"Your Majesty, the Concubine Xian has arrived."
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