Minglan is reborn, this time with no regrets!

At lunch time, little Zou came to Princess Pingning's courtyard with a pale face and twisted waist.

Before he could greet her, Princess Pingning frowned and asked, "Why are you dressed like this?"

Little Zou: "It is said that women dress up to please themselves, this slave..."

"Someone, wipe it for her."

Princess Pingning originally thought that little Zou only had problems with the spices, but she didn't expect that even her makeup had changed into a ghostly look.

Nanny Yang, who was beside Princess Pingning, personally washed Xiao Zou's face. Xiao Zou did not dare to resist, and finally struggled and said, "Mother-in-law, you can't ask me to eat this meal with my face bare?"

Princess Pingning: "Look at all the women in your family. Which one of them wears as much makeup as you do?"

Little Zou lowered her head and whispered, "The mother-in-law is so overbearing that she even controls her daughter-in-law's makeup."

Princess Pingning: "Since you have married into my family, I can naturally take care of you. Why are you letting your hair down? You look like a prostitute, do you look like a lady from a noble family?"

Little Zou: "I..."

Princess Pingning: "It's up to you to do whatever you want in your room, but once you leave the courtyard, you are a member of my mansion, and your behavior and appearance should be worthy of my mansion. From now on, if I see you walking outside with your hair down, don't blame me for not reminding you today!"

Hearing the words "in the room", Xiao Zou glared at Shen fiercely: "Mother-in-law has not been to my room today. I guess it was Madam Shen who complained to mother-in-law, right?"

Shen knew that Princess Pingning had deliberately helped her to reveal the secret, and said helplessly: "Don't worry, sister. I just think the fragrance in your room is too strong. Our Duke Qi's Mansion has always been strict in family management, and the female members of the family are all plain and elegant. Sister, don't listen to the instigation of outsiders and make yourself...make yourself look terrible..." She reminded Xiao Zou not to use fragrance in front of so many people. If something really happened one day, with so many people testifying for her, she would not be slandered.

Little Zou was furious, but she didn't dare to refute Princess Pingning, so she took it out on Shen: "Sister, if you want the incense in my room, just say it directly. Why do you have to go through so much trouble and embarrass me in front of the whole family?"

Shen blushed and stamped her feet, saying, "I...I didn't mean that..."

The servants around saw that Shen was being bullied by that little girl and felt extremely wronged, and they all looked at little Zou with a sidelong glance.

Little Zou thought she had the upper hand and said arrogantly, "Don't argue. You can't give birth yourself..."

"Shut up!" Qi Heng and Duke Qi walked in together and saw Xiao Zou talking nonsense. Qi Heng angrily scolded, "A family should live in harmony. How can you always hurt people's hearts like this?"

Little Zou suddenly changed her tone: "Sir...it was the eldest lady who went to complain to her mother-in-law first..."

"It's only natural for her to care about you!" Qi Heng didn't know the specific situation, but he understood that at this time he must firmly support Shen, otherwise the family would be in chaos.

Xiao Zou didn't dare to say anything else, and the storm was temporarily calmed down.

……

Soon, a wave arose in the court, and many court officials who originally supported the empress dowager suggested that she withdraw from power and return power to the court. Among them, the Shen family and the Qi family were the most radical.

The Queen Mother knew that her decision to have a concubine would inevitably lead to a backlash, and the current situation was completely within her expectations.

Over the past six months, Zhao Zongquan had collected almost all of her chess pieces. Even if she did nothing, she would eventually be forced to return power by these old officials. Rather than accepting the outcome helplessly, it would be better to make a few more moves while she still had the ability, even if it meant causing her opponent to waste some time internally.

After all, she knew that if they wanted to overthrow Zhao Zongquan and his son, they could not rely on this group of scholars alone. The orthodoxy engraved in their blood would not allow them to rebel against an emperor who had done nothing wrong, let alone the fact that the emperor was now supporting them as fellow Taoists to restart the unfinished cause of the previous emperor.

What can I do when I have no real teacher?

After arguing for more than half a month, the empress dowager finally agreed to draw the curtain. On that day, the emperor sent the empress dowager back to the palace with half the ceremonial guard of the emperor emeritus. The court officials also presented memorials to praise the empress dowager's virtues. There was a whole day of beating gongs and drums, and the empress dowager was really honored.

At night, Zhu Neiguan helped her wash and rest, and she secretly wiped away her tears several times.

The Queen Mother: "What's wrong? You're still crying at this age."

Zhu Neiguan: "I am so sad. Madam, you have done so much for those old guys, but they kicked you out just by the Emperor's snap of a finger!"

The Queen Mother said: "Well, you are already so old, why are you still sad about this? People are used to serve the front and not to serve the back. Haven't you seen this kind of thing often?"

Zhu Neiguan: "But you are different. You are the empress dowager, the widow of the late emperor. The current stability of the government is all thanks to you. How could they...they..." He couldn't continue and burst into tears.

The Queen Mother: "Don't cry, old thing. I am already very satisfied that they can give me such a big honor today."

Zhu Neiguan: "Who doesn't know that this is for the world to see? In front of people, you act like a loving mother and a filial son, and you are grateful. I'm afraid that from now on, the Empress' life will be difficult."

The Queen Mother: "Was I better off in the past? Haha. Now that I have retired from the court, I seem to have less power, but aren't there fewer disturbances?"

Zhu Neiguan wiped his tears and asked: "What does the Madam mean?"

The Queen Mother: "The reason why the court officials are so united this time is because the emperor has made an old lonely woman like me a living target. They are united as one, and they all want to force me out of the court. Now that I have retired, they no longer have a common goal. Can they continue to get along with each other as in the past? You see, next they will either catch the emperor and torment him, or torment each other. It will never stop. I have followed the late emperor to fight these people for decades. What kind of people are they, don't I know? The bigger the peach, the more fierce the fight! Instead of rolling in their maze, I might as well pull my hands out and do something that really cuts the fire."

Zhu Neiguan: "What is the matter of cutting off the firewood from under the cauldron?"

The Queen Mother did not answer him, but only said: "Please ask Concubine Liu to come over tomorrow. Tell her that I miss Yong'er and ask her to bring the child over to me."

……

The next day, Concubine Liu came to Baoci Palace early in the morning, holding the little prince.

The Queen Mother accepted the little prince's greeting with a smile, then held him in her arms and put a golden jade lock on his finger.

Concubine Liu was overjoyed and said repeatedly: "Thank you, Madam! Yong'er is still so young, how can he accept such a generous gift from you!"

The Queen Mother said: "It is because the child is young that he has received such a gift. If he grows up to be as old as King Huan, he would not be appreciated even if I gave him a mountain of gold."

Concubine Liu: "Yes, yes, a child must be raised by your side from a young age. I will bring Yong'er to kowtow and pay my respects to the Empress Dowager every day in the future."

The Queen Mother nodded lovingly, "That's right. You are very grateful and I believe that the child you raise will also be grateful and grateful. Only by being grateful and grateful can you have good fortune in the future!"

Concubine Liu began to imagine the words "future blessings" and said excitedly: "I will definitely take Yong'er with me to honor you for the rest of my life!"

The two of them once again reached a certain tacit understanding through such a cryptic conversation.

The Queen Mother asked Eunuch Zhu to take the little prince out to catch butterflies, and Concubine Liu was left to play chess with her. During the game, the Queen Mother casually asked, "Is your husband still having headaches recently?"

Concubine Liu frowned and sighed, "Your Majesty has not come to my palace for more than a month..."

The Queen Mother understood and encouraged him, "Then you should go visit him more often. He is the emperor, so he is naturally busier than you. You should care about him more, pay more attention to his affairs, listen more, and ask more questions. Only then can the two of you have something to talk about!"

Concubine Liu: "I did go there, and to be honest, I did see something quite interesting."

"Oh? What's the matter?"

Concubine Liu covered her mouth and chuckled: "I heard that the Queen's concubine from the Zou family beat up Princess Pingning!"

The Queen Mother was shocked: "What? How dare she?!"

Concubine Liu was even happier: "I heard that it was this Miss Zou who behaved improperly and acted like a prostitute at home. Princess Pingning couldn't stand it and punished her. This Fourth Miss Zou went crazy and directly grabbed Princess Pingning's face. Hahahaha, it was a big fuss!"