"Your Majesty, are you awake?" Rong Yun's voice came from outside the door.

"Come in!" Qingyu said.

Rong Yun pushed open the door and went in: "Your Majesty, how are you feeling? Is there anything wrong with you?"

"I'm fine, don't worry!" Qingyu said with a smile. "If it weren't for Ziyan giving those old women pearls and making them turn a blind eye, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to keep my knees." She casually came up with a reason.

"So that's how it is. At least they still have a conscience." Rong Yun nodded thoughtfully. She believed everything Qing Yu said. She had followed her for so many years, and their relationship had long surpassed that of mistress and servant.

“However…” Qingyu added.

"What?" Rong Yun asked hurriedly.

“Those pearls are so precious, it’s such a waste to give them to them,” Qingyu sighed, her face full of regret.

"As long as Your Majesty the Empress is safe and sound, then it's not a pity," Rong Yun comforted her.

"That's true." Qingyu said somewhat insincerely.

But since these pearls were given to her by Zi Yan, Qing Yu didn't want to feel too indebted, so she turned around and took off the jade bracelet on her wrist, saying, "Give them to Consort Shu!"

Rong Yun accepted the jade bracelet and stood there stunned for a long while.

"What's wrong?" Qingyu asked, puzzled. "Is there anything wrong with me giving this to Consort Shu?"

“Your Majesty, this jade bracelet was a gift from the Emperor on the first day you married him, and you cherished it very much,” Rong Yun said hesitantly.

Qingyu was taken aback by his words, then smiled and said, "If the affection is gone, what's the use of keeping this bracelet?"

Seeing Qingyu's calm and composed demeanor, Rongyun also smiled, "It seems Your Highness has truly let go. This servant thought..." This time she was truly relieved.

Qingyu looked at the distant night sky and murmured, "Yes, I should have let it go long ago. It's not worth it for a man like that."

"Your Majesty is right. This jade bracelet will be given to Consort Shu by this servant to express my gratitude for her timely help."

After saying that, Rong Yun left the room.

As darkness fell, the bright moonlight bathed the earth, draping the entire palace in a thin, silvery veil, beautiful and mysterious.

"If only Hongli had died on the way south." She gazed at the moonlight and cursed silently in her heart.

Unfortunately, history is history. Hongli was a long-lived man; almost half of his sons had died, but he did not die.

The palace was very peaceful and tranquil without Hongli present.

However, this period of peace lasted only two months. At the beginning of spring, news arrived that Hongli had returned to the palace.

Also on this day, she instructed Rong Yun to quickly send the letter to Tibet, while she herself would face everything alone.

As expected, as soon as Hongli returned to the palace, he immediately went to confront Qingyu and demand an explanation.

It's nothing more than the interference in politics that day.

"Ulanara Qingyu, how dare you!" Hongli angrily pointed at Qingyu.

Qingyu did not kneel, but calmly looked at Hongli without answering his question. "I heard that Your Majesty brought three Yangzhou sluts with you this time?"

The "slender horses" of Yangzhou were not horses, but women. These women came from poor families, and some merchants would fund their education in singing, dancing, music, calligraphy, and painting. Once they came of age, they would be sold to wealthy men as concubines or put into brothels for profit.

"What's it to you?" Hongli said coldly.

Qingyu smiled and said, "It has nothing to do with me, but how much money was spent is related to the people of the world."

"Nonsense! How does this relate to the common people?" Hongli glared angrily.

"How can it not be related? You're using the national treasury's money!" At this point, Qingyu immediately stopped laughing. "When you were traveling through Jiangsu and Zhejiang, didn't you know that those places had been suffering from drought for years? And what did you do? You continued to be extravagant and wasteful, having dozens of dishes for a single dinner. You didn't care about the people at all, and you even spent ten thousand taels of silver to buy Yangzhou slender horses. You are simply the biggest disgrace to your Aisin Gioro clan!"

"How dare you speak of me like that! Besides, so what? The drought is what it is. Will it be solved if I eat one less bite or take one less concubine?" Hongli's expression changed drastically.

Then, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he raised his hand to slap Qingyu.

Fortunately, Qingyu was quick-witted and dodged just as Hongli was about to land on her cheek.

"How dare you dodge!" Hongli was even more furious when he saw this, and once again swung his fist at Qingyu.

This time, Qingyu neither dodged nor avoided the attack, her eyes fixed intently on Hongli's gaze.

Hongli looked at the cold light in Qingyu's eyes, which was like the dark light in hell, and involuntarily withdrew his hand.

"How could this be? I'm actually afraid of her?" Hongli thought to himself, his eyes unconsciously avoiding Qingyu's gaze.

He slowly lowered his fist, about to say what he had always wanted to say, when a young eunuch quickly approached.

"Your Majesty, two blond-haired, blue-eyed envoys request an audience," the young eunuch said, bowing.

"There are people who look like this?" Hongli frowned. "Did they say what country they were from? Japan or Burma?"

"How stupid! Do you think Japan and Burma are all blond and blue-eyed? How could an emperor ask such a ridiculous question?" Qingyu sneered inwardly.

“He said he was from England,” the young eunuch replied.

"Oh, England? I've never heard of it. It must be a small country!" Hongli muttered to himself, raising his head slightly with disdain in his eyes.

"Please have him wait in the Imperial Study. I will be there shortly," Hongli instructed.

"This servant obeys the decree." The young eunuch accepted the order and quickly retreated.

Then, Hongli looked at Qingyu and said fiercely, "I have other matters to attend to. I will settle accounts with you after this matter is resolved."

Qingyu didn't say a word, looking at Hongli as if he were a clown, feeling very disdainful.

When Hongli heard that Qingyu didn't say another word in rebuttal, he assumed she was afraid, so he turned and left with an air of superiority.

Watching Hongli's retreating figure, she let out a soft snort, her face carrying a hint of icy coldness, and her bright eyes flashing with a chilling light.

Then she sat down and thought seriously about how far Western countries had developed during this period.

"It should be during the First Industrial Revolution," Qingyu thought thoughtfully.

But before she could even settle in, the same little eunuch from before rushed over again.

It turns out the two envoys were a married couple, and the female envoy wanted to see Qingyu.

In Western customs, when guests come to a home, the host and hostess must greet them together. If either of them is missing, it is considered a breach of etiquette and a lack of manners.

Helpless, Qingyu had no choice but to go over, but as soon as she arrived outside the Imperial Study, she saw Hongli staring intently at the female envoy.