Walking along the long palace road, the group slowly arrived at the Queen Mother's palace.

The three words "Xianghe Palace" came into view. Zong Zheng Xiaoting looked sharply at the seal in the lower right corner of "Xianghe Palace". If he remembered correctly, that seal belonged to the current emperor.

I guess the emperor must have respected the empress dowager very much. But as far as I know, this empress dowager doesn't seem to be the emperor's biological mother. It seems that this empress dowager must be very powerful in the harem.

Zong Zheng Xiaoting looked at Situ Xunxiao beside him, and saw that his face lost its usual indifference and was slightly worried. Now looking at his expression and thinking carefully, he was afraid that there must be a great connection between this queen mother and them.

If that were not the case, how could the marriage be postponed because of her illness? Under the red veil, Zong Zheng Xiaoting smiled inquiringly.

Following Situ Xunxiao's steps, Zong Zheng Xiaoting also walked into the Xianghe Palace. At this moment, in the Xianghe Palace, the Queen Mother and Emperor Gong Yunyang were sitting in the main seats, and a gorgeously dressed concubine was intimately serving the Queen Mother to drink medicine.

This seemingly happy scene always had a sense of abrupt discord, which made Zong Zheng Xiaoting feel a little uncomfortable.

"I've met the Empress Dowager and the Emperor." At the same time, everyone bowed and greeted the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. Zong Zheng Xiaoting, who was standing aside, just bent his knees slightly and stood up.

As expected, the Queen Mother and the Emperor showed dissatisfaction in their eyes. Zong Zheng Xiaoting, with a red veil covering his face, raised his head fearlessly to meet the gazes of the two. Situ Xunxiao, who was standing by, also walked to Zong Zheng Xiaoting's side and asked, "You are not in good health. Can you bear the fatigue of traveling all the way?"

Zong Zheng Xiaoting looked at Situ Xunxiao and blinked. It seemed that Situ Xunxiao really needed him to cooperate with him in putting on a good show. It seemed that everyone present had something to do with him. Zong Zheng Xiaoting shook his head in agreement, and said in a hoarse voice, "It's not a big deal. I was just too tired and caught a cold. My throat hurts."

At this moment, Situ Xunxiao looked concerned and lost in thought, not realizing that he was in the Xianghe Palace. The Queen Mother looked at the scene and gave the Emperor a soothing look, then said to the people who were still kneeling, "Stand up, sit down, and don't be so formal."

"Thank you, Queen Mother." Gong Yunluo and the others then stood up to express their gratitude and took their seats. Situ Xunxiao did not seem to hear the Queen Mother's implication, and gently and considerately helped Zong Zheng Xiaoting to sit down, and then sat next to Zong Zheng Xiaoting.

"Is the Queen Mother feeling better?" His concerned words seemed perfunctory due to his frosty expression. Zong Zheng Xiaoting was watching from the side. Situ Xunxiao's body language showed concern, but on the surface, there was a hint of reluctance. It seemed that there was either a misunderstanding between him and the Queen Mother, or there was some other hidden story.

"Thanks to Concubine Jing and the Emperor's constant service, I'm much better now." The Queen Mother nodded and looked at Situ Xunxiao kindly, but her eyes revealed a hint of sadness. Zong Zheng Xiaoting just stood by and secretly observed everyone's face and expression, but the doubts in his heart grew bigger and bigger.

"I am also very busy with government affairs. If it weren't for my beloved concubine who always serves me and keeps the harem in order for me, how could my mother be healthy so quickly? I dare not take credit for this." The seemingly joking words made Zong Zheng Xiaoting smell something unusual. Sure enough, as the emperor spoke, the gorgeously dressed woman smiled as if she was shy and lowered her head slightly, "I am just doing my duty to serve the empress dowager. Your Majesty and the empress dowager have to take care of it."

"My beloved concubine, I am humble." Gong Yunyang laughed heartily, his eyes full of satisfaction, and Gong Yunluo finally spoke at this moment.

"Emperor brother, the Empress Dowager is already in good health, why didn't you send someone to tell us? We thought the Empress Dowager was seriously ill, and we traveled day and night, which made us exhausted. Don't you know that we encountered a killer on the way back to Beijing, and poor sister Yunfei was stabbed by a sword. She hasn't recovered yet. Don't rush back, Emperor brother, you are so mean!" Gong Yunluo pouted coquettishly, with an unhappy face, "Also, this time when you came back, you always talked about your beloved concubine, and didn't care about Yunluo. Don't you think you are too partial? Besides, since the Empress Dowager is in good health, then she is the protagonist of the scene, you must have made a mistake!"

Zong Zheng Xiaoting looked at Gong Yunluo. Although he was being coquettish between the lines, his gaze always fell on Concubine Jing. It was really strange! Zong Zheng Xiaoting glanced at Situ Xunxiao, but only saw his cold face. He sighed silently in his heart. It seemed that he couldn't start with him to find clues. He could only observe everyone present.

The empress dowager was diverted to the topic of Gong Yunluo's conversation and then looked at Zongzheng Xiaoting and Situ Xunxiao. There had been silence between the two of them. If it weren't for Xunxiao's gentleness just now, she really wouldn't have thought that there was any love between the two of them.

"Princess Xiaoting, I am truly sorry. My son was overly concerned about my health and inevitably made some omissions, which delayed your marriage. But why did you meet the emperor with a veil covering your face? Wasn't that a bit rude?" The Queen Mother's words seemed kind, but they were secretly accusatory.

Zong Zheng Xiaoting raised his eyebrows. It seems that you are making fun of me directly? This princess will teach you a lesson.

Zong Zheng Xiaoting did not stand up and just sat in his original position, nodding slightly, "The emperor is worried about the queen mother's health, and has slowed down the national affairs such as my marriage. I don't think it's a big deal. After all, I am filial and sincere, and I will not be accused of neglecting national affairs. But as the queen mother said, this etiquette cannot be abandoned. According to the normal process, I should be in the Zhanwang Mansion at this moment, right? If so, how can the bride's face be seen by anyone other than her husband?"

Zong Zheng Xiaoting's seemingly polite words were actually a hidden sarcasm about the emperor and the empress dowager not knowing etiquette, and he even accused the empress dowager of being a disaster to the country and the people, causing the emperor to be too filial and forget about the affairs of the country. For a moment, the emperor and the empress dowager looked a little ugly.

"What you said is not quite right, Princess. The journey for the princess to marry is long. Could it be that the princess has to wear a mask all the time?" Concubine Jing looked at the faces of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager and immediately spoke up to help. However, when she opened her mouth, except for the Empress Dowager and the Emperor who looked relieved, everyone else looked unhappy.

Zong Zheng Xiaoting looked at Concubine Jing with a playful smile on his face.