The queen is sober in the world, and she is winning every step of the palace fight.

Chapter 473 I am the Queen of Daliang

"I didn't do that. It's not what you said! Concubine De, you're making such wild assumptions and framing me. Are you and the Queen in cahoots? I want to see His Majesty and show him how you two have teamed up to bully me this time!"

Faced with Defei Lingguang's associations and questioning, He Shuangying naturally denied it.

Furthermore, it was said that Xia He and Empress Yan and Concubine De had colluded with this, and there were others as well...

Everyone accepted Queen Yan's arrangement and deliberately used this frame-up plan to make people misunderstand that she was malicious and cunning.

"I am but an orphan who has gained Your Majesty's favor because of my love for opera. Why are you forcing me so hard? The consequences will not be felt by my descendants. Why are you leaving me alone to bear the consequences of the mistakes made by my elders? Do you think that the sins you commit now will be repaid by your own children in the future? You will have children too, so why don't you accumulate some good karma..."

"You're such a jerk, you keep talking, it's really annoying me!"

Defei's face changed and she could no longer bear it. If real life was not her favorite play, she would really want to do as in the play and immediately call two generals to chop off He, the evil person who confuses right and wrong and stirs up trouble, with their swords.

She couldn't understand why someone like He suddenly appeared recently when the palace had just stabilized after a major change and was about to usher in a new atmosphere.

She called for help, tied up He Shuangying, and took her away to await further interrogation and sentencing.

He stood up and said goodbye to Fei Wan.

"Your Highness, I'm sorry to have disturbed you for so long. It's all because of my incompetence. When you're feeling better, I'll put on a wonderful opera for you in Lincui Palace to make amends. Also, Yinzhu is incredibly talented and has learned opera so well. You should definitely watch her perform when you have time!"

Fei Wan stood up and said goodbye with a smile.

"Sister, you're being polite to me again. We're sisters. Calling each other 'Madam' and 'Princess' is too formal. I have something to do, so I won't keep you here. When I'm done, come back here and we can sit down together."

Defei exchanged a few words of greeting and left in a hurry.

Bring He Shuangying, Xia He, and all the palace servants of Guanlan Courtyard.

We also have to interrogate and investigate Liu Xiu Niang.

She is busy.

What's more, she soon discovered that just as He Shuangying's incident happened, Liu Xiu Niang committed suicide by swallowing a needle in the locked room where she was imprisoned.

Before being detained, all the relevant people were checked and were not allowed to bring any dangerous items into the cell. Furthermore, there were people carefully guarding the cell. Somehow, Liu Xiu Niang managed to hide in a corner and end her life with a needle hidden in her hair.

Now, Concubine De was even more troubled and busier.

The news of the embroiderer's suicide reached Fengming Palace, and Queen Yan scolded the guards for their incompetence.

However, as Fei Wan said, He Shuangying's mischief wasn't a serious matter. Even if she succeeded, Empress Yan wouldn't necessarily be deposed like the previous empress.

After all, the severity of the incidents was different, and her family background was also different from that of Queen Zheng.

The Zheng family was a civil servant, and held no important position. Her Yan family, a Duke of the State, had been a family of noble rank for generations, and held some military power.

But precisely because of this...

"Sister Zhao is only thinking about me!"

Queen Yan felt that the words Fei Wan asked Linglong to convey were truly heartfelt words.

The current emperor is even more suspicious than the previous emperor.

The military power in the hands of the Duke's Mansion has been gradually reduced under his rule. Recently, because of the incident of persuading the Sichuan and Shu military generals, His Majesty has given my father a little more responsibilities, but he has always been on guard.

As one of the Yan family's more frequent relatives, the Xie family used to be just an ordinary declining noble family. But now that they have a talented son like Xie Weizhou, they have a bright future.

It is inevitable that Your Majesty is afraid of the Yan family and the Xie family joining forces!

"Repeat Concubine Zhao's original words."

Queen Yan was leaning on the couch, half closing her eyes, without any makeup on. She looked so lazy, just like a cat resting beside a stool.

But she was very focused, listening carefully to Linglong's retelling and trying to understand the meaning.

Then there was a long silence.

Cloud the cat fell asleep at my feet.

When the maid thought she was asleep, Queen Yan slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes were very clear.

He ordered calmly, "Linglong, write a letter to the mansion and tell father to send appropriate personnel to protect Azhou's safety. However, don't make it too obvious."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Call Yun Su."

"Yes."

Linglong quickly went downstairs to write a letter, and took away all the people from the inner and outer halls, and summoned the eunuch Yun Su to come in.

Yun Su was the eunuch assigned to Queen Yan's side when she first entered the palace.

He rose all the way from an ordinary eunuch to one of the eunuchs in charge of Fengming Palace.

But when he first came to serve Empress Yan, it was not assigned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs at random, but was secretly arranged by the Duke's Mansion.

Concubines with family backgrounds could bring two to four maids with them when they entered the palace, and the rest were assigned by the palace.

In order to ensure that Queen Yan lives in peace in the palace, the Duke's Mansion will naturally take some action to transfer more of its own people to Queen Yan's side.

Queen Yan's power in the harem has been growing in recent years, which has a lot to do with the reliability of her close confidants.

Yun Su is the most capable one among them.

Not only does he handle things properly, he is also proficient in martial arts.

"Yun Su, how long have you been with me? Do you think I'm your master?"

Queen Yan came straight to the point and asked directly.

When Yun Su heard that something was wrong, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

"I have served you since your majesty entered the palace. It has been four years and two months now. I have always been your master and will never have second thoughts. Otherwise, I will be struck by lightning."

Empress Yan smiled faintly. "I know you're loyal to me, but I want to know, is it because the Duke's Mansion is loyal to me, or is it because you feel I'm worthy of being your master?"

Yun Su paused.

I immediately understood what Queen Yan meant.

He was castrated and entered the palace at a young age, and exchanged his entire life for a few taels of silver to treat his mother's illness and to buy food for his younger brothers and sisters.

As she entered the palace deeper, she completely accepted her fate, thinking that even though she worked like a slave in the palace, as long as her family was safe, that was all that mattered.

However, a few years later, his mother died of illness, his father was disabled from forced labor, his brothers and sisters were young and could not support the family, and he was about to sell himself to survive. He was so anxious in the palace that he also contracted an illness and was about to be dragged away for "rest", which meant being isolated and waiting to die.

At this time, an old eunuch who was loyal to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion reached out and saved him.

Treat his illness, give him money and send him home to rescue him.

The old eunuch adopted him as his adopted son and tried his best to support him. Before his death, he had only one instruction: continue to be loyal to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, and when necessary, sacrifice your life for it.

So, when Queen Yan entered the palace, he accepted the arrangement of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion and became a eunuch by Queen Yan's side.

I have done a lot for Queen Yan over the years.

Things that are done in public are handled properly, and things that are done in secret are also handled without any leaks, without any future troubles.

Although she is not as close as Linglong in serving, she is definitely Queen Yan's confidant.

He also gained a lot of wealth from it.

My family members have become wealthy and have bid farewell to the poor days of living from hand to mouth.

He is very satisfied with his current life.

But suddenly, the Queen said to him:

Is it because the Duke's Mansion is loyal to me, or is it because they feel that I am worthy of being your master that they are loyal to me?

This clearly meant that he had to make a choice.

Should he be loyal to both the Zhenguogong Mansion and the Queen, or should he be loyal only to the Queen...

Yun Su had no choice.

He immediately made his position clear: "I was once greatly favored by the Duke's Mansion, and I have no way to repay it. Serving the Empress is my chance to repay you. Over the past few years, the Empress has shown me even greater kindness. I swear here that I am willing to risk my life to be loyal to the Empress, and only to you. No one else is worthy of my loyalty. Your Majesty, if I break this oath, I will not die a peaceful death!"

He pointed to the sky and swore solemnly.

Queen Yan smiled with satisfaction.

"Get up. I have something for you to do."

It's time to get yourself a real group of people.

After Queen Yan ascended the throne, she felt more and more the heavy responsibility on her shoulders.

She was no longer a palace concubine with her family background as a backing, but the queen of a country and the mistress of the harem.

The Duke's Mansion can still protect her, but she must find a way to continue the Duke's Mansion's family business and protect the Yan family.

The court and the public were not satisfied with the performance of her father, the Duke of Zhenguo, in defending the city against the enemy. Not only was the emperor not satisfied, but she herself was also not satisfied.

Although she had no right to ask her father to fight and die for the country, but at the critical moment, her father was not active in defending the city, but secretly sent the important children in the family out of the city. This was really shameful!

It also made her feel heartbroken.

At the time, she was in the harem, and the Tartars invaded and wreaked havoc in the palace. She was in danger, but her father only escorted his own children and didn't even think of sending anyone to the palace to fetch her...

To her father, is the male offspring from the next room who can continue the bloodline of the Yan family more important than her, his biological daughter who became a high-ranking imperial concubine?

After the war, she had imagined this more than once.

If she had been with her father instead of Fei Wan in the Gongzhengsi torture chamber.

Will her father rush over and take the beating for her like Fei Wan did?

She couldn't give herself an answer!

It is true that her status is more important now and different from before.

Perhaps it is more important than the male members of the Yan family.

But, once the thorn is stuck in my heart, it cannot be easily pulled out.

She vaguely felt that she had been waiting for an opportunity.

The words Fei Wan conveyed today, like sparks igniting dry grass, ignited a raging fire in her heart.

The bright firelight illuminated her heart, her eyes, and her way forward.

I, Yan Zhirou, can no longer be a fledgling under the protection of the Duke's Mansion. I should have my own strength, grow my own wings, and soar into the sky!

I am the queen of Daliang.

Not just the daughter of the Duke's Mansion!

If you want to be strong, you will not be bullied at critical moments. You will wait for help and be forgotten.

Whether you want to shoulder the responsibility of your family and country.

I, Yan Zhirou, will no longer be the same person from today on.

"Sister Zhao, thank you."

Protecting Xie Weizhou and building up her own power, Fei Wan's suggestion allowed her to open up a new world for herself.

Queen Yan sat alone in the hall for a long time.

There was a clarity in his eyes that he had not seen in more than twenty years.