Chapter 241 Hug

Queen Wang doted on Xiao Xinghui very much, even scratching her nose very gently and carefully.

Xiao Xing smiled at the Queen with tears in his eyes. If it were at this time in the past, he would have opened his arms and asked the Queen to hug him, but he missed his mother so much. He had finally seen his mother and had only hugged her for a short while, so he really didn't want to leave his mother's arms.

The child's thoughts are written on his face.

Queen Wang knew it at once, but she couldn't really compete with Chunzhi for holding the child. She smiled and said, "I have held you every day for the past few months, and my arms have become thick. I don't want to hold you all the time. From now on, let mother hold you by herself."

Xiao Xing raised her little hand to wipe away her tears and said to Queen Wang very seriously, "Hug me, hug me."

What he meant was that he wanted his mother to hold him, and he also wanted his empress to hold him.

Queen Wang had kept him by her side for so long that she naturally knew what this kid meant. The Queen, who was in charge of the six palaces, was coaxed by Xiao Xinghui with just three words.

"Little clever boy, you know how to coax people at such a young age." Queen Wang said to Chunzhi with a smile, "Hold him for a while and then put him down. After traveling for so many days, even the strongest person would be tired."

Queen Wang asked Chunzhi to sit down in the hall and talk. The palace maids brewed new tea, brought in snacks, and soon placed them on the table.

Huo Yanran had a brocade stool brought in and sat in front of her mother and sister-in-law so that she could talk to them more easily and tease Xiaoxinghui.

Queen Wang took a sip of tea and asked Chunzhi, "You and Jiulang have been traveling together. Did you not get bullied?"

Huo Yan is a guy who only pretends to be nice on the surface, but actually has a very bad temper. Queen Wang saw Huo Yan being spoiled by the imperial concubine, so she naturally knows best that he is not as easy to get along with as he seems.

"I didn't get angry." Chunzhi clearly felt that Queen Wang was much closer to her now than before, and said with a smile: "I don't know whether the ninth prince got angry or not."

When Queen Wang heard Chunzhi say this, she couldn't help but look up at her and said, "I underestimated you." Chunzhi actually had the ability to make Huo Yan angry?

"Sister-in-law has subdued the Ninth Prince?" Huo Yanran became interested upon hearing this. "Sister-in-law, tell me, what happened to you in Xizhou? I really want to know!"

You have to know that Huo Yan is the son of the imperial concubine and has been the most favored by his father since he was a child. He pretends to be a decent person in front of others, but privately he is used to bullying the princes and princesses like them whose mothers are of humble origins.

Huo Yanran had always hoped that someone could control Huo Yan, but the fact that the Seventh Princess was able to control the Ninth Princess sounded a little strange.

Chunzhi looked at Xiaoxing's cute face and couldn't let go of her. She smiled and said, "Wan'er must be waiting for me to come back and tell her all this. When you come to the mansion with her one day, I'll tell you all about it."

"Okay." Huo Yanran said, "Then I will go back to the Chang'an Palace with my sister-in-law today."

Queen Wang glanced at the Thirteenth Princess and said, "As soon as Chunzhi returns, she will take Zi'an back. Why are you running away with her?"

"Mother..." Huo Yanran reached out and grabbed Queen Wang's sleeve, saying coquettishly, "I've been staying with you in Qiwu Palace for a long time. My sister-in-law just returned to the capital, and my seventh brother is not here, so as her younger sister, of course I have to go and keep her company."

Chunzhi discovered that the Thirteenth Princess now got along much more closely with Queen Wang than before, and it was not an exaggeration to say that they were real mother and daughter.

It seems that Xiaoxing's return to live in Qiwu Palace during this period has also invisibly promoted their relationship.

Queen Wang smiled and said, "Go ahead, go ahead. Can I keep you in Qiwu Palace forever?"

"Thank you, Mother. You are the best."

Huo Yanran smiled and blinked her right eye at Chunzhi, looking bright and charming.

Several people stayed together and talked, and Queen Wang asked Huo Zheng how he was doing in Xizhou.

Chunzhi ignored the dangers of the battlefield and only said that Huo Zheng was fine, that he missed his mother, and would definitely deal with the affairs of Xizhou as soon as possible and return to the capital.

But Queen Wang said, "You are just like Qilang, you only report good news and never bad news."

Chunzhi never mentioned anything about something as dangerous as war.

They also said that Huo Zheng was fine. How could it be any better to suffer in the front-line army?

"He's really doing well," Chunzhi said. "He's not seriously injured, and the war has been a success. The peace talks are almost over. I think he'll be able to return to the capital soon."

Queen Wang thought of this and felt like frowning again. "It's not that easy to negotiate peace. The envoys of the two countries are still arguing. A few days ago, Xizhou submitted a memorial saying that the talks had not been concluded. I'm afraid they're going to fall apart again..."

It has been nearly a month since Chunzhi left Xizhou, and the peace talks have not yet been finalized. The envoys of the two countries almost came to blows during their meeting, but fortunately Huo Zheng had someone stop them.

Queen Wang does not interfere in state affairs, and the emperor does not like concubines in the harem to interfere in state affairs. However, Huo Zheng is in Xizhou, and Queen Wang is worried about him and always has to pay attention to him.

"Don't worry, mother," Chunzhi said softly. "We have Huo Zheng in Xizhou, along with so many civil and military officials. This thing won't fall apart. Besides, peace talks are a matter for both countries. Xiling has suffered a defeat and is far more afraid of a failed negotiation than we are. Right now, they're just making a scene because the terms are too harsh, hoping to save money."

"You've been to Xizhou and it's really different."

Queen Wang's eyes changed when she looked at Chunzhi.

When Chunzhi first entered the palace, although she was polite and neither humble nor arrogant, she was from the countryside after all, and was always inferior to those noble ladies.

But this time after she came back from Xizhou, she seemed to have become more open-minded and generous.

Maybe it’s because he has seen thousands of miles of mountains and rivers and major events in the world.

Reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles, seeing the world and meeting all living beings.

Chunzhi said modestly, "I just followed them a few times and listened to what they said. I remembered a few words because I heard them talk so much. I'm sorry to have made you laugh."

"Qi Lang asked you to sit in on the meeting?"

Queen Wang was quite surprised when she heard this.

She knew that Huo Zheng liked Chunzhi to the extreme, but she never thought that Huo Zheng would make such an exception for Chunzhi.

You should know that the emperor is very averse to the harem's participation in politics.

Seeing Queen Wang's reaction, Chunzhi quickly said, "Don't worry, mother. I know that father doesn't like women participating in politics. I just listened in a few times and didn't..."

"I don't mean to blame you, I'm just surprised."

Queen Wang was just feeling a little emotional. The emperor had always thought that Huo Zheng was the most like him among his sons, but now it seemed that was not entirely true.

Chunzhi finally felt relieved and took a piece of cake for Xiaoxing to hug and chew on.

After not seeing her for so long, she used her eyes to measure how much the child had grown taller, and how thicker his arms and legs had become.

Seeing this, Queen Wang stopped talking about the matter in Xizhou and ordered the palace maid, "Go and get me my album."

"Yes." The palace maid responded and left. After a while, she brought the album and presented it to the Queen with both hands.

Queen Wang handed it to Chunzhi again, "This album is for you."

Chunzhi was a little surprised. "What's painted here?"