Emperor Xihe always entrusted Yan Fuguang with important responsibilities, and both he and his courtiers had long been accustomed to it.
Therefore, no one felt strange when Yan Fuguang was caught in Changding Hall to help Emperor Xihe review the memorial as soon as he clicked Mao.
"It is said that it has snowed in the south this year, which has affected the lives of the people. Fuguang, please pay attention to the folds there." Emperor Xihe ordered while holding a tea cup and leaning on a soft chair nearby. The water rose in the air. The fog was blown away by him, and he took a sip of the clear tea soup.
Yan Fuguang wanted to refuse, but Emperor Xihe didn't give him a chance.
A warm palm patted Yan Fuguang's shoulder, and his old voice sounded a little tired: "My arm hurts, so don't go back tonight. Rest in the palace and help me share my worries."
Yan Fuguang picked up the memorial as if resigned to his fate, what else could he say.
From this time on, Xi and Emperor San would keep Yan Fuguang in the palace for one night. As time went by, the quarrel about establishing a crown prince became more heated.
Empress Xu felt an unprecedented crisis. She knew that Emperor Xihe had blatantly favored Yan Fuguang, which meant that he really wanted to give up on their mother and son.
In desperation, she thought of the Jiang family and the Ning family.
Jiang Mihe was taking care of the sick Yan Zheng'er at home and had no time to come to Queen Xu to be her punching bag, so he asked his servants to refuse.
Mrs. Ning thought that Queen Xu was her cousin after all, and since Yan Xianzhi was still detained, it seemed too impersonal for her not to enter the palace, so she got on the carriage and entered the palace.
I haven't seen her for a few days. Empress Xu has changed from her previous dignified appearance. The wrinkles at the end of her eyes are deeper, and her face has lost her smile. She looks several years older than before she went to Lintu.
"Cousin..." Mrs. Ning didn't know what to say. She couldn't open her mouth to say words of comfort, and she couldn't promise that she would always support Empress Xu like before.
"Here, sit down." Empress Xu raised her hand gently. After Mrs. Ning sat down, all the servants in the palace retreated.
Seeing this posture, Mrs. Ning was a little helpless. She rubbed her handkerchief back and forth and looked back and forth uncomfortably. She had a hunch that Queen Xu would say something that would embarrass her.
"What are you..."
Empress Xu sighed softly, staring at Mrs. Ning with deep eyes. She suddenly leaned forward and held Mrs. Ning's hand. She said in a sincere tone: "Cousin, until now, the prince is still imprisoned by the emperor. I can only ask you for help." .”
She had never been so humble before, and the initiator of all this was her biological son. No matter how much Empress Xu resented him, she had to plan for him.
Mrs. Ning's mouth froze with an unnatural smile, and the palm of the hand held by Queen Xu became sweaty. She avoided Queen Xu's gaze and looked away: "You are the queen, please don't say that..."
Empress Xu continued her words and said: "Yes, I am still the queen, but my son is no longer the prince. Cousin, you have heard a lot of rumors outside the palace recently. I am looking for you this time to ask you to think of a solution. Help us, as long as the crown prince is restored, I can satisfy any of your demands."
Her mind was racing, "Huai'an is still out of town, right? I can ask the emperor to transfer him back to the capital, so that your family doesn't have to be separated from each other all the time."
Mrs. Ning gently withdrew her hand, stirring the handkerchief and not daring to look at Empress Xu. When she heard Empress Xu talking about Ning Huai'an, she couldn't help but complain.
"You are Huai'an's aunt. In the past few years, I have actually begged you many times, openly and secretly, to find a way to transfer Huai'an back, but..."
But every time Empress Xu would just shirk it, saying that there was nothing she could do for a while. In fact, after considering her own interests, Empress Xu felt that there was no need to openly offend Yan Fuguang because of Ning Huaian.
Now, she and Yan Fuguang had broken up, but Ning Huai'an had been released and was not allowed to return to the capital. If she had known this, Empress Xu would definitely choose to help the Ning family, at least to get a favor.
She frowned and explained to Mrs. Ning in a good voice: "Cousin, you must know who is the culprit who returned Huai'an to the outside world. With King Jin's temper, if anyone dared to intervene in the first place, he would definitely ignore it and ignore it. Get up, so it’s not that I, an aunt, don’t care about the nephew, it’s Prince Jin who is too domineering!”
Empress Xu was still trying to blame Yan Fuguang at this juncture, but after Ning Huayue came home, Mrs. Ning also realized who was the closest person to her cousin or her daughter.
To Empress Xu, Yan Fuguang was her rival, but to Mrs. Ning, he was her son-in-law. Even if her daughter and son-in-law didn't have a good relationship, their interests were essentially on one side, because Princess Ning Huayuejin His identity is a fact beyond reproach and cannot be changed.
"Your Highness, Prince Jin, cannot be entirely blamed for that. Yue'er was young and did things regardless of the consequences." Mrs. Ning turned her face away, not daring to look at Queen Xu's expression.
"My cousin and I are separated?" Queen Xu withdrew her hand, her tone suddenly cold, "Do you still remember who helped you mother and daughter give advice and help Yue'er gain a foothold in Prince Jin's Mansion?"
He looked calm on the outside, but panicked on the inside. She had single-handedly arranged the marriage between Ning Huayue and Yan Fuguang. What she wanted at that time was to coax Mrs. Ning and her daughter into custody, so that they could both win over the Ning family and restrain Yan Fuguang.
Everything was fine before, but after Yan Xianzhi was deposed, she thought that the strong alliance collapsed in an instant. This was not a scene that Empress Xu wanted to see.
Mrs. Ning was very conflicted. Like Ning Huayue, she did not want to continue to support Yan Xianzhi, but she did not want to completely abandon Empress Xu, or she still felt a little guilty towards Empress Xu.
"I and Yue'er will definitely never forget your kindness. You are still Yue'er's aunt and I'm my cousin." She thought saying this would show some sincerity.
But Queen Xu said: "I am the queen, and my son is the prince. We are the most noble mother and son in the world." She doesn't want any charity from Mrs. Ning, she wants the entire Ning family to stand with her and Yan Xian Over there, he helped Yan Xianzhi regain his position as prince.
Mrs. Ning clenched her handkerchief and looked at Queen Xu in front of her, suddenly feeling strange.
Finally, she left Fengyi Palace on the pretext that she needed to go back to Ningge Lao and others to discuss.
In the carriage, she kept thinking about what Queen Xu had done, including Queen Xu's attitude towards their mother and daughter. Mrs. Ning suddenly realized it.
"It's not that she has become a stranger, it's that I was stupid and didn't realize that all she wanted to do was take advantage of us from the beginning to the end." Mrs. Ning laughed at herself, "Empress, why do you need our sympathy?"
After returning home, Mrs. Ning told Mr. Ningge about entering the palace today.
After hearing this, Elder Ningge asked cautiously: "You didn't promise anything, did you?"
After receiving a negative answer, he thought for a moment and said, "Hang on, you don't have to agree to anything, and don't refuse it explicitly."
Queen Xu sits in the position of queen and can never offend her too harshly.
