Murong Yan drank for half the night and had a headache after the court session. The eunuch reported that the queen invited him to have dinner with her today.
Murong Yan thought about it before agreeing. He didn't often go to see the queen at night. After all, she was his sister-in-law, so he had to avoid suspicion.
But it would be bad to offend her in front of outsiders.
After all, in front of outsiders, I have to give my sister-in-law, the queen, dignity and respect.
Ming Liuli carefully admired her face in the mirror, and then put on makeup carefully.
She had a pure and beautiful appearance, but also a pitiful look. Back then, just a slight frown would attract the sympathy of countless men.
Now she has been trapped in the deep palace for twelve years. She takes good care of herself every day and there is not a single fine line on her face.
Although her facial condition was far worse than when she was 28 years old, she was still very confident about her looks. She carefully selected and changed into a fairy-like white slim-fitting floor-length dress.
She had a lot of thoughts in her mind. If the former crown prince had not died and successfully ascended the throne, then her path to becoming queen would definitely be glorious.
Who knew that person was so unlucky that not only did he die early, but he also ended up in an awkward situation.
Although she eventually married Murong Yan, she had been engaged to the former crown prince. Murong Yan was present many times when they expressed their affection for each other.
The Queen Mother also took the late Crown Prince's death to heart and repeatedly stated that she wished she were dead.
She could only use the former crown prince and pretend to have a deep relationship with him, so that Murong Yan, who had always admired the former crown prince, would treat her as his sister-in-law.
However, the Queen Mother has already been in private contact with a pregnant woman from the royal family. If the Queen Mother intends to adopt a child, she will definitely not consider raising the child herself.
The new emperor has no feelings for her, so how can she become the powerful empress dowager?
So she decided to break the persona she had worked so hard to maintain, and she wanted to give birth to a legitimate son.
The nanny beside her said happily, "Your Majesty is not only of noble birth, but also beautiful as a fairy. You have been blessed by heaven since childhood. I don't know how many times your family has advised you to do so. Your Majesty, you should have done so long ago."
After saying that, he took out some incense to add to the fun and walked towards the incense burner.
Seeing this, Ming Liuli frowned and tried to stop him. With her beauty, why would she use such cheap things? She wanted to avoid getting pregnant at once, which would affect the health of the dragon baby in her belly.
As soon as Murong Yan entered the room, he felt that the queen was acting strangely today.
She was not wearing the usual dignified and proper palace dress of a queen, and her hair was loose. Could it be that she was thinking something abnormal about the crown prince? After all, it was almost the anniversary of her brother's death.
Murong Yan simply took two bites of the food and saw that the queen had not spoken a word except for serving him food.
He planned to ask the Queen to take good care of the Prime Minister's wife, and then found an excuse to leave.
Ming Liuli was secretly annoyed to see that Murong Yan had no reaction to her gentle and considerate behavior for a long time. When she heard Murong Yan mention that she should take care of the Prime Minister's wife, she was surprised and asked:
"How could the emperor pay attention to a woman in the inner chamber?"
Of course Murong Yan would not say that he saw the little girl running out to eat in the middle of the night last night and that he was meddling in other people's business.
He pretended to wave his hand casually and said, "That's the daughter of my former study partner, Lin Cenyi. Lin Cenyi has been coming to me lately, saying that he's worried his daughter isn't doing well, so I've entrusted this matter to my sister-in-law."
Ming Liuli nodded in understanding and said enviously:
"The Prime Minister's wife really has a good father. I will give her more rewards and remind the old lady of the Prime Minister's Mansion when I meet her at the banquet."
Murong Yan felt relieved after hearing this, "Then I'll have to trouble you, sister-in-law."
Ming Liuli frowned when she heard this, and said softly: "Your Majesty, although I have been engaged to the late Crown Prince, we have not held a grand wedding, so Your Majesty does not need to treat me as your sister-in-law.
I have known since I was a child that I was born to be a phoenix. Now I am married to the emperor and become the queen, but I am obsessed with the past and ignore the mission from heaven, and I have not taken on the responsibilities of the queen for the emperor.
After twelve whole years, no children were born in the harem, causing the emperor to repeatedly trouble the issue of no heirs.
I have recently come to realize that I shouldn't dwell on the past. After all, those who are gone are gone, and those who are still alive should cherish those around them."
After saying this, he looked at Murong Yan with deep affection and placed his hand in Murong Yan's hand.
Murong Yan reacted and instantly waved Ming Liuli's hand away. The jade chopsticks in his hand also fell to the ground with a crisp sound. He calmed his mind:
"Sister-in-law, you worry too much. The harem has no children. It's not your fault as the queen. It's my fault. You've done very well."
After saying that, he stood up and left. It was already completely dark, and it was not appropriate for him to stay here any longer, especially since his sister-in-law was now lost in such thoughts.
Seeing Murong Yan's tall figure about to disappear from her sight, Ming Liuli ignored the embarrassment of having her hand shaken off by him and trotted after him, calling out to Murong Yan.
She wanted to go forward and hug Murong Yan, but at this moment she no longer cared about her pride.
Murong Yan was prepared this time and had already taken a few steps back. He saw Ming Liuli's tears falling like beads that had fallen off the string.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke to comfort her: "Sister-in-law, don't worry about my offspring. I can promise you that no matter who becomes the next emperor, I will instruct the new emperor to treat you well."
Ming Liuli was unmoved by Murong Yan's kindness towards her, and was even indifferent to her own tearful appearance.
It was not appropriate to continue pestering her, so she pretended to be ashamed, covered her face and ran back to her bedroom.
She looked at herself in the mirror. She was still as beautiful as ever, and her tears and expression were just right.
But the tyrant Murong Yan could only see Shufei, an old woman who was born as a palace maid.
She married Murong Yan, knowing that Murong Yan had some grudges against her and was afraid that he would not consummate the marriage with her so early. Fortunately, the empress dowager made a strange rule that forbade the emperor to touch a woman before he was twenty years old, so she was not in a hurry. There was no one in the harem except Concubine Shu.
After the emperor turned twenty years old, he never held a beauty contest. Instead, he would occasionally visit Concubine Shu and see himself during festivals.
Because the emperor would not consummate his marriage with her, she would not mention the selection of concubines.
The only concubine was in extremely poor health. Even if she was pregnant, he had the ability to kill her twice.
Now Shufei is already 35 years old. She is definitely not able to get pregnant at such an age. However, even so, Murong Yan refused to select girls from the imperial concubines or take them into the harem. The old hag Empress Dowager indulged him. It can be seen that both mother and son have poor aesthetic taste.
Someone like Concubine Shu would only look like a second-class maid in her own palace.
She felt that it was not that she lacked charm, but that Murong Yan had no taste and did not understand beauty and ugliness.
She asked her nanny to take a letter home, asking them to find a few girls from the clan and send them to the palace. After thinking about it, she instructed them to find girls according to the appearance and temperament of Concubine Shu.
She lay in bed, unable to sleep all night. If she had known earlier, she would have asked the nanny to light the incense.
The day at the Prime Minister's Mansion was not peaceful either.
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