I would rather die by holding the incense stick, and never blow it down in the north wind.
He openly persuaded the Queen Mother with emotional appeals, and secretly used both soft and hard tactics to pressure her.
Shen Meizhuang was very resistant in her heart. She naturally understood that after entering the palace, she could not expect to be together for the rest of her life. She treated the emperor coldly only because she saw through his mean and ruthless side. Also, in the palace, as long as there was favor, there would be right and wrong. She really disdained to fight with a bunch of people just for a little bit of favor.
But the so-called stability she had enjoyed over the years was nothing more than seeking protection from others. Since she had to ask for help from others, she had to pay the corresponding price. Shen Meizhuang's heart was like soaking in bitter water, and she forced a smile on her face:
"Your Majesty, you have been very caring towards me over the years. I feel so ashamed and I just want to repay you for your kindness. If you have any orders, I will obey them."
How could the Queen Mother not hear the reluctance in her tone? It was just that the situation in the harem had suddenly changed. Her niece was afraid that she had offended the Emperor. If she did not help, the Queen's honor would be eroded step by step, and the glory of the Ulanara and Uya families would disappear over time. There was always a difference between relatives and strangers, so she could only suppress Shen Meizhuang:
"Good boy, I have never made a mistake in your judgment. You are a person who knows how to repay your gratitude. However, this matter is not urgent. I am telling you today just to let you prepare first and wait for the right time."
Shen Meizhuang agreed obediently: "Yes, I understand, Queen Mother, it's time to take the medicine. I will serve you first."
Shen Meizhuang didn't know whether to be grateful or sarcastic about the preparation time given by the empress dowager. It was all pretense. The empress dowager could force her, and she could also pretend to obey but secretly disobey. The worst that could happen was that she would have to give up the peace she had sought.
On a winter night, the wind outside was bitingly cold. The eunuchs on duty outside the Jingren Palace were so cold that they curled up their necks and kept moving in small steps in the hope of getting a little more warmth.
Inside the palace, Jianqiu was helping the queen put on her wedding attire:
"My lady, you got up too early. It's only past the first quarter of the first hour of the first lunar month, and the shaman lady has just started offering sacrifices to the gods at the twelfth hour of the first lunar month. It's freezing outside. It's better to wait until the third quarter of the first lunar month before setting off."
The queen looked at her makeup carefully in the mirror, trying to make sure there were no flaws:
"Today is the first day of the twelfth lunar month. The emperor and I have both gone to Kunning Palace to preside over the sacrifice to the gods. On a day like this, we must not be lax. I am waiting for the emperor to be proper and polite, but the emperor is waiting for me, which means I am being disrespectful. We just went through the Guarjia Wenyuan incident, so it is always better for me to be cautious."
When this matter was brought up, Jianqiu spoke up for the Queen:
"Qi Concubine is really a waste of the Empress's cultivation. She actually did such a foolish thing. It is really despicable."
The Queen reached out and brushed off her Dongzhu court beads, and said contemptuously:
"For a person without a heart, no matter how many favors you give, they are all in vain. You just want to step on me to climb up, so I have to give you something in return."
Jianqiu thought of the time half a month ago when the Queen used the excuse that Concubine Qi was ill to propose to the Emperor that her green card be withdrawn for a while. The Emperor's nonchalant attitude finally made her feel a little relieved, and she said sarcastically:
"Qi Concubine deserves it. She has lost her favor and now she comes to beg you. She doesn't even think about her own worth."
As the two were talking, Jiang Fuhai came in and reported:
"Empress, Concubine Qi is here and she said she would take you to Kunning Palace."
The Queen pretended not to hear this, and the mockery on Jianqiu's face became even stronger:
"I've never seen such a shameless person. If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have done it in the first place."
"Let's go. Today is the most important day to offer sacrifices to the gods. We shouldn't get angry with such a person. Even if I don't agree, she will have to go to offer sacrifices to the gods later. So let's go together."
When Concubine Qi was waiting outside the palace until her hands and feet were cold, she finally saw the queen coming out in her gorgeous attire. After paying her respects, she hurried forward to support the queen and said with a flattering smile:
"Your Majesty, it's dark and the road is slippery. I will support you."
The queen felt disgusted by her approach, but she managed to put on a good front:
"It's so nice of you to come here so early in the morning."
Concubine Qi carefully helped the queen onto the sedan chair and smiled apologetically:
"It is my honor to serve you, Your Majesty. I am glad to know that you are doing me a favor."
The queen sneered at her and immediately ordered, "Let's go."
When Concubine Qi saw that the Queen ignored her, she knew in her heart that the Queen was angry with her because of Li Ying. However, she did not regret her actions that day. She and Concubine Jing were fighting each other, and one of them would be injured. Now she was just the winner. No matter how angry the Queen was, she had no one to use. She treated her coldly for a while, and when the Queen's anger subsided, she would naturally be able to regain her former honor and favor.
With this idea in mind, she had been acting like a subordinate to the Queen during this period of time. Currently, she was serving beside the Queen's sedan chair, constantly saying flattering words just to make the Queen laugh.
Late at night, the lights on both sides of the long street were dim, and even though there were eunuchs holding lanterns to lead the way, the areas that could be seen were always limited.
Fortunately, the journey was relatively smooth when they arrived at Kunning Gate. The queen's sedan chair landed smoothly, and the eunuch carrying the sedan chair breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, the young eunuch holding the lantern felt an animal crawling quickly over his feet. He was so scared that he looked down and saw that it was a big, sleek rat. Before he could say anything, more rats lined up and passed by the Kunning Gate.
At this time, the Queen had just bent down to get out of the sedan chair, and Concubine Qi had just helped the Queen up. Jianqiu was one step behind, and saw countless mice swarming towards her. What was even more terrifying was that some mice rushed towards Concubine Qi as if they were not afraid of people. Two of them had already climbed onto her exquisite embroidered shoes. Concubine Qi was so scared that she jumped up and down:
"Someone come quickly, someone come quickly and chase them away."
The queen was also frightened by the sudden appearance of these rats, but she was calm and did not panic. After a moment, she reacted and scolded the eunuchs around her:
"If you don't clean up these rats quickly, or you will miss the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the gods, I will not let you off easily."
Several young eunuchs rushed into Kunning Palace, ready to find tools to drive away the mice that had gathered together.
But at this time, there were already daring rats climbing up along Concubine Qi's auspicious clothes. She no longer cared about her image and just jumped around. However, as she moved around, she forgot that the Queen was beside her. When she swung her hand upwards, she touched the Queen's long oriental pearl earrings. The plump and round beads were pushed hard by her and bounced straight up and scratched the Queen's face. The gold wire pendant at the bottom of the oriental pearl instantly scratched the Queen's face, leaving a bloody mark.
Everything happened very quickly. By the time Jianqiu reacted and wanted to go forward to help, blood had already seeped out of the Queen's face.
Amid the Queen's shock and anger and Jianqiu's panic, the Emperor walked out of Kunning Palace.
It turned out that the emperor had rushed from the Qianqing Gate to the Kunning Palace. He had not seen the empress for a long time and heard a commotion outside, so he came out to check.
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