Chapter 621 Come, I'll wipe your face
After the palace servant left first, the people in the side hall didn't bother to continue watching the fun. They all hurriedly tidied up their appearance and then walked out the door one after another.
Princess Huan was upset just now. After the palace maid left, she snorted coldly and led the way out. Princess Ji and several other ladies followed behind.
Fu Jinrou also stood up with Qian Qiyue and the others, but before she could walk out, Mrs. Fu reached out and grabbed her.
Mrs. Fu said to Fu Jinrou with a look of worry on her face: "Jinrou, wait a minute. You can't go in like this."
"The Empress Dowager is seriously ill, and the palace is already taboo about this. You entered the palace to tend to her, and your eyes turned red before you even saw her. People who don't know the truth might think you wish her bad luck. If the nobles in the palace saw you, they would definitely think it was bad luck."
You little bitch, do you still want to act pitiful and miserable in front of the Queen Mother with red eyes?
You’re dreaming!
Mrs. Fu pulled Fu Jinrou to the corner, where there was a jar of water. It was originally used to relieve the dry heat generated by the burning charcoal stove in the room. But at this time, Mrs. Fu took a handkerchief and stirred it in the water. After wrung it dry, she suddenly slapped it on Fu Jinrou's face.
Fu Jinrou let out a soft cry and tried to struggle, but Mrs. Fu pulled her back hard.
"Don't move. Apply cold water to your eyes to avoid being seen."
Qian Qiyue had just walked out of the door with Tang Ning when she turned around and saw Mrs. Fu in the room behind her holding Fu Jinrou with one hand and wiping Fu Jinrou's face with a handkerchief in the other hand as if kneading dough.
When Fu Jinrou finally broke free, the handkerchief fell.
Fu Jinrou, who originally had a pretty face and fair skin, looked a little duller, and her beautiful willow-shaped eyebrows became much thinner, and there were some suspicious traces of black stains at the corners of her eyes.
That face...
Colorful.
Qian Qiyue's pretty face trembled and her body shook. Tang Ning's mouth twitched as well. He quickly lowered the curtain and pulled Qian Qiyue to take a few quick steps. Only then did Qian Qiyue burst out laughing.
"What's going on with Madam Fu? When she spoke just now, I thought I was mistaken. I always felt that she didn't seem to be that protective of Fu Jinrou, but I didn't think she was really deliberately tormenting her..."
Fu Jinrou usually looks delicate and beautiful, and she often uses makeup to dress up just the right amount of exquisiteness.
Madam Fu made her eyes look ridiculous. Her makeup, which wasn't particularly prominent to begin with, suddenly became ridiculous. How would this face look when she met the Queen Mother later...
Qian Qiyue couldn't help laughing whenever she thought about it.
Tang Ning also noticed that Mrs. Fu looked concerned and worried, but she never said a word to help Fu Jinrou from beginning to end. She had always been protecting the reputation of the Fu family. When mentioning Fu Jinrou, she said several times that she "came from a Lingnan family" and "had been in Beijing for not long."
This was clearly an attempt to distance herself from the matter. She did not refute Princess Huan's previous remarks mocking Fu Jinrou, but was also telling everyone that although Fu Jinrou's surname was Fu, she was not a member of their family. She was just a girl who was staying at the Fu family's old house in Beijing, and she was not close to the Fu family.
Tang Ning lowered her voice: "I guess it was Madam Fu who said something."
Qian Qiyue blinked: "Could it be that she is talking about the affair between her and the Chai family..."
Tang Ning shook his head: "Probably not."
She had vaguely heard about Mrs. Fu's personality. She was not smart, but ambitious. She wanted to move the Fu family to a higher level and liked to make friends with wealthy families. She valued her son Fu Laiqing more than anything else and wanted to find a wife for him from a wealthy family.
Several times before, whenever Old Lady Fu mentioned Madam Fu, she was both angry and helpless. In addition, the eldest master of the Fu family was just as arrogant, so she sent Fu Laiqing to the Cao family for upbringing when he was very young, letting Laiqing study and learn etiquette with the nephews and nieces of the Cao family instead of staying in the Fu family.
If Madam Fu knew Fu Jinrou's character, knew that she was using the Chai family's matter to plot against Fu Laiqing, stepping on Fu Laiqing to climb up the social ladder, and even wanted to snatch the "opportunity" of her niece from her mother's family to enter the palace, she would have turned against her long ago and would not have resorted to such a pretense.
There was nothing wrong with Fu Jinrou living in the Fu family on the surface. In addition, the empress dowager intended to let the girl from the Xu family enter the palace in order to plot against the Fu and Cao families. It was impossible for Madam Fu to create trouble at this time.
So she probably used some other method to "give" Mrs. Fu a hint, so that she would feel hatred and anger towards Fu Jinrou and be wary of her, but not be too impulsive and act rashly.
"Then how did they..."
"Okay, the people are coming out."
Rong Yue was standing nearby. Seeing Fu Jinrou and Madam Fu coming out, she quickly interrupted them, saying, "Princess Huan and the others have already gone in. Let's hurry over there so we don't miss the audience with the Queen Mother."
…
When Tang Ning and the others entered the Queen Mother's bedroom, they saw Princess Huan and the others already guarding the bedside. It seemed that the medicine had been taken for too long. Even though the bedroom was extremely clean, one could still smell a strong bitter smell of medicine. As if to suppress the smell, the sandalwood burning in the incense burner on the table became a little stronger.
Tang Ning frowned somewhat uncomfortably, and Qian Qiyue had to hold back to avoid sneezing.
After Mrs. Fu and the others came over, everyone bowed to the person on the bed together.
"Greetings to the Queen Mother."
Everyone bowed and knelt, and after a while a weak voice came from the bed.
"Everyone, get up."
Everyone stood up, and when Tang Ning stepped aside slightly, he raised his eyes slightly and looked at the person sitting on the bed.
The empress dowager was over sixty years old. Although she had taken good care of herself, she still looked old. Perhaps because she was ill, her face looked very weak and her lips were pale. With her hair loose, she was supported by someone and sat leaning against the pillow. Her whole body exuded an air of decay and decline.
The hair with some white mixed in it made it clear to everyone that the Queen Mother's condition was indeed not very good.
Tang Ning took only one look and quickly averted her gaze. The others didn't dare to look directly at her either, except for Princess Huan and Princess Ji's concubine, who were of different status. Princess Ji's concubine was filled with worry: "Is the Queen Mother feeling better?"
The Queen Mother coughed lightly and said, "What's good or bad about it? It's just lying down and taking medicine every day."
Princess Huan pushed Prince Ji's concubine aside and stepped forward, "If Concubine An can't speak, then don't speak. The Queen Mother is blessed with great fortune, so naturally it's good." She scolded her before turning to the Queen Mother, "Don't say that, Queen Mother. You are in good health. It's just a temporary discomfort. You will be fine after the imperial physician prescribes medicine and recuperates."
"I heard the palace has found a new troupe of opera singers, and their performances are fantastic. I was thinking that after you get better, I'd like to ask you to let me go with you to see the fun. Please don't be stingy and lie down and not see us just because you don't want us to see something special."
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