The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

The Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet of the Dasheng Dynasty was a dinner that started at 3 p.m.

After Xie Yuzhen was dressed up, she sat in the hall, hugging her slightly curved belly, with her hands clasped together with her fingers intertwined.

She hadn't seen her mother for a long time and didn't know her mother...

Just when Xie Yuzhen was in a trance, she heard the sound of a communication getting closer and closer. She could no longer hold back and stood up from her seat, looking towards the door in panic and expectation.

I saw Chunfen leading the way, and behind her was an old woman in her forties with gray hair.

The woman was wearing a dress suitable for ladies of high rank. The dark-colored satin was smooth and soft, which did not match her dark and rough skin. Perhaps because it was her first time entering the palace, Xie's mother's face was filled with embarrassment.

Xie Yuzhen had already lifted up her skirt and ran out of Jinghua Building: "Mom!"

This familiar yet somewhat strange call made Xie's mother stunned for a moment. She looked up at the gorgeously dressed woman running towards her. She didn't care whether she was in a palace or not. She strode forward excitedly: "Oh my dear girl, slow down, slow down, be careful with your feet, don't fall!"

Xia Zhi also ran out and advised: "My wife, take care of yourself! You are pregnant!"

Hearing this, Xie's mother suddenly woke up from her dream. She quickly ran over and took her daughter in her arms: "You are so old and yet you are so unstable!"

Xie Yuzhen sniffed the familiar scent of his mother, and tears suddenly flowed down his face: "It's been a long time since I last saw my mother!"

Xie's mother's nose also felt sore, and she started to cry: "Mom misses you too..." She let her daughter lean on her shoulder and cry for a while, then gently patted Xie Yuzhen's back and coaxed her, "Don't cry, don't cry, haven't you seen me?"

"Too much tears are harmful to your health, stop crying." Although Xie's mother said this, she couldn't stop crying, and her tears kept rolling down - she deeply regretted that she had supported her daughter to marry that jackal surnamed Zhou. Ever since her daughter married into the Wuwei Marquis's mansion, even though they were both in the capital, it was as if she had married her precious child away, and she hadn't been able to see anyone for several years...

Then she suddenly heard that her daughter and Zhou Ting were getting a divorce, and even involved the current emperor. The matter escalated and ended up in court. What made Mother Xie even more worried was that her daughter, whom she had raised well before her marriage, was so thin that day when she stood in the court of Kyoto Prefecture, that she looked like she would fly away with the wind. Later, when her daughter produced evidence that Zhou Ting had poisoned her food, Mother Xie wished she could eat the Zhou family alive!

But what can she do?

She was just an old woman running a small business, a commoner among the common people in Kyoto, the lowest of the lowest.

She could only ask her eldest son to secretly write a storybook about Zhou Ting's family, and pay money to send it to various restaurants and opera troupes for singing. Fortunately, Xie Yuzhen's incident was so serious and involved the emperor, so the storybook she sent became very popular, and the streets were filled with people cursing the Zhou family during that period.

But Xie's mother did not feel that she had vented her anger. Instead, she was more worried about her daughter whom she could not see.

Today, she finally saw her daughter, and she felt as if the heavy stone in her heart had fallen: "Seeing you today, mother feels relieved."

Xie Yuzhen wiped away her tears and smiled: "Mom, you must be tired after coming all the way here. Come with me to the hall and sit down."

The mother and daughter smiled at each other. Xie Yuzhen held his mother's hand and would not let go. The two of them went into the house and sat on the chaise longue together.

After crying for a while, Xie Yuzhen still felt sour under her eyes. She took a deep breath, looked at her mother's many white hairs, and blamed herself again: "I am an unfilial daughter. I made my mother worry about me."

"Mom will miss you wherever you are. Where is the flesh that has fallen off your body? Stop crying. If you cry, I will feel uncomfortable too." Mother Xie felt that her daughter had grown a lot, but was still too thin, as if she had not gained any flesh. It seemed that the imperial palace was noble, but it did not provide much nourishment.

"They say that the royal family eats and drinks well, but you suffered a lot before. I saw from afar that you were so thin that only bones were left. How come you haven't gained back the flesh after following... for so long?" Mother Xie looked down at her daughter's slightly pregnant belly worriedly. Although her daughter had been in good health and full of energy since she was young, giving birth is the most harmful to a woman's body, and her daughter had been tortured by the Zhou family before... Mother Xie even secretly hoped that the child would not come, or would come in a few years, until Xie Yu really recovered.

But the emperor has so many women. If his daughter doesn't give birth to a child, how can she gain a foothold among those concubines who come from wealthy families?

Xie's mother was conflicted and uncomfortable, her heart filled with bitterness and sorrow.

Xie Yuzhen noticed her mother's discomfort and deliberately said coquettishly, "What are you talking about, mother? When did I become so skinny? How ugly is that?"

She had indeed suffered a lot and was much thinner than when she was at home, but it was definitely not as severe as her mother described, otherwise she might have scared the emperor away before she could even seduce him.

The reason why Xie's mother said this was that in her opinion, her daughter was away from her and no matter where she was, she would worry that she was not living well.

As mother and daughter for many years, how could Xie Yuzhen not understand her mother's thoughts?

She stretched out her hand and showed her mother a pair of jade rings on her wrist. The jade rings were made of the finest mutton-fat jade without a single impurity or flaw. They were taken from a large piece of jade and carved into two intertwined, winding thin rings by the skillful hands of craftsmen. When they jingled on Xie Yuzhen's wrist, her skin looked as white as jade, yet even more delicate and moving than the flawless white jade.

"Take a closer look. Your daughter has taken good care of herself!" Xie Yuzhen pretended to be proud and showed her mother the golden phoenix hairpin on her head, the string of full and bright pearls hanging from her slender neck to her chest, and the two huge ruby ​​earrings. "Look at your daughter. Isn't her appearance and complexion better than the fairy in the mural?"

Xie's mother was dazzled by her daughter's wealth. She still felt that her daughter had lost a lot of weight, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she glared at Xie Yuzhen and said, "What immortals? I prayed to the gods and Buddhas, but they were useless... What's the use?"

Seeing his mother's angry look, Xie Yuzhen smiled comfortingly and said, "Your Majesty is much better than those clay and wood sculptures. When mother saw me like this today, she knew that he treats me very well. Mother has been busy enough with all the things at home, so there is no need to worry about her daughter so much."

Xie Yu was deeply distressed by his mother's white hair, but he did not want to cry and make his mother sad, so he held back his tears and said, "My daughter is living well in the palace."

As soon as he finished speaking, a heavy sound of footsteps was heard in the room which had been silent for who knows how long. Xie Yuzhen looked up and saw the emperor walking around the screen. There was infinite pity in his eyes. He didn't know how long he had been listening.

While Xie Yuzhen was feeling embarrassed, he was just glad that he always remembered to think well of the emperor. Even to his mother, he did not really express his true thoughts about the emperor.