Having lost face in front of the Emperor, the Empress Dowager slunk out of the Emperor's palace and began to wander in the vast sky.
"I can't control him anymore, I can't control him anymore! The Emperor's temper these days! I really can't discipline him."
"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. I'm sure the Emperor is too busy with state affairs to have neglected you, Empress Dowager!"
Empress Dowager Xin patted Granny Jin's hand and said gently, "Granny Jin is the one who can comfort me. His Majesty is truly..."
"Empress Dowager, shall we return to the palace? Or..."
Empress Dowager Xin thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to the Cold Palace! I'd like to see how that child is doing there."
Granny Jin reached out to support the Empress Dowager as they walked towards the Cold Palace.
"Your Majesty, the journey to the Cold Palace is long. Why don't you send a sedan chair to fetch us?"
The Empress Dowager shook her head and said, "It's alright. I've always lived in the palace, and it's rare for me to come out and move around. It's good to take a walk now, very good."
"Then this servant will help Your Highness walk slowly."
"Um!"
Here in the Cold Palace.
Guan Zhiyue had no idea why someone would want to kick her out of the Cold Palace when she was doing so well there.
"Your Majesty, you have no idea, but today the Empress Dowager actually went to the Emperor's palace and asked him to release you from the Cold Palace."
Guan Zhiyue stood in the courtyard, jumping rope with all her might, while Bilian chattered incessantly beside her.
What's the surprise?
"I heard that the Empress Dowager came to our Cold Palace."
Guan Zhiyue stopped jumping rope abruptly, staring wide-eyed at Bilian, who was covering her mouth and chuckling to herself.
"Empress Dowager, you've come to our Cold Palace?"
"Oh? They're on their way!"
Guan Zhiyue quickly tossed the jump rope to Bilian and ordered, "Hurry up and prepare hot water for me to take a bath!"
"I'm all wet and smelly. If I stink up to the Empress Dowager, she'll say I have no manners."
Bilian was also awakened by Guan Zhiyue's words. It seemed so. Her mistress had been banished to the Cold Palace because of her disrespect in front of the palace!
Guan Zhiyue quickly sped up and ran towards her room, grabbed her clothes, and headed towards the bathroom next door.
Finally, with Bilian's help, she managed to sit in the large bathtub. After washing and scrubbing herself, she quickly got out of the tub. She was really annoyed. She definitely needed to install a shower. This bathtub was so tedious and troublesome, with her having to go back and forth like this every time she took a bath.
"Little Tuantuan, can I apply for a shower?"
The child inside the space said somewhat arrogantly, "Sure, but you'll have to lose weight first, host!"
Guan Zhiyue really wanted to drag that brat out and beat him up. Every time she asked for something, he would refuse. Guan Zhiyue still hadn't lost weight and reached 222 pounds, so the first upgrade of her space hadn't even started yet.
Guan Zhiyue could only shrug helplessly and say, "If it doesn't work, it doesn't work! We'll see when the time comes."
"uh-huh!"
Guan Zhiyue shook her head, called Bilian to help her out of the bathtub, and said wearily, "What brings the Empress Dowager to our Cold Palace?"
"I don't know, but I suppose he's here to see Your Majesty?"
"I've heard that the Empress Dowager is very fond of you, Your Highness!"
Hearing Bilian's words, Guan Zhiyue said with a hint of self-mockery, "If she really loved the original owner, why would the original owner have died of illness in this cold palace?"
Hearing Guan Zhiyue muttering to herself, Bilian asked with some confusion, "Your Highness, what are you saying?"
Guan Zhiyue shook her head, reached for the clothes hanging to the side, and put on her clothes while smiling and saying, "I'm very happy. I've been here for so long, and this is the first time that such an important person from above has come to see me."
"Yes! That's right."
Guan Zhiyue changed into a pink and white long dress, and her slightly chubby face was lightly made up with a simple and refreshing makeup, making her look much more energetic than when she was without makeup.
"Your Majesty, you look so beautiful!"
After hearing Bilian's words, Guan Zhiyue swayed in front of the dim bronze mirror for a moment, thinking to herself that the original owner of this body should not be ugly, right?
"Bilian, do you think I'd look pretty good if I lost weight?"
Upon hearing her mistress's words, Bilian quickly replied, "Your Majesty, you are always the most beautiful."
Guan Zhiyue smiled and poked Bilian, who was waiting to the side, and said with a smile, "You're so good at talking."
Bilian smiled and said, "Isn't that rare?"
"Yes, yes, yes, what Bilian said is true."
The mistress and servant were playfully bickering, and their laughter echoed throughout the entire Cold Palace. The palace servants admired this Cold Palace Empress for being able to make herself feel as if she were living in the main hall even while in the Cold Palace.
"Let's go! Let's go to the courtyard and wait for the Empress Dowager's arrival!"
Empress Dowager Xin was only one palace gate away from Guan Zhiyue's location. She said wearily, "Alas! I'm really getting old. I've only walked a short distance, and I'm already exhausted."
“Your Majesty, we’ve already walked two li (equivalent to 1 kilometer), that’s far enough,” Granny Fan replied from the side.
Empress Dowager Xin, upon hearing that they had traveled for so long, stopped and turned to look at the road behind her, saying, "I never expected that I could travel this far; this is the first time this year!"
"Logically, the newlyweds should be paying their respects to Your Majesty, but..."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager waved her hand and said, "It's alright, it's alright. Since the Emperor has his own wishes, I won't interfere any further. Let's go! Let's go see my daughter-in-law whom I haven't met yet."
"I heard that our carefree prince is about to return from his travels!"
When Empress Dowager Xin heard Granny Jin and the others talking about her second son, her head throbbed even more, and her temples throbbed with pain.
"This fellow is quite a handful! He's been traveling all these years, never thinking of settling down or starting a family, and he's unwilling to stay in the capital to assist his elder brother, the Emperor." Empress Dowager Xin's somewhat indulgent tone spread among the group.
Granny Fan quickly praised, "Your Highness, our Prince Xiaoyao has only just come of age. Besides, he is gentle and kind by nature. How could he not be willing to assist his elder brother? In my opinion, it's just that Prince Xiaoyao hasn't had enough fun yet."
"You, you always make excuses for him to appease me. Do you think I don't know this naughty child? Sigh, I'm old, I can't control him anymore."
A large group of people walked towards the Cold Palace, chatting and laughing. Guan Zhiyue had been waiting in the courtyard for a while, but the Empress Dowager was nowhere to be seen.
Just as she was about to ask Bilian to go and take a look, a eunuch's shrill voice came from the doorway.
"The Empress Dowager has arrived!"
With Bi Lian's help, Guan Zhiyue stood up from the rattan chair and walked respectfully to the front door. Seeing Empress Dowager Xin being ushered in, Guan Zhiyue quickly knelt down and bowed to the old woman. This was the first time she had bowed to a high-ranking official of the imperial power in this era, and she appeared somewhat awkward and nervous.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager! May Your Majesty be blessed!"
Empress Dowager Xin quickly ordered someone to help Guan Zhiyue up, saying with a pained expression, "Get up! Get up!"
"Yue'er, come to your mother's side, let your mother take a good look at you."
Guan Zhiyue moved somewhat awkwardly to Empress Dowager Xin's side and squatted down in front of her.
Empress Dowager Xin cupped Guan Zhiyue's face in her hands. At that moment, Guan Zhiyue's mind was filled with the image of an old lady holding a large pig's head, carefully examining it, wondering whether to braise it or steam it.
"Oh dear, she was indeed born beautiful, elegant and refined, with a graceful figure. It's a pity that she was abandoned in the cold palace by my eldest son who doesn't understand love."
"Yes! Your Majesty, look, our Empress is truly beautiful!"
"Why aren't you saying anything, girl?" Empress Dowager Xin held Guan Zhiyue in her arms, still scrutinizing her.
Guan Zhiyue wanted to roll her eyes to the sky. Damn it, are you here to see me or to belittle me? You keep calling me beautiful and elegant, but all you've said is that I'm fat. You're even indirectly insulting me. And now you want me to laugh at you?
Guan Zhiyue freed her large, fat face from the Empress Dowager's grasp, stood up from the ground, and looked at the Empress Dowager sitting in the chair, saying, "Mother, it is truly an honor for my humble palace to have you visit me here today. Please sit here for a moment, and I will go and serve you some tea right away."
Empress Dowager Xin took Guan Zhiyue's hand and said, "No need, let the servants do these rough jobs! Come here and let me have a good chat with you."
Guan Zhiyue had no choice but to take Empress Xin's hand and sit on a chair to the side, listening to Empress Xin's various complaints and defenses.
"Yue'er! Please don't blame our emperor for locking you up in this cold palace. He had no choice!"
Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Guan Zhiyue couldn't help but think to herself, "What do you mean by 'forced'? Who forced him? Didn't we just spray him in the face during the wedding? Was it really necessary to put the original owner to death? If you want me to forgive him, then who will pity our original owner?"
However, she said things that made Empress Dowager Xin feel particularly comfortable: "Mother, what are you saying? The Emperor has his own ideas, and we concubines should just obey. How can we complain?"
Empress Dowager Xin patted Guan Zhiyue's hand affectionately and said apologetically, "It's good that you're not, it's good that you're not. I was worried that you might feel uncomfortable and develop a grudge against the Emperor."
Guan Zhiyue smiled without saying a word, listening quietly to what else the Empress Dowager wanted to say to disgust her.
"I came to see you today so that the other concubines in the harem can see that you are the true mistress of the harem. Don't be afraid that anyone will bully you. If anyone does bully you, just tell me, and I will definitely stand up for you."
Guan Zhiyue rolled her eyes inwardly and said with some disdain, "Bullying me and standing up for me? Isn't the second layer of meaning in your words just telling me not to cause trouble? Although I am the head of the harem, I am still in the Cold Palace. Naturally, I am not as good as those concubines in the outer palaces. At least those concubines have the opportunity to be summoned by the emperor. I don't have that kind of opportunity."
Although Guan Zhiyue thought to herself, she only said flattering words. She originally thought that this Empress Dowager was a good person, but she didn't expect that she was just a wolf in sheep's clothing. It seems that in her eyes, no one is as good as her precious son, and these women are just her son's playthings.
The reason she was so good to Guan Zhiyue was simply because Guan Zhiyue loved her son more than any other woman. Especially since her son was now averse to women and did not want to have children, she naturally wanted to push Guan Zhiyue, who loved her son, into his arms. Even if they couldn't become a perfect couple, she could still give birth to an heir for the Li family, right?
If Kwan Chi-yuet were to become pregnant with her son's child, she would likely love her son even more and naturally be more loyal to him, wouldn't she?
Wouldn't Guan Zhiyue's father and brothers be even more loyal to his son?
Guan Zhiyue knew perfectly well what Empress Dowager Xin was planning, and she knew that Empress Dowager Xin was doing all this for her precious son.
"Yes, Your Majesty's decree will be obeyed."
"Good, good, good, I like you. You're a good person. Tell me what you need in the Cold Palace."
Guan Zhiyue smiled and declined, saying, "Thank you, Mother. Your daughter-in-law has everything she needs. Just please take good care of yourself. I am certainly not able to serve you in your current state."
Empress Dowager Xin patted Guan Zhiyue's hand and smiled kindly, "It's alright, it's alright, there will definitely be opportunities in the future."
"I am also tired. Yue'er, please take good care of yourself here. I will go to talk to the Emperor again after His Majesty has calmed down."
"I'm sorry to trouble you, Mother. I've caused you worry again."
Empress Dowager Xin stood up, and Jin Mama, who was supporting her, quickly helped her up. Empress Dowager Xin looked at Guan Zhiyue and said, "It's all because I, as your mother, failed to discipline my son properly, which is why you are suffering here. I should do this."
Guan Zhiyue smiled and said nothing more, bowing respectfully as she escorted the Empress Dowager out of the Cold Palace.
After the Empress Dowager left, Guan Zhiyue ordered the gate to be closed. Out of sight, out of mind. These people are all so self-righteous. From now on, she will keep the gate closed to visitors!
"Let's go! Bilian, let's go check on those newly sprouted vegetable seeds in the backyard."
So Guan Zhiyue pulled Bilian towards the vegetable seed patch in the backyard, her face full of excitement, especially thinking about how she would have lots and lots of fresh vegetables and be self-sufficient in food in the future. It was practically paradise for her.
Her only thought now is to lose weight and unlock the space. She wants to see what kind of benefits this weight loss space can bring her. Isn't this a benefit for us time travelers? She wants to see how she can make the most of this so-called benefit space.
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