Queen Pan returned to the harem, her heart still beating wildly.
This bastard almost made himself embarrassed in court by letting himself see such a thing.
She stroked her chest and looked at the letter in her hand, feeling the urge to burn it.
But thinking that the letter was still useful and that it belonged to Cao Bin, she refrained from taking action.
"The Queen Mother, what's wrong with you?"
At this moment, Concubine Pang also chased in, her face full of inquiry.
Queen Mother Pan quickly put the letter into her sleeve and said with a smile:
"It's nothing, I'm feeling a little unwell."
Concubine Pang didn't care about her, just stared at her sleeves and said:
"That letter?"
When she asked about the letter, Queen Mother Pan instinctively refused and said:
"You can't..."
When she said this, she suddenly felt something in her heart, and she felt secretly unhappy. I couldn't be frightened alone, so she immediately changed her words:
"This letter is really a bit...Sister Pang Fei needs to be mentally prepared."
With that said, she took the letter out of her sleeve and handed it to Mrs. Pang as if it was hot, looking at her expression expectantly.
Concubine Pang was curious, so she did not refuse.
She was much calmer than Queen Mother Pan. Although her face was also flushed, she didn't have any big reaction.
After reading it, she muttered bitterly:
"This coquettish fox is so shameless. He didn't forget to seduce a handsome man when he wrote a letter!"
"Why?"
Queen Mother Pan was a little surprised. This reaction was a bit beyond her expectation. This sister is really big-hearted.
However, it was precisely because of this concern that she asked Mrs. Pang to read the letter. She frowned and asked:
"Marquis Zhongjing will not really be seduced by that woman. He should go to Xixia."
She highly praised Cao Bin's ability, and was really worried that Cao Bin would abandon Song Dynasty and join Xia Dynasty.
In that case, Song Dynasty would suffer a lot.
Princess Pang hurriedly said:
"Don't worry, Queen Mother. The Cao family has been a noble family for generations, and they are entrusted by the late emperor to be alone. They hold a high and powerful position. How can you be so unwise?"
"If he really had this intention, he would not have let the Queen Mother read this letter."
Queen Mother Pan nodded and thought that her son recognized Cao Bin as his adoptive father, and she immediately felt relieved.
She never thought about withholding this letter as a trump card to restrict Cao Bin in the future.
One is that Pan and Cao's family are having a close relationship, which she didn't expect.
Both of these are just letters written by the Empress Dowager of Xixia to Cao Bin. Even if there is an attack in the future, it will not damage the foundation. It will also damage the current relationship between the two families. Moreover, she has a more dangerous trump card left by the late emperor.
Now she was thinking about how to continue to win over Cao Bin. The Xixia woman was so open-minded that she felt a little pressure.
While she was thinking hard, a young eunuch suddenly ran in and said:
"The Queen Mother, something serious has happened. Go and have a look. There's a fight going on."
"Master Cao must kill Sima Zhiyuan..."
Queen Mother Pan was startled, stood up quickly and said:
"Hurry, follow me back to Zichen Palace!"
Concubine Pang was also a little anxious. She thought Cao Bin was just talking, but she didn't expect that he would actually take action.
Sima Guang could be forced to commit suicide, but Cao Bin could not take the initiative. Once he did, he would become a thorn in the eyes and flesh of scholars all over the world.
At this time, the Zichen Palace was bustling with activity.
Some ministers came forward to start a fight, some added fuel to the fire, and some were eating melon and watching the fun.
However, seeing Sima Guang still there, both Queen Mother Pan heaved a sigh of relief.
I saw him putting the green sword on his neck, looking at Cao Bin with grief and anger and saying:
"If Marquis Zhongjing had not taken action, I would have killed myself, but I just refused to accept it!"
Saying that, he was about to kill himself with his sword.
Queen Mother Pan was about to speak to stop her, but she felt her clothes tighten behind her, and her words suddenly got stuck in her throat. Thanks to Wang Yanling, who stepped forward to stop her, Sima Guang would have really died otherwise.
"My concubine has behaved inappropriately. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
She turned back to look at Mrs. Pang and was speechless when she saw her look of pity.
Although Queen Mother Pan also hated Sima Guang, she still cared about the dignity of the court and would not let him die in the court.
However, she had no time to argue with Concubine Pang. She walked quickly to the throne and accepted the worship of all the ministers. Then she looked at Sima Guang and snorted coldly:
"What's your objection?"
"Didn't you make the bet yourself?"
Sima Guang was stunned for a moment, feeling ashamed and helpless. He said he was not convinced because Queen Mother Pan had an unusual reaction after reading the letter.
Unexpectedly, Queen Mother Pan came back and slapped him in the face.
Queen Mother Pan gave him a cold look, waved her hand and said:
"Okay, if you want to go home and die, don't show off in court."
Now that Sima Guang's reputation has been ruined, she doesn't have to be polite anymore.
Thinking of the momentum with which these people forced themselves to pardon Zhao Ji a few days ago, and then looking at his embarrassment today, Queen Mother Pan felt pleasure dripping from her pores.
I finally let out a bad breath today.
After this incident, even if Sima Guang would not commit suicide, he would no longer be qualified to become an official.
Perhaps, carrying his current reputation would be more uncomfortable than killing him.
Wang Yanling sighed and said:
"Junshi, you should go back home first!"
Sima Guang was startled, then walked up to Cao Bin holding the sword and said with red eyes:
"Please rest assured, Marquis Zhongjing, I, Sima Guang, will do what I say, and I will definitely die to apologize when I return home."
"I just didn't expect that I, Sima Guang, would be an arrogant person who sits in a well and watches the sky."
"I can't even guess at what Marquis Zhongjing is doing."
Cao Bin ignored him, just took the Qingzhi sword, inserted it into its sheath, and said no more words.
Sima Guang didn't pay attention. He staggered towards the outside of the palace and said in despair:
"It's ridiculous, it's ridiculous. I've spent twenty years studying the books of saints and sages, but it's useless. It's useless..."
Seeing Sima Guang leaving, Queen Mother Pan didn't pay attention and asked calmly:
"This matter has come to an end. What else do you have to do, gentlemen?"
Wang Yanling stood up and said:
"Reporting to the Queen Mother, there is also the matter of Marquis Zhongjing recruiting Li's daughter as an official. I don't know how to deal with it. I still need the Queen Mother's instructions."
After a pause, he suggested again:
"The old minister thinks that it is justifiable to give Mrs. Li an official position in the palace."
Now that things have happened, he doesn't want to get into trouble anymore. Just pretend to be sick. He didn't want to pursue it too much. It was Sima Guang who wanted to take the opportunity to bring down Cao Bin.
As for Li Qingzhao, he wanted to use this incident to give Cao Bin a favor, at least to stop him from forcing Sima Guang too much.
Maybe even save his life.
Cao Bin was a little surprised when he heard this, but he was also happy to see it.
This old guy is indeed an old bureaucrat. He can come up with such ideas, but he is more experienced than himself.
But before he could be happy, Kou Zhun, the current imperial envoy, jumped out. He didn't care about Sima Guang's life or death, and he directly shouted angrily:
"It's a ridiculous argument, and it goes against etiquette even more."
"What's more, Marquis Zhongjing has already made a mistake, and Wang Xiang doesn't want to stop it, but wants to cover it up for him. Isn't this just adding more mistakes to each other?"
"If this is the case, how can justice exist in the court?"
As he spoke, he bowed and said to Queen Mother Pan:
"In my power, I will punish Marquis Zhongjing and Li's daughter severely to serve as a warning to others!"
