The Eleventh Princess nodded hesitantly, somewhat at a loss: "Mother, did Xiaoxun do something..."
After all, she is just naive, not stupid.
The change in the palace's attitude towards Tian Xun cannot be ignored simply by saying that something happened to the Tian family.
Seeing her daughter asking such a question, Concubine Pang felt a little complicated and relieved at the same time. After all, when Princess Mingchang and the others were the same age as the Eleventh Princess, they were not so ignorant. But people can't always live as they please, even princesses are the same.
She thought for a moment, touched Princess Eleven's hair and asked softly, "Do you think the Queen Mother treats Tian Xun well?"
"Of course it's good." Princess Eleven opened her eyes wide without hesitation: "Grandmother Royal likes Xiaoxun very much and even let Xiaoxun live in the Cining Palace."
As a study companion as well, Su Yaoke lived obediently in the Qingning Palace arranged by Concubine Pang.
"Then, after Tian Xun left the palace, how did the Empress Dowager's attitude change?" Concubine Pang reminded her. Seeing her daughter's thoughtful expression, she gently reminded her: "Abao, you should think about it carefully."
Sooner or later, you have to learn to think about and face some things on your own. She can't guarantee that she can protect her daughter completely for the rest of her life.
The Eleventh Princess seemed to be lost in thought. She felt absent-minded for the next few days and had no energy to cause trouble for Su Yao again.
Concubine Pang simply gave Su Yao a holiday, allowing her to leave the palace and stay at home for a few days. She smiled and said, "You are the smartest child. Baozhu will need you to remind her more in the future. I will not hide it from you. When you come back from outside the palace, we will almost go to the temporary palace to escape the summer heat."
Su Yao realized that she was also on the accompanying list, which was also expected. She nodded in agreement.
Concubine Pang asked Aunt Cui to go to the Su family with Su Yao: "It just so happens that the Earl of Yongding is getting married, and I have some rewards to give out, so I will let Aunt Cui and Eunuch Feng go with you."
He also asked Su Yao to bid farewell to Queen Mother Tian, showing that he was very close to Su Yao.
Su Yao naturally would not refuse Concubine Pang's kindness, so he went to the Cining Palace to say goodbye to Empress Dowager Tian.
After not seeing each other for a while, the Cining Palace looked much quieter than before. Even the servants were very cautious, fearing that they would offend their master. The wrinkles on Mother Tian's face deepened a little. She came out to greet Su and invited him in: "The Empress Dowager is in the small Buddhist hall. If the county lady has nothing to do, she can also chat with the Empress Dowager."
Mother Tian no longer cared whether Empress Dowager Tian liked it or not. Ever since she knew that Tian Xun was lying, Empress Dowager Tian's spirit and energy collapsed all of a sudden. She wanted to stay in the small Buddhist temple from morning to night every day. Even a young and strong person could not endure this, let alone Empress Dowager Tian who was already tired.
Seeing that Empress Dowager Tian was becoming more and more haggard these days, Mother Tian now wished that someone could cheer her up, whether she was happy or not, at least she could stop being immersed in grief for a while.
Tian Xun keenly noticed the change in the atmosphere in the Cining Palace. He thought that Empress Dowager Tian's indulgence of Tian Xun was entirely due to Princess Jingming, and he also felt that Empress Dowager Tian was a little pitiful. Losing her daughter was tragic enough, but this maternal love was being used as a bargaining chip. Even though Tian Xun died, the pain in Empress Dowager Tian's heart would not be reduced in the slightest because of her death.
Incense was curling in the small Buddhist temple. The only wish in Empress Dowager Tian's heart was shattered, and she could hardly hold on. Only by kneeling on the cushion endlessly, chanting sutras and burning incense to Guanyin Bodhisattva, could she temporarily forget the pain, worry and guilt in her heart, and feel like a mother.
After hearing Mother Tian's report, Empress Dowager Tian opened her eyes briefly, but without turning around, she said softly, "Go, you are thoughtful."
I didn't mean to cause trouble for Su Yao.
In fact, Empress Dowager Tian is no longer in this mood.
Su Yao knelt on the futon not far behind her. Seeing that Empress Dowager Tian's hair had turned completely white and her body was a little hunched, she couldn't help but sigh. She thought for a moment and kowtowed: "You don't have to suffer, Empress Dowager. The eldest princess must love you very much. In her heart, you must be a qualified mother."
The hidden pain that had been lingering in her heart for a long time was pointed out to her. Empress Dowager Tian's heartstrings were tense, like a lioness ready to get angry at any time. She turned around and stared at Su Yao, sneered and asked her: "How did you know?"
Everyone can say words of comfort, and everyone can be a good person.
But who can truly understand the grief of a mother losing her child? Queen Mother Tian asked herself whether she could empathize with other people's pain, and therefore she particularly hated those people who talked without any concern and always said lightly such words as "let go, I condole."
If it was really that easy to let go, why was she still in so much pain
Mother Tian was also startled and hurried to see Su Yao.
Su Yao was not panicked. She pondered for a while, looked into Empress Dowager Tian's eyes and said frankly, "I heard from Zhang Tuiguan that when the little princess's body was found, she had a whistle in her hand. Zhang Tuiguan said that the little princess must have held it until her death. I thought that it must be something that the princess cherished very much. Later, I heard Mother Tian talk about this whistle. It seems that it has returned to your hands? The little princess must have been thinking about her mother before she died. She was only four or five years old. When she died, she didn't know what hatred was. This is fortunate, because she didn't know much, so she didn't feel scared and painful like adults when facing death."
No one has ever dared to say such words to Queen Mother Tian.
Even Emperor Yuanfeng tried his best to avoid talking about Princess Jingming's death.
But the more people dared not talk about it, the deeper the guilt Empress Dowager Tian felt.
Until this moment, Su Yao expressed the pressure and emotions that had been accumulating in her heart. She finally couldn't help crying while holding the whistle that was sent back by Shuntian Prefecture.
Mother Tian hurried forward to persuade her, but Empress Dowager Tian's crying became even more sad.
Queen Mother Tian stopped crying until she was tired. She turned around and looked at Su Yao solemnly. After a long while, she closed her eyes with mixed emotions and opened them again. She said to Su Yao, "You are right. I have always been worried that she will be in pain. But you are right. She is still too young. I should be heartbroken, but I should also be glad that she is still young, so she doesn't have to be treated like us adults."
Sometimes the fate between people is really magical, just like Queen Mother Tian wished that Su Yao would disappear immediately a few days ago, but today, she suddenly found Su Yao unusually pleasing to the eye.