The door was pulled open from the inside.
The Empress Dowager, supported by her nanny, came out.
Her complexion had improved; upon closer inspection, it had a warm, rosy hue.
Shen Qing breathed a slight sigh of relief.
The Empress Dowager sat down on the throne bed and looked at Shen Qing with a smile: "I wear this dress over my blouse, and it's quite warm."
Shen Qing kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, these two garments are made of natural goose down and cashmere. Moreover, the lining of the goose down garment is made of natural amber paste, which has health benefits. Wearing it will surely bring you good health and longevity."
These words struck a chord with the Empress Dowager, who wished to live to be a hundred years old.
She was increasingly pleased with Shen Qing, looking at her and nodding repeatedly: "Qi Shen Shi, I like your clothes. You will stay in the palace for a while and make some warm clothes for me and the harem!"
Shen Qing kowtowed again: "This humble woman obeys your command."
She was taken back to the Imperial Household Department and would then work in the Imperial Workshops.
Two days later, Shen Qing returned to her dormitory after finishing work. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Qi Zhenheng and his two children.
The two children rushed into her arms, rubbed her neck, kissed her cheeks, and said in their childish voices, "Mommy, Mommy, we're here."
Shen Qing picked up the two children, her eyes red-rimmed, and looked at Qi Zhenheng politely, saying, "You've arrived. You must have had a long journey."
"It wasn't tiring at all. The two kids had never traveled far before, and they found everything so interesting along the way. They just walked and looked around. We were supposed to arrive yesterday."
Qi Zhenheng closed the door, and when he returned, he poured Shen Qing a cup of hot tea, then took his two daughters back into his arms.
"It must be cold outside. Come and have a cup of hot tea."
Shen Qing sat down at the round table, picked up the teacup to warm his hands for a while, and took a small sip.
She looked at Qi Zhenheng and saw that his eyes were also slightly red and the tip of his nose was red from the cold.
As she thought about what the Empress Dowager had told her that day, she took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and said, "Back then, after I was arrested for the military supplies case, you took the blame for yourself in front of the Emperor. I know that."
Qi Zhenheng was not surprised.
Had she known that she would hear these rumors when she entered the palace this time, she would have been surprised.
He grasped Shen Qing's hand, which was resting on the table, and said, "Qing'er, I love you that you're going on blind dates. As for Xia Zhu, it was because I was so distressed by your repeated rejections that I made a mistake."
Shen Qing nodded without saying anything.
Before he slept with Xia Zhu, she had been thinking about He Danqing for a long time. Strictly speaking, she had already been having an emotional affair at that time.
Although she married him because she was forced into a corner by the Gao family and to protect her two children, and her marriage to him had nothing to do with love, she had promised him that since she had married him, she would live a good life with him.
Now that both husband and wife have made mistakes in this marriage, let bygones be bygones.
Thinking of this, Shen Qing grasped Qi Zhenheng's hand and said, "Husband, I am willing to live a good life with you. After leaving the palace, my children and I will continue to live with you at your residence. Wherever you are, we will be there."
Qi Zhenheng was surprised.
He hadn't expected that Shen Qing, who had been threatening to divorce him just a few days ago, would suddenly become unusually friendly towards him today.
He nodded happily, hugged Shen Qing, and gently kissed her temple: "Okay, okay, from now on our family will be happy together. We'll raise Cheng An and Cheng Xi together and send them abroad to study!"
Shen Qing closed his eyes: "Okay. But I have two conditions."
"Just tell me, even if it's a hundred conditions, I'll agree to them all!"
Shen Qing lowered his voice: "First, you must not reveal Zhiwen's whereabouts to anyone, and you must not harm him! If I find out that you have harmed him, I will take the children and go to a place where you cannot find us!"
Qi Zhenheng stiffened and remained silent.
Shen Qing knew what he was thinking and explained, "I have no feelings for him anymore. He already has a wife, and he has nothing to do with me or the children. But he saved me many times, and I don't want you to harm him. This is my principle."
Qi Zhenheng then realized what was happening and hugged her tightly: "Okay! What's the second condition?"
"Now that I've promised to live a good life with you, I hope that nothing like what happened to Xia Zhu will ever happen again..."
As she finished speaking, her eyelashes trembled, and she took Qi Zhenheng's hand, reaching it inside the edge of his jacket.
When Qi Zhenheng touched her slender waist and soft breasts, he stiffened all over, and his breath came out hot and heavy.
He understood Shen Qing's implication, pressed his lips against her earlobe, and said in a hoarse voice, "Qing'er, I only want you..."
...
In the evening, Qi Zhenheng and his two children had to leave the palace.
Shen Qing saw them off from the Imperial Household Department.
The two children were reluctant to part from their mother again, their eyes filled with tears the whole way, and Shen Qing was also in tears.
Qi Zhenheng felt elated after receiving Shen Qing's promise and said, "Don't worry, I won't hurt him."
Shen Qing nodded.
She believed that Qi Zhenheng could keep his word.
"Go back and take good care of the children." She waved to them.
With his daughter in his arms and his son by his hand, Qi Zhenheng couldn't wave to her with his hands free. He could only keep saying, "Don't worry, I will take good care of the children. We'll wait for you to come back!"
After saying this, he turned around, took the children's hands, and left the palace with the people from the Imperial Household Department.
As the sun set, watching his retreating figure, Shen Qing longed to walk with them.
For the first time, she realized what her husband meant to her.
...
Winter has passed and spring has arrived; the weather is gradually warming up.
Shen Qing's skillful handmade items kept the Empress Dowager and the imperial concubines through the harsh winter.
It seems that because she was widowed at a young age, the Empress Dowager especially liked to talk to her, and would often summon her to the palace for heart-to-heart talks. Later, it even developed into having her stay by her side every day.
This companionship lasted for three years.
During these three years, Shen Qing was occasionally able to leave the palace to see the children when Qi Zhenheng brought them back to the capital.
The two children are now almost five years old. Under Qi Zhenheng's careful upbringing, they are healthy, humble, and polite, and they started learning English at the age of three.
Once Shen Qing decides to live a good life with Qi Zhenheng, she can see his strengths more and more and more, as well as his dedication to their two children.
Compared to that fleeting night with Cheng Zhiwen and the unattainable future, Qi Zhenheng gave her a more certain present and future.
The 24th year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign was the third year after the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War and the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki.
In the past three years, the national crisis has intensified.
In June, Emperor Guangxu issued an edict "clarifying the national policy," and the reform officially began.
However, the reform failed after only three months.
Emperor Guangxu was placed under house arrest in Yingtai, Zhongnanhai, and the Empress Dowager ordered the arrest and execution of all revolutionaries who participated in the reform movement.
He Danqing's name is also on the kill list.
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