Minglan is reborn, this time with no regrets!

Shengfu.

The old lady looked up from the table of food and said in surprise: "What? You...you really said that?!"

Minglan let out an "ah" and continued to pick up food.

"You are too brave! If you make a mistake, you will get into trouble!"

"The Queen summoned so many ladies but didn't summon me. If she didn't dislike me, then she wanted to summon me at another time to hear something else. When I arrived at the palace, they all said a lot of words, but I didn't say a word. But when it was time to say goodbye, the Queen kept only me. Why? Because the Queen felt that what they said was useless."

"Since you are so insightful, then tell me, when will this storm end?"

"The roots started from the Shen family, so we must naturally start from the Shen family. Although the official family seems to have gained power, in fact, the foundation is not solid and the walls are unstable. The empress has nothing to do but watch from the sidelines, and she has more time and energy to wait for an opportunity to act. At this time, we must not let the ripples turn into waves. If they expand further, the city of Tokyo will be in turmoil."

The old lady was very pleased. She stared at Minglan for a long while and suddenly said, "Who would have thought that you could discuss state affairs in this room now. If you were born a boy, you would be no less capable than Changbai and your...father in the officialdom..." When mentioning Sheng Hong, the old lady's eyes darkened, "He would rest in peace in his grave seeing how successful you are..."

Minglan didn't want the old lady to be too immersed in sadness, so she brought the topic back to the Qi family's affairs and said, "The Queen Mother was able to successfully give the Qi family a concubine because Madam Shen had no children. The Shen family was held hostage and couldn't say anything. The Qi family had only one son for two generations and they really wanted to have more children. If Madam Shen was pregnant, both the Qi and Shen families would be happy, and perhaps the hostility would be alleviated."

The old lady immediately guessed what she was going to say next, and pretended to complain: "Oh, I was wondering how you could find time to come and see me today, but it turns out you don't come for no reason. Tsk, this meal suddenly doesn't taste good anymore..."

Minglan immediately threw down her bowl and chopsticks, pretending to be sad and said, "Oh, Grandma! How can you scold yourself!"

The old lady's eyes widened: "Why did I scold myself?"

Minglan also opened her eyes wide and said innocently, "I grew up with my grandmother. She taught me what I am. If she scolds me, isn't that scolding me? I won't let my grandmother scold me! My grandmother is the best grandmother in the world, and the granddaughter she teaches is also the best granddaughter in the world!"

The old lady laughed loudly and poked her with the tail of the chopsticks: "You little monkey! You are making fun of me! Little monkey!"

……

Shen Congying sat in the Funing Hall all night.

The next morning, she ordered someone to fetch the phoenix crown she wore on the day of her coronation, removed the top bead, and sent her personal maid Su Ma to personally deliver it to Princess Pingning to apologize: "Little Zou was so arrogant and rude and offended Princess Pingning. It was all because I, as the queen, failed to discipline my family well. Cao Cao cut off his hair in lieu of his head. Now I will wear the top bead to apologize to Princess Pingning. Please accept it."

Then, Shen Congying took off all her hairpins and jewelry, walked out of the Funing Hall with her face bare, and under the gaze of all the concubines and palace maids, she slowly walked towards the emperor's study.

……

At this time, Han Qi was speaking in front of the emperor: "Your Majesty, have you read my memorial?"

Zhao Zongquan held the book in his hand and remained silent.

Han Qi: "The attendant of the Empress Dowager went there on the orders of the Emperor, but the Zou family injured him. The court has been arguing about all this for more than ten days. I wonder what your Majesty is going to do?"

Zhao Zongquan sighed: "I'll think about it again...I'll think about it again..."

Han Qi stepped forward and said bluntly: "The Queen Mother has already started the attack! Your Majesty is still hesitant to make a decision. Are you trying to bend the law for personal gain? Has Your Majesty forgotten the great cause you have planned since ascending the throne, the soldiers on the border, and your homeland that has fallen into the hands of the enemy?"

"Your Excellency is serious!"

"Your Majesty, I stood firmly by your side because you said that you wanted to eliminate the accumulated problems, revitalize the country, restore the homeland, and revive the Song family. From the beginning to now, no matter when, I have always stood by you and fought for you. But now, if you indulge in favoritism for your relatives, indulge in your foundation, and destroy the government, then I will never agree to it!"

Seeing that Han Da Xianggong was getting more and more ruthless, Shen Congying's voice suddenly came from outside the imperial study: "The guilty woman Shen has failed to control her relatives, and I apologize to Your Majesty..."

The emperor and Han Qi were both shocked, and the emperor quickly walked out the door.

When Shen Congying saw him, she knelt immediately and said sincerely: "Your Majesty, I live in the Kunning Palace, but I don't follow the rules of the Kunning Palace. I am ashamed of Your Majesty, the foundation of my ancestors, the teachings of the Queen Mother, and all the old ministers in the court... Your Majesty, please punish me. I am willing to accept the punishment." After that, she bowed her head.

The emperor understood her intention and quickly helped the person up from the ground. He said firmly, "You are my queen. You have survived all the way from Yuzhou with me. The queen's fault is my fault. If the queen apologizes, I should apologize. Let's go and apologize to the queen mother together!"

The couple looked at each other affectionately. Han Qi, who was hiding in the study, heard all their conversations and praised them in his heart: "Great! The country has a virtuous queen, and the country has no worries!"

……

Baoci Hall.

Concubine Liu, who saw the empress go out without makeup, said to the empress dowager happily: "Since the founding of our Celestial Empire, there has never been an empress like this. She has really lost all her face!"

The Queen Mother's focus was not on this. She pointed out the anomaly clearly: "The Emperor has been in her palace these days, and there has been no news of him expressing any intention to punish her."

Concubine Liu rolled her eyes and smiled, "Maybe she scolded me last night?"

The Queen Mother: "Did you see it? Did you hear it?"

Concubine Liu said firmly: "She is asking for forgiveness! Your Majesty must be disgusted with her!"

The Queen Mother felt helpless about the fool in front of her: "Have you ever seen a Queen willing to bow her head and confess her guilt to a minister? And have you ever seen a Queen willing to cry in front of the court? She is destroying her own dignity, she couldn't be any lower. This matter has been going on for so many days, the Queen has been holding on, the Emperor has been holding on, and they have been holding on one by one, so I have the opportunity to take advantage of it. Who gave her the idea to ask for forgiveness? How could such a person as the Queen learn this trick?"

Concubine Liu only thought in the direction she wanted: "Even if she can get away with it this time, this matter has caused so much trouble to His Majesty, and His Majesty must have felt hurt. If the Emperor and the Empress are not in harmony, everything will be easy!" As she spoke, she became happy again.

At this time, someone came in to report that Zhao Zongquan and his wife had arrived at the door and asked the Queen Mother to go out.

Concubine Liu was so frightened that her face turned green.

The Queen Mother rolled her eyes at her and said, "Just stay quiet and don't make any noise."

When the empress dowager arrived at the gate of Baoci Hall, Zhao Zongquan took off his crown, knelt on the ground with Shen Congying, and said in a loud voice: "The unfilial son Zhao Zongquan and his wife Shen Congying come to ask the empress dowager to be well and come to apologize to her!"

As soon as the couple knelt, everyone inside and outside the hall, visible and invisible, knelt as well.

In order to support the empress dowager, Zhu Neiguan had to shrink his whole body behind her, leaving only one hand exposed to hold her hand.

The Queen Mother was also stunned.

For the first time in her long life, the emperor and empress knelt before her with bare heads.

She was stunned.

Zhao Zongquan: "The wife of General Weibei Shen Congxing did not respect the instructions of the Queen Mother and contradicted her beloved daughter and attendants. Your son Zhao Zongquan and his wife Shen Congying have come to apologize to the Queen Mother!"

The Queen Mother was stunned for a long while before she bent down to help the man up as if she had just woken up from a dream: "Quick, quick, quick, get up! The Emperor, get up quickly!"

The couple, each holding one hand, were slowly stood up by the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother had clearly understood the other party's intentions at this time, and she lowered her posture even more. After helping the Emperor and Empress to stand up, she bent down and picked up the Emperor's hat herself, saying distressedly: "Oh, Emperor, why do you have to be so polite! You scared me!"

She handed the hat to the emperor and said, "We are a perfect match for each other, and we are doing this for the sake of the country. What is wrong with that?"

Zhao Zongquan took the hat with both hands. Although he was standing, he lowered his head and listened to the empress dowager respectfully.

The empress dowager took his hand again and said, "Emperor, you must not listen to the instigation of others." As she said this, she glanced at Shen Congying vaguely.

What she meant was that she did not mean to blame the emperor. It was others who instigated the emperor to think that she was angry and came to apologize to her. She herself did not think of asking the emperor to apologize.

The "others" in the sentence can refer to many things. If it were a foolish and brainless emperor, he would most likely think that it was the queen who brought him to apologize, and the "others" who provoked the relationship between mother and son was the queen.

Of course, Zhao Zongquan would not be fooled.

He exchanged a glance with Shen Congying, and the couple understood each other tacitly:

We won this round!