allonlinenovel Chapter 318 Which step should I take?
Chapter 318 Which step should I take?
"You!" Xie Qian clenched his fists.
How dare you tease him!
Xie Qian'an's expression twisted for a moment.
Xie Qian'an and Shen Qionghua were close to each other just now, and their voices were low. Concubine Zhou, who was standing under the eaves, could not hear clearly what they said, but she noticed that Xie Qian'an's face was not looking good.
At this moment, he walked up to Xie Qian'an and asked in a low voice, "What did you say to that bitch?"
Xie Qi'an's face was a little solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "Mother, something must have happened when the emperor met Shen Qionghua. We must find out, otherwise we will be in a passive position."
Concubine Zhou frowned. "Just now, only Li Shunquan entered the inner hall to serve. He has always been obedient to the emperor. I'm afraid it won't be easy to get him to tell me what happened in the inner hall."
"No matter how difficult it is, how will you know if you don't try?" Xie Qian'an said.
Anyway, he would never allow Shen Qionghua to ruin his plans!
Before Concubine Zhou could say anything, a young eunuch came over and said respectfully, "Your Highness Prince An, Your Highness Concubine Zhou."
Xie Qian'an and Concubine Zhou felt something at the same time.
Concubine Zhou couldn't wait to ask, "Well, does the emperor want to see me and Prince An?"
The young eunuch glanced at Concubine Zhou's expression, then lowered his head and said timidly, "To answer your question, Concubine, the Emperor ordered you and His Royal Highness Prince An to return, and to stop kneeling here."
"What?" Concubine Zhou's eyes narrowed, and she subconsciously wanted to scold the young eunuch, but then she remembered that they were at the gate of Taiji Hall, and she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
She just looked at the young eunuch with a sullen face, and said in an aggressive tone: "Your Majesty, won't you come to see me and Prince Rui?"
"This...this..." The young eunuch also felt quite wronged. It was obvious that the emperor didn't want to see him anymore.
Xie Qianan, on the other hand, smiled slightly, acting quite understanding, and nodded, saying, "I understand. Thank you for telling me, eunuch."
The young eunuch nodded humbly and then stepped back.
Now that the emperor has spoken, Xie Qian'an naturally cannot continue to kneel in front of the Taiji Palace, using the self-torture trick to express his apology and prove that the delay in food and grass was an accident.
Xie Qian'an staggered to his feet, and the young eunuch beside Concubine Zhou hurried forward to help him.
The group slowly left the Tai Chi Hall.
-
Just when Xie Qian'an was thinking about how to make Li Shunquan reveal what happened in the inner palace today, Shen Qionghua had already left the palace and returned to the Shen Mansion.
Luo Xiyao had been waiting in Shen Qionghua's yard for a long time.
Seeing Shen Qionghua reply, Luo Xiyao's eyes lit up and she immediately stepped forward and asked, "How is it going? Did the emperor agree?"
Because of the problem of food and fodder, Luo Xiyao couldn't eat or sleep well during this period. If Shen Qionghua hadn't told her that the food and fodder had been transported to Licheng, she would have lost control.
Qionghua said that this batch of grain must be allowed to enter the military camp through a clear route, otherwise her cousin would have a hard time explaining to the emperor afterwards.
A prince with military merits and whose mother's family has military power is already feared. If he has the ability to produce large quantities of food without anyone noticing, not to mention Prince An, I'm afraid even the emperor will be unable to sit still.
Therefore, this batch of grain must pass through the hands of the Shen family and be presented to the emperor. It must also be made to look like a coincidence, and the quantity cannot be too large to avoid future troubles.
This is also the reason why after the grain was transported to Licheng, the secret guards did not act rashly to transport the grain to the military camp, but rented a shop first.
Everything is waiting for the emperor's order.
Luo Xiyao was very scared. She was afraid that the emperor would be suspicious and not agree immediately. It would take a few days for the carrier pigeon to reach Licheng. If she delayed any further, it would be too late.
Fortunately, what she waited for was good news.
Facing Luo Xiyao's expectant gaze, Shen Qionghua smiled and nodded.
Luo Xiyao breathed a sigh of relief.
Time was urgent, so Shen Qionghua went to the study to write the letter, put it into the bamboo tube tied to the leg of the carrier pigeon, and then released the pigeon.
In fact, whether there is this letter or not, this batch of grain will be handed over to King Rui at the time calculated by Shen Qionghua.
If the emperor is really wavering, then we can only execute him first and report to him later.
At the moment, it is just an additional logical process. Even the carrier pigeon is used to deliver the message for the emperor to see.
After Shen Qionghua finished everything, she left the study. Luo Xiyao was waiting for her in the yard.
"Qionghua, are you done?"
"Yeah." Shen Qionghua nodded.
Luo Xiyao smiled, then took out a purse from her sleeve and handed it over, saying, "This is for you."
Shen Qionghua took it doubtfully and opened it. It was filled with silver bills, which looked to be nearly ten thousand taels.
"This is……"
"This is the silver note I got from selling my jewelry. Have you forgotten what we agreed on last time?" Luo Xiyao said.
"No... I can't take this banknote." Shen Qionghua said, closing her purse and pretending to return it to Luo Xiyao.
This was originally the agreement between her and Xie Nanyuan that she would use the power of the Shen family to help him. Now what was the point of taking the money Xiyao got from selling jewelry?
Shen Qionghua knew the financial situation of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion best. This ten thousand taels was nothing to the Shen family, but for Luo Xiyao, it should be all the money she could come up with.
Luo Xiyao naturally refused to take it. She smiled and said, "Qionghua, you don't have to worry about me. I don't like those jewels anymore, so selling them is just right. As for my daily outfit... I still have a lot of valuable jewels, all of which were given to me by the palace for my father's military exploits."
"Those jewellery gifts can't be sold or given away, and wearing them would be a bit ostentatious, so they've been sitting in the storeroom gathering dust. Now's the perfect time to pick them up and wear them."
"Besides, you're contributing money and effort to help my cousin, my father, and the soldiers in the army. As your father's daughter, how can I just stand by and watch?"
"But……"
"Qionghua, if you refuse again, I will be angry! You are allowed to help, but I am not allowed to do my best as well?" Luo Xiyao stomped her feet in anger.
Now that things have come to this, Shen Qionghua has to accept it even if she doesn't want to.
She sighed helplessly and said, "In that case, I'll accept it."
Seeing that Shen Qionghua agreed, Luo Xiyao smiled and said, "That's right, but I'm short of money. There aren't many banknotes in my purse. It's not as much as what you spent. Please don't mind."
"How could that be?" Shen Qionghua curled her lips.
"By the way, Qionghua, your trip to the palace has helped the emperor solve an urgent problem. Didn't the emperor reward you with anything?" Luo Xiyao asked.
Shen Qionghua smiled and nodded, then leaned close to Luo Xiyao's ear and whispered a few words.
Luo Xiyao's eyes lit up, and she crossed her arms and said, "Now a certain sinister villain's wishful thinking will be thwarted. I'm afraid he will be furious when the imperial decree comes tomorrow."
There was an unconcealable schadenfreude in his tone.
Shen Qionghua chuckled.
Xie Qian'an, now that the issue of food and fodder has been resolved, what step should you take next?