The next few days were uneventful and there were no more twists and turns.
The rainy season began in the Imperial City. It rained heavily for two whole days, and then it stopped for half a day, and then it started raining again one after another.
Emperor Mu ordered him to stay away from court for three days. He stood alone in front of the window of the side hall of Qinzheng Hall, looking at the heavy rain outside. His eyes had been filled with a heavy and indescribable gloom for the past few days.
Bit by bit, he recalled his journey as emperor over the years.
I thought that I, the emperor, was wise enough and decisive enough to kill.
Make strategic plans, be tolerant and open-minded, be diligent and love the people, and be courteous.
However, in the nearly thirty years since he ascended the throne, conspiracies have happened one after another under his nose, but he has been completely unaware of it.
The legitimate son was replaced by the son of a noble concubine, the son was abused and bewitched, the Qintian Prison was placed as a chess piece of King Chen, and even the Queen Mother had her own thoughts.
Emperor Mu sighed deeply.
Being an emperor is really tiring. Not only do you have to worry about the world all the time, but you also have to be wary of the plots of those around you. If you are not careful, you may not even be able to protect your own children.
In the evening, the rain gradually stopped.
"Your Majesty." Yang Dexi hurriedly entered the side hall and reported respectfully, "Prince Qi has brought someone here."
Emperor Mu came to his senses, turned around and walked out.
In the past few days, he has secretly sent people to investigate the truth and asked Qi Jin to bring Qian Qi into the palace today.
At this time, people were outside the temple.
When Emperor Mu walked to the outer hall, he saw Qi Jin in a moon-white robe and a man in a black cloak standing in the hall. Before Qi Jin could salute, he waved his hand and walked out without saying a word. .
A tall guard quickly followed and held an umbrella for the emperor.
Qi Jin followed behind him with Qian Qi, who was lame, followed by Yang Dexi and several chamberlains.
They were going in the direction of the harem.
Qi Jin was surprised and wondered why the emperor brought them here, but the emperor was obviously not in a good mood, so he wisely didn't ask any more questions.
Until they arrived at a deserted palace in the harem, Yang Dexi pushed open the palace door that had been in disrepair for a long time. As Emperor Mu walked in, he turned to look at the skinny Qianqi behind him and said coldly: "I want to ask you, When will the poison in my body be cured?"
Qian Qi lowered her head and looked at the dilapidated environment here from the corner of her eyes, feeling weird in her heart.
Why did the emperor choose to meet him in such a place?
Although it was strange, Qianqi still replied honestly: "The Gu insects are a little small for the time being, and they haven't grown into larvae yet..."
Emperor Mu turned around, opened a door, and coldly ordered: "Qi Jin."
Qi Jin pulled out a dagger and stabbed Qian Qi in the shoulder before he could react.
"Prince Qi, what I told is the truth, you...you..." Qian Qi screamed in pain, "What I told is the truth, Your Majesty..."
The palace door was closed.
Emperor Mu saw someone sitting on the old chair in front of the window. She seemed to be staring at the withered vegetation outside the window in a daze. Suddenly, a sharp pain hit her. She slowly curled up, moaning in pain from her throat.
"Does it hurt?" Emperor Mu looked at her coldly.
Concubine Gu in front of the window suddenly turned her head and stared at the emperor: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty?"
Emperor Mu said coldly: "I came here today and I have something to ask you."
Concubine Gu was about to ask him something, but the pain in her heart intensified. She clutched her heart tightly: "It hurts! My concubine hurts... Your Majesty! Your Majesty—"
"Mrs. Gu, is Rong Cang your son?" Emperor Mu looked at her pain with cold eyes and stood with his hands behind his back, "Is he your biological son?"
Gu slipped from her chair and fell to the ground, clutching her heart in pain: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Emperor Mu knelt down and reached out to grab her hair, forcing her to look up: "Tell me, is Rong Cang your biological son?"
Outside the hall, Qi Jin smiled and said sorry, took out a dagger and plunged it into Qian Qi's right shoulder.
Qian Qi turned pale in pain.
Mrs. Gu in the palace was in agony, clutching her heart with both hands. However, the pain of being bitten by thousands of insects was in her heart, and no matter how hard she scratched, it was of no avail.
"Ah" Mrs. Gu grabbed Emperor Mu's robe, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! I am wrong, Your Majesty, save me! Help me -"
Emperor Mu asked again: "Is Rong Cang your son?"
"He is my son, he is my son!" Gu nodded desperately, "Rong Cang is my concubine's son, your Majesty——"
"This is not the answer I want." Emperor Mu stood up and looked at her with pity, "If you don't tell the truth, the torture will continue tonight, and you may die of pain, and you won't be able to see yourself before you die. sons and daughters."
"Ah!" Mrs. Gu suddenly screamed and rolled on the ground in pain, "No, no, Your Majesty! Rong Cang is not my concubine's son, she is not my concubine's son!"
"Where did the child you gave birth to back then go?"
"My concubine... I was not pregnant back then..." Gu's face turned pale and she looked at Emperor Mu pleadingly, "I committed the crime of deceiving the emperor. I was not pregnant, so I carried someone else's child... "
"Whose child is this?"
"It's from outside the palace." Mrs. Gu hissed, "It's a child from outside the palace."
Emperor Mu's face became calmer and calmer: "Did you kill the Queen's child?"
Mrs. Gu's whole body was shaking with pain: "I didn't want to harm him! I just wanted to snatch the queen's child away. It was Po Wen who was too stupid and acted too harshly. Po Wen was the culprit, not I -"
Emperor Mu stood up, raised his foot and kicked her out: "You crazy and poisonous woman!"
Gu's body flew out and fell heavily to the ground, spurting out a mouthful of blood.
Emperor Mu looked at her coldly, turned around and walked out.
In the dilapidated palace garden outside the palace, Qian Qi was stabbed four times by Qi Jin's dagger, each time dripping with blood but not hurting her vital parts.
Stepping out of the palace gate, Emperor Mu coldly ordered: "The poisonous woman inside is left to fend for herself. She is not allowed to hire a doctor. She is not allowed to see anyone. Even if she dies, she does not need to come to retaliate. How to deal with it!"
Behind the closed hall, faint moans of pain could be heard, sometimes accompanied by the sound of the body hitting hard objects, which made people feel inexplicably uneasy.
The chamberlain who was guarding outside the cold palace knelt on the ground to send the emperor off, not daring to raise his eyes.
…
The Queen Mother waited in Shou'an Palace for several days.
She thought that Emperor Mu would know about her summoning the queen immediately, and would come to her palace to pay her respects as soon as possible.
Her prepared words will come in handy.
But she waited quietly in Shou'an Palace for three days, but Emperor Mu did not even step into Shou'an Palace.
The personal maid guessed: "The Emperor is probably busy these days. I don't know that the Queen Mother has already summoned the Queen."
The Queen Mother was sitting on the phoenix chair. There were a few fine lines in the corners of her aged eyes. When she squinted her eyes, a faint light emerged from her eyes.
"The Emperor has been very busy recently?"
"She must be busy." The old nanny thought for a while, "How about I go out and inquire about it?"
The Queen Mother stood up and walked around the palace: "Has King Jin'an returned to the capital in these years?"
