In the side palace hall, Su Pan’er was not asleep.
As soon as Qin Yi left, her eyes opened, staring into the void, deep in thought.
By her side, Little Yanyan and Little Sugar Bean were already asleep. Little Sugar Bean was nestled close to Su Pan’er’s chest, her little mouth twitching from ti to ti, looking incredibly adorable.
Little Yanyan, on the other hand, clung to Su Pan’er’s other arm, unwilling to let go even in her sleep. The slightest noise would cause her to imdiately open her eyes, which pained Su Pan’er to see.
It seed that the incident that had befallen her had indeed terrified the girl!
"Mother..."
Suddenly, Little Yanyan called out to her, prompting Su Pan’er to imdiately turn her head, only to see that Little Yanyan was still asleep, not awakened.
The sight filled Su Pan’er with a mixture of emotions. She hurriedly began to pat her back, coaxing her back to sleep.
She also humd a lullaby from her mory to comfort her, "Big moon, little moon, brother is upstairs weaving bamboo, sister-in-law is pounding glutinous rice in front of the house, the child cries, the dog bites, the envious cat is here again... winnowing the rice, sifting a sheng for Nanjing, a dou for the west exit..."
As she sang, Su Pan’er also drifted off to sleep.
While Su Pan’er sang the lullaby, Qin Yi had already arrived outside the side palace hall.
He dismissed his attendants, stopped the eunuchs from greeting him, and listened to the lody coming from inside. He leaned against the pillar, gazing into the void. Only when the lody inside gradually lowered and finally faded to silence did he gently step over the screen embroidered with grand vistas.
He made his steps light, approaching the bed unnoticed, looking at the mother and daughters lying in a row.
This was his beloved woman and his two daughters—one was the woman he cherished most, and in the other two flowed the shared bloodline of himself and his most beloved.
But now...
Qin Yi thought of everything Jiu Lan had reported to him, and his hands involuntarily clenched into fists. It must have been related to the won who had been secretly introduced into his Imperial Harem’s Palace that he knew nothing about?
As Qin Yi pondered this, his mind beca a whirl of confusion.
He could no longer sit still, so he stood up after looking at the mother and daughters for a mont, then walked out of the side palace hall with hands clasped behind his back and quick steps.
"Soone co!"
Leaving the side palace hall, Qin Yi eagerly summoned a eunuch, "Go and invite Old General Cheng here. Tell him His Majesty has urgent matters to discuss."
The eunuch left swiftly, and Old Cheng arrived just as quickly.
Rushing over, Old Cheng imdiately kowtowed, "Your Majesty, is there news from Huainan Prefecture?"
Old Cheng was anxious, but Qin Yi was not.
He frowned and waited with a cold gaze, a situation unprecedented! Old Cheng’s expression of eagerness slowly eased as he cautiously weighed his words, "Your Majesty, has sothing happened?"
"It’s not a big issue," Qin Yi said.
How dare soone use his na to expand the Imperial Harem!
That took nerve indeed!
But to Qin Yi, Old Cheng was not just a ntor but also a friend. During his darkest tis, Old Cheng had taken him as a disciple, not only imparting all his knowledge but also actively assisted him in establishing this fine land and kingdom...
Pondering these thoughts, the words Qin Yi wanted to say didn’t co out.
"Your Majesty? Do you... do you have sothing on your mind?"
Old Cheng leaned in with a solemn look.
"Not at all."
Qin Yi turned around and sat down in the chair, creating a distance between them.
"Cough cough! Old Cheng, I heard today that there are quite a few won in my Imperial Harem’s Palace. Do you know what this is about?"
His serious appearance made Old Cheng sowhat uncomfortable.
"Is Your Majesty referring to the concubines left by the late emperor? They entered the palace at a young age, and now, with the late emperor’s passing, I..."
"Do not try to twist my words intentionally!"
The anger brewing inside Qin Yi finally erupted!
"Speak! Are those won in my harem placed there by you? Old General Cheng, how audacious you are! To deceive your sovereign, do you know your cri!"
Disaster!
The mont Old Cheng heard this, he realized he could no longer deceive him, stopped trying to defend himself, and instead fell to the ground in prostration.
"This servant is guilty! This servant deserves death! But the reason this old servant did this was also for the sake of our land and kingdom, for the balance of the court, and even more so for Your Majesty! Please, Your Majesty, spare this old man this once in consideration of my advanced age and frail health! Your Majesty..." Old Cheng cried out with tears streaming down, sobbing ceaselessly.
"You still dare to argue!"
Qin Yi was furiously enraged!
With a sweep of his sleeve, he said, "Do you think I dare not take action against you? Is that why you were so reckless? You need not say anything more, you go imdiately and get rid of those won. Before dawn, I do not wish to see those shaless won in this Imperial Palace!"
"To report to His Majesty, aside from the Empress, the won in the Imperial Harem’s Palace are either daughters of Princes and Ministers, or those recomnded by ritorious officials, all with decent looks and virtues, kindness and good manners, each one a paragon among won, capable of bearing the heavy responsibility of raising princes and princesses..."
"Enough!"
Qin Yi had no mood to let him continue and cut him off directly, "According to what you say, the one who least fits your criteria in the entire Imperial Palace must be none other than myself. Are you suggesting I should take action personally?"
"Your Majesty, you mustn’t! Please hear out."
Old Cheng hurriedly argued, "Your Majesty, if you think about it carefully, you were able to conquer Xiangyang City and gain the support of financial, human, and material resources. This support was inseparable from the backing of several forces. At the very beginning, why do you think those forces agreed to support Your Majesty? Your Majesty, haven’t you ever suspected the reason behind it?"
Suspect, how could he not have suspected!
However, while he knew the reason behind the sudden eagerness of those forces due to the expectations of the world, he never took it to heart. Only now did he realize that there were so many intricacies involved.
"Old Cheng, are you purposely making things difficult for ?"
Qin Yi extended his palm and fiercely patted the dragon desk, "How Pan’er and I ca to be where we are now, you should be the clearest about it. And now you are doing this, sorry, I cannot do it!"
"Your Majesty, you haven’t understood my intentions."
Old Cheng suddenly beca eager, "By accepting these won, you can not only replenish the Imperial Harem’s Palace but also use this matter to balance the powers. Most importantly..."
Old Cheng suddenly leaned in close to Qin Yi and whispered, "Your Majesty, don’t you wish to shift the positions of those few individuals in the court, and use the joyous occasion to gradually eliminate them as planned? You see..."
He looked into Qin Yi’s eyes.
Qin Yi glared back with eyes wide open, his stare fierce.
Old Cheng’s face bore a slight smile, showing no fear whatsoever.
"Your Majesty, there’s also the most important point. These won have been living in the tents behind for quite so ti now. Who would believe they are all innocent?"
Those won entered the palace rely as pawns between the families and His Majesty—re pawns, long since betrayed by their own kin, who would care about the life and death of those won.
Reviews
All reviews (0)