Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 197

Seeing the sincerity in Xie Jiu's eyes, Zhao Xingjin's doubts lessened somewhat.

However, he still said coldly.

“The Xie family is gone, but you are still my concubine. However, your brother will have nothing left, and may even lose his life. Is he willing to risk his life to avenge our mother? He is not alone; he has a wife and children.”

Such doubts are naturally normal.

Xie Jiu lowered her eyes, stood up and respectfully bowed to Zhao Xingjin. "Your Majesty, please see what my brother does. If he colludes with Father, I have no objection to Your Majesty's decision on how to deal with him. I only beg Your Majesty to consider my feelings and show less disapproval of my brother."

Zhao Xingjin's gaze fell on Xie Jiu, and he remained silent for a long time.

Xie Jiu's legs were already starting to go numb when he heard a voice coming from above.

"Get up first. I will make the decision on these matters."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Don't thank me, it sounds awkward to me."

Zhao Xingjin snorted.

This surprised Xie Jiu for a moment, but she quickly recovered and looked embarrassed. She pursed her lips and then changed the subject.

"Your Majesty, the soup I brought you is getting cold. Would you like to try some?"

"Ah."

Zhao Xingjin felt inexplicably annoyed, but still responded.

So Xie Jiu carefully served him a bowl of soup before leaving Chengming Palace.

After she left, Yang Zhian came forward to serve him. Zhao Xingjin got up to look at the memorials, but then remembered that there were no memorials to read today. It was the New Year, and apart from the matter in Dingzhou, who would submit memorials to him?

So I had to sit back down.

Seeing the somewhat irritated look on his face, Yang Zhian cautiously said...

"Would Your Majesty like to go out for a walk and get some fresh air? The underfloor heating in this room stays on late, so it's a bit stuffy."

"I'm not in the mood," Zhao Xingjin waved his hand.

Finally, he suddenly asked, "Tell me, have I been too lenient with Consort Jin, letting her become a bit too audacious? She even dared to say in front of me that her brother is good. How can the Xie family be good?"

"Your Majesty, Consort Jin's surname is also Xie," Yang Zhian cautiously reminded her.

“She is now a member of the Zhao family!” Zhao Xingjin rebuked.

Yang Zhian trembled in fright and quickly slapped himself in the face, "Your Majesty, please calm down! This servant misspoke, Your Majesty, please calm down!"

Before he could even slap him twice, Zhao Xingjin waved his hand to tell him to stop.

"Alright, alright, I'd better go for a walk, to Zhongcui Palace."

"Yes," Yang Zhian quickly replied, then asked, "So, are we going to Yinmei Pavilion to see Consort Wei, or to Qingyu Pavilion to see Lady Liu?"

Zhao Xingjin originally intended to say that he would go to Liu Cairen's place, but when he thought that Liu Cairen was on good terms with Xie Jiu, he frowned and said something else.

"Yinmei Pavilion, I'm going to see Consort Wei."

After speaking, he strode out of the palace gate.

Just as he was about to get into the sedan chair, he noticed a cushion on the seat and couldn't help but ask a question.

To everyone's surprise, Yang Zhian said it was Xie Jiu who did it.

"Consort Jin sent these over, saying that it's cold and that the Emperor would be more comfortable sitting on them with the cushions. She embroidered two of them so that he can switch between them."

"Having many thoughts."

Zhao Xingjin said in a low voice.

Then Xie Wei came to mind again, and for a moment I felt that Xie Jiu was more like Xie Mingshen. Both of them were scheming people, but Xie Wei seemed sincere and frank.

Indeed, how could Zhao Xingjin not have made a decision himself?

It was clear from the beginning that Xie Wei's principles and habits were different from Xie Mingshen's.

But this was not enough for him to remove Xie Wei from the Xie clan, just like Xie Jiu. As he had said before, Xie Wei was a man and was to inherit the family business; Zhao Xingjin did not believe that Xie Wei would destroy his own wealth and glory.

With mixed feelings, the imperial carriage arrived at Yinmei Pavilion.

Consort Wei was quite surprised, and then immediately went out to greet the emperor.

"I, my concubine, see you, Your Majesty."

"Hmm, no need for formalities." Zhao Xingjin waved his hand and casually asked, "What are you doing?"

When he asked this, Consort Wei looked at him strangely, and then said, "Your Majesty, I've been idle since the sixth day of the month, except for looking at the account books."

This was a very honest answer, leaving Zhao Xingjin somewhat at a loss for words.

Usually, there's always something to talk about with Xie Jiu, and it's relaxed and comfortable because Xie Jiu always manages to keep the atmosphere from getting cold.

However, after answering, Consort Wei stared at Zhao Xingjin with wide eyes, seemingly waiting for him to say the next thing.

Zhao Xingjin's lips moved, but he suddenly didn't know what to say. After a long while, he managed to utter a sentence.

"The accounts are important, but your health is important too. Don't overwork yourself."

"I'm not tired. I'm already familiar with everything. I'll just follow the rules," Consort Wei said earnestly.

Zhao Xingjin was caught off guard again, but fortunately Yang Zhian stepped in at that moment.

"Your Majesty, Consort, it's cold outside. Why don't we go inside and sit down to talk?"

Consort Wei finally realized what was happening and quickly greeted, "Oh right, Your Majesty, please come inside. I'll have someone make tea."

Once inside, they were served tea, but they still just stared at each other, speechless.

Previously, Zhao Xingjin disliked Consort Wei for being like an old censor in the court, nagging and lecturing endlessly, which annoyed him. Now that Consort Wei had stopped talking, he felt the atmosphere was a bit tense and became even more uneasy.

Why doesn't Your Majesty go to Consort Jin's place?

But then, of all times, Wei Jieyu blurted out this sentence.

Heaven knows, she just wanted to ask a normal question, after all, everyone knows that Zhao Xingjin almost always went to Jingming Palace when he entered the harem.

Yang Zhian listened from the side, inwardly calling for his mother.

There are two people in the palace who dare to speak their minds: Consort Jin and Consort Wei. Consort Jin uses a method that you can't understand, while Consort Wei is all about sincerity, leaving you speechless.

Fortunately, Zhao Xingjin was a bit troubled at the moment and wanted to talk to someone about Xie Jiu, so when Wei Jieyu brought it up so abruptly, he didn't think anything was wrong and just went along with it.

"What do you think of Consort Jin?"

This unexpected question caught Wei Jieyu somewhat off guard.

But after thinking about it carefully, she said, "I used to think she was opportunistic, shameless, scheming, and ill-mannered, but now I realize that she is not without merit."

"Continue," Zhao Xingjin said, putting down his teacup.

I didn't find Wei Jieyu's choice of words offensive at all.

Consort Wei obeyed, ignoring the two anxious maids beside her, and spoke calmly and solemnly.

"Although she has her own plans, she does not maliciously hurt anyone, nor does she easily wrong anyone, even those she dislikes. This shows that she has principles and bottom lines in her heart and is not someone who distorts the truth. She treats Princess Wenxi like her own daughter, with meticulous care, which shows that she also has a kind heart. Her rebuttal of the rudeness of the Xichi people at the state banquet shows that she has the country in her heart and is not just concerned with the disputes of women in the inner quarters."

At this point, Wei Jieyu paused.

"I don't quite understand either, but Consort Jin is by no means a malicious person. It's just that I don't completely agree with her style of doing things. There is no black and white in her. She is really quite complicated."

As Zhao Xingjin listened to Wei Jieyu's evaluation, his slightly lowered eyes revealed an unreadable emotion.

After a while, he suddenly stood up.

"I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now. I'll come to see you another day."

Wei Jieyu was stunned for a moment, then quickly got up to see him off.

I thought to myself, what's going on here? They came over for a cup of tea, asked a few questions, and then left. So they came to answer my questions?

The two maids were also anxious, and as soon as there were no outsiders in the courtyard, they immediately pulled Wei Jieyu into the house.

"How could you, Consort Jieyu, speak of Consort Jin like that in front of the Emperor? Consort Jin is currently favored; you shouldn't offend her!"