NFBE Chapter 80 He's the emperor, so why does he keep thinking about his wife?
Chapter 80 He's the emperor, so why does he keep thinking about his wife?
The virtuous concubine, dressed in luxurious clothes, moved gracefully and slowly to the two men.
She stared at Qin Le'an with a half-smile, and said in a drawn-out tone, "I wondered which favored concubine dared to cause trouble in front of everyone. So it's Consort Qin."
Qin Le'an clenched the handkerchief in his hand, cold sweat constantly seeping from his forehead.
"You just said this is the imperial harem, not a marquis's residence, and that the Crown Princess should not be so presumptuous." A mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips. "What? Is Consort Qin now in charge of this harem?"
Qin Le'an's face turned deathly pale instantly, and her voice trembled as she said, "Your Majesty, I dare not, Your Majesty, I dare not..."
She just said it casually because she was angry with Qin Jiuwei.
"Dare not?" Consort Xian lightly flicked the handkerchief in her hand, then suddenly raised her voice and said, "I think you dare quite a bit!"
Qin Le'an was already terrified of Consort Xian because of her torment.
Upon hearing her sudden stern voice, his legs immediately went weak with fear, and he knelt down on the ground.
"Your Majesty, I really dare not, I really dare not..."
His previously arrogant demeanor was extinguished as if doused with a bucket of cold water, and he huddled in place like a plucked quail.
Consort Xian glanced at Qin Le'an, who was kneeling on the ground, her eyes full of mockery. "Wasn't Consort Qin very arrogant just now? Now you know fear?"
"You dare to humiliate even the wife of the Heir Apparent Xie like this? I'd think you were going to become Empress tomorrow!"
Qin Le'an's eyes were filled with fear and unease, and large beads of sweat rolled down his temples.
Qin Jiuwei watched from the side and couldn't help but chuckle. In her previous life, she had fought to the death with Consort Xian.
Now that she has been given a second chance at life, and to have a virtuous concubine on her side, it's truly unpredictable how things turn out.
The Consort Xian, her phoenix eyes gleaming with authority, coldly stared at Qin Le'an. "Consort Qin's frivolous and unruly nature is truly unbecoming of a concubine. I hereby punish you tonight to go to my side hall and copy the Heart Sutra one hundred times, so you can cultivate your character!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Le'an's body trembled violently, and all the color drained from his face.
It took her a long time to manage to squeeze out a single voice: "Your Highness, please forgive me, I... I know I was wrong."
Her voice was choked with sobs, still thinking that she could escape this ordeal at the Princess's Autumn Banquet today.
But I never expected that I would still have to copy Buddhist scriptures.
A hint of resentment flashed in Qin Le'an's eyes, and his hands gripped the hem of his clothes tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.
Qin Jiuwei, it's all your fault! It's all your fault! You're the one who got me to this point!
Seeing that the matter was over, the noble ladies standing nearby began to praise Consort Xian.
"The Virtuous Consort is truly kind. Consort Qin was so presumptuous, yet she was only punished by copying scriptures?"
"That's natural. Consort Xian comes from a noble family, so she's naturally different from those from humble backgrounds."
Qin Le'an was furious when she heard everyone praising Consort Xian.
Consort Xian was a vicious woman!
What they thought was copying scriptures was completely different from what Consort Xian copied.
The virtuous concubine was made to kneel on the ground without a prayer mat and copy the scriptures all night long...
If she dozed off in the middle, the nanny next to her would immediately hit her with a bamboo stick.
This kind of petty torture is not as satisfying as giving her twenty lashes.
Hearing the praise from everyone, Consort Xian smiled smugly.
A knowing sneer appeared in Qin Jiuwei's eyes.
The Consort Xian's methods of tormenting people haven't changed at all.
In her previous life, the virtuous concubine also wanted to torture her in this way, so she cut her right hand with a sharp blade and dripped blood on the painting presented to the Empress Dowager, directly bringing the matter to the Empress Dowager's attention.
However, Qin Le'an was unaware that he had to curry favor with the Empress Dowager without any favor from her, and he couldn't think of any way to deal with the problems that arose.
A fool is a fool no matter where he goes; there's no hope for him.
Xie Jing watched Qin Le'an's loss of composure with a calm expression, his eyes showing no emotion.
Royal study room.
After the morning court session, Xie Yanli did not go to the Wenyuan Pavilion, but instead went to the Imperial Study.
He handed a thick document to Gao Xian.
"What is this?" Gao Xian asked as he flipped the book open.
His face grew increasingly grim as he turned the page.
Xie Yanli spoke coldly, “Your Majesty, these secret letters are correspondence between Prince Qi and some officials in the court, secretly colluding and plotting to usurp the throne.”
"Insolence!" Gao Xian slammed the document shut and roared angrily.
He believed he had taken good care of this imperial uncle, always bestowing upon him the highest level of fiefdoms and rewards, and had never suspected him.
But he was actually plotting to seize the throne!
Gao Xian's face was ashen, his hands gripping the armrests of the dragon throne tightly, his knuckles white, and a slight "crackling" sound coming from his joints.
"Kill him!" Gao Xian's eyes were filled with malice as he coldly and angrily ordered, "Kill him for me!"
Such a traitor deserves to be killed immediately; otherwise, I cannot swallow this insult.
"Your Majesty, Prince Qi cannot be killed yet," Xie Yanli said with a slight bow and a solemn expression.
"Although there is now irrefutable evidence of the King of Qi's rebellion, he has been cultivating his influence in the court for many years. His cronies are like centipedes, which do not die easily. There are still many remnants hiding and have not yet appeared. We should wait a little longer and wipe them all out in one fell swoop."
Upon hearing this, Gao Xian frowned even more deeply, and the anger in his eyes was slightly suppressed by reason.
He took a deep breath. "You're right, but I really can't swallow this anger if I don't kill him now."
Gao Xian loosened his grip on the handrail, and after a moment, he pursed his lips.
"Alright, we'll do as you say. We won't kill Prince Qi for now. I'll entrust this matter to you. I'll send more people to assist you with all my might."
Xie Yanli nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will do my utmost."
Gao Xian nodded; he had always trusted Xie Yanli to get things done.
Then, with some doubt, he asked, "How did you know about the King of Qi's rebellion?"
He remembered that the relationship between King Qi and Xie Yanli was quite good before.
How did Xie Yanli suddenly begin to suspect that the King of Qi was plotting a rebellion?
Upon hearing this, Xie Yanli briefly recounted the assassination attempt at the Qi Prince's residence that day.
Upon hearing that Xie Yanli had almost been injured by a hidden weapon, Gao Xian immediately frowned deeply.
"You're saying that it was your wife who made you wear chainmail, which is how you escaped this calamity?"
“That is indeed the case,” Xie Yanli explained. “The lady said it was because she had a dream in which I was to be assassinated, and she never expected that the assassination would actually come true.”
"That's why I started to suspect that the assassination was orchestrated by the King of Qi, and that's when I began my investigation."
Mentioning Qin Jiuwei, Gao Xian couldn't help but recall the scene he witnessed at the banquet that day.
The beauty's eyes sparkled, as delicate and alluring as peach blossoms in spring.
He was lost in thought and didn't hear what Xie Yanli said afterward.
Gao Xian only snapped out of his daze when Xie Yanli called out softly.
He pursed his lips. "Yanli, you really did marry a good wife."
But after saying those words, for some reason, he felt a pang of sadness and bitterness in his heart.
Xie Yanli's lips twitched slightly upon hearing this.
Marrying Jiuwei was truly the greatest blessing of his life.
When Gao Xian saw the smile in Xie Yanli's eyes, he felt inexplicably irritated again.
He's the emperor, why does he keep thinking about his subject's wife?
Seeing other couples having a good relationship makes me so angry...