Mulanyan and Yinlian exclaimed in surprise: "Empress Dowager..."

Seeing their reactions, Qingyin smiled and said, "Why? You're so surprised to see me. It's true. You've done something wrong, so you should be afraid."

She knew.

How would she know?

With doubts, Mulan Yan quickly stood up and saluted, "Queen Mother, you are here."

The room was already lit, and Qiuzhu brought in another one.

The room suddenly became as bright as day.

Qingyin looked at Mulanyan and didn't ask her to stand up.

It wasn't until Mulan Yan became unsteady that Qingyin said, "Mulan Yan, I thought you were smart, but I didn't expect you to be so stupid."

Yin Lian was eager to protect her master. She said anxiously, "Queen Dowager, this is all just nonsense from me. Please don't blame the Imperial Concubine."

Before Qingyin could say anything, Qiuzhu stepped forward and slapped her hard, "The master is speaking, how dare a lowly servant like you interrupt?"

Mulan Yan's eyes felt a little sore when she looked at Yin Lian. She was the only person still by her side.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and said, "Your Majesty, just say what you want to say. There's no need to humiliate others."

Qingyin, sitting aside, was in no hurry to speak. She asked calmly, "Is it the Imperial Concubine who should say something to me?"

Mulan Yan folded her hands and returned to her usual weak appearance. "I don't know what the Queen Mother means. I have been in the room all night. Is there something wrong with the Queen Mother?"

Qingyin clapped her hands and said, "Okay, since I gave you a chance and you don't want it, don't blame me for being rude in the future."

After Qingyin finished speaking, she walked outside.

Qiu Zhu also glanced coldly at the master and servant, "May the best of luck to you both."

Only after Qingyin and Qiuzhu left did Mulanyan's body go limp and she collapsed to the ground.

Yin Lian hurried to help her, "Princess, are you okay?"

Mulan Yan shook her head and asked, "Does it hurt?"

Yin Lian also shook her head. "This servant is not in pain, but why did the Queen Mother come here in such a hurry? Does she know?"

Mulan Yan looked at the empty doorway and said, "I think so, but even if she knew, what would happen? She wouldn't want others to know about her and Nangong Yi."

Listening to Xiao Qi repeating Mulan Yan's words, Qingyin was so angry that she laughed, "I still feel pity for Mulan Yan. I'm really worse than a pig."

[It's true, the pigs are the ones who are truly pitiful. They don't even know what they did wrong, yet you guys serve them to the dinner table.]

Qingyin: “…”

She is just a metaphor.

Will she eat pork in the future?

After tossing and turning for most of the night, Qingyin still couldn't sleep, so she simply asked Qiuzhu to make a pot of tea and sat in the yard.

After Li Zhang arranged for Nangong Yi, he heard that the emperor had gone to the room of the Indian holy monk.

He hurried over to serve, and as soon as he arrived, he saw the emperor coming out with a heavy face.

After leaving a message and asking him to ask the Queen Mother whether she wanted to return to the palace at this time, she left first.

For a moment, I didn't know whether to chase the emperor or go find the empress dowager.

Ouch, never mind.

Let’s go find the Queen Mother.

Li Zhang slapped his thigh and hurried to the courtyard where Qingyin lived. Seeing that she was still awake, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked hurriedly, "This servant pays his respects to the Empress Dowager. The Emperor sent this servant to ask if the Empress Dowager wishes to leave for the palace now?"

Qingyin asked softly, "Where is His Majesty?"

Li Zhang was also a little confused. "The emperor only asked me to come and ask, and I don't know where the emperor has gone."

Qingyin sighed, "Let's go back to the palace."

When Qingyin took the carriage out of Xiangguo Temple, she found that there was a man waiting on horseback on the road outside the temple.

She suddenly pulled the corners of her mouth and smiled at him.

Nangong Yuan rode his horse to a stop outside the carriage window, reached out his hand and gently stroked her cheek.

The two looked at each other in silence.

Nangong Yuan took it back and said, "Let's go back to the palace."

It was a long time after the group left Xiangguo Temple that Li Zhang suddenly remembered that Concubine Mu was still in the temple.

But he glanced at the emperor riding on horseback, then at the carriage moving quietly, and finally swallowed the words he wanted to ask.

Mulanyan, who was left in Xiangguo Temple, felt as if her heart had fallen into a cellar when she learned that the emperor had come to the temple and returned to the palace with the empress dowager.

"Your Majesty, why is Your Majesty here?" Mulan Yan murmured to herself.

Mulan Yan suddenly stood up from the stool, "Where is that man? Where is he?"

Yin Lian quickly supported her, "Princess, don't worry. I just heard that the emperor came to the temple specifically to see that Indian monk."

"See the holy monk?" Mulan Yan calmed down a little.

"Yes, after the Emperor met the holy monk, he immediately returned to the palace." Yin Lian paused and continued, "And the Empress Dowager."

Mulan Yan rubbed her head, "What about Nangong Yi?"

Hearing Mulan Yan ask that person again, Yin Lian shook her head, "I don't know, I guess he knew the emperor was coming and left first."

Mulanyan then sat down again, as if she had let out a sigh of relief. She touched her stomach, feeling a little uneasy.

Seeing her like this, Yin Lian comforted her, "Princess, it's late, you should go to sleep for a while. You need to take good care of yourself now."

Mulan Yan nodded, "Yes, I still have to save my mother. I can't just collapse like this."

The carriage was moving under the moonlight, and Qingyin could see through the occasionally swaying curtains that the person on the horse was riding side by side with her.

She pursed her lips, silently fighting against the Gu in her body.

Perhaps sensing something, Nangong Yuan suddenly looked towards the swaying curtain. He tightened the reins and leaned forward, "We're still some distance from the palace. You should get some sleep first."

Hearing Nangong Yuan's voice, Qingyin could no longer hold back the clamor in her heart, and she called softly, "Your Majesty."

The voice is melodious, lingering and affectionate.

If it were before, Nangong Yuan would definitely be joking happily, asking if he was missing me.

But now, he felt a bitter taste in his heart.

He asked softly, "Does it hurt?"

Qingyin nodded randomly and made a "hmm" sound.

The surroundings suddenly became quiet.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves faded away, and Qingyin closed her eyes uncomfortably.

But after a while, the curtain of the carriage was suddenly lifted, and before Qingyin could react, she was embraced in an embrace filled with sandalwood.

Qingyin couldn't help but take a deep breath. The mixture of sandalwood and ambergris smelled really good, and the restlessness in her body was slowly soothed.

"Are you feeling better?" Nangong Yuan asked.

Qingyin didn't say anything, but just lay obediently in his arms.

Nangong Yuan gently stroked her back with one hand and kissed her eyebrows with his lips.

Qingyin couldn't help but raise her head and slowly moved her red lips closer.

Nangong Yuan put their foreheads together, and his lips slowly covered hers, kissing her deeply bit by bit.

Qingyin felt that it was not enough and wanted to reach out to pull Nangong Yuan's clothes.

Nangong Yuan held her hand and said, "Be good..."

Qingyin was stunned and opened her misty eyes to look at him.