The morning light was dim, and the palace was majestic. Outside the Donghua Gate, a carriage with a purple curtain slowly stopped. Several guards were about to go forward to check it, but someone had already handed something out from behind the curtain. One of the guards took a look and immediately respectfully lowered the curtain and let the carriage pass toward the Yuqing Gate. At this time, the sky was getting brighter, and the glazed tiles on the top of the palace were shining silver. The mahogany wheel slowly moved along the palace wall, leaving two clear marks on the thick snow.

Yuan Xi was wearing a royal dress, holding a handkerchief in her hand, and sitting in the car in a reserved manner. The horn bells hanging from the roof of the car jingled all the way, making her heart go up and down, uneasy. She raised her head and secretly glanced at the princess sitting opposite her. The princess was dressed up today, which was rare. Compared with her usual cold appearance, she had more awe-inspiring dignity. She just closed her eyes and rested her mind all the way, letting Nanny Yu beside her serve her earnestly, but she seemed too lazy to say a word. Yuan Xi retracted her gaze and sighed silently in her heart. The smell of powder and incense lingering in the car made her mind a little confused.

Last night, the Queen Mother suddenly issued an imperial decree, saying that New Year's Eve was approaching and she wanted to reminisce with her relatives whom she had not seen for a long time, so she specially summoned Princess Rui'an and Yuan Xi to the Changle Palace for an audience. This decree not only surprised Yuan Xi, but also surprised the princess. In these years, except for the death of the previous emperor, the princess never set foot in the palace again. Although the Queen Mother and her were sisters-in-law, they were not close, not to mention that they had not met for many years. Why did she summon her to the palace to reminisce before New Year's Eve this year?

But whether they were confused or shocked, they dared not disobey the order issued by the Queen Mother herself. So, before dawn today, both of them prepared their formal clothes and makeup in their rooms, and got on the car early to go to the Changle Palace where the Queen Mother was staying to meet the Queen Mother.

Yuan Xi had never been to the palace. In terms of seniority, the Queen Mother was her aunt, but her status was too noble and she had never met her. She had hardly slept the whole night before. Since she got on the car, she was very nervous, afraid that she would make a mistake and offend the Queen Mother. She had hoped that the princess could give her some advice on the Queen Mother's taboos and preferences, but the princess kept her lips tightly shut and just sat opposite her coldly, like a lifeless statue.

At this time, the carriage slowly stopped, and outside the Yuqing Gate, several palace maids lined up in front of the carriage to greet them. Yuan Xi and the princess got off the carriage, followed the guidance of the palace maids, passed the green tiles and red pillars with carved dragons and phoenixes, and finally arrived at the palace where the Queen Mother was.

Inside Changle Palace, the red curtains were covered with flying phoenixes, gold and silver were ablaze, and the fragrance of lilies in the incense burner filled the room. Yuan Xi followed the princess with her head down, and vaguely caught a glimpse of the bright yellow long-sleeved robe at the top. She was so nervous that she dared not even breathe. After the ceremony, she heard a lazy but dignified voice coming from above, and she couldn't help but feel a little curious about this aunt whom she had never met.

According to rumors, the late emperor was only the seventh son of Emperor Taizu and was not favored. It was only with the support of the Xiao family army led by the old marquis and the strong support of the Xia family, the mother's family of the empress dowager, that the then crown prince was deposed. The crown prince then hanged himself in Jingyuan Palace, and the late emperor succeeded to the throne ahead of time. The various secrets hidden in this have long been buried in the years and no one knows them anymore.

The late emperor and the empress dowager were still deeply in love after being married for many years. They were inseparable no matter in front of others or behind others. After the late emperor ascended the throne, although he had several concubines in the harem, he still stayed in the imperial palace where the empress dowager was, and she was favored by no one else. Therefore, when the late emperor was alive, the only child was born to the empress dowager, who is now the emperor. The other concubines had no children. It was a pity that the late emperor passed away early. It is said that when he was seriously ill, the empress dowager served him every day, taking care of him and feeding him medicine. She was a good story in the palace and outside.

Yuan Xi couldn't help but secretly look up and see what kind of person this empress dowager was, who could help the emperor ascend the throne and win the emperor's favor. She was sitting at the top, with skin as white as snow, delicate eyebrows, and although she smiled gently, she always exuded a kind of oppressive pressure. Although she was over 40 years old, she couldn't hide her charming face. Only when she smiled did a few fine lines appear, revealing some traces of age.

Yuan Xi was a little stunned, but the Queen Mother smiled softly. She fiddled with the ruby ​​on the armor and smiled softly at Yuan Xi: "You are the seventh daughter of the Mingyuan family. There is no need to be so formal. Should I call you my niece?"

Yuan Xi's heartbeat quickened a little, and he lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, just call me Yuan Xi, okay?"

The Queen Mother raised her hand and, with the help of a maid, she slowly walked down the steps. She came to Yuan Xi and looked her over carefully from head to toe. She said, "Mingyuan said that you are always quiet and usually like to stay in your room and read. Now I see that you are indeed quiet and graceful, and quite likable."

Yuan Xi felt it was a little strange and couldn't help but blurt out: "Did Daddy ever mention me to you?" But then he felt that he had overstepped the bounds and quickly lowered his head while holding his breath.

The Queen Mother covered her mouth and chuckled, saying, "Why are you so afraid of me?" She then sighed and said, "I have had the best relationship with your father since I was a child. It's a pity that once you enter the palace, you are destined to sever your family ties, and you can't even walk around your biological brother's house at will. Although I haven't seen all of you young people, I have heard Mingyuan talk about your temperaments and personalities, and I have remembered them all in my heart. Otherwise, how could I let Yan'er arrange a marriage for you and Xuanyuan Hou."

Yuan Xi was even more surprised, because it turned out that the arranged marriage was the Queen Mother's idea. However, she did not dare to ask why it was her. She just lowered her head and thanked the Queen Mother for her attention and kindness to her.

The Queen Mother asked again, "Speaking of which, I haven't seen your father for a long time. Is he in good health now?"

Yuan Xi's face turned red. After she went back to the Marquis' Mansion on her own initiative, she cut off all contact with the Prime Minister's Mansion and never saw her father again. Didn't the Queen Mother know about this?

Seeing her hesitating, the Queen Mother guessed the hidden meaning a little bit and sighed, "There is no overnight hatred between father and daughter. No matter what it is, you should wait until he calms down and apologize to him. I know Mingyuan's temper best. No matter what he says, he always loves you children in his heart."

Yuan Xi nodded with a wandering look in her eyes, feeling a lot of melancholy in her heart. At this time, the Queen Mother turned around again, looked at where the princess was, and said, "Huitong, since you last returned to the palace, we haven't seen each other for more than ten years."

Yuan Xi followed her gaze and found that the princess was sitting on a rosewood chair, her hands tightly grasping the armrests, her face almost pale. When she heard the Queen Mother's question, she raised her head and put on a stiff smile and said, "Yes, at that time Du'er was only fifteen years old and had not yet gone to the army for training. Now he has already married. Thinking about it now, it is really sad."

The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Yes, they have all grown up, and we are old. That's why I suddenly wanted to see you again, my niece. You won't blame me, will you?"

The princess's face changed, and she stood up quickly and said, "How dare Huitong blame you? If it weren't for my weak body, I would also like to walk around the palace more often."

Yuan Xi listened to their conversation and always felt that the princess' tone was a little strange. At this time, the queen mother suddenly said to her: "You go out for a while. Your mother-in-law and I have some private words to talk about. I will call you in later."

Yuan Xi heaved a sigh of relief, raised her head and bowed to the Queen Mother, but when she saw the Queen Mother's back, she suddenly had a strange thought. She seemed to have seen this back before...

This thought shocked her. She was sure that she had never seen the Queen Mother. When she was in the Prime Minister's Mansion, she was just a neglected concubine. Even if the Queen Mother had been to the Prime Minister's Mansion, she would never have had the opportunity to see her. But why did she feel that this back was so familiar? Where had she seen it before?

A little palace maid came forward and interrupted Yuan Xi's thoughts. She hurriedly followed the maid out of the palace. When she was thinking about what to do next, suddenly a eunuch hurried over and whispered a few words to the maid. The maid nodded quickly and turned around to stand at the palace gate.

Yuan Xi was just feeling strange when the eunuch said to her with a smile, "Madam, please stay for now. His Majesty wants you to see him in the Yangxin Palace."

Yuan Xi's eyes widened, not understanding why the emperor would summon her alone today. But she knew she couldn't ask any more questions, so she nodded and was about to follow the eunuch, but then she remembered that maybe she should ask the palace maid to inform her mother-in-law first. While she was hesitating, she suddenly heard a clear slap from the door. At this time, the queen mother had sent all the servants out of the palace, leaving only the princess and the queen mother. Yuan Xi's heart was pounding, not understanding what was going on, but she didn't dare to barge in.

She turned around and looked around, only to see that the eunuchs and palace maids guarding the palace gate seemed to have heard nothing and were just standing there. Without the master's order, they would never move a step on their own.

Yuan Xi was extremely anxious, but the palace was already silent. At this time, the eunuch who delivered the message turned around and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is waiting, please go quickly, Madam."

Yuan Xi bit her lip and had to temporarily follow the eunuch through the palaces, turning around several corridors before stopping in front of a palace.

The eunuch went into the hall first to report. Yuan Xi stood in front of the jade steps that reflected people's shadows, took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

After the eunuch left, he respectfully invited Yuan Xi in. The palace lights were bright, ambergris was burning, and Emperor Wen was wearing a bright yellow dress, writing behind his desk. When he saw Yuan Xi walk in, he looked up at her and said, "Are you Yuan Xi?" He put down the wolf-hair brush in his hand, wiped the ink off his hand with a handkerchief, and smiled again, "Maybe I can call you cousin."

The gentle and elegant smile relaxed Yuan Xi's tense nerves a little. He then recalled the many rumors about this young monarch. It was said that he was always lenient and kind in his administration and in his treatment of his subjects. Although he was deeply supported by the people, he had to be constrained by his external relatives in government affairs. Compared with the previous two monarchs, his skills were a little weaker.

Yuan Xi came back to her senses and quickly knelt down to pay her respects. Zhao Yan smiled and motioned her to stand up, saying, "When your husband saw me, he never cared about the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects. He always did whatever he wanted. Since you are my cousin and Chong Jiang's wife, you don't have to talk to me about these empty formalities."

Yuan Xi knew that Xiao Du had been studying with the emperor since childhood, and had a deep relationship with the former crown prince, but she had never heard Xiao Du mention his relationship with the emperor. It was not until she heard him say this that she realized that the two of them did have an unusual relationship. But the man in front of her, who stood at the top of the imperial city, had an invisible boundary that no one could cross, no matter how humble he was.

She bowed her head respectfully and said, "Although your majesty is kind to Chongjiang, he is still the king after all. If your majesty asks me any questions, I will answer them frankly, but I must follow the proper rules."

Seeing her attitude, Zhao Yan couldn't help laughing and said, "When Chongjiang and I were young, we both thought about what our future wives would be like. I said he was wild and bad, and that we must find an extraordinary person to control him. I wanted to see you when I went to the Marquis's mansion that day, but he said you were afraid of meeting outsiders and hid you. He would never have thought that I would always find a way to see you if I wanted to. Don't tell him that you have seen me when you go back this time. Let's keep it a secret between us."

Yuan Xi heard the cunning meaning in his words and couldn't help but secretly look up, only to see Jin Shangchong blinking at her with a naughty expression like a teenager on his face. She couldn't help but find it a little funny, and she completely relaxed in her heart.

Zhao Yan had already walked up to her and said, "Since you are the daughter of the emperor's uncle, you are also my cousin. If Chongjiang dares to bully you in the future, just come and complain to me."

Yuan Xi lowered her head and chuckled, saying, "Your Majesty, don't worry. Chongjiang treats me very well."

Zhao Yan heard the affectionate tone in her voice and knew that the two must have a deep relationship, so he nodded with satisfaction. Just as he was about to say something else, a eunuch suddenly ran in from outside the door and said anxiously, "Your Majesty, it's bad, the Queen Mother has fainted!"

Zhao Yan was shocked, then turned his head and took a deep look at Yuan Xi who was standing there in a daze.