mtl008 Chapter 541 The Difficulty of Lifting the Ban
Chapter 541 The Difficulty of Lifting the Ban
Li Xiang came to Fengwu Palace in high spirits and personally ordered people to open the gate of Fengqi Palace. Unfortunately, Li Xiang, the chief steward of Qianzheng Palace, suffered a major Waterloo in his life.
The gate of Fengqi Palace was open, and Li Xiang walked towards the palace with confident steps, but was stopped outside the main hall by Ruping, Ruhan and a group of palace servants from Fengqi Palace.
Li Xiang hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation yet. He smiled at Ru Ping and Ru Han and said, "Girls, hurry up and take me to see the Empress. I'm here with a decree from Her Majesty!"
Ru Ping had a smile as warm as a spring breeze, but her words were as cold as frost: "Excuse me, Eunuch Li, but the Empress cannot accept the order now!"
Li Xiang's spring-blooming smile froze on his face. "Can't accept... the imperial edict? No, Miss Ruping, please don't joke with me! This is an imperial edict! An imperial edict! His Majesty is lifting the Empress's house arrest! Hurry and have the Empress come out to receive the edict! This is good news!"
Ru Ping shook her head, her expression regretful but her eyes revealing a hint of gloating: "The Queen is unwell and can't see the wind, so this door can't be opened! Naturally, there's no way to accept this decree!"
Li Xiang was stunned. He looked at the group of palace servants blocking his way and realized belatedly that the Queen was angry with His Majesty! And he was about to mess up this job that was obviously the best.
Li Xiang recalled the Emperor Shenwu's calm exterior in Qianzheng Hall, his inner turmoil festering with anxiety, and a chill settled in his heart. If he returned to report like this, would he still be alive?
Li Xiang shuddered and began to cry and plead miserably: "Your Majesty, please have mercy on me! Please have pity on me. Please accept this imperial edict so that I can reply! Your Majesty..."
Ruhan stepped forward and chuckled, "Eunuch Li, what are you doing? The Empress just needs a few days of rest. If she can't receive the imperial edict now, she can wait a few more days! You just went to Chuxiu Palace yesterday to read out the imperial edict for Concubine Deng. If you can't read the edict today, I'm sure His Majesty won't blame you too much!"
Li Xiang wanted to cry but had no tears. He was about to kneel down. Ru Ping and Ru Han quickly followed suit, but they kept saying, "Oh, no! I don't deserve it! You're putting us servants down! Eunuch Li, this is the only way we can do today. How about you go back and think of a solution?"
What could he do? Li Xiang was certain that if he went back like this, the Emperor would be furious and want to skin him alive!
Li Xiang refused to go back, crying and wailing, feeling extremely sad and miserable! Li Xiang deeply regretted that he had not brought more young eunuchs with him when he came to Fengqi Palace to announce the imperial decree. Otherwise, he would have been able to deal with the group of palace servants piled outside the palace!
"Yo! What are you doing?"
The prince walked in slowly from outside with a relaxed smile on his face.
His leisurely stroll in the garden completely stung Li Xiang's eyes. Li Xiang immediately complained, "Your Highness, please persuade the Empress! She said she can't accept the decree today! How can I explain this to His Majesty?"
The Crown Prince nodded solemnly, "My Queen Mother's illness came on suddenly, and she truly cannot afford to be out of the blue! Look, take this decree back with you. My father loves my Queen Mother and will not blame me!"
Li Xiang was stunned. Yes! His Majesty was reluctant to blame the Queen, but his old skin would suffer!
The prince continued to comfort Li Xiang, "Don't worry! The Queen Mother's illness is urgent, and the Emperor won't blame you. I'll go to Qianzheng Hall to explain the situation soon, and Imperial Physician Nie should be here soon!"
Li Xiang hesitated for a moment. Could it be that the Empress's condition was really serious? His Majesty had clearly been fine when he left the morning court.
But seeing the Crown Prince's serious and confident words, Li Xiang suddenly felt that he was being overly suspicious. His Royal Highness was a filial son, so why would he joke about the Empress's health?
Li Xiang immediately put on a solemn expression: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince is busy. I will report to His Majesty the Empress immediately about her condition!"
The prince nodded and said, "Go!"
The two groups walked away. Li Xiang, who had bowed and was taking a few steps back, hadn't turned around yet when he saw Ru Ping and Ru Han personally opening the palace door. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stepped in! In!
Li Xiang was like being struck by lightning, and stood there in a moment of shock. Ruhan turned around and saw Li Xiang halfway back. He said crisply, "General Manager Li, why haven't you returned to report?"
Ruhan shook the handkerchief in her hand and said blatantly, "All of you guard the palace gates. Don't let anyone in. If the Empress gets a cold and her condition worsens, we'll all be in big trouble!"
The palace servants and eunuchs all said in unison: "Yes!"
This is targeted! This is absolutely targeted! Li Xiang was trembling all over and couldn't speak. Oh! Your Majesty, you have offended the Empress! You have offended everyone in the Empress's palace, and I am so unhappy with you!
After Ru Han finished training the people in the palace, he put on a smiling face again and warmly sent Li Xiang to the door of the main hall.
Li Xiang walked dazedly to the gate of Fengqi Palace and said with a forced smile, "Miss Ruhan, look..."
Ruhan smiled brightly, then slammed the door shut in Li Xiang's face. The door almost hit his nose, causing him to take two steps back. Li Xiang's smile faltered, and he seamlessly switched to a bitter face before trotting back to report the news to the Emperor.
Ruhan's voice could be heard faintly from inside the door: "The Empress is still under house arrest. We can't open the door at will! It would be disastrous if people misunderstood that Fengqi Palace was disobeying the imperial decree!"
Inside the Qianzheng Hall, Emperor Shenwu looked at Li Xiang, who was kneeling on the ground, in disbelief. Li Xiang was still holding the imperial edict in his hand. "What did you say? The Empress refused to accept the edict!"
Emperor Shenwu couldn't believe it. Wasn't he fine last night?
Li Xiang had a bitter face and reported everything he had seen to Emperor Shenwu.
After listening to this, Emperor Shenwu sat down with a gloomy face. The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. Li Xiang secretly raised his eyes to look at Emperor Shenwu. Suddenly, Emperor Shenwu slammed his palm on the imperial desk, and the memorials on the desk jumped: "Ridiculous!"
Emperor Shenwu didn't know what to say. After a while, he pointed at Li Xiang who was still kneeling and said, "You! You are not doing your job well..."
Li Xiang kowtowed quickly: "This slave deserves to die! I will accept the punishment right now!"
Li Xiang crawled away, leaving Emperor Shenwu with a rage that he had no place to vent!
Emperor Shenwu barely suppressed his anger, recalling everything that had happened last night, and came to a conclusion: Lan Qingwu was furious! Originally, he had been in the right, and in a rage, he had confined Lan Qingwu to her house. Now, Emperor Shenwu longed for her to come out, for the two of them to return to their former selves, but Lan Qingwu had confined herself to her house in a rage and would not come out!
The Emperor's face froze, thinking it was still the incident with Concubine Deng that had saddened Lan Qingwu. But wasn't this just a temporary solution? He had only given her a nominal status, and hadn't actually touched her!
Emperor Shenwu paced back and forth: "You have such a bad temper! Last night you were so gentle and kind to me! You coaxed me and slept with me as a pillow all night!"
Emperor Shenwu gnashed his teeth and said, "You turned against me today without even caring about my dignity. You even said you wouldn't accept the imperial edict!"
Fortunately, Fengqi Palace was restricted and no one else saw it!
When Li Xiang saw the Crown Prince, it was as if he had found a lifeline. He welcomed the Crown Prince into the Qianzheng Hall with a look of joy on his face, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has arrived!"
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will definitely be able to ease the conflict between his parents. Just now, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince must have persuaded the Queen for a long time.
Emperor Shenwu asked with a sullen face, "You came from your mother's place. How is your mother's health? Forget it, I'd better go and see..."
"Father?"
The Crown Prince was puzzled and said, "My Queen Mother is in good health and in a very good mood. I just returned from Fengqi Palace. My Queen Mother even made ginseng soup for me personally. What are you talking about?"
Emperor Shenwu slowly turned his gaze towards Li Xiang, who was completely stunned. "No... Your Highness, I just went to Fengqi Palace to deliver the imperial edict. The gates of Fengqi Palace were closed. It's a good opportunity for you to come in. What do you say..."
"Ok?"
The prince raised his eyebrows. "Really? I ran into you? What message did you send? Did you finish your mission?"
Li Xiang felt terrible. He looked at his master with grievance. He saw Emperor Shenwu staring at his son, but the Crown Prince was completely unaware. He smiled at his father and said, "Did your Majesty ask Eunuch Li to pass on the order? Then we can go to Fengqi Palace!"
No! No! I can't even enter the main hall!
Emperor Shenwu felt both angry and amused. He calmed himself down and said, "Your mother still has the energy to make soup for you?"
The Crown Prince smiled brightly, "My Queen Mother has cooked many soups, including ginseng soup, tofu and fish soup, and seafood soup... But my father doesn't need any of these, and he's also very busy. My Queen Mother is in good health, and she specifically told me not to visit him. My Queen Mother will reflect on herself and continue her confinement!"
Emperor Shenwu: “…”
Okay, it’s confirmed, this is his biological son, otherwise the Emperor Shenwu would have to beat him up!
The steps were demolished by his own son. The Emperor Shenwu's face was as black as ink: "Get out! Get out! Get out! Go drink soup!"
The prince decided to withdraw his attention and bowed hurriedly, saying, "Son, I'm leaving!"
Before leaving, he turned back and said with a sad face: "Father, my son's two concubines will soon enter the Eastern Palace. You see..."
A memorial was thrown towards him, but the prince dodged it swiftly and walked out of the Qianzheng Hall quickly!