After I traveled through the book, I was spoiled by five little villains

A drizzle came silently, casting a hazy sheen on the night.

The inner palace is always lonelier than any other place.

Empress Xie stood motionless in front of the window, looking at the leaves soaked by rain, reflecting the cold light under the light of the lanterns in the corridor.

Anything further away was blended into the darkness and could not be seen clearly.

"Your Majesty, please take a rest first." Rufang, the trusted maid, stepped forward and advised in a low voice.

The emperor has already rested in Concubine Jing's palace. If we wait any longer, he will not show up.

After a long time, Queen Xie turned around with a calm face.

"Empress, the Fourth Prince was praised by the Grand Tutor in Yuejianzhai today, and he even had an extra bowl of soup when he came to pay his respects in the evening!"

Knowing that she was in a bad mood, Rufang considerately picked something to talk about that would make her happy.

She thought that as long as the Fourth Prince was mentioned, Queen Xie's mood would immediately turn from gloomy to cheerful. This was what she was most proud of.

Although the emperor had a large harem and many children, Empress Xie was the only one who raised two children.

Back then, Empress Xie was very pregnant and gave birth to two children in three years. The eldest princess and the fourth prince were only one year apart in age, and she was the talk of the town for a time.

But so what?

Except for the fact that the emperor rested in Fengyang Palace on the first and fifteenth days of the month as per the rule, he would only come here for a meal at other times.

Fortunately, the Fourth Prince has been striving hard since he was young. He is outstanding in poetry and literature, and his appearance resembles the emperor. He is handsome and elegant at a young age, and is the pride of Queen Xie.

But tonight, what Queen Xie was worried about was not just the whereabouts of the emperor.

She walked slowly to the incense burner, picked up a piece of benzoin and put it into the burner, then sighed softly.

Rufang observed her expression and gently advised, "Madam, Lord Situ did not blame you. Didn't he tell you not to worry before he left?"

Empress Xie lowered her eyes, looked at the smoke rising, and recalled the scene in the afternoon when the Grand Tutor came to see her.

"Let her rest assured" is just empty words of comfort. The previous few sentences are the father's true words.

"Your Majesty, you are confused! How can you just agree to such a big thing?!"

The Grand Tutor frowned and said, "Chun Ning is a powerless princess who is just a legitimate daughter. Is it worth it for the Queen to use her reputation to go door to door to ask for a ransom for her?"

"Don't tell me that the princess is here. After all, this is not the princess's business!"

Empress Xie was so scolded by him that she dared not even raise her head. She blamed herself in her heart. Why did she lose her mind at that time and send someone to deliver the message without even seeing her father?

However, she still maintained her dignity and said, "Father, I knew that the Lu family had the intention of starting a new business, so I wanted to give them a warning. They have become more and more rampant recently, and even when they want to ask for an official position, they want to bypass you and ask the Empress Dowager for help."

"I have already made plans for the Lu family's affairs."

The Grand Tutor looked at Empress Xie with an unhappy expression, thinking: With her interfering like this, the entire layout has to be readjusted, and some chess pieces have been wasted.

Although he did not say this, Empress Xie could guess a little bit.

Only then will I find it difficult to fall asleep when I look at the rain alone at night.

She is a person who thinks a lot.

However, among the powerful figures in this capital, how many of them are not full of worries?

Not to mention those families whose children were trapped in the Plum Garden, who among those who got the news was not secretly calculating their interests behind the scenes, intending to gain something from this matter?

Princess Chunning and her husband were not originally prominent in the capital.

No one expected that such a big incident would happen in their house!

Among them, not only did the eldest princess support her younger sister, but the queen also made the decision for Chun Ning.

The secret affairs in the backyards of powerful and wealthy families have always been kept hidden. As long as the gorgeous covering is not uncovered, everyone will pretend not to see them.

However, the eldest princess showed off her power in the plum garden, beat everyone there so badly that they were pissing and shitting themselves, and then went to the palace to ask the empress for the decision.

Empress Xie sent people to deliver the ransom demanded by the eldest princess one by one.

The young master of the Weiwei Temple asked for five hundred taels!

Even if they could ignore Princess Leyang's bad reputation, they still had to think about Grand Tutor Xie Shu who stood behind Queen Xie.

One can't help but wonder whether Xie Shu was responsible for this?

This news, coming from the mere Plum Garden, directly shook the imperial court.

The romantic scandals involving so many noble families were kept secret by each family tacitly without revealing a single word.

Ordinary people know nothing about it.

However, one can imagine what kind of turbulent situation there will be in the court tomorrow.

The rain soaked the bluestone road on the ground.

As curfew was approaching, a horse-drawn carriage sped out from the residence of the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, and the coachman waved a whip, making a loud sound in the air.

At the side door behind the carriage, a beautiful woman holding a handkerchief in her hand shouted anxiously, "You must bring my son back safely!"

In less than a quarter of an hour, the carriage stopped at the gate of Princess Chunning's mansion. A middle-aged man dressed as a steward got off the carriage and walked to the side door holding a money box.

The doorman of the princess's mansion glanced at him and yawned: "It's almost curfew, and you're still here?"

The steward smiled and handed over the business card: "I hope you can pass it on."

As he spoke, he took out a string of copper coins and handed it to the doorman.

After the door was closed, he took the business card and the money box and left.

The curfew drum sounded, and as the steward waited anxiously, someone helped a young man who was limping out of the princess's mansion.

"Third Young Master!"

The steward hurried forward to take the man and helped him into the carriage.

In the carriage, a maid called out anxiously, "Master, I finally see you! What happened to you?"

They also wiped the rain off him and fed him warm tea and cakes.

The third young master ate several pieces of cakes before he caught his breath, then collapsed on the cushion and didn't want to move.

Next time, he won’t follow Lu Yi no matter what!

He originally came here to have fun, and he did find fun, but the fun almost killed him!

After treatment, the injury on my thigh still hurts and I have trouble walking.

When they met patrolling soldiers on the way back home, the steward had to pay some money to escape with the name card of the Shaoqing of Dali Temple.

After finally returning home, the beautiful woman held him in her arms and called him her sweetheart for a long time, then ordered the doctor who had been waiting for him to treat his injuries.

The beautiful woman was filled with hatred: "Isn't it just one hundred taels of gold? If it weren't for the interference of the first wife, I wouldn't have to wait until the evening to get my life back."

"My son, how did you get beaten like this?"

The beautiful woman cried, "I will go and beg your father right now. You can't take this beating in vain!"

The third young master was still frightened and said, "My son is still lucky. Didn't you see the prince consort? He was beaten into a pig's head!"