The Queen has arrived: An Lingrong does not want to fight in the palace after her rebirth

"Not an accident?"

It was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry in the emperor's voice, but Xiao Xia Zi didn't dare to relax at all. This was his first time investigating a case alone, so naturally he had to use all his best skills, including some shameful means, just to find clues and make the emperor think that he was also a useful person. During the interrogation of Xia Dongchun about the frightened horse, someone finally couldn't stand the torture and spit out a few things. With these little things, he could continue to investigate further, but he didn't dare to think too much about the content, so he hurried to report to the emperor.

"I dare not say. I have carefully interrogated everyone in the Garden of Beasts and checked the residences and items, but I did not find anything unusual. However, the eunuch Liuzi confessed that he saw a stranger in the stable an hour before Concubine Ming entered the garden. When questioned, he said that he was ordered by the eunuch Zhang of the Garden of Beasts to feed the horses. He only realized something was wrong afterwards. I asked Liuzi to identify the person in the Garden of Beasts, but he did not find the person he mentioned."

At this point, Xiao Xiazi lowered his head, paused, swallowed his saliva, and continued:

"So the servant was bold and took him to the outside of Sui'an Hall. Liuzi immediately identified the eunuch who committed suicide by taking poison as the one who entered the stable at the beginning."

"I asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to help identify the person who committed suicide. The person was Zhao Jia, a servant in the cold palace. But no one knew how he got from the Forbidden City to the Old Summer Palace. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. This is because I failed to do my job well."

Xiao Xia Zi fell silent after this, but the emperor understood the key to the two incidents. The same person was behind Xia Dongchun's frightened horse and the Fourth Prince's danger. He had experienced these dangerous things when he was young, but at that time they were court games, and now they were the private affairs of the harem. What he was referring to was nothing more than the matter of fighting for the throne. The person who had the power to participate in this matter was not something Xiao Xia Zi could track down, so he came to apologize.

The emperor was very satisfied with Xiao Xia Zi's sense of propriety, but was very annoyed by the unpresentable means of the people behind the scenes. He was just a little more friendly to the Fourth Prince, but these people were so impatient. Should he give them another push to see what other tricks they had, and also take this opportunity to see the character of each prince? Just as the emperor was thinking about it, Su Peisheng came in and announced that Concubine Jing and An Lingrong came to apologize.

The emperor laughed dumbly: "Why do they all want to apologize and let them in?"

"Yeah," Su Peisheng agreed. Before leaving, he glanced at Xiao Xia Zi. Xiao Xia Zi lowered her eyebrows and eyes and did not meet his gaze at all.

Concubine Jing and An Lingrong came in and knelt down. Before they could say anything, the emperor said, "Stand up and talk."

This ambiguous attitude made Concubine Jing very uneasy. She had only been in charge of the palace for a short time, and this huge mistake had already happened. She didn't know how the emperor would punish her, so she was the first to speak:

"I am ashamed to have failed the emperor's trust and come here to apologize."

The emperor asked knowingly, "What crime have you committed?"

Imperial Concubine Jing said immediately, "I was not caring enough for the sisters in the palace and neglected to guard against danger, which led to Sister Ming being trampled to death by a horse. It was also my fault that the Fourth Prince was in danger, which gave the bad guys an opportunity to take advantage of me. Please punish me and rectify the harem."

The emperor sneered, "I have heard a lot of excuses like this today. The villain who murdered the Fourth Prince should be punished by the palace guards, but the incident happened when the two shifts of guards were changing, so I don't know who to punish. But since you came here so fast, I have to punish you severely and fine you three months' salary."

Turning around, he asked An Lingrong: "What about you?"

An Lingrong's face was filled with sorrow: "I would like to ask how to hold Sister Ming's funeral?"

The emperor did not answer immediately but asked An Lingrong: "What do you think?"

An Lingrong sobbed a little, "Logically, Sister Ming has no children, so it makes sense to bury her as a concubine, but Sister Ming has been in the palace for eight years. She has been loyal to the Emperor and served the Emperor with all her heart. I never thought she would be so miserable. Your Majesty, the imperial physician said that her internal organs were trampled and broken, which is why she died so quickly. I would like to ask for mercy from Your Majesty to let her die in a more dignified manner. I hope Your Majesty will grant me permission."

When mentioning Xia Dongchun, the emperor's face also showed a bit of sadness: "I understand, then treat it as a concubine, and wait for me to move to the auspicious place after a hundred years."

An Lingrong forced a smile and said, "I, on behalf of my younger sister Ming, would like to thank the emperor for his grace. I also have something else to report."

At this point, An Lingrong's heart was beating so fast that it seemed like it was going to burst through her chest, but she had to say that if she waited any longer it would be hard to find such an opportunity again.

Seeing her resolute look, the emperor asked her meaningfully, "What's the matter?"

An Lingrong fell to her knees again, "I am here to ask about the Fourth Prince. He has been raised in the garden since he was young. He is intelligent and kind, but he has been attacked by poisonous snakes and drowned. I cannot imagine how many more attacks he will have to face in a place where no one can see him. Please take care of him, Your Majesty."

An Lingrong held her breath and said this. Concubine Jing beside her was stunned by her sudden action. It was a taboo for a concubine to interfere in the upbringing of the prince. How dare An Lingrong? As expected, she heard the emperor shouting:

"How dare you interfere in the affairs of the Dragon Heir! Who instructed you to say these things?"

At this time, cold sweat had soaked An Lingrong's chest and back, but she didn't care about that. She was betting that the emperor had already recognized the Fourth Prince in his heart and would not let him suffer any more harm, so she continued boldly:

"No one ordered me to do this. These are my sincere words. I cannot bear to see the Fourth Prince wither away in the palace strife."

"Bang!" The emperor threw the teacup beside him to the ground:

"Anshi!"

"Cough! Cough..." The emperor was so angry that he was about to scold An Lingrong, but he choked on the wind and started coughing violently. Xiao Xiazi hurried forward to rub the emperor's back to help him breathe. Concubine Jing also knelt down immediately to plead for An Lingrong:

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Sister Wen has always been soft-hearted. Sister Ming and she have always been close. Her death has made Sister Wen heartbroken. Seeing the Fourth Prince suffer such a heavy crime, she felt sorry for him. Please understand clearly, Your Majesty."

An Lingrong had already accepted all the punishments from the Emperor in his rage, but when she saw Concubine Jing pleading for mercy and the Emperor coughing and not paying attention to her, she changed her attitude instantly and said in a soft voice:

"Your Majesty, whatever punishment you want to give me, I will accept it. I just ask Your Majesty to take good care of yourself and not hurt yourself for me. If you do, I will never refuse."

The emperor finally caught his breath and pointed at An Lingrong with a sneer, "You say you want to die, but you are so bold in your heart. An, no matter how clever your words are, you can't change the fact that you have made friends with the prince. If I don't punish you, the clan law will not allow the harem to disobey."

An Lingrong bowed her head: "I accept the punishment, but I still have to say that we need to take precautions to protect the Fourth Prince's safety, otherwise we may make a big mistake and regret it later."

Her persistence made the emperor think, and he asked coldly: "You are really very bold. Since you dare to speak, I would like to ask how to prevent it?"

An Lingrong said the ultimate goal: "I think that the thieves repeatedly attack the Fourth Prince because they take advantage of him because he has no one to rely on in the palace. But if the Fourth Prince has someone to rely on, the other party will have to think twice before attacking again."

After hearing this, Concubine Jing felt cold sweat dripping from her forehead. Wasn't this a blatant accusation against the Emperor? The reason why the subordinates dared to bully the Fourth Prince was because the Emperor ignored him. How could An Lingrong dare to expose something that no one dared to expose? Wasn't she afraid of exposing it to the world?

Concubine Jing raised her eyes and secretly observed the emperor's expression. Sure enough, she saw that his face was as cold as ice. She thought something was wrong. She would have to speak a few more words for An Lingrong to prevent the emperor from ignoring her and making the matter difficult to resolve.

Just as Concubine Jing was making wild guesses, the Emperor spoke:

"You've been going around for so long, only to find a way to profit for yourself!"

There was a hint of gnashing of teeth in these words. Imperial Concubine Jing broke into a cold sweat for An Lingrong, but then she saw An Lingrong looking up and replying:

"I am originally from a humble family with little knowledge. I am living a carefree life now, thanks to the Emperor's support. How dare I dream of having a son or grandson? My suggestion is just my humble opinion. The Emperor is wise and wise, and there may be a more comprehensive way to protect the Fourth Prince."

After saying this, An Lingrong bowed her head again, waiting for the emperor's punishment.

The emperor looked at An Lingrong's thin back lying on the ground, his eyes became sharp. He did not mind his subordinates trying to guess his intentions, but he disliked their self-righteousness. Regarding the matter of the Fourth Prince, he originally wanted to let the royal family speak up or compensate or clear his name, so that it would be more legitimate.

Now that it has been brought up by An Lingrong in the harem, handing it over to the royal family would only seem informal, causing them to look down on the Fourth Prince.

She really gave me a good idea, but I can't punish her severely, otherwise who will dare to speak for the Fourth Prince in the future? The emperor thought for a while and stared at An Lingrong coldly and said:

"I remember what you said, but you have disrupted the clan's rules and regulations, so you must be punished. From today on, your palace power will be taken back and your salary will be fined for one year."

An Lingrong kowtowed to express her gratitude. This punishment was still within her acceptable range. She had made the right bet. Although the Emperor had not expressed his opinion yet, he would definitely start to consider in his mind who would raise the Fourth Prince.

An Lingrong understood that after this incident, she would be the first person to be eliminated. The Queen would not be able to do so either. She valued the position of the legitimate son more than anyone else and would not easily give it to someone she could not control. Among the high-ranking concubines, only Concubine Jing, Concubine Duan and Zhen Huan were qualified. However, Zhen Huan had not yet been favored by the Emperor again, so her hope was slim. Only Concubine Jing and Concubine Duan were left to compete.

But today she instigated Concubine Jing to come before the emperor just to let her make a choice. The emperor has few children and will never let one person raise two. If she wants to compete for the Fourth Prince, Princess Zining will have to return to Zhen Huan. I wonder if she is willing to give up that?

Concubine Jing's heart was suddenly in chaos. She didn't expect that the Emperor would treat An Lingrong so lightly after doing this. What did this mean? It meant that An Lingrong said exactly what the Emperor was thinking. While Concubine Jing was amazed at An Lingrong's insight, she couldn't help but think that if she could keep the Fourth Prince under her name, no, although this temptation was great, the Emperor was wary of greedy people, and then she would have to separate from Zi Ning.

When Concubine Jing thought about parting with her lovely daughter, her heart ached. She blurted out:

"If Your Majesty has this intention, I do have a candidate."

The emperor did not expect that Concubine Jing would jump out at this time, but he still patiently asked, "Who is it?"

"Princess Wan"

As soon as she said this, Concubine Jing regretted it deeply. The Emperor had just punished An Lingrong, and now she was rushing in to do the same. It seemed that she was very selfish. Concubine Jing bit her lip in annoyance.

Her proposal made the emperor feel that she had not colluded with An Lingrong in advance, and it was reasonable for her to want Zhen Huan to raise the Fourth Prince. After all, after Zhen Huan had a child, she would not be so eager to get close to Zi Ning, and Zi Ning would not be alienated from Concubine Jing. So the emperor said:

"It's rare that you have such a loving motherly heart, but Concubine Wan is too young and the descendant of a criminal, so it's not appropriate. I will discuss this matter with the Queen. You guys kneel down and greet me."

When An Lingrong heard Concubine Jing speak, she was secretly delighted. Then, when she heard that the Emperor rejected Zhen Huan, the huge rock pressing on An Lingrong's heart finally loosened by half. She only needed to wait for the dust to settle so that she could free up her hands to deal with the Queen.

An Lingrong was dragged away from Jiuzhou Qingyan by Concubine Jing in a daze, but the emperor did not stop and turned around to ask Su Peisheng to convey the empress.

When the Queen came, she was very nervous all the way. Was it a blessing or a curse for the Emperor to send her?

She originally wanted to kill two birds with one stone, but so many people were killed and only Xia Dongchun was eliminated, while the bastard Fourth Prince was unharmed.

The Queen became more and more angry the more she thought about it, but fortunately she still had the Queen Mother to rely on, so she thought the Emperor would not make things too difficult for her.

With this in mind, the Queen arrived at Jiuzhou Qingyan, expecting to be questioned, but she never expected that the Emperor would talk to her about the Fourth Prince's fate. The Queen objected immediately:

"Your Majesty, I feel this is inappropriate. The bond between mother and child is built on long-term companionship. If the child is still young, he can still stay in the palace to cultivate their affection. However, in two years, the Fourth Prince will be old enough to start a household and marry. After starting a household, he will have to start a career. Finding a foster mother at this time will only make the Fourth Prince feel constrained."

The Emperor, however, had a different opinion: "It is precisely because the Fourth Prince is getting older that he will need someone to help him start his own business in the future. Having an elder watching over him will prevent any mistakes. I have thought about it. Honghui has been gone for many years, and you, the Queen, can no longer have children. It would be better to raise the Fourth Prince under your name, which will also fulfill your long-cherished wish."

The Queen was stunned for a moment. The Emperor actually wanted her to support the Fourth Prince? Wouldn't it be in vain that all she had done was in vain? No, the Fourth Prince was a man with his own ideas, and he would not listen to her in the future. Besides, she had tried to kill the Fourth Prince twice. If the Fourth Prince did not suspect her now, there was no guarantee that he would not find clues in the future. She did not dare to leave such a hidden danger around her, so she said with difficulty:

"All the children in the palace must call me the Empress Mother. Since I already have the title, why should I care about another name? Besides, if I agree, the Fourth Prince will be my legitimate son. The other princes who grew up with me will inevitably have more thoughts. I don't want to hurt the relationship between them, so I will treat them equally."

The evasion and struggle in the Queen's eyes could not escape the Emperor's observation. What he had originally guessed in his mind became clearer now, and he could not help but feel a chill in his heart. It seemed that a mother queen dowager could not satisfy the Queen, no, could not satisfy the Uya and Ulanara clans behind them. What they wanted was that the power would never be transferred to the lower levels, and even that they could influence the government. Then let's see how strong they were and whether they dared to seize power from this mighty imperial power:

"What the Queen said makes sense. I didn't think of this. So I will give the Fourth Prince to Concubine Duan to raise. This way, he will have the care of his elders and the love of brothers."

The queen even objected: "But Concubine Duan is a Han army bannerman, how can she be the prince's foster mother?"

The emperor had a plan in mind: "The queen is right to remind you, but Concubine Duan and all the men in her family died for their country. It is not too much to exchange them for a higher standard just because of their loyalty. Now is the time to mobilize troops. I want to use this to tell the soldiers all over the world that as long as they are loyal to the court, I will not treat them unfairly."

In the face of justice, the queen could not find a reason to reject the proposal, so she had to pretend to be virtuous and said: "This is a military merit, and it is indeed deserved. I think it should be promoted to the red flag."

The emperor objected again: "The lower five flags are not enough to show my appreciation for the soldiers, so I will raise them to the Bordered Yellow Flag. After raising the flag, their original Chinese surnames can no longer be used. I will grant them the surname Niuhulu, the daughter of Lingzhu, a fourth-rank official."

The upper three banners were directly under the emperor's control. The queen felt as if the sky had fallen, and then the emperor had even more shocking news waiting for her:

"I have thought about it. Since we have to change our surname, we have to abandon everything we had before. The title of Concubine Duan is a thing of the past. I will confer the title of Xi on her and promote her to Noble Concubine. Also, didn't the Queen say that the Fourth Prince is old enough and there will inevitably be estrangement between the foster mother and son? I also think so. Let the royal family record the Fourth Prince under the name of Noble Concubine Xi. From now on, the Fourth Prince will be born to Noble Concubine Xi. This will show my kindness to loyal people."

Every word he said was to comfort the sacrificed soldiers, but the Queen felt that the Emperor was trying to build momentum for the Fourth Prince. Since ancient times, a son's status has been determined by his mother, but there have also been examples of a mother's status being determined by her son. Her heart suddenly sank, and it seemed that she had to consult the Queen Mother on how to deal with the situation.

Regardless of what the Queen thought, in June, the sick Emperor asked the Fourth Prince to recognize Concubine Xi as his mother and wait for the Emperor to return to the palace so that he could return to the capital with him.

Concubine Duan suddenly became Concubine Xi, a concubine with a bright future and a prince under her control. Everyone in the palace tried to curry favor with her.

After An Lingrong was punished, she never saw the emperor again. For a while, there were fewer people visiting her than before, which gave her a rare moment of peace and quiet. She was able to use this time to copy many volumes of scriptures for Xia Dongchun to pray for her soul to be reborn.

After dinner that day, Rendong came back and told An Lingrong that Shen Meizhuang had invited Wen Shichu to see her at home again.

"Let's go to Fanying Pavilion." An Lingrong immediately took Rendong out.