The queen shook the teacup in her hand, and the hot tea spilled out. Her face turned pale.

Emperor Jingming was very happy: "The Queen Mother is also interested in appreciating the lanterns this year? That's great. You and Fourteenth Emperor must accompany your Grandmother."

In the heart of Emperor Jingming, he wished that the Queen Mother would join in the fun.

For so many years, the Queen Mother had not cared about worldly affairs and lived a lonely life, which made him, as a son, very distressed. Fortunately, the Queen Mother liked to be accompanied by her granddaughter recently, so she was not too lonely.

This was the first time in many years that the Queen Mother had proposed to appreciate the lanterns.

"Your Majesty—" the Queen called out anxiously.

Emperor Jingming looked at the Empress: "What is the matter, Empress?"

The Queen squeezed the teacup so hard that her knuckles turned pale. She forced a smile and said, "After all, the Queen Mother is old. It's still chilly during the Lantern Festival. Would it be inappropriate for her to go and enjoy the lanterns?"

Emperor Jingming's face darkened: "What could be wrong with that?"

"I'm worried that the Queen Mother might catch a cold—"

"Just wear more clothes." Emperor Jingming waved his hand indifferently, "Besides, Xuande Tower is not outside. I ordered people to add more braziers, so it won't be cold."

"But the Xuande Tower is so high, it would be inconvenient for the Queen Mother to go up and down..." The Queen was unwilling to struggle.

Emperor Jingming was even more dissatisfied: "That's easier to do. Just let the eunuchs carry our mother up and down the stairs."

At this point, Emperor Jingming looked at the Empress strangely and said, "Empress, what happened to you today?"

The seventh son's wife has been praying to Buddha for more than a month and her heart is calm and peaceful. Why is the empress becoming weird when there is no small Buddhist temple in Kunning Palace?

"I'm just worried about the Queen Mother..." The Queen explained dryly, and she herself felt that this excuse was lame.

She was really panicked by this sudden change. She had planned everything, but she had never expected that the Queen Mother would want to watch the lanterns this year.

Could it be that because of this, Fuqing could not avoid going up to the building to admire the lanterns during the Lantern Festival, and thus something bad happened as predicted in Princess Yan's dream?

Although Princess Yan said that Fuqing was just injured, no one knew how badly he was injured, let alone where he was injured. God knows whether it was serious or not - it must have been serious, otherwise why would Princess Yan come to the palace to tell her.

The queen was not stupid. After a little thought, she realized that Jiang Si would only downplay the situation and not exaggerate it.

This made her even more frightened, and she began to fear that God's will was unavoidable.

"Don't worry." Emperor Jingming's face straightened. "It's rare for the Queen Mother to be interested in appreciating lanterns. Don't worry about this or that and ruin her mood."

The empress had a stiff expression. She looked at her smiling daughter, then at Emperor Jingming who looked slightly unhappy, and had no choice but to nod.

"Fuqing, go play with Fourteenth. I'll talk to your mother."

Princess Fuqing and the Fourteenth Princess withdrew with interest.

Emperor Jingming coughed lightly, as if casually remembering, "By the way, did the seventh daughter-in-law enter the palace a few days ago?"

"Yes." The Queen pursed her lips, thinking that since the Emperor would ask whether Princess Yan had entered the palace, it must be something bad.

As expected, Emperor Jingming asked, "Have you asked which Bodhisattva the seventh daughter-in-law worships?"

"The Goddess of Childbirth."

Emperor Jingming was stunned: "Hmm?"

The queen curled her lips and said calmly, "The Princess of Yan is worshipping the Goddess of Childbirth."

She wanted to see if the emperor had the nerve to ask her, an old queen, to pay homage to the Goddess of Fertility.

Emperor Jingming was silent for a while, then said: "It doesn't matter which Bodhisattva you worship. What matters is that your heart is sincere and your wish will come true—"

Besides, they all knew those Bodhisattvas. Maybe it was the Goddess of Childbirth who passed the message to other Bodhisattvas, so the seventh brother’s wife came to invite her brother back.

After hearing what Emperor Jingming said, the Empress' eyes widened. She resisted the urge to scratch the Emperor's face with her long nails and said, "If that's the case, why don't we just worship the Bodhisattva instead of bothering the Goddess of Childbirth?"

Emperor Jingming showed a look of "you don't understand": "The key is that I don't know which Bodhisattva the Goddess of Childbirth gave these words to."

The Queen: “…” What he said made a lot of sense. She was almost convinced.

"Empress?" Seeing that the Empress did not say anything, Emperor Jingming reminded her.

The queen was determined and unwavering: "I will not bow."

Emperor Jingming was stunned. He obviously did not expect the empress to refuse so straightforwardly.

In the past, the Empress would have been more tactful in refusing, but now that she knew the Empress Dowager was upset about admiring the lanterns, she had no time to consider the feelings of the unreasonable old Emperor and refused outright.

"Queen, please think about it carefully. The palace has been very uneasy lately—"

The queen only said: "That is the Goddess of Childbirth!"

"What's wrong with the Goddess of Fertility? Even if she can't pray for anything else, maybe she can still give birth to a child." Emperor Jingming said casually.

The queen's face trembled: "You think too much. I am old now. I am afraid that I will tire myself to death."

Emperor Jingming coughed twice and made up an explanation: "It is not necessary to give birth to a child yourself..."

Before he finished speaking, Emperor Jingming thought of something and quickly stopped talking.

The queen was also inexplicably moved and dared not think about it any more.

The emperor and empress avoided the topic in tacit understanding and chatted for a few words. Then Emperor Jingming stood up and left.

As soon as Emperor Jingming left, the Empress immediately ordered someone to call the Fourteenth Princess over and specifically told her to stay away from Princess Fuqing.

The Fourteenth Princess returned to Kunning Palace and paid her respects to the Queen despite her doubts.

The queen held out her hand and said, "Fourteen, come and sit next to me."

The Fourteenth Princess came forward and sat down next to the Queen in an orderly manner.

The queen looked at the fourteenth princess deeply and patted her hands: "I have something to tell you."

"Mother, please tell me."

"Tomorrow we will go upstairs to admire the lanterns. Don't leave Fuqing." The queen rubbed her eyes and decided to tell the fourteenth princess a thing or two. "Mother and daughter are connected by heart. When I think of admiring the lanterns tomorrow night, I feel a little uneasy. I always feel that Fuqing will be in danger..."

The Fourteenth Princess's eyes became gradually surprised.

The queen smiled and said, "This is just my feeling. It's not a good idea to ask people to follow Fuqing. I can only trouble you..."

On an occasion like tomorrow, the palace maids might not be able to follow Princess Fuqing all the time. Only the Fourteenth Princess, who has a similar status and close relationship with Princess Fuqing, can do it without attracting attention.

Although she had doubts in her heart, Princess Fourteen did not show any of them on her face. She nodded slightly and said, "Don't worry, mother. Princess Fourteen will not leave Sister Thirteen even a step away."

"Well, you should go back, and don't mention it to Fuqing, lest she have wild thoughts." When the queen said this, a cold light flashed in her eyes.

Fuqing was not a noisy child. Even when she was blind, her manners were no worse than other princesses, so it was not easy for her to fall down.

She was worried that it was not an accident, and if so, it would be a bad idea to act rashly.

The next day was the Lantern Festival. The weather was rare and good, and it didn’t feel too cold at night.

There were thousands of bright lanterns in front of the Xuande Tower, and it was extremely lively.

The Emperor and Empress accompanied the Queen Mother as they slowly ascended the stairs. Beside the Queen Mother followed Princess Fuqing and Princess Fourteen, and behind them came the other princesses.

Soon after everyone climbed up the Xuande Tower, the mountain of lights suddenly lit up.