The Empress of the Qing Dynasty is from the Northeast

Yi Erha took the pair of jade lions and felt a little touched. She thought the Empress Dowager would scold her when she came, but she didn't expect that she still remembered her birthday. Her heart softened immediately and she was full of gratitude.

"After this birthday, Yi Erha will be fifteen, and will be a virgin. The Empress Dowager will prepare some more hairpins and jewelry for you tomorrow so that you can dress up nicely."

Yi Erha nodded gently: "Thank you, Empress Dowager."

"The emperor has just ascended the throne, and there are too many things going on in the imperial court and harem, so he has neglected you recently." Chang Ning sighed leisurely, "It's also my fault that I didn't think highly of you."

Yi Erha hurriedly shook his head, his tone somewhat anxious: "Empress Dowager, it's all my fault, please don't say that. You and the Emperor are already very busy, and you still have to ask about our daily life. I was wrong about this matter, I was blinded by greed, and I didn't take the royal family's face into consideration. I embarrassed you."

Chang Ning disagreed with her words: "Yi Erha, do you really think we are so angry because we think you are embarrassed by what you did?"

Yierha was a little stunned and she didn't know how to answer.

"The Emperor is planning to grant you and Xingde a marriage. He picked this person a few years ago to prevent you from being confused, and he also discussed this with your mother in advance. You should know about this."

Yilha nodded.

"This matter has been set in stone. The Ulanara clan has also kept a close eye on Xingde. The backyard is very clean and there is no woman. They have been waiting for this marriage certificate for so many years.

"What about Bayan? You like him, but do you know anything about him?" Chang Ning asked Yierha. She had long guessed that this silly girl had no intention of asking anyone to check Bayan's background.

Yi Erha replied with some doubt: "He...he told me that he only fell in love with me...at first sight...and he couldn't look at any other woman."

Chang Ning directly broke her fantasy: "Bayan has four maids around him."

……

Yierha was completely stunned.

She suddenly felt like a fool.

Changning went on to say: "Bayan and Xingde have never gotten along. He is the nephew of the late wife and thinks he should be the next successor of the Ulanara family. He is also competitive in everything. You can go and verify this with Honghui.

Originally, his family had arranged a marriage for him, but the man's family was too low, and his father was only a fifth-rank official. Bayan also knew about his marriage and knew that he was already engaged.

Even though he knew that both of you were engaged, he still took the initiative to contact you and even won over the palace maids who served you and Honghui.

Yierha, think about it from another perspective. He can arrange this relationship and now he is just passing messages and things. What if one day he has bad intentions and wants to harm you?

The people around you are his spies, can you possibly escape?"

Yierha broke out in a cold sweat.

The Empress Dowager's meaning couldn't be clearer.

Bayan was jealous of Xingde and his marriage and wanted to interfere in order to snatch what he considered to be an "excellent marriage". After all, everyone knew that marrying the emperor's own eldest princess would have a better future than marrying the daughter of a fifth-rank official.

But there was still a faint voice in her heart, what if?

What if Bayan really likes me and is willing to overcome all these obstacles to be with me?

Although she knew that her idea was ridiculous, she was still unwilling to accept it.

Could it be that the true love I showed to others for the first time would be betrayed like this?

It's not that she doesn't understand these twists and turns. She has seen such things of currying favor with the powerful and attaching herself to the rich and powerful in the palace since she was a child. But she really doesn't want to believe it and doesn't want to accept that she is so bad at judging people.

Changning could understand this, as no one would be willing to accept it.

She and Yierha suggested that they give Bayan a try.

"How to try?" Yierha was puzzled.

Chang Ning sneered and said, "Just say that your affair has been exposed and the emperor is going to order him to be executed. Let's hear what he has to say."

Yierha pursed his lips and finally nodded in agreement.

Yinzhen originally prepared a box of birthday gifts and asked someone to send it to Yierha. He also planned to go over to accompany his daughter in the evening. However, in the afternoon, he saw Changning waiting at the gate of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity.

"It's windy now, why are you here?" Yinzhen hurriedly took her hand, and when he saw that her hand was a little cold, he was immediately unhappy, "How are the people around you serving you? You didn't even inform us that the queen was coming. What if she gets frozen?"

Su Peisheng quickly bowed and confessed: "It's my fault. I didn't have time to report it."

Changning smiled: "Okay, it has nothing to do with Eunuch Su. I just happened to arrive and you came out."

"Let's go inside and talk." Yinzhen hurriedly ordered someone to bring hot tea.

Changning told Yinzhen everything that happened that morning, what Zhao Fuhai had investigated, and her conversation with Yierha.

Yinzhen was a little stunned when he heard it at first, but then he became furious and picked up the teacup next to him and wanted to throw it away. But he saw Changning was still there and was afraid that the hot tea would hurt her, so he gave up.

"This Bayan is really ambitious! He actually dared to do such a thing in the palace! He is really risking his life! How could he use my daughter as a ladder to heaven?"

It was not enough for Yinzhen to scold him, he wanted to call Honghui over directly. After all, this matter was caused by him bringing Hahazhuzi to see the eldest princess. What's more, Bayan was Honghui's cousin, and the two of them had always had a close relationship. Yinzhen wanted to ask whether Honghui knew about this.

However, before Su Peisheng was called in, he was stopped by Changning.

"It's useless to hold Honghui responsible now. Yierha is still thinking about Bayan. It's better to deal with Bayan first and deal with Honghui later. If you call Honghui over and scold him now, won't you alert the enemy?"

What's more... Changning didn't say the rest.

As soon as she entered the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, Honghui was called over and scolded. No matter how she looked at it, she seemed to be a treacherous concubine.

It's difficult for the stepmother, and she doesn't want to get involved in this mess.

It is better to deal with Bayan first. As for Honghui, let Yinzhen handle it himself.

Yinzhen calmed down after hearing her advice. After a while, he asked people to call Bayan and Yierha over. He also put a screen next to him and asked Changning and Yierha to sit behind the screen to see how Bayan would act.

In the study

Today is Yierha's birthday. Honghui specially prepared some ornaments that he carved by himself, as well as some toys that girls like that he found outside the palace for his elder sister, intending to give them to her.

But I saw Bayan looking around a little bit. When I asked him, he even laughed and said, "I saw that my brother prepared so many things for girls, so I was a little curious."