Emperor's Lazy Queen

Chapter 17

"Back to the Empress Dowager, Yang Shanggong sent someone to say..." Dequan weighed the weight of what he was going to say in his heart, and at the same time began to worry about the empress who had always been very friendly.

"Speak quickly if you have something to say, don't hesitate!" The queen mother was a little impatient.

"It is said that the empress refused to return to the palace on time, and on the way back to the palace, regardless of Yang Shanggong's advice, she insisted on resting for more than half an hour on the way... Until now, the empress has not gotten up yet!" Dequan said carefully with.

Dequan's words made all the concubines present look at each other in blank dismay, but soon, they all looked stable and looked at the Queen Mother. "Oh?" The Empress Dowager groaned, unable to hear the joy, "Just this matter?"

"Yes, empress dowager." Dequan answered with a bow.

"You go down first!" The queen mother waved her hand, with a bit of displeasure in her voice, followed by a moment of silence.

"Mother!" Zhang Xueman's thin voice came from the corner, "Are you angry with the queen's sister?"

"Sister Zhang, the empress has violated the rules of the palace, can the empress not be angry?" The person who spoke was nobleman Yu, who had been in the palace for two years.

"Mother, the Queen's sister may just be tired for a while, that's why she asked the palace people to stop and rest, and also asked the Queen not to be angry!" At this time, it was Li Qianrou who spoke.

"That's right! Sister Li is right." Tong Ruyan took the words, "The queen mother, the queen sister is well educated and reasonable, she is definitely not someone who ignores the rules of the harem!"

When Liu Mengnan heard this, the corners of her eyebrows lightly raised, and she also opened her mouth lightly: "Mother, the Queen's sister may have been a little emotional since she hasn't seen her family for a long time, so she asked to rest for a while. Only after she cleared her emotions can she return safely to see you Queen Mother!"

"But, no matter what, the queen sister still violated the palace rules!" Zhang Xueman came up with a concluding sentence.

"Sister Zhang, there is an excuse for everything!" Li Qianrou took the words in a soft voice.

When the concubines heard this, they started talking in low voices.

"What is excusable?" A calm and majestic male voice sounded, and the concubines hurriedly got up and stood up.When the figure of Emperor Daoming entered the door, everyone in the room except the queen mother knelt down and saluted. "Get up! Empress Dowager, this son-in-law has come to greet Empress Mother today." Tan Wenhao raised his hand, and then bowed to the empress dowager who was sitting right on the throne.

"Emperor, you came just in time. Come and sit next to the empress. The empress happens to have something to discuss with you!"

"Emperor, you came just in time. Come and sit next to the empress. The empress happens to have something to discuss with you!"

Nodding slightly, he walked unhurriedly to the side of the Queen Mother, and sat parallel to the Queen Mother, while the maid at the side offered a cup of high-quality jade bud tea. "What's the matter with the queen mother?" She was flat and calm, not in a hurry.

"The Queen is going back to the Du Mansion to visit relatives today." The Queen Mother was not in a hurry, she turned sideways and said to Tan Wenhao.

"The people in the inner government have already reported it." Tan Wenhao and the Queen Mother looked at each other, "For matters in the harem, it is good for the Queen Mother to decide, and the Queen Mother does not need to ask the ministers."

The concubines present here naturally understand that the real power in the harem is still controlled by the queen mother, and Du Xiaoyue, the queen, is just a vain name.But Du Xiaoyue is very good at climbing the big tree of the Queen Mother, and with the influence of the Du family, even if she is not favored by the emperor, maybe in the near future, she will still control the real power in the harem.Therefore, for Du Xiaoyue, concubines still have a three-point taboo.

"Well... it's just that the empress delayed her return to the palace on the way back to the palace. According to the palace rules, she should be punished." The queen mother stopped turning the corner and said directly, "The empress mother wants to ask the emperor about this matter. What do you think?"

Delayed the time to return to the palace?Tan Wenhao's face remained unchanged, but he just looked at the concubines indifferently: "What do you think? Concubine Li Gui, tell me!"

The concubines didn't expect the emperor to ask such a question, and even asked Concubine Li Gui by name, all of them unconsciously looked at Li Qianrou who had been calm all along.Li Qianrou stood up, saluted the empress dowager, and then said softly: "The concubine thinks that the empress sister is just tired for a while, that's why she asked the palace people to stop and rest."

"Then should I be punished?"

"Going back to the emperor, my concubine thinks that the Queen's sister can be forgiven." Li Qianrou lowered her head slightly, and at the same time, her gaze was twirling between the queen mother and the emperor.

"Oh?" Tan Wenhao looked at Tong Ruyan, Zhang Xueman and Liu Mengnan.

"The concubine also agrees with sister Li's opinion." Tong Ruyan also stood up after receiving the emperor's gaze, "Maybe the queen sister is not familiar with the palace rules, so she offended."

"The concubine does not agree with Sister Li and Sister Tong." Zhang Xueman also stood up and looked directly at the emperor and the queen mother, "Sister queen is the mother of a country, how could she not know the palace rules, even before entering the palace I don't know, but after entering the palace for more than half a month, I don't even know the most basic palace rules, no matter what the reason is, I can't justify it. Therefore, the concubine thinks that even if the reasons are excusable, the reasons are unforgivable ! Right? Sister Liu?"

As soon as Zhang Xueman said something, all the concubines present nodded in agreement, but Li Qianrou and Tong Ruyan looked at each other unexpectedly, as if they were silently exchanging some information, and the corners of their mouths raised an uneasy expression A perceived smile.

Seeing that Zhang Xueman had lifted herself into the water, Liu Mengnan had no choice but to get up, and said with lowered eyebrows: "I dare not speak nonsense, and everything is obeyed by the emperor and the queen mother." As for Du Xiaoyue, Liu Mengnan felt that she was a strange person. She was obviously not favored, but she was never worried. Even when other concubines mentioned how the emperor doted on them in front of her, she would just laugh it off, without any hint of jealousy or dissatisfaction.She treats all the concubines equally, and it seems that she gets along well with every concubine, but no matter how long the concubine sits in Zhaoyang Palace and talks, she will never speak more than ten sentences.This kind of neither cold nor cold attitude makes those women who deliberately go to Zhaoyang Palace to show off find it boring.And Liu Mengnan doesn't hate this kind of Du Xiaoyue, she even likes this kind of person a little bit. If she was outside the palace, Liu Mengnan would smile and say to her, "Let's be friends!" But, in this kind of palace where people cannibalize , in order not to cause trouble for the upper body, I can only do not add insult to injury to her.

Tan Wenhao nodded, and then looked at the Queen Mother: "How does the Queen Mother plan to deal with this matter?"

"Well, actually, the Ai family doesn't think it's a big deal. After the queen comes back, the Ai family will scold her a few times first. As for the punishment..." The queen mother paused, her eyes sweeping over the faces of the concubines. However, all the concubines sitting here will be tense. After listening to the Queen Mother, some of them even have expectations, "As for the punishment..."

And at this moment, a palace maid came in and replied: "I report to the Empress Dowager, the empress is asking to see you."

"Xuan!" The emperor glanced at the queen mother, and then said to the maid.

Outside the house, standing by the door is the queen Du Xiaoyue.Once back to the palace, Du Xiaoyue didn't go back to Zhaoyang Palace immediately, but went straight to Taixuan Palace - Du Xiaoyue dare to swear that the queen mother must know that she deliberately delayed her return to the palace, so she went directly to Taixuan Palace to receive punishment so as not to harm others.After arriving here, I found that Eunuch Liu was standing guard outside, and I couldn't help but sigh in my heart, so the real master of the palace is also here!It seems that we have to follow the old rules again!

Slowly walking into the side hall of Taixuan Palace, a stuffy atmosphere immediately surrounded Du Xiaoyue.Du Xiaoyue frowned slightly. Although this side hall can accommodate more than 50 people, because the air is not very circulated and there is a warm pot for warming the fire, there are more than 20 people and those people smell heavier than one. Naturally, the air will not be much better.

Suppressing the unhappiness in her heart, Du Xiaoyue raised her head slightly and saw the empress dowager and emperor sitting above.The Empress Dowager was still the same as usual, dressed in light and black brocade clothes, smiling unhurriedly, deep and shallow wrinkles at the corners of her eyes could be seen faintly - alas, time is not forgiving, beauty will eventually have her twilight years!The emperor still understood, but without the majesty of the court clothes, even the dragon patterns embroidered on the clothes were less fierce and more peaceful.It's just that the emperor's eyes, which have always been indifferent in Du Xiaoyue's eyes, are a little more suspicious and curious today.

Uh... What kind of eyes is this emperor? What is he doing looking at himself with those eyes?While lowering her head, Du Xiaoyue was thinking about this question quickly in her mind, but she couldn't find a suitable reason that could convince her.

"My concubine greets the queen mother and the emperor. Good luck to the queen mother! Good luck to the emperor!" Du Xiaoyue said along the way, but after she finished speaking, she realized that there seemed to be some mistakes in the following two sentences. When the concubines here pay their respects, It seems that there has never been any celebration of so-and-so auspiciousness.And these two sentences are only commonly used when watching some Qing palace dramas.

Uh...that is to say, the way of paying respects and lines from another dynasty is now appropriated, so is it a pirated version?Will the two grandfather-level characters above feel strange and curious?Although Du Xiaoyue is kneeling on the ground now, her thoughts have drifted far away.

"Queen, do you know your mistake?" It was not the queen mother who spoke, but the emperor's cold voice.

"Forgive me for being ignorant, I don't know what I did wrong." She said carefully, and shook her feet by the way, making her whole body tremble with fear.

"Sister, the empress dowager and the emperor are annoyed because you delayed your return to the palace. Quickly admit your mistake and ask the empress dowager and the emperor to forgive you!" Tong Ruyan persuaded in a low voice.

"Yes, sister, please kowtow to the emperor and the queen mother to admit your mistake." Li Qianrou also whispered beside her, "The queen mother likes you so much, the queen mother will definitely forgive you."

Du Xiaoyue didn't raise her head, and while thinking about Tong Ruyan and Li Qianrou's words in her heart, she said softly: "Thank you two sisters for reminding me." Then, I amplified my voice a little more: "Chenqie knows I was wrong, Chenqie I delayed my return to the palace, so I ask the queen mother and the emperor to punish me."

(End of this chapter)