"Empress Dowager," Hong Xiao was the elder and most useful person beside the Empress Dowager, so after the eunuch sent by the Emperor delivered the message, she supported the Empress Dowager.
"Well, you are really my good son," the Queen Mother sneered twice, "There are several women in the harem whose hands are clean. He did this just to prevent me from interfering in the affairs of the harem."
"Empress Dowager, the Emperor is your son, and he still thinks of you," Hong Xiao hesitated for a moment before consoling her, "The Emperor has always been tough, and I think he is just annoyed that you interfered in the affairs of the harem."
The Queen Mother sat on the toffee chair with a weary look on her face, rubbing her forehead and saying, "Hongxiao, as a woman of the Ye family, how can I not consider the Ye family?"
"But for the emperor, he is the emperor, and the world belongs to him," Hong Xiao knelt in front of the queen mother and kowtowed, "Queen mother, I have overstepped my bounds, but I have been with you for more than 30 years, and there are some things I must say."
"Queen Dowager, you are the mother of the Emperor, and the Emperor is your child. The Ye family may be important, but which one is more important, the Emperor or the Ye family?" Hong Xiao kowtowed again. "From my point of view, whether it is the Ye family or the Zhao family, if the Emperor likes it, then he can love it. If the Emperor doesn't like it, then why should you force it, Queen Dowager? The Emperor never likes others to point fingers at him. When the Second Prince was disrespectful to the Emperor, who was still the Crown Prince, what was the Crown Prince's final response? Do you remember?"
"Yes, this child is cruel enough," the Queen Mother put down the hand that was on her forehead, stood up and opened the window. The rain outside seemed to be getting heavier.
"It was raining the day Concubine Xia died," the Queen Mother looked towards the Taoyu Pavilion, even though she couldn't see anything through the palace walls and the darkness, "The late Emperor was heartbroken for a long time, but then Wei came and Concubine Xia became a thing of the past. Who still remembers her?"
"I am the one who laughs last," the queen mother sneered, "A woman in the harem can't even protect the child in her belly, who can she blame?" After saying that, she turned around and looked at Hong Xiao who was kneeling on the ground, "Get up, I have never blamed you. You have been with me for so many years, how could I not know your feelings."
"Thank you, Empress Dowager," Hong Xiao kowtowed and stood up, helping the Empress Dowager to sit down on the chair. Seeing that the Empress Dowager's expression calmed down, she felt relieved.
In Qianzheng Palace, Feng Jian received a gift from the chief eunuch of Kang'an Palace.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager learned that Your Majesty was awake late at night, so she asked me to bring you a midnight snack made by the Empress Dowager herself. Please have it and go to bed early."
When Feng Jin saw the eunuch open the food box, he found a bowl of steaming pearl dumplings. He said with a gentle look, "It is really unfilial to make the Queen Mother worry about me. Please tell her that I understand her feelings."
After the eunuch left, Feng Jin took a sip and put the bowl aside. He was very satisfied with the Queen Mother's compromise. For the Queen Mother, her mother's family did not affect her nobility. Is there any woman in the world more noble than the mother of the emperor?
Zhuang Luoyan had no idea what kind of compromise was reached between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, but when she went to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager the next day, the Empress Dowager's attitude towards the Empress had become much softer. She did not deliberately make things difficult for the Empress in her words, and could even be described as gentle and generous, which made Zhuang Luoyan once again sigh at the openness and flexibility of the women in the palace.
Not only did the Queen Mother become gentler towards the Empress, she also seemed not to be as deliberately nice to the Ye sisters as before. After the greetings were over, she asked everyone to kneel together to pay their respects.
After Zhuang Yuyan left Kang'an Palace, she was certain of one thing in her heart, that is, the emperor's harvest outside Taoyu Pavilion last night must have been very good, at least it made the empress dowager restrain her behavior. As for whether the empress dowager had really thought it through or was just suppressing her temper, no one knew.
Xihe Palace is much larger than Taoyu Pavilion, and the surrounding scenery is also nice. There is a lotus pond not far away, and poplars and willows are planted next to it, which is a bit of the elegance of the south of the Yangtze River. Closer to Xihe Palace are Anqing Palace of Consort Shugui and Changtian Tower of Consort Xu Zhaorong.
There are a lot of green bamboos planted outside Changtian Tower, which makes it more quiet. The trees and rockeries outside Anqing Palace are all very valuable, and they look exquisite and luxurious. Zhuang Yuyan's style is somewhere in between the two, exquisite but not extravagant, graceful but not quiet, and Zhuang Yuyan herself is very satisfied.
After moving into the new house, Zhuang Yuyan naturally asked the people around her to check the furnishings in the palace. Fortunately, Gao Dezhong intervened in this matter, so nothing that shouldn't have appeared appeared. At this point, Zhuang Yuyan was still grateful to Emperor Chengxuan for not using her completely. At least he used her without considering her a little bit, which made it worth her putting so much thought and acting so much.
"The Emperor has ordered that the Xihe Palace be lit tonight."
To be honest, the emperor hadn't visited Zhuang Yuyan for several days, and he had called her back. Zhuang Yuyan had just moved into her new home for only two days when the emperor called her back, which gave Zhuang Yuyan some face, and she was very happy about it.
Not long after this decree was passed down, someone came from the Queen's Jingyang Palace and brought some decorative items and tonics, saying that Zhuang Yuyan was frightened and had to move again, and they were worried that her body could not bear it.
Zhuang Yuyan still thanked him and selected two of the items to place in the outer hall. She put the rest into the warehouse and asked Fubao to register them before leaving them alone.
In the harem, there may not be many people who can guess what happened between the emperor and the empress dowager, but the empress is definitely one of them. She originally doubted the emperor's move to transfer Zhao Chongyi to the palace. Now that she thinks about it, it was probably a bit of compensation. After all, she was frightened innocently and was involved in a murder. Fortunately, God protected her, otherwise who knows what would have happened.
To be honest, Zhao Chongyi really got a great bargain. Could it be that he was really blessed by God?
"Gao Dezhong, take charge of Xihe Palace." It was not yet dark, just evening, but Feng Jian's attitude clearly showed how much he valued the master of Xihe Palace.
Gao Dezhong glanced at the sky and said, "Your Majesty, you haven't had dinner yet."
"Go to Xihe Palace," Feng Jin waved his hand and suddenly added, "Since Zhao Chongyi has taken over the palace, Xihe Palace should also have its own small kitchen. Go to the Palace Department and the Empress and tell them."
Gao Dezhong nodded, "Yes." To be a concubine, one must be favored by the emperor to have her own kitchen. I guess the emperor is not completely without affection for Zhao Chongyi, right?