"Empress Dowager." Sheng Xiyan asked seriously, "Have you been feeling unwell recently?"

The Queen Mother was slightly startled and looked up at her, somewhat confused.

Is this a courtesy to yourself?

Ever since she first met Sheng Xiyan, this humble servant had always been proud and unyielding in front of her, and had never yielded to her. Now that she spoke like this, the Queen Mother was a little uncomfortable.

Could it be that Mammy Ma and Mammy Xu have already trained them well? Yes, no matter how disobedient the concubines and servants in the palace are, they will be obedient in their hands.

Thinking of this, the Queen Mother also wanted to give her some face and said lightly: "I am fine."

Sheng Xiyan said worriedly, "Your Highness, I think you look a little unwell."

Queen Mother: “…”

She was stunned for a moment, and finally understood that Sheng Xiyan was not being attentive to her at all. She was clearly mocking her for her poor eyesight and not being able to recognize mother and daughter!

Bold! So bold!

She had never seen such a bold and presumptuous minister in her life!

But after Sheng Xiyan finished speaking, she still looked worried, as if she was really concerned about the Queen Mother's health.

Jingle followed her words and said, "Empress Dowager, you must not be afraid of illness and avoid seeing doctors. I heard that your headache has become more serious recently. The imperial physician also said that this will also affect your eyes."

Jingle was calm and composed. Even if she didn't say anything directly, her eyes and attitude clearly said: Since the Queen Mother's eyesight is not good, she should stop talking nonsense to avoid making people laugh.

The Queen Mother was so angry that her chest was boiling with anger.

She endured it again and again, and said calmly: "I am fine, Jingle, you worry too much."

Having said that, she couldn't help but glare at Ma Ma who was standing behind Sheng Xiyan. She didn't know how she had been taught in the past half month, and why she was still like this!

Ma Ma stood there with her head lowered and her eyes submissive, as if nothing had happened.

The Queen Mother moistened her throat and said, "I just saw that this child is a little dark."

As soon as the Queen Mother said this, the palace fell silent.

When Jiaoyang first arrived in the capital, she attracted a lot of attention. However, after she arrived in the capital, the Zhenbei Palace did not open its doors to entertain guests. In fact, very few people had ever seen her. All they knew was that Jiaoyang had been raised by the old prince of Northern Frontier.

However, in recent days, some people in the capital have vaguely mentioned that Jiuyang was not raised by the old prince, and it was not the emperor who replaced Chu Yuanyi, but Xianyi Bin Jiangting. Jiuyang was actually raised by a scoundrel.

When the Queen Mother asked this question, many people listened attentively.

Jingle said calmly, "Hey, if my Zhenbei Palace didn't need to protect the country, not to mention Jiaoyang, even Achen could be raised to have fair and tender skin."

Sheng Xiyan couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

Jiuyang's complexion is indeed not as delicate and fair as it used to be, but it is no longer as rough and dark as when he just came back. It's just because he has to go to the martial arts field to practice martial arts every day, unlike others who stay in the private room and seldom go out.

Queen Mother: “…”

Jingle asked again: "Queen Mother, is that so?"

The queen mother was so annoyed by her that she forgot all the words she had prepared. She could only ask dryly, "What about Yuan Yi?"

Jingle did not answer as a matter of course, but asked, "The Emperor has sentenced Jiang Ting's entire family to exile. Doesn't the Queen Mother know about this?"

After the three courts have made a judgment on a crime, the case will be sent to the emperor for review.

She smiled faintly and continued, "Jiang Yuanyi's surname is Jiang and his household registration is in the Jiang family, so he must be exiled with Jiang Ting. He should have arrived in Yizhou by now."

Jiang Ting was scheduled to leave in mid-December. Jingle calculated carefully that even if he hadn't arrived yet, it should be about the same. He didn't know whether Jiang Ting's days at the coal kiln were easy or not. Jingle was really looking forward to it.

"Jingle, this is your fault." The Queen Mother frowned and accused, "You have raised Yi'er since he was a child. You have raised him for twelve years. You should have developed feelings for him even for a dog."

Many people also made similar sighs.

This is actually what they can't understand.

Even if Jiang Yuanyi is not Jingle's biological son, she has raised him for twelve years. How could she just abandon him like that? This is too cruel.

Jingle smiled faintly.

After Jiuyang came back, she never mentioned Jiang Yuanyi in front of Jiuyang.

An outsider has occupied Jiaoyang's position for twelve years, causing Jiaoyang to suffer for twelve years. If she still misses Jiang Yuanyi and mentions him in front of Jiaoyang from time to time, isn't that like stabbing her daughter's heart with a knife in her own hands?

She couldn't do such a thing under the guise of "every dog ​​has its own feelings, so raising two dogs together is no big deal."

Her daughter is not a dog.

Her daughter has suffered so much injustice since she was born, so of course she should put her daughter first.

What did Jiang Yuanyi have to feel wronged about?

His life of luxury was stolen from the beginning. She raised Jiang Yuanyi for twelve years and gave him all her motherly love. She owed him nothing!

They owed Jiuyang!

Now it's just a return to the way things were.

Even if someone says she is heartless, so what? Her love is for her family, not for outsiders.

The wife of Duke Cheng'en also said, "My princess, this exile is so difficult. Yi Ge'er is still young and has been pampered since he was a child. How can he bear it? Even if his father is wrong, my princess should not hold it against a child."

She glanced at Jiuyang calmly and said, "Could it be that Miss Chu can't tolerate it?" Without waiting for Jiuyang to answer, she continued to talk to herself, "Miss Chu is twelve years old, not a child anymore, how can she be so willful?"

Sheng Xiyan chuckled and asked with interest, "Madam, why can't I understand? Is twelve years old young or not?"

When used on Jiang Yuanyi, it means "small", but when used on Jiuyang, it means "not small"?

She said slowly: "If you don't know this, you might think Jiang Yuanyi is just two years old."

Lady Cheng En was embarrassed for a moment, and she changed the subject abruptly, and continued, "Princess, I have watched Yi Ge'er grow up, and he is a good child. How can you just say you don't want him?"

She said with some regret: "Even if he is the illegitimate child of the guest of honor, which family doesn't have a few illegitimate children? He has been raised by you since he was a child, so he is no different from your own children, don't you think?"

Every family has illegitimate sons. Some are brought up from infancy, and some are even registered as legitimate sons after they grow up.

The Queen Mother nodded silently and said to Jiaoyang: "Miss Chu, you can't be so willful. As a woman, you should be virtuous and kind..."

Virtuous and kind? Jingle interrupted her and sneered, "Why does the Queen Mother care so much about Jiang Yuanyi? Could it be that it was really the Emperor's idea back then?"

When she said this, Jingle's peach blossom eyes became sharp and she looked directly at the Queen Mother without hesitation.

The Queen Mother looked a little bad.

She had also heard these rumors in the capital, saying that the emperor deliberately replaced Jingle's biological daughter with Jiang Ting's illegitimate son, forcing Jingle to secretly send the child to the northern border to be raised. She had specifically asked the emperor about this, and the emperor said that he did not do it and that he did not know how it would turn out like this, and he was extremely innocent.

Now, hearing Jingle's words, the Queen Mother frowned.

She ignored Jingle and stared at Jiuyang, lowering her voice and asking, "Miss Chu, what do you think?"

It didn't seem like she was asking, but more like she was forcing Jiaoyang to say that he didn't mind.

Sheng Xiyan hesitated for a moment and didn't interrupt.

She wanted to see what Jiaoyang would do given that she was in such an environment and had such an identity.

Jingle also remained silent.

Jiuyang is the child of the Zhenbei Palace, and he will face many difficulties in the future. Now is a good opportunity for Jiuyang to try. No matter how Jiuyang responds, she is there.

Jiuyang stood there calmly and said clearly: "I don't want to."

The Queen Mother was shocked. It was obvious that she had never thought that she would say this.

These words reminded the empress dowager of Sheng Xiyan. At that time, Sheng Xiyan also told her clearly that she was unwilling.

This was the first time someone had rejected her.

And now, it's the second time!

Afraid that the Queen Mother didn't hear him clearly, Jiaoyang repeated it again: "I don't want to."

Jiuyang placed his hands at his sides with his fingers slightly bent. She was a little nervous, but she did not retreat.

She knew that the person sitting there was the Queen Mother, the most noble woman in the Dayong Dynasty. Jiuyang also knew that their Zhenbei Palace must never give in in front of the Queen Mother.

She said, "My mother only gave birth to me and my older brother, no one else."

Jingle felt an indescribable bitterness in his heart. If Jiang Yuanyi was here, he would never be able to do what Jiuyang did and say "no" clearly. He would only be vague for fear of offending the Queen Mother. Even though she had raised Jiang Yuanyi for so many years, she couldn't teach him his temper.

They said so much, saying that it’s no different if they raised the child by themselves, but the fact is, it’s different!

Jingle's mouth curled up into a smile that came from the bottom of her heart.

The Queen Mother said coldly: "Besides your mother, you also have a father. Chu Yuanyi is your half-brother!"

Jiaoyang looked straight ahead and said, "My mother is a briber."

Sheng Xiyan chuckled unabashedly.

This chuckle was not loud, but the Cining Palace was quiet, so the laughter was clearly audible.

The Queen Mother's face looked even worse.

Hearing this chuckle, Jiaoyang felt more at ease, she knew she had said nothing wrong!

This is my sister praising herself!

Jiuyang slowly relaxed his hands, pouted his lips, blinked his eyes, and his eye sockets suddenly turned red. He said, "Queen Mother, are you angry? Did Jiuyang say something wrong?"

"Jiaoyang is only twelve years old. This lady just said that twelve years old is still young and adults should not argue with children."

As she spoke, she pursed her lips in grievance, and there seemed to be a tear in the corner of her eye, which seemed to be falling.

Queen Mother: “…”

The Queen Mother was speechless because of her.

Just now, the wife of Duke En kept saying that a twelve-year-old was still a child. As the queen mother, how could she care about a child? What's more, Jiaoyang didn't say anything disrespectful. It was such a trivial matter. Even if she wanted to care about it, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

The Queen Mother held her breath, and a ball of anger rushed to the top of her head.

She was about to say something when her brows suddenly wrinkled tightly. She subconsciously raised her hand to rub her eyebrows, and her complexion became visibly weaker.

Zhao Yuanrou was sitting quietly. Seeing this, she suddenly curled the corners of her mouth and revealed a meaningful smile.

Sheng Xiyan was also paying attention to the Queen Mother. Seeing her face become even darker, she became more certain that the Queen Mother was ill.

And the illness is serious.

"Empress Dowager." Nanny Chen hurriedly took out some sniffing salt for her to smell, and said anxiously, "You must take the medicine."

The empress dowager shook her head. The emperor was already ill. It would be embarrassing if she took medicine during the New Year.

However, she just shook her head, and it felt like her entire skull was shaking, and the constant pain made her groan.

Princess Yong'an hurried over, squatted beside her and asked, "Mother, are you okay? Do you want to call the imperial physician?"

It was unlucky to summon the imperial physician on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so the empress dowager shook her hands and told her not to come up with any bad ideas.

"My old illness has come back," said the Queen Mother. "I'll just need a rest for a while."

Seeing that the Queen Mother seemed to have no intention of paying any more attention to him, Jiuyang bowed obediently and retreated to Jingle's side.

Jingle held her daughter's hand and praised her in front of the Queen Mother with a smile: "You did a great job."

Jiuyang covered his mouth and smiled.

Jingle followed and sighed, "Empress Dowager, your headache has really gotten worse. No wonder your eyesight has been affected... Alas."

The Queen Mother was furious and her headache got worse.

She was obviously having a headache, but she had no intention of sending them away, so they all stayed in the hall. They didn't dare to say much, and only talked in low voices. Some of them looked in the direction of Jiaoyang from time to time. It would have been fine if they didn't look, but when they did, they found that the tea table in Sheng Xiyan's hand was different from theirs. There was tea, fruit, snacks, and even melon seeds with candied fruit!

Isn't this really a setup for watching a play? !

Why do they only have tea?

For a moment, some people couldn't help but wonder, are they in the same Cining Temple? Right?

"The Queen Mother."

Zhao Yuanrou took the initiative to step forward, she bowed and said, "Let me massage you."

The Queen Mother looked at her suspiciously, and Zhao Yuanrou said sincerely, "You will know if it works if you try it."

So the Queen Mother nodded, and Zhao Yuanrou went over to give her a head massage.

Her technique was very special, and after gently rubbing for a while, the Queen Mother actually felt much more comfortable. She nodded slightly, motioning her to press again.

Gently rubbing her head with both hands, the Queen Mother glanced at Zhao Yuanrou and deliberately asked in front of her: "Madam Cheng, I think Chu Yu is a good child. Is he not engaged yet?"

Mrs. Cheng's heart skipped a beat, thinking that he had indeed come. She smiled and said, "Chu Yu has already been engaged."

"Engaged?" The Queen Mother asked in disbelief. "How come I didn't know about it when it happened?"

The Queen Mother's question was a bit unreasonable.

There are so many families in the capital, and every family has so many children. Do the children's engagements have to be known to everyone in the capital? Then there is nothing to do all day long, just busy finding out who is engaged.

Unless they are top-notch dignitaries, such as the Zhenbei Palace, no one's engagement will attract much attention.

Madam Cheng pretended not to know what the Queen Mother meant by this question, and said with a smile: "My daughter Chu Yu is engaged to Fu Junqing, the eldest son of the Wu'an Earl's Mansion..."

The Queen Mother's expression became obviously unhappy.

Princess Qingping was also shocked. She looked at Cheng Chuyu and blurted out, "Nonsense!"

Princess Qingping is the only daughter of Princess Yongan.

Cheng Chuyu turned and looked at her.

Qing Ping asked, "When did Master Fu get engaged to you?"

Cheng Chuyu said: "More than two years ago."

Qingping seemed to have suffered a great blow, and his slender shoulders shook.

Wu'anbo's mansion was still in mourning, so Wu'anbo's wife naturally couldn't come to the court to congratulate. Madam Cheng answered without a single mistake: "When we were still discussing the marriage, the wife of Wu'anbo's mansion passed away. If we wait until the mourning period is over, we can discuss it. The children of both families are old enough. We can arrange the marriage during the mourning period and get married after the mourning period is over."

"I was wrong for not informing the Empress Dowager in advance. I hope the Empress Dowager will forgive me."

Someone in the hall silently took a sip of tea.

If every engagement had to be reported, the gate of Cining Palace would have been broken down long ago. If the Queen Mother blamed her for this, it would be too unreasonable. The Queen Mother knew this, but she couldn't suppress her displeasure.

She chose Cheng Chuyu after careful selection, so how come they got engaged?

Zhao Yuanrou, who was giving the empress dowager a massage, was as calm as water. She certainly understood what the empress dowager meant by asking these questions. She just looked down on her.

But Qin Wei is not Zhou Jingxun, she is too lazy to care about so many things.

Zhao Yuanrou's expression was calm, and she said, "That's a pity. Miss Cheng, the Queen Mother likes you very much."

Zhao Yuanrou spoke in a gentle, virtuous and generous manner, which surprised the Queen Mother.

She originally thought that Zhao Yuanrou was a jealous person, and that she was entangled between two men because she didn't want to be a concubine. Why is she so virtuous now?

The Queen Mother raised her eyebrows. Could it be that she saw that Cheng Chuyu was already engaged, so she was being generous on purpose to show off?

The Queen Mother couldn't help but think so, and felt that she was right, revealing a faint sneer.

The atmosphere in the entire Cining Palace became even more depressing, with no festive atmosphere at all.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager was fine and not wanting to stand any longer, Yong'an sat back down and brazenly showed off his newly-wed son-in-law, saying that the son-in-law would have a good result in the imperial examination this year, and so on, which attracted all kinds of praise.

Zhao Yuanrou’s technique was indeed very effective. The Queen Mother soon felt her headache go away. She slowly closed her eyes and remained silent.

Without Cheng Chuyu, who else can be replaced...

While he was thinking, he heard Zhao Yuanrou say, "Miss Chu, I'm a little thirsty. Could you please bring me a glass of water?"

After these words were spoken, many people breathed a sigh of relief.

The Queen Mother raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Jingle's face was filled with anger, and the rage bursting from her peach blossom eyes could not be concealed.

Some people couldn't help but go to see Jiuyang.

The noble families of the Great Rong Dynasty had an unwritten rule that women were not allowed to offer tea to anyone except their elders. It was either a slave to the master, or a concubine to the mistress.

Obviously, Zhao Yuanrou is not an elder.

She was just bullying Jiaoyang because he was young and ignorant.

After all, a child of this age would not be specifically taught by her family the etiquette of being a concubine in the future. These would only be taught before she leaves the palace.

Moreover, if it was true as in the rumors, Jiaoyang grew up among the common people and would not understand.

The empress dowager looked at Zhao Yuanrou thoughtfully, and winked at the nanny beside her. Then the nanny came to Jiuyang with a cup of tea.

The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Jiuyang, go and bring a cup of tea to your sister Rou. Your sister Rou has been massaging me for so long, she must be thirsty."

Jingle was about to slam the table and stand up, but Jiuyang gently pulled her sleeve at an angle where no one could see, then he was one step faster than her, picked up the teacup, and walked towards the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother showed a determined smile and thought: I don't know whether Zhao Yuanrou did it intentionally or not, she actually saw through my thoughts.

A prince can have two concubines. In addition to Cheng Chuyu, the Queen Mother also has her eyes on Jiuyang. However, unlike Cheng Chuyu, Jiuyang's status is too high, so it is impossible for her to be a concubine.

The Queen Mother then thought about suppressing Jiaoyang first.

As long as Jiang Yuanyi returns to the Zhenbei Palace, the identity of the eldest daughter, Jiuyang, will naturally become awkward and not so legitimate. Later, once the fact that Jiuyang was raised in the common people is made public, this eldest daughter will probably be worse than an ordinary concubine's daughter. Then the emperor can arrange a marriage for her.

It was just the right thing that he was still young, so he didn't have to get married for the time being, lest the emperor think that Qin Wei wanted to influence the Zhenbei Palace and cause discord between the brothers.

The eldest daughter of the Zhenbei Palace was promised to the royal family, so she could naturally appease Chu Yuanchen and restrain him so that he would not dare to act rashly.

As long as we can comfort each other for a few more years and get over this hurdle, that will be enough.

By then, when Jiuyang has grown up, his son can marry her if he wants to, or not if he doesn't want to, because she will just be a concubine anyway.

The Queen Mother had not yet told the Emperor about this matter, so she was just thinking about it on her own. She had no idea that she would be frustrated in front of Jiaoyang right from the start...

I never expected that things would turn around with Zhao Yuanrou.

Jiuyang walked up to the Queen Mother with tea in his hand.

Although, the status of wife or concubine cannot be determined by offering a cup of tea, but this cup of tea is enough to suppress the arrogance of Jiaoyang and Zhenbei Palace in front of everyone, and it will be much easier to propose a marriage in the future.

The Queen Mother said gently: "Jiaoyang..."

The Queen Mother had not finished her words yet and Zhao Yuanrou was just raising her hand to receive the tea. In front of everyone, Jiuyang raised his hand and splashed all the tea onto Zhao Yuanrou's face.

"ah!"

Everyone couldn't help but let out a low cry, unable to believe their eyes.

Jingle felt relieved and slowly loosened her clenched fists.

Sheng Xiyan smiled at her, meaning, see, Jiaoyang will not suffer any loss.

Jiaoyang was extremely arrogant, just like a newborn wolf cub, with no fear in his eyes.

In the past, Jiaoyang had to swallow her anger and minimize the harm to herself because she had no one to rely on. But now, she knows that her mother and sister are there. Her mother said that she doesn't need to be afraid of anyone, and her sister said that she is the little sun.

She is not afraid of them.

After Jiuyang finished pouring the tea, he returned the teacup to the nanny, raised his little chin slightly, and looked arrogant as if to say, "What can you do to me?"

Zhao Yuanrou was right next to the empress dowager, and the tea was poured towards her. Not only was Zhao Yuanrou's head and face covered with tea, but even the empress dowager's dress was splashed with a few drops of tea.

"How dare you!" The Queen Mother was stunned for a moment, then said in a sharp voice, "I won't allow you to be so presumptuous in my Cining Palace. Come, drag you away and slap you in the face."

"Jiuyang, come here." Sheng Xiyan waved to her, and Jiuyang obediently walked to her and stood in front of her with a sweet smile.

The maids and eunuchs in the Cining Palace looked at each other in bewilderment.

Miss Shengda was protecting her blatantly, so how could they dare to touch her?

"Slap!"

"Your Majesty, calm down."

Everyone knelt down, and the chief eunuch of Cining Palace, Eunuch Cao, shouted, "What are you still standing there for? Help the empress dowager to change her clothes. Her clothes are soaked. What if she gets sick from the cold?"

Immediately, several eunuchs and maids came over, stood in front of her, and "supported" the empress dowager.

Queen Mother: “…”

No, there were just a few drops of water on her dress, so why did she get "frozen sick"?