After sending away the angry Tian Chengzhong, Empress Dowager Tian looked at Su Yao in front of her gloomily, raised her eyebrows and asked her softly: "What, have you finished copying?"
Queen Mother Tian disliked Su Yao, but she didn't dislike him enough to do anything to him. When she saw the Buddhist scriptures that Su Yao had copied, her expression softened. She nodded and said, "You are thoughtful..."
Naturally, she could see that Su Yao's handwriting on the Buddhist scripture was neat, and she knew at a glance that Su Yao was not fooling around. No matter how you put it, asking Su Yao to copy the Buddhist scripture was not a necessary move, and Su Yao clearly knew it, but he still completed it carefully without being perfunctory. This was enough to make Queen Mother Tian change her opinion of Su Yao slightly.
She told Qing He to take Su Yao's Buddhist scriptures to the small Buddhist temple for worship, and then she slowly said to Su Yao: "I know you have a stubborn temper and are not willing to suffer losses, but Eleven is a princess after all, and you are just here to be a study companion, not... Why don't you know how to restrain yourself?"
Elderly people usually protect others' shortcomings, but Su Yao did not feel dissatisfied. She thought for a moment and asked Queen Mother Tian softly, "The Queen Mother thinks that I disobeyed the Eleventh Princess, but how will this harm the Eleventh Princess?"
Queen Mother Tian was stunned by her question for a moment, and after a moment she frowned and asked: "What do you mean?" But before Su Yao could answer, she had actually understood what Su Yao meant, and she couldn't help but narrow her eyes and look at Su Yao.
"Of course I can just obey the eleventh princess. She tricked me into waiting in the garden, which is not a big deal. After all, although I was freezing in the middle of the night, I didn't get sick, and I didn't encounter any other bad things." Su Yao smiled gently, "And the fact that His Highness replaced my homework and asked me to hand in a blank book to the teacher, I can still swallow my anger. Even if Her Highness wanted me to take down the kite, I could climb up. At most, I would just break my arms and legs... But what about His Highness?"
Queen Mother Tian stared at her in silence without answering.
Su Yao then said frankly: "Doesn't the Imperial Concubine love her daughter? No, it's just that the Imperial Concubine knows very well that if there is only one voice around the princess and only obedient people, it is definitely not a good thing."
Queen Mother Tian couldn't help but look at Su Yao again. The girl had a calm face and clear eyes. She was neither afraid nor dodging.
For a moment, she actually felt that what Su Yao said made sense. There were already enough people who followed the princess's lead, but only a few could point out the Eleventh Princess's mistakes as bluntly as Su Yao did.
After weighing the two factors, she began to understand why Concubine Pang never mentioned asking Tian Xun to return to the palace.
Compared with Su Yaolai, Tian Xun's gentleness seemed a bit flattering.
Empress Dowager Tian frowned and was about to speak when Tian's mother suddenly came in in a hurry. She looked at Empress Dowager Tian with an anxious expression, her lips trembling as she anxiously reported to Empress Dowager Tian: "Your Majesty, something happened... The candlestick in the small Buddhist hall fell down and set the tablet of Your Highness on fire..."
What?!
Queen Mother Tian stood up quickly, her voice changed due to nervousness. She had always enshrined Princess Jingming's longevity tablet in the small Buddhist temple, and had people chant sutras and pray for blessings every day. Now this was her only thought. Only when she faced the longevity tablet in the small Buddhist temple did she feel like a mother.
This had become her spiritual support. When she heard that something happened to the tablet, she was stunned and asked in a stern voice, "What happened? What do those people do for a living? Where is the tablet? Is it okay?"
Empress Dowager Tian was so anxious that she couldn't even stand. At this moment, she didn't care whether Su Yao invited her or not. She quickly passed by Mother Tian and went to the small Buddhist temple outside while holding her hand.
Su Yao was left alone and hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether he should leave or stay.
But after a while, Mother Tian, who was beside Empress Dowager Tian, came over with a serious look and asked her to come over, saying that it was Empress Dowager Tian who wanted her to come over.
Princess Jingming's longevity tablet was burned in fire, but they wanted to find her. Su Yao was a little suspicious, but she didn't say much and followed Mother Tian to the small Buddhist temple.
Along the way, Su Yao didn't ask any more questions. Mother Tian glanced at Su Yao secretly, feeling that this girl was really able to keep her composure. It was obvious that something was not going to be a good thing. Everyone could see that Queen Mother Tian was anxious and angry before she left, but at this time she went to Su Yao, and Su Yao didn't even ask the reason.
When they arrived at the small Buddhist hall, Su Yao saw the black curtain that was burned by the fire. He raised his eyebrows and saw Empress Dowager Tian lying on a cushion holding a tablet.
The hands of Empress Dowager Tian, who was holding the tablet, were so stiff that they hurt. She was shaking violently. The confusion and anger in her heart made her look a little ferocious. When she saw Su Yao, she immediately frowned and accused him harshly: "It's all your fault! It's all because of you that Jingming can't rest in peace..."
Seeing the Empress Dowager Guochao losing her composure like this, Mother Tian hurriedly winked at the palace maids and eunuchs, and waited until they all left before she stepped forward and persuaded Empress Dowager Tian to calm down.
The princess's rank was burned by fire, but the blame was put on Su Yao. In fact, this matter was indeed a bit too far-fetched. Mother Tian was a little helpless.
Su Yao was not surprised. From the moment Empress Dowager Tian called her over, she had already prepared for something to happen. Otherwise, how could the fire have anything to do with her? Empress Dowager Tian was so nervous about Princess Jingming's things. If something happened, she would be heartbroken. How could she think of herself unless it was related to her
She did not panic. Her eyes fell on the scattered Buddhist scriptures on the ground and she shook her head: "I do not understand what the Queen Mother means."
"You are not sincere in your Buddhist scriptures!" Empress Dowager Tian accused her like a child who was making trouble for no reason: "Otherwise, something would have happened sooner or later. Why did something go wrong as soon as you put the Buddhist scriptures here?! You dare to say it's not your fault?"
The worst that could happen is that Su Yao and Princess Jingming are not compatible.
Empress Dowager Tian was furious and uneasy. She didn't care about Emperor Yuanfeng's previous statement, nor did she care that Su Yao had been honest with the Eleventh Princess before. She just wanted to quickly drive out Su Yao, who had caused such trouble as soon as he entered the Cining Palace.
Su Yao took a step forward, squatted on the ground, picked up the Buddhist scriptures on the ground, and asked Queen Mother Tian softly: "How did you know that Princess Jingming was dissatisfied with me and that I was not sincere?"
Queen Mother Tian was already somewhat collapsed. She held on to her daughter's rank and just wanted Su Yao to get out as soon as possible.
Su Yao continued to raise his eyebrows: "In addition to the Buddhist scriptures, there are other things here..."