r18novel Chapter 284 I'm so excited!
Chapter 284 I'm so excited!
What could Granny Qu say?
The Pei family plotted a rebellion, yet the Empress was able to give the Master a grand funeral and spare the lives of the Seventh Master and the Young Master. Isn't this kindness enough?
Even though it was a child she had raised herself, Granny Qu had to admit that compared to the Empress, Consort Jing was far too petty.
Tingqin chimed in, adding fuel to the fire, "Seventh Master has always been at odds with First Master, never giving him any leeway, and even instigated Master to beat him severely during the first month of the lunar year. If he were truly kind, why didn't he plead with the Emperor to spare the lives of Master, Madam, and First Master?"
Even exile is better than beheading!
Consort Jing gritted her teeth in hatred, "How hateful that back then, that vile woman Chen Yuan forged an imperial edict to seal off the inner palace. She was clearly settling a personal score. I want to see the Emperor. You all go and report to him. I want to see the Emperor. I want to hear him say the words of deposing the Empress myself!"
Upon hearing this, Tingqin quickly went outside to relay the message, instructing the guards, "Her Majesty wishes to see the Emperor; go and inform him!"
Who would report this in the middle of the night? The guards heard it but acted as if they hadn't heard it at all, too lazy to bother with it.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Granny Qu had no choice but to kneel down and say, "Your Highness, please listen to this old servant's advice! You always say that Consort Chenyuan is abusing her authority, and that's actually true!"
The Empress's eyes widened, thinking to herself, "As expected, she's going to tell the Emperor!"
But the next sentence,
"This servant heard from Eunuch Li that the Emperor's decree was to execute you. He also said that as soon as the Pei family rebelled, the decree would be issued immediately, ordering your execution. But Consort Chenyuan had someone forge the decree and change it, only stripping you of your empress title, not ordering your death!"
"Impossible! I was pregnant with the emperor's child at that time!"
But she herself didn't believe it!
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the fifteenth of August, he shared a room with her for the Pei family's benefit. He was telling them that he still wanted her to bear him a legitimate son. However, he never thought that way in his heart. He didn't even care about the dragon fetus in her womb!
puff!
Consort Jing coughed up a mouthful of blood. Granny Qu was terrified and rushed over, filled with regret. "Your Highness, please try to understand! It was my fault! I shouldn't have said those things to you!"
However, if she doesn't make things clear, she'll always cause trouble. Offending the Emperor isn't so scary, but offending the Empress means certain death.
The reason the Empress forged the imperial edict was not to spare Consort Jing's life, but to prevent future generations from misunderstanding and thinking that the Empress was eliminating potential threats to her own position and to protect her reputation.
Time has passed, and who knows what Her Majesty the Empress is thinking today?
If she were to put her mind to it even slightly, there would be plenty of people in the harem willing to be her executioners.
Consort Jing vomited blood and was bedridden; no one dared to report this to the Emperor.
The emperor tried on his ceremonial robes again, looking at himself in the mirror. With only one day left until the actual day, he had to change out.
The courtyard of Qianyuan Palace was filled with gifts from the Shen family, such as tea, fruit, and lotus root. When Li Yuanke went to court, he took another look around and instructed them to keep a close watch on the gifts so that the birds wouldn't come and steal them.
He was as excited as a young boy.
Ling Menghui has returned, and seeing his appearance makes me laugh.
Does this kind of thing really need the Emperor's personal instruction?
That's completely unnecessary!
"If your master saw what you've done to yourself, I wonder how much he'd laugh at you!"
Ling Menghui took a bold step this time; if she didn't act recklessly at a time like this, she would never have the chance again.
He wasn't overstepping his bounds; he genuinely found it interesting!
Li Yuanke laughed like a fool, slapping Ling Menghui on the shoulder. "So you do envy me sometimes? Let me tell you, when it comes to finding a wife, no man in the world can only envy me!"
Ling Meng replied, "Yes, yes, everyone envies His Majesty. His Majesty has a discerning eye, marrying a tigress. Alas, I didn't say that. I don't have the guts to say that..."
Li Yuanke laughed loudly, "I pardon you for your grave disrespect to the Empress, but, senior brother, I must tell the Empress these words exactly as they were said!"
Ling Menghui's legs went weak, and she knelt down. "Your Majesty, this is not fair! We agreed it was just a joke, a bit of fun, that's why I dared to speak so frankly. If you tell the Empress, how will I ever survive?"
The emperor showed no mercy. "Go and apologize to the empress yourself. Who told you to speak ill of her behind her back? If you said it wasn't you, then who was?"
Ling Menghui slapped her own disobedient mouth hard, "Serves you right for acting on your own!"
He said, "It was Huo Feiyuan who went back and told me that the Emperor held a celebration banquet that day. After they finished drinking in the palace, they went out to continue drinking. Some people said that with the Empress in charge of the Great Zhou, there probably won't be any more wars to fight in the future."
They say the Empress is like a tigress, and neither Xiling nor Beisha dare to invade!
These were all kind words. In public, who would dare to insult the Empress? The military officer spoke very rudely, and his kind words sounded distorted.
Li Yuanke knew these people's temperaments well and didn't take offense. He pulled Ling Menghui up and said, "I like her personality. She's the only one in the world who is qualified to stand shoulder to shoulder with me. The others are just a bunch of idiots who can't understand good or bad words."
Ling Meng thought to herself, "Fine, please stop saying these things to a bachelor like me. It really hurts to hear them."
Li Yuanke changed the subject, "By the way, I haven't asked you yet. Even I'm getting married soon, so why haven't I heard about you getting married? Do you have a girl in mind?"
Ling Menghui said with a bitter face, "Your Majesty, I only have the fine horse I've taken a liking to. May I have one?"
Ling Menghui was now even more eager for tomorrow than the Emperor to help him marry Shen Shixi as soon as possible and get to the border. Li Yuanke was excited and irritable, wishing time would pass quickly and for tomorrow to come soon. He didn't do any work and just kept tormenting him.
That night, Li Yuanke tossed and turned for half the night, unable to sleep.
This also kept Li Fude awake at night.
He would ask every now and then what time it was. Li Fude was getting fed up with this and thought to himself, "The Emperor has too much energy. He bothers General Ling during the day and tries to harm him at night."
Li Fude was so tired that he didn't even have time to take a nap.
This harem truly cannot function without the Empress.
"Your Majesty, it's not even midnight yet. You should get some sleep. Otherwise, tomorrow is the big day, and if you're not feeling well and your eyes are swollen, you won't look good."
Li Yuanke touched his face. He even protected his face when he went to the battlefield, afraid that it might be damaged. Tomorrow is the most important day of his life, and he can't ruin his image.
At dawn, he was woken up, took a bath, changed his clothes, and put on his crimson auspicious robe.
Originally, he should have worn a bright yellow imperial robe today, but Li Yuanke didn't want to wear it. He insisted on wearing scarlet. The wedding dress he prepared for Shen Shixi was also the same color as his, with gold thread embroidery of dragons and phoenixes, all nine dragons and nine phoenixes, following the same design.
He tied his hair with a jade hairpin and fastened his waist with a jade belt. He also sprayed some perfume specially made for him by Shen Shixi on his body, and a faint, elegant cedar scent lingered around him.
Li Yuanke turned around in front of the mirror, carefully examining it to make sure there were no flaws, and only then was he satisfied.
In the inner palace, up to this day, there has been no imperial decree, no instructions on what the concubines should do today, or when they should pay their respects to the Empress. It's as if they've been forgotten.