The little princess' mind was read, and the court and harem were eating melons

Seeing someone who was related to Zhou Yunchang at this time, and the relationship was not shallow, Li Qingyi thought about it and simply turned around and followed them to see the queen.

Lin entered the palace today, probably because she had made an appointment in advance and came with the Queen's approval.

So, after Li Qingyi entered the palace, she saw the queen wearing the dress she would wear when meeting guests. She was a little surprised to see her come in, but soon smiled and said, "Yier, why are you here at this time?"

Li Qingyi stepped forward naturally. Even when there were outsiders around, she would not lose her manners. She performed the ceremony smoothly and then snuggled into the queen's arms like an ordinary child.

Li Qingyi: "I am here to pay my respects to the Queen Mother."

As he spoke, Li Qingyi looked at the group of people who came in later, and did not avoid her when Madam Zhou bowed deeply to the queen.

She had nothing to avoid.

Li Qingyi looked at Madam Zhou, but Madam Zhou did not dare to look up at her.

Mrs. Zhou was also in a complicated mood at the moment.

She did not enter the palace voluntarily. After a future crown princess appeared in her family, Madam Zhou's already solid position in the Zhou family was improved. Zhou Yunchang married Madam Zhou because of his handsome face when he was young. Later, in order to get the help of the Lin family, he had always been very nice to Madam Zhou.

But this did not affect Zhou Yunchang's decision to take a concubine. Mrs. Zhou was always unhappy about this, but she was the kind of person who cared a lot about her reputation and did not want to do anything jealous that would cause gossip, so she always behaved very virtuous to the outside world.

Madam Zhou even took the initiative to take in a beautiful concubine for Zhou Yunchang. Although she died less than two years after entering the mansion due to the conspiracy of another concubine in the mansion, Madam Zhou consulted Zhou Yunchang afterwards and sold the concubine who committed the crime.

She had absolute control over the Zhou mansion's backyard, at least on the surface.

For her own sake and that of her husband's family, Mrs. Zhou had been trying to establish good relations with the Lin family after she got married.

The reason why it is "on good terms" instead of any other word is naturally because, although Madam Zhou also has the surname Lin, she is not the biological aunt of the Crown Princess. She is also separated from the old General Lin by a layer of kinship, which is neither close nor distant but rather awkward.

In other words, although Madam Zhou said she was the Crown Princess' aunt, this identity also depended on whether the Lin family recognized it.

People admit that Madam Zhou is also a member of the royal family.

If people don't acknowledge her, Mrs. Zhou is nothing.

Fortunately, although the Lin family is low-key, they have always been friendly to the people around them. The current head of the Lin family is also kind-hearted. Mrs. Zhou only expresses her closeness and does not do anything unnecessary, and the other party will not ruin her performance.

But once something happens, the situation is different.

Just like now.

If her husband had not told her that something might happen to the Zhou family and asked her to go to the palace to see if she could borrow the Crown Princess's face and ask the Queen for help, Mrs. Zhou would never have entered the palace today.

Because she doesn't like the queen.

Madam Zhou and the Queen had some relationship. When the Queen was still married, Madam Zhou didn't like her, just like she didn't like the future Crown Princess.

The reason is very simple, because they all live more vividly, more flamboyantly and more freely than her.

In other words, they all live with more confidence than her.

Before the queen got married, she was very favored at home. Her father and brothers loved her very much and never used the three obediences and four virtues to tame her. Therefore, whenever the queen showed up, everyone could see the vitality in her.

The same was true for the Crown Princess. Before her marriage with the Crown Prince, she was the most favored girl in the family. She could do whatever she wanted. If she wanted to learn martial arts, she would learn it. If she wanted to hunt, General Lin would take time out to take her there personally. There were always people who were jealous and envious of her.

Mrs. Zhou saw all of this.

As a result, the two people she disliked, one became the queen and the other became the future queen, and both lived better than her.

It would be strange if Mrs. Zhou felt at ease.

Mrs. Zhou's situation was completely different from theirs. Her maiden name was also Lin, but in order to marry her off to a family with good family background, her family had trained her to be a virtuous woman who never left the house since she was a child.

Speaking of which, Mrs. Zhou's family did this in the first place because they wanted to use their marriage relationship to find themselves a reliable backer. After all, they were still at war at the time and everything was very chaotic. Although the Zhou family had a certain ability to protect themselves, they were still far behind those powerful people.

But Mrs. Zhou was not a gentle and virtuous person by nature. So, although she had consumed a lot of brainwashing packets and had been influenced by them, her character had become somewhat distorted at heart.

As a result, after the war was settled and the forces of all parties were reshuffled, the Zhou family discovered that the families with higher status now did not buy into their tricks.

The most vivid example is the Queen and the Crown Princess.

Even though the queen is now dignified, elegant, well-behaved, and always smiles at everyone she sees... In fact, when she was young, the queen could whip a lecher from one end of the street to the other, and cry and beg the patrolmen to arrest him.

Not to mention the Crown Princess. It was only after she got engaged to the Crown Prince that she gradually became low-key. Before that, she was also a flamboyant and bright girl.

In other words, when the new dynasty was first established, most of the rulers were military generals, so they liked girls who were generous and open-minded, and did not like those who were "petty".

So Mrs. Zhou's family had to settle for the second best, and that's how we got Mrs. Zhou today.

Mrs. Zhou really didn't like entering the palace.

But for herself, her husband's family, and her own children, she had to enter the palace and beg the queen.

Madam Zhou thought: "The Queen thinks highly of the Crown Princess. After all, I am the Crown Princess' aunt. The Zhou family just accidentally killed a few low-class people. As long as the Queen speaks up, this matter can be easily covered up."

However, although she thought so, the queen did not think so.

Before today, the Queen and the Emperor had a private chat once, and what the Emperor was talking about was Zhou Yunchang.

Before the emperor brought it up, the empress's impression of Zhou Yunchang was that he was just an ordinary official. Although he held the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, in the capital, a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was nothing.

After all, there are many high-ranking officials in the capital, and you may bump into a prince or princess when you walk on the street. The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice is a great official in the eyes of the common people, but he is just an ordinary official in the eyes of the Queen.

The emperor and the empress mentioned Zhou Yunchang because, firstly, the emperor also discovered that Mrs. Zhou Yunchang had some connection with the Lin family, and secondly, he came to the empress to confirm whether the empress, who should have been within the scope of the melon-eating range, had heard of this melon when Li Qingyi knew about Zhou Yunchang's affairs.

The couple spoke obscurely, and no one else could understand what they were saying, but the tacit understanding they had gained from years of companionship allowed both parties to accurately understand each other's meaning.

The emperor then realized that Li Qingyi now had other ways of eating melons, and his Qingyi Guards might not be able to get any.

Emperor: What a pity.