Under everyone's gazes, the Treasure - Hunting Rat gave the Third Prince several hard kicks. "Master, look! The rat is helping you beat the bad guy!"
Shen Baozhu grabbed the rat and protected it behind her. She defended herself to the Queen, "The rat is a bit muddled - headed. It didn't mean to hit Brother Xuyang. Baozhu will scold it right now."
With that, Shen Baozhu gently tapped the rat on the head.
The rat was smart. It quickly rolled on the ground, pretending to be in excruciating pain. But its acting was a bit poor. Its two little eyes were still rolling as it secretly sized up the Queen.
The Queen met the rat's gaze and was stunned for a moment. Then she pushed aside Caixing. "Go and summon the imperial physician to check on the Third Prince."
After Caixing fetched the imperial physician, the Queen and Shen Baozhu sat on the chairs outside the hall, playing with the Dongzhu pearls.
The Dongzhu pearls, originally of the same size and smooth and round, had many flaws after the commotion just now, with quite a few of them chipped.
The Queen held the flawed pearls, while the intact ones were in Shen Baozhu's hands. They let their imaginations run wild and arranged the pearls into all kinds of patterns on a piece of yellow cloth.
When the imperial physician arrived, the Queen didn't even lift her head. She just said, "The Third Prince is in the inner hall. Doctor Sun, go in."
Caixing bit her lower lip and hesitated before reminding, "Your Majesty, aren't you going to check on His Highness?"
The Queen placed the pearl in her hand on the yellow cloth, raised her head, and let out a soft laugh. "He'd rather see Concubine Li than me."
At the mention of Concubine Li, even though the Queen tried her best to restrain herself, she couldn't suppress the anger in her heart.
That day, the Queen had said a lot to the Third Prince, telling him about Concubine Li's true nature. Concubine Li had her own son. How could she dote on him whole - heartedly? The Third Prince and the Fourth Prince were born on the same day. One became the crown prince, and the other was considered a fool. It was normal for Concubine Li to feel unbalanced. The Third Prince should stay away from her...
The Third Prince had agreed obediently on the surface, but secretly he was still infatuated with Concubine Li. He had to hold the ornament given by Concubine Li every night to fall asleep.
Just now, when Caixing went to summon the imperial physician, the Queen had questioned the palace servants in the hall. She not only found out that it was the Third Prince who had provoked Shen Baozhu first and even launched a surprise attack on her but also that he had been beaten in the end.
When the conflict between Shen Baozhu and the Third Prince occurred, there were clearly palace servants in the hall, but no one stepped forward to stop it. After further inquiry, the Queen learned that this was not the first time the Third Prince had bullied his peers.
Previously, the niece of the Queen's mother had come to the Fengyi Palace. She had been slapped by the Third Prince because she had made some noise.
A few months ago, the grand - nephew of the Empress Dowager had not fallen accidentally but had been pushed down by the Third Prince...
Adding them all up, there were more than a dozen such incidents.
The Third Prince acted recklessly because of his status. The palace servants in the Fengyi Palace protected him and turned a blind eye, so no news had leaked out in the palace, and even the Queen was unaware.
In the Queen's eyes, the Third Prince had always been a good - behaved child. The only problem was that he was too close to Concubine Li and became more and more disobedient. She had never asked about such things, and Caixing had never mentioned them either.
As for why the victims in the court had not sought justice, the palace servants didn't know. They had gotten used to not seeing, not hearing, and not interfering. They dared not and could not step forward in the disputes between the two masters.
Dragon King: [Is the Queen really unaware?]
Lin Yu: [If the Queen is unaware, who has been covering up these things for the Third Prince?]
Master Qingyun had a guess: [Concubine Li?]
Dragon King: [If it's Concubine Li, she's really a villain. She not only sowed discord between the Queen and the crown prince but also ruined the crown prince. How vicious!]
Looking at the subtitles, Shen Baozhu silently remembered Concubine Li.
Caixing stammered and couldn't say a word. She knew the Queen's grudge was against Concubine Li and didn't dare to provoke her. So she could only try to reduce her presence and lead Doctor Sun into the inner hall.
The Treasure - Hunting Rat knew well how to beat someone. The Third Prince only had the wounds left by Shen Baozhu on his body, and there were no other injuries. As for the reason why the Third Prince had fainted, it was because he had been too frightened and had fainted for a moment. He just needed some medicine to calm his nerves.
"Zhuyue, you go and see Doctor Sun off," the Queen said coldly. The senior maid Zhuyue then replaced Caixing and saw Doctor Sun off.
The Queen asked Shen Baozhu to take the Treasure - Hunting Rat to the Qianqing Palace first, and she would follow soon.
After coaxing Shen Baozhu away, the Queen could no longer hold back her anger. She slammed the table hard. "You good - for - nothing! Who taught you to talk nonsense? Can you just casually say who the future emperor of Dayong will be?"
When the Queen repeated the words, she was even angered into laughing. She thought that she had managed the six palaces well for many years without any mistakes. She never expected that the biggest mistake would be in her own inner hall.
The Third Prince was only seven years old, and the Emperor was still in his prime. But her senior maid had openly said in public that the crown prince was the future emperor of Dayong.
The Emperor could say such a thing, but could others?
Thinking of the Third Prince's many acts of bullying others and the fact that the palace servants in the inner hall had covered for him, the Queen's face darkened. She was the mistress of the Fengyi Palace, yet she had been completely kept in the dark by these servants. If this got out, she would be laughed at!
No, being laughed at was the least of it. The children who came to the Fengyi Palace and were bullied by the Third Prince all came from prominent families. They were doted on at home. Those people might not show it on the surface, but they must have had opinions about the Third Prince.
Thinking in this direction, the Queen's head started to ache again. She rubbed her temples irritably and sent a young eunuch to the Imperial Household Department to ask for some palace maids.
The young eunuch had originally been sweeping the outer hall. After receiving the Queen's imperial order, he ran as fast as his legs could carry him and soon brought back the chief of the Imperial Household Department.
When the chief of the Imperial Household Department arrived, the Queen coldly ordered, "Transfer the palace maids who are sweeping the outer hall to the inner hall. The original ones in the inner hall will go to the Punishment Department."
The chief of the Imperial Household Department had thought that the Queen just wanted to pick a few smart palace maids. He never expected that she would replace all the servants in the inner hall. Even with the people he had brought, it wasn't enough. So he could only brace himself and call the people in first. He would pick a few more young eunuchs and send them over later.
Caixing was shocked. She knelt on the ground and wanted to plead for the palace servants, but when she met the Queen's cold gaze, she stammered for a long time and couldn't say a word.
The palace servants in the inner hall didn't even dare to defend themselves. Only one brave maid begged for mercy. "Your Majesty, please calm down! This maid knows her mistake. Please forgive this servant. The Punishment Department is no place for a human being..."
The Queen just slightly raised her hand. The chief of the Imperial Household Department understood and covered the maid's mouth and dragged her away. He also took the others away. He had to be careful not to anger Her Majesty like these palace servants had.
The chief of the Imperial Household Department was a shrewd man and knew the Queen very well.
The Queen's family background was not prominent, but she was in tune with the Emperor. Over the years, there had been many favored concubines, but no one had ever shaken the Queen's position, which was enough to prove the Queen's ability.
The chief of the Imperial Household Department left in a hurry, afraid that the Queen's anger would fall on him.
Watching the familiar palace servants leave, Caixing collapsed on the ground. She was the Queen's personal maid and had grown up with the Queen since childhood. So she had a high status in the Fengyi Palace, and the palace servants all flattered her. It was also she who had secretly covered up the Third Prince's bullying.
Because of this long - standing friendship, the Queen had never suspected her, until today when the Third Prince had encountered Shen Baozhu, a tough nut to crack.
Looking at Caixing, the Queen felt pained. Finally, she made a decision. "Caixing, you're not young anymore. Leave the palace."
"Your Majesty, are you going to drive Caixing away? No, I won't leave. Caixing won't leave." Caixing knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately, begging for the Queen's forgiveness.
Even though she knocked her head until it was covered in blood, the Queen didn't change her mind. She just said, "Go. Let's leave some dignity for each other. We'll meet outside the palace in the future."