Chapter 223 Du Qingzhi Returns to the Palace
All the palace servants in Jingyuan Palace were carefully checked, and one young palace maid went out in the middle of the night, crying and saying that she felt wronged because she was beaten and scolded by Yingtong, so she secretly went out at night to relax and find a place to have a good cry.
However, she had no witnesses.
The lack of witnesses means that no one knows whether her words are true or false.
Even though she cried so hard, it seemed as if it was real, but who in the palace didn't have several faces? After wearing a mask for so long, sometimes you even forget what you really look like.
It is a bit frivolous to conclude that something is true just because someone cries so hard that it seems real.
When asked, Yingtong's face turned pale and she was filled with remorse. She quickly admitted that she had indeed beaten and scolded the little palace maid, which was why the little palace maid ran away crying.
However, Yingtong herself was a trusted maidservant beside Concubine Shu, so her words could not serve as evidence at all. Who knew if it was a conspiracy?
Yingtong was speechless now, trembling with fear. She was afraid that the Concubine Shu would not forgive her...
The little palace maid kept crying and insisted on her statement. This matter was of great importance, and the Ministry of Punishment did not dare to force her to confess, so they had to report it like this.
After seeing the result that was as good as nothing, Emperor Yuan Yong smiled coldly and ordered the Ministry of Punishment to end the interrogation. He sentenced the young palace maid and Ying Tong to do hard labor and the case was closed.
Emperor Yuan Yong did not give a definitive conclusion as to whether Concubine Shu had done this or not.
She didn't say anything, and no one dared to ask, except Concubine Shu.
Concubine Shu asked Aunt Xu to ask, but Aunt Xu hadn't even seen Emperor Yuan Yong! Naturally, she couldn't get anything out of him.
Not only that, Dong Zhi came that day to convey the imperial decree that no one in Jingyuan Palace was allowed to leave or enter, and everyone was under house arrest.
Concubine Shu fell to the ground crying, her despair growing stronger with each passing moment...
At the end of April, Du Qingzhi finally returned to Beijing.
On the day of returning to Beijing, Du Qingzhi went to the palace to pay his respects to the queen.
The queen never thought that she would see her again in this life. After many years, there was no hostility between the two when they talked. They talked and laughed in harmony.
During the conversation, the Queen smiled and told Du Qingzhi about the situation in the palace over the years, especially the current situation.
Du Qingzhi had a smile on her face, looking calm and indifferent, as if this was just insignificant, casual gossip and she didn't take it to heart.
However, how could the Queen hide her expression of secretly pricking up her ears and listening attentively?
The queen didn't notice anything he did, and sneered in her heart, feeling a little disdainful, but also a little expectant: She really wanted to know, now that her childhood sweetheart had returned, who would the emperor care about more than the person in front of her?
Back then, the Emperor hadn't yet seized power, and the Empress Dowager and the Fu family exerted strong pressure, forcing the Emperor to relent. Furthermore, Concubine Du also wanted the same thing, so he agreed to let Du Qingzhi marry. Now that he was able to protect Du Qingzhi, would he feel guilty? Would he protect her out of guilt? Would he side with her?
This one is definitely not someone you can easily deal with! Otherwise, the Empress Dowager wouldn't have been so wary of her back then, even risking a falling out with the Emperor to send her away.
Now that so many years have passed, based on what the Queen sees now, she feels that Du Qingzhi has become calmer and more steady than before, and his mind has become more serious. Such a Du Qingzhi should not let her down, right?
The Queen Mother probably didn't expect that her tough tactics in the past would backfire. When she couldn't control the Emperor, she really couldn't control anything. The Emperor had been alienated from her since then, and it has continued to this day...
The Queen and Du Qingzhi seemed to get along very well. Before they knew it, it was dinner time and the Queen invited her to have dinner with them.
Du Qingzhi suddenly realized that he had been listening so intently that he had stayed with the Queen for most of the day.
The Queen invited her to stay for dinner, but she naturally refused. She was eager to see the Emperor. She didn't believe everything the Queen said.
The Queen said these things to her with no good intentions at all. Didn't she think she didn't know?
She didn't care at all which concubine was more favored.
As long as the emperor still has her in his heart, nothing else matters.
Since she came back, it was not to retire, it would be better if she did not come back. She came back to take back everything that originally belonged to her.
Du Qingzhi stood up and smiled, "Your Majesty, you have been so kind as to invite me to dinner. I am deeply grateful and should not have declined. However, I have not yet paid my respects to the Emperor since entering the palace today, so it would seem inappropriate for me to stay with Your Majesty. I would like to pay my respects to the Emperor first. If Your Majesty does not mind, how about I dine with you another day?"
The Queen smiled and said, "Now that you're back, it doesn't matter when you pay your respects to the Emperor. The Emperor wouldn't pick on you for such a trivial matter anyway. Besides, even if you went to Ganyuan Palace right now, you probably wouldn't see the Emperor. He's probably gone to Lianyi Palace to accompany Concubine Chen and the little prince. These days, eight out of ten times when the Emperor goes to the harem, he's in Lianyi Palace. This is no joke. But it's no wonder, the little prince is so handsome, it's no wonder the Emperor misses him every day he doesn't see him!"
Du Qingzhi felt a little uncomfortable.
I'm not quite convinced.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, but maybe I'm just lucky? Maybe the Emperor didn't go to Lianyi Palace today."
The Emperor must have known about her arrival, so why would he go to the Ripple Palace and not wait for her? In fact, her staying at the Empress's place for so long might not have been without intention—she was deliberately staying there, more or less deliberately playing tricks, just to keep the Emperor hanging.
Du Qingzhi deeply understands that if you pursue others, they will not cherish you.
She has the confidence to do so.
The Empress sneered inwardly at this. This Miss Du was quite confident in herself, but she had forgotten the saying, "Things are different now than they were then." Did she think the Emperor would still remember her after all these years? What a joke.
What in this world could possibly be worthy of the Emperor's unwavering remembrance? And that's the Emperor, the richest man in the world!
"In that case, Miss Du should go and take a look. Nanny Yan, you should personally escort Miss Du to Ganyuan Palace. If the Emperor is not here, you can still bring Miss Du with you. I like Miss Du very much. I haven't seen her for many years, and I still want to talk to her more!"
Du Qingzhi would naturally give the Queen face, so she smiled and said, "Thank you, Her Majesty, for your appreciation. It is a blessing for this humble servant."
Nanny Yan agreed with a smile, and respectfully invited Du Qingzhi to leave and accompany her.
As soon as they left Fengwu Palace, Du Qingzhi started talking to Nanny Yan with a smile on her face, and gave her a heavy purse as a reward.
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