Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 64: Shame
Something like this happening in the Imperial Palace could not be kept secret.

In order to expand her influence, Pingle sent four palace maids to invite four imperial physicians on the way to Zhulin Yage, and informed the other party with an "extremely urgent" attitude.

"The prince is feeling unwell after drinking. Come and see a doctor immediately."

She wanted to invite more people to see the scandal in the Imperial Garden...

I’m afraid there’s someone who doesn’t know.

They walked all the way from Changchun Pavilion, followed by a number of onlookers. As soon as they arrived at Zhulin Ya Pavilion, the old woman who was guarding the pavilion came out of the woods, kowtowed and stammered to ask for forgiveness.

"When I and Nanny Qin saw His Highness drunk and coming in, we were about to step forward to help him, but a little girl took advantage of the opportunity and broke into the pavilion and closed the door. I was afraid of something happening, so I didn't dare to rush in..."

"Just now I heard... a woman's babbling voice inside. I was so scared that I quickly asked Nanny Qin to come and report... If a little girl tarnished the reputation of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I would be guilty of a great crime..."

Ever since Xue Sui was pushed into the elegant room in the bamboo forest, the two maids have been squatting outside in the bushes.

The door was closed and locked from the outside, but they did not let their guard down. They waited until they heard ambiguous sounds between a man and a woman from inside. Then they looked at each other, knowing that something had happened, and then they went their separate ways.

A maid went to Pingle to report the news.

Another one opened the door lock hanging outside when he heard the footsteps of Ping Le and others, erasing all the man-made evidence...

These were all arranged by Pingle in advance.

After hearing this, she saw that the girls beside her were all showing embarrassed expressions. Lu Xi even lowered his head, twisted his handkerchief, and looked uneasy. She smiled.

"What's that babbling sound? Speak clearly, you old man."

"Oh, I can't say it in front of so many girls..."

Lu Xi lowered his head even lower.

Ping Le curled his lips and said, "Did you see which girl she was?"

The maid didn't dare to look up, and said in a grunting voice: "I have never seen this girl before... She seems to be the one who follows Princess Duan..."

Xue Yuechen, who had just arrived, turned pale and stopped.

Fu's face fell on the spot, she was so angry that she almost bit her teeth off.

Xue Yueman and Xue Yue'e looked at each other.

"It can't be Sixth Sister... That would be too embarrassing."

Pingle smiled and glanced casually at the small pavilion in the forest where flowers were blooming.

At this moment, it is very quiet inside...

Is everything done? She needs to hurry up.

Ping Le said, "It will rain when the sky falls and the ground will be dusty. It is not up to you, a servant, to decide who the Crown Prince will favor. Get up. Go knock on the door and see if the Crown Prince is okay. Don't get drunk and make mistakes."

The old woman looked embarrassed and said, "This, this old slave dare not..."

Ping Le sneered: "If I tell you to go, then go. With this royal sister here, are you afraid that the Crown Prince will eat you?"

The old woman answered yes, got up and knocked on the door.

Just after knocking three times, Queen Xie's stern shout came from behind.

"Bold slave!"

Empress Xie also came with a few palace maids in a grand procession. Perhaps she was walking in a hurry, as visible sweat appeared on her stern face, revealing the anxiety hidden beneath her calm and graceful appearance.

If the prince had done such a shameful thing at the Spring Banquet, he would have been subject to countless impeachments and criticisms.

The Xiao clan was worried about not being able to find an opportunity to trip up the Eastern Palace, so how could they miss this opportunity to bring him down?
Empress Xie took two steps at a time, stepped forward, stopped the old woman, and stood on the steps.

"The prince is taking a short rest here, how can I allow you to disturb him? All of you, leave!"

With Empress Xie around, how could the nanny dare to move even if she had the courage of a god?
Pingle snorted and laughed, walked forward and looked Queen Xie in the eye, a smile on his lips.

"Why is your mother so angry? We are only concerned about the health of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I don't know what kind of seductive woman is bewitching His Royal Highness. If she uses some despicable means to harm the Crown Prince, it would be a catastrophic interference with the country..."

Empress Xie looked at her calmly, "Don't bother your Highness. I will take care of my son myself."

Ping Le chuckled, "My mother is worried about the prince, and I, as the emperor's sister, am equally concerned."

Empress Xie raised her chin slightly, "I am still alive, so it is not your turn as a concubine's sister to care about me?"

Pingle's face suddenly changed.

As noble as her mother was, even though she was doted on by her father, she was always inferior to the Queen.

Although the imperial concubine is respected, if she were in an ordinary family, she would undoubtedly be a bastard.

And this was the thing she hated most in her life, and also the most uncomfortable thing in her more than 20 years of life as a princess.

It was as if a thread had been pulled out of the perfect brocade. If she didn't fill it up, she would be unable to sleep or eat, and would never feel comfortable for the rest of her life.

Pingle gritted his teeth secretly.

This Empress Xie usually had a kind face and an attitude of being as calm as a chrysanthemum and not interested in worldly matters, but it turned out that she was just pretending. Here, she was actually showing off.

Ping Le looked at Empress Xie, smiling at every word, but each word was as sharp as a knife. "My mother doesn't care about the safety of the Crown Prince, and she doesn't want me, the Emperor's sister, to care about my brother. So I have no choice but to ask my father to come forward."

Empress Xie twisted her handkerchief tightly and asked, "Are you blackmailing me?"

Pingle bowed and smiled respectfully: "Yushu wouldn't dare."

After saying this, she signaled to the palace maids around her to keep a close watch on the entire Bamboo Grove Pavilion, and to make sure not even a fly could escape. Then she and Empress Xie remained in a stalemate, looking at each other and smiling from a distance.

"Yushu would like to see if the emperor, when he comes, thinks that the queen mother is right, or that my concern for the crown prince is more reasonable?"

Seeing that she was not giving in, Empress Xie felt a chill in her heart.

It was obviously Pingle's plan.

In this palace, what makes Pingle feel fearless is not her identity as a princess, but the man in the Golden Throne Hall - her first husband.

The emperor is the biggest supporter of Pingle and her two daughters.

Judging from countless experiences of past confrontations, Queen Xie has never won once.

The emperor's heart is biased.

Pingle was wrong, so he should be punished severely.

Pingle is right, he will be doubly honored.

Pingle is right or not, he is right.

If Pingle was really at fault, it was because he was young and ignorant.

The corners of Empress Xie's eyes turned red, and she took a step forward with an unsteady step.

"Justice is in the heart of the people. Even if His Majesty comes, he should still speak the truth. I don't believe that His Majesty will ignore the Empress and the Crown Prince because of your unreasonable and unreasonable words."

The smile on Pingle's face grew wider.

"I am tired from standing here for so long. Go, bring some chairs and set up a table. It will be great to enjoy the spring and flowers here."

The palace maid hesitated slightly.

In order to prevent Pingle from rushing into the house, Queen Xie blocked the door.

There are no chairs on those steps.

The queen is standing, so how can the princess sit?
Ping Le said: "Mother has always been kind and virtuous. I am not feeling well, so you won't blame me, right?"

Empress Xie was standing at the top of the steps. Except for the two maids beside her, she was surrounded by Pingle's supporters. Those timid concubines and ladies hid far away, fearing that they would get into trouble, and no one dared to come forward.

She sneered.

"Then Princess, please sit tight and be careful not to hurt your back."

Ping Le smiled: "It's okay, my daughter is young."

Queen Xie frowned.

At this time, the maid Linglong hurried over, bowed to Queen Xie, then walked up the steps and whispered a few words in her ear.

The crow's feet at the corners of Empress Xie's eyes loosened slightly.

But it was only for a moment, and then he frowned almost imperceptibly and nodded at Linglong.

"Then I will wait here until His Majesty comes to deal with it."

Pingle noticed the subtle changes just now, but seeing that there was no one around Queen Xie, he was not afraid.

If a person is arrogant for too long, he will forget how high the sky is and how deep the earth is.

The palace servants brought in chairs, laid out thick blankets, and placed the table with dried fruit snacks and fragrant tea.

Pingle bowed slightly to Queen Xie, then sat down comfortably.

"The air in the garden is fresh and the flowers are fragrant. It is really pleasant to sit here and drink tea..."
-
Princess Pingle almost invited the entire Imperial Hospital to the Bamboo Grove Pavilion. This matter soon alarmed the entire imperial garden. Emperor Chongzhao, who was entertaining his ministers in the Lingyan Pavilion, naturally got the news, but he did not ask any more questions until Pingle sent someone to invite him.

"Ridiculous!" The emperor dropped his wine cup heavily.

The spring flower banquet was supposed to celebrate the beginning of the year and pray for good weather and good harvests, but it turned into such a mess, which not only ruined the emperor's mood, but also lost the royal family.

Li Huan sat to the lower right of the emperor. He glanced at the table to the lower left that had been empty for a long time, narrowed his eyes slightly, and smiled as he cupped his hands:

"Father, the Crown Prince is not usually a heavy drinker. He was probably in a good mood today and drank a few more glasses. Pingle is the same. She made a big fuss over a trivial matter. I will talk to her later. Father, you don't need to worry too much."

The emperor looked at him and said, "You go and have a look. It's a good spring banquet, please don't make it too noisy and make it difficult for me and my beloved ministers to enjoy themselves."

Li Huan's eyes flickered slightly, "Son understands."

As the most favored prince, Li Huan was the best at understanding the emperor's thoughts.

The royal family's reputation is of paramount importance, and every move must be a role model in terms of ethics and strict etiquette. If Your Majesty wants to leave a good name in history and be a wise ruler, he has to compromise himself and put himself under the scrutiny of the censors at all times.

If something like that really happened, the emperor would lose face.

Therefore, the emperor did not plan to go there in person. What he was asked to do was to calm the disturbance quietly and not let the scandal spread and bring shame to the royal family.