At this time, that is, at nine o'clock in the morning, Chen Shuncai opened his eyes amid a knock on the door: "Chen Bingbi, Your Majesty is awake and is looking for you everywhere!"
Chen Shuncai pushed Qu Qiao awake in his arms and told her to stay in the back room and not make any noise.
He simply straightened his clothes and went to the outhouse. When he opened the door, he saw that it was Shi Chuan, the eunuch in charge.
Shi Chuan's face was so anxious that he was sweating: "Chen Bingbi, the Holy One has woken up and cannot find you. He is angry. You should go to Funing Hall as soon as possible!"
Chen Shuncai looked at the direction of the sun and asked, "When did the Holy One wake up?"
"I woke up just after midnight."
Mao Shi is two hours away from now.
Chen Shuncai frowned: "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Shi Chuan smacked his lips and said, "I really didn't know you were here. I thought you were out of the palace on errands!"
Chen Shuncai looked at Shi Chuan, said nothing, tidied up his clothes again, and walked calmly to Funing Hall.
It is nothing new for the emperor to wake up. He wakes up for an hour or two every day.
If you don't see me, maybe you want to lose your temper and let him scold me for a few hours. It has been two hours, and he may have fallen asleep again before he finished scolding me.
Entering the palace, Emperor Zhaoxing sat on the couch with a gloomy expression: "You old slave, where have you gone?"
Chen Shuncai quickly apologized and said: "I have been in poor health recently, contracted some nasty diseases, and slept too much."
Emperor Zhaoxing looked at Chen Shuncai with doubt on his face: "You said you are sick? With your third-level cultivation, you can still get sick?"
Chen Shuncai laughed: "As we get older, the bones in our bodies sometimes become useless."
Emperor Zhaoxing did not comment or reprimand, but looked at Chen Shuncai quietly without saying a word.
Anyone else would have been scared to death if the emperor looked at him like this.
But Chen Shuncai was too familiar with the emperor, and he knew that the emperor was accustomed to using this method to frighten others.
Chen Shuncai was neither afraid nor panicked. He just lowered his head and said nothing, waiting for the emperor to make an announcement.
For nearly a moment, neither party spoke. The maids and chamberlains in the palace were covered in sweat, and their clothes were soaked.
Emperor Zhaoxing squinted his eyes and finally spoke: "The day before yesterday, I canonized Qu Qiao as a talented person. Where is he now?"
Why is he still staring at Qu Qiao?
Emperor Zhaoxing would never look at a beauty like Qu Qiao once, so why is he still thinking about her today?
When the emperor asked, he naturally had to reply. Chen Shuncai said: "The empress hates Qu Qiao and asked her to go to Baoci Palace to serve the empress dowager."
Baoci Hall is the residence of the Empress Dowager, the mother of Emperor Zhaoxing. The Empress Dowager has passed away long ago, and Baoci Hall has been idle. It is a euphemism to let Qu Qiao go to Baoci Hall to serve the Empress Dowager. To put it bluntly,
To put it bluntly, she would be sent to the cold palace to do hard labor.
This was a common method of punishing concubines, and the emperor would not doubt it. Chen Shuncai thought that this was a perfunctory matter, but he didn't expect that the emperor really took a fancy to Qu Qiao today and ordered: "Go and bring her!"
Chen Shuncai did not dare to disobey, so he left Funing Hall and returned to his courtyard.
Why is he always staring at Qu Qiaozuo?
It's been two hours, why is the emperor still so awake?
Has he recovered?
The imperial doctor last night was indeed an extraordinary person.
After entering the first room in the east chamber, Qu Qiao had already put on his clothes and was waiting quietly in the room. Chen Shuncai said, "Come on, follow me to see the Holy Master."
Qu Qiao's face turned pale: "Why are you going to see the Holy One again?"
"The Holy One wants to see you, just go and ask. What are you doing? If the Holy One asks you where you have been these past two days, just say that you went to Baoci Hall to serve the Queen Mother." Chen Shuncai was a little irritable, and Qu Qiao did not dare to ask again. After finishing my makeup, I followed Chen Shuncai to Funing Hall.
Emperor Zhaoxing looked at Qu Qiao and said, "I heard that Chen Bingbi sent you to Baoci Palace?"
Qu Qiao nodded.
Emperor Zhaoxing asked again: "Is it just because the queen is giving you a hard time?"
Qu Qiao quickly shook his head and said: "The queen has never made things difficult for me. It is my blessing to be able to go to Baoci Palace to serve the Queen Mother."
Chen Shuncai felt at ease, and Qu Qiao dealt with it in a measured manner.
Emperor Zhaoxing moved his shoulders: "My shoulders and neck are sore, please give me a squeeze."
Qu Qiao glanced at Chen Shuncai, who motioned for her to hurry over.
Emperor Zhaoxing had a fierce look in his eyes. His woman did not obey his orders obediently, but wanted to look at Chen Shuncai's face. This made Emperor Zhaoxing extremely unhappy.
Qu Qiao carefully rubbed Emperor Zhaoxing's shoulders, which made Chen Shuncai feel a wave of emotion in his heart.
Why are there waves?
Chen Shuncai himself couldn't figure it out.
Emperor Zhaoxing liked palace servants of humble origins very much. Many of his servants were favored by Emperor Zhaoxing. When Emperor Zhaoxing praised his fatness and acted in front of Chen Shuncai, Chen Shuncai did not feel too uncomfortable. .
It's a little uncomfortable, but not excessively uncomfortable.
A person of his level should be accustomed to this. Even a chamberlain who has just entered the palace would not dare to complain if he encounters such a thing. It is only natural that the master uses the slave's woman.
But Chen Shuncai felt really bad today.
Qu Qiao pressed it carefully a few times, and Emperor Zhaoxing suddenly turned around: "Why do you use so much force?"
Qu Qiao quickly stopped: "I'm clumsy, I didn't use enough strength for a moment, I deserve to die."
"That's all." Emperor Zhaoxing touched Qu Qiao's hand, suddenly grabbed her wrist, grabbed her with all his strength, and threw her heavily to the ground.
Chen Shuncai's face was expressionless. He shouldn't have any expression in the first place. This was a very common thing.
Qu Qiao struggled to get up and admitted his mistake again and again. Emperor Zhaoxing picked up a book on dream interpretation, flipped through it, and said casually: "Thirty floggings!"
Two chamberlains took thorn sticks, tied up Qu Qiao, dragged him outside the palace door, and beat him on the back for thirty years.
The chamberlain counted it, while Qu Qiao carried it silently, looking at Chen Shuncai from time to time with a pair of tearful eyes.
Chen Shuncai remained silent and had no expression on his face.
One sentence kept echoing in his mind: This is a common thing, a normal thing, a matter of course.
After thirty years of beatings, Emperor Zhaoxing asked Qu Qiao: "Do you know your mistake?"
Qu Qiao nodded and said, "I know I'm wrong. I deserve death for my crime."
"What I'm saying is that you deserve death," Emperor Zhaoxing said lightly, "Death with a stick!"
Qu Qiao shouted repeatedly: "Your Majesty, spare your life, spare your life!"
The chamberlain put down the thorn stick and replaced it with the torture stick.
Qu Qiao looked at Chen Shuncai desperately.
Chen Shuncai said nothing, a series of thoughts echoed in his mind:
She is the emperor's woman.
If the emperor wanted her to live, she would live; if he wanted her to die, she would die.
I am the emperor's servant, I have no control over this matter, and I cannot control it.
She is not my woman, and I cannot have a woman.
I can't stop this, and I don't have the right to stop it.
I have offended the queen for her, and that ends here.
This matter, I, I can't...
no!
Chen Shuncai couldn't deceive himself.
He couldn't let Qu Qiao die.
"Your Majesty," Chen Shuncai said, "Qu Qiao just made an unintentional mistake. Please be patient."
Emperor Zhaoxing looked at Chen Shuncai, his expression full of confusion: "Why do you care about her?"
Chen Shuncai said: "Your Majesty is very fond of Qu Qiao, why should he lose this beauty because of a momentary mistake?"
"Love? Beauty? If you have anything to say, just say it!" Emperor Zhaoxing became more and more suspicious. He couldn't really say he liked Qu Qiao, and Qu Qiao wasn't much of a beauty either.
Chen Shuncai groaned for a long time. He didn't know how to excuse Qu Qiao. In the eyes of Emperor Zhaoxing, a person like Qu Qiao was no different from an ant.
The chamberlain raised the cane and was about to execute the execution, when he suddenly heard someone coming to report: "The queen wants to see you."
Emperor Zhaoxing put down the book on dream interpretation and ordered his chamberlain to take Qu Qiao aside so that Queen Xuan could see her.
The queen came to the palace and saw Qu Qiao tied up in the corridor and Chen Shuncai looking nervous. She immediately understood the current situation. After bowing to the emperor, she went to the emperor's side, gently rubbed his shoulders and neck, and said softly:
"Your Majesty, I see you are doing much better today."
Emperor Zhaoxing nodded: "My spirit is better than before."
Chen Shuncai took the opportunity to please him: "The Queen recommended Doctor Meng to diagnose your majesty's pulse yesterday, and she said that your majesty can recover in a day or two."
Queen Chai looked at Chen Shuncai and wondered who he was talking about, Imperial Physician Meng.
Chen Shuncai looked back at the queen.
Don’t you remember the person you recommended?
Looking at Chen Shuncai's eyes, the queen made a little analysis and came to the conclusion that he wanted to take credit for me.
"I am worried. I heard that Dr. Meng has some tricks up his sleeve, so I asked him to diagnose the pulse of His Majesty." The queen pushed the boat along.
The emperor was surprised: "What medicine did he give me? Or did he use acupuncture?"
Chen Shuncai answered truthfully: "I didn't use any medicine or acupuncture, I just checked my pulse. After the diagnosis, I said that there was nothing serious wrong with me."
The emperor nodded: "This man deserves a reward, fifty taels of silver."
Seeing that the emperor was in a good mood, the queen took the opportunity to say: "Your majesty has just recovered, so it is not appropriate to get angry again. I heard that Qu Qiao has not made any big mistakes, so please spare her!"
The emperor frowned and said, "You came here just for her?"
This is strange. The Queen wanted to arrest Qu Qiao two days ago. Chen Shuncai said this himself.
Now she made a special trip to plead with Qu Qiao.
What is she going to do?
What ability does Qu Qiao have that even impresses the queen?
Seeing that Emperor Zhaoxing was getting angry again, the queen whispered: "Your Majesty, please allow me to speak alone."
Emperor Zhaoxing dismissed Chen Shuncai and others, and the queen closed the palace door and whispered: "Your Majesty, do you know that Qu Qiao and Chen Shun are the opposites?"
Emperor Zhaoxing was furious when he heard this: "I knew it was such an evil practice at a glance. This evil practice should have been banned long ago. I don't want old slave Chen Shuncai to be involved in it!"
"Your Majesty, this matter cannot be prevented. Your Majesty has forgotten the losses he suffered five years ago?"
Emperor Zhaoxing remained silent and there were no outsiders present. The queen seemed to be less polite when speaking.
"What kind of cultivation is Chen Shunzai? What is his identity? How useful is he to your majesty? Your majesty should weigh it carefully!"
Killing a palace man is not a big deal, but if it breaks Chen Shuncai's heart, it is not worth it."
Emperor Zhaoxing paced back and forth in the palace, thought for a long time, and said to the queen: "Ask Chen Shuncai to take that woman away, and don't let her see me again!"
When the Queen brought the words to her, she thought that Chen Shuncai would be uneasy. Unexpectedly, Chen Shuncai looked happy, thanked him repeatedly, and left the Funing Palace with Qu Qiao immediately. There was no trace of guilt towards Emperor Zhaoxing at all.
The queen secretly praised: "This woman is really good at it."
After returning to the east wing, Chen Shuncai applied medicine to Qu Qiao's wounds: "Don't blame me, I'm in trouble."
"I dare not blame you, my humble concubine." Qu Qiao lay on the couch and lowered his head silently.
…
In a dark hut in the south of the city, Taibu lowered his head silently.
He waved his hand casually, and a lotus appeared in front of him. The lotus was in full bloom, and Taibu transmitted a message to the heart of the lotus: "Kuansheng, I have something to discuss with you."
Xu Zhiqiong's voice soon came from Lian Xin: "Has the dream of the official family come out?"
"The dream painting is finished. I will tell you later that I planted a secret in the palace and gained something from her."
"Hidden child?" Xu Zhiqiong was startled, "Are you planning to assassinate me again? You fell into the Queen's scheme last time, but are you completely sure this time?"
Taibu smiled bitterly: "I didn't want to assassinate, not because of the queen, but because of Chen Shuncai.
I can deal with the queen, but I can't deal with this eunuch. As long as he is here, I can't kill the Liang family."
"Then why are you bothering so much? Let your secret agent be careful and don't reveal his identity."
Taibu said: "I came to you because I have another important matter to discuss with you. Can I exchange the two pills I gave you for one pill?"
Xu Zhiqiong was startled; "Which one do you want to change?"
"I will exchange the elixir for intermittent rebirth with the elixir for improving cultivation."