She was so nervous that she forgot the time. Soon, they arrived at the Imperial City. Entering through the corner gate, Bai Suyan helped Mu Guiyi down the carriage.
As soon as Mu Guiyi landed, he walked directly to Madame Yun's carriage and helped Madame Yun get off the carriage with Yun Yaochi.
Madame Yun smiled happily. She held the two girls' hands and sighed, "You are really my great granddaughters!"
Yun Yaochi teased Mu Guiyi, "Look, you said that Third Aunt favored me. It's only been a few months, but Old Ancestor put you in the same position as me in her heart. We are both great granddaughters." Mu Guiyi smiled but didn't say anything.
Empress Dowager Jin Yue passed away early. Only Empress Dowager Wang and a few old concubines were related to her death anniversary. Almost all of them wore plain clothes, didn't wear makeup, and didn't eat meat.
When Old Madame Yun arrived with her two "great granddaughters", Empress Dowager Xuan Yue was reciting sutras in the temple with her eyes closed. The one kneeling behind her and burning her hands while copying sutras was Wang Xian Fei who was eight months pregnant.
Madame Yun was obviously shocked. After a while, under the reminder of Aunt Liusu, she led the two girls to greet Empress Dowager Wang and Consort Wang.
Empress Dowager Xuan Yue didn't say anything and only raised her hand to indicate that she was excused. Consort Wang Xian smiled gently at them and burned all the scriptures in her hand. Only then did she struggle to stand up with the help of the head palace maid Yan Shi behind her.
Consort Wang said softly, "Mother doesn't like to be disturbed at this time. Why don't Madame Yun and the two young ladies follow me to the front hall to rest for a while?"
Old Madame Yun shook her head, "This old one is here to pay respects to Empress Dowager Jin Yue. Why don't you let this old one's two great-granddaughters accompany Your Highness? This is Yao Chi, and this is Gui Yi."
Hearing the old man's introduction, Consort Wang's smile didn't change, but her eyes were more focused on Mu Guiyi, who lowered his head and frowned. "So this is Grand Tutor Mu's beloved daughter. I've heard of you for a long time. You're really extraordinary." Mu Guiyi only bowed deeply to express his gratitude.
Yun and Mu bid farewell to Empress Dowager Wang and Old Madame Yun, then followed Consort Wang into the antechamber. Probably because she had been kneeling for a long time before they arrived, she walked much slower than usual and needed two palace maids to support her. As soon as she sat down on the couch, a young palace maid came up to massage her legs and offered her medicine to prevent miscarriage.
After slowly drinking the medicine, Consort Wang licked the corner of her lips, "Look, there are still two months left. Imperial Mother and His Majesty are treating me like I'm made of glass. I only knelt for a while and they already have people massage my legs and offer me medicine."
Yun Yaochi said, "This is because His Majesty and the Empress Dowager love Your Highness. Your Highness is really blessed!"
Consort Wang covered her mouth and laughed, "What kind of blessing is this? It's because His Majesty loves me that this consort dares to be so pretentious."
Yun Yaochi didn't continue the conversation. She just smiled and lowered her eyes, glancing at the person beside her. Mu Guiyi didn't say a word from beginning to end. She lowered her eyes and looked at the teacup in front of her, as if she could see a flower in it.
Consort Wang naturally also noticed her, "Yaohua doesn't seem to be willing to talk to this consort."
Yun Yaochi hurriedly said, "Yaohua is introverted. She doesn't even dare to come when people she's familiar with hold poetry gatherings and bring one or two maidservants she's never seen before. Not to mention, Your Highness is graceful and charming. It's as if you came from the Ninth Heaven, making people not dare to look at you directly."
"Is that so?" Consort Wang's mouth was responding to Yun Yaochi, but her eyes were still on Mu Guiyi.
Yun Yaochi pulled Mu Guiyi's sleeve under the table. Mu Guiyi raised her head, revealing her beautiful eyes. Her petal-like lips opened and closed, but the words she said were a bit harsh. She asked in return, "What does Your Highness want to hear?"
Consort Wang was stunned, "What did you say?"
Mu Guiyi slightly tilted her head, looking very innocent, "Yaohua will say whatever Your Highness wants to hear. It's just that whatever Yaohua wants to say, Your Highness definitely doesn't want to hear it. Therefore, I might as well not say it, so as to avoid making Your Highness feel even more uncomfortable."
Consort Wang's face turned very ugly after hearing this retort. She was already depressed, but this made her even more depressed. Who was she, Mu Guiyi? She was just the daughter of a poor family. She didn't put her in her eyes now, but in the future, when she entered the palace, she would understand!
Just as she was about to explode, a young eunuch outside loudly announced, "Consort Yan, has arrived — —"
Bai Suyan was still nervous about Mu Guiyi. The sudden announcement added new worries to her heart before she could calm down.
'Consort Yan' walked in slowly while holding Winter Solstice's hand. She bowed to Consort Wang, "This concubine greets Your Highness Consort Xian."
Consort Wang was still angry, so she didn't let her get up immediately. She leisurely chatted with her, "Long time no see, little sister. Why did you suddenly come today?"
'Consort Yan' respectfully said, "Replying to Your Highness, this concubine has finished the task the Empress Dowager ordered me to do. I came to report and also to see if Your Highness Consort Xian was here."
Consort Wang raised her eyebrows and asked curiously, "What business do you have with me?"
'Consort Yan' slowly explained, "It's His Majesty. After court, he couldn't find Your Highness in Youhuang Hall, so he came to find this concubine."
When Consort Wang heard this, she was very happy. Her pretty face flushed red, but she felt that it was a bit rude to be like this in front of outsiders. She subconsciously tidied her hair and looked at Yun Hanlin and Mu Guiyi. She cleared her throat and waved her hand, "You may rise. These two are Yun Hanlin's daughter, Yao Chi, and Grand Tutor Mu's daughter, Gui Yi."
Yun Hanlin and Mu Guiyi bowed to 'Consort Yan', "This concubine greets Consort Yan."
Bai Suyan followed suit and bowed. When she lowered her eyes, she made eye contact with Winter Solstice, who was behind 'Consort Yan', and saw her frown subtly. She put her hand on her waist and raised her little finger at Consort Wang.
Bai Suyan glanced at Consort Wang, who seemed to have a ruddy complexion. She knew in her heart that Yan Sheng's matter had affected her greatly. Unfortunately, Consort Wang liked to put on airs. Even though she was pregnant, she still wanted to stand out. She was unwilling to close her door and recuperate. Now, she was probably strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
Consort Wang really couldn't wait to go back. As she stood up with Yan Shi's help, she said, "Since His Majesty can't bear to leave this concubine, and Consort Yan meimei, you just happened to be here. As a capable person, you should take on more responsibilities and entertain these two young ladies." After saying this, she didn't wait for 'Consort Yan' to respond and left with light steps.
"Farewell, Niangniang." The remaining people only had time to bow to her figure from afar. When she got up, Yun Yaochi bent her knees and said warmly, "Reporting to Niangniang, the Empress Dowager and this subject's great-grandmother are still reciting sutras inside. I'm afraid it will take a while."
'Consort Yan' smiled and said, "Since that's the case, this concubine will sit here for a while. You won't think this concubine is disturbing you, right?" As she said this, she sat down on the left side of the seat of honor. Immediately, a palace maid came forward to serve tea.
Yun Yaochi repeatedly said that she didn't dare. Mu Guiyi bent her knees beside her and lowered her head, thinking about something. 'Consort Yan' didn't care and said with a smile, "Don't be so reserved. Everyone, sit down."
After sitting down again, Yun Yaochi let out a slight sigh of relief. She stole a glance and saw that this female general who was famous for a time really did seem to have been sick for a long time. Even her entire body had become much softer. Her complexion didn't look too bad, so it was strange for her to just sit there. Yun Yaochi cautiously asked, "Niangniang looks tired. Are you tired?" These words came out of nowhere and seemed to be trying to find something to talk about.
'Consort Yan' raised her teacup and was about to drink when she heard these words. After taking a sip of tea, she put it down and wiped the corner of her mouth before saying, "It's nothing. I've always been like this."
Yun Yaochi probably felt that 'Consort Yan' didn't want to talk to them too much, so she tactfully stopped trying to talk to her. In her heart, she estimated that this' Consort Yan 'wasn't easy to get along with. It was best to keep a distance.
As for Mu Guiyi, after 'Consort Yan' arrived, she didn't have any plans to speak. She only lowered her head and stared blankly at the patterns on the teacup.
'Consort Yan', Xia Zhi, wasn't as calm as she appeared on the surface. She was so anxious that she broke out in a cold sweat. She didn't have any palace affairs that the Empress Dowager gave her. She only heard that Mu Guiyi had come and thought that her mistress might also come back. She wanted to see how her mistress was doing and reported it to Luoshuanga.
She didn't expect that Consort Wang would be here. Her brain didn't work and she made up some nonsense to trick Consort Wang into leaving. It wasn't until Winter Solstice secretly pinched her hand that she realized what she had said. For a moment, she didn't know whether to leave or stay. When she thought about how she hadn't seen Empress Dowager Wang alone, she felt like she was riding a tiger and couldn't get off.
After sitting for a while, Yun Yaochi saw that the atmosphere was awkward and spoke again, "Speaking of which, before Empress entered the palace, you were familiar with this subject's younger sister, Yaohua. Seeing her today, you can't say anything. It's really …" As she spoke, her voice slowly trailed off. She clearly realized that she had said something wrong.
'Consort Yan' still ignored her. Instead, it was Mu Guiyi who smiled slightly, "Ever since she was young, Yaohua was taught that she should say things that only her grandparents could say to her grandparents, and that she should say things that only her parents could say to her parents. It was the same for Yan jiejie in the past, and it's even more so for today's Consort Yan. However, Yaohua is slow-witted and can't say a single word to Consort Yan."
'Consort Yan' muttered inwardly at an inappropriate time. 'Isn't it just talking to people and ghosts?' However, she didn't forget to reply, "That's very reasonable. Seeing an old friend again today, this consort's heart is surging with emotions. For a moment, I also don't know what to say."
After hearing their conversation, Bai Suyan stood behind Mu Guiyi and her lips twitched uncontrollably. She felt helpless. Xia Zhi's disguise and mimicry skills were unparalleled, but her logic would sometimes deviate … It was hard to explain.
Behind 'Consort Yan', Winter Solstice's brows were also furrowed. He sighed at his younger sister's random thoughts and cleared his throat.
'Consort Yan' also immediately reacted. Bai Suyan would never speak like this, so she subconsciously covered her mouth with her sleeve. Mu Guiyi's smile remained unchanged, "Consort Yan is right, so am I."
Yun Yaochi had only seen Bai Suyan once from afar before, so she didn't feel that there was anything wrong. She even said a witty sentence, "It's really like what the poem says. The local accent hasn't changed, but we don't know each other when we meet."
'Consort Yan' smiled awkwardly. Before she could say anything else, Liusu came out from inside with Madame Yun. When they saw her, they all saluted.
"Madame, you don't have to be so polite." 'Consort Yan' secretly breathed a sigh of relief. While they saluted, she used her sleeve to wipe off the non-existent cold sweat on her chin.
Liusu asked, "Consort Yan, why are you here, Consort Yan? The Empress Dowager has to chant sutras for Empress Dowager Jinyue all day today. I'm afraid she won't have time to meet you."
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