After many days, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's Cining Palace once again welcomed new guests.
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang disliked overly flamboyant clothing, which suited Qingyin's style perfectly. However, such plain and simple attire lacked respect. The aunt who served Qingyin pondered this and then put a hairpin inlaid with a crescent-shaped ruby in Qingyin's hair. The ruby was made into an exquisite raindrop shape and was decorated with a few pearl flowers. In this way, the headdress did not look monotonous, but instead revealed a sense of elegance.
Along the way, Qingyin calmly walked forward, ignoring the shock of the people sent from the Empress Dowager's palace.
The palace maids beside the Empress Dowager were no pushovers either. After the initial shock, they recovered quickly and regained their previous composure, though their tone became much more respectful.
When they arrived at the entrance of Cining Palace, the leading palace maid smiled gently and said, "Please wait here for a while, Consort Wan. I will go and inform the Empress Dowager."
Qingyin nodded: "Thank you, Aunt."
Seeing Qingyin's gentle and polite attitude, the palace maid smiled even more meaningfully.
It quickly disappeared from Qingyin's sight.
Inside the palace, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, having learned from others that Consort Wan had arrived, rubbed her slightly sore eyes. "Hmm, let her in."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Today, the Empress Dowager's mood was not pleasant after hearing the Emperor's recent news; in fact, she was rather irritable. Therefore, after seeing the person who had entered the palace, the Empress Dowager's expression worsened.
Even so, she didn't do anything.
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang looked at the stunningly beautiful woman standing below her, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Sit down, Consort Wan."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Empress Dowager had arranged her seat beforehand, and Qingyin didn't need to ask; she obediently sat down at the maid's prompting.
Above, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, sipping tea, was also carefully observing Qingyin below.
To be honest, Consort Wan's appearance wasn't the seductive kind; rather, she resembled a celestial fairy, ethereal and otherworldly, breathtakingly beautiful. But it was precisely this beauty that made Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang even more uneasy. Even Consort Dong'e didn't give her this feeling. What if Fulin became a foolish ruler who only lusted after beauty because of her? Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang wanted to trust her son a little, but she couldn't. Consort Wan had the power to make Fulin a foolish ruler.
She had been thinking too much and the tea on her lips had gone cold before she came to her senses. The cold tea startled her.
Meeting Su Ma La Gu's worried gaze, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang gave her a reassuring look and then asked Wan Pin, who remained calm and composed even after such a long time, "Wan Pin, has the Emperor visited you these past few days?"
Although the question was phrased as a doubt, the tone was full of certainty.
Qingyin's long, curled eyelashes trembled slightly. "Yes, His Majesty often comes to sit for a while during the day."
...
In the Hall of Preserving Harmony, Wu Liangfu hurried into the hall, where Emperor Fulin was discussing state affairs with his ministers.
Wu Liangfu was extremely anxious. Apart from the little palace maid in the Cold Palace, all the people around Consort Wan were the Emperor's people. So when the Empress Dowager summoned Consort Wan, the eunuch from Qiming Palace rushed to him to deliver the message. But now the Emperor was discussing state affairs with several princes and ministers, so he couldn't say anything.
Thinking about it so much that his head was spinning, Wu Liangfu thought of Consort Wan's stunning beauty and decided to take the risk.
However, the approach doesn't need to be so direct and impolite.
Thinking it over, Wu Liangfu quietly and decisively went into the house, pacing back and forth in the corner where incense was burned.
The line of sight from this spot is directly facing Fu Lin, who is standing above.
While listening to the Minister of State, Sony, speaking, Fulin's eyes were quickly distracted by the noise and he noticed Wu Liangfu entering the room. He frowned. Why did Wu Liangfu suddenly come in? Wasn't he told not to disturb him when he was handling state affairs?
No, Wu Liangfu isn't the kind of person who acts without thinking. If something happens, we're in trouble, Wanwan!
Fu Lin's eyes darkened, and he abruptly stood up.
Sony, who was discussing state affairs, was startled and swayed. He looked in surprise at the emperor who suddenly stood up.
Compared to the gentle and unassuming Sony, the hot-blooded Prince Chen couldn't sit still any longer. He said sarcastically, "What, Your Majesty, you can't even stand listening to what we have to say?"
Upon hearing this from Prince Chen, one of the ministers of the council, Fulin subconsciously frowned. However, remembering what he wanted to ask Wu Liangfu, Fulin swallowed the words he wanted to say and explained, "I suddenly had a sharp pain in my head just now, and I feel a bit unwell..."
As he spoke, Fu Lin pretended to rub his temples, feigning weakness.
The ministers exchanged glances and fell silent. Prince Chen, who had not been rebuked by the emperor for the first time, was also embarrassed. He did not know that the emperor was genuinely upset by what he said today, and he did not know how to respond, so he fell silent again.
At this moment, the quiet Minister of State, Sony, stepped forward to defuse the situation, saying, "Your Majesty must have been too busy with state affairs lately and not getting enough rest, which is why you are feeling unwell. Why don't we end it here today and Your Majesty can rest for a while?"
The emperor, who was feigning illness, gave Sony an approving look. As expected of his most valued minister, Sony was insightful and knew how to avoid causing him trouble.
Seeing that Sony had said this, the other ministers were not fools, and one by one they took their leave.
After everyone had left, Fu Lin changed his previous sickly appearance and beckoned Wu Liangfu to come over to him.
"What happened? Did something happen to Wanwan?"
Wu Liangfu quickly said, "Your Majesty, this morning the people from Qiming Palace reported that the Empress Dowager summoned Consort Wan to Cining Palace."
"What!"
With a furrowed brow, worried that his mother would cause trouble for Wanwan, Fulin strode towards Cining Palace in the blink of an eye.
Wu Liangfu was left standing there, feeling the chill of the empty back before him, his mind blank for a moment. Ahhh! Your Majesty, wait for your servant!
Suddenly, Wu Liangfu chased after Fu Lin, who was walking ahead.
On his way to Cining Palace, Fulin pondered all sorts of sad possibilities, such as his mother tormenting Wanwan, forcing her to kneel instead of sit... The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became, and the faster he walked. When he arrived at Cining Palace, he was lost in confusion as he looked at the harmonious scene inside.
He saw not only the Empress Dowager and Wanwan as he had guessed, but also an unexpected person in the palace—the Empress. At this moment, she was chatting and laughing with her mother and Wanwan. Qingyin occasionally smiled as she spoke, indicating that the atmosphere in the palace was quite pleasant.
On the contrary, his arrival disrupted the harmonious atmosphere of the Cining Palace, appearing somewhat abrupt.
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