HLnovel Chapter 368: Collect 1 piece
Chapter 368: Collect 1 piece
It can be said that what Concubine Xiao De predicted this time was not wrong.
Emperor Yongjia's entourage traveled for two days and arrived at the hunting ground this afternoon.
The ministers and their families who had arrived at the hunting ground in advance and were waiting at the gate to greet them were all ready to go. When they saw that the person getting out of the carriage was Concubine Liu and not the Imperial Concubine, they could not help but be surprised.
They all dealt with the circle of nobles, so naturally they would not reveal their true intentions. Their faces remained cheerful, but everyone had their own scale in their hearts, and were thinking about the things that Concubine Xiao De was considering.
Qin Liuse also understood what Concubine Xiao De said, but she didn't have time to worry about it. Because she was accompanying her two children, the days passed quickly.
On the third day, the Empress Dowager sent a eunuch to invite her to Kangning Palace.
This matter was so widely spread in the harem that it had already alarmed the Grand Empress Dowager. The reason why Qin Liuse was invited here today was also because of the matter between her and Emperor Yongjia.
"What happened?" When Qin Liuse arrived, the Empress Dowager looked at her left and right, and immediately asked, "A few days ago, I thought you were really unwell as people said, but now it seems that's not the case. What happened between you and the emperor?"
Although the Empress Dowager was old, she was not confused. She saw everything clearly and knew to wait two days before inviting her over so as not to let the people in the harem think that something really happened.
Qin Liuse was so clever that she could come up with a hundred or a thousand reasons to deceive the Empress Dowager, but for some reason, she didn't want to lie to her.
He just opened his eyes, pouted his lips, looked a little aggrieved, and didn't say anything.
When the Empress Dowager saw her like this, she thought that Emperor Yongjia had done something unfair to Qin Liuse.
After all, he was the ruler of a country, so who would dare to disrespect him? No matter how the Empress Dowager guessed, she could not have guessed that it was Qin Liuse who was causing trouble for Emperor Yongjia. She only thought that it was Emperor Yongjia's fault.
Everyone has been young, and everyone has served the emperor of the time. The Empress Dowager naturally understood the principles of how couples should get along, but of course she also knew that it was not easy to live with the emperor, as it was like living with a tiger.
After a moment of sighing, she only said, "If you don't want to go, then don't go. The autumn hunt doesn't mean anything. It's for men. If you don't know how to ride and shoot, girls will just serve as a foil. Just think of it as a place to recuperate in the harem. There's nothing wrong with that."
This time, Qin Liuse blinked in genuine surprise. She had thought that the Empress Dowager would help her grandson and scold her, but she didn't expect that the old lady would turn a blind eye and not find fault with her at all.
However, it was not because the Empress Dowager was unaware of the situation that she did not scold Qin Liuse. Instead, it was because she understood too well how husband and wife should get along with each other that she did so.
As long as the matter between husband and wife does not touch upon issues of principle, it is the business of the young couple. As an outsider and an elder, you can interfere, but no matter what happens, it is for the best.
As the saying goes, fight at the head of the bed and make up at the foot of the bed. This is why the Empress Dowager did not care.
She is so old now. If she is asked to intervene, it must be that something big has happened between the emperor and the empress. But obviously, the Empress Dowager thought that this time, the two were just having a minor quarrel.
Qin Liuse was so flattered and surprised that she came out of the Empress Dowager's Kangning Palace.
After having lived with the Grand Empress Dowager for such a long time and having learned so many rules from her, this return to Kangning Palace was truly the one with the least burden and the most surprise for Qin Liuse.
No news from the hunting grounds was reported back to the imperial city.
Every day, Qin Liuse diligently accompanied her children and helped Concubine Xiao De with her work. In her spare time, she would stroll in the Four Seasons Garden, pick flowers and enjoy the immortelle that were in full bloom in the garden.
The little princes and princesses loved playing in the garden. At this time of year, Princess Anle would call her little sisters to fly kites in the garden.
Therefore, Qin Liuse brought her two children here almost every day to join in the fun with the other children.
Every day, I pass by the chrysanthemum bed.
The chrysanthemums bloomed in bright yellow and golden colors, but after more than ten days, late autumn arrived and they gradually withered.
The Yongjia Emperor's autumn hunting team returned to the palace at the end of September.
When he was in favor before, Qin Liuse would either meet him once a day or occasionally several times. Now that he has fallen out of favor, Emperor Yongjia has returned to the imperial city for several days, and Qin Liuse has not met him yet.
Qin Liuse herself was not in a hurry, but the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager Cixi were very worried about her.
In the past few days, the two old people would occasionally invite her to the palace to talk.
Qin Liuse found it funny. Emperor Yongjia would pay his respects to the Grand Empress Dowager and the two Empress Dowagers every day. The Empress Dowager Cixi made such arrangements to create an opportunity for herself to meet Emperor Yongjia.
Unfortunately, I used to run into him whenever I walked on the road, but these few times, I haven’t been able to run into Emperor Yongjia.
After Qin Liuse left, the Empress Dowager Cixi sat alone in the room, wondering. In the past, Emperor Yongjia would come to pay his respects to her at this time, but in recent days, the time has become irregular.
The Empress Dowager Cixi shook her head. The more she thought about the matter between Emperor Yongjia and Qin Liuse, the more headache she felt.
Fortunately, after a while, Concubine Xiao De came to see him, and someone was talking, so the Empress Dowager Cixi told Concubine Xiao De about this.
"Tell me, what's going on with these two people? I haven't seen the emperor make any decisions about Qin." The Empress Dowager Cixi sighed.
Concubine Xiao De was indeed laughing when she heard this. She picked up the round-bellied teapot with a green bottom on the table and poured a cup of milk tea for the Empress Dowager Cixi. The milk tea was warm and nourishing to the stomach. She brought it to the old lady and said with a smile, "Empress Dowager, what are you worrying about? I think the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine look like young people having a quarrel. Think about it, do they look like that?"
It is possible that after Concubine Xiao De suddenly said this, the Empress Dowager Cixi, who had been puzzled for the past few days, suddenly seemed to have cleared up the confusion. She exclaimed in surprise, "Don't mention it, it really looks like it."
Everything seemed extremely normal. Emperor Yongjia still went to court and entered the harem, and Qin Liuse still took care of the children and managed the harem. It was extremely normal, but because it was too normal, the two of them seemed even more awkward and strange.
Others may not know, but the Empress Dowager Cixi watched Emperor Yongjia grow up and had some understanding of his temperament.
She has been like this since she was a child. Because of her humble background, she grew up with other concubines. She was unfortunate and unpopular, but she could not bow her head. Later, when she grew up, she had her own thoughts and could hide her temperament, gradually becoming profound, but her roots were like that.
Unexpectedly, the disagreement with Qin brought out his childhood side.
The Empress Dowager shook her head helplessly and asked Concubine Xiao De, "Did you notice anything wrong during your time with Qin?"
Concubine Xiao De thought about it and shook her head. "It's the same as usual, nothing unusual."
This is also why Concubine Xiao De likes Qin Liuse. Unlike other concubines, she does not act arrogantly and look down on people when she is favored, and when she loses favor, she does not cry all day long and wail to the sky. Instead, she lives her life as usual and goes out of the palace when she needs to.
The Empress Dowager turned the Buddhist beads in her hand, sighed, and said, "When I asked her during the day, she said it was nothing. But later, when the Emperor came, I asked him the same question, but he avoided answering and only told me not to think too much."
The Empress Dowager clapped her hands and said, "But I don't think he looks alright at all."
"What a pair of enemies!"
The Empress Dowager sighed, "I remember that there was a period of time before, when it was rumored that Qin had fallen out of favor, but they reconciled afterwards. I don't know how it will turn out this time."
Concubine Xiao De continued to smile and said, "Empress Dowager, please don't worry. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. How can ordinary royal children be like this? You can regard this as a blessing for the emperor."
Although Concubine Xiao De was not good at speaking, she had served the Empress Dowager Cixi and knew how to comfort her.
These words really touched the heart of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
How could the children of a royal family have so much romantic feelings?
Although she is the queen mother now, the time when she was in favor was like a flash in the pan, gone in the blink of an eye.
She was the concubine of the late emperor, but she was just a concubine, nothing else. To the late emperor, concubines were always respectful, and no one dared to have a temper.
If we talk about love between young men and women, at most the concubines in the harem had admiration for the late emperor.
As for the women in the harem, the late emperor was a man who would pick every flower he saw. How could he have such feelings for them like little girls? If you have to ask him, the answer is that he liked them all.
The Empress Dowager Cixi closed her eyes, then opened them again, and she couldn't help but agree with what Concubine Xiao De said.
Such awkwardness between the couple is just like that between ordinary couples. For Emperor Yongjia, who lived deep in the harem, grew up in the harem, and fought his way out of the dangerous and dangerous places, it was an ordinary blessing.
If she was like an ordinary concubine, who would come to the Empress Dowager to make a fuss and ask the elders to make a decision as soon as she fell out of favor, the Empress Dowager might not take it seriously. But because this person was Qin Liuse, she did not make a fuss at all, which made the Empress Dowager more concerned.
I had a headache for a moment. "These young people don't know the value of time. If they waste their days in this awkwardness, it would be a waste of time."
After hearing this, Concubine Xiao De curled her lips and thought that the Empress Dowager was really adorable. She comforted her, "What are you worried about, Your Majesty? If you want to help them, just bring them together and talk. Maybe they just can't bring themselves to do it."
The Empress Dowager Cixi nodded after listening to this, and felt that what Concubine Xiao De said made a lot of sense.
Therefore, in the next few days, she sent people to Emperor Yongjia and Qin Liuse respectively to invite them to come for tea and talk with her.
Qin Liuse lived in the harem and had nothing to do, so when she was summoned, she had to come even though she knew the empress dowager had other intentions.
But some people were not so obedient. Unexpectedly, after the Empress Dowager Cixi acted like an elder, Emperor Yongjia did not give her face.
As if he was very busy, he never came once. Every time he came, he would send someone to tell the Empress Dowager Cixi that he was busy with imperial affairs of the Yongjia Empire and that he would come to pay his respects to her another day.
When Concubine Xiao De came to see the Empress Dowager, she couldn't help but slam her head on the table and complain, "This evil creature, even if there were a lot of state affairs accumulated during the autumn hunt, would it be enough for him to be busy for so many days? I invited someone, but he didn't even come."
Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager Cixi had the urge to hit Emperor Yongjia with a feather duster.
But after all, a child is no longer under the control of his mother, and how can she do such a thing to the emperor now?
Besides, even when Emperor Yongjia was a child, the Empress Dowager Cixi was reluctant to treat him like this. She felt guilty about him at that time. Now, she wants to do so, but she can't.
Concubine Xiao De knew that the Empress Dowager was worried, so she thought about how to help her solve her problems. After thinking for a while, she said, "The Empress Dowager's Thousand Years Banquet will be held in mid-October. By then, even if the Emperor is trying to avoid it, he will have to come."
The Empress Dowager finally relaxed her frown and grinned like an old naughty boy, "That's right, the Qianqiu Banquet will be held the day after tomorrow. By then, won't we be able to get together?"