When the Queen saw Princess Fuqing and Princess Fourteen coming over, she put the teacup aside and asked with a smile, "Didn't you say you were going shopping after meeting your Seventh Sister-in-law? Why are you back to the palace so soon?"

Princess Fuqing pursed her lips and said, "All the shops are still closed, so I had to come back early."

She deeply suspected that her mother had known this for a long time, which was why she agreed so readily.

The Queen looked at the Fourteenth Princess and asked, "Have you seen the Princess of Yan?"

The two princesses said in unison: "Yes."

"Uh, what did you say?"

Princess Fuqing and Princess Fourteen looked at each other.

The queen raised her eyebrows: "What?"

Princess Fuqing pursed her lips and said, "When we went there, Sister-in-law Qi was praying in the small Buddhist temple and didn't say anything..."

The queen's heart skipped a beat, but she said calmly, "Why didn't you say anything? Didn't you wait for Princess Yan to sit down and recite the sutra before leaving?"

Princess Fuqing did not find anything unusual and smiled, "Sister-in-law Qi's personal maid said that Sister-in-law Qi had a dream, and the person in the dream advised her to keep silent to show her sincerity. This way, not only will Brother Qi come back earlier, but there may be unexpected surprises. We have no choice but to stop disturbing Sister-in-law Qi."

The queen felt something was a little strange after hearing this, so she sent the two princesses away. After thinking for a while, she quietly called the fourteenth princess back.

When the Fourteenth Princess stood before the Queen for the second time, she knew that today's trip would not be so easy.

She was a person who knew her limits, so she stood there obediently without saying a single word until the empress opened her mouth.

The Queen nodded secretly and said, "Fourteen, did you and Fuqing really meet the Princess of Yan?"

“Yes.”

"Then tell me in detail what happened at that time."

"After my thirteenth sister and I arrived, we waited in the flower hall for a while, and then were led by a maid to a small Buddhist temple. There were two maids waiting there, claiming to be the personal maids of the seventh sister-in-law—"

"Where is Princess Yan?"

"Sister-in-law Qi was in the small Buddhist temple. We didn't go in, but stood outside the door and greeted her."

"So you mean you didn't talk to Princess Yan from beginning to end?"

"Um."

The queen hesitated for a long time and asked, "Are you sure you didn't make a mistake? Is that the Princess of Yan?"

The Queen's questions became more and more bizarre, which made Princess Fourteen's heart skip a beat.

She was a cautious person. After a moment of hesitation, she said carefully, "My daughter didn't meet Seventh Sister-in-law very often. At that time, it seemed that it was indeed Seventh Sister-in-law..."

The queen nodded and said, "Then you can go back. Remember not to tell anyone what happened today."

The Fourteenth Princess bowed to the Queen: "Don't worry, mother. I understand."

The Queen was very pleased with the Fourteenth Princess's knowledge and interests, and gave her a pair of gold bracelets to take away.

The Fourteenth Princess accepted it calmly and left quietly.

The queen leaned against the screen and pondered.

When it was almost time for dinner, Emperor Jingming sent someone to deliver a message saying that dinner would be served in Kunning Palace, and the empress hurriedly ordered the small kitchen to prepare it.

It gets dark early, and strings of red lanterns are lit up early in Kunning Palace, making the house seem warm and peaceful.

But Emperor Jingming was in a hurry. He ate a few mouthfuls and dismissed the maidservants. He brought tea and asked the empress: "Fuqing and the others are back. Have they seen the seventh son's wife?"

"When we went there, the Princess of Yan was worshipping Buddha. The two of them didn't stay long. They only met at the door..."

After hearing what the empress said, Emperor Jingming breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: "Seventh Old Wife is really patient. It's not easy for young people to be so patient."

If it was his turn to chant the sutras, he would have fallen asleep early.

The queen thought for a long time, but because she had no clear evidence, she did not express her strange feeling. She smiled and agreed, "Since Princess Yan is so sincere, the Prince of Yan will definitely return soon."

When Emperor Jingming heard the empress mention his son, he frowned and said unhappily, "He has been out for so long and hasn't come back yet. This kid is so stubborn that he insists on doing things that he knows are useless."

It is said that the body of the son of the Duke of Dongping fell into the Jishui River. The Jishui River is vast and powerful, and it is not a small ditch. Trying to find the body is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The Queen had a good impression of the Prince of Yan and his wife, and said in a flattering way: "The Prince of Yan loves the Princess of Yan, this is a good thing."

Emperor Jingming snorted coldly: "You ran so far away and left your wife to chant sutras every day. Aren't you afraid that your wife will really devote herself to Buddhism——"

"Ahem." As the emperor's words became more and more inappropriate, the queen coughed twice.

Emperor Jingming seemed to have put a burden on his mind, and he looked relaxed, and went straight to rest in Kunning Palace.

In Yuquan Palace, Concubine Xian was indignant when she heard that Emperor Jingming rested in Kunning Palace.

It would be fine if the emperor really wanted to rest with some young and beautiful witch, but he actually rested with the empress. What would these old ladies who have been in the palace for many years think?

These days, Concubine Xian felt that nothing was going well.

The plot against the seventh prince's wife failed but ended up involving the fourth prince's wife. It would have been fine if the fourth prince's wife had lost her life, but she was rescued. In the short term, she can only occupy the position of Princess Qi but cannot manage the inner house for the fourth prince.

This way, the fourth brother will have to suffer. Apart from anything else, the fourth brother has been so low-key these years. Although it is time for him to stay out of the limelight, it still makes her feel distressed to see him like that.

It is obvious that the fourth son is the most qualified now, but the emperor has not expressed anything at all. What is he thinking?

Thinking about how much the Emperor valued the Empress in the past two years, Concubine Xian felt a little panicked for some reason. She thought of taking advantage of the New Year to invite her sister-in-law, Wei, into the palace to give her a reminder.

The next day, Concubine Xian invited Lady Wei, the wife of Duke Anguo, into the palace on the pretext that she missed her relatives during the New Year.

Concubine Xian hadn't seen Wei for a while. When she saw her in the bedroom today, she was surprised: "Why does my sister-in-law look so unwell?"

Her sister-in-law is a sweet-looking person with a bitter heart. Because she always puts on a gentle appearance, two years ago, she didn't look like someone who has a thirty-year-old eldest son at all.

But now I see that he looks obviously old.

The white hair on his temples, the drooping eyes, and the bad complexion all showed his aging.

Hearing Concubine Xian's question, Wei sighed and said, "There is nothing to hide from the Queen. It's because of the Third Prince and his wife that they are mad at her!"

If it was earlier, Wei would still hold on, but the third daughter-in-law had been married for quite some time. Seeing that the third room was becoming more and more noisy, and her originally well-behaved and innocent youngest son becoming a playboy on the Jinshui River, Wei no longer had the strength to cover it up.

"Yier was obsessed with Qiaoniang before, how did it become like this?"

Wei snorted coldly: "People from small families just can't change their petty nature. Not only can they not have children, but they also suspect Yi'er of having an affair with the maid every day. You know Yi'er, no matter what, she would never mess around with the maid around her, but she can't be stopped from making such noises every day. If it happens too many times and her unreliable friends instigate her, she will start to run to Jinshui River. I wouldn't worry if he took in a few maids with clean backgrounds, but what kind of filthy stuff are there in Jinshui River..."