When Shui Xinyuan woke up, he found himself in a strange room.
"……Huh?"
"Ah, the Queen!"
"Shui Xinyuan, are you awake?"
Before Shui Xinyuan had time to think about where he was, Qing'er and Chunxiang rushed to the pillow.
Only then did she remember that she had pretended to sleep, but actually fell asleep.
In the haze, Shui Xinyuan heard Lu Fusu telling her to take a rest at Zhuge's house first.
"Queen, it's great that you have returned safely!"
"How do you feel? Are you feeling uncomfortable? Are you hungry?"
Qing'er asked nervously.
Recently, it was rare to see her looking so good... To be precise, her cheeks were red because of excitement, and Chunxiang, who was almost crying, had a piece of medicine plastered on her left cheek.
"Well, um... I feel a little hungry. Chunxiang, what's wrong with your face?"
"My face is fine!"
"Because you were nowhere to be seen, she panicked and accidentally fell. Can you eat normally? Or should you go to the doctor first? I have already called the imperial doctor."
Shui Xinyuan sat up and looked around the room.
"...Where is the Emperor?"
"The emperor was here with you just now, intending to wait for you to wake up, but because there are still many things to deal with, Zhuge Qing and my father-in-law took the emperor away. The emperor said that he would pick you up in the evening, so you can have a good rest."
"Um……"
Since this is the aftermath, it means everything is over, right?
Shui Xinyuan stroked the sobbing Chunxiang and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"I got you involved again. Although I can't figure out what happened, you must be frightened when I suddenly disappeared, right?"
"No...it's me...it's me who didn't protect the Queen properly..."
"You fell, so your face..."
"It's just a scratch. I put this patch on it, so it looks scary."
Qing'er answered instead of Chunxiang who was twitching, and shrugged.
"Qing'er, Chunying Palace..."
"I informed them yesterday, but I didn't tell them what happened. You may be a little worried."
"...Chunxiang, why don't you go back first and tell everyone the situation?"
"but……"
Chunxiang wiped her tears and looked at Shui Xinyuan and Qing'er in turns. Shui Xinyuan smiled and nodded to her.
"I want to continue to rest here. When the emperor comes to pick me up, I will go back with the emperor."
"Li Yuezhen hasn't left yet, just ask him to take you back! He also said just now that it's almost time to go back to the Censor's Prison."
Qing'er said teasingly, and the other parts of Chunxiang's face that were not covered with medicinal plasters became increasingly red.
"No, that will cause trouble for others... I, I can just go back alone."
"...Here comes someone! Go to the living room and send a message to Li Yuezhen, asking him to send Chunxiang back."
"Zhu, Mrs. Zhuge!"
Qing'er was about to stop clapping her hands when she heard the maid in the corridor had already answered. Chunxiang hurriedly shook her head and said, "Oh, I'll go back by myself..."
"Okay, be careful on the road."
"Emperor, Empress..."
Qing'er pushed Chunxiang to the corridor and closed the door.
Chunxiang probably knew that no matter how much she refused, it would be in vain. The sound of weak footsteps gradually faded away. Shui Xinyuan and Qing'er looked at each other and laughed.
"She's so cute."
"You were almost the same as her a year ago."
"Yeah?"
Qing'er moved the chair to the table and sat down.
"……What happened?"
"There's... too much going on."
"That's not what I meant. What I meant was, why did you ask Chunxiang to go back first? Is there something wrong?"
Seeing Qing'er's curious eyes, Shui Xinyuan also followed Qing'er's actions and shrugged.
"...Qing'er, you are really smart as ice and snow."
"You don't have to praise me."
"It's not an important thing... When I was escaping, I suddenly felt very uncomfortable and ended up fainting."
"...Of course this matter is important!"
Qing'er immediately stood up and planned to call the doctor, but Shui Xinyuan grabbed her sleeve.
"I think... maybe I'm too tired."
"...Shui Xinyuan."
"When they invited me to go, I felt very heavy...even though I tried my best to tell myself that nothing would happen."
Qing'er sat down again and gently held Shui Xinyuan's hand holding her sleeve.
"You have been patient..."
"Um……"
"But Shui Xinyuan... no matter what, if you don't say it, others can't know. Even if you are sad and angry, you always restrain yourself and welcome others with a smile, so everyone only sees your
Smile.”
"..."
"Even if those who are sarcastic in front of you don't know, the emperor and we all know that even if you appear to be calm on the surface, you are actually in pain inside... When we understand your heart, we will also suffer with you..."
Qing'er's hands trembled slightly.
...What exactly are you enduring?
There are so many people around who care about me.
So far, they have been motivating themselves. What is there to endure?
"Qinger,"
She held Qing'er's trembling hand with her other hand.
"Actually, I'm really angry."
Hearing Shui Xinyuan speak bluntly, Qing'er raised her head.
"Because I am the emperor's wife. No matter how much those outsiders dislike me, what right do they have to drive me away?"
"...Of course I'm not qualified!"
"Qing'er, if it were you, what would you do?"
Qing'er opened her mouth in surprise, but then she laughed looking at Shui Xinyuan's expression.
"...I will beat them to a pulp and say it is none of their business."
"There are too many people. We may not be able to defeat them."
"Then get them done at once."
"Can I do it?"
"Of course you can do it."
I will also help you... Qing'er said with a smile, and Shui Xinyuan also laughed.
If you don't want to give up your position, don't give up your position.
That's the most important thing in the world.
"Qing'er."
"What's up?"
"I am hungry."
"...I'll have someone send it here, and let the imperial doctor come in first."
…
The imperial study room in the afternoon...
Lu Fusu, Zhuge Qing and Zhuge Ciyun took turns reading the reports written by Zhongshu Sheng and Supervisory Censor, and sighed.
"...It turned out that the eight wives of Han Shi and other eight people brought the Queen and the gardener to Chunhua Street, locked Chunxiang in the kitchen, and escaped. Their purpose was just to create a scandal."
"Their husbands all insisted that they had no knowledge and there was no evidence to prove their involvement..."
Lu Fusu threw the report on the table and leaned on the back of the chair.
"Is it only the Minister Ma who said something to the gardener that has no basis in fact?"
"It seems like this. The Minister of Rites was dissatisfied with not being able to get ahead, so he learned from his wife the plan to find the Queen to Chunhua Street... The ladies only thought it was a prank. In short, he heard the plan
, decided to use this opportunity to vent his anger..."
"If you just vent your anger, the method would be too cruel."
Ma Shilang found Xuandao who was there all day long at Furong House on Chunhua Street, where he often went, and said he was willing to pay him to deal with a woman who was in the way.
"Does Shilang Ma insist that he only told Xuandao to take care of the empress and did not instruct him to kill the empress?"
"Yes, but for people like Xuan Dao, cleaning up means killing people. In fact, Xuan Dao does think so."
"Although the Minister of Rites denies it with his mouth, he must feel that even if he really kills the empress, it doesn't matter. He still can't explain clearly what the word 'clean up' means."
He specially lent Xuandao the old armor of his own soldiers and asked him to bring Ziwei to him in the palace.
The person who met Ziwei in a mask seemed to be the Minister of Rites himself.
"He asked his wife to be temporarily absent from the dinner party, intending to pretend not to know, but it was a big mistake for him to hire Xuandao in the first place. Xuandao said that the Minister of Rites did not give him hush money, so he explained everything clearly
."
"...Whether it was a prank or just to vent her anger, my queen was in danger all night long."
Lu Fusu said in a low tone, Zhuge Qing shrugged silently, and Zhuge Ciyun nodded slightly, agreeing with the emperor's words.
"Then...Your Majesty, how should we deal with them?"
"Master Ma will handle it as usual."
"Same as His Highness Lu Fusu and the Xishen Pass incident, property was confiscated and then exiled, right?"
"Xuan Dao also sentenced him to prison as usual. The details can be studied with the Ministry of Punishment."
"According to the decree."
"Next... is the question of pranks."
Zhuge Qing scratched his head and looked back at Hu You.
"...What kind of crime is this situation?"
"I don't know either."
"We need to confirm with the Ministry of Punishment as soon as possible and then take action. If it is delayed until after the festival, it will be very troublesome."
"..."
Lu Fusu slowly leaned out and put one hand on the table.
"Yes, the party is about to begin."
"That's right, it's the day after tomorrow."
In this incident, only Zhongshu Sheng and Yu Shijian secretly carried out the operation. After the queen disappeared, Chunying Palace was also very busy. Other yamen did not know the news, but when Lu Fusu came back this morning, he felt that the atmosphere in Xuri Palace was
It was different from usual...it turned out to be to welcome the festival two days later, and everyone was very excited.
"What a rush."
"I wonder what the Queen's plans are?"
"It's up to Shui Xinyuan to decide whether to dance at the banquet... I guess she must insist on continuing to dance."
Lu Fusu held his chin with one hand and pondered for a moment.
"...As for the disposal of those people, even if it is troublesome, we cannot do it too hastily."
"Yes, that's true..."
"I have a proposal..."
Zhuge Ciyun picked up the reports scattered on the table and spoke slowly.
"I wonder what the emperor's intention is to imprison Han Shi and other eight people and their wives in a dungeon in the palace?"
"..."
Lu Fusu and Zhuge Qing looked at each other, then looked at Zhuge Ciyun.
"How long will it take?"
"Imprison them until the banquet is over and decide what to do with them."
"It looks like I'll be locked up for a long time..."
"There is nothing we can do about it, because there is no precedent, so of course we must proceed with caution."
In fact, a dungeon is no different from a prison. It is quite uncomfortable for nobles who are used to living in mansions.
"Good idea, let's do it!"
"According to the order... let me take the first step."
Zhuge Ciyun handed the report to Zhuge Qing, bowed and left.
After the door closed, Zhuge Qing whispered: "My father always steals the limelight..."
"Then you can come up with better ideas than your father."
"If I could have thought of it, I would have said it just now."
Zhuge Qing raised his eyebrows and flicked the report with his fingers.
"However, thinking about the Queen, this is indeed a good way to punish those guys."
"Um?"
"I heard from the geisha who saved the Queen that she hid alone in a dark warehouse with no windows for a long time. Although there was no other hiding place at the time, if you are not brave enough..."
Zhuge Qing glanced at Lu Fusu inadvertently. The terrifying expression on Lu Fusu's face made him take a few steps back.
"Your Majesty, your expression is terrifying."
"Zhuge Qing, thank you for telling me this. I decided to spend a little more time and carefully consider how to deal with them."
"...I would like to remind the emperor that criminals cannot be kept in the dungeon for more than ten days."
"This is not a problem. The censor can apply for an extension."
"..."
Zhuge Qing closed his open mouth...
There should be no need to remind the Emperor that even if it is extended, there is a time limit...