Chapter 111 Chapter 111
[Chapter 111]
Aunt Jingqiao had a worried look on her face and kept trying to comfort the Queen Mother.
Yan Shiyu just found a stool, lifted his robe and sat down, his dark eyes did not avoid the empress dowager's gaze, and said only one sentence:
"Does your mother still remember what happened when your son was seven years old?"
The Queen Mother's lips trembled, and even her eyes began to avoid attention.
Yan Shiyu smiled, his deep laughter was filled with the bitterness that he had suppressed in his heart for many years, "It seems that the Queen Mother remembers it."
“My son remembers it, too.”
After that, Yan Shiyu stood up and said calmly: "Since mother is ill, she should recuperate in the palace. After recovery, mother can return to Putuo Mountain or continue to stay in the palace. Your son will not stop you."
"But my son hopes that you know that it was the Queen who proposed that Concubine Xian could raise the Second Prince. When you rebuked the Queen for favoring Concubine Xian, did you know this?"
Yan Shiyu turned and left the inner hall. The empress who was waiting outside stood up and came to greet him and asked in a gentle voice, "Is mother feeling better?"
Yan Shiyu lowered his eyes and turned the ring around, "Your Majesty has worked hard tonight, please go back early."
After saying this, he walked straight out of Shoukang Palace without caring about how the empress responded.
Ran Xia and Qi Yue stepped forward to support the queen. When the queen turned around, she saw the cakes on the octagonal table and said softly, "Come in."
Qiyue supported the Empress's hand and persuaded her, "Didn't the Emperor order the Empress to return to the palace?"
The Queen looked at Qiyue with a smile on her face and said, "Your Majesty said it is your business, but I cannot help but show my filial piety."
Qiyue looked at Concubine Xian who had already entered, so she had to swallow all the words that were said afterwards and helped the empress into the inner hall.
Concubine Xian knelt in front of the Queen Mother's bed and cried, "It's Song Shuang's fault. Song Shuang shouldn't have returned to the palace. If Song Shuang had stayed in Putuo Mountain, the Queen Mother wouldn't have fallen ill."
The Queen Mother gently wiped Concubine Xian's tears with a handkerchief, and thinking back to what the Emperor had just said, she comforted Concubine Xian and said, "Since you have returned to the palace, how can I let you go back to accompany the ancient Buddha for the rest of your life? I will also stay with you in the palace."
When the Queen came in, she heard the Queen Mother's last words.
There was a moment of confusion in his expression, but he did not ask anything, and said, "The Queen Mother has woken up, is she okay?"
Aunt Jingqiao looked at the Empress and Concubine Xian calmly. Among all the people present, only Aunt Jingqiao knew what the Queen Mother meant.
Concubine Xian stood up from the bed, bowed to the empress, and then stepped aside.
Seeing the empress's gentle appearance, the empress dowager could not help but think of the emperor's words. She hesitated to speak, and finally waved her hand tiredly, saying: "I have nothing to do. It's almost three o'clock. The empress should return to the palace early. It's good to have Concubine Xian accompany me here."
The Queen thought for a moment and said, "My sister Xianfei has been working hard to raise the Second Prince. I'm afraid that the Second Prince will want to look for me when the sun rises. Why don't I stay here to accompany you?"
The Queen Mother shook her head and smiled, which was rare for her. "I appreciate your filial piety. It's getting late. You've worked so hard every day. You don't need to stay any longer."
The queen's expression did not change, and she said in a gentle voice, "Yes, I will take my leave."
The queen's skirt moved slightly, and the gold-thread brocade satin outlined her graceful figure.
Concubine Xian watched the empress leave Shoukang Palace and couldn't help asking, "What did my aunt say to the emperor just now? I saw that the emperor didn't look very well when he left."
The Queen Mother leaned back on her pillow and said, "What can I say? Four years ago, we couldn't say a word. Can it stop in the next two years?"
There was some disappointment in Concubine Xian's eyes, and she said softly, "No matter where the Queen Mother goes, Song Shuang will accompany her."
The Queen Mother touched Concubine Xian's black hair, and said thoughtfully, "You are raising the Second Prince now, so there is no need to worry about other things."
Concubine Xian's lips moved, and she suddenly didn't know what to say, but she had to listen to the Queen Mother's words:
"Yes, Songshuang knows."
The Queen Mother was exhausted and lay on the pillow. Aunt Jingqiao said, "I have asked someone to clean up the side hall. Your Majesty will take a rest for a while."
Concubine Xian nodded dazedly and let Yinli support her as they walked out.
Aunt Jingqiao personally escorted Concubine Xian out. When she returned to the inner palace, the Queen Mother asked in a hoarse voice, "Song Shuang is gone?"
"Yes." Aunt Jingqiao covered the quilt carefully on the Queen Mother and said, "The Concubine Xian looks a little disappointed."
The Queen Mother opened her eyes, and her once beautiful and lively eyes were now a little cloudy:
"I have done too many wrong things in the past, but Song Shuang cannot do that."
She originally thought that the late emperor loved her deeply, and therefore she thought that as long as she sat firmly in the position of Imperial Concubine and then asked the late emperor for help, the position of Empress would be within her grasp.
However, the appearance of Concubine Tao disrupted everything. The late emperor was determined to give the throne of empress to Concubine Tao. If she had not made arrangements in advance and arranged for palace maids to serve Concubine Tao in the palace, she would probably not have known about this, let alone burned the secret decree written by the late emperor with her own hands.
Now Song Shuang is different. She is neither the emperor's most favored concubine nor the one with the best family background.
The Ming family has already fallen into decline, and is only supported by her current status. She had no choice but to bring Concubine Xian into the palace to preserve the Ming family's status among the aristocratic families. However, the emperor was unwilling to choose Concubine Xian, and instead chose the empress.
Aunt Jingqiao said softly, "In fact, the Queen is virtuous. If it is true as the Emperor said, the Queen will definitely not embarrass Consort Xian."
The Queen Mother opened her eyes and became a little more energetic. "Even though there is no Queen, there is still Consort De in front of us. She is the biological mother of the eldest prince and has a good family background. How can I feel at ease?"
Taking the medicine cup brought by Aunt Jingqiao, the Queen Mother smelled the strong bitter smell of the medicine and said, "I remember that the Queen had a root disease in the past, and it has never been cured?"
Aunt Jingqiao nodded and said, "The Imperial Medical Bureau has been carefully taking care of the Empress's health, but after so many years, the Empress's health is still not good."
The Queen Mother nodded and said, "In that case, I cannot leave like this."
After all, there is more than one concubine who has princes in the palace. There is also Ying Chongrong, who is favored by the emperor but has not yet given birth to a dragon child.
…
Purple Palace
Yan Shiyu leaned lazily on the back of his chair, listening to Master Meng in front of him talking about the recent official assessment.
After hearing the last sentence, "The Ministry of Personnel has distributed all the assessment matters, and there will be results within March," Yan Shiyu slowly opened his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Thank you for your hard work, teacher."
Master Meng stumbled to his knees and said, "I have devoted my whole heart to the country and never dared to have any other thoughts."
Yan Shiyu tapped his finger bones on the table from time to time. No one knew what the emperor on high was thinking.
Only Wei Maoyuan looked at Master Meng and then at the Emperor. Master Meng said this without blushing or beating his heart. Did he think that the Emperor didn't know about what he had done in the past? In the past few years, the Emperor had kept the relationship between him and Master Meng and had not exposed the matter. He didn't expect that Master Meng would use the little friendship he had left to plead with the Emperor for Concubine Meng.
Nowadays, Taifu Meng no longer behaves as he did before, which is naturally mostly because of Concubine Meng who lives in Qingyi Palace. He must be thinking that since Concubine Meng can still live in the main hall of Qingyi Palace, the emperor still has sympathy for Concubine Meng, so he has to give it a try no matter what.
I’m afraid that at this point, the imperial examination will be coming up soon, and the emperor’s decision will be difficult.
Yan Shiyu paused tapping the table and said calmly, "Thank you for your hard work, teacher. Sit down and talk."
Wei Maoyuan immediately stepped forward and tried to help Master Meng up, but Master Meng knelt down deeply:
"I heard that another concubine in the emperor's harem is pregnant. Although I shouldn't say this, I couldn't help but think of my imprisoned daughter. I have only one son and one daughter. Concubine Meng is my only daughter. She has been pampered by her family since she was young and has a proud personality."
"She is too arrogant and not suitable to enter the palace. However, Concubine Meng loves the emperor sincerely and wants to enter the palace to accompany the emperor no matter what. Before entering the palace, I also reminded her every day, but I didn't expect that Concubine Meng still made mistakes. Now I am old and I only hope to serve the emperor while I am still useful. Later, I will resign and return home, but before I leave, I have only one wish..."
After saying this, Master Meng raised his head, tears welling up in his cloudy eyes:
"I only ask Your Majesty to release Concubine Meng from her house arrest for the sake of the fact that she and Your Majesty have been together since childhood. She was a person who could not sit still when she was still in the palace. I wonder how uncomfortable she must be now that she is detained in the palace."
Every word Taifu Meng spoke was earnest, and tears suddenly flowed down his face as he spoke.
Wei Maoyuan was quick-witted. He quickly handed a handkerchief to Master Meng and asked someone to serve tea.
For a moment, only the emperor and Master Meng were left in the inner hall.
Yan Shiyu looked at the memorial on the table, and the familiar handwriting from his childhood appeared before him.
Thinking back to when he was young, Master Meng gave him advice and guidance, and thinking back to the love that he lacked from the Empress Dowager at that time, Master Meng also tried his best to take care of him.
If Concubine Meng had not found him when he was seven years old, who knows what the situation would be like now.
Yan Shiyu pinched his brows and said, "I understand that you love your daughter, but this is a matter of my harem. Now that you have finished talking about government affairs, please leave the palace."
When Master Meng heard the emperor's words, he stood up very slowly and knelt down before the emperor, his eyes losing their light, "I will take my leave."
"Master Meng, this way please."
When Wei Maoyuan entered the palace again, he saw the emperor, who was sitting in front of the case, starting to handle state affairs again. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it's almost time for lunch."
However, after saying this, the emperor said bluntly: "Go down."
Wei Maoyuan was so panicked that he was shaking. He knelt down and said, "Your Majesty didn't eat much for breakfast. If you don't eat lunch now, I'm afraid it will hurt your body."
Yan Shiyu glanced at him and said calmly, "You're talking too much."
Wei Maoyuan hurriedly said: "How can a servant compare to the emperor's health? I only hope that the emperor can take care of the dragon's body."
Yan Shiyu knocked on the table twice, thought for a moment, and then spoke, "Fengyi Palace."
Wei Maoyuan did not dare to delay, and hurriedly ordered people to take away the imperial carriage, and then went to instruct the kitchen to deliver the meal to Fengyi Palace.
The queen had been tired for a few days and had just gotten up. She was particularly surprised to hear that the emperor was coming. She looked at little Mu Zi standing behind the screen and said softly:
"I understand."
Ran Xia waited for Xiao Muzi to leave before she asked, "Your Majesty, did you come here because of the Empress Dowager's incident a few days ago?"
The queen put on the earrings herself, looked at herself in the bronze mirror and said, "The court is suspended for three days in the new year, and the morning court was held today. Go and find out if anyone has been to the Purple Palace just now?"
Ran Xia did not delay at all and went to the Zichen Palace in person.
When we returned to Fengyi Palace, the emperor had not arrived yet.
The queen took a look and did not even put down the pen in her hand. "How is it?"
Ran Xia walked too fast, and even spoke with a breath, "Your Majesty is really as good as a god. Master Meng just left Zichen Palace two quarters of an hour ago."
The Queen was not too surprised and closed the account book. Qiyue immediately stepped forward and took the account book from the Queen. She waved her hand to signal the palace maid to come forward and bring water with rose dew in front of the Queen. She put her hand in it and the warm water relieved her fatigue.
"The Emperor will be here soon. Go check if the food has been delivered from the kitchen."
Qiyue bowed and left. The queen rubbed her forehead without saying a word. She just looked at the snowflakes falling outside and felt sorry for the flowers and plants in the courtyard.
At this time of year, only the plum blossoms are still in bloom, but even this single blossom will eventually be picked, and there will be people who want to see the entire garden in spring.
In this world, the only thing that is hard to understand is the human heart.
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