At the same time, Ni Rong, the guard beside the Regent, came to the Prime Minister's residence to meet Xia Zian.
When Prime Minister Xia heard that it was someone close to the Regent, he came out to meet him in person.
"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, the prince ordered me to come and summon Xia Zian into the palace." Ni Rong said.
Prime Minister Xia's heart skipped a beat. "The prince summoned her to the palace? I wonder why?"
Ni Rong said: "I only followed the prince's orders, and I don't know the reason."
Prime Minister Xia said with regret, "However, my daughter has suddenly fallen ill and is now bedridden. I'm afraid she can't enter the palace. Please go back and tell the prince."
"Acute illness?" Ni Rong frowned, but thought to himself that something was wrong. Could it be that the Prime Minister's Mansion had already taken action in advance
"Yes, the doctor said she might not make it." Prime Minister Xia said with a sad face.
Ni Rong knew that this was an excuse, so he asked, "Can I see the young lady?"
"I'm afraid this is inappropriate," Prime Minister Xia said with a somewhat unhappy expression, "She is seriously ill now and is in her boudoir. How can she allow a man to enter at will? This will damage her reputation."
Reputation? Ni Rong sneered in his heart. What reputation did Xia Zian have now? He broke off the engagement in public. He had become a well-known figure in the capital, and a very negative figure. He went against his family, was ungrateful, and offended the King of Liang and the Queen. Who wouldn't stay away from him
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I am only following orders. I must see the eldest lady, otherwise I will not be able to report to the emperor." Ni Rong said.
If Xia Zian really met with an accident, then His Royal Highness Prince Liang would probably be beyond help.
Ni Rong knew the relationship between the prince and King Liang, so he would not stop until he saw Xia Zian, even if it was a corpse.
Prime Minister Xia was getting a little impatient. Why was this man so stubborn? He was a prime minister of the first rank, and he had condescended to meet him in person, which was already a great honor for him, but he didn't expect him to be so entangled.
"You can go back. I will explain to the prince tomorrow when I see him." After Prime Minister Xia said this, he turned around and was about to leave.
Ni Rong stopped him and said firmly: "Prime Minister, I will not leave until I see the eldest lady today. If she is really ill, I can ask the prince to ask the imperial physician to come out of the palace to treat her."
Prime Minister Xia frowned, "Ni Rong, don't push your luck. The doctor said she doesn't have much time left. Please understand the feelings of a father and don't bother her anymore."
"Since the doctor said she is seriously ill, then I suggested asking the imperial physician to treat her. The Prime Minister should be happy. How can you not understand the Prime Minister's feelings as a father? I really can't understand." Ni Rong said suddenly.
He had followed the Regent for many years and had seen all kinds of ups and downs and met all kinds of difficult people, but he had rarely seen someone so shameless, so Ni Rong was also angry.
Especially, Xia Zian is the future regent princess. Although the prince is not happy, he has to deal with her.
"What's going on? What are you arguing about?" The old lady came out from the inner hall leaning on a cane, with a dignified look on her face.
Just now, a servant came to report that someone around the prince wanted to see Xia Zian, so she became a little alert. She listened in the inner hall, and only showed up to meet Ni Rong when she saw that he was becoming more and more presumptuous.
Ni Rong knew very well how powerful this old lady was, so he met her with caution, "Ni Rong greets the old lady!"
"Ni Rong?" The old lady sat down on the chair and stared at Ni Rong with her majestic eyes, "Who are you?"
"To answer the old lady's question, I am a guard beside the Regent." Ni Rong answered neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"Guard?" The old lady said calmly, "He is a servant. Why don't you treat him as a servant?"
Ni Rong's expression remained unchanged. "In reply to the old lady, I am a third-rank guard appointed by the emperor himself, not a servant. So there is no need to treat you as a servant."
"Oh?" The old lady hummed, her expression quite stern, "So you are of high rank. No wonder you speak so arrogantly, even the current Prime Minister doesn't take you seriously. If you don't know, you would think you are not a guard beside the Regent, but the Regent himself."
Ni Rong was not angry, and continued to speak in a neither humble nor arrogant tone, "If there is any offense in my words, please forgive me, old lady, but please allow me to go in and see the eldest lady of the Xiangfu, so that I can report back."
The old lady snorted and said, "You are young and your ears are fine, so how come you can't understand what people are saying? It's not convenient for you to see them, so go back and report to the regent and tell him that there is something wrong with me. I will go and plead guilty in person."
After that, she ordered sternly, "Xia Quan, send the guests away!"
Xia Quan walked in from the door and said to Ni Rong with a gloomy face: "Guard Ni, please come in!"
Ni Rong was sure that Xia Zian was in danger, but it was not appropriate to cause a scene in the prime minister's residence, so he bowed and said, "Okay, in this case, I will report the truth to the prince!"
After saying that, he turned and left.
The old lady said behind him in a veiled tone, "How dare a mere guard run wild in my mansion? Like master, like servant!"
These words were said deliberately for Ni Rong to hear. It can be seen that the old lady was very angry about Murong Jie's great weakening of the prime minister's power after he took office.
Ni Rong sneered but said nothing and strode away.
Prime Minister Xia looked at the old lady worriedly, "Mother, if you offend him like this, aren't you afraid that the Regent will punish you in the future?"
"What crime are you asking?" The old lady's eyes frowned. "You are just too timid. How can you achieve anything if you are so timid? Xia Zian has been poisoned. If he sees him now, I'm afraid he will be a dead body. Tell him that Xia Zian is seriously ill and announce his funeral tomorrow. It will be a natural thing to do."
"But Murong Jie sent someone to summon her into the palace. Is there something wrong?" Prime Minister Xia asked worriedly.
"What could it be? Use your brain to think about it. Murong Jie and the Queen have always been at odds. The Queen wants Xia Zi'an to die, so how could the Regent let the Queen have her way? Naturally, he wants to interfere and make the Queen uncomfortable."
Just as the old lady finished speaking, Xia Quan, who had sent Ni Rong out, came back in a hurry, "Old lady, Prime Minister, there is an aunt outside, saying that she is from the Queen's palace, and wants to summon the eldest daughter to the palace."
The old lady sneered, "It seems that the regent has another trick up his sleeve. As soon as Ni Rong left, someone who claimed to be from the Queen's palace came. He wants to go against the Queen to the end. This time, we must stand on the Queen's side and try to leave a good impression on her."
Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Xia immediately ordered: "No matter who they claim to be, just beat them out!"
"Yes!" Xia Quan took the order and left.
Nanny Yang, who was beside the queen, was waiting outside the palace with a handwritten edict in her hand, her face full of anger.
She came with the Queen's handwritten letter, but the housekeeper refused to let her in and asked her to wait outside the door. When did the Prime Minister's Mansion become so arrogant
After waiting for a while, she saw Xia Quan coming out and said sternly, "How long do you have to report it? The Queen has issued an urgent order, ordering Xia Zian to come to the palace to meet her immediately!"
Xia Quan smiled coldly, "Really? No one dares to disobey the Queen's orders, but anyone who falsely conveys the Queen's orders will be spared."
After saying that, he raised his hand, and two thugs came forward, twisted Yang Ma's arm and pulled her inside.
Madam Yang was furious and struggled to ask, "What a prime minister, are you planning a rebellion?"
Xia Quan slapped Nanny Yang on the face and said contemptuously, "How dare an old woman like you pretend to be the nanny of the Queen? You are simply courting death."
(End of this chapter)