Chapter 165 An Lingrong 106
Not long after the meal, the emperor came out of the Mausoleum Palace and deliberately left some time for the mother and son to be alone.
The emperor stood outside Chengqian Palace, remembering Lingrong's eyes when she saw Hongyao just now, and asked inexplicably, "How is the Empress Dowager's health recently?"
Su Peisheng, standing by, hunched over hurriedly. "The Empress Dowager's health had improved, but she was frightened by the fire in Shoukang Palace a few days ago. I heard she has trouble getting up again."
The emperor hesitated for a moment while sitting in the sedan chair, then said, "Let's go to Shoukang Palace."
As soon as she entered, she saw Huipin carefully feeding the Queen Mother medicine, even more attentive and attentive than the Queen's legitimate wife. This immediately made her even more dissatisfied with the Queen.
"Your son pays his respects to the Empress Dowager."
"The emperor is here, get up quickly, the ground is wet, be careful." When the empress dowager saw the emperor, she called him slowly, and did not forget to care about the emperor's health, which made him feel a little guilty for a moment.
"My son has been busy with state affairs and has neglected the Empress Dowager's health." The emperor sat down beside the Empress Dowager's bed and his words were no longer cold and harsh.
The Queen Mother felt relieved when she saw his expression. She waved her hand and said with a smile, "It's only right for the Emperor to prioritize state affairs. Besides, I have Huipin by my side. She will take good care of him every day, so the Emperor doesn't need to worry."
"Huipin is indeed diligent in serving the Empress Dowager. Even the Empress is not as good as her." The Emperor looked at Meizhuang who was standing quietly beside him and praised her gently.
Mei Zhuang bowed slowly and unhurriedly. "It is my great honor to serve the Empress Dowager, and I will naturally not hesitate to do my best. Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager have something to say. I will go to the kitchen first to see if the porridge is ready."
After saying this, she quietly withdrew, neither taking credit nor flattering the emperor. Not only was the empress dowager satisfied, but even the emperor was temporarily attracted by such a beautiful woman.
The two were about to speak when they heard the queen arrive.
Seeing that the Empress Dowager had almost forgotten where the door to Shoukang Palace opened, and now stepped onto her floor for the first time, she knew that she was chasing the Emperor.
I just shook my head in my heart: This is too petty, it's not like a queen's demeanor.
Yixiu didn't care what the Empress Dowager thought. She came here because she felt that it would be easier to persuade the Emperor to give up on welcoming Zhen Huan back in the Empress Dowager's palace. After all, her aunt probably didn't want the Emperor to make a big fuss and spend all his energy for a deposed concubine, or even go against the ministers.
"Today is quite unusual. You two made an appointment and came to my Shoukang Palace one after the other."
As soon as the Empress Dowager said this, the Emperor interrupted Yixiu before she could say anything. "My son rushed to see the Empress Dowager after finishing his official duties. I didn't know the Empress would choose this time to pay her respects."
"...I was also concerned about the Empress Dowager's health, so I came to visit her as soon as my headache had gotten better."
"Since the Queen isn't feeling well, she should rest." The Queen Mother glanced at the Queen sitting on the embroidered stool and said indifferently, "It's no wonder. Since you haven't gotten better, your subordinates have naturally become bolder and don't even take the Prince seriously."
He ignored Yixiu's face, which stiffened for a moment, and turned to the emperor, "Your Majesty, don't you know yet? Someone poisoned the Fourth Prince yesterday. Fortunately, the poisoned porridge was used by the maidservant beside him. Otherwise, within the palace, a dignified prince would have been poisoned and killed so brazenly. If this were to be made public, wouldn't the whole world laugh at him?"
Then he softened his tone and said, "I also know that the emperor is worried about Concubine Wan and the heir in her belly."
"Your Majesty, I understand. Although I wish to welcome her back to the palace and prevent the royal bloodline from being lost outside, her astrological sign is not favorable. If I harm your phoenix body, wouldn't it be my fault?"
"The prince is a matter of great importance. The unfavorable astrological conditions are only temporary, and even if they are, it won't hinder anything. Your Majesty is right to welcome her back to the palace, but please do not favor her too much. Furthermore, please take the trouble to select a foster mother for the Fourth Prince and raise her with care."
"My son will listen to my mother." At this time, the emperor lowered his head, looking like a filial son.
The Queen Mother glanced at the silent Queen beside her, then slowly asked, "What do you think, Queen?"
Yixiu hurriedly stood up and saluted: "The Empress Dowager is very clear-headed. I am ashamed to be inferior to her. Naturally, I will obey the Empress Dowager's orders."
"Okay, I won't ask about this matter anymore. I'll take a look after she enters the palace."
After that, the Emperor and Empress both performed their formalities and withdrew from Shoukang Palace. However, they parted ways outside the palace gate. The Emperor went to the Yangxin Palace to review his memorials, while Yixiu also went back to prepare for Zhen Huan's entry into the palace.
Next, the emperor threw both the ceremony of conferring the title of consort and the renovation of Yongshou Palace to Yixiu. Also spread to the palace was the news that Zhen Huan's surname and title had been changed to Manchu.
Hearing the word "soft", even the Queen was a little confused about the Emperor's pulse. Looking at this series of events, the Emperor really treated Zhen Huan with rare attention, but the word "soft" was really subtle.
Thinking of this, the queen ordered people to build Yongshou Palace into an extremely luxurious one. Although it was not as good as Chengqian Palace, it was more magnificent than Jingren Palace.
But the emperor looked at it without reacting. He didn't frown at the extravagance, nor did he express dissatisfaction that it was not enough.
Two days later, the queen added another plaque with the words "Virtue is Renewing Every Day" in the inner room.
The emperor looked at it and still said nothing.
Until the day when the Emperor came to stay at her palace, the Empress tentatively asked, "Speaking of which, the Imperial Concubine used to be on good terms with Concubine Rou. Why not hand over Yongshou Palace to the Imperial Concubine again? That would be more to Concubine Rou's liking."
The emperor glanced at the empress who was lowering her head to undress her. He didn't say anything harsh, but just sat down on the bed and said, "Your Highness, you have two children to take care of, and you have to help you with the trivial palace affairs every day. How can you have the leisure time for this? Forget it."
Thinking back to when Lingrong was in charge of the harem, although it couldn't be said that there were no problems, they were all minor quarrels that never reached his eyes. Seeing the queen always saying inappropriate things, the dissatisfaction in his heart could not be suppressed immediately:
"The affairs of the six palaces are the responsibility of the Empress, so I have handed the management of Yongshou Palace to you. Even if the Imperial Concubine and the Concubine Rou are on good terms and are respectful and unconcerned, we must still consider the order of rank. Since ancient times, except for the Imperial Concubine who is in charge of the affairs of the six palaces and takes the place of the Empress, it is not uncommon for the Imperial Concubine to bypass the Empress and let the Imperial Concubine manage the concubines' palaces."
"Your Majesty is right. It was all my fault for not thinking carefully. I was so focused on the relationship between the sisters that I forgot the rules of the palace."
"If that's the case, I'll have Concubine Hui assist. As for sisterhood, they grew up together and their closeness is unparalleled."
After the emperor finished speaking, he did not even look at the queen's expression. He just went to the inner room and fell asleep, leaving the queen sitting by the bed, staring at the red candle by the window for a long time, wondering what she was thinking.
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