After being scolded all over, the Queen Mother only understood that someone wanted to harm Prince Yun and wanted to assassinate him. The Queen Mother did not understand who was the evildoer who tried to assassinate him. She was sure that she definitely did not do it this time, and that was Concubine He and Prince Jing.
Concubine He's face was not looking good either. As a concubine in the palace and the emperor's favorite concubine, she had never been questioned like this before. She was annoyed and resentful for a moment. Seeing that the queen was glaring at her, she suppressed her anger and forced a smile, and asked softly, "Queen, what happened? I came here late and didn't understand it."
This meant that the Empress was reprimanded for a longer time. The Empress's face became more gloomy, and she sneered, "Noble Concubine He didn't hear clearly, but I can tell you that the Prince of Yun was murdered, and I heard that it was related to the palace. The Emperor reprimanded me for not managing the harem well, allowing someone in the harem to reach out to the outside of the palace. No matter who it is, this hand has reached so far that it must be cut off."
"Who, who has the guts to murder Prince Yun?" Concubine He asked anxiously with a look of surprise.
"I also want to know, who is so bold as to do such a thing? Doesn't he know that Prince Yun is the emperor's most trusted minister?" The Queen Mother said coldly, her eyes fixed on Concubine He's face. The person she suspected the most was Concubine He. If she knew that this matter was related to Concubine He, she would definitely not forgive her this time.
The Queen was still furious after being severely reprimanded by the Emperor. But now she felt that if it was really Concubine He who did it, then there would be something interesting to watch. That person was clearly not someone who would suffer a loss, even if it was Prince Jing!
"They even dared to murder Prince Yun. This is really outrageous. The Queen Mother must have this matter thoroughly investigated and must not let it go." Concubine He said frankly. She felt that this matter had nothing to do with her and looked at the Queen Mother with suspicion, fearing that she would fall into the Queen Mother's trap by accident.
She didn't want to confront this living devil.
Both the Queen and Concubine He felt that the other was very likely the murderer, and after a few careful words, they parted unhappily.
Concubine He took King Jing out of the Queen's Pepper Room and returned to her own palace. After they sat down inside, she waved her hand to let everyone around her leave. Then Concubine He asked bluntly, "Does this matter have anything to do with you?"
Prince Jing Pei Yusheng had a headache. He pinched his brows with his hand, sat down on a chair beside him, picked up the tea in front of him, took a sip, and then put it down.
"Mother, I don't know either."
"How could you not know?" Concubine He was anxious. How could this matter be related? Pei Yuanjun was never someone to be trifled with.
"I can't get away from the affairs of the Qu Mansion all of a sudden." Pei Yusheng said with difficulty, feeling very annoyed. For the first time, he felt that it was a mistake to choose Qu Qiuyan in the first place, which led to such a thing happening in the palace. Now that something happened to Qu Moying, it seemed that it had something to do with him.
"The second girl in the Qu Mansion was carried into the palace in a sedan chair. She was not given any status. She was told that she would be given the title when the principal wife comes into the palace in the future." Concubine He's face darkened. She was not very happy about the affairs of the Qu Mansion. The reputation of King Jing was tarnished by them.
Whenever she thought of Qu Caiyue plotting against her son, she became furious.
Pei Yusheng certainly wouldn't say that he had intervened at the time, nor would he betray Qu Qiuyan. He would only say that Qu Caiyue was greedy for fame and wealth, so
She plotted to harm herself and shamelessly went to her own bed.
Although Concubine He was a little skeptical, she always felt that her son could not really fall in love with a concubine's daughter. Besides, her son had previously said that he liked Minister Qu's third daughter, so there was no way she could be related to another concubine's daughter in the Qu family.
"A sedan chair was carried into the house?" Pei Yusheng asked.
"Of course, you can't give her a high position, right? Won't more women climb into your bed in the future? If she was just a palace maid, she would have been beaten to death directly. There would be no chance for her to marry in. It's only because her father still has an official position that she is allowed in. As for this position, let the new princess have the final say in the future." Concubine He said decisively.
She had been hesitant about this matter before, after all, she was the daughter of the Censor, and she was wondering what kind of position she should be given. But when the Qu Mansion was mentioned at this moment, she felt angry, so she simply gave her future daughter-in-law a decent position. It just so happened that her son had his eyes on the daughter of the general who supported the country, and she also thought she was a good match.
"Then I will send someone to talk to the Qu family later." Pei Yusheng nodded. This was the best way to solve the matter. He really looked down on Qu Caiyue. He had been wasting time before because he wanted to be more cautious. The Qu family had lost too much face, and it also affected Qu Qiuyan. Now he was troubled by the continuous troubles in the Qu family. Now it was even related to the murder of Prince Yun. He felt quite annoyed.
Seeing that Pei Yusheng was still obedient, Concubine He's expression softened, and she returned to the previous matter and asked, "Why did this matter involve you again today?"
She was in the palace, and for a while there was really no news about this.
"The person who was assassinated today was Miss Qu Si. She was on the street and was met by Uncle Wang by chance." Pei Yusheng already knew the whole story and explained what happened in a few words.
"It's the Qu family's business again? How does this matter have to do with you?" Concubine He was furious. She felt that none of the daughters of the Qu family were good and they were all unlucky. Fortunately, she did not agree to let Qu Qiuyan become Prince Jing's concubine. It seemed that the concubine still overestimated her.
"I heard that Uncle Wang suspected someone deliberately assassinated Fourth Miss Qu, and warned Uncle Wang. Uncle Wang warned me before because of Qu Qiuyan's matter." Pei Yusheng lowered his head, very worried.
"Is he really interested in this Fourth Miss Qu?" Concubine He felt frightened and asked in a low voice.
"That's unlikely. Uncle Wang has seen all kinds of women. A woman as weak as this is the least of Uncle Wang's liking. Even if she is a fairy, Uncle Wang won't even look at her." Pei Yusheng shook his head and said indifferently, "Besides, this Fourth Miss Qu may not be good-looking. She still has a veil on her eyes and most of her face is covered. Who knows what she looks like?"
"Then what does he want to do?" Concubine He's face darkened.
"I don't know!" Pei Yusheng was very depressed. Pei Yuanjun knew the relationship between him and Qu Qiuyan very well, so this matter was related to him. Although they were not the people sent by him, he was afraid that this matter would eventually involve him.
"Go and ask Qu Qiuyan if she was the one who did it?" Concubine He asked coldly.
"This... I don't think so. After all, she is just a weak woman!" Pei Yusheng hesitated and said.
"You go and ask clearly, who says a weak woman can't do such a thing? Her mother is not a good person, so how can she have a good upbringing?" Concubine He sneered.
If it were in the past, Pei Yusheng would definitely refute her, but
This time he opened his mouth, but no words came out. He lowered his head, feeling very annoyed.
"Let's find out who did this first. I suspect it was over there..." Concubine He lowered her voice a bit, pointed towards the Pepper Room, and continued to knock on her son, "If Qu Qiuyan is really involved in this, you must make up your mind not to get dragged into it."
When it comes to the murder of Prince Yun, nothing is trivial, and Concubine He doesn't want her son to get involved.
"Mother, I understand!" Pei Yusheng's eyes flashed with a sinister look and he nodded. If this matter was really related to Qu Qiuyan, then don't blame him for being ruthless. He couldn't ruin his family's plans because of a woman.
Seeing her son's decisive answer, Concubine He breathed a sigh of relief. In the past, when the matter of Qu Qiuyan was mentioned, her son had always been very persistent. Now he was giving in
This is good!
Here, the mother and son were having a heart-to-heart talk, while on the other side, the Queen and her son were also sitting together discussing something.
"Mother, I didn't do this." Crown Prince Pei Luoan was also assuring the Queen. He got the news a little late, but he still knew roughly. "It's the Qu Mansion's business. I have nothing to do with the Qu Mansion. It has nothing to do with me. Besides, my Crown Princess just passed away. I haven't even had any official business these days. How could I cause such a thing?"
"Then why did your father reprimand me?" The Queen's face looked unhappy.
"Could it be that Father suspects... Mother?" Pei Luoan guessed a possibility and reminded in a low voice.
"I have been in the palace all my life, how could I reach out to such a useless little girl?" The Queen was indignant and slammed her hand on the table. There were no outsiders around at this time, so she didn't need to pretend to be dignified and proper. "It must be someone from Concubine He's side."
"Mother, I heard that you also intervened when Fourth Miss Qu entered the palace. Could it be that this is why father suspects you?" Pei Luoan thought about it but could not find any other reason. This was the only one that made sense.
"It was clearly the emperor's own idea, why is he blaming me?" The queen became more and more angry, and reached out to press her head, "Ever since that woman passed away, the emperor has always been like this..."
"Mother, please be careful with your words!" Pei Luoan's face changed and he said hurriedly.
The Queen also realized that she had said something wrong, and she kept her mouth shut for a long time before she said in a daze, "This matter has nothing to do with you or me. Don't be afraid of being investigated. Let your father investigate. I will also investigate this matter in the palace. If there are any clues, I will definitely tell you."
Whenever there is something, she tells her son first and then tells the emperor. This is the Empress' usual style. Compared to the emperor, she trusts her son more and is wholeheartedly determined to push her son to that unique position.
Her son, the Crown Prince, the future Emperor, was supposed to be like this. Concubine He and her son were just daydreaming.
"Mother, since this matter has nothing to do with you, we don't need to rush. Let's investigate it first. If father asks you anything, you should answer him completely. You can also check Concubine He, but don't be too impulsive. Small impatience can ruin big plans." Pei Luoan nodded. He felt relieved after the Queen Mother said this. He was just afraid that the Queen Mother would really get involved.
"There is one thing..." The Queen hesitated for a moment and looked at her son with an expression that seemed to be hesitant to speak.