Chu Miaoer moved slightly and was about to step forward when she was stopped by Fu Yunchi. Seeing a naughty smile on his face, she knew that he wanted to see how they would end up. She turned around and observed carefully not far away.
Among the people in the room, it was strange that Fu Lilian's eyes were so calm. Looking at Chu Xianxue, she was obviously much more cramped than before in the garden. She was holding her gauze skirt tightly with both hands, and her eyes were flickering, trying to cover up.
own panic.
"Emperor, who do you want to make your concubine? The Ai family has no objection, but if she wants to enter the Xiangfu Palace, it depends on whether the Ai family agrees, right?" The Queen Mother glanced sideways at Chu Xianxue and saw her looking so delicate that she was about to shed tears.
He looked even more angry, "Come here uninvited, where did you learn this rule!"
Chu Xianxue stood in a dilemma as she read every word. She had been in confusion when Fu Lilian came. Ever since she became the emperor's woman, she had thought that there would be a day like this. However, Fu Lilian should hate her.
But why? Why does he look so composed and smile but feel so alienated?
Chu Xianxue raised her eyes, trying to see some clues in his eyes, but Fu Lilian didn't even look at her.
"Mother--" Fu Deyou looked at the current scene. As a ninety-five supreme, he could not even bring a woman into the door. He couldn't help but feel irritated, and his tone was naturally a little heavier, "Xue'er is now your daughter-in-law.
, if you make things difficult for her in front of so many servants, wouldn’t it be a slap in my face?”
When the Queen Mother heard this, she was just about to get angry when Fu Yunchi spoke up: "Why does the Queen Mother have to be so angry? Anger is very harmful to the body."
He led Chu Miao'er slowly out of the garden. The Queen Mother immediately put on a smile when she saw them: "Yunqi, you are here."
"I have met the Queen Mother." Chu Miaoer smiled lightly and saluted.
"Okay, okay, let's go and have a meal first," the Queen Mother smiled happily and stretched out her hand to pull Chu Miao'er to her side. When she turned around and saw Chu Xianxue who was about to come in with her, her expression immediately changed again, "Are you
Don’t you understand the words, Concubine Xue?!”
Chu Xianxue's face suddenly turned pale, and then turned red again, looking pitiful.
"Mother, since you are here, why don't we have dinner together? If Concubine Xue is kicked out now, I don't know what will happen to you if the people in the palace talk too much." Chu Miaoer looked at herself meaningfully.
Chu Qianqian watched with cold eyes.
Two days ago, Chu Miaoer sent someone to deliver a letter. The letter specifically stated that now that Duke Chu has fallen, the Chu family is in a dangerous situation in the court. If he wants to survive this crisis, he can only abandon the past grudges and reconcile with Chu Xianxue.
Join forces, otherwise we can only watch the Chu family fall into a dead end and lose everything.
Besides "Israel to serve the king", is there any other way?
Chu Qianqian sighed slightly in her heart, but put on a virtuous smile: "If it is because of Xue'er that the mother is in trouble, then it means that Xue'er is ignorant," she paused and continued, "But even if it doesn't happen again,
Be sensible, privately Concubine Xue can be considered a member of the Chu family. Now that my father has passed away, we are the only three people left in the Chu family who have the same roots. Please ignore the past grudges, and pity Xue'er."
She probably didn't expect that Chu Qianqian would speak for her, so Chu Xianxue suddenly raised her head and looked at her, with some emotion in her beautiful eyes.
"What do you think of Li Lian?"
Fu Lilian, who was silent, heard the words. His eyes sank. Although he was still gentle and elegant, he was more firm than before. The corner of his mouth raised a perfect arc: "Huihuang's grandmother, we are born from the same roots, and we should complement each other."
, so the grandson and the mother have the same idea."
When Chu Xianxue was named "Concubine Xue", the incident between the Crown Prince and Concubine Xue was widely spread in the palace. To this day, there are still some private discussions that are not afraid of death, but they all talk about how charming Concubine Xue is, and no one dares to speak against the emperor.
How stupid. During that time, the prince was in pain, and the queen mother saw it in her eyes and felt pain in her heart. She blamed Chu Xianxue for seducing the emperor, and blamed the emperor for not controlling it. She also blamed herself endlessly.
"Come in." Originally, the Queen Mother just wanted to help the Prince vent his anger, so she was prejudiced against Chu Xianxue. Since the Prince no longer pursued the matter, of course everyone was happy, and the Queen Mother no longer cared about it.
Sitting around the pear wood table, the maids arranged the dishes in an orderly manner. Looking at the table full of exquisite delicacies, the Queen Mother sighed with a little regret: "Xiang Chu left in a hurry, and didn't even leave a word."
Aijia.”
Everyone looked at the Queen Mother, waiting for what she would say next. They saw that the Queen Mother only left Yu Ling alone, and sent all the palace attendants away. The Xiangfu Palace in Nuoda was instantly empty and silent.
"These days, Aijia often thinks back to the past. When Aijia was still a concubine, she often had to be taken care of by Prime Minister Chu. If it weren't for him, Aijia wouldn't necessarily be where she is today," the Queen Mother looked at Chu Qianqian and said with some sadness.
, "The Chu family is no longer what it used to be. Now there are only you three sisters left in the Chu family. Although you cannot restore the glory of the past, as the queen and their eldest sister, you should take more care of them."
"The Queen Mother is right, but I feel ashamed to say that," Chu Qianqian turned to look at Chu Miao'er, and then said to the Queen Mother with a smile, "My father's sudden death caught me off guard, and I was unable to fulfill my final filial duty for my father.
If it weren't for my second sister, I wouldn't know what to do, and I'm afraid my father's funeral would be delayed."
The Queen Mother had long heard that Chu Xiong’s death was all handled by the fourth princess, Chu Miaoer. Although she was a woman, her style of conduct was not inferior to that of a man. She had just heard that Chu Xiang had passed away, and she was worried that without a man, Chu Mansion would be in chaos.
What a surprise. I didn't expect that this unloved second lady of the Chu family, who was not as fragile as an ordinary boudoir girl, could manage the people of the Chu family obediently. This shows that she is also a person who can take on troubles.
"This time Miao'er really impressed the Ai family," the Queen Mother looked at Chu Miao'er and then at Fu Yunqi, smiling lovingly, "Yunqi is so lucky."
Fu Deyou looked at Chu Miao'er quietly, no matter how he looked at it, he liked it. Every day, people came to the palace to report to him. He could vividly remember what happened in Chu Mansion these days, telling her how she would deal with Chu Xiong's funeral and how she would settle Chu Xiong's affairs.
He was dumbfounded by how Xianxue's mother arranged the servants of the Chu family in such a clear and logical manner. He had a vague impression of her as timid and not talkative, preferring to stay alone quietly. He felt that she seemed a little different, but he said
Nothing different.
Fu Deyou also looked at Fu Yunqi and said with a teasing smile: "You are indeed very lucky to have married such a wise woman."
"Speaking of which, I have to thank Brother Huang," Fu Yunqi said with a proud smile, "otherwise I wouldn't have been so lucky."
"Haha." Fu Deyou smiled awkwardly, but felt a little disappointed in his heart.
Chu Xianxue, who was sitting next to her, remained silent and listened to their conversation quietly, feeling numb and unable to understand the taste of her food. During the chat over a glass of wine, the Queen Mother suddenly asked casually: "Has the candidate for the Crown Princess been selected?
?”
Chu Xianxue was so panicked that she dropped the chopsticks in her hand to the ground, attracting everyone's attention. But Fu Li didn't even move his fingers, but Chu Miaoer happened to see his eyes twinkling slightly.
"It has been decided to return to my mother," Chu Qianqian replied softly, "it is Xu Ning, the daughter of Xu Taiqing, the Minister of Punishment."
"Xu Ning has good conduct and a gentle temper. His father Xu Daoyang is also a loyal and good minister. He is indeed the best choice for the Crown Princess." The Queen Mother nodded gently at first as if confirming, then turned to Fu Lilian and asked, "Have you seen Li Lian?"
how?"
Fu Lilian's right hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, he raised his head and smiled without changing his expression: "I have seen him several times in the palace before. He is very polite, and it is almost the same as what the imperial grandmother said."
As a first-class minister, the Minister of Punishment is in charge of the entire judicial and criminal prisons of the Jin Kingdom. He has always been the biggest enemy of Prime Minister Chu in the court. Now that Prime Minister Chu has fallen, Xu Daoyang has become the target of all parties' efforts to win over. At this level,
Historically speaking, the Minister of Justice was an excellent springboard. Now Fu Lilian was like an eagle. If he wanted to spread his wings and fly high as soon as possible, he could use this springboard to flex his muscles.
It's just that the Minister of Punishment is selfless and never engages in cliques for personal gain, but he dotes on this precious daughter. Chu Miao'er and Fu Yunqi looked at each other and made up their minds. I'm afraid this candidate was also carefully selected by Fu Yunqi in the past few days.
Yes, with the support of the Minister of Punishment, Fu Lilian will have the confidence to be in power in the future.
"When will the crown prince's canonization ceremony be scheduled?" The Queen Mother glanced at Chu Xianxue, who had her head lowered and was lost in thought, and asked deliberately, pretending not to understand.
"Mother!" Fu Deyou was a little impatient and interrupted her, "The canonization ceremony must be drafted by the Ministry of Etiquette first and handed over to the Qintian Supervisor to jointly organize it. How can it be so fast!"
Seeing that her goal was achieved, the Queen Mother just nodded, asked some more questions about household matters, and did not mention the matter again.
How could the Queen Mother not know about the process of canonizing the Crown Princess? It was obvious that she deliberately told Chu Xianxue about the process of canonizing the Crown Princess, so that she could keep her peace from now on and be honest as Concubine Xue.
I have put an end to their thoughts, and don't have any more relations to cause trouble. Everyone here knows it.
After the banquet ended, Fu Yunchi and Chu Miaoer did not sit in the sedan chair. They walked slowly along the road after coming out of Xiangfu Palace. Baitao and Tingfeng followed slowly not far behind, always keeping a distance from them.
.The palace was extremely quiet. Apart from the guards on night watch and the incessant chirping of insects and frogs around, there was no one else. You could even hear the sound of feet stepping on the stone pavement while walking on the road, which sounded very solid.
The two of them were enjoying the peaceful moment when Fu Yunqi suddenly stretched out his hand and gently pulled Chu Miaoer into squatting behind a patch of rhododendrons. The patch of rhododendrons was in full bloom, just enough to cover the two of them.
Fu Yunqi protected Chu Miao'er in his arms and disappeared into the dark night. Chu Miao'er held her breath and concentrated, and could vaguely hear his steady heartbeat, and also felt his warm breath blowing lightly on her hair.
Chu Miaoer was confused and was about to speak when she heard Fu Yunqi lower his head and whisper in her ear: "Don't make any noise, Concubine Xue and the Crown Prince are coming this way."