All the people in the garden were led into the palace by the queen.
Zi'an noticed that Concubine Yi's expression was always calm, which was completely different from her previous arrogance.
When I entered the Zhengyi Hall, I saw a middle-aged woman wearing the ceremonial court dress of the Empress Dowager sitting on a pearwood carved armchair. She had a dignified expression, sharp eyes, and was wearing thick makeup, which made her skin look particularly fair.
At first glance, she looked about fifty years old, but if you looked closely at her temples and eyes, you would know that she was over sixty.
Concubine Xi is even two years older than the former Empress Dowager Sun, so, strictly speaking, she should be sixty-three years old this year.
It is not easy for an old woman in her sixties to maintain such good health.
Zi'an knelt down like everyone else and kowtowed three times to greet everyone.
The Empress Dowager did not say anything, she just held the tea and drank it slowly, putting on airs.
No one said a word, which showed that everyone knew her methods, especially Concubine Mei. Although she tried hard not to move, she still couldn't help shivering.
After a long time, Fang heard a cold and majestic voice, "Everyone get up!"
"Thank you, Queen Dowager!" The Queen led everyone to stand up.
The Queen Mother did not ask everyone to sit down. She scanned everyone's faces and finally landed on Zi'an's face, but then turned away in an instant and asked calmly, "How many princesses have arrived? Only one has arrived?"
Zi'an then realized that the Princess of Li and the princesses of several other princes had not arrived yet.
The queen stepped forward to explain sympathetically, "Your Majesty, calm down. The princesses are busy with matters in the palace, so it's possible that they got up late."
"Is that so?" The Empress Dowager drew out the last syllable of her voice, and Zi'an could hear the displeasure in it even with his toes.
She snorted heavily, "No matter how many things there are in the mansion, can they be more than those in the palace? Isn't it just as proper and appropriate for me to handle the affairs in the palace? I'm afraid you don't take my words to heart. Anyway, entering the palace to pay respects is just a formality. Who takes me seriously?"
Everyone was shocked and confessed their crimes.
Zi'an didn't quite understand this situation. How did this old lady make everyone afraid of her
Could it be that the emperor really supports her in being so unreasonable
Zhuangzhuang couldn't stand it anymore and said calmly, "Paying respect is about filial piety, and going under strict orders is about doing a job. You're making filial piety seem like a job, which is disgusting."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager laughed coldly, "Grand Princess, I know you have always disobeyed me. From what you said, do you think those ministers who attend the court can be late at will?"
"Compared with the previous court, it's a joke. Since when did this Yanxi Palace become Guangming Palace?" Zhuangzhuang had never confronted her during the previous few visits to the palace because he thought it was meaningless, but knowing that Zi'an had prepared a good show for the Empress Dowager today, she had to take the lead and dampen her enthusiasm, lest she really take herself seriously.
The Empress Dowager said sternly, "Princess, although you are of the same generation as me, you still have to call me the Emperor's sister-in-law. The eldest sister-in-law is like a mother. No matter what, you shouldn't talk back to me in front of all the younger generations. Over the years, the Empress Dowager Sun has indulged you many times, making you lose all your manners. You have never married yet. Have you never thought that it's your problem?"
Zi'an didn't expect that the opening scene would go straight into the action without any buffering. Although he knew in his heart that he would soon become the next target, he still couldn't help but cheer for Zhuangzhuang.
Zhuangzhuang heard this, but he was not angry. He just said with a sarcastic smile: "The emperor's sister-in-law is the legitimate empress dowager, the biological mother of the emperor. How can she allow a person who has changed her career halfway and has no clear background to say anything about her? Besides, it is none of your business whether I can get married or not. I won't eat a single grain of rice from you. But you, I heard that you used to be the crown princess of the emperor's brother, but why did you enter the palace and be depressed for many years without favor? Has the empress dowager ever thought that it is just your own problem?"
The Empress Dowager smiled sarcastically, "Yes, I forgot that the eldest princess is a sharp-tongued person. It is true that she is very annoying. But why can't I talk about Empress Dowager Sun? After all, she still has to call me sister. Even if she is alive, she has to be respectful when she sees me, right? If I had known that she would allow you to be so unruly, I would definitely report it to the late emperor and accuse her of not governing the palace strictly and not educating properly."
"It's hindsight!" Zhuangzhuang sneered, "Now that the Empress's sister-in-law is gone, you are talking about how powerful you are. Why didn't I see you come out to punish the Empress's sister-in-law and me that day? At that time, your Yanxi Palace was equivalent to the cold palace. Except for spiders and ants, I'm afraid no one would visit it."
good!
Zi'an secretly exclaimed in his heart, the fighting spirit is strong, it's a good start.
The Queen Mother's face changed slightly, and she was filled with anger. Just as she was about to lose her temper, she heard voices coming from outside, "The Concubine Jin is here, the Concubine of Prince Li is here, the Concubine of Prince Qi is here, and the Concubine of Prince Yan is here."
The Empress Dowager gave Zhuang Zhuang a fierce look and straightened her expression. "I'll talk to you later."
The three princesses helped Concubine Jin in, but they saw that the four of them had messy hair and looked embarrassed.
"What's going on?" The Queen Mother's voice was sharp. "Your hair is messy. How can you be half decent as a Queen Mother?"
Concubine Jin still had some lingering fear on her face. She bowed and then explained, "To answer the Queen Mother, I was really rude today. When we were about to reach the palace gate, we encountered a carriage rushing out and almost overturned the carriages of our three families. Fortunately, the Princess of Li knows kung fu and flew over to save my sister. Otherwise, my sister's old bones would have fallen apart today. After asking carefully, I found out that the carriage was purchased by someone close to the Queen Mother and collided with our carriage in a hurry."
"Nonsense!" The Empress Dowager did not give Concubine Jin any face and scolded her harshly, "How many times have I told you that if the carriage is parked outside the palace, you can walk in without any problems. There are so many things to do in the palace every day, and there are horses and carriages coming in and out continuously. You are all so precious that you can't walk, right? Do you still have to ask the carriages in the palace to give way to you?"
Zi'an felt that this was pure and fucking unreasonable.
However, he remained calm and continued to watch the good shows.
Concubine Jin was a person of high moral character and prestige. How could she have suffered such injustice in the past? Now she was scolded in front of the younger generation. She couldn't swallow this breath, but she didn't dare to get angry. After seeing her punish Chen Taijun that day, everyone was scared. It was not because they were afraid of being punished, but they were afraid of being embarrassed.
Concubine Jin said aggrievedly: "If the carriages are parked outside the palace, it will take about half an hour to get in. I am afraid that it will delay the time for paying respects."
The carriages entering the palace usually entered the palace gate, passed through the long palace alleys, and then stopped outside the Huayi Hall. In this way, although there was still some distance from the Huayi Hall to the harem, it was not too far.
The Queen Mother said coldly: "If you are afraid of delaying time, why don't you come to the palace earlier? If you really want to, you won't delay it."
(End of this chapter)