amaotonovel Chapter 209 Dismissal
Chapter 209 Dismissal
"Come to think of it, I have never seen this daughter-in-law drink the greeting wine. Well, go back quickly and don't keep Hongshi and his wife waiting for too long." The queen showed a hint of loneliness, but soon returned to her smiling face.
Concubine Qi hesitated and said half-truthfully, "It's all my fault. I was always thinking about having a grandson, so I told her to stop coming to pay her respects and forget about this matter. I'll tell her when I get back. I'm leaving."
Seeing that Concubine Qi had left, the other concubines also began to get restless.
"That's all for today."
As soon as the queen spoke, all the concubines dispersed, leaving only the aroma of tea and neatly arranged cakes filling the room.
"Even when Concubine Hua was in charge, she didn't ask us to go every day. The weather is getting colder now."
An Lingrong agreed and took Tara back to the palace. Baozhi had already prepared breakfast.
Children cannot stand being hungry, so Hongning had breakfast early and sat down obediently.
"Mother, Aunt Tara, I haven't seen my brother for a long time." Hongning said in a low voice.
Tara also showed a worried expression.
An Lingrong smiled calmly and scratched Hongning's nose. "Hongxuan will be going to the Imperial Study next year and is studying hard. Our Hongning will also be going in a year or so. If you fall too far behind, your brother will laugh at you."
Hongning shouted back, "Brother won't laugh at me, you bad mother."
Tara was so amused.
Tapping Hongning's forehead with her fingertips, An Lingrong turned to Tara and said with a smile, "Look at this brat. He's so young but he's already siding with his brother. Look how happy you are. Why don't you give birth to a child of your own?"
As she said this, a trace of affection flashed in An Lingrong's eyes. Wasn't Jiang Ruyin's attitude towards An Lingrong in the past just like Hong Xuan's attitude towards Hong Ning today?
Tara just shook her head, still smiling, "I can't bear the pain of bearing a child when we live in tents every time we migrate on the grassland."
Only then did the queen finally drag her tired body away from the main seat.
"Looking at Concubine Qi's anxious look, I am really envious."
Jianqiu carefully supported her young lady, "Your Majesty is the legitimate mother of all the princes, and they must all call you Imperial Mother. It was Concubine Qi who did the wrong thing."
Huichun brought the headband with a medicinal scent, and Jianqiu carefully untied the complicated hairpins and put the headband on the queen.
Waves of warm warmth came from her forehead, and the queen breathed a sigh of relief.
"Bring me the account book."
Jianqiu knew her young lady's temper well, so she obediently took the three account books.
"These are the three basic account books of the Imperial Household Department. More detailed entries are in the other books."
The queen took the top book, skillfully turned to the middle, and then flipped back a dozen pages.
After a moment, the Queen suddenly put down the account book and muttered to herself, "Only Concubine Qian and her son live in Yanxi Palace. They spend six hundred taels a month. The concubine gets two hundred taels a month, and the prince under six gets ten taels a month. Concubine Fang gives Concubine Qian four hundred taels a month. She's really a woman from a humble family."
"...Every time the emperor rewards Concubine Qian with something, he will add an extra hundred taels of silver, and there will be extra silver rewards during festivals. Last year, he even rewarded her with ten taels of gold." Jianqiu curled her lips.
The Queen held her forehead and said, "Humph, the Emperor really feels sorry for her. From being the daughter of a county magistrate to where she is today, she lives a very fulfilling life. It's really hard for her."
"The needle can't be inserted into Yongshou Palace, and the needle in Yanxi Palace is firmly blocked on the periphery. Aunt, aunt, you really know how to make me unhappy."
If it had been dealt with earlier, there wouldn’t be such a problem today!
She muttered to herself, staring at the wall hanging depicting flowers and birds in spring, lost in thought. After a while, she said, "She has lost her mother and has only a father who lives a life of debauchery and favors concubines over his wife. How pitiful."
Jianqiu, hearing the music, understood the elegant meaning and immediately joined in: "What's the point of having a father like that? With the Seventh Prince here, Concubine Qian will have no worries for the rest of her life."
The queen raised the corners of her lips and returned to her nonchalant expression.
At the end of October,
When the news of An Bihuai being imprisoned came, An Lingrong was first furious, and then felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.
"How dare he! He committed adultery with another woman, and when he was discovered, he got so angry that he beat up the man of the house. He's the county magistrate! Why did he have to drag me down and embarrass me..."
As she spoke softly, the knife in her hand had already pierced through the crisp persimmon, piercing the bright yellow persimmon in half.
Baozhi was extremely worried. "You were supposed to have a safe life and no worries for the rest of your life, but something like this happened. It's really hard for you."
By the time An Lingrong's anger was vented, the crisp persimmon had turned into a pool of fruit paste.
Throwing the knife back on the table, An Lingrong closed her eyes. "He is, after all, my only relative. I will ask the Emperor to spare his life. After he becomes a commoner, I will let him fend for himself."
Baozhi hesitated for a moment, then spoke quietly, "Your Highness, I've remembered everything you said when you couldn't sleep in the middle of the night. Forgive me for speaking frankly, but the grace of raising a child is not as great as the grace of giving birth to one. Concubine Xiao is your only relative."
“…” The bitterness of the past overwhelmed her like a tide.
As the sun set in the west, Hongning stayed obediently in the back hall, entertaining himself.
"Hongning, mother is here to accompany you." An Lingrong said this while forcing a smile.
Hongning blinked and looked up at her, whispering softly, "Look, mother, this is the tigress, and this is the little tiger!"
He held a red silk tiger doll the size of An Lingrong's palm in his hand, and placed his own tiger-head shoes on the table.
Not far away was another pair of big tiger and little tiger.
An Lingrong calmed down, pointed at the other pair, and asked gently, "Who is this tiger?"
"It's Madam Fang and my brother."
"Oh?" An Lingrong thought the couple was the Emperor and Hongshi or Hongxuan, and immediately asked curiously, "Why isn't your Royal Father here?"
Hongning showed a look of disgust, "The Emperor isn't accompanying me, so I won't bring him along."
An Lingrong was stunned, watching Hongning holding the cloth tiger and imitating her, teasing the little tiger-head shoes in a soft voice.
He held Hongning in his arms and sat him down, then picked up the little tiger-head shoes and played with him.
......
"I'm not like that!" Hongning said dissatisfiedly.
An Lingrong blinked, "Really? It seems that mother is getting old and her memory is not good."
"Is there? Definitely not, absolutely not! Absolutely not!"
......
Hongning was already fast asleep. An Lingrong hummed a ballad while silently lowering the bed curtains and closing the door.
Baozhi had been waiting outside for a long time. When she saw her come out, she immediately came over with a lantern.
"Empress..."
"Shhh."
An Lingrong calmly stopped her. After they had left the back hall for a distance, she spoke softly, "I don't know how my relatives are far away in Songyang. But this is the Forbidden City. I understand the principle of respecting the emperor first and his subjects second."
Within two days, two imperial edicts were issued from the Yangxin Palace:
The magistrate of Songyang County, An Bihuai, has a flawed character and is ordered to be demoted to a commoner and never employed again.
Concubine Qian An was quiet, modest, respectful, and prudent. Her mother made great contributions and was granted the title of Shu Ren. Considering that her mother had passed away for a long time, her sister raised her daughter and carried on her business, so she should be promoted to the rank of Ru Ren, a seventh-rank official.