Life at the Yuanmingyuan Garden passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, the tail end of summer was nowhere to be seen, and the golden leaves marked the arrival of late autumn. Yinzhen decided to set off back to the capital.
On the one hand, he had indeed been away for quite a while, and on the other hand, the eldest princess's wedding was approaching, so returning to the Forbidden City was an inevitable choice in order to show how much he valued this daughter.
The little wolf was saying goodbye to DouDou and his new friends one by one, including but not limited to koi, cranes, ducks, geese, and so on. He was quite busy.
As for Yi Hua's new family member, the puppy Bai Xue, Xiao Lang only petted it very restrainedly. He said that if he got too close to Bai Xue, Dou Dou would get angry.
Liu Liu didn't have this problem. She held the little guy in her arms and fed him little by little. Watching the little guy slowly chew and swallow with his three-lobed mouth, Liu Liu was very satisfied.
Yinzhen was an impatient man. He would say he was leaving one day and set off for the capital the next day on an auspicious day. Fortunately, Yihua was already used to his decisiveness and traveled light to follow him.
Anyway, I'll come here again in the future. The manager of the garden will clean the rooms regularly, so I don't have to worry about things getting lost or broken.
Back at Yikun Palace, Yihua beckoned to the people who remained in the palace: "Does the Empress Dowager have any instructions?"
"Your Majesty, since the Empress Dowager returned from the Yuanmingyuan, she has only been going to the small Buddhist hall every day."
"Later, Consort Nian seems to have taken a great interest in Buddhist worship, and she spends all her time in the Buddhist hall."
When Yihua was at the Yuanmingyuan, she met Nian Gengyao once. Although he was honest and well-behaved when he met the emperor, Yihua disliked his eyes, which were full of ambition and aggression.
He mentioned Consort Nian to Yinzhen, and Yinzhen punished him with ten strokes of the cane, saying that he was spying on the imperial family, a serious crime.
Earlier, Nian Gengyao had already contacted Consort De through the Wuya family, and it seems that he is still determined to find a way out for his younger sister.
"Alright, I understand. All the masters have returned to the palace today. Tell everyone to be on high alert. Don't neglect your masters for too long. If something goes wrong, I won't be able to save you." Yi Hua planned to tighten the reins on the palace stewards as soon as she returned, but who knows if any of them have been turned over a new leaf in the past few months.
The next morning, Yi Hua led the concubines and children to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was dressed in a dark-colored cheongsam, with only a phoenix-shaped hair ornament in her hair. Perhaps due to the fragrance of the Buddhist temple, the room was filled with a lingering sandalwood scent. At first, it smelled a bit pungent, but after sitting for a while, it became quite pleasant.
The desserts in front of Yi Hua and the others were arranged in a very simple and elegant manner, but the style did not seem to be made in the palace.
"Your Majesty, we pay our respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty enjoy good health."
"Rise, all of you." The Empress Dowager sat in the center of the seat of honor and patted Yihua's hand. "During this time, I have been away from the Yuanmingyuan, and the Emperor's position has been entirely dependent on you."
"You did very well, child." After saying that, he took off his hair ornament and put it on Yihua's head.
"This is all my duty, and I don't deserve Your Majesty's praise." Yi Hua gave a shy smile.
"I have been praying for the late Emperor for many days now. Perhaps my sincerity has moved Heaven, for the late Emperor appeared to me in a dream." The Empress Dowager suddenly smiled shyly, and the wrinkles on her face smoothed out considerably.
Yi Hua did not respond, and Li Shi remained silent upon seeing this. Nian Shi said crisply, "Your Majesty, I am very curious. I wonder if it would be convenient for Your Majesty to discuss this with us?"
Consort Yu glared at her and began to think about how to get rid of her from her side palace, otherwise this person would bring trouble upon her sooner or later.
"It's alright to tell you all. The late Emperor told me that he has reunited with the late Empress in the underworld. The two of them are living in perfect harmony and are very happy. He wants me to stay by the Emperor's side for a long time and fulfill my responsibilities as a mother." As the Empress Dowager said this, a tear rolled down her cheek. "The Emperor is busy with many affairs of state. I'm afraid he doesn't have time to listen to this old woman's ramblings."
"His Majesty is filial, you must not think like that. If you harm yourself, His Majesty will blame himself," Consort Nian chimed in.
Yi Hua found it amusing to see the two of them singing in harmony, so she didn't say anything.
"In the time since the late Emperor passed away, my words and actions seem like those of a completely different person," the Empress Dowager said hesitantly, frowning. "Perhaps the late Emperor awakened me in a dream, and I, like Prince Li, am bewitched."
"Empress, since you hadn't returned before, I couldn't act openly, as it wouldn't be proper. How about you order a search of the palace? I want to see who dares to plot against me and sow discord between me and the Emperor!"
Upon hearing this, Yi Hua roughly understood. She could even guess what would happen next. It was hard to say about other places, but her Yikun Palace definitely had a deadly rag doll hidden in some corner.
The Emperor might not believe it, but in order to silence public opinion, he would have to make some concessions, which was the benefit the Empress Dowager sought.
"This is a matter of great importance, and I must ask His Majesty for a decision." Seeing that the Empress Dowager was not about to let them go, Yi Hua said, "Hong Hui, take your younger siblings back and tell your father that he will invite the Empress Dowager to come here when he has time."
Honghui cupped his hands in greeting and first escorted the younger children to the study: "Elder sister, go back and have people thoroughly inspect the places where you and Liu Liu live. Although the possibility is small, we can't be too careless."
"Where is the Empress Dowager?" the eldest princess asked with some concern.
"Don't worry, I'm here." Honghui patted Liu Liu's head and turned to walk towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
When Su Peisheng saw Honghui, he stopped him for a moment: "Your Highness, His Majesty has ordered that he not see anyone for the time being. This servant will go and report this to him."
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
