Chapter 561 The Prince Invites Reinforcements
Prince Zhongshun led the way, with Sun Shaozong and Qin Ming following on his left and right.
After leaving Mingde Hall, I saw a dozen palace maids and eunuchs holding lanterns and ceremonial guards, ascending the stairs with a sedan chair carried by four people in the square in front of the hall.
Prince Zhongshun continued to move forward to greet her, but Sun Shaozong and Qin Ming could not continue to follow, so they stopped on the steps, bowed and waited for the Queen to arrive .
When the sedan chair stopped not far away, the two men stepped forward and paid their respects: "Your Highness Sun Shaozong [Imperial Physician Qin Ming], I wish the Empress good health."
The Queen hadn't seen any reaction yet, but Prince Zhongshun sighed, "I haven't seen you for two months, and your sister-in-law seems to have aged a few years. I will go and advise Your Majesty later. What can't be resolved between an old couple?"
There was still no reply from the Queen, but the sound of footsteps gradually faded away. Soon, a pair of plain thin-soled embroidered shoes appeared in front of Sun Shaozong.
Then, a hand was placed on Sun Shaozong's shoulder, trying to pull him up. At the same time, a kind but slightly hoarse voice was heard in Sun Shaozong's ears: "Good boy, get up quickly and let me see you."
The only one who was qualified to speak at this time and called herself "this palace" was naturally the Queen.
Although he was a time traveler with a weak sense of hierarchy, Sun Shaozong was still flattered to be personally supported by the empress, the mother of the country. He quickly stood up with the force involved, but did not dare to look up, so he had to hunch over like a shrimp.
But the queen said, half in a scolding and half in an encouraging tone: "Since you are such a good man, why can't you even stand straight?"
If you can stand up straight, who would want to bow in front of others?
Therefore, after hearing what the queen said, Sun Shaozong immediately straightened his chest and raised his head, acting as if he was looking proud.
At the same time, he finally saw the queen's appearance clearly.
This is a woman over fifty years old. In terms of temperament, she is somewhat similar to the old lady in Rongguo Mansion, but she looks younger and her manners and speech are more calm.
But even though she was smiling warmly now, she still couldn't wipe away the depression between her brows.
Think about it, her only biological son became a eunuch, and her husband was trying hard to have a second child. Which woman could remain calm in the face of such a situation?
While Sun Shaozong was sizing up the queen, the queen also carefully sizing up Sun Shaozong, and then praised, "As expected, he is a descendant of a military family. What's more pleasing is that he has a lot of strategies. No wonder he has reached the fourth rank at such a young age."
"Your Highness, you are too kind."
"Whether it is an exaggeration or not, I know it in my heart."
The queen was elderly, so she didn't shy away from anything. She took Sun Shaozong's hand and patted him, saying, "The Crown Princess has praised you several times in front of me. I've wanted to meet you for a long time. It just so happened that I heard that the emperor kept you in the palace today, so I came to see you."
Without waiting for Sun Shaozong to respond, she asked again, "I heard that you are going to the south to quell the rebellion recently? It would be great if you could make military achievements for the court, but if you want to stay and benefit the people, doesn't this huge capital have room for you?"
After hearing this, Sun Shaozong finally understood why the queen suddenly came to Yongning Palace - it turned out that she was the reinforcements invited by the prince.
It was estimated that the prince really thought that he was forced to leave the capital, so he asked his mother to support him.
But this put Sun Shaozong in a dilemma.
How could he say in front of the Queen that he wanted to leave the capital on his own initiative to avoid the chaotic situation of the fight for the throne?
But if he said against his will that he wanted to stay, given the Queen's influence in the court, he would probably not have the chance to be sent out in the next few years.
Damn it!
Sooner or later, I will be killed by this prince, this pig teammate!
Although he secretly complained, Sun Shaozong pretended to be righteous and said, "Your Majesty, I am just a brick in the court. Whether I am used to build a wall, support a beam or suppress the weeds in the yard, it is up to Your Majesty and the elders to decide!"
At this time, we can only use empty and false rhetoric to support it.
Upon hearing this, the Queen looked at him carefully again, then laughed and said, "You are indeed a smart person. No wonder the little girl from the Lin family said that you are a fox with a bear's skin."
Oops!
From the sound of it, it seemed that the Queen had seen through his thoughts.
but……
Judging from the Queen's expression, she doesn't seem to want to expose herself.
Sun Shaozong was feeling nervous, but he couldn't help but wonder, how did the evaluation of Lin Daiyu when she was in Yangzhou reach the palace?
Perhaps seeing Sun Shaozong's suspicion, the queen smiled and said, "When Consort Xian De first entered the palace, she was assigned to this palace. Although she later became a concubine, she often came to talk to me."
It turned out that he heard it from Concubine Xian De - no doubt, the one who spread this news into the palace was Jia Baoyu!
It seems that this kid would write to Jia Yuanchun every once in a while, and he would talk about every detail.
By the way, is he a sister complex?
Uh~
Considering the existence of Lin Daiyu, he should be a "sister complex".
Just as his thoughts were wandering, thinking about all sorts of things, the Queen said warmly: "Since you have an imperial errand, I can't bother you any more. If you encounter any troubles in the palace, you might as well send someone to Kunning Palace to inform you."
As she spoke, she took two steps back and got back on the sedan chair with the help of two palace maids.
"Farewell, Her Majesty the Queen [Empress-in-law]."
As everyone shouted in unison, the sedan chair was carried steadily on the shoulders of four eunuchs and surrounded by a group of palace maids. It moved farther and farther away and was finally completely hidden in the night.
Only when there was no light left did King Zhongshun turn around with a grim face and stride back to Mingde Hall.
Obviously, he was angry and ashamed of himself for having just embarrassed himself - from beginning to end, the queen never looked at him or responded to him.
But this is not surprising. Who was the first one to suggest that the emperor and his concubines have a second child to replace the crown prince?
Sun Shaozong felt a little gloating, but at the same time he felt a little embarrassed. The situation was already awkward before the queen arrived, and now Prince Zhongshun was full of anger...
Alas~
I was investigating a case under orders from the emperor, and there should have been no taboos. But who would have thought that I would have encountered such an unlucky person!
Sun Shaozong sighed secretly and was about to call Qin Ming to follow him in when he saw a lot of shadowy figures coming down the stairs.
He squinted his eyes and looked around under the light, and found that it was the guards who had gone out to escort the prisoners back.
Now I don’t have to just stand there and watch!
Sun Shaozong breathed a sigh of relief and hurried over to meet him. When he got closer, he saw that the leading guard was covered in blood. He couldn't help but ask suspiciously, "What are you doing..."
"Reply to the Master."
The inner guard quickly bent his back to 60 degrees and said respectfully, "On the way back, two death row prisoners tried to take advantage of the opportunity to escape and even intended to take the people as hostages. I had no choice but to execute them on the spot."
Originally, the inner guards should be under the jurisdiction of Nanzhen Prefecture, but in the current situation, how could Emperor Guangde dare to use people from Nanzhen Prefecture to protect himself?
Therefore, the internal guards in front of us are all from the Northern Pacification Office.
Since they were his own people, and he heard that they had only killed two prisoners who were about to escape, Sun Shaozong ignored the matter and asked directly, "How many people did you bring with you?"
"Originally, we chose ten death row prisoners and ten prostitutes."
That is to say, there are still eight little... uh, eight old white mice left, which should be enough.
Besides, there are only a few dozen of the Leopard Fetus Yijin Pills in stock. If there are too many people, there may not be enough to go around.
So Sun Shaozong immediately ordered: "You wait here first, and I will report to the prince, and then escort the person in."
As he spoke, he hurried to Mingde Hall, called the eunuch on duty, and asked him to go to the imperial kitchen to serve the dishes. He also asked the imperial physician and the inner guards who stayed behind to prepare cosmetics and spices.
After everything was arranged, Sun Shaozong went inside and reported the whole story to King Zhongshun.
Prince Zhongshun didn't think anything of it, but Chen Banxia couldn't help but jump out and question, "Lord Sun, are you going to let them test the medicinal properties in Mingde Hall? This... this is the residence of the concubines in the palace. It's not appropriate to openly disrupt the palace like this, right?!"
"What else can we do?"
Sun Shaozong spread his hands and said helplessly: "There are too many things to test, and it is not good to move them all outside the palace. Besides, His Majesty has given me permission to investigate the case in Yongning Palace. As long as I want to find out the truth, what does a few minor details matter?"
Prince Zhongshun was used to holding open-hearted gatherings, so why would he care about watching a live sex scene?
He immediately said impatiently: "What are you wasting time on? Hurry up and call the people in. I want to see what tricks you can come up with!"
