Chapter 222: Handle with care and put away with care
The furious emperor lifted up his beloved Concubine Li.
Looking at Empress Zheng who was saluting him, he said coldly, "Queen, you have to give me a good explanation for what happened today!"
"Your Majesty, everything Li Fei said is slander. I have never done anything untoward!"
Now that things have come to this, Empress Zheng knows that she will probably not be kind, so she simply grits her teeth and refuses to admit it.
Anyway, Concubine Li only had the medicine in her hands, and there was no proof. How could she prove that the medicine came from the palace?
"Empress, do you insist that I produce evidence in front of so many palace people?" Concubine Li looked at Empress Zheng in pain.
Empress Zheng didn't believe that Concubine Li really had evidence. She guessed that she got the news there, so she came to make trouble in front of her palace.
"Concubine Li, do you want to frame me just because you got this mysterious medicinal powder from nowhere?"
"Queen, this box has come into my hands, and I am the only one who has seen it..."
"No one close to me has ever seen what's inside, and I haven't mentioned it in front of you. Why did you know right away that this box contains medicine?"
"What?" Faced with Concubine Li's question, Empress Zheng was stunned.
She just blurted it out and didn't think about it at all.
"Ah, so..." Empress Zheng said, "Since you said that I have harmed people and you have evidence, I will naturally think that the box contains poison."
"Isn't that right, Queen?" Li Fei said coldly, "Shouldn't a normal person think of evidence first?"
"Didn't you also say that I said there is evidence, so according to common reasoning, the wooden box should contain evidence."
"Then...poison is also evidence, isn't it? I feel that there is no problem in speaking like this." Empress Zheng was stubborn.
Just when the emperor was about to interrogate him in detail, the queen mother sent a message to summon the emperor, who then went to her palace.
For the first time, Empress Zheng was extremely happy to be summoned by the Queen Mother.
All her previous resentment towards the Queen Mother vanished into nothingness at this moment.
She knew that the Queen Mother couldn't bear the chaos in the harem that had just calmed down, so she took action to give the two of them a chance to relax.
Sure enough, when the Emperor and the Empress arrived in front of the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother gave them some instructions.
In the previous dynasty, the harem had just stabilized, and the rebellion in the south had just subsided. At this time, it is not appropriate to let anything affect the prince's wedding, etc...
There are a lot of reasons, but they can be summed up in one sentence: "Your Majesty, you have to think carefully."
This sentence has many meanings.
We need to consider not only the government affairs of the previous dynasty, but also whether this is the time to settle accounts with Empress Zheng.
After all, Concubine Li's life experience was simple, while Empress Zheng's status was noble.
In particular, half of Empress Zheng's cunning and domineering behavior was caused by the emperor's preference.
The situation back then was so similar to now.
When Empress Zheng was still a concubine, relying on the emperor's favor, she was always the enemy of Empress Jiang.
In the end, she even resorted to murder in order to get a higher position.
The Queen Mother knew from beginning to end that the death of Empress Jiang was strange.
Just for the sake of the peace of the harem, she had to swallow her anger and follow her son's preferences and make Zheng the queen.
She knew about her son. Although he was not a wise emperor, he was not stupid either.
It was this mediocre son that broke her heart.
It was not easy for her to get to this position, but from her son's point of view, it was a smooth journey.
Also, when she suffered the most, as her son, he was not yet born.
The reason why she insisted on choosing Jiang as the queen for her son was because Jiang had a calm and dignified character. If such a person rules the harem, the harem can be stable and harmonious.
But her son just couldn't see this, ignored Mr. Jiang, and was even killed by his beloved concubine in the end.
After knowing the truth back then, the Queen Mother actually wanted to deal with the Zheng family immediately, but at that time her son was taking advantage of the Zheng family. If she killed Empress Zheng, it would be tantamount to turning against her son.
Therefore, the Queen Mother, who knew the inside story, did nothing.
Even in order to avoid the smoke in the harem, she tried her best not to let Empress Zheng come to greet her, so as to reduce the encounter and friction between the two.
If she did not want to touch Empress Zheng for the sake of the stability of the harem, then she is now preventing the emperor from further investigating this matter for the sake of the stability of the world.
After all, Queen Zheng is the prince's biological mother, and the prince is getting married soon.
If the emperor was angry with the empress at this time because of the former empress and Concubine Li's child, then the prince would lose face.
The prince's in-laws are also ministers of the Ministry of War, so in this series, there is almost no one who is not involved.
After being summoned by the Queen Mother and listening to these words, Emperor Zhao Yan also came to his senses. Being aggressive towards the Queen at this time was not good for anyone.
The original intention of giving a good sigh of relief for Li Fei faded away.
Of course, this does not mean that he can forgive Queen Zheng for everything she did.
Zhao Yan admitted that he really liked Mrs. Zheng back then, but when he learned that Mrs. Jiang died in her hands, he couldn't help but feel chills in his heart.
Queen Jiang was the woman the Queen Mother married to him. Although he could not say that he loved her, she was indeed virtuous and virtuous.
She managed the harem in an orderly manner, and the concubines were always convinced by her.
Even when the woman died, he did not fall in love with her, but he fully agreed with the Queen Mother's choice.
Knowing that Empress Jiang died because of Empress Zheng's poisoning, Zhao Yan was furious and couldn't help being frightened.
If you can attack the queen, you might one day attack the emperor out of dissatisfaction.
With this concern, although he did not openly fall out with Empress Zheng, he actually broke off his friendship and stayed in the palace of Concubine Li every day, trying every means to make Concubine Li happy.
Concubine Li could no longer laugh. She asked Zhao Yan painfully, "Since the emperor trusted my concubine, why didn't he punish the queen?"
"Your Majesty, don't you care about our missing child?"
"How could it be?" Zhao Yan sighed and held Concubine Li in his arms to comfort him, "My heart is the same as my beloved concubine's, we are extremely looking forward to the arrival of this child!"
"I also want to punish the queen, but this matter is very involved, and with the Queen Mother's advice, I can only... endure it!"
"Endure?" Li Fei shed tears, "How long can I endure?"
After the prince's wedding, he won the support of the Minister of War, and the queen had an extra layer of support. At this time, patience has become a lifelong matter, right?
Thinking of this, Li Fei's heart hurt.
Her child died unjustly, and the former queen also died unjustly...or...are there more than just these two wronged souls in this palace?
In this huge harem, there are so many wronged souls, but there is no place for people to redress their grievances.
Even the most powerful person in the world, the Emperor, cannot do his best!
Since it was impossible to rely on others, Li Fei made up her mind to rely on herself.