C177 Honorable Hostages

The Aunt Yan finished feeding the empress dowager that small plate of food. The emperor took a piece of kernels and personally helped the empress wipe her mouth.

"Muhou, don't worry. The matter is on the outside, and with him around, the sky won't be able to turn over the sky." But the empress dowager had her worries. "But Qingluo's gone missing now. I'm just afraid he might be in a rush."

"No, I know the seriousness of it." The emperor had complete confidence in Luo Qingqi, not to mention, he wouldn't even have the chance to complete it if he collapsed.

As the emperor and empress dowager were analyzing the situation, they suddenly heard a commotion from outside the palace. They turned around to have a personal guard report in. "Reporting to the emperor, an imperial wife has come to pay respects to the empress dowager."

Coming to see the Empress at this time? The emperor glanced at the empress dowager, then immediately asked, "Who's wife?"

"The wife of the Minister of Rites, the wife of the Minister of Government, the lady of the Taoist temple, and the lady of the Taishu temple." At this point, even the Emperor didn't dare to hold onto his luck.

The empress's intention was to coerce her family members in order to make these officials submit to her. Although her methods were inferior, the results were not necessarily inferior.

"Bring them in." Just as his personal guard was about to turn around and leave, the emperor called out to him. "Wait a moment, Aunt Yan, go clean up the tables outside."

He then went close to the Aunt Yan's side and explained his thoughts in detail. The Aunt Yan nodded and waited until the Aunt Yan was done packing before he sent his personal guards out to invite the wives in. The empress dowager also came from the inner room to the outer room, but the emperor did not come out.

"Why are all of you here today?" The empress dowager did not bother to exchange pleasantries with them and asked directly. She had to know how they received the news.

"Isn't it the imperial decree given by Your Majesty?" She said that she would invite Chenqie to the palace today, but she never expected that she would meet so many wives. "

Because of Qingluo, Madame Jiang Zhang stood out and started the conversation first. After all, she had some relationship with the palace through marriage.

"You guys too?" The empress dowager's gaze swept the area for a week before she asked again, but in her heart, she was already beginning to lament. This empress had already made her preparations. Moreover, things were proceeding according to her plans, one step at a time.

"That's right, I wonder what orders does the empress dowager have?" Great Monastery Leader Liu asked. At this point, everyone had more or less noticed that something was amiss, especially when they recalled that when they first entered the Tzu Ning Palace, there was a troop of soldiers outside.

"Calm down, all of you. Take a deep breath, and remember, what Wailing Home said later was not a joke, but it was not the final result either. You all must remain calm and be strong, understand?"

Seeing the Empress Dowager so solemnly repeating that she could no longer see the gravity of the matter, all these years of being a first lady had been for nothing.

"Listen to Wailing Home say …" Her Majesty first took a deep breath, and the other wives followed her in a bored manner. Then they all stared at her, waiting for her next words.

"The empress is pushing the palace to its limits." Just these five words made all the wives exclaim in surprise before falling silent. Everyone used their hands to cover their mouths, it didn't matter if they were second or third rank wives or third or fourth rank lords. These reactions made the empress dowager very satisfied.

"Remember, as long as you stay here and don't cause trouble for the people outside, that's enough. Until the end, no one will know who will win!" The women nodded in unison.

Look for a place to sit. In an emergency period of time, don't be too bothersome, just sit as comfortable as you want and conserve your energy. You will probably have to stay here in Wailing Home for more than one day.

"When this matter is over, even if all of you have done a great service for the court, Taishang will remember all of you and reward you greatly."

At this point, no one really cared much about the rewards. What they cared about was the development of the situation. No matter how meritorious, they still had to give orders.

In the afternoon, more and more madams were brought into the Tzu Ning Palace. Very quickly, there were already more than twenty first-name madams in the Tzu Ning Palace. The empress dowager recorded all of them down and then went to the inner chamber to rest for a short while.

Of course it was to take advantage of this time to report the personnel to the emperor. Hearing the names of these officials, those who weren't here yet became part of the emperor's blacklist.

Time passed by quickly and the sky had already darkened. At the beginning, the ladies were still talking to each other. Gradually, they all quietened down.

Due to the large number of people, the sound of breathing could be heard again and again. It made the originally spacious hall seem more spacious and empty, causing people to feel even more nervous.

When the great doors of the Tzu Ning Palace closed with a rumble, even the breathing in the room became quiet, so everyone was at a loss of what to do.

If someone had come in this terrible afternoon, as if they couldn't be so worried, and now that they saw that they had been left alone, the ladies were truly afraid. If they had been abandoned, it was obvious what would have happened to them.

"Majesty, how did this happen? How did it happen? " The Madame Jiang walked over to the empress dowager's side and bowed to her, then sat down and whispered into her ear.

"I don't know the specifics of Wailing Home either. Qingluo came to visit Wailing Home in the morning, and then Wailing Home chased her to see Grand Consort. In the end, she actually went missing.

The empress dowager also knew that even if she didn't release Qingluo, if the empress wanted to turn the sky upside down, she'd still have a backup plan. But at least it was better than not knowing if she was dead or alive, which really worried the empress dowager.

"Qingluo is missing?" "Today?" Madame Jiang suddenly became anxious. This was the nephew daughter that she had always doted on, and she was so obedient and sensible.

Ever since she married into the Duke's Palace, she had done her best to take care of the Jiang and Zhang Families. Such a good child, how could he suddenly disappear?

"Don't worry. His Majesty said that she shouldn't be in any danger for a while. Since he specifically captured her, then he must have a motive. He must want to use her to threaten King Yi."

"So, she's definitely not in any danger right now. It just depends on whether or not our side moves fast enough." The empress dowager patted the back of Madame Jiang's hand to let her calm down. In truth, the empress dowager was also feeling extremely guilty in her heart.

"Then what should we do?" Madame Jiang's sudden determination caused the empress dowager to be stunned for a moment, then she looked at her in disbelief.

"What do we need to do? What can I do to help the people outside? " Her Majesty suddenly smiled. Who said that women were cowards? Actually, before the difficult time, perhaps in the face of difficulties, women could really help men to resist the heavens.

"Right now, we don't need to do anything. If the empress takes action against us, we can think of a way to retaliate."

"And now, all we can do is wait. After all, us unarmed women cannot contend against the soldiers with blades and swords outside."

What he said made more sense, but waiting to do nothing really made people worry, and it also made people even more terrified.

"Yan'er, go ask around, don't go out by yourself. Find a personal guard to accompany you."

"Yes sir!" The Aunt Yan led the way out and quickly returned. "Empress Dowager, they said that the Empress has orders, and doesn't prepare any food. They said that the Empress said it was only when you're hungry that it's of use."

"Damn it!" Even the empress dowager, a dignified and graceful person, couldn't help but curse. The women in this room would really take their lives if they were to starve for three days.

"I heard from the men outside that even if they don't give us food, we still have to give them some water to drink. Although the empress said she won't give us food, she didn't say she won't give us water. Everyone in this room is an elite."

"And the empress has held these ladies captive here for a good reason. It's fine if nothing happens to them, but if something happens to them, no one can afford it." The Aunt Yan continued to report back to the empress dowager about what had just happened.

"Then do they agree?" Even though there was no food, it was still good to have some water. It was obvious that his wife could not hold on any longer, and it was not because she did not eat, but because she was afraid.

"Agreed. Water will be sent over shortly. Ladies, please hold on for a while." Only then did everyone's hearts calm down a little. With water, they would be able to endure for a few more days.

"I wonder how things are going outside?" This was a common question, but everyone knew that there was no answer.

The people of Tzu Ning Palace never thought that the soldiers outside would actually send cold water. How could they drink this down to their stomachs, after all, the rooms were full of noble wives.

"Can't you give me some hot water? The ladies here are all official wives, how could they drink raw water? " Aunt Yan immediately pulled back the two soldiers who had brought in the water. The soldiers shook them off, but luckily they were supported by the little palace maid.

"It's already good if there's something to drink, and there's even picky people. When we're patrolling and fighting outside, we can even drink muddy water, so why can't you guys drink it?"

"No wonder the court needs to correct itself. They are all so delicate and precious. What are they holding up the world for? When the time comes, they can't just rely on us men who dare to fight."

The soldier patted his chest and turned to leave. Aunt Yan looked at the huge bucket of cold water as her heart turned cold. It looks like the empress had purposely let the people in Tzu Ning Palace suffer, but the empress dowager and the emperor were still living in the palace.

"Aunt Yan, do you have a small stove to boil medicine in? or is it a charcoal brazier or something like that? " Madame Jiang suddenly asked, but she did not manage to react in time, "Little Cauldron? A charcoal brazier? What is the purpose of the Madame Jiang? "