bookrandom Chapter 124: Relegated to limbo
Chapter 124: Relegated to limbo
Now that Li Xuansheng had said this, Lu Qingqing simply thought, she had arranged in advance for Xu Minger to have a rash on her face, so she might as well take this opportunity to let Li Xuansheng see it with his own eyes.
Lu Qingqing smiled with curved eyebrows and pulled Li Xuansheng's sleeve like a spoiled child.
"Your Majesty, why don't you go and see Miss Xu in person? There may be something missing in this blood letter, so why not let Miss Xu explain it to you in person?"
"Besides, you can also comfort the Xu sisters after you go there."
Li Xuansheng thought about it for a moment and felt that what Lu Qingqing said made sense, so he agreed to her.
Taking advantage of the convoy's lunch break, he and Lu Qingqing got off the imperial carriage and walked towards the carriage of the Xu official's daughter.
At this time, the two sisters of the Xu family had been waiting in the carriage for a long time.
After Meng Qi left last night, Xu Ming'er immediately asked the accompanying imperial chef for a few more yams, saying that the pig blood cake was not enough for him and he needed a few more yams to fill his stomach.
Most of the concubines in the palace were frugal in their diet and wanted to maintain a slim figure. Although the imperial chef did not understand what the Xu official did, he still readily gave the yam to her.
Xu Ming'er washed the mud off the yam, scraped off the yam skin, mashed it into a fine paste and applied it evenly on his face. After a while, a dense red rash appeared on his face.
She endured the pain and itchiness on her face as she got on the carriage. When she couldn't bear it any longer, she poured some cold tea on a silk cloth and applied it to it. She didn't dare to use any medicine over fire, for fear that Li Xuansheng would not see her rash after he came.
Xu Yue'er was holding a bronze mirror and letting Xu Ming'er look at herself in the mirror.
Great! His face was red and swollen as if he had been stung by a bee! Xu Ming'er grinned contentedly.
When she was immersed in her masterpiece, she suddenly heard the voice of eunuch He Qing outside the carriage.
"The Emperor has arrived! Miss Xu, please get out of the carriage and meet him!"
Xu Ming'er's eyes lit up, he looked at Xu Yue'er and nodded.
She knew that her efforts were not in vain, Lu Qingqing really brought the emperor here!
Before getting off the carriage, she quickly adjusted her facial expression in front of the bronze mirror, put on a bitter look, and got off the carriage reluctantly.
"Your Majesty, your servant Xu Ming'er pays respect to His Majesty."
After Li Xuansheng ordered her to stand up, Xu Ming'er still kept her head down, raised her wide sleeves to cover her face, and did not dare to look directly at the emperor.
Li Xuansheng looked at her strangely and asked, "Xu Ming'er, what's wrong with you? Why don't you dare to see me?"
Xu Ming'er slowly raised his eyes, looked at Li Xuansheng, then looked at Lu Qingqing who was standing next to Li Xuansheng, and then slowly put down his wide sleeves.
The face behind the sleeves surprised Li Xuansheng.
Xu Ming'er's former heroic spirit and charm were gone. Her face was red and swollen, and covered with many small blisters, which looked like the symptoms of a rash.
Li Xuansheng frowned, feeling that the scene in front of him was somewhat familiar. He suddenly recalled the signs of a rash on his face at that time.
That was because he drank too much at night and hugged Lu Qingqing, who was wearing a Rhodiola rosea costume, and kissed her fiercely, which caused the rash to appear as a reaction to the alcohol.
And this Rhodiola palace costume was made by Zhao Rongyuan.
Before Li Xuansheng could continue speaking, Lu Qingqing exclaimed and hurried forward to show concern.
"Hey, Miss Xu, what happened to you? Why is your face so swollen?"
Xu Ming'er pretended to sob a few times, lowered her head, and used the handkerchief in her hand to wipe away the tears that did not flow.
"Alas, I have consulted the imperial physician, and he said that I am suffering from acclimatization, which is why I have the rash."
Lu Qingqing carefully examined the rash on Xu Minger's face. The closer she looked, the more shocking it became. She then said:
"Don't worry, Miss Xu. I also had a rash before. The emperor prepared a bottle of jade cream for me. After using it, my skin will be restored to its original state. I will order the palace maid to find it and give it to you."
After Lu Qingqing reminded him again, Li Xuansheng realized that Lu Qingqing also had a rash at that time, and her face must have been as bad as before.
However, when Lu Qingqing went to see patients, she always covered her face with a silk scarf so that he couldn't see her. She also said that she was worried that he would be disgusted with her after seeing her.
This time, he saw with his own eyes how damaging the rash could be to a woman's appearance. He was suddenly shocked and realized that Zhao Rongyuan had caused great harm to Lu Qingqing by using Rhodiola rosea juice!
At this point, Li Xuansheng's opinion of Zhao Rongyuan gradually wavered.
The Zhao family was plotting a rebellion, and preserving Zhao Rongyuan's status as a concubine might be too light a punishment. If Prince Jing's investigation into the blood letter is true, then Zhao Rongyuan must be judged.
Li Xuansheng looked at the miserable state of Xu Minger's face. Although he felt distressed, he was not heartbroken. He comforted her with a few words and then pulled Lu Qingqing back to the imperial carriage.
As soon as they entered the carriage, he pulled her into his arms without saying anything, holding Lu Qingqing's slender and soft body tightly in his big hands, and murmured:
"Qingqing, I failed to protect you."
"After seeing the condition of the Xu official's daughter today, I finally realized how severe your rash was at that time."
Lu Qingqing was very surprised by his hug.
She didn't expect that it had been so long since she had the rash, and now she could still get Li Xuansheng's belated apology.
But in this matter, she doesn't blame Li Xuansheng, it doesn't matter whether he apologizes or not.
Lu Qingqing gently stroked Li Xuansheng's broad back as if comforting a child, and lightly touched his cheek with her soft lips.
"Your Majesty, your words are too serious. This matter has already passed, and I do not wish to delve into it further."
"Just don't let the Xuguan girl suffer any injustice."
…………
On the way back, the convoy sped all the way, much faster than when it set out, and soon returned to the palace.
The first thing Li Xuansheng did when he returned to the palace was to place the empress dowager under house arrest in the Cining Palace.
He personally dispatched a team of imperial guards to strictly guard the entrance and exit of the Cining Palace, completely cutting off any contact between Fang Kexin and the outside world.
He ignored Fang Kexin even though she went crazy and roared in the Cining Palace every day.
The second thing is to deal with Zhao Rongyuan.
When Zhao Rongyuan first returned to the palace, she walked towards Xianfu Palace where she used to live.
But when he was halfway there, he was stopped by the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department.
"My Lady Shufei, oh no, now I should call you Lady Zhao."
"You can't live in Xianfu Palace. With your current status, you can only live in Chuxiu Palace, living with the other two beauties."
"What?" Zhao Rongyuan exclaimed.
She stared in disbelief at the head of the Imperial Household Department who always bowed and noded to her.
He sneered in his heart.
It is true that a phoenix in poverty is worse than a chicken. If she is not allowed to live in Xianfu Palace, then she can just stay there. Even a eunuch dares to mock her!
She was about to yell a few words but was interrupted by a sudden imperial decree.
The person who announced the decree was He Qing.
When Zhao Rongyuan saw that the eunuch who came to announce the decree was the chief eunuch in front of the emperor, her eyes immediately lit up. She thought she saw hope. It must be Li Xuansheng who ordered her to protect her!
He knelt down arrogantly to receive the order.
He Qing cleared his throat.
"The beauty Zhao Rongyuan of the Zhao family has disregarded the palace rules and behaved improperly. She will be immediately stripped of her status as a concubine and banished to the cold palace!"