"This humble servant, Xie, greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager!"
Xie Yuan, dressed in formal attire, bowed respectfully.
To be honest, Xie Yuan was still a little unaccustomed to kneeling and bowing.
When she first arrived, she bowed to Helian Jue.
Afterwards, the two went to Lingnan together. At first, Helian Jue wanted to keep a low profile and pretended to be a good-for-nothing.
As a result, Princess Xie Yuan's status as a princess also became "noble".
After Helian Jue dealt with Cui Boyong and gained a foothold in Yuezhou, he rekindled his relationship with Xie Yuan.
The couple treated each other with utmost respect, so Helian Jue naturally wouldn't use etiquette to restrain Xie Yuan.
Now that Helian Jue has become emperor and Xie Yuan has been made empress, they need to start paying attention to the rules.
When Xie Yuan saw Helian Jue yesterday, he did not perform a grand ceremony.
But today, after crossing that archway, she not only entered a new battlefield, but also acquired a new identity—the Empress!
As the mother of the Zhou Dynasty, Xie Yuan had to be a model of virtue for the world and a paragon of conduct.
Not only when they paid their respects to the two empress dowagers, but also when they met Helian Jue, they could have a deep and affectionate relationship as husband and wife in private.
In public or in front of strangers, Xie Yuan must always behave with propriety and know when to advance and retreat.
"No need for formalities!"
The two empress dowagers sat side by side in the main seat.
However, there was still a distinction of rank: Empress Dowager Ashina sat on the left, while Empress Dowager Xiao sat on the right.
After all, she was the Empress, the most legitimate Empress Dowager, and held the authority of propriety and righteousness.
It was also Empress Dowager Ashina who spoke, looking at Xie Yuan with a smile, as if she were a loving elder.
On the contrary, Empress Xiao sat upright with a solemn expression, her beautiful face revealing no emotion.
Empress Xiao did not react to Empress Ashina's preemptive speech, as if it were only natural.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Xie Yuan respectfully stood up.
"Sit down! We're all family, no need for formalities!"
Empress Dowager Ashina had a gentle voice and a kind demeanor.
She pointed to a seat to her left and smiled as she spoke to Xie Yuan.
"Yes! Thank you for the seat, Your Majesty!"
Xie Yuan continued to abide by the rules, taking a few steps back to sit in the lower seat.
It's called a seat, but it's really just a low, square couch.
The person isn't sitting; they're kneeling.
This is also the custom that Xie Yuan is least used to after coming to this world—kneeling.
Ordinary people might be able to sit with their feet dangling or their legs stretched out.
However, members of aristocratic families and nobles always kneeled.
In informal settings, you can sit slightly on your lap or lean against a low table.
In formal occasions or when respect needs to be shown, one should sit upright and kneel, which is known as sitting upright and dignified.
Xie Yuan, being far from the capital and in charge of his own affairs, was able to manage his own affairs.
At the Yue Prince's residence, she rarely knelt or sat properly.
They either sit cross-legged (a haphazard sitting posture) or sit with their feet dangling.
A folding chair or similar piece of furniture is also one of her favorites.
Unfortunately, now that she's back in the palace, even though Xie Yuan is the Empress, she can't do whatever she wants.
To paraphrase a later saying, "If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight."
Fortunately, Xie Yuan retained the original owner's memories and was also knowledgeable in etiquette.
Although she wasn't used to it, she still knelt down properly.
Because of her advanced age and high status, Empress Dowager Ashina did not kneel as strictly.
She casually crossed her legs, leaning against the low table, and looked at Xie Yuan with a smile—
With elegant posture and perfect sitting posture, her movements flowed smoothly like clouds and water, and every action exuded the elegance of a distinguished family.
[She is indeed a daughter of a noble family! Although she has no parents and no elders to guide her, she is quite well-mannered.]
Empress Dowager Ashina's feelings were somewhat complicated; she herself couldn't say whether she was disappointed or relieved.
"Was the journey smooth? How are the children? Are they all doing well?"
Empress Dowager Ashina spoke again, her manner casual, just like an elder in an ordinary family.
"Your Majesty, all is well!"
Xie Yuan looked grateful, as if she had been shown concern by her mother-in-law, and she felt very honored and moved.
"That's good! Alas, I've been thinking of you all these past few years."
"I have written so many letters and received many gifts from you during the holidays, but I still cannot see you. I am still worried about you."
"Now that Ah Xi is back, and you and the children have all entered the palace, I am overjoyed!"
"By the way, besides the child, did you bring back everyone else from the Prince's residence as well?"
As they talked, Empress Dowager Ashina began to ask questions in a subtle and unassuming manner.
Empress Dowager Xiao knelt down, fiddling with a string of prayer beads in her hand.
Upon hearing these words from Empress Ashina, her fingers, which were twirling the prayer beads, paused slightly.
Her eyelids twitched, but she still didn't look up.
After a brief pause, Empress Dowager Xiao began to fiddle with her prayer beads again.
She had been Ashina's rival for more than twenty years, and she knew this spoiled and willful mistress all too well.
To put it bluntly, Empress Xiao knew exactly what kind of excrement Ashina was about to take the moment she bent over.
They really never learn!
Why do you like to cause trouble so much?
Empress Dowager Xiao lowered her eyelids, secretly mocking herself.
However, although Empress Xiao anticipated that Empress Ashina intended to cause trouble, she did not react.
She will neither stop nor help Xie Yuan.
Firstly, Empress Dowager Xiao had already made it clear that her relationship with Helian Jue and his wife was merely a business partnership, not a mother-son or mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship.
Empress Xiao had no affection for her own son, Helian Jue, let alone her daughter-in-law, with whom she had no blood relation.
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