The wives of the concubines are empresses

Guard Li took Zhu Xinyuan and her family to the capital. After a long and tiring journey, they finally returned to the prosperous capital half a month later.

Looking at the capital city after not seeing it for twenty years, Zhu Xinyuan and others felt deeply touched.

Guard Li said respectfully, expressionless, "Let's go."

Guard Li was taken into a private house where there were forty maids, servants and others.

The descendants of the Zhang family who were born later had never seen such a big house. The surroundings looked elegant and quiet, which was a world of difference from the houses they lived in in exile.

Zhu Xinyuan's heart was not very calm either, as she had already guessed what would happen next.

"Old Madam, please take a good rest. You will meet the Emperor with me tomorrow."

Zhu Xinyuan nodded politely: "Okay, thank you, Guard Li. You must be exhausted from traveling all the way. I hope you can rest early."

Guard Li nodded silently, then turned and left.

After court the next day, Shangguan Wanjun went to the imperial study as usual.

Zhu Xinyuan's heart tightened at the noise outside. In her decades of life, she had never seen an empress, and she had no idea what she looked like. But considering she had brought peace and prosperity to the Yuan Dynasty in just a few short years, and the people lived and worked in peace, she must have been a capable and wise ruler.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

Zhu Xinyuan quickly turned around and knelt respectfully. Shangguan Wanjun, supported by Minglan, walked into the main hall. Seeing the old figure on the ground, Shangguan Wanjun's eyes moved slightly and she sat down on the dragon throne.

"Old lady."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xinyuan quickly spoke respectfully, "I, the humble servant Zhu Xinyuan, pay my respects to the Emperor. Long live the Emperor."

"No need to be polite, stand up and take a seat!"

"I thank the Lord for His grace."

Shangguan Wanjun looked at Lu Yan'er, she nodded in understanding, and stepped forward to help Zhu Xinyuan up.

"Madam, please stand up!"

"Thank you girl."

Liu Cheng smiled gently and explained, "Madam, this is Lord Lu, the Emperor's court lady."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xinyuan corrected herself and thanked him.

"Thank you, Master Lu."

Lu Yaner smiled politely and nodded slightly: "You're welcome, old lady."

Zhu Xinyuan also thanked Liu Cheng: "Thank you for the reminder, eunuch."

At this time, the palace maid brought up a chair and Lu Yan'er personally helped her sit down.

"Thank you."

She looked in the direction of Shangguan Wanjun, but only looked at the hem of Shangguan Wanjun's skirt and did not dare to look directly at the emperor's face.

"Madam, this is Dongting tea, please!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Xinyuan gently picked up the teacup, blew on it, took a sip, and then put it down.

Seeing her every move was elegant, generous and dignified, Shangguan Wanjun nodded secretly with satisfaction: She is indeed worthy of being the daughter of a noble family, her rules and etiquette are very good.

"The old lady has suffered."

When Zhu Xinyuan heard this, she felt wronged and tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't expect that the empress would say that she had worked hard. She thought that the current empress should be a majestic and indifferent person, but when she actually saw it, she found that things did not seem to be the case.

"Your Majesty, you are joking." Although he had suffered injustice for many years, who would dare to complain in front of the emperor? That would be disrespectful.

"Madam, please tell me about what's going on over there and have lunch with me."

Zhu Xinyuan nodded respectfully: "Yes, Your Majesty."

The news of Shangguan Wanjun meeting an old woman in the imperial study was reported back to Fushou Palace by the secret guards.

The Empress Dowager of the Eastern Palace was spinning her Buddhist beads. After listening to the report from the secret guard, she opened her eyes slightly.

"Old lady?" It should be the wife of the loyal and brave marquis from that year. She should be in her fifties now. I wonder how she is doing now.

"I understand. Please leave." She said lightly and continued to close her eyes. The secret guard left quietly.

Listening to Zhu Xinyuan's stories, Shangguan Wanjun felt how hard those days were, and finally looked at Zhu Xinyuan helplessly.

"I'm sorry, this is a matter for the court. Is there anything the old lady wants?"

Zhu Xinyuan shook her head: "I only wish for the safety and well-being of my descendants. Now that the Marquis has been vindicated, I have no other requests."

Faced with her satisfaction and understanding, Shangguan Wanjun nodded slightly.

"Minglan."

"The minister is here."

"Issue this decree: The former Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery has suffered injustice for over twenty years. This is the fault of the imperial court. This loyal minister and his family have suffered so much injustice and torture. Therefore, their titles are hereby restored, and their former title of Marquis is promoted to Duke of Anguo. Considering that they and their legitimate son are no longer alive, their eldest grandson, Zhang Yufei, will inherit the title, and their eldest son will be specially named the Heir of the Duke of Anguo."

He was specially granted a mansion for Duke Anguo, forty servants, five thousand taels of gold, ten thousand taels of silver, one hundred acres of land, and five shops.

The wife of the former Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, Zhu Xinyuan, was granted the title of First Rank Consort, the title of Loyalty to the State, and a reward of 500 taels of gold and 1,000 taels of silver.

Minglan had finished writing quickly. When Shangguan Wanjun finished speaking, she quickly put down her red brush and saluted respectfully.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhu Xinyuan was shocked: their Marquis of Zhongyong had his title restored, and he had promoted her. The emperor also named her a noble lady, and she also had a title, Zhongguo.

At this moment, her eyes were filled with tears and she immediately knelt down to express her gratitude.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace." She will never forget the emperor's kindness, and in the future, the descendants of the Zhang family will make sure they remember the empress's grace.

Shangguan Wanjun stood up and walked to Zhu Xinyuan, bending down and helping her up.

"Madam Zhongguo, please don't be polite. Please take good care of yourself. I believe you also want to see your descendants become better and better."

Zhu Xinyuan nodded respectfully: "Yes, I understand. Thank you, Your Majesty."

Shangguan Wanjun smiled at her gently: "You left Beijing in your thirties. You must have worked hard and suffered a lot in these years."

Zhu Xinyuan almost burst into tears on the spot, but fortunately she tried her best to hold them back.

In the dining room, Shangguan Wanjun sat down with the help of Lianhua.

"Mrs. Zhongguo, please take a seat!"

Zhu Xinyuan sat down respectfully and looked at the rich and delicious dishes. She felt that she was valued.

Shangguan Wanjun stretched out her hand to pick up the chopsticks. Zhu Xinyuan looked at her and then picked up the chopsticks. Seeing that she was a little nervous and cautious, Shangguan Wanjun smiled slightly.

"What do you think of the taste, Madam Zhongguo?"

"The royal meals are naturally good."

Shangguan Wanjun reached out and scooped a spoonful of egg fuyong for her: "Try this."

Zhu Xinyuan was flattered and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Eat, don't worry about the people in the mansion, they will take good care of it."

"Yes."

She tried the egg foo yung, and Shangguan Wanjun also picked up some dishes for her, such as white oil taro and vegetable meatballs.

Seeing that she kept picking up food for herself, Zhu Xinyuan felt a little sorry for her tiredness.

"Your Majesty, I will do it myself. You are busy with state affairs, so you should eat well."

"Okay, you should eat more."

"Yes."

Zhu Xinyuan left with the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau, including Chendaren - Lin Xueyu. They were accompanied by Su Yude, who brought the imperial edict with him to read.

Seeing their mother-in-law/grandmother coming back, everyone in the Zhang family hurried forward to greet her.

"mother……"

"grandmother……"

Zhu Xinyuan signaled her descendants to be patient and she looked at everyone and gave them serious instructions.

"This is Eunuch Su, who serves as the Empress. The Emperor has issued a special decree for us. Everyone, please pack up and receive it."

The Zhang family's descendants were all shocked.