Chapter 356: It must be her who committed a grave mistake!

Chapter 356: It must be her who committed a grave mistake!

Wei Shiqing smiled and said, "I’ve been swamped lately and haven’t paid much attention. However, when Yu Yonghuai reported to the Ministry of War, I happened to be there on business and caught a glimpse of him from afar..."

Empress Nie immediately asked excitedly, "How does General Yu look?"

Wei Shiqing recalled, "He’s quite handsome. He’s tall and upright, even taller than I am, and very dashing. Though he’s strong, he’s not burly..."

Empress Nie couldn’t help but picture Yu Yonghuai in her mind based on Wei Shiqing’s description and couldn’t help but be a bit lost in thought: "He sounds like a splendid young man... Ayan wasn’t much of a talker before leaving the palace, I wonder how they interact day-to-day. Ayan wouldn’t have scared General Yu off, would he?"

Wei Shiqing remembered his younger brother before he left the palace, the little figure silently climbed into the carriage driven by Qin Fenggong, finally, he lay against the window, red-eyed and hoarse, telling him not to see him off.

Wei Shiqing felt as if a heavy log were soaked in water, slowly leaching out its bitterness. He silently decided to have the Ministry of Works hurry up with the renovation of Yu Yonghuai’s residence. Although his father had said that exceeding the regulations wasn’t a major issue, it was best to avoid such matters if possible.

Empress Nie’s eyes suddenly lit up with an idea: "By the way, you said that the Yujia family accompanied General Yu from the countryside to the capital to take up his post, so there must be a gap in the inner household for someone who knows the ins and outs of the capital’s social circles, right?"

Empress Nie had only started, but Wei Shiqing immediately guessed what she wanted to do.

Wei Shiqing, however, shook his head: "Mother, granting a larger residence can still be justified as a military reward. If you send someone over, I’m afraid the entire capital’s nobility will suspect something is amiss with the Yujia family within a day. I don’t think Second Brother would want to see that."

Empress Nie was somewhat disappointed.

Ayan was the son she and Emperor Jiazheng felt they had failed the most, and she also wanted to do something for Ayan.

Wei Shiqing couldn’t stand to see the clear disappointment on his mother’s face, thought for a moment, and gently suggested: "Mother, when General Yu receives his reward, he will likely petition for a title for his mother or grandmother. At that time, you should remind Father to ensure the officials don’t obstruct the title application for General Yu’s female relatives... This way, when you summon the inner and outer ladies to the palace for an audience, you can naturally encounter the Yujia female relatives. At that time, you can suitably express your fondness for the Yujia female relatives, and that will be enough."

Empress Nie’s face showed a surprised expression: "Oh, Aqing is sharp-witted."

As the two were talking, a figure in red dashed in, running as if pursued: "Mother! I heard that the Crown Prince Brother is here?"

Empress Nie just heard the voice and showed a somewhat headache expression.

Wei Shiqing couldn’t help but laugh: "Ayou, you are almost twelve years old, can’t you be more steady?"

The dashing young boy in red stopped and smiled brightly at Wei Shiqing: "Big Brother! Didn’t you say you would take me out of the palace to ride horses in a couple of days?"

Empress Nie had a headache: "Ayou, come here, I was just looking for you."

Wei Shiyou felt something was wrong when he saw Empress Nie’s expression and was about to slip away, but Wei Shiqing grabbed the back of his collar and threw him into Empress Nie’s arms.

Empress Nie twisted Wei Shiyou’s ear: "Yesterday, Consort Bai came to complain that you scared your sixth brother, saying there was a snake crawling into his trouser leg, scaring him into jumping into the pond, didn’t you?"

Wei Shiyou coughed, his eyes wandering: "Mother, you said it yourself, it was Sixth Brother who jumped into the pond..."

"Wei Shiyou!" Empress Nie called his full name sternly.

Probably all children would be startled when their parents call their full name.

Wei Shiyou then calmed down: "It’s because Sixth Brother said that Second Brother is a jinx..."

Empress Nie and Wei Shiqing’s originally somewhat helpless faces changed instantly when they heard this.

Wei Shiyou was still complaining dejectedly, not noticing that his loving mother and gentle brother’s faces were already very ugly: "... Sixth Brother too, he dared to say that about Second Brother, I didn’t hit him or scold him, just scared him a bit, that’s already good enough! He was scared and jumped into the pond, is it my fault?"

Empress Nie reached out and placed her hand on Wei Shiyou’s shoulder: "Ayou, you should have just beaten up your sixth brother!"

The young boy in red let out an "Ah" and looked up in confusion.

"Your second brother did it for the Great Xia..." Empress Nie only said this much and couldn’t bear to say more, changing the subject, "... When your second brother left the palace, your sixth brother wasn’t even born, how could he know anything! Someone must have whispered in his ear. Consort Bai is lax with her subordinates, and yet she dares to complain to me!"

Wei Shiqing sneered, "Speaking of which, not long ago, the Emperor received a secret letter from the retired Grand Scholar Liu, after which he reprimanded the Lin Yang Marquis's estate, Consort Bai's maternal family. At such a time, Consort Bai still dares to behave this way, who gave her the courage!"

Empress Nie, recalling something, her face frosted over, instructed Wei Shiqing, "Matters concerning the imperial concubines, you should not interfere. Leave this to me. You focus on handling General Yu's affairs properly."

Wei Shiqing's lips moved, but in the end, he saluted, "Yes, Empress Mother, your son understands completely."

Before leaving, out of brotherly concern, Wei Shiqing still took his younger brother away.

—It was obvious that their mother was about to stir up trouble, and if this foolish brother stayed here any longer, he might be caught in the crossfire.

After the two sons left the side hall, the sunlight streamed through the window, casting half of Empress Nie's face in shadow.

Empress Nie's voice was calm and composed as she called over her chief maid, Mo Chun.

"Go, summon Consort Bai and have her kneel at the entrance of my hall to reflect on her wrongdoings."

Mo Chun went to carry out the order.

Consort Bai, kneeling on the cold stone slab outside the Kunning Palace, still couldn't understand what she had done wrong.

Could it be because she had complained to the Empress about the Third Prince bullying her son, A Sheng?!

The Empress was simply too overbearing!

Consort Bai was extremely aggrieved. That evening, after Emperor Jia Zheng finished his official duties and came to accompany Empress Nie for dinner, she fainted on the stone slab.

Emperor Jia Zheng, upon learning from the palace servants that Consort Bai had been punished by the Empress to kneel here, was somewhat astonished, "The Empress has always been even-tempered. For her to be angered to such an extent by Consort Bai, she must have committed some grave mistake!"

Emperor Jia Zheng flicked his sleeve, "Send Consort Bai back to her palace to rest well for the night, and tomorrow she shall continue to kneel before the Empress's hall!"

Consort Bai's personal maids were dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, outside the palace, the Yu family received urgent news sent by Old Mao, saying that Grandfather Liu had fainted from anger caused by the eldest son of the Liu family, and they were seeking Daxisipo and Xingxing to come and save his life!