"The Queen wants to invite Ying girl over?" Concubine Qu looked at the nanny in front of her and asked doubtfully, "What's the matter?"
"It's nothing important. It's just that Miss Liu, the daughter of the General Auxiliary to the State, is in the palace. She just mentioned Miss Qu Si. The Queen remembered that she hadn't seen Miss Qu Si for a while, so she specifically ordered me to go and invite Miss Qu Si over. Miss Liu and Miss Qu Si are both unmarried ladies, so they can talk together without any restrictions."
Mammy said with a smile.
It was because of the daughter of the general who assisted the country, and Concubine Qu was very unhappy.
But she couldn't reply to this, so she turned her head and looked at Qu Moying: "Ying girl, what do you think?"
Qu Moying stood up and bowed sideways: "Your Highness, the Queen's grace is naturally the best."
Although Concubine Qu was worried, she had no choice but to do so. Since the Queen Mother had sent someone, she had no choice but to release them.
"Take Nanny Yan with you!" said Concubine Qu.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Knowing that Concubine Qu was worried about him, Qu Moying agreed. It was indeed good to have Nanny Yan who understood palace affairs when walking around the palace.
Calling her great-aunt is too intimate, so she rarely uses it now, especially in public.
Nanny Yan and Yu Dong followed, and Concubine Qu felt a little relieved. After asking a few more questions about Miss Liu, she let them go.
Along the way, we did not take the central palace road, but took the small road.
The maid sent by the Queen explained that that section of the road would be a little closer.
Nanny Yan was a little skeptical, but she couldn't say anything. This way was indeed a little closer than the previous main road, but it was only a little closer. Was the Queen so anxious? Didn't she care about this little difference
Qu Moying followed the nanny calmly. She also realized that this road was not very close. However, she was only summoned by the Queen Mother and did not have much say. Besides, she was probably not familiar with the routes in the palace.
After walking for a while, Qu Moying saw a palace being repaired not far away across the street. He couldn't help but stop and said, "Is that... the palace being repaired by the Ministry of Works?"
The nanny also stopped and introduced with a smile, "It is indeed the palace that the Ministry of Works is repairing. It has been under repair for some time, and now it only has a shape. I heard that the things inside are almost destroyed. It may not be easy to repair it."
"Do the things inside need to be repaired?" Qu Moying raised his watery eyes and looked over from a distance.
"That's what they say, but the details are not something we, as servants, can know. I heard that the situation inside is very bad." The nanny replied with a smile.
This place was originally the Empress Yuan's Changchun Palace, and it was not something they could discuss in person.
Changchun Palace and Empress Yuan are taboo titles in the palace, especially for those around the Empress. They know the jealousy in their masters' hearts best and dare not mention it casually.
As the nanny spoke, she continued to lead Qu Moying forward. Looking as if they were heading in the direction of Changchun Palace, Qu Moying secretly frowned. Why did the Queen Mother send someone to bring him here
"Who is it?" Suddenly someone's voice was heard, and two clashing swords appeared on the path. Two guards stood at the end of the path with sullen faces, looking coldly at Qu Moying and his group.
That kind of invisible cold and fierce aura shocked the group of people so much that their faces turned ugly.
"I... I am a servant of the Empress, and I am now bringing Miss Qu Si to see the Empress." The maid was shocked, but she reacted quickly and said hastily, adding "I am afraid they didn't know her".
One sentence, "Miss Qu Si is the daughter of Minister Qu, the Minister of Works!"
"How do we get to the Queen's Pepper Palace from here?" a guard looked them up and down and asked.
"This place is a little closer. The Queen is anxious to see Fourth Miss Qu, so I took the shortcut here." The nanny hurriedly brought out the previous excuse.
The guard looked them up and down for a few more steps, especially Qu Moying in the middle, and said coldly: "Wait, you are not allowed to move around casually."
"Yes, yes, I won't move." The nanny said with a smile.
A guard turned and left, entering a courtyard to the side. After a while, he came out and bowed to Qu Moying: "Our prince invites Miss Qu to come over."
Pei Yuanjun is actually here? Qu Moying thought it was just Qu Zhizhen.
"Yes!" Since Pei Yuanjun summoned her, she certainly had to go.
A group of people followed the guards into the yard. They couldn't see clearly on the small road at first, but when they got closer, they found that there were four guards at the gate of the yard, all with stern expressions.
Entering the yard, they saw Pei Yuanjun sitting leisurely in a pavilion on the rockery. He raised his hand and waved to Qu Moying, who stepped forward and saluted.
"Miss Qu Si, are you here to see me?" Pei Yuanjun asked elegantly as he watched Qu Moying's slender fingers tapping the stone table in front of them.
"The Queen has summoned me and I am passing by here." Qu Moying was silent for a moment and answered softly.
"It's such a coincidence that you can meet me even from such a far place." Pei Yuanjun suddenly laughed, his voice was a little cold but very pleasant to hear.
He leaned back. He was not sitting on the stone bench in the pavilion, but a large nanmu chair. "Since Miss Qu Si accidentally walked to my place, please sit down first."
He waved his hand slightly, and a guard brought a chair over from somewhere.
"I dare not!" Qu Moying lowered her head.
"Sit down first. Your father will be here soon. It's a good opportunity for you and your daughter to meet him." Pei Yuanjun said nonchalantly. His handsome sleepy eyes swept over the old woman beside him. The old woman shivered with fear, as if something cold and chilly was sliding across her face. She was terrified.
"Your Highness, I have inquired carefully and found out that the people sent by the Queen have already arrived." A palace maid lowered her voice and whispered in the ear of Noble Concubine He.
"Is the news reliable?" Concubine He asked in a deep voice, her eyes slightly narrowed.
"It's reliable. I don't know what the Queen meant. After she got the news that Miss Liu was with the Noble Lady, she sent someone to inform Fourth Miss Qu, and the person went in a detour towards Changchun Palace." The palace maid reported.
Miss Liu Lanxin was summoned into the palace by the Empress Dowager, but was intercepted halfway by Concubine He, who found a reasonable excuse. She could not bear to see her beloved daughter-in-law being snatched away by the Empress Dowager, so after Liu Lanxin arrived at her place, Concubine He sent someone else to apologize to the Empress Dowager.
She was being extremely tactful on the surface, but actually the person was already with her. Could it be that the Queen Mother would get angry and snatch the person away
Concubine He also expected that the Queen Mother would not be willing to suffer such a big loss, and she would definitely have some means to keep an eye on the Queen Mother's movements. She even let her know that the Fourth Miss Qu would also enter the palace today, and the Queen Mother even went to specially summon her over.
"Is Prince Yun in the palace?" Concubine He asked after a moment's hesitation.
"That's what I heard." The trusted maid nodded, "My Lady Concubine, what does the Queen want to do? Why does she want to do that?"
Bring Miss Qu Si to Prince Yun?"
Concubine He frowned and looked unhappy. She had been fighting with the Empress Dowager for so many years. Both of them had the upper hand at times, but no matter what, she could not deal with the Empress Dowager and could not bring her down, so her son could not become the Crown Prince.
No matter what the Queen's plan was, she would definitely destroy it.
Back then, she was able to rely on Empress Yuan to enter the palace. Now, everything she has is still carefully maintained behind Empress Yuan. As long as she and Empress Yuan are sisters, the Emperor will stand on her side. It is impossible for him to watch the Empress suppressing him all the time. Her fingers unconsciously slid across her sleeves.
The brocade clothes were as smooth as jade, and they were extremely moist when her fingers slid across them, just like the fur of the cat in her palace. She felt a little proud, thinking that just a cat was more than what the Queen had gained with all her efforts.
No matter what time, she knew what the emperor wanted and would do as the emperor wished, so she became the emperor's favorite concubine and was favored in the harem for many years.
"Take the cat out!" Concubine He said decisively. No matter what the Queen wanted to do, she would destroy it. The cat was the best excuse.
The Queen Mother led Qu Moying over, and she led Liu Lanxin over.
This is also a win-win situation!
Qu Moying is the future concubine of Prince Yun, which means she is already Pei Yuanjun's person. Pei Yuanjun always gives some face to his own people, but he never treats people he dislikes well. He does things as he pleases and is cold-blooded.
Didn't Liu Lanxin always want to become the princess of Yun County? She would let her see how Pei Yuanjun treated Qu Moying! Although it might not be good, it must be better than her. It was said that Pei Yuanjun had always avoided Liu Lanxin and openly refused to marry her in front of the emperor.
Even if Liu Lanxin had saved Pei Yuanjun, how could a man like him think of such friendship? She wanted to make Liu Lanxin understand that she could not marry Pei Yuanjun. If she did not choose the emperor's son, she would be nothing in the end!
On the one hand, she wanted to destroy the Queen Mother's plan, and on the other hand, she wanted Liu Lanxin to give up the idea and help her son wholeheartedly. Concubine He had already made up her mind.
After arranging the personnel, Concubine He came out holding the hand of a palace maid.
Liu Lanxin was sitting in the main hall. When she saw Concubine He coming out, she hurriedly stood up and saluted.
"Okay, you're welcome!" Concubine He said softly, and deliberately stretched out her hand to support Liu Lanxin. With a smile on her beautiful face, she looked particularly gentle and lovely.
"Your Highness, the cat is missing." A palace maid came in hurriedly to report.
"Where did he go? How could he disappear? I just saw him." Concubine He looked anxious.
“He was there just now… maybe… maybe he went out… he just slipped out accidentally.” The maid was trembling with fear.
Concubine He took a deep breath and her face darkened. "Prince Yun came to the palace today. He hates this cat the most. If he sees it, it will cause trouble again. Get up and accompany me to look for it. This palace is very big. If we can't find it for a while, I'm afraid something bad will happen again."
As he said this, he was about to walk out.
Liu Lanxin hurriedly suggested: "My Lady Concubine, I will go with you to find it!"
"Miss Liu, it would be great if you could help me. You and this maid go over there to look for it. I'll go over there. If you find it, send it over here as soon as possible. Don't make Prince Yun unhappy!"
"Okay!" Liu Lanxin's heart moved. She had originally only wanted to please Concubine He, but now she was really tempted. She had been in Beijing for so long, and she had never seen Pei Yuanjun once, whether inside or outside the palace...