tallest building

"Your Majesty, the tea is getting cold," Yu Lu said quietly with a smile.

Seeing that the Empress was still in a daze, he had no choice but to raise his voice slightly: "Your Majesty, this tea has gone cold. Let me get you another bowl!"

"Oh," the queen trembled and turned to look at him, "What did you say?"

"This servant said the tea has gone cold, so I'll get you a fresh bowl," Yu Lu said. "Is Your Highness tired? Why don't you lie down and rest for a while?"

"No need," the Empress said absentmindedly. "I don't want to drink this tea anymore. If I drink too much, I'll inevitably have trouble sleeping again."

"You seem rather downcast. Why don't you take advantage of this fine weather and go for a stroll outside?" Yu Lu asked tentatively.

The Empress has been like this ever since the Grand Tutor left the palace. I wonder what the Grand Tutor and the Empress talked about.

Yu Lu was puzzled, but dared not ask any further questions.

"It's good to take a walk," the Empress thought, feeling as if she had stepped into thin air.

She trusted Wen Mingqian very much, and she served him diligently and always kept a good sense of propriety.

But the Grand Tutor said that she and Shen Fu had switched children, and that she came to the palace to take revenge on him.

Furthermore, the Emperor already knows Gong Chang'an's true identity, and they have now joined forces to deal with him.

She knew her father wouldn't say such things without reason, but she really didn't want to believe it.

Are they all putting on a show for themselves? Wen Mingqian, Zhang Ma, Gong Chang'an, and even the Emperor...

Or perhaps there were many more... the Eldest Princess, Princess Duanmin, Consort Yun...

"Your Majesty must act as usual in front of them and not let them realize that you know the truth, otherwise it will only be more dangerous. Find a way to get rid of that bastard child. When Prince Zhao's army arrives, the Emperor will not dare to act rashly."

Her father's words echoed in her ears repeatedly; the Queen knew that her father was always the person she could trust most.

It was already late autumn, and apart from a few chrysanthemums remaining, the rest had withered and died.

The Empress looked at the desolate scene before her and felt particularly sad.

"Your Majesty, why don't we go to Taiye Pond and watch them dig lotus roots?" Yu Lu said. "I stood there and watched for a while yesterday, and it was quite interesting."

"Very well," the Empress replied casually, her mind wandering so much that she didn't even hear what Yu Lu said.

"Let's move to Taiye Pond," Yu Lu said to the eunuchs carrying the sedan chair.

Sure enough, a group of people were working enthusiastically in Taiye Pond.

Coincidentally, Gong Chang'an and the siblings Yu Chao and Zhuolahan were also there.

Upon seeing the Empress arrive, he stepped forward to pay his respects.

When the Empress saw Gong Chang'an, she was momentarily dazed, then smiled and beckoned to him: "Come here, stand next to me."

Gong Chang'an walked forward confidently, and the Empress took his hand, asking him if he had studied today and why he wasn't with Ying Shan, while carefully examining him.

She didn't hear a word of Gong Chang'an's reply. But perhaps it was because he had become suspicious, the more he looked at Gong Chang'an, the more he felt that he resembled Shen Fu.

"Your Majesty, do you like lotus root?" Zhuolahan asked frankly.

"It's not bad to eat it occasionally," the Queen said. "This kind of food isn't available on the grasslands. Will the princess be able to get used to it?"

“I like to eat lotus root starch balls and honey-glazed lotus root. I don’t really like stir-fried lotus root, it’s crunchy and doesn’t have much flavor,” Zhuolahan said. “I also like to eat lotus seeds in the summer. They say candied lotus seeds are especially delicious, but I haven’t tried them yet.”

"If you want to eat something, just tell someone to make it. It's nothing complicated." The Empress tried to be as casual as usual. "Don't be shy here. Make yourself at home."

“I don’t know when my father will come to the capital again. I suppose he must have received the letter by now and knows that my little sister Huizhu has been born,” Zhuolahan said. “But it’s snowing on the grassland now. My little sister Huizhu is so young, she definitely can’t go back.”

The Empress knew that Princess Duanmin planned to wait until next spring when the flowers bloomed before slowly returning to the grasslands. By then, Huizhu would be five or six months old. As long as the weather was suitable and there was no rush, there should be no problem.

"Are you hoping that your father will come to the capital at the beginning of winter, just like last year, stay in the palace for a few months, and then go back to the grasslands?" the Empress asked with a smile.

"Of course I miss my father, and I miss the grasslands very much. But when I think about going back to the grasslands next year, I know I'll miss this place again." Zhuolahan's voice lowered noticeably as she said this. "Gong Chang'an, can you come to the grasslands with me?"

She never hid her feelings for Gong Chang'an, and she dared to say it openly to anyone.

The Empress was startled upon hearing this. Zhuolahan liked Gong Chang'an, and Princess Duanmin also favored him. What if the Prince of the Northern Frontier...?

They originally intended to arrange a marriage between Zhuolahan and Yingtong, so that they could leverage the power of the Northern King. But if…

The Empress had known about Zhuolahan's feelings before, but she knew that with Gong Chang'an's status, the Northern King would never marry his daughter to him, so she just regarded it as children playing around.

But if Gong Chang'an's identity is that of a prince, then the King of the Northern Frontier will definitely favor him.

"Your Majesty the Empress... Your Majesty the Empress..." Zhuolahan didn't know why the Empress suddenly went into a daze and didn't even answer her questions.

"Oh? Oh! What's wrong?" the Empress asked, snapping out of her daze.

"Your Majesty, why are you suddenly lost in thought? I just asked you if you could make the decision to let Gong Chang'an come back to the grasslands with me?" Zhuolahan asked expectantly.

"Child, I cannot make that decision. After all, you should ask Chang'an's birth mother, Consort Wen," the Empress said with a smile. "Besides, there is also Chang'an herself."

"Gong Chang'an, are you willing or not? I've asked you so many times!" Zhuolahan tugged at Gong Chang'an's sleeve.

"Why would I go there for no reason?" Gong Chang'an always answered decisively, but Zhuolahan just wouldn't give up.

"Please, please come back to the grasslands with me! I'll give you anything you want," Zhuolahan pleaded.

The Empress was momentarily dazed. She remembered that she had made the same plea to the Emperor years ago, saying that she would agree to any condition as long as he was willing to marry her.

But what about now? How does the Emperor view me? How does he plan to deal with me? Or rather, not now, but back when he decided to marry me, what was he thinking?

Thinking of this, the Empress couldn't help but shiver; it was a chill that rose from the bottom of her heart.

"Is Your Majesty cold? Quickly bring me a cloak." Yu Lu hurriedly beckoned to the palace maid who was holding the cloak for the Empress.

"It's getting windy, and a bit chilly," the Empress said, touching the golden phoenix and peony embroidered on her cloak. "Let's go back!" (End of Chapter)