C128

The Emperor looked at Shen Lingjue and luckily felt gratified as he said, "If it weren't for the fact that Ling Jue knew that the crown prince would lure the tiger out of the mountain and come to the rescue with Du Kai, I wouldn't have been able to see the empress dowager now."

Shen Ling Jue lowered his head and replied: "Royal father's health and safety are the foundation of our nation, and are also part of my heart. I have never dared to neglect it in the slightest, and I even more so do not dare to claim credit for today's matters."

On her way here, the empress dowager had heard that Shen Youhuang had stopped Shen Di from assassinating the Emperor, but she had never thought that Shen Lingjue was the one who had truly saved the Emperor's life.

She nodded in approval. "Your Majesty, you see, all the princes except for Shen Di are very good. "At such a critical moment, even the Imperial Concubine was able to use her body to protect the Emperor. Compared to her, Shen Di is even more innocent. Why must you feel sad for her?"

The Emperor smiled mournfully but said nothing.

Feng Ningyan felt that even if the Emperor destroyed the Crown Prince in a fit of rage, demoted him to a bastard, and sent him into exile, this was truly a deep love and hatred.

The greed in the hearts of people was terrifying. The crown prince only needed to wait for the end of the emperor's life to ascend to the throne, yet he was uneasy about his position below one person and wanted to extend his evil claws to his father …

When she thought of this, she couldn't help but cast a glance at the somewhat dejected Shen Youhuang.

In his previous life, he had been disobedient to the Crown Prince and secretly collected the evidence against him.

At that time, Shen Lingjue had no intention of participating in the struggle for the direct line of descent, so he allowed Shen You to take advantage of the loophole and ascend the throne as emperor.

Although the emperor had died from illness in the end, it was only an illusion created by Shen Youhuang.

In this vortex of supreme imperial power, even if one was nine or five years old, one wouldn't be able to enjoy much kinship.

The sincere concubines and unconditionally filial children are the reason why the Emperor has always doted on Imperial Concubine Min and Shen Lingjue.

At this moment, the imperial physician came out to say that Imperial Concubine Su had awoken.

The emperor hurriedly got up to go see Imperial Concubine Fu. Then, he remembered something and ordered Wu Nian En:

"Immediately order the Six Palaces to confer the title of second rank Imperial Concubine to Imperial Consort, bestowing her with the title of Virginity, as a reward for her loyalty and loyalty. His father, Shangguan Chunkang, is a Second Class Warrior, and his brother, Shangguan Jun, is a Fourth Rank Warrior.

Wu Nianen hurriedly took the order and went to draft the imperial edict.

When Feng Ningyan heard this, she was shocked. She did not expect that the moment the Empress's Zhen bloodline was weakened, the Emperor would immediately promote Imperial Concubine Fu's father clan.

But from the looks of it, Imperial Concubine Su was different from the empress. She did not have a son to be proud of, and her heart was better than the empress's.

And his father, Shangguan Chunkang, was an academic scholar who was a bit pedantic and upright, unlike Prime Minister Zhen who was greedy and despotic.

Feng Ningyan didn't know much about that Shangguan Jun, but a vice commander of a fourth rank Imperial Guard was a very important position. It was a good thing that Imperial Concubine Su was one of them, so at least she wouldn't be used by Shen Youhuang in the future.

Shen Ling Jue raised his head to look at Feng Ning Yan, who was deep in thought, and then relaxed. He knew that she had already pondered over this imperial edict and found it was beneficial for her side.

He loved her intelligence even more. He couldn't help but smile.

After issuing this imperial edict, the emperor then said to the empress dowager, "Imperial Mother, Imperial Concubine Su cannot participate in the talent selection ceremony tomorrow. I have no intention of hosting it. Everything will be decided by Imperial Mother."

The empress dowager stood up and took the emperor's hand, patting it lightly. "Your majesty, rest assured. This Dowager has already thought of it." Tomorrow, Xuan Yu and Feng'er from Tzu You Palace will accompany me to Qilong Palace to manage the elective competition. The Emperor will be staying here to accompany Imperial Consort Fu and have a good rest. "

Saying that, she asked Feng Ning Yan, "Little girl Feng, you'll help me out, won't you?"

Feng Ningyan gave a slight start, then walked over to the empress dowager's side and respectfully kowtowed. "The empress dowager trusts in granddaughter-in-law. Granddaughter-in-law will not disappoint you."

When the emperor saw that this matter had been settled, he said, "Alright, there's no need to report to Chen Ming Palace about the talent show."

With that, he walked into the bead curtain and sat next to Imperial Concubine Su. He was dispirited and no longer cared about the matters outside.

When the empress dowager, Shen Lingjue, and the others saw this scene, they knew that the emperor and Imperial Concubine Fu needed peace, so they quietly retreated.

Walking out of the hall, Feng Ningyan suddenly remembered that she hadn't seen Hua Ruyu after coming to Chen Ming Palace for such a long time.

Ever since Hua Ruyu became the master of the palm, she had always been by the side of the emperor, flattering and fawning on him. Now that the emperor needed someone to enlighten him, it was a great opportunity to invite his favor.

As the empress dowager and Shen Lingjue walked side by side, they recalled something and asked, "Jue'er, I heard that you went to Ningnan this time to look for evidence of rebellion against the crown prince?"

Shen Ling Jue knew that the empress dowager would definitely scold him, so he held her hand and fawned on her with a smile:

"The empress dowager already knew, so I didn't dare to hide it from you. He had encountered an assassin when he was escorting his wife into the capital. Before he went to Ningnan County, there were also assassins who trespassed into the Yuwang Mansion. The Imperial Physician Li Yu, the one who framed Imperial Concubine Su's pregnancy, also died under the hands of the same group of assassins. "Therefore, I suspect that the Crown Prince is raising a killer. That's why I have no choice but to investigate this matter in secret."

The empress dowager gave a cold snort. Her face was filled with dissatisfaction as she shot a glance at him and Feng Ning Yan.

"You two children …"

She clearly wanted to scold him, but after pausing for a moment, she smiled bitterly.

"If it weren't for the fact that all of you were brave enough to find evidence of Shen Di's rebellion in the den of wolves and return to the capital to protect her, I would never have dared to imagine what would have happened today. Therefore, I won't teach you guys a lesson. But there's no such thing as putting yourself at risk again. "

Speaking of that incident, Feng Ning Yan couldn't help but think of the time when Shen Ling Jue consumed the Gu poison. This time he wasn't just risking his life, he was risking his own life in exchange for proof.

She turned her head to look at Shen Lingjue, feeling both heartache and guilt. "If the empress dowager wants to teach her a lesson, then teach her a lesson. It's my fault, to actually let the empress dowager take the risk …"

Shen Lingjue knew that she was still brooding over the matter of him consuming the Poison Gu, so he couldn't help but tighten his grip on her hand.

"It was originally This King's idea. Besides, you and I should have advanced and retreated together. You're not allowed to say such words in the future."

The Empress Dowager could not bear to see the pitiful way the two of them were fighting for the punishment, so she unhappily curled her lips.

"Come on, This Dowager knows that the two of you truly love each other, so hurry up and let This Dowager carry the great-grandson. This Dowager won't always be jealous of those grandsons and granddaughters of the first-name wives."

When Feng Ningyan heard the empress dowager say that she was jealous of the grandson of another family, she felt that the empress dowager was extremely adorable. She couldn't help but steal a glance at Shen Lingjue and think to herself, If the empress dowager knew that we're faking our marriage and we still haven't consummated our marriage, who knows if she'll be so angry that she'll use her walking stick to hit Shen Lingjue?

Shen Ling Jue smiled slightly and replied, "Empress Dowager, don't worry. Sun's daughter-in-law has made a bet. When we return home tonight, we will hurry up on this matter."

"Cough, cough …" Feng Ning Yan's face instantly flushed red. She lowered her head with all her might, wishing to kick Shen Ling Jue.

"What bet?" Her Majesty's curiosity was immediately piqued.