Mei Fei and Prime Minister Xia lifted the pearl curtain and walked out. Mei Fei said softly, "Your Majesty, why bother? Chen Linglong definitely has no ambition to rebel."
The Queen glanced at the two of them calmly, and finally her eyes fell on Prime Minister Xia's face, "Today, the three of you have prepared such a wonderful show for me, how can I not return the favor?"
Prime Minister Xia knelt down and said, "I know my crime. Your Majesty, please punish me. There is really no need to create any more complications. If this matter involves the Yuan family, it will definitely alarm many people."
"I am not afraid of alarming so many people, so what are you, Mei Fei, afraid of? It's really strange. You are afraid of touching the Yuan family, so why are you pushing everything onto them today? Do you think the royal family won't make this public? Or do you think you can hide it from everyone in the world? That day at the gate of the Prime Minister's residence, Xia Zian showed the divorce letter, and you have already aroused public anger. No one is willing to believe that the talented woman they admire, Yuan Cuiyu, would be such a person. It's just that they can't say anything in front of so many people. If Xia Zian hadn't turned the tide that day, what would the consequences be? The Prime Minister wouldn't be able to guess it." The Queen spoke bluntly, not showing any mercy to Mei Fei and Prime Minister Xia.
Prime Minister Xia's expression was indescribably complicated, and he couldn't even say a word to defend himself against the Queen's words.
He knew Yuan's influence, so even though he disliked her over the years, he could not find a legitimate reason to divorce her. And cheating on her was the most serious crime.
Unfortunately, this plan also failed.
Zi'an hid behind and listened quietly to the noise outside.
Later, a palace maid came and led her around the screen to the west wing.
When I entered the west wing, I saw Murong Jie already sitting on the kang in the west wing drinking tea. He had his legs crossed, holding the white porcelain teacup with blue and white patterns in his slender fingers. He turned it gently and tilted his head slightly. The light from the wall reflected on it, and the curve of his profile seemed soft.
He looked at her lazily, stretched out his hand and beckoned, "Come here!"
Zi'an was surprised at his elusiveness. Concubine Mei and Prime Minister Xia had just gone out for a short while when he slipped in. This was Jingning Palace, the Queen's palace.
She walked over and stood beside him, "The prince is here?"
"Come up!" Murong Jie pointed to the opposite side and asked her to sit down. "Anyway, Yuan Shi won't enter the palace so soon. Sit down and drink tea with me."
He seemed to be accustomed to giving orders. It was just a few words, and even his tone was very gentle, but Zian felt a sense of majesty.
She sat down as she was told. Murong Jie personally made tea for her, then pushed the tea in front of her and told the maid, "Cook some dishes and bring them in. They should be light."
Zi'an raised his head, and before he could say anything, he said calmly: "I'm hungry, eat something with me."
He didn't know whether he was hungry or not, but Zi'an knew he was hungry.
During the two days since entering the palace, she seemed to have not had a full meal and had to make do with whatever she had.
She is not the kind of person who can't eat because of something on her mind. On the contrary, the more difficult the situation is, the more she needs to eat.
If you don’t eat, how can you have the energy to deal with all the difficulties
It is not an exaggeration to describe Zi'an's eating style as "whirlwind of despair". Murong Jie couldn't help but stop and look at her, frowning and saying, "You really don't look like a lady from a noble family at all."
Zi'an swallowed the last mouthful of rice, stretched his neck and said, "I'm used to it. This thing is especially delicious."
"They are just some home-cooked dishes. I don't think they are delicious." Murong Jie said indifferently.
Zi'an laughed, "I often eat leftover food from the previous night. I've even eaten the dog's leftovers. These are really good."
When she was in the special agent group, she was so busy that she had no time to eat. She would just eat a few bites at random, and she would eat the food that had been eaten by rats and cockroaches. After eating, she would immediately get back to work.
In the past, she mostly ate in the car, on the roadside, or in the woods, not in restaurants or at home. Most of the meals were without rice or vegetables. She just ate fish from the river or rabbits from the mountains. She was happy as long as she could fill her stomach.
Murong Jie, however, thought that she was living a precarious life in the mansion and even had to snatch food.
His expression gradually became serious, "I promise that I will never let you live that kind of life."
Zi'an was stunned for a moment, then realized that he had misunderstood. He laughed dryly, "I am exaggerating. Actually, there is no such thing. My meals were always good before. I had three dishes, one soup, and white rice as I wished."
Murong Jie hummed, unwilling to expose her disguise.
The atmosphere gradually became solemn. Seeing that she was full, Murong Jie ordered people to throw away the food. Zi'an almost blurted out, "What a waste. Save it for a midnight snack."
There was a hint of anger in Murong Jie's eyes. "If you want to have a midnight snack tonight, I'll make you something fresh."
Zi'an calmed down and looked at him, a feeling of weakness slowly rising in his heart, but don't be so nice to her, what she needs most now is a soft heart.
She turned her head away hastily, looking a little helpless.
In her past and present lives, it seemed that no one around her cared about her, so if she was favored by Yuan, she would treat her as her mother. If she received a bowl of water and two steamed buns from the doorman, she would always remember it.
However, he is not Yuan, nor is he a servant. He is the current regent. His kindness to her is all calculated. She is unwilling to get involved in his world to fight for anything, because it is a vortex that will suck her in and leave her dead without a burial place.
No matter in her last life or this life, all she did was to live a good life. In her last life, she was betrayed by her boss because of her soft-heartedness. In this life, she can no longer be soft-hearted to anyone who is scheming or powerful.
Zi'an sat cross-legged and closed his eyes to rest.
The thrilling life in the palace was very exhausting, and she was almost exhausted.
Murong Jie had been looking at her. He always had a trace of doubt towards this woman. Ever since the day she broke off the engagement at the gate of the prime minister's residence, she had caught his eye with a stunning appearance.
However, he couldn't see through her, which made him very unhappy as he had always been in control of the situation.
There was another noise outside, and Zi'an suddenly opened his eyes.
I heard Nanny Yang's voice, "Empress, Prime Minister Xia's wife, Yuan, is already waiting outside the palace."
The queen nodded, "Let her wait first, and let her in after Chen Linglong is brought up."
"Yes!" Nanny Yang responded and went out.
Zi'an stood up quickly, walked behind the curtain, lifted it, and looked out through the beaded curtain.
Prime Minister Xia seemed to have sensed something and looked over. His eyes were like a venomous snake, piercing through the bead curtain and hitting Zi'an directly. The anger and hatred rising from his eyes could almost burn Zi'an completely.
The Queen said to Concubine Mei and Prime Minister Xia, "You two should hide behind the screen first. You are not allowed to come out without my permission."
This is equivalent to exchanging seats with Zi'an, except that Zi'an has an extra guest.
Chen Linglong was brought up. Her clothes were torn in many places and showed whip marks, which showed that she had been severely beaten in the torture chamber.
But this beating was still too light compared to the beating she gave to the original owners Xia Zian and Xiaosun that day.
The eunuchs in the torture chamber were always cruel, but Chen Linglong was several times more cruel than them.
Yuan came in. She was wearing a green gown and a high bun. She had no decoration on her body. Her face without makeup looked particularly clean and noble. She came in step by step, her steps were graceful, but she gave people a feeling of gracefulness.
When Madam Linglong saw her, she immediately opened her voice and said, "Madam, the Queen Mother praised your painting highly and said she would reward you."
(End of this chapter)