The hall was silent, and the Queen Mother seemed to be in deep thought, and her eyes were just looking at the carved blue bricks on the floor in a daze. Everyone was silent, not daring to disturb the Queen Mother's thoughts.

Suddenly, the Queen Mother nodded and said to the emperor, "Okay." Very good. That's good. ”

The emperor listened to the queen mother's praise, but he didn't know what it was for a while, but he was slightly stunned, but he didn't answer.

The Queen Mother smiled: "The thing that sent Lu Xiang away was very good. Thinking about it carefully, there is really no more suitable person than him. Then he said to the emperor: "Sit down, ladies talk as usual, don't be polite everywhere." ”

The emperor bowed his head and said: "The Khitan prince Yelu Zong really inherited the unification, and our dynasty still needs to send someone to send a congratulatory gift." He also asked the queen mother to write a congratulatory message. ”

The Queen Mother nodded, held Zhu Yan's hand and slowly sat up, and said to Shu E: "You stay here, wait for me to think about it for a while, and I will read your writing." Shu E hurriedly bowed down and agreed.

The emperor saluted and said, "In this case, the sons will retire first." The queen mother is good for health care. ”

The Queen Mother sat up straight, but suddenly smiled: "Look at me, I'm really old and confused." The life of this life of toil cannot be changed. Then he said to the emperor: "This congratulatory sheet to congratulate Yelu Zongzhen on his ascension to the throne as emperor will be drawn up by the emperor." Song Liao is about a country of brothers, and He Biao must not be arrogant, and do not fall into the prestige of our dynasty. The emperor knows how to grasp the balance in between. ”

The emperor looked up at the Queen Mother, with a bit of stunned feeling in his eyes, and said softly: "This ...... The queen mother has been tired lately and can't work her mind, but this is a congratulatory ......"

The Queen Mother looked at the emperor with deep meaning in her eyes, nodded slowly and said, "The Queen Mother is indeed tired. ”

"After the minister prepared it, he sent it to the queen mother to take a look." The emperor said.

The Queen Mother smiled slowly: "Silly boy, you have an idea." The queen mother is old, and I don't know how many more days I can help you like this. ”

Shu E listened to the words of the Queen Mother, in addition to being frightened, she was even more sad, and all kinds of thoughts came one after another, and the tastes were mixed.

For a while, the emperor said goodbye, Shu E sat for a while, saw that the queen mother closed her eyes slightly, and seemed to be very tired, so she also got up.

The Queen Mother opened her eyes and said, "You can sit with the mourning family for a while." I still want to talk to you. ”

Mama Zhu Yan understood, hurriedly handed the feather fan in her hand to Shu E, and beckoned the others to retreat together.

The palace is surrounded by towering trees, and the beams and ridges of the house are built very high, so it is not easy to gather stuffy air in the house in summer. In addition, there are two small waterwheels in the hall, and the fan blades of the waterwheels rotate, driving the flowing water on a large piece of crystal clear ice, and the room is full of coolness.

However, Shu E saw that the tip of the Queen Mother's nose was still sweating, and the gray hair on her sideburns was also wet with sweat.

Shu E slightly increased the force in her hand, and asked softly, "Niangniang, is this wind a little stronger?" ”

The Queen Mother hummed softly, and said slowly for a while: "I'm old, it's like this." Some are afraid of cold, while others are particularly afraid of heat. I think it's because my body is weak, that's why I'm like this. ”

Shu E listened to the Queen Mother's words, but she didn't know how to persuade her, so she just shouted in a low voice: "Niangniang......"

The Queen Mother looked at Shu E and smiled: "How can I listen to your voice, but it is a little sour." Shu'e, everyone has to go through birth, old age, sickness and death, no one can escape, and I will always have that day. I'm 63 years old, and I've been getting worse lately...... I'm just afraid ......"

Shu E's heart was shocked, the Queen Mother was already sixty-three years old.

The Queen Mother is of moderate size and slender fit, neither emaciated by her old age like her grandfather, nor blessed by some people because of old age. Whether it is the bright yellow clothes, skirts, or the deep and atmospheric graceful and dark colors that the Queen Mother wears every day, they all fit her very well.

The Queen Mother's hair was originally jet black, but recently, perhaps because of illness, the roots of her sideburns have turned gray.

The Queen Mother's skin is still moisturized, and her complexion is also very fair. It's just that the original ruddy color has disappeared at some point, leaving only a sense of paleness.

The Queen Mother's eyes have always been very spiritual, and what is revealed in her eyes is always a solemn and peaceful color. However, recently, the Queen Mother's eyes seem to be closed all the time, as if she has indescribable tiredness.

From the day Shu E first saw the Queen Mother on the day she entered the palace, she did not deliberately speculate about her age. Maybe it's because the emperor's age is similar to that of the third young master, or maybe it's because the queen mother's face does look dignified, and Shu E always imagines the queen mother in her heart to be about the same age as Mrs. Cao, but she is only forty-eight or nine, just fifty years old.

The Queen Mother was afraid of everything, but she didn't say anything in the end. Shu E knew what the Empress Dowager wanted to say, maybe it was that she was afraid that that day would not be far away. Shu E had never seen the Queen Mother so tired and tired, with reluctance and attachment in her heart, and the feather fan in her hand finally became more and more slow.

"Shu'e, do you believe in fate?" The Queen Mother suddenly asked.

Shu E was slightly stunned, and then said: "I heard people say that fate is predestined. Shu E suddenly remembered her own experience, and she sighed in her heart, and continued: "Many things are unthinkable to people, and thinking about it is the word 'life' that people often say." ”

"My father died on the way with Emperor Taizu's expedition to Taiyuan." The Queen Mother didn't seem to hear Shu E's words, but just fell into deep thought, and said slowly: "My parents have no children under their knees, and the family road is in the middle. I lived with my mother in my grandfather's house. We had no one to go to our ancestors and were left out in the cold. Who knew that within two years, my mother died of illness. My grandfather's family gradually declined. ”

Shu E listened to the Queen Mother's calm narration, and her mind gradually calmed down. Although the experience told by the Queen Mother was quite unexpected, Shu E still gently shook the fan and listened quietly.

"I was left alone, and I almost wanted to kill myself to avoid the suffering of hunger and cold." When the Queen Mother said this, her hands couldn't help curling up, as if she had returned to the time of hunger and cold.

"Just when I was cornered, I met a scholar." The Queen Mother's voice raised slightly, "When the Xiangshi saw me, he stopped and didn't leave, just looked up and down. I'm still young, I don't know what to fear, plus I've been freezing and hungry for days, I've already saved the heart of dying, and I don't know what terrible things are in the world. I thought that the Xiangshi saw that I was down-and-out and was interested in playing, so I went up and asked him if he had never seen others down-and-out and looked very novel, or if he really looked down on people and looked down on me. ”