After entering the palace gate and saying goodbye to Yan Fuguang, Lu Qing felt that Ning Huayue's nose was not her nose and her eyes were not her eyes.
She stayed silent until the end, not wanting to be distracted in the palace, and ordered Wu Shuang to hold Brother Lan steady.
The sky cleared up, the bright weather dispelled the gloom of the past, and the interior of Fengyi Palace was as warm as spring.
Brother Lan knelt down next to Lu Qing and said in a young and tender voice: "To Grandma Huang, please say hello."
Empress Xu pursed her lips and smiled softly: "Get up, this little person can actually speak clearly."
Brother Lan pressed against Lu Qing a little nervously, his beautiful and clean eyes wide open: "Thank you very much."
Queen Xu praised him again and gave him a seat.
Crown Princess Jiang Mihe came in with Princess Jianing, Queen Xu said with a smile on her face: "Zheng'er is here, are you feeling better?"
Yan Zheng'er is the name of Princess Jianing. Her body was very weak when she was born. She often took medicine when she got sick. She fell down at the slightest sign of trouble, so she rarely appeared in front of others.
She is six years old this year. She is thin but speaks clearly: "Thank you, Imperial Grandmother, for your concern. Zheng'er is much better. My mother-in-law specially brought Zheng'er here to say hello to you."
Empress Xu looked very satisfied and called Yan Zheng'er to her side to greet her.
The strange thing is that Jiang Mihe was left hanging in the middle, as if Queen Xu didn't even see her standing there alive.
Lu Qing was curious about the relationship between Jiang Mihe and Queen Xu's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
It was later learned that one of Yan Xianzhi's concubines gave birth to a child before New Year's Eve, and Empress Xu blamed Jiang Mihe, who was not in the palace at the time.
Ning Huayue comforted Jiang Mihe blindly: "It is a pity that the child was lost. My aunt was too concerned about the prince's heirs and did not deliberately target the prince's concubine."
Jiang Mihe didn't even bother to smile, she said: "What Princess Jin said is absolutely true, I have learned a lesson."
Ning Huayue was still saying these harmless words. She didn't want to continue talking to her, so she pushed Yan Zheng'er who was leaning on her lap and said, "Go and find her." Little brother is playing."
Brother Lan, who was sitting in Lu Qing's arms, just looked up. He was always alone and had no playmates or friends, so he tugged on Lu Qing's sleeves at a loss.
Lu Qing also saw Yan Zheng'er. She smiled softly, squeezed Brother Lan's little hand and told him, "That's my sister."
Brother Lan nodded obediently and said softly: "Sister~"
Yan Zheng'er, who originally didn't want to play with people she didn't know, was shaken. She moved over in small steps and touched Brother Lan tentatively: "Little brother."
Jiang Mihe simply changed her position and sat next to Lu Qing. She smiled and said: "This boy has become a lot stronger. He looks happy when he is chubby."
Lu Qing glanced at Yan Zheng'er tenderly and liked her very well-behaved look: "Brother Lan is very naughty. Princess Jianing has such an obedient and well-behaved daughter. I feel itchy to see her."
When Yan Zheng'er heard that she was being praised, she blushed and hid in Jiang Mihe's arms.
Jiang Mihe hugged her lovingly and said softly: "My daughter is really considerate. With Zheng'er, I want to give her everything."
But there are always people who secretly regret that her extremely precious daughter is not a boy.
Jiang Mihe glanced at Queen Xu with his peripheral vision and lowered his eyes tiredly.
**
The New Year's Eve family banquet was held in Yongning Palace. Before the banquet started, Lu Qing and others were basically waiting in Fengyi Palace.
Somehow, Queen Xu and Concubine Chen suddenly talked about praying for blessings on New Year's Eve.
"Today is different from the past. Heavy snowfall lasted for half a month, causing disasters. I just want to pray for blessings on New Year's Eve today and ask God to bless me, Dayan."
"The queen has thought so carefully that even my concubines have not thought of it."
"I see that the emperor is worried about the people every day, and I am also worried. I accidentally fell ill a few days ago."
"Queen, please be careful."
"So today I will ask the Crown Princess to pray for me in the Buddhist hall."
Jiang Mihe was sitting in the room, and trouble came from the sky. Before she could say anything, Concubine Chen continued what Empress Xu said.
"Wouldn't it be lonely for the Crown Princess to pray alone? How about the Queen choose another blessed person to be with the Crown Princess?"
Lu Qing's back suddenly tensed up.
Sure enough, Empress Xu went around the place in a difficult manner, but still locked her eyes on Lu Qing's face: "According to this palace, Wei Concubine was born in a humble background and was sold into slavery at a young age. To be able to achieve what she is today is really incredible. It’s considered a blessing, why don’t you pray with the Crown Princess?”
The purpose of praying seems high-sounding, but in fact it is just a way for Empress Xu to punish Jiang Mihe and embarrass Lu Qing.
Lu Qing resisted the pressure and could not refuse: "Yes."
In the Buddhist hall of Fengyi Palace, Jiang Mihe had a futon under his knees, and Lu Qing was not treated so well.
As soon as the palace maid walked away, Jiang Mihe said, "I knew today would not be easy."
Lu Qing said quietly: "I also had a premonition before entering the palace."
After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled.
Jiang Mihe moved a little: "Two hours is a long time, let's kneel down here."
Lu Qing didn't hesitate and pressed her knees on the edge of the futon.
On the other side, in the main hall of Fengyi Palace, Yan Fuguang came to greet Queen Xu, and by the way, he followed Emperor Xihe's instructions to pick up Brother Lan.
Unexpectedly, he didn't see Lu Qing.
Empress Xu explained with a smile: "Concubine Wei and the Crown Princess are both blessed people, and I have given them the important task of praying for blessings."
Yan Fuguang saw her purpose at a glance. No wonder the Wei family had trouble sleeping every night before entering the palace. It turned out that she had already guessed that there would be monsters waiting for her as soon as she entered the palace.
Yan Fuguang's voice was straight and smooth as he said, "The most blessed person in the world is you. What kind of blessed person is Wei? God will blame her for not being able to see her identity."
Empress Xu said helplessly: "I am not feeling well, otherwise I wouldn't have made such a move. If you feel sorry for Concubine Wei, you must also understand your mother."
"Of course I understand, but since we want to pray for blessings, we should take it seriously. With just two of us, it will be difficult for God to hear our appeal. How about I tell my father about my mother's good intentions, and let my father take the lead and work together? Pray for the people.”
Yan Fuguang's tone was not one of discussion. He made a final decision: "As the mother of a country, I worry about the people. When my father learns about it, he will definitely be grateful for your compassion."
Emperor Xihe of Changding Palace learned about this and immediately agreed.
When Queen Xu saw Xi and Didu kneeling down, she couldn't say anything about her physical discomfort, so she knelt down together.
With Emperor Xihe taking the lead, the time for praying was greatly shortened.
After Jiang Mihe knew it was Yan Fuguang's idea, he couldn't help but look at Lu Qing a few more times.
"Why did Prince Jin do this?"
Lu Qing said without thinking: "Your Majesty cares about the people." Of course, it is possible that he did not want to go against Empress Xu.
She never felt that Yan Fuguang did this for her.
But Jiang Mihe said: "In addition to caring about the people, I may also care about you."
Lu Qing paused, went through the second half of Jiang Mihe's words in his mind, and still shook his head.
Impossible, absolutely impossible.
