Chapter 143: Strange Woman

Meng Yan returned to Chunze Zhai, sat quietly on the second-floor corridor, and looked out into the distance.

Everywhere you look, you can see rippling blue waves, fields of lotus leaves, and beautiful lotus flowers. It is the perfect summer scenery.

However, she felt heavy in her heart because of what the Queen Mother had just said, and she felt very uncomfortable.

When you think about the Empress Dowager's life, it was quite bumpy.

Once a pampered lady of aristocratic family, she followed the late emperor on his campaigns, needless to say, enduring the hardships of the journey. Even her aunt, Cang Xiu, was said to have weathered the storms of war. After the late emperor finally established his rule, he favored Concubine Li for many years.

Although the secrets of the previous dynasty's palace were now closely guarded, from Lu Haozhi's occasional snippets, she could still sense the empress dowager's predicament. She had sacrificed the best years of her life for that man, doing her utmost to help him gain power. After finally being crowned empress, she had to face his many concubines, manage his harem, and even witness his sweet love affair with Concubine Li. The mere thought of it suffocated Meng Yan.

Yet, ever since she entered the palace, Empress Dowager Jiang had never once been troubled by this, nor had she ever shown any resentment. During the late emperor's reign, she had been empress, ruling the six harems, and everyone praised her for her fairness and strictness, never abusing her power for personal gain. During the late emperor's confinement, Empress Dowager Jiang maneuvered between the ministers and the regent, meticulously balancing the various forces, laying a solid foundation for Lu Hao's later elimination of the regent. Even her own father, Lord Meng, who usually shunned casual comments about women, had praised Empress Dowager Jiang endlessly in the palace, calling her a remarkable woman.

Just now, Empress Dowager Jiang told her with a cheerful face that they should find a way to get money from those noble families so that the court could quell the disaster, as if it was just a trivial matter.

Even in her retirement years, the Empress Dowager still cherished the country and its people. While her first half of life might have been devoted to her husband, her later years were marked by her dedicated journey to her country and the people.

Meng Yan even wondered whether the Queen Mother had also used to mediate between various forces with that cheerful and bright smile on her face?

The phoenix crown on the queen's head, which belonged exclusively to the empress dowager, seemed particularly dazzling.

The Empress Dowager finally found her place in this world.

So what about her?

In her previous life, she was blinded by love and then influenced by the book. Apart from her mad obsession with Lu Hao, she didn't think of anything else.

Even now, although her mind has become much clearer, her heart is still a mess. She is always thinking about her own affairs and her relationship with Lu Haozhi, but she has never truly fulfilled her duties as the daughter of Yiyang Marquis and the Imperial Concubine of the Great Zhou.

She... is really confused.

Meng Yan only felt a wet and cool feeling in her palms, but a faint smile appeared on her face involuntarily.

She thought she understood the third purpose of the Empress Dowager's instructions to her for organizing the flower-viewing banquet.

Two days later, the flower viewing banquet was about to begin.

At night, Meng Yan checked the guest list and seating arrangements with Bai Yuxin in front of the lamp to avoid any mistakes that might cause trouble the next day.

When Bai Yuxin thought of Madam Anguo and the three daughters, Meng Yan frowned slightly and tapped twice on the table with her spring-scallion-like fingers.

Seeing this, Bai Yuxin put down the list and asked softly, "Sister, is there something wrong?"

Meng Yan's face was as pale as water, her eyes were deep, and after a while she shook her head slightly, "Nothing."

This Miss Zheng San from the Anguo Mansion is Zheng Fangchu, who took advantage of her brother's misfortune after his leg became disabled in her previous life.

Since she was the daughter of the Duke of Anguo and her mother was a legitimate lady of the imperial court, it was reasonable for her to attend the banquet with her mother.

As early as the moment of her rebirth, Meng Yan had been planning how to cancel the marriage. However, her brother Meng Changyuan had some feelings for her, and forcing her to do so was unlikely to work, and might even lead to a falling out between the siblings.

Later, she was in trouble and things came one after another. She no longer had the extra energy to think about this matter, so she put it off until now.

I never thought that I would meet Miss Zheng San under such circumstances in this life.

Meng Yan's mind shifted slightly, and she asked, "Yuxin, take a look at the list of male guests. Is the Prince of Anyang Marquis among them?"

When Bai Yuxin heard this, she quickly flipped through it and nodded, "Yes, the prince's seat is on the east side outside Suiyun Hall."

Meng Yan nodded and smiled, then suddenly said to her, "Yesterday, news came from the capital that my brother has been reporting victories in the southwest, and has driven the enemy sixty miles outside the border."

Bai Yu was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "The prince is brave and good at fighting, and he is a master at using troops. Naturally, he will defeat those foreign barbarians in a crushing defeat."

Meng Yan held her cheek with her hand, her lips curled slightly, "...We've already passed Xixia Ridge."

Meng Changyuan's leg had been broken at Xixia Ridge in his previous life. Now that the army had crossed Xixia Ridge and his brother was safe and sound, the disaster must have passed.

My brother's legs are intact and he will return triumphantly, and will never repeat the depression and extremism of his previous life.

In this way, he would be able to accept any changes in the capital more easily.

In her previous life, Zheng Fangchu was able to get entangled with the Prince of Anyang so quickly. Was she really a clean and good person before her brother's leg was broken?

Tomorrow's flower viewing banquet looks to be quite lively.

That night, the two of them were very busy. After finally getting everything ready, they looked at the time and saw that it was almost four o'clock in the morning, so they hurriedly packed up and went to bed.

No one else mentioned it, but Meng Yan had something on her mind. She tossed and turned in bed for a long time before falling asleep.

It seemed like not much time had passed since I closed my eyes when I heard Ruizhu whisper outside the tent, "My Lady, the time has come. It's time to get up."

Meng Yan opened her eyes and saw a faint light coming through the window paper. She was startled and asked in a low voice, "Is it too late?"

Ruizhu replied, "It's only two quarters past three in the morning. The sun rises earlier in the summer. I know that Your Majesty has important matters to attend to today, so I dare not delay." As she spoke, she lifted the curtain, hooked it with a silver hook beside her, and helped Meng Yan to stand up.

Meng Yan got up, washed and dressed, and then put on her makeup. At the same time, she told the palace maid to wake up Doukou.

With the mind of a child, she got up especially early today. No matter how the palace maids coaxed her, she stayed in bed and refused to get up, even refusing to open her eyes.

Meng Yan had no choice but to go over and pick up the child herself.

As soon as Doukou smelled the scent of her mother, she immediately opened her eyes and started giggling.

Meng Yan pinched her little face and said with a smile, "Today is a big day, you better behave yourself and show the energy you used to trick your grandmother into giving you candy, or you'll make a fool of yourself in front of the ladies outside."

Ruizhu covered her mouth and laughed, "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? We are princesses, who dares to laugh at us?"

Meng Yan glanced at her and sighed softly, "The more wealthy and beautiful a woman is, the more she has to consider her dignity."

After a while, they hurriedly washed and dressed. The palace maid brought over some milk sugar and glutinous rice porridge. Meng Yan ate a bowl and Ling Doukou also ate a bowl. Then she took her to Shou'an Academy.

When they rushed to Shou'an Academy, they learned that the Empress Dowager had already gotten up and was combing her hair and dressing. Meng Yan felt relieved and sat down in the outer hall with Doukou to wait.

About a quarter of an hour later, Empress Dowager Jiang came out dressed in formal clothes and a phoenix crown on her head.

Seeing Meng Yan and her daughter, Empress Dowager Jiang smiled and said, "Good, you two are here early."

After Meng Yan took Doukou to pay her respects, she sat down with the empress dowager.

After a few words of small talk, a palace maid came in to announce, "Madam Anguo and Miss Zheng San have come to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Concubine."