Chapter 354: The Lady of the Marquisate vs. the Younger Prince 97
The next day, Mrs. Ji brought Ji Yunhuan to the palace to express her gratitude.
Madam Ji wore a gown appropriate for a first-rank imperial concubine and a golden crown on her head, looking dignified and elegant.
Ji Tongfu resigned from the position of Prime Minister, but Prime Minister Ji still had the honorary title of Grand Tutor, and Madam Ji was still a first-rank official, so she could submit a card to the palace at any time to ask to see the empress.
Ji Yunhuan had no rank, but she was wearing a pleated brocade skirt awarded by the Empress Dowager, which was embroidered with elegant orchid patterns. She had her hair in a girl's bun, and the kingfisher-inlaid phoenix hairpin on her head was also awarded by the Empress Dowager.
Nanny Song came out personally to greet them, ushered them in from the palace gate, and brought them before the Queen.
Madam Ji was about to kneel down with her daughter to pay her respects, but the Queen waved her hand, signaling everyone else to leave, leaving only Nanny Song.
Madam Ji straightened up her back which had just been bent, and without bowing, she just looked at the Queen with a smile.
"Yan'er, you've lost weight again, but you're still so pretty. A-Yu takes after you, handsome. I never dreamed that we would have the day of our children becoming in-laws."
The Queen got down from the Phoenix Chair, trotted all the way to Madam Ji, and took Madam Ji's hand affectionately, "Man'er, you are so cruel. Except for the palace banquet, you never come to the palace to see me, leaving me alone in this palace, helpless and helpless."
"Man'er has long forgotten me in her heart. You don't know how much I miss you. I miss you so much that my heart is about to break. I don't care. You must stay with me tonight and make it up to me."
Nanny Song was too ashamed to watch her own queen acting like a spoiled child, so she walked to the door and stood guard in silence. If the palace servants saw her queen acting like this, it would really damage her dignity.
Mrs. Ji was quite helpless. Yan'er had been spoiled since she was a child, while she had been gentle and had no temper since she was a child. She treated Yan'er as her younger sister, and Yan'er liked to pester her more and more.
Yan'er would cry all the time, as if she had suffered a great injustice. Even a woman like her couldn't bear it, let alone a man.
Yan'er was born as beautiful as a flower. She was seen by His Majesty, who was a prince at the time. He was amazed by her beauty and made her his principal wife. Later, she became the empress, the mother of the country.
She married Ji Tongfu and followed her husband out of the capital. After many years, she finally returned to the capital. Everything had changed and no one knew that she still had such a friendship with the current queen.
Madam Ji took out a handkerchief and wiped the nonexistent tears from the queen's face. She coaxed her as she did when she was young, "You are the queen, and I am the wife of a powerful official. How can we be close? If you make His Majesty suspicious, it will not be good for you."
"Of course I miss you in my heart. I have kept all the gifts you gave me. The gifts I sent to the palace were carefully selected. Our friendship will never change even if we don't see each other often. No matter what your status is, you will always be my Yan'er."
The Queen Mother was delighted. She understood the truth, but it sounded especially pleasing coming from Maner's mouth.
She pulled Man'er to sit down together, and waved her hand for Ji Yunhuan to sit down as well.
Ji Yunhuan watched as her mother coaxed the Empress into a happy smile. The two seemed to have endless things to talk about and were closer than real sisters.
She also heard her mother speaking ill of her father and scolding Aunt Li and the illegitimate children, and she was extremely angry.
In front of the Queen, my mother seemed like a different person. She took off all her disguises and spoke freely.
The two of them had almost finished chatting and finally remembered Ji Yunhuan.
The Queen waved at Ji Yunhuan and said with a smile, "Man'er is pregnant, and you are pregnant too. It is really a double happiness. Come here and let me take a look. Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?"
Ji Yunhuan stood up, feeling a little reserved. The Queen Mother had watched her grow up since she was a child and was quite kind to her. But ever since she slept with Jing Yu, she always felt inexplicably guilty when she saw the Queen Mother again.
The Queen Mother did like her very much, but she might not like her as a daughter-in-law.
The Empress must have heard the rumors outside. In addition to those that accused her of being unfaithful and remarrying as a widow, there were also those that accused Jing Yu of coveting his wife. It was really absurd that Jing Yu took someone else's wife right after Marquis Xuanwu died.
What's worse, she was given the reputation of being a beauty who brings disaster, which deceived the Third Prince into doing evil and disregarding etiquette.
Ji Yunhuan doesn't care about these, she only cares about Jing Yu. No matter what others think, she must be Jing Yu's legal wife.
But if you put yourself in her shoes, as a mother, you naturally don’t want your son to be talked about by the world because of a woman.
Besides, Jing Yu wants to compete for the throne, and the reputation of the prince is also very important. Jing Yu's reputation among the people is better than in the court, and her existence can almost be regarded as Jing Yu's only "stain".
Ji Yunhuan stood two steps away from the queen and bowed respectfully.
It was normal for the prince's concubine to kneel three times and kowtow nine times when paying a visit to the queen, but she felt that the queen was familiar with her and there was no need to be so distant. However, the proper etiquette should still be observed.
The queen frowned in displeasure, "Why are you being so polite? Come closer, you haven't even become my daughter-in-law yet, but you're already afraid of your mother-in-law? I'm not going to eat you."
The Queen pulled Madam Ji next to her and said dissatisfiedly, "Look at your daughter. She was so smart when she was little. She answered all the questions asked. She was very brave in front of so many people. She is much better than you who is so taciturn."
"Now that you've grown up, you've become timid and cautious, worrying about this and that. You're not as cute as you were when you were little. It must be because you didn't teach her well. You've made a good girl stupid!"
Madam Ji felt that her daughter was already reckless enough, but in the eyes of the Queen, it seemed that this was not a big deal, so she felt relieved.
Madam Ji responded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, it's all my fault for restricting her too much. If Yan'er had a daughter, she would definitely be raised to be lively, cute and worry-free."
The Queen said proudly, "Of course, it's a pity that I don't have this blessing, but Huan'er is the same as my own daughter."
Ji Yunhuan was deeply moved and stopped pretending to be nice. She moved an embroidered stool over and sat down in front of the Queen.
The Queen held her hand and said with a smile, "That's right. This Fengyi Palace is just like your own home. I know that the position of concubine is unfair to you, but it is just a temporary measure. Don't think too much about it."
"The emperor doesn't agree to make the daughter of the Ji family his principal wife. I'm too lazy to negotiate with him. I'll wait until later... It will be easy for Jingyu to marry you, but this fool Jingyu insisted on giving you a status now. I'm tired of him pestering me, and I know you're pregnant, so I issued the imperial decree."
"Once you have a status, A Yu can go to see you openly, and he will be happy. There is no need to rush the wedding. It would be unfair to you if we hold it now. The palace is not peaceful now. Most of the servants in the prince's mansion may have evil intentions. I feel more at ease if you stay in the Ji family to take care of your pregnancy."
The queen lowered her voice, "If this baby is a boy, he will be the eldest son and the future crown prince. This way there will be fewer disputes and the harem will be stable. Huan'er, don't worry, Jingyu will welcome you into the palace as the queen!"
Ji Yunhuan's heart was shocked, and she looked up at the Queen who had a calm expression. The Queen nodded slightly at her, and she understood.
The hatred for killing her son is irreconcilable, so the Empress is ready to take action against the Emperor.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
