The sky gradually darkened, and the lights in Jiyi Hall were turned on early.
Zhu Qiyu walked out of the palace gate and couldn't help but stop when he looked at the large swaths of clouds that were reddened by the setting sun.
After several days of recuperation, his body was finally almost healed and he no longer needed to be wrapped in a thick blanket.
Over the years, he spent hundreds of years in the Forbidden City as a wandering soul, watching the sun rise and the moon wax and wane every day. He thought that he had already worn away all his passion and energy.
But it wasn't until now that he felt the warm sunshine shining on his body again that he suddenly realized it.
Being alive is such a wonderful thing...
There are still many things to do in a new life...
Cheng Jing followed behind and asked carefully: "Your Majesty, where are we going?"
"Jingyang Palace."
…………
Zhu Qiyu came here without informing him in advance. He handed over the sign and came directly.
However, Jingyang Palace was already deserted, so there was nothing to prepare in advance.
When Jianyu arrived at the palace gate, Qingzhu was still waiting at the palace gate with several chambermaids.
Zhu Qiyu glanced at it and saw that there were more people than before, and there were quite a few unfamiliar faces. He thought about it and said.
"Aunt Qingzhu, the weather has been getting colder and colder in the past few days. Has anyone added more firepower to the concubine's palace? She has a weak body and cannot be neglected."
Qingzhu bowed, no longer nagging as before when Zhu Qiyu came, and said respectfully.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. This morning, the Princess has just come to pay her respects. She has brought a lot of charcoal cloths, which are enough for the palace. In the afternoon, the Queen Mother has assigned dozens of palace maids to serve on the Queen Mother.
We have also specially allocated four to serve, so we have enough manpower."
Zhu Qiyu's eyes darkened, he stopped talking and followed Qingzhu into the Nuan Pavilion.
"The son pays homage to his mother and concubine."
The room was quite warm, but as Qingzhu said, there were many more people serving him inside and outside.
Madam Wu was sitting in the Nuan Pavilion as always, twisting the Buddhist beads in her hand, closing her eyes and concentrating. Besides Qingzhu, there were also three or four pretty palace maids beside her, standing with their hands down.
Hearing this, Wu waved her hand and said.
"sit down."
The chamberlain moved the couch, and Zhu Qiyu sat down as instructed. Before he could speak, he heard Mrs. Wu speak.
"Now that the emperor is not in the capital, you are in charge of the affairs of state, and you should give priority to state affairs. The Queen Mother is taking care of the Ai family here, so you don't have to worry, just do your thing with peace of mind."
Zhu Qiyu glanced at the people around him calmly. He was not sure what Wu meant. He hesitated for a moment and said tentatively.
"The state affairs are important, and the health of the mother and concubine cannot be ignored. Although the weather is getting cold these days, it is not good to be bored in the house all the time. If the mother and concubine is free, she should go out for a walk often."
Wu twirled her prayer beads and said nothing, but Qingzhu beside her said with a smile.
"Your Majesty is so filial, and your Majesty is very pleased. But as you know, our Majesty is usually indifferent and prefers silence. Even when she goes out, she only goes to the Queen Mother and the Empress. Plus, the weather has been cold these days.
, everyone has to prepare their robes to warm the stove. As soon as I go out, there will be many people following me. If there is too much noise, the queen will not go out much."
Zhu Qiyu's face darkened, but even after Xuan recovered, he smiled.
"Having said that, the mother and concubine still have to move around more. These days, the son has been sick, and the palace has given many precious supplements. Now that the son is well, there is no need for these. The princess will enter the palace tomorrow.
So I brought more to my mother-in-law. If my mother-in-law is free, she will ask the princess to accompany my mother-in-law, and I will send some to each palace, which is considered as a token of my gratitude."
Wu stopped holding the Buddhist beads in her hand, raised her eyes and glanced at Zhu Qiyu. Seeing that his expression was as usual, she nodded slightly and said.
"You are determined. In that case, it doesn't hurt to go out to the Ai family tomorrow."
After a pause, Wu continued: "The state affairs and the country are important. The Ai family has been in the palace for many years and knows how to take care of themselves. Just do your job well and don't worry about the Ai family too much."
Zhu Qiyu understood Wu's intention and stopped mentioning the matter. Instead, he chatted some gossip. After waiting for more than half a cup of tea, he resigned and left the palace.
But just as he was leaving, Wu seemed to suddenly remember something and spoke.
"When Yun Niang came this morning, Aijia forgot to tell her something. Please give her a message for Aijia."
Zhu Qiyu stopped and bowed: "Mother, please speak."
Mrs. Wu smiled and said: "But it's nothing serious. Just a few days ago, the Ai family had nothing to do and sewed a sachet. I wanted to put the bead you had been carrying when you were a child into it, but the bead was in your house.
, it was inconvenient for the Ai family to leave the palace, so they asked Yun Niang to take it away. Remember to ask her to bring it to the Ai family when she enters the palace tomorrow."
Zhu Qiyu thought for a while and said: "Don't worry, concubine, the pearl was given by the father. The son has kept it properly. When I go back today, I will look for it with the concubine and ask him to bring it to my concubine tomorrow."
Mrs. Wu nodded and turned back to Nuange. Zhu Qiyu also left the palace on his shoulder.
After changing out of the carriage at the gate of the palace and getting into the carriage of Prince Xin's Palace, Zhu Qiyu's face suddenly darkened.
Cheng Jing secretly swallowed his saliva and asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, what happened?"
Zhu Qiyu raised his eyes and looked at Cheng Jing, until he felt his heart tremble, and then he asked, "You were here just now, but what did you hear?"
Zhu Qiyu was always a little wary of Cheng Jing, but because he was dealing with political affairs today, Xing'an couldn't be of much help, so he brought Cheng Jing over, but unexpectedly he encountered this incident.
Cheng Jing didn't notice the darkness in Zhu Qiyu's eyes. He just thought that too many things happened today and his prince was in a bad mood.
After going through the scene just now carefully, he said cautiously: "Just now, Miss Qingzhu said that the Queen Mother sent a lot of people to Jingyang Palace. She also said that the Queen Mother Xian did not go out much these days. She just went out.
, also going to Cining Palace and Kunning Palace..."
Cheng Jing carefully observed Zhu Qiyu's face and said, "Is it possible that the Queen Mother is spying on the Concubine Xian?"
Zhu Qiyu's face became more and more ugly, and he snorted coldly: "It's not just surveillance. I'm afraid my mother and concubine have been in the palace these days, and even their movements have been restricted..."
In the end, Queen Mother Sun took action.
Her influence outside the court is limited, but her harem is her base.
This move firmly pinched Zhu Qiyu's Achilles' heel.
Just as Empress Dowager Sun cannot interfere in the government affairs at will, Zhu Qiyu, as a foreign minister, has almost zero influence on the palace.
Empress Dowager Sun now just sent some people to restrict Wu's movements.
If Zhu Qiyu really dares to make any changes, then it may not just be as simple as monitoring and restricting movement...
A trace of worry appeared on Cheng Jing's face, and he asked: "Then Prince, what should we do now?"
Zhu Qiyu glanced at Cheng Jing and sighed: "What can we do? The Queen Mother has been in charge of the Sixth Palace for many years and has a deep foundation in the harem. I have no connections in the palace, so even if I want to intervene, I am powerless."
Raising his hand to rub his temples, Zhu Qiyu suddenly asked: "Cheng Jing, didn't you stay in the palace for a while before? Is there any familiar maid who can help take care of the mother-in-law?"