AWB Chapter 332 The Queen Mother's Glory Returns
Chapter 332 The Queen Mother's Glory Returns
Crackling!
The Queen Mother, surrounded by the crowd, had just stepped out of the gate of Ciyu Palace.
An unexpected loud noise made everyone scream.
The Queen Mother was also shocked.
He tightly grasped Tohka's arm and calmed himself down, thus avoiding making a fool of himself by running away in public.
"Welcome the Queen Mother to step out of the palace--"
"The sound of firecrackers dispels bad luck, and the autumn breeze brings refreshing blessings to the house!"
Cao Bin's long voice announcing the good news could be clearly heard amidst the crackling of huge firecrackers.
When the smoke dissipated and the sound disappeared, the tall figure of the emperor in a dark blue dragon robe appeared.
He smiled and said to the Queen Mother in a clear voice, "I have come to take you out personally. How are you these days, old lady?"
The Queen Mother had a smile on her face.
But the corners of her mouth trembled slightly, which she herself could not even notice or control.
Obviously, the sudden loud noise of firecrackers really scared her.
Standing on the steps at the door, she stared at the emperor intently, and after a long while, she said with a forced smile, "The emperor is thoughtful."
"It's all my responsibility." The emperor smiled warmly, the five-clawed golden dragon embroidered on his robe gleaming in the lantern light. He asked again, "How is the Queen Mother today?"
The Queen Mother smiled faintly: "I am fine."
"Then you will get better and better in the future."
said the emperor.
The mother and son looked at each other and smiled.
No one knows what the other person is thinking.
"Zhao Fei, you have done a great job in getting the Queen Mother out. I want to reward you."
The emperor waved to Fei Wan.
Fei Wan supported Xiang Yi and left the Queen Mother's side, walking softly and gently to the Emperor.
"I kowtowed to the Queen Mother and apologized. The Queen Mother was so generous and forgave me. This is the greatest reward I have ever received."
The emperor smiled and took her hand. "I will reward you with thirty more palace maids in Chunxi Palace and thirty more guards outside the palace. Not only you, but also Concubine Zheng Guipin who have been serving the Empress Dowager these past few days."
"What do you want?" He looked at Zheng Zhuyi and the others.
After a few people greeted each other, Zheng Zhuyi and Yu Sujin successively said that they didn't want anything. Zhishu just sneered and said nothing.
The emperor waved his hand and gave each of them a set of pearl jewelry.
He also stated that each palace maid in the Cining Palace would receive two taels of silver as a reward for serving the Empress Dowager.
Everyone expressed their gratitude in unison.
This kind of favor was a subtle way of showing his submission to the Queen Mother. Although the reward given to Fei Wan was the most unusual, the Queen Mother's expression softened somewhat.
The smile gradually deepened: "For my family's affairs, let the emperor spend money."
The emperor smiled and said, "As long as I can see the Queen Mother's happy face, everything is worth it."
Not far away, at the bend of the palace road, many lanterns suddenly appeared.
It turned out that Concubine Shun and Concubine Kang had brought many palace concubines to join in the fun and congratulate the unsealing of Ciyu Palace.
When they arrived, they all bowed to the Empress Dowager and said many auspicious words. It was so lively that for a moment, it seemed as if there was a festival going on in front of the gate of Ciyu Palace.
Flowers in full bloom, smiles and joyful faces.
The Queen Mother was visibly growing happier.
However, amidst the crowd, she smiled and said, "That day, Concubine Hui brought the late emperor's handwritten letter, saying that she would send me out of the palace in three days. Today is what she meant by 'three days later', but I didn't expect that I would still be able to get along with you. Life is truly unpredictable."
The emperor smiled and said, "Concubine Hui acted rashly. I have ordered her to reflect on her actions. Your Majesty, please be lenient with her because she is young and impulsive. After all, she is the only descendant of the Li family, and I cannot bear to see her suffer any injustice."
Zhishu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
"Then, Your Majesty, do you have the heart to let the Queen Mother suffer injustice?"
The crowd fell silent.
The emperor smiled faintly.
"Why, Ying Ronghua seems to have something against me?"
Zhishu squatted and bowed: "I dare not. I am already pregnant. Your Majesty feels that I am insignificant, which is understandable. How dare I complain?"
"Ying Ronghua." The emperor emphasized his tone.
Zhishu's face was cold and she lowered her eyes. Although she stopped talking back, she was clearly dissatisfied.
Yu Sujin was beside her, softly explaining, "Your Majesty, Sister Ying is simply overly sad for the child, and didn't mean to contradict Your Majesty. Furthermore, Concubine Hui punished several of the concubines that day, and Sister Ying was tortured with the board during her postpartum confinement. She's been feeling unwell these past few days and may be more irritable than usual. Your Majesty, please show some compassion for her, considering this sudden misfortune."
Zhishu said calmly, "I don't need you to plead for me. None of you Yu family members are good people."
Yu Sujin looked embarrassed and stopped talking in embarrassment.
The emperor's face darkened. "Ying Ronghua's words were rude. You are punished by copying the 'Rules for Women' thirty times. I think you are becoming more and more unreasonable!"
Zhishu curled her lips coldly, "I accept the punishment. I just don't know when the Palace Justice Department will find out the result and give me justice for my lost child."
The emperor frowned.
The Queen Mother asked Zhishu to leave: "The Emperor must want to know the result more than you do. Why are you so impulsive and pushing him?"
Then he said to the emperor, "Although she was wrong, the cause was Concubine Hui. Your Majesty, if you want to punish them, you should treat them all equally."
The emperor was obviously displeased.
But after pondering for a moment, he finally nodded.
"The Empress Dowager is right. Cao Bin, go and pass on the order that Concubine Hui also copy the 'Rules for Women' thirty times."
"Yes!"
Cao Bin hurried to Concubine Hui's palace.
And thus, everyone's mood of chatting and laughing was interrupted.
The emperor used the excuse that he had not finished reading the memorials, said a few perfunctory words to the empress dowager, then mounted the dragon chariot and left.
Fei Wan, accompanied by Concubine Shun and Concubine Kang, quickly left this place of trouble.
The concubines made excuses and scattered like birds and beasts.
The bustling entrance of Ciyu Palace soon returned to peace.
"Empress Dowager, it's getting cold at night, shall we go back to the house?" Tohka advised.
The Queen Mother waved her hand, "It's so hard to get out now, shouldn't you walk around a bit?"
So he asked someone to carry the sedan chair, and walked around the Imperial Garden for a while, and then circled the inner palace for half a circle before slowly returning to Ciyu Palace.
Wherever the Empress Dowager's carriage passed, the concubines nearby had to go out to greet her.
So she had a very pleasant trip.
The empress dowager, who was highly respected back then, seemed to have returned.
The Queen Mother went back to bed with a happy face.
On the second day, just after the emperor came out of the morning court, Nanny Shixiang from Ciyu Palace was waiting outside Chenqian Palace.
"The Empress Dowager, grateful for Your Majesty's filial piety in lifting the ban, intends to go to the Qingluo Temple outside the city to burn incense and stay there for a few days. Firstly, she has been cooped up for too long and wants to get some fresh air. Secondly, she mainly wants to pray for Your Majesty and Daliang."
The emperor was quite surprised: "Has the Queen Mother made up her mind?"
Tohka said, "But please, Your Majesty, grant your permission."
The emperor smiled and said, "Since the Empress Dowager wishes to go, I will arrange it. Is there anything else that the Empress Dowager needs to be specially arranged for?"
Tohka paused.
She replied cautiously, "The Queen Mother wants to take Concubine Zheng, Ying Ronghua, and Concubine Yu with her, and they are willing to serve. In addition, the Queen Mother also wants..."
"what?"
"I want to bring Concubine Zhao with me."
The emperor laughed even brighter when he heard this.
"I didn't expect that the Queen Mother loves Zhao Qing so much?"