The dim back

Zhang Yulu had just woken up in the morning and Liu Zhongqing had been waiting at the door for a long time.

When Liu Zhongqing saw Zhang Yulu open the door, he said to her, "Let's go to the palace now. The Queen Mother, please come and invite us in the morning. I think you are going to call us to task."

Zhang Yulu was also very worried and asked, "Are you ready for the cloth?"

Liu Zhongqing nodded: "We have sent people to keep a close watch on it. I believe there will be no mistakes this time."

The two men quickly arrived at the palace and were led by the eunuch towards the Queen Mother's palace. As they walked forward, they passed by a garden.

Zhang Yulu felt a familiar smell: "Do you smell anything strange?"

Liu Zhongqing shook his head: "Now we are walking to the garden, what else can we smell besides flowers?"

Zhang Yulu suddenly realized: "This seems to be the smell of that person." It was the smell of the person wearing a white hat yesterday.

Zhang Yulu looked at the many palace maids walking in the distance, feeling particularly irritated: "What are these palace maids thinking?"

Liu Zhongqing didn't have the chance to pay attention to these palace maids now. He hurriedly urged Zhang Yulu: "You two should move forward quickly and don't say anything."

Zhang Yulu knew that there were many rules in the palace, so she had to lower her head and follow Liu Zhongqing.

A little palace maid ran over from behind, secretly handed Zhang Yulu a note, and then hurried away.

When Zhang Yulu opened the note while Liu Zhongqing was not paying attention, she saw a sentence written on it: "Don't talk to the Queen Mother unless it's a critical moment. Remember this."

Zhang Yulu understood that someone wanted to help her. Could this person be the man in white whom she met in the bamboo forest yesterday?

At this moment, Liu Zhongqing, who was walking in front, stopped, and Zhang Yulu, who was more focused, bumped into Liu Zhongqing's back.

Liu Zhongqing thought Zhang Yulu was nervous: "It's okay, the Queen Mother just wants my mother to come and beg her. Yes, we won't pose too much of a threat. At most, they will insult us. Don't worry too much."

Zhang Yulu nodded: "I promise not to talk inside and try my best to hold back."

When the two men just entered, the Queen Mother was lying on her couch, looking very relaxed.

The personal maid said to the two people, "The Queen Mother is resting, you two should wait a moment."

Zhang Yulu and Liu Zhongqing stood there like this for almost an hour.

Zhang Yulu felt her legs were a little sore and wanted to move them, but Liu Zhongqing immediately said, "Don't move. This is the rule in the palace. It would be disrespectful in front of them."

"But I really can't stand anymore. My legs are so tired." Zhang Yulu also told the truth.

From the current situation, it can be seen that the Queen Mother is deliberately making things difficult for the two people.

Liu Zhongqing had no choice but to clench his fists and put them in front of his chest, and said loudly to the empress dowager: "Your Majesty, I am honored to be here."

Seeing that the Queen Mother did not move, Liu Zhongqing repeated it loudly again.

The Queen Mother then opened her eyes and said in a veiled tone, "You are so young, but you can't stand standing for a while. How can we hand over the country to people like you in the future?"

Zhang Yulu finally understood: "So the imperial family is so scary. Although I didn't have a mother when I was a child, at least my family was kind to me."

Zhang Yulu not only talked about Yiren Villa, she also talked about things before she traveled through time.

Hearing Zhang Yulu's whisper, the Queen Mother opened her mouth and said, "Why are you talking like that? I'm in a good mood today, so I won't bother with you. If you can't marry into the Princess's mansion, you won't be able to be a good Marquis' Consort. When you go out in the future, you will represent the reputation of Marquis Changqing."

Liu Zhongqing quickly took over the conversation: "I will follow the instructions of the Empress Dowager and go back to find some teachers of etiquette. I will definitely teach Zhang Yulu well."

The Queen Mother was satisfied: "Is your mother holding a grudge against me? It has been so many days, and she hasn't exchanged a single letter with me."

Liu Zhongqing thought for a moment and said, "My Queen Mother, my mother is indeed quite busy. She has been helping my father take care of the family business."

The Queen Mother was very angry. She threw her sleeves and said, "Don't treat me as an old lady. I know very well that your mother just hates me, so she uses this as an excuse."

Liu Zhongqing was helpless and could only say to the Queen Mother: "We do have a lot of things to do at home. Second Aunt is at home and has been ill recently. My aunt is busy with business alone and can't handle it, so mother can only help from the side."

After hearing this, the Queen Mother said today's problem: "Didn't your mother say that we should be filial to the buyers? This batch of silk I just bought is good. I want to make some clothes today. Your family's transportation is really slow. Don't use the ship to transport it in the future. Just send it directly as fast as possible."

Seeing Liu Zhongqing standing there without saying anything, the Queen Mother became happy: "No need for me to say more to you. I am in a bad mood today. Hurry up and send me the batch of cloth so that I can make some new clothes for you."

After the Queen Mother said these words, she did not give anyone a chance to speak and directly asked the tailor to come in and measure her clothes.

Liu Zhongqing knew that the Queen Mother was doing this for him to see. If he failed to hand over the cloth, the Queen Mother would definitely find a reason to blame his mother.

Liu Zhongqing has made up his mind: "Empress Dowager, there is a problem with the batch of cloth. It may take another day or two to arrive."

The Queen Mother thought her plan had worked, and immediately said with a stern face: "Do you think Aijia is a child? Are you fooling me?"

Unexpectedly, after the Queen Mother said this, she was very happy in her heart, but she couldn't pretend on the surface: "Don't I want to make a set of clothes? Your family is an imperial merchant, and the tribute cloth should be the best. I have to wait to wear it now, what do you say I should do?"

Zhang Yulu felt very strange. Bu was clearly in the military camp, so what was going on?

Zhang Yulu has a simple mind and cannot understand some things.

This time, the system reminded: "Liu Zhongqing is telling the Queen Mother that there is something wrong with this piece of cloth."

Before Zhang Yulu understood what the system meant, she saw the Queen Mother in front of her start to cry: "What else can I expect from this child? There are so many cloths at home, but they are reluctant to give the best to me, and all they sent to me are defective ones."

Hearing the Queen Mother crying and making a fuss, Liu Zhongqing could only persuade her: "Please forgive me, Queen Mother. I will definitely send all the cloth tomorrow."

At this time, the Queen Mother set her eyes on Zhang Yulu and said, "You look fair and clean, and you are a good match for our son."

Zhang Yulu realized late that the "son" the Empress Dowager was referring to was probably Liu Zhongqing.

Seeing Zhang Yulu's expression, the Queen Mother laughed and said, "It seems that you two young people should practice more. You don't even know your son's nickname."

Zhang Yulu said softly, "Empress Dowager, I really don't know."

The Queen Mother told the truth: "Originally you were the eldest daughter of Jianghu Villa, not qualified to have children with us, but because his father was stubborn, we had no choice but to agree to let you marry in. But you still have to learn the necessary rules, because you will be a royal relative in the future."

When the Empress Dowager spoke of this, she held her chin high and looked very domineering.

If this happened to Zhang Yulu in modern times, she would definitely retort, but now in this society, she is just a commoner woman, and naturally she has to lower her attitude in front of the royal family.

Zhang Yulu thought about this and said with a smile, "I will follow the Queen Mother's instructions. I will remember this."

Hearing the words of the Queen Mother, Zhang Yulu stood up, picked up the cup of tea on his left hand, and said respectfully: "Queen Mother, when you get up in the morning, you should drink a cup of hot tea. This will make you feel good."

After the Queen Mother nodded, the palace maid brought the tea over.

The Queen Mother drank tea and said, "You are indeed a man who knows how to handle things. No wonder Sheng'er has always protected you."

Hearing what the Empress Dowager said, Liu Zhongqing coughed and said, "Empress Dowager, I will send the cloth over tomorrow. If there is nothing else, we will go back first."

When the Queen Mother heard what Liu Zhongqing said, she immediately started to get angry: "Hurry up and shut up. I just want to talk to your bride. I think she is much better than Qiu Feng. I just don't like girls with rouge smell."

Hearing the autumn wind blowing, Liu Zhongqing's face immediately turned pale: "Empress Dowager, please don't mention the past, please give me some face."

The Queen Mother sighed helplessly and said to Zhang Yulu who was standing beside her: "Talk to me for a while. Let Sheng'er go down and rest first."

Liu Zhongqing had no other choice, and Zhang Yulu could not refuse, so he had to say to the Queen Mother: "Please forgive me, Queen Mother. I followed the Marquis into the palace, and I want him to stay with me."

The Queen Mother laughed and said, "You two are inseparable now. You must miss him after being apart for such a short period of time. Don't worry, you are by Aijia's side. Aijia will tell you something."

Hearing the Queen Mother say this, Zhang Yulu let down her guard a little: "Please follow the Queen Mother's instructions."

Liu Zhongqing was helpless: "I will withdraw first. Chen will come to pick up Zhang Yulu in a quarter of an hour. Now I will have a conversation with my brother first."

The Empress Dowager waved her hand and Liu Zhongqing retreated.

When the queen saw Liu Zhongqing retreat, she said to Zhang Yulu, "Actually, Sheng'er is quite pitiful. I really don't like his mother, but I like this child very much. The eldest princess is stubborn by nature, and because of the concubine's problem, I don't like this child either, but I like Sheng'er very much."

Zhang Yulu listened quietly, not daring to say a word, for fear of saying something wrong and bringing about fatal disaster.

Seeing this, the Queen Mother began to comfort Zhang Yulu: "Why are you so nervous? Are you afraid of me?"

Zhang Yulu immediately shook her head: "You haven't seen much of the world? It's your first time meeting the Queen Mother, so of course you feel a little scared."

Hearing Zhang Yulu say this, the Queen Mother laughed and said, "These are all perfunctory words. I have heard a lot of them. To tell you the truth, I am in a bad mood today and don't want to hear any more hypocritical words."

This time the system began to remind Zhang Yulu: "Master Host, you should take this opportunity to divert the Queen Mother's attention."

Zhang Yulu looked around and saw a screen on the roof. She said to the Empress Dowager, "Empress Dowager, there is a fish missing from this screen. Can I embroider a fish for you?"

Hearing Zhang Yulu say this, the Queen Mother laughed and said, "I really want to find someone to embroider this fish, so you can embroider it for me."

Zhang Yulu knew very well that the Queen Mother used high-end products. If she failed to embroider well this time, she would be killed. Fortunately, she had the help of Gold Finger, so Zhang Yulu was very confident.

Zhang Yulu stood in front of the screen and began to embroider with flying needle.

Soon, a perfect screen appeared in front of him. Zhang Yulu laughed: "I didn't expect my craftsmanship to be so good."

When the Queen Mother saw this, she also praised sincerely: "It seems that we are blessed to have such a good wife, but I remind you to be careful of the autumn wind."

Hearing the Queen Mother say this, Zhang Yulu was stunned: "Queen Mother, Miss Qiufeng is a daughter of an official family. I believe she has a very noble temperament. Although I have never met her, I think she must be very good."

The Queen Mother didn't want to hear this, and angrily threw the teacup on the table: "What noble temperament can a woman who soaks in that kind of place have? It will only make people feel ashamed to say it out loud."

Seeing the Queen Mother getting angry, Zhang Yulu didn't dare to speak. Only then did he understand why the system reminded him not to speak in front of the Queen Mother.

Zhang Yulu was sitting on the stool in a proper manner. When she heard the Queen Mother was so angry, she immediately stood up and said to her, "It was I who said the wrong thing. Please forgive me, Queen Mother."

Seeing Zhang Yulu so reserved, the Queen Mother sighed and said, "Forget it, forget it. I was like you when I was young. Don't be so submissive. I like your true nature. I feel that you are a very thoughtful child. Come here. I will give you something."

The Queen Mother casually took off the jade bracelet in her hand and put it on Zhang Yulu's arm: "From now on, with this bracelet, you can enter and leave the palace freely, and you can come to the palace to see the Queen Mother at any time."

Zhang Yulu felt greatly favored: "Empress Dowager, this is unacceptable."

The Queen Mother patted Zhang Yulu's hand and said, "If I say yes, then yes. Let's see who has objections."

At this time, Liu Zhongqing walked in with the emperor.

When the Queen Mother saw this, she sneered, "I didn't expect you to call for help. You're afraid that I'll be upset with your daughter-in-law who hasn't married yet."

Liu Zhongqing turned his head away embarrassedly: "The Empress Dowager has misunderstood. I was just talking to the Emperor. We came here together to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager."