As a legitimate mother, she didn't have much affection for illegitimate children, but she wasn't necessarily mean to them. Madam Huaping said calmly, "Mrs. Chen is truly becoming more and more unruly. Since Wang married, I, as her mother, have never acted like a mother-in-law to her, but Mrs. Chen has become even more arrogant. It's no wonder she's so arrogant. Her son is ambitious and promising. He's achieved academic success at a young age, entered the private school of Confucius Jijiu, and married a daughter-in-law from a wealthy family. This is a unique situation in the capital. If she doesn't act arrogant, who will?"
"It's just that my daughter-in-law is still pregnant, and she's already torturing me too much. Why doesn't she think about how to explain to her in-laws that Wang Shi has been wronged?"
Madam Yun asked, "Madam, do you want to take care of Aunt Chen?"
Madam Huaping bowed her head. She said, "How can I ignore Concubine Chen? Send my Buddhist scriptures to Concubine Chen and have her copy them a hundred times. If we don't have enough paper in the mansion, buy some and tell Concubine Chen that she doesn't need to go to Wang's courtyard anymore. Go to Third Brother's courtyard and tell Wang to just focus on her health and not worry about anything else."
After receiving the order, Mother Yun went to do it. In Mother Yun's eyes, her wife was a person who was hard-mouthed but soft-hearted.
In the palace.
The Empress Dowager ordered a palace maid to go to Xiangning Palace. After receiving the message, the palace maid entered the palace and saw His Majesty playing chess with Lu Tianyun. The palace maid bowed deeply, glanced at Lu Tianyun without leaving a trace, and said slowly, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager said she has something to discuss with you. Please come over."
Zhao Zixu dropped the black piece and asked the palace attendant, "What does the Queen Mother want to discuss with me?"
The palace maid replied, "I don't know."
Zhao Zixu said, "Go back and tell the Queen Mother that I will go to the Cining Palace after I finish this chess game."
The palace maid knelt down, bowed her head, and said in fear and trepidation, "Your Majesty, please spare me. I dare not reply. The Empress Dowager said that no matter what you are doing, you must go to the Cining Palace first."
Zhao Zixu knew the Queen Mother's temperament and had no intention of embarrassing the palace maids. "I'll be there in a moment."
The palace maids were as if they had been pardoned. After thanking him, they stood up and stepped aside, bowing.
Lu Tianyun glanced at Zhao Zixu and said gently, "Your Majesty, please go to the Queen Mother first. I will wait for you to come back and finish this game of chess."
Zhao Zixu had heard that Lu Tianyun was good at chess, so he called her over to play chess after finishing his court affairs. However, after playing half a game with her, Zhao Zixu knew that Lu Tianyun's chess skills were not bad. Although she was not as good as Ye Yushi, she was also a rare master.
Speaking of Ye Yushi, he hadn't played chess with Ye Yushi for a long time.
Zhao Zixu nodded and was about to go to the Queen Mother's Palace. Lu Tianyun stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I respectfully send you off."
Zhao Zixu went to the Empress Dowager's palace, and Eunuch Luo followed him with several young eunuchs.
When he arrived at the Cining Palace, Zhao Zixu first bowed and greeted the empress dowager, then sat on a cushion opposite the empress dowager.
The affairs of the harem have always been managed by the Queen, and the Queen Mother rarely interferes in harem affairs. In her spare time, the Queen Mother will arrange flowers, drink tea, write poetry, read books, and pass the time. Now the Queen Mother is drinking tea.
The Queen Mother used a tea whisk to quickly beat and stir the tea. White foam floated on the surface of the soup. Seeing Zhao Zixu sitting down, she smiled kindly and said, "Try the tea made by mother later."
Soon, the Queen Mother's tea was ready, and Zhao Zixu was very impressed after tasting it.
The mother and son had not talked about family matters for a long time. They talked about ordinary trivial matters, the virtues of the concubines in the harem, and the influence of the concubines' virtues on the emperor.
The virtue of empresses and concubines has a great influence on the emperor. For example, Empress Zhangsun was virtuous, kind and generous. She managed the affairs of the harem in an orderly manner, so that Emperor Taizong of Tang had no worries. Emperor Taizong of Tang created the Zhenguan Reign. If the empresses and concubines were to bewitch the emperor, it would be a great harm to the emperor and the country.
The Queen Mother fetched some hot water and brewed herself a cup of Longjing tea. She said, "Xi'er, yesterday I was reading the 'Book of Zhou' in Sima Qian's book. The story of King You of Zhou lighting beacons to tease the princes moved me deeply. To please Bao Si, King You lit the beacons to tease the princes. Bao Si laughed heartily, and King You was delighted. He then lit the beacons many times to tease the princes, causing dissension between the king and his subjects, and ultimately leading to King You's death."
She glanced at Zhao Zixu meaningfully and said slowly, "Your Majesty, King You of Zhou lit beacons to tease the princes for Bao Si's smile, and ultimately lost his life. Do you think it was worth it?"
Zhao Zixu frowned slightly, as if thinking about something. He had already guessed seven or eight things about what the Empress meant by the story of lighting beacons to trick the princes. He knew that the Empress was thinking about making Lu Tianyun her concubine, but Zhao Zixu still decided to pretend to be confused.
"I am not King You of Zhou. How can I know whether it is worth it? Perhaps in King You's eyes, for Bao Si, no matter what he does, it is worth it."
The Queen Mother knew her son was playing tricks on her. For the sake of her son and the Song Dynasty, she simply stated, "Your Majesty, for that vixen Lu Tianyun, you are also going to become King You of Zhou?"
Zhao Zixu looked at the Queen Mother and said very seriously: "Mother, I am not King You of Zhou, and I will never be King You of Zhou."
The emperor's words are as good as gold and he never goes back on his word. The empress dowager understands her son better than she understands herself.
Before Lu Tianyun was canonized, Zhao Zixu summoned her to and from Xiangning Palace several times. With such great favor, if Lu Tianyun gave birth to a prince, it would definitely shake the position of Queen Lu Yinli as the Empress.
She had promised Lady Huaping that the Queen would always be the Queen and nothing would shake her position.
The Queen Mother stood up and looked down at Zhao Zixu. Her voice was as cold as frost. "If Your Majesty insists on taking Lu Tianyun as your concubine, I will sentence her to death!"
"Mother, she is your niece!" Zhao Zixu really didn't expect that the queen would have the idea of ordering the death of Lu Tianyun.
The Queen Mother said, "She is not the only niece that Mother has!"
Zhao Zixu shouted angrily, "Mother!"
"Qiuhe, send the poisoned wine to Fengyi Pavilion immediately." The Queen Mother called her personal nanny and ordered her to send the prepared poisoned wine to Fengyi Pavilion, where Lu Tianyun lived.
The nanny came over with a palace maid, who was holding a tray with a pot of wine and a small wine glass on it.
Mammy bowed and received the Empress Dowager's order, "I will go to Fengyi Pavilion to see Madam Lu off."
Zhao Zixu said coldly, "Whoever dares to step out of the Cining Palace will be killed by me!"
The nanny and the palace maids were intimidated by Zhao Zixu's majesty. They looked at the empress dowager and then at His Majesty, and no one dared to take a step forward.
Zhao Zixu challenged her mother for Lu Tianyun, and the Queen Mother was surprised and frightened. She immediately steeled her mind and strode forward, taking the poisoned wine from the palace maid, as if she was going to Fengyi Pavilion. "I dare you, Your Majesty, do you also want to sentence me to death?"
Zhao Zixu stared at the Queen Mother for a long time without saying a word. His eyes gradually turned red and he felt very uncomfortable. His mother was forcing him to make a choice between her and Lu Tianyun.
He said, "Mother, what exactly do you want me to do in exchange for letting Lu Tianyun go?"
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