In the distance, Yiran was holding a broom even bigger than herself and sweeping non - stop. When she saw Tang Youyou dressed in women's clothes in the distance, her hands paused.
Then, she scurried towards Tang Youyou in a hurry. "Your servant Yiran pays respects to Her Majesty the Queen."
Tang Youyou gently stroked the girl's hair and said tenderly, "My girl, I didn't mean to deceive you on purpose before. It was just because of some special circumstances that I had to do so. Don't take it to heart."
Yiran quickly knelt down. She didn't dare to look Tang Youyou in the eye, and only said with a trembling voice, "Your Majesty the Queen, it was your servant who was bold and offended your ears in the folk. Please don't blame your servant."
Seeing the little girl being so cautious, Tang Youyou naturally felt uncomfortable. She helped the kneeling girl up and said seriously, "My girl, you don't have to be so cautious. You're still my friend."
"Your servant doesn't dare!"
But at that moment, a voice came from afar. The person was shouting non - stop, "Your Majesty the Queen, you're finally back! Why did you run away?"
Looking in the direction of the voice, Tang Youyou saw that it was Qingyu whom she hadn't seen for a long time. Qingyu was disheveled and looked slovenly all over.
Looking at Tang Youyou, Qingyu was a bit angry but also couldn't bear it in her heart. She said, "Your Majesty the Queen, why did you run away? Did your servant make you angry?"
These few simple words would take Yiran, who was completely confused, a lifetime to understand. She opened her mouth but couldn't say a word for a long time.
She blinked her eyes and looked at Tang Youyou in astonishment.
Tang Youyou had no choice but to comfort her, "It's okay. When you get familiar with the people in the Cool Palace later, you'll understand how I get along with them."
It seemed a bit too early to tell Yiran all this. She still needed time to accept it slowly.
Yiran nodded thoughtfully. "Your Majesty the Queen, do you want to go and see Brother Yue?"
Brother Yue. This address was quite interesting.
Tang Youyou nodded. Led by the little girl, she came to a side hall. A weak man was lying on the bed.
At this moment, Yue Fusheng had lost his usual liveliness. He was lying quietly on the couch, staring at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought.
"Yue Fusheng, how do you feel now? Is there anything you want to eat? I'll order someone to make it for you."
Hearing this, Yue Fusheng slowly turned his head. Seeing Tang Youyou striding towards him, his eyes became moist with excitement. He thought that Tang Youyou had completely forgotten about him in these two days.
"Your Majesty, it's already a blessing for your servant that you come to see me. If your servant has any dissatisfaction, it would seem that your servant is ungrateful."
Seeing Yue Fusheng being so estranged from her, Tang Youyou squinted her deep eyes slightly.
"It's not like that. You're originally my person. Of course I have to come and see you. Besides, you became like this because of me. How could I be a heartless person!"
Seeing Yue Fusheng in such a miserable state, she felt even more heartache for him.
Yue Fusheng's lips were chapped, and his voice was a bit hoarse when he spoke. He smiled faintly and said helplessly, "Your Majesty the Queen is over - thinking. Your servant was just doing his duty. If it were someone else, they would do the same."
Hearing Yue Fusheng's words, Tang Youyou felt bitter in her heart, mixed with a deep sense of guilt. She didn't know why Yue Fusheng's condition had deteriorated so much in just two days.
Maybe someone had told him something, or maybe someone had threatened him. There was no other explanation.
Tang Youyou held back her emotions, took a deep breath, and put on a smile again. She handed the soup that the maid behind her was holding to Yiran and instructed, "Take good care of your Brother Yue. I'll come back to check later. Both of you should take good care of yourselves and don't think too much."
Hearing Tang Youyou still teasing him as usual, Yue Fusheng's uncontrollable tears welled up again, but by then Tang Youyou had already left the side hall.
She was walking in the imperial garden of the palace. Looking at the garden full of singing birds and fragrant flowers, she secretly made up her mind that she must avenge Yue Fusheng. She must find out the person who wanted to kill them!
However, she was walking so attentively that she didn't notice at all that there was someone sitting on a garden bench not far away, deep in thought.
It wasn't until the two bumped into each other that Tang Youyou reacted.
"Yan Zhihua?"
She just called out casually, but heard the maid beside Yan Zhihua step forward. After saluting respectfully, she said, "Your Majesty the Queen, Concubine Ning was promoted to a concubine during the days when you were away. Her Ladyship has been in poor health and has never paid her respects to you. Your servant is afraid that Your Majesty might not know, so I'll just say a few words."
Seeing how smart this maid was, Tang Youyou took a fancy to her a bit more. Sure enough, the kind of servant a mistress had always resembled her.
"I see. Concubine Ning, are you here today because you have something on your mind?"
Tang Youyou got straight to the point and asked curiously.
At the same time, Yan Zhihua, who was sitting on the chair, slowly stood up. She looked directly into Tang Youyou's long and narrow phoenix eyes without any hesitation.
"Your Majesty, have you ever thought about why there are always people in the palace trying to harm you?"
Tang Youyou didn't expect that Yan Zhihua would drop such a bombshell as soon as she opened her mouth. She thought this girl would explain why she was suddenly promoted, but instead, she was worrying about Tang Youyou's affairs.
Tang Youyou said, "Why does Concubine Ning say such things? It's just the jealousy among the concubines. After all, where there are many women, there are many gossips. It's normal."
However, Yan Zhihua didn't intend to stop there. She said, "Your Majesty the Queen, you should know that in this palace, jealousy comes second, and the Emperor's favor comes first. Don't you understand this truth even now?"
Tang Youyou didn't know why this girl, who was in her prime, had such mature thoughts.
"So, what are you trying to say?"
Yan Zhihua smiled and said, "Please Your Majesty the Queen use your brain and think carefully. Besides the people in the harem, could there be any enemies of yours in the court?"
The court and the harem. Since ancient times, the court and the harem have been inseparable. Although emperors of all dynasties have repeatedly warned people that the harem and the court should not collude, there are still some fearless people who turn a blind eye to this rule.
So, Yan Zhihua's words just pointed out this phenomenon.
This was something she had never considered before.
Tang Youyou nodded slightly and said, "You're quite right. I'll think it over carefully."