tallest building

"Why does the Grand Tutor suddenly want to go to the palace?" Wang Shi had just rinsed her mouth when the head maid came over and asked.

"We don't know either, but the Grand Tutor sent someone to consult the palace early this morning," the stewardess said.

"Could something urgent have happened?" Madam Wang's brow twitched. "Did those two people send any message yesterday?"

She instinctively cared about her son, wondering if Dong Gang had said something in his letter to the Grand Tutor that he was keeping from her.

"The Grand Tutor did arrange for those two to stay, and even assigned people to serve them," the head maid said. "We dared not ask any further questions."

"Alright, I understand, you can leave now!" These days, Madam Wang couldn't help but feel a bit paranoid. Having experienced so many ups and downs, she could no longer enjoy her retirement as easily as before. It was as if a knife was constantly hanging over her head, and she didn't know when it would fall.

However, she couldn't ask the Grand Tutor about it, since he didn't need her to interfere in his affairs!

"Madam, this is porridge that the kitchen staff got up before dawn to cook. Please have some." The maid brought over the porridge made with rouge rice.

One bowl of this porridge could be exchanged for half a month's worth of food for an ordinary family.

Wang only ate two bites before she couldn't eat anymore and said, "Take it away! Give me some clothes to change."

"Is Madam going out?" the servant asked quickly.

"I'm feeling a little uneasy, I'll go to the Taoist temple to burn some incense!"

The servants of the Grand Tutor's mansion all know that the First Madam and the Second Madam are now devout believers in Daoist Qingxuzi, and not only them, but even the Empress believes in him.

The maids were also very happy, as they could go out and stroll around with their mistress when she went out.

As Madam Wang finished getting ready to leave, the steward from the Grand Tutor's residence came over and said, "Madam, are you going out? The Grand Tutor instructed this morning that no one in the household should go out these next few days unless there is a specific reason."

Wang opened her mouth, wanting to ask why, but then thought it was pointless, so she said somewhat listlessly, "I know."

The Empress was delighted to hear that the Grand Tutor was coming to the palace: "I cannot leave the palace, so it is good that Father can come to the palace more often. May I ask what brings you here?"

"It's nothing serious. It's just that the Grand Tutor has been feeling quite well these days, in a good mood, and willing to move around," said the person who came to the palace to inquire.

"Excellent, excellent, this is better than anything else." The Empress was overjoyed. "I must have people prepare in advance. Since the Grand Tutor is in the mood, we might as well take a stroll in the Imperial Garden tomorrow. The osmanthus flowers are in full bloom, and the chrysanthemums are already half open."

She assumed the Grand Tutor was just going to stroll around the palace, just as she herself now enjoys walking around since she no longer feels unwell.

"Don't rush off yet. I've prepared some things for my two sisters-in-law. Take them with you when you leave the palace." The Empress said, ordering someone to bring several bolts of fine fabric and incense made by Wen Mingqian. "Each of you will receive one bolt of this gold-embroidered fabric. The one with the hundred children design will be for my eldest sister-in-law, and the one with butterflies and flowers will be for my second sister-in-law."

Just as the Empress finished speaking, Wen Mingqian came over to pay his respects.

The Empress was in a good mood and liked her, so she said, "I remember there's another piece of this fabric with an orchid pattern, so I'll reward it to Consort Wen!"

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I heard magpies chirping when I got up early this morning, and I was wondering what happy event it meant. It turns out that it means Your Majesty is going to give me a reward." Wen Mingqian said with a smile.

"It is only right to reward you more. I heard you accidentally burned your hand yesterday. Are you alright?" the Empress asked.

"It's alright, the medicine has already been applied." Wen Mingqian's hand was wrapped in gauze. "The imperial physician said the gauze can be removed in half a month."

"I have a special ointment here for burns. It won't leave scars after you apply it. It's a tribute from Chechi Kingdom!" The Empress hurriedly told Chunying to go find it. "Take it and use it." Wen Mingqian had no choice but to thank her again.

With her getting injured every now and then, she naturally couldn't serve the Empress anymore, but the Empress was actually happy about it.

This shows that Wen Mingqian is protecting her from disaster. She has no shortage of people to serve her, but there may not be many who can protect her from disaster.

The next day, as expected, Grand Tutor Dong entered the palace, where the Empress had already ordered people to prepare tea, snacks, and other necessities.

"Father, I am so happy to hear that you have been in good health these days." The Empress stepped forward and personally helped the Grand Tutor.

"Thanks to Her Majesty the Empress, this old minister has been eating and sleeping well these days," Grand Tutor Dong said with a smile. "Her Majesty the Empress also looks very well."

"Yes, ever since Master Qingxuzi guided me, I am no longer as listless and dispirited as before," the Empress said with a contented smile.

Grand Tutor Dong nodded with a smile, but he knew in his heart that these people were all conspiring to deceive the Empress.

His daughter is really not cunning at all.

"Father, please sit down and have a cup of tea. This is your favorite Cangfeng Yincui," the Empress said, showing her filial piety. "And please try the pastries made by Zhang Ma."

"This tea is indeed very good," said Grand Tutor Dong, taking a sip. "Is Ying Shan doing well in the palace?"

"Of course it's good. He's young, and His Majesty and I don't want him to study too hard, lest he get sick, which would be worse." The Empress, of course, remembered her father's previous instructions to treat the child as well as possible to avoid gossip.

“That’s right. It’s never too late to study hard. Health is the most important thing.” Grand Tutor Dong nodded. “It would be best to find him two more study companions of similar age. It’s not easy to raise one child alone. More is better.”

"We've thought of that too. Right now, it's just the fourth son of the Gong family with him, and the two children are getting along very well." The Empress assumed that her father was just concerned about Ying Shan's situation in the palace.

"Speaking of which, I've never actually seen that child from the Gong family," Grand Tutor Dong subtly steered the conversation toward Gong Chang'an. "Everyone says he's a child prodigy."

"Indeed, this child is exceptionally intelligent and mature beyond his years; he is truly rare." Everyone who had met Gong Chang'an praised him, and the Empress was no exception.

"Since we have nothing to do today, why don't we call Ying Shan and this child over? I haven't spoken to a child in a long time," said Grand Tutor Dong.

"That's easy. Besides the two of them, there are also the two children of the King of the Northern Frontier in the palace. Let's call them all over! So that people won't think we're favoring one over the other." The Queen also felt that having more children would make things more lively, and perhaps her old father often felt lonely.

It's a pity that neither the first nor second wife in the Dong family has children.

"Every time I come here, there is incense burning in your room. Why isn't there any today?" Grand Tutor Dong asked again.

"I used to be mentally unstable and often needed to burn incense to calm my mind. Now that I'm in better spirits, I don't burn incense as much anymore. If Father likes, I'll have someone come and burn some," the Empress said with a smile.

"It's the one with the lime flavor," Grand Tutor Dong added.

"No one else can burn this incense properly; only Mingqian can do it herself," the Empress said. "But she burned her hand in the process."

"Then let her guide them from the side." Grand Tutor Dong insisted that Wen Mingqian and his mother be present. (End of Chapter)