Women dressed as men: powerful officials

When Xuyuan went out, his face was not in a good state.

Bei Yao saw this and asked her, "What's wrong? Didn't I already make this clear with your father?"

"Other things." Xu Yuan said vaguely, and afraid that Bei Yao would continue to ask, he asked about other things.

"Have you asked Shen Yichuan these two days?"

"No, I've been in the palace the whole time. I don't have the time to ask him."

After Chen Shan brought Shen Yichuan back to Prince Cheng's Mansion, he no longer cared about him.

During this period, I did send a letter asking what to do.

Bei Yao asked Chen Shan to watch over Shen Yichuan, and told him he could do anything as long as he didn't leave Prince Cheng's Mansion.

Shen Yichuan had been cursing, smashing things, and drinking in Prince Cheng's mansion for a whole day, and now he was still unconscious.

After Beiyao finished telling him everything in detail, Xuyuan's heart sank even more.

There has been no good news for several days.

"Don't worry, I will take care of Shen Yichuan's affairs. I won't let him live his whole life in a daze."

"Yeah." Xuyuan nodded.

Already outside Xu's house, Bei Yao smoothed Xu Yuan's brows, his voice still gentle: "Don't worry, don't think too much, many things are beyond the control of you and me, and don't investigate this and that with Wu Shiming, do you think other people don't know the relationship between you two?"

Xu Yuan was a little surprised: "You know all this?"

Xu Yuan felt that her investigation was already very secretive, but in front of Bei Yao, she seemed to have no secrets.

"People who have been paying attention to you can naturally find out your movements and guess your intentions. What do you think?" Bei Yao asked back.

"That's true." Xu Yuan was ashamed.

She really had never thought about this. In her opinion, they had had a lot of contact before, and there was nothing unusual about continuing the contact now.

"If you have something to say, write to me. If I'm in the palace, give it to Chen Shan. It doesn't matter if it's yours, your father's, or anyone you care about. I know you're smart, but in the capital, you can't accomplish anything with just your intelligence without a strong backing."

Bei Yao tried to speak as tactfully as possible.

He knew that Xu Yuan was smart and had a clear understanding of the situation in the capital.

But, under power, intelligence is useless.

"I know." Xuyuan nodded.

After watching Bei Yao leave, Xu Yuan took Huamei back to the yard.

After Xu Wenxian made his wish and left, he went to the study.

Zhang Qingyu, Wen Shufang and Zhang Qingyi were preparing dowries for their wishes.

A quiet night.

The next morning, the eunuch who came to deliver the imperial edict from the palace arrived.

After Xu Wenxian received the imperial edict on behalf of Xu Yuan, the eunuch looked at Xu Yuan with a smile and said, "Miss Xu, the Empress Dowager has ordered that you accompany us to the palace."

"I accept your order."

After making the wish, he kowtowed a few more times before standing up.

The eunuch turned and left, and Xu Wenxian said, "After entering the palace, speak less to avoid offending others."

Xuyuan nodded and glanced at Huamei.

Huamei had never been to the palace, and the Xu family was no longer an official family, so they did not give much instruction on etiquette to their maids.

If I go in a hurry, I might offend the people in the palace.

Thinking of this, Xuyuan said: "Huamei, you don't have to accompany me today, I can go by myself."

The Queen Mother is not difficult to get along with, and there is nothing wrong with bringing Huamei with her.

But there is also a queen in the palace.

Although she has been under house arrest, she cannot refuse if someone comes to invite her.

"Yes." Huamei agreed.

I have wished to enter the palace many times, but before I went to the Wenhua Palace, and today I will go deeper into the Imperial Palace.

And this kind of situation will not be rare in the future.

The Empress Dowager lived in Ci'an Palace, which was the largest in the entire imperial palace except for the Emperor's palace.

The eunuch who led the way just placed the wish in front of the gate of Ci'an Palace, gave a few instructions, and then left.

Xu Yuan looked up at the three big words "Ci'an Palace" and went in, lifting her skirt.

The palace was quiet and filled with the scent of sandalwood. I didn't see a single palace maid as I walked around, not even the cleaning maids.

Xu Yuan suppressed the doubts in his heart and continued walking inside.

Not long after, a conversation was heard.

"Suxiang, are the people here?"

Su Xiang handed the wooden spoon filled with water to the Queen Mother and replied, "I heard that she has entered the palace. She should be here soon."

"That should be soon," the Queen Mother murmured.

Water droplets sank into the soil along the roots of the peonies, and the Queen Mother watered each pot of flowers.

Until the last pot.

Xu Yuan saw this and waited patiently until the Queen Mother handed the wooden spoon to Su Xiang, then he stepped forward and knelt in greeting.

"I am late for wishing, and I am honored to meet the Queen Mother."

Hearing Xuyuan's voice, the Queen Mother looked at Xuyuan.

Xu Yuan was wearing a light pink long dress with lotus embroidered on the hem. She was very well-mannered and did not look like a masculine person at all. Her appearance could not be said to be the best, but it was outstanding.

The most eye-catching thing is her eyes.

Clean and clear, if you look closely you can see perseverance and uncompromising attitude.

The Queen Mother came back to her senses and said, "You do have the character of the Xu family. You are much better than your aunt. It's no wonder that Yao'er is obsessed with you."

The Queen Mother spoke but did not ask her to stand up.

Xu Yuan lowered his eyes slightly, and when he looked up again, he still had a gentle smile on his face: "Xu Yuan is ignorant, not as good as my aunt, but it is also a blessing to be liked by His Royal Highness Prince Cheng."

"But my family wants to grant you and Ji Huai a marriage."

It would have been better if this matter had not been mentioned. When it was mentioned, the empress dowager felt a resentment in her heart that would not dissipate.

Beiyao grew up under her care. Since the empress did not love Beiyao, she doted on this grandson even more.

But when it came to arranging a marriage, Bei Yao looked not for her but for the emperor.

What does this mean?

This means Beiyao doesn't believe her.

She did want to arrange a marriage between Shen Yichuan and Xu Yuan, but if Bei Yao wanted to marry her, how could she refuse?

The Queen Mother felt unhappy when she thought of Su Xiang laughing at her for being jealous of her son at her old age.

Xu Yuan pursed her lips slightly and said, "I am deeply grateful for the Queen Mother's love, but there is no love between me and Mr. Shen."

"You were willing to die because of him, why have you changed your mind now?"

The thought of making a wish was brought back to a few months ago.

Just as the Queen Mother said, it was because she knew Shen Yichuan's identity that she decided to use herself as a chess piece and die in the game.

But she was not doing this for Shen Yichuan.

Xu Yuan lowered her eyes and said calmly, "Before, I was afraid that the prince would rebel and the people would suffer, so I came up with this bad plan. It was not for Master Shen."

The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes slightly and stared at Xuyuan.

People who have served in the court are indeed different.

Even though her tone was cold and pointed, Xu Yuan's answer was still unhurried.

General means and general questions do not put any pressure on making a wish.

The Queen Mother turned the Buddhist beads in her hand and said coldly: "What if I want you to break off the engagement and marry Shen Yichuan?"