Ping Zhao Lu

The group arrived at the Cining Palace in a grand manner.

At this moment, the main hall of the palace was already filled with concubines from various palaces.

Queen Mother Jiang was chatting and laughing with the concubines. She was stunned when she saw the emperor and empress coming hand in hand.

When they realized what was happening, the concubines quickly stood up and saluted.

"Your Highness, Your Majesty, Your Majesty."

"Get up."

Chu Yunxiao looked indifferent as he took Xu Zhouye's hand and walked to Queen Mother Jiang to pay his respects. "Your son and daughter-in-law pay their respects to you, Queen Mother."

"Okay, okay, I'm very pleased to see Sheng'er become the queen this time." Queen Mother Jiang smiled kindly and waved her hand for them to sit down.

Xu Zhouye glanced around, his eyes gradually darkening.

Rong Yu'an came as expected.

At this moment, he is standing behind the virtuous concubine who is sitting on the first seat on the right.

In the previous life, Rong Yu'an followed me here to pay respects to the Queen Mother.

Thanks to him, I made many enemies for myself in front of everyone, both openly and secretly.

Now that she knew that Xu Zhouye was unreliable, she tried every means to get close to Concubine Xian.

Xu Zhouye lowered his eyelids, a hint of ridicule rising in his heart.

If he remembered correctly, this virtuous concubine was not an easy person to deal with.

With Rong Yu'an and her involved, the palace will probably be bustling for a while.

"Take a seat." Chu Yunxiao reminded him in a low voice as he was distracted.

Xu Zhouye was startled, and gently broke free from the emperor's hand. Under Chu Yunxiao's puzzled gaze, he picked up the hot tea prepared by the palace attendant, stepped forward, knelt on his knees, bowed his head, and offered the tea in a respectful and reserved tone: "Mother, please have some tea."

Queen Mother Jiang's expression changed slightly, but after realizing what was happening, she quickly greeted him with a smile. She took the hot tea he offered and took a sip. "Your Majesty is so thoughtful. I was so happy that I forgot about it."

Xu Zhouye raised his lips but said nothing.

This wasn't forgetting; it was clearly deliberate negligence so that I could find fault with him later.

This was the case with Queen Mother Jiang in her previous life. She kept him company with him for a long time, chatting with him without giving him any chance to mention the matter of offering tea. When someone brought it up, she would take advantage of the situation and let these concubines speak rudely to her.

At that time, he held the attitude of "endure for a while and keep calm" and never fought back.

And it is precisely this weakness that brings more unnecessary trouble to oneself...

Thinking of this, a dark light flashed across Xu Zhouye's eyes.

This subtle change happened to catch Chu Yunxiao's attention.

His brows moved slightly, and he walked to the side of the empress dowager and sat down. His gloomy eyes glanced coldly at Yang, the eunuch who was serving beside the empress dowager.

When Eunuch Yang received the gaze, he leaned back guiltily and lowered his head.

"It is said that the Queen is virtuous and worthy of Your Majesty's favor." Lipin, who was sitting across from Concubine Xian, took over the Queen Mother's words in a strange voice.

As soon as she opened her mouth, everyone's eyes turned to her.

With everyone's attention focused on her, Concubine Li was not only not panicked, but also acted as if she didn't care about anyone.

"How can you say that, Sister Lipin? The word 'virtuous' is mostly used to describe women. Using it on the Queen, I'm afraid..." At the end of her words, Concubine Ye raised her eyes and glanced at Xu Zhouye, then chuckled with her hands covering her mouth.

Her smile caused many concubines to laugh along with her.

Rong Yu'an, who was standing behind Concubine Xian, had a look of gloating on his face.

"In ancient times, gentlemen rose to fame through virtue. During his reign, King Shun appointed eight Yuans and eight Kais, a total of sixteen talented men, men of virtuous reputation. The virtue of the Prince of Jin was known throughout the world, and his double pupils and prominent ribs were signs of great nobility, making him unmatched by ordinary men... These examples all celebrate the virtues of gentlemen."

Xu Zhouye's face was calm, his tone relaxed, "I've heard that Lady Ye is well-read and talented, but now she made a mistake with the word 'virtuous'. I wonder if she hasn't read the book thoroughly, or maybe... it was intentional?"

After these words were spoken, everyone present except Chu Yunxiao was stunned.

"Your Highness, you worry too much." Concubine Ye was very embarrassed and was eager to make amends. "I was just joking."

"A joke?" Xu Zhouye's face suddenly darkened. He turned and looked at her coldly. "How can I be teased by a lowly servant like you?" He shifted his gaze to Lipin without leaving any trace. "Don't you agree, Lipin?"

Chu Yunxiao raised his eyebrows slightly, and a hint of interest flashed in his eyes.

His queen...is not stupid.

Lipin's expression froze for a moment, and she turned her gaze to Xianfei, who was sitting beside her. Seeing that she was being ignored, she changed her arrogance and stood up and bowed to Xu Zhouye. "It's...it's my fault. I spoke without thinking. I hope Your Highness will forgive my unintentional mistake."

"Whether it was intentional or unintentional, Concubine Li knows it best in her heart."

Xie Yushu, who was sitting in the first seat on the left, shook her pear fan, her tone full of ridicule.

"Princess Li just slipped up for a moment and has admitted her mistake. Why are you still harping on her, sister?"

After being silent for a long time, Concubine Xian spoke softly.

Xie Yushu paused fanning herself and sneered, "Xianfei is truly tolerant and generous. The Empress hasn't said anything, yet you act like the Empress and take charge."

"you……"

"enough!"

The virtuous concubine wanted to argue, but was interrupted by the Queen Mother Jiang with a cold voice, "What's the point of making such a fuss?"

As soon as she finished scolding him, she looked up at Xu Zhouye and said earnestly, "Queen, it's common for sisters in the palace to quarrel. Don't take it to heart. They're just some ignorant words. Why bother to take it seriously?"

"You're being serious?" Xu Zhouye smiled faintly, spread his hands and shook his sleeves, then walked slowly to Lipin. Amidst the sighs of the crowd, he raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face. "That's what being serious means."

Just one slap, and clear fingerprints appeared on Lipin's face, and her lips were slightly red.

"Queen, what do you mean by this?" Queen Mother Jiang scolded sternly, "She already knew she was wrong, so why did you hit her and humiliate her in public?"

Then he turned to look at Chu Yunxiao, "Sheng'er, you, the queen, need to be disciplined."

"I can't discipline him." Chu Yunxiao looked stern, with no warmth in his eyes.

Queen Mother Jiang was speechless. When she was about to say something, Xu Zhouye spoke first, "Your son has done nothing wrong. Why do you need to discipline me? But how can you, Queen Mother, intentionally favor the concubine who made the mistake?"

This!

Everyone was shocked.

This queen didn't even let the queen mother go!

Everyone else was almost unable to sit still, but Chu Yunxiao was the only one who remained calm and composed, smiling without saying a word.

Queen Mother Jiang's face turned pale. "Are you questioning me?"

"Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. I am just stating the facts." Xu Zhouye was calm and composed.

"Your Highness, you are being too indulgent!" Concubine Ye, completely oblivious to her previous embarrassment, suddenly stood up and accused Xu Zhouye of his faults. "Other matters are fine, but how dare you offend the Empress Dowager?"

Xian Fei also followed suit and said, "Your Highness, the Queen Mother is your elder. How can you be so disrespectful to her?"

"Your Majesty, you must take good care of the Queen!"

"Shut up." Chu Yunxiao looked impatient. "You're chattering away, it's giving me a headache."

Xu Zhouye took over his words at the right time, "Then your Majesty, please go back and rest. I am here and will definitely handle it properly."

"Okay." Chu Yunxiao stood up, raised his eyebrows and smiled at him, his eyes full of ambiguity. "Then the Queen has to hurry."

After saying this, he glanced at the eunuch beside him.

Zhao Dequan, upon receiving the signal, immediately shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Go to Fengluan Palace——"