I was sold when I opened my eyes! My sick and disabled husband comforts me every night after he wake

After leaving those words, she hurriedly departed. Xiaoxin couldn't help but remind her...

“Master, I still had that person trapped in the house last night. If we leave the palace now, I won’t be able to keep him there.”

Upon hearing Xiao Xin's words, Lan Zhi stopped in her tracks.

Yesterday, she trapped the person who was communicating with Ling'er in that room. She originally planned to have the Emperor interrogate him personally after the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration.

If she were to take Xiaoxin away from the palace now, Xiaoxin's charade would fail, and she would have no way to explain herself to the Emperor.

"Xiao Xin, let's go find him now, find out what happened, then tie him up and send him to the Imperial Prison, and hand him over to the Emperor tomorrow."

“Master, he is full of energy right now and is trying his best to find a way out. If you ask him now, he won’t tell you.”

"What should we do? I'm really worried about Mo Ning. I don't know why he wants my palace access token."

At this point, she clapped her hands in frustration.

"It's all my fault. I gave him the palace pass without asking why. I was so foolish."

“Mo Ning is sensible in his actions. He must have his reasons for doing what he wants. Master, there is no need to worry.”

She was very worried about Mo Ning, and Xiao Xin's words were not without reason.

Although we don't know what he wants to do yet, there must be a reason for what he wants to do!

There were many people in the palace today, so she simply hid in her room and waited for the person Xiao Xin had locked up in the room to tire of tormenting him before interrogating him.

But her wishful thinking backfired. On such a busy day, how could Granny Sun, who always disliked her, let her have some peace and quiet?

Cuiyu stood at the doorway, rolling her eyes at her.

"Qianqing Palace is short-staffed, so you shouldn't be enjoying your retirement here. Granny Sun wants you to go and lend a hand."

Lan Zhi looked at Cui Yu with displeasure.

“I am a doctor, not a palace maid.”

"The Empress Dowager's illness has been cured, and she no longer needs a doctor. You can't just stay in the Longevity Palace and do nothing. Besides, the Emperor has issued an edict that no one is allowed to cause trouble on the Empress Dowager's birthday, or they will lose their heads."

"Do you threaten me?"

Lan Zhi's lips curled into a disdainful smile, while Cui Yu laughed mockingly.

"How dare I threaten you? This is Granny Sun's idea. If you don't want to listen, that's fine. Anyway, there's going to be some excitement in Qianqing Palace."

After saying that, Cuiyu rolled her eyes at her and turned to leave.

Lan Zhi didn't want to serve anyone, but thinking that there might be some excitement to see at Qianqing Palace, she decided to take this opportunity to see if Mo Ning had actually entered the palace.

Thinking of this, she quickly called out,

"Jadeite..."

Cuiyu then stopped, crossed her arms, looked back at her, and coldly replied:

"what?"

Lan Zhi ran out the door, laughing as she replied:

"Since I'm bored anyway, why don't I go with you to the Qianqing Palace to help out?"

Cuiyu nodded in satisfaction.

"That's right, it's better for people to be sensible."

As she spoke, she waved her hand, signaling Lan Zhi to follow her.

At this time, many people had already gathered in the Qianqing Palace. Everyone took their seats according to their positions and waited quietly for the Emperor and Empress Dowager to arrive.

"The Empress Dowager has arrived! The Emperor has arrived! The Empress has arrived!"

Qin Shun's voice rang out, and everyone looked towards the door. Seeing the Emperor helping the Empress Dowager walk in, they all stood up and bowed.

"May the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress enjoy boundless blessings."

After the Emperor helped the Empress Dowager to her seat in the main hall, he waved to the crowd.

"Everyone, please sit down. Today is the Empress Dowager's birthday, so there's no need for formalities."

At the Emperor's signal, everyone took their seats.

At this moment, Qin Shun shouted:

"Please invite the envoys from all countries to enter the hall and present their gifts..."

As soon as Qin Shun finished speaking, several people dressed in fine clothes entered the hall.

Leading the group was Huo Batian, the crown prince of Tianwu Kingdom. Just from his name, one could tell how ambitious the people of Tianwu Kingdom were.

He approached the emperor, took a Buddha statue from a servant behind him, and after tearing off the red cloth, revealed a gleaming golden Buddha. He raised his head and loudly introduced it:

"This golden Buddha is presented to the Empress Dowager as a birthday wish, wishing her many happy birthdays and many more such days."

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager nodded with satisfaction, but someone in the crowd shouted loudly:

"Why doesn't this golden Buddha have eyes?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present held their breath, not daring to even breathe loudly.

The Empress Dowager's face turned deathly pale, and the Emperor's brows furrowed in worry.

Huo Batian immediately threw his head back and laughed, then explained:

"Hahaha! The Buddhas of our Tianwu Kingdom are all Buddhas with closed eyes, because Buddhas do not want to see these messy things in the human world, and they want to be at peace with their eyes closed."

These words made Lan Zhi, who was hiding in the corner, want to laugh.

She had only ever heard of the Laughing Buddha with his eyes narrowed into slits when he laughed; she had never heard of a Buddha with his eyes closed.

Moreover, the Buddha statue did have eyes; it's just that its gaze had been maliciously damaged.

This isn't a birthday celebration; it's clearly an attempt to upset the Empress Dowager.

Although the Emperor knew that Huo Batian harbored ill intentions, he pretended not to know and nodded with a smile.

"Since he is a Buddha from the Tianwu Kingdom, we in Northern Wei must show him respect. Guards, accept Prince Huo's birthday gift and return the gift!"

According to the customs of the Northern Wei Kingdom, when foreign envoys sent birthday gifts, the Northern Wei Kingdom would reciprocate with gifts for the envoys to take back to their country, as a way of expressing the intention of peaceful coexistence between the two countries.

A short while later, someone stepped forward and took the eyeless golden Buddha from Huo Batian's hand, and then handed him the return gift from the Northern Wei Kingdom. Only then, under the guidance of the Ministry of Rites official, did he sit in the first seat to the right of the Emperor.

The reason Huo Batian was seated in the most important position was because Tianwu Kingdom had the strongest military, the largest population, and the largest land area among all the countries present. All the smaller countries had to treat Tianwu Kingdom with utmost respect.

Following this, people from four other small countries presented birthday gifts to the Empress Dowager. Because of the eyeless golden Buddha in Tianwu Kingdom, the Empress Dowager was in a bad mood. When faced with birthday gifts, she only politely nodded to accept them and did not show much excitement.

After the foreigners finished presenting their gifts, the Crown Prince and several princes presented congratulatory gifts to the Empress Dowager.

The first to emerge was Wei Jian'an, who unfurled a painting of a hundred longevity symbols before the Empress Dowager and then introduced it with great emotion:

"This painting of a hundred longevity characters was commissioned by your grandson at great expense and presented to you on the occasion of your birthday. May you be as luxuriant as a pine tree and as long-lived as a crane, and may you enjoy peace and health year after year, with both happiness and longevity, and a smile that never fades."

A smile finally appeared on the Empress Dowager's face, and she nodded in satisfaction.

"An'er, you are so kind. I like it very much and I hope that An'er will have a peaceful and smooth life!"

When she said the last few words, she emphasized them, as if she was hinting at something.

Wei Jian'an glanced at her, then nodded with a serious look in his eyes.

"Grandson will remember Grandmother's teachings. Grandson wishes Grandmother a happy birthday and a long life!"

After leaving those words, he withdrew. Next, Wei Jiande, Wei Jianxun, Wei Jianye, Yu Jie, and several princesses came out one by one to present gifts and wish the Empress Dowager a happy birthday.

When the Empress Dowager saw her grandsons, the gloom brought by the eyeless golden Buddha was finally dispelled, and a gratified smile appeared on her face.

At this moment, the Emperor spoke with a beaming smile.

“My children are all very filial. Seeing their mother happy makes me happy too, and I will reward them all later.”