Chapter 198 Sun Miaoqing's Last Words

An Lingrong was weak and prone to coughing and getting sick when the seasons changed. She had been taking medicine all the time, and many people in the palace knew about it.

Because of these words, Lady Qi ordered her maidservants and palace maids to tamper with the medicine she was taking.

Baozhen is not Baoju. She is sharp-eyed and protective of her master. When she noticed something was wrong, she immediately told An Lingrong.

An Lingrong knew that Concubine Qi had done this in her previous life, so she was on guard. When she got the news, she put the poison in Concubine Qi's medicine.

None of them can be considered as revenge for the past life, it is just giving someone a taste of their own medicine.

After all, Concubine Qi had a good family background and outstanding looks, but even with this voice she was still mercilessly mocked. An Lingrong couldn't imagine how difficult her life would be in the harem if she became like this - as ruthless as the dog emperor, without any backing and out of favor.

An Lingrong admitted that she had a dark heart. When she heard Mr. Qi's duck voice, she felt very happy and even thought that this was not enough.

Only if she was disfigured could she compare with her own loss of voice.

But when the queen looked at her...did she discover something?

Does your Majesty feel that she is despicable?

Will you never dare to trust yourself again in the future?

The singing on the stage was lively and to An Lingrong's ears it sounded like noise.

"Empress Tian~"

Xi Chao came to An Lingrong's side without her noticing, and called her several times before An Lingrong came back to her senses, "Princess, what's wrong?"

"Here you go."

"What?"

"Xi Chao remembers that Empress Tian likes almonds the most. This one is delicious in front of E Niang. Give it to Empress Tian."

Xi Chao put the almond in An Lingrong's palm, then went to Shen Meizhuang. He coaxed Shen Meizhuang with a few words, making her smile. She even said that she wanted to sleep with Empress Hui tonight, and was then called over by Fang Jiachun.

The show ended early today. An Lingrong held the almond tightly and caught up with the imperial concubine's carriage.

“My queen…”

Nian Shilan could tell at a glance that the sore throat of Qi Guiren was caused by An Lingrong.

With Gua Liu's ability, the most she could do was to complain to the emperor, but with the condition of her voice, she was afraid that the emperor would lose his patience before she could finish her story.

They were just minor incidents and Nian Shilan didn't want to get involved.

She sat on the sedan chair, staring ahead, and said lazily, "If it's about other people, don't tell me. I don't want to know anything."

Other people's business...

An Lingrong's eyes were filled with surprise and joy. "I came here specially to thank the Queen and the Princess for the gift of almonds."

"My lady."

When Songzhi opened her mouth, An Lingrong realized that she had something to report and immediately withdrew.

"What's wrong?"

"I just saw that the Empress seemed to be in a peaceful and calm state."

"Empress?" Nian Shilan asked in surprise, "Why would she go to Danbo Ningjing?"

Songzhi: "The Queen Mother seems to know that you went to see Concubine Duan the other day."

"…to be indifferent and peaceful."

Before Nian Shilan's carriage reached a peaceful state, she saw Feng driving away from a distance, so she chased after Louyue Kaiyun.

【Why are you looking for her? 】

"I am the Empress. Do I need to ask the Imperial Concubine for permission before I can go anywhere or visit someone?"

The queen picked up the teacup, took a sip, and didn't look at Nian Shilan for long.

Nian Shilan probably understood why the queen was angry. [I went to see her the other day because she was not feeling well.]

"Your Majesty is kind. You don't need to tell me where you are going or who you are visiting."

【You don't have to talk to me like that.】

[Zhou Ninghai said she was dying and wanted to see me before she died.]

[Hate is hate, grudge is grudge. When I gave birth to my child, she was the one who testified against Niu Hulu at the critical moment. Otherwise, Niu Hulu would not be Xipin today, but Xi Guifei who raised two children.]

[Their entire family will be promoted by the emperor. With the rise of the Niuhulu family, a new power with their family as the core will be formed in the court to confront the Nian family.]

【Where could there be such a peaceful situation as now? 】

The Queen snorted, "So, in the eyes of the Imperial Concubine, all the things I have done for Hong Zhao over the years are not as useful as a word from Concubine Duan?"

"I, that's not what I meant."

[I just didn’t want to owe her a favor, so I went to see her. Besides, we didn’t say anything when we met.]

"The Qi family is also a family of military generals. They hold military power and are indeed more capable than my family. The Royal Concubine wants to find a foster mother for the princess. This is a far-sighted person." The Queen's tone was terribly cold.

"Where are you talking about this?"

"Where did I come from?"

The teacup fell on the table, making a sound. The queen looked annoyed. "Longkodo has been impeaching your brother recently. You know that the emperor is jealous of the military commanders joining forces, but you still want to show your goodwill to Concubine Duan at this time. Are you tired of living?"

"You don't want to live, so don't you care about the Nian family, your son, or Xi Chao?"

Nian Shilan is not the type to obey orders obediently, but when it comes to the Nian family and the children she cares about, she stops.

【I didn’t think that much. 】

"The Imperial Concubine is carefree and free, so naturally she doesn't have to think about anything."

Before Nian Shilan could refute, the Queen's tone became more severe, "But who is she?!"

"She poisoned your son, killed you, and survived the storm. She was known as a virtuous woman. What about you? You have nothing, including your child's family, power, and wealth. You are still being criticized and called vicious."

"You don't know what happens to you after you die?"

"To achieve great things, you don't have a heart that's cruel enough, a hand that's ruthless enough, and a mind that's not as cunning as others. You don't learn from your mistakes, and you've lived your life in vain. How dare you get close to her?"

"Cao Qinmo knows how to protect Wen Yi and avoid her like a demon, but you are so worried that she will be lonely for the rest of her life, so you want to give her a pair of children so that she can become the Holy Mother Queen, right?"

Nian Shilan was still a little unconvinced, but after hearing what the Queen said, she came to her senses. She reached out to hold the Queen's arm, "I..."

"OK!"

The queen interrupted her without mercy, "Just do what you want. No matter who Hongzhao's wife is, I am the only queen mother and empress dowager!"

Nian Shilan really couldn't bring herself to say that she was wrong.

She shook the Queen's arm and said, "I didn't think it through properly."

[She told me the other day that everything that happened in the past was her fault...] Speaking of this, Nian Shilan's inner voice suddenly became a little happy, [You don't know, she never told me about the abortion drug...]

She hadn't even finished saying the word "apology" when the Queen glared at her and she quickly took it back.

[She said that she was young at the time and always felt a little lucky. Even though she had thought that the Queen Mother might harm her, she never thought that the Emperor would be willing to take action against his own flesh and blood. Who would actually think of that?]

【The fault lies with Lao Deng, we are all victims. 】

The queen could not help but look at her again: a simple apology from the murderer many years later could make her forget about her son's life.

She is so generous!

Nian Shilan immediately changed her words, [But I didn’t forgive her!]

【Absolutely not! 】

"After all, that is your son and your life. Whether you forgive her or not has nothing to do with me."

Nian Shilan pushed the teacup closer to the Queen, "My brother had already found a way to create an opportunity yesterday to take the Thirteenth Master's pulse in front of the Emperor."

[My brother said that Thirteenth Master’s condition is not optimistic. There is little hope of a complete cure, but it should be possible to keep him for two or three years.]

Two to three years... This means that Prince Dun and others must be eliminated this year.

As the Queen was thinking, Nian Shilan thought:

[The Eighth and Ninth Masters are not so bad, they are now imprisoned in the Imperial Clan House. Prince Dun was a traitor in his previous life, and the Emperor did not dare to kill him, so I am afraid it will be difficult to deal with him.]

"Prince Dun is of noble status. His biological mother is the younger sister of Empress Xiao Zhaoren. The Queen Mother was just a maid who proofread books for Empress Xiao Zhaoren. The Emperor will naturally take care of her."

【Lao Deng is just concerned about the false reputation. What if we give him this false reputation?】

"Do you have any idea?"

Nian Shilan straightened her back again, "My brother is a minister and a general, so I do have this ability."

She took the Queen to her study, picked up the pen and talked to her about this and that. The Queen nodded repeatedly, with more approval in her eyes.

"If God wants someone to die, he will make him crazy..."

The queen was thinking about it, and Nian Shilan said proudly: "How is it?"

Xi Chao always looked like this every time she finished a bowl of rice peacefully, calling out "Empress Mother" and asking for compliments on her face. The mother and daughter were exactly the same.

"It's a good idea. It's really worth your rebirth..."

[Huh~ Who just said that I have lived my life in vain? ]

"But if we want to implement it, we still need careful planning."

In order to prove that she was not someone who only knew how to eat, drink and have fun all day, Nian Shilan also wrote a list.

"Last time you said that you would let Zhang Tingyu and Ortai assist in the administration. I went back and thought about it. These people are all talents that can be used."

After Nian Shilan left, Jianqiu came to the Queen and said, "Your Majesty, you have done so much for the Royal Concubine and her son, but the Royal Concubine is still so ungrateful. Even now, she is still..."

After returning from Concubine Duan's visit, Jianqiu heard the Queen's voice from the bedroom. She knew that the Queen was very unhappy. She felt sorry for her master, paused, and said bravely:

"In fact, the prince and the princess are on your side now, and the Royal Concubine has a lot of trust in you. If your majesty feels that the Royal Concubine is..." holding you back and being useless, "it won't be difficult to deal with it. Why do you still have to take the trouble to guide her?"

"My family is not strong enough, so I need the support of the Nian family."

This reason doesn't seem to convince Jianqiu.

"Even if the Royal Concubine dies suddenly, with the prince and princess still here, Minister Nian and General Nian will certainly support the Queen."

This is indeed the case.

The queen still uttered two words: "Nonsense!"

She thought for a moment and said, "If I take action against the Imperial Concubine now, I can't guarantee that those people with ulterior motives will not take the opportunity to tell the Emperor that I am worried that power will be transferred to lower levels and that the Nian family will not be tolerated. If the Emperor takes the opportunity to take action against me and imprison me, wouldn't all my planning over the years be in vain?"

No matter what, in this lifetime, she would never allow the emperor to turn Jingren Palace into a cold palace.

"The emperor is most worried about the harem interfering in government affairs. There are many matters that I am not able to intervene in."

The emperor has always looked down upon the fights between women, and even if their lives are at stake, he would turn a blind eye.

In my previous life, I was probably in contact with the previous dynasty because of that idiot Third Prince, and was discovered by the emperor, who was jealous and punished me.

With Nian Shilan ahead of her in this life, letters from her brother and gifts to her natal family, as well as contacts among the Nian family members, have existed since ancient times and are commonplace.

By using this to establish connections with the court, no matter how suspicious the emperor is, he can always get away with it perfectly.

Moreover, Se-ran has no ambitions in government affairs. "In the harem, except for the dead, there is no one more suitable to be the Holy Mother Queen Mother than her."

The dead man had already spoken out, so Jianqiu didn't dare to say anything more.

The queen turned around and picked up an old book from an inconspicuous corner of the bookshelf. It recorded the future that Sun Miaoqing had promised before her death.

This is the history she knows.

According to Sun Miaoqing, Xiao Sidan had made some achievements when he was young, but became senile in his later years. He favored the corrupt official Heshen and allowed him to plunder the people's wealth. He lived an extravagant life, took his concubines and children to the south of the Yangtze River several times, and built palaces on a large scale.

Empty the national treasury and squander it.

Not only did he launch a literary inquisition, making the natives feel insecure, but he also implemented a total maritime ban, causing the entire country's economy to become disconnected from the West.

"Western...industrial civilization..."

The queen looked at the many unfamiliar words she had written: a car that could run on its own, a camera that could record people’s portraits… a steam engine, electromagnetics… a cannon, a warship…

There is also a list of court officials. Although it is not comprehensive, those who were recorded in the history books and known to Sun Miaoqing must have had outstanding qualities.

The Queen copied together what Nian Shilan had written today.

At night, the emperor came and the moon and clouds parted.

He was leaning against the bed reading a book. When he saw the empress coming back from her bath, he asked casually, "I heard you went to see Concubine Duan today?"

The queen combed her hair and said with regret, "She is also a pitiful person."

"I heard that her health has been deteriorating in the past few days, and the Imperial Concubine has ordered that the imperial physician is not allowed to go there. Concubine Duan has been serving the Emperor since he was in the Qian Residence, and she has been very filial to the Empress Dowager in recent years. Even if something happens to her health, it doesn't matter. If the Emperor is criticized by others... it will be a loss."

"So today, after the theater was over, I went in to take a look."

The emperor nodded, "The Imperial Concubine is still so willful. Fortunately, the harem has you."

"It's all a misunderstanding..." The Queen sighed, "Your Majesty, please go and see Concubine Duan when you have time."

"The Military Affairs Office has just been established and the government is busy. I will go see her when I have time."

Speaking of state affairs, the emperor could not help but sigh, "Now the northwest and southwest are not stable, the Rakshasa Kingdom in the north is also eyeing us covetously, and the children of the Eight Banners are extravagant and greedy for pleasure."

The emperor's words were full of worry.

"I am just a woman, I don't understand these things." The Queen watched the Emperor's expression through the bronze mirror, "I have been listening to operas these days, one of which is about the royal hunting. It talks about being prepared for danger in times of peace, but I don't understand it either."

"What's so confusing about this?"

"From your perspective, hunting is nothing more than the Emperor taking his royal children to kill for fun. How can this be considered as preparing for danger in times of peace?"

"The Royal Hunt is not a game of killing."

The emperor closed the book and explained to the queen with interest: "Hunting can not only train the courage of the generals, but also test their tactics and train their riding and archery skills."

"When the late emperor was alive, he would go north for the autumn hunt every year. The Eight Banners showed off their prowess and the scene was magnificent. It not only trained the Eight Banners but also frightened foreign enemies."

"I am narrow-minded."

The queen smiled apologetically, but noticed that the emperor had overheard the story of the siege.

He just needs to listen to her. There is still more than half a year left, which is plenty of time to prepare for the Mulan Autumn Hunt.