When they reached the outer hall, the queen turned around and looked at Mo Qinghuan. Her voice was gentle, yet it sent a chill down Mo Qinghuan's spine.
"You and Concubine Li seem to be on good terms," the queen said.
Hearing it was a statement rather than a question, Mo Qinghuan's smile widened. "Your Majesty, why do you say so?"
The queen let out a soft laugh and sat down at the table. She glanced at Mo Qinghuan out of the corner of her eye. "I saw the two of you being very intimate. It seems you care quite a lot about her."
Mo Qinghuan took out some disinfectant from her wide sleeves and began to clean the queen's wound.
The wound looked as if someone had directly smashed a vase at her.
The emperor would never be so impulsive and leave himself open to criticism. So, it could only be Concubine Li.
But Concubine Li had just had a miscarriage and was physically weak. The queen surely wouldn't have been unable to dodge.
There was only one explanation: the queen had deliberately not dodged.
"Ouch—"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was too heavy-handed," Mo Qinghuan said.
The queen shook her head. After disinfecting the wound with iodine, Mo Qinghuan bandaged it for the queen. Then she took two steps back and stood still.
"Believe it or not, I didn't harm Concubine Li's child," the queen said.
Mo Qinghuan was surprised, but she didn't show it on her face.
The emperor and Mu Yanming walked out. The emperor said coldly to the queen, "Today's Winter Banquet cannot be delayed. But with Concubine Li in such a state, I can't leave. So, I'll leave the banquet to the Regent to manage."
Mo Qinghuan looked over and saw that Mu Yanming, rarely, didn't show his usual arrogant attitude. Instead, he nodded slightly.
"Qinghuan, come here. Come with me," Mu Yanming said.
Mo Qinghuan obediently walked up to him. When they reached outside the hall, Mu Yanming turned to her and asked, "What did the queen say to you when you were in her palace just now?"
Mo Qinghuan wasn't surprised. She had long been familiar with Mu Yanming's methods.
"Strangely enough, she called me over because she wanted me to help her get rid of Concubine Li's child," Mo Qinghuan said.
"And almost at the same time, Concubine Li lost her child, right?" Mu Yanming summed it up very succinctly. So Mo Qinghuan nodded heavily.
"Moreover, when I was bandaging the queen just now, she specifically emphasized that she didn't harm Concubine Li's child, and said it didn't matter whether I believed her or not."
Mu Yanming didn't say anything else.
The two of them went to the Green Wave Hall together.
When they arrived, many concubines were already there.
Mo Qinghuan couldn't help but be puzzled. "Why is it that with such a big event as Concubine Li's miscarriage, only the queen went there, while these concubines didn't?"
"Maybe the emperor only informed the queen. After all, the other concubines don't have children," Mu Yanming said.
It was easy to understand then. Over the years, the emperor had only had four princes and one princess.
It was said that the princess had an unlucky fate. Since childhood, she had been sent to a place called Xinyang in the south of the Li Kingdom to be raised. She hadn't returned to the palace for many years.
"By the way, where are the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince?" Mo Qinghuan asked.
Before Mu Yanming could answer, the Eldest Prince and the Second Prince came over at the same time.
Because of what had happened last time, Mo Qinghuan didn't have a good impression of them. So as soon as they came over, she made an excuse and left.
Seeing that Mo Qinghuan was free, Zhao Yiyi immediately came over.
"Where have you been? I've been looking for you for a long time," Zhao Yiyi said.
Mo Qinghuan looked around, then leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I'll tell you a secret. The emperor's favorite Concubine Li had a miscarriage, and the concubines here don't know about it yet. I guess the queen will come over soon. I'm afraid this year's Winter Banquet is doomed to be turbulent."
Hearing this, Zhao Yiyi was so shocked that her mouth could have swallowed an egg.
Just as she was about to let out a low cry, Mo Qinghuan quickly covered her mouth.
She glared at Zhao Yiyi and gritted her teeth. "I told you it's a secret. Don't make a fuss."
Zhao Yiyi also lowered her voice. "Concubine Li is the emperor's favorite now! I'm afraid this matter won't be easily resolved!"
Mo Qinghuan sighed. "Who doesn't know that? But even if she avenges herself in the end, she'll never have the chance to be a mother again."
Just as they were talking, Gu Qinglan helped the queen over.
When everyone saw the bandage on the queen's forehead, they were first surprised, and then immediately lowered their heads to pay their respects.
"The emperor has important matters to attend to, so today's Winter Banquet will be hosted by the Regent, and I'll accompany him," the queen said.
She looked at Mo Qinghuan, her eyes full of meaning.
Mo Qinghuan didn't understand why the queen always wanted to drag her into things.
Although she hadn't helped the queen, the queen had still achieved her goal in the end, hadn't she?
As noon approached, everyone sat down at their low tables.
Since Mu Yanming was sitting at the low table originally prepared for the emperor, only two women were sitting at the Regent's table.
Mo Qinghuan was on the left, and Ata Huan was on the right.
"The emperor is not here, and I don't have so many rules. Everyone can be casual. There's no need to be overly formal," Mu Yanming said.
At first, everyone could maintain their composure. But after a few rounds of drinking, the ministers got carried away. Some were composing poems, some were playing finger-guessing games, and some were even playing the game of guessing the object in the palm.
Ata Huan seemed very interested and got up to go into the crowd.
Mo Qinghuan looked up at her and gently reminded her, "You're about to marry the prince. You should always pay attention to your status and don't do anything to disgrace the Regent's Mansion."
Ata Huan naturally knew what she meant, but she just couldn't resist. "The women in your Li Kingdom are so boring. We in the Northern Rong don't have so many rules."
Mu Yanming noticed the commotion here and got up and walked over.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Seeing Mu Yanming coming, Ata Huan tugged at his sleeve and pouted. "My lord, I want to play the game of guessing the object in the palm."
Mu Yanming seemed not to hear. He looked at Mo Qinghuan. "Do you want to play?"
Min Feiyan and Zhao Yiyi walked over.
Zhao Yiyi immediately took Mo Qinghuan's arm.
"Let's go play the game of guessing the object in the palm," she said.
Before Mo Qinghuan could respond, Zhao Yiyi pulled her away.
"You'll just be sitting there doing nothing if you go back," Zhao Yiyi said.
Min Feiyan also chimed in. "Yes, sister-in-law. It's rare for us to get together. It's okay to have some fun once in a while."
Seeing this, Mo Qinghuan didn't hold back anymore.
"Okay, who goes first?" she asked.
Zhao Yiyi quickly raised her hand. "Me first, me first."
"Wait a minute," a voice said.
Everyone looked over and saw Gu Qinglan coming over.
"Do you mind if I join?" she asked.
Min Feiyan remembered the conflict between Gu Qinglan and Mo Qinghuan before. She was afraid that if Mo Qinghuan refused, Gu Qinglan would be embarrassed.
She quickly stepped forward and pulled Gu Qinglan over. "Of course not."
After this little interlude, the game began.
"Please turn around. I need to prepare first," Zhao Yiyi said.
Mo Qinghuan had never played this kind of game before, but just by the name, she could tell that the goal was to guess the object in the palm.
It wasn't difficult. As long as you paid attention to what was missing from the person, you might be able to guess. Of course, there were also skilled players who would take multiple items to confuse others.
"Okay, you can turn around now," Zhao Yiyi said.