"And now? Is your uncle okay? Xuanyuan Hao asked nervously.

"It's okay. The eldest prince failed to force the palace and was beheaded by his uncle. Your letter was also handed over to my uncle, and when I left the Eastern Tang Kingdom, my uncle had already sent troops to prepare to attack the Western Qi Kingdom. Murong Xuanji opened his mouth and said, calming Xuanyuan Hao's nervousness.

"It's okay. You want to rest, and I'll call you when I'm done eating. Seeing Murong Xuanji's tired look, Xuanyuan Hao helped her lie down.

"Good!" After everything was done, his nerves relaxed a little, and sleepiness swept in, Murong Xuanji yawned, pulled the quilt and quickly fell asleep.

Xuanyuan Hao looked at Murong Xuanji sleeping soundly, smiled dotingly, put down the bed veil, and then quietly left, letting Murong Xuanji sleep well.

Xuanyuan Jue and Huangxian Concubine returned to the Eighth Prince's Mansion and closed the door, Xuanyuan Jue patiently asked, "I don't know if the mother concubine has anything important to say to me." ”

"If you break the thought in your heart, I will not allow you to go to a maid as a wife." Concubine Huangxian had no room for negotiation and said, "I will ask Si Tianjian's people to choose an auspicious day for the zodiac as soon as possible, and when I present the emperor, I will immediately complete the marriage between you and Yan Qing." ”

"Mother!" Xuanyuan Jue shouted angrily, looked at her a little incredulously and said, "I don't like that Yan Qing at all, I won't marry her." ”

"Okay, it's okay if you don't marry her, I have other women from the minister's family to marry, you see which one you like, although they are not as good as that Yan Qing, but they are all stronger than that Baoqing." Concubine Huangxian took a step back and said.

"Except for Baoqing, I don't want anyone! If my mother doesn't let me marry Baoqing, then I won't be married for the rest of my life. Xuanyuan Jue blurted out the threatening words.

"You-" Concubine Huangxian's head was blank by Xuanyuan Jue's anger, seeing Xuanyuan Jue's stubborn appearance, Concubine Huangxian kept taking a deep breath, letting her emotions slowly calm down before she spoke: "If you still let me be the mother concubine, just listen to my arrangement, if you insist on marrying that lowly maid, then I will not have you as a son." ”

"Mother!" Xuanyuan Jue didn't expect that Concubine Huangxian would say such a decision, and it was difficult to decide for a while, and he waited until his mood slowly calmed down before he spoke: "Mother, my father once promised me a request, that is, if it is a woman I like, my father will not stop it." ”

"What?" Concubine Huangxian looked at Xuanyuan Jue in disbelief, although what he said was very simple, but once this matter involved the emperor, then things became difficult.

"Look, it's my father's handwriting." Xuanyuan Jue took out the handwritten letter with the jade seal that the emperor promised him and showed it to the imperial concubine.

Looking at her familiar self, Concubine Huangxian's face turned pale, she would never have thought that Xuanyuan Jue still had such a talisman.

"Even if the emperor agrees to you, but if he knows that you are going to a maid in the Nine Emperors' Mansion, I don't think the emperor will easily agree." The imperial concubine said uncertainly: "Do you think that with the emperor's handwriting, I can agree?" Impossible, I will never accept that girl from Baoqing. ”

"In that case, Erchen can't say anything. You are the mother who gave birth to me, I can't be unfilial and cut off relations with you, but I won't marry another woman, tomorrow morning I will ask my father for a decree, I will be transferred back to the south, and I will never return to the capital. Xuanyuan Jue no longer argued with the imperial concubine, and said with a dead heart.

"Are you threatening me?" Hearing Xuanyuan Jue's words, Concubine Huangxian was angry and worried, worried that he would really do what he said and ask to go to the south and never come back.

"Erchen doesn't dare, I'm just telling you my decision." Xuanyuan Jue said calmly.

"If you do this, I won't stop you, in short, with me without her, with her without me, you can do it yourself." Concubine Huangxian was angered by Xuanyuan Jue's attitude and left the Eighth Prince's Mansion in a hurry.

Xuanyuan Jue angrily smashed all the things on the table to the ground, he couldn't help but like Baoqing, Baoqing's identity is a fact that cannot be changed, he never thought that the first obstacle he encountered came from respecting his mother who he had always thought was the most understanding.

Concubine Huangxian hurriedly returned to the palace, and before she could return to her palace, she heard that the imperial concubine was called by the queen, and she was shocked, she didn't have to think about it and knew that it was for today's matter, and the imperial concubine thought about it for a while, and felt that it was better for her not to come forward, so she let the queen and the imperial concubine solve it well, so she pretended not to know anything and returned to her palace.

And the queen's side, feeling that the whole palace was immersed in solemnity, the imperial concubine stood with her head down, not daring to look up at the queen, the previous events plus the recent events, she had already made the worst plan in her heart.

"Imperial concubine, what else do you have to explain today's events?" The queen has always been obsessed with the previous things, but she is struggling to show a painful side in front of the emperor, so she can't find a chance to punish the imperial concubine, and today the imperial concubine just gave the queen a good opportunity, and the queen will naturally not give up this opportunity.

"The concubine also mistakenly believed the rumors, and when she saw that the Nine Emperor Princesses were sick but didn't show up for a long time, she slowly became suspicious, and planned to find out, but she didn't expect that the concubine had misjudged." The imperial concubine held back the panic in her heart and said calmly.

"Oh-" The queen sneered and looked at the imperial concubine, seeing that she was still making the final quibble, she asked coldly: "In this harem, your qualifications are not shallow, don't you even know the rules of the harem?" Or do you pretend that this palace doesn't exist at all, so you don't even need to be informed. ”

"The concubine doesn't dare." The imperial concubine immediately knelt down in panic and explained, "The concubine didn't deliberately ignore the queen, but at that time, the concubine was bent on finding out if the Nine Emperor Concubines were really sick, so she lost her mind and left the palace without having time to show the queen, and asked the queen for forgiveness." ”

"Now that you know where the sin is, then this palace is also happy to be relaxed and no longer bother." The queen looked at the imperial concubine indifferently and said.

"The queen forgives her sins, and the concubines will never dare to do it again." Although the queen has not yet said how to punish her, the imperial concubine knows that this punishment will definitely not be too light, and she keeps kowtowing and begging for mercy in fear.

"If this palace forgives you today, how can you explain to the emperor, to the Nine Emperor Princes and the Nine Emperor Concubines, and to the Murong Mansion to all the concubines in this harem?" The queen looked at the imperial concubine with a stern expression and said: "If you don't take leave from the palace, you have violated the rules of the harem by leaving the palace without the permission of the palace, and this crime cannot be bypassed by the palace." ”

The queen's words made the imperial concubine sit on the ground in despair, and she couldn't say any more words of begging for mercy, and looked at the queen with teary eyes.

"The imperial concubine, leaving the palace without authorization, violating the palace rules, will be fined for half a year, punished with a cane for twenty years, grounded in the palace for ten days, and punished for copying the palace rules a hundred times." The queen sternly stated the content of the punishment.

When she heard the queen say that the rod was twenty years old, the imperial concubine's whole expression changed, and she looked at the queen in horror.

"The queen is gracious, the queen is gracious, the body of the concubine can't stand these twenty sticks, and it will kill the concubine." The imperial concubine couldn't care about her manners, and knelt and climbed forward to pull the queen's arm and pleaded bitterly.

It's a pity that the queen is a very resentful person, what the imperial concubine did at the beginning is vivid, and the queen will not forgive it easily at all, so she coldly looked at the imperial concubine's plea and was indifferent.

"Empress, the third prince is asking to see you outside." At this time, Mama came in and passed the word, and asked the queen if she wanted to see him.

"Biography!" The queen naturally knew what Xuanyuan Mo's purpose was here, but she didn't refuse, and readily agreed to let him in.

"Erchen Xuanyuan Mo greets the queen." When Xuanyuan Mo walked in with Mama, he looked at the imperial concubine who was kneeling on the ground and was a little embarrassed, looked at it a few times with some worry, and quickly regained his calm and respectfully greeted the queen.

"Get up." The queen said lukewarmly. Seeing Xuanyuan Mo standing up and wanting to speak, he said: "If the third prince is here for your mother, don't say anything, there is no way to quibble about your mother's violation of the palace rules, there are so many pairs of eyes inside and outside the palace looking at the decision of this palace, this palace can't show favoritism." ”

Xuanyuan Mo had already guessed that the queen would not easily agree to let go of his mother, but he didn't expect that the queen would be so shrewd to take the lead on herself, and before she could make it clear, she had already said what she wanted to say to death, leaving her with nothing to say.

"I know that my mother is wrong, but as a son, I can't see my mother being punished and be indifferent, if the queen wants to be punished, let me punish the twenty rods for my mother." Xuanyuan Mo volunteered.

"You want to be punished for your mother?" The queen looked at Xuanyuan Mo in some surprise, she didn't expect him to take the initiative to ask for punishment, which made the queen hesitate.

Just when the queen had not yet decided, the emperor suddenly came, and everyone immediately greeted the emperor.

After the emperor came in, he saw the imperial concubine kneeling on the ground and Xuanyuan Mo with a solemn face, and finally looked at the queen and asked, "What is going on?" ”

"If you go back to the emperor, the imperial concubine left the palace without authorization and violated the palace rules, and the concubine is punishing her. However, the third prince came to intercede for the imperial concubine. The queen immediately explained to the emperor.

"Oh!" The emperor answered, but everyone couldn't guess what the emperor's pronunciation meant.

"Your Majesty, the concubines punished the imperial concubine for half a year, punished with 20 rods, grounded in the palace for 10 days, and punished for copying palace rules 100 times. What do you think? The queen looked at the emperor's expression and spoke again, and asked a little tentatively: "Or does the emperor have other ideas?" ”

"No, I don't have the slightest opinion on the content of your punishment." The emperor shook his head and said, "As the queen is the head of the harem, these matters should be decided by you, and the queen doesn't need to pay attention to me." ”

The queen nodded, even more puzzled in her heart, she couldn't guess what the emperor's purpose was when she came here, and she couldn't wait quietly for him to take the initiative to speak.

"Father, although the mother concubine is at fault, but please ask the father and the emperor to remember that the mother concubine has always been in poor health and can't withstand the twenty rods, and the sons are willing to treat the mother concubine to accept the twenty rods, please ask the father and the emperor for permission." Xuanyuan Mo looked at the emperor and said.

"Mo'er!" The imperial concubine looked at Xuanyuan Mo with a complicated expression, on the one hand, she didn't want to be punished by these twenty sticks, but she couldn't bear to let Xuanyuan Mo be punished instead of herself.

The emperor was silent for a while, sighed slightly and said to the queen: "Queen, I see that these three princes have such filial piety, since he is willing to be punished by the rod for the imperial concubine, it is better to fulfill him, I think this incident also made the imperial concubine remember today's lesson, forgive her and dare not violate the palace rules in the future, what do you think?" ”

When the queen heard the emperor say this, she had already guessed the meaning of his words, and the queen was also hesitating whether to agree to Xuanyuan Mo, but now when she heard the emperor say this, she decided to give the emperor a favor.

"Since the emperor has this intention, then the concubines have not been, and the twenty sticks of the imperial concubine will be punished by the three princes instead." The queen said calmly.

Although the emperor didn't say anything, he glanced at the queen with satisfaction, and there was approval in his eyes. A lot has changed since the queen was released from house arrest, and the current queen makes the emperor more and more satisfied.

"What are you still doing in a daze, why don't you hurry up and thank the queen!" The emperor reminded Xuanyuan Mo and the imperial concubine.

"Thank you, Queen." The two thanked each other in unison.