The general kneels on the washboard again

Dong Zhu asked Yue Niang in confusion: "Young Madam, why did you let her go?"

Yue Niang looked at Tian's running back and said, "To let her experience the pain of my mother and grandmother."

"In my letter to Hua Qiu, I told him to drive her to the graves of my mother and grandmother and have her kowtow and admit her fault. As for the bumpy road trip from Lingzhou to Yunzhou, we don't need to know about it later. The people from Tianyoumen have plenty of ways to deal with it."

Dong Zhu trembled: "Young Madam, can I still call you Miss from now on? Are you still my Miss?"

Yue Niang and Dong Zhu rushed to the Duke's Mansion: "Of course you can. Am I being too mean? Did I scare you?"

Dong Zhu pondered for a while and shook his head: "No, this is the only way for the girl to better protect herself. Since the girl came back, Dong Zhu has never been bullied again."

Yue Niang held Dong Zhu's hand, she felt sorry for the little girl.

"Dongzhu, I have never treated you as an outsider, so I won't avoid you about these things, but I hope you understand that I will never hurt you."

Dong Zhu looked at his young lady and nodded firmly. "Young lady must have had a very hard time in Yunzhou. Young lady used to love eating snow yogurt, but now she gets annoyed by the sight of snow yogurt."

Yue Niang understood that Dong Zhu was testing her: "Dong Zhu, you think I'm not your lady anymore, right?"

Some things need to be said openly.

There was obvious evasion in Dong Zhu's eyes: "Girl, I'm a little scared. You are my only relative in this world. I'm afraid that even you are no longer yourself."

Yue Niang continued to hold Dong Zhu's hand tightly: "Dong Zhu, I am still myself. I will never do anything to hurt you."

Dong Zhu didn't say anything, and Yue Niang loosened her hand. "Are you willing to believe me, Dong Zhu?"

Dong Zhu was silent for a long time, and finally nodded: "Girl, I believe you."

A few months after the Tian family incident, Yue Niang and Jiang Yunxiao encountered another major event.

The Queen Mother summoned the two into the palace.

The current Empress Dowager is very old and spends 360 days a year lying on her sickbed.

This was most likely the idea of the Emperor and the Empress, but the Jiang family now holds a special status. If the Emperor summons them personally, I'm afraid there will be another uproar in the court.

Since Jiang Songrui and Cao Jin left, Jiang Yunxiao was either in the military camp or in the library of the Jiang Mansion.

The Jiang family's military power was taken away, but the Jiang family army was still the Jiang family army after all. Jiang Yunxiao humbly asked for advice, and they still patiently taught him.

Every day when he was tired, he would rest in the library, and Yue Niang rarely saw him.

When Yue Niang walked into the library, Jiang Yunxiao was buried in a military book, and there were military books scattered all over the floor.

Yue Niang wanted to call him, but he was completely immersed in the book, talking eloquently and completely lost in thought.

It was such a small matter, so Yue Niang decided not to bother him anymore. She gently closed the door and walked out.

The father-in-law in the front yard was still waiting, so Yue Niang went to the front yard to report first.

The eunuch drank cup after cup of tea and said, "Why hasn't your young mistress arrived yet? You should not keep the Empress Dowager waiting."

Yue Niang came in at this moment. "Sorry to have kept you waiting, Eunuch Ding. My young master has caught a cold and is now coughing and feverish. I'm worried he might infect the Empress Dowager if he goes to the palace. Eunuch Ding, could you please let me go first? Once the young master is better, I'll personally take him to the palace to apologize."

Eunuch Ding stood up, his expression unchanged. "That's fine. We were just chatting about family matters. It would be more convenient for you to go, Madam."

The two of them set off like this.

She had heard about the prosperity of the palace many times, but every time she stood here, Yue Niang felt only depression, and the yearning she heard about had never been there.

Just as Eunuch Ding was leading Yue Niang onto the palace path, he saw a familiar figure in front of him, walking towards Yue Niang.

Looking closely, it was Qin Wanwan, the one who saved him that day in Prince Cheng's Mansion.

Next to him was Qin Pan, Marquis of Zhongyi, who also came from a declining military family. He inherited his title from Qin Wanwan's grandfather. Qin Pan did not practice martial arts.

Eunuch Ding was a favorite of the Empress Dowager and was also very perceptive. He quickly greeted her, "We meet the Marquis."

Qin Pan stared at Yue Niang, while Qin Wanwan looked a little unnatural.

"Eunuch Ding, it's been a long time since we last met. Is the Empress Dowager well?"

Eunuch Ding said, "The Empress Dowager is doing well. She's been feeling bored being alone, so she asked me to invite Madam Fu from Duke Jiang's mansion into the palace to chat with her."

Qin Pan pointed at Qin Wanwan behind him and said, "Wanwan has been talking about the Queen Mother the whole time. How about taking Wanwan with you, Eunuch Ding?"

Qin Wanwan was the designated princess consort. At the beginning, Wu Yiling and Wu Xiangjun were betrothed to the prince just because they spoke a few more words to him.

Qin Wanwan is much more beautiful than Wu Yiling, and her character and family background are among the best in Lingzhou. A favored daughter of heaven should be paired with a favored son of heaven.

Yue Niang has a very good impression of Qin Wanwan.

Eunuch Ding quickly agreed, "Okay, I guarantee the Empress Dowager will be pleased. I'm afraid we'll miss the appointment, so I'll take the two ladies there right away."

Qin Pan was also very excited: "Okay, hurry up and go, I will also go to the Shangshufang to discuss important matters with His Majesty."

Today, Qin Wanwan was gentle and graceful. She followed behind her father without her eyes wandering around. She moved slowly, and even the hairpin on her head did not shake.

There was no trace of the day when he jumped into the water to save people.

Eunuch Ding walked forward a little, leaving just enough space for the two to talk.

Qin Wanwan spoke first: "The Empress Dowager likes people with good etiquette. Stop looking around."

Yue Niang replied, "I have never seen these trees before, and I am a little curious."

Qin Wanwan advised again: "Don't anger the nobles in the palace. It will not help the current situation of the Duke's Mansion."

"You were not like this that day." Yue Niang said bluntly.

Qin Wanwan whispered again, "Life is beyond our control. I can't help it."

The two suddenly looked at each other and smiled gently.

Sometimes friendships are so strange, they are established suddenly.

Just as Yue Niang expected, the Queen Mother did not show up at all. In the Queen Mother's Cining Palace, only the Queen Mother sat in the upper seat.

After Yue Niang and Qin Wan Wan exchanged greetings, the Queen said, "The Queen Mother has just felt unwell and has gone to bed. Wan Wan, you haven't been to the palace for a long time. Come to me."

Qin Wanwan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I've been embroidering in the palace these days. I just finished a fan with a picture of a hundred birds paying homage to a phoenix, and I brought it here eagerly to ask for your praise. I just went to your palace, but my aunt said you were not there."

The Queen had only one biological child, Princess Minjia. She abandoned her to marry a foreign prince, and she also developed a rift with Ling Xun, whom she had raised since childhood.

She stopped thinking about it and just wanted to be the mother of this country. Qin Wanwan was the qualified candidate to be the next mother of a country.

The scene of "loving mother and filial son" between the two made Yue Niang feel that she shouldn't be here.

The two chatted for a while before the Empress looked at Yue Niang and said, "Minjia often mentioned Madam Jiang in her letters to me. After meeting her today, I think she is just so-so."

Yue Niang quickly agreed: "Your Majesty is right, it's all because of the princess's kindness."

The Queen was getting impatient and wanted to quickly send Yue Niang away. "Forget it. The Queen Mother was thinking about the Duke Jiang and his wife going to Xunzhou, and the Duke being ill. She felt guilty about this matter, so she summoned you two in for a chat to ease your longing for your family."

"That's not the case, Madam. Father chose to go to Xunzhou in order to realize his own value. Xiezhou and Huanzhou were lost to the Jiang family no matter what. It is the Jiang family who feels guilty towards Dacheng."

The Queen was a little shocked to hear these words coming from the mouth of a merchant's daughter: "Do you really think so?"

"Every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country. As a general of Dacheng, my father's lifelong wish was nothing more than the unification of our territory. This was his own choice."

Only then did the Empress nod her head in affirmation: "It seems that what Minjia said wasn't entirely false. I have one more thing to tell you and your wife: the Jiang family's title will not be diminished, nor will it be changed."

These heartfelt words actually attracted the attention of the Queen, which was a considerable gain.

Several people stayed in the Cining Palace for dinner before leaving.

When Qin Wanwan left, the Queen Mother pulled her aside and said, "Wanwan, spend more time on the Crown Prince."

Qin Wanwan suddenly felt that her good mood for the day was gone when she heard this: "My Queen, Wanwan will do it."

Wanwan can do it, but the prince can’t.

This marriage had been on the table for a long time, but every time a marriage was arranged, the Crown Prince was busy or the timing was not right on his side.

This marriage was for Dacheng, but the prince just wouldn't give in. After the imperial decree finally came down to grant the marriage, the prince kept dragging his feet and refused to marry.

Qin Wanwan was in a bad mood when she came out of Cining Palace.

Yue Niang teased her, "Young lady, is this young master not handsome enough? Why are you so ugly that you are speechless?"

Qin Wanwan's eyes were filled with resentment: "Alas, you don't understand my feelings."