Shen Qing was just happy that her actions had averted a disaster. Hearing the words, she blurted out her true thoughts directly. "Naturally, it's the one who can gain the most benefits from it. Otherwise, what's the point of doing such a thing?"
The person who wanted to use rumors to deal with Ji Junye must be aiming at his throne. The late emperor was licentious and fatuous, indulging in the harem. He had numerous offspring. There were seven princes whose names were recorded in the imperial genealogy. When Ji Junye ascended the throne, he killed three rebellious princes. Now, only the fifth prince, King Jin, the biological son of the noble consort, who was the current empress dowager, and the sixth and seventh princes remained.
At that time, the sixth prince was three years old and the seventh prince had just been born. They had been raised in the palace since childhood. Now, the older sixth prince was only eight years old. Naturally, it couldn't be them who did it.
Ji Junye had killed many people when he came to the throne, but most of them were those who occupied positions without doing anything, embezzled money, and harmed the common people. The late emperor appointed people by favoritism regardless of their talents. Although shedding blood was too cruel, it was the fastest and most effective way to rectify the court.
In the few years since Ji Junye ascended the throne, he had intimidated several small neighboring countries with thunderous means. The lives of the people in the Jing Kingdom were more than twice as prosperous as they were during the late emperor's reign.
After she finished speaking, she looked up and saw Ji Junye staring at her intently.
Shen Qing quickly pleaded for forgiveness. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I shouldn't have dared to discuss state affairs rashly."
In her previous life, King Jin was indeed involved in the incident at Jinming Lake. But at this time, he was still obediently staying in his fief, showing no signs of rebellion. In Ji Junye's eyes, wouldn't her words be like sowing discord between their brothers?
Ji Junye was just about to say that she didn't need to be so cautious when there were only the two of them, and that he wasn't a fool.
At this moment, Li Quan came in to report.
"Your Majesty, the noble consort has come."
Ji Junye frowned subconsciously. "What does she want?"
"I don't know, Your Majesty. The noble consort never comes at night. Presumably, she has something important to do."
Ji Junye pondered for a moment. "Let her in."
Then he looked at Shen Qing. "You go and hide in the back first."
"Yes." Li Quan's head was almost buried in his crotch. He had just told Shen Qing that she was the first one to come to the imperial study, and now the noble consort came right away.
Shen Qing pursed her lips and said nothing. She followed Li Quan.
It was rumored that the noble consort was the apple of the emperor's eye. If she hadn't been childless, she might have become the empress long ago. Shen Qing was self - aware. With her status, she really should avoid them.
She let out a long breath and adjusted her mood. She thought Li Quan would take her out, but unexpectedly, Li Quan stopped in the inner chamber behind the study.
"This is the emperor's inner chamber. The emperor rarely goes to the harem and often rests here. Miss Shen, please wait here for a while."
Shen Qing nodded. "Thank you, Eunuch Li."
Li Quan personally poured her a cup of tea. Afraid that she would feel hot inside, he specially asked someone to move in an ice basin. Then he went out to wait.
Shen Qing briefly looked around the furnishings. Sure enough, as Li Quan said, Ji Junye often spent the night here. All the things were the ones he usually used.
In two lifetimes combined, she had shared a bed with Ji Junye countless times. Shen Qing knew that he was a nostalgic person and didn't like to change his personal belongings often.
The noble consort was the apple of his eye. Presumably, she had also spent the night here.
Thinking of this, Shen Qing suddenly felt nauseous in her stomach.
She quickly picked up the tea in front of her and took a sip to suppress the nausea in her heart. She despised herself deeply.
She hated Lu Mian, but wasn't she just like Lu Mian in this regard?
Shen Qing subconsciously ignored Li Quan's words "The emperor rarely goes to the harem". After all, in both lifetimes, the noble consort was the apple of his eye. If he treated her like this, how could he not visit his beloved?
But he had someone bring her into the palace for a tryst under such circumstances and let her listen to their conversation in the back. Sure enough, all men in the world were the same with their bad habits!
It wasn't far from here to the front, and she could hear what the people in the front were saying. Even if Shen Qing didn't want to listen, the coquettish voice of the noble consort still reached her ears.
"Your Majesty, it's late at night. You should take care of your dragon body. Your concubine had someone stew ginseng soup for you. I wonder if Your Majesty would like to go to my palace and have a taste?"
Ji Junye didn't look at her. His eyes lingered on the inkstone beside him for a moment and then quickly moved away. He said indifferently, "I still have government affairs to deal with. Did the noble consort come to the imperial study so late just to say these things? I thought you were here to plead for your useless cousin. Since not, if there's nothing else, you may leave."
The noble consort's face froze. "Your concubine has something to say."
Her cousin was in charge of the repair of the Jinming Lake dam. But unexpectedly, such a big mistake happened under his nose. Her cousin had already been dismissed from his post and imprisoned in the dungeon. The family couldn't do anything, so they had to ask her. Although she felt ashamed, she had no choice but to come.
"Speak."
The noble consort lifted her skirt and knelt down. "Your Majesty, my cousin was in charge of the dam repair. Now that there was almost an accident at Jinming Lake, he is hard to absolve himself of the blame. But he is my only elder brother after all. Please, Your Majesty, forgive him this time for it being his first offense!"
Hearing this, Ji Junye glanced at her and said with a curled lip, "Since the noble consort has come to plead in person, I will surely give you this face. But if I don't punish him, wouldn't it be telling the world that as long as someone pleads for a person who has made a mistake, the mistake can be written off?"
"But since you've pleaded, he'll be beaten thirty strokes with a rod as a warning. He'll also have his salary deducted for one year and be demoted one rank. Go back and reflect on it properly!"
"Your concubine thanks Your Majesty for your grace on behalf of my cousin!"
Although she thought the punishment was still a bit heavy, she also knew that if it hadn't been for the emperor's people arriving in time, once the Jinming Lake dam burst, tens of thousands of common people outside the city would have been affected. It would have been a light punishment if the emperor had beheaded him on the spot.
She could only hope that her cousin would reflect on his mistakes properly after he went back and not neglect his duties anymore.
"Is there anything else?"
Ji Junye's voice came. The noble consort bit her lower lip reluctantly. "Your Majesty, you haven't been to the harem for a long time..."
"I'll have dinner with you tomorrow."
There was already impatience on Ji Junye's face.
So much time had been wasted. She would be angry soon.
Thinking of the way she was angry but dared not vent it on him, Ji Junye's mood inexplicably improved a lot.
"But..."
Li Quan spoke up in time. "Noble Consort, it's getting late. His Majesty is busy with government affairs. Please go back."
The noble consort was unwilling. Looking at the overflowing ink, she always felt that there was a different smell in the room, but she couldn't remember what was different. She had no choice but to go out reluctantly.
"The people serving His Majesty are really careless. The ink is almost overflowing. I don't know how the people in front of the emperor serve him!"
The noble consort was extremely angry because she hadn't managed to plead for her cousin. She slapped the armrest of the sedan chair hard.
Moli, the noble consort's chief maid, advised, "Don't be discouraged, Your Highness. Didn't His Majesty say that he would have dinner with you tomorrow? It's too late today. We'll seize the opportunity well tomorrow and surely keep His Majesty with us!"
The noble consort glanced at the bright red nail polish on her fingernails. "I remember!"
Moli was confused. What did the noble consort remember?
There was hatred on the noble consort's face. "There's a woman's scent in the imperial study!"