...After the younger one is beaten, the older one comes.

Wu Qing guessed that this day would come, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon.

Qiao Xiao was just expelled from the palace in the morning, and the empress dowager wanted to see her in the afternoon.

Xi Yan immediately put down her sword and looked at her with a worried look on her face. Even Concubine Lin's face was tense.

She pressed on: "What did the Cining Palace say? Did they just say they wanted to see Noble Lady Ji? Did they reveal more?"

"Your Majesty, the maid who came here only brought the Queen Mother's order."

"Before I could ask her a few questions, she left with a sullen look." Qingfang looked at Concubine Lin's expression and said carefully, "You also know... the people in the Cining Palace have always been like this."

Qingfang is an elder person around her, and even the Cining Palace should not treat her like this.

There was a barely perceptible chill in Concubine Lin's eyes.

"I have always treated them well. During every festival, I carefully selected the gifts for the Cining Palace. The Queen Mother worships Buddha and does not care about worldly matters, so all the good things have fallen into the hands of this group of servants. Now they are putting on airs with me?"

Accepting benefits but not doing anything, is this also a shamelessness cultivated in front of Buddha? Concubine Lin thought unhappily.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Perhaps... it was the Empress Dowager who secretly instructed her to deliberately embarrass Concubine Ji." Qingfang said softly.

Concubine Lin sneered, her words tinged with sarcasm, "Her niece made a mistake, but she took her anger out on Concubine Ji? The Queen Mother has really become younger by practicing Buddhism, but her mentality is getting worse and worse."

It seems that she is really angry.

Concubine Lin took Wu Qing's hand and placed it in her palm, patting it gently, and comforted her: "You can go to the Cining Palace with peace of mind. I will go to the Imperial Study to meet the Emperor immediately, and I will never let anything happen to you in the Cining Palace."

After saying that, she added, "If that doesn't work, you can take the princess with you."

Xiyan nodded immediately, "Yes, my lord. If you really need me, Xiyan will definitely live up to your trust and protect you."

Wu Qing didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

She comforted the imperial concubine, "Your Majesty, it's not that serious. The Queen Mother may just want to chat with me because of our old friendship."

"Or maybe... because of what happened to Qiao Xiao, the Queen Mother feels guilty and wants to take this opportunity to make amends to me?"

Concubine Lin immediately retorted expressionlessly: "The Queen Mother is not such a good person, you think too much."

Wu Qing choked.

[From the looks of it, there must be a lot of grudges between the Imperial Concubine and the Queen Mother... I remember now. When the Emperor made her the Imperial Concubine, the Queen Mother tried to stop him in every way and almost broke off relations with the Linhua Palace.]

[The Queen Mother spoke sharply, saying that the Imperial Concubine had no children, and that it was a great favor from the Emperor to make her a concubine based on her appearance and family background, and that she was not worthy of the position of Imperial Concubine.]

[The harem was noisy, and the court was noisy too. The Qiao family and the Lin family fought for half a month, exposing each other's dirty laundry, and almost turned the court upside down. ]

[But the emperor was determined to maintain the balance of power in the harem, and despite all opposition, he finally made her a noble concubine. ]

【The Queen Mother also realized that her ability to control the court was not as good as before, so she went to Yushan to pray for blessings. 】

Hearing this, the smile on Concubine Lin's lips turned a little cold.

The situation back then was far more thrilling than Wu Qing's voice. Because she had no children, every step she took was treading on thin ice.

If she lost, the Lin family would completely abandon her and replace her with another girl from the Lin family to enter the palace.

Fortunately, she won.

And the Queen Mother...

Concubine Lin speculated maliciously that the Queen Mother must have committed too many sins in the past and was afraid that these sins would backfire on her, so she placed all her hopes on the illusory gods and Buddhas.

Wu Qing said, "Your Majesty, I must go see the Queen Mother. I know that I have done things with a clear conscience. Even if the Queen Mother criticizes me, it will only be a few words of admonition. She won't do anything to me."

Her calm demeanor helped calm the restless hearts of Concubine Lin and Xiyan.

…

Cining Palace.

Two elderly maids led Wu Qing to the gate and disappeared.

The door was closed tightly. Wu Qing put his ear close to the door but heard no sound from inside.

She waited patiently.

The servants came and went through the side door, some holding objects, some walking hurriedly, but without exception they ignored her, as if no one noticed her embarrassing situation.

Wu Qing knew that this was a show of power from the empress dowager, intended to blunt her edge.

[I’m free now. What did you just say? ] Wu Qing asked the female ghost in his heart.

The female ghost said: [Your speech in Kunning Palace has spread throughout the six palaces. Now everyone knows that Mr. Qin from the Hanlin Academy has a special hobby. ]

Wu Qing raised an eyebrow, […What’s going on?]

She hasn't even started to work yet, who took her job?

【Xiao Luzi didn't control his mouth and told the others in Kunning Palace about this matter. The queen had no intention of stopping the rumors and let them spread like wildfire. I'm afraid that after a while, this matter will spread to the previous dynasty.】

Wu Qing was overjoyed: [Okay, okay, I deserved it for acting in front of him every day just to get those few words. It made me sick.]

The female ghost was in a God's perspective and saw everything Wu Qing had done in recent days.

She called him "Brother Li Xue" sweetly every day and tricked him into guessing riddles.

After Qin Lixue guessed the answer to the riddle was "汪", Wu Qing said that Lixue's handwriting was very beautiful and asked if he could write a few more.

Qin Lixue hesitated for a moment, and Wu Qing said with red eyes that it was okay. Qin Lixue was fascinated by her pitiful and tearful appearance.

As the female ghost watched these scenes, her hatred towards Qin Lixue faded.

——How can such a villain deserve her care?

Wu Qing: [I am looking forward to how the ministers in the court will view him in the future, hahahaha, please broadcast it to me. ]

The ghost girl's voice actually became a little more lively, [No problem.]

There was a hint of smile in her words, which formed a sharp contrast with her previous coldness and slowness.

The two chatted for nearly half an hour. In the eyes of others, Concubine Ji stood quietly in front of the door for half an hour as punishment.

A maid walked into the Buddhist hall and reported this to the Queen Mother.

The empress dowager, who was kneeling on the futon with a head full of silver hair, raised her head and said, "Well, her calmness is beyond my expectation."

With the careful support of others, the empress dowager moved steadily to the soft chair beside her.

"Noble Concubine Lin is so rampant in the palace that she has to restrain herself in front of you, let alone her?" said the nanny with a smile.

"Go and let her in," said the Queen Mother. "Take your time. There's no need to rush."

The nanny understood and withdrew.