Before long, Empress Ye, accompanied by Yue Jiang and the imperial physician, entered the main hall of Yongshou Palace, where Empress Dowager Cheng was already waiting.
Empress Ye and Yue Jiang both greeted Empress Dowager Cheng.
"May Your Majesty the Empress Dowager/Mother Empress Dowager be well!"
"The Empress and Yue Jiang have arrived. Please come and sit down. There's no need to be so polite," Empress Dowager Cheng said, as if she had just learned that someone had come to see her. She hadn't even finished her cup of tea yet, but she patted the empty seat next to her warmly, inviting the two of them to come over.
"Your Majesty, there's no need to be so polite. How have you been lately?" Empress Ye straightened up, walked straight over, and sat down next to Empress Dowager Cheng. Yue Jiang sat down behind Empress Ye.
Afterwards, Empress Ye chatted and laughed with Empress Dowager Cheng for quite some time. Suddenly, Empress Dowager Cheng became sad and shed tears, and the conversation in the hall abruptly stopped.
The two talked about Cheng Suyun's injuries, and Empress Dowager Cheng immediately couldn't help but burst into tears.
"It's hard for the Empress to remember this girl at a time when she's so busy with the affairs of the six palaces. She's just unlucky."
"I have seen her take care of the orphans a lot and she has experience. I want her to leave the palace to help Yue Jiang so that Yue Jiang will not be offended by others."
"Who knew that when something really happened, she was put in charge, and not only was she incompetent, she also fell into a crowd and got hurt. You know, she has given alms to orphans so many times, she should be a familiar face, yet she still managed to get hurt by mistake."
"I thought too highly of her. She's not nearly as clever and quick-witted as Yue Jiang. In fact, she had to be carried back."
Although Empress Dowager Cheng's words were heartbreaking, every sentence compared Yue Jiang to Cheng Suyun.
It's as if they were both there at the time, and Cheng Suyun even knew the orphan. The fact that she was the only one beaten like that is truly an incredible thing.
Every word and phrase was aimed at Yue Jiang, and she couldn't escape it no matter how much she pretended to be deaf and dumb. She said with lingering surprise.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager is too kind to praise me. That day, there was a commotion, and I was so scared that my legs went weak. Fortunately, I had a few people protecting me, and I managed to escape in the chaos."
"When I saw Sister Suyun working so hard to deal with the troublemakers, I was worried that she, a weak woman, was in too much danger, so I thought of pulling her over to hide from them."
“No matter what kind of trouble this is, it’s not something we girls can handle with our voices and strength. There are people below us to deal with it.”
"But as soon as I got there, Sister Suyun pushed me away, not wanting me to take any risks, saying that she could handle it. I realized that Sister Suyun was indeed special in the hearts of the orphans."
"If it weren't for me, how could such a big mess have happened? It would have been better if I had gotten in the way. Just as I turned my head, Sister Suyun fell in, and no one recognized her."
"I was terrified, and just then His Highness arrived. I rushed to ask His Highness for help to rescue Sister Suyun. Fortunately, His Highness's words worked, and the chaos was resolved in a short time."
Empress Dowager Cheng wanted to promote Cheng Suyun's reputation for being fearless in the face of danger and determined to quell the unrest.
Yue Jiang insisted that Cheng Suyun was overly competitive, didn't know her own limitations, and just kept charging ahead.
The orphan's trust in the Cheng family was so limited that he couldn't even tell a living person from falling in.
Empress Dowager Cheng naturally understood the implied meaning, but she did not expect Yue Jiang to be so sharp-tongued.
He wouldn't listen to any hints or admonitions from his elders, and even argued back with sarcastic remarks, which immediately made her expression turn sour.
Suddenly she finally understood why her grandniece was so insistent on getting revenge and trying to take advantage of others, but infuriatingly, she not only failed to gain any advantage but also ended up losing money herself.
Empress Dowager Cheng wiped her face, which was taut from crying, with a damp handkerchief, glanced at Empress Ye casually, and said indifferently.
"Yue Jiang is indeed worthy of being the Crown Princess chosen by our Jing Kingdom. She is very eloquent. Your Majesty, you are blessed in the future. I wonder if Empress Dowager Zheng has met with Yue Jiang alone. Perhaps there will be a big surprise."
Whether it was Jing Guoxuan or not, Empress Dowager Cheng knew perfectly well.
The deliberate praise of Empress Ye was intended to ridicule her; perhaps even Empress Dowager Zheng would suffer a setback if she were to face Yue Jiang.
After all, she was not Empress Ye's biological mother-in-law. Even if she was the Empress Dowager, the proper seniority still had to be determined according to the degree of kinship.
Empress Dowager Cheng was quite tactful with Empress Ye, while Empress Dowager Zheng completely manipulated Empress Ye by acting like a domineering mother-in-law.
If Empress Ye had taken these words to heart, she would have either been driven to death by the two empress dowagers or made to death by them over the years; there was no sign of discomfort on her face.
"Mother, I feel embarrassed by what you say. Yuejiang is a junior, and I am also a junior in your eyes. Whether I enjoy happiness or not is secondary. Your long life and happiness are more important than anything else."
"Yue Jiang went to the Longevity Palace with her daughter-in-law, but she has not yet had the opportunity to be intimate with the Empress Dowager alone."
The atmosphere was always fluctuating between cold and warm. Empress Ye had come to help Yue Jiang, so it was impossible for her to bring Yue Jiang along to be reprimanded by Empress Dowager Cheng.
She couldn't just offer flattery; she had another purpose. She stepped over Empress Dowager Cheng and called out to the outside.
"Lanser, summon Physician Zhang and have him examine Princess Cheng's injuries."
While Lancer was making preparations outside, Empress Dowager Cheng calmly offered a faint smile.
"The Empress spoils that girl too much. I have summoned many imperial physicians for her since she was injured. There is no need to trouble you."
Empress Ye smiled faintly: "Your Majesty, you flatter me. I wanted to come and see Suyun after she was injured, but I haven't had the time."
"When I have free time, I don't know how many rumors I hear in the palace. There are even rumors that Su Yun was injured because Yue Jiang pushed her. Do you think these people are outrageous? If Yue Jiang dared to push Su Yun, she would have let the orphans overturn the whole thing."
Cheng Taihou looked completely unaware, then glanced at Yue Jiang in surprise, clearly not expecting this.
"I've been staying with Suyun since she was injured, and I rarely leave the palace. I really haven't heard anything about this. Are there any gossipy people in our Jing Palace?"
The implication is that when she was in charge of the affairs of the six palaces, she never dealt with such trivial matters.
Yue Jiang knew she couldn't let Empress Ye suffer a loss for her sake. She lowered her eyes, a look of grievance welling up inside her.
"I don't know either. Maybe it's because I'm new here and didn't think things through properly, which made someone hold a grudge."
"Otherwise, what would the palace servants dare to say? As for who it is, they're really hiding well. It's my fault for being so clueless."
Empress Dowager Cheng remained silent; she was in no hurry.
Anyway, those rumors spread like dandelions, flying everywhere. Nobody can catch anyone, but don't even think about getting to the bottom of it.
Empress Ye, seeing that the verbal sparring had not stopped, decided to stop short of it and continued the conversation.
“I’ve reviewed Su Yun’s medical records. They’re all different each time, and I’m very worried about whether she’s recovered.”
"Doctor Zhang used to be Shang Daochen's apprentice, the Divine Physician Shang. He was the most skilled at treating illnesses and injuries. My daughter-in-law didn't dare to keep it to herself, so she brought it to Suyun for a checkup."
"It's kind of the Empress to go to such lengths," Empress Dowager Cheng glanced at the waiting imperial physician. She had intentionally had other imperial physicians write "serious" on the previous medical records, but now Imperial Physician Zhang had come to examine it himself.
Empress Dowager Cheng wasn't afraid that Physician Zhang would see through her act. Even if her grandniece was genuinely injured, or was faking it, the two opposite her didn't want to become a laughingstock in the harem and wanted to maintain a facade of peace.
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