Chapter 114114 The Overall Situation is Undecided
Chapter 114
Cai Yuezhao gently put his arm around Meng Yuning's shoulders and whispered softly in her ear, "Don't be sad, An Ning. The fact that your two highnesses can now reunite with the Queen Mother is a blessing from Heaven."
Meng Yuning raised her hand to wipe the corners of her eyes, nodded, and whispered, "Yes, Your Highnesses dream about this day every night."
The two sisters said no more, but just stood aside quietly holding hands, looking at the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren hugging each other.
The Queen Mother held Yi'er tightly in her arms, stroking his head lovingly, her eyes full of care.
But when she turned to Qi Jingyan, it was a completely different scene. Sometimes she held his face in her hands and looked at him carefully with heartache, and sometimes she was so angry that she slapped him on the back and scolded him.
Meng Yu stared at the scene, feeling depressed as if something was blocking his heart.
Several years ago, Emperor Kangwen issued an edict without warning, imprisoning Qi Jingyan in the Heavenly Prison.
Upon hearing the news, the Queen Mother rushed over, but was stopped outside by the heavily guarded palace guards. No matter how she rebuked them, they simply bowed their heads and repeated, "By Your Majesty's order, no one is allowed to enter."
It wasn't until the Empress's death that Emperor Kangwen, overcome with guilt, hastily exiled Qi Jingyan to Lingnan. From that point on, the grandfather and grandson never saw each other again.
The Queen Mother knew in her heart that Qi Jingyan would never sit still and wait for death given his personality.
But over the years, she didn't know whether he could succeed, nor did she know whether she could be reunited with her two grandchildren in this life.
She was worried day and night and couldn't sleep or eat.
On the one hand, he was worried about his two grandsons who were thousands of miles away, on the other hand, he was heartbroken by Emperor Kangwen's increasing stupidity, and on the other hand, he had to watch the evil-minded Third Prince control the government and disrupt the government.
Although she was the queen mother, she was old and had limited energy. Most importantly, she did not have much real power, so she could only watch all this happen, powerless to do anything.
Under such torment, in just a few years, the old man's once shiny black hair had turned white and his body had collapsed.
Now, seeing her two grandsons standing right before her, she no longer cared about royal etiquette or the majesty of the empress dowager.
She hugged her lost and found grandchildren tightly and stroked their faces again and again to make sure this was not another dream.
After showing great care, he beat and scolded Qi Jingyan. Although he was blaming him, every word he said was full of concern.
Meng Yu stared at the scene in front of her, and couldn't help but recall her childhood when she ran to the lotus pond with the children in the village to play in the water and catch shrimps. She accidentally slipped into the water and choked on the muddy water several times. Fortunately, a neighbor aunt who passed by was quick-witted and picked her up, and carried her home covered in mud.
When grandma heard that she almost drowned, she turned pale with fright and hugged her in her arms, calling her "my darling" over and over again.
After sending her aunt away with many thanks, grandma turned around, took out a thin bamboo stick from the broom, chased her around the yard and beat her, crying and scolding her as she beat her, telling her not to play by the water again.
Today's Queen Mother is just an ordinary grandmother who shows genuine affection. She looks exactly like the grandmother in my memory, which makes people feel very close to her.
Qi Jingyan knelt beside the empress dowager, holding the old lady's swaying body steadily with his arms, letting her beat and scold him. Tears streamed down his face, and his voice choked with sobs: "My grandson is unfilial and has caused grandmother to worry. I know I was wrong."
Seeing his brother like this, Yi'er also sobbed and knelt down, hugged the Queen Mother's legs, and said, "Yi'er, Yi'er also knows he is wrong."
The Queen Mother had cried, beaten, and scolded her grandson, and had almost vented her emotions. When she heard her grandson say this, she couldn't help but burst into laughter. She reached out and pulled Yi'er up, "My dear."
Aunt Tao took the opportunity to persuade her, "Your Highness, the two princes and Miss Meng have been traveling so long, they are cold and hungry. Would you mind setting up the meal first?"
When the Queen Mother heard this, her attention shifted instantly and she hurriedly said, "Bring it all up quickly."
Nanny Tao responded with a smile and quickly turned around to go out and make arrangements.
The Queen Mother then looked at Qi Jingyan, who was still kneeling on the ground, with a worried look in her eyes: "Is your leg really healed?"
Qi Jingyan immediately stood up from the ground and turned around in front of the empress dowager: "Grandmother, look, my grandson is fine."
Yier also nodded in agreement: "Brother is fine now, and can even carry Yier over the mountain."
Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother's expression finally relaxed, but she pointed to the wheelchair beside the screen and said in a serious tone, "In that case, you'll have to stay in this wheelchair for a while. The overall situation is still uncertain, so don't let others notice and cause trouble."
Qi Jingyan bowed calmly and said, "That's exactly what my grandson planned."
After saying this, he stretched out his long arm, gently grasped Meng Yuning's wrist, brought her to his side, and solemnly said to the Queen Mother: "Grandmother, this is An Ning, your granddaughter-in-law who has not yet married into the family."
Yi'er nodded his head busily, reached out and took Aning's other hand, and added hastily, "Grandmother, this is Aning! Aning loves Yi'er the most and always makes delicious food for Yi'er. When Yi'er was little, Aning even coaxed Yi'er to sleep."
Seeing that the little guy, who hadn't used reduplicated words for a long time, was talking about sleeping again, Qi Jingyan and Meng Yuning both wanted to laugh.
But Meng Yuning didn't laugh. She knew Yi'er was trying to help her speak well of him in front of the Queen Mother, so she let go of the brothers' hands and bowed to the Queen Mother with dignity and composure: "Your servant Meng Yuning pays homage to the Queen Mother. I wish you good health, happiness, and a long and peaceful life."
Qi Jingyan, Yi'er, Cai Yuezhao, and Mu Yun and Mu Feng, who were waiting quietly on the side, all looked at the Queen Mother at the same time.
The Queen Mother silently looked at the girl in front of her, and caught a glimpse of the nervousness and uneasiness in the eyes of her two grandsons. In the end, she sighed softly in her heart and said, "It's a bad fate."
Then, he showed a loving smile, personally reached out his hand to help Meng Yuning up, and said softly: "Good child, all these years, thanks to you for taking good care of Yan'er and Yi'er, you have worked so hard."
Meng Yuning quickly replied, "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, you are too kind. I am willing to accompany His Highness and the Little Prince."
Seeing Meng Yuning's graceful and unpretentious demeanor, and her composure and calmness compared to many years ago, the empress dowager took a liking to her. She took her hand with one hand and Yi'er with the other, and went to sit on the couch.
Qi Jingyan looked back at Mu Yun. Mu Yun hurriedly pushed the wheelchair over, waited for Qi Jingyan to sit on it, and pushed him to the edge of the couch.
Nanny Tao walked in and took a look. Seeing that Qi Jingyan had already sat back in his wheelchair, she turned around and gave some instructions. Soon, several palace maids came in one after another, carrying copper basins filled with hot water. They helped the few people wash their hands and faces. After they left, they served the meal.
After the food was served, the Queen Mother asked everyone to sit down and eat quickly. Then she had someone lead the people waiting outside to the side hall, and asked Mu Yun and Mu Feng to go with her to have dinner.
Everyone was hungry and filled their stomachs quickly and silently.
After he put down his chopsticks and the maids cleared away the dishes, the Queen Mother said, "You don't even have a mansion anymore, and all your previous properties have been taken back by His Majesty."
"I cannot afford to neglect the mansion that His Majesty has bestowed upon you, but I did have a house before I entered the palace. It's not huge, but it can easily house three to five hundred people. You can go there and settle the people you brought with you first. I'll have Song Tian take someone to escort them there later."
Qi Jingyan responded respectfully, "Everything is up to Grandmother's arrangements."
The Queen Mother nodded and said, "Since you are returning to the capital to attend to the sick, from tonight onwards, you will live in His Majesty's bedroom. You will not leave until His Majesty wakes up."
Qi Jingyan's expression darkened slightly as he replied respectfully, "Yes."
The Queen Mother looked at Yi'er again and said, "Yi'er, you will also go to your father's bedside and stay there for three days. After three days, you can return to live with the Imperial Grandmother."
The two brothers clasped their fists and replied, "Yes."
Then they said in unison: "Grandmother, what about An Ning?"
The Queen Mother then looked at Meng Yuning and said after a moment's silence, "A Ning will stay in the Cining Palace for the time being, living in the West Wing Hall with A Zhao. She can chat with me on weekdays to relieve my boredom."
Meng Yuning saluted: "Yes."
Qi Jingyan and Yier both breathed a sigh of relief.
The Queen Mother stood up with the help of her cane. "When you entered the palace just now, you probably had a lot of eyes staring at you. Come on, I will take you two brothers to visit His Majesty."
Nanny Tao quickly took the cloak and put it on the empress dowager. Meng Yuning also took the brothers' cloaks and capes and put them on them one after another. Then the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren went out, accompanied by a group of followers including Doctor Tang and Su Yang, holding lanterns, and rushed to Emperor Kangwen's bedroom.
After sending the person to the door, Cai Yuezhao took Meng Yuning to the west wing hall, and asked the palace maid to get some hot water first, so that Meng Yuning could take a nice hot bath and change her clothes. Then the two of them snuggled up on the couch, holding hands and whispering to each other.
Meng Yuning looked at the monk's robe on Cai Yuezhao and asked in a low voice, "Sister Zhao, you are doing this for the young marquis, right? Is the young marquis in good health?"
Cai Yuezhao's cheeks flushed, and she patted Meng Yuning's hand. "It's hard to explain this in a few words. I'll explain it to you in detail later."
Then his expression straightened: "A Ning, let's talk about you first."
Meng Yuning was curious: "What did you say about me?"
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