"The Queen Mother is here!"
Seeing the Empress Dowager approaching slowly with the support of the chamberlain, the officials and the Empress followed closely behind her.
In the Jiying Hall, there were crowds of people. Everyone knelt down and shouted in unison: "Thousand years old, thousand years old, thousand years old!"
At the same time, everyone saluted the officials and the queen, and the sound shook the hall, and the whole hall was filled with awe and solemnity.
The Empress Dowager sat down gracefully, her eyes scanning the crowd below, and no one dared to raise their heads to meet her eyes.
The Empress Dowager was satisfied, nodded slightly, and motioned for everyone to level up.
"I wish that my mother will live as long as the Nanshan Mountains, which will never grow taller or collapse. Like the luxuriant pines and cypresses, I will bear them all."
The official and the queen presented a jade-carved screen.
Jade screens are expensive, but common in the royal family. However, this screen is particularly valuable because it is carved with orchids that the Empress Dowager loved. The orchids are exquisitely carved and lifelike, as if they are swaying in the wind.
Everyone who saw the screen admired its superb carving craftsmanship, which truly touched the heart of the Empress Dowager.
Subsequently, the concubines in the harem gave gifts one after another, which were nothing more than jewelry and jades, famous calligraphy and paintings, Buddha statues and beads, but the birthday gift prepared by Huang Guifei was different.
A panacea that can bring the dead back to life.
"Mother, this elixir is called the Soul-Reviving Pill. It was obtained by a brother of my mother's clan in a mysterious tribe in the mountains when he was traveling. It is specially presented to my mother."
"I wish my mother great blessings and prosperity for all generations to come." Concubine Huang gave a big salute to the Queen Mother, and then personally presented the Soul-Reviving Pill.
As soon as this object was presented, everyone took a breath of cold air, and their eyes revealed some desire.
The queen looked at Concubine Huang, murderous intent flashed in her eyes.
Mu Nanxi chuckled secretly in his heart. There was no mysterious elixir that could bring the dead back to life. It was just a mixture of minerals and herbs.
With these royal families in control of power and rich food and clothing, they began to long for immortality, resurrection from the dead, and placed their hope in those legendary elixirs.
She subconsciously looked at Qi Zhiheng beside her, and saw that Qi Zhiheng's face was as usual without any trace of greed.
Next, the princes and princesses presented birthday gifts.
"Ku'er, quickly bring over the birthday gift you prepared for your grandmother!" the queen said to Qi Kuo.
Qi Kuo stepped forward and saluted the Empress Dowager: "My grandson wishes my grandmother a long life and endless blessings."
Qi Kuo sent someone to present twelve volumes of Buddhist scriptures, all in running script, each volume two meters long.
The Empress Dowager loved flowers and plants, and worshiped Buddha every day. She spent most of the day chanting sutras in the Buddhist hall in Cining Palace.
The Queen Mother was so moved that she wiped her tears, "Okay! Kuo'er is interested!"
The queen smiled and helped: "Ku'er went to Youzhou to control the flood. He has been working hard in the past few days, traveling day and night, and finally came back early this morning. I don't know when the child's birthday gift was prepared."
Mu Nanxi's eyebrows were frivolous and she smiled secretly in her heart.
The queen would really flatter her son and exaggerate.
Mu Nanxi thought of something and asked Qi Zhiheng in a low voice: "Your Majesty, why can the Queen Mother hold a birthday banquet, but the Supreme Emperor has to live in the palace and no longer participate in the world?"
"This is not something that my concubine should worry about." Qi Zhiheng's voice was cold.
"Oh." Mu Nanxi turned around and continued to be a spectator without saying anything more.
Qi Zhiheng's eyes showed no meaning, and he glanced at the woman beside him without any trace.
The empress dowager in the high position was filled with joy and beamed with joy for a moment.
"It's really hard work for Kuo'er to control floods and copy scriptures for grandma. After the birthday party, I go to grandma's private treasury to pick two things I like. Think of them as grandma's rewards for you on behalf of your father!" the empress dowager said with a smile.
Just when everyone was amazed at the filial piety of the eldest prince Qi Kuo, a clear and beautiful voice came from Li Zhongshu Ling.
"The gift from the eldest prince is really full of heart. I wonder what the two princes have prepared for the empress dowager? Princess Zhenbei is extremely intelligent, and what birthday gift have she prepared for the empress dowager?"
Mu Nanxi recognized the man just by hearing his voice. He looked over and met Li Lu's malicious and proud gaze.
She knew without thinking that Li Lu was targeting her, and mentioned the two princes incidentally.
Has this stupid woman forgotten the lesson she learned last time?
Is her slap not strong enough, or is Li Lu too thick-skinned?
Li Shaopeng of the Li family has become an eunuch. Do they still have the heart to attend the Queen Mother's birthday party?
Although it is rude for a female family member to talk too much on such an occasion, she is the Queen's niece and a descendant of the powerful Li family, so who dares to say anything?
Because Qi Zhiheng had disgraced the Li family, Li Lu's father didn't say anything.
Ingenious birthday gifts came one after another, and everyone began to wonder what the two princes would give.
After all, one is a weak and powerless prince, the other is a cold and stern murderer who dominates the battlefield, and he is also married to a medical master who looks like a fairy.
Qi Yun stood up first, and everyone looked at him. They wondered what this sickly member of the clan, who was usually forgotten, and even wore the same robes from previous years when attending banquets, would give.
He walked forward slowly holding a wooden box. The wooden box contained a golden nanmu Buddha statue carved by himself, which was about the size of a palm.
"Okay. Yun'er is interested." The Queen Mother wiped away the joy on her face and raised her hand calmly to ask Qi Yun to step aside.
Everyone could see that the Empress Dowager looked down upon this untitled prince, but Qi Yun seemed not to notice, with an expression on his face, he bowed respectfully and retreated.
Everyone turned their attention to the direction of Qi Zhiheng and the two of them, with faces looking like they were watching a show.
Mu Nanxi sighed.
Even if you dress so low-key, you still can't escape the fate of being called out. Next time, you'll simply change into something exaggerated to blind their eyes.
She stood up slowly following Qi Zhiheng and walked to the Empress Dowager.
Qi Zhiheng gave an order, and a rather huge object, covered with red cloth, was carried up to the hall with difficulty by four chamberlains.
"What is this?" The Queen Mother was curious, and everyone else also speculated.
"After returning to my mother, this thing is called a massage chair." Qi Zhiheng opened the red cloth and something like a chair appeared in front of him.
"This...is this a chair wrapped in cotton?" Everyone was surprised.
Zhongshu Lang Li Xiao sneered, which was very harsh in the relatively quiet palace. He asked loudly: "Is the King of Zhenbei just going to find a chair and give it to the Queen Mother?"
Qi Zhiheng threw Li Shaopeng in front of the house and promised to teach his son a lesson for him, but he was unable to hold his head up in front of others, so he didn't just make sarcastic remarks when he got the chance.
The queen also looked embarrassed: "Look at you..." The queen sighed, with a hint of reproach in her tone: "If you don't want to prepare anything, you can't use such things to deal with your mother!"
The queen had long held a grudge because Mu Nanxi had helped Huang Guifei gain favor, so she naturally helped her younger brother.
The Empress Dowager looked at the things in front of her that could not enter her eyes, frowned slightly, and the anger flashed in her eyes.
Concubine Huang walked gracefully to the official's side and gently filled a small cup of fruit wine for him.
Her movements are methodical and unhurried, and every detail reveals calmness and elegance.
"It's too early for the Queen to say this. Young Master Zhenbei often follows his mother. The relationship between mother and son is deep, so King Zhenbei cannot use bad things to excuse her." She whispered softly, with a delicate and sweet voice.
"Let's first listen to the King of Zhenbei. What do the officials think?" Her affectionate eyes stared at the officials closely, making the officials feel happy.
"What the imperial concubine said is true. You might as well listen to my fourth brother and tell me about the wonderful uses of this chair!"
The queen beside the official suddenly became angry.
How come that foxy girl can influence the thoughts of officials with just a few words!
She tried her best to endure it so as not to lose her composure in front of everyone.
Qi Zhiheng took a step back behind Mu Nanxi, secretly stretched out his palm and pushed the person out.
Mu Nanxi suddenly felt a force coming from behind, and she hurriedly stood still.
She turned around and saw Qi Zhiheng's lips curved slightly, looking at her with pride.
Mu Nanxi's eyes widened in disbelief. What did this bitch mean?
Mu Nanxi took a deep breath, stepped forward and spoke slowly: "This chair is called a massage chair. It is extremely comfortable to sit on with this cotton pad, and it can relieve back pain. Although this thing looks ordinary, But it is very useful. Just sit on it for half an hour every day and you will feel unprecedented comfort."
"Mother, you can sit on it and give it a try."
The Queen Mother hesitated a little, wondering if Mu Nanxi was talking nonsense. It would be bad if she lost her composure in front of everyone and made a fool of herself.
Mu Nanxi smiled and blessed the Empress Dowager: "The Queen Mother will know the truth of what I say is true or false."
Huang Guifei also saw the Queen Mother's concerns and helped Mu Nanxi to persuade her: "Princess Zhenbei has excellent medical skills. I think what she said is not bad. Why don't you give it a try!"
The Queen Mother hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed.
The chamberlain helped her come forward, and she saw clearly that it was a chair made of fine mahogany, with thick cotton pads on it, and the cotton pads were embroidered with exquisite patterns, which looked quite charming.
She slowly sat on the chair, and with the massage rolling round after round, the fatigue all over her body disappeared without a trace.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if savoring this unprecedented comfortable feeling.
After a while, Mu Nanxi asked the chamberlain to stop shaking the wooden pole, stepped forward to hold the Empress Dowager's arm, and helped her stand up.
"What do you think, Queen Mother?"
The Empress Dowager felt refreshed and had a satisfied smile on her face: "Very good! I am getting older and my bones are often sore. It is difficult for you two to come up with such a good thing!"
Mu Nanxi helped the Queen Mother back to the high position: "If the Queen Mother likes it, press it for half an hour every day, and her body and bones will definitely become stronger year by year!"
The Empress Dowager laughed, raised her hand to take off the phoenix hairpin on her head, and put it in Mu Nanxi's hand, "Take it!"
"Thank you, Queen Mother, for the gift!" Mu Nanxi blessed the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother smiled and waved her hand, "Go and have a rest."
Mu Nanxi agreed, retreated and returned to the seat...
