Zhou Qiongyue could only quickly reiterate, "This humble servant would never do such a thing. This is just a casual chat with the Empress!"
Seeing Zhou Qiongyue's repeated assurances, Empress Dowager Duan Jianing reluctantly believed them. She couldn't help but jokingly said, "I really didn't realize over the years that you, Shuxian, are still a sentimental person."
"Your Highness has been with me for so many years, even a piece of stone should be warmed up by now! And for me, Your Highness has also paid attention to my health in recent years."
Zhou Qiongyue's tone was quite ordinary, but the Queen Mother smiled as she listened. "It's good to be able to witness a relationship where both parties haven't been let down. You and the prince are both very good people."
Zhou Qiongyue accepted the Queen Mother's compliment with a smile, "Then your Highness and I would like to thank you for your compliment."
In the next half month, Zhou Qiongyue accompanied the empress dowager in drinking tea, growing vegetables, fishing, and even went together to dig wild vegetables and pick wild fruits.
Zhou Qiongyue even recommended the storybooks that she liked to read to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager also gradually went from going to bed early and getting up early to going to bed late and getting up late. Gradually, she became like Zhou Qiongyue. She would sit instead of standing when she could, and lie down instead of sitting when she could, and she incorporated her lazy habits into every aspect of her life.
Not to mention, this kind of life really made the Queen Mother feel a different kind of pleasure, a sense of freedom.
But after the Queen Mother stayed here for more than half a month, the Emperor sent someone to urge the Queen Mother to return to the palace. The Queen Mother did not want to return to the palace, but she also did not want to implicate Zhou Qiongyue.
He ordered his people to pack up his luggage and took a group of servants to live in the royal villa.
The Queen Mother now feels that the Royal Villa is extremely suitable for her. She can make decisions on her own, do whatever she wants, and no one will disturb her easily.
There was a sequelae. The Empress Dowager also became obsessed with reading storybooks like Zhou Qiongyue. However, Zhou Qiongyue was under the supervision of Yuan Bohua, and could barely get her to go to bed early and get up early.
The Queen Mother was in the other courtyard, so who dared to control her? Staying up late to read a storybook was a common occurrence.
By the time Emperor Li Chengyan had sorted out the affairs of the court and went to the villa to visit the empress dowager in person, it was already noon and the empress dowager had not yet gotten up.
The emperor was worried about the empress dowager's health, so he sent someone back to Yuan'an to invite all the doctors in the Imperial Hospital.
When the empress dowager woke up, she saw the imperial doctors and servants kneeling in a room, and the emperor's son drinking tea not far from the bed.
The empress dowager looked at the emperor's son's aura and found it quite scary at first glance.
The Queen Mother sat up with her quilt in her arms, being attended to by the palace maids. "How did the Emperor find time to come here?"
The emperor had a sullen face, and was visibly angry: "If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have known that my mother was acting lawlessly in the other courtyard."
The Queen Mother was a smart person. Seeing the imperial doctors kneeling on the ground, there was nothing she didn't understand. But even though she understood, she couldn't admit it!
"What have I done to deserve the Emperor to come all the way here and get so angry?"
"Doctor Xiang, please tell my mother how her pulse is feeling."
The imperial physician knelt down tremblingly and reported respectfully, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty's pulse is weak and unstable, and there is a concern about the imbalance of yin and yang.
It's probably because of the reversal of day and night, and if this continues for a long time, it will cause serious harm to the Empress Dowager's health."
"Mother, did you hear clearly?" The emperor's aura at this moment frightened the people serving in the room so much that they dared not even breathe.
The Queen Mother gave an awkward smile and could only promise, "I promise I'll never stay up late again. I'll go to bed and get up early, follow the doctor's advice, and actively maintain my health. Is that all right?"
The emperor waved to the people in the room, signaling them to go down.
Even when the emperor was angry, he still remembered to protect his mother's face. "Mother, please tell me! What are you doing that keeps you up all day and night?"
The Queen Mother found a comfortable position, leaning against the headboard. Seeing the Emperor's determined look, she could only explain, "Alas, I was just bored and read some interesting storybooks. I didn't realize it and ended up reading a little late."
The Queen Mother had no idea how shocking her words were. The Emperor looked at her carefully for a long time. He even suspected that his mother had been replaced by someone else.
In the emperor's mind, his mother was so smart and self-disciplined, how could she be reluctant to go to bed because she was obsessed with those meaningless novels.
The Queen Mother reached out and touched her face. "I know I haven't washed yet, but Your Majesty, there's no need to stare at my face like that, right?"
The Emperor stared at the Queen Mother for a while before he said, "It seems the Queen Mother has changed?"
"No one stays the same. I quite like my current life. Your Majesty, please stay here with me for lunch later! I'll have Fuling bring some people to pick the vegetables I planted for Your Majesty to taste."
The Queen Mother mentioned the vegetables she had grown to her son, her face full of pride. She was very happy that the vegetables had grown well even though it was her first time to learn how to grow them.
The emperor was stunned for a long time. It turned out that his mother had to grow the vegetables herself for the meals she ate in the villa?
The Queen Mother, who was originally waiting for her son's praise and favor, was greeted by the Emperor, who held her hand with red eyes, "Mother, you have suffered a lot. It's all your fault that I came late and didn't come to see you earlier.
As the Queen Mother of a country, you even have to grow the vegetables you eat yourself, Mother..."
As the emperor spoke, he thought about his mother's frail and sickly body, and how she had to grow vegetables herself, and he was about to cry.
Queen Mother
"Hold back your tears. I only grow vegetables for fun. Your Majesty, do you think anyone treats me harshly? I'm the only one in charge of the Royal Villa. Who's tired of living like that?"
The Queen Mother felt that her son had become stupid after becoming the emperor. Oh my God, the Queen Mother hoped it was just her illusion.
The Queen Mother took the Emperor's hand and earnestly admonished him, "My son, please pay more attention to the court! You don't need to worry about your mother here."
The Queen Mother didn't want her retirement life, which had just begun, to be affected by her son's stupidity.
The emperor finally came to his senses and realized that his mother thought he was stupid.
The emperor... is very angry because no one is making the decision for him.
The emperor decided to bring the topic back. "Your Majesty, you are not reliable yourself, and you still have the nerve to criticize your son. If you want your son to come less often, you must promise him that you will go to bed and eat on time in the future, otherwise..."
The Queen Mother really didn't want her son to bother her every other day, and she also understood that it was not easy for her son, so she quickly promised, "On time, I will definitely be on time."
The Emperor saw that his mother agreed so quickly and felt that she was just trying to give him a hard time. He could only change the person and threaten:
"Your Majesty, you must keep your word. Otherwise, the ones who will suffer will be those serving you. I was thinking of dealing with them this time, but I'll save it for next time."
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