Chapter 256: Bo Qiaohui 68
"My mother would never do such a thing."
Bo Qiaohui also smiled. "No one should touch Che'er's things. Isn't the eldest princess most aware of this?"
Guantao was startled and turned his head to look, but he couldn't figure out whether the queen was just talking casually or really knew something.
"Why is the eldest princess looking at me like that?" Bo Qiaohui looked back at her innocently, touching her smooth cheek. "Is there something on my face?"
"Nothing, I'm just wondering why you suddenly said that just now. It's really confusing."
"Really? I thought the princess was wondering why I knew about your private contact with Liu Pengzu. After all, Her Highness was very secretive, and no one except Pengzu himself should know about it."
After Bo Qiaohui finished speaking, she didn't give Guan Tao any chance to test her at all. She stepped forward and stood on the left side of the Queen Mother. "Since Wu'er is going to live in the palace, Queen Mother, have you decided which palace to place him in?"
"Just arrange it next to me. I thought the palace you arranged for Wu'er that year was great. I'll just tidy it up the same way as before."
The Queen Mother was distracted by Qiao Hui and pulled her aside with great interest, "It just so happens that I was thinking about Wu Er before, so I asked them to clean it from time to time. You can go sit there when you have time."
"If you have nothing to do today, come with me and see if there's anything missing. I'll send someone to fill it tomorrow."
"In that case, I will take my leave. There are still many things waiting for me to deal with in Xuanshi Hall."
Liu Qi took the opportunity to escape, bowed and turned away.
Guantao was somewhat reluctant to leave like this, so he gritted his teeth and followed the Queen Mother and the others.
No matter how she hinted along the way, Bo Qiaohui refused to respond. Dou Yifang was thinking about seeing Wu'er and couldn't wait to clean up Liu Wu's room, so she didn't pay attention to the meaning of her daughter's words.
Seeing that his mother had already started talking to the Queen about what pattern of curtains to prepare for Liu Wu and wanted her to choose one, Guantao finally couldn't help rolling his eyes.
Letting her, the eldest princess, clean up the palace for Liu Wu, who does he think he is? Bah.
"Mother, since I was a child, when have I ever done this kind of servant work? If you let me choose, I will only choose what I like."
Guan Tao threw his hands and said with some disdain: "Besides, he has made a mistake now, so he should keep a low profile. Aren't you afraid that others will not know that we are relying on the royal family to protect the criminal?"
"How can you say that about your brother? Even though he made a mistake, Qi'er punished him. You are still brother and sister after all."
"Forget it, I don't dare to have such a brother." Seeing that Dou Yifang's face looked bad, Guantao didn't continue speaking.
But those words just now had already disturbed Dou Yifang's heart. She had lived an upright life, but she was always subconsciously partial to Wu'er because she owed him something.
Was it really because of my partiality that I harmed the child? Could it be that his mistakes were more than just what the emperor said? Did I really... do something wrong?
With Dou Yifang's intelligence, didn't she sense the emperor's hesitation? Did she really know nothing about the court?
If he really knew nothing, why would he ask the emperor about Liu Wu at such a sensitive time?
She actually had a premonition, but just didn't want to believe it.
"Mother, I have some things to do today. I will come to visit you tomorrow."
Guantao finished talking to himself and didn't notice Dou Yifang's lonely look. He was still excitedly thinking about how to dress A Jiao tomorrow to attract Liu Che's attention.
"My life has truly been a failure," Dou Yifang said, looking at her daughter's back. She suddenly felt extremely tired. "Even though Qi'er doesn't say it, I know he hasn't gotten over it. Perhaps he won't forgive me until I die."
"Wu'er, I used to think I had taught him well, but now it seems that it was because of Changjun's supervision that he was kept from going astray."
"And Guantao, she is the one her father and I love the most, yet we have spoiled this daughter to the point of being selfish, greedy, cold and heartless."
Dou Yifang had a bitter taste in her mouth and swayed weakly, but was held firmly by Qiaohui.
"I'm so proud of my intelligence, but when it comes to raising children, I'm not as good as the Grand Empress Dowager, and when it comes to judging people, I'm even worse than her."
Veins bulged on her withered hands as she clutched Qiaohui's hand tightly. "I won't indulge her anymore. Ah Jiao is a good child, but if she's raised according to her mother's temperament, I'm afraid she won't be able to become the Queen. Tomorrow, when Nian Xue arrives, I'll let her live in the palace. I'll feel at ease with you taking care of her."
"Yes, mother, don't worry. I won't let you down." Bo Qiaohui didn't refuse and placed her hand on the back of the empress dowager's hand. "What do you think of this curtain?"
"Let the palace maids do these things when the time comes. It will be enough."
In the end, Guantao's words still left a shadow in her mind. Dou Yifang looked at the things in her hands and no longer had the interest to fiddle with them. She just pointed at a few things that did not meet the requirements and asked them to take them away.
On the way back, she didn't even want Qiaohui to see her off, and walked alone, trembling with the help of a crutch.
Seeing a row of palace maids following her, Qiaohui sent someone to invite the imperial physician to wait in the empress dowager's bedroom in advance.
"My lady, please stop standing in the wind. Let's go back."
Le Chi was a bit worried. Lately, things had been tough in the palace. Many palace servants had fallen ill, and even the Empress Dowager and the Emperor weren't in good health. The servants in the Pepper Palace had become even more concerned about the Empress and the four young princes, fearing they might catch the disease as well.
Seeing Le Chi's worried look, Bo Qiaohui didn't explain. She just shook her head and said, "If you don't go back to the Pepper Room, you should accompany me to the Taiji Hall. I haven't visited Che'er for a while."
"Besides, he still has his troublesome brother, Ah Cheng, to teach a lesson. I have to go and check on him before I can feel at ease."
"promise."
In the Taiji Hall, Liu Che was kneeling in front of the table, holding a memorial to learn what political affairs his father had been dealing with recently, and learning the way of being a king from it.
Not far in front of him, Liu Cheng was holding a small tripod on his head, half squatting with his legs open, and his hands clenched into fists. His fair face was flushed red and his body was covered in sweat.
When Bo Qiaohui came in, his legs were already trembling and he was about to fall down.
Your son pays homage to your mother, the Queen Mother."
It was Liu Che who first noticed his mother standing at the door. As soon as he stood up, Liu Cheng could no longer support himself, and the small tripod on his head fell to the ground with a dull sound.
"Hey, isn't this our Third Prince? How come he looks like this after not seeing him for a while?" Bo Qiaohui smiled as she watched Liu Cheng slowly turn around and salute her. She nodded and said, "Not bad. How long have you been doing this horse stance?"
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