Chapter 162 Chapter 162
[Chapter 162]
Concubine Xian's eyebrows moved slightly, but she quickly straightened up, wiped the tears from her face, and pretended nothing had happened, with a proud character:
"Please come in, Eunuch Wei."
When Wei Maoyuan walked into the inner hall, he took a look at Concubine Xian calmly. Seeing that Concubine Xian had not changed at all, his expression was slightly depressed. "Concubine Xian, the emperor asks you to go to the Zichen Palace."
Concubine Xian looked at Wei Maoyuan calmly, and after a long while she slowly spoke, "Let's go."
Wei Maoyuan leaned sideways. Concubine Xian was wearing luxurious clothes and lotus steps, each of which was extremely slow.
The voice of the Second Prince was heard from the side hall. Concubine Xian looked over, her eyes filled with reluctance.
Wei Maoyuan said, "Madam, let's go."
Concubine Xian suppressed the tears that were about to flow from her eyes and said softly, "I want to go see the Second Prince. Can you please help me, Eunuch?"
Wei Maoyuan was also in a dilemma, but he finally said, "Hurry up, Madam."
Concubine Xian curled her lips and said, "Thank you, eunuch."
The Second Prince was shouting in dissatisfaction in the side hall. Concubine Xian opened the door curtain and came in. The Second Prince ran down from the arms of his wet nurse and threw himself into Concubine Xian's arms, "Mother!"
Concubine Xian squatted down and wanted to hug the Second Prince, but the Second Prince took a step away and said, "I want to go to the Yu Garden to play, but these servants are blocking me. Mother, please take me there."
The wet nurses who were serving the Second Prince knelt down immediately after hearing this. Concubine Xian glanced at them but did not blame them. "You must take good care of the Second Prince."
Turning to face the Second Prince, Concubine Xian touched his head and said softly, "Song'er, you are old now and it is time for you to go to school. Would you like to stay in Chaoxi Palace for a while?"
But the second prince cried in dissatisfaction, "No! I want to go out."
Concubine Xian hugged the Second Prince, and even though he kept moving in her arms, she had no intention of letting go, "Mother has to go to Zichen Palace, Song'er... wait for Mother."
Wiping the tears from her face, Concubine Xian stood up and said, "You guys keep an eye on the Second Prince."
The Second Prince was still crying loudly behind her. Concubine Xian didn't dare to look at him any longer and left directly.
Li Xing looked at Concubine Xian worriedly, but she was more worried about her own future.
Concubine Xian took a deep breath and said, "Let's go."
…
Purple Palace
When the eunuch came in to deliver the message, Ruan Yun was sitting beside the emperor, holding Dongdong.
Hearing that Concubine Xian was coming, Ruan Yun stood up and said, "Since Concubine Xian is here, I will take Dongdong to the side hall first."
As she turned to leave, Yan Shiyu took Dongdong from her arms. Dongdong grinned at Yan Shiyu, "Father!"
Yan Shiyu said in a flat voice, "You should stay too."
Ruan Jun's eyes widened, but she suddenly understood why the emperor wanted to summon Concubine Xian, so she had to sit down again.
Dongdong had been raised in the Zichen Palace and was used to sitting on the dragon throne. Now that he was held by his father, he could not help but want to climb onto the dragon throne, which frightened Ruan Jun.
The palace door opened and Concubine Xian entered alone.
Her face was expressionless, her back was straight, and she looked proud.
However, when he saw Ruan Yun sitting next to the emperor, a sarcastic smile appeared on his lips.
Slowly walking to the bottom of the jade steps, Concubine Xian knelt down slowly, "May the emperor be well, and may the concubine be well."
Yan Shiyu didn't let her get up. He pressed his fingertips on the table and used one hand to protect his movements. "I want to ask you, are you hiding something from me?"
Concubine Xian let out a scornful laugh from her throat and looked at the emperor again, her face full of sarcasm.
But just when she was about to open her lips, she saw the emperor's concern for Dongdong and couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty already knew it, why bother asking me?"
Yan Shiyu handed the rice paper on the table to Wei Maoyuan, who handed it to Concubine Xian, "Your Majesty, please take a look."
Ruan Yun looked at the piece of rice paper and had some guesses in his mind.
It took Concubine Xian a long while before she started. She took the rice paper in her hand and slowly unfolded it.
The top one contained the assassin's confession of crime, and the other one contained what Yinli said about what Concubine Xian had done to her.
A bright red handprint was pressed on it, and Concubine Xian seemed to smell a scent of blood for no reason. She closed her eyes in discomfort.
"Do you recognize these?" Yan Shiyu asked in a deep voice.
Concubine Xian opened her eyes and met Yan Shiyu's cold gaze impartially. She threw the rice paper on the ground lightly and said, "Of course I admit it."
The assassin she hired was not actually an assassin, but just a eunuch who was on duty at West Third Place. He had good skills, but he had committed a serious mistake in the past and was framed and sold into the palace, where he became a eunuch.
She found the eunuch and promised to send him out of the palace after the task was accomplished. However, by the time she came to her senses, the eunuch had disappeared and the Ministry of Punishment could not find anyone to replace him. She had been anxiously waiting for this day to come, but she did not expect it to come so soon.
But when she really knelt before the emperor, Concubine Xian's heart was much calmer than before.
As she glanced at Ruan Yun who was sitting next to Yan Shiyu, Concubine Xian's lips curled up slowly, "You must be very proud."
Ruan Yun suddenly chuckled, "Sister Xianfei, what do you mean by that?"
Concubine Xian didn't think that the emperor was still here. She just said, "When I first heard your name, I was still in Putuo Mountain. I knew that the emperor had a favorite concubine, but you were just a maid who climbed up from the flower room, but you were better than countless people in the palace. At that time, I wondered what you were like."
"Then I met you and tried to make peace with you, but then I thought, you are of low status, what is there for me to win over? You rejected me again and again, why should I stand with you?"
"What I regret most is that your prince did not die in my hands."
Ruan Yun's face changed instantly and she clutched her skirt tightly. Yan Shiyu held Ruan Yun's hand and placed her hand on his knee.
Concubine Xian ignored Ruan Yun's expression and turned to look at Yan Shiyu again, "And you, Your Majesty, you allowed me to enter the palace and gave me hope, but you thought I was the daughter of the Ming family and did not allow me to sleep with you. Do you know that if this word gets out, I will become a laughing stock in the palace!"
Concubine Xian began to speak excitedly, looking at Yan Shiyu with hatred:
"The Second Prince is Concubine Du's child. You asked me to raise Concubine Du's child. Don't you hate me? You knew the feud between Concubine Du and Concubine Ying, but you still agreed to this. You have been scheming against me from the beginning to the end! The person I hate the most is you!"
Ruan Yun was shocked when she heard what Concubine Xian said.
She could never have imagined that the emperor had never visited Concubine Xian's palace...
It is no wonder that Concubine Xian would do such a thing.
She entered the palace at a young age with different feelings, but they were worn away by the deep palace.
The child of Concubine Du, whom she raised, made a serious mistake and even had a grudge against her.
When Ruan Yun looked at Concubine Xian, there was an indescribable emotion in her eyes.
Concubine Xian knelt on the ground, "Now, you want to send me back to Putuo Mountain and let me spend the rest of my life there. Why should I let you do what you want? What I want to do is to make you suffer unbearable pain! You will watch by yourself as your beloved concubine loses her mind because of losing her child, and you will never get that person who loves you in this life!"
After saying this, Concubine Xian started laughing non-stop. Wei Maoyuan was afraid that Concubine Xian would hurt the emperor, so he wanted to see what the emperor meant. However, Yan Shiyu raised his head and stopped Concubine Xian's actions.
Dongdong was probably frightened by Concubine Xian, and began to cry while sitting on the dragon chair.
He grabbed Yan Shiyu's sleeve, looking very aggrieved.
Ruan Jun wanted to pick up Dongdong, but Yan Shiyu got there first and held Dongdong in his arms to comfort him.
He placed his hand on the moving ear, his movements were gentle and careful yet extremely skillful, as if he had done it thousands of times.
As Concubine Xian laughed, tears welled up in her eyes.
Seeing the emperor treating the third prince like this, she smiled, and her laughter contained many emotions.
"Your Majesty, you have held the eldest prince and the third prince, but have you ever held the second prince?"
"He is Concubine Du's child, but he is also the child that I watched grow up. He is the child that I hold in my hands and care for. I will never have my own children, so he is my child, and you, however, have ignored him! It was also you who personally turned the Second Prince into what he is today!"
Yan Shiyu handed the Third Prince to Wei Maoyuan who was standing beside him, and wrapped his palm around Ruan Yun's gradually cooling hand, "My heart is also limited."
Concubine Xian looked down, not wanting to smile. She had said so much just now, she had nothing more to say. She knelt straight, kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I beg you to forgive me. This was done by me alone, and it has nothing to do with the Queen Mother. Your Majesty, please do not anger the Second Prince. He is still young and does not understand many things."
Ruan Jun's fingers moved unconsciously, and Yan Shiyu gently pinched her fingertips, having already made a decision in his heart.
"You are the mother of the Second Prince. This will not change."
Concubine Xian had already lost all hope. When she heard the emperor's words, she looked up in shock and could not believe what he said.
Yan Shiyu leaned back in his chair, "I will not tell everyone in the palace why this happened. The Queen Mother will return to Putuo Mountain soon, and you should go with her. But you are not allowed to leave Putuo Mountain in this life. Let the Second Prince go with you. You should fast and chant Buddha's name in Putuo Mountain, pray for the concubine, and use this method to atone for your sins."
Ruan Yun tilted her head to look at the emperor, and Bei Chi bit her lower lip unconsciously.
The second prince went to Mount Putuo, and I’m afraid he will never return to the capital in this lifetime.
The emperor's idea is to pave the way for...movement?
Concubine Xian's eyes fell on Yan Shiyu's face, and Yan Shiyu said in a deep voice: "I shouldn't have let you enter the palace, but you shouldn't have hired someone to assassinate the third prince. You should return to the palace and leave with the Queen Mother another day."
Wei Maoyuan walked down the jade steps and bowed before Concubine Xian. "Your Majesty, please come in."
Concubine Xian looked at her fingertips, thinking of what Yan Shiyu had just said, her eyelashes closed, and a tear fell from the corner of her eye.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
She had countless things to say, but in the end, this was the only thing she could say.
Watching Concubine Xian leave, Ruan Yun's hand was still held by Yan Shiyu.
Before he could say anything, Yan Shiyu spoke first, "Do you blame me?"
Ruan Yun's almond eyes quickly turned tender. After shaking her head, she boldly sat on the emperor's lap, kissed the corner of his lips, and said vaguely, "No wonder."
Yan Shiyu held the back of her head and deepened the kiss between them.
When he let go of Ruan Yun, she was already out of breath.
He touched her lips, feeling a crystal clear feeling on his fingertips. "Why are you still so bad at it?"
Ruan Yun lowered her head shyly, "Your Majesty is teasing me again."
She leaned her face against the emperor's chest and said, "If Concubine Xian is gone, the Empress Dowager will be sad. The emperor asked Concubine Xian to take the second prince away. From now on, I'm afraid the second prince will..."
Before he could finish his words, Ruan Yun was now very cautious, fearing that he would be accused of interfering in state affairs.
Yan Shiyu chuckled and pinched Ruan Yun's face, "Why don't you continue talking?"
Ruan Yun's almond-shaped eyes blinked fiercely, and became round with anger, "If the latter words are spread out, I will become a demon concubine!"
Yan Shiyu pinched her eardrops, a tingling smile came out of his chest, and he patted her waist and hips, "I even let you sit on my dragon throne. A tyrant emperor and a seductive concubine, aren't they a match made in heaven?"
Although she knew that this was a joke from the emperor, Ruan Yun was so angry that her face turned red.
She twisted her body and tried to get out of the emperor's arms, but as soon as she moved, she felt danger on the side of her leg.
She didn't dare to move at all, and said in a solemn voice, "Your Majesty, please let me get up."
Yan Shiyu felt uncomfortable with her actions. His eyes darkened and there was a lot of threat in his eyes when he looked at Ruan Jun.
Ruan Jun dared not do anything else. She buried her head in the emperor's chest, regretting her action.
Wei Maoyuan stood in the palace, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
Wei Maoyuan's appearance happened to give Ruan Yun a reason to leave, and she stood up hastily, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Wei may have something urgent to do."
This time they were heading towards the side hall. Yan Shiyu did not stop Ruan Yun and let her leave.
Wei Maoyuan entered the inner hall, thinking of the imperial concubine in the side hall, and lowered his voice a lot, "Your Majesty, Yinli also confessed some other things."
Wei Maoyuan handed the rice paper folded in his sleeve to the emperor. Looking at the emperor's increasingly gloomy face, Wei Maoyuan hurriedly knelt down.
Yan Shiyu put down the rice paper in his hand, tapped the table thoughtfully, and then said, "Don't make it public for now."
Wei Maoyuan agreed to the emperor's request. After all, this matter involved a high-ranking concubine, which was not an easy matter.
…
Linxuan Palace
The night was shrouded in darkness, and Ruan Jun had her period. She felt too lazy to move.
Suddenly there was a knock on the palace door. Ruan Jun looked at the wet nurse, who understood what the empress meant and took Dongdong away.
Yingning walked out of the inner hall very lightly and turned to the palace gate.
Chunqing spoke to Yingning in a low voice, and Yingning raised her eyebrows slightly, "Open the door."
The moment the palace gate was opened, a palace maid with a very ferocious look knelt in front of Ying Ning, "Is the Imperial Concubine here? I have something to ask of you. Please, can you let me see you?"
Yingning and Chunqing looked at each other, then squatted down and helped the palace maid up. "Which palace are you from? It's so late, why are you here now?"
Ying Ning pushed aside the palace maid's scattered hair and paused with her fingertips, "Liu Jin? Why is it you?"
Liu Jin cried and grabbed Ying Ning's sleeve, "Ying Ning, please, let me see the Royal Concubine. I have something to say to her."
Ying Ning held Liu Jin's hand and said, "Speak slowly, don't be anxious."
…
Kneeling in front of Ruan Jun, Ruan Jun looked calm, but Liu Jin suddenly felt afraid for no reason.
"Your Majesty the Concubine..."
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.
Ruan Jun touched the armor in his hand with a calm expression. He let Liu Jin cry and had no intention of letting her speak.
Liu Jin looked at Ruan Jun many times, but when he saw Ruan Jun's appearance, his heart sank.
After a long while, Ruan Yun finally spoke, "I remember that after Concubine Shu passed away, you were assigned to work in the Sizhenfang. It was a good job. How did you become like this? You came to Xuan Palace so late at night. Do you have something to tell me? I don't remember any friendship with Miss Liujin in the past."
Liu Jin stood up with pity in his eyes, but he quickly calmed down and wanted to go forward but didn't dare.
She clutched a note tightly in her hand, "I have something that Your Majesty wants. I can give it to Your Majesty. I only ask Your Majesty to save me and my family."
Ruan Yun looked at Liu Jin's hand with her almond-shaped eyes. The note was probably written many years ago, and the paper had begun to turn yellow.
He looked at Liu Jin with a half-smile, "How can you be so sure? Is this what I want?"
Liu Jin knew how important the item in her hand was, so she said, "Before Concubine Shu passed away, she gave this item to me. Concubine Shu was unwilling to become someone else's pawn. Your Majesty also wants to bring that person down, doesn't she?"
Looking at Liu Jin quietly, Ruan Jun didn't realize that she still looked like this.
Ying Ning received the queen's look, bent down and helped Liu Jin up, "Good sister, if you have something to say, please stand up and talk."
Liu Jin wiped her tears and stood up. After a brief pause, she handed the note in her hand to Ruan Yun.
…
Jingzhang Palace
After hearing what Wang Yi said, De Fei said in a sharp voice: "They are all useless!"
Wang Yi knelt down and said, "She was already pregnant, but she accidentally miscarried when she went out. The doctor said that she might not be able to get pregnant again in the future. Aunt Zheng knew about this and insisted on giving the Seventh Young Master a concubine, so the old man had to agree."
"And that shop, for some unknown reason, was suddenly closed down by the government, saying they were selling illegal salt. They have been investigated by the Jingzhao Yinfu, and the matter has been handed over to the Dali Temple for investigation."
Concubine De threw the teacup. "Since she is pregnant, why would she go out for no reason? Is the capital so unsafe? Could she die if she went out?"
"How can a small spice shop sell illegal salt? Do they want to die?"
Wang Yi kept shaking her head, "My Lady, this is very strange!"
Concubine De turned around and scolded her, "Can't I see that this matter is strange? This kind of thing is the most unexplainable."
She was so angry that she felt dizzy. She leaned her hands on the corner of the table, closed her eyes tightly, and no one knew what she was thinking.
"Has there been any letter from mother?"
Wang Yi shook her head, "Never."
De Fei's eyes showed a firmness, "Go to Fengyi Palace."
Wang Yi was shocked. "What is your Majesty doing in Fengyi Palace?"
The corners of Concubine De's lips twitched, "The Queen is ill and can't do anything, but I am the biological mother of the eldest prince. Whatever I want, I won't get it."
She turned around and walked out of Jingzhang Palace, but a palace maid knelt down in front of Concubine De and said, "Your Majesty, Concubine Xian has not left the palace since she was summoned to Zichen Palace by the Emperor. I went to inquire and found out that Chaoxi Palace has already started packing up."
Defei took a step back in disbelief, dug her fingertips into her palms, and hit the palace maid in front of her hard on the face.
The palace maid's face soon became swollen, but thinking that Concubine De had been like this in recent days, she dared not move and could only sob quietly.
Defei was even more upset when she heard the maid's noise, "I didn't even cry, but you started crying!"
Just as he was about to fight again, a figure suddenly appeared outside the palace gate, along with a timid voice, "Mother."
Defei looked over in disbelief and found that the person coming was actually the emperor. She pinched her palms until blood marks appeared, trying to keep herself awake.
The beaten palace maid knelt carefully aside. Wang Yi originally wanted to ask the palace maid to leave, but Yan Shiyu had already seen the appearance of the palace maid.
"What did she do wrong to make my beloved concubine so angry?"
The only people in front of him were the emperor and the eldest prince. However, when the eldest prince looked at Concubine De, fear appeared in his eyes.
Concubine De glanced at the eldest prince, and the eldest prince hid behind Yan Shiyu in fear.
Such an obvious action made Concubine De stunned.
After finally calming herself down, she put on a gentle smile and said, "Ting'er, come here, mother."
Yan Shiyu did not stop Concubine De's actions and words, but the eldest prince found that his father ignored him, so he had to step forward and stand in front of Concubine De.
Defei wanted to raise her head and touch the eldest prince's head, but the eldest prince dodged in fear. Defei's hand froze in place, and she couldn't help but say, "Did Ting'er go to the Purple Palace again to disturb the emperor's political affairs? I have talked to Ting'er, but Ting'er probably hasn't seen the emperor for a long time, so she went there."
Yan Shiyu's brows were deep, "It's okay."
Concubine De did not feel better because of Yan Shiyu's words. Seeing that Yan Shiyu was tired, she could not help but ask with concern: "Your Majesty, have you not rested well recently? Even though the government is busy, Your Majesty should also pay attention to his health."
Yan Shiyu looked at Concubine De calmly: "What happened just now? How could my beloved concubine be so angry?"
De Fei's expression froze. She had not expected the Emperor to ask about this again. "It's just that the maid had made many mistakes in the past and now. I couldn't help but scold her. But I couldn't restrain myself and let the Emperor see it."
Wangyi placed the teacup next to the emperor. The tea prepared in Jingzhang Palace was always the emperor's favorite tea.
Concubine De looked at the emperor tenderly, "I added chrysanthemum and cassia seed to the tea, Your Majesty, would you like to taste it?"
Yan Shiyu only glanced at the teacup without moving his hands at all.
The smile on Concubine De's face froze in an instant, and she didn't understand what the emperor meant.
Yan Shiyu suddenly changed the subject, which made Concubine De a little confused. "Do you want to see your family?"
Concubine De's eyelashes trembled suddenly, and she couldn't help but clench her hands after putting them down from her knees. She managed to force a smile on her lips, "How did the emperor know about such a trivial matter?"
After saying this, she seemed to feel that what she said was inappropriate, and hurriedly stood up, "I was mistaken for my words, Your Majesty, please forgive me."
"I haven't seen mother for a long time. I heard that mother was in charge of all the affairs in the mansion. She was seriously ill in the spring of this year, so I wanted to see her."
Yan Shiyu nodded, tapping the table with his fingertips slightly bent, "In that case, there is no need to go to the Queen's palace. Let Wei Maoyuan go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and let your mother enter the palace in the next two days."
Concubine De smiled and her expression improved a little. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Yan Shiyu stood up and said, "Ting'er's hand injury has not healed yet, so there is no need to work so hard."
He left in a hurry, and the tea on the table was not touched at all.
In the midsummer, the tea began to gradually cool down.
De Fei sat back on the couch, looked at the teacup, and said wearily, "Take it away."
"Where's Ting'er?"
Wang Yi said softly, "The eldest prince has returned to the side hall."
Defei's arms began to tremble, and then her whole body couldn't help shaking, as if she was trying hard to endure something:
"Since the emperor has asked Ting'er to take good care of his health, the eldest prince is not allowed to leave the gate of Jingzhang Palace from now on."
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