Hearing that the Empress Dowager had summoned him, Xue Shu was slightly surprised. What could the Empress Dowager want to see him about?

But the female official who delivered the message had a stern face, so she must be unable to get anything out of him. So he didn't waste his time. After explaining what he was doing, he went to Renshou Palace.

It was noon when we left, and the Empress Dowager was taking a rest in Lezhizhai.

Xue Shu was led outside by the female official, but was not called in. The female official only said politely, "My Lord, please wait a little while. I will go in and pass the message on first."

After a while, he came out and said apologetically, "The Queen Mother has not yet woken up. Please wait here for a while, Lord Governor."

After saying this, he walked around the screen and went inside. All the palace servants who were waiting around were sent away, leaving Xue Shu waiting alone in the hall.

The female official's words were obviously an excuse. It was obvious that the Queen Mother was dissatisfied with him and wanted to teach him a lesson.

But I don’t know where the Queen Mother’s dissatisfaction comes from?

Xue Shu stood in the hall with his sleeves folded up. He ruled out all possible reasons and only the last one remained - the Queen Mother already knew about his affair with His Majesty.

Since Yin Chengyu ascended the throne and moved into Yangxin Palace, he frequently went in and out of Yangxin Palace and often stayed overnight. Although the palace maids in Yangxin Palace were very tight-lipped and dared not speak nonsense, if the empress dowager wanted to find out, she could still find out something.

Perhaps the Queen Mother already had some guesses in her mind, which is why she suddenly summoned him.

Xue Shu glanced around the outside and his eyes inadvertently fell on a nine-panel landscape screen not far away.

The screen is wide enough to separate the inside from the outside. The thin fabric can even show a vague human figure in the sunlight.

Xue Shu had an idea in mind, so he lowered his eyes and waited quietly to be called.

Empress Dowager Yu was indeed observing him from behind the screen.

She had already known Xue Shu, a close confidant of the emperor who had rescued him several times. In the two recent palace coups, he had also made great efforts to quell the rebellion.

This is a useful person, loyal to the emperor, and the emperor also relies on him. In the inner court, except for the Silijian, which was later managed by Zheng Duobao, the East and West factories and the Jinyiwei are now all managed by Xue Shu, and his power is not small.

If he were not a eunuch, he could be called a powerful official.

Such an important person needs to be restrained and guarded against. No matter from which perspective, the emperor should not be intimate with him and cross the line.

Even she understood this.

Queen Mother Yu couldn't help but sigh again, and she no longer ignored him, saying, "Has Xue Shu arrived? Come in."

After Xue Shu heard this, he walked around the screen and went inside.

He did not look at her for long, but lowered his eyebrows and eyes the whole time, and said respectfully: "I wonder what instructions the Queen Mother has for me?"

Queen Mother Yu sat on the Luohan bed, waved at him, and said, "Come forward and raise your head."

Xue Shu followed his instructions and stepped forward, raising his head.

Empress Dowager Yu squinted her eyes and looked at him.

Xue Shu is now the emperor's attendant. He wears a red dragon robe with golden ribbons and a crown with six beads and three mountains. He is tall and thin but not weak. He does not have the feminine air that eunuchs often have. He looks very tall and straight. He is handsome, but his eyebrows are too fierce, and he looks like he has a hostile aura. Just looking at his face, it is clear that he is a person who is not easy to control.

They are completely different from the eunuchs in my memory who used their beauty to please men.

Since he was summoned to Lezhizhai, he has always looked calm and unhurried, and he seems to have a good character.

Such a person would not be a short-sighted person who seduces his master in order to climb up.

But this made Empress Dowager Yu even more puzzled. If Xue Shu did not deliberately seduce her, then it could only be that the Emperor liked her.

She looked up and down at Xue Shu. Xue Shu seemed to be half a head taller than the emperor. Did the emperor really like this?

The more Empress Dowager Yu thought about it, the more headache she felt. Her mind was in a turmoil and she couldn't sort it out.

But this was her son's bedroom matter, and as a mother she couldn't ask too directly. She could only wave her hand and send Xue Shu away with a frustrated look.

If Xue Shu had intended to seduce her, she could still punish him, but the emperor happened to like him, so there was no point in her punishing Xue Shu.

From the time Xue Shu was summoned to Le Zhizhai and then inexplicably sent away, it took less than a quarter of an hour in total.

Queen Mother Yu did not seem as angry as expected.

This was much better than Xue Shu had imagined. His tense body relaxed slightly and his steps became lighter.

If Queen Mother Yu got angry today, he would not know how to respond. After all, Queen Mother Yu was not like other people. Even if he stood there and took the beating, if Queen Mother Yu got angry in the end, he would have to bear the consequences.

After leaving Le Zhizhai, he paused slightly and did not go to look for Yin Chengyu.

It was three days later that Yin Chengyu learned that the Queen Mother had summoned Xue Shu privately.

——The Queen Mother Yu suddenly fell seriously ill. Upon hearing the news, Yin Chengyu went to visit her. He then learned from the female attendant that the Queen Mother had been worried every day since she summoned Xue Shu. She was so worried that evil spirits entered her body and she fell ill.

Queen Mother Yu was worried that Yin Chengyu and Xue Shu were too close and would be criticized, which would cause trouble in the future. She also felt that her eldest son had been busy with state affairs for so many years and had no one to serve him. Now that he finally had a beloved woman, why should she, as a mother, interfere?

I tossed and turned in my thoughts, couldn't sleep at night, and even tired myself out to the point of falling ill.

After hearing this, Yin Chengyu felt a little guilty.

He let Zheng Duobao reveal the secret in order to prepare the empress dowager mentally so as to pave the way for the future. However, he did not expect that after the empress dowager knew about it, she would consider him in everything and fell ill for no reason.

Looking at his sick mother, Yin Chengyu sat down beside the couch, tidied up the quilt for her, and said apologetically, "I should have explained it to you earlier."

He glanced at the servants in the room and dismissed those who were not related. When his eyes fell on Xue Shu, he said, "Xue Shu, stay." Then he wanted to look at the Queen Mother again and said, "If your mother has anything to ask, just ask."

Queen Mother Yu looked at Xue Shu and then at him, sighing, "If you really like him, your mother won't stop you. But you are the emperor after all, don't forget the responsibility on your shoulders." She remembered that Yin Chengyu was unwilling to take a concubine, so she advised, "If this matter gets out, it will be criticized. But if you have a harem with plenty of children, this matter will become a trivial matter not worth mentioning."

The succession of the emperor was related to the foundation of the country, and it was one of the emperor's responsibilities to fill the harem and have children. If there were children, the court officials had no control over who the emperor favored.

Queen Mother Yu's words were spoken from the heart after much thought.

She did not object to Yin Chengyu's favoritism towards Xue Shu, and she even considered all possible troubles that might arise in the future, all for the sake of her son.

From Yin Chengyu's perspective, Xue Shu couldn't even find a single fault with him.

He stood silently in the dark, his expression unchanged, but his hands clenched into fists. He needed to use all his reason to restrain the anger and unwillingness in his chest; he could restrain the impulse to move forward, and wait quietly in place, anxiously waiting for an answer that he dared not ask for.

Yin Chengyu glanced at the people in the dark, thought for a moment, held Empress Dowager Yu's hand, and said seriously: "Your Majesty's worries are not unreasonable, but what I am doing now has been carefully considered. I have seen the open and secret struggles in the harem since I was a child. As the Empress of the Central Palace, my mother was not favored by my father and was suppressed by Concubine Wen in every way. She lived a cautious life. Not to mention that several brothers were fighting for the throne. Since then, I have thought that if I ascend to the throne in the future, I will never take in women from the harem, but only marry the Empress of the Central Palace."

Seeing that Queen Yu seemed to want to say something, he tightened his grip on her hand and continued, "But these are all plans from the past."

He glanced at Xue Shu and said slowly, "There are many things between Xue Shu and me, and mother may not understand." He did not use honorifics, but more intimate terms, like the most ordinary son in the world, telling his mother his feelings and asking for her understanding and support: "But Xue Shu has saved me from danger many times without caring about his own life, and has treated me wholeheartedly without any second thoughts. There is no other person in the world who treats me so wholeheartedly, and my efforts may not even be two or three times of what he has done. What I am doing now is just that I don't want to disappoint such a sincere heart."

The relationship between mother and son is close, but as they grow older, they rarely have such moments of openness and honesty.

Queen Mother Yu knew her son, but not very well. The child grew up too fast, and she was confined in the deep palace and could not get involved in many things.

In her impression, her son looked gentle and amiable, but in fact he was a little cold and aloof. He was a perfect prince and a perfect son. But people who were too perfect always made people feel unreal, as if they could not touch their hearts.

At least in all these years, she had never seen Yin Chengyu show such an expression for something or someone, and he had never begged her.

Xue's kindness to him was not a spur-of-the-moment impulse, but was the result of his careful consideration and mutual support.

Queen Mother Yu was stunned and said, "But this throne...someone has to inherit it."

"Don't we still have Qi'er?" Yin Chengyu said in a gentle voice.

The option she had never thought of was put in front of her, and Queen Mother Yu was already in a state of confusion: "Qian'er is still so young, how can he bear it? If... if it doesn't work out in the future..."

"There's still a lot of time to go." Yin Chengyu covered the back of her hand soothingly and said in a leisurely tone, "I didn't intend to bring this up so soon. I've already asked my grandfather to teach Yan'er. When he's older and can convince the ministers, it won't be too late to bring this up."

Even the teacher who will teach the child the basics has been arranged, which clearly shows that this has been a long-term plan.

Queen Mother Yu was unable to say anything else and just stared at him blankly, unable to come back to her senses.

"Before that, if any court official comes to you to beg you, please block them for your son." He looked at Queen Mother Yu, his tone mixed with weakness and pleading.

Queen Mother Yu could not refuse.

This child had always protected her in the past, but now she couldn't follow an outsider to hurt his heart.

Looking at her proud son, she sighed deeply, raised her hand and stroked his cheek, and finally chose to compromise: "Mother knows."