20demayo Chapter 451
Chapter 451
jiang xinyue burned the letter from fusang into black ashes. xi que, standing beside her, dared not speak too loudly: "your majesty, didn't you originally send lady shi to goguryeo to retrieve the head of the goguryeo king? how did she end up in fusang?"
outside the window, the snow had formed icicles on the eaves, which shimmered with a translucent glow under the sunlight.
the western mirror reflected her stunning face: "it was i who sent her there."
"huh?"
xi que was unaware of this. was she the only one kept in the dark?
was it because she was too foolish?nôv(el)b\\jnn
this was truly disheartening.
"what are you overthinking again? neither shuangjiang nor xiao xiangzi knew about this. apart from me and shi ruojun, even the emperor is unaware."
ah!
so that was the case.
xi que immediately felt much better, her sense of balance restored.
"but why did your majesty do this?"
jiang xinyue's eyes gleamed with calculation. she flicked her sleeves and sat down on the fur-covered couch, speaking slowly: "because i also want to know who it was that changed mu qianqian's face."
xi que knew this much—the confession from the ministry of justice claimed it was hui yuan, but in reality, it was all orchestrated by her majesty.
now that hui yuan was dead, there was no way to verify the truth, and the mastermind behind it all must believe that her majesty had accepted the ministry of justice's account.
that person, having failed once, would surely try again.
but what did this have to do with her majesty sending lady shi to fusang?
"i suspect there are spies from the jin kingdom within the palace."
"the jin kingdom?"
xi que was thoroughly confused—first fusang, then goguryeo, and now the jin kingdom.
was her majesty playing a tongue twister?
"enough, your simple little brain will tie itself in knots if you keep thinking."
jiang xinyue tapped her forehead: "go out and play with the fourth prince and the crown prince, and keep an eye on the seventh prince and the third princess."
a simple mind like xi que's was perfect for entertaining the children.
otherwise, xinyue would feel unaccomplished if she knew he was going easy on her.
the soft jiangnan melodies continued to play, and the letter in the emperor's hand was set aflame. with a flick of his fingers, only ashes remained, disappearing into the air.
shi ruojun had not been seen in the palace for a long time, and many speculated that she, who loved martial arts and had once advised her majesty to attack goguryeo, must have disguised herself as a man and followed commander meng to war.
these rumors spread and twisted until they reached the ears of the ministers attending the morning court.
the emperor now rarely returned to chengqian palace, so the ministers had to seek him out in kunning palace, inevitably disturbing her majesty.
today, the ones gathered in the study of kunning palace were the same old ministers who had vehemently opposed women's involvement in politics.
among them, most held deeply ingrained beliefs that women should stay at home, tending to their husbands and children, and not meddle in public affairs or harbor excessive ambitions.
a small minority simply feared that if women's status surpassed men's, men would no longer be able to treat women as they pleased.
"your majesty, i heard that a concubine in your harem has fallen for a guard and eloped with him in pursuit of true love?"
"such a thing?"
even the emperor, the person in question, was startled: "impossible!"
if such a thing had happened, xinyue would surely know.
"it's shi ruojun, the daughter of the governor of gun prefecture. does your majesty remember her? i also heard that her majesty the empress shielded her and helped her escape the palace. is this true?"
for the empress to assist a concubine in eloping was utterly outrageous, a complete inversion of order.
helping someone else cuckold the emperor, making him a laughingstock.
jiang xinyue was surely done for.
the emperor: ...
he was at a loss for words.
shi ruojun was in fusang, and meng qingyu was at the border of goguryeo. how could the two of them elope?
besides, if they had eloped, where would that leave xi que?
"your majesty, her majesty the empress has repeatedly violated palace regulations, committing shocking and unconventional acts unbecoming of a woman. now she has even encouraged a concubine to elope with a guard, an act of grave treason. i implore your majesty to set aside personal feelings and punish her majesty severely."
jiang xinyue had been in the study all along, but upon hearing that several senior ministers had come to see the emperor, she had discreetly moved behind a screen to avoid them.
now, she could no longer remain silent.
"lord gao, you keep saying you heard this and that. then tell me, who did you hear it from? and which guard are you referring to? surely a story about two people can't only have shi ruojun's name in it, can it?"