The husband who forced her to marry her couldn't keep her warm, and she didn't want him to

Concubine Shu was already impatient with pretending to be nice to the Empress Dowager, and after hearing what the eunuch said, she gently placed the teacup in her hand on the kang table beside her.

Liu Yingqiu bent down slightly and whispered beside her, "Taifei, you haven't recovered from your cold yet, and you haven't taken today's medicine yet."

Although the volume was very low, the people in the warm hall of the Cining Palace could hear it clearly.

The Empress Dowager was surprised and asked her softly, "Your illness has dragged on for so long... If the late Emperor were still alive, he would be a hundred times more distressed and sympathetic after knowing this."

Concubine Shu sneered in her heart. When the late emperor was alive, the empress dowager was often troubled by minor illnesses, but now her spirits are getting better day by day.

She stood up, looked up at the Queen Mother, and said calmly: "Since you have guests here, I will not disturb you."

The Empress Dowager nodded, sighed slightly and said: "All the old people in the deep palace have passed away...it would be better for us sisters to move around more."

The Queen Mother was dressed in gorgeous clothes and sat there, but her eyes revealed a hint of loneliness.

Concubine Shu saw only calculation in this.

She bowed slightly, said goodbye, and left the Cining Palace with the palace maids.

Outside the palace gate, the pale-faced Prince Xuanping, wearing a cold cloak, was looking forward to seeing who was Concubine Shu. When he saw that the person who came out was Concubine Dowager Shu, a hint of disappointment flashed across his face.

His anxious eyes were filled with uneasiness, and his brows were slightly furrowed. After Concubine Shu stepped out of the palace gate, he bowed and said, "Greetings, Concubine Shu."

The Crown Prince's wife, Mrs. Wu, who was standing beside him, bowed and made a flattering gesture with an expression of wanting to say something but stopping herself from saying it.

Concubine Shu nodded slightly without responding. With the help of the palace servants, she stepped onto the sedan chair waiting on the side.

Speaking of which, according to seniority, the Prince of Xuanping should call her aunt.

Princess Changning's eldest son was of high status but weak in body, and his mother doted on him very much, so most of his peers kept their distance from him.

Xiaowu has been gentle and steady since childhood. I did talk to him a few times when I was young, but we were just nodding acquaintances.

Watching the Shu Taifei's sedan chair go away, Wu's eyes revealed a trace of doubt. She took Xie Yongan's arm and asked softly beside him, "My Lord, why don't you ask the Shu Taifei for mercy?"

If my grandfather, the Duke of Pei, were still alive, and with the friendship he had with the Duke, he might be able to ask for help from the Fifth Master of the Jiang Family.

It’s just that in recent years, my mother-in-law, Princess Changning, has been too proud, and the noble families in Shengjing City have all kept their distance from this disaster.

Even the Empress Dowager in the palace and my mother-in-law's cousin from the same clan seemed to be planning to give up the Xuanping Marquis Mansion.

They had been delivering invitations to the Cining Palace for several days in a row, but they had never entered the door before.

Not to mention seeing the Empress Dowager and telling her what he wanted.

Xie Yongan covered his mouth and coughed twice. His face became paler, his voice became hoarse, and his eyes were full of resentment:

"Jiang Nansheng, the Minister of the Dali Temple, is the younger brother of Concubine Shu. Would she destroy her own brother? Besides, the second daughter that Xie Yichen married is Jiang Nansheng's mother-in-law!"

Asking him to seek help from the Jiang family would be like handing his face over to that bastard Xie Yichen!

When Wu saw a palace servant coming out of the palace, she showed an anxious look on her face. She stood by the doorpost and said in a flattering tone, "Eunuch Wang, does your aunt have time to summon the prince?"

There was a hint of expectation in his eyes as he looked at the eunuch.

Wang Quan bowed and said, "My Lord, Madam, please go back... The Empress Dowager has not recovered from her headache and is in poor health. She has not seen anyone in recent days."

Others? Xie Yongan wanted to say that the Empress Dowager and his mother were cousins ​​and were his aunts!

Just as he was about to speak, a white shadow flashed before his eyes and he couldn't help but take a step back.

Wang Quan swung the whisk in his hand, which drew a semicircular arc in the air and landed on his bent arm.

The vermilion palace gate moved slowly and closed tightly with a muffled "clang".

The sunlight in front of my eyes was completely blocked, tightly, without a single gap.

The Marquis of Xuanping's son and his wife were instantly shrouded in a thick shadow, as if they were in an ice cellar.

The whole body was filled with a biting coldness, which seemed to penetrate the bone marrow and make people shudder.

Wu looked at her husband helplessly, her eyes full of panic, her voice trembling: "My Lord, what should I do?"

If the Empress Dowager stands aside and watches, not only will the safety of my mother-in-law be in jeopardy, but the Crown Prince will also be in danger...

Xie Yongan lowered his head and coughed violently a few times, and the sound was as if his internal organs were about to shift.

He said bitterly: "In the past, I only dared to say behind the back that there was no successor to the Xuanping Marquis Mansion... Now, I'm afraid I'm thinking of clinging to the high branch of that bastard Xie Yichen!"

It is so difficult to say this sentence, as if I am about to die.

Wu covered his mouth with a handkerchief, looked around, and said cautiously: "My husband, you can just say this at home, but there are Jinyiwei people everywhere in the palace. What if... someone hears it, what will happen!"

Xie Yongan pushed her away, his face was pale with a bluish tint, and distorted with emotion, like a demon.

He glared at Wu and growled in a low voice, "It's because your stomach is not doing well. The Marquis's Mansion has given you so many tonics over the years, but you can't even give birth to a boy or a girl!"

Wang Quan, who was on the other side of the palace gate, heard everything Xie Yongan and Wu said clearly.

He looked at the tightly closed palace gate, a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes, and shook his head slightly.

Since you can walk to the gate of Cining Palace but don’t even dare to step over this threshold, why would the Queen Mother save you, a family of losers!

The Empress Dowager was sitting on the Luohan bed. When she saw Wang Quan coming in, she asked him, "Did you send the people away?"

Wang Quan walked forward, knelt at his master's feet, tapped her calf lightly, and replied:

"...I will tell the prince that you have not been seeing outsiders in recent days." He then told his master everything that Xie Yongan and Wu had said.

The Queen Mother did not show much surprise after hearing this. She sneered and said, "A loving mother often spoils her child!"

Wang Quan thought of something and asked in a low voice: "Master, although the prince of Xuanping Marquis sent you a letter, you have never responded... How did the couple enter the harem?"

After all, the palace where the Empress Dowager and Concubine Shu lived now was very different from the harem when the late emperor was alive. If they wanted to visit them, the process would be more complicated.

The Queen Mother changed her posture and leaned back: "Right now, the court and the harem are like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing their magical powers. We should just close the door and wait for the show!"

After the carriage of Marquis Xuanping left the palace and returned to the mansion, it passed by Mingxiang Pavilion on Chunxi Road.

Mingxiang Pavilion was once the property of the Zhou family. After the Zhou family members were beheaded, Mingxiang Pavilion not only did not close down, but remained the best-performing teahouse in Chunxi Road.

Many people speculated that the current owner of Mingxiang Pavilion was the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Lord Qin Lang.

Since ancient times, there has been an unwritten rule that the emperor would order his subjects to search the homes of guilty officials to confiscate their property, which was a way to give the subjects certain "benefits".

After Zhao Xu's gang was arrested and executed, the people responsible for confiscating their property were not the Dali Temple that investigated the case, but the Jinyiwei who were directly authorized by the emperor.

This is also the reason why everyone is speculating like this, and it also makes Mingxiang Pavilion's business better than before.

Jiang Nanhuai and his colleagues from the Ministry of Works sat in a secluded place on the first floor. During the period of national mourning, they were not allowed to drink and have fun, and the nobles who were drinking tea also spoke much more politely.

At this time, the teahouse was filled with a faint tea fragrance, and the warm atmosphere formed a sharp contrast with the cold outside.

When they saw a green-curtained carriage with the logo of the Marquis Xuanping's mansion passing by, someone said, "This is the fifth consecutive day that the Marquis Xuanping's son has come out from the direction of the palace."

The person opposite him lowered his voice and said, "If I were Xie Yongan, I would voluntarily give up the position of the crown prince, and perhaps I could protect Princess Changning."

The colleague beside Jiang Nanhuai shook his head, "No, no." He looked at Jiang Nanhuai and asked, "Young Master, if your brothers want your hereditary title, will you give it to them?"