"What a beauty! I wonder which official's wife she is, she's so lucky." Xia Miaoyuan sighed in his heart, staring at the female guest for several times.
She doesn't look young, probably around 30, but she's really well-maintained. Her skin is so fair and tender. Wow.
The dozen or so princesses and wives of high-ranking officials in the court all looked sideways, seemingly not recognizing this female guest.
The female guest stepped forward and graciously saluted the Empress Dowager and the others, saying softly, "I greet the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and all the ladies. I wish you all the best, happiness, and peace!"
"Who is this person?" The female guests began to whisper.
"I haven't seen it."
"I don't know him either."
The Empress Dowager, the Empress, and all the concubines were also confused because none of them knew this female guest.
"What a neat look!" The Empress Dowager looked at the female guest in front of her.
"Oh, this child is also very pretty. Is she your daughter?"
The female guest smiled and said, "That's right, Your Majesty the Queen Mother, you are so kind."
The female guest paused and continued, "I have long heard that the Empress Dowager of our Great Xia is graceful and respectful, and that she values female virtue the most. The Empress Dowager is a model for the whole nation. Seeing her today, I can see that it is indeed true."
"I am so grateful that I have the privilege of seeing the Empress Dowager and the Empress in my lifetime. I have no regrets in this life."
The dozen or so female guests standing by rolled their eyes at her with disdain when they heard her flattery.
"Excuse me, Madam, which family are you from?" Princess Duan couldn't help but ask.
"Oh, it's my fault, it's my fault. I was so busy talking that I forgot to introduce myself."
"The common woman's husband is the imperial merchant Liang Xin."
Xia Miaoyuan's eyes widened in shock.
[What?! This is Liang Chaozong's daughter-in-law?!]
[In other words, she is the Empress Dowager's illegitimate daughter who lived among the common people!]
The queen felt a chill on her back, and the drunkenness disappeared instantly.
What? This is the illegitimate daughter of the Empress Dowager that my daughter mentioned?!
The Queen carefully examined Madam Liang's face again and saw that her facial contours, eyebrows, and eyes were indeed about 60% similar to those of the Empress Dowager.
Especially that expression, it's like they were carved from the same mold.
"So you are the wife of Liang Huangshang!" Mrs. Niu, the Minister of Works, stepped forward and took Mrs. Liang's hand.
"I've long heard that there's a beautiful lady in the Lianghuangshang family. Seeing her today, I can see that she's truly as beautiful as her reputation."
"No wonder even the Queen Mother praised you for your neat appearance just now."
The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Madam Niu, it seems we heroes think alike."
When the other ladies heard the Empress Dowager say this, they also rushed to speak and praised Madam Liang's beauty.
"Rou'er, quickly pay your respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress!" Madam Liang lowered her head and urged her daughter.
The little girl next to her bowed in a very formal manner and spoke auspicious words fluently.
The delicate little girl is so cute and interesting when she says hello and welcomes the new year like an adult.
The Empress Dowager was delighted and quickly extended her hand to signal her to stand up: "Little darling, what's your name?"
"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, my name is Liang Zhirou."
"Liang Zhirou, what a nice name. Come, come, come closer, let me see you."
Liang Zhirou was not at all stage-shy and walked up to the Empress Dowager with grace and confidence.
The Empress Dowager lovingly held Liang Zhirou's little hand and looked her up and down.
[This is the child born to the illegitimate daughter and Liang Chaozong, so she is the Empress Dowager's biological granddaughter! ]
Xia Miaoyuan bit her fingers and ate the melon attentively, with a look of eagerness for gossip on her face.
[What a melodramatic plot! Tsk tsk tsk!]
[Mother and daughter, grandparents and grandchildren, yet they meet without knowing each other. The empress dowager of a country, respecting women's virtues in front of others, secretly had an affair with someone and gave birth to an illegitimate daughter!]
The queen's drunkenness disappeared, and she felt a strong interest in gossip. She just hoped that Xia Miaoyuan could tell her more about the illegitimate daughter.
Didn't Miao'er say before that the illegitimate daughter ran away and became a skinny horse in Yangzhou? How did she become the wife of Liang Chaozong?
The Empress Dowager seemed to get along very well with Liang Zhirou. She pulled her aside and asked her all sorts of questions. Liang Zhirou answered them all one by one. Her logic was very clear and her words were very appropriate.
The Empress Dowager was overjoyed.
"I like girls the most, but my tummy was not kind to me. I only gave birth to a son, not even a daughter."
The Queen Mother spoke in an exaggerated manner.
[You are so shameless! Your daughter is already this old, yet you are still pretending!] Xia Miaoyuan couldn't help but make a face to show his disdain.
"I guess the royal family of Daxia is not lucky with daughters. The emperor has so many concubines, but only the queen gave birth to a daughter." The empress dowager continued.
"But Miao'er is still too young to talk or joke with me. When I saw little Zhirou today, I was so happy!"
The queen felt nauseous and pursed her lips hard to suppress the nausea.
The old woman was truly hypocritical. She clearly didn't like any of her children, yet she lied about it for no reason.
Chengwan and Chengnian have been smart and cute since childhood, and are loved by everyone. However, the Empress Dowager, as their grandmother, does not seem to have any real affection for them.
It's because there is no blood relationship.
She only cared about face for her stepson Xia Zhengqi, and she was even worse towards her grandchildren, not even bothering to care about face.
"Old woman, that's your own granddaughter! Haha! I wonder how shocked you'll be when you find out the truth."
Xia Miaoyuan didn't notice anything and just gossiped in her mind.
"Mrs. Liang, what's your maiden name? I don't know what's wrong, but I felt so close to you today."
Madam Liang bowed slightly and said, "My maiden name is Yao Jinse."
"Oh, Jinse, what a good name!" praised the Queen Mother.
The other ladies also echoed and praised it as a good name.
[Yes, it's Yao Jinse. I remember now. This is indeed the name in the book.]
The original illegitimate daughter was named Li Zhu'er. Because she was an illegitimate child, Mr. Jiang was furious and threatened to strangle the child to death.
When the queen saw that her daughter had new melons, she immediately pricked up her ears and listened attentively.
Jiang Hui desperately pleaded with her parents, but it was only after Mrs. Jiang relented and knelt down to beg her husband that her illegitimate daughter's life was saved.
[But the condition is that they cannot meet in this life, and Jiang Hui must completely break off ties with her lover and obey her family's arrangements to marry the emperor, who is also this princess's grandfather.]
[So, this illegitimate daughter was thrown into the village of Jiang's hometown just two days after she was born.]
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