nashuaworldcup Chapter 923: Seeking the Empress as a Backer
Chapter 923: Seeking the Empress as a Backer
When she arrived in front of Jiang Fenghua, Lian Ye hurriedly said, "I ran into Madam Peng on the road. Seeing that she was bored, I brought her here to talk to you, Your Majesty."
"Your humble servant, Mrs. Peng Wu, pays her respects to Her Majesty, may Your Majesty long live the Queen." Mrs. Peng bowed gracefully.
Jiang Fenghua remained calm. She had long known that Song Qing's mother had driven Mrs. Peng away in anger.
Wu was very angry about the ungrateful people in the Song family. Now the Song family's wings were not strong enough. She just wanted Peng Wu to see the true face of the Song family sooner.
Mrs. Song's personality is like a firecracker, easily ignited and easy to control.
"Madam, please don't be so polite!" Jiang Fenghua said with a smile.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Mrs. Peng was still a little reserved, and lowered her head slightly, not wanting the Queen to see the embarrassment on her face.
"Madam, please take a seat!" Jiang Fenghua said again, "Hongxiu will serve tea to Madam Peng."
Jiang Fenghua was puzzled. "Mrs. Peng was at the table just now. Why did she leave?"
Mrs. Peng explained, "I want to visit the Concubine Shu, she..." She really couldn't continue to talk about what had just happened, and her voice became smaller and smaller.
Jiang Fenghua chatted enthusiastically, "I drank too much at the banquet and wanted to go back to the palace to change clothes. When I walked in here, I suddenly felt dizzy, so I sat down to sober up. What did the lady say just now?"
Madam Peng and Empress Jiang had never met before, and she wasn't good at speaking. She still felt very aggrieved, and when she saw that the Empress didn't hear clearly, she added, "I didn't say anything."
Queen Jiang was seen holding her forehead slightly, her cheeks were red, as if she was drunk.
Hongxiu quickly said, "Mrs. Peng, please have some tea."
Mrs. Peng raised her teacup and took a sip, only to find the lingering fragrance on her teeth and cheeks. She really liked it. She was still a little thirsty, so she drank the tea in one gulp.
Jiang Fenghua asked, "Mrs. Peng, do you like tea?"
"I don't know much about tea, but it tastes good. I'm a rough person and don't know how to appreciate tea. Please forgive me, Your Majesty." Mrs. Peng said hurriedly.
Jiang Fenghua poured her a cup personally. "This is this year's new tea, the tribute tea from Junshan. I asked Hongxiu to bring some back for Madam."
"No need. I don't know much about tea. Don't waste such delicious tea." Mrs. Peng said hurriedly.
"It doesn't matter whether you understand it or not. What matters most is that Madam likes it." Jiang Fenghua said kindly, "Madam, you can tell that it is a good tea, which shows that you understand tea."
Mrs. Peng was stunned, with a hint of embarrassment in her eyes. She thought the drink tasted quite good.
Lian Ye also said, "Madam, please don't be polite with the Empress. This tea was specially reserved for the Empress by the Emperor. It is the Empress's favorite tea. The Empress gave it to Madam, which shows that the Empress likes Madam very much."
Madam Peng quickly said, "Your Majesty, I thank you for the tea."
Jiang Fenghua seemed to have just seen her face and asked in confusion, "Why is there a red mark on Madam's face?"
Mrs. Peng lowered her head again, "Nothing... nothing."
Lian Ye spoke frankly, "Once Madam Peng entered the palace, she became the Empress's guest. If you have suffered any grievances in the palace, please tell the Empress and she will take care of it for you."
Mrs. Peng felt wronged when her elder sister-in-law slapped her, and tears were welling up in her eyes. She had served her elder sister-in-law's family wholeheartedly, but she didn't expect that her elder sister-in-law wanted to take a concubine for her husband. It was really disheartening.
Mrs. Peng didn't know how to say it. She didn't want her husband to take a concubine, but she understood her elder sister-in-law's temper.
Jiang Fenghua said, "Is Concubine Song Shu upset by Madam? She has become even more presumptuous. I have warned her not to get involved with General Peng... General Peng has told me that he and Madam have a very good relationship."
Upon hearing this, Madam Peng was surprised and asked, "What does the Queen mean?"
She thought again of what her elder sister-in-law and Concubine Shu had said in the palace, "Could it be that Concubine Shu also wants to give her uncle a concubine?"
Hongxiu interjected, "With General Peng's current status, he should marry several concubines. I heard that many people are looking for concubines now... There are also girls from wealthy families who want to marry into the general's mansion as concubines."
Mrs. Peng was a little excited and tears came to her eyes. "How could they do such a thing?"
Hongxiu quickly slapped her, "Madam, don't be angry. The Concubine Shu was just saying that. Isn't it a failure?"
Jiang Fenghua then asked Hongxiu to lower the curtains beside the pavilion and advised, "Madam Peng, please keep your anger to yourself. I believe General Peng would not do anything to upset you. It's all their fault for being too talkative."
"Don't blame me, Madam Lady. I've known for a long time that my elder sister-in-law wanted to take a concubine for her brother." Peng Wu added, "I'm not stupid. The general is now favored by the emperor, and my mother-in-law listens to her daughter. I'll soon have no status in this family."
Jiang Fenghua said, "A woman's status is something she has to fight for. After all, Madam is General Peng's wife. Even if the general wants to take a concubine, Madam still needs to agree."
"With the Song family bossing around in the Peng family, how can I, a concubine, have a say?" Madam Peng continued, "The eldest daughter suddenly became rich after arriving in Shengjing. Do they think the money came from clean sources? It's probably because she accepted benefits through Concubine Shu..."
Jiang Fenghua asked in confusion, "What did Madam mean? Concubine Shu's two brothers were suspected of plotting to murder His Majesty in the enclosure. His Majesty, for General Peng's sake, found out that they were framed, so he let them go. If the Song family really accepted bribes, it would be a big deal if there was evidence. Does General Peng know about this?"
Madam Peng said quickly, "My husband is in the barracks all day, how could he possibly know? I'm also worried that what my elder sister-in-law did would implicate my husband, so I'm always on the lookout. Your Majesty, don't worry, my general absolutely doesn't accept favors from others. Even if someone came to visit, he would have chased them away."
Mrs. Peng didn't care anymore. Since they were so unkind, don't blame her for revealing their affairs to avoid implicating her husband in the future.
Concubine Song Shu had always wanted to promote the Song family and wanted her brothers to join the army, but her husband refused because he knew they were not cut out for being soldiers.
"This matter could be serious or minor. If His Majesty summons you, Madam, would you dare to go before His Majesty and expose their taking bribes under the guise of the royal family?"
Madam Peng nodded heavily. "I dare to go, but will the Song family's affairs implicate my general?"
"Madam, rest assured. As long as General Peng is honest and doesn't collude with them, His Majesty won't blame him." Jiang Fenghua guaranteed, "If General Peng is impeached by the Censorate for these things and the incident reaches the Imperial Palace, it will be too late by then."
"I know that my elder sister-in-law has an account book hidden in..." Mrs. Peng was also angry, and took the opportunity to tell her about Song Qing and her daughter.
She decided to seek support from the Empress Dowager, since her husband had already told her to build a good relationship with the Jiang family.
Song Qing gave a lot of silver to the Song family. Where did the silver come from and how much her monthly salary in the palace was? It was easy to check.
At the same time, Nanny Yun has been looking for an opportunity to get close to Queen Jiang, but unfortunately her actions are all seen by everyone, and she is like a jumping clown, wandering around but can't find an opportunity.