"Hello, Madam Hua. The Empress Dowager knew you were coming for lunch today, so she asked the imperial kitchen to prepare your favorite dishes early on."
Aunt Xiufang hadn't seen Qiao Yu for a long time and was worried about her. When Empress Dowager Xue heard Qiao Yu was injured, she immediately forgave her for paying her respects and even sent her a large amount of high-quality medicinal herbs to nourish her qi and blood, fearing that she would miss the birth of the little prince.
But it is strange that Concubine Hua has been in the palace for half a year, but there is no news from the little prince.
Although Sister Lan is not in good health, she has been pampered and her pulse is checked every day and is normal. I can only say that it is not her destiny yet.
Xiufang felt sorry in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face, for fear of hurting Qiao Yu's feelings.
"Thank you for your concern, Aunt. I will thank you right away."
Qiao Yu smiled sincerely, but there was no emotion in her heart. She was led into the inner room by Xiufang and saw Yan Fu already sitting there with the Queen Mother, chatting about something.
"The Empress Dowager is well and the Emperor is blessed."
Yan Fu saw that it was Qiao Yu, and before she finished her greetings, he stood up and helped Qiao Yu up:
"It's just me and the Empress Dowager here, we're all one family. You haven't fully recovered yet, so there's no need for formalities."
The girl was flattered to be helped up, and when she heard Yan Fu say this, she couldn't hide the fear in her eyes. Even Empress Dowager Xue, who was watching from the side, was surprised at the position her niece held in the emperor's heart.
It was different from the previous favors, more accurately speaking, it was more like a bit of true love. However, Queen Mother Xue quickly recovered from her joy and smiled more gently:
"The emperor is right. You have just recovered. Do as he says."
"Thank you, Queen Mother, Your Majesty..."
As she said that, Qiao Yu went to pick up her luggage as usual, but the man had not yet let go of her hand, which prevented Qiao Yu from successfully bowing again.
The look in his eyes when he looked at the girl was filled with helplessness, but more of love: "You..."
Qiao Yu smiled bitterly, and the two of them exchanged extremely sweet glances, just like a loving couple in the folk.
Seeing the two of them like this, Queen Mother Xue didn't know whether she felt more relieved or uneasy:
"Xiufang, serve the meal."
The emperor was not Empress Dowager Xue's biological son, and in the past Yan Fu would occasionally pretend to come to the Cining Palace for breakfast, but he rarely stayed for lunch or dinner, which took a little longer.
I will have lunch at the Cining Palace today, firstly to continue being a "filial son", and secondly to reassure Empress Dowager Xue.
He treated Qiao Yu sincerely. Look, there were several emperors in history who served meals and picked up dishes for their concubines.
Empress Dowager Xue suddenly thought of a spoiler, but she couldn't ignore it either. The old and confused Duke Hua had been persuaded by the foxy woman too much and was begging for mercy for his "poor" concubine every day.
It seems that a concubine's daughter is a biological child, but a legitimate daughter is not?
"Have you thought about how to deal with this?"
Yan Fu's hands did not stop at all while helping Qiao Yu peel the shrimps, and he had no intention of answering this question. He had previously ordered that the affairs of Hua Yunya be fully handed over to Lan'er.
Hua Fei is the reincarnation of a kind-hearted Bodhisattva. When she heard from the Ministry of Punishment that her concubine sister Hua Yunya had a broken leg as a result of torture, she decided to forgive her and release her.
If it weren't for the fact that the injury also involved the Regent, she would have been released safely long ago.
"Yun... Jin agreed to completely break his leg, which can be considered as compensating for the Regent's leg injury, but it also means he has been demoted. This matter involves the Regent, which is a serious matter, but... my father is also old...
I would like to send someone to ask the Regent if he is willing to understand Duke Hua's love for his daughter."
Qiao Yu's words were difficult to understand, but how could she not feel the pain in her heart? The second daughter's suffering was suffering, so shouldn't the eldest daughter be considerate of the person who hurt her?
Before Empress Dowager Xue could speak, the warmth in Yan Fu's eyes turned cold:
"My beloved concubine, there is no need to worry about anything else. Just do whatever you want. I will take care of it for you."
Yan Fu thought that Qiao Yu's compromise was not only because she was soft-hearted, but more because she wanted to avoid completely severing the father-daughter relationship with Duke Hua, which was worth nothing.
"emperor..."
The girl was deeply moved by the man's unreasonable preference. If Qiao Yu hadn't known who the real murderer was, she would have believed Yan Fu's feelings.
The emperor seemed to be supporting Qiao Yu, but if he really did so, it would confirm Qiao Yu's crime of being unfilial and would also offend the Washington government, which would be more trouble than gain.
Empress Dowager Xue said slightly disapprovingly:
"I've learned a lesson by agreeing to this, Lan'er. Don't be too extreme in everything."
Although Hua Yunyao was guilty of a capital crime this time and there were witnesses and evidence, she was smart for once and refused to confess even after her leg was broken. She also knew that if she confessed, there would be no chance of turning things around.
Empress Dowager Xue's suspicious and scrutinizing gaze seemed to pass over Yan Fu inadvertently. She hoped that Qiao Yu could gain a foothold in the harem, but she did not want her to become a demon concubine.
But Yan Fu looked at Queen Mother Xue frankly, without the slightest guilt, as if he also understood the inappropriateness of his words, and said with great admonition:
"The Empress Dowager is right. I have not considered it well."
Yan Fu really felt sorry for Qiao Yu and wanted to protect her from the wind and rain, but she still had the blood of the Xue family. Only if Qiao Yu became more unscrupulous could he keep her by his side.
The food on the table also became unpalatable because of this topic. Qiao Yu saw that the atmosphere at the table had become a little weird, and she felt uneasy that she had not handled the incident properly and was unable to take on the responsibility of handling the six palaces:
"It is because of your incompetence that I failed to properly manage the six palaces and failed to relieve the worries of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager."
Yan Fu's heart had just cooled down, but when he heard Qiao Yujiao's soft self-blame, he couldn't bear to scare her, for fear that if he said a few more words, the little woman would burst into tears.
He hated to see the little girl's tears, so he picked up a piece of fish that Qiao Yu usually liked to eat and put it in her bowl:
"Just do as you said before. Eat more and see how thin you are."
The man coaxed the girl and finally calmed her down. Qiao Yu just picked up the piece of fish and started to vomit. She quickly took out a handkerchief to cover her mouth.
Sufang, who was waiting, also quickly went to get the basin.
Although Qiao Yu didn't really vomit, she was still eating. Empress Dowager Xue couldn't help but frowned:
"Which chef in the Imperial Kitchen prepared this fish? How can they even make a dish without even getting rid of the fishy smell?! The entire Imperial Kitchen will be fined one month's salary."
"Your Majesty, calm down."
Queen Mother Xue ignored the people kneeling in the room and was anxious to see how Qiao Yu was doing. However, she unexpectedly discovered that Yan Fu did not dislike Qiao Yu at all. Instead, he was extremely anxious and his heartache did not seem fake.
"how's it going?"
Yan Fu thought that Qiao Yu was not fully recovered yet, that was why she acted like this. He did not think too much about it at the moment, but felt distressed when he saw the girl's pale face.
Aunt Xiufang suddenly thought of something, and her face was full of joy:
"Empress Dowager, Master Hua might...maybe she's pregnant with a little prince!"
Empress Dowager Xue was delighted and looked at Qiao Yu, but before she could say anything, Qiao Yu flatly denied it:
"No!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
