The queen is spoiling the king and madly criticizing him for spoiling her

In the past, Gu Jianchu did not like to attend the banquets hosted by noble ladies in the capital. He only showed up a few times at royal events that he had to attend, so he had met Xie Cilin from afar.

At that time, Xie Ci Lin was handsome and elegant, which was in sharp contrast to his rough appearance now.

The Princess Li next to Xie Ci Lin is the daughter of the Minister of Works.

This Prince Li was a smart man. After Xie Ci'an ascended the throne, he demoted and dealt with those princes who had been very aggressive before. Some of them were even fabricated charges and had their property confiscated.

Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Prince Li took the initiative to ask Xie Ci'an to return his fiefdom.

At that time, Prince Li did not participate in the fight for the throne, so Xie Ci'an turned a blind eye and allowed Prince Li and the princess to go to their fiefdom.

[No way, no way, Prince Li returned to the palace this time secretly, even the Emperor didn't know.]

[The Emperor went to the northwest to fight in his early years. Prince Li and the Emperor didn't have much of a brotherly relationship. It's unlikely that he was doing this to give the Emperor a surprise, so he wouldn't be trying to stir up trouble.]

Smelling the strong aroma of melon, Gu Jianchu secretly looked at Xie Ci'an.

Xie Ci'an had a calm expression without a trace of unnecessary emotion.

Yes, anyone who can sit in Xie Ci'an's position can no longer show his emotions on his face.

Prince Li, along with his wife and son, first respectfully paid their respects to the Queen Mother and offered a few words of congratulations. Then, turning to Xie Ci'an, he said, "I have come uninvited. I beg your forgiveness, brother. I only came to see you because of your mother's birthday. After all, I came without a decree. If your brother wishes to punish me, I am willing to accept it."

Prince Li is quite aggressive.

[This sentence is like roasting the emperor on the fire. What you say is meaningless.]

[No matter how powerful Prince Li was, how could he have hidden his secrets from the Emperor's Imperial City Bureau and entered the palace? Therefore, it was the Empress Dowager who brought Prince Li into the palace.]

Prince Li's relationship with the Queen Mother was not good. The Queen Mother used some trickery to send Prince Li's mother to the cold palace, so it's hard to say how these two could get along.

Just as Gu Jianchu's thoughts had subsided, he heard the Queen Mother say in a gentle voice, "You came to celebrate my birthday. I'm sure your brother won't blame you."

Xie Ci'an forced a smile and said, "My Queen Mother is right. Prince Li has been away from the palace for over a year. He should come back more often."

"This must be Tuantuan, come to your grandmother." The Queen Mother's eyes fell on the little glutinous rice dumpling beside Prince Li.

The little girl was only as tall as the princess' waist. She was as delicate as a piece of jade, with a blush on her face caused by the wind. She was holding a candy in her hand and looked at the Queen Mother and the Emperor with a timid look.

Then the princess pushed Glutinous Rice Ball on the back and said, "Go and stay with your grandmother."

"Please forgive me, mother. I raised Tuantuan to be a little timid and shy." The princess defended the child.

The Queen Mother was not angry. "The child must be shy if he stays at home all the time. He should go out more often and meet us family members. Then he will naturally be less shy."

"It won't be long until the Chinese New Year. Since you two are back, why don't you stay and go back after the New Year." The Queen Mother took the small glutinous rice dumpling from the princess's hand.

"But if I stay for such a long time, I'm afraid it will bother my mother too much." Prince Li said politely, but his eyes were looking at Xie Ci'an.

"Since the Queen Mother has stayed, Prince Li should stay a little longer. It's just right that you and I, my brother, haven't gotten together for a long time." Xie Ci'an and Gu Jianchu had the same idea and were wary of Prince Li who suddenly entered the palace without saying a word.

Prince Li had just sat down when Princess Xie Qingzhi came over.

Since her divorce from Li Shicheng, Xie Qingzhi rarely appeared at palace banquets, perhaps because she felt that the incident with Li Shicheng was a bit embarrassing.

However, after Xie Qingzhi came in, everyone didn't pay much attention to Xie Qingzhi.

Following Xie Qingzhi closely was the Empress Dowager's elder sister-in-law, the Grand Princess, who also entered the palace.

The eldest princess did not have a good relationship with the Queen Mother. She did not come to the palace for the Queen Mother's sake. Instead, after speaking with the Queen Mother, she set her sights on Gu Jianchu and said, "I see that the Queen is not in a good mood. She must have been too tired recently and didn't get enough rest."

The Grand Princess and I have absolutely no friendship at all, yet she's actually showing concern for me. It's a bit like a weasel trying to pay New Year's greetings to a chicken. I'm a little panicked. What should I do?

Not only Gu Jianchu, but also Xie Ci'an failed to react and figure out what the Grand Princess was up to.

A queen who cares about him.

Not to mention the queen, she is not close to this aunt either.

His aunt had a strong sense of the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children since childhood, and he, a illegitimate son, was not in her eyes at all.

Gu Jianchu didn't dare to ignore the Grand Princess. "Thank you for your concern, Grand Princess. There isn't much to do in the harem, so I'm not too busy. It might be because of the wind that I look unwell."

The Grand Princess continued, following Gu Jianchu's words, "It's been really windy and cold lately, so the Queen needs to be more careful. However, I still have some top-quality blood swallows. I'll send them to the Queen someday. The Queen must take good care of herself."

[I was already nervous, and now I'm even more nervous. It seems like there's nothing about me that's worth the Grand Princess's plotting against.]

"I'm afraid I'm not worthy of such a good thing as the blood swallow." Gu Jianchu modestly wanted to refuse the kindness of the eldest princess.

The Grand Princess said in a tone that would not allow Gu Jianchu to refuse, "What good things are not worthy of the Queen?"

[I always feel like there's a pit waiting for me to jump into. Who will save me?]

As soon as Gu Jianchu finished crying for help, someone came with a pillow and said, "The Queen Mother's people are almost here. Let's get started."

The emperor's words interrupted the eldest princess's concern for her.

"Let's start." The Queen Mother took a piece of cake from the table and handed it to Tuantuan.

Tuantuan took the pastry cautiously and looked cautiously in the direction of Gu Jianchu.

Gu Jianchu felt the burning gazes staring at him, and turned around to meet Tuan Tuan's gaze. Gu Jianchu had no experience in coaxing children, so he just smiled sweetly.

The music was so soft and charming, and the dancers entered the hall to the beat of the music. Closely following them were the palace maids from the imperial kitchen, who hurriedly delivered food into the hall.

As soon as the steaming hot meal was served on the table, before Gu Jianchu could even take a bite, Concubine Shu, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but say, "I heard that the Queen has been locking herself in Kunning Palace recently to prepare a birthday gift for the Queen Mother. I wonder what gift the Queen Mother has prepared for her. Will we have a chance to see it?"

Concubine Shu really has no patience at all.

Gu Jianchu had no choice but to put the fish meat back reluctantly.

"Mother, I am not like my other sisters who are proficient in literature and martial arts. I am not good at embroidering, so I embroidered an embroidered screen for you. I hope you will not dislike it." Gu Jianchu clapped his hands, and Yunhe and others pushed out the embroidered screen.