After marrying a sickly and powerful official, Jiaojiao cries every day

Feng Qiwu thought so too, it was just a matter of putting in more effort.

Wen Ranyan fiddled with the golden hairpin in her hair. Her face, as bright as the clouds and the moon, was reflected in the bronze mirror. Her charming eyes were full of brilliance and she was extremely seductive.

"Didn't you say yesterday that you couldn't find anything? How come you suddenly found something unusual about the shop in the Duke's Mansion today?"

As she spoke, she looked at the bronze mirror again. At that moment, Feng Qiwu was also looking at her through the bronze mirror.

Feng Qiwu opened her thin lips and said, "There was indeed no movement last night, but when you were still sleeping this morning, Qi Jiuzhu brought this news."

The blurry bronze mirror reflected his gorgeous face. His every frown and smile were reflected on the mirror, as lazy and seductive as the thick ink of a mural. His black pupils stared straight at Wen Ranyan like stars, without blinking, which was captivating.

Wen Ranyan shrugged, "Oh, then you are blaming me for being lazy."

"How dare I." Feng Qiwu came closer, and a tender laugh filled her ears.

Wen Ranyan tilted her head subconsciously.

Feng Qiwu's slender fingers passed through her hair, and the silky hair slipped through his fingers. One or two strands were lightly wrapped around his fingertips, like white jade dyed with ink, filled with indescribable charming and seductive colors.

Perhaps they had stayed in the inner room for too long and had no intention of buying any jewelry, so the steward lifted the curtain and came in, asking a few questions in a respectful voice.

"Do the two distinguished guests have any jewelry they like?"

"How much silver is this gold hairpin in my hair worth?" Wen Ranyan asked casually.

The steward gestured with his hands to count, "Fifty taels."

Hearing this, Wen Ranyan couldn't help but look at Feng Qiwu. Their eyes met, and only the two of them understood the meaning behind it.

Fifty taels of silver is really too expensive for ordinary people. Besides, although this gold hairpin is exquisitely crafted, it is not so expensive. It goes without saying how much profit there is in it.

"I want this one." Feng Qiwu took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and placed it on the table casually, looking generous and unrestrained.

It is a bit expensive, but they will have to pay it back in the future.

The summer mountains are green and the flowers are in full bloom.

In Shou'an Palace, the empress dowager was kneeling on a futon, wearing a gorgeous brocade dress with a green background and large flowers embroidered on it.

There was incense burning in the shrine in front of her. She was peeling off the Buddhist beads and reciting a few verses of Buddhist scriptures devoutly.

Now the stage where she often listened to operas was destroyed, the senior palace maids and the maids who always accompanied her were beheaded, and no new people were sent in. Her Shou'an Palace was silent and cold, as if it were a cold palace.

Only by chanting sutras and praying in front of the Buddha can I dispel the loneliness in this deep palace.

However, upon hearing that the new emperor had ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty, Feng Qiwu seemed to have the idea of ​​allowing the princes to return to the capital.

The empress dowager was overwhelmed with mixed emotions when she heard this. She felt a little comforted as she thought that Prince Yongqing Helian Yue would be returning to the capital soon and her lonely days would finally have hope.

At that time, a palace maid came in through the curtain and whispered in the Queen Mother's ear, "Queen Mother, Miss Zhou from the Duke's Mansion has arrived."

"Let her wait in the inner hall first, I will go later." The Queen Mother twirled her Buddhist beads and stood up slowly, as if she was going to set some rules.

In the inner hall, smoke curled up from a bronze incense burner, and tassels of goat horn lamps on both sides hung down, sparkling in the bright light.

The Queen Mother arrived late, and Zhou Xuzhi waited anxiously, having already refilled two cups of herbal tea in the celadon cup in his hand.

Hearing the noise, Zhou Xuzhi's annoyance disappeared and he quickly stood up and saluted.

"Your servant pays respect to the Queen Mother."

The Queen Mother stepped forward to help her up, her face gentle, "But have you been waiting for a long time?"

Zhou Xuzhi had a pretty face, and she couldn't help but smile and said, "Not long."

The two of them sat down quickly, with the Queen Mother sitting in the first seat and Zhou Xuzhi sitting at the lower left.

She was wearing a light yellow jacket today, with thin shoulders and a slim waist, simple and elegant, fresh. She had light-colored velvet flowers decorated with emerald branches and leaves pinned in her hair, and a emerald green tassel hairpin hanging diagonally, her eyebrows and eyes were smiling, very lively.

The Queen Mother took a sip of tea and took the initiative to talk about something, "Recently, Xu Zhi has not come to Shou'an Palace to visit. I feel really lonely."

Recently she has experienced the fickleness of human nature. Perhaps because they are afraid that the emperor's wrath will affect them, all the palace servants outside the palace avoid him like the devil, for fear of bringing trouble upon themselves. Her Shou'an Palace has become deserted and is no longer as prosperous as before.

"I have been ill for several days and only recovered today." Zhou Xuzhi was terrified.

Ever since she was intimidated by Wen Ranyan that day, she fell ill as soon as she returned.

I often had nightmares during my illness, and I always dreamed that I was like that teacup, which would be crushed into powder by Wen Ranyan's grasp.

She was terrified, and when she woke up from her illness, she was so exhausted that she had to put on a lot of powder to hide her haggard face before she could go out and see people.

The Queen Mother was slightly surprised and showed concern, "Why are you sick?"

Zhou Weizhi didn't dare to say more, but just said: "Maybe it's the summer heat."

"It's scorching hot in midsummer, you must take good care of yourself." The empress dowager hurriedly ordered the palace servants to prepare ice cubes. The ice cubes were placed in ice cages. A hint of coolness blew on the face, instantly relieving the heat in the palace.

Zhou Weizhi nodded in agreement.

Seeing that she was well-behaved and had a dignified personality brought up by an aristocratic family, the Queen Mother said, "Now that the Queen's position is vacant, I am most interested in you. The Duke's Mansion is a family of founding generals, and you have such a gentle and dignified personality. My Beilang should have such a Queen with good looks, family background and personality to rule the six palaces."

"The Queen Mother is joking." Zhou Xuzhi was horrified and could not help but lower his eyebrows.

She had originally listened to these words in a daze, thinking that she was the best candidate for the throne, so she obeyed her father's order and danced in front of the palace. However, the intimidation that day woke her up from her sweet dream.

The new emperor is a tiger and a wolf, and so is Wen Ranyan. If she insists, she will probably die without a burial place.

Besides, the new emperor already has a candidate for the empress in mind, and the empress dowager in front of him is just a dying ant. How can she rule over the new emperor without real power?

If her parents had not forced her, she would not have wanted to enter the palace today. Rather than being caught in the middle, she just wanted to protect herself.

Seeing her disappointment, the empress dowager was caught off guard and her words hinted at her intention to drive her away.

"Think carefully about what I said when you go back."

Zhou Yuzhi lowered her eyebrows, stood up, bowed and left, "Yes, I will take my leave."

She walked out of Shou'an Palace in a daze. When she looked back, she saw the red plaque on the gate interweaving and shading under the scorching light. Perhaps due to its age, the vermilion had faded and was now filled with desolation.

Zhou Huizhi's heart sank to the bottom. She understood what her family and the Queen Mother meant. They supported her to the throne so that she could restrain the new emperor. It seemed that they had a better plan.

Otherwise, how could such a good thing as becoming the queen fall upon a legitimate daughter like her who was not worthy of the title?

Zhou Huizhi walked along the palace road with a heavy heart. Even a thick layer of powder could not hide her haggard face. She walked into the corner, but unexpectedly met the two people she least wanted to see in front of a palace.

Feng Qiwu and Wen Ranyan walked hand in hand, their equally eye-catching red clothes intertwined in the wind, and their equally beautiful faces were so perfectly matched. It was hard to get in the way of such a perfect couple.

The two of them huddled together, and no one knew what they were talking about, but their smiles were still bright and dazzling.

Perhaps sensing some movement, Wen Ranyan glanced sideways.

There was a bright light in her eyes, as rippling as flowing water, but to Zhou Weizhi, it was as glaring and chilling as a cold current.

Zhou Huizhi forgot the palace rules for a moment and fled in panic.

"What did you do to her? Why is she so scared?" Feng Qiwu glimpsed the scene and couldn't help but sneer.