Yuanzi also saw her and grinned excitedly.

Baoning suddenly remembered that, yes, Yuanzi should be present at such an occasion, after all, he is now the only grandson of the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty.

Recalling what Mo Nanshu said at the beginning, that Yuanzi's blood can cure all kinds of poisons, Baoning's heart beat faster. She had long thought about taking Yuanzi away, but she had never had the chance to meet him... Obviously, now is not the time.

Pei Yuan took Baoning to pay tribute to the queen sitting on the upper throne. They were called soon, and they stood up and walked over with a smile.

Seeing that Baoning had no intention of going over to talk to him, Yuanzi's smile froze on her face for a moment, and then fell down dejectedly.

In the spacious chair, the Queen, wearing a gorgeous court dress, asked gently, "I know you, your name is Baoning, right?"

Perhaps because she had been ill for too long, Baoning heard that the Queen's voice was a little hoarse, and her face was not as tight and plump as it should be for a woman who lived a life of luxury. The wrinkles at the end of her eyes were very deep, and she looked a little haggard. But her demeanor was still that of a Queen, graceful and generous, and amiable.

Baoning knelt down and responded, and the Queen waved to her and winked at the nanny standing next to her.

Bao Ning sat over, and the nanny understood and said to the ladies in the hall: "The queen is tired, you all can go down first. The flowers in the back garden are blooming beautifully. A palace maid will lead the way later, and you can go and see them. The tea is ready, so don't be polite."

Several ladies thanked and left. Gao Feihe, who was standing behind the queen, also came out, bowed and said: "The daughter-in-law is also leaving."

Bao Ning heard the voice and looked over curiously.

This was the first time she saw Pei Xiao's wife. She was beautiful and very generous. She was worthy of being born in a century-old family. She exuded arrogance and nobility from the bones. It's just that like her name, she seemed a little domineering.

To be fair, Bao Ning thought that if Pei Xiao really ascended the throne in the future, Gao Feihe would be worthy of the queen's crown. If you only judge her based on her appearance.

The two looked at each other for a moment, Gao Feihe's eyes flashed with disdain, and she turned away.

She was not used to such looks at first, but she saw them more often after marrying Pei Yuan. Those noble ladies always disdained to associate with her. Originally, they thought that Pei Yuan had lost his power, and they looked down on her. Later, Pei Yuan restored his title, and those who had once ridiculed her came to her eagerly. They said nice things, but they still looked down on her in their hearts and hoped that she would make a fool of herself. Baoning could roughly understand this mentality. A person you never took seriously suddenly reached a higher position than you one day. It is natural to feel unfair, jealous, and even angry.

But she no longer cares now, and she will not panic because others imply that she is a lowly concubine's daughter. So what if she was born in a poor family? Her husband was very capable, she was young and beautiful, had a good brother, and had her own shop. She was not bad at all, much better than them.

Thinking of this, Baoning straightened her back a little more, threw away the timidity she had when she first entered the palace, and showed a generous and decent smile.

Pei Yuan stood behind her, lowered his eyes, and took in all her little thoughts. He felt distressed and funny.

His Baoning was maturing little by little.

...

The queen was not a talkative person, she was always silent. Baoning had been in the room for a quarter of an hour, and the queen only said one word to her at the beginning. Then she just smiled, with a friendly attitude, poured tea for her personally, and took her to the window to see the flowers in the small garden.

The old woman whispered in Baoning's ear: "The queen's voice has been hoarse since she fell ill, and it has been like this ever since. Princess, please don't worry."

Baoning nodded and said she understood.

Pei Yuan sat next to Baoning, leaning his shoulder against hers, and lazily looked at the autumn chrysanthemums as big as plates outside.

I don't know why, but after just a short while in this room, Baoning felt very tired. The smell of incense filled her nose, which was the best red sandalwood, very mellow. Baoning thought to herself that maybe she was too nervous, and smelling such Buddhist incense made her so drowsy.

While the empress and the old maid weren't paying attention, Baoning rested her forehead on Pei Yuan's shoulder for a while. Pei Yuan immediately understood her little action and leaned close to her ear and asked, "Are you tired?"

Baoning hummed in a nasal voice, "Yeah."

She rubbed her nose against Pei Yuan's clothes, felt her nose itchy, and wanted to sneeze.

The queen didn't know what they were doing behind her. She stroked the leaves of the chrysanthemums and said worriedly, "The leaves are getting darker and darker, especially the newly grown leaves, which are very small. What's going on?"

Baoning listened to the voice, sat up straight, and replied with energy, "Maybe the soil is not fertile enough. There is a simple way. Get some sulfur powder from the Imperial Hospital and mix it with the flower soil. The flowers will grow vigorously in a few days."

The queen turned around in surprise and said, "Baoning also knows how to grow flowers."

Baoning smiled embarrassedly. She felt her nose itchy even more. She couldn't help it, so she covered her nose with her hand and sneezed.

The queen asked anxiously, "What's wrong? Did you catch a cold?"

Bao Ning waved her hand and said no. Pei Yuan pulled her up and said, "Mother, Bao Ning may not have slept well last night and is sleepy. The sun is not too strong this afternoon, so I will take her to Yu Garden for a walk to wake her up. Yu Garden is also close to the Imperial Hospital. If it doesn't work, we will go to the Imperial Doctor to see him. Don't worry."

The queen nodded and said, "Okay."

She looked at Bao Ning with concern, thought about it, and asked tentatively, "Baoning, mother likes you very much. It has been a long time since anyone can come to chat with mother. If it is convenient for you, can you come to stay with mother for a while after the dinner? Mother has many precious flower and grass seeds that can be given to you."

The old nanny behind her frowned disapprovingly, perhaps because she was afraid that she would suddenly fall ill at night. But in the end, she didn't say anything.

Baoning wanted to decline politely, but when she saw the look in the empress's eyes, she suddenly thought of her aunt, Xu.

The empress and Xu had similar personalities, both were gentle and a little cautious. But Xu's was due to her status, and what about the empress? It might be because of the unsatisfactory life. Even the most noble woman in the world, born in the harem, would always have many unsatisfactory things.

She softened her heart inappropriately and knelt down to say yes.

The empress happily saw them out.

After leaving the gate of Changqiu Palace, the sun was shining brightly outside, and the white tiles were dazzling. Baoning blinked and felt her nose itchy even more. She was embarrassed to sneeze in public, so she quickly buried her face in Pei Yuan's arms and sneezed happily.

Pei Yuan had guessed what she was going to do. He felt helpless but distressed. He took out a handkerchief and wiped her face: "What's wrong? Do you have a headache? Are you really catching a cold and having a fever?"

Baoning asked sullenly: "Don't you think the incense in the queen's palace is too pungent?"

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and said: "No."

He pinched Baoning's nose hard again to make sure she didn't want to sneeze anymore. He crumpled the dirty handkerchief into a ball and waited to find a toilet and throw it into it later.

Pei Yuan thought Bao Ning was just sleepy, so he dragged her to see the Yu Garden. Bao Ning didn't want to walk at all, so Pei Yuan had no choice but to drag her to a shady stone staircase to sit down and stare at the brick seams. Seeing that there was no one around, Pei Yuan put Bao Ning's legs on his own legs and rubbed them from time to time, while scolding her:

"Have you forgotten what I told you? Stay away from the Empress. She looks fine now. What if she gets sick and hurts you?"

Baoning said aggrievedly: "Look at the situation at that time. I couldn't say no. I just felt that the Empress was too pitiful. She was sick, and her own son was nowhere to be found. The Emperor had countless favorites around him and couldn't pay any attention to her. And Concubine Gao was eyeing her covetously... Life was really hard."

Pei Yuan threw her left leg down and rubbed her right leg instead: "It would be better if you stayed in the Empress's Palace at night, so that you wouldn't have to worry about other people . "I'm sorry that I hurt you because of the mistake. Just wait quietly for me to come back and pick you up."

Baoning looked at him and asked, "Are you nervous?"

Pei Yuan glanced at her and said, "What

are you nervous about?" Baoning moved his butt and leaned over, hugged his shoulder and said, "Ayuan, don't be afraid. It's not like we haven't had hard times. I think having power and having no power are both good. At worst, we can go back to our hometown, and I can raise chickens and sell eggs to support you..."

Pei Yuan was so angry that he twisted her nose with one hand: "What nonsense are you talking about? When did I need a woman to support me?"

"I'm serious." Bao Ning looked up at him, "I know what you've been doing these days, but I'm not worried at all. Because I think, what is the worst ending? At worst, we don't have to do with all this in the capital, and live the simplest and most pure life like at the beginning. I don't think it's that hard at all. You don't have to bear any burdens. If we are lucky and can soar into the sky like a dragon and live a life of superiority, we will be rich together. If we are not so lucky, we can still be like an ordinary couple, cultivate a vegetable field and raise chickens and ducks, which is also good. I don't think the former will be much happier than the latter."

He has been setting up the game for so long, just waiting for the opportunity tonight. How can he say that he is not nervous and anxious?

But now, Pei Yuan looked into Bao Ning's eyes, and his heart suddenly calmed down.

Bao Ning smiled at him with his hand on his chin: "The chaos of flowers gradually dazzled my eyes. I am afraid that you have lost your original intention, only cared about the competition, and lost your happiness. I can never be like General Wei, making plans for you and accompanying you to whip the horse, but I am very important, Pei Yuan, I am really important. I am the person you can always trust, and I am your confidence. Even if one day, you have no soldiers and all the people in the world blame you and spit on you, as long as you reach out to me and say, Bao Ning, come with me, I will accompany you without hesitation. You see, how important I am, as long as I am here, you have a home. Ah Yuan, do you remember it?"

Pei Yuan said seriously: "I have always remembered it."

"Don't blame me for nagging." Baoning exhaled softly, "It's just that I'm scared of meeting the queen. I think if I end up in the same situation as the queen, I won't be able to survive even a day. I've heard that a long, long time ago, your majesty and the queen were childhood sweethearts and had a deep love for each other..."

Pei Yuan interrupted her, "We are different."

Baoning asked, "Why?"

Pei Yuan said, "Because you are different from the queen, and I am different from the emperor. I love you in my heart, only you. You give me not only the love of husband and wife, but also the grace of husband and wife. Love and grace are integrated into my blood. Even if I turn into the earth a hundred years later, I will never forget, let alone betray."

Baoning suddenly felt her eyes moist. She turned her face away from Pei Yuan and secretly rubbed her eyes with her fingers.

I don't know how I talked about this, and I don't know how I cried while talking about it.

She was kind to Pei Yuan, originally out of sincerity and responsibility. Later, it was also out of sincerity and love. She never thought of using this to ask Pei Yuan to treat her in a certain way, she was happy to do it, but today, when she heard him say that, she suddenly felt uncomfortable, sour, but also sweet.

It turned out that he knew all the things she had silently given, and remembered them in his heart.

"Why are you crying." Pei Yuan stretched out his arms and hugged her in his arms, smiling and rubbing her eyes with his thumbs, "Look at yourself, aren't you very useless."

Baoning sniffed: "I just saw the queen and felt sorry for her."

Pei Yuan kissed her lips: "I haven't seen you think so much before, and you like to cry."

"That's because you don't care about me..." Bao Ning said with a heavy nasal tone, glancing at him, "A while ago, Ah Huang ate something wrong and didn't go to the toilet for two days. I thought it was going to die and cried for a long time."

Pei Yuan patted her back soothingly and asked softly, "Did it go to the toilet later?"

Bao Ning nodded and recalled the past: "It seems that it was beaten by Jixiang and ran around the yard in anger. Maybe it ran too much, and it recovered from its illness that night."

Pei Yuan said "um", "Then let them run more in the future, and when I'm at home, I will also urge them."

Bao Ning agreed.

...

In the Yanxi Palace, Gao Feihe sat below Concubine Gao, massaging her legs and telling her everything he had seen and heard just now.

Concubine Gao closed her eyes and fanned herself. She laughed at the end. Her voice was so charming that it didn't seem like she was her age. She opened her eyes and said, "It seems that Xiao'er is right. If the fourth prince's princess stays with him, she will definitely be a troublemaker in the future. And I heard that Baoning has some skills in making weapons? The failure of Lihu was due to her."

Gao Feihe was puzzled and said, "She is just a female relative. How powerful can she be? Can she hinder the prince's cause?"

Concubine Gao said, "In any case, death is better than life. Feihe, you are still too young. He doesn't know how to use roundabout tactics, and only knows how to confront the enemy head-on. Xiao'er is also soft-hearted, using some inferior means, and only knows how to alienate couples, which is only a temporary solution. Have you ever thought that the fourth brother and his princess have such a good relationship. If his princess dies, will he be devastated?"

Gao Feihe stopped her hand movements and still hesitated: "But this is the palace, killing a princess is too risky."

Concubine Gao smiled and slapped her on the back of her hand: "Who said I want to do it myself. Have you forgotten that there is a madman in Changqiu Palace? It's not strange for a madman to kill people."