My enemies became my companions

Chapter 268: Can't Be a Concubine (Three-in-One Extra)

Yin Weiying trembled with fear.

Those words were originally used to set a trap for Donggong Ruoshu in private, but now they actually trapped himself.

Her lips moved and her mind was working fast.

Now that things have come to this, the only thing she can do is to apologize. She is the daughter of King Jing, and this time it was just a verbal mistake. As long as she apologizes, the most she will get is confinement, and nothing will happen.

She pleaded guilty, "I have slandered the Queen Mother and tarnished her holy name. I know this is an unforgivable crime. I beg the Queen Mother to punish me."

"Since it is an unpardonable crime, then it will not be pardoned." Empress An said calmly: "Grant him death."

?

The nun froze for a moment and raised her eyes in disbelief.

Queen An did not utter a word, but lowered her eyes and looked at Yin Tingxue who was also kneeling on the ground.

Seeing this, the nun's throat was blocked for a while, and she opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she didn't dare to make a sound.

She had no choice but to turn her head slightly and look at Master Tongxuan sitting on the chair.

The one-armed woman gently picked up the tea bowl without saying a word.

Yin Tingxue raised her face slightly, and finally couldn't help but said:

"Your Majesty, even if the daughter of King Jing has committed a grave crime, according to the Dayu law, she should first be handed over to the Imperial Clan Court for trial, and then transferred to the Three Courts for a joint trial..."

"You seem to be very familiar with it. Have you experienced it once?" Queen An asked meaningfully.

Yin Tingxue didn't dare to answer and lowered her head.

Queen An stepped up and said with a smile, "There are no outsiders in this small courtyard, so why hide it? Everyone, get up. Although I am visiting incognito, I haven't even had a cup of tea or a chair for such a long time. As the host, aren't you lacking some etiquette?"

Upon hearing this, the two princesses slowly stood up one after the other and gently brushed the dust off their knees. Yin Weiying's steps were a little stiff and she glanced at Queen An from time to time. The crime of slandering the royal family could be a big or small crime, but if possible, she wanted to travel back in time and slap herself in the face to remember this lesson. If not, she would let Chen Yi slap her so that she would remember it.

Yin Tingxue walked to the tea table without stopping, crushed the tea leaves, picked up the tea whisk, boiled water with it, and started to make tea. The faint fragrance of tea mixed in the hazy drizzle.

Before long, Yin Tingxue brought the tea to Queen An, then added more tea to Zhou Yitong and Yin Weiying, and finally brought a cup to the female official Su Xin, who motioned for her to put it aside.

Queen An picked up the tea bowl and saw the tea foam inside was mixed with milk and tea. She took a sip and turned around and said:
"She's busy all the time, just like a young wife."

Yin Tingxue felt a little embarrassed and said awkwardly, "Thank you for the compliment, Madam."

The nun standing beside her felt a little uneasy. She lowered her head and held the tea, but was reluctant to take a sip. Until now, she still couldn't figure out what the empress dowager was up to.

He gave them a warning as soon as he entered the door. He had just said he would sentence them to death, but now he had sat down and was sipping tea in a gentle breeze.

An Hou looked around, taking in the small but well-equipped courtyard, and then slowly said:
"I came here with the intention of seeing my savior, but I didn't expect that he was not here, leaving you women here."

Yin Tingxue replied, "Your Majesty, it is natural for men to be in charge of the household and women to be in charge of the home."

"You are very eloquent and your words are very complete. Not bad, not bad. Princess Xiang, you can just call me Queen." The Queen's smile was very beautiful, but it seemed to have a deeper meaning. "Princess Xiang, when did you come to this courtyard?"

Yin Tingxue pretended to be calm and replied softly, "My lady, it was about three or four months ago."

"That's been nearly half a year. He doted on you, gave you fine clothes and delicious food, and took care of your safety in the underground palace. He even asked me to give you... the title of a princess." When Queen An talked about the underground palace, her tone became a little heavier.

Zhou Yitang, the instigator, turned a deaf ear and lowered his eyes to sip his tea.

Yin Tingxue smelled a hint of gunpowder and responded repeatedly: "That was just a joke, your majesty, don't take it seriously."

"But you are not joking."

Queen An put down the tea bowl, lowered her eyes and said:
"I want to make you a princess, do you want it or not?"

Yin Tingxue was almost frozen in place. Her grip loosened and the tea bowl fell to the ground with a clang, shattering into pieces with debris flying everywhere.

When the female official Su Xin saw this, she looked annoyed, but Queen An remained calm, so Su Xin did not get angry.

Yin Tingxue kept apologizing and frantically picked up the debris on the ground. Yin Weiying felt sorry for seeing this, but didn't know what to say.

Queen An watched Yin Tingxue pick up the fragments one by one and said leisurely:

"He said he doted on you, but he is still a rough man after all. He only doted on you and didn't even know to give you a maid. You picked this and that, and you suffered."

"Reply...Reply to Your Majesty, I don't want to be punished. I am a sinner...I insist on not accepting it." Yin Tingxue said tremblingly.

This was not wrong. Chen Yi did have the plan to buy some maids and servants, but he was worried about exposing Yin Tingxue's identity. Secondly, Yin Tingxue did not like strangers. She was treated as a saint in Prince Xiang's mansion and had always been alone, so there were no maids and servants in the yard until now.

Empress An smiled and scolded, "It would be better to assign you some maids. How can a princess not have a servant by her side? I will select some from the palace and send them to you."

When Princess Jing heard this, she was shocked. Queen An personally sent someone over. Doesn't that mean she wants to monitor Chen Yi's every move?
If it were someone else, she wouldn't say anything...

But she...

She comes here every day off...

Even though he had thousands of grudges in his heart, Yin Weiying could only swallow his saliva and endure it.

Yin Tingxue lowered her head, her lips humming for a long time, and then she mustered up the courage to refuse:

"Your Majesty, there is no need to make her a maidservant, nor to make her a princess. A guilty girl is still a guilty girl. She has committed a crime, and it is a great blessing from heaven that she can live in this world like today."

Queen An narrowed her eyes and said:
"Do you know that I will not pursue your crime, but will pardon you, adopt you to the Jingwang Mansion, and make you a princess?"

After hearing these words, Yin Weiying, the real daughter of King Jing, opened her eyes wide.

The one-armed woman remained calm and sipped her tea slowly, as if she was not concerned.

Su Xin, the female official standing beside Queen An, was mentally prepared, but she was still slightly surprised when the Queen Mother said it herself.

It is not without precedent to pardon a guilty woman and marry her off to a man who will be crowned a princess.

But if you really think about it, there are very few.

In the underworld, people say that misfortune will not affect one's family, but in the court, it is just the opposite, misfortune will definitely affect one's family.

If this matter were brought to the court, there would inevitably be repeated remonstrations, but now the Queen Mother has made up her mind.

What a blessing from heaven!
The female official thought to herself that no matter who it was, they deserved this blessing from heaven, and if they refused, it would be considered as disobedience.

Yin Tingxue did not look up, but knelt down silently.

Queen An watched her lips move, waiting for her to thank the Lord for his grace.

Yin Tingxue pondered for a long time, her voice was very low.

"Thank you, Madam, for your grace...but..."

"But?"

Queen An raised her eyebrows slightly, and the female official Su Xin's expression also changed.

I only heard Yin Tingxue saying words that sounded extremely childish:

"But if the guilty girl is given the title of Princess, she won't be able to be his...concubine."

Not to mention Su Xin who was frozen in place, even the Queen Mother, the mother of a country, was stunned.

The nun in white almost dropped her tea bowl.

Only the one-armed woman looked at Yin Tingxue meaningfully.

Queen An frowned, then smiled after a long moment: "What kind of magic potion did he give you? Listen to what you are saying. How can you say such things?"

Yin Tingxue sniffed and kept her head down.

In ancient times, there were men who were willing to live in seclusion in the mountains and be common people, and not be prime ministers for this, but there was really no woman in the world who was willing to be a concubine, or even a princess for this. Queen An had a strange expression on her face. She thought that after giving up such a great favor, the daughter of King Xiang would eventually be willing. However, today Yin Tingxue was unwilling to be named a princess, and she had never thought about it.

Queen An glanced sideways and saw that the female official Su Xin beside her wanted to say something, so she raised her hand and motioned for her to speak.

The female official Su Xin glanced at Yin Tingxue and continued:
"My lady, do you know what you are saying?"

"The sinner knows."

"Well, regardless of the fact that you are a royal relative but refuse the grace of heaven, how could you, how could you be willing to be a concubine? A concubine belongs to my husband's family, not my mother's family. You must know that in Dayu law, the status of a concubine is similar to that of a maid. Even if he beats you to death, the most he can do is lose his official position."

"He won't."

When Su Xin heard this little voice, she frowned and was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say.

Who doesn't know how low the status of a concubine is?

She originally thought that the daughter of King Xiang was bewitched by the man's sweet words, but now that everything has been explained, the daughter of King Xiang is still stubborn and refuses to change.

Not far away, Yin Weiying, who had recovered from her shock, pondered for a moment. She thought that Tingxue was not really willing to be a concubine, but she saw that the Queen Mother had ulterior motives for her secret visit this time, so she remained unchanged in the face of all changes. It seemed that she was refusing, but in fact she was not willing to fall into the trap or be fooled.

Seeing that Yin Tingxue seemed to be deeply in love and stubborn, An Hou looked for the crux of the matter and narrowed his eyes and said:
"Do you know that after you are crowned as a princess, you will marry him as his second wife?"

In the laws of Dayu, one man is allowed to have multiple wives and concubines. However, if the royal family gives special permission, or if the man marries two wives at the same time, he can marry a second wife, or a left or right wife.

Therefore, even without the royal family's special permission, he could still marry a concubine by virtue of concurrently marrying a wife. However, Chen Yi's origins were unknown, so even if he concurrently married two wives, it would not matter if he compiled a family tree and concurrently married ten wives. There would be no evidence anyway, and he would inevitably be impeached.

Seeing that Yin Tingxue did not answer, Queen An continued:
"You don't want to be a co-wife? Even if she's not the principal wife, it's better than being a concubine."

Yin Tingxue glanced at Zhou Yitang stealthily and whispered:
"But my wife, my wife is not as good as my concubine."

The one-armed woman glanced at her coldly.

Yin Tingxue was silent and shivered.

But now, Zhou Yitang is the only one who can help. "Your Majesty, she is half my disciple, and naturally half a monk. Let her make the choice herself."

The one-armed woman spoke slowly.

Queen An raised her phoenix eyes, met the latter's gaze, and answered the question irrelevantly:

"It's been a long time since we parted in the Underground Palace, Master Tong Xuan."

"It won't take long." Zhou Yitang said.

"It seems like a lifetime ago." An Hou replied.

The one-armed woman did not respond, but sat there with her eyes lowered, her face calm, as if the affairs of the underground palace had nothing to do with her.

Queen An sneered repeatedly, but did not expose these things. Instead, she looked like she was reminiscing and said as if she was talking about the past:

"Come to think of it, those days were truly marvelous. Although I am the mother of the world, I never thought that I would have another son. In this case, I ask parents to plan for their son's long-term future. He once told me that he had taken a concubine, but I didn't mention it. I just said that I had other plans for his wife, and now he came here to grant the marriage."

The one-armed woman said calmly:

"You are not granting a marriage, but asking him to die."

When these words were spoken, the female official Su Xin was slightly shocked. These words were truly spoken without any scruples.

An Hou's face darkened, and he said coldly:

"How can he not die?"

"He saved your life."

"That's what he should do." Empress An said calmly, "He is loyal to his country, and this is what he should do."

"Nothing is really right for him, except the word 'love'."

"Is there any relationship between this palace and him?"

As she spoke, Queen An glanced at Yin Weiying, who shuddered.

"Could it be that he is my concubine just like Princess Jing? How come I don't know?"

After finishing speaking, Queen An seemed to change the subject, staring at Yin Weiying and continued with a smile:

"Princess Jing, why are you so flustered?
If I really take him as my concubine, what will happen then?"

Yin Weiying trembled and replied: "Your servant, I dare not speak ill of the Queen Mother..."

Zhou Yitang remained calm and did not continue to talk about the relationship between Queen An and Chen Yi. Instead, he asked:

"You want to kill him?"

An Hou asked back:
"If I really kill him, so what? Could it be that Jian Jia wants to kill me?"

Before he finished speaking, the room was already filled with sword energy. The tea in Queen An's hand was shaking, and the ripples were like waves.

Queen An lowered her eyes to look at the tea, not looking away:

"If you can touch the tea in my hand, you can certainly kill me. But this time I came here without any guards."

"Have you thought about dying?"

"Because I will not die."

An Hou paused and said slowly:
"Do you understand what I mean? You can kill him, but you can't. Not to mention that the dragon vein luck of Dayu will bury Yinjian Mountain with it, not to mention that you will also perish, and he will also die."

Zhou Yitang's eyes were like swords, and he said:
"What if you really die here?"

The Queen Mother said, "God of Heaven and Earth, how dare you kill me?"

The momentum is as majestic as the cry of a phoenix.

The two princesses and a female official were too afraid to say a word at this moment.

The one-armed woman calmed down, turned her eyes to the side, and sipped the tea in the cup.

The tense atmosphere disappeared without a trace.

Queen An was also sipping tea. As she sipped, she looked around at the women in the yard. Seeing that each of them was stunningly beautiful, for some reason, a smile appeared on her face.

When he was in Jingren Palace, he seemed to have only one concubine...

How come he has attracted so many women in just a few months? This kid... has really made it...

An Hou's thoughts were wandering, and when he came to his senses, his face suddenly became gloomy.

She clenched the tea bowl tighter in her hand.

The reason why she came to this courtyard was not only to inform him personally about the arranged marriage, but also to test herself.

After so much time had passed, she wanted to try and see if there were any traces of her experience in the underground palace.

You know, these days, when she deliberately mentioned him, her heart was calm.

But now it seems that she really shouldn't have come to this yard.

Just by looking at these women, she couldn't help but feel that he was living a very good life these days. She felt comfortable and happy in her heart. Watching him live a good life was like seeing a piece of crystal agate, which she couldn't bear to break.

But it must be broken eventually...

A blood feud that must be repaid.

After An Hou sorted out his thoughts, he slowly said:

"I came here for a marriage, but unfortunately he is not here. As for who the girl is, I will tell you now, and you can tell him when the time comes. This girl's surname is Donggong and her given name is Ruoshu. She is originally from the Western Jin Dynasty and came to our capital of Dayu for the family business."

Both Yin Da and Yin Xiao found the name very familiar, but Yin Weiying's reaction was a little bit bigger.

Donggong Ruoshu is going to marry Chen Yi?
Yin Weiying felt inexplicably unbearable.

But, but...

Even she was just a concubine...

Yin Weiying's fingertips trembled, and his heart felt blocked, with a sour feeling.

She was setting a trap for others.

Now not only did he screw himself, but he also had to be someone else's wife's mistress...

Princess Jing lowered her head, her mind filled with confusion.

Compared to Princess Jing, Yin Tingxue was a little confused. When Queen An signaled her to speak, she spoke:
"But...will Miss Donggong be willing?"

Queen An smiled faintly, like an old mistress at home, and said earnestly:
"It's okay to tell you that Wuyong Tower is going to collapse. This is the work of the palace. Donggong Ruoshu and Donggong Ai came to Dayu on the pretext of managing this property. So, do you think Donggong Ruoshu will watch Wuyong Tower collapse like this?

She doesn't want to just leave the building like this, right?
Moreover, she did not dare to reveal her identity as Chen from the Western Jin Dynasty, so when the palace arranged a marriage, she would agree to it. Moreover, I will also confer the title of marquis on Chen Yi, so marrying into this marquisate would not be a disgrace to her background.

He was already a marquis when he was in his twenties. From anyone's perspective, he had a bright future. "

Yin Tingxue listened and couldn't help but marvel in her heart, this evil queen is so good to Chen Yi.

"Come to think of it," Queen An said with a playful smile, "Do you also want to call me... Demon Queen?"

Yin Tingxue shuddered and said quickly: "I dare not..."

"I don't dare, not because I don't want to. After all, you are a member of the Heavenly Family, and you have a miserable life, implicated by your father. Even if I don't make you a princess, I may give you back your freedom one day."

An Hou has an approachable voice.

Yin Tingxue nodded. She had something in her mind, but after thinking about it, she didn't say it out loud.

The daughter of King Xiang felt that the Queen Mother had a good idea, using both soft and hard tactics, granting marriage and ennobling a title, which was quite generous.

However, she didn't seem to understand or care what Chen Yi wanted...

Just like parents, they often cannot understand their own children.

Zhou Yitang, who had been silent since a while ago, pinched his fingers slightly, as if calculating something after An Hou finished speaking.

Empress An had a sharp eye and naturally caught this action.

"I wonder if Master Zhou has any advice for you?"

"It's not that I want to give you advice, but... I just want to ask Her Majesty the Queen Mother, do you want him to die?" The one-armed woman remained calm, as if it had nothing to do with her.

Empress An said, "If I want him to die, he has to die. If you have anything to say, just say it."

Zhou Yitang put away his hand and said calmly:
"Well, he's going to die."

The atmosphere stagnated, the phoenix eyes narrowed, and Queen An stared at the Yinjianshan sword armor.

"He is in Jin Ya Pavilion,"

Zhou Yitang sipped the tea.
"He will die at the hands of the Magpie Pavilion Master."

After the words fell, An Hou seemed to fall into an ice cave and stayed in her seat motionless.

She raised her hand tremblingly, and it seemed to be stained with blood.

After an unknown amount of time, an imperial decree was heard, shocking the entire courtyard:
"Su Xin, get ready!"

I really want to release the next chapter soon, but I have already updated almost 8,000 words today. And I still need to write some drafts.
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(End of this chapter)