Qin Su understood the Empress Dowager's meaning, and she nodded emphatically, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I know what I'm doing and will certainly not let you down."
"Then let's keep playing cards, quick, quick, I'm definitely going to beat you today."
Qin Su: "..."
"Your Majesty, shouldn't you rest?" It's so late, and she's really tired. If this matter hadn't kept her on edge, she would have already gone to bed.
"The nightlife has just begun, why sleep? Let's get up and party!"
Qin Su felt a little confused by what he heard, but the meaning was not hard to understand when put together.
However, since the Empress Dowager was willing to take action, she felt a little better.
I'll accompany you then; others might want to accompany you but don't have the chance.
"By the way, I remember the Emperor should be in the Empress's palace today. You didn't pull the Emperor out of the Empress's bed, did you?" the Empress Dowager asked while drawing cards.
Qin Su hesitated for a moment. She felt that the Empress Dowager's way of speaking was a bit strange. How to put it? Very bold, very straightforward, and very uninhibited.
"This humble woman asked Steward Deng to announce my arrival." How could she dare to force her way in? Even if she had the ability, she wouldn't dare to do so. If Emperor Mingyang took this opportunity to accuse her of insubordination, she would have nowhere to turn for help.
The Empress Dowager nodded. "Play your card. Besides what you and I have discussed, what else did the Emperor say to you?"
Qin Su hesitated for a moment before answering, "They also asked how I entered the palace, and I said it was a token given to me by Prince Chen."
"That kid actually gave you the token? The Prince Chen's token?" The Empress Dowager was somewhat surprised, clearly not expecting Yu Shuo to do such a thing.
That's no ordinary token.
Each prince was given a unique identity token by a craftsman at birth. When their titles changed, some modifications were made to the original token, but the impact was not significant.
This is a symbol of status, and it's generally not given to others. After all, holding this token allows one to mobilize all of its owner's subordinates; the power is immense, and if it falls into the wrong hands and is used for evil deeds, the consequences could be dire.
"I am only entrusting it to Your Highness for safekeeping, and I am very grateful."
The Empress Dowager didn't actually like this kind of roundabout way of doing things, but she wasn't sure if her son and Qin Su had actually broken the ice, so she didn't dare to expose them and could only continue to pretend.
"Very well, but the emperor didn't take it back?"
Qin Su shook her head.
The Empress Dowager remained silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.
In the second round, the Empress Dowager asked Qin Su very seriously, "I asked you to find an honest man to marry last time, how is the progress?"
Qin Su replied, "My mother is handling it; I'm not too clear on the details."
"You really haven't thought about becoming Princess Consort of Chen? Although it's not as prestigious as the Empress, it's not bad either. Most importantly, Yu Shuo is good-looking and should fit the current aesthetic standards."
The Empress Dowager was quite satisfied with her second son.
The emperor is too serious, more like the late emperor. Prince Chen is like her, handsome.
She felt that if Qin Su were with Yu Shuo, her grandchildren would definitely be even more outstanding.
Although this would arouse the emperor's suspicion, it is truly rare for lovers to be together.
Qin Su did not answer immediately this time. She stared at the leaf card in her hand, and after a while, she smiled and said, "How could His Highness and I be together? I've already been married once."
“An excuse,” the Empress Dowager said without hesitation, exposing the lie.
Qin Su was helpless; this Empress Dowager truly lacked any semblance of authority as an elder.
"Lovers may not necessarily stay together until the end, but friendships can definitely last longer. If there are no further thoughts, maintaining the current relationship is fine." Qin Su cannot guarantee that she can be good to her future husband; perhaps she has already lost the ability to love.
Now she only hopes that the people around her are safe and well, and that Da'an will become more and more prosperous.
The Empress Dowager didn't mention the matter again, but instead played cards with Qin Su until dawn. Qin Su couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed on the card table.
Before falling asleep, she kept thinking, why isn't the Empress Dowager sleepy?
"Help her to bed." The Empress Dowager rubbed her aching back, also intending to rest.
Granny Qin helped Qin Su up, but Qin Su's brow suddenly twitched, and she quickly looked at the Empress Dowager.
"What's wrong?"
Granny Qin replied softly, "I'll tell the Empress Dowager later."
Qin Su was helped to rest. After returning, Granny Qin whispered to the Empress Dowager, "Miss Qin is pregnant."
The Empress Dowager paused for a moment, "Are you sure?"
Granny Qin nodded, "As you know, I know a little about medicine."
The Empress Dowager's gaze became somewhat complicated.
“In that case, she is even less suitable for His Highness Prince Chen.” Although Da’an is not strict about female chastity, a woman who marries into the royal family cannot be a pregnant woman, unless the child is royal.
But how is that possible?
"You're right, but it depends on what Yu Shuo thinks. I'll ask him when he gets back." She considered herself an open-minded person. If her son really couldn't live without her, then having a grandson who wasn't her biological grandson wasn't a bad thing.
"Your Majesty, you are truly tolerant." Granny Qin smiled wryly. How could anyone else have endured this?
The Empress Dowager chuckled and said, "You, at your age, still can't see through things? People can't be bound by those rules and regulations. What are rules? They are the constraints that superiors place on subordinates. We come into this world naked and empty-handed, so why live such a tiring life?"
No one knew what the Empress Dowager's maternal family was like, not even Granny Qin. Granny Qin only claimed to the outside world that she grew up with the Empress Dowager, but that was not actually the case.
She only joined the Empress Dowager's service later.
Therefore, it is difficult to understand the Empress Dowager's thinking.
"Alright, take a break. Remember what Qin Su said, and listen to her instructions when she wakes up."
Granny Qin agreed and helped the Empress Dowager rest.
Qin Su slept straight through until the afternoon. When she got out of bed, she felt a bit heavy in her lower back. She instinctively supported her stomach and got out of bed to move around.
Everything around me was unfamiliar. After a while, I realized that I was in the Empress Dowager's palace.
She's actually sleeping until now.
Perhaps hearing the noise, a palace maid knocked on the door, "Has Miss Qin woken up?"
"Um."
As the palace maids came in to serve her, Qin Su felt a heavy weight on her head.
Staying up too late is so uncomfortable.
After serving Qin Su, they took her to have her meal, but this was not mealtime at all.
Qin Su realized something else: the Empress Dowager's schedule was like a spider web, a complete mess.
After Qin Su finished her meal, Granny Qin came over and handed her a box, saying in a low voice, "This is what the Empress Dowager asked me to give to Miss Qin."
Qin Su guessed what was inside. She nodded to Granny Qin and said, "Please thank the Empress Dowager for her trust."
Granny Qin glanced at Qin Su's stomach discreetly, then smiled and said, "Miss, you should speak to the Empress Dowager yourself. The Empress Dowager has decreed that you come to the palace tonight to continue playing cards."
Qin Su's vision went black for a moment, and she felt hopeless about the future.
Real people are really addicted to cooking.
But Qin Su couldn't refuse.
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