Compared to the joyful atmosphere in Prince Yan's Mansion, the atmosphere in Yuquan Palace was not so pleasant.

It was only when Concubine Xian went to Kunning Palace to pay her respects that she learned that Yu Jin had returned from his trip south.

It was already annoying enough to get up early in the cold weather to greet another woman, but then I heard such bad news.

Even now, Concubine Xian can still recall the expressions of those little bitches.

They were just laughing at her for not even knowing her own son had returned. These little bastards, seeing that the empress was becoming more and more favored by the emperor, acted insolently in front of her. They were all so stupid that they didn't even think seriously about what was the point of the empress gaining power.

A queen without a son will only be an empty figure when she becomes empress dowager in the future. In the huge harem, the one who really has the final say is still the emperor's mother.

Although Concubine Xian managed to keep her composure outside, when she heard the Queen mention that Prince Yan had returned, her face started to turn red, but she had to hold it back so as not to show it.

After returning to Yuquan Palace, she drank two cups of hot tea but was still furious.

Compared to those short-sighted little sluts, she hated Old Seven more!

What on earth did she give birth to that she went to the south for so long and came back with a living son of the Duke of Dongping. She went to the palace to meet the emperor and the empress, but she didn't even step into the Yuquan Palace!

If Yu Jin stood in front of Concubine Xian at this moment, Concubine Xian would probably not be able to control herself and splash the tea on his face.

"This beast!"

The confidant nanny beside her whispered, "Don't worry, Madam. If you are too careful, you will have a headache again."

When this was mentioned, Concubine Xian's expression twisted.

Ever since she pretended to be sick in order to create an opportunity for the fourth and seventh daughters-in-law to go to Baiyun Temple to burn incense, she actually fell ill. After being bedridden for a while, she suffered from occasional headaches. Until now, the imperial physicians have been unable to find the cause of the disease, let alone how to diagnose and treat it.

While secretly scolding the imperial physician for wasting things, Concubine Xian couldn't help but feel frightened.

Could it be that the Bodhisattva really knew that she was faking illness and blamed her?

With this thought, Concubine Xian inexplicably felt guilty. However, this guilt did not make her stop being partial. Instead, she became more dissatisfied when she thought of Yu Jin and his wife.

It would be strange if you could be satisfied if you paid the price but still didn't achieve your goal.

Just as I was feeling angry, my head suddenly hurt, as if someone had poked it with a spike.

The pain came and went quickly, but it still made Concubine Xian's forehead sweat and her face turn pale in an instant.

"Your Majesty, are you having a headache again?" The trusted nanny looked anxious.

The queen is not young anymore. If anything happens to her, these slaves who depend on her will be in trouble.

Concubine Xian waved her hands to stop her trusted maid from wiping her sweat with a handkerchief and ordered, "Just say I'm sick and ask the emperor to come over."

The confidant nanny hesitated for a moment.

"go."

"yes."

The New Year has not yet ended, and Emperor Jingming has been relatively free these days. Especially yesterday, Yu Jin brought the son of the Duke of Dongping back safely, so that there was one less old father in the world who had to see his child off. This put him in a good mood, so he took out the storybook and leaned back on the couch to read it leisurely.

Pan Hai came forward and said, "Your Majesty, Yuquan Palace sent someone to invite you."

Emperor Jingming put the notebook aside and glanced at Pan Hai.

Pan Hai bowed: "The Concubine Xian is not feeling well——"

Emperor Jingming raised his eyelids and asked, "Have you called the imperial physician?"

Pan Hai lowered his head even more: "The person who came didn't say anything."

Emperor Jingming frowned.

If you are sick, you can ask the imperial physician for help. What's the point of asking him for help?

However, Emperor Jingming was understanding and tolerant of the concubines' little thoughts. He hesitated for a moment, turned over and got off the bed, and said lightly: "Drive to Yuquan Palace."

Although it disturbed his leisure time reading a storybook, after all, he was an old man who had followed him for many years, so he might as well go and take a look.

When the people at Yuquan Palace heard that the emperor had arrived, Concubine Xian immediately went to greet him.

"Since you are not feeling well, why are you coming out? Just take a good rest." Emperor Jingming took a look at Concubine Xian and saw that her face was as pale as paper and her hair was a little wet. He did not suspect that she was faking illness, so his tone became much softer.

Concubine Xian smiled weakly and followed Emperor Jingming inside: "It's still the same problem I had before. I feel like I'm dying when I have a headache. I shouldn't have bothered the emperor to come here, but--"

Having said this, Concubine Xian fell silent.

Emperor Jingming sat down on the low couch, motioned for Concubine Xian to sit down as well, and asked, "What's the matter?"

Concubine Xian sat there with her head slightly lowered, revealing her slender neck, looking somewhat fragile.

Her voice was very soft, and she sighed: "Today, when I was combing my hair in front of the mirror, I found a lot of white hair. I suddenly realized that I am really old. Now my illness is like a thread being pulled out, and I don’t know when I will be ill. I just want to see the emperor for a little longer."

Emperor Jingming's face darkened slightly: "It's New Year's Day, don't talk nonsense."

Concubine Xian curled her lips, her smile so faint that it had no color: "I have stopped because of my feelings."

Concubine Xian was beautiful, and her charm remained unchanged even with her age. But at this moment, Emperor Jingming indeed discovered that the radiant woman in his impression had aged.

Several of the virtuous concubines had followed Emperor Jingming since the Empress was still in power. Now that the virtuous concubines were old, so was Emperor Jingming as well.

Thinking of this, Emperor Jingming's tone became gentler: "Just take good care of yourself. If the current doctor can't cure you, ask the court official or the court judge to come and take a look. Don't think too much."

Concubine Xian poured a cup of tea for Emperor Jingming and said softly, "I am not afraid of getting old, I just want to see the emperor and the children more often."

Emperor Jingming said casually: "Doesn't the fourth brother come to see you often?"

Concubine Xian was silent for a moment, then said quietly, "The fourth child is a filial son, but I feel a little sad when I think of the seventh child. The seventh child was taken out of the palace when he was young, and I, as his mother, wanted to see him but couldn't. Now we are finally able to be reunited, but this child has become estranged from me..."

Emperor Jingming's tone was slightly heavy: "Seventh Brother has never been to Yuquan Palace?"

Concubine Xian nodded slightly: "It was only when I went to Kunning Palace to pay my respects today that I learned that the Seventh Prince had returned. Speaking of which, I find it really unpleasant to be a mother..."

Since she no longer had any hope for the Seventh Brother, she would rather throw him into the mud, at least to prevent him from causing trouble for the Fourth Brother.

Emperor Jingming was indeed somewhat unhappy, and snorted, "This idiot boy is really outrageous!"

Having been to his place with the Empress, it would be natural for me to come to Yuquan Palace. How could I not follow any rules?

"My beloved concubine, please don't be angry. I will call that bastard into the palace and give him a good scolding."

I had nothing to do, so I just scolded my son to kill time.

After Emperor Jingming left Yuquan Palace, he was about to order Pan Hai to summon Prince Yan to the palace when he heard the eunuch report that Prince Yan wanted to see him.

"Let him in."

Soon Yu Jin walked into the Yangxin Palace and paid his respects to Emperor Jingming in a proper manner.

Emperor Jingming glanced at Yu Jian, his face darkening slightly, "What brings you to the palace so early in the morning?"

After that idiot has finished talking about serious matters, he will talk to this kid about how he doesn't care about his mother.

Then Yu Jian said, "My son came to the palace for two reasons. One is to visit the virtuous concubine, and the other is--"

"Wait, what did you say?"