When the Empress Dowager returned to the palace, she lived in Xiwei Palace.
She had her own palace, which had been given to her over the years and cleaned daily to keep it exactly as it was when she left.
She lived in the East Pavilion of the Xiwei Palace, and the emperor lived in the West Pavilion. After returning to the palace, she did not order anyone to see her.
The emperor went there twice, but she didn't see him. She just said that she hadn't settled down yet and asked the emperor to go back and have a good rest first.
The emperor had been looking forward to her return. Now that she was back, she lived in Xiwei Palace, but was unwilling to see him.
The emperor said sadly to Eunuch Lu: "The old ancestor must be very angry with me. I forced her to come back, but she didn't want to see me."
Eunuch Lu injured his lower abdomen that day. Although the injury was not serious, the imperial physician said that he had to stay in bed and rest. However, the emperor could not be without such old people as him. Eunuch Bao was gone, so he had to stay by his side.
The emperor also sympathized with him and placed a couch for him in the palace for him to lie on and keep him company.
The emperor's health was already very poor, so he began to take Wu Shi San to maintain his spirit.
Although the court did not recommend it, there was nothing that could be done since he simply did so.
After taking Wu Shi San, one needs to sweat, but for a weak emperor, being able to move is the best way to sweat.
He did not allow anyone to accompany him, so he walked out by himself and knelt in front of the Empress Dowager's palace.
The emperor knelt, so how could the people in the Xiwei Palace not kneel? However, the emperor ordered them not to get close, so they knelt far away, and even Eunuch Lu came out and knelt.
For a full hour, the Empress Dowager did not allow anyone to come out.
The emperor took Wu Shi San and was able to hold on, but Eunuch Lu could not hold on and fainted. The palace servants hurriedly carried him back to rest.
When the concubines in various palaces learned that the Empress Dowager had returned, they all came to pay their respects. When they saw the emperor kneeling, they had no choice but to kneel as well, although they didn't know why.
Mei Fei knelt all the way forward, knelt beside the emperor, supported him with half of her body, and asked worriedly: "Your Majesty, are you okay?"
The emperor was deeply moved by Mei Fei's considerate behavior that did not hurt his self-esteem. He was indeed a little overwhelmed, and with Mei Fei leaning towards him, his shaky body had a support point.
"I'm fine!"
"I'll kneel with you!" Concubine Mei said softly.
Although the emperor issued an edict to confer the title of imperial concubine on her, the ceremony had not yet been held, so everyone still called her Empress Mei.
The emperor said nothing, which meant he acquiesced.
In Yanxi Palace, the Empress Dowager also knew that the Grand Empress Dowager had returned.
She frowned and said to Rurong beside her: "I'm afraid that the harem will be in turmoil if she comes back."
Ru Rong said: "Please rest assured, Queen Mother. The Grand Empress Dowager is also a reasonable person. Besides, you are now the Empress Dowager. She can't treat you coldly as before."
"I'm not worried about that. As the saying goes, when a person leaves, the tea gets cold. In the past, she was indeed the pillar of the Great Zhou. But now she has been gone for so long, and when she comes back, the situation has changed. I am the one in charge of the harem now. If I am happy, I can give her food to eat. If I am not happy, you don't have to pay attention to me. She can't do anything to me. Does she think that after she comes back, the people in the palace will still listen to her?"
"In that case, what are you worried about?" Ru Rong asked.
The Queen Mother sighed, "She is a person who is good at making trouble. I am just worried that the Emperor will be deceived by her."
"Then there is no need to worry. You were personally promoted to the position of Empress Dowager by the Emperor. He cannot help the Grand Empress Dowager to oppose you."
The Empress Dowager thought about it and agreed. However, there was one question that she still hadn't figured out, which was why the Emperor wanted to help her become the Empress Dowager.
I thought the Emperor would have a request, but up to now, the Emperor has not made any request to her, or asked her to do anything as the Empress Dowager, except for embarrassing Xia Zian a little.
Well, maybe he really wanted to use her to curb the concubines, fearing that they would collude with the foreign relatives.
Xuezhan walked in quickly from outside and said, "Empress Dowager, the Grand Empress Dowager invites you to come over."
"Just say I'm tired and go to bed." The Queen Mother said lightly.
Whether in the past or now, she never does what the old woman does.
Especially now her status is different. She is the empress dowager. If she asks, will she go
Xuezhan was stunned for a moment, "Well, OK, I will go out and answer the call."
Ru Rong said, "Don't be in a hurry yet."
Then, she said softly to the Empress Dowager, "Empress Dowager, I think you should go. After all, she is older than you and she just returned to the palace. You should go to see her once to follow the filial duty, so that you won't be taken advantage of by others in the future. If you tell the Emperor about this, you will be embarrassed, right?"
"Where does she live?" The Queen Mother thought it made sense, so she asked Xuezhan.
Xuezhan said, "To answer the Queen Mother's question, she lives in Xiwei Palace, and she has not seen the Emperor yet. The Emperor has been kneeling in the East Pavilion for more than an hour, but she has not seen him. The other ladies have also gone to kneel together."
"How could such a thing happen?" The Queen Mother was furious. "Why is she putting on such an attitude right after she came back? She even made the Emperor kneel before her for such a long time despite being ill. Does she really think she is the ancestor?"
She stood up and said arrogantly, "Let's go. Since she invited me, I will go there myself."
Xuezhan was very frightened because the old woman who had just delivered the message had originally asked the old woman from Yanxi Palace to come over and pay her respects.
The old woman had a very imposing aura, and her eyes were like poisonous snakes, which made people feel cold in their hearts at the first glance.
When the Empress Dowager arrived at the Xiwei Palace, she saw the emperor and his concubines kneeling outside. She was furious and stepped forward to the emperor and said, "You are not feeling well. Stop kneeling and get up."
The emperor did not even raise his head, but slightly adjusted his kneeling position, "Don't worry, Queen Mother. I'm fine."
"Get up, get up!" The Queen Mother actually reached out to pull him up, angrily saying, "Does she really think she is a thing? How dare she ask you to kneel for so long despite being sick?"
The emperor raised his eyes in disgust. Before he could say anything, he saw Aunt Ah She coming out. He glanced at her coldly and said to the empress dowager, "Are you here? Come in. The great empress dowager wants to see you."
The emperor suddenly raised his head and looked at Aunt Ah She, "Aunt, can the old ancestor please see me?"
"Kneel down. We'll meet when the time comes." Aunt Ashe said in a cold tone.
"How dare you!" The Queen Mother was furious. She pointed at Aunt Ah She's nose and shouted, "Who do you think you are? How dare you speak to the Emperor like that?"
Aunt Ah She glanced over coldly, "Are you going in or not? If not, just kneel here."
After saying that, he turned around and went in.
The Empress Dowager was furious and followed him in. She wanted to ask the old woman how she disciplined her servants.
When the Empress Dowager was still the Concubine Xi, no, or rather, when she was still the Crown Prince's concubine, she already had this temper, and it has not changed for many years.
In fact, being able to maintain her temper is also a kind of happiness, proving that she has never suffered a life-and-death loss.
After entering the palace for many years, although she had never been favored, she was able to live a arrogant life. This was because she was the kind of person that others generally did not want to provoke. She also relied on her mother's family's influence and was able to act arrogantly even though she lived in a corner.
The Empress Dowager was the only person who was never kind to her. It didn't happen many times, but she would remember it for the rest of her life once it happened.
Therefore, she was determined this time to earn back some face.
(End of this chapter)