Professional Ethics of a Concubine

The retired emperor got back on the carriage and followed the guard of honor into the capital. It took a long time before they arrived at the palace.

The capital of the Kingdom of Gulan is very big!

This palace is also quite unique, completely different from the style of their Great Zhao, highlighting the exotic style.

When I came here, I was blind and didn't get to appreciate these unique scenery. It's a pity.

"Your Majesty, please get off the carriage." Yuchi Yongning got off the horse and said to him with a smile,

"Our palace is not as big as the one in Great Zhao. We can walk around it without taking a car or a horse."

The emperor stepped down from the carriage and said to him, "Well, your country is not small."

"It wasn't that big before. After unifying the Western Regions, it was expanded a lot. Otherwise, it wouldn't be able to accommodate the nobles who moved to the capital, and it wouldn't be enough to show the capital's grandeur."

"Very good!" The emperor nodded with a smile.

"Your Majesty, please come in." Yuchi Yongning smiled and gestured for him to come in. "My mother has already prepared a banquet in the palace, waiting for your Majesty."

The retired emperor was very pleased to hear these words. They lifted his spirits and made him very excited.

But the more this happened, the more stable the emperor seemed to appear.

What a joke! He is the emperor of the Great Zhao, how could he lose his dignity and demeanor!

The fifth prince followed behind him and couldn't help curling his lips when he heard what Yuchi Yongning said. He deliberately asked the guards guarding the palace gate,

"Can Qin Bingyu enter the palace today?"

This Qin Bingyu was actually a favorite of the empress, and could be considered a male favorite. He did not hold an official position, but was also a seventh-rank official. He was good at playing the piano, and the empress often summoned him to play music.

The Fifth Prince mentioned Qin Bingyu at this time just to continue to annoy the retired emperor and did not want him to feel comfortable.

"Reporting to the Pope, Lord Qin did not enter the palace today." The guard replied.

"Tsk..." The Fifth Prince let out a light sigh and was about to order someone to call Qin Bingyu over.

"I have sent him out to do other things." Yuchi Yongning said, "If you want to find him, wait until tomorrow."

After hearing this, the emperor was puzzled. He looked at Yuchi Yongning next to him and asked who this person was and how important he was.

Yuchi Yongning immediately smiled and said, "He is just a minister, it doesn't matter. Your Majesty, let's go quickly and don't let the Queen Mother wait anxiously."

The emperor didn't care and followed him forward.

Yuchi Yongning took the time to look back and glare fiercely at the Fifth Prince, warning him to behave himself and not cause any more trouble!

The fifth prince curled his lips in dissatisfaction.

He didn't do anything to harm the Great Zhao Emperor, so why are you all getting so nervous?

-

The retired emperor finally arrived at the palace where the banquet was held and was led to his seat by the eunuchs. Some snacks and fine wine had already been prepared.

"Your Majesty, have a sip of hot tea first. My mother will be here soon." Yuchi Yongning said with a smile, "My mother said that she and the emperor are old friends, so she will hold a family dinner today, so she didn't invite other ministers to join us."

"This arrangement is very much to my liking." Upon hearing this, the retired emperor said with great joy.

From the moment he met Yuchi Yongning, every word he said touched his heart. The emperor was very pleased with his hospitality and felt that he had grown a lot.

The way he treats people, speaks and behaves is excellent.

"You have grown a lot over the years." The emperor smiled and praised Yuchi Yongning, "I still remember when I first met you, you were reckless and not as steady as you are now."

"I learned all this from my cousin." Yuchi Yongning said with a smile, "My mother gave me a task and asked me to learn from my cousin. I dare not be careless."

The Emperor,

No wonder I always feel an inexplicable sense of familiarity, and no wonder I always feel that I like the other party's way of flattering me.

It turned out that he was an apprentice taught by Haodaer himself, and this apprentice was imitating and learning very seriously.

The two chatted, and soon, a eunuch announced, "The emperor has arrived!"

The retired emperor put down his teacup, quickly stood up and looked outside, only to see a majestic and stunning woman walking towards him.

How come she looks so young!

The retired emperor looked at himself again and suddenly felt that they were of different generations!

At this moment, I don’t know why, but I felt like my heart was about to break into pieces.

Some fantasies suddenly became bubbles.

When the empress came closer, the emperor still stared at her very carefully.

It turns out that she is getting old. There are many wrinkles on her face and her skin is no longer as tender as before.

Just now, when they were far away, the emperor felt that there was a generation difference between them. Now that they were closer, the emperor felt that the difference between them was not in generation, but in makeup!

To put it bluntly, the empress relied on makeup to win. She was in her fifties, but people thought she was only in her early forties.

Alas, if he had known earlier, he would have asked the eunuch to put some powder on his face.

"That's enough. You haven't seen enough yet." Seeing that he was staring at her, the empress frowned slightly and said unhappily,

"Xie Chengxuan, where is your upbringing!"

The Emperor,

No one had called his name for a long time, and it took him a moment of confusion to realize that he was being called.

"Oh, I just think your makeup looks good. It makes you look a dozen years younger." The emperor told the truth.

Yuchi Yongning couldn't help but cover his face,...

He shouldn't be sitting here, he should be hiding under the table.

He was a little afraid that after the Queen Mother and the Emperor Emeritus finished their conversation, they would take their anger out on him, blaming him for knowing too much.

The fifth prince did not have such concerns. After listening to the words of the emperor, he found them quite interesting and even wanted to laugh.

Moreover, he was even more looking forward to how the Queen Mother would react and what her attitude would be.

The empress sat down, paused for a moment, and then said in a cold voice, "...Do you want me to put on some makeup for you, so that you can look ten years younger?"

You old man, what you said was so unpleasant to the ear.

Apart from him, no one dares to speak to me like that. I really want to throw him out!

"Forget it, that's not necessary." The emperor also sat down and waved his hand at her. He relaxed and began to talk about the past.

"Look at you, you took advantage of me when I was blind... I didn't even know what you looked like. If I knew what you looked like, I wouldn't be unable to recognize my son in front of me!"

Yuchi Yongning,...

Is this what he should hear?

He stood up with a bang and said loudly,

"Mother Queen, I just remembered that I have something important to do. I will take my leave now."

It’s over, it’s over, let’s get out of here.

The empress responded and was very satisfied with Yuchi Yongning's statement. If he did not leave on his own initiative, she would also clear the scene.

The old man is so annoying. He always brings up old things as soon as he opens his mouth, without any restraint.

"Pope, come with me. I need your help." Yuchi Yongning not only ran away by himself, but also kindly took the fifth prince with him.

But the Fifth Prince didn’t want to slip away. He wanted to continue watching the show here!

The melon had just been placed on the table and he was enjoying his meal, but he just left like that? How could he do that?

No, he won't leave! He wants to stay here!

But then the empress spoke up, "Well, go ahead."

The attitude of chasing people away is simply too obvious.

The Fifth Prince,

He had no choice but to follow, feeling so unhappy!

-

"Look at you, you are already so old, but you still don't have this much foresight? What are you doing here? Are you going to be punished by the Queen Mother later?"

After pulling the fifth prince out, Yuchi Yongning lectured him.

"Humph, don't you want to know how the Queen Mother and the Great Zhao Emperor knew each other in the first place?!" The Fifth Prince snorted angrily, and then said excitedly,

"Did you hear what the Great Zhao Emperor said? He was blind at the beginning, and it was the Queen Mother who took the initiative to find him. She was really taking advantage of him!"

Yuchi Yongning rolled his eyes. "It's a lifetime ago. What's there to explore?"

"How come your life is becoming more and more boring?" the fifth prince said disdainfully.

"I'm warning you, if you keep doing this, I'll write to my cousin and complain to him."

Yuchi Yongning warned him.

"You are such a grown-up, yet you always complain. I really can't stand you!" The fifth prince snorted angrily.

"You're also ready to complain." Yuchi Yongning said, "We're both the same, so let's not say anything about each other."

"I'm leaving!" The fifth prince turned and left angrily, but he started thinking about finding an opportunity to have a good talk with the emperor of the Great Zhao.

He was very interested in his mother's past.

-

On the side of the empress and the emperor, a tense atmosphere spread out before they even exchanged a few words.

The retired emperor poured himself a glass of wine and wanted to reminisce about the past with the empress, but the empress didn't want to reminisce about the past with him and didn't respond at all.

The next question is, "Oh? There is such a thing? I forgot about it."

"I think you are getting old and confused, and you have forgotten it."

Then, "Okay, drink and eat, and stop nagging."

The Emperor,

Ahhhh, I'm so angry!

Except for you, a woman, no one dares to speak to me like this!

I can't talk anymore today.

The emperor ate and drank in silence. When he had almost finished eating, his anger had subsided and he continued,

"Ah Jin asked me to say hello for him. He said that when you retire, he wants to invite you to live in the capital for a while."

"Yes, I know." The empress's expression softened. "He mentioned this in the letter."

"Then when are you going to abdicate?" asked the emperor.

"Next spring," the empress said, "Yongning will be able to take over, and I also want to go visit Jin."

"Great! It will be very soon." The emperor said immediately, "Then I will wait here for you to abdicate, and then we will return to the capital together."

The empress calculated the days and found that there was still more than half a year left. Is that too fast?

"You are too idle." The empress hinted that he should leave quickly and not stay here for so long.

Although with her current prestige, she was not afraid that his staying here would have any adverse effects on her, but she would still feel uncomfortable.

For example, if she asked Qin Bingyu to play the piano again, this old man would definitely nag, which was very annoying just thinking about it.

"After abdicating, I did feel a little bit empty at first, feeling like I had too much free time to do anything. However, once you get used to it, you will feel relaxed and be able to do many things that you didn't have time to do before."

The emperor pretended that he didn't understand her hint and decided to stay here anyway.

"The Western Region is huge, and the customs and practices are very different from those in Great Zhao. I want to take a good look around."

"Okay." The empress nodded, "I will arrange some people for you to take you to some unique places. I guarantee you will be satisfied."

"I would be very satisfied if you could go with me," the emperor said.

"You wish." The empress sneered, "I don't have time, don't test my patience."

"That's not what you said back then!" the emperor accused.

"Someone!" The empress could no longer bear it and called the palace maids and eunuchs, "Send the Great Zhao Emperor back to rest. He is too tired and has started to talk nonsense."

The Emperor, "...You are such a heartless woman. I came all the way here and you just sent me away like this."

Empress,...

Palace maids and eunuchs,...

The Great Zhao Emperor is so bold!

Ouch, I can’t listen to this.

"Do you want me to send you back to Zhao right now?" the empress asked.

"I don't want to." The emperor shook his head.

"Then shut up!" The empress waved her sleeves and left.

The Emperor,

Why do I feel that she looks so good like this? It turns out that ordinary women can't be compared with her at all.

-

For the empress, her life has become less comfortable since the old man came, and she feels upset from time to time.

The empress was reading the memorials when a eunuch ran in in a panic and reported to her,

"Your Majesty, something bad has happened!"

"What happened to the Emperor Retired of Great Zhao?" The empress put down the memorial and asked with a headache.

"The Emperor Retired of Great Zhao and the Fifth Prince met each other, and I don't know what they said, but they started arguing." The eunuch said in a panic.

Empress,...

These two people can actually quarrel?!

After hearing this, the empress was confused and couldn't understand how such a thing could happen!

Is it the younger one who is too bad, or the older one who is too bad?