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

The clouds in the sky are rolling like ink, and a rainstorm is coming.

Inside the Qinzheng Hall, the Third Prince knelt on the ground dejectedly.

Until now he still doesn't understand. He and Huaying are obviously in love with each other, so why did the emperor get so angry?

After learning that the Third Prince had made a mistake and was punished by the Emperor to kneel, the Empress Dowager dragged her sick body and brought the Queen to plead for mercy.

An Lingrong also came to report on the situation in each palace.

Inside the palace, the Queen Mother spoke first: "Emperor, the Third Prince has been raised in my palace for several years. I have seen that he has always been sensible and filial. This is just a young man's admiration, and it is not a big deal. The Emperor is still ill, and it is not worth getting angry about this. In my opinion, it is better to let Hongshi marry the maid and make her a princess to serve in the room, so that he can concentrate on his studies."

The Queen Mother's attitude was like that of an elder who dotes on his or her children and grandchildren, trying to make a big deal out of a small matter.

However, the emperor had other considerations in mind. He lowered his eyes and did not respond to the empress dowager's words. He just ordered Xiao Xiazi to serve tea to the empress dowager, and then threw the question to the queen:

"What does the queen think?"

The Queen and the Queen Mother exchanged a quick glance and immediately understood each other's thoughts. Relying on the kindness of the elders would not work, so they would magnify the matter. The Queen immediately calmed down and said:

"I find this matter strange. Third Prince is not someone who doesn't know his limits, so why did he have to be blocked today? The timing is just right, and it's a coincidence no matter how you look at it."

Who dares to take the responsibility of framing the prince? Imperial Concubine Jing immediately defended herself: "Your Majesty, I am just following your orders. All palaces are safe and sound. I did not expect the Third Prince to stay in the study, let alone anyone else."

The Queen said calmly, "That's why I said it was too much of a coincidence. Your Majesty might as well try that maid to see if she was instructed by someone to deliberately frame the Third Prince."

As he said this, he deliberately glanced at Concubine Jing, and his meaning was very clear.

Seeing the Queen pointing the finger at her, Imperial Concubine Jing was terrified. The princes were all grown up, and she couldn't let people misunderstand that she was involved in the struggle. In a hurry, she said without thinking:

"A palace maid is worthy of the emperor's interrogation. If the Third Prince has a strong character, how could he be tempted by her?"

"Hmm!" The emperor snorted heavily through his nose. Like all parents, no matter how bad his children are, he can say it himself, but if others point it out, it will only make the emperor lose face and think that all the problems are due to his poor teaching.

Seeing the emperor's unhappy expression, Concubine Jing realized that she had said the wrong thing and immediately murmured:

"I spoke hastily and did not mean to slander the Third Prince. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."

The emperor waved his hand as if he didn't care, and turned his gaze to An Lingrong again:

"Concubine Wen, I'm sure you've heard about the Third Prince. Tell us about it."

As soon as the Queen heard the Emperor mention An Lingrong's name, she became nervous. She didn't believe that An Lingrong would say anything good.

As expected, the Queen heard An Lingrong say in her usual gentle voice:

"The Empress Dowager just said that it is human nature for young people to admire each other. In addition, Master Wang, who taught Third Prince, left suddenly, so Third Prince was inevitably sad for a while. It is also possible that he and Huaying have developed feelings for each other. I think that Third Prince has reached the age for marriage. Your Majesty should follow the ancestral rules and let Third Prince marry Huaying. After all, only by getting married can one establish a career later."

After hearing this, the empress dowager looked at An Lingrong coldly, and the queen was even more furious. These words sounded fine at first glance, but they could not stand up to scrutiny.

The emperor respected teachers the most. When he was still a prince, he personally held a funeral for his teacher Gu Badai and wrote more than a dozen elegies to mourn his teacher. After he ascended the throne, he posthumously conferred titles on him many times.

On the other hand, after his teacher's mother passed away, the Third Prince not only did not feel empathy, he even failed to exercise self-discipline and turned to greed and pursuit of beauty. His character is truly worrying.

There is also the rule of Na Huaying according to ancestral rules. The royal family has rules that when the prince reaches a certain age, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will arrange for palace maids to serve him. However, the fact that they had an affair without reporting it and without the permission of their parents was enough to show that the Third Prince was disrespectful to his superiors and acted absurdly. Such an accusation is fatal to a prince.

What's more terrible is that he wants to start a family and establish a career. How can a prince establish a career when the emperor is ill? This statement is simply murderous without bloodshed.

An Lingrong ignored the Queen Mother's look of wanting to swallow her up and continued to smile gently and generously:

"These are just my humble opinions. Your Majesty loves his son deeply and will make the final decision."

After stabbing the last time, An Lingrong stood silently by the side without saying a word.

After this, the emperor's face became even uglier. Regardless of the ability of the Third Prince, he looked down upon his character and personality. Not only was he not like his father, he also had no ability to judge people. He was treated like a puppet and was controlled by others. It would be better for him to just abide by the law and live a stable life as a rich and idle person.

Seeing the emperor's constantly changing expression, the queen mother was startled and said anxiously:

"Emperor, please do not jump to conclusions. The Third Prince is your son. Why don't you ask him the reason for the incident? It won't be too late to make a judgment later."

The emperor sighed helplessly: "Before the Empress Dowager came, I had already asked, Hongshi, come and tell your grandmother what you said just now?"

Listening to the arguments of several people, the Third Prince was in a daze and had not yet realized the seriousness of the matter. When the Emperor asked him, he had to muster up his courage and stammered:

"I said at the time that everything is up to the Emperor."

The Emperor gave the Empress Dowager a mocking smile, half explaining and half letting it go: "He has no independent opinion or responsibility, that's why I punished him."

The Queen understood his expression and hurried to help explain: "Your Majesty, the Third Prince is a pure filial son. He is not one of those who pretend to obey but actually disobey. That's why he obeys Your Majesty's arrangements in everything."

The Emperor lost his patience with the Queen and glared at her:

"If he really listened to me, he wouldn't have acted so strangely during the earthquake."

The Queen was choked and speechless. The Emperor's expression changed very quickly. He turned to the Queen Mother and said gently:

"Since the Empress Dowager has pleaded for Hongshi, I will not pursue the matter too much. Empress Dowager, please take Hongshi back. As for the maid, please handle it as you wish."

After saying this, without giving the Queen Mother a chance to speak again, he directly ordered Xiao Xiazi:

"Let all the ministers prepare first. I want to ask what the situation is inside and outside the capital."

These two light words weighed on the empress dowager's heart like a huge stone. She was very familiar with the emperor's attitude. In the late emperor's later years, the princes competed fiercely, and everyone wanted to show off their abilities in front of the late emperor.

The late emperor was often strict and harsh towards talented and capable people, and they would not allow any mistakes to be made when doing their jobs. On the contrary, the late emperor was more lenient and easy-going towards people who he did not have high hopes for, and he was often satisfied with just being tolerable on the surface, and he only wanted to ensure that his sons were safe and wealthy.

Now that the Emperor had the same thoughts about Hongshi, the Empress Dowager felt as if her heart had fallen into an icy abyss. If this was true, wouldn't all her and the Queen's plans for the Third Prince be in vain?

An Lingrong also heard the emperor's hidden meaning, and couldn't help feeling powerless and depressed. She was really tired of this kind of unpredictable life where she was put in a chess game and others were manipulated as chess pieces at will.

Huaying was born into a bondservant family. In the sixth year of Yongzheng's reign, she was selected by the Ministry of Internal Affairs as a member of a royal family and stayed in the palace to work. According to the new rules set by the emperor, she could leave the palace and go home when she turned twenty.

Although this girl was a bannerman, her father was idle and her family lived in poverty. She entered the palace with the intention of making a name for herself and did not want her family to drag her down. However, after entering the palace, she was thrown into the Old Summer Palace to work and was unable to see the emperor all year round.

This year, her thoughts were discovered by Concubine Xi, so she secretly arranged for someone to be next to the Third Prince. She originally only wanted to be a secret agent, but she never expected that she would be tricked by the Third Prince into getting involved.

On the surface it seemed like just a love affair, but secretly it was a struggle between the emperor and the empress over the succession.

The Emperor's attitude towards the Third Prince is already very clear. The Queen, who is devastated by this incident, will definitely vent her anger on Huaying. An Lingrong really can't bear to think about her ending.

But An Lingrong was not much better. If she hadn't suggested to Concubine Xi that they start with the Third Prince, Huaying would not have been sent to the Third Prince. Later, when Concubine Xi asked Jixiang to ask her for the spices that could arouse people's love, didn't she take them out obediently?

Wasn't today's blocking of the door and arresting people part of Concubine Xi's plan? As a result, Concubine Jing, who had always been neutral, completely offended the Empress Dowager and the Queen because of this matter, and was forced to move closer to Concubine Xi.

Looking at the Empress Dowager and the Queen leaving in depression, An Lingrong felt a chill.

The penetration of power can change a person beyond recognition. Concubine Xi is strong now because she has a son, but precisely because she has a son, she can no longer intervene in certain matters. Instead, people like An Lingrong who are eager for revenge become the best knife.

After today, she will not only have to face the Queen, but also the Queen Mother's wrath.

She was swept up by several forces and completely caught up in the huge waves. She didn't know what kind of wind, frost, rain, and snow would come under the next wave, which might swallow her up or tear her apart.

Since we are all in the vortex, let the wind and waves come more violently to dampen the desire of some people to seize power.

An Lingrong is now waiting for the emperor to return to the palace. When the time comes, she will dig up all the rats hiding in the palace all these years even if she has to do it in the deepest places, and then give a gift to the queen.

After everyone in the hall left one after another, the emperor took advantage of the time before the ministers came in to look at Zhen Huan who was standing silently beside the table.

She was quite smart. She was not affected at all by the storm that just happened in the hall. Was she hiding well or was she really scared?

The emperor didn't want to go into details as there were more important things waiting for him to deal with right now.

Zhen Huan was groaning inwardly at the moment. How could she not sense the danger involved in the verbal confrontation just now? She knew exactly why the Queen wanted to use her. Now that the Queen had suffered a setback, she wondered how she would force her.

Although she can serve the emperor now, he treats her like a palace maid who serves tea and grinds ink, and there is no trace of the friendship they once had. She wants to use the emperor's hand to investigate the real murderer who murdered her father and seek safety for her family, but it seems difficult, right?

The Queen's whereabouts are getting closer and closer, it seems she has to find another ally.

Imperial Concubine Xi is now very popular in the palace, but the fact that she is in a hot position is not enough for her to take risks for herself.

However, when An Lingrong first returned to the palace, she had hinted many times that seeing that she was in a state of falling out with the Queen, she must have something to rely on. Maybe she could gain something from it. Maybe she could cooperate with An Lingrong?

After the ministers came in, Zhen Huan gently pushed the ground ink to the front of the table, then bowed silently and left.

Because of advance prevention measures, no casualties were reported in the vicinity of the capital, but the collapsed houses and injuries were still extremely serious. The emperor issued several decrees to provide relief to the people.

Those who received the favor were all grateful and praised the emperor's virtue for influencing heaven and earth, which led to the late emperor's prediction of good and bad things in dreams. All the previous attacks against An Lingrong were drowned in the praises.

The emperor was very happy to learn about the people's reaction. Now the new policy is running smoothly and the court is clear. The people's affirmation is more beneficial to the emperor at this time. It will be easier to implement other state policies in the future.

While feeling happy, he thought of An Lingrong's unusual words that day and felt a little confused. How could she be so sure that the world would change when she saw the fish jumping? And when facing the rumors, she was too calm, as if she had predicted the future?

However, the emperor did not express this suspicion to anyone, but kept it in his heart. When he was ready to wait and see, torrential rains continued for several days in the Kanto region, leaving countless people homeless.

The emperor began to get busy again, and any suspicion he had towards An Lingrong disappeared along with the flood. After all, if he really had the ability to know the past and the future, he should have issued a warning long ago. In addition to making contributions to the country, he could also gain a great merit.

There was heavy rain in Guandong and aftershocks continued in the capital. The Empress Dowager asked An Lingrong to copy scriptures and kneel in front of the Buddhist temple every day on the pretext of praying for blessings. This was exactly what An Lingrong wanted.

She is not a saint. Her speaking out to warn the capital that an earthquake is about to happen was a bold move after weighing the pros and cons. If she were to say that there will be a flood in Kanto, then she, the soul of the Nine Netherworld, would completely live up to her reputation as a demon concubine. Whenever there is a natural disaster or man-made disaster in the country, she will be the culprit, no matter good or bad. It would be a catastrophe for her.

But she also has a heart of flesh and blood. She has seen the sufferings of the people since she was a child. Facing countless homeless people, she really cannot remain indifferent. On the one hand, she asks for forgiveness from the Buddha, and on the other hand, she asks Dahu to urgently transport the grain purchased from Jiangnan to Guandong, and use the name of a rich man to provide porridge for disaster relief. When the court allocates funds for relief, she will quietly withdraw from Guandong. Only in this way will she feel better.

From August 19th to early September, in addition to disaster relief, the emperor had been discussing military intelligence, and An Lingrong was kept in the Buddhist temple by the empress dowager for various reasons, so Zhen Huan did not have the opportunity to meet her alone.

At the end of September, the autumn wind was biting and it was chilly in the Old Summer Palace day and night, so the emperor had to order a date to return to the palace.

The night before leaving, Rendong secretly told An Lingrong that Huaying, who was kept by the Third Prince, died of lung disease three days ago.

It was late at night and the wind was howling. An Lingrong wrapped her cloak around herself and cast her eyes towards the dark sky, where it seemed that there was a monster waiting to devour people.

On the first day of October, the emperor returned to the palace.

That night An Lingrong sent Rendong out.