Ping Zhao Lu

Chapter 33

The only thing Su Ming did not ask the palace servants to deliver the brocade to Concubine Li immediately was.

He slowly stretched out his hand, took the exquisite Song brocade, held it in his palm, stared at it, and pondered as if thinking about something.

Qinghe, who was standing aside, saw this scene and couldn't help but move his feet and walked carefully to Su Ming's side.

She first looked around and made sure that no one around noticed them, then she gently leaned over, leaned close to Su Ming's ear, and whispered a few words in a low voice.

……

Su Ming understood and retreated with the Song brocade in his own hands.

After a while, he handed the Song Dynasty satin and other brocades to the palace servants and delivered them to the masters of each palace.

After everything was done, he slowly walked into the hall.

Seeing him return, Xu Zhouye smiled slightly and motioned him to come over and eat the pastries on the table.

Su Ming bowed and clasped his hands to show his gratitude.

Then he walked over, took a piece of cake and took a bite.

"By the way, go get a piece of brocade from my storehouse and make it according to the pattern I drew." Xu Zhouye's fingers moved lightly, moving the drawing paper on the table in front of Su Ming. "Be sure to follow this, not a single stitch can be wrong."

"Yes." Su Mingcou nodded in response, stuffed the remaining cake in his hand into his mouth, then took out the handkerchief he carried with him to wipe his hands, and finally carefully put away the drawing paper.

Then his originally calm face suddenly became a little hesitant, as if he had something to hide.

After pondering for a moment, he mustered up the courage to speak. "Your Highness, to be honest... when I went to the Imperial Household Department to collect the grosgrain just now, the General Manager Kang Shili tried to stop me. He said... in the past, these matters always went through the Empress Dowager's hands first, with the assistance of the Consort Xian. He also said that Your Highness is new and inexperienced, so they really didn't dare to hand over all the affairs of the Imperial Household Department to you alone."

Xu Zhouye listened to him quietly, then ate the cake in his hand without changing his expression. He then took a sip of tea slowly and said slowly, "If you don't want me to take care of it, then I won't."

Afternoon, Imperial Study

Chu Yunxiao was discussing something with several ministers. Everyone looked serious, and the atmosphere seemed a bit solemn.

At this moment, Xu Zhouye brought Qinghe towards the imperial study.

The figures of the two people gradually became clear. Qinghe held a plate of snacks steadily in both hands and followed behind Xu Zhouye.

Zhao Dequan, who had been waiting outside the imperial study, saw them from afar and hurried forward. He bowed deeply to Xu Zhouye, performed a respectful salute, and said loudly, "Your servant pays homage to the Queen!"

Xu Zhouye smiled slightly and waved his hand gently, motioning Zhao Dequan to stand up: "No need to be polite."

Then, he glanced towards the gate and asked softly, "Is Your Majesty busy at the moment?"

Zhao Dequan quickly stood up straight and replied respectfully, "Your Highness, His Majesty is indeed discussing important matters with the gentlemen."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhouye turned to look at the snacks in Qinghe's hand, with a hint of hesitation on his face.

Zhao Dequan was sharp-minded and immediately caught the change in the queen's expression.

He took two steps forward, approached Xu Zhouye, and whispered, "His Majesty has previously instructed that if Your Highness is coming, you can go in directly without notifying us."

Hearing this, Xu Zhouye was slightly stunned, and a hint of unconcealable joy flashed in the depths of his eyes.

Then, he reached out and took the plate of snacks from Qinghe, and said to Qinghe softly, "You go back first."

Qinghe nodded obediently, bowed and said, "Yes." Then he turned and left.

After watching Qinghe leave, Xu Zhouye took a deep breath, calmed himself down, picked up the snacks in both hands, and walked steadily into the imperial study.

The originally solemn and dignified atmosphere seemed to be blown away by a gentle spring breeze, and suddenly there was a sense of relaxation.

Chu Yunxiao's usually fierce expression softened slightly at this moment. A glint of light seemed to flicker in his deep eyes, revealing a profound meaning that was difficult to fathom.

When several ministers saw Xu Zhouye approaching slowly, they were slightly displeased, but they were all people who had been in officialdom for a long time and naturally knew how to conceal their emotions. They did not show it on their faces at all and quickly bowed respectfully and said, "Your humble servant greets the Queen!"

Xu Zhouye smiled slightly and said softly, "No need to be polite, my lords." Then he slowly moved to the side of the emperor.

Then he placed the exquisite snacks on the side of the imperial table and bowed politely to the emperor.

This time, Chu Yunxiao did not stop him as usual.

After all, at this moment, there are ministers present and watching.

He knew very well that these old stubborn people always loved to find opportunities to point fingers at others.

If he rashly interrupted the Queen's ceremony at this time, it would probably give those people something to talk about, which would in turn affect the Queen's reputation and status.

Even though he didn't care about these formalities, he chose to remain silent for the sake of his queen.

After Xu Zhouye finished his greetings, he stood aside obediently.

Waiting quietly for the emperor to ask.

However, before Chu Yunxiao could ask,

Fu Chuoren, who was standing below, was the first to lose his temper and asked, "I wonder if the Queen has come here to discuss something important with Your Majesty?"

When Chu Yunxiao heard this, he raised his eyelids slightly and a cold look flashed across his eyes. He was obviously a little displeased with Fu Chuoren's reckless behavior.

However, he did not have an outburst directly, but his expression became slightly gloomy.

However, Xu Zhouye remained extremely calm when facing Fu Chuoren's questions.

I thought to myself: I knew you were looking for trouble, but luckily I've come up with a plan to deal with it. I'll just have to inconvenience His Royal Highness the Crown Prince...

With this in mind, Xu Zhouye glanced at Fu Chuoren calmly and replied calmly, "Indeed, there is an important matter to discuss. Seeing that the Crown Prince will be returning to the capital soon, I have come here to ask Your Majesty if there is anything you need my help with."

As he said that, he turned and looked at Chu Yunxiao.

Chu Yunxiao's originally gloomy face improved when Xu Zhouye looked at him, but his expression did not change much.

He slowly glanced at the ministers standing below, then spoke in a calm and soothing tone, "The Ministry of Rites will be fully responsible for the preparations for the Crown Prince's return to the capital. The Queen will only need to greet him with me in front of the Xuanzheng Hall."

Xu Zhouye nodded slightly, indicating that he understood, and responded, "Your Majesty's will."

However, at this moment, Fu Chuoren, who had been silent for a moment, suddenly stood up, his face solemn, and said seriously: "I believe that the Queen is overwhelmed by the affairs of the harem and has no time to distract herself from other matters. That's why she thought of the Crown Prince's return to the capital. I understand the Queen's good intentions in wanting to take charge of the household affairs, but I am afraid that such hard work will ultimately harm the Queen's health. It would be better to let the concubines in the harem help share some of the responsibilities."

As soon as Fu Chuoren said this, the other ministers looked at each other, not knowing how to react for a moment.

At this moment, Chu Yunxiao's face instantly changed from cloudy to sunny and then turned gloomy again, as if a violent storm would come at any time.

On the other hand, Xu Zhouye's expression remained calm and composed, but deep down in his heart he couldn't help but secretly complain:

You old bastard, you look well-mannered, but you speak in such a sarcastic and sarcastic tone. With just a few simple words, you easily impose such false charges as "not caring enough about the prince" and "can't wait to take charge of the harem" on me!

Humph, let me show you how I can shut you up with words.

"I think Lord Fu has misunderstood me." Xu Zhouye's mouth corners slightly raised, and the smile was so vague that it was hard to guess what he was really thinking.

He shook his head slightly and continued, "I've just arrived, and the Empress Dowager is worried, so she still holds the reins of the harem tightly in her hands... As for such an important matter as the Crown Prince's return to the capital, common sense dictates that the Empress Dowager should be informed first, and then the other six palaces. However, no one has informed me of the Crown Prince's return before, and I only learned of it by chance when Concubine Shu mentioned it..."

"After that, I waited in the palace for the Empress Dowager's order. However, after a long wait, I still received no news. I thought that I didn't need to take charge of the welcoming ceremony. But even so, I still dared not slack off. I worked tirelessly all day long. So I came here uninvited to humbly seek advice from Your Majesty. Unexpectedly, Lord Fu misunderstood..."

After saying this, Xu Zhouye turned around, a look of panic instantly appearing on his face. Then he bent his knees and knelt on the ground without hesitation, saying respectfully, "Your Majesty, I have absolutely no intention of disrespecting His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I beg Your Majesty to understand!"

"This……"

When Fu Chuoren heard these words, his heart trembled, his eyes widened, and even his pupils trembled slightly.

At this moment, his mind was in chaos.

How could he completely forget that the Queen Mother still controls the harem?

The golden book and seal are clearly in the Queen’s hands!

This kid!

This kid is so capable!

In just a few words, he shifted the blame onto the Queen Mother!

He said so much in one breath without even taking a breath!

There is no chance for anyone to take advantage of!

Not only that, he even filed a complaint!

It seems that he is the one who is making trouble for no reason!