The next morning, a maid came to the palace and said that the Empress Dowager suddenly wanted to see Shen Yunjiao.

After being pulled out of bed by Fu Xia, Shen Yunjiao quickly washed up and followed the nanny into the palace.

The cart wheels slowly rolled over the wide palace road.

Shen Yunjiao sat inside the carriage, wanting to lift the curtain to peek, but was stopped in a deep voice by the old nanny standing beside her, "Miss Shen, this is a forbidden area of ​​the palace; women outside the palace are not allowed to peek in at will."

Shen Yunjiao had no choice but to lower the carriage curtain and lean back against the headrest inside the carriage.

When she left today, Shen Qinghuai was already gone. She left a message for her brother, hoping that he wouldn't worry if he saw that she wasn't at home.

I wonder why the Empress Dowager wants to see me?

No, she should now be called the Grand Empress Dowager.

Shen Yunjiao unconsciously tapped the car window with her fingertips, deep in thought.

Could it be that Xiao Shi discovered that he had poisoned Chu Xiyue? That shouldn't be possible. Chu Xiyue knows that if this matter is exposed, he won't give her the antidote, and then it will be a lose-lose situation.

If it wasn't this, then what was it?

Could it be that they want to ask her to inquire whether Shen Zhizhang was involved in the rebellion?

Shen Yunjiao became increasingly agitated as she thought about it, so she simply closed her eyes and stopped trying to guess.

The carriage slowly entered through the palace gate on the right. Once inside the palace, an elderly nanny dressed in a plain blue palace dress gave Shen Yunjiao a simple bow and then led her toward the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace.

The weather in early August was not cool; the whole earth felt like it was being roasted by the sun, making people feel stuffy and uncomfortable.

Shen Yunjiao was drenched in sweat after walking only a short distance.

When she arrived at Cining Palace, she stood in the open space outside the hall and waited.

The sweltering heat was unbearable, and Shen Yunjiao felt as if she were about to melt. The old woman who had led her there turned to leave, leaving her alone to be exposed to the scorching sun.

Upon seeing this, Shen Yunjiao quickly asked, "Granny, where is the Empress Dowager?"

The old woman glanced at her coldly before slowly saying, "The Empress Dowager is chanting scriptures. She will come out and summon Miss Chen to the palace when she finishes. Miss Chen, please stand quietly and wait."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yunjiao immediately became indignant.

What?

Am I supposed to stand here alone under the scorching sun, waiting in vain?

Do I look like a fool?

Shen Yunjiao looked around and found a pavilion on the path outside the hall where she could rest.

She immediately walked to the pavilion, sat in the shade where the sun wouldn't reach, and slowly fanned herself with a round fan.

"Miss Shen, how dare you sit down without the Empress Dowager's decree!" The old woman glared angrily at Shen Yunjiao and walked up to her, whispering angrily.

Shen Yunjiao squinted and said slowly, "Granny, everyone knows that the Empress Dowager is a kind-hearted lady who is a vegetarian and a Buddhist. How could she bear to leave a delicate young girl like me in the sun? Besides, it wouldn't sound good if word got out that I, an outsider, was just standing outside the Cining Palace. I'm only thinking of the Empress Dowager."

The old woman was speechless. She thought to herself, "You may look delicate, but you're so eloquent. Your sharp tongue left me speechless."

Helpless, the old woman could only return to report to Madam Xiao with a livid face.

After a while, the old woman returned the way she came and said coldly to Shen Yunjiao, "Miss Shen, the Empress Dowager invites you in."

After Shen Yunjiao went in, Xiao Shi was sitting on the soft couch with her eyes closed.

She slowly turned the prayer beads in her hand, while two palace maids on each side gently fanned her with banana leaf fans.

It's much cooler inside the hall than outside.

Upon seeing Madam Xiao, Shen Yunjiao lifted her skirt and knelt down on both knees, respectfully performing a grand salute.

Xiao Shi's breathing was slow and deep. She raised her hand to interrupt the actions of the palace maids beside her, and the maids immediately put away their fans and stepped aside.

Without the subtle whirring of the fan, the main hall was unusually quiet.

Empress Dowager Xiao opened her eyes and looked at Shen Yunjiao, smiling as she said, "Shen Yunjiao, we meet again. Why are you wearing a veil this time?"

Shen Yunjiao respectfully raised her eyes and explained, "Your Majesty, I fell ill a few days ago and developed a rash on my face. The doctor specifically instructed me to wear a veil to cover it during the day."

Madam Xiao leaned back in her chair and said casually, "Trying to hide it from others, is that it? I know you've always been like this, but now that you're disfigured, you probably don't have that seductive look anymore, do you?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yunjiao paused slightly.

Why does Xiao's statement sound so sarcastic?

What kind of seductive look is that?

Shen Yunjiao raised her eyes, looked at Xiao Shi on the seat for a moment, then pulled off the veil covering her face and said calmly, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, I did not mean to conceal anything, but it is necessary for my illness."

"If Your Majesty wishes to see my face, you can simply say so. Why beat around the bush?"

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere between the two instantly plummeted to freezing point.

Xiao sneered, her sharp gaze falling on Shen Yun's fair face, which was streaked with red marks. "I do want to take a closer look at your appearance and see what it is that has bewitched my Jin'er so much."

Shen Yunjiao's body stiffened.

Hearing this, it seems that Xiao Huaijin's grandmother already knows about her and Xiao Huaijin's affair.

So what if I know? I'm dating her grandson, not her. Do I need her permission?

Shen Yunjiao lowered her gaze, concealing all her emotions, while maintaining a calm expression on her face.

Little did they know that this nonchalant demeanor was, in Xiao's eyes, a blatant provocation.

Empress Dowager Xiao's face was ashen, her eyes sharp as ice. She stared intently at Shen Yunjiao kneeling on the ground, her voice low and authoritative.

"You audacious Shen Yunjiao, as the daughter of a former prime minister, you should have been mindful of propriety, yet you dared to seduce the emperor and disrupt the order of the palace. Do you know your crime?"

With her raven feathers drooping, Shen Yunjiao calmly replied, "This humble woman doesn't know where the Empress Dowager has misunderstood. This humble woman has never intended to seduce the Emperor."

"Still saying you don't?"

"That day, I saw you outside the palace and you lied that you wanted to meet Xiyue. You were just deceiving me, weren't you?"

Empress Dowager Xiao sneered, her eyes growing even more stern. "You clearly came from Jin'er's room! I could smell the incense on you long ago, are you still going to deny it?"

Shen Yunjiao knelt on the ground, meeting Xiao Shi's gaze, her eyes flashing with unyielding light, "Your Majesty, there is indeed affection between me and the Emperor, but I went to see the Emperor not to seduce him."

"Your Majesty was once poisoned by Consort Shu. When his headache flares up, he can only be relieved by my body fragrance and by my acupuncture."

Upon hearing this, Madam Xiao frowned, her anger burning.

What kind of body odor? What kind of acupuncture?

How dare you use such seductive rhetoric?

No wonder Shen Yunjiao has such a bad reputation in the capital.

Today she witnessed firsthand that this daughter of the Prime Minister was not only exceptionally beautiful and quick-witted, but also quite shrewd and calculating.

Xiao recalled something.

One day, Chu Xiyue was chatting with her and they talked about Shen Yunjiao.

She was said to have been sent back to her parents' home by her husband because she was unable to conceive.

Therefore, her claims about marital discord and her request for a divorce are very likely false.

Being unable to have children and being rejected by one's husband is the real issue.