Palace Scheming: the Queen In the Cold Palace I

 Chapter 9 The first glory of the Shangyuan Festival (2)

Yun Qing was slightly embarrassed, wondering if he had offended a stranger by smiling at him for no reason. Or maybe it was his slightly sympathetic eyes before that made the other party angry.

Sighing secretly, Yun Qing planned to ignore it, but suddenly noticed a sharp gaze pointed directly at his face. Startled, she turned her head subconsciously and saw Xuanyuan Ze staring at her with disgust.

 It seemed that the scene just now was all in his sight.

 Smiled slightly again, Yun Qing nodded to him calmly, but did not receive the same return.

It was still the same as on the wedding day, all she got was a look of disdain from him, and a sharp look from He Ruowan who seemed to be feeling something beside him.

 Smiling helplessly, Yun Qing found that he really couldn't explain why.

Just an ordinary smile, but in exchange for the young man's ignorance and Xuanyuan Ze's contempt, it also attracted He Ruowan's extremely sharp hatred!

 Hehe, it seems that I am really not suitable to appear in such a crowded place, and I will never be suitable!

In the distance, Xuanyuan Moyu, who was wearing a black robe, tightened his hands and saw that the beautiful woman was paying attention to everyone, but ignored herself.

Although he considers himself to be invincible, he knows better than anyone else that it is just a show played in front of others. But the only woman who gently aroused his heartbeat, he didn't want her to see him the same way as everyone else in the world!

 With the previous experience, Yun Qing decided not to look at anyone anymore and just focus on eating.

But in the end, she was surprised to hear that the Queen Mother had arranged for the Emperor to follow Tianque's customs with her, and the two of them went out of the palace to enjoy the lanterns together tonight.

Hearing this, besides Yun Qing, He Ruowan was also shocked.

 Because the emperor had promised her before that he would only take her to see the lanterns and guess lantern riddles tonight, leaving the titular queen to stay alone in the palace.

But…

Her expression darkened, and she stretched out her hand to pull Xuanyuan Ze beside her, hinting that he refused the Queen Mother's request.

Xuanyuan Ze turned his head and glanced at her. He was about to speak, but someone stepped in first, causing his previously hidden unhappiness to worsen again.

"Empress Dowager, Yun Qing is not talented and has always been clumsy at guessing lantern riddles. Why don't you ask the Empress Dowager to let her sister Hua Fei take over? Yun Qing can accompany the Empress Dowager to go shopping with lanterns." Yun Qing took a step forward and turned to the Empress Dowager with a smile on his face. With a gentle smile on her face, she tried her best to look worried about the task of guessing the riddle.

 In fact, Yun Qing is very clear about his position in Xuanyuan Ze's heart. If he goes with him, he may only make him hate him even more.

Although she didn't want to win his favor, if he made him resent her too much, she wouldn't be able to maintain her current stable life.

Not to mention the threats from her father, Bi Tao, who had always done her best for herself, really couldn't bear to let her suffer along with him.

 So, she would rather avoid this kind of meaningless force-free interaction as much as possible.

 “That’s it…”

"Does the queen want the Tianque tradition to be changed because of you, and does she want the Tianque royal family to set a precedent for you?" The queen mother's hesitation was interrupted by Xuanyuan Ze, and the slightly angry voice also made He Ruowan's face change greatly, and she was extremely shocked. The ground froze in place.

Yun Qing turned to look at Xuanyuan Ze who had an angry face in surprise, and saw that his brows were frowning, as if he was very annoyed by his polite refusal.

 I don’t understand. I have the intention to fulfill their good intentions, but why is it misunderstood by him? What's more, this so-called precedent had been broken by him himself as early as the wedding day!

"Yun Qing doesn't dare!" Mei lowered her eyes, but Yun Qing was unwilling to accept his unwarranted glare and said softly: "If the emperor does not mind that Yun Qing is lacking in talent and knowledge, Yun Qing should do his best to follow him."

She chose not to argue anymore. Anyway, if she said one thing, he would say two things. If she says two, he must do one!

 In this case, she should have been an ostrich indifferent to worldly affairs, hiding her head under her wings, and avoiding everything.

 The atmosphere started to be strong, then gradually became lighter and cooler. Everyone had long heard about the queen's fall from grace, and seeing her today was really eye-opening.

Whether it is the distance between the two or the tone of their conversation, they are both colder than strangers and more like enemies than enemies.

"Haha, this is the best. The emperor and the empress are together, this is the blessing that the people of Tianque are happy to see." The Queen Mother chuckled, and her loving eyes swept over Xuanyuan Ze, as if she did not see his anger, she gently pulled He Ruowan over, He said gently: "Wan'er will accompany the Ai family tonight, and let the Ai family experience the talent of my most talented girl in Tianque."

"Yes, Wan'er obeys the order." Her heart twisted into a ball, He Ruowan reluctantly bowed to Situ Xianyu and stared at Xuanyuan Ze with extremely gloomy eyes.

But at this moment, Xuanyuan Ze no longer noticed her mood, and still only stared at the woman with her head staring at the ground, her handsome eyes deep.

 The silk handkerchief in her hand was twisted into a ball, and the hidden worries in He Ruowan's heart finally rose.

If the emperor interrupted the Queen Mother at first because he wanted to blame the woman, his silent attitude at this moment made her dare not take it lightly.

She did not expect that the woman who was not a threat to her would actually create such a crisis for herself in such a short period of time. If she was left alone with the emperor again, it would be hard for the emperor to hate her as always.

As for myself, it would be even more difficult for the emperor to depose her from the throne and re-canonize herself in the shortest possible time.

Thinking of this, she turned her eyebrows and thought about it.

"Ouch." Just when the Queen Mother asked Yun Qing to prepare to leave with Xuanyuan Ze, He Ruowan suddenly let out a miserable cry, which made Xuanyuan Ze pause, then turned around and supported her with a look of concern, nervously Said: "What's wrong with Wan'er?"

"Your Majesty, I am afraid that I just took two more mouthfuls of cold honeydew melon, and now I feel very uncomfortable in my stomach. Oops..." He Ruowan took advantage of the opportunity and leaned into Xuanyuan Ze's arms, her beautiful eyebrows were lightly knitted, and she was extremely tender.

"Why are you so careless?" Xuanyuanze frowned slightly, and when he saw He Ruowan lowering his eyes more sadly, he said with heartache: "Come here, please announce..."

"Your Majesty, you don't want it." He Ruowan was afraid that calling the imperial doctor would miss her golden opportunity, so she hurriedly stopped her: "Wan'er's stomach has always been afraid of the cold, so it's not a problem. She just needs to rest for a while and she'll be fine."

As she spoke, she smiled gently, and her slightly pale complexion looked even more charming under the intoxicating smile.

"How can this be done?" The Queen Mother looked at the two of them with concern and said sternly: "Wan'er is not feeling well. It is not suitable to go out to have a breeze tonight. It is better to stay in the palace and rest more. It is the same with Fangfei accompanying the Ai family. , We must not let Wan'er suffer any bad disease. Fang Fei, hurry up and send Dr. Fu to the palace to diagnose and treat Wan'er."

“Queen Mother, Wan’er is really…”

"Don't worry, Wan'er. Doctor Fu is the oldest physician in the palace and the most trusted physician in the Ai family. With him here, you can be sure to be cured of any serious illness." Situ Xianyu smiled gently, her eyes full of elders. He was kind and kind, but could not refuse: "Okay, it's getting late, Ze'er, Yunqing, let's set off. Murong Chong!"

"My subordinate is here!" Murong Chong, who was standing in the palace waiting for the order, immediately stepped forward to receive the order.

“Take two more people with you and the emperor’s attendants to secretly protect the emperor. Remember, don’t let anyone recognize the emperor’s identity easily.” Situ Xianyu’s voice became serious, and the kindness he had just shown was gone.

Xuanyuan Moyu snorted secretly, looking at the woman who was so filled with hatred that he almost wanted to bite her tongue to pieces, his eyes were full of contempt.

But when he looked at Yun Qing who walked out of the Mingyue Palace with Xuanyuan Ze, his handsome eyes couldn't hide the hint of loneliness.

 He is not the man who can walk by her side openly and honestly; he is just an idle prince in the eyes of the world.

 Jingxing Street, the busiest street in Tiancheng. At this moment, thousands of lights are on and crowds of people are surging.

Yun Qing walked silently beside Xuanyuan Ze, looking at such a prosperous street scene, he suddenly realized that he had not been on the street for a long time.

 Xuanyuan Ze had a gloomy face since he left the palace. He felt annoyed when he thought that he had promised to accompany Wan'er out of the palace tonight to go shopping for lanterns, but instead left her alone in the palace and took the woman out with him.

 Damn it, he really doubted that this woman did all this on purpose!

　　In this way of retreating to advance, you are tempted to take the bait, but you deserve to be caught in the trap...

Turning around, he found that Yun Qing was squeezed in by several well-dressed men, with slightly frowning expressions, as if they were trying hard to catch up with him.

"You're walking so slowly! Haven't you had dinner?" He walked back quickly to push away the crowd. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the crowd without mercy. He pulled her to the roadside with an impatient look and pulled her to a slightly empty place. Walk somewhere.

Yun Qing staggered slightly. Due to her height and physical condition, she couldn't keep up with Xuanyuan Ze's steps.

Sighing helplessly, she saw that his face was so gloomy that he seemed to want to eat someone. She knew that at this moment, she could only stay silent.

Seeing her silent and forbearing attitude made Xuanyuan Ze feel soft for a moment. Thinking that it was because of her that he had left Wan'er alone in the palace, he could only vent his anger on her.

"Huang...uh..." Yun Qing paused for a moment and was about to answer, but for a moment she was troubled by how she should call him.

After thinking about it, she glanced at the shops next to her and said softly: "Didn't eldest brother take me out to look at the lights? There were more than eighteen shops along the way, but we didn't stop at any of them. Why don't we go to this one? How about it?"

 After saying that, she smiled at Xuanyuan Ze whose handsome eyes suddenly widened.

 In an instant, the lake in my heart moved lightly, as if the wind had passed by me unintentionally, causing ripples in my heart.

 Hibiscus comes out of clear water, and the carvings are naturally removed.

Xuanyuan Ze suddenly thought of this sentence. Although the person in front of him just smiled, it caused the surroundings to be filled with light, like ripples in the water.

 “What did you call me?” After a brief pause, his voice rose unnaturally.

 Big brother? Damn, what does she mean?

They clearly came out as husband and wife, but when they came to her place, they turned out to be brothers and sisters!

 “Brother!” Yun Qing emphasized again that among the best titles she could think of, this was the only one that was most suitable.

“Hmph!” Xuanyuan Ze snorted heavily, but Xuanyuan Ze did not care too much about the title. Because he understood that if she didn't match him like this, he would never allow her to call him by his name.

 My name can only be called Wan'er, but it was only when I was young.

Since he ascended the throne, the docile Wan'er has strictly observed etiquette and always calls himself the emperor every time he sees him. Even if he wanted her to make an exception, she would always say that once he ascended the throne, he would be the emperor and she could not overstep her bounds.

 Over time, this became a habit, and to this day, no one except his mother can recall his name!

“Hey, you two gentlemen, you want to choose a lantern? You see, my shop has all kinds of lamps, the materials are good, the colors are bright...”

“Boss, do you get a prize if you guess the lantern riddle correctly?”

 When the shop owner saw the two people walking towards their store, he couldn't help but smile and started to sell them vigorously, but was interrupted by Yun Qing's smile.

She knew that there was a custom in the lantern market: on the fifteenth night of the party, lantern riddles would be posted on all the lanterns. If the customer guessed five lanterns in a row, the guest could choose one of the five lanterns as a reward. , take it away for free.

This is not only a kind of fun, but also promotes the sales of lanterns in one fell swoop, so it prospers year after year.

"Hey, of course. You two have great looks. You can tell they are not ordinary people at first glance. If you are interested, you are welcome to guess." The boss smiled broadly. Seeing the handsome appearance of these two people, he sincerely hoped that they could help. He attracts more guests.

Xuanyuan Ze glanced at Yun Qing coldly, remembering that she had refused to accept the question from her mother before, but now she took the initiative to guess riddles, which really made him suspicious. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Can you guess?"

“My little sister is not very talented, but big brother, you are very talented! With you here, my little sister is naturally confident.” Yun Qing smiled softly, neither humble nor arrogant, and her beautiful eyes became more and more attractive under the light of the light.

Xuanyuan Ze snorted coldly when he heard this, guessing that even if she was not vulgar, she would never be as talented as Wan'er. She was self-aware at this moment, but it was a pity that he was not interested in her compliments.

"Tsk, these two talented men and beautiful women, I thought they were a couple, but they turned out to be brothers and sisters! Your Majesty is truly a blessed man, with such a pair of good children. Come, come, come here, please!" The owner of the lamp shop is a shrewd man. The businessman, upon hearing this, once again greeted him, pointed to a row of lanterns hanging on the left side, and invited the two of them to guess lantern riddles together.

The two of them looked around and saw a lotus lantern on the edge with the word "Chu Yi" on it, asking for an idiom.

Yun Qing smiled slightly and remained silent. He only looked at Xuanyuan Ze with a smile.

Xuanyuan Ze looked at Yun Qing with contempt and was too lazy to speak.

"How are you two? Can you answer it?" The shop owner chuckled, thinking to himself that he asked Zhong Xiucai, one of the four famous talents in the city, to write these lantern riddles, and no one has been able to answer them all so far. Come out.

"Ahem, I don't know Yun Qing, where is the elder brother?" Seeing that Xuanyuan Ze had no intention of speaking, Yun Qing could only cough and remind him.

 “Changing with each passing day!” Xuanyuan Ze said these four words lightly, ignoring the boss’s amazed look, and raised his eyes to glare at Yun Qing.

 “Oh, Master, you made the point, what a clever idea. What about this one?” The boss sighed in admiration and pointed to the second Jade Rabbit Lantern again.

Yun Qing looked at it carefully, but saw that the word puzzle on the note only contained the word "huang", and he also asked for an idiom.

At this time, some people had gathered around. Seeing this mystery, they all scratched their heads and wondered how to solve it.

 “Guess four words from one word? This riddle is interesting.”

 “Hey, I didn’t expect that the owner of the small lamp shop is so literary.”

Some people around him praised him loudly, which made the boss grin from ear to ear. He was humble, but his expression was extremely proud: "Where, where. I couldn't have imagined this. It was Zhong Xiucai who helped."

“Brother, this is so difficult!” Yun Qing frowned, looking very puzzled.

Xuanyuan Ze's handsome eyes widened and he said one word directly: "Stupid!"

 “That’s wrong, sir, it’s an idiom.” The boss immediately beamed with joy.

"I'm talking about her, not solving the mystery." Xuanyuan Ze said angrily. Amidst the awkward laughter of the shop owner, he caught a glimpse of Yun Qing's chuckle, and his mood was no longer as bad as before.

 At that moment, he raised his eyebrows and said, "White jade is flawless!"

 “Oh my god!” The boss screamed. Unexpectedly, the riddle of the lantern was solved by this person again, and his heartbeat began to accelerate immediately. He stared at Xuanyuan Ze carefully and wondered: Could this person be one of the four great talents in the city?

“Big brother is so awesome.” Yun Qing praised with a smile. If he had known that these little riddles would not be able to defeat him as the king of a country, his heart would still be slightly touched by how talented he is.

If the person in front of her didn't keep a straight face all day long and talked about his talents and learning, he could still be compared to the person in her heart.

　　However, she did not have the opportunity to enjoy the lanterns and guess riddles with Feng, and she was afraid that she would not have the opportunity to see him again.

 The corridor is full of lovesickness,

 The setting moon becomes a solitary person.

 With the lamp and the moon behind you, the flowers are shaded,

 It has been traced for several years.

"Why are you in a daze?" Yun Qing, who was slightly distracted, was suddenly grabbed by Xuanyuanze's wrist. He ignored the people behind him who clamored for him to untie a few more cups and left the shop directly.

"Well, why didn't you guess?" Yun Qing was slightly surprised, looking at Xuanyuan Ze who seemed unhappy, wondering why he was angry again.

"There is no interesting light here, so I don't want to guess." Xuanyuan Ze didn't want to say that he was angry with her.

For just a moment, he felt proud of the admiration in her eyes. But soon, he found that her eyes were extremely distracted, hazy and confused, with no focus at all, as if she was seeing another person through herself.

Heart, suddenly became bad.

 He held her wrist tightly, deliberately using such force that she frowned slightly in pain and refused to let go.

"Brother Huang..." Finally couldn't bear his deliberate torture, Yun Qing tried to pull away his hand and changed the subject: "I think the lamps in that house are quite beautiful, why don't we go to that house again to have a look?"

How could Xuanyuan Ze allow her to break free? He still had a sullen face and only held her tightly, not letting her go. He leaned forward and whispered with such coldness that it frightened Yun Qing. She raised her eyes and saw his cold handsome face. Sticking close to her: "The queen seems to have forgotten our mission today. How can I just guess riddles all the way?"

 Then, he pulled Yun Qing and strode towards a very gorgeous and elegant lamp shop.

At this time, a group of people had already gathered around the shop on three floors inside and three outside. It seemed that a very intense guessing game was going on, and bursts of laughter could be heard from the crowd from time to time.

Being pulled by Xuanyuan Ze and squeezed into the front row, Yun Qing saw that the lanterns of this house were indeed exquisite and unique. At this time, a group of people were racking their brains for the same lantern riddle, and the atmosphere was tense and lively.

Yun Qing and Xuanyuan Ze looked up and saw a piece of paper stuck on the lamp, which read: A tiny place. Requirement: Type a word!

"How about it, can this gentleman guess the answer to the riddle?" the lamp shop clerk asked a man in green in front of him with a smile. It was obvious that the man had been guessing for some time, and he couldn't help but show a trace of embarrassment on his face.

"Let your boss reveal the answer to the mystery. I'm too lazy to guess anymore! As long as the answer is revealed, I'm willing to buy you twenty more lanterns." The man's voice was thick, and he was obviously a little annoyed.

He probably spent a lot of time on the lantern riddles here. At this time, his expression of deep contemplation was gone, but he looked more embarrassed.

The waiter smiled and apologized, but showed no fear. He shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, sir. Although the shop is simple, the boss said: Unless someone really guesses it, we won't be able to sell a single lamp today." The mystery is revealed!"

 “Go to hell!” the man muttered. His attitude was already dissatisfied, but he did not dare to cause too much trouble.

 Obviously, the owner of this lamp shop is not someone he can afford to offend.

He turned his head and looked at the crowd around him, and asked loudly: "Can any of you guess it? I announce that if anyone can guess it, I will reward you with ten taels of silver."

The crowd sighed for a while. Although there was money to be made, they could only sigh while looking at the money.

Xuanyuan Ze smiled coldly, and suddenly leaned into Yun Qing's ear, whispering: "It's time for the queen to show off. Stop telling me that you have little talent and little knowledge. I won't listen to this. If the queen can't even understand such simple riddles, I can’t guess it, so I think it’s time for me to change my queen!”

After speaking, he ignored Yun Qing's slightly surprised eyes, raised the corners of his lips, and said loudly: "Everyone, my sister-in-law said that she is willing to give it a try."

　　Wow!

All eyes were focused on Xuanyuan Ze, and with just one glance, many people secretly exclaimed: What a handsome man! It's really majestic, chic and suave.

Looking at the sister he was pointing to, everyone's eyes lit up and they were amazed: What a beautiful woman! Although she was wearing plain clothes and light makeup, she exuded a dazzling brilliance, catching everyone's attention as easily as a peony.

 (End of this chapter)