The Queen sealed her heart and locked up her love, and the Emperor was trapped in the crematorium

"Your Highness, Concubine Li is really too much. She dared to be so rude to you in front of everyone. She clearly doesn't take you seriously. Why don't you teach her a lesson?"

The more Jue Xia thought about it, the angrier he became.

Xie Yaoqing narrowed her eyes slightly, seemingly not caring. While enjoying the gentle massage of Honeysuckle, she said calmly: "Forget it, why bother with a little noble. I have punished her before, but what can I do? She did not restrain herself because of this, and still did her own thing. In this case, it is better to let her go. When she hits a wall, she will naturally understand the interests involved. Besides, as the mother of a country, if I always suppress other concubines, won't people think that I am jealous?"

Jue Xia knew that what his master said was absolutely right, but he still felt a little unhappy. After all, who could tolerate others offending their master like this?

But she also understood that as the queen, Xie Yaoqing needed to consider the overall situation.

Jue Xia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and asked softly, "So, what should we do next? We can't just let Concubine Li be so arrogant and domineering, right?"

There are other concubines who are also ambitious and want to take away the queen's favor.

Xie Yaoqing shook her head gently, smiled and comforted Jue Xia, "Let's wait and see what tricks she can come up with. It won't be too late to make a decision then."

As concubines, it is understandable that Li Guiren and others want to compete for favor. After all, in this deep palace, if they don't strive for the emperor's favor, then what else can they fight for?

Xie Yaoqing couldn't understand it before and tried every possible way to stop it, but in the end she couldn't stop it, so she simply gave up.

Also take a look at Xiao Chengxu's attitude.

Nanny Fang couldn't help but sigh softly in her heart, which contained both relief and full of pity.

What made her feel relieved was that the queen now seemed to no longer be as obsessed with gaining the wholehearted love of the almighty emperor as before. Seeing the queen getting deeper and deeper into it, Nanny Fang was really worried, fearing that one day Xie Yaoqing would do something extreme and irreparable because of impulse.

But at the same time, what made Nanny Fang feel distressed was that her own queen must have been full of disappointment and heartbreak deep in her heart, especially the bowl of tampered pregnancy medicine, which was even more unacceptable - it turned out that the person closest to her had been scheming against her, even not letting go of her offspring. If the palace failed to give birth to an heir, and the queen still enjoyed the emperor's favor, it is conceivable that the queen would have to bear many unwarranted accusations and infamy in the future, and how could she sit on the throne of the queen safely? The emperor's move was undoubtedly forcing the queen into a desperate situation step by step.

Xie Yaoqing was enjoying her leisurely afternoon time when she suddenly thought of something and sat up straighter.

"Zhiyu, you are twenty-four this year, right?"

Zhi Yu responded crisply, "My lady, you remember correctly."

Xie Yaoqing called Zhiyu over and looked at her carefully. He couldn't help feeling a little emotional. The little maidservant has now grown into a graceful young lady. When he first met her in the Marquis' Mansion, Zhiyu was not even as tall as himself and looked thin and small. However, he didn't expect that she was very organized in her work, smart and clever, and took good care of himself.

"You will be old enough to leave the palace in one year. I will find a good match for you and send you off to marry in a grand manner. What kind of man do you like? I will have someone look for you."

In her previous life, Zhiyu did not leave the palace after she turned 25, and continued to serve Xie Yaoqing. However, in the ninth year of Xihe, Zhiyu drowned in the lotus pond. Even if the murderer was finally found out, the dead will never come back, and Xie Yaoqing could never get over Zhiyu's death until his death.

She had thought more than once that if she had forcibly sent Zhiyu out of the palace the year she was supposed to leave, Zhiyu would have been a housekeeper in the marquis's manor, or married a commoner and raised children, which would have been better than losing her life at a young age in the palace.

The incident of a palace maid was not a big deal, but Zhiyu was Xie Yaoqing's confidant, so it was not surprising that those who harbored resentment towards Xie Yaoqing would attack Zhiyu. If they could not kill Xie Yaoqing in one blow, they would at least make her taste the pain.

I didn't kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me. Xie Yaoqing could no longer bear the fact that people around her got into trouble because of her. Whenever she thought about the successive deaths of people around her, Xie Yaoqing's heart was filled with self-blame and regret.

Zhiyu knelt on the ground with a thud, and said in panic, "Did I do something wrong? Your Majesty wants to drive me away."

Xie Yaoqing personally helped her up and said softly, "No, you are fine, Zhiyu. You have always served me wholeheartedly and you have also disciplined the palace maids in Kunning Palace very well, which saved me a lot of trouble. You are my strong arm. I don't want to drive you away, but I want you to live a freer and happier life in the future."

"Palace maids have to leave the palace when they reach a certain age. When a girl outside is 25, she will have given birth to several children."

Zhiyu was not so panicked now, but she was still unwilling to leave the palace and get married.

"I understand your intentions, but I swore before the Buddha that I would follow you for the rest of my life. Wherever you are, I will be there. Getting married and having children is the destiny of most women in the world, but I don't want to, and I don't want to. I have decided to be with you."

Xie Yaoqing was stunned for a moment, and surprise gradually appeared in his eyes.

She knew Zhiyu was very loyal to her, but she didn't expect that Zhiyu wanted to be with her for the rest of his life.

In her previous life, Xie Yaoqing only thought that Zhiyu would stay in the palace for two or three years at most, and would leave the palace after training a useful palace maid. Because Zhiyu said so herself, she was worried that she would not be used to the other palace maids, so she wanted to teach her hand in hand. Later, Zhiyu did bring a palace maid to train by her side.

"Ridiculous, how can you swear such an oath? It can't be taken seriously. Being a slave is not as free as being a good citizen. I will have servants around me. When the time comes, you should leave the palace. It's okay if you don't want to get married. There will be a new world outside. There is no need to be trapped in the palace forever."

"I probably can't leave this palace, but you still have a chance."

Xie Yaoqing looked melancholy and spoke in a lost tone.

If she wants to escape from this deep palace, she can probably only do so until the day she dies. Even in her previous life, she was deposed and still trapped within the palace walls, without freedom.

Suddenly, Xie Yaoqing's eyes became stern.

No, there is a way, but it is not easy to achieve.

Peace and separation.

The emperor and the empress divorced, and they were free after the divorce.

However, it is not so easy to make peace with the king of a country.

Most men in the world value their own face, let alone an emperor. Since ancient times, there have been many queens who have been deposed, but only a few have been able to divorce and leave the palace.

Daying lived through ten emperors, and it was only during the reign of Emperor Renzong that Empress Yu was able to divorce Emperor Renzong and choose to become a nun after leaving the palace, staying away from worldly troubles and no longer caring about worldly affairs.

"Then I cannot leave you, Madam. The palace is cold and bleak. It would be too cruel to let you suffer alone. So I must stay by your side, Madam."

"Miss, if it weren't for your kindness, I would have frozen to death or starved to death on the street when I was eight years old. You saved my life. Without you, there would be no Zhiyu. I will be loyal to you for the rest of my life."

Zhiyu's eyes were red, and she no longer addressed Xie Yaoqing as "Madam" while speaking, but instead used the original name she used for her - "Miss".

In Zhiyu's mind, no matter whether Xie Yao is the prince's consort or the queen, she is always the fourth lady of the marquis's mansion whom she vowed to serve for the rest of her life.

After hearing what Zhiyu said, Xie Yaoqing fell into silence. After a long time, she sighed softly.