The news that Shen Qingwan brought an ugly girl of unknown origin from outside the palace quickly spread in the palace, and soon there was an uproar.
At this moment, in the imperial study, a man in black was kneeling on the ground.
"How is Fu Huaiyu's stronghold in Jiangnan being dealt with?" He tapped his fingers lightly, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he was troubled by something.
“In reply to the emperor, it has been basically handled. However, the original troops plus the troops now handed over by the Ninth Prince are short of generals…” The man raised his eyes to look at him, then quickly lowered his eyes. The meaning was self-evident.
"Actually, I know. You just need to take good care of it." He gently pressed near his temple. There were really few generals in the court who could make him worry-free. General Shen must have rested for such a long time. "What about the remnants of the Liu family? Have they made any progress?"
No matter what, the Liu family is a wealthy and powerful family. Although it is said that nine generations of the Liu family will be exterminated, it is actually not that simple to do so.
The man in black suddenly shut up and the atmosphere became silent.
"It seems that there is no progress. You need to send people to keep an eye on the capital. Don't let anyone take advantage of the situation." She sighed and thought of the woman Shen Qingwan brought back. She couldn't help but feel helpless. She rarely had such irrational moments. In this case, let her do it this time.
"Go." He waved his hand and let the man leave.
Now that Prime Minister Liu is gone from the court, things have become much more peaceful than before, but at least someone has to replace the Prime Minister, so they had to promote the former Minister Qi.
"Your Majesty, are you worried about the affairs of the court again?" Shen Qingwan walked in on her own and poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of him.
"Yes, now the biggest obstacle has been removed, but the court is still short of personnel, and those who colluded with Prime Minister Liu before need to be removed one by one." He took the teacup from his hand, blew on it, and took a sip. The fragrance at the entrance made his mind much clearer, but he was still a little annoyed, "You know it clearly."
He turned his head and glanced at her, but he didn't blame her at all, instead he praised her. There aren't many women in the world who can be so insightful!
Shen Qingwan just smiled and didn't take credit for it. "It is my blessing to be able to share the worries of the emperor. Besides, I also hope that the people can have a stable life."
These were truly what she thought in her heart. When she had been with General Shen, she had seen the displaced people many times. This was something that people like them who were high and mighty could never understand.
"You are thoughtful." He smiled faintly, "My beloved, please remember what I said to you yesterday." Of course, he was referring to the matter of reminding her to pay attention to that woman.
She pursed her lips and finally nodded, "I will investigate it myself. Your Majesty does not need to worry about me." She hoped that the woman would not let her down. If she really had any bad intentions, she would personally send her to the Dali Temple even if she was reluctant.
While the two were talking, the harem was already in chaos.
Apparently, many concubines couldn't sleep well once Shen Qingwan returned to the palace.
Hua Xiangwei brought the soup at this time as usual, but stopped outside the door, "Eunuch Sun, is the emperor here?" She was a little surprised to see Sun Ning guarding outside the door. Logically, he should not be guarding outside.
"The emperor is here." Sun Ning answered truthfully after paying his respects, but his tone was a little subtle, indicating that there was more than one person involved.
At this time, Hua Xiangwei had clearly heard the laughter coming from inside. Her face changed slightly and she bit her lower lip lightly, "Is there anyone else in here?" The voice was obviously a woman's voice. If her guess was correct...
"In reply to Empress Zhaoyi, Empress Xianfei is here too." Sun Ning lowered his eyes. Compared with her usual elegance and grace, Empress Zhaoyi was far from being so graceful now. Her eyes seemed to be spitting fire.
Hua Xiangwei clenched her fingers, and the soup in her hands trembled slightly.
"Your Majesty, please be careful with the soup..." Sun Ning couldn't help but frown when he saw her like this. After all, she was not as presentable as the virtuous concubine. Just like this, it was obvious that she had lost her mind, but he still reminded her.
"Ah..." She came back to her senses, smiled a little forcedly, handed the soup to Sun Ning, and staggered away.
"Your Majesty..." Tang Suning brought the dish to Fu Yuheng as she instructed, but it was obvious that the person in front of him was not that happy.
"Hmm?" He glanced at the soup in his hand, but did not reach out to take it. He had already drunk some tea just now, and now he could not drink anything. Besides, Shen Qingwan was here, and for some reason, he always felt that if he took the soup, it seemed that something was wrong.
"Huh?" Shen Qingwan spoke up to help Sun Ning out. "This soup smells so good! I wonder which sister made it?"
She exclaimed in admiration, reached out to take the soup, looked up at Sun Ning, and blinked playfully.
Knowing that she did this on purpose, Fu Yuheng was just a little helpless, "The Concubine Xian is asking you a question."
Sun Ning was a little embarrassed at first, and he was a little confused about what she meant, so he just kept silent and didn't answer. Now that even the main person said so, he finally spoke, "To reply to the queen, this was sent by Hua Zhaoyi." Thinking of how Hua Xiangwei lost her composure when she left just now, and comparing it with Shen Qingwan's generous and decent appearance now, he felt that there was a world of difference. It even strengthened his favor for her.
"Oh... So it's Sister Zhaoyi." He deliberately prolonged the ending tone, sounding a little playful. Then he took a sip, still feeling unsatisfied, and licked his lips, "It's really a good soup."
Although she didn't like competing with others, she still felt a little unhappy when other women threw themselves into the arms of her husband in front of him.
"From the look of Your Majesty, it seems that he doesn't like it very much. If so, please give it to me." Although she said this, she didn't actually ask for his opinion at all. She just drank it spoonful by spoonful.
Fu Yuheng did not stop her, but just let her do it, "Since my beloved concubine likes it, if Hua Zhaoyi brings soup over again in the future, I will let the palace servants bring the soup to you." He stretched out his hand and gently played with her hair. If she looked up at this moment, she would definitely see the doting in his eyes.
Sun Ning naturally had nothing to say about this, but he felt a little sympathy for Hua Xiangwei. The soup that he had worked so hard to cook finally ended up in someone else's mouth.