The Empress let out a long sigh. As long as Pang Xiao didn't rebel, Da Zhou could still be saved. She didn't think she was a smart woman and couldn't be compared to Prince Zhongshun's consort. However, she had been in a high position for a long time and often interacted with noble women. The Empress knew a little about the affairs of the court.
The stability of the world didn't depend on Li Qitian, but on Pang Xiao. If Pang Xiao was willing to be a subject, everything would be fine. However, if Pang Xiao had the intention to rebel, Li Qitian wouldn't be able to stop it. This was also the reason why Li Qitian repeatedly wanted to eradicate Pang Xiao.
As long as Pang Xiao didn't rebel, they wouldn't be attacked from the front and back. There was still hope for the current crisis to be resolved.
The Empress smiled and persuaded: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Prince Zhongshun was ordered to provide disaster relief. It is also his duty to buy food to feed the people. Please don't be angry. This is precisely the time when there are internal and external troubles. We need Your Majesty and the subjects to work together to resist the Tartars. If Your Majesty misunderstands Prince Zhongshun, I am afraid you will fall into the trap of someone with ulterior motives. "
The Empress's voice was neither fast nor slow. She carefully observed Li Qitian's expression. After she finished speaking, she didn't see Li Qitian fly into a rage on the spot. The Empress secretly sighed in relief. She secretly thought that Your Majesty was a smart person and wouldn't act rashly at such a critical time.
However, perhaps she was relieved too early. Li Qitian looked up at the Empress with a dark face for a long time. Suddenly, he grabbed something and threw it at the Empress.
The two weren't far apart and the Empress wasn't on guard. She only felt a buzzing sound in her head and a hard object hit her forehead. It was so painful that she blacked out and even lost her mind for a moment.
Looking at the broken porcelain plate on the ground, Li Qitian roared like a roaring lion: "Good, very good! Over the years, I have actually raised someone else's Empress! "
The Empress had just come back to her senses when she heard this. Her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately realized that she had said too much.
Lifting her skirt, the Empress knelt down and kowtowed three times. Her ears were buzzing and her head hurt, but she didn't care.
"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. Your concubine did everything for Your Majesty's sake. Now that they urgently needed to resist the Tatan, there was no time to think about other things. Your Majesty is a wise ruler of the present age. You have thought through everything clearly. This Concubine spoke too much because she was worried. I shouldn't have interfered in court affairs. I won't do it again. "
Li Qitian narrowed his eyes and stared at the Empress's figure. His anger subsided a little.
He knew his wife well. This woman was just an ordinary village woman. She was kind and efficient in her work. She was lucky to have married him and had the opportunity to become the Empress. All these years, she had been well-behaved and had never participated in the affairs of the Imperial Court. She was also a clumsy person …
If she knew how to conduct herself, how could she have interceded for Pang Xiao?
Although Li Qitian was open-minded, he still couldn't calm down. He sneered: "People like you can't distinguish between inside and outside. Those ministers in the Imperial Court all have their own considerations. I didn't expect you to be the same. You really make me feel disgusted! "
The Empress felt cold all over, as if she had been thrown into an ice cave in the dead of winter.
When they were just ordinary husband and wife, even if they weren't very sweet, they were still a harmonious couple.
However, as Li Qitian climbed higher and higher, she also became farther and farther away from him. Now, he didn't like her anymore!
She was old and faded, but there were many young girls in the palace who were as delicate and beautiful as flowers. Thinking about it, after being husband and wife for so many years, Li Qitian had seen all kinds of prosperity. Even if their familial love had been wiped clean?
Although thinking like this could comfort herself and make her feel better, there was a voice in the Empress's mind that denied her. Pang Xiao and Qin Yining had been married for many years, but Pang Xiao had never treated Qin Yining the way Li Qitian treated her. He had made a fool of her in public, made her lose face, and even hit her.
The Empress lowered her head and pursed her lips. She didn't know how to persuade Li Qitian or what else to say. She only felt disheartened and didn't have the energy to care about what Li Qitian wanted to do.
Li Qitian saw that the Empress didn't speak and felt that Kunning Palace was no longer interesting. Seeing the Empress like this made him feel even more nauseous. He immediately got up and walked out.
The Emperor flew into a rage in the Empress's palace and even smashed the Empress with a bowl. This news spread like wildfire and quickly spread throughout the Imperial Palace. When the concubines came to pay their respects the next day, they couldn't help but take a few more looks when they saw the Empress's bruised forehead. Some people even laughed wildly in their hearts.
The Empress sat at the head of the table with a decent smile on her face, but her mind was not here.
Some of the concubines kept probing with their words, which annoyed the Empress.
She directly said: "Ben gong won't talk about the battle outside, but I think you've all heard about it. The Tatan army is like a hot knife through butter. Our dynasty is no match for them. Marquis Bei Ding had no choice but to retreat to the capital. "
The room was silent. The concubines didn't seem to have the mood to investigate the Empress' injuries.
Ji Zeyu had retreated to the capital with his army and the Tatan had surrounded the walls of the capital. Once the city was broken, how could they survive?
"Niangniang, did Your Majesty say how we sisters will be settled?" A concubine boldly asked.
The Empress smiled and looked at the beautiful young woman. She gently said: "You and I sisters are Your Majesty's concubines. To say something unpleasant, if that day really comes, you and I will naturally have to keep our chastity for Your Majesty."
So if the concubines really lost the battle, they would have to collectively slit their throats?
Some of the younger ones were so scared that their faces turned pale. Some even cried on the spot.
The Empress said: "It hasn't progressed to that stage yet. It's not to the point where the army will collapse. However, this Consort is saying all of this to give all of you younger sisters a warning. Think about it for the next few days. If you have any regrets, do it as soon as possible. If you miss your family, write to them as soon as possible. If that day really comes, Ben gong won't allow anyone to betray Your Majesty. "
The Empress narrowed her eyes and glanced at everyone. She said in a deep voice: "Do you remember clearly?"
"Yes." All the women stood up and bowed.
The Empress nodded and dismissed everyone. She then ordered the mama beside her to go to the Cold Palace: "Go and tell the palace maid in charge of the Cold Palace. It's time to deal with Concubine Shun. "
"Yes, this servant will go now."
The Empress's arrangements made the concubines panic. For a moment, they didn't know what to do. Some went back and covered themselves with their blankets and cried. There were also people who anxiously wrote letters to their families, wanting to beg for a way out.
For a moment, the palace was in a state of panic. Even the Empress Dowager and Li Helan heard the news.
The two had no time to blame the Empress because they were also in fear.
The Empress Dowager was older, but she wasn't calm. When she thought about how she, as the Emperor's mother, had nowhere to run, she couldn't help but feel sad. She hugged Li Helan and cried again and again.
On the contrary, Li Helan was calmer.
She was Ji Zeyu's wife. If Ji Zeyu died in battle, she would definitely be captured by the Tatan. If that day really came, as the Empress said, their lives would be hung with white silk.
After understanding this, Li Helan calmed down. At this time, the most important thing was not to worry about her own escape, but to think of a way to help Da Zhou survive this crisis.
Li Helan told the Empress Dowager her analysis and thoughts. The Empress Dowager immediately sent someone to find Li Qitian.
Li Qitian was very busy. How could he have the mind to come to Ci 'an Palace to pay his respects? The Empress Dowager couldn't see him, so she could only ask the chamberlain beside her to pass on a message to Li Qitian: "Tell the Emperor what I said. The most important thing now is to protect Da Zhou from being trampled by the Tatan. Pang Zhixi has been on the battlefield for a long time. If she cooperates with Ji Lan, she will definitely be able to defeat the Tatan. Tell the Emperor to think carefully.
The chamberlain listened to the Empress Dowager's words and sweated profusely. He didn't want to go, but he didn't dare to go against the Empress Dowager's wishes. But if he went, he had a bad feeling. Your Majesty might not let him go. This situation was basically a dead end.
But the chamberlain had no other choice. He could only go to the Imperial Study, remove the sharpness of the Empress Dowager's words, and relay the meaning.
Li Qitian sat behind the paulownia table in the Imperial Study. His hands gradually tightened and he gripped the bright yellow brocade tablecloth. "You dog servant, did the Empress Dowager say this?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager indeed told me to say this." The chamberlain kowtowed again and again. He already felt that his life was over.
Li Qitian sneered coldly, "You can't help in the matters of the Imperial Court, but you never cause trouble."
The chamberlain didn't dare to speak. He wished that he didn't exist.
"Go and tell the Empress Dowager to be prepared. If the Tatan really breaks into the city, the Empress Dowager has to set an example. Could it be that the Empress Dowager, who has been wise all her life, is not as knowledgeable as the Empress?"
This was clearly to let the Empress Dowager be prepared to "go on the road".
The chamberlain bowed in fear and left.
Returning to Ci 'an Palace, he told the Empress Dowager Your Majesty's instructions. As expected, the Empress Dowager suddenly stood up and said angrily: "Nonsense! How could the Emperor speak to me like this? Could it be that you, a lowly servant, made it up? "
"The Empress Dowager is wise. Even if I had the guts, I wouldn't dare to make up an imperial edict. Your Majesty did say this. "
The Empress Dowager was so angry that she felt dizzy and flew into a rage. If it weren't for her identity as the Empress Dowager and that she was no longer the village woman she used to be, she would have cursed out everything dirty and smelly.
The Empress Dowager was so flustered, let alone other people.
From top to bottom in the Imperial Palace, no one was not flustered. They tried to find a way to survive.
Although Li Qitian was concerned about the matters of the Imperial Court, he had heard several versions of the rumors in the Imperial Palace.
Before the Tatan reached the capital, someone had already determined that he would lose.
Was he really not going to pass this hurdle this time?
When Pang Xiao finished preparing everything and the army was ready to set out, it was already three days later.
Qin Yining walked out of the inner residence of Qin's Mansion with the help of Pang Xiao with a delicate hand-warmer in her arms. She took a carriage and left through the side gate, heading all the way to the gate of the old capital.
Pang Xiao's mount, Black Cloud, followed beside the carriage. The rest of the bodyguards guarded the carriage.
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