jdhmnovel Chapter 262 Suspicion
Chapter 262 Suspicion
The emperor, laughing in anger, pointed at the memorial thrown aside and gave stern orders.
"Su Peisheng, come here and register for me. Which of these petitions for the title of empress do you favor?"
The previous dynasty knew his harem very well, and no matter how unhappy he was, he had to see which master they supported.
"The slave obeys the order."
Su Peisheng lowered his head and picked up the memorials that had fallen on the ground. He trotted towards the desk and put the messy memorials in place one by one.
After a while, he counted the number and reported it in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, among these memorials, 80% believe that Concubine Lan is worthy of the important position, 10% believe that the Mongolian consorts are also very elegant, and more than half believe that Concubine Qi's family background is also good."
Seeing the difficulty on Su Peisheng's face, the emperor glared at him fiercely.
"Why don't you continue? Do you want to hide anything, you little dog slave?"
"Your Majesty, the remaining memorials mentioned Consort Shu, but..."
"Oh? Concubine Shu is also involved?"
The emperor, with a sullen face, held out his hand to Su Peisheng, "Bring it here for me to see. Let me see how they all praise Concubine Shu."
Su Peisheng handed over several memorials with a bitter face. Those adults were not praising Concubine Shu at all, they were simply stabbing knives into people's hearts.
"Assholes! They want to adopt Hongzhan and Hongyao again. These people simply don't take me seriously."
"Su Peisheng, prepare the sedan chair. I want to pay my respects to the Queen Mother!"
He had clearly declined the adoption proposal in front of the empress dowager, but he didn't expect that someone from the previous dynasty would bring up the matter.
The emperor's first reaction when he saw the memorial was that the empress dowager was forcing him through the mouths of ministers of the previous dynasty.
"Aunt Zhuxi, I'm here to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager. May I ask if she's free?"
Sun Zhuxi had taken good care of the emperor in private in the past, and the emperor did not want to vent his anger on this nanny.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager is currently worshipping Buddha. Please rest in the main room. I will go and ask for instructions."
Sun Zhuxi replied kindly and led the way from the side.
The Empress Dowager was praying for the Fourteenth Master, so she could only wait outside the small Buddhist temple and report as soon as the Empress Dowager was done.
Seeing the displeasure on the emperor's face, Sun Zhuxi sighed deeply.
The emperor came in anger, and I'm afraid that the mother and son will have another quarrel later.
Sun Zhuxi waited for about two quarters of an hour before he heard some movement in the small Buddhist hall.
"Zhuxi, is there something wrong with you guarding the door?"
"Your Highness, the Emperor has come to pay his respects to you and is waiting in the main hall."
Sun Zhuxi submitted the report respectfully.
The Queen Mother subconsciously fiddled with the Buddhist beads in her hand and spoke in confusion.
"Did the Emperor explain his purpose?"
"Your Majesty, the Emperor hasn't said it explicitly, but I think he seems to have something on his mind."
"You go and serve the emperor first. I'll come over when I'm done."
The Queen Mother threw the prayer scriptures she had copied into the flaming charcoal brazier one by one.
The scriptures burned by the flames quickly broke into pieces, and the two words "Yinzhen" were faintly visible on some of them.
If you get closer, you can even hear the Queen Mother muttering softly.
"I pray that the Bodhisattva will bless my son... If my wish is granted someday, I will definitely create a golden statue for the Bodhisattva."
A lay Buddhist in plain clothes beside her seemed not to have heard these outrageous words and opened the unburned Buddhist scriptures in the charcoal basin again.
After all the scriptures were burned to ashes, the queen mother skillfully gestured to the woman. After she responded with a few gestures, she reverently picked up the charcoal basin.
The Queen Mother asked indifferently before she even sat down.
"Your Majesty has come to see me, but what happened?"
"Replying to the Empress Dowager, some memorials were submitted to the court today, mentioning the matter of the Empress's enthronement."
"I, your son, am here to ask Your Majesty for advice?"
The emperor stared at the empress dowager intently as he spoke, not wanting to miss any expression on her face.
The experienced queen mother raised her eyelids and asked back.
"Empress?"
"Yes, Empress Dowager. Many ministers of the previous dynasty submitted petitions stating that the vacant harem violated ancestral rules and urged me to appoint a queen as soon as possible for the sake of stability."
After explaining it again, the emperor asked sincerely.
"My Queen Mother, what do you think?"
"The title of Queen is a matter of national importance. It is not appropriate for a mere woman like me to interfere."
The Queen Mother silently picked up the milk tea, determined not to speak.
This morning she received news that the silver notes she had ordered to be delivered to the imperial mausoleum were robbed on the way, and she was feeling very upset.
The son who came to pay his respects with a stern face early in the morning must have come specifically to annihilate her.
No one in the harem is presentable, and no matter who becomes the queen, there will be only one ending.
She once wanted to support Concubine Lan to ascend to the throne, but that ungrateful woman was as stubborn and stubborn as Yixiu.
She didn't care for the sake of her family, but that didn't mean she would speak for her.
Recently, the Queen Mother felt that she was filled with resentment and was dissatisfied with everything.
"If the emperor has nothing else to do, please go back and take care of government affairs."
"I am not feeling well, so I won't be able to keep you here for long."
The Queen Mother took a sip of milk tea and almost vomited it out.
The kitchen was becoming increasingly unmanageable, and even made Little Fourteen's favorite milk tea so unpalatable.
"Madam, since you are not feeling well, I will take my leave now."
The Empress Dowager's behavior made the Emperor even more suspicious.
As soon as he returned to the Yangxin Palace, he summoned Xia Qie.
"Send someone to investigate the minister who submitted the memorial. Also send someone to keep an eye on the Empress Dowager, Concubine Lan, Concubine Qi, Concubine Hua, and...Concubine Shu."
"Wei Chen obeys your orders."
The emperor hardly slept last night and encountered another bad thing in the morning. With a splitting headache, he returned to the back hall after being persuaded by Su Peisheng.
After serving his master, Su Peisheng tiptoed out.
When the summer harvest comes, there will be another bloody storm.
Not knowing who would rise and fall in this, Su Peisheng glanced at the harem with a complicated expression and decided to play deaf and dumb.
As a slave, the best strategy is to protect yourself.
After the emperor left, An Lingrong ordered people to keep an eye on his whereabouts.
When An Lingrong heard that he came out of Shoukang Palace with a gloomy face, she realized that her previous plan had worked.
"Bao Que, you..."
The small room that appeared at the doorway cut her off.
"Your Majesty, I have come to report to you on the progress of the prince and princess' martial arts training."
Xiao Wuzi usually has no presence and was only seen on the day he arrived.
An Lingrong's heart moved, and she continued in a gentle voice.
"You've come just in time. I was just about to send someone to invite you."