Chapter 96 The Queen Mother Returns to Court

The Empress Dowager's return to the court is a major event.

All the officials of the former dynasty came to welcome him, and all the concubines in the harem bowed together.

Early in the morning, before daybreak, Changchun Palace was already brightly lit and bustling with activity.

Currently, Meng Yan has the highest position in the harem of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Naturally, she is the one leading the concubines to pay a visit to the Queen Mother today.

"Sister, you don't look very well, but did you not sleep well last night?"

Bai Yuxin combed Meng Yan's almost extremely long hair, looked at the gloom under Meng Yan's eyes in the diamond-shaped bronze mirror, and asked with concern.

Meng Yan rubbed her temples and smiled faintly, "Nothing, I just thought about not seeing the Queen Mother for a while, and I was thinking about some things, so I went to bed a little late."

She had a headache because she didn't know how Empress Dowager Jiang would talk to her when she came back.

This old lady was good in every way except that she loved to lecture. Every time they met, she would tell her that this was not allowed and that was not allowed. Since entering the palace, her ears had grown calluses an inch thick.

Before leaving the palace this time, the Queen Mother held her hand and told her to cultivate her character, act calmly, and not get into trouble again.

He readily agreed, but then things got to this point with Lu Haozhi.

Meng Yan could roughly imagine how long a speech the Queen Mother would have to say after she came back and heard the news.

As she spoke, Bai Yuxin had already tied her hair into a bun. Today was a big day, so she had to wear a full bun and not do those fancy things. So she had her hair done neatly in a high bun so that she could wear the Five Phoenixes Rising Sun Crown that was standard for imperial concubines.

Meng Yan smoothed her face with balm, then applied some jasmine powder, focusing on covering the area under her eyes. She then drew her eyebrows and applied some lipstick, and that was it.

It is summer now, and the auspicious clothes are also summer attire. It is a red-colored long-sleeved gown with gold-embroidered patterns and a golden lotus patch on it. It is paired with a pleated skirt with a jade rabbit as the auspicious pattern, and a pair of high-soled red shoes embroidered with gold thread.

The auspicious dress was complicated. Yunxiang and Ruizhu helped Meng Yan get dressed. Then she looked in the dressing mirror and saw a beautiful figure reflected in the mirror. She was dignified and generous, yet charming and beautiful.

Meng Yan was satisfied, her red lips curved slightly, revealing a faint smile. She turned around to look at Bai Yuxin and couldn't help frowning.

Bai Yuxin was only wearing the formal attire for her position as a concubine, which was not a big deal. However, she only had two silk flowers pinned in her hair, and no other jewelry, which made her look plain.

Meng Yan stepped forward and said, "My sister, your attire today isn't quite right." She then instructed Rui Zhu, "Bring the lotus-patterned dressing box here so that your young mistress Bai can choose carefully."

Bai Yuxin quickly declined, "Thank you for your kindness, sister. I sent a lot of jewelry over before, and I have them all in my possession. You really don't have to go to the trouble of dressing me up like this."

Meng Yan, however, pressed her shoulders and pressed her against the dressing table, saying earnestly, "Sister knows you have no intention of seeking favor, but in this palace, without anyone to look after you, life will always be much more difficult. Since you have no interest in the Emperor, it's good that you can please the Empress Dowager. Although the Empress Dowager is quite old, she prefers to see the younger generation dressed up pretentiously. She finds this makeup too plain and unlucky."

Bai Yuxin would never be favored, Meng Yan knew it clearly, so in the past two days she had been thinking about how to get this girl into the Queen Mother's eyes, which would be of great benefit to her in the future.

Bai Yuxin finally stopped moving after hearing these words. After a while, she was quite moved and said, "In this palace, I am so grateful for your sincere and caring thoughts for me. I really can't repay you enough."

Meng Yan listened and smiled, "We are sisters, why are we talking about this?"

Ruizhu brought over the box that Meng Yan mentioned, opened it and took a look. She saw all the jewels and precious stones. Naturally, every piece of jewel in Changchun Palace was luxurious.

Bai Yuxin was almost dazzled by the selection, and finally she picked out a pair of hibiscus jade earrings and a pair of red gold bracelets inlaid with jade.

Meng Yan was still dissatisfied, so she picked up a golden hairpin with peony wrapped around it and put it in her bun, and that was it.

Dressed like this, she is indeed dazzling.

After the two adults finished packing, the wet nurse brought Princess He'an, who was dressed neatly.

Today, Doukou wore a pink double-breasted shirt with a Suzhou embroidery gourd pattern and a small skirt of the same color. She had her hair in a bun and wore a few velvet flowers on her head, which made her face look fair and rosy, making her look very cute.

After a long struggle, the palace maid who had been gathering information returned with a report, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has already been greeted by the court officials at the Palace of Heavenly Purity, and is now heading to the Shoukang Palace, accompanied by the Emperor."

When Meng Yan heard the news, she hurried out with Bai Yuxin. She took Doukou and boarded the imperial concubine's sedan chair, and Bai Yuxin followed in a sedan chair.

Turning from Changjie and passing Huiyin Right Gate, you will reach Shoukang Palace.

Our dynasty's Empress Dowager Jiang has lived alone here since the passing of the late emperor, and it has been five years now.

Meng Yan and Doukou got off the sedan chair, but saw that Concubine Xian Ren Shuyi and Concubine Liang had arrived first.

Liang Chengbi was demoted and placed under house arrest by Lu Haozhi until the empress dowager returned to the palace, at which point she was released.

The two men stepped forward and bowed to Meng Yan first, who smiled and nodded.

After a few greetings, concubines from various palaces arrived one after another. Lin Yanrong, whose complexion had finally recovered, was among them.

Meng Yan observed her carefully and found that she was dressed very simply today. Apart from a few flowers in her hair, she did not even put on any makeup on her face. She felt a little strange.

In her previous life, when Empress Dowager Jiang returned to the palace, this Concubine Lin dressed up very carefully. Although she was not very gorgeous, she looked very beautiful. Empress Dowager Jiang even looked at her twice and praised her for being like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally without any embellishment.

Naturally, I was unhappy, so as soon as we broke up, I immediately started to make trouble for her.

In this life, Lin Yanrong's face is naturally unpretentious, but she has nothing in common with the lotus in clear water. Apart from revealing her originally plain appearance, she has no other characteristics.

What's going on?

Lin Yanrong, however, gnashed her teeth in anger. It wasn't that she didn't want to dress like the book, but after the slap she'd received the previous time, her face, though barely healed, was still incredibly sensitive. Forget makeup, even the slightest touch would cause her to instantly become red and swollen. She'd originally sent Xiuzhi to the Imperial Hospital to try her luck with Xiahou Yu, hoping he could get her some skin-nourishing cream, but she'd been turned away. With no other options, she'd come today without makeup.

Why do these people and these things always make things difficult for her?

Meng Yan was lost in thought when she heard the shrill voice of the eunuch guarding the gate, "The Empress Dowager has returned to the palace! The Emperor has arrived!"

She suddenly woke up and hurriedly led the concubines to kneel down and pay their respects.

"Your Highness and I welcome the Queen Mother!"

The concubines held their breath and concentrated, and Shoukang Palace was extremely quiet for a while.

After a while, footsteps were heard, and it must be the Empress Dowager and the Emperor arriving.

Then a strong voice sounded from above, "Everyone get up!"

Everyone thanked her and stood up. Meng Yan looked up and saw the Queen Mother looking at her with a smile on her face. "Yan girl, I have missed you so much!"