Return of the Swallow

Li Qitian was wearing an ocher brocade uniform, his hair was tied high with a net scarf, and he strode in with his hands behind his back.

"See you, brother emperor." Li Helan saluted in a panic.

Li Qitian didn't even look at her, he cupped his hands towards the Queen Mother and said, "Mother."

The Queen Mother didn't care about Li Qitian's careless salute. In fact, since the poisonous bird's nest incident, Li Qitian and her had become increasingly estranged. Even the Queen Mother seemed unwilling to give her the honor she deserved.

This made the Queen Mother, who valued status and power very much, very nervous.

"The emperor is here. Sit down quickly. It's starting to get hot outside, but the emperor still comes frequently. This makes the Ai family feel so sad." The Queen Mother took Li Qitian's hand and patted it affectionately.

Li Qitian smiled, retracted his hand without leaving a trace, took the hot tea brought by the eldest palace maid, and said casually: "Why, does Lan'er feel sorry for the prince-in-law?"

Li Helan's tears were still wet, and she felt unwilling and nervous in her heart. After thinking about it for a moment, she said coquettishly: "Brother Huang, Lan'er doesn't just feel sorry for the consort. Lan'er also cares about the emperor. The consort... …”

Li Qitian waved his hand and interrupted Li Helan, "I just heard what you said outside. Are you saying that Ji Lan can lead troops, will I need him in the future?"

"Yes Yes."

"But didn't the Queen Mother say that she will activate it in the future? Just activate it. Can Ji Lan still resist the decree?" Li Qitian narrowed his eyes and leaned slightly closer to Li Helan, "Did the consort say something to you? He is still dissatisfied. What do you mean?"

Li Helan's heart skipped a beat and she shook her head repeatedly: "No, no, it's nothing! I just made my own decision. I haven't even seen the prince-in-law. Besides, the prince-in-law is a lump of wood. He is not capable at all." A person with so many small thoughts, the prince-in-law will definitely obey the emperor's orders. It's my sister who wants to get close to the prince-in-law. Hasn't the prince-in-law always ignored me..."

When it came to the last sentence, Li Helan's voice was filled with infinite grievances.

The Queen Mother immediately asked: "The prince-in-law ignores you? Does he still refuse to see you?"

"Isn't that right?" Li Helan sobbed. "My daughter asks people to invite him every two days, but he always just says he is busy with official duties, otherwise he just says he is not in the house. My daughter can't always ask people to invite him. Otherwise, the old ladies would also say that my daughter calls for people too frequently, as if she is in a hurry..."

Li Helan was really wronged. Stomping his feet and twisting his waist, he said,

"That's such a stupid piece of wood! Wouldn't it cost me a piece of meat to be nice to me? He's always so cold and cold, so why don't you tell me what to do!"

The Queen Mother felt sorry for her daughter. When she thought about Ji Zeyu's handsome but cold appearance, she felt both love and anger at the same time. "That Ji Lan is really true. Emperor, you can tell your sister about him later. What's wrong between husband and wife?" An overnight feud? How come Ji Lan has made up his mind not to get along with our Lan'er?"

Li Qitian put down the tea bowl, chuckled and said: "Ordinary couples naturally don't have any overnight feud. What did Ke Lan'er do?

Li Helan's face turned red.

The Queen Mother looked a little embarrassed when she thought of the group of people with faces like Li Helan.

This time, Li Qitian did not intend to save face for Li Helan, and said bluntly: "Ji Lan is not the kind of weakling you raised, who wag his tail at you after giving you some benefits. This is Ji Lan, who has a clear mind. If he encounters Pang Zhixi, that free-spirited guy, if someone dares to cuckold him like this and finds a group of people to enjoy the same privileges, do you believe that Pang Zhixi can kill you?"

Li Helan's face became more and more feverish, and she muttered: "Didn't Lan'er disperse everyone?"

"Ah."

Li Qitian just snorted from his nose, and then said seriously, "How you want to please the prince-in-law, that's your business. Doing it behind closed doors is your boudoir fun. But you all keep it in mind, use whomever you don't want." I have the final say about who I am. You are women, so you have to remember the consequences of interfering in politics in the harem. Do you still want to rely on your status as a relative to influence my employment? "

Li Helan's face turned pale with fright.

The Queen Mother was deeply touched by the phrase "relative status".

"Aijia is your mother!"

"Yes." Li Qitian raised the corners of his lips lazily, "She is a mother who would poison my legitimate son."

Li Helan suddenly looked up at the Queen Mother, and then at Li Qitian, not knowing how to persuade her.

The Queen Mother was like a puppet whose strings were suddenly pulled out, and she leaned slumped on the big pillow behind her.

At this moment, she realized very clearly that she had lost the ability to compete with the Queen. Her biggest reliance in the past was the emperor's filial piety. But now, she finally lost it.

The Queen Mother burst into tears for a moment, and every wrinkle on her face was filled with regret. If she hadn't been too confident, how could things have turned out like this?

In the end, things didn't work out, the Qin family didn't take care of it, the queen didn't get the upper hand, but she even lost the emperor's respect and filial piety.

Li Qitian was impatient to deal with the tears of the Queen Mother and Li Helan. He stood up and said, "I still have some papers to approve." After cupping his hands, Li Qitian strode out of Ci'an Palace.

Li Helan and the Queen Mother looked at each other in silence, and lowered their heads with dejection on their faces.

***

Qin Mansion.

Sun cried so hard that she finally lost strength, fainted and developed a high fever. Qin Yining hurriedly moved the person into the inner house and invited Bingtang for diagnosis and treatment.

"Princess, I see that Madam's condition is very dangerous. Madam has a high fever but has no sweat, and can't take medicine or food. This situation is really not good. I think Madam is determined to die."

Qin Yining was so frightened that she was covered in cold sweat and her hands were cold, "What should I do?"

She stared blankly at Mrs. Sun, who was lying on her back with pale lips. Her mind was filled with confusion and confusion.

"Something has happened to my father. If something happens to my mother again..."

"Don't worry, Princess. I will do my best. Madam will be fine."

Bingtang regretted saying this to Qin Yining. The injuries Qin Yining suffered in the palace have not healed yet. Although the redness and swelling on his knees have disappeared, he is still ill after all. In addition, he was hungry for so many days in Ci'an Palace. At this moment, the whole person is very thin, even thinner than when they first met, as if a gust of wind is about to blow him away. If he gets angry because of this and falls ill, wouldn't the whole family be ruined?

Bingtang gritted her teeth and said seriously: "Don't be afraid, Princess. I will discuss it carefully with the doctor. Madam's illness will be fine."

Qin Yining nodded and said after a long time: "Okay."

After leaving Bingtang for Sun's diagnosis and treatment, Qin Yining went to the front hall to see Ma.

At this time, Ma was wearing a white belt and squatting to burn paper. The tears on his face were not dry yet and new tears appeared on his face, and he muttered in his mouth: "It's a crime, it's a crime."

"Grandma." Qin Yining squatted down next to Ma, "You suffered all the way back. Did you encounter any dangers on the way?"

"Girl Yi." Ma threw the last few pictures into the brazier, wiped a hand on her skirt, and took Qin Yining to a corner with both hands, "Tell grandma, why didn't you build a funeral shed in the palace? This Grandma's house doesn't look very big. Doesn't the whole family live in a crowded place? Is your mother-in-law, that fool, bullying you again? "

Ma's eyes were full of worry and anxiety. She had already guessed that she was led here by two young men as soon as she entered the city, but they did not go back to the palace.

He knows his own affairs, what the Yao family father and daughter are thinking, Ma has been with them for most of his life, how could he not guess?

Qin Yining shook his head and said with a smile: "Grandma, you are overthinking it. I have asked shopkeeper Zhong Da to keep an eye on the house, and I happened to find a suitable one, so I moved out. The whole Qin family cannot stay here forever. In the palace."

"Why is it bad? How cheap is it for you and Dafu to arrange for the whole family to live together? If they are separated, everyone will be separated, and the military strength will be weakened. Now is not a peaceful era. Things happen one after another. You are a smart kid, if you hadn't been bullied so hard, why would you have moved out at this time?"

Ma's calloused hand took Qin Yining's cool and slender hand and shook it, then touched Qin Yining's cheek with pity, "Look at you, you are as thin as a piece of paper. You must have suffered a lot." I’m wronged. That black-hearted mother-in-law is fine, grandma will take care of her properly when she comes back!"

Qin Yining had been wronged for so many days. It was hard to talk to her family about the matter with her mother-in-law. She didn't want to act like a resentful woman and have a little temper with Pang Xiao who was thousands of miles away, so she could only hold it in herself. All kinds of worries are weighing on my mind. In the dead of night, every time I think of these trivial things, my heart always gets clogged.

Now that Mrs. Ma is back and saying these words, the breath that Qin Yining was holding in her heart is released. When there was no one to love and understand her, and no one to support her, Qin Yining could grit her teeth and be strong, but now, her eyes were moist.

After a long while, Qin Yining held back her tears and said, "Grandma, don't say that, my mother-in-law didn't do anything. Besides, the Qin family should be a single family and set up a memorial shed. It is really inappropriate in the palace."

When Ma heard this, he immediately understood.

"I understand, Yi girl, your mother-in-law did something wrong. We are a family, the in-laws' family and the Pang's family. You and Dafu are married, and the two families are tied together. It doesn't sound good. , if there is an enemy targeting us, can we deal with them separately?"

Qin Yining wanted to persuade her again, but Ma waved her hand, indicating that she didn't need to say any more.

The two of them joined hands to look at the empty coffin in the mourning hall. Ma sighed and wiped away her tears: "Girl Yi, I'm going back to the palace first."

"Yes, I will arrange for someone to escort you back."

Ma nodded in agreement, looking at Qin Yining's thin palm-sized face and thin body, the fire in her heart was rising. She had only been out for a while, but the father and daughter didn't even know how to behave the most basic way. Got it!

Qin Yining escorted Mr. Ma out of the house and got on the carriage. Just as he was about to turn around and go back to the house, he saw a tall figure standing at the corner of the street. The man in a light gray Confucian shirt really looked like a scholar.

"Master Mu?"

Mu Jinghu smiled and nodded, pointing to the alley on the side of the house.

Qin Yining understood and went back to his house to wait in that direction.