Actually, the troops mobilized by Zhao Chuyan were nothing to write home about. There were only about thirty of them in total. Although the number was small, the act itself was a big deal because of the reputation it carried.
Zhao Chuyan pointed her finger at Dugu Luanyue's nose and shouted,
"Your Majesty the Queen, you're lying! It was clearly you who did it on purpose, deliberately trying to..."
Trying to make the concubines in the harem come to pay homage to her and show off her power.
She didn't continue. If she did, she would be in the wrong.
Murong Min's eyes turned cold.
"Just for such a trivial matter, you dared to mobilize the imperial guards without permission, Noble Consort Zhao. You're so audacious!"
Zhao Chuyan rarely saw Murong Min so angry. She was so scared that she immediately knelt down.
"Your Majesty, I didn't. I just found some soldiers to help me move things from Zhaoyang Palace so that I could distribute the monthly allowances and charcoal to the sisters in the harem.
Your Majesty, I meant well!"
Dugu Luanyue coughed a few times and said,
"The people brought by Noble Consort Zhao all drew their swords. They didn't seem like they were here to talk nicely. I walked all the way to Zhaoyang Palace but had to sleep in front of the palace gate for a whole night. Isn't that proof enough?"
She pulled on Murong Min's sleeve, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, as soon as I left Zhaoyang Palace, these old-timers from the former palace led their troops and attacked. Although I'm the queen, I have no place in this harem.
Noble Consort Zhao kept saying that the alliance between Southern Chu and Northern Yan was inappropriate, that those from Southern Chu were unworthy of the emperor of Northern Yan.
Yes, I'm from a small place like Southern Chu. I really can't afford to offend the nobles of Northern Yan.
Noble Consort Zhao also said yesterday that people from Southern Chu were all seductive vixens, unworthy of the emperor of Northern Yan. She was trying to get rid of me while Your Majesty was away."
With this turn of the conversation, it was no longer just a family matter about the monthly allowances and charcoal in the harem. It had become a state affair.
Murong Min stood up abruptly from the edge of the bed. He pointed his finger at Zhao Chuyan's nose and roared,
"A concubine in the harem dares to make irresponsible remarks about state affairs! Southern Chu and Northern Yan are just at the beginning of their alliance. Whether they are worthy of each other is not for you to decide. It's for me and the emperor of Southern Chu to decide!"
Seeing his sister being scolded by the emperor, Zhao Chuhe felt the urge to protect her.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. My sister is just a straightforward person. I'm sure she was just talking nonsense yesterday."
Murong Min reached out and knocked over the teacup on one side. The tea lid flew straight towards Zhao Chuhe's forehead with a thud.
"You shut up too!
I entrusted the imperial guards to you, but you didn't discipline them properly.
Because of your sibling relationship, a concubine dared to mobilize the imperial guards privately in my palace. Do you know how serious a crime this is!"
Zhao Chuyan pleaded,
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I didn't mobilize the imperial guards privately. There were only twenty or thirty of them. What could they possibly do!
They were just going to the queen's palace to move things. I didn't mean to harm her!"
Murong Min's deep, imperial eyes were truly filled with anger.
"I've warned you many times before about your mouth. This time, you almost caused a great disaster.
If the alliance between the north and the south is broken and Dongning gets involved to stir up trouble, once war breaks out, I'll order all the men of your Zhao family to go to the front line!"
Zhao Chuyan's eyes turned red, and she burst into tears. "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I'll never dare to do it again!"
Dugu Luanyue curled her lips slightly, secretly delighted at seeing Zhao Chuyan in such a sorry state.
She suppressed her smug look and looked sad again.
"Originally, I brought the things to Zhaoyang Palace because I wanted to take this opportunity to meet the sisters in the harem. I didn't expect that the old-timers in Your Majesty's palace were so dissatisfied with me.
I'm from Southern Chu, but I'm also Your Majesty's legitimate wife. But now, it seems that the phoenix seal in my hand is not well-received. Your Majesty, if you want, you can take it back."
Murong Min turned around and looked at her intently. "You're the queen. If you don't hold the phoenix seal, who else dares to?"
At this time, Huo Wei said,
"Father, I think that although the incident in Zhaoyang Palace yesterday was your family matter, what Noble Consort Zhao said may have already spread. Now, all the court officials are watching. If Father doesn't make a statement, the situation in Dongning..."
Based on Huo Wei's understanding of Emperor Wenhui, he was an emperor who was good at weighing things. In any situation and for any event, he would always think about the issue of interests first.
Murong Min understood what Huo Wei meant. If he didn't make things clear and his attitude explicit today,
and still tried to smooth things over like before, once the crown prince of Dongning left Northern Yan, he might turn around and go to Southern Chu.
This matter had already escalated to a state affair between the north and the south. It couldn't be brushed under the carpet anymore.
He immediately gave an order,
"Go and summon all the concubines, princes, and princesses in the harem to come and pay homage to the queen. The queen is my legitimate wife. If any of you dare to show the slightest disrespect again, you will be punished according to the palace regulations!"
Dugu Luanyue glanced at Mei Jiang meaningfully. "Auntie, you go and invite them yourself."
Mei Jiang immediately understood what Dugu Luanyue meant. She bowed her head and said, "Yes, Your Majesty the Queen."
She quickly sent people from Zhaoyang Palace to invite the concubines and imperial heirs. All the people sent were from Zhaoyang Palace, and none of them were from the emperor's side.
As a result, after waiting for an hour, not a single person showed up.
Murong Min privately pulled Huo Wei aside and talked to him for a while. Huo Wei told the emperor exactly what Zhao Chuyan had said yesterday.
After listening, Murong Min waved his hand and knocked over the potted plants on the flower stand. A beautiful orchid fell to the ground and was smashed to pieces.
Murong Min had been thinking about the matter of the crown prince of Dongning in Northern Yan. If the news of the disharmony between the north and the south really spread, the relationship among the three countries would become delicate.
Zhao Chuyan and the others were kneeling outside Zhaoyang Palace, while the emperor and the queen were inside. Dugu Luanyue's sobs came intermittently. Murong Min patiently comforted her and promised her many nice things.
Zhao Chuyan looked inside with bloodshot eyes. Even though she was extremely unwilling, she knew that things had changed. Murong Min used to dote on her the most, but now it was someone else.
Dugu Luanyue knew when to stop. She stood up and changed into a phoenix robe of palace red. She put on a phoenix crown and a gold peony hairpin. The phoenix-feather flower sticker between her eyebrows sparkled.
The previous exhaustion and fatigue had faded a lot. Murong Min took a closer look and saw that she was still a very charming beauty.
Murong Min was standing in the main hall of Zhaoyang Palace, getting impatient with the wait. At this moment, he finally realized that the people in the harem had indeed gone too far towards the queen from Southern Chu.
He roared, "Ying Xi, go and tell those concubines, as well as the princes and princesses, that if they don't arrive at Zhaoyang Palace within half an hour, their salaries will be deducted for a year, and they will all have to kneel in the ancestral temple!"
As soon as he said this, within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, people started to arrive one after another.
Dugu Luanyue was sitting on the phoenix chair, holding a teacup. She slowly stirred the tea with the lid and didn't even look at these people.
Among the people who came, some had never seen the queen up close before. When they saw her today, they averted their eyes, but couldn't help but take a second look.
She was truly breathtakingly beautiful.
Murong Jue stood on one side and nudged Huo Wei's arm.
"Brother, I never knew that the queen was like this before. She's like a fairy from the celestial realm and a goddess from the demon world. Besides her beauty, there's also a bit of Father's majesty in her."
Huo Wei said, "She's your mother. What are you thinking?"