I am the stepmother of my son, and the little villain has changed into a little cotton-padded jacket

Wen Shutang followed Liuxia to Weiyang Palace. Liuxia took Wen Shutang along a small path. There were not many people on the path and it looked very desolate.

If Wen Shutang had not seen the girl Liuxia beside the Queen, he would have thought that she was being tricked away and sold somewhere.

Liuxia brought Wen Shutang to the gate of Weiyang Palace. She bowed her head and explained respectfully, "I hope the general's wife will not think too much. Your Majesty was afraid that there would be too many people in the palace and that those gossipers would talk about you behind your back, so you ordered me to take you through a small path."

Hearing what she said, Wen Shutang nodded in understanding.

So that's how it was. She thought the Queen had something shameful to tell her.

"Well, it's okay."

Liuxia nodded, then turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation: "The Queen is waiting for you in the palace, I will not go in, I will wait outside, if Madam has anything to do, just tell me."

Wen Shutang responded and walked into the Weiyang Palace.

After entering, Wen Shutang found that there was no one else in the hall. The queen was leaning lazily on the couch.

Hearing the sound, the queen lazily looked up and found that it was Wen Shutang. The queen stood up, changed her posture and waved at her.

"Come."

Wen Shutang stepped forward and bowed: "Your Highness, I greet the Queen."

"Well, please don't be so polite. There are no outsiders here, so there is no need to be so polite." The queen waved her hand to signal her to stand up and raised her chin.

"Please sit down. Don't be so reserved. I just wanted to chat with you. There's nothing else to do. You don't have to be so wary of me."

Wen Shutang nodded, turned around and sat on the round stool, looked up at the queen, and sized up her appearance calmly.

Just now in the hall, Wen Shutang didn't actually look at the queen's appearance very carefully. He just felt that this woman had a luxurious and calm temperament.

Now that he had a closer look, Wen Shutang finally felt the Queen's beauty, a kind of heroic beauty.

It is different from Zhao Fuqiu's agility and playfulness, Jiang Li's gentleness and tranquility, and Dun Fei's morbidity and brokenness.

The queen's beauty is full of heroism, giving people an impression of being full of energy.

After seeing the queen's face clearly, Wen Shutang had only one feeling in his heart.

That is, the queen does not belong to a cage like the palace, she should soar in the wider sky.

Noticing Wen Shutang's look, the Queen raised her eyebrows.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"The Queen is so beautiful that people can't help but look at her more." Wen Shutang responded with a standard smile on his face.

The queen was amused and laughed softly: "I thought you were a simple person, but I didn't expect you to say such polite words. Well, I've said that there are no outsiders here, so you don't have to be so reserved."

She smiled and looked at Wen Shutang and continued, "Do you know that Concubine Shu has already hated you in the palace today?"

Wen Shutang smiled helplessly, looked up at the queen, and did not speak in such a formal manner.

"This is all thanks to Your Majesty. Speaking of this, I would like to ask Your Majesty why you want to draw Concubine Shu's attention to me?"

The queen's smile deepened, and a hint of inquiry flashed in her eyes: "I am just curious, what kind of ability do you have to become General Xiao's wife? I hope you won't disappoint me in the future."

Hearing what she said, Wen Shutang raised his eyebrows.

Oh my goodness, it turns out that the Queen was using Concubine Shu to test her.

Does this mean that as long as she passes the test, the Queen will include her in her team?

The Queen seemed to see what Wen Shutang was thinking. She waved her hand and said, "Don't worry. I don't want you to work for me. It's just that life in the deep palace is really boring. I don't want to get involved in the intrigues between the concubines. It's just that your sudden appearance has made me a little interested. Don't worry, even if Concubine Shu makes trouble for you in the future, I will protect you."

Hearing this, Wen Shutang suddenly remembered the rumors that Xiao Yizhuo had told her.

Everyone is saying that the emperor and the empress are not getting along.

Just look at the Queen's attitude towards the Emperor at the banquet today and what she said now, it can be seen that these rumors are not groundless.

The Queen really seems to dislike the Emperor.

Wen Shutang narrowed his eyes: "There are rumors that the emperor and the empress are not getting along, but now it seems that the empress has no intention of competing for favor?"

When the Queen heard Wen Shutang bring up this matter directly, she was not unhappy at all. She was even very happy that Wen Shutang could speak to her so frankly and sincerely.

After staying in this deep palace for too long, the queen feels like she is being assimilated.

She now wanted to have a good chat with someone like Wen Shutang who was used to freedom.

The queen sat up, picked up a soft pillow and put it behind her, then slowly said, "Rumors in the streets are not to be believed. Although I am the queen, my heart is not in the palace."

Wen Shutang raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything, just listened quietly to the Queen's story.

The queen looked out the window, squinting her eyes as if she was lost in memories.

"My name is Mu Han. I am the daughter of the Mu family in the capital. My father is an important official in the court, my mother is a daughter of an aristocratic family, and my grandfather is an old tutor who assisted two generations of emperors. I was born into a prestigious aristocratic family. My parents are both well-known people in the capital, so I have been doted on since I was born. Before I came of age, I lived a carefree life at home. It seemed that I didn't have to worry about anything. My family never restricted me from doing things I didn't like, so even those red tapes were indulged by my family and I didn't learn them at all."

The Queen did not refer to herself as "this palace", but as "I".

At this point, the queen paused for a moment, then continued, "I originally thought I could live like this forever, but because of my family's favor, I forgot that I was a legitimate daughter of a family and carried the family's honor. After I came of age, I heard that the emperor was going to select concubines and my mother told me to enter the palace for the selection. I made a big fuss and even wanted to commit suicide, but in the end I still entered the palace."

The queen sighed deeply, as if she was thinking of her past self.

"Now that I think about it, I was so naive. Born in a prestigious family, I still wanted to control my own marriage. It was ridiculous. After entering the palace, I didn't treat the emperor well, so he didn't like me. But now I have figured it out. I can't control my own marriage anyway, so I just sit on the throne of queen. As long as I have the support of my mother's family, I will not give up the position of queen."

The queen turned her head to look at Wen Shutang, smiled and waved her hand: "It's all in the past. These are all old things. Let's not talk about them anymore."