Queen Duan's face was obviously frozen, and her hands clenched slightly.

"I will obey the Empress Dowager."

"It's useless for me to say that. You also know the emperor's temper."

The Queen Mother sighed and placed her hands on Queen Duan's hands. "You are the head of the palace, so you should naturally worry about this matter."

"The emperor now has only three sons, and he rarely goes to the harem, so the matter of taking a concubine must be put on the agenda as soon as possible."

Seeing her eager expression, a hint of sadness flashed in Queen Duan's eyes.

"The Queen?"

Seeing that she was in a trance, the Queen Mother called her twice, and she finally reacted.

Queen Duan nodded slightly, and the corners of her lips gradually drooped.

Xiao Ruyu caught a glimpse of her dazed look, knew what she was thinking, and quickly hugged the Empress Dowager's arm.

[Grandmother, there is no rush for this matter. My father does not want to take a concubine.]

She tried to dissuade the Queen Mother from thinking this.

The Queen Mother glanced at her with dissatisfaction, with helplessness in her eyes.

"The little princess is young, how can she understand these things?"

"What do you think, Queen?"

Queen Duan had no choice but to agree.

"Everything is up to the Empress Dowager. I will take care of it in the future."

After leaving Shou'an Palace, Queen Duan kept her head down and remained silent.

Xiao Ruyu saw that she was sad, so he hugged her arms to comfort her.

[Mother, if father knew about this, he would definitely not agree.]

[There are already enough concubines in this palace, how can there be more? ]

Queen Duan had a distant look in her eyes. There were some things she knew clearly but could not speak out.

The Empress Dowager openly took a concubine to increase the number of offspring for Emperor Shangwen, but in reality she felt that she could not always be the only one favored by the harem.

During this period, Emperor Shangwen rarely went to the harem.

The people from the Jingshifang reported to the Empress Dowager every day, and the Empress Dowager must have been dissatisfied for a long time.

The Lu family declined, and the Duan family became the dominant family.

She just wanted to have another favorite concubine like Concubine Li to balance the injustice in the six palaces!

"Yu'er, there are some things you really don't understand."

Queen Duan picked her up with a gloomy look on her face.

"Let Madam Cui take you back to the palace first, and Mother will go and discuss this with the Emperor."

She paused, as if she couldn't bear it.

"The matter of taking a concubine..."

[I don't want to, I want to go with my mother. ]

Xiao Ruyu clung to her arm and refused to let go.

Seeing this, Queen Duan was quite helpless and could only take her with her.

…

"Take a concubine?"

Emperor Shangwen closed the memorial and looked puzzled.

He pulled up Queen Duan who was kneeling to pay her respects, "Why are you bringing this up out of the blue?"

[It was the Imperial Grandmother who asked my mother to come and talk to my father about this! ]

Without waiting for Queen Duan to answer, Xiao Ruyu spoke out in her mind first.

"Don't take the Empress' words to heart."

Emperor Shang Wen pulled her to sit down and patted her back gently.

"This isn't the first time I've mentioned this over the years. Just ignore it."

Empress Duan looked embarrassed. "This time, the Empress Dowager has entrusted this matter to me to handle. I am afraid I can no longer be perfunctory about it."

She sighed softly, her eyes filled with disappointment.

Emperor Shang Wen looked helpless and sighed, "Forget it, I'll go talk to the Empress Dowager."

"The Queen doesn't need to interfere in this matter anymore."

After reviewing the memorials, he went straight to Shou'an Palace.

It was already dinner time and the Empress Dowager was preparing to eat. She was surprised to see him coming.

"Why is the Emperor here at this hour?"

Nanny Wei understood the hint and withdrew to prepare dishes and chopsticks for Emperor Shangwen. Only two people were left in Shou'an Palace.

"This son is just thinking that it has been a long time since I have eaten with the Empress Dowager. Today's court affairs are light, so I just happened to have time to accompany the Empress Dowager."

Emperor Shangwen sat down leisurely, straightened his clothes, and spoke with a smile.

"The emperor is thoughtful and thinks of me all the time."

The Queen Mother was so flattered by his tricks that the wrinkles on her face became even more prominent when she smiled.

"The Queen just came to the palace today, and I took the opportunity to mention the matter of taking a concubine."

He asked the servants to serve food to Emperor Shangwen, and casually mentioned this matter, "The late emperor held a general election every five years and a minor election every three years. I think you have been gone for four or five years, so it's time to take you into the harem."

Emperor Shangwen put down his chopsticks and frowned slightly.

"I think this matter is not urgent, let's put the matter of taking a concubine aside for now."

He revealed the purpose of his visit, "I have already told the Queen about this matter, so you don't need to deal with it for now."

"How can that be possible!"

The Empress Dowager put down her chopsticks heavily, seeming a little angry.

"This matter has been postponed year after year. It absolutely cannot be postponed!"

She forced Emperor Shangwen to settle the matter as soon as possible, with an unpleasant look on her face.

Emperor Shangwen did not want to give in either, and continued, "Forgive me for not being able to agree to this matter, Madam Empress. We will discuss this later."

"I suddenly remembered that I have some memorials to review, so I will take my leave now."

He stood up, saluted, and left, throwing off his robe.

"emperor!"

The Queen Mother stood up and tried to stop him, but saw that he had already walked away.

As she watched, she felt a sudden pain in her heart and gasped, holding her chest.

"Empress Dowager, what happened to you?" Nanny Wei was horrified and shouted.

"Call the imperial physician! Call the imperial physician quickly!"

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Emperor Shangwen held his head with his hand, "How is the Queen Mother?"

"It's just a case of impatience. Just take care of yourself for a few days and you'll be fine."

Imperial Doctor Yang wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurried over from Shou'an Palace.

"That's good, you can leave first."

Emperor Shangwen waved his hand, with a splitting headache, and signaled him to leave first.

After going out, Doctor Yang ran into Empress Duan and Xiao Ruyu who came to pay their respects.

"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen."

"Excuse me, I heard that the Queen Mother suddenly fell ill. What's the matter?"

Doctor Yang poked his head in, looked around to see that there was no one around, and repeated what he had just said.

Queen Duan looked worried and sighed.

"The Queen Mother is forcing the Emperor to make a decision on this matter."

[It seems that the Empress Dowager is determined to make Daddy take a concubine this time. ]

Xiao Ruyu lay on top of her and saw everything.

The next day, when Emperor Shangwen was having a meal in the Queen's Palace, Nanny Wei suddenly came to report.

She whispered something into Emperor Shangwen's ear, and his expression suddenly changed.

"What is this for?!"

"Forget it. I will go to Shou'an Palace first. The Queen can have dinner by herself."

Emperor Shangwen threw down his chopsticks, stood up and left.

"What happened?"

Empress Duan called out to Nanny Wei, who was about to leave, with a look of discussion on her face.

Nanny Wei was in a dilemma and could only say helplessly.

"The Queen Mother is on a hunger strike and hasn't eaten for over a day."

Xiao Ruyu raised her head and looked at Queen Duan. She noticed that she was in a bad mood and took the initiative to step forward.

[Mother, I will go and comfort the Imperial Grandmother, you don't have to worry about this anymore.]

She shook Queen Duan's hand and clung to her coquettishly.

"Go if you want to, and remember to come back later."

Queen Duan rubbed her cheek, hoping that she could resolve the matter.

It also helped her put her mind at ease.

【Mother, please watch me. 】

Xiao Ruyu patted his chest, looking full of confidence.