Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot
Chapter 160 - 149: So, What About the Fallen Petals?_3

Chapter 160: Chapter 149: So, What About the Fallen Petals?_3

"Understood, Nanny."

On the way back, Lu Yuan mentioned it to her.

After washing up, Meng Qianqian immediately went to rest. She slept soundly, and by the time her eyes opened, daylight had arrived.

Ban Xia lifted the curtain and said softly, "Miss, the master said you can sleep a little longer."

Meng Qianqian asked, "Did he come by?"

"The master has gone to court and left the message before he departed," Ban Xia replied. "The master leaves for court so early."

The court assembly officially begins at Mao hour. Officials living far away have to rise at Yin hour. Although the Zhuque Street is close to the Imperial Palace, it still takes two quarter-hours by carriage.

Counting this way, Lu Yuan must have barely slept before he had to get up last night.

"I’ve slept enough. Time to change."

Meng Qianqian was not yet an official titled lady of the court, so she didn’t have to wear the mandated official robes. She chose a pomegranate-red waist-pinched gauze dress, layered with a golden-thread embroidered translucent outerwear.

Such a bright and unrestrained color was difficult to carry gracefully. With the slightest misstep, it could overshadow the wearer, drawing attention only to the luxurious garment.

However, Meng Qianqian’s nearly perfect face, her delicate features blooming like peaches and plums, and the sheer outerwear fluttering gently in the wind, emanated a flickering celestial aura.

The entire room stood spellbound.

Nanny Wan exclaimed repeatedly, "No wonder the master is so fond of her!"

Today, Bao Shu was also entering the palace. She was dressed up beautifully as well, sporting a head full of glittering golden hairpins, and re-wearing the little tiger cub outfit that she hadn’t had the chance to show off earlier.

Only this time, it wasn’t a little red tiger but a little golden tiger.

Meng Qianqian pinched her small cheeks, smiling, "Bao Shu is so pretty."

Bao Shu shook her little head proudly and said to Meng Qianqian, "So are you, pretty!"

The Old Madam was still asleep, so Meng Qianqian didn’t disturb her. Holding Bao Shu, she set out for the palace in a carriage with Tan’er and Ban Xia.

Steward Cen also accompanied them, sitting outside the carriage.

"Madam, when we arrive at the palace, someone will guide you to pay respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress. There’s no need to visit the other palaces. After court, the Grand Commander generally reviews memorials in the Taihe Palace. If you’re feeling tired, you and Miss Bao Shu can head to Taihe Palace to rest."

Meng Qianqian nodded, "Very well, I’ll keep that in mind."

At the palace gates, Meng Qianqian met a young little eunuch.

The little eunuch bowed to Meng Qianqian and the little one in her arms. "This humble servant Xiao Quanzi greets Madam Lu and Miss Bao Shu. The Empress has been waiting in Kunning Palace for some time."

Steward Cen smiled and said, "He’s one of our own."

Meng Qianqian understood—Xiao Quanzi was one of the people Lu Yuan had planted in the palace. "I’ve met you before."

When Meng Qianqian first entered the palace and faced troubles from Consort Li, it was Lady Wang who had timely requested the Empress to intervene. Back then, Xiao Quanzi had been one of the palace attendants accompanying them.

Xiao Quanzi smiled and replied, "Madam Lu has a good memory. It is indeed this humble servant."

"Ban Xia."

Meng Qianqian signaled to Ban Xia with her eyes.

Ban Xia took out a money bag and handed it to Xiao Quanzi.

"I dare not accept!"

Xiao Quanzi hesitated to take it.

Steward Cen urged, "Why aren’t you thanking the madam for her reward?"

Only then did Xiao Quanzi accept the money bag respectfully. "Thank you, Madam, for your reward!"

Steward Cen said to Meng Qianqian, "Madam, I’ll wait outside for you and Miss Bao Shu."

Meng Qianqian nodded, then followed Xiao Quanzi into the palace.

She and Bao Shu first went to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager was the Supreme Emperor’s lawful mother, a deeply devout elder who had spent her life eating vegetarian meals and chanting scriptures. Years ago, after the Crown Prince passed away unexpectedly, the Supreme Emperor fell into depression, eventually ceding the throne to Zong Zhengxi, and then retreated to a secondary palace to recuperate.

In truth, his so-called recuperation was merely Lu Yuan’s subtle form of house arrest.

At the time, some had attempted to persuade the Empress Dowager to stand against Lu Yuan. Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager relocated to a small Buddhist Hall within the palace and has since never stepped out.

In the Buddhist Hall, Meng Qianqian met the Empress Dowager.

Her attire was plain; a string of Buddha Beads adorned her chest, and a half-copied Buddhist Scripture lay before her.

She was about the same age as the Old Madam, a venerable elder who had lived into advanced years.

Meng Qianqian presented Bao Shu and bowed in greeting to the Empress Dowager.

Deeply immersed in her devotion to Buddhism and indifferent to worldly matters, the Empress Dowager gave the pair two scriptures she had transcribed herself before dismissing them.

Bao Shu held the scriptures in both hands, took a bite, discovered they couldn’t be eaten, and tossed them away.

She still preferred the Old Madam, who always gave her edible treats.

Ban Xia carefully put the scriptures away.

Meng Qianqian asked, "Is the Empress Dowager the Supreme Emperor’s birth mother?"

"No, she isn’t." Xiao Quanzi, having just received Meng Qianqian’s reward, replied in detail, "The Supreme Emperor’s birth mother was a female official in the palace. She passed away shortly after giving birth. The Empress Dowager adopted the Supreme Emperor, raising him as her own son. But these are old stories—no one in the palace mentions them anymore. Madam, please be cautious not to speak of this in front of other consorts. The Empress Dowager dislikes others bringing up that the Supreme Emperor is not her biological child."

Meng Qianqian had merely asked a casual question but hadn’t expected the answer to affirm their non-blood relation.

"Why didn’t the Supreme Emperor confer a posthumous title upon his birth mother?" she wondered aloud.

"That... this humble servant does not know."

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