Although Mu Chen had personally visited Qingling, it did not mean that he would continue to tolerate her doing the same thing again.

The imperial order to enter and leave the Suzaku Palace was taken back, and the guards who accompanied it were replaced. Qingling's current degree of freedom is almost no different from that of the concubines in the harem.

Many people in the palace have seen the red marks left by her face after being slapped, and the news spread from the palace to the outside of the palace, and the discussions caused by it are also different.

Shiyin invited Qingling to her bedroom for a small gathering, ostensibly to let her scatter her mind and help His Majesty persuade him to make peace a few words, and in his selfish heart, he also wanted to take this opportunity to explore the changes in the relationship between Qingling and Mu Chen.

Qing Ling has always refused this kind of invitation to a gathering between concubines.

But this time was different, I heard that Xi'er would come back from Fuyu Mountain, and she could only stay in the palace for this day, and she wanted to meet the child.

When I arrived at Shiyin's dormitory, I found that there were a lot of people who came here for a small gathering.

Among Mu Chen's concubines, Su Qin, An Huaiyu, and Qing Ling all knew each other in the past. The other three new faces were the ones who Qing Ling entered after he went to Xiaoyue Pool.

Shiyin has always been quite in the style of everyone, introducing Qingling and the concubines to know each other, and the tone is both intimate and motherly.

And the few people who have just entered the palace are very curious about this rumored to be deeply favored by His Majesty, and there is a secret flattery and speculation in their conversations.

According to blood kinship, Suqin, who was born in the royal family of Yuzhong, and Qingling are cousins, but the two don't seem to be very close. As soon as Qingling entered the garden, he greeted everyone, and then sat down next to An Huaiyu and chatted with her.

An Huaiyu has been in the palace for the longest time, and he is familiar with Qingling, which is not a strange thing. However, when this scene fell into the eyes of the concubines, it had another meaning.

His Majesty has been on the throne for decades, and there is only Emperor Hexi under his knees. The concubines speculated, could it be that the Qing Lingchang Emperor Ji was also because of this reason, so he was particularly favored by An Huaiyu? In the final analysis, the blame is only for not having the ability, not being able to keep the emperor's heart, and not being able to give birth to a prince......

Everyone has their own thoughts, talking and laughing in the garden of birds and flowers, and their faces are happy.

Shiyin explained the matter to the female official in charge of the affairs beside her, and at the same time looked at the red mark that was still faintly visible on Qing Ling's cheek by slightly tilting her head.

The traces are not big, they are basically just slender fingerprints, which shows that His Majesty still has reservations when he makes a move. However, the red seal has not faded for a long time, and I am afraid that it also used some strength, which shows that His Majesty was really angry at that time.

Shiyin has known Mu Chen for many years, and now she is in charge of the harem for him, she has seen him gentle and elegant, and she has seen him cold and indifferent, but she has never seen him beat anyone like this.

Shion was curious about the reason behind this. In her mind, nothing in the world is indestructible. Mu Chen can be angry with Qing Ling today because of something, then he may be even more angry with her tomorrow because of the same thing......

But according to Mu Chen Suri's love for Qingling, she won't be so angry because she did a few things out of the ordinary.

So why?

After explaining all the matters of the female official, she turned around, smiled kindly at everyone, and said, "The little emperor's imperial opinion has arrived at the Vermilion Bird Palace, and the female official will invite her over." ”

glanced at Qing Ling, "Young Master Xiu will come over later." ”

Yuxiu spent much longer time with Shiyin than he spent with Qingling, so he had to be much more familiar. Some time ago, he moved away from Hagi Mountain in anger, and Qing Ling was busy digging three feet into the ground in Lingxiao City, and the number of times he met was only a handful, and now he couldn't even figure out his daily routine.

The coquettish-looking Concubine Qin had been waiting for the opportunity to talk to Qing Ling, and now she heard the queen mention Yuxiu, so she spoke: "Young Master Xiu, Zhenzhen'er is the most beautiful child I have ever seen!" He smiled at Qing Ling with a gesture of goodwill, "I saw the Elder Emperor Ji today, and I finally know where that good appearance came from." ”

Shiyin glanced at Concubine Qin with a smile and turned to Qingling, "Isn't it, Yuxiu's kid looks exactly like you." ”

Qing Ling half-lowered his head, poked the snacks on the plate with a silver spoon, smiled indifferently, and did not answer.

After a short time, the female officer led Xi'er into the garden.

After not seeing each other for many years, Xi'er has grown up a lot, about the same size as Yuxiu, with pretty buns, brisk steps, and a pair of eyes that are as black and white as when she was a child.

She greeted everyone in a decent manner, but her eyes quickly fixed on Qing Ling, and after a little hesitation, she twisted it up with a familiar look.

"Auntie! Aunt! You're back! Xi'er wants to kill you! ”

Qing Ling couldn't help but be slightly surprised, put down the silver spoon, and half-hugged Xi'er, "You...... Remember me? ”

Xi'er looked up at her little face, "How could you not remember?" Every day, I dream of playing in my aunt's garden! Doesn't my aunt remember Xi'er? ”

Qing Ling heard her exaggerated, and couldn't hold back a smile, "You girl, you can speak very well since you were a child." ”

An Huaiyu's eyes on the side have been following her daughter, and when she saw that she leaned on Qingling as soon as she came back, her heart was full of feelings, on the one hand, she was pleased that her daughter could get the favor of this powerful aunt, and on the other hand, she was a little unspeakably sour, and she only echoed in her mouth: "I always don't know how to speak, but fortunately, your aunt loves you." ”

Xi'er was very clever, straightened up, stretched out her head slightly to look at her biological mother, and said with a smile: "Aunt loves me, and you love me too, concubine." All the people in the palace love me, so why should I pay attention to proportions when I speak? ”

Everyone was amused by her words and deeds, and they laughed for a while, and had a bit of heartfelt real happiness.

The first time Yuxiu followed the palace people into the garden, she saw Xi'er leaning on Qingling, the two seemed to be talking and laughing, and Qingling also fed Xi'er snacks with her own spoon.

Yuxiu's heart suddenly became a little blocked.

He stepped forward silently, and greeted the queen, his mother, and the concubines in turn, but quietly retreated to the last seat and sat down.

He was not a talkative child in the first place, and when he came to the queen's palace on weekdays, most of them were poetic questions and answers, and there would never be a noisy moment. But today, Shiyin looked at him from a distance, and finally noticed that there was something different, so she beckoned to him, "Come here." ”

Yuxiu sat next to Shiyin, her small waist was straight, and her eyes fell on the table in a regular manner, unlike Xi'er's eyes that looked around.

Shiyin asked him about his homework as usual, and gave him snacks to eat. Yuxiu took it, thanked her, lowered her head and took the spoon, and fed herself elegantly in small sips, without speaking.

Here, Xi'er glanced at Yuxiu, pulled Qingling's arm and said, "Aunt still remembers, when Yuxiu was still in your belly in the past, my father always forbade me to lean on you, saying that it would hurt him." I've been scolded many times for this! Fortunately, my aunt always protects me! ”

Qing Ling remembered the past and said with a smile: "This is because your father is strict with you, where can you be so squeamish." ”

The words fell into Yuxiu's ears, but they had a different meaning, and she felt that the squeamishness in her mother's mouth was referring to herself.

So his head hung lower, and the movements in his hands slowed down unconsciously.

After the refreshments, everyone got up and walked in the garden.

Shiyin loves flowers and gardening, and takes care of the garden outside the dormitory to be fragrant and elegant, with mountains, rocks, springs, and roads lingering, which is quite meaningful.

Xi'er's temperament has not changed much, she doesn't take the main road, she picks flowers and trees to drill in the forest, shoots down a "flower rain" with divine power for a while, and pops up a few sparks for a while, which makes the birds fly quickly.

An Huaiyu was cautious, lest Xi'er damage the queen's garden, panting and following behind, she kept chanting: "Xi'er, don't make trouble!" ”

Shiyin didn't care, and said with a smile: "The child is happy, just let her be." He bent down and grabbed Yuxiu's shoulder, "You can go play too." ”

Yuxiu is a child after all, and when she heard the "um" sound, she walked in the direction where Xi'er haunted.

Shiyin straightened up and said to Qingling beside her: "This kid, after following Your Majesty for a long time, his temperament has become like His Majesty, and he doesn't like to talk much. ”

Qing Ling seemed to be thinking about something, and remained silent.

Shiyin saw that she didn't answer, so she smiled again and held Qingling's arm, "What? Still angry with Your Majesty? ”

Qing Ling's expression was indisputable, "Where do I dare to be angry with Your Majesty?" ”

Shiyin said: "I know how much Your Majesty values you. When you first lived in Xiaoyuechi, it was not long after the return of Jiuqiu, and all kinds of things were happening one after another, Your Majesty was busy with government affairs on the one hand, and on the other hand, he ran to Fuyang every now and then, just to see your condition with his own eyes, everyone was tired and thin. As for this incident, I, as a sister-in-law, am not good at commenting, I just think that Your Majesty is afraid that he is really angry, so he will ......" paused, "In short, you should be more considerate and considerate." ”

Qing Ling replied perfunctorily: "I don't value anything, it's just a difference between likes and dislikes." People will always change, Your Majesty has sat in the position of emperor for nearly a hundred years, and what was connived at in the past may not be able to endure it now. It's just that I didn't see where I was earlier. ”

Shiyin secretly pondered Qingling's words, pondered for a moment, and wanted to ask more carefully: "Then ......?"

Who knew that what Qing Ling was thinking about was very different from Shiyin, and he also opened his mouth at the same time: "I heard that when Mu Han rebelled out of Lingxiao City, the queen's brother Ning Hao had intended to help, and he fell out with the elders of the clan for this?" ”

Shiyin raised her eyes and saw Qingling staring at her, her expression seemed to be inquiring and fierce. Obviously her skin is white and her lips are red, and her face is as delicate as a young girl, but the burning meaning in her eyes flashes but contains a kind of ruthlessness, as if once she answers yes, she will be burned to ashes immediately......

Counting up, Shiyin has known Qingling for a long time, even though she has never seen her particularly friendly to her, or deliberately wooed, but she has always been polite and polite in getting along, which can be regarded as a sister-in-law and harmony. And looking at her now, the faint anger between her eyebrows makes people feel shocked for no reason.

Shiyin smiled, controlling a trace of embarrassment in her expression just right, "My brother's person is a little nostalgic, and he always thinks about the old friendships...... But my grandfather kept an eye on him and didn't let him get into trouble. ”

Qing Ling asked again: "Then do you think he still has a connection with Mu Han?" ”

Shiyin hurriedly said: "How is that possible? ”

She quickly adjusted her mood to not let herself be affected by Qing Ling's eyes and tone, and said calmly: "You also said that people will change, and what was important in the past may not be important today. Holding Qingling's hand, he simply held her intimately, "Between our sister-in-law, I will tell you a heart-to-heart word." No matter how much my brother values the friendship with Mu Han before, he can't compare to the significance of the position of patriarch to him. Now that my grandfather's health is getting worse and worse, my brother must have the support of me and His Majesty if he wants to stabilize his position as heir. In this case, where does he dare to come nonsense? ”

Shiyin sighed, "The more people from big families come from, the more scruples they have to act. Don't say that they are just friends, even if they are relatives and lovers, they can be abandoned for the sake of interests. ”

Shiyin is the eldest daughter of the Monan clan, with a steady temperament, she has known how to treat people since she was a child, and over the years she has been in charge of the harem, she has been insightful about the world and has practiced human feelings.

She looked at Qing Ling's face a little pale, and said, "Since we have talked here today, I will persuade you again." Don't be too attached to those hatreds in the past. During the days of the Eastern Continent War, among the major families, who did not have a family feud and hatred? Including your mother, my own father, all died on the battlefield. But if everyone is thinking about old hatreds, and everyone is paranoid and crazy like Fang Shanlei, then this life will not go on......"

Qing Ling suddenly stopped, glanced at Shiyin, his eyes alternated between light and obscurity, and the faint anger of Shicai was gradually replaced by another emotion.

Shiyin calmly continued: "Even if you don't think about yourself, you have to think about the people around you. Your Majesty is just that, and no matter how much the courtiers complain in their hearts, they don't dare to anger him easily. But ...... in this palace," Youyou lowered her voice, "You went to Weilu Mountain that day, and Ah Jing got the news from somewhere, and ran to the Chengji Hall Chief and knelt down, wanting to beg His Majesty to save her mother." His Majesty was not in the Suzaku Palace at that time, but she kept kneeling like that and didn't get up, and in the end, Yuxiu asked people to send her back......"

Qing Ling's heart twitched, "Yu'er, he ......"

At this time, Xi'er ran out of the flower forest next to her with her shoulders covered, and threw herself into Qingling's arms, "Aunt! ”

When it was his turn to complain, he knew that he was looking for the steward, so he looked up at Shiyin with tears in his eyes: "Queen Mother, Yuxiu beat me!" ”