Chapter 380 Yixiu 58
Yixiu quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, you are only acting out of a loving mother's heart. To be honest, it is my fault. I am sorry that you have taken so much trouble to help me."
"What's the point of being tired? I'm old now, and can only worry about these trivial matters. Of course, I have to ask the emperor's opinion on this matter, and it has to be in line with his wishes."
The Queen Mother's face was kind again at this moment, and she said with a smile: "When the time comes, I will be looking forward to holding my grandson."
Yixiu came out of Shoukang Palace, sat on the sedan chair and glanced at the ceremonial guard behind her. Although it was simple, it was still large in number. The smile on her face became more and more strange.
He returned to Yongshou Palace in a grand procession, took the pre-rain Longjing tea handed to him by Jianqiu, and ordered someone to put out the ice basin.
"Your Majesty, you've been really busy today. I don't know why the Queen Mother thought of the beauty pageant. She kept you here and gave you a lecture, but it didn't seem like she had any objections to you."
Jianqiu picked up the round fan on the table and slowly fanned Yixiu. Although she did not dare to complain about the empress dowager's behavior today, it was obvious that she did not understand.
"Has the Emperor visited the Empress Dowager at Shoukang Palace these past two days?"
Yixiu suddenly asked. Jianqiu thought for a moment and shook her head softly, "It seems not. The Emperor has been staying in the Yangxin Palace for the past two days. He must be too busy with government affairs to leave."
This is the advantage of living there. Even if the Yongshou Palace doesn’t deliberately inquire about it, any major movement in the Yangxin Palace can be known.
Yixiu held the sweet white porcelain bowl with a shadow blue pattern of twined flowers in her hand, and her slender fingers gently stroked the pattern on it, with a faint smile on her face: "This is the motherly heart of the empress dowager."
"Ask the kitchen to prepare the sour plum soup."
Seeing this, Jianqiu knew that the Queen Mother knew something about the Queen Mother's behavior today but was reluctant to say it out loud. So she put the matter behind her, responded and left.
Yixiu was the only one left in the room. She picked up the jade-handled round fan that Jianqiu had just put down and fanned herself twice, thinking silently in her heart:
The Empress Dowager was indeed a loving mother, but it was not for the Emperor's sake, but entirely for the sake of her youngest son.
The Queen Mother was worthy of being the one who had successfully fought her way out of the endless stream of concubines of the late emperor. Her understanding of both the emperor and her eldest son was deeper than others imagined.
What kind of person is Prince Xun?
Yixiu actually doesn’t understand it very well.
But even a woman in the inner court like her had heard of the glorious deeds of the Fourteenth Prince.
In his previous life, he openly refuted Kangxi's suspicion of the Eighth Prince in front of his brothers, which made the emperor furious; he also refused to kneel when facing his fourth brother who had become the heir to the throne, and only knelt when the Eighth Prince Yinsi said, "You should kneel down."
This shows that he actually cares more about his own pleasure than anything else. Or, in other words, he's too stubborn, sometimes preferring to die standing up rather than live on his knees.
Although the conflict between him and the emperor has not yet emerged for various reasons, if his character continues, his end will only become more tragic when he faces an emperor who is getting older and more suspicious.
The emperor's assessment of him as impulsive and reckless was not wrong. Among the emperor's brothers today, which one would directly ask the emperor for troops to fight like he did? Which one would be scolded by the emperor and then run to the empress dowager's palace to complain like he did?
This was really a bad move. Not only Yixiu saw it, but the Empress Dowager saw it too.
I'm afraid that Prince Xun's action has instead touched the emperor's heart about mother and son. Even if the emperor didn't mind it before, I'm afraid he will mind it now.
Didn’t you see that he didn’t even go to Shoukang Palace?
The Empress Dowager also noticed this and hurriedly kept her in Shoukang Palace, deliberately bringing up the selection and asking her to remember to ask the Emperor's opinion.
Isn't that nonsense? How could the emperor choose a concubine without asking for his opinion? With this, Yixiu could help bring out the Empress Dowager, the initiator.
Of course, it doesn’t matter even if Yixiu doesn’t say it. After all, her procession is coming out of Shoukang Palace in a grand manner. Anyone who is not blind can see it, and the emperor will know it as long as he asks.
"Empress, Xiao Xiazi is here."
Yixiu paused fanning herself, a smile plastered across her face: "Let him in."
A fair-skinned young eunuch, about seventeen or eighteen years old, walked in, bowing neatly and ceremoniously. A joyful smile lit up his face, "Empress, the Emperor invites you to the Yangxin Palace for dinner."
"Got it. I'll be there soon."
Yixiu waved her hand, signaling Jianqiu to send the person out safely. She went to the inner room and changed into a sky-green gauze embroidered shirt over a sky-blue casual jacket. She wore a clear water lotus hairpin slanted in her hair and a pair of teardrop-shaped jade earrings on her ears.
Putting the hollow jade-inlaid ice plum pattern armor on the table on her fingers, Yixiu looked at herself in the mirror: her eyebrows were relaxed, she looked dignified and beautiful, and she looked approachable and trustworthy.
"Let's go, don't make the emperor wait."
The distance from Yongshou Palace to Yangxin Palace was not very long; Yixiu walked slowly and it took only a moment. Su Peisheng, who had spotted the Empress's procession from a distance outside the palace, hurried over to greet them, "Your servant greets Her Majesty the Empress."
"Eunuch Su, please get up quickly."
Su Peisheng stood up swiftly and welcomed Yixiu in with a smile: "The Emperor is waiting for you..."
As they entered the hall, one in front and one behind, they felt a sudden stillness. Yixiu stepped over the threshold and slowly walked into the right side hall. She saw Yinzhen leaning on a pillow, reading a copy of the "Book of Filial Piety".
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."
Yinzhen, buried in his book, didn't look up, but stretched out his right hand. Yixiu stood up.
"I forgot to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager these past two days. Remembering that today is the day you're bringing them to Shoukang Palace to pay their respects, I've asked someone to invite you over to tell me about the Empress Dowager's recent situation."
Yinzhen pulled her to sit beside him, his eyes still on his hands, and chatted as if he was chatting about family matters.
"The Queen Mother has been doing well lately. It seems you and the Queen Mother are truly a pair of confidants."
Seeing that the emperor had indeed sent people to monitor every move in Shoukang Palace, Yixiu had nothing to understand. She couldn't escape this trick for the time being. Although it didn't cause any loss to her, it only made her feel aggrieved.
"Hmm? How do you feel so connected?"
Yinzhen seemed to be finally interested in her words. He finally threw the "Book of Filial Piety" on the table and turned to face her.
Yixiu was finally able to stand up, no longer having to squeeze in with him: "It turns out that the Empress Dowager said that the Emperor has been overworked in recent years and is worried about your health. So she wanted to choose a few suitable people for the sake of offspring..."
Yinzhen twirled the ring on his finger, a smile hidden in his eyes. "The Empress Dowager is indeed well-intentioned, but the timing is unfortunate. The court is preparing for war these days, so I have no choice but to ask you to decline the Empress Dowager's kindness on my behalf."
"Really? This is my fault. I will definitely speak to the Queen Mother on His Majesty's behalf. I believe the Queen Mother will understand the difficulties His Majesty is facing."
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