"Your Highness, regarding the matter between Concubine Ji and Miss Zhou Er, Miss Zhou Er was very panicked and didn't know what to do. She specially sent her maid to beg me, but I couldn't do anything. This kind of matter... is all up to Your Highness. I dare not make the decision, so I specially came to ask Your Highness."
Liu Jingyu did not sit down directly. After bowing to Pei Luoan, he remained standing, behaving respectfully and politely.
Pei Luoan felt that Liu Jingyu in front of him was not bad, at least much better than Ji Youran. No wonder his mother did not fancy Ji Youran and gave the position of Crown Princess to Liu Jingyu.
Regardless of what happened before, at least now Liu Jingyu is standing by him wholeheartedly. If there is anything, he will let him know first and he dare not act on his own.
"I will not let Concubine Ji cause trouble for Miss Zhou Er." Pei Luoan said. He had also seen the situation that day. He originally did not care about this Miss Zhou Er, but now it seems that this Miss Zhou Er is still useful, at least in terms of contact with the Yuguo Mansion. This is still very useful.
"Your Highness, there are rumors outside... Concubine Ji angered the former Crown Princess to death. Is this true?" Since Ji Youran was mentioned, Liu Jingyu blurted out some words.
Seeing Pei Luoan's face sinking, Liu Jingyu hurriedly said, "Your Highness, I know these words are nonsense. I don't believe them, but the people outside may not believe them... This has become a big fuss. One day, the Queen Mother's people came over..."
Liu Jingyu paused here and showed a bitter smile on her face. The people sent by the Queen Mother were here to reprimand her. This was also a shameful thing to do.
However, Pei Luoan also knew about this matter, so Liu Jingyu just gave it a brief mention and let it go.
If she lost face, the prince would also lose face. Her men were handed over to the prince, and the prince promised not to pursue the previous matters.
"What did my mother's people say?" Pei Luoan frowned.
"I didn't say anything. I heard from the people below that the two maids were talking about... this matter in private. They also said they would report it to the Queen. They were talking about how Concubine Ji angered the former Crown Princess to death, saying that Concubine Ji had a bad heart, and that there were rumors in the palace. In addition to my matter, the two of them also inquired about it in the mansion."
Liu Jingyu said implicitly.
So even the palace knew about this matter, and Pei Luoan's face darkened.
"Your Highness, I'm afraid this matter... will have too much of an impact on Concubine Ji, and the Queen might..." Liu Jingyu looked worried, "Even though it's been so long, I still remember the incident with the former Crown Princess. In my heart, the former Crown Princess is your Highness's savior, and she is also my savior. I don't want to hear people say that about the former Crown Princess."
"What does this have to do with Hanyue?" Pei Luoan was silent for a moment and said unhappily.
"Because of Concubine Ji's affair, the reputation of the former Crown Princess has been affected. Now it is spreading outside. I am afraid that if this matter is spread out, it will be troublesome." Liu Jingyu's voice was unconsciously lowered a few degrees.
Pei Luoan frowned deeply: "Don't worry about this matter, I will explain it to the Queen Mother naturally."
"Yes, I think so too. If the Crown Prince helps Concubine Ji to say something, it will be more powerful than what I say.
If there are too many rumors, the Queen will definitely stop them." Liu Jingyu responded, "I am really not happy that the former Crown Princess' character has been spread like this."
These words seemed to comfort Pei Luoan, but Pei Luoan felt uncomfortable listening to them.
"Since this rumor is just a rumor, why does our mother need to step in?" Pei Luoan said.
With rumors spreading like this, even the Queen Mother might be implicated. Thinking of this, Pei Luoan no longer had the heart to accompany Liu Jingyu to finish her talk. He waved his hand and said, "You can go down. I know about this matter. Concubine Ji will not do anything to Miss Zhou Er."
"I understand. I'll take my leave!" Liu Jingyu bowed tactfully and saluted to Pei Luoan, then retreated to the door gracefully.
Watching Liu Jingyu leave, Pei Luoan's brows furrowed even more. This matter was more difficult than he had imagined. His mother already knew about it and would definitely take action. He couldn't suppress it even if he wanted to...
He stood up and turned away from the desk. Since his mother already knew about it, he should go to the palace and tell her, so that she wouldn't hear rumors from others and cause trouble.
There was a carriage ready outside. Pei Luoan got on it and headed for the palace.
In the Pepper Palace, the Empress's face looked very unhappy indeed. After hearing the rumors heard by the two maids, her face became even more long-haired.
After thinking it over carefully, he was about to send someone to call Pei Luoan into the palace when the news came in from outside.
Upon hearing that her son was coming, the Queen sat up a little straighter.
"Mother!" Pei Luoan entered the hall and first bowed to the Queen Mother in the hall.
"I was just looking for you, and you came at the right time." The Queen Mother waved to him, and Pei Luoan walked forward and sat down on the chair next to the Queen Mother.
"Tell me what to do about the rumors outside?" After he sat down, the Queen Mother couldn't wait to ask. There were only mother and son in the hall, and the other palace people had been sent out.
"Mother, those are just rumors... Don't take them seriously, and don't pay any attention to them!" Pei Luoan comforted the Queen.
“What do you mean by a small matter? This kind of thing is a small matter. What is a big matter? Ji Hanyue at that time…” The Queen slammed the table hard, but then she came to her senses and lowered her voice a little.
"Mother, the matter of Concubine Ji has nothing to do with the former Crown Princess." Pei Luoan interrupted the Queen.
"What do you mean it has nothing to do with me? The trouble that Ji Youran has caused now is Ji Hanyue's problem. After their problems, it will be yours."
The Queen Mother said unhappily, fearing that her son did not understand the importance of this, and directly pointed out the most critical point.
"Mother, I know... I will handle this matter, mother, just pretend you know nothing." Pei Luoan said irritably.
"I would like to pretend that I know nothing, but is that possible? One of my son's concubines actually murdered the wife, and this one is still so favored. If the emperor knew about this, he would definitely reprimand me. How could I be ignorant of your affairs in the Eastern Palace?"
The queen felt depressed and directly blamed her son.
As the queen, it was impossible for her to know nothing about her son's important concubine in the Eastern Palace. She said it was Ji Hanyue's intention.
Let Ji Youran enter the palace, but if she, the queen mother, does not agree, then even if it is Ji Hanyue's intention, she will have to go back by herself in the end.
So, in the end, it was the Queen Mother who made the final decision and agreed to this matter.
"Mother, this matter must have been instigated by someone behind the scenes, but there is no evidence. Don't worry, mother. I will send people to secretly find out who is behind it and will not let this matter implicate you." Pei Luoan calmed down his restlessness and continued to comfort the queen.
"So what if there is no evidence? If this rumor is not investigated thoroughly, people will definitely become suspicious of you. Do you want to keep this woman, Ji Youran?" The Queen asked her son sternly. In her opinion, Ji Youran was the cause of trouble and should be killed directly.
Seeing Pei Luoan remained silent, the Queen suggested: "If you are reluctant to do it, I will kill her for you. There is no use in keeping a woman like this."
"Mother, please don't interfere in the affairs of the inner courtyard. This matter is not as simple as you think. There are some things... Mother is not very clear about them. Anyway, you have to remember that keeping Ji Youran is much better than taking her life." Pei Luoan said with a headache.
It’s not that he cares about Ji Youran, he just cares about some other things. These things are also extremely important. At least Ji Youran is still useful, and he won’t take Ji Youran’s life just like that.
"Ji Youran still has other uses. We haven't reached the final stage yet. If that happens, Ji Youran can be thrown out to take the blame, and the other things will have nothing to do with me... If I use Ji Youran now, I won't be able to find someone more suitable than Ji Youran if I need to do something else in the future."
Pei Luoan was afraid that the Queen didn't understand, so he deliberately emphasized his tone.
"What about the rumors outside?" Although the Queen listened to Pei Luoan's explanation, she was still uneasy. "Not only did I hear about it, but other people also heard about it. Will Concubine He let go of such a good opportunity? What will your father say? Have you considered it?"
The Queen Mother reached out and pressed her forehead, only to feel a dull pain there.
Since this matter has spread so much, how can anyone stop it? Others can't, and neither can she. If she could, she would definitely not let anyone spread such rumors, but she has no choice.
"Don't worry, mother. I will take care of this matter. I will always calm it down. Concubine Ji also said that she has a way..." Pei Luoan knew that if he didn't say anything today, the Queen Mother would not let him go back like this, so he reluctantly told Ji Youran's plan.
After hearing this, the Queen clapped her hands, with a look of surprise on her face, "This is a good idea, but... can it work?"
"Why can't it be done? Don't worry, mother. This is a very simple matter. When Concubine Ji was in Ling'anbo's mansion, she was favored by Madam Ji. Some people in the mansion are more concerned about Concubine Ji than others. Today is different from the past. This is also a good move!"
"In that case, let's do it!" The Queen snorted coldly without commenting, which was considered as her agreement. This method sounded good. Compared with doing nothing, Ji Youran didn't think it was useless. However, her heart was a little hard...