Chapter 209 Do you need me to make the decision for you?
"The Queen?"
Shen Ning smiled: "Wait a moment, I'll go report to the Queen Mother."
"No need. The Empress has already sent someone to reply to the Queen Mother. Lord Shen Xiang will come with me. The Empress will be waiting for you in the Imperial Garden."
The Queen's people said that they had already replied, so Shen Ning did not insist on telling the Queen Mother. After all, even if it was rude, it was not her fault.
Chen Ning took Qiyue and the palace maid out of the Cining Palace and headed to the Imperial Garden.
As dusk approached, a hint of coolness finally came to the Imperial Garden. Beneath a pavilion, the graceful and beautiful Queen Wei sat there, leisurely preparing perfume.
This was Queen Wei's only hobby when she had nothing to do.
A palace servant nearby said, "Your Majesty, Lord Shen Xiang is here."
Shen Ning stepped forward and saluted: "Your servant Shen Ning greets Her Majesty the Queen. May Her Majesty be well and safe."
"Get up..."
Queen Wei looked back at Chen Ning and said with a smile: "After you marry into Prince Ding's Mansion, you will be my child. There is no need to be restrained. Sit down."
After Chen Ning bowed and thanked her, she sat down. Queen Wei continued to mix the perfume, very focused, as if she had not called Chen Ning here specifically.
Queen Wei didn't say anything, and Chen Ning also sat there very quietly watching the queen mix the perfume, calm and composed, without any sign of nervousness or uneasiness.
After a while, Empress Wei finally put down the things in her hand and took the handkerchief from her personal palace maid. She wiped her hands while saying slowly, "You are quite patient. Don't you want to know why I came to see you?"
Shen Ning said respectfully: "It is a great honor to meet Her Majesty Feng Yi. I dare not make any assumptions."
"With such a meticulous nature, it's no wonder you're so capable... I heard someone plotted to harm your business, but ended up losing more than they gained. So, do you need me to take charge?"
Shen Ning hurriedly said: "Those mundane matters are not worth your concern, Your Majesty. Thank you for your concern."
"From now on, you are my child. It is natural for me to care about you... I like what you did before."
The Queen looked at Chen Ning, her translucent lips sipped the cold tea, and then she said leisurely: "So, this palace hopes that you can continue to do things that make people like you... If this palace hadn't allowed the Seventh Prince to marry you last time, you would have been sent by the Queen Mother to her nephew to bring good luck."
Queen Wei curled her lips and spoke each word with pause, "I believe you are a good child who knows how to distinguish between gratitude and resentment and repay kindness. Don't you agree?"
Shen Ning blinked, revealing a somewhat flattered expression: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your praise."
The Queen put down the cup with a smile and said, "Alright, go back now. If you have been wronged, come to me and I will take care of it for you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will take my leave."
After Chen Ning bowed, she withdrew. The palace maid who had been there before escorted her out and presented her with an exquisite box. She smiled and said, "This is the jewelry that the Empress gave to Xiangjun... The Empress is so kind to Xiangjun. When Xiangjun marries His Royal Highness Prince Ding in the future, she will be the closest person to you. With the Empress making the decision for you, Xiangjun will surely have a glorious future."
Shen Ning, on the other hand, said yes repeatedly with an expression of being flattered and having never seen the world before...
She could actually guess roughly: Empress Dowager Zhou was in charge of the Daxuan Royal Treasury, which included several extremely profitable workshops: Royal Coal Industry, Tea Shop, Porcelain, etc. Among them, the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau was the least conspicuous one.
Although it is inconspicuous, it supplies silk and brocade to the royal family. Once there is a problem, it will affect the entire royal family and clan members.
Now, the Prince's Mansion, which manages the weaving and dyeing bureau for the Empress Dowager, has run into trouble: after selling the reserve raw silk to her, it can no longer buy it back. The weaving and dyeing bureau should have started work, but it has not started yet and is still delaying. The people in the Prince's Mansion have gone to other places to purchase raw silk in order to make up for the loss in time.
I'm afraid the queen will not miss this opportunity.
She has always wanted to seize the Queen Mother's right to manage the Royal Treasury but has been unable to find an opportunity to act. Once the Royal Weaving and Dyeing Bureau is exposed, the Queen will definitely pursue it relentlessly.
The reason why they were looking for Chen Ning to threaten her was to prevent her from selling the reserve raw silk to the Queen Mother... High-quality raw silk could not be bought in the capital, and the Queen would probably interfere when going out to purchase it. In this way, the progress of the weaving and dyeing bureau would definitely be delayed.
By then, the queen would have an excuse to compete with the queen dowager for the royal treasury.
Sure enough, at the court meeting the next day, someone submitted a memorial to the emperor complaining about the delay in the weaving and dyeing bureau's work. The Queen's people took the opportunity to say that the Queen Mother was old and should have enjoyed her retirement and should not have to work so hard anymore. The royal treasury should be handed over to the Queen, the mother of a country, to manage.
Of course, the relatives who supported the Queen Mother jumped out to oppose it, and the argument continued for a while.
When the news reached the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager was so angry that she smashed the bird's nest in her hand.
Wei Jinxiu is really taking advantage of every opportunity. She must have stared at the inner treasury with her eyes red!
At this time, Xu Wanqing, who was massaging the empress dowager's legs, looked at Shen Nian. Shen Nian whispered, "Empress Dowager, my sister has hundreds of thousands of kilograms of high-quality raw silk... If she knew you needed it, she would definitely be willing to give it to you for emergency use."
Across from her, Xu Wanqing sneered, "Chen Ning is the future Princess Ding, the Empress's biological daughter-in-law... Moreover, she had already met the Empress yesterday, so how could she help the Empress Dowager at this time!"
The two of them may not have no conflicts in their hearts, but they barely reached a consensus before entering the palace: first, they would unite to deal with Chen Ning. Therefore, at this moment, they took advantage of the fact that Chen Ning was sent by the Queen Mother to get ice to sing the same tune and flatter Chen Ning in front of the Queen Mother.
They could also see that the Queen Mother disliked Chen Ning, so she could have asked a palace maid to run errands, but she had Chen Ning go in the scorching sun. It was obvious that she did it on purpose.
However, as soon as the two of them finished speaking, before they could continue their performance, they were coldly rebuked by the Queen Mother.
"Stop trying to be clever in front of me. I hate smart-alecks the most."
Xu Wanqing and the other two immediately pleaded guilty: "Your servants acknowledge their guilt."
Xu Wanqing was a bit bolder and still refused to give up: "I just can't stand Chen Ning's indifference to superiors and inferiors. She is with you, the Queen Mother, but her heart is elsewhere... I am truly sorry for your kindness in cultivating me."
Queen Mother Zhou glanced at the two petty-minded people on her lap and said, "Alright, get off now. Don't show off in front of me."
The two men then shut up and left.
Beside her, Aunt Gui whispered, "Empress Dowager, what should we do now?"
Empress Dowager Zhou snorted coldly, "It's all that idiot Xiao Yuanfeng's fault... Now, if we don't want Wei Jinxiu to take advantage of this, we have no choice but to fill the shortfall in raw silk as soon as possible. That girl surnamed Shen may be greedy for profit, but she's not so reckless as to not know how to live or die."
After a pause, Empress Dowager Zhou said, "Call her over. I don't believe that a mere girl from the Shen family would dare to openly oppose me."
Aunt Gui responded and went out to look for Chen Ning...
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