"My lady, the nanny from the Queen Mother's side came over earlier and told you to go to her palace before noon."
"Got it. You can leave first." Shen Qingwan waved her hand and sent the person out.
She sighed helplessly. The Queen Mother must be going to talk to her about what happened in the past few days. She just didn't know how much she cared about it. She was afraid that it would be difficult to deal with her. Although she was not very happy to go, she could only obey her because she was the Queen Mother. Seeing that it was not far from noon, she made up her appearance a little and rushed to the Queen Mother's Cining Palace with her personal maid.
"Sister, please inform the Empress Dowager that Concubine Xian is here to see her." The personal maid bowed slightly to a maid from the Cining Palace and said gently.
"Wait." The maid looked at the two of them, didn't make things difficult for them, and went in directly to pass on the message.
Not long after, a maid came out and called Shen Qingwan in, saying that the empress dowager was waiting for her in the Moon-Watching Pavilion in the backyard.
Shen Qingwan nodded, signaling the maid to wait for her outside, and then the maid led her through many twists and turns to where the Queen Mother was.
The Queen Mother was pouring tea in the pavilion, without any maids around her. When she saw Shen Qingwan coming, she just glanced at her indifferently, without stopping her hands, but signaled the maid to leave with her eyes.
Although Shen Qingwan didn't know what the empress dowager had prepared for her today, she just bowed politely and didn't step forward. She just stood there waiting for the empress dowager to speak, leaving no room for anyone to correct her mistakes.
After a long while, the Queen Mother put down the tea set and spoke slowly: "Xianfei-"
"I am here."
"You have been in this palace for quite some time, so you must know my temper. I won't beat around the bush with you." The Queen Mother picked up the teacup nonchalantly, took a sip, and frowned. It was unclear whether she was dissatisfied with the tea or was giving Shen Qingwan a bad look.
"Yes. Just tell me what you want me to do." Shen Qingwan lowered her head.
"I know that you are the daughter of a general and you used to do whatever you wanted. But now that you have married into the royal family, your every move represents the reputation of the royal family. I hope you will always be careful in what you do and remember your current identity." Although the queen mother did not say anything harsh, her tone was filled with unspeakable majesty.
"I understand." No matter what the Queen Mother said, she could only agree.
The Queen Mother nodded with satisfaction and said, "I will go to Famen Temple to burn incense in two days. Please accompany me."
"Yes." Although she was very reluctant, there was no way she could disobey the Queen Mother's words. Shen Qingwan could only secretly complain in her heart.
"Alright, I know you have a lot of things to do, so I won't let you have dinner here. Nanny Gui..." The Queen Mother raised her voice and called the nanny who was standing not far away to come over, "Send Concubine Xian back first, and then send the ginseng that was tributed a few days ago to Concubine Xian's palace later."
"Yes," the nanny agreed, motioning for Concubine Xian to follow her, "Your Majesty, please."
"I'll take my leave." Shen Qingwan left without even saying goodbye.
The news that Nanny Gui sent Shen Qingwan back all the way spread throughout the palace soon, and people from all sides were wondering what the Queen Mother's intention was.
Fu Yuheng had been sending people to keep an eye on Shen Qingwan's movements, and now he also knew that Shen Qingwan was invited by the Queen Mother to talk to the Cining Palace. He was very unhappy with the Queen Mother's behavior. After all, she was not his biological mother, and there was not much affection between them. He usually respected her out of filial piety, and he always followed her decisions, which made her control more and more.
The emperor played with the beads in his hand, and it seemed that it was time for him to make some changes.
On the other side, the Ninth Prince also heard that the Queen Mother asked Shen Qingwan to accompany her to Famen Temple to burn incense. He felt that Shen Qingwan must be unwilling but it was difficult for her to refuse the Queen Mother. After thinking about it, he decided to go to Shen Qingwan's palace.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor is here." The maid came to report.
"Your Majesty? Please invite him in." Shen Qingwan paused. Fu Yuheng came just after visiting the Empress Dowager. It might not be a coincidence. He must have come for a conversation.
"Yes." The maid nodded.
"My beloved, did mother give you any trouble today?" Fu Yuheng asked directly without beating around the bush as soon as he entered the room.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The Empress Dowager won't make things difficult for me." Shen Qingwan smiled gently. Although she didn't want to go to Famen Temple, this was indeed just a small matter and not a big deal.
Fu Yuheng saw through her thoughts at a glance and said, "She asked you to accompany her to Famen Temple? If you don't want to go, then don't go. I'll talk to the Queen Mother on your behalf."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Shen Qingwan smiled gratefully at him. She knew he was afraid that she would be embarrassed, but it was a bit of an overreaction to go to the Queen Mother to refuse this matter on her behalf. The Queen Mother might even hate her. "It doesn't matter whether I go to Famen Temple or not, but since the Queen Mother has asked me to go, it's better for me to go with her."
"But..." Fu Yuheng wanted to persuade her, but Shen Qingwan shook her head, signaling him not to say anything more, as she had already made up her mind.
Fu Yuheng also knew that it was difficult to change Shen Qingwan's decision, so he had to give up.
"I won't say much. If the Queen Mother makes any excessive demands, just come to me." Fu Yuheng still had a lot of things to do, so he didn't stay any longer. "I'll go back first. If you have any problems, just come to me."
"I won't see you off. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty." Shen Qingwan bowed.
Fu Yuheng came and left in a hurry, just for her safety, which made her very grateful and she silently kept this favor in her heart.
Liu Churong also heard about Shen Qingwan's message, but she didn't think the Queen Mother had any good intentions for Shen Qingwan, and she must be giving her a lecture. She had nothing to do, so she wanted to go to Shen Qingwan's mansion to talk about what happened today, but she didn't expect to see Fu Yuheng in a hurry on the way.
Liu Churong rolled her eyes, thinking that there was no rush to step on Shen Qingwan, there were plenty of opportunities, and she didn't know why the emperor was so anxious. So she walked up quickly and met Fu Yuheng who was walking towards her.
"Your Majesty, is there something wrong that makes you so anxious?" Liu Churong asked.
"Noble Concubine Liu." Fu Yuheng frowned and looked at Liu Churong in front of him, a little unhappy, "Is there anything? If not, then please leave."
"I just wanted to share the emperor's worries, but I didn't expect that the emperor would be so cruel to me." Liu Churong pretended to be aggrieved and looked at him with her watery eyes.
"This..." Fu Yuheng was helpless. He didn't expect her to say that.
"If Your Majesty has no urgent business, can you dine with me? I know Your Majesty is busy, but he cannot ruin his body because of official business. It is more important to take care of your health!" Liu Churong didn't care whether he was embarrassed or not, he just wanted to achieve his own goal.
"That's fine." Seeing that Liu Churong would not give up until he achieved his goal, Fu Yuheng had no choice but to nod in agreement.