The Salted Fish Empress Dotes on the Harem

Chapter 12 Shi Wei
However, as a concubine, it is really unreasonable to give something that is not of the highest rank to someone who is kind to him. For a while, Xu Cairen became the laughing stock among the concubines.

Of course, not everyone made fun of her like Lin Cairen and Cheng Cairen. After all, Xu Cairen is still the most popular person with the most sacred heart, and they can't offend Xu Cairen.

Zhao Nuoqing felt a little pity, and was about to argue for Xu Cairen, when Qingyan, the palace maid next to the queen, came over suddenly, first bowed respectfully to everyone, then turned to look at Zhao Nuo Qing said: "Zhao Cairen, the queen empress invites you to enter the main hall to serve the queen mother together with the empress!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes focused on Zhao Nuoqing again, and their faces were full of jealousy.

Zhao Nuoqing is a young talent, how can He De serve the Empress Dowager?
Why did the queen help her?

Zhao Nuoqing was obviously also very surprised, and stood there blankly, while Qing Yan urged from the side: "The empress is still waiting for you in the main hall!"

Zhao Nuoqing came back to his senses, nodded, and immediately followed Qingyan to the main hall.

The main hall of the Compassionate Ning Palace is brightly lit at the moment, and upon entering the house, there is a green mahogany and gold lacquer screen painted with green mountains and green waters.

It is said that the empress dowager came from a gentle southern water town, married into the palace and became a queen, and gave birth to a prince who is now the emperor. He wanted to go back to his hometown to have a look, but the queen mother was reluctant to leave the emperor alone in the palace. The emperor was busy with state affairs and could not accompany his mother back home, so the queen mother dismissed this idea.

Suddenly there was a burst of hearty laughter in the inner hall, Zhao Nuoqing followed Qing He to the inner hall with low eyebrows, hearing this laughter, the originally nervous mood was relieved a little.

The queen mother is in a good mood now, even if she accidentally makes some stupid mistake later, the queen mother will not take her life.

As soon as Zhao Nuoqing entered the inner hall, he smelled a faint fragrance, which made people feel refreshed.

Under the guidance of Qing Yan, Zhao Nuoqing bowed to the queen mother who was half leaning on the soft couch and the queen sitting beside the queen mother.

Zhao Nuoqing knelt on the spotless ground and kowtowed respectfully to the two of them.

Then, I heard a calm and loud voice faintly, "You are Zhao Cairen? Raise your head and let Aijia see!"

Zhao Nuoqing raised his head slowly, but he didn't dare to look directly at the Queen Mother.

Slightly raised eyes could only see a purple plum-patterned shirt, the empress dowager's hands full of years, and a string of Buddhist beads twisted in her right hand.

Just looking at this elegant and luxurious costume, Zhao Nuoqing felt the majestic oppression from the Queen Mother.

The empress dowager looked Zhao Nuoqing up and down with her clear eyes, and then she heard the empress next to her say with a smile: "Mother, how is it? Is it just like what my son said, a beautiful embryo?"

The queen mother nodded, noncommittal, "It is indeed beautiful, even more beautiful than Concubine Jin, who has always claimed to be the most beautiful woman in the world!"

Zhao Nuoqing lowered her head in fear.

The queen said with a smile: "I also told the emperor the same way, but the emperor said that Zhao Cairen is not as handsome as a willow, and his vision is very high!"

The Empress Dowager suddenly laughed out loud, and reprimanded with a smile: "That is, you dare to tease the current emperor in front of his own mother! You are so daring!"

Sister Lan, who was around the same age as the Queen Mother, also laughed and said, "It's not that the Queen Mother is used to you, now you know how powerful you are!"

The queen was like a little daughter whose parents act like a baby, and said with a smile: "Isn't it the queen mother who spoils me!"

Zhao Nuoqing knelt on the ground and listened to the jokes between mother-in-law, daughter-in-law and loyal servants, and her heart was filled with bitterness. Her mother died when she was three years old, and her stepmother only maintained her superficial love for her. You are very polite, has there ever been such a warm moment between mother and daughter?

Several people chatted for a while, as if they had forgotten Zhao Nuoqing who was kneeling below. Just when Zhao Nuoqing felt his legs were sore and numb, Nanny Lan suddenly smiled and reminded the Queen Mother: "Look , so busy chatting with the queen, why did you forget your other daughter-in-law? You see, Zhao Cairen is still kneeling on the ground!"

Naturally, the Empress Dowager did not "accidentally" "forget" Zhao Nuoqing, but deliberately gave her power. As a confidant who has served the Empress Dowager for many years, she naturally did not know what the Empress Dowager meant. At this time she mentioned Zhao Nuoqing, But it was just a hint from the queen mother.

Although Zhao Nuoqing didn't know why the Empress Dowager wanted to bully her, in short, when she knelt on the spot and quietly listened to the jokes of their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the Empress Dowager looked at Zhao Nuoqing no longer as wary as she was at the beginning.

The Empress Dowager spoke with a smile, and said with a smile: "Oh, Aijia is really getting old and useless, help Zhao Cairen to get up!"

Sister Lan smiled and stepped forward to help Zhao Nuoqing up, and the queen beside her also pretended not to know anything and said to the queen mother: "You are not old! If you see you without knowing it, you will only think that you are seventeen Eight's little girl!"

The queen mother smiled and gave her a sideways look, "You know how to make me happy! No matter how young I am, an old woman who is over fifty years old, I can't compare to you real seventeen-year-old girls!"

After Zhao Nuoqing stood up tremblingly with the help of Nanny Lan, he quickly thanked Nanny Lan, and then obediently stood aside, waiting for the Queen Mother and Queen's instructions.

At this time, a palace lady walked in from the outer hall, holding a sandalwood box in her hand, walked up to the queen mother, knelt down, and said in a trembling voice: "Qing queen mother, your hairpin, Ruan Sizhen said The damage is too serious, Sizhen's house can't be repaired, and now Ruan Sizhen is pleading guilty outside the hall!"

The Empress Dowager's complexion sank slightly, and the Empress asked, "But on the day Father and Empress got married, what was the token of love that Father gave to Empress?"

The Empress Dowager nodded sadly, and said in a mournful tone: "That day Aijia wanted to take it out to wear on a whim, but never thought of missing it for a while, and smashed it to pieces! Hey, it's all Aijia's fault!"

After all, the Empress Dowager said to the court lady kneeling on the ground: "Go and tell Ruan Sizhen, if you can't fix it, you can't fix it, let her go back, you don't have to punish her for a dead thing!"

The palace maid breathed a sigh of relief, got up and handed the sandalwood box to Nanny Lan before retreating.

Sister Lan handed the box to the Empress Dowager again, and the Empress Dowager slowly pulled the lid on the top of the box, revealing the shattered colored glass inlaid with gold silk and flower phoenix hairpin inside.

The moment she saw the hairpin, the Empress Dowager's thoughts seemed to return to 30 years ago, when the first emperor personally put the phoenix hairpin on her bun, with tears in her eyes.

Everyone didn't know how to comfort them for a while.

After the queen mother was sad for a while, she told Nanny Lan, "Throw away this hairpin. Since it can't be repaired, it will cause trouble every time you see it in the house. It's better to throw it away!"

"But..." Sister Lan looked at the hairpin in the box with some reluctance. This hairpin carried the deep friendship between the former emperor and the queen mother, how could it be easily discarded?
But seeing the Queen Mother's resolute appearance, Sister Lan did not dare to disobey the Queen Mother's order, so she took the sandalwood box from the Queen Mother and sent someone to throw it away.

(End of this chapter)