Chapter 43 Entering the Palace—Eastern Palace!
Lan Xiyue sat upright in the sedan chair entering the palace, very calm.
Chuxia, on the other hand, seemed a little uneasy, with her hands clenched tightly and a hint of nervousness in her eyes.
Lan Xiyue tilted her head and said, "Don't be nervous."
"Miss, I don't know why, but I'm very nervous."
Lan Xiyue rolled her eyes at her. "It's not like you haven't accompanied me to the palace before. Why are you so nervous?"
"That was different. Back then, it was always the young ladies who attended palace banquets and such. It was never like this, where she was summoned into the palace alone by the Queen Mother."
Lan Xiyue comforted her for a while, and Chu Xia gradually calmed down.
As the sedan slowly stopped, Eunuch Xi's shrill voice rang out in her ears: "Miss Lan, please get out of the sedan."
Lan Xiyue lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and stepped out.
The grandeur and majesty of the palace made her squint her eyes slightly.
Eunuch Xi led them to the East Palace. Along the way, Lan Xiyue's eyes would secretly look at the lofty palace from time to time. The palace was indeed magnificent. She also learned from the original owner's memory that the original owner had also participated in palace banquets before.
But seeing it with your own eyes is still different!
When Lan Xiyue saw the two big words "Eastern Palace", her eyebrows raised inadvertently, and she thought to herself: Sure enough, all this is inseparable from that dog prince. However, her face still maintained that calm and indifference.
Eunuch Xi stopped and turned to Lan Xiyue and said, "Miss Lan, please wait here. I will go in and inform her."
Lan Xiyue nodded obediently, looking so gentle and proper that no one could find any fault with her. This was completely different from the rumors about her.
Eunuch Xi walked in quickly and bowed, saying, "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, Miss Lan is here and is waiting outside."
The emperor replied calmly, "Bring him in."
Eunuch Xi saluted, bowed, and hurried out, "Miss Lan, the emperor wants you to come in."
Lan Xiyue nodded slightly, straightened her clothes, and whispered to Chu Xia beside her: "Just wait outside." Then she stepped into the magnificent hall.
Chuxia nodded and looked at her back worriedly.
As soon as she stepped into the hall, Lan Xiyue felt several pairs of eyes looking at her.
She glanced around calmly and saw that the emperor, the empress and the queen mother were all sitting at the top, each with a different look in their eyes.
She imitated the way they did in TV dramas and bowed, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, and the Empress."
The emperor said coldly: "Raise your head."
Upon hearing this, Lan Xiyue slowly raised her head, and her clear eyes looked directly at the emperor, neither humble nor arrogant.
When the Queen Mother saw Lan Xiyue's appearance, her brows immediately lit up with joy and a look of surprise appeared on her face.
She didn't expect that the person she was looking for was the woman in front of her.
The Queen Mother's expression instantly softened. "Miss Lan, please excuse me. Come, please take a seat."
Upon seeing this, the Emperor and the Empress were both puzzled, not understanding why the Empress Dowager valued Lan Xiyue so much.
Lan Xiyue also noticed the Queen Mother's strange behavior. She looked at the Queen Mother opposite her carefully, and suddenly a feeling of sudden enlightenment came to her heart.
It turned out that the kind old lady he met at Xiangguo Temple was actually the current empress dowager!
Lan Xiyue bowed again and said, "Thank you, Queen Mother." Then, she walked to a chair beside her and sat down calmly.
Seeing this, the Queen became even more dissatisfied. She glared at Lan Xiyue and asked, "Lan Xiyue, is the Crown Prince's current condition related to you?"
Upon hearing this, Lan Xiyue's face showed a trace of confusion. She frowned slightly, "What did you say, Queen? I don't know. What happened to the prince? When I met the prince and the eldest prince on the street today, the prince was fine." There was a hint of innocence and confusion in her tone.
The Queen's face turned even uglier when she heard this. She wanted to ask a few more questions, but was interrupted by the Queen Mother: "Alright, Queen. Even the imperial physician couldn't diagnose the prince's condition. How could a little girl like her have such great abilities?"
The Queen Mother's words were filled with unquestionable majesty. Although the Queen was unwilling, she did not dare to say anything more.
She glared at Lan Xiyue fiercely, as if she wanted to cut her into pieces.
Lan Xiyue seemed not to feel the Queen's hostility. She just sat there quietly.
The emperor glanced at the empress dowager beside him, his heart full of doubts.
"Mother, do you know Miss Lan?"
The Queen Mother smiled slightly, a smile filled with warmth and gratitude. "That day, I was in the mountains behind Xiangguo Temple when I suddenly fell ill. My medicine fell to the ground, and I was alone. In that critical moment, Miss Lan came to my aid and helped me pick up the medicine. If Miss Lan hadn't been there that day, I'm afraid I would have..."
The Emperor frowned upon hearing this, "Why have I never heard Mother mention this?"
The Queen Mother glared at the Emperor. "You are busy with state affairs every day. How dare I disturb you with such a trivial matter? As for Yuan'er, I asked him to help find his savior, but there has been no news since then."
When the Emperor mentioned the Regent Mo Liyuan, his younger brother, his expression became complicated.
The Queen forced a smile and said, "Queen Dowager, although Miss Lan helped you that day, I'm afraid the Crown Prince is inextricably linked to her this time..."
As soon as the Queen finished speaking, Lan Xiyue stood up and bowed again. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I really don't know why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince acted like this. Today, I did run into the Crown Prince and the First Prince on the street. The Crown Prince mistakenly thought I was trying to harass him and warned me.
I have explained to the Crown Prince that it was a misunderstanding. If he had not called out to me, I would not have even noticed his presence.
"In the past, I may have acted inappropriately and caused trouble to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and I deeply regret this. But now, all I have in mind is His Royal Highness the Regent, and I will no longer pester the Crown Prince as I did before."
Lan Xiyue spoke sincerely and frankly. Everyone in the hall was silent, as if they were digesting this information.
The Emperor turned his gaze towards the eldest prince, Mo Jicang, with a questioning look in his eyes, "Is what Miss Lan said true?"
Mo Jicang nodded slightly, his expression calm, "Father, it is indeed as Miss Lan said. I was there at the time and saw and heard it with my own eyes."
A satisfied smile immediately spread across the Queen Mother's face. "May I call you Yueyue? Yueyue, do you really like Yuan'er?"
Lan Xiyue blushed upon hearing this and lowered her head shyly, "Queen Dowager, I do love you, but you are... a little cold."
As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell into silence again.
A gleam of light flashed in the Queen Mother's eyes, and the smile on her face became even brighter. "Yueyue has met Yuan'er?"
"Yes, I have. I met the Crown Prince and the First Prince on the street today when I came out of the Regent's Palace." Lan Xiyue thought to herself, I helped you save my subordinates today, and now I can only pull you out to deal with the current situation. It's your fault for being so powerful.
As soon as Lan Xiyue finished speaking, the faces of the people in the hall changed. Everyone knew that Mo Liyuan was not interested in women. There was not a single woman in his mansion, let alone which woman could enter the Regent's Palace.
The Queen Mother smiled even more kindly, "Yueyue, are you saying that you entered the Prince Regent's Palace today?"
Lan Xiyue nodded, not knowing why the Queen Mother asked that. "Yes."
"Okay, okay..." The Queen Mother laughed heartily.
The emperor and the queen also looked at Lan Xiyue with strange expressions.
The Queen narrowed her eyes. She had heard of Lan Xiyue's reputation, and how much she loved the Crown Prince. Why was she suddenly attracted to the Regent? She had even been admitted to the Regent's Palace? Why would the Regent be attracted to such a woman with such a bad reputation? She was indeed a fickle woman. Fortunately, the Crown Prince didn't like her.
At this moment, the eunuch's announcement came from outside, "The Regent has arrived!"
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