Chapter 37
Concubine Qiu?
Li Yu couldn’t remember who she was. The original book didn’t mention too many of the Emperor’s concubines, and he only had an impression of a few.
Li Yu couldn’t react, but King Jing knew who she was. She was Concubine Qiu, who had been demoted not long ago. The Second Prince was now Marquis An, and there was no possibility of him inheriting the throne. Qiu wasn’t banished to the Cold Palace but demoted purely because the Emperor wanted to give Marquis An some face.
However, Qiu didn’t seem to have given up. There hadn’t been a fire in the palace for a long time, and it wasn’t easy to have a fire now. There was a fire in Zhong Cui Palace, and she was burned.
King Jing noticed Yu’s confusion, and his fingers tapped the table rhythmically three times. Wang Xi was stunned. King Jing wanted him to explain in detail. His Highness rarely had such a request since he grew up. Usually, His Highness would understand after he mentioned a word or two. Why did His Highness ask for a detailed explanation today?
Even though Wang Xi was confused, he still answered dutifully, “Concubine Qiu is the Second Prince’s birth mother and the former Concubine Qiu. She used to live in Zhong Cui Palace. Last night, Zhong Cui Palace caught fire and was discovered by the eunuch on duty. Qiu was burned.
Fortunately, although the fire burned more than half of Zhong Cui Palace, it didn’t spread to other places.
So Concubine Qiu was the former Concubine Qiu?
Li Yu’s eyes flashed. He had been so full recently that he almost forgot that the Concubine Qiu was dead!
Eunuch Wang’s explanation made sense. It was Qiu’s residence that caught fire, and she was injured.
But the palace was heavily guarded, so why did it suddenly catch fire?
Li Yu remembered a plot in the original book. In the book, Lady Chou was not abandoned by the Emperor so early. Instead, she was implicated as cannon fodder during the battle between the Second Prince and the Third Prince. After losing power, in order to help the Second Prince regain the Emperor’s favor, Lady Chou used the trick of injuring herself to gain the Emperor’s pity.
Unfortunately, she was exposed by the Third Prince and the others. Lady Chou and the Second Prince completely lost the Emperor’s heart.
Now that Duke Chengen Mansion was well protected, Qiu and the Second Prince were grounded by the Emperor, and the Emperor had almost deprived the Second Prince of the possibility of inheriting the throne. Could it be that Qiu still didn’t give up and still wanted to use self-harm?
It was not impossible. But in the book, it was just a palace room that caught fire, and the fire was quickly put out. It was different from what Wang Xi said about Zhong Cui Palace being mostiy burned down. Could it be that the previous plot had changed beyond recognition, and the Chou family had become even crazier?
King Jing pondered for a moment, then took the pen and paper on the table and asked Wang Xi, “Where is Madame Chou’s injury? How are the others in Zhong Cui Palace? What caused the fire?”
Wang Xi punched himself lightly and said apologetically, “It’s all this old servant’s fault for not explaining clearly just now. Madam Chou’s arm is injured. As for the rest of the people in Zhong Cui Palace, other than a few who were responsible for putting out the fire suffered some minor injuries, the palace servants and attendants are all fine. As for the cause of the fire, His Majesty is already investigating. Currently, there are no results. However, the palace is saying that a palace servant in Zhong Cui Palace accidentally knocked over an oil lamp and burned the bed curtains. “
King Jing sneered. The servant’s room was usually very far from the master’s room. How could they be injured?
Also, although Madame Chou had been demoted and her status was not as good as before, she was still the mistress of a palace. If even the mistress of a palace could be injured, why were the other palace servants and attendants unharmed? What kind of logic was this?
Wang Xi also said, “This old servant thinks that this matter is not simple. So many servants are fine, but they couldn’t protect a master. It shouldn’t be. It can’t be Gui Fei… Bah, bah, bah, this old servant accidentally called out the wrong name. It should be Concubine Chou. It can’t be that Concubine Chou was injured herself.’
Li Yu hurriedly fluttered a few times. What Eunuch Wang said made sense. He also thought so.
Originally, Li Yu was not sure whether it was Madame Chou who caused trouble. Wang Xi mentioned this contradiction. Also, according to what Eunuch Wang said, the fire should be very big. How could the injury caused by the fire only be on the arm? The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became.
Eunuch Wang said, “This matter originally had nothing to do with our Wang Mansion. It’s just that the palace is on fire. Your Highness should visit the Emperor. This old servant received news that the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince have already entered the palace. Second … Marquis An also sent a letter of greeting …..”
King Jing understood what he meant and nodded.
Wang Xi said, “This servant will go and make the arrangements. Also, Master Xiaoyu …”
Wang Xi glanced at the little carp. He didn’t know what King Jing was going to do.
Li Yu also wanted to go out. He had been cooped up in the mansion for a long time. Recently, he didn’t cause any trouble and had been very obedient.
King Jing saw that the carp’s tail was so high that it was almost fanning out a gust of wind. He smiled at Wang Xi and said, “It’s still the same.”
As usual, he carried the fish with him. Wang Xi hurriedly went to get the crystal bottle.
The crystal bottle had been remade into the size of a small birdcage. The handle was still wrapped with a chain to prevent it from slipping.
King Jing personally put the fish into the crystal bottle. He was afraid that the fish would be hungry, so he added a lot of snacks for the fish. If it weren’t for Wang Xi’s soft persuasion, King Jing might have stuffed the entire crystal bottle full.
Eunuch Wang sighed. Why did he feel that Master Xiaoyu had become stronger recently? His Highness’s love for Master Xiaoyu had also increased.
Palace of Heavenly Purity.
All the concubines and princes were present. The Emperor had already ordered the imperial physician from the Imperial Hospital to visit Concubine Chou. The imperial physician came back and reported that one of Concubine Chou’s arms wasn’t very good. It was badly burned by the fire and was probably unable to recover in the future.
The Emperor was stunned. He was originally extremely disappointed with Concubine Chou. The imperial physician’s description reminded him of the past. When Concubine Chou first entered the palace, she often wore a dance costume in private to amuse him and win his favor. At that time, Concubine Chou was only sixteen years old. When she stretched out her jade arm, it was as bright as the moon. In the blink of an eye, so many years had passed.
The Emperor realized that time had passed and was inevitably sad. Later, he received a memorial from An Hou. Mu Tianzhao wrote in blood to apologize to the Emperor. He didn’t dare to extravagantly ask for the Emperor’s forgiveness. However, Concubine Chou was unwell and Mu Tianzhao was very concerned about her. He asked the Emperor to allow him to fulfill his filial piety in front of her sickbed.
Mu Tianzhao’s attitude was sincere and showed filial piety to Concubine Chou. The Emperor originally hardened his heart towards An Hou, but at this time, he was somewhat moved.
The concubines nearby all knew how to observe the Emperor’s body language. They realized that the Emperor was distressed. Other than agreeing, no one dared to make a sound. The Third Prince couldn’t watch An Hou come to join in the fun again. He wanted to speak several times, but was softly persuaded by the Sixth Prince.
Right now, the Emperor’s heart was full of the good things about Concubine Chou and An Hou. If he directly said that they were bad, it would only make the Emperor unhappy.
The Third Prince was full of hatred. Could it be that An Hou was already grounded and wanted to continue to suppress him?
The Sixth Prince gently nudged the Third Prince, telling him to calm down.
The head chamberlain, Luo Ruisheng, came over to report that King Jing had arrived. The Emperor put down An Hou’s memorial and ordered King Jing to enter the palace.
King Jing liked to raise fish. This wasn’t a rare thing in the palace. This time, he still brought his fish into the palace. The Emperor had a deep impression of King Jing’s fish and had even specially rewarded him a few times. Thinking about how King Jing raised his fish, the Emperor’s mood showed signs of warming up.
King Jing bowed first. The huge crystal bottle couldn’t be stuffed into his sleeve, so he held it in his hand. This time, the Emperor saw the obviously bigger bottle and the equally bigger carp in the bottle.
The Emperor was speechless.
Li Yu was a sensible fish. He purposely turned two circles to show his respect for the Emperor.
As a result, the Emperor also caught a glimpse of a piece of gold at the tail of the small carp’s belly. He said in surprise, “Tian Chi, this fish of yours?”
Like Heir Ye, the Emperor took a quick glance and thought that King Jing was raising a different fish.
Wang Xi had been following King Jing. King Jing glanced at Wang Xi. Wang Xi immediately went forward and kowtowed. He answered on King Jing’s behalf, “Your Majesty, the fish raised by His Highness changed its scales and grew bigger.”
Can fish change their scales?
The Emperor had never heard of this before and was curious. The bitter Madam Chou and An Hou didn’t think about it and immediately ordered King Jing to bring the fish closer for him to take a look.
King Jing complied. The Emperor carefully observed the fish and saw that it was still the same fish.
It was just that a few of its scales had turned golden.
The Emperor repeatedly looked at the golden scales on the small carp’s body for a long time.
“Luo Ruisheng, what do you think?” The Emperor looked at Chief Steward Luo.
Chief Steward Luo, who had won the Emperor’s heart, smiled and said, “This servant is a rough man. I can’t say for sure. I only think that the fish having golden scales is a good sign.”
The Emperor laughed, “I think so too. Maybe it’s a sign of prosperity and peace.”
The Emperor was originally in a bad mood, not only because of Madam Chou and her son. If the cause of the fire in the palace couldn’t be found, it would be regarded as a warning from the heavens and the Emperor himself would have to take the blame. Now that he saw that an ordinary carp had grown golden scales, the Emperor was relieved. As long as there was a good sign, who could say anything?
Li Yu was confused when he heard this. It was just a new scale on the fish’s belly, and the Emperor had imagined that the country would be prosperous and the people would be at peace?
The Emperor was indeed the most talkative person.
When King Jing came, the Emperor remembered the foolish thing An Hou had done before. He was indeed soft-hearted because of Madam Chou’s injury. But if he exempted An Hou from punishment because of this, he would be a muddle-headed monarch. How would he explain it to
Empress Xiaohui when he went to hell in the future?
It was true that Madam Chou had accompanied him for many years, but didn’t Empress Xiaohui also give her life for him and his children?
There was no need to think too much about how to deal with Madam Chou. Since Madam Chou was injured, her relatives could enter the palace to visit, but it couldn’t be written off with An Hou’s mistake. If An Hou wanted to be filial, he didn’t have to run into the palace as a sinner to serve. He could eat vegetarian and pray to Buddha in his manor, or let his wife and children take care of him.
As long as he was sincere, there were many ways. In addition, Madam Chou had only injured her arm, but An Hou made it seem like Madam Chou was about to die. He often wrote in blood, afraid that Madam Chou wouldn’t be able to bear it.
The Emperor shook off his pity for Madam Chou and turned back to look at An Hou’s memorial. It seemed like he wanted to take the opportunity to escape punishment. The memorial that was supposed to be immediately approved was also left in the middle.
The imperial bodyguard entered the hall and reported the investigation of the fire. He said that a servant’s room in Zhong Cui Palace was the most severely burned. From this, he deduced that this was the place where the fire started. Madam Chou’s personal servant, Huan Hua, originally lived in this servant’s room. However, after the fire was extinguished, Huan Hua disappeared. No one had seen Huan Hua, and the imperial bodyguards also couldn’t find her.
The Emperor felt that something wasn’t right. For a servant, even if the fire really started because of her, she shouldn’t have hidden so well that even the imperial bodyguards couldn’t find her. After all, if she was alive, they had to see her. If she was dead, they had to see her body.
The Emperor asked for the location of Huan Hua’s room and learned that it was very far from the main courtyard where Madam Chou was. The Emperor’s face immediately darkened.
The Third Prince finally found a chance and gave a look to his birth mother, Qian Fei. Qian Fei covered her mouth with a handkerchief and smiled as she said: “Madam Chou really doesn’t have good luck. She was so far away and no one else was injured, but she was implicated.”
The Emperor glared at Qian Fei. Qian Fei also took a risk to speak. She secretly glanced back at the Third Prince and resentfully shut her mouth.
The Emperor was angry, but he knew in his heart that what Qian Fei said was the truth. Otherwise, his face wouldn’t be so cold.
Even the other imperial concubines could see that there was something fishy about Madam Chou’s injury. She probably wasn’t just far away, she was also injured by the fire. She also knew that the injury on her arm would cause his heart to ache. The Emperor deeply felt that he had been wise all his life, but now he was almost played by a woman.
More than half of Zhong Cui Palace had been burned down. Madam Chou had been temporarily moved to the neighboring Yu Xiu Palace. The Emperor decided to personally go to Yu Xiu Palace and ordered everyone to accompany him.
Madam Chou lay on her back on the bed, her mouth crying out in pain. Outside, it was reported that the Emperor had arrived. Madam Chou’s heart was happy. She put on her clothes and got off the bed with the help of her trusted palace maids. She paid her respects to the Emperor. The Emperor was already suspicious of Madam Chou. He directly entered her bedroom and carefully examined Madam Chou. He saw that even though Madam Chou was sick, she still had exquisite makeup on her face. Her hair was combed into a slanted bun. It was the same outfit she had worn when she danced for him… ……
This was already prepared and waiting for him to come and “express his concern.”
The Emperor’s heart was ice cold. He ordered the taiyi to examine Madam Chou’s injury in front of him.
Madam Chou was still an imperial concubine. Although everyone had come to accompany the Emperor, it was not convenient for them to enter the room. They waited outside for the Emperor to come out.
King Jing was afraid that Xiao Yu would suffocate, so he opened the lid of the crystal bottle. Xiao Yu quickly swam to the mouth of the crystal bottle!
Li Yu had been watching for a long time. He felt that although there were some changes in the situation, such as Xiao Huo becoming a big fire, King Jing bringing the fish into the palace, and the Third Prince and Sixth Prince not exposing Madam Chou, in general, Madam Chou’s plan was similar to the original book. It should be a trick of self-injury. Therefore, he couldn’t examine her injury. Madam Chou’s arm was indeed injured, but he couldn’t find anything.
He had a golden finger, so he knew the answer to this question. But how could he remind King Jing in a short time?
From King Jing’s point of view, King Jing disliked Heir Ye verbally, but in his heart, he treated him as a family member. He definitely didn’t want An Hou to make a comeback. If An Hou wasn’t completely defeated, it would be detrimental to Duke Chengen Mansion and King Jing …
Li Yu leaned against the relatively narrow mouth of the crystal bottle. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he forgot that he had grown a size. Crash! The crystal bottle was overturned.
King Jing, “……”
