Zhou Qiongyue and Yuan Chaokang arrived at the Cheng'en Marquis Mansion and never went back.

By the beginning of the afternoon, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager had arrived at the Marquis Cheng'en's Mansion.

Everyone in the Cheng'en Marquisate knew the Empress Dowager would come, but the Emperor's presence also surprised and honored them all.

With the abdication of the emperor, and the fact that he was no longer confined to the palace, he could go to more places in a day, and he was no longer as fond of beauties as before.

Perhaps because he was getting older and no longer so enthusiastic about those things, the retired emperor thought the empress dowager's place was a good place to go.

The retired emperor felt very happy to plant flowers and plants, chat with the empress dowager, and have meals together.

Since this is the case, since the Empress Dowager's mother has passed away, the Emperor Retired will naturally come along to save face for the Empress Dowager.

The Emperor and Empress Dowager had arrived, so of course everyone in the Cheng'en Marquisate would open the main gate to welcome them. Zhou Qiongyue had been treated this way before, but she was still old!

Zhou Qiongyue felt embarrassed to make such a big fuss every time, so she discussed with her father and decided that there was no need to make such a big fuss every time.

As soon as the retired emperor and the empress dowager got off the carriage, they saw the old marquis, Marquis Cheng'en, Zhou Qiongyue, and Zhou Wenjun were all there. As for the others, the retired emperor said he had no impression of them.

The Queen Mother was helped down from the carriage by her attendants, and she stepped forward to pull Zhou Qiongyue up, "Yue'er, accompany me to see mother!"

The Emperor stepped forward and helped up the old marquis and his former beloved minister, Marquis Cheng'en. "The old marquis must take care of himself, and so should you, brother-in-law."

Zhou Wencan quickly refused, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for being so rude. I will definitely live up to your grace."

The Emperor didn't talk much with the old Marquis either, mainly because they weren't very familiar with each other when they were emperor and subject. Apart from seeing each other in public, they had little interaction in private.

The old marquis didn't have any outstanding abilities that would attract the emperor's attention. If there was one, it was that the emperor admired the old marquis for raising a good daughter and a capable son.

The Emperor exchanged a few pleasantries with the old marquis, then supported the Empress Dowager on one side and walked inside. The Empress Dowager held Zhou Qiongyue tightly with her other hand.

Zhou Qiongyue had no way to refuse at this time, and could only let herself lag slightly behind the emperor and the empress dowager by half a step.

At least Zhou Wencan and Jin felt relieved when they saw their daughter had such good eyesight.

When a group of people came to the mourning hall again, Zhou Qiongyue personally stepped forward to take two incense sticks and handed them to the retired emperor and the empress dowager.

The retired emperor and the empress dowager only lit a stick of incense and that was it. After all, they were of noble status and it was impossible for them to perform any grand ceremony.

After the Emperor finished offering incense, he was invited by the old Marquis and the Marquis of Cheng'en to the front courtyard. Before leaving, the Emperor instructed Zhou Qiongyue to take good care of the Empress Dowager. Needless to say, Zhou Qiongyue immediately agreed.

Before leaving, Zhou Wencan took Yuan Chaokang away. During this good opportunity to show off his talent, Zhou Wencan never forgot his good grandson.

But this time Zhou Wencan was disappointed. Yuan Chaokang did not show any of his intelligence, wit and precocity in front of the royal family.

The only thing he showed was obedience.

The Empress Dowager waited until the Emperor and others had left before she took Zhou Qiongyue to the coffin to look at Liu for a while.

The weather has started to get hot recently, and so many days have passed. In addition, Liu died of excessive blood loss due to a head injury.

Due to various reasons, the old lady's face that the empress dowager saw at this time must have been unpleasant, even ugly.

The Queen Mother must have felt sad and even distressed when she saw her mother like this. This was probably the greatest suffering her mother had ever endured in her life, except for giving birth to a child. The Queen Mother couldn't help but shed tears when she thought of this.

But the Queen Mother didn't cry for long before wiping her tears and saying, "I lost my composure."

Lady Jin, the wife of the Marquis of Cheng'en, quickly spoke out to comfort her, "The Empress Dowager is a filial person, and she is just sad. Who wouldn't be sad when encountering something like this?

I hope the Empress Dowager can take care of her health. If my mother were still alive, she certainly wouldn't want the Empress Dowager to worry too much about this."

Hearing her sister-in-law's words, the Queen Mother's sadness was greatly dispelled. She knew her own mother well. If her mother were really alive, she would definitely force herself to make the decision for her!

But since it concerns the Liu family, my mother must be extremely conflicted. Even if she asks me to make the decision for her, I guess she will just vent her anger on Liu Rongxuan herself.

My mother would never want to touch the Liu family. As for feeling sorry for the Queen Mother, that's definitely not the case.

In the eyes of Old Madam Liu, the Queen Mother's life is so easy now, and she has no difficulties at all.

"Sister-in-law, there's no need to comfort me. I know what my mother is like. It's just that my mother didn't live a happy life in this world. I hope she will be happy over there!"

Although the Queen Mother was heartbroken, she hadn't lost her mind. She wasn't the type to take the blame on herself, otherwise she would have been driven to death by herself in the palace all these years.

Where are the good and relaxed days we have today?

Since the Queen Mother said so, Jin and the others had no choice but to agree.

The Queen Mother didn't want to chat with these women at this time, so she ordered directly: "You all should leave. Let Yue'er stay. Ai Jia and Yue'er will have a private conversation with mother."

Jin and others quickly responded and led everyone out, including those serving in the mourning hall.

After the Empress Dowager and others had left, she took Zhou Qiongyue's hand, sat casually next to the paper money burning, and personally added paper one by one.

The Queen Mother looked at Zhou Qiongyue's cold face and thought she was blaming herself, so she said, "Yue'er, don't be afraid! This matter has nothing to do with you. That concubine was given to me by me. Even if Mother has any complaints, it can't be on you."

Although Zhou Qiongyue didn't think she had done anything wrong, she certainly couldn't say that in front of the empress dowager.

"My niece just thought that if I had taken her back home and found an empty yard to house her, maybe my grandmother wouldn't have died.

Although my niece often feels that my grandmother is unreasonable, she is my grandmother after all, and I never thought that she would have an accident.

After Zhou Qiongyue finished speaking, the expression on her face faded a little. She had wanted to shed a few tears, but after thinking about it, she decided that she didn't want to cry, so she let it go.

As for her handkerchief with added stuff, Zhou Qiongyue thought that if she took it out and the Empress Dowager saw through it, it would be better not to cry!

Zhou Qiongyue really didn't dare to do such a superfluous thing in front of such a big shot in the palace fighting.

When the Queen Mother saw her niece like this, she thought of her dead mother in her heart. She didn't know how to cherish such a good granddaughter, but had to make trouble for her.