Shen Nian'an had put down her needlework long ago. When she saw Concubine Xian coming, the two sisters were very enthusiastic. Since they were sisters and the elder sister was sincere to her, Shen Nian'an naturally treated Concubine Xian with sincerity as well. So, after a few exchanges, these false formalities were no longer necessary between the two of them.
Seeing her father just staring at his two sisters with a frown on his face, not even asking them to get up, Zhou Zhaonuan couldn't help but mutter, "Daddy, what are you doing? Nuo'er and Yan'er have been kneeling for such a long time, and you don't even ask them to get up. Is this how you act as a father?"
As Nuannuan spoke, she strode towards her two sisters, holding one in each hand, intending to help them up. However, the two little girls secretly looked up at Zhou Beichen's ashen face, their hearts pounding so hard that they dared not get up anymore.
No father wants his children to be afraid of him, especially his ministers. Zhou Beichen himself didn't know why. He treated these children the same way as Nuannuan, so why was Nuannuan not afraid while the others were? It really puzzled him. Finally, His Majesty the Emperor came to a conclusion, that is, Nuannuan's personality was like his.
"Nuo'er, Yan'er, you two little ones, hurry up and get up. Don't kneel down."
Zhou Zhaonuan was dissatisfied and even stomped his feet in anger.
"Daddy, look how scared you are of them. Please say something and let my two good sisters get up. Don't their knees hurt from kneeling like this? If you don't feel bad, I do."
Zhou Beichen: “…”
How does this have anything to do with him again? He disagrees, he strongly disagrees. Besides, who says he doesn't feel sorry for the child? No matter what, it's still his own child.
Seeing Zhou Zhaonuan staring at him with her big eyes that were about to pop out, Zhou Beichen couldn't help but hold his forehead.
"Alright, you two, hurry up and get up. If you don't get up, I'll become your stepfather in your eldest sister's eyes."
"Puff," Concubine Xian couldn't help but burst out laughing. Zhou Beichen glared at her without any courtesy, "Why are you laughing?"
Xianfei and Shen Nian'an exchanged a glance, then knelt down to plead guilty. "I was thinking that when Nuannuan was the same age as these two little girls, she was very lively and active. She was so noisy that even a dog would turn around and run away. But my two daughters don't have the same lively personalities as their sister."
As the virtuous concubine spoke, her eyebrows drooped and she looked obviously unhappy.
Shen Nian'an stepped forward and said with some comfort.
"Sister Xianfei, why are you worrying about this? After all, Nuo'er and Yan'er are both princesses of our dynasty. Since ancient times, princesses have never had to worry about getting married. In the future, as long as they can marry their ideal husbands and treat them well for the rest of their lives, it would not be bad. Besides, if everyone has the same personality and lives the same way, what's the point?"
After hearing this, Concubine Xian felt much more relieved. When she first became pregnant with the two children, she was happy and joyful. When the children were born, she was still happy. She remembered that Nuo'er and Yan'er were not as temperamental as they are now when they were young. When they were one or two years old, they were very noisy. It was all the emperor's fault. He was too strict with the children and scolded them at every turn. Gradually, the two children were like cats seeing mice when they saw him.
Xian Fei nodded and held Shen Nian'an's hand in return, "Sister, what you said makes sense. Nuo'er and Yan'er are not lively, but don't we still have our little Nuannuan? Her temperament is what I like most."
The virtuous concubine looked at Zhou Zhaonuan with eyes full of kindness, which made the little girl feel embarrassed.
"Nuo'er, Yan'er, let's ignore them and ignore our father. Come on, I'll take you two to play in the back."
Zhou Zhaoyan and Zhou Zhaonuo's eyes immediately lit up. Zhou Zhaoyan stretched out two fingers, smiled and buried her head in Zhou Zhaonuan's arms, "Sister, dear sister, please take us out to play. My sister and I haven't had a good time for a long time. Mother forces us to write whenever she has time, and we don't have time to play."
Zhou Zhaonuo next to him also pursed his lips, nodded, and said in agreement.
"Yes, sister, let's go."
Zhou Zhaonuan raised her head slightly and saw Zhou Beichen's eyes. The little girl immediately understood that her father had something to say to Empress Xian, and they had to leave quickly.
Holding a little baby in each hand, Nuannuan left with two little babies who were ecstatic, feeling heavy-hearted.
The matter of Prime Minister Li is very big, very big. She hopes that her father can take down both of them in one fell swoop. Otherwise, if the troops are used for some reason, the casualties will be huge.
The princess is supported by people all over the world, and Nuannuan does not want any civilian to suffer unnecessary harm.
Outside the other door, even in the secret compartment, Zhou Beichen lowered his voice.
"Xianfei, what's going on?"
The virtuous concubine's expression remained as calm as ever. She stepped forward, her expression darkening. "At your funeral, Imperial Noble Consort Li and her two sons cried the loudest. I don't know what Prime Minister Li is planning. However, in my opinion, he wants to support one of his children to ascend to the throne. That way, he would be justified and wouldn't have to go to great lengths to silence the gossips of the world."
I also heard that Prime Minister Li had made friends with many honest officials before.
With a loud "bang", Zhou Beichen slammed the table and stood up, his voice cold and hard.
"He's quite magnanimous. Could it be that he's been lying dormant for so many years just to be a regent? That's right. Even if one of Yu'er or En'er became a puppet emperor, the emperor would be too young and would need assistance. At that time, he would have the most followers in the court, so this would be a natural outcome."
Zhou Beichen's chest rose and fell violently, and Shen Nian'an's expression changed, "Your Majesty, what about us...if our people force us and Prime Minister Li refuses to return, what should we do?"
Zhou Beichen frowned. "He won't return? Even if he doesn't, I'll have to find a way to make him return. Of course, if he really doesn't, I'll just have the assassins from that day testify and charge him with regicide. But then, Prime Minister Li and his faction won't be completely wiped out in the court."
Zhou Beichen said this with regret.
The emperor's body stayed for a long time. On the third day, Prime Minister Li could no longer contain his excitement. Outside the mourning shed, he discussed matters with several trusted ministers.
The King of Qi stood quietly aside, his eyes piercingly cold.
An hour passed, and Prime Minister Li walked out from among the ministers with satisfaction. In the mourning hall, the concubines were still kneeling. Prime Minister Li walked to the coffin and kowtowed, his face full of grief.
After squeezing out tears for everyone to see, Prime Minister Li secretly gave a look to Imperial Noble Concubine Li. Everyone saw Imperial Noble Concubine Li, with red eyes and makeup about to be smudged by tears, walked out from the concubines. A palace maid supported her to the highest point. Imperial Noble Concubine Li first wiped her tears, then smiled and said while holding back her tears.
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