Chapter 354: Battle of Wits and Courage with the Air
The Queen Mother refused outright when she heard this.
"If the Emperor wanted to search the palace, he would have given the order just now." said the Queen Mother.
Nanny Sun showed a look of indignation on her face and said, "You are the mother of His Majesty after all..."
The Queen Mother sneered and said, "So what if she is the mother of His Majesty? Haven't we seen enough of the situation where a son grows up and is no longer under the control of his mother?"
"His Majesty really favors the Imperial Concubine too much..." Nanny Sun couldn't help but complain.
The Queen Mother sighed and said, "It's impossible to explain the tricks used by the Imperial Concubine behind the scenes. You don't need to ask the Imperial Master. He and the Imperial Concubine have frequent contacts. Who knows if he is involved in this matter? Go check the whereabouts of Taoist Zhang."
Madame Sun immediately said, "If Taoist Zhang is willing to take action, naturally all kinds of demons and monsters can be exposed. However, the last time I saw Taoist Zhang was fifteen years ago. He has been traveling around and his whereabouts are uncertain. If you count carefully, he is now nearly a hundred years old. I wonder if he is still alive."
The Queen Mother looked thoughtful and said, " I still remember that I was fourteen years old and had not yet entered the palace. When Taoist Zhang saw me, he said that I was very lucky and could give birth to an emperor. "
"I entered the palace because of his prophecy. No one else gave birth to a son, only I gave birth to an emperor. A person with such great ability must still be alive."
Madame Sun nodded and said, "Then I will send someone to deliver the message to Her Royal Highness the Princess."
After Madame Sun left, the Queen Mother looked through the window at Niu Niu who was playing with Lady Luo in the yard. She also had a selfish desire and wanted Taoist Zhang to take a look at Niu Niu's face.
Before dinner, the emperor issued a clear decree to promote Li Zhaoyi to Xianfei and take charge of the affairs of the six palaces.
The emperor, under the influence of the imperial concubine, has been very stingy with the promotion of concubines in the harem. In recent years, there have been few people who have even been concubines. Now that Li Zhaoyi has been promoted and is in charge of the affairs of the six palaces, the other concubines are also happy.
After all, Li Zhaoyi was kind and would not treat other concubines harshly.
For a time, the whole harem was full of joy.
Except for Guanju Palace.
The imperial concubine was eating the medicine weakly. After receiving this news, she was so angry that she overturned the medicine bowl.
"Bitch! They are all bitches!" Imperial Concubine Li cursed viciously.
When the head maid Xingzhi heard this, she knelt down in fear. She and Taozhi were both the imperial concubine's personal head maids.
But Taozhi had always been more valued by the imperial concubine. Xingzhi thought that after Taozhi entered the Ministry of Punishment, she would have a chance to stand out. Now it seems more like the whole ship is going to sink.
What's worse is that Chen Ma, who had always been very dependent on Imperial Concubine Li, now has a sad face.
"My queen, it's bad. The palace card you gave me is useless. The virtuous concubine only said that it was the emperor's order. The palace servants of our Guanju Palace are not allowed to leave the palace at will in the future."
If Taozhi is responsible for framing concubines in the palace, then Chen Ma is responsible for the connection outside the palace. She is the link between Concubine Li and the Li family.
Now that the emperor has ordered this, it will be difficult for Concubine Li's news to spread out of the palace.
"The little bitch Taozhi must have confessed." Concubine Li said.
Chen Ma immediately said: "My queen, the emperor has neither demoted you nor given you an open punishment. Taozhi should not confess much."
Concubine Li shook her head and said: "I have been sick for so many days and I haven't recovered. Who knows if the emperor is concerned about the reputation of the royal family and wants to quietly end me?"
Concubine Li's words immediately made Chen Ma and Xingzhi tremble in their hearts. If Concubine Li is gone, how can they, the servants who serve her, have the glory they have now.
"Can't...can't just sit there and wait for death!"
After thinking for a moment, Concubine Li immediately asked someone to bring writing materials.
She supported her sick body and wrote a secret letter, and asked Xingzhi to seal it with wax and give it to Nanny Chen.
"This letter must be delivered to my eldest brother. If I fail, all the years of business of our Li family will be in vain." Concubine Li said.
Nanny Chen nodded vigorously and asked, "My queen, do you want to ask the national master to come out of retreat to help?"
When Concubine Li heard this name, she was angrier than anyone else: "This waste has to retreat all day long. I don't know what he has cultivated in retreat!"
Nanny Chen didn't dare to speak.
Concubine Li said, "My eldest brother's letter is the most important. Don't forget to urge the national master."
After Nanny Chen left, Xingzhi collected the medicine bowl that Concubine Li had overturned, and prepared to have someone boil the medicine again.
But Concubine Li suddenly asked, "Who is in charge of boiling the medicine now?"
Xingzhi hurriedly replied, "To answer your majesty, the one in charge of boiling the medicine is Bicao. She is a maid assigned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs last month. We have checked her before and her background is clean."
Concubine Li immediately said, "You should watch over the boiling of the medicine yourself... No... It's better to let someone take a look at this medicine..."
Concubine Li has played tricks on other people's medicines, and now she is afraid that others will use the same means against her.
She didn't know whether the emperor would let her die, but before her brother did something, she didn't dare to take medicine or use spices, for fear of dying quietly in the deep palace.
"These days, I only eat eggs and longans."
Concubine Li said this, obviously afraid that others would tamper with it, so she only eats such closed food.
Xingzhi said, "Madam, we have a small kitchen in our palace, and the food made by the servants is barely edible. Why don't we replace the rations in our palace with ingredients and cook by ourselves?"
Li Guifei shook her head. It was easy for anyone to do something in the small kitchen. Besides, who could guarantee that the food delivered was not poisoned?
Li Guifei could come up with a poisonous plan in a short time. The more so, the more unsafe she felt. She had no idea that the emperor was still fighting wits and courage with the air by forcibly saving her life.
Even Xingzhi in front of her, Li Guifei could not fully trust her.
Li Ziqin, who was outside the palace, received the secret letter that was sent to him after many twists and turns. His face was very ugly. It was not that Nanny Chen personally delivered the letter, which could explain many problems.
The reply this time was also very slow.
Li Guifei woke up early the next morning, and she didn't care about her hungry stomach. She just supported herself and asked Nanny Chen: "Did my brother send someone to reply?"
Nanny Chen shook her head helplessly.
That day, Guifei wanted to ask three hundred times a day, but she got a negative answer every time.
Seeing that Concubine Li only ate eggs and longans, her complexion became more and more ugly, Nanny Chen and Xingzhi secretly sent their own meals to her.
"My queen, please eat some decent food. We have eaten these meals and they are not poisonous."
The two persuaded earnestly.
Concubine Li looked at the two as if they were dead. If the emperor wanted to kill her, these palace servants who served her closely would definitely not leave their lives. Who knows if they were poisoned by chronic poison.
Concubine Li suddenly heard the sound of stringed instruments.
"What day is today? Is there a banquet in the palace?" Concubine Li asked.
Xingzhi hurriedly replied: "My queen, it is the first palace banquet in summer. It is said that in addition to the relatives, His Majesty also entertained many officials."
Concubine Li's eyes lit up immediately.
But Xingzhi said again: "My queen, our master and wife are not on the banquet list."
Concubine Li was immediately disappointed.
At this time, in the side hall of Qingliang Palace where a banquet was being held, there was no one around, and Niu Niu threw herself into Zhang Yunniang's arms.
"Mom, I miss you so much that I've lost weight because of you." Niu Niu said pitifully.