The queen gnashed her teeth until they made a clattering sound, and sneered at Jingle: "Jingle, it is inevitable that couples will quarrel. You just want to have a good time for the moment, but you will regret it later! But the water that has been poured out cannot be taken back!"

If Jingle goes and admits her mistake to her husband now, the situation may still be salvaged. But if she misses this opportunity, it will be gone forever.

As soon as the Queen said this, the expressions of Yunhe, Ningde and others became very strange.

Chu Qianchen stood up and took Jingle's arm, and said with a smile: "Jingle, come with me to pack things for mother."

There's no point in talking to others if you don't agree.

As soon as Jingle's eyes met Chu Qianchen, her expression immediately became gentle and obedient. She stood up with a command and an action: "Okay."

After saying something to Queen Mother Yin, the aunt and sister-in-law went towards the bedroom, completely ignoring the Queen.

Queen: “!!!”

Facing Chu Qianchen, the queen couldn't even say the word "impudent" because she knew it was useless to say it. Chu Qianchen was not one of the three thousand beauties in the harem. She was just a heartless, bold, and disrespectful stinky girl! The queen was resentful and wanted to leave, but the princess of Tingli called her: "Queen, you are also filial, sending 'ginseng tea' to the queen mother every day."

Princess Li emphasized the word "ginseng tea" with a meaningful tone.

From the moment the Queen appeared, the women around her began to wonder whether the Queen knew about the Emperor drugging the Queen Mother.

After thinking about it, the Queen is in charge of the harem, she couldn't be unaware of it, and she must have been involved.

The other female relatives exchanged glances with each other, thinking that it was really mean of the Princess Li to praise the Queen for being careful. Everyone knew that the Queen had rarely come to Shouning Palace to pay respects to the Queen Mother in recent years.

"..." The queen was suddenly speechless.

When she saw the ginseng tea spilled all over the floor, she felt a little uneasy. Now thinking about what the emperor and Prince Li said, she felt that every word had a hidden meaning.

Could it be that the problem with ginseng tea has been discovered? !

The queen's face turned pale immediately, she felt both ashamed and angry.

Unfortunately, she was not present just now and did not know the details, so it was difficult for her to deal with the situation. If what she said did not match what the emperor said, then she would have to be the one lying, because the emperor's words were golden.

The Queen had never been so anxious as she was at that moment.

She knew the emperor's character. If this matter really got out of control, she would definitely be the scapegoat. The emperor's reputation could not be tarnished.

The queen was in panic, her mind was blank, and she didn't even know what she said afterwards or how she left Shouning Palace.

I only remember that the cold wind today was extremely biting, like an ice knife.

The emperor and empress had a very unhappy New Year's Day.

After the palace banquet at noon, Gu Jue and Chu Qianchen went to welcome Queen Mother Yin out of the palace.

This news was like a bolt from the blue, shocking all the civil and military officials in the court. It was simply unheard of.

Throughout the dynasties, regardless of whether the emperor was the empress dowager's biological son or not, the empress dowager was always taken care of in the palace by the emperor, and no one had ever been able to take the empress dowager out of the palace to take care of her.

Although the emperor only told outsiders that the Empress Dowager and Prince Chen were just going to Prince Chen's mansion to celebrate the New Year, everyone thought this was too far-fetched.

After the New Year, will the Prince of Chen send the Queen Mother back to the palace? If the Queen Mother does not return to the palace, what should the Emperor do? Will the Emperor rush into the Prince of Chen's mansion to grab her? ! Everyone was speculating, and some people had already started to ask around for information, wanting to know what happened after the congratulations in the Hall of Supreme Harmony that made the Emperor take such a big step back.

No matter how chaotic the outside world is, it cannot disturb Chu Qianchen, Gu Jue and Queen Dowager Yin.

When the Empress Dowager traveled, she originally had a special ceremonial carriage, a bright yellow carriage with bright yellow wheels. Its regulations were naturally higher than those of the Prince's Consort. However, the Empress Dowager Yin did not ride in the ceremonial carriage. Instead, she got on the red-wheeled carriage of the Prince Chen's Palace.

A red-wheeled carriage with a red felt roof and red curtains slowly drove out of the palace and drove on the wide Chang'an Avenue.

Queen Mother Yin has been in the palace for more than twenty years. From a young girl in her prime to now, she has fine lines around her eyes and eyebrows. The most brilliant years of her life were spent in this deep palace. Only when the late emperor was alive did she leave the palace a few times to accompany him hunting and escape the summer heat. In the years after the late emperor passed away, Queen Mother Yin has never been able to step out of the palace again.

Chu Qianchen personally served tea to Queen Mother Yin and said softly, "Mother, have some tea."

“…” Queen Mother Yin pretended not to hear anything. She raised her hand to lift the curtains, but her hand stopped in mid-air.

Chu Qianchen looked at the profile of Empress Dowager Yin and noticed that there were a few faint silver strands among her black hair, and felt a little sad.

She could also see that Queen Mother Yin was still a little dazed.

"Mother," Chu Qianchen leaned over and took Empress Dowager Yin's arm, and said coquettishly, "Can I take you hiking in a few days? The prince promised me a long time ago, but he never went."

After Gu Jue and Wuhejialou went to Baiyun Temple before the New Year, Chu Qianchen coquettishly asked Gu Jue to take her with him, but later they were too busy as the New Year was approaching and they never went.

Queen Mother Yin finally came to her senses and looked at the little girl's delicate face, which revealed a pair of shallow dimples on her cheeks. Just by looking at the little girl like this, Queen Mother Yin's heart suddenly softened and a smile appeared on her face.

"Okay!" Queen Mother Yin patted Chu Qianchen's upper arm gently. There seemed to be gurgling hot springs flowing in her eyes, and her originally dazed mood recovered a little.

The conversation between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law also reached the ears of Gu Jue who was in the carriage. The corners of Gu Jue's lips slightly curled up while riding on the horse.

Even Jingfeng, who was accompanying behind, could tell at a glance that his prince was in a very good mood at the moment, and sighed in his heart: Although the prince never said it, they, the servants, could imagine that the prince had been waiting for this day for many years.

Thinking of this, Jingfeng felt his eyes welling up. He silently lowered his head and wiped his tears with his sleeve, thinking that he was just blinded by the wind.

Just then, Jingfeng heard a commotion coming from the front, and out of the corner of his eye he saw a lot of people gathered on the street not far ahead.

Jingfeng frowned and looked in the direction of the sound. What he saw was a familiar plaque with five large gold-painted characters "Princess Jingle's Mansion" inscribed on it.

This is Princess Jingle’s residence.

The princess's gate was as noisy as a vegetable market, with several groups of people confronting each other with swords drawn, and their eyes seemed to be spitting fire. There were some wooden boxes piled on the ground, and some men's clothes were thrown out on the boxes, some were thrown on the boxes, and some fell directly to the ground.

"Get lost!" An old woman with gray hair and wearing a rusty jacket stood on the high steps at the door, pointing at a dozen men and women in front of her and cursing, "Our eldest princess has divorced the man named Lu. Of course, the man named Lu can no longer stay in the princess's mansion!"

"There is no reason for an unrelated outsider to stay in someone else's home!!"

"The things in the Princess's Mansion belong to Her Royal Highness the Princess. Her Royal Highness was generous enough to allow Mr. Lu to take these personal clothes. After all, we are husband and wife, so these are all given to you by Her Royal Highness as a reward."

The old lady's words were harsh and mean, accusing Lu Fangrui of being a gigolo and not giving him any face at all.

Upon hearing this, Lu Fangrui was so angry that he started shaking all over, and his face, as pale as paper, was even slightly blue.

Today, Lu Fangrui was sentenced to thirty lashes of sticks by Empress Dowager Yin in the palace. He was beaten so hard that it seemed as if the flesh all over his body did not belong to him. He could not even stand steadily. At this moment, he was relying on Qi Anling and the head maid to support him and was barely standing here.

Lu Fangrui was ashamed to curse at a slave, but his maidservant had no such scruples. She pointed at the old nanny and cursed, "How dare you! How dare you, a lowly slave, be so rude to our Prince Consort!"

The old lady sneered disdainfully, and said with her hands on her hips, "So what if it's rude?! You can ask someone to judge for you. How can a couple break off their relationship and still stay in someone else's house and not leave?"

Many people had already gathered around to watch the fun, talking about it in a buzzing manner.

On the one hand, they thought that the princess's divorce was shocking, but on the other hand, they also thought that the old woman was right. This Mr. Lu was a prince consort, and he received a prince consort's salary and clothes, which were given by the princess. Now that the couple had severed their relationship, the princess allowed him to take away these personal belongings, which was considered kind and righteous.

Lu Fangrui had never been humiliated like this before in his life. However, there were five or six people from the Five Cities Army who were standing nearby, staring at him covetously. One of them, holding a long sword, said, "Are you trying to cause trouble?!"

If anyone causes trouble in the capital, the people from the Five Cities Military Department naturally have the authority to take that person away.

As they spoke, several other men from the Five Cities Army took a step closer to Lu Fangrui and the others. Their words were full of intimidation, and the maid who had just spoken was frightened into turning pale.

The red-wheeled carriage that Chu Qianchen and the others were riding in drove past the princess's mansion without stopping.

In the carriage, Chu Qianchen lifted a corner of the curtain and looked in the direction of the princess's mansion, then tilted his little face and asked another person in the carriage: "Mother, did you give this nanny to me?"

Chu Qianchen had seen the two maids around Jingle, one was weak and the other was pedantic. The latter had to be expelled by her once and suffered a lot before she learned her lesson. There was no maid around Jingle who was so aggressive and straightforward.

Queen Mother Yin smiled calmly and nodded.

If she initially ordered Lu Fangrui to be caned out of consideration for the relationship between the late emperor and her daughter, then her sending this nanny to the princess's mansion could be considered a way of returning the favor. After all, Jingle's matter also indirectly helped her.

The wet nurse and the head nurse around Jingle were all chosen by her mother. They were loyal but not capable enough, and each one was softer than the other. Jingle was influenced by them by being with them, and her temper became softer and softer.

She and her daughter-in-law could help Jingle this time, but they couldn't help her for the rest of her life.

Queen Mother Yin drank a sip of the sweet scented tea and sighed with emotion: "Jingle, this girl, should stand up on her own. After all, people can only rely on themselves."

Just like her Ajue!

In recent years, Empress Dowager Yin has been idle in Shouning Palace and can't help but think too much and reminisce about the past.

She was naturally against Gu Jue going to the Northland back then, because Gu Jue was her only son, and she had resented the late emperor for this and had been angry with him. But later she thought back, if Gu Jue had not gone to the Northland, would the current emperor Gu Lang have tolerated him? !

Gu Jue is the only legitimate son of the late emperor besides the current emperor. Just based on his background, it is impossible for Gu Lang not to be wary of him.

In that case, she would rather her son become a tiger or a wolf!

Queen Mother Yin couldn't help but draw aside the curtains to look at Gu Jue galloping on his horse outside the red-wheeled carriage.

The wind filled his sleeves with air, and his wide cloak fluttered in the wind, like a roc spreading its wings and soaring into the sky.

The red-wheeled carriage drove through two more streets before arriving at Zhuque Street, where Prince Chen's Palace was located. The palace's doorman had already been peering out into the street, and was the first to bring the news of the masters' return to the palace.

At the same time, the lively scene at the gate of the princess's mansion also reached the ears of the emperor who was in the Palace of Tranquil Longevity.

Eunuch Xiao Wen, who came to report, used up almost all his strength to finish his story smoothly, and he broke into a cold sweat.

emperor:"!!!"

The emperor's face was livid. He had been holding back his anger for the whole day. Although the matter between Jingle and Lu Fangrui was just a small matter, if it had not been for Jingle, how could it have ended up like this? Kang Hongda was also there, fanning himself casually with a folding fan in his hand, and comforted the emperor with a few words: "Your Majesty, calm down."

No matter how the emperor tried to calm down, the evil fire in his heart had never subsided, but instead became more and more severe.

The emperor walked back and forth in the East Warm Pavilion, chattering non-stop as he walked: "Gu Jue has bad intentions! He is a man with deep scheming and a lot of twists and turns. This time he is taking advantage of the situation, I'm afraid he won't stop so easily..."

How can he continue to control Gu Jue in the future? !

This is what worries the emperor the most.

Gu Jue is an ambitious man. As long as he shows the slightest flaw, this wolf cub will seize the opportunity to bite him.

The more the emperor thought about it, the more he felt uneasy. It was still the old saying: How can I allow others to snore beside my bed? Kang Hongda took a sip of tea and suddenly suggested, "Your Majesty, why don't you let Chu Lingxiao return to Beijing?"

The emperor suddenly stopped and turned to look at Kang Hongda who was sitting by the window, confused.

He frowned slightly. When he thought of Chu Lingxiao, he associated it with the fact that this person had caused him to issue the edict of repentance, and he felt even more unhappy.

The emperor stood there with his hands behind his back, not saying anything, but Kang Hongda knew that this was a sign for him to continue, so he continued, "Your Majesty, the prince of Chen is using 'unfilial piety' to pressure Your Majesty, Your Majesty can also give him a taste of his own medicine."

Kang Hongda waved his folding fan again, looking elegant and dashing. The emperor raised his eyebrows thoughtfully.

Kang Hongda said calmly: "Chu Lingxiao is the biological father of Princess Chen. Last time, Chu Lingxiao was obviously framed."

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"Princess Chen helped Prince Chen to use her biological father. Will Chu Lingxiao have no grudges against her?!"

As he spoke, Kang Hongda's smile deepened, but his eyes were as cold as ice.

The emperor whispered the name "Chu Lingxiao" softly, his voice very low.

He also suspected that it was Gu Jue who asked Chu Lingxiao to set a trap for him, but in the end, Chu Lingxiao fell into this state and Gu Jue did not show up, which made the emperor convinced that Chu Lingxiao was obviously just a pawn of Gu Jue.

Gu Jue persuaded his princess to use her biological father, even at the cost of the title of Marquis of Yongding.

Later, the emperor thought about this incident again and again, and felt that this was something that Gu Jue could do. He was always good at buying people's hearts, not to mention that a mere Chu Qianchen might have been sold out by him and was still counting money for him! The emperor turned his back again and looked at the plum forest outside the window, still thinking about the feasibility of this matter: Filial piety comes first, Chu Lingxiao stood on the commanding heights of his father, and the person he could control was Princess Chen Chu Qianchen...

But can a mere Chu Qianchen shake the Prince Chen's Palace? ! Seeing that the emperor was thinking, Kang Hongda did not urge him. He put away his folding fan and continued to drink this fine century-old Pu'er, sighing "good tea"! Kang Hongda smiled, but he was thinking of Chu Yunyi, the son of Chu Lingxiao.

The more he couldn't get something, the more Kang Hongda wanted it. As for Chu Yunyi, he was determined to get him.

Chu Yunyi was not romantic, and Mrs. Shen, the eldest wife of Chu, was not appreciative. Whenever Kang Hongda thought of the day when she rejected him, he felt unhappy. Over the years, every family treated him as a guest of honor, and every family treated him with respect! Fortunately, the Chu family was not all ignorant. The second son of the Chu family was a man who knew how to look and had a sense of humor.

After that day, Chu Lingyu "accidentally" met him at the gate of the yamen. Chu Lingyu acted sticky and made a lot of circles around him, and it was clear from his words that he wanted to inherit the title of Marquis Yongding.

He hopes that if he can help him get the title, then he will let himself "get what he wants".

The Chu family's small title could not be passed down for several generations and had no real power, so Kang Hongda had never taken it seriously. Since Chu Lingyu was so obedient, he would just give it to him.

This is not difficult to do.

Kang Hongda sighed in his heart: If Chu Yunyi had known better, he would have helped him to make him happy, but...

Kang Hongda's eyes flashed, and his half-closed eyelids concealed the sharpness in his eyes. He took another sip of tea. The scalding hot tea burned the tip of his tongue, but he felt very refreshed, just like Chu Yunyi.

At this moment, the emperor turned around again, his eyes met Kang Hongda again, and he said calmly: "Chu Lingxiao has committed such a serious crime. Even if I show mercy and let him return to the capital, I cannot give him this title."

"Of course." Kang Hongda put down the pastel-colored teacup, smiled and clapped his hands, unrestrained and at ease, "Chu Lingxiao wants the title, so he will do whatever you ask him to do, Your Majesty!"

"It's like dangling a carrot next to a donkey's mouth. If Chu Lingxiao wants to eat it, he has to obey."

Kang Hongda said with a smile, his eyebrows raised, and a cold and evil charm revealed in his expression.

Eunuch Xiao Wen standing beside him admired him very much and felt that when it came to sympathizing with the emperor, Lord Kang was the best, even Eunuch Ni and Eunuch Chen were not as good as him.

The emperor laughed heartily at Kang Hongda's words, as if he had imagined that scene. The wrinkles between his brows finally relaxed, and his expression was no longer so cold and gloomy.

Kang Hongda said meaningfully: "Since the Prince of Chen brought up the issue of 'filial piety', the Emperor can do the same."

The more Kang Hongda talked, the more the emperor thought it made sense, and the more he was tempted. If Chu Lingxiao was used well, he would be a very useful chess piece.

The emperor returned to the kang and sat down. He clenched his right fist and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say."

The emperor wanted to ask someone to prepare some writing material for him, but when the words came to his lips, he remembered that today was the first day of the Lunar New Year and he had already put down his pen, and would have to wait until the sixth day.

Five days left...

The emperor frowned again. He couldn't wait any longer, so he said to Eunuch Wen: "Call Lu Siji!"

Jinyiwei commander Lu Siji had been in the palace since he left, and upon hearing the emperor's summons, he hurried over immediately.

"Lu Siji, send someone to Youzhou to bring Chu Lingxiao back!" The emperor gave the order casually. He planned to wait until Chu Lingxiao was brought back before issuing another decree.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Although Lu Siji didn't understand why, he immediately obeyed the order.

Seeing that the emperor was in a much better mood, Eunuch Wen quickly served him a cup of new tea.

The emperor was finally in the mood to drink tea, but Kang Hongda was still thinking about Chu Yunyi, repeatedly picturing that handsome and lively young man in his mind.

Let such a proud young boy be obedient and submissive to him from now on...

Just thinking about it, Kang Hongda's heart warmed, and his gaze turned to the bright red plum blossoms outside the window.

What an alluring sight it would be if the young man were to lie on a white fox fur mattress covered with red plum petals.

The whistling cold wind made the red plum blossoms sway, which in Kang Hongda's eyes was a perfect expression of approval.

“Rustle, rustle…”

The wind in the afternoon was obviously stronger than in the morning, and there were even fewer pedestrians on the road.

At this moment, the atmosphere in Prince Chen's Mansion, where the owner had returned, was bustling with activity, and the tall and thick walls kept the cold wind out of the mansion.

Half of the people in the palace are now gathered in Yi'an Hall, located in the northwest corner of the palace's inner courtyard.

As early as when the Prince Chen's Mansion was built, Gu Jue had a courtyard built here specifically for the Queen Mother Yin. Even though he originally did not think that the Queen Mother could live here, he still resolutely did this.

Yian means happy and peaceful.

Yi'antang, these three words have revealed Gu Jue's most sincere hopes for his mother.

Over the years, Yi'an Hall has been cleaned all the time even when no one lives there.

Today's events were actually just going with the flow. Chu Qianchen was 70% to 80% sure, but he couldn't be sure whether things would go so smoothly. After all, there were too many variables.

The courtyard had been cleaned and decorated in advance, with red lanterns, red blessing characters, red couplets on the hanging flower doors... Yian Hall seemed to be filled with a Chinese New Year atmosphere inside and out. The servants, including Madam Cai, were all beaming with joy, with tears in their eyes, and they were overjoyed.

"good!"

"very nice!"

From the moment she entered here, Queen Mother Yin kept repeating these words over and over again.

She sincerely thinks everything is good.

She could see that the layout, furniture, and furnishings here...even as small as the bronze mirror and the gauze curtains on the bed, each one was carefully thought out and arranged according to her preferences.

Everything here is the filial piety of her son and daughter-in-law.

More importantly,

Being able to leave the palace was a great blessing for her, a miracle that she had never dared to imagine.

Once upon a time, Queen Mother Yin felt that her existence was a hindrance to her son, trapping such a mighty eagle in the capital. Only she knew this fact. She even considered committing suicide so that her son would have nothing to worry about.

Fortunately, she didn't do that.

…

Who could have thought that she would have this day, that she would have this day to escape from the deep palace! Queen Mother Yin's eyes were filled with tears again. She thought that her tears had dried up when the late emperor passed away, but at this moment, she could not suppress her inner excitement.

Chu Qianchen could see the excitement of Queen Mother Yin, so she took her arm, shook it gently, and said coquettishly: "Mother, since you are satisfied with this house, shouldn't you give me the New Year's money?" She asked for the New Year's money with a drooling face.

Queen Mother Yin was already prepared, but because of a series of events that happened, she forgot about it for a moment and just laughed.

"Don't worry, you won't be left out." Empress Dowager Yin took a heavy red purse from Nanny He and stuffed it into Chu Qianchen's hand.

Then, Chu Qianchen stretched out her hand again, but this time she pointed at Gu Jue: "Mother, what about the prince's share?"

Gu Jue cooperated and stretched out his hand, spreading his palm upwards and making a gesture of asking for money.

Queen Mother Yin: “…”

Queen Mother Yin was speechless for a moment.

Her son was so smart, he was like a little adult. Before he was five years old, she and his father could still tease him, but after that, it became difficult.

He is so smart that he has a photographic memory and can memorize everything he has seen and heard. He remembers everything he has seen and what others have said, so ordinary people can't fool him at all.

His childish actions at this moment seemed so distant and vague to Empress Dowager Yin.

It is her blessing that these two children are willing to coax her.

(End of this chapter)