jdhmnovel Chapter 536: National Prosperity
Chapter 536: National Prosperity
Concubine Jing opened her red lips slightly and advised gently.
"Empress Hua, the children are still young, and they must be exhausted from the long journey. Why don't you just listen to the Emperor and go have a vegetarian meal first?"
Concubine Hua paused slightly, turned sideways and met Hongyao's pitiful eyes.
"Mother Hua, I see that Sister Anle is also hungry. Why don't we go have some vegetarian food first?"
Since Concubine Hua had Anle, she could not refuse most of the requests for children.
"That's fine..."
Before he could utter the word "bar", he was interrupted by a sudden greeting.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to all the ladies!"
A group of officials' wives in gorgeous clothes came in a mighty procession. An Lingrong keenly identified three of them as the wives of the censors.
Today is an auspicious day for traveling and praying. The emperor did not expect that the wives of officials in the capital would also come to Ganlu Temple to worship Buddha.
He knew there was doubt, but he still spoke with authority.
"Be flat."
The little nun kneeling on the ground looked at the crowd and suddenly screamed like crazy.
"Your Majesty, I truly did not lie. Concubine Hua did indeed offer you a tablet of Liansheng in the meditation room. Please understand!"
Although there were many female relatives standing together, An Lingrong still caught a glimpse of the gourd jade pendant that flashed in the hand of one of the officials' wives.
She silently memorized the other person's face in her heart.
It’s over! It's all over now!
Mo Yan, who had just stood up, was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a thud.
"Mingxin has a high fever and is confused. I didn't mean to disturb you all. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
At this moment, a silver-haired old lady stepped forward and shouted loudly.
"Your Majesty, this matter concerns your safety. I implore Your Majesty to investigate in detail."
The old lady didn't even dare to look at Concubine Hua. Her family was unfortunate and her only precious grandson was being held by others. She dared not disobey.
If the Nian family is convicted for this, then it will be their fate.
As an elder, the old lady put invisible pressure on the emperor.
He pondered for a moment and replied with a serious face.
"Aunt, I know how to handle this matter. But having come all the way from the palace today, the young prince and princess are a little overwhelmed. Let's go have a vegetarian meal first."
The emperor paused and added.
"I will send someone to guard the meditation room. It won't be too late to come back later."
"I, your Majesty, naturally believe in you, but..."
The old lady looked at Concubine Hua hesitantly, obviously worried.
When Concubine Hua saw this, her anger was instantly ignited.
"Your Majesty, since so many people are interested in the Zen room where I once lived, why not investigate it now? So that no one will be disappointed!"
"Empress Hua, you..."
"Your Majesty, I will lead the way."
Concubine Hua finally understood that she had to let this group of people see the things in the meditation room now.
Otherwise, after a vegetarian meal, who knows what rumors will spread.
Even the emperor was troubled by the rumors outside the palace, let alone the Nian family, which had long been declining.
Her daughter Anle absolutely cannot allow anyone to point fingers at her behind her back.
At Concubine Hua's insistence, the emperor stepped into the yard with a solemn expression.
Mingxin got up from the ground, bent down and pushed open the door of the east meditation room.
"Your Majesty, when I was cleaning, I accidentally..."
Mingxin raised her eyelids and saw the red "Yanshengluwei" (Yanshengluwei). She pointed her finger towards it with trembling hands.
"That's impossible! Why is it a red tablet?"
Su Peisheng, who had long noticed his master's intention to protect Concubine Hua, scolded him loudly.
"The nun from Ganlu Temple is so dishonest that she openly curses the Emperor and slanders Concubine Hua. You still refuse to tell the truth. Who is behind this?"
"I...I saw it with my own eyes. The tablet that was placed on the incense table was clearly not this color..."
Mingxin was panicked and kept muttering about the existence of the yellow tablet.
An Lingrong inadvertently caught a glimpse of Zhen Huan and her servant quietly moving towards the corner. A hint of amusement flashed in her eyes, and then she looked away.
She took a step forward and directly called Mo Yan's name.
"Master Abbot, what is the origin of this Mingxin?"
"To your Majesty, Mingxin is a poor woman who was rescued from the suburbs by the previous abbot."
Mo Yan didn't dare to answer dishonestly.
She tried hard to recall the information related to Mingxin, but found that the information she had was pitifully little.
Mingxin's purpose for entering Ganlu Temple is impure!
This is the voice of most people present.
Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of him, Su Peisheng simply asked the guards at the door to drag the man away.
Just as Mingxin was struggling, a scream stopped the guards.
"Master, be careful!"
"There's a secret door here!"
Mingxin seemed to have found a life-saving straw and cried with joy.
"Your Majesty, the tablet I saw must have been hidden in a dark room. I beg Your Majesty to investigate!"
Mo Yan wished he could shut Mingxin's mouth.
However, she also hoped that there was something wrong with the tablet inside, so that she would be punished less.
Zhen Huan was the first to see the words engraved on the tablet and was stunned. How could it be... ?
Chun'er came to Zhen Huan's side at some point and laughed.
"Your Majesty, this red tablet is engraved with 'Long Live the Great Qing', which shows the wish of the person who set up the tablet for the prosperity of the country."
"That's what Chunpin said."
After the emperor personally checked the tablet, he was moved and held Concubine Hua's hand.
"Shilan, you're thoughtful!"
Concubine Hua was extremely frank.
"Everything I do is for the Emperor!"
This made the emperor feel uneasy. I have already set up the stage, why don't you just say a few nice words?
If Concubine Hua knew what the emperor was thinking, she would probably sneer at him.
She only said such insincere words for An Lingrong's sake.
Concubine Hua glanced at Zhen Huan coldly, "Master Mochou really knows how to choose a place to lean on. I've noticed that whenever I run into you in this palace or outside of it, it's bound to be bustling with activity."
"Empress Hua, I am wronged. I..."
"Forget it! The Emperor is very perceptive and has cleared my name. I won't bother with you this time."
Then she raised her hand and pointed at Mingxin who was lying on the ground.
"Your Majesty, this person has ulterior motives and is truly unfit to be a Buddhist disciple."
"What Concubine Hua said makes sense. Su Peisheng, take him back to the palace and torture him severely. Make sure to find out who is behind this."
The big show in the Zen room today must have been arranged by someone for him to watch.
He had clearly warned those brothers who were secretly spreading rumors, so how could anyone dare to jump out and cause trouble at this time?
He gave Su Peisheng a wink, asking him to search the Zen room carefully inside and outside, and then took Concubine Hua out.
An Lingrong noticed that Zhen Huan was hiding in a corner and didn't dare to come forward, so she followed the three people in front without looking back.
Just now she smelled the irritating powder on Zhen Huan's body, no wonder she was so impatient today.
Zhen Huan stood on the hill, gazing at the procession returning to the palace from afar, and sighed in frustration.
"Jinxi, do you think the Emperor will harbor resentment towards me because of what happened today?"
Cui Jinxi comforted her softly.
"Master, please don't worry too much. You've just been recuperating in the mountains for a while and are just taking a walk. Concubine Hua has countless enemies, and who knows who might want her dead? It's a pity that she's on guard this time. It will probably be even more difficult to eliminate this person in the future."
"Noble Concubine Hua has committed many evil deeds, and one day she will suffer the consequences."
Nian Gengyao has passed away, and Concubine Hua has lost her greatest protection.
Even though she had found out through her own channels that Concubine Hua had not harmed her family, the two of them had already had a grudge against each other when they were in the palace.
Zhen Huan will not swallow this anger.
"Master, you are absolutely right. Everyone knows that Concubine Hua is arrogant and domineering, offending people everywhere."
Bai Zhi stepped forward, held her hand, and whispered a suggestion.
"Master, you are ill and cannot stand for long. Let's go back to the back mountain as soon as possible."
Zhen Huan nodded slightly, a hint of displeasure flashing in her eyes.
"Okay, it's really annoying to run into such an unlucky person today. Baizhi, please wash this dress later."
Concubine Hua looked her up and down with ill intent, causing her to lose control of her temper even more than usual.
Bai Zhi lowered her eyebrows and responded compliantly.
Zhen Huan offered to wash the clothes, which saved her a lot of trouble.
Ever since she received the news that the emperor was coming to Ganlu Temple to pray, she had been sprinkling powder on Zhen Huan's clothes without leaving any trace.
As soon as she saw Concubine Hua today, she couldn't help but rush out.
Bai Zhi secretly observed that the emperor frowned twice at Zhen Huan, and that was enough.
Cui Jinxi heard from Wen Shichu that pregnant women have great emotional fluctuations, so one should try to follow the other person's wishes.
She didn't find anything unusual about her master's recent changes.
Back in the quiet courtyard in the back mountain, Cui Jinxi carefully helped Zhen Huan change her clothes.
After Baizhi carried the basin out, Cui Jinxi picked out a few slices of ginseng from the box and brewed them with boiling water.
After coming down from Lingyun Peak, she clearly felt that her master's body was even weaker.
Cui Jinxi increased the amount of ginseng slices as Wen Shichu instructed, but it didn't seem to work.
Nothing must happen to the baby in Zhen Huan's belly!
Cui Jinxi decided to wait until dark to go to Anqi Temple to meet Concubine Shu, who was still recuperating, and seek more nourishing foods.
The next day, the night was as dark as ink, and there was a rhythmic knock on the door outside Anqi Temple.
Jiyun asked cautiously through the door.
"Who is visiting late at night?"
"Aunt Jiyun, the prince is back, please open the door quickly."
As soon as he heard A Jin's voice, Jiyun immediately opened the door.
She looked at the prince who had rushed back exhausted and reminded him in a low voice.
"Your Highness, the Dowager Consort has not eaten or drunk anything since yesterday afternoon. Please go in and take a look."
"Thank you, Auntie. I'll go pay my respects to Mother right away."
When Prince Guo saw Concubine Hua return to the palace safely, he knew that his secret plan had failed again.
"My son, please give my regards to E Niang!"
Prince Guo knelt on the ground as soon as he entered the room.
"Yunli, mother knows that you can't bear to do this to Mingxin. But if she doesn't die, the emperor's people will find clues sooner or later. By then, we, mother and son..."
"Think about it carefully."
Concubine Shu sighed deeply, with regret flashing in her eyes.
She planned for a long time before she wanted to use the earth dragon to get rid of Concubine Hua.
Now that the truth is about to be revealed, this unfilial son's habit of being gentle and considerate towards women comes back.
He even asked someone to secretly inquire whether Mingxin had suffered in the Ministry of Punishment.
If the people under her were not loyal to her and had not killed Mingxin directly, who knows what kind of trouble would have been caused.
The late emperor was ruthless and decisive in killing people, how come this child hasn’t learned anything from him?
When she thought of this, Concubine Shu hated the Empress Dowager and her son even more.
Not only did they cause her and Yunli to be separated from their son for many years, but they also spoiled their son.
Concubine Shu was so angry that her chest heaved.
She asked Jiyun to look at Prince Guo who was kneeling in the room, and she went out to call A Jin aside.
"Tell me everything that happened to the prince from the time he left the garden until he returned to the palace, in every detail."
"If you dare to help him hide it, you know how powerful Fang Yun is."
When A Jin heard the name, he couldn't help but shiver.
"Please understand, my lady, I dare not conceal anything."
"The prince rode at top speed all the way to the garden... Yesterday, while the emperor and the two concubines were out of the palace to pay homage to Buddha, the prince, dressed in eunuch's clothes, wandered outside the Yanxi Palace and Yonghe Palace. After returning to his residence, the prince said nothing... This morning, he sent a silver note of 1,000 taels to Concubine He and Concubine Xi respectively... Concubine He thought it was too little, so the prince ordered an additional 5,000 taels..."
"The prince originally wanted to send some things to Yonghe Palace, but I tried my best to stop him and finally dissuaded him from doing so."
Ah Jin replied in a low voice.
His life and death is in the hands of the Queen Mother. Even if he does not report the prince's actions, the Queen Mother will be able to find out about the prince's actions through other channels.
During the days when A Jin suffered at Fang Yun's hands, he had wondered why he hadn't died of illness.
As a result, he is now barely surviving in this world as a broken walking corpse.
The Queen Mother had a kind face but a sad heart, and A Jin didn't dare to be distracted in front of her.
After the Queen's interrogation, his back was soaked.
As soon as the toffee left, he disappeared into the darkness again, but his heart was in turmoil.
A Jin listened to the whispers coming from the room and moved a little further away.
Concubine Shu in the room helped Prince Guo up with her own hands, her eyes full of love and helplessness.
"Yunli, mother was just too worried about you, that's why she lost her composure."
"Your Royal Father abandoned us mother and son long ago. Mother was terrified that you would die at the hands of the ruthless Emperor, and even in her dreams she prayed for the late Emperor to bless you."
"It's a pity that you've suffered disaster after disaster. It's because your mother is unable to protect you."
"If you..."
"Mother, I know I was wrong and I will never make the same mistake again."
Prince Guo promised with red eyes.
"Okay, Mother believes you. Mother asked Zhen to go to the meditation room to meet the emperor by chance, also with the intention of letting her return to the palace as soon as possible."
Concubine Shu patted his shoulder gently and concealed the fact that she had asked Cui Jinxi to report the plight of the Zhen family again.
"The baby in her belly is actually five months old. If she doesn't return to the palace soon, I'm afraid it will be impossible to conceal it."
"Mother knows you feel uncomfortable with her serving the Emperor again, but this is our last chance."
Prince Guo closed his eyes and finally nodded slowly.
"I understand. I will go see Zhen tomorrow."
Although he was disabled, he had to cruelly push his own flesh and blood into the emperor's name again.
Others cannot understand the feeling behind this.