Chapter 91
The Lantern Festival would not begin until the evening. Lin Qingyu wanted to discuss Cui Lian's matter with the Queen Mother, so she entered the palace early.
The current emperor is extremely filial and all the expenses in Ci'an Palace are the best in the palace. He knew that the Empress Dowager liked chrysanthemums, so he specially ordered people to make dozens of chrysanthemum-shaped lanterns and place them in the courtyard of Ci'an Palace. As soon as it gets a little dark, the lanterns bloom in the snow, colorful and full of life like spring.
Lai Fu looked at the sea of flowers and said with a smile, "Empress Dowager, the Emperor really cares about you."
The Queen Mother was not interested: "Although I am the Emperor's biological mother, we have not had much mother-son affection for the past twenty years. These are just for show. Besides, with the Emperor's personality, how could he think of such a trick? I think it was the eunuch beside him who gave him the idea."
When Lin Qingyu arrived at Ci'an Palace, the palace's kitchen had just cooked a pot of Yuanxiao, and the Queen Mother was tasting it with the young Prince Huai. After hearing Lai Fu's report, the Queen Mother was not shy and directly asked Lai Fu to invite the person in.
Lin Qingyu entered the inner hall and saw the Queen Mother and Xiao Li sitting at the table. Xiao Li was obviously dressed up carefully, wearing a prince's single python five-claw robe and a jade pendant around his slender waist. Although he had not yet grown to full size, his facial features were the delicate and beautiful only of a teenager, but he was still handsome and unparalleled in the world. The young man who should have been handsome and cheerful, but instead had dull eyes and a dazed look, without a trace of life in him.
Lin Qingyu bowed to the two of them: "Greetings to the Queen Mother and the Prince."
The Queen Mother said in a friendly manner, "Qingyu is here, please sit down. Someone, serve some Yuanxiao to Doctor Lin as well."
Lin Qingyu is not used to people other than her family and husband calling her by her name. This year, he and the Queen Mother were in the same boat, and they worked together to do several top-secret things that could not be told to outsiders. It can be said that they prospered together and suffered together. Whether the Queen Mother's feelings were genuine or fake, she treated him better than when he was Lu Wancheng's wife.
Lin Qingyu declined: "I have already used it in your house, so I won't bother the Queen Mother and the Prince."
The Queen Mother said, "You can use it again after you've used it. You're a man, how could you not be able to eat a bowl of Yuanxiao? Ci'an Palace is just me and Li'er, so it's always a little quiet. After all, you were once my nephew's wife and Li'er's cousin's wife, so you can be considered a family. There are no outsiders in Ci'an Palace, so you don't have to be so polite."
The Queen Mother had said this, so Lin Qingyu sat down as she said. The glutinous rice balls in front of him were steaming. Lin Qingyu tasted one. The glutinous rice on the outside was sweet and soft, while the sesame seeds inside were a little too sweet for him.
The Queen Mother was so busy with Xiao Li that she didn't even have time to eat. If Xiao Li wanted to eat by himself, he would just pick up the food with his hands and put it into his mouth. There was a nanny in Ci'an Palace who took special care of Xiao Li and fed him, and the empress dowager also often fed him personally.
As soon as the glutinous rice balls were handed to his mouth, Xiao Li opened his mouth, swallowed them in one gulp, and then chewed them slowly. Even if one is not mentally competent, one will not appear clumsy or awkward when eating.
Seeing Xiao Li eating one glutinous rice dumpling in one mouthful, the nanny who was taking care of Xiao Li smiled and said, "Our little prince really likes to eat Yuanxiao. Look how happy he is."
From the nanny's tone, I thought she was talking about a baby less than one year old. How could Xiao Li be happy? There was clearly no expression on his face. Such words could only appease the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother loved her son as her life, and was really coaxed at this moment. She asked softly, "Does Lier like to eat glutinous rice balls?"
Xiao Li opened her lips slightly and stared at the spoon in the Queen Mother's hand.
"Li'er, call me mother, and I will feed you, okay? Li'er, call me mother—mother." The Queen Mother said patiently, "Li'er, follow my example—mother, queen."
Xiao Li seemed to be in another world. She couldn't hear the Queen Mother's voice, nor could she react to her words.
Lin Qingyu said: "Although Yuanxiao is delicious, it is not advisable to overeat."
The Queen Mother let go of her hands dejectedly: "Forget it then. Take all these away."
Xiao Li couldn't eat the dumplings, but she didn't cry or make a fuss. She slowly lowered her head and immersed herself in her own world again.
The Queen Mother sighed softly, unable to hide her disappointment: "After the New Year, Li'er will be sixteen years old. Her mind is still like that of a three or four-year-old child, and she can't speak like other children... I don't know if I will ever hear Li'er call me 'Mother' in this life."
Lin Qingyu asked: "Can the prince speak?" He seemed to have never heard Xiao Li's voice.
"The Imperial Master said that Li'er has all five senses, but he can't react because his soul is not in this body." The Queen Mother laughed bitterly, "He also said that people with amnesia often have a demonic appearance. Fortunately, Li'er is in the imperial family. If he was just an ordinary person with such a face, I don't know how much suffering he would have to endure."
Lin Qingyu said: "The young prince is indeed very handsome."
The Queen Mother glanced at him and said, "It's always inferior to yours."
"The young prince is still young and has not yet grown up."
"What's the use of having a good appearance? I would rather he be plain."
The palace maids took away the Yuanxiao and served seasonal fruits that could help relieve greasiness and aid digestion. Lin Qingyu mentioned Cui Lian and asked, "Has the Queen Mother ever seen the memorial submitted by Prime Minister Cui regarding the appointment of the commander-in-chief of the Northwest?"
The Queen Mother thought about it carefully and said, "No. I remember that when Prime Minister Cui came to court, his attitude towards this matter was ambiguous and vague, which made it difficult to understand."
Lin Qingyu said: "I have read all the memorials related to the Northwest, but I have not seen Prime Minister Cui's handwriting. It seems that someone deliberately hid it in order to use Prime Minister Cui to stir up trouble among the military officers."
Lin Qingyu and the Queen Mother knew exactly who this person was.
"I still don't want to be controlled by others." The Queen Mother took off her armor and peeled the oranges herself. "There is one thing I don't quite understand."
"Please speak clearly, Queen Mother."
"You seem to have known that he was a restless person, so why did you give him a chance?"
Lin Qingyu said: "Among the three sons of the late emperor, excluding the deposed crown prince, only the current emperor is left. Please forgive me for being presumptuous. If we had supported the young prince at that time, let alone whether the civil and military officials believed in the late emperor's will, even if the northern border of Western Xia knew that Dayu's future emperor was mentally deficient, how would they feel? Therefore, our only choice is the emperor. However, the emperor is not interested in the court, and I need Xi Rong to do political achievements for him, so that I can push him to the throne without disrupting the government."
"I understand." The Queen Mother gently wiped the corner of Xiao Li's mouth with a handkerchief, "You did a good job, and the emperor ascended the throne smoothly. In the future, I and you will help the emperor take care of the country. There is no need for Xi Rong to live anymore, right?"
Lin Qingyu smiled: "The Queen Mother is right. But Xi Rong is not an ordinary person. He has won over the prime minister and is highly regarded by the emperor. If we act rashly, we may alert the enemy."
The Queen Mother snorted coldly: "He is a rootless thing. Even if I scare him, what does it matter?"
In the Queen Mother's view, Xi Rong was just a little clever and would never cause any trouble. She didn't know that Xi Rong and Xiao Jie had depended on each other for many years. It would not be difficult to kill Xi Rong, but if Xiao Jie was lost as a chess piece, then who would sit on the throne would become a problem.
Lin Qingyu raised his eyes and looked at Xiao Li, his eyes darkened a little.
It is true that Xiao Li is easier to control than anyone else, but he is a fool after all. The northwest is in chaos right now. If he and the queen mother support another fool to ascend the throne, it would be difficult to stabilize the morale of the army and the people.
At least, we have to wait for Gu Fuzhou to come back first.
"Empress Dowager." Lai Fu stepped forward and said, "The princesses of the old princes have come to Ci'an Palace to pay their respects."
"I will go and see them." The Queen Mother said, "Xiu Jiao, feed the prince some more fruit."
The nanny named Xiujiao peeled another tangerine and fed it to Xiao Li. Xiao Li pursed her lips and seemed to have no interest in the tangerine. Nanny Xiujiao coaxed him softly, "My lord, please have another one."
Except for his family and Gu Fuzhou, Lin Qingyu has always been cold and indifferent to others. But for some reason, although he had only seen Xiao Li a few times, he felt that this foolish prince was amiable and gave him an indescribable sense of familiarity.
Lin Qingyu said: "Let me try."
Nanny Xiujiao hesitated for a moment, but still stepped back and gave the seat next to Xiao Li to Lin Qingyu.
Lin Qingyu picked up a piece of tangerine and said, "Young Prince, open your mouth."
Xiao Li looked at him for a while, then opened her mouth obediently, allowing him to put the orange into her mouth, with a small bulge on her cheek.
“Is it sweet?”
Lin Qingyu just asked casually, but unexpectedly Xiao Li responded.
——He laughed.
Xiao Li had an extremely beautiful appearance. When she smiled, the dullness in her eyes faded away, and her pupils became as bright as stars, which could make those who had never seen the world lose their minds. A layer of something normally invisible appeared under the boy's eyes. Gu Fuzhou had talked to him about this thing, calling it "eye bags". He also said that his original face would have eye bags when he smiled, which looked very beautiful. Unfortunately, neither Lu Wancheng nor Gu Fuzhou had eye bags.
With this layer on my face, when I smile... I really look good.
Xiao Li only smiled for a very brief moment, and soon returned to his lifeless expression, as if the smile just now was just an illusion caused by others' eyesight.
Xiujiao was stunned for a moment, and it took her a while to react. She hurriedly ran to report to the Queen Mother: "Queen Mother, the prince is smiling!"
Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother did not care about the princesses present and stood up suddenly: "Really?"
"Really! I saw it clearly, and Doctor Lin also saw it."
The Queen Mother was immediately very excited: "Quick, go and invite the Imperial Master!"
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