My wife has a secret

Chapter 250 Meeting the Saint
Xu Qing heard the ridicule from Lianhua Jun, and pretended to be stupid and asked: "Lianhua Jun, what are you talking about... Why don't I understand?"

Lianhua Jun did not wear the female official's futou today, but a blue jacket and skirt with white embroidery on the cuffs and edges of the lapels.

She put her five fingers together to light the candle in front of her, but her beautiful eyes didn't even look at Xu Qing, and she was still busy with the matters at hand.

"My Lord, have you forgotten that your duty as Governor-General is to command the three armies and defend the capital... This temporary official position has no rank, it is just a response to the Liao army approaching the city."

"Uh……"

Of course Xu Qing knew what Lord Lianhua was talking about. When he mobilized the Five Cities Troops, he knew that this was against the rules and would easily arouse the wrath of the Saint.

But there are more than a million people in Huangling Pass, who are short of food and clothing. If they are really forced to flee... they will definitely not be able to survive the coming hot summer.

"You are so good. Not only did you write to the post stations along the way, ordering them to prepare good food, but you also secretly dispatched troops to deal with the refugees and drove them all to your own fiefdom."

When Lianhua Jun said the last few words, her beautiful eyes froze, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and the work in her hands stopped.

She slowly raised her head, stared at Xu Qing and asked, "My Lord, did you do it knowingly or do you not understand the ways of the world? Do you want Lianhua to explain it to you one by one?"

"Cough cough."

Xu Qing coughed twice, his expression both awkward and subtle.

Although pretending to be stupid can avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble, if you act too deliberately, it will backfire and make people uncomfortable.

"My Lord, once Lianhua has finished lighting the lights in this room, you can go with Lianhua to Feishuang Palace to meet the Saint. Whether it is a blessing or a curse, you can weigh it yourself..."

After saying this, Lianhua Jun no longer looked at Xu Qing and went back to the business of lighting.

Xu Qing originally wanted to ask what the last sentence meant, and hoped that Lianhua Jun could give him some reminder, but this person had obviously been given a gag order, and he did things silently, pretending not to hear anything.

This remote palace had many lamps for lighting the Buddha statues. By the time Lord Lianhua finished his work, it was already dark outside.

Fortunately, the other party kept his word. After lighting the lamp, he took Xu Qing from this side hall to Feishuang Hall in the central palace.

Returning to Feishuang Palace again, Xu Qing could no longer remember the original shape of the palace. It was not until he entered the palace that he could see its general outline, which brought back memories of the first time he came to the palace.

Lianhua Jun was still the same as before, waiting silently in front of the palace gate like a lady holding a lamp.

Realizing that he would be going to the palace alone to meet the emperor, Xu Qing's heartbeat quickened and his whole body tensed up, not knowing whether this was a blessing or a curse.

My aunt threw me into a side hall and left me hungry for a day. It was obvious that she was angry.

This meeting may be completely different from the previous two. If you say something wrong, you may risk losing your head.

Lianhuajun closed her eyes slightly, bent her body, and raised the lantern in her hand.

Xu Qing took a deep breath, then took the dim yellow lantern and walked towards Feishuang Palace.

As the resting place of the emperor of Qi, there are 81 layers of white marble steps under Feishuang Palace, with a five-clawed golden dragon, the symbol of the emperor, carved in the middle.

If he had seen it during the day, he might not have felt that deeply. But today, when Xu Qing climbed the stairs with a lantern in the middle of the night, he saw the fierce-looking golden dragon with all its fangs and claws, and the tension in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

Being summoned to see the emperor in the middle of the night doesn't sound like a good thing.

……

As he entered the palace, Xu Qing was shocked by the layout of Feishuang Palace.

I remember that during the reign of Emperor Xuan, the young emperor's bedroom was very formal. A plaque with the words "Purple Air Coming from the East" hung just above the dragon throne in the palace, and portraits of the ancestors of the Li Qi royal family were placed all around it.

But after my aunt ascended the throne, she obviously renovated this place.

The portraits of the Li royal family in the hall disappeared, and even the gilded pillars and gold bricks in the bedrooms were gone. The whole hall was dominated by a light black tone, and dozens of white cloths were hung from the beams.

When Xu Qing came in, he could see the dragon throne and the desk through the gauze.

The entire hall was brightly lit, and a mountain of memorials was piled on the table.

My aunt had a beautiful face and a slender figure. She wore a swallowtail-shaped hairpin in her hair and wore a long silk gown with gold and white stripes.

In the scattered candlelight, the dress sparkled and exuded a fairy-like aura, like a fairy who was not affected by the worldly affairs.

Strictly speaking, this was the second time Xu Qing saw his aunt. Except for the night when the rebellion of Prince Dongwan was suppressed, he had hardly ever been alone with his aunt.

When Lord Lianhua or an outsider was present, my aunt was a saint of the time, and even looking up to her was a luxury.

"aunt."

Of course, although there was no screen blocking his view this time and he had the rare opportunity to see his aunt's beautiful face, Xu Qing did not dare to feel the slightest bit of joy.

The emperor's mind is the most difficult to guess, let alone a female emperor. Xu Qing has no idea what she is thinking.

Queen Mother Xu, who was sitting on the golden dragon throne, heard the voice and raised her eyes slightly.

Just when he raised his eyes for a moment, the coldness in the depths of his eyes made Xu Qing's heart beat fast and he groaned in pain.

The harmonious atmosphere between the two of them when they met in the past disappeared, leaving only an unknown sense of coldness and tension.

"You still know how to call me aunt?"

Empress Dowager Xu's voice was like the breeze in the morning light, deep and charming, with a lazy charm that could not be ignored.

Xu Qing was silent for a long while and didn't dare to speak, let alone look up at the empress. Now, he was like a child who had done something wrong, waiting to be punished obediently.

"I thought your last name was Yang, not Xu."

Empress Dowager Xu's expression became increasingly cold. Not only that, even her voice was like the coolness of an icy lake, calm and penetrating, as if it could penetrate the air and reach people's hearts.

Xu Qing knew that he had to admit his mistake, so he continued, "Qing'er knows he was wrong."

"You know what? You don't know."

Hearing rustling sounds coming from the front, Xu Qing knew that Queen Mother Xu had stood up from her seat.

She seemed to casually flip through a few account books that were handed to her, then threw them out in front of Xu Qing, and they scattered all over the place.

"Wucheng Bingmasi, Jingdufu, Chengxuanfang, Post Station... You are so brave for the untouchables of Huangling Pass!"

The account books that were opened in disorder recorded the silver used by Xu Qing to control these departments.

The number registered above is indeed an astronomical figure.

Xu Qing's face became more and more embarrassed. When he was dealing with these refugees, he really didn't think about the money he would spend... After all, these things came from the national treasury, and they were not paid from his own account, so he didn't feel bad about spending them.

"Today, Yuchi Qi from the Ministry of War reported you, saying that you were recklessly recruiting soldiers to deal with family affairs. Xu Shangshu from the Ministry of Revenue reported you, saying that you were extravagant. Hou Shilang from the Ministry of Rites reported you, saying that you were hypocritical and used public funds to build up your own power."

Xu Qing was so frightened that he didn't even know how to retort. In fact, what the three said made sense. He was indeed spending the money of the national treasury and using the soldiers of the national treasury to deal with the refugees in Huangling Pass.

Given his title and position, he shouldn't have been exposed to these things.

"What? After relocating millions of refugees to your fiefdom, you don't even have the courage to reply?"

The voice seemed even colder, as if it came from deep within the glacier.

Realizing that this matter was not so easy to resolve peacefully, Xu Qing had no choice but to bite the bullet and answer: "Aunt, Qing'er just wants to help you deal with the refugee issue. The people of Huangling Pass are displaced, and they are hidden dangers no matter where they go."

When explaining, Xu Qing paused for a moment, and seeing that Empress Dowager Xu remained silent, he had no choice but to continue explaining.

"My nephew wanted to relieve my aunt's worries, so I thought that Guangping was invaded by the native tribes. The land is vast and sparsely populated, so it is suitable for them to migrate there... In order to prevent it from becoming the second Huangling Pass, my nephew also reached an agreement with Yang Xianning. She promised me to live in the Marquis' Mansion and not leave the capital for the rest of my life."

Xu Qing had already prepared an explanation, but it was still a bit far-fetched.

Something is better than nothing.

"Qing'er is really thoughtful and considerate of her elderly and blind aunt."

Queen Mother Xu sneered and turned her cold voice into a gentle one, "Or else the throne will be yours, and you, my good nephew, will help me with state affairs."

"Your Majesty's forgiveness!"

Xu Qing knelt on the ground in a hurry, sweat on his forehead, and said loudly: "It is my humble servant who did not follow the rules and did not consider the will of the emperor... But I am loyal to the Great Qi, as the sun and the moon can attest. The Guangping area can also be handed over to the Ministry of Revenue for governance."

After an unknown amount of time, a sigh was heard from the hall.

"Get up."

Xu Qing stood up, but still looked at the ground.

"Don't look at the ground, look at me."

At first Xu Qing thought that he had misheard.

Because he remembered that Lianhua Jun had told him that his aunt usually did not show her face to others, not only because she wanted to establish the authority of the imperial power, but also because she did not like others staring at her.

Now that Empress Dowager Xu had taken the initiative to order him to look up, Xu Qing had no choice but to obey the imperial order.

When he looked up again, Empress Dowager Xu was already wearing that golden and white silk gown and was standing not far in front of him.

The anger was no longer on the other person's face, but her proud figure was clearly visible. The dress was actually deformed due to her fullness, revealing amazing ups and downs under the light and candlelight.

I didn’t think my aunt was so exaggerated before, but now I think it was probably covered up by her everyday dresses.

To be fair, this was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

“Qing’er, it’s not that your aunt blames you, but what you did this time was really too much.”

Queen Mother Xu stared at Xu Qing with a calm expression, and said slowly: "What makes Aunt the most disappointed is not the money in the treasury, nor the power, but that you actually helped outsiders and concealed it from Aunt."

Xu Qing was stunned when he heard this.

For some reason, the Queen Mother Xu who was speaking now was obviously a different person, completely different from the one who sat on the dragon throne before.

If the previous speech made Xu Qing break out in cold sweats and feel the emperor's oppression and suffocation before him, then now the Empress Dowager Xu was just like a family member, supporting him in every word.

"What are you staring at? Did you hear what aunt said?"

Xu Qing, who was being questioned, suddenly woke up, nodded hesitantly, and responded, "I know."

"Although you have reached adulthood, your state of mind and character are still the same as those of a child in front of your aunt. You are innocent and ignorant... Your aunt has taught you before that only you and I are our family. Everyone else is an outsider."

Xu Qing boldly asked: "After getting married...are we still considered outsiders?"

"if not?"

Queen Mother Xu stretched out her white wrist, letting the sleeves fall to her elbows, and asked in a matter-of-fact way: "Do you really think that a marriage certificate can make someone live with you in harmony and grow old together? Don't forget that husband and wife are birds of the same forest, and they fly away separately when disaster strikes."

Empress Dowager Xu gently stroked the back of Xu Qing's head, and her eyes gradually became filled with tenderness and a hint of kindness.

"Auntie is also a person who married into the palace and followed that dog emperor for ten years. Do you really think he will love me and pity me? Will I be on the same side with him?"

When talking about the past, Empress Dowager Xu's voice even revealed a hint of bitter smile.

"In the deep palace, women are either unhappy, becoming thinner and older in jealousy. Or they are like my aunt, trying their best to climb up the ladder, becoming the best and no longer having to care about other people's opinions."

She asked Xu Qing meaningfully, "Which type do you think those people in your backyard are?"

"It should be... neither of them, right?"

Xu Qing didn't dare to directly answer the empress's question, but he also felt that the ladies in the marquis's mansion each had their own strengths and abilities.

Originally, he could say that he liked the third room the best and felt that she shared the same feelings as him.

But after going through so many things, Xu Qing gradually felt that every lady had a very special status in the mansion, and none of them was indispensable.

As for the type mentioned by my aunt, it is even more different from them.

"Not now, but it will be in the future."

Queen Mother Xu smoothed the hair on the back of Xu Qing's head and sighed inwardly, thinking that this child was still too kind-hearted and simple.

Perhaps when he sits in his position and has a harem filled with hundreds of concubines, he will understand the meaning of these words.

"Aunt, Qing'er actually has a question in his mind."

The sudden question startled Empress Dowager Xu and she raised her eyebrows.

Her eyes were as clear as water, her cherry-red lips opened and closed, and she said, "What's the problem?"

According to what Xu Qing had thought before, the empress, who attached great importance to power and ascended the throne through humiliation and hardship, would not let him off easily.

But he was only placed in a side hall and starved for a day, and was called over and scolded, and the aunt, the empress, seemed to have let the matter go.

In his previous life’s memories, Emperor Wu, who had almost the same experience, did not have this reaction.

Even if her own son displeased her, he would risk being removed from the position of Crown Prince and beheaded.

"Aunt, are you being too indulgent towards Qing'er? Is it just because we are family?"

Xu Qing was afraid that after tonight, there would be no way to answer the confusion in his heart, so he simply asked, "From the perspective of blood relationship, grandma and those concubine cousins ​​should also be relatives of aunt. Why do I feel that... aunt is only good to Qing'er?"

(End of this chapter)