After my whole family overheard my thoughts, they went berserk.

"Mother, I heard you are ill. Are you feeling alright?"

The Emperor was a filial son. Although he disobeyed the Empress Dowager in taking a concubine, he still showed the utmost filial piety.

"I won't die," the Empress Dowager replied calmly, looking at him.

He made her so angry she was barely hanging on by a thread.

"Your Majesty, your daughter-in-law has brought Miaomiao to visit you." The Empress bowed to her.

Qing Sui and Qian He handed over a lot of tonics to Granny Bai.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager was somewhat cold, the Emperor took the initiative to speak.

"Mother, Miaomiao is a lucky star. Why don't you let her keep you company? You'll definitely like her."

"Yes," the Empress Dowager replied.

The Empress held Miaomiao in her arms and sat beside the Empress Dowager's couch.

"Miaomiao, this is the Empress Dowager," the Empress said with a smile.

The Empress Dowager looked Shi Miaomiao up and down. Her round little face, big eyes, and fair skin made her quite adorable.

"He does look like your son." The Empress Dowager's expression softened.

"puff……"

Shi Miaomiao kept spitting out saliva, her big eyes staring straight at the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager looked at the child and felt that she didn't like her. She didn't smile or babble, and her saliva even splattered on the child's face.

"Take him away. I'm not feeling well, and looking at this child, it seems my headache is getting worse."

If it weren't for the exorcism performed on her, Master Liao Liao wouldn't have died such a tragic death.

Who will give her the longevity pill in the future?

This kid is a jinx.

That's her matchup!

"Grandmother, really. You're over fifty years old, but you still think you're an eighteen-year-old girl. There's a limit to how much you can sneak around. Look at you, ruining your health is such a waste."

The Empress's expression changed slightly.

What nonsense is this child spouting?

"What, are you planning to let me hug her? I have a terrible headache right now, and the imperial physician said I need to rest. Don't make my pain worse."

"Thank you, but please don't hug me. I don't want it. I don't even know if you took a shower after you finished yesterday. I'll get some bad luck from you."

Upon hearing Shi Miaomiao's thoughts, the Empress immediately became nervous.

Fortunately, the emperor couldn't hear her true feelings.

"Alright, take her back now," the Empress Dowager instructed the Empress.

The emperor also stood up.

"I will not disturb Your Majesty's rest. When I return, I will have someone send some tonics for Your Majesty to take good care of her health."

"What? Now that you've got a princess, you can't stay here with me anymore? When a princess was born in Huayao Palace, the whole world knew about it, but you didn't even glance at the princess in Xinyi Palace. People who didn't know better would think she wasn't yours."

The emperor was also very displeased when this matter was brought up.

"Back then, I was drinking with Prime Minister Rong in Qingning Palace. Although I was quite drunk, I clearly remember that we were going back to Huayao Palace. How did we end up in Chaoyang Palace?"

The Empress Dowager's expression changed, and she suddenly felt a little guilty, but then she pretended to be calm.

"What do you mean by this? Could it be that I had someone send you there?" the Empress Dowager questioned coldly.

"It was you, it was you who had Granny Bai lead the way and brought Rong Minzhi and Father Emperor to Chaoyun Palace."

The Empress's face turned ashen, and her heart sank.

She always thought it was an accident, but she never expected it to be a scheme by the Empress Dowager!

The Empress Dowager's displeased gaze fell upon the Empress, her tone full of resentment.

"In the end, it's because he was controlled too tightly. He had four princes, but none of them were capable of anything. I don't know who they took after. Now, all he cares about are his daughters. In the future, they will all get married. You are the emperor. You have to have three palaces and six courtyards and have more children."

"Grandmother is really hypocritical. If Shi Yunyun were a member of your Rong family, you certainly wouldn't say these things."

In the original book, she doted on Shi Yunyun, believing her to be the hope of the Huayao Kingdom, and also supported the emperor in nurturing her.

The Emperor looked at the Empress and said softly, "I didn't sleep a wink last night because of Miaomiao's situation. Take Miaomiao back and rest first, don't overwork yourself."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured and recover. Your Highness, I shall take my leave now." After bowing, the Empress left with Shi Miaomiao.

Back at Huayao Palace, Qing Sui couldn't help but complain.

"It's been twenty years, and the Empress Dowager still treats the Empress like that. The first time she brought the little princess to visit her in the hospital, not only did she not give her a reward, but she also subtly criticized the Empress."

Qianhe was also indignant: "That's right, fortunately the Emperor favors the Empress, so even if the Empress Dowager has prejudices, she doesn't dare to do anything to the Empress."

The Empress was somewhat displeased, but she still instructed Qing Sui Qian He: "She is His Majesty's birth mother after all, and as the Empress, I should respect her."

She was aware that the Empress Dowager held a prejudice against her, but she disliked competing or getting into conflicts with others.

The emperor is a filial son, and he has been caught in the middle for many years, which has been a difficult situation.

Throughout history, emperors have always had a large number of concubines. If the emperor favors only one concubine and then has a falling out with the empress dowager, it will only make things more difficult for the emperor.

"Sigh, my mother is too kind. If someone doesn't like you, no matter what you do, they won't like you. Why not just give them a good scolding and make yourself feel better?"

"She is disrespectful to her elders and does not deserve your respect. She has been having affairs in the palace and colluding with court officials. She fell ill today because the Emperor killed her Master Liao Liao, so she is taking it out on Mother."

Cheating?

Colluding with ministers?

"You may leave now. I need to take the little princess to rest," the Empress instructed the two.

Once the door was closed, only the mother and daughter remained inside.

"Where did you hear what you just said? The Empress Dowager is over fifty years old and is also your father's birth mother. You can't just say these things carelessly."

"Mother, I'm not making this up. I saw it all with my own eyes. She's having an affair with Wu Bende. Even while she was cheating, she was talking badly about you. Wasn't she going to eat the longevity pill the master made? I'll make sure she doesn't grow up."

The Empress subconsciously glanced at Shi Miaomiao.

“I knew it. What happened last night was very strange. The people in the palace searched the Buddhist hall again and again, but they couldn’t find you. Then you came back on your own. Did you go to Qingning Palace?”

Shi shook his head every second.

"Was your fear yesterday also a lie, just to lure Master Liao into the palace, then anger your father and have him killed on purpose?"

Shi Miaomiao looked pitiful, head down, and didn't say a word.

“You’re just a little baby, how could you have such thoughts? Master Liao Liao is a fraud, but he doesn’t deserve to die. Do you know that you’re using someone else to do your dirty work? Your mother won’t allow you to have such thoughts and behaviors at such a young age.”

If that's the case, then what's the difference between her and Shi Yunyun?

"If I hadn't run away, I wouldn't have seen all that. She bullied you like that. I don't like her. She even said she wanted to make up for Wu Bende at the medicinal herb exhibition. There's already so much gold under the bed, and she's still so greedy."

"Mother, what happened last night is absolutely true. I would never lie to you."

The Empress had no idea that the Empress Dowager had so many secrets.