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

The sunlight is not very strong on a winter afternoon.

But there were still some spots of light shining in through the window panes, making the west warm room look warm.

The emperor came in quietly, and An Lingrong's eyes met his as soon as she raised her head.

After not seeing him for two years, the emperor had obviously gained weight. His eyes were strangely bright and there was a slight blush under his cheeks.

An Lingrong could tell at a glance that this was a manifestation of excessive internal heat after taking the elixir.

When the emperor saw An Lingrong dared to look him in the eye, he only raised his eyebrows slightly, and An Lingrong immediately came back to her senses. Ma Shan knelt down and greeted:

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I haven't seen you for two years and I forgot about you for a moment."

The emperor was not fooled by her words. He lifted his skirt and sat cross-legged on the couch, looking down at An Lingrong. After a moment, he spoke:

"You've lost weight, do you blame me?"

It was about him fighting with the Hou clan and using An Lingrong as a pawn. As a pawn, she could not and dared not complain. An Lingrong tried to appear calm:

"I dare not hide the truth from Your Majesty. When I was on the verge of death, I really did not understand Your Majesty. But after I arrived at Ganlu Temple, I was looking at the sunset outside the mountain one day, and suddenly I understood."

"Your Majesty is the ruler of a vast country, and his subjects are numbered in the tens of thousands. All of his subjects hope to receive more grace from God, but because your Majesty is the ruler of the country, he cannot be partial to anyone. Every decision your Majesty makes is based on the needs of the current government."

"My mistake at the beginning was that I did things without thinking about the beginning and the end, just for the sake of momentary emotion. Later, the emperor had to clean up the mess for me. This shows how much the emperor loves me."

"Also, the Empress Dowager's punishment of me was also to make me more calm in the future. Both the Emperor and the Empress Dowager taught me with great care, which allowed me to have the knowledge I have today. I will remember this kindness in my heart."

What An Lingrong said was half true and half false. She could understand what the emperor did, but she could not accept it.

The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he was pondering the truth of what An Lingrong said. After a while, he opened his eyes and continued to ask:

"I have already found out that the Queen is guilty, but I have never made it clear. Now that the Queen has no one to rely on, do you think I should announce the Queen's crimes to the world and then let the ministers recommend that she be deposed?"

Thinking back to two years ago, An Lingrong felt that she was not experienced enough.

She had always believed that she had the experience of two lifetimes, and that as long as there was enough evidence and many witnesses, she could force the emperor to punish the queen.

But after two years of settling down, she felt even more deeply the terrifying nature of the emperor's mind.

The emperor cannot have a queen with numerous crimes in his harem.

The exposure of the crimes committed during the period of the Emperor's residence can only mean that the Emperor did not manage his household strictly, which led to the chaos of sisters fighting with each other and wives and concubines fighting with each other.

When it comes to the affairs of an emperor, one starts with the small and looks at the big picture; some things will be infinitely magnified and speculated upon.

The most crucial point is that the emperor has always emphasized that Manchus and Han are one family, and he has employed more Han people in both the court and the harem. However, when it comes to key interests, he still protects the Manchus more.

If the Manchu queen's evil deeds were known, those who like to criticize the Manchus as barbarians would have more things to do.

At that time, it will trigger a conflict between the Manchus and the Han people, which is something the emperor does not want to see.

These are what An Lingrong observed when she kept herself out of the matter. She didn't know if they were all correct, but her intuition revealed some of the truth.

This was something she would never have thought about in her previous life.

Therefore, she replied more gently: "If two years ago, I heard the emperor ask this question, for the sake of sister Fucha and sister Xia, I would be impatient to kneel down and beg the emperor to severely punish the queen. But now I understand the meaning of family and country, and I know the difficulty of the emperor governing the world. I will not do such an unwise thing for my own selfish desires. The emperor's treatment of the queen has its own deep meaning."

This statement was even more true and false. The emperor thought of An Lingrong's desperate courage two years ago, and after hearing her confession today, his suspicions finally dissipated a little, and he temporarily stopped testing An Lingrong:

"I am very pleased that you are so sensible. It seems that experience really makes people grow up quickly. Get up. I see that you are thinner than before. I think it must be hard in Ganlu Temple. Now that you have returned to the palace, if you need any help from now on, just tell the Ministry of Internal Affairs and make sure to take care of your health."

An Lingrong was actually disdainful of the emperor's care, but since the emperor was willing to return to the role of a man, she was also happy to offer her many years of acting skills. Her eyes were full of affection, and her tone was soft and shy as she smiled:

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I lost weight because I couldn't see you. Now that I'm back in the palace, as long as I can stay by your side, I think I'll be back to normal soon."

The emperor was very satisfied with her knowledge and taste, and said teasingly: "You are so talkative. You just came back to the palace and you are already trying to tease me. Will this continue for a long time?"

An Lingrong said coquettishly: "Even if I have ten thousand guts, I would not dare to deceive Your Majesty. What I said is from my heart. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can ask someone to cut open my heart and you will know whether it is true or false."

These hot and straightforward words made the emperor laugh heartily. He stretched out his hand and pulled An Lingrong forward, bringing himself closer to her, and laughed softly:

"I see that you have been in Ganlu Temple for two years, and you have not learned anything else, but you have become more slick-tongued."

An Lingrong asked more boldly: "Does the emperor like it?"

The emperor was even more delighted, and pulled An Lingrong onto the bed even harder:

"I like it. Come and relax for me. In the two years since you left, no one else can do as well as you. I have suffered a lot."

An Lingrong obediently took off her shoes and got on the bed. If everyone knew her unique technique, then what else could she do to get close to the emperor?

This wait lasted for two hours.

On the way back from the Yangxin Palace, An Lingrong chose to walk. When passing by the Jingren Palace, she looked at the closed palace gate and the two guards in front of the gate. An Lingrong's eyes flashed slightly, and then she quickly left with Rendong.

After that, An Lingrong went to the Yangxin Palace to accompany the emperor every few days. Her soft body, sweet words and diligent hands could always make the emperor smile.

For this reason, Xinpin once complained to Zhenpin in private: "Alas, in terms of means, none of us can match Concubine Wen. Well, I won't get close to the emperor now that I'm old and ugly, so as to avoid any unpleasant words from being spread."

Concubine Zhen didn't care whether she was favored or not. After all, no matter who was missing something in the palace, hers would be included. She just enjoyed herself to her heart's content and only agreed with Concubine Xin's complaints.

As for the others, An Lingrong still got along with them warmly, as before.

As the days and nights pass, the anniversary of Emperor Shengzu's death is approaching.

The emperor was busy with state affairs and unable to go to Jingling to offer sacrifices in person, so he asked the fourth prince to go on his behalf.

For this reason, the Third Prince felt a little uncomfortable. He was the eldest, but the Emperor assigned such an important task to his Fourth Brother. Did the Emperor think that he could not handle the task well, or did he value his Fourth Brother more?

Therefore, when he was about to bid farewell to the Fourth Prince, he could not help but express his thoughts in a sour tone.

The Fourth Prince tried to persuade him: "Third brother is wrong. The Emperor's action is obviously out of concern for you. In the dead of winter, you have to travel in the wilderness. The sacrifice is more important. This is also your first time to do this. If you make the slightest mistake, you won't be punished by the Emperor, but all the censors in the court will not forgive you."

"But my third brother is different. He can always be with the emperor and listen to his teachings. This is an opportunity that I would never ask for."

After a few words, the Third Prince felt that this made sense, and his frown slowly relaxed. Seeing this, the Fourth Prince continued:

"Third brother, I always put you first in everything. If you and I become alienated because of my taking this job, I will go to the emperor and explain the whole story. I will even let someone else do this hard job."

The Third Prince thought that the Fourth Prince had indeed followed his advice in everything over the past year, and it was not worth it to make his brother unhappy over such a small matter, so he quickly stopped him:

"No, I just thought about it for a moment. If you really quit your job, it will be difficult for the emperor to assign you another job in the future."

The Fourth Prince was touched, and he put his arm around the Third Prince's shoulder and said affectionately:

"Third brother, you still care about me. I have something to tell you, but I don't know if I should tell you."

Seeing that he looked embarrassed, the Third Prince, as the elder brother, of course had to ask a few more questions: "What's the matter?"

The Fourth Prince sighed and said, "Forget it, it's better for the Third Brother not to know."

The Third Prince was even more anxious now: "Fourth Brother, are you being distant with me?"

The Fourth Prince lowered his voice mysteriously and said, "This is a matter concerning the Emperor's reputation, Third Brother, please don't ask."

This appetizing move even tempted the Third Prince to take the bait: "Fourth brother, this is your fault. As sons, we should share the worries of the Emperor Father. Just tell me."

The Fourth Prince looked around cautiously, then lowered his voice even lower:

"Third brother, people in the streets say that the emperor imprisoned my eighth and ninth uncles until their death because of the succession issue. And my fourteenth uncle didn't even get to see the empress dowager's hometown for the last time. If you can persuade the emperor to forgive these uncles, then the nonsense in the streets will naturally be broken, and the empress dowager can rest in peace."

The Third Prince suddenly realized something and said, "That's what Fourth Brother is worried about, but how should I bring this up?"

The annoyance on the Fourth Prince's face flashed across his face. "I had thought that I would find an opportunity to talk to the Emperor on the day of the Sacred Ancestor's sacrifice. If the Sacred Ancestor knew about it, he would be more relieved that he had chosen the right person. But the timing was not right. Forget it, Third Brother, there is no rush. It won't be too late to do it during the Qingming Festival."

After saying that, he looked up at the sky, pretended to be anxious and asked the guards to lead the horse over, then jumped on the horse and said, "Third brother, I can't delay any longer. You go back to the city first, and we can talk about anything when I come back."

Watching the Fourth Prince walking away in a cloud of dust, the Third Prince seemed to be lost in thought. Although the Emperor had assigned him tasks over the past year and the personnel from the six ministries were polite to him, when it came to making actual decisions, no one would truly listen to his opinions. Instead, they would use the fact that he had just observed government affairs as an excuse and ask him to just follow old precedents.

For more than a year, he has not had any outstanding political achievements that would earn the emperor's praise.

He really needed something to prove that he was no worse than his fourth brother.

The six ministries of the imperial court are involved in too many matters and it is difficult to achieve success.

But it is different for the clan members. If he speaks, the emperor can see his kindness and generosity.

Besides, his fourth brother went to Jingling Mausoleum, and he interceded for his uncles in the palace, which made it easier for the emperor to be moved by the scene.

After thinking it through, the Third Prince made a decision in his heart, and quickly jumped on his horse and galloped towards the Forbidden City.

Before this New Year's Eve, something big happened in the royal family.

The emperor removed the yellow belt of the third prince on the grounds that he was undisciplined and adopted him as a son to the criminal Aqinna.

Now that he has been adopted, there is no reason for the Third Prince to live in the palace anymore.

Because Aqina died and could not continue to educate Hongshi, he asked Prince Lu Yunlu to take over the supervision.

The decree came without any warning. Everyone only knew that the emperor was following the order of His Royal Highness Xian, and that day happened to be the anniversary of the death of Emperor Shengzu.

The news came too suddenly, and there were many people in the harem speculating, but no one dared to discuss it.

But what followed was even worse news. Concubine Qi, who was under house arrest in Changchun Palace, heard the news from somewhere and hanged herself in the middle of the night.

The next day, when the eunuch who delivered food entered Changchun Palace, he was frightened to death by the sight of Concubine Qi who refused to close her eyes.

Concubine Qi's funeral was extremely simple. The emperor did not come, and only a few old people in the palace shed a few tears for her.

An Lingrong felt a chill penetrate her bones. Why must it be so? Concubine Qi was a foolish person who had only wished for the best for her son all her life. The Third Prince already had no chance of ascending to the throne, so why couldn't she let this poor person, Concubine Qi, go?

Even if the Emperor remembers Concubine Qi one day and lifts her house arrest, what harm can a person like her, who is confused, cause?

An Lingrong didn't even dare to look closely at the expressions of everyone at the funeral. She was afraid of spotting the murderer among them, and she was even more afraid that the murderer was the person she thought he was.

All she could do was to suppress the trembling chill deeply, then put on her usual mask and continue to get along with these people who spoke softly and did decent things.

Then she despised herself for not being qualified to sympathize with Concubine Qi's situation. After all, she had offered good advice on the matter of the Third Prince.

It's just that her apprentice is better than her teacher, and she understands the principle of giving before taking.

The road to the pinnacle of power for others was stained with blood, and she was one of the executioners.

In such an extremely self-loathing mood, I spent New Year's Eve with a forced smile.

In March, everything is full of vitality.

The peace talks with Dzungar officially began. Perhaps because the initiative was in the hands of the court, good news came from the border from time to time. The emperor, who had been in a depressed mood since the incident with the third prince, finally improved a little and began to summon An Lingrong to the Yangxin Palace to accompany him.

The peace talks lasted for more than two months and finally achieved victory as the emperor expected.

At this time, news came that the Queen was critically ill, and she just wanted to see the Emperor one last time before she died.

When the words were delivered, An Lingrong was accompanying the emperor in the west warm pavilion.

The emperor didn't even bother to find a reason and directly refused: "Go tell her, I don't have time."

When Xiao Xiazi was about to accept the offer, the emperor suddenly changed his mind. He looked at An Lingrong, who had been silent and obedient, and suddenly thought:

"The Queen is the head of the Central Palace. She is seriously ill, and the concubines should visit her. Concubine Wen, please go and see her on my behalf."

An Lingrong suddenly opened her eyes wide and looked at the emperor at a loss.

The emperor patted the back of her hand and said gently, "Go!"

An Lingrong had no choice but to obey the order and take Xiao Xiazi with her.

The gate of Jingren Palace slowly opened.