The Empress Dowager received the pigeon letter from Hanshan, held it firmly in her hands, and a smile gradually appeared on her face.
Eunuch Sun asked, "Queen Mother, what do you think? Do you have any good ideas?"
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Yes, she has given me a good plan. She has a plan to stop Xia Wan'er from marrying the Crown Prince and let Prime Minister Xia join Concubine Mei. Then, Prime Minister Xia cannot form an alliance with the Grand Tutor, and the two of them will form a confrontation. Great, it's the same as your analysis before, no wonder she kept you by my side."
Eunuch Sun smiled, "The Queen Mother is now my servant's master."
"It's just that," the Empress Dowager also became worried, "here we are only talking about the solution in the future, what about now? The court officials are forcing me like this, and the Eighth Prince wants to return to the capital. How can we solve this problem?"
She read the reply carefully again and confirmed that there was no mention of it.
Eunuch Sun consoled him, "Since the old master didn't say anything, then it must be out of the scope of concern."
"What do you mean?" The Queen Mother raised her eyes suspiciously.
"Xia Zian is the key." Eunuch Sun said with a smile.
The Empress Dowager glanced at the reply letter, which mentioned Xia Zian three times. It seemed that Xia Zian also caught her eye.
"What should I do now?" asked the Queen Mother.
Eunuch Sun helped her sit down and said, "You don't have to do anything. Just pretend to be sick every day and don't see anyone. Even if the queen comes, she will be blocked outside the door. If they want to kneel, they can kneel. When they are tired of kneeling, they will naturally go back."
"But… "
"No buts. If there were any buts, the old master would have made it clear in the letter. If she didn't say it, then you don't have to care about anything."
The Queen Mother nodded, looked at the letter again, and muttered three words between her lips and teeth, "Xia Zian?"
She raised her head and looked at Eunuch Sun. "Is Xia Zian really that capable? Could he be someone who can restrain the Xiangfu?"
"The old master must have her reasons for saying so," Eunuch Sun said firmly.
The Empress Dowager hummed, "In that case, I really don't need to worry too much."
Outside the hall, more than thirty officials were still kneeling outside. The sun was so strong that it made people dizzy.
The military generals were better off, but the scholar officials couldn't bear it. Their official uniforms were soaked with sweat, and their bodies were sticky and stuffy. Some of them were already on the verge of collapse.
Taifu Liang was secretly surprised. Could the Empress Dowager really be so patient
At the same time, the movement at the Prime Minister's Mansion was somewhat surprising. The old lady issued a strict order that all people entering and leaving the mansion must be strictly checked. If they were people from outside the mansion, they could only enter after being interrogated.
Of course, people who know the ins and outs can see that the old lady is trying to prevent a traitor from sneaking in.
Xia Huaijun is the prime minister of the current dynasty and holds tremendous power. Although he was suppressed by the regent before and temporarily lost his edge, the regent is dead now, so it is only a matter of time before the prime minister regains power.
At this moment, many people came to ask for help. So many ladies in the harem who had children hoped that their sons could be supported. Even if they could not become regent, if they could become prime minister and hold on for a few more years, their power would be expanded and they could compete with the waste, the crown prince.
Now that the Prime Minister's Mansion has acknowledged the Crown Prince as its master, the old lady naturally does not want to allow other ladies' people to visit, lest the Crown Prince and the Grand Tutor get to know and create resentment.
That day, Concubine Mei ordered someone to leave the palace, but the old lady refused to see her and asked the messenger to go back and tell Concubine Mei to send Xia Lin out of the palace.
Seeing the situation had changed, Concubine Mei wanted to seek help from the Prime Minister, but she didn't expect that her people were turned away.
She lost her temper for a long time, and then asked in surprise: "The old lady said that I should send Xia Lin out of the palace? Nonsense, Xia Lin hasn't been here since the last time, how can I send him out?"
The palace maid told the old lady exactly what she had said, but the old lady didn't believe it. She thought that Concubine Mei wanted to hold Xia Lin hostage in the palace to threaten the prime minister's residence.
She told the visitor coldly, "Just tell Madam Mei that Xia Lin can stay as long as she wants. If Madam Mei likes him, it doesn't matter if she supports him for the rest of his life. He's a waste anyway."
In her heart, the old lady did not dislike Xia Lin, after all, he was her grandson. She said this just to prevent herself and the Prime Minister's Mansion from being controlled by Concubine Mei, and also to let Concubine Mei know that it was useless for her to hold Xia Lin hostage, and that the Prime Minister's Mansion would not be easily controlled by her.
After hearing the report, Mei Fei was even more furious. "Usually, when she needed help from me, she always called me Your Majesty. Now that she sees that the Crown Prince is about to gain power, she is trying to get close to me. Who knows if she sent Linlin to hide somewhere else, so she set a trap for me to let outsiders know that her mansion and I have a grudge, so that the Crown Prince and Taifu Liang will believe in his loyalty, and Xia Wan'er can marry the Crown Prince and become the Crown Princess. Bah! If the Crown Prince really falls in love with such a mean family, he will be in big trouble. I really hope that Zi'an will come back and tear off those shameless faces to see whether the flesh inside is red or black."
Concubine Mei could only yell in her mouth. The current situation made her very desperate.
The third prince will be crowned king in two or three years. In addition, her mother's family also has a certain amount of power. If the crown prince gains power, he will first target her and the third prince.
She had no choice but to ask someone to find Prime Minister Xia, thinking that he would at least take care of her because they were relatives. However, she didn't expect that he would lock the door and not even meet her. She was really disappointed.
The palace servant suggested, "Madam Mei, why don't you go find the Grand Princess? No one in the court dares to offend her. If she is willing to come forward to protect the Third Prince, we will be saved."
Concubine Mei thought about it. She rarely interacted with Murong Zhuangzhuang, so who knew if she would help her
But there was no other way now, so he sent someone to invite Murong Zhuangzhuang into the palace.
Murong Zhuangzhuang is now only concerned with finding Murong Jie, and the people in Concubine Mei's palace are unable to find her. Concubine Mei is in despair. She has even offended Concubine Yi. Who else can she rely on
Compared to Concubine Mei's despair, the Prime Minister's Mansion is now in high spirits.
Prime Minister Xia seemed to have realized that the future queen would be his daughter, and because of this, he treated Madam Linglong better.
On this day, he actually came to Xiazhi Garden for the first time and was very nice to Yuan.
This was the first time that the couple, who had been speechless or cold to each other for more than a decade, could sit down and have a good chat.
In the past few days, he has been thinking a lot. Thinking back to the past, he felt that it was a reckless act for him to go to Prince An. When Yuan married him, she should have had him in her heart.
So, he came today.
"I heard that you were not feeling well, so I brought you some supplements to take good care of yourself." Prime Minister Xia stared at Yuan and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. The years really had left no traces on her face.
To her, the hardships of the past decade or so seemed to pass by in a flash.
Yuan said, "Thank you!" Her attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, her expression was calm, and it was impossible to tell what she was feeling deep inside.
(End of this chapter)