Qian Jiujiu and others soon arrived at the gate of the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace. After they went down and just entered the hall, they saw the Empress Dowager's excited look and went straight up to pay their respects.
"Meet the Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother was also excited and pulled the two people over: "Come here, let me see you. I haven't seen you for three years. You seem to be doing well."
Although she had rushed all the way back, the empress dowager felt that her rosy complexion was better than hers, which made her feel relieved.
Qian Jiujiu chuckled: "What the Queen Mother said is right. I am a very good doctor! I will naturally take good care of our health."
Nannanbeibei also stepped forward and saluted at this time: "Greetings, Grandmother."
The Queen Mother pulled the two children to kiss each other again, and the Queen watched with envy. It turned out that Qian Jiujiu was still the Queen Mother's favorite. Seeing the two of them come back, the Queen Mother was very happy, and she had already ordered the imperial meal.
Qian Jiujiu walked towards the queen and said, "Meet the Queen's sister-in-law."
The queen smiled and looked at Qian Jiujiu: "It's good that you're back. Now that you're back, you won't leave. You should stay for a year at least. If you leave later, I'm afraid mother will be anxious."
Although the Queen Mother was talking to the two children, she heard what was said here and immediately said, "That's right, even if you want to leave, you have to leave by yourselves, and you can't take the children with you."
Qian Jiujiu was somewhat helpless: "We plan to leave after the New Year."
Xiaoman was also a little surprised when she heard this: "Leaving after the Chinese New Year? You are in such a hurry, do you have a new goal? What are you going to do?"
The question was so direct that Qian Jiujiu was embarrassed to say anything for a moment, but looking at the Queen Mother and the others who were staring at her with burning eyes, Qian Jiujiu coughed twice.
"That husband suddenly wanted to experience what it was like to be a ninth-rank official, so he planned to find a small county town to benefit the people."
To be a ninth-rank official? What kind of idea is this? It's really weird. The queen looked puzzled and looked at Xiaoman, while Xiaoma looked at Qian Jiujiu with envy.
"You guys are the best. You can do whatever you want. If I hadn't brought my children with me, I would also be making a name for myself in the martial arts world right now!"
Qian Jiujiu glanced at Xiaoman and suddenly said, "Don't say it, you may really have this opportunity. My parents have returned to the island and will not come out for the time being. Your second uncle and second aunt will be free, and they may even go to Beijing to help you take care of the children."
Second uncle and second aunt, that is, Xiaoman's parents-in-law. Xiaoman was stunned. Parents-in-law were originally very far away, but they were coming all of a sudden
"Then should I make some preparations to welcome it?"
Qian Jiujiu shook his head: "I'm not sure either, think about it carefully."
When the emperor heard that Mu Yexiao and others had entered the palace, he quickly dealt with the matter and brought Gu Xiangning over: "What are you talking about? It sounds very lively."
The Queen Mother was no longer talking to Nannanbeibei at this time, because Nannanbeibei was distributing gifts to Yin'er and the second and third princes.
The two-year-old Yuanbao also kept moving towards that side. With the nanny watching, they were making a lot of noise, so the scene seemed particularly lively.
The empress dowager was so happy when she saw the scene in front of her. As for the fact that Qian Jiujiu and others would leave again after the new year, she had selectively forgotten about it.
The Cining Palace was unusually happy today. After the emperor and Gu Xiangning arrived, Mu Yexiao went to talk to the emperor, telling him about what he encountered during this voyage, the situations in other countries, and the scenery of the sea.
Dinner was soon prepared and the group had dinner at one table. At night, Nannanbeibei stayed in the palace, while Qian Jiujiu and Mu Yexiao went out of the palace.
Xiaoman and Gu Xiangning took their children home and went their separate ways. The news that the King and the Queen had returned quickly spread throughout the capital.
The next day, during the morning court session, Wan Houyu brought Xita and others to wait at the palace gate. The emperor had already started sending people to come for an audience.
Wan Houyu, Xita and others followed the eunuch and walked towards the hall where the emperor held court. As they entered, both sides were filled with civil and military officials.
Xita and the others had never seen such a battle before. They were almost shocked and amazed: "Oh my God, the Great Zhou Kingdom is really powerful."
When they arrived at the palace, Wan Houyu was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, the princess of Bali Kingdom, the prince is here."
Xita and Xili quickly knelt down and saluted using the etiquette that Wan Houyu taught them yesterday: "Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou. Long live the emperor."
The emperor was quite curious that he could speak the language of the Great Zhou. He nodded and said, "Stand up."
The people of Bali Kingdom then stood up, and Wan Houyu took out the gift list and began to talk about the gifts they offered to the emperor during this audience.
I have to say that I just wanted to see the Xita and others from the Great Zhou Kingdom. They started offering tributes for no apparent reason, and the gifts they sent were very generous.
In order to demonstrate the financial strength of the Great Zhou, the emperor immediately rewarded some things. Although the quantity was a lot, they were all very ordinary things for the Great Zhou.
Xita and the others were so happy. After meeting the emperor, Wan Houyu led the group away. Just after they came out, before leaving the palace, they saw many eunuchs and palace maids waiting here. When they saw them coming out, they hurried to greet them.
"Master Wan, I am a servant of the Queen Mother. I am here to bring these foreigners to the Queen Mother for an audience."
I heard yesterday that Qian Jiujiu and his friends brought foreigners with them this time. It's very interesting. The Queen couldn't wait to summon the people from Bali Kingdom today.
Wan Houyu frowned. The other party was the queen, so he dared not refuse. He could only nod and said, "Please lead the way, eunuch."
Then he turned to look at Sita and began to introduce the current situation and the identity of the queen to Sita. Sita and others were also very curious about what kind of woman the mother of a country was.
When I met the queen, she was wearing a phoenix robe. It was obvious that she had dressed up specially. She looked quite elegant and luxurious.
Xiya was fascinated by the Queen at the first sight. No, it should be said that she was fascinated by the phoenix robe on the Queen. She couldn't help but walk over and even wanted to reach out and touch the Queen's phoenix robe.
Just now she didn't dare to look up, and didn't see the emperor's dragon robe. Otherwise, she would have run towards the emperor, which would have been a disaster.
Xiya's action caused Si Yue to misunderstand, and she stood in front of the queen and said, "How dare you? You don't even kneel down to pay respect to the queen."
Wan Houyu was stunned. How could Xiya be so bold? In fact, when Xiya entered the city, Qian Jiujiu specifically asked whether Xiya would follow her or Xita.
At that time, Xiya thought that since she was also a native of Bali Country, she should naturally be with the people of Bali Country, so she joined in.
As compatriots in a foreign country, Xita and Xiya have a good relationship. Seeing the maid beside the queen scolding loudly, she hurried to help explain.
"Please listen to my explanation, Queen. Xiya is a fashion designer and has a strong pursuit of beautiful service. It is only because of the beauty of the service on the Queen that she can't help herself. I have no intention of offending you."
Hearing Xita's words, the queen was a little surprised: "You speak the language of Da Zhou quite well, was it someone who taught you that?"
Xita nodded and explained: "Yes, I learned the Great Zhou language from Master Wan. It took me more than a year to learn it!"
On the way back, she pestered Wan Houyu to learn knowledge almost every day, and in two years, their relationship had made great progress. However, Wan Houyu seemed to be struggling and did not take the last step.
The Queen nodded: "So, you are Master Wan's student. Master Wan taught this student well. What's her name?"
Suddenly he changed the subject and asked about Xiya's name. Wan Houyu quickly said, "Her name is Xiya. She is a friend of the princess. She came to travel in the Great Zhou at the invitation of the princess."
The queen's eyes turned, telling herself that this woman could not be touched? She also used the princess to pressure her. The queen felt a little unhappy in her heart. She looked at Wan Houyu and then glanced at Xiya.
"You said she's a fashion designer, so she makes clothes, right? Since you're so interested in making clothes, do you have any idea of staying in the palace to work? We can also exchange ideas about the clothing culture between the two countries."
I have to say, this is a beautiful statement. When Wan Houyu was about to refuse, Xiya took the lead and said, "Really? Can I stay in the palace to study? I heard from Jiujiu that everything in the palace is the best in Da Zhou. Thank you, Queen."
Wan Houyu wanted to cover his face with his hands. This Xiya really did something wrong. It was obvious that the Queen was unhappy. She wanted to keep her in the palace to teach her a lesson, but she actually sent herself to the door.
Even if he wanted to help, he didn't know how to help? The queen didn't expect that Xiya would agree so quickly. She nodded and looked at Si Yue: "Si Yue, take her over and let someone teach her well."
The Queen would be very upset if she came up to him and tried to touch him the first time they met. Si Yue also felt that Xiya had offended the Queen, and she looked so innocent, which made her very unhappy.
"Yes, my lady. Miss Xiya, please come with me."
On the surface, they were still very polite. As soon as Si Yue took the person away, the concubines came to pay their respects. They said they came to pay their respects, but in fact they were just here to see the foreigners.
As concubines in the harem, they don't have the ability to summon foreigners, but they can still join in the fun.
Those who came together were Concubine Han, Concubine Liu, and Concubine Chen. These were the Queen's confidants, so it was normal for them to come together. Later, many concubines came one after another.
Xita was a little surprised and secretly asked Wan Houyu: "Master Wan, are these all the emperor's wives? Isn't it said that a man in the Great Zhou can only have one wife?"