Soon, the news of the deposed queen spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital. Zhou Donglin already knew this news without waiting for the courtier to tell him the gossip.
Moreover, the courtier brought even more shocking news -
Li Qiyu was deposed because she tried to assassinate the emperor, and the weapon she used was the wooden sword that Zhou Donglin had asked him to take to her.
Li Qiyu had a stubborn temper. This was like pouring oil on fire. Zhou Donglin knew that she would surely cause a big stir after hearing the news that the Li family's mansion had been raided. But he didn't expect the stir to be so big that it led directly to her being deposed.
Zhou Donglin moved his lips and asked, "Is she okay?"
As soon as he asked this question, he thought it was a stupid one. In her current situation, how could she be okay?
The courtier replied, "When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; when the wall collapses, everyone pushes."
There was no need to say more. Zhou Donglin could already imagine Li Qiyu's current situation. What was even more depressing was that he couldn't do anything about it.
Seeing Zhou Donglin in a state of despair, the courtier couldn't bear it after all and told him that Li Qiyu was now half - blind.
Not long after, on his way back from the palace after reporting to Song Jiaye, Zhou Donglin picked up the dying Snowball.
Snowball was as light as a feather. When he picked it up, it was on the verge of death, sick and hungry.
Zhou Donglin knew Li Qiyu. She usually loved small animals the most. When they went hunting before, although she was an excellent archer, she never hit the prey. She didn't care at all even though she became the laughingstock in the capital's social circle.
Such a person who loved small animals couldn't even protect a kitten. Zhou Donglin couldn't control his feet. He knew which palace Li Qiyu was sent to after being demoted. His feet unconsciously walked in that direction. When he reached the door, he saw a group of palace servants walking out of the palace with looks of disgust.
Zhou Donglin stood in front of the cold palace. The gate of the cold palace was tightly closed, and there were two guards standing in front of it.
Zhou Donglin couldn't show his face. After all, he was an official outside the palace. It would be a serious crime if he was caught in the harem.
Just as he was bending over to peek inside, suddenly someone tapped him on the back. Zhou Donglin was startled.
When he looked back, he found it was the courtier.
The courtier glared at him and quickly pulled him aside.
"You're really brave. You're risking your life," the courtier said, pointing at the guards at the door. "These guards have seen your portrait. As soon as you show your face, you'll surely be arrested!"
There was no need to think to know who had arranged this.
"He's really guarding against me like a thief," Zhou Donglin said.
"If you know he's guarding against you, you should be more careful," the courtier said.
Hearing this, Zhou Donglin laughed out of anger.
"How can I be careful? Now she's locked up in there alone. Even this..." Zhou Donglin took out the kitten from his sleeve. "A cat is in such a state. How can a person be in good condition?"
Hearing this, the courtier could only sigh. Now he could only persuade one person at a time.
"If you really want to help the queen, you should enter the palace earlier and let the emperor entrust you with important tasks. When you hold great power in the future, you won't have to worry about having no chance. I have a bit of a connection with the chief eunuch beside the emperor. I heard from him that since the downfall of the Li family, there are many vacancies in the court now. The emperor is worried about choosing the right people. This is a good time for you to enter the palace. As long as you show that you don't care about the queen and make the emperor look at you with new eyes, and then look for an opportunity to plead for the queen, maybe you can get the queen her freedom."
Although Zhou Donglin was honest and straightforward, he wasn't stupid. "Throughout history, there has never been a case where a deposed queen was allowed to leave the palace, right?"
The courtier continued to dodge the issue. "There haven't been many deposed queens either. Besides, what can you do now? Even if you go there now, can you see the queen and talk to her? You can't even get close. Instead of doing this, it's better to find another way. Maybe it will work."
Zhou Donglin was quickly convinced by the courtier. Moreover, there was a little thing in his arms waiting to be treated. He could only reluctantly look at the palace gate a few times. When he turned back, he even gave all his money bags to the courtier.
"Your Excellency, please help me arrange things. She must be short of clothes and food in the cold palace. It would be good if you could make her life a bit better."
Then he took off the jade pendant on his body and gave it all to the courtier.
The courtier looked at the pile of things in his hand. This was a man's clumsy sincerity. He nodded and said, "Don't worry. I will."
Seeing the courtier nod, Zhou Donglin left reluctantly, looking back three times at every step.
Not long after Zhou Donglin left, the courtier also walked out of the inner palace. He found Prime Minister Zhou in a corner outside the palace.
He presented all the valuables that Zhou Donglin had given him to Prime Minister Zhou.
"Prime Minister, this is what your noble son asked me to use to arrange things for the palace servants."
Prime Minister Zhou glanced at the valuables in the courtier's hand. His son was really a spendthrift. He even took out his jade pendant. It seemed that for Li Qiyu, he could even empty the Zhou family.
The courtier saw Prime Minister Zhou's ugly expression and felt even more nervous. He quickly said, "Prime Minister, you'd better take these things back. I..."
"He has a stubborn temper. If he finds out that you didn't do as he asked, he'll make a fuss with you. Just do what he asks. As for little Yu..." Prime Minister Zhou sighed repeatedly. Then he casually took off his wallet and handed it to the courtier. "She has suffered too much. Please take care of her a bit."
This father and son really deserved to be related. Their ways of doing things were so similar. Now the courtier felt that his hands were heavy. For a moment, he didn't know whether to take them or return them.
"Prime Minister, it's not that I don't want to help you. It's just that now the queen is being watched by the emperor's people. Even if I want to arrange things, I don't have the ability."
Prime Minister Zhou looked at the money bag in the courtier's hand. He was hen - pecked, and the family finances were all in his wife's hands. This was his monthly expenses. After giving it away, he would have to live frugally. He originally wanted to reach out and take it back, but after thinking about it, he stopped.
"Then you can keep it. Wait for an opportunity. Even if there's no opportunity in the future, just take it as my reward for asking you to watch over Donglin."
Over the years, Zhou Donglin never talked to his parents about anything. Prime Minister Zhou could only find an indirect way.
Saying this, Prime Minister Zhou quickly walked away - he was afraid that if he was any slower, he would take back his hand because he was reluctant.
It didn't take long for the prime minister's wife to notice that the prime minister had lost his money bag.
She put her hands on her hips and blocked the prime minister in the room.
"Good for you, father and son! You went out rich and came back empty - handed. Tell me, what did you do with the money!"