Bah! You were the rat!

Qin Xianfei gnashed her teeth in hatred, but she also knew that she had completely fallen behind and it was impossible for her to escape unscathed.

Emperor Yongjia was furious, but he couldn’t blame Empress Dowager Zhao. Empress Qiao and her mother-in-law were of the same mind. Lu Mingyu was pregnant, like a sword in her hand. Wasn’t Emperor Yongjia’s anger directed at her?

Qin Xianfei had been in the harem for so many years, and she was not easy to mess with. She immediately cried with red eyes, “I know I was wrong. I just wanted to make the Empress Dowager happy, so I mentioned Lu Shi.”

She cried to Empress Dowager Zhao again, “Lu Shi is the beloved daughter of King Xingyang, and has 50,000 Xingyang troops to back her up. She is inevitably a little arrogant. When talking to elders, you should be understanding if she is not so respectful. Empress Dowager, please don’t be angry with Lu Shi. No matter how wrong I am, it’s all my fault. Let the Emperor punish me!”

Who didn’t know how to retreat to advance?

Who didn’t know that there was a knife hidden in the words?

Lu Mingyu didn’t rush to stand up and apologize, but sighed and said, “If the Xianfei had half of the love she had for the Empress Dowager, it wouldn’t have caused the Emperor to stop the morning court.”

“A few quarrels in the harem are nothing. But affecting the important affairs of the country is absolutely wrong.”

After saying that, she stood up and bowed to apologize: “My daughter-in-law is wrong. My daughter-in-law is wrong for contradicting the Royal Grandmother and angering her. My daughter-in-law is even more wrong for not being able to stop the eunuch who was delivering the letter to the Golden Throne Hall in time, disrupting the morning court.”

“Please punish me, Father!”

Emperor Yongjia said reflexively: “Okay, you are pregnant, so don’t perform the ceremony, lest you disturb the fetus.”

Nothing was more important than offspring!

Emperor Yongjia’s heart naturally shifted, and he looked at the crying Qin Xianfei, his eyes becoming more gloomy and cold: “Xianfei, you gossip in the Empress Dowager’s ear, stir up trouble, and cause disputes in vain. I will not forgive you today!”

“Empress, today I will draft an imperial decree to strip her of her title of Xianfei and demote you to Qin Fei. Her clothing, food, and expenses will all be reduced by 30%.”

“In addition, starting today, Qin Xianfei has caught a cold and will have to stay in the palace to rest for three months.”

As soon as these words came out, Qin Xianfei’s face turned pale.

It would have been fine if she had been confined to the palace to reflect on herself, but the position she had just been promoted to was easily lost. This was a heavy blow!

Before Qin Xianfei could shed tears, Empress Dowager Zhao was furious: “Today’s incident is all the fault of Lu Shi and Empress Qiao. Why is the Emperor punishing Concubine Xian?”

“I was hoping that the Emperor would support me, but the Emperor didn’t punish Lu Shi, but punished Concubine Xian. How is this different from punishing me?”

Empress Qiao took the opportunity to continue the conversation: “Your Majesty Queen, your body is worth a lot of money. How can someone like Qin Xianfei be compared to Your Majesty Queen?”

Lu Mingyu secretly said “OK” in his heart.

Once Qin Xianfei said this, her demotion was a done deal. Once the news got out, Qin Xianfei would be the one who lost face. Empress Qiao’s two words were also very appropriate.

What was the identity of Qin Xianfei?

She was a concubine of the Li family back then, and now she was a fei in the harem. However, she could easily influence the will of Empress Dowager Zhao and stir up trouble in the harem.

As expected, Emperor Yongjia’s expression became increasingly stern: “Qin Fei, go back to your bedroom immediately! If you dare to say another word, I will never let you off easily!”

Qin Xianfei covered her face with her sleeves and was about to leave crying.

Empress Dowager Zhao was furious: “Xianfei, please stay.”

Then she pointed at Empress Qiao and Lu Mingyu and said, “Well, you two mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are going to rebel! You are going to piss me off to death. From now on, you two will rule this harem. What sin did I commit in my previous life to deserve such a daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law…”

Empress Qiao suddenly knelt down and said softly, “I have done nothing wrong in raising the Emperor’s children and managing the harem for so many years. The Empress Dowager is so dissatisfied with me because I blocked Qin Xianfei’s way.”

“Your Majesty, please issue an edict to depose me as the Empress! After a year or so, you can make Qin Xianfei the Empress. This way, you can satisfy the Empress Dowager and Qin Xianfei. Then the harem will be at peace.”

…

Lu Mingyu was also shocked by Empress Qiao’s words.

This was simply a heart-piercing statement that killed people without shedding blood!

Even if Emperor Yongjia favored his concubine, he would never kill his wife.

Because Empress Qiao was not only a kind and virtuous wife but also had a group of civil servants headed by Qiao Gelao ^[1]her father and senior official behind her. Emperor Yongjia was an ambitious founding Emperor with a long-term vision and a broad mind. He knew the importance of his first wife and legitimate son.

Even Meng Guifei was unable to threaten Empress Qiao’s position truly.

What qualifications did a mere Qin Xianfei have to covet the position of Empress, except for her own shameless thoughts?

She was just relying on Empress Dowager Zhao’s support to make things difficult for Empress Qiao from time to time, causing the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to become estranged. Now, Empress Qiao was forced to even say that she would voluntarily give up the position of Empress.

Emperor Yongjia’s face turned livid, and he looked at Qin Xianfei with a gaze that was ice-cold to the bone as if he wanted to eat her.

Qin Xianfei’s face was pale and her whole body was trembling: “Your Majesty, please calm down. I have never had such a rebellious thought. I beg Your Majesty to understand!”

No one expected that Empress Dowager Zhao would say at this moment: “Since Qiao Shi is willing to give up the throne, why doesn’t the Emperor fulfill her wish?”

Qin Xianfei: “…”

Qin Xianfei felt like vomiting blood.

Empress Dowager Zhao wanted her to die!

She wanted to be the Empress. Who among the women in the harem, regardless of their status, didn’t want to be the Empress?

She had been married into the Li family as a concubine when she was sixteen, and all she wanted was to be the principal wife. But over the years, Empress Qiao had behaved properly and had never made any mistakes. Moreover, Lord Qiao was the chief minister of the Great Wei and the head of the civil servants.

Emperor Yongjia led his troops to fight outside and entrusted all the government affairs in the court to ministers such as Qiao. Even for the sake of the Qiao family, Emperor Yongjia would never rashly move the throne of Empress Qiao.

Therefore, in the past few years, her goal has been secretly adjusted. She had no ambition to become the phoenix, but she could use the power of Empress Dowager Zhao to fight for the position of Crown Prince for the fourth prince. If she succeeds, she could still become the Empress Dowager in the future.

Empress Dowager Zhao’s unexpected words confirmed the fact that she was secretly instigating. Emperor Yongjia looked at her with a gloomy look as if he wanted to tear her apart.

Qin Xianfei kowtowed heavily, her forehead soon turning red: “Your Majesty, please calm down. I have never dared to covet the throne, please calm down!”

Emperor Yongjia laughed in anger: “Oh? You have never coveted the throne, so how could the Empress Dowager say such a thing? Qin Xianfei, I really underestimated you. I always thought that you served the Empress Dowager with all your heart, which showed your filial piety and gratitude. Now I know that you actually have such thoughts in mind.”

Lu Mingyu immediately knelt beside Empress Qiao and said in a loud voice, “Grandmother was deceived by Qin Xianfei’s sweet words and spoke out of turn. Father, please punish Qin Xianfei severely and use this as a warning to the harem. This will also prevent rumors from spreading and damaging Grandmother’s reputation for kindness and love.”

Qin Xianfei: “…”

(End of this chapter)