The queen couldn't believe her ears. "What did you say? Why do they accuse me like this? What evidence do they have?"
"That day, the Crown Prince took away the commoner girl, and Concubine Yi happened to be in the Imperial Temple. The Grand Tutor got the news and said that they were planning to use this as an excuse to frame Your Highness and Concubine Yi."
The Queen was so angry that her teeth itched, "Xia Zian really can't be kept. If she is kept, it will harm me and the Crown Prince."
"So, the Grand Tutor said that if you need your Majesty to go out and testify, you can say that it was you who sent Concubine Yi to the Imperial Temple to pray for the Grand Princess."
"Then the prince abducted this girl, will it be..."
The attendant smiled, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. It was just a commoner girl, and she didn't cause any harm. She came back intact. Also, Your Highness was beaten by His Highness Prince Liang for this. It was a prank, but he got beaten severely. Even if the officials and clan members think Your Highness is not a good person, they will not depose the Crown Prince immediately."
The Queen was relieved. "However, the false accusation should not be underestimated. Let the Master find more evidence to refute it."
"Your Majesty, a person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear. Your Highness and Concubine Yi are innocent. Your Majesty will not allow anyone to frame them."
The Queen nodded, "What does the Master want me to do?"
"Your Highness, please go to the Empress Dowager's palace to report the situation first, lest the Empress Dowager hears the news first and summons Xia Zian to the palace. If Xia Zian speaks first, the Empress Dowager will definitely believe her words. Then, on the grounds that the Crown Prince is injured, ask the Empress Dowager to attend the political meeting with you. If you and the Empress Dowager are present, at least the Regent will not dare to be too blatant."
The Queen nodded, "Okay, I'll go right away."
After the queen sent away her attendants, she hurried to the empress dowager's palace.
The Empress Dowager also learned that Murong Jie had summoned all officials and clan members, and was sending people to find out what it was about. When she saw the Queen coming in hurriedly, she knew it was related to the Crown Prince.
She always harbored resentment towards the Queen because of what happened to Prince Liang.
So, when he saw the queen coming, he asked indifferently: "Has the queen visited Xin'er? How is he?"
The queen was startled. She had actually forgotten about this matter, but she quickly realized it and said, "To answer your mother's question, I went out of the palace to check on him today. His condition is not very good, but he should be fine."
Although she did not go in, she asked the doorman and he said that his fever had subsided and he was awake, so she thought it was nothing serious. She also felt that the Empress Dowager was just lying when she said that the condition was particularly serious.
The Empress Dowager knew that she had left the palace. When she heard that she had seen him and that he was fine, she felt a little more relaxed and her face looked better. "I'm afraid that saying he was fine is just a comfort to me. I sent people out to inquire about the situation last night, and they all said it was very serious. But with Zi'an here, there's no need to worry too much."
The queen said awkwardly, "Yes."
"Then is there something urgent that brought you here?" asked the Queen Mother.
The Queen gathered her thoughts and said, "Mother, the Regent has summoned all the officials and royal family members to the meeting room, saying that there is something important to discuss. I sent someone to inquire about the situation and learned that someone has complained to the Regent that the Crown Prince is having an affair with Concubine Yi. This is a pure false accusation. Please understand, Mother."
The Queen Mother stood up suddenly, her eyes widened and she said sternly: "Who made such a false accusation? This is a crime of treason."
You know, the prince has to call Concubine Yi "mother concubine". If he is said to have an affair with Concubine Yi, wouldn't it be equivalent to telling the world that he stole his father's woman? This is detrimental to the reputation of the royal family. Even if it is true, it cannot be made public in front of the court officials.
"We don't know who made the false accusation yet, but I heard that Xia Zian went to the Imperial Temple to rescue someone the other day and happened to see Concubine Yi in the Imperial Temple as well." The Queen said indifferently.
The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes, "You mean, it was Xia Zian who said that?"
"I don't know, but Concubine Yi and the Crown Prince have never had any contact. Suddenly she was falsely accused. There must be a misunderstanding. If it was Zi'an who said it, maybe Zi'an also misunderstood it. After all, there were many people who followed him that day. If someone said a few nonsense words to Zi'an, Zi'an believed it and told the prince, which made the prince very angry. Originally, because of Xin'er's matter, the prince was angry with the Crown Prince. This time, he made trouble and summoned the clan members. I'm afraid it was also done in anger without careful consideration."
The Queen Mother thought that once this matter was exposed, it would definitely cause a storm. She ignored the truth for the time being and quickly ordered, "Quick, tell the prince to come to me."
Eunuch Sun immediately took the order and left.
The Queen continued, "Mother, I didn't mean to drag Zi'an into this, but it's true that Zi'an has a lot of complaints about the Crown Prince. You should have known this before. Zi'an feels guilty about breaking off the engagement with Xin'er. The girl the Crown Prince took away this time is called Wang Yi'er, who Xin'er loves. In order to make up for Xin'er, Zi'an took people to rescue Wang Yi'er. I'm very grateful for this. If she hadn't arrived immediately, I'm afraid the Crown Prince would have made a big mistake."
The Queen Mother calmed down and said, "You mean, the commoner girl that the prince took away is the one that Xin'er likes?"
The queen said, "Yes, Xin'er had mentioned to me before that he wanted to marry her, but she was just a commoner girl, how could she be a match for Xin'er? I naturally opposed it, and later, Xin'er did not mention it again, so I thought he had let it go. I didn't expect that this woman kept pestering me after Xin'er refused, wanting to be the princess. Xin'er had always been interested in her, and seeing her infatuated look, his heart was moved again. I heard from the people below that the prince had arrested her because she had maliciously provoked him first, and the prince was angry and arrested her to punish her. I didn't think about what would happen, but I didn't expect that it would almost cause a big mistake. However, Zi'an has even killed two people around the prince, which can be regarded as a relief for Xin'er and Wang Yi'er. They really shouldn't have suffered such an insult."
The Queen Mother said unhappily, "Even if she is a commoner girl, so what? It's rare that he likes her. Has he ever asked you for anything over the years? You shouldn't have refused in the first place. As a mother, you should bear most of the responsibility for the current situation."
The queen regretted repeatedly, "I know I did something wrong, but wasn't I afraid that you would object? After all, we are not a good match."
"It depends on the situation whether they are a good match. You know his situation. He is infertile and has a disabled leg. It's not that he can't find a noble lady from a wealthy family, but it's rare that there is one he likes. I can't bear to object."
The Empress Dowager truly loved her grandson, and felt extremely sad when she thought of all the suffering he had endured.
"Yes, once this matter is settled, I will make the decision for him," said the Queen.
Now she was willing to agree to anything as long as the Queen Mother stepped in to stop the Regent.
Eunuch Sun returned soon, but he was the only one back. "Queen Dowager, the prince said he had important matters to discuss with the ministers, and he will come to see you after the discussion."
The Queen Mother asked anxiously, "It will be too late if we wait until the discussion is over. Are all the ministers present?"
"There are still two clan members who haven't arrived yet. Prince Baoan has already arrived, and all other ministers above the third rank have arrived." Eunuch Sun said.
The Queen stood up and said anxiously, "Mother, we have to go together. This must be stopped at all costs. It will damage the reputation of the Emperor and the Crown Prince. Once it gets out, the dignity of the royal family will be gone."
The Queen Mother was somewhat dissatisfied with Murong Jie. How could this be made public? Even if it was true, it had to be handled privately, not to mention that it had not been verified.
(End of this chapter)