The carriage passed through the corridors and left the sparsely populated Changle Palace. The Empress Dowager leaned against the carriage and supported her chin with her hand, looking a bit lazy. She saw Lady Lu standing at the palace gate from a distance.
To the Empress Dowager's surprise, she had thought that Lady Lu would look sour and enigmatic when she saw her. She didn't expect that Lady Lu had also dressed up today.
She wore a light cyan long dress with a light gauze draped over her arms and her hands folded at her waist. She was slim and graceful and even had the fresh and tender air of an unmarried girl. Her makeup was not too heavy or too light. Her red lips were very eye-catching. White jade pendants hung by her ears and her hair was coiled into a cloud bun. She even took out the hairpin that the Lu Family had hired to make for her when she got married.
The gold and jade flower-tail hairpin was not inferior to the Empress Dowager's phoenix coronet. It could be considered as the betrothal gift for the marriage between the Xiao and Lu Families. In this world, there was only one of this kind. In the past, the Empress Dowager would not even give it a glance even if she wanted to. It was the lifeblood of Madam Lu, and she was afraid that even a glance at it would damage it. There were a few followers of the Xiao family standing outside the palace. It seemed that they were worried that the hairpin would be stolen by some daring thief.
The carriage stopped at the palace gate. The Empress Dowager was a bit confused. She looked at Lady Lu, who was standing upright and trying to keep her breathing even. She joked,
"Hongluan, why are you so dressed up? Are you going to remarry? I can't make the decision. I have to find Prime Minister Xiao and Lord Lu. "
"Ah …"
Lady Lu was angry when she heard this. But she couldn't get angry today because she had something important to do. She didn't even change her expression and said calmly,
"I have something to talk to the Empress Dowager. Please accompany me out of the palace."
"Where to? I have a lot of affairs to attend to every day. I have no interest in going out with you. "
The Empress Dowager was leaning against the flower-carved carriage, with no intention of getting up. Walking up to take a look, she realized that Madam Lu truly had the looks of suppressing all the other beauties today. Not only was her disposition and makeup impeccable, even the dress she was wearing was flawless. Yue Nu was still watching carefully, fearing that her dress would be wrinkled and she would have to redo it.
Lady Lu tried to control her emotions. She didn't mention the anger she suffered a few days ago. She walked up to the Empress Dowager and said softly, "Xu Danqing returned to Chang 'an. I asked around for a few days and learned that she was staying in Chancellor Song's house. You know Xu Danqing. Ask him to paint for me … "
You know Xu Danqing and asked him to paint for me … "
Before she could finish her sentence, the Empress Dowager burst into laughter. She covered her lips with her red sleeves and looked at her from head to toe in a teasing manner. "Hong Luan, oh Hong Luan. You are already married and you are about the same age as me. Yet, you are still thinking of competing with a young girl for the Eight Beauties of Radiant Majesty.
Lady Lu blushed. She pursed her lips angrily, but she couldn't refute. She didn't want to compete with a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl for fame. She didn't need it. But a few days ago, the Empress Dowager gave Xu Buling Xu Danqing's painting. Xu Buling obviously liked it and hid it under the bed. She had nothing to give him. She hadn't vented her anger yet. Xu Danqing finally showed up. How could she let go of this heaven-sent opportunity?
Lady Lu hesitated and snorted, "When I met Xu Danqing, I was too young to paint … Anyway, I want a painting. It doesn't matter if I have a reputation. Take me there."
The Empress Dowager supported her chin with her hand and raised her eyebrows, "Why should I agree? Huh? "
She was deliberately stirring up trouble.
Lady Lu stared at the Empress Dowager. She thought for a while and said coldly, "You stay in the palace all day. Aren't you afraid of getting sick? I'll go out with you to relax. What's wrong? "
The Empress Dowager sneered, knowing that Madam Lu's mind was preoccupied with the matter of Announcing the Eight Chiefs. Looking as though it had nothing to do with her, she tilted her head to look at the clouds in the sky.
Lady Lu took a breath and thought carefully. She took half a step back, which was rare. "Come with me, Empress Dowager. I'll return the painting to you."
"I don't have the face to take back what I've given away." The Empress Dowager didn't care. She thought for a while and said, "How about this? In the future, you let Xu Buling …"
"No."
Before she could even finish her words, Mrs. Lu's face had already turned stern. Last time, when Xu Buling entered the palace, he tried to get information from her and gave her gifts. He even left the peony flower for her in the palace. She was so angry that she couldn't sleep these days. It was already polite of her not to quarrel with the Empress Dowager. How could she let Xu Buling enter the palace again? What if he changed to call the Empress Dowager Aunt after a few days?
Lady Lu looked as if there was no room for discussion. She snorted lightly, "The palace is an important place. Men can't enter often. Empress Dowager should pay attention to your status."
The Empress Dowager was not surprised by Lady Lu's reaction. She put on a look that said "I didn't discuss this with you". "Ting 'er and Ling' er are my juniors. Why can't I let them come and visit me often? This consort is only telling you this out of consideration for our past friendship. If you don't agree, this consort can call him over, but he still has to come. "
Lady Lu narrowed her eyes slightly, "If I don't let Ling 'er come, he won't come. He listens to me the most."
The Empress Dowager sighed, "Hongluan, it's not that I want to criticize you, but Ling 'er listens to you because he respects you. If you are so unreasonable, even the most obedient person will be disgusted sooner or later. At that time, tsk tsk tsk … if he calls you aunt, you will be his aunt. If he doesn't, you will have nothing to do with him. Alas …"
This was what Lady Lu was most worried about. She pursed her lips and wanted to refute, "How can Ling 'er bother me?" But after thinking for a while, she held back and said calmly,
"Ling 'er has his own ideas. If he wants to enter the palace to be filial to the Empress Dowager, I won't interfere … Hurry up."
The Empress Dowager raised her slender eyebrows and stood up with satisfaction. She walked out of the palace with a graceful manner and stretched out her arm.
Lady Lu's eyes were full of disgust, but she had to lower her head to ask for help. After thinking for a while, she held the Empress Dowager's arm and walked to the carriage with no sincerity.
"If Xu Danqing doesn't draw, Empress Dowager can threaten him. If he doesn't agree, hmph …"
The Empress Dowager looked embarrassed, "How can I do that? He is a famous talent. If I force him to draw, it will be bad if the news gets out …"
Lady Lu narrowed her eyes slightly and said with some sarcasm, "It's not the first time you've done this. When Xu Danqing went to draw Second Miss Xiao, you coaxed and pestered him to draw you instead …"
The Empress Dowager stopped and turned to go back.
"Hey …!" Lady Lu was angry. She gritted her teeth and had to stop talking. She opened her fingers and pointed to the carriage, "Empress Dowager, please!"
"That's more like it …"
The Empress Dowager nodded with satisfaction and was helped into the carriage. The two of them went to Zhuji Street with a group of female attendants …
