The Changchun Palace team travels back in time to Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

In the fourteenth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, the Yongzheng Emperor passed away.

Hongli ordered Prince Lü Yuntao, Prince Heqin Hongzhou, and other ministers to conduct the funeral rites for the late emperor. Following the will of Emperor Shizong, Hongli ascended the throne and honored his mother, Consort Xi, as Empress Dowager. After three petitions from princes and ministers, based on ancient rites, he received an imperial edict from the Empress Dowager to bestow the title of Empress upon Rongyin.

During the national mourning period, Rongyin led Prince Bao's female relatives in observing the funeral rites and handling affairs. With her memories from her previous life, she was even more adept at these tasks and handled them with ease.

After the funeral, they observed a few more days of mourning before finally being able to relax. The three returned to the inner palace. Yingluo noticed that Rongyin had been kneeling for a long time every day to express her grief, so she brought out some ointment to relax muscles and promote blood circulation and massaged Rongyin. Mingyu set out dinner on the side.

Rongyin felt like her legs were about to fall off, and said weakly, "Yingluo, don't bother, you've had a long day too, I'll push myself."

As Yingluo applied the ointment to Rongyin's knees, she said, "Your Highness doesn't know any massage techniques! If you don't take good care of these legs, you'll suffer from leg pain in the future."

Rongyin said weakly, "I, I can! Ouch!" Her knees, which had been kneeling all day, ached terribly when pressed, and Rongyin couldn't help but gasp.

Yingluo said helplessly, "Your Majesty, you should just lie down and relax!"

Mingyu chuckled.

"Mingyu! You little brat, you're making fun of me! Yingluo! Be gentle, be gentle..."

A day later, when the concubines were serving the Empress Dowager her meal, Qingying lifted the lid of the soup bowl and presented the Empress Dowager with a bowl of steaming ham and chicken soup.

Rongyin:? ? ?

Such meat dishes were served at the late emperor's funeral...

This is so inappropriate!

She quickly considered what to say: should she preemptively reprimand Qingying or say something conciliatory to smooth things over?

The Empress Dowager merely glanced at the chicken soup and said, "A perfectly good chicken soup loses its deliciousness when ham is added."

Rongyin: Ah, so it's alright to eat meat just a few days after the late emperor's death?

Qingying weakly defended herself, saying, "I only wanted to whet the Empress Dowager's appetite and did not intend to interfere with her meal. It was my fault."

The Empress Dowager said, "When two things are placed together, it is important to distinguish between primary and secondary ingredients. Giving them both equal weight will only spoil the flavor."

Yingluo understood. Qingying was Empress Ulanara's niece. Now that the new emperor was about to ascend the throne, besides her current birth mother being honored as Empress Dowager, Empress Ulanara should also be honored as Empress Dowager. This Empress Dowager using Qingying's raft as a metaphor might be an implication that she should stop hoping her aunt could be on par with the Empress Dowager.

So, the Empress Dowager was establishing her authority.

However, the title of Empress Dowager was given by the Emperor. What is the point of messing with a concubine from the Prince's residence?

During the period of national mourning, she was in a hurry to establish this meaningless prestige, and her only method was to subtly humiliate Qingying with food. It seems that this Empress Dowager is nothing more than a person who is strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

She couldn't help but think of the Empress Dowager from her original world. The kind and gentle old lady, devoted to Buddhism, was incredibly cunning and ruthless when it came to scheming. And this one now...

Compared to that Empress Dowager, this one is quite lacking.

Yingluo then thought that, according to this assumption, even if Hongli ascended the throne in this world, his authority would likely be quite limited. At the very least, the Empress Dowager could see through his thoughts and actions, and she even dared to express her dissatisfaction in such a naive way.

If the Empress Dowager wasn't trying to establish her authority but was just saying a few words casually... then she was inexplicably putting on airs and acting arrogantly without considering the occasion.

Based on both hypotheses, Yingluo arrives at the same conclusion: the Empress Dowager is outwardly strong but inwardly weak; she likes to cause trouble, but she lacks the brains to do so.

While Yingluo was rapidly reasoning in her mind, she remained standing behind Rongyin, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings. After hearing Gao Xiyue flatter the Empress Dowager, Rongyin again advised her to take some for her health. Despite being flattered by Gao Xiyue, the Empress Dowager remained aloof, claiming she had no appetite. Gao Xiyue then made a few sarcastic remarks about Qingying, saying things like, "The Empress Dowager finally had a meal, but Qingying ruined her appetite," etc. Rongyin gave her a warning look, and she sheepishly shut up.

Qingying's knees suddenly buckled, and she knelt down, holding the steaming bowl of soup. She handed the bowl forward, her eyes lowered but her demeanor still defiant, and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to accept the punishment. Please, Your Majesty, take care of your health and eat more!"

The scene was awkward for a moment.

Yingluo was puzzled: So... she wanted to force the Empress Dowager to drink this bowl of hot soup, hoping to burn the Empress Dowager's tongue and make her shut up?

Seeing the atmosphere growing increasingly tense, Rongyin timely scooped out a small half-bowl of congee and urged the Empress Dowager, "Your Majesty, grains are nourishing. This congee is warm now, please have some." The Empress Dowager, who had been putting on airs, finally humbled herself and ate a few mouthfuls of congee. Seeing Qingying still holding the tall bowl and kneeling there blankly, she said casually, "Get up."

Qingying then stood up and moved her burned fingers under her sleeves.

In the afternoon, the two of them went to mourn again, once in the afternoon and once in the evening, before returning to the inner palace.

Back in the inner palace, Mingyu, who had stayed behind, had already served a bowl of congee, a small dish of side dishes on a silver plate, a plate of poached tofu, and several steamed buns.

Yingluo said, "Mingyu, tell someone to stew a bowl of chicken soup for Her Majesty to nourish her body."

Mingyu exclaimed in surprise, "Yingluo, are you crazy! During the national mourning period, how can you openly eat meat like this!"

Yingluo said, "The Empress Dowager saw a pot of ham and chicken soup today, and she didn't say that Consort Qing was disrespectful to the late Emperor. Instead, she complained that the ham and chicken soup was too strong. Why can't Your Highness eat it? Since there is no such rule in this world, why should we observe formalities?"

Mingyu thought this made sense: "Would Your Majesty like clear chicken soup or ham and chicken soup? Or should I have someone make a bowl of chicken soup with wontons?"

Rong Yin retorted angrily, "That's enough! We're here to put this world back on track, not to make it even more chaotic and disorderly!"

However, Rongyin and Yingluo both found today's events quite strange.

After discussing it for a while, Yingluo asked Yuanyi in her mind, "Yuanyi, can we still watch that... Weixi a now?"

Yuan Yidao: "Any content from before today is fine. Which part would you like to see?"

Yingluo said, "We want to see everything that has happened to Qingying during this time. Also, what about Empress Ulanara."

Yuan Yidao said, "Okay, I'll project the clips about Qingying from the past few days into your minds. Just think about whether you want to speed it up, pause it, or rewind it."

Images flashed through the three people's minds, and a few moments later, the scene of Qingying and Suxin arriving at the Hall of Mental Cultivation appeared.

Qingying presented the emperor with a cup of almond milk. The emperor pulled Qingying to sit beside him and then began to talk about Empress Ulanara.

The Emperor said, “There is something I do not know how to do. The ministers of the previous dynasty suggested to me that Jingren Palace be honored as the Empress Dowager. You also hope that your aunt will be brought out.”

Yingluo thought to herself: "Wait a minute, why is Jingren Palace honored as the Empress Dowager? Oh, I get it, Jingren Palace refers to Empress Ulanara who lives there."

Qingying nestled in the emperor's arms, and upon hearing this, she straightened up and said, "Of course, I hope that my aunt can be released from confinement, so that I can fulfill my filial duty. However, the late emperor once said that he and my aunt would never see each other again, and honoring my aunt as Empress Dowager is a matter of state. I'm afraid I shouldn't say anything."

Yingluo thought to herself that Consort Qing's words were quite skillful. She subtly expressed her wish that the Emperor would respect her aunt, while also demonstrating her humility and restraint in not interfering in politics. The Emperor, on the other hand, needed to consult with his consorts on such matters, showing his lack of independent judgment. But now that the Empress Dowager was deliberately making things difficult, could news of what happened in the Hall of Mental Cultivation have reached her?

Rongyin said, "Actually, the ministers' request is reasonable. The coexistence of two empress dowagers is an ancestral rule. However, the late emperor already dealt with Empress Ulanara, stating that they would never see each other again, whether in life or death. Moreover, based on what I saw during the imperial concubine selection a few years ago, the relationship between the two imperial mothers, the emperor, and the third imperial brother in this world seems extremely hostile. However, the emperor and Consort Qing are childhood sweethearts, and Consort Qing's plea is out of filial piety; the emperor probably won't make things difficult for her. It's just that the empress dowager..."

She recalled the time when Hongli hesitated and looked at Consort Xi during the imperial concubine selection, as well as the relationship between Hongli and Consort Xi in this world. She also recalled the Empress Dowager's words and actions today, which seemed to be both a warning and a venting of dissatisfaction. After a long silence, she said, "Throughout the history of the Qing Dynasty, except when the Holy Ancestor was young when he ascended the throne, and thus Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang ruled from behind the curtain for a period of time, all matters of state were decided by the Emperor alone. Even if the Emperor originally had to consider the Empress Dowager in some important matters, now that the Emperor is twenty-four years old, it is no longer a case of a young son and a strong mother. The Empress Dowager can no longer interfere, can she?"

Yingluo thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we also take a look at the Empress Dowager's side? Yuanyi, I want to see what happened to the Empress Dowager before lunch today."

Yuan Yi: "Okay, the next video is of what happened at Yongshou Palace last night."

In Yongshou Palace, Fujia was reporting the news from Neqin to the Empress Dowager. Upon hearing that Zhang Tingyu had first proposed bestowing the title of Empress Dowager upon his mother, the Empress Dowager sneered, "That old fellow values ​​the ancestral rules and the hierarchy of legitimate and illegitimate children more than his own life! His proposal to bestow the title of Empress Dowager upon Jingren Palace is a precaution against me!"

Yingluo: No, you're really planning to rule from behind the curtain based on your mediocre skills of judging people by how good the food tastes, and you're already getting cocky before you've even started, daring to call yourself a veteran of three dynasties?

Fu Jia tried to comfort the Empress Dowager, but she remained indignant: "Don't think I don't know what those old fogies are thinking. The harem is weak, so the court has more influence, but Zhang Tingyu isn't the only one who can speak in the court." She then instructed Fu Jia to send a message to Neqin. The VCR ends here.

Yingluo: No, you just have a distant relative who dared to interfere in politics in the previous dynasty and go against Lord Zhang, a veteran official of three dynasties with disciples and former officials all over the world, right?

Rongyin and Mingyu were completely stunned. It took Rongyin a while to say, "Is the Empress Dowager going to follow Empress Lü's example and disrupt the court by influencing the court through her maternal relatives?"

Yuan Yi comforted her, saying, "If you ask for my opinion, Empress Lü followed Liu Bang in battle when she was young, and her brother was also ennobled for his military achievements. She had the connections and prestige to invite the Four Sages of Mount Shang to assist her son, she was ruthless in killing meritorious officials and consolidating imperial power, and she had the political vision of Huang-Lao philosophy. Only in this way could she build a powerful family of relatives and control the court. As for this Empress Dowager, judging from the video, she has none of the things that Empress Lü had, so her influence should be very limited."

Yuan Yi continued, "Indeed, there was an empress dowager who controlled the government in the Qing Dynasty, but it's not a pleasant story. For your sake, I'll leave it at that for now."

After several clips finished playing, it was already late at night. The three of them went to bed, and that's another story.

Two days later, shocking news arrived: Empress Ulanara had passed away.

All three were taken aback.