Mingyu looked at the direction where Xiao Liuzi was being taken down, with a complicated look on his face and said, "I don't know, so don't ask any more questions."
How could Mrs. Gao believe it? She insisted: "Mother, do you know this? Why didn't you tell me?"
Mingyu suddenly turned his head, glared at Mrs. Gao and said, "If you want to know so much, you can go and ask the Queen Mother or the Emperor in person. Why do you keep pestering me?"
Seeing that she was really angry, Mrs. Gao didn't dare to say anything more, but the doubts in her heart still lingered.
An incident that should have caused an uproar in the harem finally ended in such a painless way. Everyone had doubts in their hearts, but everyone did not dare to ask and could only suppress their doubts deep in their hearts.
.
Everyone left Cining Palace, even Hongli left, but Xianyue was still there. It wasn't that she didn't want to leave, but that Ling Ruo didn't speak, so she couldn't leave.
Ling Ruo took the tea handed by the palace servant, opened the lid and fiddled with the tea foam floating on it, and said, "Are you wondering why the Ai family wants to keep you here?" Seeing Xianyue lowering her head and saying nothing, she
He added: "The Ai family knows that you are unhappy. You feel that the emperor always favors the queen, which is unfair to you."
Xianyue finally raised her head and said in a harsh voice: "It's not what I think, but it's the fact. Since the Queen is able to ask, she should have figured it out."
"Perhaps the emperor was unfair this time, but ask yourself, was what you did right? In the final analysis, it was you who was sorry for the queen first. Whether it was this time or in the past, it was your fault first.
"
"Huang'e Niang doesn't need to talk to my son specifically about this. No matter what I think in his heart, he will not go against the wishes of Huang'e Niang and the emperor. Everything was done by Xiao Liuzi and has nothing to do with the empress."
"Okay." Ling Ruo nodded slightly, and then said: "In addition, the Ai family has something to ask you. Are you sending embroidery pictures to the Ai family every day to guard against the queen?"
Xianyue hesitated for a moment, lowered her head and said: "Yes, the queen suddenly showed her kindness to my son, and then proposed to embroider a picture of hundreds of cranes with my son. I was worried that there would be something strange in it, so before going to Kunning Palace every day, she would
Send the embroidered pictures to the Emperor's mother for review."
Ling Ruo stared at her and said uncertainly: "Using the Ai family as your witnesses seems to be a pawn in Concubine Xian's eyes."
"I don't dare. The harem is dangerous. I am just trying to protect myself. If there is anything that displeases the Emperor, please forgive me."
"Let's just forget about this matter. Everything ends here. No more talk or mention is allowed. Do you understand?"
Xianyue lowered her voice and said, "I know."
Ling Ruo nodded slightly and said, "Okay, step back."
After Xianyue left, Ling Ruo called Yang Hai and said, "Go to Kunning Palace to inquire more about Shuiyue's situation. If anything happens, tell the Ai family immediately."
Yang Hai knew what she was worried about and said: "Don't worry, Queen Mother, I believe that Shui Yue is auspicious, so we can definitely avoid this disaster."
Ling Ruo sighed loudly and said: "I hope so, otherwise... the Ai family will really feel sorry for Shui Yue."
Among the palace people, Shui Xiu and Shui Yue had the deepest feelings. Thinking that Shui Yue might be infected with the incurable disease of smallpox, she became extremely angry and said: "I'm sorry to speak frankly, although Concubine Xian made mistakes, she was not as wrong as the Empress."
It's so outrageous. At least Concubine Xian has never treated anyone close to her badly. Even when she was in the cold palace, she begged the eunuch guarding the palace in every possible way to invite the Song Dynasty doctor to diagnose and treat a palace maid. But as for the empress, Shuiyue served the empress dowager.
She was always helping her, but she was dissatisfied with Shui Yueduo, and would rather trust others than Concubine Xian. This time it was even more excessive, knowing that the embroidery was contaminated with smallpox, yet she let Shui Yue touch it."
Speaking of this, Shui Xiu couldn't help but shed tears and said in a sob voice: "Yinuyi, it seems that she wants Shui Yue's life deliberately." She, Yang Hai and others already knew the matter from Ling Ruo's mouth.
Probably passed by.
Ling Ruo scolded: "Nonsense, how could the queen have such an idea."
"If she didn't think so, why didn't she stop it?" Shui Xiu said while wiping away tears: "The slave and Shui Yue have served the master for so many years and have been protected by the master. Nothing has ever happened to them. However, the Queen repaid kindness with hatred and sent Shui Yue to Shui Yue.
The moon is pushed towards death."
Hearing this, Ling Ruo was silent. After a long time, he sighed and said, "But she is the queen after all, the queen personally chosen by the emperor. The Ai family can't say anything. As Yang Hai said, they can only
I hope that the water, moon, and auspicious signs will help me escape this disaster."
Shui Xiu wiped her tears and said nothing. In the next few days, Cining Palace was filled with a layer of gloom because of this incident. Eight days later, what Ling Ruo was most worried about finally happened. Shui Yue developed symptoms of a high fever that would not go away.
, which is consistent with the symptoms of smallpox when it first broke out.
From that day on, Ling Ruo knelt in front of the Buddha all day long, praying for Shuiyue, but things continued to develop in a bad direction. Shuiyue's condition became more and more serious, and she developed a severe rash on her body, which kept getting worse.
It was large, suppurating and ulcerated. At this moment, the imperial doctor had confirmed that Shuiyue had indeed contracted smallpox.
Although medicines were kept being delivered, everyone knew in their hearts that these medicines were just a comfort, and it was up to Shuiyue himself whether he could survive the smallpox in the end.
No matter how Ling Ruo prayed, no matter how the imperial doctors tried their best, Shui Yue's condition could not be improved. In the end, she didn't even have the strength to get off the ground and could only lie on the bed panting as she might die at any time.
On this day, Yang Hai returned to Cining Palace and said in a serious tone: "The Queen Mother, the imperial doctor said that Shui Yue's condition has become extremely bad. I'm afraid... she won't be able to survive it."
Ling Ruo trembled, stood up holding the table and said, "Let's help the Ai family to go to Kunning Palace. The Ai family wants to see Shuiyue."
Hearing this, Yang Hai quickly stopped her and said: "Queen Mother, you can't go, you absolutely must not go."
Shui Xiu also said with tears in her eyes: "Queen Mother, I know you want to see Shui Yue, but in this situation, you really shouldn't go there."
Ling Ruo didn't say anything, just repeated what she just said, "Help Ai's family go to Kunning Palace."
Yang Hai and Shui Yue knelt down together and advised: "The Queen Mother, please take care of her body and take back her life."
Ling Ruo looked at the two of them expressionlessly, "You won't accompany the Aijia there, right? Okay, the Aijia will go alone."
"Queen Mother." Shui Xiu grabbed the corner of her clothes and said in a painful voice, "Please, don't go there. I believe this is Shui Yue's idea as well. She definitely doesn't want the Queen Mother to be harmed in any way because of her."
Tears appeared in Ling Ruo's eyes, and she choked with sobs: "But the Ai family doesn't want to miss Shui Yue for the last time, so no matter what you say, the Ai family must go."
After that, she broke away from Shuixiu's pull and walked out. Yang Hai said anxiously: "Shuixiu, go and stop the Queen Mother, and I will report it to the Emperor. In this situation, only the Emperor can stop the Queen Mother."