bookrandom Chapter 534 Intention to Surrender
Chapter 534 Intention to Surrender
"The Queen..."
After seeing Sun Zhuxi off, Jianqiu looked at the Empress with a worried expression, her face filled with deep sorrow and resentment, and her heart skipped a beat.
In fact, after Sun Zhuxi came to convey the Empress Dowager's decree, indicating that Consort Qi would be severely punished, Jianqiu, who was listening to the Empress Dowager's decree, immediately felt a chill for the Empress.
As is widely known, Consort Qi, of the Guarjia clan, was able to enter the palace entirely because of the Empress's behind-the-scenes efforts.
The reason for this was simply that the Empress believed that Zhen Huan, An Lingrong, and others in the palace were too powerful, and that she could not possibly contend with them on her own.
Just then, the Guarjia clan spread the word, hoping to obtain the assistance of a noble person in the palace to ensure their daughter's smooth path to advancement.
The Empress had intended this all along, and was naturally delighted with the message conveyed by the Guarjia clan.
Thus, the two sides quickly reached an agreement, which led to the entry of Lady Guarjia into the palace.
Unfortunately, although this Guarjia woman was beautiful, she was not very intelligent.
She hadn't been in the palace for long, yet she had been making enemies for no reason. Now she had directly offended the Empress Dowager, which was tantamount to ruining her future in the harem!
"what happened?"
The Empress was unaware of Jianqiu's thoughts. Suddenly, she heard Jianqiu asking her in a worried tone, and she realized that she had lost her composure. She then instantly regained her usual calm expression.
"It's nothing..." Jianqiu naturally couldn't say that she was worried about the Empress, so she changed her tone and asked with concern, "Your Majesty, should we ask Consort Qi to come over?"
"Hehe, Consort Qi?"
Upon hearing this, the Empress gave a cold laugh and then said, "I'm afraid that after this, she may not be able to keep her title of Noble Lady!"
At present, the Empress Dowager is furious because Shen Meizhuang was insulted by Consort Qi.
This was not only because the Empress Dowager had always favored Shen Meizhuang, but also because Shen Meizhuang was under her protection, a fact known to everyone in the palace.
Consort Qi's actions were tantamount to a severe slap in the face to the Empress Dowager!
If the Empress Dowager remains unmoved, the sun will rise in the east!
The Empress knew that Emperor Yongzheng had visited Shou Kang Palace before.
Even after the emperor's visit, the empress dowager still issued the same decree, but it conveyed two different messages.
Firstly, the emperor probably had no intention of protecting Consort Qi, otherwise he would have argued with the Empress Dowager and prevented the decree from being issued.
Secondly, even if the emperor were to intervene, the empress dowager would absolutely not let it go easily.
Therefore, the Empress Dowager's decree, which seemed to confine Consort Qi to Jingren Palace for her own education, was actually a counterattack against her, and also meant that this was only the beginning.
"It would be naive to think that things have settled down."
After giving Jianqiu a deep look, the Empress pondered for a while before saying, "Tomorrow, let Consort Qi stay behind alone. As for Guarjia... send her to a side hall and let her stay there. If she doesn't quiet down, then let her have some 'quiet' time."
The Empress deliberately emphasized the word "quiet," clearly telling Jianqiu that if Guarjia clan members were not obedient, they could be severely punished.
After all, if the Empress Dowager had followed her original plan, she would have banished him to the Cold Palace instead of letting him continue to cause trouble in the harem.
"Yes, the servant knows."
Jianqiu, after all, had been a palace maid who had served the Empress for many years, and had seen many people and things over the years.
Although her master had only given a few words of instruction, Jianqiu instantly understood the deeper meaning.
……
The next morning, An Lingrong and the others went to greet the Empress as usual.
The Empress did not show anything unusual at the morning meeting, and at the same time, she did not mention Consort Qi, who was absent.
In any case, the Empress Dowager's decree had already been issued to the six palaces, and everyone was well aware of what had happened last night.
But now that the Empress is keeping quiet, no one dares to bring it up for the time being.
Although An Lingrong was not afraid of the other party, there was no need to add fuel to the fire at this time, so she simply chose to remain silent.
"Alright, nothing serious, everyone go back and get some rest."
Seeing that everyone had been sitting in Jingren Palace for quite some time and had even drunk three cups of tea, the Empress finally spoke up to release the people.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!"
Upon receiving the Empress's order, many concubines secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Yesterday, news of the Empress Dowager's fury spread like wildfire. They thought they had stumbled upon some earth-shattering gossip and were secretly delighted.
But then I thought, the Empress has already lost face in front of the Empress Dowager. If I come here today to pay my respects to the Empress and unfortunately run into her wrath, wouldn't that be a terrible fate?
Fortunately, the empress did not lose her mind and did not launch an indiscriminate attack.
This made the concubines, who were already feeling extremely uncomfortable, secretly relax, but also strengthened their resolve to leave Jingren Palace as soon as possible.
"Your Highness, Consort Yi!"
Just as An Lingrong stepped out of the gate of Jingren Palace, she heard a call coming from behind her.
Turning her head, An Lingrong discovered that the person calling her was actually Chun Changzai.
Counting the days, although they often met in the Empress's palace, they had zero communication and zero contact.
When the other party came knocking on her door, An Lingrong couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.
"So it was Consort Chun."
Nodding to Consort Chun, An Lingrong continued walking out of the palace without stopping.
Fang Ruo supported An Lingrong from the side, feeling somewhat worried.
It was no secret in the palace that Consort Chun was the Empress's person.
The other party's sudden approach to An Lingrong probably doesn't have any good intentions.
"Your Majesty, I have not paid my respects to you for many days. Is today a convenient day?"
Chun Changzai still looks like a young girl, but her speech no longer has the coquettishness and innocence she had when she first entered the palace.
Clearly, life under the Empress was not easy. After being disciplined by the Empress, Consort Chun became increasingly aware of the cruelty and treachery of the power struggles within the harem.
Chun Changzai came to see An Lingrong today. Fang Ruo thought that she probably had ill intentions, but in fact she was not acting on the Empress's orders, but rather had some of her own "ideas".
Man proposes, God disposes!
If one does not fight for oneself, wouldn't one just waste one's life facing those red bricks and green tiles in this palace?
Therefore, when Consort Qi was punished by the Empress Dowager, Consort Chun felt that she also saw a glimmer of opportunity approaching her.
Whether or not one can seize this opportunity depends not only on their own efforts, but also on An Lingrong.
"Oh?"
Seeing the other person's eager gaze, An Lingrong couldn't help but laugh.
This Consort Chun is really bold these days.
They hadn't even left the area of Jingren Palace yet, but Consort Chun dared to stop them and say such things.
Is he really not afraid that the Empress will find out about this?
Or did Chun Chang have other ideas behind this move?