Murong Jie was so unlucky that he brought up the "rumors outside the palace" at this time, "Mother, when I left the palace today, I heard people outside talking about how Xia Zian was thrown into the torture chamber by you and the queen."
The Empress Dowager was slightly startled and looked at Prime Minister Xia and Madam Linglong. She saw that their expressions had changed and they looked guilty.
The Queen Mother understood a little.
There was a hint of anger on her face. After reviewing today's incident from beginning to end, she could probably guess the purpose of Prime Minister Xia's entry into the palace. He came to the palace to apologize, kowtowed and cried loudly as soon as he entered the door. In fact, he came here because he thought that the palace would investigate Xia Zian's breaking off the engagement, so he brought Madam Linglong to clear himself.
If Yuan was really not who they said she was, then Concubine Mei's thoughts would be worth studying.
She didn't believe that there was no benefit in telling such a big lie to prove that Yuan was a woman of bad character.
What the Empress Dowager hated most was brothers fighting against each other and internal strife in the royal family. If Concubine Mei really wanted to fight for the future of the Third Prince, she must be put out of this idea first.
Although the Empress Dowager could roughly guess it, she also hoped that she was wrong so as not to implicate her grandson.
Therefore, she hoped that Eunuch Sun would come back to investigate who the palace maid was, find her and interrogate her, so as to prove Concubine Mei's innocence.
Eunuch Sun came back soon. He bowed and said, "Empress Dowager, I checked. The eunuch in charge of the inner court happened to be an admirer of Yuan. He said that Yuan had not entered the palace for more than ten years. I didn't believe it, so I checked the visit records of Concubine Mei, and it was true that there was no such person."
The color on Concubine Mei's face faded away little by little. She had just hoped that the inner court would destroy the records from many years ago. After all, so many years had passed, the inner court should not keep those useless records anymore.
The Queen sneered, "I wonder if Mei Fei is talking about something that will happen in the future?"
The Empress Dowager said majestically: "Mei Fei, tell me what's going on?"
Mei Fei dodged in panic and said, "Empress Dowager, perhaps I remembered it wrongly. I should have left the palace and went to the Prime Minister's residence. Yes, this incident happened in the Prime Minister's residence."
Prime Minister Xia also said quickly: "Your Majesty, what I said also reminded me of this. One year when Your Majesty left the palace and went to the Prime Minister's residence, Yuan Shi once got very angry. That time, Yuan Shi drew a picture for Your Majesty to see, but it was accidentally spilled by a maid beside Your Majesty, and the tea got wet. She said on the spot that she would beat the maid to death with a stick."
Zi'an couldn't believe his ears. Was he crazy? How did he get the position of prime minister? How could someone with this kind of intelligence be prime minister
No wonder Murong Jie would confront him. It is an insult to have such a person in such a high position.
In fact, Zi'an misjudged Prime Minister Xia. He was not stupid, but he had no choice but to blindly support what Concubine Mei said, because if Concubine Mei was left isolated and helpless now, she would lose this important backer in the palace in the future.
Therefore, even though he knew that what he said was not credible, he had no choice but to follow Concubine Mei's words.
At this point, he also realized that his entry into the palace to apologize was carefully arranged by someone, and the news that Xia Zian was thrown into the torture chamber was also deliberately spread by someone.
He could already guess who had spread the news, because when Xia Quan went out to inquire, he said that the news was leaked by someone close to the Regent.
In other words, it was Murong Jie who deliberately spread the news and lured him into the palace to slap himself in the face, to vindicate the little bitch Xia Zian, to cleanse the dirt off her body, and then marry her into the Regent's Palace.
This time he asked Concubine Mei for help, but Concubine Mei was also trapped. If he did not stand on Concubine Mei's side, Concubine Mei would definitely blame him in the future.
After hearing what Prime Minister Xia said, Murong Jie said calmly, "In that case, I'll have to trouble Eunuch Sun to look for the maids who served Concubine Mei back then and compare them."
The Queen Mother shouted angrily, "Concubine Mei, kneel down!"
Mei Fei turned pale, and she knelt down with a plop, kowtowed with a look of death, "Queen Mother, please calm down!"
Madam Linglong hadn't seen the situation clearly yet. She was stunned for a moment and said, "Empress Dowager, what Concubine Mei said is true. Why don't you believe it?"
The Queen Mother didn't look at Madam Linglong, but stared at Prime Minister Xia, "Prime Minister, I don't like Yuan, but I have to admit that Yuan is a hundred times smarter than her and knows her limits ten thousand times better than her. What kind of vision do you have? You have doted on her for many years, but ignored Yuan. You get a treasure but don't know how precious it is. You really make all men in the world jealous."
Prime Minister Xia's face turned pale. "I will keep the Queen Mother's teachings in mind."
The Queen Mother said coldly, "No need to remember. I don't want to ask about your family affairs. I don't want to pursue the matter of breaking off the engagement from beginning to end. But the Prime Minister and Concubine Mei put on a show today, which made me very sad and disappointed. They tried every means to kill their first wife and daughter. God has eyes, so don't go too far."
Madam Linglong didn't understand why the Empress Dowager said that all of a sudden, especially when she said that she couldn't compare to Yuan. She was not convinced, so she raised her voice and said, "Empress Dowager, although I am not talented, I am not as cruel and vicious as Yuan. I don't respectfully call her Madam because she really doesn't have the bearing and mind that a prime minister's wife should have. I don't like her, and my mother-in-law doesn't like her either. None of the elders in the Xia family like her. Isn't this enough to prove that there is something wrong with her character?"
Murong Jie burst out laughing, "Madam Linglong, I believe that no one in the palace likes you now. Is there something wrong with your character?"
Murong Jie didn't say much today, but the two words he said were directed at Madam Linglong, which made Madam Linglong very embarrassed and angry. She was used to being arrogant in the mansion, and now she was so angry that she forgot the occasion and said coldly: "Your Highness, don't talk like that. Since ancient times, marriage is decided by parents and matchmakers. If Your Highness wants to marry Zi'an, I, as a mother, need to nod my head and agree."
Zi'an reminded him in time, "Madam, my biological mother is still alive. She is the wife of the Prime Minister's Mansion. Xia Wan'er's marriage must be approved by her, and you have no right to influence my marriage."
Prime Minister Xia finally couldn't hold back any longer, "That's enough, she's your stepmother, how can you talk like that?"
The Queen said coldly, "A concubine mother? What does a concubine mother mean? A concubine mother is a concubine of the father. In the mansion, the status of a concubine is lower than the children of the wife or even her own children. She is just an awkward position of half slave and half master. When will it be the turn of a thing that is neither a master nor a servant to challenge the eldest daughter of the legitimate wife? This shows the family education of the Prime Minister."
The Queen's words really did not give Prime Minister Xia and Linglong any face at all. Prime Minister Xia's face turned red and blue, his eyebrows twitched, and he was angry but did not dare to express it. How could he allow others to slander his family education and the rules of governing his mansion
Madam Linglong was so angry that she burst into tears. Ever since she entered the mansion and gave birth to a pair of children, she has regarded herself as the wife of the Prime Minister. Even the old lady sometimes has to give in to her. When she entered the palace today, she thought that the Empress Dowager and the Queen would treat her as the wife of the Prime Minister like everyone else, but she didn't expect the Queen would not give her any face at all and directly call her a concubine.
Shocked and furious, she stood up and angrily asked Zi'an, "Tell me, what bad things did you say about me to the Queen?"
(End of this chapter)