Jiuxi

Chapter 871 869 [The Highest Good Is Like Water]

The harem, Cining Palace.

"I, my concubine, send my regards to my mother."

"Sun Chen pays his respects to the Empress Dowager."

Queen Ning led Crown Prince Li Daoming forward, knelt on the cushion that had been placed in advance by the female official, and saluted respectfully.

Empress Dowager Xu looked at the respectful young woman with extremely complicated feelings.

Yesterday, she was forced to hand over power by Li Daoyan's words. She began to regret it when she left Duancheng Hall, especially when there was chaos in the palace later. Even though she tried to ignore the noise outside, she knew what had happened.

Although she felt like ants gnawing at her heart, Empress Dowager Xu dared not do anything, because although Li Daoyan did not say it explicitly, she could hear the hidden meaning in his words.

Now that Li Shizhi's conspiracy has been exposed, all the civil and military officials in the court will inevitably suspect that he and Empress Dowager Xu have colluded to kill the emperor. Now these ministers are concerned about the dignity of the royal family and are unwilling to investigate further. But if Empress Dowager Xu wants to continue to control power, how can they bear to sit idly by?
After a sleepless night, Empress Dowager Xu was in a bad mood. She couldn't hide the gloom between her eyebrows, so she said calmly, "No need to be polite, please stand up."

Queen Ning stood up, holding Li Daoming's hand. She was as humble as ever. Even though she was now the nominal ruler of the Great Qi Dynasty, she did not show any arrogance or complacency.

At this time, a female official came in and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, the Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Yuan Yuji, wishes to see you."

Empress Xu said expressionlessly: "Let him in."

Yuan Yuji also did not sleep all night, but he still looked energetic. This was not only because he had superb martial arts skills, but perhaps also because he had regained control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

He saluted meticulously to the three nobles in the hall, and then said to Queen Mother Xu: "Your Majesty, I was ordered to investigate the palace and found that on the night when the late emperor was assassinated, the former chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Chen Hong and Xu Feng, the internal attendant Cao Yan, the internal servant Xing Qingfeng, the internal servant Xiang Xiuzhu and others died suddenly. I investigated overnight and confirmed that the new chiefs Wei Zhen and Feng Jue, the internal attendant Ma Yunshen and others were the murderers. They colluded with Li Shi internally and externally, and according to the law, they should be sentenced to death, but they were promoted by the Queen Mother before, so I dare not act without authorization..."

A murderous look flashed across Empress Dowager Xu's face.

There is nothing new under the sun. Since she used those confidants to control the harem after Li Zongben's death, these people will inevitably be liquidated after she loses power.

Yuan Yuji's move was not a request for permission at all, but a way of showing off in front of her, or announcing in this way that the structure of the harem had undergone earth-shaking changes.

After Wei Zhen and others were captured, Queen Dowager Xu completely lost hope of turning the tables, and she no longer had the opportunity to cultivate so many loyal confidants.

Queen Ning turned around and looked at Yuan Yuji, frowning slightly, and scolded, "Foolish thing, your mother has been so tired recently, and you came here early in the morning just to talk about such a small matter? Besides, how did your mother know that those traitors were colluding with Li Shi inside and outside? The death of His Majesty has shaken the palace, and it is natural for your mother to promote those people to stabilize the situation. As the Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, you did not notice the hidden danger in advance, and now you are hesitant and hinting. Are you questioning your mother?"

Yuan Yuji was horrified and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Highness, please calm down. How dare I have such a rebellious thought?"

"All right."

Empress Dowager Xu looked indifferent and said slowly, "I was careless for a moment and let this villain deceive me, which almost led to a big mistake. But they are people in the palace after all, and there is no reason to let outsiders interfere. Yuan Yuji, the palace has been in chaos recently. There is no need to delay and show leniency. After the investigation, just beat him to death."

Yuan Yuji quickly responded, "I obey your order."

He bowed carefully and stepped back.

Seeing that Empress Dowager Xu was in a bad mood, Empress Ning said a few words of comfort and then bowed and left.

She took Li Daoming to the Funing Palace to pay respects to Empress Dowager Liu, and then returned to the Yong'an Palace.

"Take the prince to the side hall to study."

Queen Ning gave the order, then sat on the couch, looked at Yuan Yuji in front of her, frowned slightly and said: "I know what you are thinking, don't act on your own in the future, otherwise you can go back to your hometown in Ningyang to retire."

The so-called acting on one's own initiative, of course, refers to the sarcastic remarks that Yuan Yuji made in front of Empress Dowager Xu when he ran to the Cining Palace.

Yuan Yuji lost her usual calmness and said with a sad face: "Your Highness, if I knew this would happen, I would never leave the palace even if Your Majesty was angry and punished me. The officials in the court are reluctant to speak out for the sake of the dignity of the royal family, but who can hide this kind of human tragedy? If it weren't for the Queen Mother's intervention--"

"enough."

Even though Empress Ning felt sad and angry for the emperor, she had to suppress her grief and interrupt him.

In fact, a great eunuch like Yuan Yuji knew best how to avoid danger and seek good fortune. The reason why he lost his composure like this was entirely out of his guilt towards the emperor and his resentment towards Empress Dowager Xu.

As the saying goes, even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. Even if the emperor was not born to Empress Dowager Xu, he was still the son of the late emperor. How could Empress Dowager Xu collude with foreign officials to kill the son?
Looking at the tears in Yuan Yuji's eyes, Empress Ning said with a sigh: "I know you are loyal, so don't say it again in the future to avoid causing trouble again."

Yuan Yuji said in a plaintive voice: "I understand. Thank you for your advice, Your Highness."

Queen Ning calmed down and said slowly, "Go and do your work. Clean up the palace."

Yuan Yuji bowed and took his leave.

Queen Ning sat quietly for a moment, then stood up and walked to the window, staring at the autumn morning sunshine outside, a trace of melancholy appearing on her thin face.

But it soon turned into calmness and determination.

……

At noon, at the Duke of Qin's Mansion.

Gu Wan'er wore plain clothes and came to the main room in the back house in an orderly manner.

It was a period of national mourning, so of course she had to pay attention to these details, but she was so cautious mainly because of the young woman sitting in the hall. "Gu Wan'er greets Madam."

When she came closer, Gu Wan'er performed the ceremony meticulously, not daring to show any reserve or pretense.

"No need to be polite."

A calm voice came to my ears.

Gu Wan'er mustered up the courage to look up, only to see Lin Xi looking at her with a smile on her face. She praised, "She is indeed extremely beautiful, like a fairy from a painting. Even as a woman, I find her extremely stunning."

Li Bingxue's straightforward joke sounded beside him: "Sister, you don't know that my husband was pretending to be reserved. In fact, I know that he really likes Wan'er. Otherwise, why would he specifically come to me and ask me to take Wan'er to Jingzhou?"

Gu Wan'er blushed immediately and said cautiously, "Madams, you are joking. The Duke cares about the world and will not care about such trivial matters."

"sit down."

Seeing that she was nervous and uneasy, Lin Xi slowed down her tone and said, "Although this is the first time I've met you, I know that you are well-educated and well-mannered, and you are not the kind of frivolous person. Although your husband is in a high position, there are actually no strict rules at home. The most important thing is that the family loves and respects each other. Apart from that, you can be more relaxed and don't have to constrain yourself all the time."

"Yes, ma'am."

Gu Wan'er lowered her head and agreed, but she still didn't dare to relax.

In fact, even she herself was a little surprised. Logically speaking, Li Bingxue was a general who had killed countless enemies on the battlefield. She was not so nervous when she first met Li Bingxue. Moreover, at this moment, Lin Xi did not deliberately reveal the aura of a top master, which made her dare not say a word more.

If she were a person from the martial arts world, she might know that this was the demeanor of a master.

Li Bingxue understood what was going on, so she didn't force Gu Wan'er to relax. She said to Lin Xi, "Sister, is your injury serious?"

"It doesn't matter."

Lin Xi smiled faintly and said, "As long as you don't fight with others for a month or two, you can recover."

"I heard that Yin Qianjue was ranked sixth on the Jianghu Martial Arts Ranking. Now that my sister has killed him, when the next ranking is released, my sister will definitely be in the top five."

Li Bingxue said admiringly: "Sister is really amazing."

Lin Xi understood the meaning of the strings and smiled, "If you don't mind, I will help you study it for a while. Maybe it will help you improve your Liaoyuan spear skills."

Li Bingxue said briskly: "Thank you, sister."

Gu Wan'er listened quietly, feeling overwhelmed.

She has always admired Li Bingxue, not only because Li Bingxue saved her from the fire pit, but also because in today's world, Li Bingxue, as a girl, leads an army on the battlefield, and can be said to be as brave as any man.

Even though Li Tianrun gave her this opportunity, she was able to gain a foothold in the army by fighting countless times and risking her life, sharing the joys and sorrows with the soldiers from beginning to end. Otherwise, how could she have subdued those proud and powerful cavalrymen?
Now Lin Xi is no less capable than Li Bingxue. Although she does not have a family background like Li Bingxue, she can change the situation on her own.

Gu Wan'er only realized at this moment that Lin Xi had already come to the capital, and had not met Lu Chen in order to avoid exposing her whereabouts. If she had not secretly subdued the East Gate defenders during this period, how could the Sharp Warriors Battalion have entered the city smoothly?
Not to mention that she returned to the Duke's Mansion in time to kill Yin Qianjue, thus thwarting the enemy's plan to hold Lu Chen's relatives hostage.

None of these things could be called easy, but Lin Xi remained calm and composed, as if she had just done something very ordinary and not worth boasting about at all.

In addition to them, there was also a lady named Mrs. Wang in Jiangbei who came from a prominent family. Li Bingxue would always praise her whenever she mentioned her.

Gu Wan'er learned from their conversation that at least half of the credit for Lu Chen's reversal of the situation this time went to Wang Chulong. It was she who saw through Li Shizhi's conspiracy and responded in advance, persuading Liu Shouguang to let the Dingbei Army and the Feiyu Army pass through Jingzhou and unexpectedly march south to Beijing.

If Wang Chulong had not been planning and strategizing thousands of miles away, Lu Chen would obviously not have been able to make arrangements so quickly, and he certainly would not have been able to sit back and watch the situation unfold calmly afterwards.

Thinking of this, Gu Wan'er couldn't help but sigh.

Li Bingxue turned to look at her and asked curiously, "Why are you sighing?"

Gu Wan'er glanced at Lin Xi and said sincerely, "The three ladies each have their own strengths. The Duke is so lucky."

Lin Xi smiled and said, "If he heard this, who knows how proud he would be."

Li Bingxue naturally knew what Lu Chen was like in private, and couldn't help but laugh, then asked: "Sister, my husband went out early this morning. Did he tell you where he was going?"

"No."

Lin Xi shook his head slightly, a sharp light flashed in his eyes, and he said softly: "If I'm not mistaken, he should have gone to the Sutra Weaving Department."

"Yes." Li Bingxue said with a hint of sarcasm: "I'm curious about the expression of Li Shizhi, who always has everything planned out."

"He should be very unconvinced. How could such a rat in the gutter willingly admit his incompetence?"

Lin Xi curled her lips, then changed the subject and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about this shameless villain. I haven't visited this Duke's Mansion yet, are your two sisters willing to accompany me?"

Li Bingxue and Gu Wan'er looked at each other and smiled at the same time: "It's an honor."

(End of this chapter)