Concubine Yi looked at Dongling Yuanyong as if he was declaring his sovereignty to Ximen Yourong, but she smiled without saying a word.
Ximen Yourong pulled her hand away from Dongling Yuanyong's grasp. Just when she felt she didn't know what to say, Concubine Yi looked at her and suddenly said:
"Since ancient times, only when emperors and empresses work together can we benefit the people. I was originally not optimistic that the queen could bring any satisfactory warmth to His Majesty. So far, I still haven't seen anything substantial about the queen. But..."
Concubine Yi paused and looked at Dongling Yuanyong: "I have to admit that there is less coldness in His Majesty's eyes and more warmth, and there is an obvious smile on his face. Among them, I also want to recognize the Queen's contribution.
."
Dongling Yuanyong listened, and he took the opportunity to jokingly claim credit for Ximen Yourong:
"Then the mother-in-law wants to reward Rong'er?"
"Your Majesty is eager to seek benefits for the Queen." Concubine Yi smiled lightly.
"Don't worry, Princess Yi. Your Majesty is just joking. I have no merit." Ximen Yourong answered and helped Princess Yi pick up some dishes.
"I won't tell you whether you have made a great contribution to Your Majesty, but I think you have made a great contribution. I really owe you a favor that I haven't repaid yet."
"Did the concubine ever owe me anything?"
"I eat well and sleep well now. Isn't it because of you?"
After Concubine Yi said this, Ximen Yourong understood. After she secretly intervened for a period of time, Concubine Yi's thirsty syndrome disappeared, and naturally, her sleep also improved.
.
However, Ximen Yourong never thought about taking any credit for this. It was just a little effort for her to help Concubine Yi treat her problems and improve her condition.
Originally, the three of them chatted and ate in harmony, but Dongling Yuanyong had to leave first because of unexpected government affairs!
Ximen Yourong stayed alone to finish the meal with Concubine Yi. Later, Concubine Yi invited her to have tea.
During this period, Ximen Yourong discovered that Concubine Yi was very particular about the process of making tea. She was very particular about how much tea leaves to put in, what temperature of water to use, and how many times she used the water.
By the time Tai Fei Yi's tea was ready to drink, a quarter of an hour had passed.
Ximen Yourong did the tea ceremony, but the tea brewed by Princess Yi was fragrant, and the taste in the mouth was indeed different from ordinary tea. She sighed sincerely:
"No wonder the concubine took so long to treat this tea. It turned out to be for this rare tea fragrance."
"A good cup of tea requires a pot of good water with just the right temperature. If you have a handful of reliable tea leaves, you won't have to worry about running out of good tea."
“Good tea and good water are important, but the success or failure ultimately lies in the hands of the tea maker!”
Ximen Yourong's conclusion made Concubine Yi chuckle and say:
"The queen is right, success or failure depends on the person! The principle of making tea is like this, and how to be a person and do things in moderation?"
Concubine Yi put down her tea cup gently. She spent most of her life in the palace. If she didn't know how to be "moderate", I'm afraid she would have been buried in this intrigue harem.
Ximen Yourong vaguely heard that there seemed to be something in Concubine Yi's words. To be precise, from the beginning, she had felt that Concubine Yi's invitation today had ulterior motives.
Although she didn't know what Concubine Yi's purpose was, Ximen Yourong wanted to face Concubine Yi sincerely. She also put down her tea cup, straightened her kneeling body, then looked at Concubine Yi calmly and said:
"Taifei, do you have anything you would like to advise Yourong?"
Concubine Yi smiled lightly and raised her eyebrows: "Why did the Queen say this?"
"The concubine cares about Your Majesty, and so do I!"
"What does this mean?"
"The concubine doesn't seem to agree with your majesty's love for me!"
"If you don't agree, what should you do?" Concubine Yi looked slightly solemn.
"The concubine objects because my surname is Ximen?"
It can be said that Concubine Yi's hatred for the Ximen clan is no less than that of Dongling Yuanyong. Ximen Yourong knows this very well.
"That's reason enough for me to be concerned, isn't it?"
"I understand the concubine's concerns, but doesn't the concubine trust your majesty?"
"Believing His Majesty and trusting you are two different things."
"No, it's the same thing!" Ximen Yourong's eyes were magnanimous: "I may have only wanted to survive safely. But now, I unknowingly want to go forward and retreat with His Majesty and be his loyal wife!"
Concubine Yi looked into the depths of Ximen Yourong's eyes. In fact, as time passed, Concubine Yi could feel that although Ximen Yourong had deep thoughts, there was no malicious intent.
She once thought that Dongling Yuanyong and Ximen Yourong could not be empresses like mandarin ducks, but there was merit in being able to maintain the respect they deserve and treat each other as guests.
In the final analysis, as long as Ximen Yourong has no objections, in terms of weighing the imperial power, it is not a bad idea for Ximen Yourong to sit in the position of queen!
But if Dongling Yuanyong fell in love with Ximen Yourong, Concubine Yi had to do what he wanted. She looked at Ximen Yourong and asked:
"His Majesty is devoted to you, what about you?"
It is not dangerous for Dongling Yuanyong to give his sincerity. What is dangerous is that if Ximen Yourong wants to take advantage of Dongling Yuanyong's sincerity, then that is a different matter!
The reason why Concubine Yi took the matter so seriously was not in Ximen Yourong, but in Dongling Yuanyong.
Although she doesn't care about things now, it doesn't mean that she doesn't care about things. Ximen Yourong suddenly entered the hearts of the people with a holy meaning. Looking at Dongling Yuanyong's current affection for Ximen Yourong, she could guess that it was
The result produced by Dongling Yuanyong.
Dongling Yuanyong bothered so much for Ximen Yourong, which shows that he was not just weighing the pros and cons, but he was really deeply affectionate!
Ximen Yourong looked back at Concubine Yi's gaze steadily, and she replied unabashedly:
"My heart goes out to His Majesty!"
Concubine Yi listened and remained silent without making any judgment. After a while, she changed the topic:
"I heard that Concubine You is not feeling well and is staying at home. Does the Queen know what the reason is?"
"It's not that she's unwell, it's because I ordered her to sit back and think about it for a month without going out!"
"Oh...!" Concubine Yi smiled calmly: "Why did the queen give such an order?"
"She made some mistakes that disturbed the peace in the palace, but considering the stability of the previous dynasty and Concubine You's repentance in time, I only gave an appropriate warning to resolve the matter."
Concubine Yi did not ask for details and just said:
"Now His Majesty's harem only consists of the Queen and Concubine You. Logically speaking, for the concubine and concubine positions, two people need to be selected to form the harem, but Your Majesty seems to have never cared about this matter. It has been a while since you became the queen, and the harem
If there are not enough female relatives, the queen can also take care of it."
Ximen Yourong couldn't answer immediately, not because she had nothing to say, but because she didn't want to accept Concubine Yi's hint.
How could she have the ambition to help Dongling Yuanyong expand her harem...?
Concubine Yi didn't know whether it was intentional or not, she continued:
"Although Your Majesty is not old, he should have become a father long ago. Logically speaking, you and Concubine You are still newcomers, and there is no rush to welcome new people into the palace. But adding children to the royal family is a top priority, and you two alone are inevitably not enough.
A little more. If His Majesty has more sensible concubines around him, the prince's whereabouts will naturally be faster!"
Regardless of whether Concubine Yi suddenly mentioned the whereabouts of the prince casually or as a deliberate reminder, Ximen Yourong felt as cold as if a basin of cold water had been poured over his head!
Because she forgot that she is a woman who can hardly give birth to a child!
A woman who cannot carry on the family line for her husband is unacceptable to ordinary people's families, not to mention that the man she marries is the king of a country?
If she can't bear a child for Dongling Yuanyong, can he accept it? Even if she can, what about herself? Can she accept other women bearing children for him?
Fate is really interesting and hateful! God threw a heavy phoenix crown on her head, and she accepted it. But she had clearly made plans to only protect herself. Her heart was free. Why should she worry about how many women there were in Yuanyong, Dongling?
But after going round and round, she finally lost her heart for him! Now she had just made up her mind to follow him, why should she face this helpless situation right now?
No wonder ~ no wonder that even if she fell in love with Dongling Yuanyong, she could not be sure of her determination. This was because her subconscious was not confident in herself. She was not confident that she could resolutely be a man who watched her husband being raped. A generous wife surrounded by a bunch of women...!
Ximen Yourong knew that it was difficult for her to continue talking to Concubine Yi in her current state, so she did not try to hide her absent-mindedness. She bluntly said that her thoughts were unstable, so she said goodbye to Concubine Yi and left.
Concubine Yi did not stay long, nor did she express dissatisfaction. After sending Ximen Yourong away, Concubine Yi sighed deeply, as if she was worried.
Aunt Liu, who had been with Concubine Yi for many years, knelt down and helped Concubine Yi add tea, and said:
"Taifei, you just hinted that the Queen will help His Majesty expand the harem, but the Queen didn't respond a word. From the slave's point of view, the Queen seems unwilling to listen to what the Queen has to say."
"In this world, is there any wife who is willing to help her husband take concubines?" Concubine Yi sighed with a smile.
"Even so, the Queen's refusal is too obvious, and it is too unbecoming of a true wife."
"Ha!" Concubine Yi mocked: "The "generous style" of a real wife is the most helpless and hypocritical in the world. Therefore, I like the queen's attitude. If she says what she says but doesn't mean what she means, I will look down on her. "
Concubine Yi, who has lived in the palace all her life, has not seen much of anything, but she has not seen less of the ending of a man's battle of wits and courage to the death.
Concubine Yi naturally could see Ximen Yourong's resistance to the expansion of the harem, but Ximen Yourong showed a woman's truest feelings, and she did not pretend that she didn't care.
However, that does not mean that Concubine Yi will support Ximen Yourong's "truth".
Ximen Yourong is the queen, how could she not understand that it is not surprising that the emperor has three thousand beauties in his harem.
In fact, when Concubine Yi mentioned the expansion of the harem, she did not mean to embarrass Ximen Yourong, nor did she want to embarrass her. Concubine Yi did begin to worry because Dongling Yuanyong had no successor.
Some time had passed since the wedding, but neither Ximen Yourong nor You Kouyi had any good news. From Concubine Yi's point of view, she was considering the birth of the prince.
Of course, Concubine Yi was worried about another thing, that is, if Dongling Yuanyong favors Ximen Yourong alone, it will inevitably trigger dissatisfaction discussions in the previous dynasty.
If Dongling Yuanyong openly confronts the courtiers for Ximen Yourong, it will not be a good thing for the emperor and empress!
Therefore, Concubine Yi hopes that Dongling Yuanyong can have more concubines to balance the harem. In that case, even if Dongling Yuanyong wants to favor Ximen Yourong, he will not become the "exclusive favorite"!