Zhou Qiongyue didn't have time to guess what the emperor was thinking all day! Every day, she would go out for a stroll with Yongchun Yuan'an, sometimes listening to storytelling in a restaurant, and sometimes buying small things in person at the market, feeling the feeling of being integrated into the crowd.
The two of them were extremely happy and felt that time passed very quickly every day.
The person who was most happy about Zhou Qiongyue's free time was Princess Yongchun. She had only Zhou Qiongyue as a good friend over the years, and after getting married, she also came into contact with many young ladies and married ladies.
But those people either treated her with great respect and caution, or implicitly advised her to give birth to another son for her husband.
In Yongchun's opinion, they were all quite unpleasant. As a result, she had not made any other close friends in the years since she left the palace.
Zhou Qiongyue was busy before, and her husband had his own affairs. She couldn't keep him by her side every day. Even if he didn't get annoyed, she would get annoyed after a while.
Yongchun's only son has grown up and is studying with the eldest prince in the palace. She has nothing to worry about on a daily basis.
After a few years of that mischievous little devil in the palace, Yongchun felt that he had become much more sensible. Although she felt sorry for her son growing up, she would never ask him to stop being a companion.
Some sufferings, if not endured now, would have to be endured later. Yongchun thought she just needed to divert her attention.
Now that Zhou Qiongyue is no longer busy, the two of them make plans to play various games every day. Yongchun feels that she looks much better.
Zhou Qiongyue even went to the royal villa to stay with her aunt, the Empress Dowager, for seven or eight days, helping her grow vegetables and flowers, eat meals, and chat with her about Yuan'an's gossip, such as which master had a mistress and which master had a concubine.
After Zhou Qiongyue accompanied the empress dowager back to Yuan'an, the empress dowager scolded the emperor every day. She gave birth to two sons that year, but the emperor insisted that she was in poor health and was not allowed to have more children.
As a result, she only has two boys and not even a daughter. Life would be much better if she had a daughter to accompany her every day.
At this time, the Queen Mother had completely forgotten that she herself did not want to be born before, and it was all the fault of the retired Emperor anyway.
The retired emperor, who was on his way back to Yuan'an, was groaning and wheezing all day long, and the imperial physician accompanying him was extremely nervous.
The Emperor, however, comforted the imperial doctors, saying, "Don't be nervous. It's probably because the Empress Dowager and the others miss me."
Since the emperor said so, the imperial physician could only agree with the emperor. They couldn't say that they were afraid that the emperor had caught a cold!
After Zhou Qiongyue had a great time for more than a month, she started to order people to clean up the palace again.
She had ordered people to clean up before, but she forgot that this was ancient times. It would take more than a short time for Yuan Bohua and his men to return from the border. At a normal speed, it would take more than three months to reach the destination.
So Zhou Qiongyue had ordered people to clean up the place in vain last time. This time, Zhou Qiongyue went to the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion to ask her father, Cheng'en Marquis. Her father said that they would reach Yuan'an in about half a month, so Zhou Qiongyue ordered people to start cleaning up again.
The time spent waiting for someone to come back passed very slowly. In the past half month, Zhou Qiongyue felt that her palace had been cleaned up several times, but the person still had not arrived.
Zhou Qiongyue has gone from being excited at the beginning to feeling calm.
Even if time passes slowly, it will eventually arrive. On the day when the emperor, Yuan Bohua and others entered Yuan'an City, Zhou Qiongyue specially asked for leave from the palace for Yuan Chaochang.
I had been waiting in the best private room of Tianxiang Tower with my two children since early morning, just waiting to see them enter the city in style.
The streets of Yuan'an were already lined with people waiting for the return of the generals.
Yuan Chaochang, who was in the box, leaned out the window again and again. After doing this several times, Yuan Chaochang couldn't help but mutter, "Mother, why hasn't my father arrived yet?"
Zhou Qiongyue glanced at the sun outside and said helplessly, "Just sit still. It's not time yet! Even the army needs to find an auspicious time to enter the city."
Yuan Chaochang could only respond reluctantly and sat down to have snacks with Zhou Qiongyue.
But before he had eaten a few pieces, Yuan Chaochang leaned closer to his younger brother Yuan Chaokang and began to mutter, "Brother, do you miss father?"
Yuan Chaokang thought, if I say I don't want to, my father will definitely make things difficult for me when he's in the palace. Yuan Chaokang could only vaguely reply, "It's okay!"
Yuan Chaochang was very dissatisfied with his brother's answer. "If I want to, I want to. If I don't want to, I don't want to. What does it mean to be okay?"
In response to Yuan Chaochang, Yuan Chaokang moved the plates of snacks in front of him to Yuan Chaochang, saying, "Brother, eat more."
Yuan Chaochang knew his brother was trying to silence him, so he boldly picked up a piece of pastry and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling, "If you don't want to tell me, then don't tell me."
Zhou Qiongyue was holding the teacup beside them, drinking slowly and watching the two brothers playing around. She had no intention of intervening.
Yuan Chaokang looked at the bustling scene outside and suddenly remembered something, "Mother, can I clean up my Prince's Mansion and stay there occasionally?"
"Huh?" Zhou Qiongyue's face was filled with surprise. After all, in her eyes, her son was still an eleven-year-old child. In her previous life, he was still an elementary school student! He was going to make a fuss about moving out?
Yuan Chaochang was even more surprised. He didn't even swallow the snack in his mouth before he started talking, "Why did you move out, my good brother?"
Seeing her eldest son like this, Zhou Qiongyue had no choice but to scold him: "Talk after you finish eating."
Yuan Chaochang could only chew it in a few bites and stared at his brother anxiously.
Under the puzzled gazes of his mother and eldest brother, Yuan Chaokang quickly explained, "I didn't say I was moving out. I just wanted to have my own secret base. I won't be living there on weekdays."
Zhou Qiongyue thought it was just a child's whim. With some money in hand, he wanted to play dress-up in the mansion. She agreed, "Okay, then you can do it yourself! If you need anything, just tell me and I'll send someone to pack it for you."
Zhou Qiongyue felt that it was better to spend the money on decorating the mansion than spending it on other things.
Yuan Chaokang originally thought that it would take some persuasion for his mother to agree, but he didn't expect that his mother agreed after only one question.
Yuan Chaokang immediately praised, "Mother, you are the most open-minded mother I have ever met."
Since her son wanted to stay there occasionally, Zhou Qiongyue felt that she should provide the necessary supplies. "Do you need me to find you some guards?"
Yuan Chaokang wanted to start building his own power, so he definitely couldn't let his mother find him one. He thought power was a good thing, and although he had no ambitions in this life, he didn't want to be a victim of others.
So Yuan Chaokang, who had already made up his mind, refused without hesitation, "No need for that. When my father comes back, I'll ask him to find me a skilled soldier who has retired from the army."
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