The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

Arrived at Siwei Palace.

When the emperor entered the palace, he saw Xie Yuzhen holding a woman with a bandage on her head. He had also seen Xu Xiaoyi several times before, but he still had to think about it before he could put the person and name together. As the eunuchs called out their names, he strode into the palace. The concubines and palace maids stood up one after another, and the emperor waved his hand casually: "No need to be polite."

He walked straight to the queen and said, "Zi Tong, sit down."

He took the main seat with the queen.

He glanced at the extremely embarrassed Liu Hong who was kneeling on the ground, without any anger on his face: "I heard from Yunrong that the wife of the Marquis of Jing County slapped the concubine and committed insubordination, and then nominated the slaves and maids in her family for selection, and finally asked the daughter of a good citizen to enter the palace in her place."

The emperor's voice was very magnetic and slightly hoarse. When he spoke, his tone was flat and gentle, and very comfortable. However, it made Liu Hong, who was kneeling below, feel cold all over and tremble even more violently.

"That's right." The Queen's expression was indifferent. When she looked at Liu Hong, there was an indescribable disgust in her eyes. "If it was just the previous incident, it wouldn't bother Your Majesty. But this person who entered the palace under a false name...it's not easy for me to deal with it."

The emperor nodded: "I know."

Seeing this, the queen added: "Xu's mother had been released from the Marquis of Jing County a long time ago and established a female household. Xu was raised by her mother alone, and her household registration also followed her mother..."

Hearing this, Xie Yuzhen gently pushed the still confused Xu Xiaoyi. Xu Xiaoyi reacted, knelt down immediately, repeated his life story, and then lowered his head to wait for the emperor's decision.

Before the emperor spoke, the empress wanted to help her: "The wife of the Marquis of Jing County ordered people to take Madam Xu and send her to Shuiyue Temple in the suburbs of Beijing. It is illegal to abduct a decent woman, not to mention that they secretly imprisoned her. I have already ordered people to go to the temple to rescue her. I believe that the outcome will be clear soon."

In fact, from Xu Xiaoyi's previous crying, the queen had heard that Shuiyue Temple was probably a secret organization that used women to do some shameful business, but she did not say it. This was to save face for Xu Xiaoyi, and she also intended to cover up the true situation of Shuiyue Temple from the source, so as not to let those poor women suffer from rumors after being rescued.

The emperor and empress had been husband and wife for many years, and they could understand each other even if they didn't say some things. The emperor didn't want to pursue the matter too deeply. After all, it was a foregone conclusion that Liu Hong had committed a crime. What he wanted was to pin the crime on the Marquis of Jingjun. The old man was cunning and ruthless, and he was also the descendant of a founding hero. The emperor had long wanted to reduce his fiefdom, but had never found an excuse. Who would have thought that today, his wife, who was not very noticeable in Kyoto, would personally bring the evidence to him.

The emperor would accept it without hesitation, so his tone became more friendly, but these words were like a bolt from the blue to Liu Hong: "We will discuss this matter after Xu's mother arrives. The Marquis's wife is just a woman, how can she be so bold as to interfere with the palace election? It is better to ask the Marquis of Jingjun to bring his son to the capital to defend himself."

The Marquis of Jing County has been guarding his fiefdom all year round. Although he only has the right to collect taxes, the income of this county is indeed considerable. Although the rules only allow him to have 3,000 soldiers, the Marquis of Jing County still supports a lot of people privately. It can be said that this fiefdom is the most important root of the Liu family and it must not be abandoned.

Even though the Marquis of Jing County was always worried that he was not in the capital and was gradually being excluded by the core power circle, he never thought of completely abandoning Jing County to the court. The few times he went to the capital, he always left his eldest son in the fiefdom, just in case something happened to him, so that he could leave some way out for his family.

In the past, whenever the emperor summoned him, he always had reasons to keep his son. But seeing that Liu Hong had caused such a big disaster, this time he was asked to go to the capital with his crime on his shoulders. If he refused, wouldn't he be right in the emperor's way?

Although Liu Hong was stupid, she was very clear about the basis of her honor as a marquis' wife. How could she have imagined that she was just a concubine with the same fate as at home, so she would bring about such a great disaster?

Liu Hong, who was in a dishevel, looked up at Xu Xiaoyi beside her and finally realized that this concubine was already the emperor's concubine and was no longer a poor little thing that he could control at will. The thing she least wanted to happen had already happened. A concubine had climbed over the head of her, the wife of the emperor's wife, and in the future, she might even climb over the head of her own daughter!

Liu Hong finally remembered her daughter in the palace, and she couldn't help but feel even more horrified.

After the Marquis of Jing County came to the capital, Liu Hong was doomed to fail. She thought of giving birth to the princess' daughter in the palace, and was a little afraid that Liu Shuyi would be implicated. She couldn't help but want to grab this last straw in her eyes and cried, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I was blinded by greed and did such a thing. It has nothing to do with my Marquis! Please, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please forgive me this time for the sake of Liu Shuyi and the little princess!"

"You still dare to accuse Empress Shuyi and the princess?" Xie Yuzhen raised his eyebrows. "When you did these things, why didn't you think about your daughter and grandchildren? You let good people suffer because of you, a stupid woman! If you really have some compassion, you should hang yourself with a rope, so that Empress Shuyi and the little princess will lose face because of you, their mother and grandfather!"

"Ahem!" The emperor glanced at Xie Yuzhen warningly. Although he thought so in his heart, Liu Hongshi could not die for the time being. She was waiting for the Marquis of Jingjun to come to the capital and ask her to identify the mastermind behind "entering the palace under false pretenses".

what?

Is it really just because this woman was stupid that she did something wrong?

impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

Her family had fallen on hard times. If she hadn't relied on the Marquis of Jingjun's Mansion and if she hadn't gotten the tacit approval of the Marquis of Jingjun, how could she have had the courage and energy to do so many things?

It must be that the Marquis of Jing County had been in his fiefdom for many years, and he was too confident and had ulterior motives, so he deceived and offended the royal family!

The emperor had already planned in his mind how to punish the Marquis of Jingjun, and Li Zong also sent people on express horses to Jingjun to convey the emperor's order. If the Marquis of Jingjun had been more sensible and handed over his fiefdom and went to the capital obediently, the emperor might have given him some dignity for the sake of his ancestors; but if the Marquis of Jingjun went crazy and wanted to disobey the emperor's order... wouldn't the emperor have even more reason to send troops to help him save his "dignity"?

The emperor, who was unable to lead the army to Lingzhou in person, secretly hoped that the Marquis of Jingjun would follow his wife and not be like a weak and cowardly woman.

Xie Yuzhen, who made the emperor glare at her, curled her lips and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I accidentally let my mouth shut."

The emperor looked over again upon hearing this, with some confusion in his eyes - what kind of trouble is this?

The Queen had already spoken: "The talented lady is straightforward and enthusiastic. If it weren't for... ahem, I would have liked to say a few words to her, but please don't mention it again in the future. It's not very decent. Your Majesty, Xu Xiaoyi is injured. Why don't you wake her up first?"

The emperor nodded in agreement. He looked at Xie Yuzhen, suspecting that this woman was going to make a big fuss. But after waiting for a long time, she didn't make any more trouble. After careful consideration, the emperor realized something was wrong.

Why are you so willing to listen to the Queen?