After killing four concubines, the queen was sentenced to death and reborn

In a blink of an eye, a month had passed since the wedding of the emperor and the empress. During this month, Xiao Chengji stayed in Weiyang Palace every day. The emperor and the empress were very affectionate, which was a good thing for the court and the people. But gradually, some people in the court began to submit memorials: select concubines from the imperial family to fill the harem.

When Xiao Chengji saw this memorial, he chose to ignore it at first. However, half a month later, many ministers in the court submitted memorials for the selection of concubines, and Lu Lingyuan, who was in the harem, also knew about it.

Weiyang Palace

Yun'er stood aside and told Lu Lingyuan about the court minister's proposal for a beauty contest. After hearing this, Lu Lingyuan looked calm, without any change on her face.

"Got it!" Lu Lingyuan replied in a faint voice. She had guessed this a long time ago.

Yun'er lowered her head, feeling a little sorry for her, but this kind of thing was bound to happen sooner or later, and they couldn't stop it.

Qingzi stepped forward to comfort her, "Don't be sad, Your Majesty. His Majesty has been very fond of you these days, and it's obvious that he holds you in his heart. Even if His Majesty is selecting concubines, His Majesty still has you in his heart."

Lu Lingyuan put down the ancient book in her hand, slowly raised her eyes, and chuckled: "Qingzi, you worry too much. I am not sad at all!"

"In the eyes of the world, it is very common for a man to have three wives and four concubines. My father and mother have been treating each other with respect over the years. In the eyes of outsiders, they are a rare model couple. Even though the ancestral precept of the Fanyang Lu family states that one can take concubines only after the age of 40 without having a child, there are still two maids serving in my father's yard all year round." Lu Lingyuan spoke in a gentle voice without any warmth.

"Big brother hasn't married yet, but didn't mother put a concubine in his room a long time ago?" As Lu Lingyuan spoke, she laughed softly. In fact, it was very hypocritical, because in the eyes of men, a concubine is not a concubine, but just a toy to be played with at will.

When the wife comes into the family in the future, if she can be tolerated, she will continue to be a concubine. If she cannot be tolerated, she will have no choice but to be sold off.

"Whether she's a maid, a concubine, or a royal concubine, what's the difference? This is probably what every wife in the world has to face." Lu Lingyuan said in a low voice, but a hint of sadness flashed in her eyes.

Qingzi lowered her head and said nothing more, but she still felt sorry for the queen.

"Okay, pass the order down. No one in Weiyang Palace is allowed to discuss this matter. If anyone dares to discuss it in private, he or she does not need to report to me. He or she will be punished to do hard labor in the palace for a month." Lu Lingyuan ordered with a stern face.

"Yes, I'll go right away!" Qingzi bowed and left.

In the evening, Xiao Chengji returned to Weiyang Palace, and the two sat face to face for dinner. Lu Lingyuan, as usual, had a calm expression on her face, "I asked the palace servants to stew bird's nest. Your Majesty, please try it!" As she said that, Lu Lingyuan began to serve him bird's nest.

Xiao Chengji looked like he was in a state of worry, his thoughts had long since drifted off to who knows where. Lu Lingyuan held the bird's nest and called him several times, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

"What's wrong?" Xiao Chengji came back to his senses and looked at her with a tired face, but his eyes were very gentle.

Yun'er stepped forward, took the bird's nest and brought it to him.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong? I was just talking to you." Lu Lingyuan spoke softly, her eyes full of earnest concern.

Xiao Chengji raised the corner of his mouth slightly, shook his head gently, and said in a hoarse voice: "Nothing, just a little tired. What did the Queen just say?" Xiao Chengji picked up the bird's nest and took a sip, and his complexion looked better.

Seeing this, Lu Lingyuan took the initiative to bring up the matter of the beauty pageant. It was not a long-term solution to keep dragging this matter on, and the longer it was dragged on, the more dissatisfied the ministers in the court would inevitably become with her. By then, her reputation for being jealous and domineering would spread, which would be extremely disadvantageous to her. It would be better to bring it up on her own initiative so that she could maintain her reputation for being polite and magnanimous.

"I heard that someone in the court recently reported the matter of the beauty selection?" Lu Lingyuan pretended to mention it casually with a gentle and decent smile on her face.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chengji paused what he was doing and immediately cast his gaze on her, with an obscure look in his eyes.

Lu Lingyuan was not flustered at all and continued, "Your Majesty and I have been married for more than a month. According to custom, three months after the emperor and empress's wedding, they would select concubines to fill the harem and expand their family."

"Even if His Majesty issues an order for the selection tomorrow, it will take the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Palace Bureau two months to prepare. At best, it will be too late."

Xiao Chengji had a complicated expression on his face. He stared at her steadily and said in a cold voice, "The Queen wants me to issue an order to select a beauty immediately?"

"Yes!" Lu Lingyuan replied gently.

"Since it is a custom, as the queen, I naturally have the obligation to remind Your Majesty." Lu Lingyuan continued slowly.

When Xiao Chengji heard this, he felt an inexplicable surge of anger in his heart. The corners of his mouth raised slightly, revealing a complex and unpredictable sneer.

"Your Majesty has given me the exclusive favor of the imperial concubine for more than a month. I am already satisfied and dare not be greedy! Besides, the emperor and the empress are not ordinary couples. It is impossible for me to be the only one in the harem, and Your Majesty cannot favor me alone."

"Your Majesty shoulders the heavy responsibility of the country. The existence of the harem is to give birth to children and expand your family. As the queen, your Majesty's wife, I should shoulder this heavy responsibility. Therefore, I dare to speak to your Majesty and ask your Majesty to issue an edict to agree to the memorial submitted by the court officials." Lu Lingyuan still had a calm and composed look on her face, looking at him indifferently.

Lu Lingyuan's words were flawless and watertight, and no one could find any fault with them. Between the lines, she was thinking about Xiao Chengji and the country of Daliang, and shouldering the responsibility of being the Empress of the Central Palace.

Xiao Chengji looked at her, not knowing what to say, so he nodded and said in a deep voice: "I understand, let's eat first!"

"Yes." Lu Lingyuan didn't say anything else. Some things are better said once. If you say them too much, it will only annoy people.

That night, Xiao Chengji couldn't sleep. He lay on the bed with Lu Lingyuan in his arms. There was nothing different from the past, but he just couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

The talent show should have been held a long time ago, but it was delayed until now because I didn't want to make her sad.

Although Xiao Chengji was a man, he understood that no wife in this world would be willing to see her husband taking a concubine. She had witnessed with her own eyes the dull look in her mother's eyes when she faced her father's many concubines. She was even more unwilling to see her sad expression, so she had been suppressing the matter of the beauty pageant.

But what he didn't expect was that she actually brought up this matter on her own initiative, and he felt deeply guilty.

Xiao Chengji hugged Lu Lingyuan tightly, kissed her gently on the forehead, and slowly closed his eyes.

Three days later, Xiao Chengji issued an edict to hold a beauty contest, and entrusted all matters related to the contest to the Ministry of Rites and the Shanggong Bureau. When Lu Lingyuan learned about it, she smiled indifferently.

In the afternoon, Madam Lu handed in a sign and went into the palace to pay her respects. Since the third day of the wedding, the family of the Fanyang Lu family came to the palace to pay their respects. The mother and daughter met once and have not seen each other since then.

Lu Lingyuan was still somewhat happy about her mother's entry into the palace, and she arranged for Yun'er to prepare her mother's favorite cakes and the best Biluochun tea.

Madam Lu came to the palace for the selection of concubines.

Yun'er came in with Madam Lu, "I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Queen!"

"Mother, please get up quickly!" Lu Lingyuan said gently.

"Thank you, Queen!"

"Mother, please sit down!" Lu Lingyuan said slowly, with a smile on her lips and a gentle look on her face.

"Okay!" Mrs. Lu looked at her with a loving face and gentle eyes. After not seeing her for a few days, Mrs. Lu also reflected a lot. Over the years, she owed her daughter too much, and now she couldn't make up for it.

"Mother, are you here for something important?" Lu Lingyuan looked calm, as if nothing that happened before had happened.

Madam Lu said in a gentle voice: "It's nothing, I just heard that His Majesty ordered a selection of concubines, and mother was a little worried about you. I haven't seen you for a while, so I came to the palace to see you!"

"Your Majesty, this selection of concubines is a custom. When the late emperor was alive, he issued an order to select concubines only one month after his marriage to the Empress Dowager. Now, Your Majesty has been married to His Majesty for more than a month. Since the wedding, His Majesty has stayed with you every night, which is a great favor." Madam Lu said in a deep voice.

Lu Lingyuan smiled gently and said softly: "Mother, your daughter understands all of this."

Mrs. Lu held her hand and continued, "Yuan'er, I'm glad you understand. Mother is afraid that you will get stuck in a rut and can't get over it! In fact, as a woman, the most important thing has never been your husband's love, but your offspring!" After that, Mrs. Lu's eyes fell on her lower abdomen.

"Yuan'er, while the concubines haven't entered the palace yet, you are the only one in the harem now. Seize the opportunity and get pregnant before the concubines enter the palace. If you can have a prince in one fell swoop, your second half of life will be much easier."

Although Lu Lingyuan didn't like to hear this, the truth was always unpleasant.

Since she is the queen, she will naturally become the queen mother in the future, and her son must be the emperor.

"Yes, mother is right, and your daughter knows." Lu Lingyuan raised the corners of her mouth slightly, and her smile was very gentle.

"Yuan'er, mother knows that you resent us in your heart, and mother doesn't want to defend herself. Mother has discussed with your father and will not interfere with you in the future. As long as everything is fine for you in the palace, that's enough." Madam Lu said earnestly.

Hearing this, although Lu Lingyuan's face remained calm, her heart was moved, and she whispered back, "Thank you, mother, and thank your father on behalf of your daughter."

In this world, the most difficult thing to sever is blood ties. Even though her heart was full of resentment, she knew in her heart that without the Fanyang Lu family, she, Lu Lingyuan, would be nothing.

She could neither abandon her surname and family like her brother Mo Yu, nor could she see through it all like her second brother, leaving without any regrets.

So, in the end, I can only reconcile with everyone and with myself.

"Oh!" Mrs. Lu was overjoyed, her face full of joy. The old saying is right, when we are a family, how can there be any overnight grudges?

On this day, Zheng Xiyan and others came back with a message from Jiangnan. Xiao Shuyue sent someone to deliver a lot of things to Lu Lingyuan, all of which were rare things she had never seen before.

There was also another letter, which recorded the interesting things that happened on their way from Shangjing City to Jiangnan.

Looking at the pocket watches, wooden horses, kites, and glass cups that were sent to her, Lu Lingyuan was almost dazzled. She quickly ordered, "Yun'er, you and Qingzi should register these and store them in the warehouse. Don't damage them."

"Yes, your majesty!" The two were very curious when they saw these strange things.

……

Princess Shion

Xiao Chengji also received a letter from his mother, which not only asked about his health but also mentioned the talent show...

After reading it, Xiao Chengji picked up his pen and wrote a reply. After putting it away, he said in a deep voice, "Rong'an, send someone to Weiyang Palace to ask if the Queen has anything to give to my mother and the others?"

"Yes, I'll go right away!" Rong An quickly agreed, bowed and left.

The jade pendant that Lu Lingyuan prepared for Xiao Shuyue was already ready. It was made of purple jadeite and also in the shape of a cloud pattern. Her name, Yue, was engraved on it. There were also a few lifelike butterflies on the jade pendant, which was very unique.

When the jade pendant was delivered to the Zichen Palace, Xiao Chengji immediately remembered that she still owed him a jade pendant.

"Put the jade pendant and the letter away, and have someone deliver them to our mother as quickly as possible." Xiao Chengji ordered in a deep voice.

"Yes." Rong An did not dare to delay and quickly arranged for someone to send it off.

Xiao Chengji's eyes fell on the memorial, but his mind was not on it at all. He was always wondering what kind of jade pendant she would give him?

Without waiting until night, Xiao Chengji came to Weiyang Palace after summoning the ministers in the afternoon. Lu Lingyuan was preparing the dowry for Princess Changle. She was surprised that Xiao Chengji came at this time.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. May your Majesty be blessed with good health!" Lu Lingyuan stepped forward slowly and bowed gracefully.

"Get up!" Xiao Chengji stepped forward and personally helped the man up.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Lu Lingyuan said gently.

Xiao Chengji took Lu Lingyuan's hand, walked towards the couch, and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Your Majesty, you have forgotten what I told you. Sister Changle's wedding is scheduled for the tenth day of next month. There is less than a month left, and I am preparing a dowry for Sister Changle." Lu Lingyuan said tenderly.

Xiao Chengji was not interested in these things at all. "I just saw the jade pendant you prepared for Shu'er. What about mine? When can I receive mine?"

Lu Lingyuan frowned slightly, not expecting that he came to ask for the jade pendant.

"The pattern of the jade pendant I designed for Your Majesty is a bit complicated and not easy to carve, so you have to wait a few more days." Lu Lingyuan said in a gentle voice, with a hint of helplessness in her tone.

Xiao Chengji felt a little disappointed, but then he said, "Well, if that's the case, I'll just wait a few more days."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your understanding!" Lu Lingyuan said gently with a slight smile on her lips.

"Your Majesty has been busy all afternoon. Are you hungry? It's not time for dinner yet. Your Majesty, please have some cakes first! This is the chestnut cake newly made by the kitchen. I think it tastes very good." As she said that, Lu Lingyuan took a piece of chestnut cake from the plate on the table and handed it directly to Xiao Chengji's mouth.

Xiao Chengji glanced down at the pastry and looked at her with an ambiguous expression.

……