"Qingcao, I remember there's a book about palace regulations in the palace. Go and fetch it for me quickly." Su Wan'er suddenly had an idea. In the past, when she was being obedient, with those women causing trouble, Si Junlin almost deposed her every time. Now, can't she just stop being the queen?
Maybe as long as she abdicated the position of the queen, it would be fine. It didn't matter whether she had an official position or not then. As long as she was still Su Wan'er, as long as she went with the identity of the third young lady of the Su family.
"Your Majesty, why do you suddenly want this?" That book, along with the queen's seal and imperial edict, had been thrown aside by her since they were delivered. Qingcao led several palace maids rummaging through boxes before finally finding it.
"Your Majesty, here you are." It was really not easy. They had rummaged through several large boxes. Qingcao presented it to her as if offering a treasure.
But when the book was in her hands, Su Wan'er felt extremely headache. The densely - packed words were even more complicated than military books.
Su Wan'er flipped through a few pages and finally gave up, handing it to Qingcao. "Find for me the parts about the deposal of concubines who have committed crimes, preferably those about deposing the queen."
"Ah? Your Majesty really doesn't want to be the queen anymore?" Qingcao thought it was extremely inappropriate.
"But once the queen is deposed, won't she never be able to be the queen again?" Qingcao was deeply worried.
"Really?" It seemed there was such a rule. The rules of the Jin Kingdom were really annoying. It seemed that those who failed in the imperial selection couldn't participate again, and deposed concubines couldn't be reinstated.
"The concubines and the queen of this dynasty are all selected from those with innocent family backgrounds and virtuous characters... Once they enter the harem, they must never violate the ancestral teachings for the rest of their lives... What nonsense." Su Wan'er impatiently read the last sentence. "If not, the queen will be deposed, driven out of the palace, demoted to a commoner, and will never be reinstated." This was the one.
"It's hurting my eyes. Qingcao, read this sentence for me."
"Yes." Qingcao looked and indeed found the part about deposing the queen.
"If a queen harms innocent concubines or the imperial heirs, she will be deposed, driven out of the palace, demoted to a commoner, and will never be reinstated."
After Qingcao finished reading, she broke out in a cold sweat. This palace regulation probably hadn't been applied by any queen in previous dynasties. If the queen was really driven out, her reputation for a lifetime would be ruined.
"Harming concubines and imperial heirs." Well, there were many concubines in the palace, but there wasn't a single imperial heir.
But generally, the jealousies among concubines could be either serious or trivial. It wasn't easy to convict someone of harming others.
"Qingcao, why is there not a single imperial heir in the emperor's huge harem?" Was Si Junlin no longer capable? It was really troublesome.
"I don't know, Your Majesty." There was an awkward look on Qingcao's face. Regarding this matter, didn't the queen herself know? It had been so long since the emperor had gone to any other palace except this one.
"Go and inquire around. Maybe I haven't paid attention to the affairs in the harem for a long time. It's not surprising if someone is pregnant." Su Wan'er began to hope that there was someone who had just gotten pregnant but hadn't said anything.
"Your Majesty, there probably isn't. The emperor hasn't favored anyone else recently." Was there any need to ask about this? If any concubine was pregnant, she would surely make a big fuss on the first day, and everyone in the palace would know about it before the news reached the emperor's ears.
"Hasn't favored anyone else? So what? Can't people get pregnant without being favored? He can favor them after they're pregnant." Su Wan'er looked surprised.
"How can the emperor favor a pregnant woman?" Qingcao was almost crying and laughing at the same time.
"What's wrong? Why are you laughing?" Su Wan'er looked at her in confusion. Why wasn't there a single pregnant person in this huge harem? It would be so difficult to achieve this goal.
"Cough." Qingcao coughed lightly. "Your Majesty, actually, only concubines who have been favored by the emperor can get pregnant. Your Majesty, don't mention such things in the future." Qingcao's face was so red that she wished she could find a hole to drill into.
It seemed so. Then how could she make Si Junlin favor other concubines? Su Wan'er was extremely anxious now and didn't care about such things.
Just as Qingcao was thinking that her queen had used all her cleverness in military affairs and knew nothing about such things, Si Junlin walked in.
"What is the queen talking about?" Why did it sound so strange? Hearing this, Si Junlin thought Su Wan'er was like a fool. Maybe the things on the battlefield had made her stupid recently.
"Oh, it's nothing. Your Majesty, why did you come here at this time? I heard that Concubine Mei has shown a very good attitude of reforming herself. Why doesn't Your Majesty go and have a look? How about tonight?" It was really a great opportunity. She couldn't care so much. Since only after being favored could a concubine get pregnant, then let Si Junlin go a few times.
"What did you say?" Si Junlin immediately glared at her. There was only a ball of fire burning in his chest. Was this woman so bold?
"Did I say something wrong? I was thinking that after listening to the empress dowager's teachings today, the empress dowager said that the emperor should visit other concubines in the harem more often so as to show the emperor's equal favor. I also think so. How about the emperor doing as the empress dowager said in the future?"
Si Junlin stared at her without moving. His gaze was almost devouring her. "Do you mean that you want me to visit others often in the future?"
"Yes... I also think it's better for the harem to be more harmonious." Su Wan'er was not good at saying such polite words. Now she was too lazy to make up any more. Anyway, she just didn't want him to stay here tonight. It would be best if he went to Concubine Mei's place, or any other concubine's place. She was too lazy to serve him.
"I've been kind to you and the Su family, except for not letting you go to the battlefield. You don't have to treat me like this." Si Junlin suddenly swept the teacup on the table to the ground. Su Wan'er was startled.
"I... I'm just telling the truth. The empress dowager says so every day. Why can't I say it?" Su Wan'er felt very wronged and didn't think she had said anything extraordinary.
"Really? Since you listen to the empress dowager so much, it's my fault then."
"Hey, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, where are you going?" Fang Xi quickly followed Si Junlin, who had walked out of the palace in just a few steps. He felt that the emperor's anger was almost burning him.
"Your Majesty, where on earth are you going? You're not taking the sedan chair. If you catch a cold on this late - night, I can't bear the responsibility," Fang Xi advised from behind.
"Back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation." Si Junlin felt that he really wanted to twist Fang Xi's head off to relieve his hatred.
"Back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation? But just now the emperor promised the queen that he would go to other..." Fang Xi originally wanted to persuade the emperor and thought that it would be good for the emperor to go to the empress dowager's place for a reward tomorrow. After all, the empress dowager had been urging him all day. But seeing Si Junlin's look, he suddenly didn't dare to say anymore.
Come to think of it, all the concubines were looking forward to the emperor's visit, but the queen was like a hermit all day long and actually wanted to drive the emperor away. What was going on?