Not long after the emperor left, the empress dowager sent someone to tell Shen Qingwan to go to the ancestral hall.
Shen Qingwan hurriedly tidied up her appearance and followed Nanny Gui who came to deliver the message to the ancestral hall. She was very confused. The Queen Mother had clearly made her feel that she was not very satisfied with her. Why did the Queen Mother summon her so frequently recently? Except for that time when she was to punish her, the other times did not seem to embarrass her.
After thinking about it for a long time, she still didn't understand. Shen Qingwan didn't let this question bother her. She simply put it aside and stopped thinking about it. Anyway, in this palace, except for those who were related to each other and had already stood in the camp, the relationship between the other concubines and the queen mother could only take one step at a time. And it was the queen mother who took the lead, and they watched.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?" Seeing that Shen Qingwan's thoughts were drifting away, Nanny Gui called her back to her senses.
Shen Qingwan shook her head slightly, looked at Aunt Gui who had stopped by the side, and asked, "How is it?"
"Your Majesty, we've arrived. The ancestral hall is an important place for royal sacrificial ceremonies. No one else is allowed to enter without a special summons. Your Majesty has to go in by herself." said Nanny Gui.
Shen Qingwan then realized that they had arrived at their destination. After thanking Aunt Gui, she went straight into the ancestral hall. No one stopped her to ask questions in the heavily guarded ancestral hall, presumably because they had received orders in advance.
Entering the ancestral hall, Shen Qingwan saw the queen mother kneeling in front of the Buddhist temple with her eyes closed, reciting scriptures devoutly. She did not go forward to disturb her, but just stood respectfully aside.
Not long after, the Queen Mother opened her eyes and tried to get up from the ground, Shen Qingwan hurried forward to support her. The Queen Mother also let her support her, and after she stood up, Shen Qingwan helped the Queen Mother to smooth her clothes.
"You're here." The Queen Mother spoke slowly.
"I am late, please punish me, Your Majesty the Queen Mother." Shen Qingwan said with her head down.
"Okay, I didn't say you were late. You people always apologize for everything, and I'm tired of hearing it." The Queen Mother waved her hand unhappily, signaling Shen Qingwan not to continue.
Shen Qingwan lowered her head. She didn't dare to respond to such words. It was better to remain silent.
The Queen Mother didn't expect Shen Qingwan to respond to her, and continued, "Since you are here, help me copy some Buddhist scriptures."
As he spoke, he handed a thick scripture to Shen Qingwan.
Shen Qingwan took it with both hands and did not ask the empress dowager how much she wanted to copy. She just followed the empress dowager's instructions and went to the desk in the inner room. She sat down quietly and copied every word.
Although she didn't know what the Queen Mother's purpose was, Shen Qingwan just obediently did what she was asked to do. For a whole afternoon, one of them was reciting scriptures outside, while the other was copying scriptures inside. They lived in peace and harmony.
It was not until it got dark outside that the empress dowager came in and took the scriptures copied by Shen Qingwan.
"You're so slow even when copying a scripture." The Queen Mother sighed, looking dissatisfied but not making things difficult for her. "Okay, it's getting dark, come back with me."
Since the Queen Mother didn't say anything more to her, she naturally didn't continue the conversation about copying scriptures, but just responded obediently.
On the way back, she and the Queen Mother rode in the same sedan chair. Shen Qingwan did not feel too depressed because of her previous experience of riding in the same carriage. The Queen Mother, like last time, closed her eyes and dozed off as soon as she set off.
The servants followed the Queen Mother's instructions and sent her back to her courtyard. She got off the sedan chair and thanked the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother didn't even open her eyes, and she was tactful and didn't say much. She watched the sedan chair go away before entering her own courtyard.
"Your Majesty, you are finally back. The Emperor has come to ask about you twice. I hope the Empress Dowager didn't make things difficult for you?" When Lianyun saw her majesty coming back from outside, she hurried forward to support her.
"No. Has the emperor been here? Did he say what it was about?" Shen Qingwan frowned. Did the emperor have something important to tell her
While they were discussing, a bright yellow figure walked into the room accompanied by the eunuch's sharp cry of "The Emperor has arrived!"
Fu Yuheng raised his hand to stop the two people who wanted to salute, and said, "Forget it, I'll just come over to say a few words and then leave."
Lianyun didn't dare to refuse the formality, so she just greeted him gently and left tactfully, leaving the space for the two of them.
"I heard that the emperor has come to my place several times. Is there something important?" Shen Qingwan asked.
"That's not the case. I just remembered to tell you something about the Queen Mother, but you were sent away by the Queen Mother. It's not easy for me to inquire about the Queen Mother's news from time to time, so I can only come and see you when I pass by." Fu Yuheng answered nonchalantly.
"I wonder what the emperor is referring to?" Shen Qingwan nodded, feeling a little confused.
"The Empress Dowager is Fu Huaiyu's biological mother. I don't know if you know this or not. It's not a big deal, but recently the Empress Dowager has been interfering in my affairs, and has been in contact with you frequently. I think I still have to remind you to be wary of the Empress Dowager." He sighed and summarized the complicated situations briefly.
She was silent for a while, as if she was digesting the news, or thinking about how to respond. She didn't stay silent for too long, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern and for reminding me personally. I understand, and I will be more careful."
"Well," Fu Yuheng nodded, "I have said what I should say, and I will go back now. I have come to your courtyard many times today, and someone will find ways to talk too much when I go to court tomorrow."
Shen Qingwan smiled bitterly in her heart and just sent him away respectfully.
No one came to disturb her in the courtyard for several days, and she had a rare few days of leisure. Fu Huaiyu also did not appear in the public eye for several days.
He was seriously injured that day, and after returning home, he found a secret house to recuperate. After his injury was almost healed, he remembered that after Shen Qingwan saved him and repaid her kindness, she wanted to have nothing to do with him anymore.
After much thought, he still felt unwilling to not be able to get her, so he chose a dark and windy night, wearing a nightgown and sneaked into Shen Qingwan's room again.
Shen Qingwan was about to undress and go to sleep, but when she saw the man in black in the room, she quickly put on her half-removed coat and asked with a little anger, "What does your Highness mean by this? I should have made it very clear last time, why did you choose such a time to meet me? After all, there are differences between men and women. If your Highness has something to discuss with me, you can just come to my courtyard in broad daylight to visit me."
Fu Huaiyu was silent for a while, and did not respond to her words. He just asked her again: "You should know that I came here just to ask you again, are you willing to follow me? If you really don't want to follow me, it doesn't matter. As long as you join my camp, I won't hurt you, and I will definitely not treat you unfairly."