Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Royal study room.

Liang Fu and Shen Xingjian were invited by Eunuch Hong to a side hall for tea. In the main hall, the atmosphere was solemn and tense.

"I said I would give you an explanation. Now, it's time to fulfill my promise..." The emperor's voice was calm and gentle.

On the contrary, Yu Shizhang's tone was full of disbelief: "How could it be him... I always thought it was..."

"Gade?" The emperor sneered, flicking his sleeves and rising. "The two of them, one seemingly pure and unselfish, but in fact his desires are stronger than anyone else's; the other seemingly noble and upright, but in fact he's just a fame-seeker. They're birds of a feather."

Shen Zheng and Yu Shizhang had just stood up when they heard him say, "For now, no one else knows about this except the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Guards. When you leave the capital the day after tomorrow, I will..."

As he spoke, a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes.

But the next moment, he seemed to have thought of something, and his grief was replaced by ruthlessness.

Shen Zheng was secretly shocked when she saw this, and guessed in her heart that there might be some hidden secrets that she didn't know.

But the emperor didn't say anything, and as a subject, she definitely couldn't ask any further questions.

"Isn't it almost time?" The emperor restrained his expression, looked at the slanting sunlight outside the window, and said with a smile, "Let's go. Today is your farewell banquet, so there's no need to say any more. I want to take a good look at what the people raised in Tong'an County look like."

The love for the whole family in his words was clearly audible, and Shen Zheng also put her thoughts aside and followed him.

As soon as he left the imperial study, Eunuch Hong came to greet him.

Seeing that he seemed to have something to report, Shen Zheng and Yu Shizhang deliberately stepped back from the emperor.

as predicted.

Eunuch Hong whispered something to the emperor, and the emperor's expression, which had finally improved, became gloomy again.

"I gave her the face, but she ended up threatening me. Very good."

The emperor did not deliberately lower his voice, and Shen Zheng heard everything clearly.

She and Yu Shizhang looked at each other, and at the same time took half a step back, their eyes on their noses and their noses on their hearts.

The less you know about royal affairs, the better for them.

But the emperor didn't seem to think so.

He simply said, "In that case, Mr. Hong, please invite the Queen over as well. We'll postpone the dinner for half an hour. The two of you, my dear ministers, can stay and discuss matters. Also, tell the imperial chef to send some more snacks to the imperial garden so the children don't have to wait anxiously."

.......

In the pavilion of the Imperial Garden, Liang Fu and Shen Xingjian came with the news.

"The Empress Dowager?" Yu Nanshu glanced outside the pavilion and asked in a low voice, "Why is she entering the palace today?"

Could it be that the old man has been lonely for a long time, and after receiving the news of the dinner party, he wanted to come and have fun together?

"Enter the palace?"

Before Liang Fu and Shen Xingjian could answer, Fang Ziyan asked curiously, "Isn't the Empress Dowager the late emperor's concubine? Doesn't she live in the palace?"

Xiao Yuan was also confused, his tone a mixture of fear and curiosity: "Could it be... some palace secret? Zi Yan, why don't we just not listen..."

He was really afraid that he would not be able to leave the palace after hearing this.

Isn't that how it's written in storybooks...either being thrown into a well or being torn apart by five horses.

Cui Jinyin ate a red date cake and mumbled, "This isn't some palace secret. It's just that after the late emperor passed away, the Empress Dowager was kind enough to keep... well, forget it. Anyway, Concubine Jing didn't fight for it and asked to stay in the garden outside the palace for a while, and she stayed there for over twenty years."

Thinking about her not-so-serious source of information, she didn't say anything outrageous after all.

"Oh..." Fang Ziyan seemed to understand, "The Concubine Dowager has gone out to enjoy her leisure time."

There aren't as many rules outside the palace as there are in the palace. Wouldn't it be better to live in a villa and enjoy a peaceful life?

"You could say that." Cui Jinyin patted the crumbs from her hands. "But for the late emperor's concubine, once she leaves that palace gate, it's not easy to reenter."

"How is it difficult?" Fang Ziyan listened with great interest and asked, "Isn't it just going home? Do I have to submit petitions or something?"

After she finished speaking, Cui Jinyin looked at her meaningfully. "Not only do you have to submit a memorial stating your reason for entering the palace, but you can only enter through the side door. Once inside, you can't move around freely and must wait for His Majesty to summon you."

A few people discussed quietly for a few more sentences. Finally, Shen Xingjian, seeing that they had almost finished their discussion, stopped them and said, "We shouldn't talk too much about the affairs of the palace. Let's... enjoy the flowers."

Everyone turned their heads at the same time and looked at the lotus pond outside the pavilion.

The setting sun splashed golden and red into the pool, the reflection of the green tiles was shattered in the waves, the wind blew across the surface of the pool, and the shadows of the flowers were broken into layers of ripples.

......

The sound of crying echoed in the East Warm Pavilion.

"Your Majesty, please forgive Cheng'an this time..." Concubine Jing knelt in the palace, tears rolling down the fine lines at the corners of her eyes, "Cheng'an may have just been confused for a moment and did something wrong, but, but he is also the blood of the late emperor after all..."

As she spoke, she raised her hand tremblingly and took out a jade hairpin from her bun. Her voice was filled with longing: "This was given to me by the late emperor. It is also what I have been thinking about for decades."

"Your Majesty, I swear today before this jade hairpin that Cheng An was instigated by that traitor and that's why he acted so wrongly... He's been complaining for a long time even after stepping on an ant since he was a child. How could he... do such a thing on his own initiative? You must understand!"

The jade hairpin shone coldly under the candlelight, as if silently telling of the late emperor's kindness.

Thinking of the words of the late emperor, "brothers should be friendly and respectful to each other", the emperor's eyes gradually turned cold.

"Queen Dowager, if the late Emperor were here, he wouldn't have been so lenient with Cheng'an. You should know that I didn't take his life because I was grateful for our friendship."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Jing lost even the last bit of her dignity.

She burst into tears: "You have stripped him of his princely title. How will he live in the future? Lord Shen..."

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and turned to look at Shen Zheng.

"For the sake of Lord Shen's safety, I beg you to give him a chance to reform. I will definitely keep an eye on him and prevent him from doing stupid things again..."

Shen Zheng sat upright at the side, and frowned slightly when she heard the words.

What does "for the sake of Lord Shen's safety" mean?

The reason why she and Yu Shizhang were safe and sound was because she had made preparations in advance, and she could swim and was lucky!

What does it have to do with King Cheng'an?

Should she thank Prince Cheng'an and Earl Jiade for their inappropriate arrangements and for "accidentally" giving her a chance to live?

What a joke!

Besides, she herself didn't understand why the other party would be so cruel when she had no grudge against Prince Cheng'an and they had never even met once.

It would have been fine if Concubine Jing hadn't mentioned it, but by doing so, she stirred up a hornet's nest for both Shen Zheng and Yu Shizhang.

Yu Shizhang suddenly stood up, knelt beside Concubine Jing, and said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, if it were not for Lord Shen who risked his life to protect me, I would have died in Jingzhou long ago. I hope Your Majesty will understand!"

Concubine Jing suddenly turned her head, her eyes bloodshot, "Lord Yongning, you...!"