The huge palace, the magnificent buildings, the occasional coming and going of palace maids and eunuchs passing by in a hurry, everything seems to be the same as usual, but there is a storm secretly.
The harem, Xiao Shushen’s bedroom.
"Madam Gui, have you confirmed the news?" A soft and charming voice sounded in the silent room. Xiao Shushen was lying leisurely on the chaise longue, fiddling with the steaming teacup beside her with her slender fingers. Her voice was cold and unmistakable.
"Since Shen Qingwan and the Emperor fell off the cliff, there has been no news so far. I suspect..."
"Alright." Xiao Shushen waved her hand, interrupting her words, "You can go and take a walk around this huge harem now. Remember, you are trying to win her over, not force her. I don't need to say more. I believe you can handle things well."
"Yes." Nanny Gui hesitated for a few seconds, then agreed, turned and walked out of the room.
There are three thousand beauties in the harem. If... you win them over one by one, how long will it take? Nanny Gui is deep in the harem, so she naturally has a lot of thoughts. She keeps track of everyone and their identities.
“Zhaoyi, look…” Nanny Gui prolonged her tone and gestured to the palace maid beside Hua Xiangwei, deliberately forcing a look of embarrassment on her face.
"Meng'er, you go out first." Hua Xiangwei gestured and dismissed the maid beside her. "Okay, Aunt Gui, if you have something to say now, just say it directly."
"Okay, then I'll be frank with you, Madam." Madam Gui raised her voice and didn't show too much respect to Hua Xiangwei. She was a favorite of the Queen. Like most concubines in the harem, wouldn't they give her some respect when they saw her? However, she still had to show her due courtesy.
"Recently, there have been rumors that the Emperor and Concubine Shen fell off a cliff, and there has been no news so far. The Emperor is away, and the Empress is afraid that someone in the harem will cause chaos and trouble, so she sent me to bring all the concubines and beauties closer, hoping that we can unite against the common enemy."
"So, Aunt Gui, what you mean is..." Hua Xiangwei pretended not to understand and couldn't help but sneer in her heart. She knew very well what Aunt Gui meant.
"Of course I hope that if something happens, Hua Zhaoyi will still be on the side of our Queen. I wonder what Hua Zhaoyi thinks?"
"Haha, as a member of the harem, if someone really causes trouble, I will join the Empress in fighting against the enemy." Hua Xiangwei smiled softly and held Aunt Gui's hands with both hands. "But, I hope Aunt Gui will bear with me in the future."
"If Zhaoyi really needs to come to my place for something, I, Gui Ma, will do my best to help. Since Hua Zhaoyi has already made her intention clear, I will go to the other concubines' palaces to visit them."
"Of course I am." Hua Zhaoyi let go of Nanny Gui's hand and watched her walk out of her bedroom. She stared at the even larger palace outside the window, and then her eyes darkened, leaving no one knowing why.
Rumors circulated for several days, and ministers were whispering in the palace hall.
After all, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and while Sun Ning stood beside the dragon throne with an expressionless face, he was anxious like an ant on a hot pan.
"Eunuch Sun, the emperor has not yet attended the morning court, so I would like to ask you whether the rumor is true or not." A fearless minister stood out from the crowd and asked respectfully.
Sun Ning's face darkened. "When did you ministers believe these rumors? Let me ask, are you deliberately cursing the emperor to meet with an unexpected disaster?"
The minister who stood up had a slightly darkened expression on his face. He could not afford the charge of deliberately cursing the emperor.
"Then may I ask, Eunuch Sun, why did the Emperor not attend the morning court this time?" Another minister stepped forward and spoke. If it was true as the rumors said, how could there be no shortage of ambitious ministers in the court ready to make moves
"Your Majesty..." Eunuch Sun was just about to explain that the Emperor was taking Concubine Shen out for a trip and he didn't know how long they would be back when a eunuch outside the court shouted at the top of his voice that General Shen was coming to see him.
General Shen walked in from outside in a military uniform. He made a gesture to Eunuch Sun in the hall. He understood what was going on and turned to look at the ministers below who were whispering to each other. "May I ask if you have any objections?"
His sharp eyes immediately quieted the people below.
"The emperor has not returned yet, and rumors are spreading. Without a reasonable explanation, I'm afraid all the ministers will be panicked." Prime Minister Qi stepped forward. He had not spoken a word before, but now he stood up to speak. However, what he said was true. The ministers were uneasy about the emperor's absence. In addition, there must be ambitious people in the court. A careless choice might ruin their entire lives.
In an instant, the hall suddenly became quiet, as if waiting for General Shen's answer.
"I will maintain the stability of the court before the emperor returns. Does anyone have any objection?" General Shen frowned and glanced at the ministers, his voice intimidating without anger.
"Haha, since General Shen is here, I have nothing to say." Prime Minister Qi, who had just stood up, smiled frankly, then stood back in his original place and said no more.
"If everyone agrees, then we can leave the court." As soon as General Shen said this, all the ministers left the court. Since Prime Minister Qi has spoken, what else can they say? General Shen's ability is beyond doubt. With him in charge, no one will mess around.
However, the ministers privately felt that General Shen might take the opportunity to usurp the throne, but they only dared to think about it and not say it out loud.
Not long after, the people in the court dispersed, surprisingly, only he and Sun Ning were left. Yes, there were rumors flying around, and instead of being forced to stay here to investigate too much, it would be better to go back and discuss matters with others.
"General Shen?" Seeing General Shen standing there motionless and not saying a word, Sun Ning couldn't help but ask tentatively.
"Oh, it's okay." General Shen waved his hand. He was just a little worried about Fu Yuheng's accident, but he felt a little pain in his heart that his own daughter also fell off the cliff.
"Any news about the Emperor and the Concubine Xian?"
Sun Ning shook his head slightly and sighed, "Not yet. Now we have sent a large number of troops to search for them. We should be able to get news and find them in the next few days."
"Hmm? Found them?" General Shen was slightly stunned and asked back. He must have believed in Eunuch Sun's ability, after all, he had been with the emperor for so many years.
"At least, I want to see the person alive or the body dead. I believe that the emperor and the virtuous concubine are fine."
"Okay, before that, I will do my best to ensure the stability of the court." General Shen promised with a straight face, and couldn't help but change the subject, "There should be many matters of varying sizes that need to be dealt with at home, so I will withdraw now."
After saying this, he hurriedly left the hall.
After all, he had just returned from the border and came to the court, so he was inevitably exhausted both physically and mentally at this moment.