If An Lingrong was reborn before the draft

The empress went to the Yangxin Palace to visit the emperor with a bowl of white fungus and lotus seed soup. When she arrived, the emperor was still discussing matters with his ministers, so the empress went to a side hall of the Yangxin Palace to wait.

All she could think about now was what Jianqiu had said to her in the morning, "Your Majesty, yesterday the Queen Mother bestowed upon Lady Lingrong the title of 'Xian'."

The queen, who was dressing up, paused abruptly. The queen mother rarely paid attention to the affairs of the palace. Why would she bypass the emperor and herself to give a title to a concubine who had not yet been promoted? Although she had heard that An had caught the queen mother's eye when she was still a concubine and often went in and out of Shoukang Palace, the emperor had not yet made a final decision on the promotion. What did the queen mother mean by hastily deciding the title?

The queen was still lost in thought until Jianqiu reminded her, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Su is here."

"Oh, Su Peisheng, is the emperor free now?" asked the queen with a smile.

"Your Majesty, the ministers have all left. The Emperor invites you in." Su Peisheng said with a smile.

After hearing this, the queen stood up and followed Su Peisheng to the inner hall. When she arrived, the emperor was still bent over the desk writing furiously. She bowed slightly and saluted, "Your Majesty."

"Well, now you are here. Please sit down quickly. I have finished writing now." The emperor responded softly, but the pen in his hand did not stop.

The queen went to sit on the small couch next to her, and Jianqiu placed the Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup she brought on the table. Su Peisheng personally served the queen a cup of tea.

Soon the emperor put down the pen in his hand, and the eunuch serving beside him promptly handed him a hot towel to wipe his hands. The emperor asked softly, "I was busy today and didn't come to see you. What are you doing here now?"

"Yes, there are some things, but they are nothing big. The weather is dry in autumn, so I brought you some white fungus and lotus seed soup. You can try it first." The queen did not talk about the matter first because she had not thought of how to say it at the moment, and she was also wondering what the emperor thought about this matter.

After hearing this, the emperor also stood up and walked to the couch and sat down. The queen then handed the lotus seed soup to the emperor personally. He took the spoon and shook it gently twice, then brought the bowl to his mouth and took a sip. The taste was okay, but it was still a little too sweet for him. It was not good to ignore the queen's gift, so he took another sip before gently putting the bowl down.

The Queen also looked at the Emperor with great interest after he put down his bowl. She handed him her handkerchief and said gently, "I came here today to ask the Emperor something. I heard that the Empress Dowager gave Ling Rong a title. I wonder if the Emperor has heard about it?"

The emperor glanced at the queen and asked, "What do you think about this matter, Queen?"

This statement actually caught the Queen off guard. The Queen originally wanted to see what the Emperor had to say, but she didn't expect the Emperor to ask her first, "I think that the Empress Mother is worried about Lingrong, and seeing that the decree to promote her has not come down yet, I will give Lingrong a title first. Otherwise, the Emperor can take this opportunity to promote all his sisters." The Queen smiled gently, she knew that the Emperor would definitely promote Lingrong, so it would be better to do it sooner rather than later.

"Well, Nian Gengyao's pacification of the western border is a great achievement. He will come to Beijing to pay homage to the emperor in October. Let's postpone his promotion for now," the emperor said after a moment's thought. He didn't want to add a lot of trouble because of Concubine Hua's affairs during this period.

"Your Majesty, I know that you are afraid that the court will be disturbed by the jealousies among the concubines during this period. However, Your Majesty Nian Gengyao is only a minister after all, and the promotion of concubines is just Your Majesty's family affair. Why should he have the right to make irresponsible remarks? Besides, didn't Concubine Hua lose the power to assist in managing the six palaces before? Why doesn't Your Majesty take this opportunity to restore her power to assist in managing the six palaces?" The Queen suggested. She thought that if Ling Rong gained momentum, it would be difficult for her to suppress her, so let Concubine Hua's arrogance rise a little more.