"Why did the Queen send those problematic jewelry pieces when she clearly knows I'm skilled in medicine?"
Song Jinyu was a bit puzzled, but soon she understood. First, the jewelry was sent, and then the instructing maids were dispatched. Presumably, it was an attempt to suppress her. Perhaps, it also had something to do with Concubine Shu?
She felt a bit lost.
However, the news soon reached Concubine Shu's ears. She sneered. It seemed that with several princes and lords staying in the capital one after another and having more opportunities to show themselves in front of the emperor, the Queen couldn't hold her nerve anymore. Otherwise... why would she act so rashly?
The emperor had been staying on the Cool Pavilion for several days, and there was no edict indicating his return. As for the important affairs of the court, the crown prince was ordered to supervise the state.
The Queen was at the height of her power.
It seemed that Jinyu would have to suffer for the time being...
Zhongli Mingye walked into the Flowing Cloud Pavilion. He had gotten drunk just the day before. When he went to court early this morning, he had a splitting headache and couldn't concentrate on the court affairs at all. He was worried about Song Jinyu being alone in the mansion. So he declined the invitation from the Prince of Cheng and just wanted to come back early to have dinner with her.
He wondered... had her anger subsided?
She was feeding the fish, but her mind seemed to be elsewhere. She didn't know what she was thinking about. "Cough... cough..."
She turned around and looked at Zhongli Mingye. Both of them felt a bit awkward. They tacitly avoided mentioning what had happened the day before.
"I heard that the Queen sent instructing maids over?"
Song Jinyu didn't look at him. She just asked, "Are you feeling better?"
"Your medical skills are superb. Of course, I recovered quickly." It was the truth. If she hadn't used acupuncture to sober him up, Zhongli Mingye wouldn't have felt so relieved.
"That instructing maid is a smart person. She's very obedient now..."
Zhongli Mingye smiled. "You're really amazing. You got rid of her with just a few words." However, the Queen's repeated harassment of Song Jinyu was actually a challenge to him. Although the crown prince was supervising the state, it wouldn't stop his father on the Cool Pavilion from learning about the crown prince's hidden ailment.
A crown prince who was infertile?
He sneered and shook his head. Then he stepped forward and hugged Song Jinyu. He whispered, "Just wait and see. They're digging their own graves."
Song Jinyu turned around. "The crown prince is supervising the state... Don't act on impulse. There's no need to take revenge on them for my sake."
"..."
"Moreover! If things really get to the point where it's necessary to take drastic measures, I have plenty of ways to keep her occupied." Her cold words made Zhongli Mingye slightly stunned.
He almost forgot that Song Jinyu used to be the young master of Tianmen Mountain.
"Anyway... this matter won't end like this."
Sure enough, within a few days, the news that the crown prince was impotent spread throughout the capital. And the royal clan also heard the rumor that the Queen had repeatedly targeted the newly married princess.
Many noble relatives and clan members were disdainful. Hadn't the new princess been married for only about a month? The Queen was causing trouble for her. Even the proper mother - in - law hadn't arranged concubines for her, but the Queen was eager to make things difficult for her.
For a while, the reputation of the Queen and the crown prince was very bad both in the court and among the people. And during the period when the crown prince was supervising the state, he constantly arranged his confidants to enter the court and promoted many incompetent people.
Several imperial censors were eager to act. They were just waiting for the emperor to return so that they could impeach the crown prince and the Queen.
"Has Father forgotten about the capital while enjoying himself on the Cool Pavilion?"
The Prince of Cheng was a bit impatient. Seeing that his princess was getting further along in her pregnancy, and she had even had a miscarriage scare a few days ago because of the new maid the Queen had bestowed.
It turned out that the Queen had not only sent maids to the Prince of Yu, but also to the Prince of Yong and the Prince of Cheng.
In the end, it was the Queen who had acted unjustly. The princesses all had a lot of complaints.
The crown princess naturally knew about the crown prince's hidden ailment. Since the incident with Shen Yingyun last year, she had become much colder towards the crown prince. She only took care of her eldest daughter and didn't visit the Queen when she was free. Since even his proper wife was so cold towards him, it showed how unpopular the Queen was.
Song Jinyu was extremely busy in the pharmacy. "Your... Highness..." Since Aonao had been scolded by the prince for calling Song Jinyu "Miss" last time, she had to change her address. She didn't dare to anger Zhongli Mingye again.
"What are you doing, Your Highness?"
"I'm making something interesting... for emergencies..." She didn't stop her hands. She not only made a lot of anti - poison pills, but also... managed to gather the raw materials for the soul - confusing powder when she had some free time.
Song Jinyu stopped what she was doing and quietly waited for the medicinal soup to cool down slowly. "I won't initiate trouble, but I won't tolerate it if others provoke me."
She didn't want any extra trouble. She had thought it through clearly these days. Whether she wanted it or not, some things were inevitable.
Such as dealing with the crown prince.
There were many people who were more eager than Song Jinyu.
The princes couldn't just let themselves be suppressed by the crown prince. Similarly, Ming Ruyi was not a person who would tolerate such things. So... she wasn't in a hurry...
"Be extremely careful about this matter. Don't let the princess know..."
Although Zhongli Mingye didn't know how Song Jinyu would take revenge, her enemies were none other than the Golden Water Palace and the crown prince.
Since that was the case, it was better for him to do some things on her behalf than for Song Jinyu to fight alone.
Yu Nianbai was touched by Zhongli Mingye's affection for Song Jinyu. Thinking of his own wife and children, he said, "Your Highness, rest assured. Since you're willing to fight, your subordinate will spare no effort!"
"And... make the fire even bigger!"
"The Prince of Zhongzhou should like it... But... Your Highness... You should think twice about this!"
Zhongli Mingye looked at him strangely. "From now on, I don't want to play this game with him anymore. If we always hide behind, we'll eventually become stepping stones."
Not long after, the shadow guards of the Prince of Yu's mansion were all dispatched.
That night, a big fire broke out in the Xiangguo Temple in the capital. Although the family members of Grand Tutor Shen, who were praying in the temple, weren't injured, they were greatly frightened.
Some people spread the rumor that Grand Tutor Shen was still brooding over his wife's innocence, and he had arranged this fire.
After that, the favored concubines in the crown prince's mansion died one after another. People saw that the corpses on the mass grave were covered with wounds.
It was rumored that the crown prince had perverted hobbies, and his reputation among the common people declined sharply.
The emperor got the news on the Cool Pavilion and was extremely angry. When several insignificant officials were drinking in the Moonlight Tower, they revealed that the emperor might depose the crown prince.
With a series of events happening, everyone thought it was a conspiracy. But no one could find out the source. The Queen was furious in the palace and repeatedly demoted many concubines.