Traveling through the Tang Dynasty: The Concubine Goes to War

On this day, the sun was shining brightly, the sky was clear, and there was not a single cloud above the palace. In Yongshou Palace, the Queen Mother sat dignifiedly on a soft couch, and Mei Cairen beside her was gently massaging her back. Suddenly, a eunuch's loud shout broke the silence: "The Emperor has arrived!" Then, the Emperor strode into the palace. After paying his respects to the Queen Mother, he asked: "Your son is here to see you, mother. I wonder what you want me to do?"

"Your Highness!" Mei Cairen said softly while bowing.

The Queen Mother smiled at the Emperor and said slowly, "The affairs of the harem have been quite complicated recently. I heard that Mei Cairen is quite talented, so I want her to help handle some affairs."

The emperor glanced at Mei Cairen, with a hint of surprise and confusion in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and said, "It would be great if Mei Cairen could help share the burden for my mother."

Mei Cairen was filled with gratitude and quickly knelt down to thank the emperor: "I will do my best to live up to the expectations of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor."

The Queen Mother nodded with satisfaction, and then said to the Emperor: "The Emperor should also pay more attention to the people in the harem and not show partiality to one party."

The emperor replied respectfully: "I will follow your mother's instructions."

Afterwards, the emperor and the empress dowager chatted for a while, and the topic gradually shifted to the affairs of the harem. The empress dowager smiled and praised: "Ms. Mei is very considerate!" The emperor smiled and agreed.

"Mr. Mei is very filial to me, and I am very pleased." The Queen Mother paused and then said, "Mr. Mei, please leave first. I have a few words to talk to the Emperor alone."

"Yes." Mei Yingluo responded and retreated respectfully.

After Mei Yingluo left, the empress dowager patted the empty seat beside her and motioned for the emperor to sit down.

"Come, Emperor, sit down. I have something to talk to you about." The Queen Mother said in a soft voice.

The emperor followed the instructions and sat down on the soft couch opposite the empress dowager. His eyes fell on the empress dowager, with a hint of doubt: "I wonder what the queen mother wants to say to you, your son?"

"It's about Concubine Xi. I heard that someone in the court impeached her for interfering in state affairs?" The empress dowager stared at the emperor, her eyes revealing concern and worry.

The emperor frowned and said irritably: "It is true, but it was just a rumor spread by some people with ulterior motives. I am planning to send someone to investigate the matter thoroughly and find out who is behind it." He knew that the empress dowager was concerned about palace affairs, so he told her the truth.

The Queen Mother nodded and said solemnly: "These rumors can be big or small and cannot be taken lightly. If not handled in time, I am afraid it will affect the reputation of the royal family." She knew very well how quickly rumors spread in the palace, and the storm must be quelled as soon as possible.

"I understand, but Yunxi has always been loyal and caring to me. She was afraid that I would be too tired, so she helped me deal with some memorials. I didn't expect that she would be caught by some people with ulterior motives." The emperor said angrily. He felt very wronged. He just wanted Concubine Yun to help share some work pressure, but he was accused of meddling in the harem's politics.

"Your Majesty, please be patient. I understand everything. When I was the late emperor's concubine, I also helped him deal with some daily affairs." The Queen Mother sighed and consoled him, "But according to the teachings left by our ancestors, concubines in the harem are not allowed to interfere in government affairs. The most important thing is for the women in the harem to serve the emperor well and give birth to his offspring."

"I understand!" The emperor nodded, expressing his understanding and respect for the empress dowager's opinion.

"No one person can dominate the harem, Emperor, you need to treat everyone equally!" The Queen Mother said earnestly, "Although Concubine Mei has made mistakes, she is the daughter of my cousin after all, and also your cousin. Her family is prominent, and she also made a lot of efforts when you ascended the throne. And she has the advantage of being young. You should go visit her more often. It's not long before she gets pregnant with the heir to the throne..."

After hearing what the Queen Mother said, the Emperor felt somewhat dissatisfied, but it was not easy to refute her face to face, so he could only nod and agree. He knew that the Queen Mother had always hoped that he could give birth to more princes, so she paid special attention to the affairs of the harem. And the Queen Mother was also particularly concerned about Mei Yingluo's affairs. "I know, mother." The Emperor responded. He knew in his heart that the Queen Mother's remarks were intended to remind him to balance the forces in the harem.

"There is one more thing," the Queen Mother continued, "This Xi Guifei really needs a lesson. It is not good to let her become arrogant because of her favor."

The emperor frowned slightly: "What does the queen mother mean?"

The Queen Mother chuckled: "Let's just ground her for a while, so she can reflect on herself."

The emperor hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed to the queen mother's proposal: "Let's do as you say."

After leaving Yongshou Palace, the emperor sighed helplessly. Although he believed Yunxi had no such intention, he had no choice but to do so under the current circumstances. As for Mei Cairen, he would visit her according to the Queen Mother's wishes, but it was just a formality. In this deep palace, there are too many things that are beyond one's control...

The emperor sighed inwardly, he knew all too well the intrigues and struggles in the palace. Although he was the emperor, he sometimes had to compromise on some things.

He understood that the Queen Mother's intention was not to really punish Yunxi, but to give a warning to other concubines, and also to warn herself. However, this way of dealing with it might not be fair to Yunxi, but what could he do?

Back in the palace, the emperor sat on the dragon chair with tired eyes. He recalled the good times he had with Yunxi. Her gentleness, intelligence and kindness deeply attracted him. But now, because of the palace rules and power struggles, their relationship seemed to become complicated.

The emperor decided to find a time to have a good talk with Yunxi, hoping to resolve the misunderstanding between them. He knew that Yunxi had always been sincere to him, and he couldn't let her down. At the same time, he also had to find a way to protect Yunxi and prevent her from getting hurt.

Life in the palace was full of intrigues and struggles, and every step needed to be taken with caution. The emperor felt that he had a heavy responsibility, not only to manage state affairs, but also to maintain the harmony and stability of the palace. He couldn't help but sigh that being an emperor was really tiring.

A few days later, Yunxi was confined to the palace and was in a depressed mood. She didn't understand why she was treated like this. Was it really because she helped the emperor handle government affairs? The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt, and tears could not stop flowing down her cheeks.

Meanwhile, the emperor followed the empress dowager's order and came to Mei Cairen's palace. Mei Cairen greeted the emperor with great joy and tried to please him. However, the emperor's mind was not on her at all. He just exchanged a few words and left. Mei Cairen was disappointed, but she could do nothing about it.

After leaving Mei Cairen's bedroom, the emperor went straight to Yunxi's residence. He pushed open the door and saw Yunxi's tearful eyes, and his heart ached.

He walked to Yunxi, gently wiped away her tears, and comforted her: "Don't cry, everything will be fine." Yunxi raised her head and looked at the emperor, her eyes full of resentment: "Your Majesty, what did I do wrong?" The emperor held her hand and explained: "This is only temporary, and the queen mother is also for the stability of the harem. Don't worry, I won't let you suffer for too long." Yunxi snuggled in the emperor's arms, feeling his warmth. She knew that the emperor had her in his heart, and that was enough.