Although Mo Qinglian didn't finish her words, Ruan Ningyun already understood.

Her eyes widened instantly and she asked, "What do you mean?"

Mo Qinglian whispered a few words in her ear, then suddenly knelt down, "I am willing to serve you, Your Majesty, and give you advice. Please take me in!"

The few secret words she said just now were a perfect method. Ruan Ningyun immediately became interested in her, "I also want to adopt Princess Ruyang!"

"Whatever your Majesty wants, I will do my best!" Mo Qinglian said respectfully.

Ruan Ningyun was overjoyed, "Get up quickly!"

Then, she ordered the palace maid to go to the music house and ask for the dancer and keep her in Wanfu Palace.

Due to Mo Qinglian's status as the descendant of a criminal, she could only work as a maid sweeping the backyard. She also used the excuse that she had a wound on her face and wore a veil all day.

But even so, Mo Qinglian still enjoys it.

It was the Chu family who brought her to this state. Her only wish in this life was to destroy the Chu family. I heard that she had several younger brothers living outside. If Mo Gai Shi couldn't take over the world, Mo Qinglian might not be able to! Two days later, Ruan Ningyun went to the Cining Palace again.

But this time she came not to talk about the poisoning or the child, but about something that was close to the heart of Queen Mother Yao.

"From ancient times to the present, there has never been an emperor whose harem is so empty. Although the queen has two sons, the eldest son is adopted, which means that only the youngest son is the emperor's bloodline."

"The population is too small."

"We need to select a talent show to expand our harem..."

Queen Mother Yao nodded repeatedly, "This is exactly what I want!"

But she shook her head again, "But the emperor doesn't seem to want to hold a beauty contest..."

"Just because the emperor doesn't want to, doesn't mean the ministers don't want to..." Ruan Ningyun chuckled.

This is indeed the case. Since ancient times, the former dynasty and the harem have been closely connected. If the emperor trusts an official, the concubines sent by his family will be rewarded and promoted. If the emperor wants to deal with a certain official, the concubines sent by his family will be neglected early.

In addition, if a concubine gave birth to a prince, that family might become royal relatives in the future and would be highly valued.

Therefore, it was not only the Queen Mother and Ruan Ningyun who wanted Chu Younan to participate in the beauty contest.

All the Queen Mother needed to do was to ask her brothers from her mother's family to take a message to their colleagues and friends, conveying the Queen Mother's intention to hold a beauty contest.

Within a few days, the ministers began to petition in the court.

When Chu Younan returned to Kunning Palace, his brows were tied into two knots.

Su Bei was surprised and asked, "What happened? Is there another natural disaster somewhere?"

"No, there is no flooding in the south and no drought in the north. This year should be a year of bumper harvest." But his brows were still tightly furrowed.

"What happened?" Su Bei was very puzzled. Chu Younan had never had any difficulty in handling state affairs. He had never been so embarrassed! This time it was indeed difficult.

It's rare that Chu Younan doesn't know how to start.

Tang Jiang was the one who spoke up: "Your Majesty! You don't know, today in the court, all the gentlemen want the emperor to quickly select the concubines, saying that..."

"Okay! Stop talking too much!" Chu Younan glared at him.

Tang Jiang was a talkative person, which usually made Chu Younan a little amused, but today, he was really in a bad mood.

"Abei, don't worry, I will never participate in the talent show!" Chu Younan vowed.

But even a solemn oath could not wipe away the two knots on his brow, and Su Bei's hands could not smooth out the knots.

This time, Su Bei was not as angry as before. Instead, he smiled and said, "Are the ministers forcing you to participate in the selection? They want their daughters to enter the palace to be queens, right? In that case, then choose according to their wishes!"

"Ah?" Chu Younan was shocked, and then he shook his head repeatedly, "No, no, no! Don't tease me, I won't choose!"

"Choose, choose, choose! Choose the one you like, choose the one that looks good, choose the one with a good figure!" Su Bei smiled slyly.

Chu Younan thought she was speaking sarcastically, but still shook his head, "No, no, no! I like you the most! You are the prettiest! You have the best figure!"

"I'm serious!" Su Bei's expression became serious. "I finally understand. This is a show. It's useless to drag it out. If you don't choose today, you won't choose tomorrow. They will force you to choose the day after tomorrow. In this case, just choose!"

"Are you serious?" Chu Younan looked at her in disbelief.

"It couldn't be more real! Real gold is not as real as me!" Su Bei looked at him seriously.

Although Chu Younan couldn't believe it, it was true.

Not only did Su Bei tell him this, he also went to the Cining Palace and told Empress Dowager Yao about the beauty pageant.

Queen Mother Yao was very pleased. Although Su Bei proposed the selection under pressure from the ministers, she was a good daughter-in-law if she could think it through.

In comparison, Ruan Ningyun seemed to be even better and had more of the demeanor of a mistress of the house.

After all, it was someone else who brought it up first!

The draft is in hot preparation.

Before the talent show began, Queen Mother Yao had to leave the palace and go to the Huguo Temple outside the city to burn incense and pray, praying that the talent show would go smoothly and that Chu Younan would have many offspring.

Su Bei must go along, and so must Ruan Ningyun.

Huguo Temple is the largest temple in the country, with a constant stream of pilgrims. However, today, in preparation for the arrival of the Queen Mother, the temple had been cleared out long ago, and no one was allowed to enter or leave unless they were long-time residents of the temple.

This time, coming with Mrs. Yao, it was much more troublesome than the last time Su Bei came alone. The ceremony was performed over and over again, and it was not over until noon.

No matter what, Su Bei wants to pretend to be faint and she can’t accompany him.

Queen Mother Yao was also very tired, but since she wanted to have many children and good fortune, she had to do it herself. It was just hard for Ruan Ningyun, because she proposed the selection as a temporary measure, but she still had to kneel down and kowtow.

From early morning to noon, from noon to dusk.

Ruan Ningyun was almost exhausted, because she was still recovering from a serious illness.

Queen Mother Yao was also very tired, so when she returned to the yard at night, the first thing she wanted to do was not to eat, but to have close contact with the bed.

But as she walked into the yard, she suddenly stopped.

The temple cleared the courtyard on this side specifically for their visit, but there should still be other residents on the other side of the wall.

The sound of reading aloud can be heard.

The voice was familiar yet unfamiliar. Queen Mother Yao seemed to have returned to that night when she was alone, unable to sleep, and the fake eunuch Chi Yu was reading outside the tent until dawn.

Thinking about seeing Chi Yu again in the morning, with half of his body covered in blood, Queen Mother Yao couldn't help but feel worried.

"Are you... okay?" she asked in a deep voice.

The sound of reading over there suddenly stopped, and there was no movement for a long time, so long that Empress Dowager Yao thought that the people on the other side had left.

She was about to go back to her room when she heard a low voice from the other side: "I am fine, is the Queen Mother okay?"

"Ah... I... am fine." Yes, I am fine, but I feel lonely in the palace and I can't sleep alone.

"That's good. Please take good care of yourself."

"Why are you studying here?"

"My family wants me to do business, but I want to take the exam again. If I fail next year, I won't take it again. So I'm hiding here to study..."

The two of them started talking and chatted for a long time across the wall.

Everyone around Queen Mother Yao tactfully withdrew, and the courtyard became quiet.

Ruan Ningyun had already gone to bed, and only Su Bei, after resting for half a day, was in high spirits.

Listening to the conversation in the yard and looking at Queen Mother Yao's girlish expression, Su Bei seemed to understand something.