The Queen sealed her heart and locked up her love, and the Emperor was trapped in the crematorium

Concubine Qi was "recuperating" and closed the door to see no visitors. The other concubines seemed to be keeping a low profile. The harem was peaceful. Xie Yaoqing suddenly realized that it was so easy and simple to be in charge of the harem. As long as she was no longer worried about whether Xiao Chengxu would suddenly become interested in a concubine, or was overly concerned about whether he would be fascinated by another concubine, then she could still live a comfortable and leisurely life in the palace.

Days passed, and it was already the beginning of August. The Queen Mother, who had left the palace to pray at the Royal Temple, returned to the capital.

That morning, the sky was clear and the breeze was blowing gently, bringing a hint of coolness and comfort. Xie Yaoqing, dressed in a gorgeous palace dress, looked radiant. She led a group of charming and beautiful concubines in the harem to respectfully welcome the empress dowager back to the palace.

A beautifully decorated carriage slowly drove over. After it stopped, a kind-looking, elegant lady got out of the carriage with the help of a nanny.

This woman was the Queen Mother.

Concubine Yi was quick-witted and rushed forward to show her courtesy to the empress dowager before Xie Yaoqing could. She held one of her arms and said in a tender voice, "The empress dowager has been away from the palace for two months. I miss you day and night and worry about whether you are living comfortably outside. How is your diet these days? Is your sleep good?"

Concubine Yi's face was full of genuine concern, her words were earnest, and her tone was extremely sincere, which made the Queen Mother deeply relieved and happy.

The Queen Mother smiled and replied, "I am fine, but you all look much thinner."

Hearing this, Xie Yaoqing's eyes turned slightly cold.

As soon as she returned to the palace, she began to make insinuations about her. Was she saying that the concubines had lost weight? It was clearly implying that she, as the queen, had failed to properly manage the affairs of the harem and had not fulfilled her duties as a queen, which led to the concubines becoming haggard and thin.

However, Xie Yaoqing remained calm on the surface, still maintaining a dignified and elegant demeanor, and said to the Queen Mother with a smile: "Mother, you are blessed with great fortune. Your good health is the greatest blessing for me and my sisters."

After a pause, Xie Yaoqing glanced at Concubine Yi and said softly, "Mother, are you seeing things? I think Concubine Yi has become more plump and radiant recently. In the hot summer, it is unbearable to have a poor appetite. When the emperor had dinner yesterday, he only took a few bites of the jade tofu soup and put down his chopsticks. Even if the imperial physician was summoned, he could not help."

The implication of this statement couldn't be clearer - as a mother, you should care about your son first. After all, he is your son, the apple of your eye. As for the concubines your son has taken in, you care so much about them, which is really putting the cart before the horse.

In fact, the reason why the concubines appear thin is simply because they have poor appetite and eat less. If they could eat more, how many of them would become so thin that they are unrecognizable?

Furthermore, from her observation, she did not find that any of the concubines had become really thin and haggard. On the contrary, many of the concubines, including Concubine Yi, had rounder faces than before.

The smile on the Queen Mother's face froze slightly, as if she had not expected Xie Yaoqing to refute her on the spot without giving her face. However, she could not get angry either, so she just smiled and said, "The Queen has worked hard in managing the palace affairs and serving the Emperor."

Xie Yaoqing modestly said that he was not tired.

As for Concubine Yi, when she heard Xie Yaoqing's plump and mellow words, her complexion turned ugly, from black to white and then to red.

Are you praising her?

No, the queen was not so kind. She was clearly mocking her for gaining weight and not being as slim as before.

The most infuriating thing was that Concubine Yi knew that Xie Yaoqing was right, because she had indeed gained a little weight, and the dresses she had made before were a little tight to wear.

The other concubines all stood with their heads lowered and their eyes straight ahead, as if they were oblivious to everything that was happening around them and turned a deaf ear to it, living like invisible people. After all, they were of low status and were neither favored by the Emperor nor appreciated by the Empress Dowager. How could they be qualified to get involved in the fight between the Empress Dowager and the Queen?

Since the empress dowager had just returned to the palace and it was only the first day, she was exhausted from the long journey and urgently needed a good rest. Therefore, Xie Yaoqing quickly led the concubines to take their leave first.

The originally noisy Cining Palace suddenly became silent. The empress dowager leisurely turned the rosary in her hand, but her eyes flashed with sharpness from time to time.

"After just two months of not seeing you, the Queen has become even more eloquent."

Seeing this, Nanny Lian, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but mutter softly, "She is so presumptuous because she relies on the emperor's favor to her."

The Queen Mother did not respond after hearing this. She was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "I heard Yan'er is sick?"

Yan'er was Concubine Qi's nickname, and the Empress Dowager was Concubine Qi's biological aunt, so there was nothing wrong with calling her that in private.

Nanny Lian looked at the Queen Mother solemnly, lowered her voice, and reported to her everything she had learned without reservation.

"My niece is really stupid."

The empress dowager shook her head and sighed, looking very disappointed with her. It was obvious that, putting aside their relationship as relatives, the empress dowager was not satisfied with Concubine Qi.

Nanny Lian said quickly: "The imperial concubine is still young. As long as she is taught and trained more in the future, she will surely become a great person."

This sentence is both comforting and persuasive, but also a form of flattery.

When the Queen Mother first entered the palace, she was just one of the many concubines of the previous emperor, and she did not have many outstanding qualities. Although she ultimately failed to ascend to the position of Queen, she successfully sat on the throne of Imperial Noble Consort, and took charge of the Phoenix Seal in the absence of a Queen, with a status comparable to that of a Vice Queen. Now she has become an extremely honorable Queen Mother. Therefore, the Queen Mother's ability to fight in the palace is naturally not weak. With her personally teaching Concubine Qi and paving the way for Concubine Qi, why should we worry that Concubine Qi will not be able to rise in the future? Maybe the Qi family will not only have an Queen Mother, but may even have another Queen. What a glory that will be.

After all, blood is thicker than water. Even if she has many dissatisfactions with her niece, she is still her family. Only the empress dowager can dislike her niece. If anyone else dares to say anything bad about Concubine Qi, the empress dowager will not let it go easily.

Therefore, when Aunt Lian said this, the Queen Mother was very satisfied and pleased. After all, there was still blood ties. Even if her niece was a rotten lump of wood, so what? After her carving, it would surely become a flawless jade that shines brightly.

......

After listening to Feng An's report, Xiao Chengxu didn't even raise his head, and continued to concentrate on dealing with the mountain of memorials.

It was not until the afternoon that Xiao Chengxu found time to go to the Cining Palace.

The mother and son sat facing each other, and the atmosphere was stagnant.

After Xiao Chengxu briefly asked about the empress dowager's life outside the palace and asked her to have a good rest, he stood up and left without any reluctance.

"I am his mother, yet she is unwilling to say even a word to me and is so perfunctory."

Seeing her son coming and leaving in a hurry, the Queen Mother's originally good mood instantly fell to the bottom.

"I have always seen him show great concern for the girl from the Xie family. How come he has nothing to say to me now?"

The Queen Mother's tone was full of dissatisfaction.

The girl from the Xie family that the Queen Mother mentioned was undoubtedly Xie Yaoqing.

"I have been distant from you since childhood, and even more so now that I have grown up. It is true that I am not..."

When she was halfway through her words, she was suddenly interrupted by Nanny Lian beside her. The empress dowager immediately came to her senses and hurriedly stopped talking.

"Your Majesty, don't worry too much. The Emperor is just a little cold-tempered, but he has always been very filial and respectful to you, Your Majesty." Nanny Lian hurriedly comforted her.

However, after hearing this, the Queen Mother couldn't help but sneer.

Filial piety?

If he was really so filial, then why didn't he follow my arrangement to get married? Instead, he acted on his own and asked the late emperor for a marriage without even consulting me, declaring that he would not marry anyone other than the daughter of the Xie family.

Everyone in the capital knew that the girls of the Yongchang Marquis's mansion were precious and once married, they could not take concubines. Being in the emperor's house, it was ridiculous to pursue this so-called lifelong couple.

She wanted to see how long this emperor and empress couple, whose love was stronger than gold and whose affection was deep and sincere, could maintain their loving and harmonious relationship.