The little dark guard who travels between two lives

Zi Yuan gently reminded Ji Wanran: "Those are Madam Shufei and the Third Prince. They came here specially to pay their respects to the Empress, and then went to the Empress Dowager's palace together."

The fact that Miss Ziyuan specifically mentioned her and that she came to pay her respects to the Empress before the grand court celebration without meeting other concubines in the palace shows that this Concubine Shu must be close to the Empress.

Ji Wanran led Xinhe and Yu Shen to the main seat and kowtowed to the two queens and the two princes. The queen gently asked them to stand up and signaled Ziyuan beside her to help Ji Wanran up.

Xinhe finally realized the harm of eating too much. It was very difficult for her to kneel down and kowtow, and to stand up. Her tactless brother Shen didn't even help her up.

So the two queens and the two princes watched helplessly as the pink little girl knelt down and curled into a ball. It was amazing that she could still bend over and kowtow. Then when she stood up, she had a hard time pulling herself up from the ground and almost tripped over her skirt and fell down again.

Fortunately, Zi Yuan, who was standing by, helped Ji Wanran up and then quickly helped the little girl up. The chubby girl showed her little white teeth to Zi Yuan and thanked her repeatedly: "Thank you, Aunt Zi Yuan!"

Crown Prince Xiao Jingrui and Third Prince Xiao Jingyu had never seen such a stupid fat girl in the palace. The Crown Prince could still remember his demeanor as a crown prince, but the Third Prince had no scruples and couldn't help laughing. When the little girl heard the Third Prince laughing at her, her face flushed and she hid behind Ji Wanran.

The queen glanced at the third prince in a reproachful manner: "Jingyu, don't bully your sister Xin'er." She turned to Xinhe and asked: "Are you the daughter of the Qin family and the son of Lord Yu? Come, come forward so that I can take a good look at you."

The Queen's voice was so gentle. Xinhe poked her big head out from behind Ji Wanran. She looked at her mother, and Ji Wanran nodded at her.

After getting their mother's permission, Xin He and Yu Shen walked step by step to the Queen and knelt down to salute: "Your servant Qin Xin He and your servant Yu Shen pay their respects to the Queen."

The Queen looked at Xin He first, watching this little rice dumpling bowing to her seriously, looking up at her with an innocent look, and she felt that this child was really lovable. The Queen had no children of her own, and the prince had grown up. The princesses in the palace were timid when they saw her, which made the Queen very unhappy.

This child was raised by Madam Qin to be very adorable. When he saw me, he looked at me with a genuine sense of closeness. He was not like other children of officials who looked at me with ulterior motives and fawning.

The queen looked at Yu Shen again. The child was about the same age as the third prince, but much calmer and more steady than the third prince. He saluted her with neither humility nor overbearing, and it was obvious that he was well-educated.

The Queen had heard that the child's mother had also died in childbirth, and had the same miserable fate as the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince still had her own love, but this child was branded as a disaster and hated by his relatives. Fortunately, he was loved and cared for by Lord Qin and Madam Qin.

The Queen's eyes looked at Yu Shen with more pity and kindness. Xin He had been staring at the Queen's eyes nervously. She was afraid that the Queen would also believe the rumors of the disaster star and dislike Yu Shen. When she saw the pity in the Queen's eyes, she felt relieved.

The Queen is indeed a very kind person! So Xinhe looked at the Queen with eyes that almost shone. The Queen turned her head and saw the child's innocent eyes, and she liked him even more. She signaled Ziyuan to bring up the two jade pendants she had prepared.

The Queen smiled and personally handed two jade pendants to Xin He and Yu Shen: "This meeting was a bit hasty. These two jade pendants were specially given to me by the Emperor. They are tributes from the south. You two are both good children. Wear them for now. I will keep them for you and give you better things in the future."

Yu Shen took the jade pendant, thanked her politely and stood aside. Xin He felt a sense of closeness in her heart when she saw the queen being so gentle and amiable. She imagined that the queen must be the kind of person who sat upright, majestic and high above everyone else. Who knew that the queen was so gentle and amiable?

As soon as the little girl had the intention to get close to the queen, she forgot everything her mother taught her about etiquette before she entered the palace. Seeing such a friendly queen, she couldn't suppress her instinct to act like a spoiled child.

She took a step forward, hugged the queen's legs, and looked up to thank the queen: "I'm sorry for the expense, my queen. Everything Xin'er has was given by my mother and father. Xin'er doesn't have anything valuable to give to you, so I'll give you a hug."

When Yu Shen saw her coming forward, he knew that this girl was going to do something wrong, so he took a step forward and tried to hold her down. Unfortunately, he was a step too slow, and watched helplessly as the fat girl pounced on the queen and hugged her legs.

Yu Shen and Ji Wanran were so surprised that they wanted to cover their faces. The two queens and the prince in the room were also shocked. This time, even the cold and aloof Concubine Shu couldn't help but cover her mouth and laughed out loud: "Queen, this little girl is quite interesting!"

The Queen was surprised but then she came to her senses. She reached out and picked up the fat girl and put her on her knees. The little girl took advantage of the situation and threw herself into her arms. She raised her little face and chatted with the Queen: "Xin'er was afraid to enter the palace, but mother said that the Queen is a very good person, so Xin'er is not afraid anymore. When I saw the Queen today, I knew that mother was right. Xin'er likes the Queen!"

The third prince, who was standing by, saw the queen was so happy with the fat girl that she smiled happily. He tilted his head and whispered to the prince, "Brother Prince, look how happy this little flatterer is making the queen happy."

The prince watched the queen caress the fat girl's white face with a smile on her face. That joy came from the bottom of his heart. Ever since the imperial concubine entered the palace and gave birth to the fourth prince, his aunt rarely smiled so happily.

The Crown Prince glanced at the Third Prince, then looked at the fat girl chattering in the Queen's arms with a smile, and replied, "As long as it can make my mother happy, it's good." The Third Prince was bored and closed his mouth unhappily.

At this time, a palace maid came in to report: "Empress, the Queen Mother is well now. Please move to the Cining Palace to accept the congratulations of the ladies."

When the Empress heard the Queen Mother, the smile on her face disappeared, and she gently put Xin He down. She stood up, straightened her clothes, and looked at Concubine Shu and Ji Wanran: "Let's go, let's go to the Cining Palace." Then he instructed the prince: "Jingrui, you take Jingyu and Master Yu to the Daming Palace to accept the congratulations of all officials with your father."

The New Year's Grand Court Meeting is divided into two sessions. In the Daming Hall, the emperor receives congratulations from all officials, and the harem and ladies of high rank go to the Cining Palace to pay respects to the empress dowager and the queen. Afterwards, the emperor will return from the Daming Hall to the Cining Palace with his royal children and his trusted ministers to congratulate the empress dowager on the New Year.

Xin He and her mother followed the Empress Dowager and Consort Shu to the Cining Palace. The Cining Palace was already crowded with people, including concubines and princesses, ladies of high rank, and some noble ladies who were summoned to the palace like Xin He, all waiting to pay homage to the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.

Following a voice saying, "The Queen has arrived!" the whole place was silent. When the Queen walked into the main hall with a dignified manner, all the female members of the room, except the Empress Dowager, paid their respects to the Queen.

The Empress raised her hand to signal all the ladies to stand up, and then she and Concubine Shu paid their respects to the Empress Dowager. After the kowtow, the Empress sat down in a seat below the Empress Dowager. The other concubines sat down according to their ranks. The ladies were guided by the palace maids to sit in their respective seats.

After Xin He entered the main hall, she stared at the Empress Dowager Shen above. Her gray hair was adorned with pearls and jade, her face was extremely youthful, her eyes were bright and sharp, and she looked like a strong old lady.

Xin He had heard of Empress Dowager Shen in her previous life. Empress Dowager Shen was not born in a high position, but she gained great favor after many ups and downs in the palace. Unfortunately, her body was destroyed in the palace fight and she had no children of her own. However, she was able to raise the current emperor with her great favor and pushed him to the throne. Therefore, although she was not a biological child, the current emperor respected the empress dowager very much.

Empress Dowager Shen has single-handedly brought the inconspicuous Shen family to the current hot position. Empress Dowager Shen's brother, General Shen, has already gained power in the court, and Empress Dowager Shen's niece, Shen Yining, is also favored in the palace, second only to the queen. The Shen family has already controlled the front court and the harem.

No wonder the Queen specially summoned me and Yu Shen today. The Emperor must have felt the threat from the Shen family and was eager to cultivate his own new forces. But the Queen's actions could not be hidden from Empress Dowager Shen. I wonder if Empress Dowager Shen understood the deep meaning of the Queen's actions and might take the opportunity to attack her.

As expected, Ji Wanran had just sat down with her daughter when she heard a woman in palace dress call her name: "Madam Qin is so late! I wonder what has stopped Madam Qin from coming. How can she be late to pay her respects to the Queen Mother?"

As soon as she heard the tone of condemnation, she knew that the person coming was not friendly. Xinhe put down the cake that she was about to put into her mouth and looked in the direction of the voice. The person who spoke was a woman in gorgeous palace clothes, with slender eyebrows, a pair of charming eyes, a straight nose, slightly rosy cheeks, delicate lips, a snow-white face that was as crystal as jade, and a beautiful skin like jade. She was petite and gentle. She was really a rare beauty.

But the look this woman gave Ji Wanran was harsh and sharp, which ruined her beauty. Xin He knew without asking that this person must be the mysterious Concubine Shen. She was indeed beautiful, but a cruel and bad woman. She wanted to cause trouble for her mother in front of all the noble ladies.

After asking, Shen Yining stared at Ji Wanran, waiting to see how she would answer. Whenever Shen Yining saw Ji Wanran, she would think of the day that ruined her life.

She had admired Qin Mingxuan for a long time, but because Ji Wanran and she were close friends, she had kept this feeling hidden in her heart. However, her aunt saw through her thoughts.

My aunt said that the girl from the Shen family was worthy of all the good men in the world, and he was not afraid of being engaged. My aunt personally proposed the marriage to Master Qin, but was rejected by the stubborn old man.

That day was a garden party in the palace, and she took the opportunity to invite Qin Mingxuan to come and tell him her true feelings in person so that he would look back. But Qin Mingxuan did not come, and the obscene drug was placed in the room. She mistook the drunk emperor for Qin Mingxuan and took the initiative to throw herself into his arms. When she sobered up and rushed out of the room, she saw Ji Wanran, the bitch, leading a group of young ladies into the garden, and her reputation was completely ruined.

That bitch actually used such dirty means to stop me from having such thoughts. When I questioned her afterwards, she completely denied it and refused to admit it until her death.

Shen Yining hated Ji Wanran so much that when her father proposed to send her to the palace, she agreed without hesitation. She wanted to enter the palace to win favor, she wanted to stand at the top of power like her aunt, she wanted to make her Ji Wanran crawl at her feet, she wanted to trample Ji Wanran forever.

Ji Wanran had already prepared for Shen Yining's challenge. She stood up and walked to the center of the hall, kneeling down to report: "Empress Dowager, Imperial Concubine, I received an order from the palace before entering the palace. The Empress wanted to summon Mr. Yu's son and daughter, so I took the children to Kunning Palace to meet the Empress, so I was a step late. But fortunately, I arrived at Cining Palace before the grand ceremony. Please forgive me, Empress Dowager."

Seeing that she brought up the Empress to pressure her, Shen Yining apologized but also made it clear that she had entered the Cining Palace just after the grand ceremony began, so she was not late, which made her seem like she was being unreasonable.

She frowned and was about to continue to attack, but the Queen slowly spoke: "I summoned Master Yu and Miss Qin on the order of the Emperor. Does the Imperial Concubine have any doubts about my behavior?"

No matter how favored Shen Yining was, she could not surpass the Empress Dowager. She stood up and saluted the Empress Dowager, but her words were not respectful at all: "I am just asking because the Empress Dowager is extremely noble. How can I allow those people to look down on the Empress Dowager with their short-sightedness."

The Empress Dowager, who had been silent all this time, opened her eyes at this moment. Her sharp eyes stopped the verbal battle between the Empress and the Imperial Concubine. She looked at Ji Wanran who was still kneeling and said, "Madam Qin, please stand up."

Ji Wanran thanked the Queen Mother respectfully and stood up and returned to her seat. Xinhe rubbed her mother's knees distressedly and asked quietly, "Mom, does your knee hurt?" Ji Wanran shook her head gently and handed her daughter a piece of dessert to reassure the little girl.

Then the time for the congratulations arrived, and all the concubines and ladies stood according to their ranks and paid their respects to the Empress Dowager and the Queen. After bowing, the Empress Dowager kept the ladies of each family to chat, and asked the young ladies of each family to go to the Imperial Garden to relax and enjoy the plum blossoms, waiting for the Imperial Banquet to start.

There weren't many young ladies accompanying the ladies to pay homage today, and most of them were already 15 years old. There were only three or two young girls like Xin He, whom Xin He didn't know and didn't want to have too much contact with. She sat down alone under a plum tree, thinking about her brother Shen who had left with the prince, and she was a little worried. She didn't know how her brother Shen was doing.