inside the house.

Qin Xiangning stopped and looked at the broken pieces of porcelain cup on the ground. She smiled bitterly and stroked her belly. She whispered, "Baby, are you so cruel? Is it because we are not destined to be mother and son?"

When she said this, the corner of her mouth twitched: "It's all the fault of those quack doctors. They clearly said that everything will be fine after three months. Baby, don't worry, mother will help you get revenge, just wait!"

As she spoke, she stood up and looked at the red letter on the table. She reached out and took it. Five days later would be the empress dowager's 61st birthday party, and there would be a grand banquet in the palace. Then, perhaps she could take revenge!

Thinking of this, the expression on her face became very complicated. She laughed twice, and then showed sadness. Fortunately, no one was in the room at this moment, otherwise they would think she was crazy.

Qin Xiangning lay back on the bed and calmed down. She put her hands on her slightly bulging belly and stared at the bright red bed curtains in a daze, until Taozhi came in worriedly and gently began to clean up the room.

***********

The Imperial Palace.

A joyous atmosphere.

The Queen Mother's condition has improved, which is indeed a great joy.

Concubine Shu was extremely busy. She was preparing for the empress dowager's birthday. Originally, it was she who proposed this matter, saying that there had been no happy events in the palace for a long time and that they should take advantage of the empress dowager's birthday banquet to celebrate. The emperor agreed, but asked her to assist An Qingran in handling this matter.

This clearly shows that he doesn't believe her.

Concubine Shu suppressed her anger and sat in the palace, looking at the suggestions submitted by the people from the Ministry of Rites. There were singing and dancing, and delicious food, but these were all the same old things from previous years. What was new?

Furthermore, she felt that the Queen Mother's recovery from her illness was particularly worth celebrating, since at least the Queen Mother treated her better than before.

At first, she only wanted to see Prince Shou and the Emperor, but later, she said that the person she wanted to see most was herself.

She had always been thinking about her great-grandson. Dongfang Lin'er had been brought to the empress dowager to see, and the empress dowager liked him very much and gave him many things as a reward. She said that Lin'er looked most like the late emperor, which made the empress dowager sentimental for a while. She stroked Lin'er's little face with deep emotion. Therefore, Shu Guifei understood that the empress dowager liked Lin'er very much.

This also brought her some hope.

Thinking of this, she threw the letter there. She was just helping, so why bother herself so much?

If An Qingran was sensible, she should have come to me and asked for instructions. There was no reason for me to condescend to report to her.

So, early in the morning, she made herself very angry.

Standing up, the parrot on the eaves flapped its wings: "I'm so angry, so angry..."

Hearing this, Concubine Shu gritted her teeth and stared at the group of young palace maids: "Who taught you this? Tell me! Are you looking for death?"

Unexpectedly, the maids did not say anything, and the parrot started to shout again: "You are looking for death, you are looking for death!"

Concubine Shu slapped the cage, and the parrot began to shake with the cage and finally let out a wail: "I fainted..."

"Could this thing be a spirit?" Concubine Shu was angry and amused at the same time. She didn't even know what expression she should have. She thought that there was no point in getting angry over a parrot.

Then he turned and walked into the house.

"Take care."

That damn parrot still wanted to live longer, and the palace maids were so scared that they hurriedly took the cage out to avoid upsetting the imperial concubine.

An Qingran is also dealing with issues in the East Palace at this moment.

After sending everyone away, she turned and looked into the inner room. Why was Dongfang Jin so quiet?

When she lifted the beaded curtain, she saw him sitting on a chair reading a book. When he saw her come in, he smiled at her and put down the book: "You have worked hard."

An Qingran liked to see him smile, especially now. His light smile was the most charming and made her heart beat fast. She walked over, took the book from his hand, stood in front of him, and pouted: "You know I'm working hard, but you don't help me. It shows that you only care about me, not really."

"What's wrong? Who bullied you?" Dongfang Jin became serious.

An Qingran smiled and pushed him: "No, if you want to bully me, who else dares to do that except you? The Queen Mother's birthday banquet is approaching, and you don't think of some tricks for me, how can I deal with it? Although what the Queen Mother did is chilling, we are doing it for others to see. If we neglect it, it is not our fault, but the emperor is also responsible. We have entrusted the wrong person, right?"

"You are so good at talking. What do you want me to do? Just say it directly. Are you trying to play tricks on me?" Dongfang Jin reached out and scratched her small nose lovingly, not too hard or too lightly.

"Okay, you said you wanted to help. Well, I was thinking, the weather is hot and humid now. If we stay in the main hall, there won't be anything new. Why not build a pavilion outside, right in the imperial garden, and put out food. Everyone can sit around the curtains or walk around. If they are tired, they can sit down. If they are not tired, they can gather in groups of three or five friends, just like when we were in Yuehua Temple before. Everyone can take what they need and have fun while eating. Isn't it fun?"

"Yes, I like it."

"I'm afraid my father will think it's too hasty and disrespectful to the Queen Mother."

"The Queen Mother will have her own seat, accompanied by the Concubine Dowager and the Princess of Shou. There is no disrespect. The other younger ones will sit at the bottom of the long table with food on it. They can hold their own cups and plates. It is indeed a thoughtful idea. Qingqing is really different. She can come up with such a good idea."

"You're teasing me again. This method was obviously not my idea. I just used it. You said you wanted to help, so why don't you arrange all the games and decorate the garden?"

"Don't you have people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs? Do you still need me?"

"Will you help or not?"

"help!"

"That's good. I need to rest for a while. I'm so tired." An Qingran walked to the bed and lay down.

Unexpectedly, Dongfang Jin followed closely behind, also lazily lying on the bed, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, and resting his head on her shoulder: "My wife, what's wrong? If you are too tired, I will go and tell my father that I don't want you to be involved in the affairs of the harem, okay?"

"Now that father is like this, are you still going to cause trouble?" An Qingran turned around and happened to touch his lips. He walked forward unwillingly, kissed him, and kissed him back.

An Qingran frowned: "You, you are so dishonest."

"If a husband and wife are so serious...that person will be exterminated." Dongfang Jin didn't care and still had a naughty expression on his face.

An Qingran was speechless.

Dongfang Jin took advantage of her distraction and kissed her again: "I'll do it in a while, you should take a good rest, I will accompany you, and I will leave after you fall asleep."

When An Qingran heard him say this, her heart suddenly calmed down. All the irritability and fatigue she had just felt miraculously disappeared. In his arms, listening to his heartbeat, she really quickly closed her eyes and fell asleep...

When An Qingran woke up, Dongfang Jin was gone. The brocade pillow beside her still retained his scent. She took a light sniff, squinted her eyes, and smiled. This guy, they hadn't made love (yet) for a long time. Ever since he returned from the general's mansion last time, he clamored to listen to his mother-in-law, but she told him not to have children too early, otherwise they would be like An Yanran. As a result, he really didn't touch her again.

An Qingran was very touched by this. She knew in her heart that in his heart, she was the most important.

But what can I do for him?

Even though the investigation into the Queen Mother was stuck, An Qingran was upset about holding a birthday party for her, but there was nothing she could do.

*******

Shouwang Mansion.

Lou Wanyue tried on the newly made pink silk palace dress, and looked at herself in the mirror from left to right. She finally smiled with satisfaction. The beautiful face in the mirror made her feel a little proud. She was beautiful, she was one of the four most beautiful women in the capital, and she was married to Dongfang Run. She should be proud.

But then her expression darkened. So what if she married Dongfang Run? She was still alone in the empty room yesterday. She thought that everything she did touched him, but she didn't expect that after reading the book, he turned around and left.

She was left alone in the messy house and had a sleepless night.

This morning she received news that the Queen Mother's birthday banquet would be held in a few days, and she had started preparing until now. But now she thought, what would it matter if she prepared? Would he and she attend at the same time? Even if he did, what would it matter? His eyes would not stay on her for a moment.

Now, she couldn't even blame An Qingran.

She must be trying to find a solution for herself at this moment.

It's because I'm too useless.

She sat down dejectedly, staring at the mirror in a daze.

**************

Prince Kang's Palace.

Shen Zhiyun looked at Dongfang Lin's sleeping face, his eyes full of pride: "Little thing, you finally came back to me. This is the proudest thing I have ever done, do you know?"

Dongfang Lin just pursed his lips and continued to sleep.

Shen Zhiyun actually admired An Ranyue's strategy, but compared to himself, she was still a little immature.

An Ranyue is sick.

I was sick for half a month.

I called a doctor, but he couldn't say anything. It could only be that he was depressed.

In other words, she was sick from being angry.

Seeing that the child was taken away by her, even though she was a concubine, she was not invited to the palace banquet this time. I think the prince and the imperial concubine must be very angry with her. Yes, who wouldn't be angry? The child was almost sick because of her. The child was weak to begin with, how could he withstand her calculations?

The more Shen Zhiyun thought about it, the happier she felt. King Kang Dongfang Ye walked in, and seeing her expression, he couldn't help but put his arms around her waist: "Yun'er, you've worked hard."

Shen Zhiyun felt very sweet in her heart and smiled tenderly: "Your Majesty is the one who has worked hard. What I have done is what I should do. If I can share some of the burden for Your Majesty, I will feel honored."

Dongfang Ye kissed her, and Shen Zhiyun smiled and threw herself into his arms, but Dongfang Ye's next words made her dumbfounded.

"Yun'er, I'll bring someone to see you." Dongfang Ye said and turned around. Shen Zhiyun followed his gaze to the door and saw a plump and beautiful woman standing at the door. She was wearing a gauze skirt with a plum blossom pattern, a gauze dress of the same color, her hair was tied up in a back bun, and a gold, gemstone, tourmaline and kingfisher hairpin was inserted in her mane. The sunlight was shining on her body, and the light from the gemstone made Shen Zhiyun unable to open his eyes.