The emperor obviously did not expect to meet an outsider in the imperial garden. He was slightly surprised before raising his hand and saying, "Mrs. Qiu is free!"
Although the two of them were not familiar with each other and were different in gender, they were still relatives after all. Since they bumped into each other, they couldn't just greet each other and leave. They had to exchange a few words. So after the emperor waited for Qiu Yilan to get up, he said: "I heard that Mrs. Zhuang and Mrs. Qiu came to the palace this morning. I only know that Madam is in the Taishi Palace now. I don't know how she is here? But does the Queen Mother have any errands?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, Her Royal Highness Princess Yongfu saw that her mother and the Queen Mother were having a very happy conversation, so she was afraid of disturbing the two elders, so she took her out of the palace." Qiu Yilan said truthfully, "Originally, Her Royal Highness the Princess wanted to invite me I went to the water pavilion to watch singing and dancing, but I knew nothing about singing and dancing, so I was afraid that it would disturb His Majesty’s interest, so I took the people for a walk in the imperial garden and accidentally disturbed the Holy Master. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!”
How dare the emperor punish her? Not to mention such a trivial matter!
He chuckled at that moment: "Mrs. Qiu is too polite. After all, you are still my cousin. How can you be guilty if we bump into you by chance?"
Qiu Yilan also laughed: "Your Majesty is making ridiculous compliments. How can I dare to call your Majesty your 'cousin-in-law' with your humble body?"
"That's wrong. Yuxiang is my mother's direct nephew, that is, my cousin! My cousin has a wife, so what is he if he is not my cousin-in-law?"
Now that relatives were mentioned, although Qiu Yilan kept saying "dare not", the relationship between the two parties has become much closer. They just stood on the road and exchanged greetings for a while. Finally, the chamberlain in front of the emperor realized that Qiu Yilan was pregnant. He was tired from standing for a long time, so he quietly reminded the emperor, and then the emperor suddenly realized: "It's time for me to go back to the imperial study to practice calligraphy!"
"I send you off to Your Majesty!" Qiu Yilan was feeling tired and wished she could find a place to rest after he left.
Watching the Holy Driver go away, Su He supported Qiu Yilan towards the nearest pavilion and said with some novelty: "Your Majesty is really approachable. This is the first time that this servant has seen Your Majesty so close! He is not fierce at all. You speak so kindly!”
Hearing this, Chun Ran and Xia Ran looked at each other behind Qiu Yilan and smiled: fierce? Even when Qin Guogong got angry before, he had to consider that Qiu Yilan was pregnant! If the emperor dares to be cruel to their young lady, does that mean he doesn't want to live
Qiu Yilan glanced at Su He and said with a faint smile: "You think His Majesty is so kind, but you don't know that our Majesty is not simple!"
Su He asked curiously: "Why is this not a simple method?"
Qiu Yilan just smiled and didn't answer, thinking in her mind: "With my appearance, I have never seen many men who didn't lose their composure even if they met so close to each other - even for a moment! Although your Majesty may have seen me from a distance at the banquet before he ascended the throne. , but looking at it from a distance, how can it be the same as face to face just now? But although His Majesty was surprised to see me just now, he just didn't expect to meet me. In addition, his eyes were too calm. It’s almost calm!”
Of course she is not so bored that she relies on her beauty and therefore hates anyone who is not embarrassed by her appearance.
Rather, "Not at all moved by the stunning beauty - such a person either has to be masculine, but I have never heard that His Majesty has such a tendency! Or he has experienced all the vicissitudes of life and remains calm. At Your Majesty's age , even if he is used to seeing beauties, he is still far behind; the last possibility is that he has great intentions and is extremely determined, so he is not deceived by external things at all!"
Thinking of this, Qiu Yilan couldn't help but press her eyebrows. Under normal circumstances, the emperor had grand plans and a firm mind, which was a blessing to his subjects.
But now that the Jiang family controls the government, it is not a good thing if the emperor is too capable!
"Remind me later!" Although Qiu Yilan felt that doing so was unfair to the emperor, she did not dare to ignore it when it involved her family and life, especially now that she had another baby in her belly!
After spending some time in the pavilion, at around noon, a palace maid came over and said, "The Queen Mother has hosted a banquet in the Taishi Palace. She ordered the maid to invite the young lady to come over!"
"Thank you!" Qiu Yilan said politely and motioned to Su He to reward her with a purse. She stood up, straightened her clothes, and followed the maid back to the Taishi Palace for the banquet.
Princess Yongfu was not present at the banquet. Since Mrs. Zhuang was present, Queen Mother Jiang specially explained: "Prince Jing Bo came to the palace today to report something..."
Mrs. Zhuang understood this and said with a smile: "Then hurry up and stop disturbing them!"
Mrs. Zhuang is more familiar with Oubicheng, who often travels between northern Xinjiang and Beijing, than her own son, and treats him as her own flesh and blood. Since he is engaged to Princess Yongfu and has a serious status, as an elder who truly loves them, he is naturally happy to see the two of them getting along well. How can he be angry because Princess Yongfu is not here at this moment
Empress Dowager Jiang also knew her temper, so she smiled slightly and said nothing further. She just reciprocated the favor and repeatedly asked people to serve Qiu Yilan dishes: "These are all good for the child to eat during pregnancy."
Although there were not many people at this potluck dinner, the atmosphere was great.
After the banquet, Queen Mother Jiang chatted with Mrs. Zhuang for a while, and then Mrs. Zhuang proposed to resign.
The Queen Mother was a bit unsatisfied: "It's been a long time since anyone has been able to chat with the Ai family for so long. If the fourth sister-in-law is not in a hurry to return to Northern Xinjiang, she should ask Chang Jin to come to the palace!"
Mrs. Zhuang said with a smile: "It's natural. Now the eldest brother is gone; the third house and I have nothing to say; the sixth house is thinking about the face of the third uncle and three aunts, and pretends to be confused, but it's okay." I'm too impatient to pay attention to it! As for the eighth wife, she is not older than my eldest daughter-in-law, and she is called sister-in-law. What can I say about the Queen Mother and my fifth sister?"
"Fifth sister is very busy now!" Empress Dowager Jiang joked, "It's easier here in the Ai family. The ceremony for establishing the queen is a state matter and is left to the Ministry of Rites. So the fourth sister-in-law can only come to the Ai family if she wants to talk to her peers. "
The two aunts and sisters joked for a while, and then the Queen Mother let them go.
Back at the Duke's Mansion, Mrs. Zhuang specifically asked the servants who stayed behind. She was relieved when she learned that there was no movement from Duke Qin's side: "I told you that it is impossible to detain me for the rest of my life!"
Qiu Yilan bit her lip to hold back her laughter, thinking that Mrs. Tao had complained of illness and refused to come out to speak or do anything. With Qin Guogong's seniority and status, could he still go to battle to train his daughter-in-law in person? You can only be generous!
But it was not easy to say this, so he changed the subject and said, "Has mother asked the Queen Mother about the ladies in the capital today?"
"Of course I asked!" Mrs. Zhuang looked back at her and saw that she was in good spirits, so she said, "Come with me, we two ladies will go over the details together!"
After entering the house and taking a seat, Mrs. Zhuang dismissed the idlers as usual, leaving only Chang's mother, Su He and other confidants of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to listen. Then she said: "I showed the list to the Queen Mother today. The Queen Mother said that the daughters of those families were left. But that’s one thing! Either the appearance is not beautiful enough, or the family tradition may not be reliable!”
"I think the reason why your eighth brother and your eighth sister-in-law were not on good terms in the first place is because your eighth sister-in-law is good at everything but lacking in looks! So even if this girl who is not beautiful enough can marry you, your eighth brother can't be tied down. Of course it’s not okay! As for the daughter who has a bad family tradition, I’m afraid she has a bad mind, so don’t cause disharmony in our room! I can’t tolerate such a daughter-in-law!
When Mrs. Zhuang said this, she picked up the tea bowl and took a sip to moisten her throat.
Qiu Yilan took advantage of the situation and said: "My mother is so considerate and does everything for our good. I really don't know where we are lucky to have such a kind, amiable and considerate elder to care for us!"
"Your father and I have been away from Beijing for many years, and I think you have been wronged a lot over the years!" Mrs. Zhuang sighed after hearing her daughter-in-law's praise, "It's something we owe you as parents - I can't help you with anything else." Come on, I can only try my best to save you from trouble!"
Continuing to talk about Jiang Yadan's marriage, "The Queen Mother recommended a candidate to me. It sounded good to me. Her elders also knew about it when they were in Beijing in the early years. Even though I have been away from Beijing for so many years, I have never seen that girl. Don’t you know whether a kind is like its mother?”
Qiu Yilan was surprised that the Queen Mother Jiang would meddle in such nosy matters. The Tao family has collapsed now, and even Princess Lu can barely survive. Who else does the Queen Mother need to take care of
Uh, wait, being Jiang Yadan's stepmother... is the Queen Mother planning to harm someone
She murmured in her heart and said on her face: "Please tell me, mother, who did the Queen Mother recommend to Bage?"
"Princess Lihui, the youngest daughter of the King of Huainan, her maiden name is Yitong, do you know?" The candidate named by Mrs. Zhuang surprised Qiu Yilan: "Princess Lihui? Is it her?!"
Mrs. Zhuang said, "Well, is this princess not good?" She frowned.
Qiu Yilan and Princess Lihui had only met once, and the two had little friendship, because Princess Lihui's mother, Princess Huainan, was framed to death by Qiu Yilan's cousin Kang Lizhang, and there was even a hint of a feud. But thinking about the way the princess cried when Princess Huainan was confirmed to be dead, she still felt a little unbearable.
Just as the words of prevarication came to my lips, my mind changed again: "My mother-in-law is in Beijing now, and it involves the selection of the new eldest daughter-in-law. Even if she doesn't doubt my words, she will send someone to check again. By then, if How should I explain if my secret is revealed?"
With such fear in his heart, he said vaguely: "Not really. It's just that my wife has met her once before, but she never thought that she would be Bage's second string, so I'm a little surprised!"
Mrs. Zhuang became interested: "Tell me what happened, and I'll hear what kind of person you are!"
It happened several years ago. Qiu Yilan didn't pay attention to her that time. She still can't remember it very much!
But her mother-in-law wanted to know, so Qiu Yilan could only try her best to recall, and roughly told the story: "... Later, my brother was worried about me, so he went to Zhuangzi to pick me up, and he never saw the princess again. I only heard that Prince Huainan Went to welcome Princess Huainan and her back to the mansion.”
"She is a filial daughter!" Mrs. Zhuang nodded and said as expected, "But it is difficult to fully understand just such a thing. Let me ask more people to see if it is suitable for Xiao Ba!"
"I hope my mother-in-law doesn't think it's appropriate!" Qiu Yilan said yes, but thought in her heart, "It's really strange, why did the Queen Mother recommend Princess Lihui to Jiang Yadan? Princess Lihui has been guarding her mother for the past two years. "Xiao, there is no chance of offending the Queen Mother, right? As for the King of Huainan, I haven't heard of him offending the Queen Mother... Besides, the emperor doesn't dare to offend the Jiang family now, let alone the King of Huainan?"