"There is a saying among the people that when you marry a wife, you must be a lady. The imperial concubine is dignified in character, humble and virtuous, and has both political integrity and talent. Even if she is really appointed as the queen, it is a matter of course. What's the joke?"
Li Qi said hurriedly: "The imperial concubine is cunning by nature and good at tricks. She must not be appointed as the queen."
Ling Ruo's eyes turned cold and she said in a cold voice: "Master Li, are you familiar with the imperial concubine? Otherwise, how could you speak so categorically?"
"This..." Li Qi was unable to answer her question. After a while, he finally said: "Although I have never had contact with the imperial concubine, I know her family very well. Such a sinister and vicious family, how can I ask this question?
How can a person with noble character, both political integrity and talent come out?" After saying this, he added: "I would also like to ask the Queen Mother to advise the emperor and not to be deceived by the imperial concubine again. Such a woman should be relegated to the cold palace."
Qingfu then said: "For the sake of the stability of the country, please ask the Queen Mother to persuade the Emperor to withdraw his orders, so that the world can be stable and the people can return to their hearts."
Ling Ruo glanced at the two of them and said, "What if the Ai family also thinks that the imperial concubine should be named the queen?"
Li Qi quickly raised his head and glanced at her, and then said: "If the Queen Mother and the Emperor insist on going their own way, I will definitely remonstrate to the death. Not only the minister, but also Mr. Zhang and others will do the same."
Ling Ruo stood up and walked slowly to him, saying in a cold voice: "Master Zhang... Zhang Guangsi? Li Qi, are you threatening the Ai family and the emperor with the battle of Jinchuan and Jinchuan?"
Li Qi's eyes quickly flashed with a trace of pride, and he immediately said: "I don't dare to have such thoughts. I only hope that the emperor can turn around as soon as possible and not to be bullied by the imperial concubine again, so as not to cause chaos in the world and make the people miserable."
"What a high-sounding reason. It seems that the Ai family wants to take back what they said before. You have no loyalty to the emperor at all. All you have is selfish desires and interests!"
Li Qi and Qingfu hurriedly knelt down and said: "The heart of my ministers can be proved by the sun and the moon. I have no thoughts of disloyalty to the Qing Dynasty and the emperor. Please tell me clearly."
Ling Ruo stared at the two of them and sneered: "If that was the case, you wouldn't have said that just now." Before the two of them could speak, she added: "If Zhang Guangsi feels that he is unable to quell the chaos in Jinchuan and Jinchuan, he can report to the emperor. In addition,
He is not the only one in the court who can fight when he sends someone to lead the army. Fu Heng, Hong Zhou and Prince Li will not lose to him."
Li Qi gritted his teeth, raised his head and said: "Queen Mother, no matter what, the imperial concubine is always a beauty and a disaster. We must not keep such a woman, let alone let the emperor make the same mistake again and again."
Ling Ruo was silent for a while and said: "Li Qi, in your opinion, what is right and what is wrong?"
Li Qi said without hesitation: "White is right, black is wrong."
Ling Ruowei nodded slightly and said: "In the ninth year of Qianlong's reign, Suzhou suffered from floods. Li Wenzhong saw the people suffering and were hungry. He opened warehouses to increase food supply before reporting to the court, saving countless people's lives. After the emperor learned about this, he thought that he was devoted to the people.
, and some people interceded for him and decided not to blame him, but let him continue to be the prefect of Suzhou. Can you tell me, was what Li Wenzhong did right or wrong?"
Li Qi's face suddenly turned pale, and his lips trembled for a long time without uttering a word. The Li Wenzhong in Ling Ruo's mouth was his son. Back then, his son risked his life to open a warehouse to increase food supply to prevent the people from starving to death. Fortunately, Hongli was tolerant.
I had never blamed him, otherwise he would have been executed three years ago.
Ling Ruo said expressionlessly: "In the eyes of the people, Li Wenzhong did the right thing by saving them from danger; but in the eyes of the court, it was a big mistake for him to raise food privately, and he should be punished for his crime. I am sorry today."
Let me ask you, is what Li Wenzhong did white or black?"
After a long while, Li Qi said in a trembling voice: "Old minister... I don't know."
"It's not that easy to distinguish between right and wrong. The Ai family has watched the imperial concubine for twenty years. What kind of person she is and whether she is suitable to be the queen, the Ai family knows better than you; because of her origin, they deny her.
Everything you have done over the past decades, Li Qi, don’t you think it’s ridiculous? Also, if the imperial concubine cannot be retained, then is it even more impossible for Li Wenzhong to retain her?”
Li Qi gritted his teeth tightly and did not dare to answer, because he was afraid that a wrong answer would send his only son to death. However, he was not willing to be manipulated by Ling Ruo, so he squeezed out a sentence between his teeth for a long time,
"What the Queen Mother said is clearly unreasonable."
Ling Ruo glanced at the two of them and said in a cold voice: "The ones who are really arrogant are not the Aijia, but you ministers who keep saying that you are loyal to the emperor and patriotic. Ask yourselves, whether the late emperor or the emperor, how will the Li family treat you?
Qingfu, isn’t everyone’s kindness as great as a mountain? But how do you repay it?”
Qingfu lowered his head and said: "It is precisely because the emperor is so kind to his ministers that the ministers have to swear to remonstrate with him. Maybe the imperial concubine did not do anything wrong, and her birth background was not something that the imperial concubine could choose, but it was a big mistake after all. Let's ask all the dynasties
In all the past dynasties, has there ever been a sinner appointed to the palace? If that day comes, the emperor will definitely be laughed at by everyone in the world."
Ling Ruo's eyes were cold and she said: "So, you are determined not to agree?"
"It's not that I don't want to do it, it's that I don't dare to be this eternal sinner!" After saying this, Qingfu knelt down and said: "The Queen Mother understands the righteousness well and should know the stakes involved. Please persuade the Emperor."
After the Qing Dynasty, Li Qi also knelt down and said: "Maybe the old minister was biased before, but the old minister believes that there must be a noble lady from a noble family who is more suitable to be appointed as the queen than the imperial concubine. Please think again, the queen mother!"
Ling Ruo wanted to say more, but she began to feel pain in her forehead, like needle pricks, which made it difficult for her to sit still. She had to swallow her words and said instead: "The matter of the book can be discussed later, but the Ai family hopes that you agree.
Let me be clear about one thing, starting from Grandpa Taizu, this world belongs to the Aixinjueluo family. It is not for others to point fingers, let alone others to care about it. Is this clear?"
Ling Ruo's words as cold as ice made the two of them tremble. They quickly bowed their heads and agreed, then bowed and exited the Cining Palace. As soon as they left, Ling Ruo's straight back hunched over, and he rubbed his forehead with a painful expression. When he saw her
With this look, Shui Xiu knew that he must have a headache, so he came down and said, "Queen Mother, please bear with me for a while, and I will go and prepare some medicine for you."
Although even Rong Yuan couldn't cure Ling Ruo's headache, the medicine he prescribed could alleviate it somewhat, so that the pain was not as severe.
After taking the medicine and resting for a while, Ling Ruo's pale and blue complexion finally improved a little. Shuixiu said distressedly: "Queen Mother, you can't work so hard in the future. Doctor Xu said that the more you work hard, the more likely you will be."
The headache gets worse."
Ling Ruo sighed and said, "Don't the Ai family care about the conflict between the emperor and the officials?"
Yang Hai said from the side: "Forgive me for talking too much. Since all the officials are so opposed, why does the emperor insist on insisting? Even the imperial concubine has said that she has no intention of becoming the queen."