Half a month passed in a flash.

After Pei Changzhou was released from house arrest, he immediately went to the palace to thank Emperor Zhaokang. Emperor Zhaokang only gave him a few mild reprimands and asked him to leave.

As soon as Pei Changzhou walked out of the Qinzheng Hall, the chief eunuch of Ganlu Palace immediately came forward to greet him.

"Third Prince, the Empress has been worried about you for the past half month. As soon as she heard that you had entered the palace, she immediately ordered your servant to wait for you here." The chief eunuch bowed and said respectfully.

"Yeah." Pei Changzhou responded expressionlessly and strode forward, "Let's go."

Ganlu Palace.

Queen Zhou was carefully instructing the chief palace maid about what dishes to prepare for the lunch table.

Everything she ordered was Pei Changzhou's favorite. After she ordered a series of dishes, she still felt it was not enough, so she ordered two more snacks, one of which was fruit.

Pei Lingbi was lazily sitting on the couch playing the game of Nine Rings. Seeing how busy Queen Zhou was, she couldn't help but grumble, "How can my brother eat so much? And you, Queen Mother, only prepared dishes that my brother likes, not my favorites. Don't you want your daughter to stay here to eat?"

Queen Zhou glared at her and said reproachfully, "Your brother has been confined for half a month and finally got out. You should just stop worrying about him, but why are you fussing about it? What do you eat on weekdays? I've let you down."

Pei Lingbi curled her lips but said nothing more. After all, her mother had been partial to her brother for a long time. Who told her that she was not a prince?

Not long after, the maid of honor came in happily and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, the Third Prince is here."

"Okay." Queen Zhou's brows relaxed at once. She put down the Luo fan in her hand and stood up calmly.

Pei Changzhou, wearing a pale blue robe, walked in quickly and saluted before Queen Zhou, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. May you be blessed with good health and longevity."

Queen Zhou helped him up, looked him up carefully, and nodded repeatedly, "You seem to have lost some weight. Alas, Changzhou, you have suffered a lot in the past half month... If your father had not forbidden anyone to visit you, I could have asked your cousin to visit you in your mansion."

Pei Lingbi also stood up and bowed lazily towards Pei Changzhou, "Long live my brother."

She also looked at Pei Changzhou, and couldn't help thinking in her heart, the Queen Mother is really lying with her eyes open, how can the emperor lose weight? Just reflect on your mistakes behind closed doors, it's not like you're in jail, so why bother?

Queen Zhou took Pei Changzhou's hand and asked about his health, and the three of them sat down in front of the window of the warm pavilion.

As soon as Pei Changzhou sat down, he couldn't wait to ask, "Mother, I have been locked up in the mansion these days. How is the East Palace?"

"Just like before, nothing much happening."

At this point, Empress Zhou frowned and looked at Pei Changzhou seriously. "That day, the incident happened suddenly, and I didn't have time to ask you properly. What were you thinking? Why did you argue with Prince Yu for no reason? Fortunately, he didn't get hurt this time. If you really made him angry, not only would the censors in the Historian's Office impeach you, but even your father would not let you off easily!"

Speaking of this, Pei Changzhou was really depressed and had no place to vent.

"I really didn't say anything to him. I just said a few words. Who knew he would be so angry?" Pei Changzhou said bitterly, "That day was really weird. We were just having a drink and gathering, but who would have thought that we would be seen by that jerk first, and then by the Crown Prince and Prince Yu. I suffered so much in vain and lost my job in the Ministry of Justice."

"Royal brother, were you really beaten by Tao Ti?" Pei Lingbi asked curiously.

"..." Pei Changzhou's face darkened a little. He really was talking about something irrelevant.

Pei Lingbi understood immediately after seeing his reaction. She also became angry and shrieked, "That woman is so bold that she dared to hit you. Who does she think she is? Does she really think she will become a phoenix after marrying into the Eastern Palace?"

Queen Zhou's face darkened. She glanced at Pei Lingbi and said sternly, "When will you change your noisy personality?"

Pei Lingbi, "..."

Queen Zhou stared at the brother and sister in front of her and said in a stern voice, "Every failure makes you wiser. I have told you so many times not to go against the Eastern Palace."

Having said this, she paused abruptly, and with a cold face, she sent the palace maids away, leaving only a trusted palace maid to guard the palace.

Seeing that no one else was around, she continued, "Even if you are dissatisfied with the East Palace, if you can't find a good way to strike back, you have to hold it in! The two of you, one is impulsive and the other is stubborn and self-willed, neither of you makes me worry."

Pei Changzhou and Pei Lingbi were both silent. Although they felt dissatisfied, they did not dare to retort to their mother.

Queen Zhou looked at Pei Changzhou and said quietly, "If you want to accomplish great things, you need enough patience. Your father is still in good health. Even if Pei Yan dies in two years, the position of crown prince may not necessarily fall to you. The fourth child is fifteen this year, and the fifth child is almost ten years old. It is very likely that your father will support them until they reach adulthood... You can't even keep your temper with Pei Yan, a dying man. How are you going to fight the fourth and fifth children in the future?"

Pei Changzhou frowned and said in a deep voice, "Little Four and Little Five are nothing. I am the legitimate son of my mother. After Pei Yan dies, I will be the legitimate son and the eldest son. How can the position of the crown prince fall into the hands of others?"

Queen Zhou laughed sarcastically, "What am I, the queen? Your father is the emperor, and who becomes the crown prince is entirely up to his will."

"Little Four is smart and wise, and is also very good at riding, archery, and poetry. Little Five is the 'lucky star' praised by your father himself, and he is also the youngest son, and is deeply loved by your father... They must be very good at pleasing your father, but what about you? You take it lightly because you are the son of the queen, the Zhou family, and your uncle, and think that the position of crown prince is in your pocket? How foolish!"

Pei Lingbi saw this and whispered, "I heard that Tao Ti made delicious food for the prince all day long, and the prince's appetite has improved a lot, and he even called the doctor less often. Mother, brother, do you think the prince's health will gradually get better?"

After these words were spoken, Queen Zhou and Pei Changzhou both looked a little heavy.

After a long while, Pei Changzhou said in a cold voice, "Even Qin Tianjian said that he will not live long, how can he get better?"

Queen Zhou had a serious face, and her slender fingers, stained with red, pinched the corner of the table lightly, and said in a deep voice, "It won't recover."

will not.

cannot.

She wouldn't allow it.

After lunch, Queen Zhou sent Pei Lingbi away and chatted with Pei Changzhou for a long time.

Finally, she revealed a piece of news, "Your father seems to be planning to call the Gu family back."

Pei Changzhou was shocked. "Gu family? Pei Yan's uncle's family?"

Queen Zhou nodded solemnly, "Yes."

"What is the emperor thinking? It's been so many years, why does he suddenly want to call the Gu family back? What is the purpose of calling them back? Is he looking for a backer for Pei Yan? Is a dying person worth his trouble?"

Pei Changzhou really couldn't understand it. He had been studying hard and never slacked off since he could remember, but no matter how hard he tried or how good he was, he always lived under Pei Yan's shadow.

The emperor's eyes were always on Pei Yan, as if Pei Yan was his son and the others were just dispensable accessories.

Queen Zhou saw the struggle and distress in Pei Changzhou's eyes, patted the back of his hand gently, and sighed, "It's all your fault, Queen Mother. It's because you are useless that you can't please your father."

Pei Changzhou came back to his senses and said hurriedly, "Mother, this is not your fault...if you want to blame someone, blame that vixen Gu. She has been dead for so many years, but her ghost is still lingering around, making father obsessed with her."

Queen Zhou lowered her beautiful eyes, a trace of deep hatred flashed across them. After a long silence, she calmed down and said slowly, "Let's think about how we should deal with the Gu family after they return."

While the mother and son were plotting secretly in this room, in the other side of the Mingyue Palace, Tao Ti and Concubine Xu were having a pleasant conversation.

In the courtyard filled with the fragrance of flowers, Tao Ti and Concubine Xu sat opposite each other, one in a simple and gentle lotus-colored long skirt, as graceful as a magnolia; the other in a gorgeous and elegant scarlet palace dress, as dazzling as a peony.

At that time, the fragrance was lingering and the spring was in its prime.

School ended early today, and the Fifth Prince originally wanted to catch crickets outside to play with, but when he heard the little eunuch say that the Crown Princess had arrived at the Mingyue Palace, his eyes immediately lit up and he ran home.

When he ran to Mingyue Palace breathlessly, Tao Ti was talking to Concubine Xu about how to make rose flower cakes.

"Sister-in-law!" The Fifth Prince ran over swiftly, his round face showing joy, like a lively and enthusiastic puppy.

"Yeah." Tao Ti responded with a smile.

Concubine Xu Gui, who was sitting opposite, smiled helplessly and said, "You kid, seeing your sister-in-law, the Crown Princess, happy, you forgot about your mother?"

The fifth prince smiled and quickly greeted Concubine Xu.

"Look at you, you're sweating all over." Concubine Xu pulled him to her side and wiped his sweat with her handkerchief. "Go change into some clean clothes first and keep cool."

"Mother, I'm fine." The Fifth Prince said, his eyes falling on the snacks on the table. He knew at a glance that they were brought by the Crown Princess's sister-in-law. His greed was immediately aroused, and he asked, "Sister-in-law, what are these? They look delicious."

"Fresh flower cakes, sweet-scented osmanthus glutinous rice dates, and coconut-flavored red bean jelly cakes." Tao Ti said gently, "Would you like to try them?"

Today, when the Imperial Concubine sent someone to invite her to Mingyue Palace for tea, she was making snacks. Thinking that she had received a lot of good things from Imperial Concubine Xu before, it would be bad to go to the visit empty-handed this time, so she packed some snacks to take with her, and asked someone to send the rest to Pei Yan.

When she arrived at Mingyue Palace with the food box, Concubine Xu thought she had made it specially for her and her attitude became much warmer and more polite.

"I'll eat this first!" The fifth prince's eyes lit up.

Just as his hand was about to touch the snacks, he suddenly retracted it.

Concubine Xu was just wondering when she heard the Fifth Prince say in all seriousness, "Sister-in-law said that you should wash your hands before eating... I'll go wash my hands first, change my clothes, and then come back to eat... Oh, mother, you can't eat it secretly, save it for me!"

When Concubine Xu heard the first half of the sentence, she was somewhat relieved that her son had finally paid attention to cleanliness. But when she heard the second half, the corners of her rosy mouth could not help but twitch.

Cheating? She is a noble concubine, how can she be associated with this word!

"This kid is talking nonsense." Concubine Xu laughed awkwardly.

"..." Tao Ti also smiled cooperatively, thinking that Concubine Xu was quite interesting.

After a while, the fifth prince came back. He sat down on the stone bench and grabbed a rose cake.

The flower cake was still warm, a small one with a golden and crispy surface, and it was very tempting just by looking at it.

When you take a bite, you will taste the soft and fragrant puff pastry layer by layer, which is so crispy that it can even break into pieces. When your teeth come into contact with the sweet and fragrant rose filling, the aroma of the flowers blends perfectly with the milky aroma of the puff pastry. It is soft, fragrant and glutinous, with a delicate taste. You will feel as if you are in a sea of ​​​​brilliant roses, full of sweetness.

"This is so delicious!" The fifth prince ate one in no time, with crumbs hanging on his mouth. "The rose filling inside is so fragrant, without any astringent smell of petals at all."

"I have marinated the rose jam for the filling for almost a month, so of course it doesn't have a salty taste anymore," said Tao Ti.

"Oh oh." The Fifth Prince didn't understand the effect of marinating time on the filling, but he just had to eat it!

After eating two pieces of fresh flower cakes, he looked at the osmanthus glutinous rice dates and coconut red bean jelly on the table, grabbed one in each hand, and put them into his mouth one after another.

Seeing him like this, Concubine Xu Guifei coughed lightly out of embarrassment, trying to get him to pay attention.

The fifth prince was immersed in his pastries and didn't notice the hint from his mother's eyes.

Concubine Xu Gui was helpless and could only turn to Tao Ti and smile apologetically, saying, "This child...is not like this normally."

"It's okay. He likes to eat it. It's a recognition of my cooking skills. I'm so happy." Tao Ti was no longer surprised. Before, Xiao Wu and Achan were chasing each other in the East Palace for the last fried chicken leg. A noble lady and a prince, they had no image at all.

Concubine Xu smiled gently, "You just told me how to make rose flower cakes. Can you also tell me how to make sweet-scented osmanthus glutinous rice dates? If this kid gets hungry in the future, I can ask the kitchen to make it for him."

"The method of making sweet-scented osmanthus glutinous rice dates is very simple. Select full and large red dates, remove the core, roll the glutinous rice into strips and stuff them into the red dates, then put them in a pot and add rock sugar to cook slowly. When it is almost cooked, add some dried osmanthus flowers. When the soup becomes thick, pick out the red dates one by one and let them cool down, and it is done."

Tao Ti smiled and said, "I don't like things that are too sweet, so I put a little rock sugar in it. If you want to make it, you can adjust the sweetness according to your own preferences."

Before Concubine Xu replied, the Fifth Prince said, "This sweetness is good enough. I don't like things that are too sweet!"

His mouth was stuffed full of delicious food. The red dates were soft and crispy, and the glutinous rice balls were sticky and glutinous, with a faint sweet-scented osmanthus aroma when chewed.

"And this coconut-flavored red bean cake is delicious too!" The fifth prince said as he put it into his mouth. The cold cake melted in his mouth, and the rich coconut aroma spread between his lips and tongue. The dense and delicate taste seemed incomparably fresh and refreshing in these days between spring and summer.

"You, as long as it's made by your sister-in-law, the Crown Princess, even a bowl of white rice is delicious!" Concubine Xu joked, and turned to look at Tao Ti with an even bigger smile, "Every time this child comes back from the East Palace, his mouth is full of praise for you... He praises you so much that even I, your own mother, am a little jealous. Well, if you and the Crown Prince have a child in the future, your child will be blessed."

Tao Ti was slightly stunned and didn't know how to respond. She just lowered her head and took a piece of fresh flower cake and started eating.

When Concubine Xu saw her porcelain-like delicate cheeks flushed lightly, she couldn't help but chuckle.

After all, she is a little girl and is thin-skinned.

She suddenly remembered something and shook her head, "Come to think of it, Your Majesty is really a fool. Why did you think of sending the Crown Prince to Luoyang to do this? Not to mention the hardship of traveling back and forth, you two are still newlyweds, and your love is as sweet as glue. If you suddenly have to separate, you will miss each other a lot..."

Tao Ti stared in astonishment, "The prince is going to Luoyang?"

"Yeah, you don't know yet?" Concubine Xu looked at her expression and explained, "Maybe he was afraid that you would be reluctant to let him go, so he wanted to tell you later."

"Well, I guess so."

Tao Ti responded softly, and couldn't help but think in her mind, can Pei Yan's frail body really travel far?

I'm already so thin, if I have to sleep in the open air, suffer from the cold and heat, and not eat or sleep well——

They say that a mother worries about her son even when he is thousands of miles away. How come I am worrying about my mother?!

Tao Ti shook her head and tried not to think about it anymore, but the more she tried not to think about it, the more it kept lingering in her mind.

Concubine Xu was also young once. Seeing Tao Ti's absent-minded look, she smiled with her hands covering her lips.

She put down the cup in her hand and said softly, "Ati, I suddenly remembered that I still have some business to deal with in the palace. Why don't you go back first? I'll invite you to have tea together another day."

"Hmm? Okay, okay." Tao Ti came back to her senses.

She stood up and said goodbye to Concubine Xu. Before leaving, Concubine Xu gave her a box of expensive perfume powder.

The Fifth Prince was still somewhat reluctant to leave and wanted to keep Tao Ti to play with him, but he was dragged aside by his mother.

Seeing the Crown Princess's sister-in-law leave, the Fifth Prince pouted and said sullenly, "Mother, you can handle your affairs, why are you bothering me to play with my sister-in-law!"

Concubine Xu rolled her eyes at him. "Your sister-in-law is in a hurry to go back to your brother, the Crown Prince, so she has no time to deal with you. Besides, have you done your homework today? If you can't recite the answer in the random test tomorrow, you can wait for me to beat you up..."

The fifth prince curled his lips and said, "Why can't I grow up quickly?"

Concubine Xu raised her eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

The fifth prince sighed with great regret, "If I had grown up, I could have married my sister-in-law before the crown prince!"

“…”

Concubine Xu, "Chen'er, has your mother not spanked you for three days?"

Fifth Prince, “!!!” Danger.

He immediately grabbed two plates of cakes with lightning speed and ran back to his room.