"Thank you, Queen Mother, for your consideration."
Shen Ruoyan sat down gracefully. It was one thing to be terrified in front of Ma Dequan, but in front of Zhuang Mi, she would not show any panic or anxiety.
That would be disrespectful.
"At the last celebration banquet, thanks to you for risking your life to save me, otherwise my old bones would really be broken." Zhuang Mi said with a smile. Although the assassin was subdued in the end, only Shen Ruoyan stood up under the circumstances at that time.
Shen Ruoyan didn't dare to take credit for it. "It was the guards who rescued me in time. I'm glad I didn't cause any more trouble."
The fragrance in this palace is so strong. I have never seen Zhuang Mi so obsessed with sandalwood before.
Could it be that he had been suppressed in front of me for too long, so now he was burning incense in revenge? But the smell was too strong, and it made me dizzy after smelling it for too long. I couldn't agree with it.
"The fragrance in the Empress Dowager's palace is so peaceful. I'm not afraid of being laughed at by the Empress Dowager, but this is my first time entering the palace and I was quite nervous. But after smelling this fragrance, I actually slowly relaxed. I wonder what kind of fragrance the Empress Dowager uses?"
Zhuang Mi paused after hearing this, then looked at the incense burner that was constantly emitting smoke and slowly said, "It's just some ordinary sandalwood. I'll have someone bring some to you later."
Then he smiled and said, "Perhaps this incense is offered in the Buddhist temple and has been tainted with some Buddha nature, so it makes you feel peaceful."
Buddha nature?
Shen Ruoyan sneered in his heart. It seemed that this fragrance was not just a habit. Zhuang Mi was completely unaware of such a strong smell.
The people serving around her were obviously used to it, and it was obvious that they didn't do it specifically because she entered the palace.
What kind of situation requires the use of such heavy sandalwood?
There was a concubine in the cold palace in the past. When she was favored, she was cruel and all the palace maids who were slightly pretty around her could not escape her clutches.
The one thing she remembered most clearly was that she had pierced her face with needles densely. When the needles were finally pulled out, there was no intact skin on her face. She was in so much pain that she died!
Later, this favorite concubine committed a serious mistake and was banished to the cold palace. She had to rely on sandalwood to survive every night - otherwise, those who were harmed by her would turn into evil spirits at night and circle around her, making her unable to sleep!
The scent of sandalwood, with the aroma of a Buddhist temple, allowed her to find a moment of peace.
Even if she was deceiving herself, she felt that as long as the scent of sandalwood was there, those wronged souls would not dare to come near!
Zhuang Mi used to avoid sandalwood. She also disliked the smell, so sandalwood was never around her.
After all, when she first entered the palace, she was framed and sent to the cold palace.
The one serving at that time was this favorite concubine.
"A person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear; a person who has done nothing wrong has nothing to fear from ghosts knocking on his door. She filled the room with incense, but ultimately could not sleep. She was only asking for trouble." Zhuang Mi felt very sad when she told her about this.
Unexpectedly, I saw the shadow of the past in her now.
But, who was Zhuang Mi guilty of?
When she wakes up in the middle of the night, which wronged ghost keeps her awake?
"Your Highness thanks the Empress Dowager. I often hear people say that she is kind and amiable, but I didn't expect that she is even more amiable than the rumors say!" Shen Ruoyan opened her eyes wide innocently, with an innocent look on her face.
Although she had married Lu Jing and had a son, she was still as young as a newly opened flower.
Kind, amiable...there is nothing wrong with describing the Queen Mother as such.
But people always have the illusion that the Queen Mother is already an old woman.
The smile on her face was already a little forced, but Shen Ruoyan was unaware of it. "I have a grandmother in my family. Although she is old, she is less approachable than the empress dowager."
These words, both explicitly and implicitly, praised the Queen Mother and belittled Old Madam Lu.
Zhuang Mi also heard that she did not have a very harmonious relationship with the old lady of the marquis's mansion.
She wanted to win over Shen Ruoyan and use the Shen family, so she naturally had to care about her situation in the Marquis's Mansion. According to her original plan, when Shen Ruoyan revealed some of the distress in the harem, she should go along with it and support her.
Only in this way can Shen Ruoyan rely on and trust himself more.
But now, she really couldn't speak.
What do you mean he's old... Shen Ruoyan obviously comes from a scholarly family, so how come he hasn't learned any of those flowery and nice words?
Seeing that the Queen Mother didn't respond, Shen Ruoyan's eyes became timid. She glanced at Zhuang Mi cautiously, and when she spoke again, her voice was much lower.
"Your Majesty, I just made a slip of the tongue. I hope you won't hold it against me."
Care about?
Who dares to argue with you, you brainless thing!
Zhuang Mi was upset, but she still had to put on a warm smile. "How could that be? You're not afraid of me. I'm so happy."
She sighed slightly, "In this harem, the higher one stands, the lonelier they are. In other words, you can speak the truth in front of me. Don't be restrained in the future. Just say whatever you want to say. I won't mind."
That’s what you said!
There was a sly glint in Shen Ruoyan's eyes, she knew Zhuang Mi's thoughts very well.
She simply felt that since she had blocked the assassin for her at the celebration banquet, she would definitely be biased towards her as the Queen Mother.
The Shen family behind him was a clean stream among the civil officials. Currently, the disciples of the Shen family maintained a neutral attitude in the court.
He was not close to the emperor or the empress dowager, but just discussed the matter at hand and stuck to his own position.
In the past, the emperor felt that he was in control of the government and that his role as emperor was not enjoyable enough.
So he joined forces with Zhuang Mi, wanting to eradicate his own power completely.
Who could have thought that after he left, there would be another Zhuang Mi - the emperor's own mother. Would she also offer a cup of poisoned wine this time?
Shen Ruoyan suddenly felt very interesting.
She was so familiar with Zhuang Mi's current look!
A person's ambition can be concealed, but she couldn't hide it completely.
Especially Zhuang Mi, perhaps because she felt that she was not smart enough, she was even too lazy to hide it in front of herself.
Next, when he spoke to Shen Ruoyan, he was trying to find out about the relationship between her and the Shen family. He also kept reminding himself that he could contact his grandfather more often when he was free and tell him about his recent situation in Shengjing City, which would also reassure the old man.
Shen Ruoyan looked at her but smiled without saying anything.
I'm afraid that reassuring my grandfather is fake, and the real purpose is to let him know that I have contact with the Queen Mother, right?
Zhuang Mi really didn't let her down. If he didn't make a move, it would be fine. But once he did, he would attack the key point -
Shen Mo's disciples are all over the court. Does she want to rule the country from behind the scenes?
Or, control the court? !
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