Yi Qing listened to the Empress Dowager rambling on, basically telling her to be a virtuous wife to Xiao Jinghan, to be reasonable, and to understand Xiao Jinghan's difficulties...
It made her feel sleepy. She thought the Empress Dowager was quite interesting. She had thought the Empress Dowager would punish her for defying the imperial edict, but instead, she was pulled here to listen to a sermon.
But was the Empress Dowager a disciple of the Tang Monk? This non - stop nagging was really torture.
"Lady Yi?" The Empress Dowager called out when she saw Yi Qing in a daze.
"Ah?" Yi Qing was a bit dazed and quickly sat up properly.
"Have you remembered all that I've said?" The Empress Dowager looked at Yi Qing's innocent and naive appearance and thought this girl was too simple. She might be bullied in the future.
Actually, Yi Qing hadn't listened clearly at all. "Empress Dowager, I think every couple has their own way of getting along. Maybe the common way suits most couples, but there are always some exceptions."
"Exceptions?" The Empress Dowager was confused by what Yi Qing said. "What kind of exceptions?"
"Take the Princess as an example. In most couples, the husband is dominant, but in the Princess's case, it's the wife who is dominant. If she had a straightforward husband, they would surely be at odds with each other. But if she had a good - looking and sweet - talking husband, they might live in harmony, and the current situation might not have happened." Yi Qing said seriously.
The Empress Dowager thought for a while and felt that what Yi Qing said made sense. "What about you and Xiao Han?"
"Me and the General." Yi Qing rolled her eyes. "The General promised me to be each other's only one in this lifetime. I will be as firm as reeds. There will surely be no third person between us. If someone says it's for the sake of the General's family to have more descendants, then maybe someone else will have to be the General."
The Empress Dowager's expression immediately turned serious. "It's normal for a man to have concubines."
"But my General doesn't want concubines. He just wants to be with me." Yi Qing said seriously.
"Did Xiao Han really say that to you?" The Empress Dowager didn't believe it.
"Yes. The Empress Dowager can ask the General."
The Empress Dowager thought it was bad. No wonder Yi Qing had defied the imperial edict. It turned out that Xiao Han didn't agree. But she had already issued the edict. It would be too embarrassing for her to take it back.
"I think Qian'er is a nice girl. You'll surely get along well with her in the future." The Empress Dowager finally got to the point.
Yi Qing thought the Empress Dowager must be getting old and confused. She saw everything as good. "It's not about whether she's nice or not. I think the Empress Dowager doesn't look well. Have you been having trouble sleeping recently?"
"Yes. The Empress Dowager has been waking up easily recently." Maid Qingyue immediately followed Yi Qing's words and changed the topic.
"Does the Empress Dowager also have headaches?" Yi Qing asked again.
"Lady Xiao is really a divine doctor. Even the imperial physicians in the palace can't do anything about it." Maid Qingyue quickly agreed.
"It's not a big deal. I'll give the Empress Dowager a massage for a while. Then I'll prescribe some medicine for her. Don't worry about so many things, and she'll gradually get better."
"That would be great." Maid Qingyue stepped aside.
The Empress Dowager couldn't decline Yi Qing's kindness, so she let Yi Qing massage her. After just a few strokes, the Empress Dowager fell asleep.
"This..." Maid Qingyue thought Yi Qing had done something to the Empress Dowager.
"Let the Empress Dowager have a good sleep." Yi Qing moved her shoulders. "You don't want me to quarrel with the Empress Dowager while talking, do you?"
Maid Qingyue was relieved when she knew the Empress Dowager was okay. "Lady Xiao, think this through. This is the first time the Empress Dowager has issued an imperial decree. If it's rejected, where will her dignity be?"
Yi Qing thought the Empress Dowager was really giving her a hard time. "Don't worry."
She wrote the prescription, and Maid Qingyue escorted her out.
After walking a few steps, they met someone from Queen Xie's palace. It seemed that Queen Xie had deliberately sent someone to wait for her here.
Previously, Xiao Jinghan had told her to visit the Queen, but she thought it was unnecessary. Now she had no choice but to go.
The Queen lived in the Jiaolan Palace, which was a bit more luxurious and grand than the Empress Dowager's Fushou Palace. The Queen herself was elegant and noble, with the demeanor of a great family, but sometimes she seemed a bit too rigid.
"I pay my respects to the Queen." Yi Qing bowed.
The Queen sized Yi Qing up and noticed that she hadn't worn the palace dress when seeing the Empress Dowager. "Rise. Have a seat." After giving the order, she waved her hand, and all the maids on one side retreated.
Yi Qing didn't know what the Queen wanted to say and why she had sent all the maids away. She wondered if the secret guards sent by Xiao Jinghan were following her.
"The Empress Dowager is very kind and polite to everyone. As long as you follow the rules, she won't be angry." The Queen said with a smile.
Yi Qing thought this was a strange thing to say, so she didn't respond and just waited to see what the Queen really wanted.
"You came to the palace because of the Empress Dowager's imperial decree, right?" The Queen smiled.
"The Empress Dowager's imperial decree is the Empress Dowager's business. I came to the palace because the Empress Dowager summoned me." Yi Qing said directly.
The Queen chuckled when she heard Yi Qing's words. If she wasn't Xiao Jinghan's wife, she would have suspected that the Emperor liked Yi Qing. "I can help you solve the problem of the Empress Dowager's betrothal gift."
"Great!" Yi Qing immediately got excited. "Your Majesty the Queen is so kind."
This time it was the Queen's turn to be surprised. Didn't Yi Qing even ask why she wanted to help her?
Yi Qing showed that she didn't want to know at all. Whether you wanted to help or not was your own business.
"However, Lady Xiao also has to do me a favor." The Queen said directly.
"What can I, an insignificant person, do for Your Majesty the Queen?"
"The death of Concubine Xue." The Queen said directly.
At that time, the Emperor had found an excuse to kill Concubine Xue, and even the eldest prince and the princess. Although she had guessed a bit and had some evidence, it wasn't enough to make the Emperor act so resolutely. There must be something she didn't know.
After thinking about it, the biggest anomaly during that period was Yi Qing. She thought Yi Qing must know something.
Yi Qing thought everyone in the palace was a smart person. Previously, Xiao Jinghan had said that the Queen knew something, but she hadn't believed it. Now it seemed that the Queen had probably been waiting to watch the show.
Waiting to watch the show of the person she liked. She thought the Queen had become abnormal because of being neglected.
"Your Majesty the Queen should ask the Emperor about this." Yi Qing didn't deny that she knew something.
I know, but I just won't tell you.
"The Emperor is busy with state affairs all day long and surely won't care about this."
"If the Emperor doesn't care, why should the Queen care so much about a dead person?"
The Queen saw Yi Qing's unyielding attitude. "The person is dead, but the living still remember her."
Yi Qing was a bit confused about the Queen. If you like someone, how could you wait to watch his jokes? If you don't like him, why do you still care so much? "Whether it's a dead person or a living person, they are all others."
The Queen looked at Yi Qing.
At first, she thought Yi Qing would come to her as a weak person seeking protection.
Later, she thought Yi Qing was too troublesome and would surely suffer losses.
Now that Yi Qing appeared in front of her, she realized that this woman was not that simple. She seemed to be unrestrained, but in fact, she knew best how to protect herself.