Chapter 47 Watching the Fire from the Other Side

Shuang Ruo was in a state of panic, and she would occasionally glance at the cupboard behind her, which made people wonder if she had hidden something bad in it.

Seeing that everyone was staring at Shuang Ruo, the Queen's expression also looked a little unnatural.

"Shuangruo, you have become more and more clumsy recently. The tea is cold, please help me get some new tea."

Shuang Ruo was about to leave when she noticed something was wrong between the master and servant. She said hurriedly:

"Wait a minute. I see her acting sneaky, and I don't know what she is doing. As the saying goes, it is hard to guard against thieves. The Queen is ill, and this maidservant is not serving the Queen, but is instead rummaging around in your bedroom cabinet?"

The atmosphere in the hall was tense for a moment.

Before Xiao Jingheng could say anything, Concubine Chen asked Yingxiang to open the bedroom cabinet to see what Shuangruo had hidden inside.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the closet was opened, a bright yellow pajamas fell out.

Fortunately, Shuang Ruo was quick to rush over and grab a handful, preventing the pajamas from falling to the ground.

Shuang Ruo held the pajamas in her hands and checked them in a panic, muttering from time to time:

"Fortunately it wasn't dirty, otherwise the Queen's kindness would have been wasted..."

Everyone's eyes fell on her hands.

I saw that what she was holding was an unfinished nightgown.

The pajamas were made of bright yellow fine brocade, embroidered with nine five-clawed golden dragons, symbolizing the supreme power.

One can tell at a glance that this was made by the Queen herself and intended to be given to Xiao Jingheng.

The golden dragon embroidered on the pajamas is lifelike, with exquisite needlework, and it's obvious that a lot of effort has been put into it.

After a brief silence in the hall, Xiao Jingheng asked:

"A nightgown. What are you hiding it for?"

Shuang Ruo pursed her lips and stole a glance at the queen, then said with a stiff upper lip:

"Your Majesty, this nightgown was made by the Empress for your birthday. Preparations began at the beginning of the year. From selecting materials, cutting, to embroidery, everything was done by the Empress herself, without asking anyone else to do anything.

Your Majesty had originally intended to keep it a secret from the Emperor and give you a surprise on his birthday. But today the Emperor suddenly came to visit, and I was afraid that the nightgown hidden behind the goose feather cushion would be seen by the Emperor, so I thought of putting it away, but I didn't expect that..."

Shuang Ruo said so much in a very eloquent way, but in fact, she just wanted to tell Xiao Jingheng two things.

First, the Queen spent eight or nine months preparing his birthday gift;

Second, the reason why the queen became ill from overwork was because she sewed pajamas for him day and night.

The Queen showed her sincerity, how could Xiao Jingheng not be moved?

After all, sincerity has always been the rarest thing in the harem, and this is also true even though he is the emperor.

After being 'exposed', the queen's cheeks turned red, and she lowered her head shyly and read:

"My cooking skills are not good enough, and Your Majesty will laugh at me."

Xiao Jingheng motioned Shuang Ruo to hand over the pajamas, and he carefully stroked the soft cotton material and the delicate embroidery. After a while, he said:

"The embroidery pattern of this golden dragon emerging from the clouds is complicated, and you used the Hunan embroidery method, which is the most delicate and difficult. I can imagine how much thought you put into it. I am really touched by your thoughtfulness."

"As long as the emperor likes it, that's good. In fact, these are my duties. As a wife, I naturally hope that my husband can wear the pajamas I made by myself. This is the most intimate and intimate friendship."

Xiao Jingheng nodded calmly, holding the Queen's hand and said:

"It's great that you have this intention. But in the future, you have to take care of your own health first. Do you understand?"

The queen nodded gently, her smile warm, filling the room with spring light.

To others, this scene seemed like a harmonious marriage between the emperor and empress, but the Concubine Chen only felt disgusted.

Later, Xiao Jingheng said, "Since the queen is fine, you should stop wasting time here and go back to the palace to rest."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Chen immediately took two steps forward, wanting to take Xiao Jingheng's arm and go back to Chaoyang Palace with him.

Before Keren got close, she saw Xiao Jingheng looking at the queen with tenderness in his eyes and whispering softly:

"I will stay tonight to accompany the Queen."

The concubine was stunned in the place.

The hand that had been half stretched out froze in mid-air, unable to move forward or backward.

The Queen said, "This... Your Majesty turned over the card of the Concubine Chen's sister tonight. It doesn't seem right for you to stay and accompany me like this."

"It's okay." Xiao Jingheng looked at Concubine Chen, "Wan'er is not such a petty person."

His words were tantamount to directly blocking the mouth of the Concubine Chen.

She has been complimented, what else can she say?

She could only force out an awkward smile, "The Queen is ill, so it is reasonable for the Emperor to accompany her. I, your concubine, can always accompany the Emperor, so a day or two won't make a difference."

That night, Xiao Jingheng stayed in the Queen's Palace as expected.

In the following days, Xiao Jingheng did not come to see Song Zhao, but the favor of Concubine Chen returned.

Xiao Jingheng summoned her twice in five days, and it was obvious that he was trying to make her happy.

Xiao Jingheng didn't come to see Song Zhao, and Song Zhao didn't take it to heart at all.

She practiced playing the pipa in the palace every day, but Yunshan was the first one who couldn't sit still.

"My lady, the emperor hasn't come to our palace for a long time. How about we go and give him some snacks tomorrow so that we can show our faces in front of him?"

The spruce has good intentions.

The emperor's favor comes and goes quickly, and she was afraid that Song Zhao would be bullied again if he lost his favor.

But Song Zhao said, "If the emperor wants to see me, he will come even if it rains knives from the sky. If he doesn't want to see me, I will be annoying if I rush to see him, so why bother?"

She seemed not to care at all and continued to play the pipa.

But she had a plan in mind:

So what even if Xiao Jingheng has been favoring Concubine Chen recently?

The Concubine Chen had suffered a miscarriage and her uterus was damaged, so it would be difficult for her to get pregnant again.

Her "wedding day" was the day calculated by the Imperial Medical Bureau and the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to be suitable for her conception.

These days are rare, and it takes three to five months to look forward to these two or three days. If she misses this opportunity, she doesn’t know how long she will have to wait.

How could the Concubine not be angry when her joy was in vain?

From the beginning to the end, it can be said that this matter was a collaboration between the Queen and Song Zhao to ruin the good deeds of Concubine Chen.

But the concubine didn't know what Song Zhao had to do with this.

He only knew how to vent his resentment and anger on the Queen and Xiao Changzai.

Song Zhao knew that with Concubine Chen's personality, she would never swallow this anger.

She didn't need to do anything.

All you need to do is to clear yourself off and stand far away and watch the show.