Chapter 73 Chapter 73
[Chapter 73]
The Queen looked at the Emperor, pursed her lips and said, "In this case... I'm afraid we should ask Qingling to come as well."
Yan Shiyu withdrew his gaze from Ruan Yun imperceptibly and said, "It's up to the Queen to decide."
Mr. Meng stared at the emperor closely and could naturally notice all kinds of expressions in the emperor's eyes. When he heard what the emperor said to the empress, he was so angry that the corners of his eyes turned red.
If it weren't for the old woman, the Queen, the throne of Queen would have been hers!
Now, the person by the emperor's side will also be her!
Lady Meng's eyes were red with tears. In the past, the emperor doted on her the most. Whenever she did something wrong or had a little temper, the emperor would come to her palace. But last time, the emperor's attitude changed.
While Meng Guiren was still sad, Ruan Yun had already sensed that something was wrong.
He asked Concubine Ji, "You told me two days ago that Concubine Du was wrong. How come the Empress didn't find out?"
Ruan Jun narrowed her almond-shaped eyes, her face full of confusion.
Jipin covered up the incident well, saying, "The Empress Dowager is in charge of the affairs of the six palaces, and it is probably inconvenient for the people below to disturb the Empress Dowager."
Ruan Jun nodded thoughtfully, and looked like she believed it.
Zeqin sent someone to Miaoran's residence in a hurry. When he saw the scene in the side room of the hall, his face instantly became gloomy.
The people from the empress' palace who came with Zeqin took a few steps back in fear and asked fearfully, "Eunuch Zeqin... this..."
Zeqin covered his mouth and nose, frowned and said, "Take the body away, and remember to keep it safe!"
The eunuchs all nodded fearfully, not daring to even look at the corpse.
Zeqin quickly returned to Fengyi Palace and knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, when I left, Qingling... was already dead."
These words caused a huge uproar among the concubines. They all subconsciously sat back a little and covered their lips with handkerchiefs. The confusion on Ruan Yun's little face became even more intense.
Concubine Ji sat there calmly. Ruan Yun was afraid that Concubine Ji was scared and wanted to comfort her, but she found that Concubine Ji was even calmer than her.
Noticing Ruan Yun's gaze, Jipin leaned closer to her and tried to comfort her, saying, "I'm fine, don't worry, Sister Ying."
Ruan Yun felt uncertain in her heart, but then she thought about what Jipin had experienced in the past, and she could understand it to some extent.
The queen slammed her hand on the armchair and asked in a more serious tone, "What's going on?"
Zeqin did not dare to hide the truth and said, "When I left, Qingling's face was completely disfigured and there was a bump on his forehead. It was probably that he first destroyed his face with a candle and then committed suicide."
Several concubines couldn't help vomiting after hearing about such a tragic death.
The queen wanted to speak, but as she opened her lips slightly, she seemed to think of something, and suddenly changed the subject, saying, "Qingling's death is strange. If she let Concubine Du go, and then did something like this herself, it is not impossible. Now there is no one who can testify. If we continue to investigate, and she is still in the palace, I am afraid that people will panic and the ministers will have a lot of comments. I think, since Concubine Du is like this now, it is better to just say that Concubine Du is crazy."
There are all kinds of things that normal people cannot do, but crazy people can do.
It doesn't matter how Qingling died. What matters is the reputation of the royal family. It was the Second Prince's current mother, Concubine Xian, and not anyone else.
Yan Shiyu glanced at the queen, turned the white jade ring around, and said lazily, "The queen will do it."
Standing up and leaving Lanhui Palace, Ruan Jun's doubts were finally resolved.
The queen regained her usual gentleness, dignified and majestic manner, and said, "This matter ends here. I don't want to hear any more rumors. If there are still such rumors in the palace in the future, I will not show mercy!"
The concubines stood up to listen to the instructions, and they all said in unison: "We will follow the instructions of the Empress."
The empress waved her hand and asked everyone to disperse. The emperor was not here, so the concubines rushed out, thinking that it would be great if they could see the emperor somewhere.
Ruan Jun left Lanhui Palace first. Ying Ning asked softly, "Your Majesty didn't sleep well last night. Do you want to go back to the palace and sleep for a while?"
But Ruan Yun shook her head, and when she saw Concubine Ji come out, she deliberately put on a stern face.
Concubine Ji saw Ruan Yun standing beside the flowerbed at a glance. She walked over and wanted to hold Ruan Yun's hand, but Ruan Yun avoided her. Concubine Ji's hand paused in the air, and then said, "The sun is bright, and Lanhui Palace is very close to Ningfangyuan. Sister Ying, why don't you come to my place and sit for a while?"
After seeing Concubine Ji's appearance, Ruan Yun's anger subsided a lot.
With a light snort, she turned around and got on the ceremonial procession. Jipin also walked towards the ceremonial procession with the help of Yicui.
After arriving at Ningfangzhen, Concubine Ji said, "I just happened to get some snacks today. Sister, can you have some first?"
Ruan Yun wiped her hand with a handkerchief and said in a coquettish voice, "Do you think you can get over the matter this way?"
He glared at Jipin unhappily, but there was not much anger in his eyes, but more worry. "You didn't tell me about such a big thing. Do you think I'm a fool?"
Concubine Ji stepped forward, held Ruan Yun's hand, and said, "Sister Ying is angry with me?"
Ruan Yun did not shake off Jipin's hand after all, and said, "Why do you come to talk to me when you have such an idea in your mind? Could it be that the emperor..."
How could Concubine Ji set up such a scheme alone?
What she originally wanted was for Lady Du to pay back double for all the harm she had done to her in the past, and now it could be considered as Lady Du's own retribution.
Even the emperor didn't know when he knew that she had given Concubine Du the bitter and cold tea.
Concubine Ji shook her head and said, "This matter is dangerous. The emperor is also worried about Sister Ying, so he didn't allow me to tell Sister Ying."
"Sister Ying, don't worry."
As she spoke, Ji Bin pushed some of the pastries in front of her towards Ruan Yun. After Ruan Yun took a piece, Ji Bin's smile widened again.
Ruan Jun only took one sip, and then Ting Xu came over and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has been waiting in Shuohan Pavilion for a long time."
Jipin smiled even more, "Sister, please go back quickly, or the emperor will scold me."
Ruan Jun gave Ting Xu a glare, pursed her lips and said, "I understand."
Jipin stood up with Ruan Yun, the smile on her face was even more radiant than at the beginning. Ruan Yun took a step forward, then turned back to look at Jipin. She gently grasped Jipin's thin wrist and asked her in a low voice, "You... were unwilling to accept the emperor's favor before, are you willing now?"
Concubine Ji did not answer Ruan Yun's words, but just said, "Let it be."
Ruan Yun felt a little relieved. Concubine Ji was much more relaxed now than before, which was a good thing after all.
After watching Ruan Yun leave, Jipin sat back on the couch, but her smile had faded. She took a sip from the teacup and asked Yicui, "Where is she?"
Yicui whispered in Jipin's ear: "The person is in the side hall."
Concubine Ji nodded and said, "Bring her here, be careful."
Yicui stood up and looked at the waiters in the hall and said, "My lady wants to rest for a while. You all go down and don't disturb her."
The palace maids left the inner hall. Yicui took a look and helped Jipin to go behind the screen. Then she went to the side hall and saw that she was already wearing a veil. She said, "The young master wants to see you. Please follow me."
The two of them entered the inner hall one after the other. Concubine Ji looked up and saw Qingling with red eyes taking off the veil on her face and saying, "Thank you very much, young master, for your kindness."
Jipin slowly took off her armor and the hairpin on her head, and said, "You are a smart person. I am willing to help you because you are good at doing things. But... I don't want to hear words that shouldn't be said in my life. Otherwise, no matter where you and your family go, I can find you."
Qing Ling kowtowed quickly. When she leaned forward, the jade bracelet in her sleeve stuck to her body. She choked up and said, "My lady, rest assured. I will keep this a secret and keep it to myself for the rest of my life."
Concubine Ji looked at Qing Ling in the bronze mirror and smiled with satisfaction, "There is a carriage at the gate of Qiongyuan. Your parents and sister are on it."
Yicui handed the package in her hand to Qingling, "There are five hundred taels of silver in here, enough for your family to live for the rest of their lives. The travel permits are all in it. Just remember, once you leave the palace, you are no longer a child of the Pingyang Marquis's mansion, but just the daughter of an ordinary spice merchant."
Qingling took the package from Yicui and said, "Thank you very much, my lady. I will never forget your kindness."
Yicui helped Qingling up and walked her out of the inner hall. When they returned, Concubine Ji was already combing her long black hair in front of the dressing table.
Seeing Yicui coming in, Jipin asked her, "Have you found what I asked you to do?"
Yicui nodded and handed a piece of paper in her sleeve to Jipin, "It's a folk prescription. It's said that the medicine is very strong. You may not be able to resist it after using it."
Concubine Ji took a quick look and ordered Yicui to put it away. "I will hand the prescription to her. It is up to her to choose."
…
Ruan Yun entered the inner hall of Shuohan Pavilion, but did not see the emperor inside.
Just as I was about to speak, I heard the sound of water running in the bathroom.
Ruan Yun went into the bathroom despite being puzzled. Unexpectedly, what she saw was the emperor's exposed back and his strong arms resting on the edge of the tub. Ruan Yun could see it more clearly during the day, but she could occasionally feel the scar at night.
She walked forward and picked up the handkerchief beside her, but she did not do anything else. Instead, she placed her fingertips on the emperor's arm and asked, "Why is the emperor bathing now? Did he do something?"
Ruan Jun snorted twice. Even Yan Shiyu was so angry that he almost died of anger when he was sitting there. "You take advantage of my favor to say anything!"
Ruan Yun muttered, "Your Majesty and I are together, and I am bathing just because of one thing. Your Majesty, please don't blame me for thinking too much."
Yan Shiyu suddenly stood up from the bathtub. Before Ruan Jun could react, she saw something flash before her almond-shaped eyes.
She immediately covered her eyes with her hands and ran out without caring about anything else.
Yan Shiyu slowly wiped the water off his body. Seeing Ruan Jun throw the handkerchief on the ground in panic, he curled his lips silently.
Ruan Jun took several sips of cool tea before she was able to suppress the heat on her face.
Seeing the emperor coming out, she said in a sobbing tone, "The emperor is really a bad person."
Yan Shiyu's dark eyes captured Ruan Yun, "My dear, are you so shy?"
Ruan Jun stopped talking and turned away.
Yan Shiyu chuckled, "Okay, I'll take you riding a horse."
Ruan Yun looked at the emperor in surprise, but her face fell in an instant. "I have never ridden a horse before, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs has never prepared a riding suit for me. Your Majesty is just trying to whet my appetite, but you are making it impossible for me to go."
Yan Shiyu hooked Ruan Yun's black hair with his fingers, watching her hair entangled around his fingertips, and said casually:
"Xiaoxiao promised me something, and I'll take Xiaoxiao with me, okay?"
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