Chapter 281: Hope for Return

The Queen thought about it for a while and suddenly said, "Yes, Zhang Jingyun gave me some medicine, saying it was commonly used for children. There was a piece of paper in the medicine box with various uses written on it. I took it and asked Wan'er to keep it well. But that day, we were in a hurry and a group of imperial doctors came. Wan'er and I actually forgot about it!"

"We can't worry about so much now. Jingyun's medicine should be able to prevent or treat it as soon as possible. The imperial physician in the palace seems to be very confident about this minor illness. We can only go to the imperial temple to pray for blessings. After returning, you should not be impatient. Emotions will lead to chaos. No matter how much the queen cares about the prince, you should remain calm on the surface and observe the actions of the queen mother and the emperor. I believe that you can use your mother's heart to fight for the prince to stay by your side!"

The Queen gently held her hand and nodded, "You are right. I was too flustered and lost my composure in front of the Emperor... I even suspected that someone did it on purpose and said something that made the Emperor very unhappy."

"My Lady, do you still love the Emperor as much as before?"

"Of course!" The queen looked up at Meimei with a firm gaze: "I will always love him. Now we have a son, I love my son... and I love him even more!"

"My Lady, do you still remember what the Emperor loves most about you?"

The Queen was stunned and lost in thought for a moment, then she slowly said, "The Emperor said that he loves my pure and gentle appearance like a lotus, and my elegant smile that is as calm as the clouds and the wind... He feels extremely relaxed and comfortable when he is with me."

"Can you still give him that feeling now?"

The queen shook her head gently: "No! I can't even relax myself, how can I act calm and composed?"

Meimei sighed: "Sometimes, when we feel that we have changed, it is actually others who have changed, and when we feel that others have changed, it is actually us who have changed in the eyes of others! Time can change many things, it all depends on how we deal with that change!"

"I am confused by what you said, but I understand the principle."

The Queen asked, "Do you know how to deal with this?"

"I am stupid and don't know how to respond, but I can listen to what you want to say, Queen, and offer my own opinions or suggestions."

The Queen narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips to look at her: "Xu Junying loves you so much that he didn't marry a wife or concubine for you, and he divided the Xu Mansion into two. I heard that he also made trouble for other things. The Emperor was angry with him for this and said that he was not like a man at all. He had to fight wits and courage with his grandmother and his wife for a concubine. He was not straightforward and straightforward. How could he have the domineering spirit of sweeping thousands of troops on the battlefield? How did you do it? Is there any charm that made him so dependent on you?"

Charm? What is it?

Meimei was stunned: "My lady, aren't seductive techniques only taught in the palace? How would I know?"

"Nonsense! How can there be anyone teaching seduction in the palace? The emperor said that you danced charmingly. Did you sing and dance for him?"

"How dare I? He doesn't like to please people with his voice and appearance. He already scolded me when he heard that I danced in the palace. If I dance again in front of him, wouldn't that be asking for a beating?"

The Queen laughed and sighed, "Yes, the Emperor also said that the old Marquis of Weiyuan was very strict with Junying. If he violated the rules in the army, he would be whipped and treated as if he were his own son. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why he is so dull and cold!"

Meimei just smiled. Xu Junying was actually not dull. He had a gentle and humorous side, which she only discovered after getting to know him slowly.

"What can I say about Junying and me? It is indeed because of marrying a concubine that the rift has arisen. It is not that I cannot tolerate it, but... the queen also knows that I married into the Hou Mansion to marry up. The elders wanted him to marry a cousin from a prominent family as a concubine and replace me. I agreed and was ready to leave the main courtyard and choose another courtyard to live in, but Junying would not let me leave. The concubine wanted my courtyard, and the elders wanted to drive me out of the Hou Mansion, so the queen mother issued an imperial decree to divorce my wife. Of course, I agreed. The mansion was too chaotic. If I continued to live there, I didn't know when it would end. It would be better to end it all and end this marriage without any more disputes! Junying weighed the pros and cons again at this time and would rather have a wife than a concubine, but I didn't want to go back. During that period, we quarreled and couldn't leave each other. Later, for Heng'er, we reconciled!"

"Meimei, you know what? I actually want to live a simple life like yours!"

The queen was relaxed and in a moment sad again: "After a quarrel, the couple reconciled and became more loving than before! But how could such a thing be possible in the palace? If I quarreled with the emperor and made him unhappy, he would turn around and favor other concubines. There would be women everywhere in the three palaces and six courtyards, each more beautiful than the other. How could I fight them? How dare I offend the emperor so easily?"

Meimei smiled bitterly. It wasn't easy. Making a living in the marquis's mansion was no easier than in the palace, except that there were no disgusting things like wives and concubines competing for favors.

"Your Highness, you just need to be yourself again! You are now the Queen and have given birth to the eldest son of the Emperor. This is a manifestation of the Emperor's love for you. The Emperor has a place for you in his heart, and you must hold on to that position. In order to protect the prince, you may need to do something, but remember, if you are not sure, don't... touch the Emperor's bottom line!"

The queen nodded gently, her eyes gradually became cold, she took a deep breath and said: "This time out of the palace, it can be regarded as a way to relax and reflect on myself. When I go back, I know what to do!"

"Your Majesty, are you worried about leaving the prince at Yiyun Villa this time?"

The Queen sighed, "How can I be at ease? Yiyun Villa is my place. I have sorted out all the people. I am afraid that among the people brought by the Queen Mother, there will be people who are not good for the prince... The Emperor is busy with state affairs and cannot come to the Imperial Temple to worship Buddha in person, so the royal family and court officials don't have to follow me. Others can't get close. I am a little afraid of the Prince of Qi. He is always with the Queen Mother, so I specially left Runan. The Queen Mother originally named several princesses to accompany, but I didn't want Runan to come, so she found an excuse and stayed with the Prince of Qi."

She suddenly looked at Meimei and said, "Do you think Runan and the King of Qi will have children?"

Meimei looked back at her and said blankly, "I don't know! But I know one thing: they haven't consummated their marriage yet, and the King of Qi still has a male lover."

The queen sighed again: "Prince Qi is actually not a bad person, he just... I hope Runan will be happy!"

Meimei remained silent while the queen closed her eyes and rested. Under Meimei's gentle pressure, she gradually fell asleep.

Despite the slow journey, they still arrived at the Imperial Temple on the morning of the 13th. They took a good rest on the 14th, and on the 15th, just like last year, they knelt in front of the altar for several hours, then walked around the temple and worshipped every Buddha statue in all the Buddhist halls in the temple. They also sat on a cushion and chanted Buddhist scriptures for most of the day until late at night. They were so tired that their bones were falling apart. Meimei ate some vegetarian food casually, went back to the quiet room to wash herself, and lay on the couch humming. Cuisi and Cheng'er massaged her for a while, and then she fell asleep.

When she woke up the next day, she packed up and went out of the mountain gate to return to the capital. The queen summoned her to accompany her again. They talked about light topics along the way and both of them were in a good mood. The queen received a report from a fast horse last night saying that the prince was completely well and as lively and cute as before. The emperor went to the villa every night to accompany the prince, and the father and son had a lot of fun.

Meimei saw the Queen's smiling face and was very happy to think that she would be home soon to see Heng'er and maybe Xu Junying would come back as well. The two of them leaned on the phoenix sedan chair and pointed out the beautiful scenery outside the palace with great interest through the thin gauze curtain. Their clear and hearty laughter made the eunuchs and guards around them feel a lot more relaxed.

Meimei didn't know that what was waiting for her at home was not happiness and joy, but chaotic and maddening troubles!

In a small flower hall at Yiyun Villa on the outskirts of Beijing, the emperor and Xu Junying sat across a large eight-immortal table from each other, staring at each other. The emperor's eyes were cold, while Xu Junying's face was gloomy. Next to him, Old Lady Xu was leaning on a cane, supported by the second master Xu Xiping. She looked anxious and patted her eldest grandson's shoulder from time to time, persuading him, "Grandson, Junying, just agree!"

"No! Second uncle, please send grandma back home!"

The emperor said angrily, "Xu Junying! It doesn't matter whether you agree or not today. She is already yours, you can do whatever you want with her! I warn you: if you dare to throw her back to the palace again and let me take the blame for you, I...I will simply issue an order to divorce you from Qin Meimei!"

Xu Junying took a deep breath and gradually calmed down: "Even if the emperor issued an order, what does it matter? Meimei and I are husband and wife, no one and nothing can separate us!"

The emperor snorted coldly, "That's not necessarily true. I advise you not to go against me! You are like this. Why do you drink so much when you have no tolerance for alcohol? You are so drunk and you refuse to take responsibility. You are a man of seven feet tall, aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

"You're talking nonsense!"

Seeing his nephew yelling at the emperor in front of everyone, Xu Xiping was so frightened that his legs went limp and he knelt down in front of the emperor:

"I beg Your Majesty to forgive me! Your humble servant, your humble nephew, is still drunk, Your Majesty, please..."

The emperor slammed the table hard, but he was talking to Xu Junying: "What nonsense am I talking about?"

"I can't drink much, but how can I, Xu Junying, be such a lustful villain? You also know what I am like when I am drunk. I can't move at all and just want to sleep! There was medicine in the wine last night, it must be **! Someone is plotting against me, who is it? Is it you? You insist on forcing that woman to me, is it interesting? Let me do whatever I want? Very good, call her over, and I will sell her!"

The emperor was so angry that his face turned red, pointing at him and said, "You... you stubborn bull! I plotted against you? I am the king of a country, and I am doing such a mean thing! If you don't recognize her, then don't recognize her. If you have the guts, you can really sell her off. Let's see who dares to buy the emperor's aunt! I also tell you, Xu Junying, you can't marry her as a concubine, but as a co-wife or a noble concubine. The queen mother is interested in granting the marriage, it's up to her! From today on, except in the court, we will not meet at other times. If you have anything, go to the queen mother, or the queen mother will come to you, or Concubine Zhen will come to you. I don't care, you can do whatever you want!"

After the emperor finished speaking, he walked away with his head held high and his sleeves swung. He didn't even look at the second master Xu who was kneeling on the ground, or the old lady Xu who was standing beside him with a cane.