met free Chapter 816 [Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace 6]
Chapter 816 [Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace 6]
Time flies, and six years have passed in a blink of an eye. One morning, the sun shines through the mottled leaves into the courtyard, and the voices of people paying respects to the concubine rang out one after another. At this seemingly ordinary moment, an unexpected news exploded like thunder - Xiyue was actually named a concubine!
However, before people could recover from this shocking news, another piece of bad news came: the emperor had passed away! This sudden change shocked everyone, and for a moment the entire mansion fell into a dead silence.
At the same time, Hongli naturally inherited the throne. But who would have thought that the late emperor left a will before his death, claiming that he and the empress would never see each other again in this life. Therefore, as the empress, she was unable to attend the funeral of Emperor Yongzheng, which was undoubtedly a heavy blow to her. The grief-stricken empress could only be trapped in Jingren Palace, crying, and endless pain tortured her broken heart.
Just when the queen was in deep despair, the maid beside her suddenly said, "Your Majesty, your only chance to leave Jingren Palace may have come." These words were like a ray of light in the darkness, instantly igniting the almost extinguished fire of hope in the queen's heart.
On the other side, the newly enthroned emperor was meeting with ministers in the court. One of the ministers stood up and solemnly pointed out that according to the ancestral rules, Jingren Palace, as the emperor's legal mother, should be honored as the Queen Mother Empress Dowager; and Concubine Xi, as the emperor's biological mother, should be honored as the Holy Mother Empress Dowager. As soon as this statement came out, the court immediately discussed it.
Faced with such a thorny problem, the emperor pondered for a moment and said that the matter still needed to be carefully considered. Just when the emperor was worried about this, Qingying thoughtfully brought him a bowl of sweet and delicious almond juice. Seeing that the emperor was frowning, Qingying asked softly the reason. The emperor then told her the difficult question of whether to lift the Jingren Palace confinement order. Qingying gently comforted the emperor and said: "Your Majesty, this is a dilemma, but you don't have to embarrass yourself too much. No matter what choice you make, I will always be by your side."
At this moment, Concubine Xi was also troubled by this matter. After careful consideration, she decided to hold back for the time being and observe the emperor's attitude and thoughts before making any plans. After all, in this game of power and family affection, every move is crucial, and the slightest mistake may lead to a complete loss.
Qingying carefully brought a bowl of steaming, fragrant ham and chicken soup to Concubine Xi's bedroom. She had carefully prepared this bowl of soup for a long time, and she was expecting Concubine Xi's praise. However, when Concubine Xi saw the bowl of soup, her face suddenly darkened.
"Why should we use such a strong-flavored ham to complement a good chicken soup? It simply overshadows the main dish!" Concubine Xi frowned and said, "When two things are stewed together, there should be a distinction between high and low priority. If you want to give equal importance to them, it will only ruin the original taste." After that, she placed the teacup in her hand heavily on the table, making a crisp sound.
Qingying turned pale with fright and knelt down hurriedly to apologize: "Your Majesty, please calm down. It was all my fault for not thinking it through. Please forgive me." At this moment, she was still holding the bowl of boiling soup in both hands. Her palms were burned and painful, but she didn't dare to let go and could only endure the pain.
At this time, Hongli heard that Qingying was punished here, and he was very distressed, so he quickly sent someone to bring the best burn medicine. Qingying was grateful and full of respect and love for Hongli.
On the other hand, Ulanara, who was trapped in the palace, also learned that Qingying was suffering. She was extremely anxious, knowing that only by relying on Qingying could she get herself out of trouble. So, she personally found Qingying and begged bitterly: "Qingying, for the sake of our same clan, please help me. As long as the emperor can let me go, even if it is just to let me go to the temporary palace as the queen mother to spend my remaining years. The emperor and I are husband and wife, and I really don't want to be separated from him like this. Moreover, in order to be able to depend on the emperor for life and death, I must fight for this status no matter what!"
Qingying looked at her aunt with tears on her face, and she couldn't help but feel sad. In the end, she agreed to Ulanara's request and decided to go to the emperor to ask him to show some mercy.
When Qingying conveyed Ulanara's wish to the emperor, the emperor fell into deep thought. On the one hand, he thought of the years of love between him and Ulanara; on the other hand, he was worried that this move would cause dissatisfaction among the people in the harem. After weighing the pros and cons, the emperor finally nodded and agreed, saying that Ulanara could go to the temporary palace to live as the empress dowager.
However, this matter soon reached the ears of Concubine Xi. Concubine Xi was furious when she heard it. She thought, if Ulanara became the empress dowager, wouldn't she be suppressed in everything? The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She was sure that this idea must have come from Qingying, so she immediately ordered Qingying to come to see her the next day.
Concubine Xi slowly pulled out a bottle of poison with a strange smell from her sleeve with a gloomy face. The bottle flashed with a frightening cold light. She stared at the front with a sharp gaze and said coldly: "If you want to save the Jingren Palace, you have to sacrifice yourself." Then, she emphasized: "After the funeral of the late emperor is over, you must end your life, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless! Moreover, only one of you and your aunt can survive."
Hearing this, Qingying's body trembled violently, and her face turned pale as paper in an instant, but she still suppressed her inner fear, raised her head and looked directly at Concubine Xi, and asked with a slightly trembling voice: "If I choose to end my life, can I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and allow my aunt to be buried with the late emperor?"
Concubine Xi narrowed her eyes slightly and was silent for a moment before she answered: "As long as she lives the rest of her life in the palace honestly and law-abidingly, and does not cause any trouble again, I can allow her to be buried with the late emperor. However... it is just a joint burial, and there is no official status to speak of." After that, she added coldly: "There is another point you must remember. If the emperor knows about this, he will definitely not forgive your aunt. When that happens, don't blame me for not reminding you in advance."
Qingying bit her lip, a trace of determination flashed in her eyes, she nodded slightly and replied: "Thank you for your grace, Concubine Xi, I understand." Then she bowed and turned to leave.
After leaving the palace, Qingying hurriedly walked towards the Yangxin Palace. Entering the palace, she saw the emperor sitting at the desk, concentrating on handling government affairs. Seeing Qingying coming, the emperor put down the red brush in his hand, smiled and stood up to greet her.
Qingying walked forward, bowed, and said softly, "Your Highness." The emperor quickly reached out his hand to help her up, saying gently, "Get up quickly, no need to be so polite."
The two sat opposite each other, and there was silence for a while. In the end, Qingying was the first to break the deadlock. She looked up at the emperor, her eyes revealing deep attachment and reluctance, and slowly said: "Your Majesty, do you still remember the first time we met? At that time, I was young and ignorant, full of curiosity about everything..." As she spoke, her thoughts seemed to return to the distant past, and a gentle smile appeared on her face involuntarily.
The emperor listened quietly to Qingying's story of their past, and his heart was filled with emotion. He held Qingying's hand and responded affectionately: "Of course I remember, I will never forget those good times."
Qingying smiled slightly and continued, "The situation is so complicated now. I know that the emperor has many difficulties. In order to take into account the feelings of the Empress Dowager, I am afraid that I need to take my time to settle my aunt. I believe that the emperor will handle all this properly."
The emperor nodded and consoled her: "Don't worry, my beloved concubine. I will consider it carefully. But for now, we can only move your aunt to the old palace in Shengjing. When the time is right, we will make further arrangements."
Qingying heard this, a hint of disappointment flashed across her eyes, but she quickly recovered. She stood up again, bowed deeply to the emperor, and said softly: "In this case, I will take my leave first. In the future, even if I cannot come to greet the emperor every day, I will pray silently in my heart, praying that God will bless the emperor with good health and everything will go well."
The emperor gazed at Qingying's back as she walked away, his heart filled with pity and reluctance.