Deep Palace Pet Peach Blossom Flawless

Chapter 554 Exchange sincerity for sincerity

Empress Dowager Li looked at the empty hall with a heavy look in her eyes. After all, this was no longer the harem under her jurisdiction.

Lan Qingwu seemed oblivious and said with a smile, "Mother, let them all leave! Let's talk properly."

Empress Dowager Li glanced at Nanny Li, who immediately dismissed all the palace maids in the hall. Ruping and Ruhan also bowed slightly and left.

In an instant, only Empress Dowager Li and Lan Qingwu were left in the hall.

Empress Dowager Li removed all her masks. She sighed softly, a trace of sadness on her face. "I believe the Empress and the Emperor both feel that I, at my age, am still causing so much trouble. I am disgusted by you, right? Empress, you have always been smart and astute. I must understand my worries and difficulties. Back then, I stubbornly chose the Li family's legitimate daughter as the Crown Princess for the Emperor, who was still the Crown Prince. I asked for nothing else but to continue the Li family's honor!"

"Crown Princess Li passed away, and the Crown Prince became Emperor. I took advantage of the selection to send the Li girl back into the harem, all for the sake of my mother's family! But now the Li girl has long been killed in the harem. The Emperor is in power and has given me peace of mind, promising not to abandon Empress Duanhui, but for the sake of the Li family, I dare not take the risk! Queen, as a woman like you, you can understand me, right?"

Lan Qingwu studied Empress Dowager Li for a moment before speaking, "Your Majesty's words are sincere, and I can sense your painstaking efforts! But Your Majesty, have you truly not given the slightest consideration to your own son's feelings? The Li family is your mother's family, and you were born into the Li family, but you have long since returned it to glory. Why would you insist on forcing His Majesty to do something he doesn't want to do? Perhaps the Li family hasn't been prominent and honorable in recent years, but for the sake of you, His Majesty, your biological mother, has also kept the Li family safe and sound until now!"

Empress Dowager Li paused for a moment and said, "It seems the Queen cannot understand my painstaking efforts! Then there is nothing more to say!"

Lan Qingwu knew of Empress Dowager Li's stubbornness. "Your Majesty has long tolerated your efforts, and has even yielded to you time and time again. He has made a promise to you, and today, I also promise you that I only wish to live as brilliantly as a summer flower. As for what happens after my death, I do not care, and I will never compete with Empress Duanhui for a joint burial!"

Empress Dowager Li's expression changed slightly. She turned to look at Lan Qingwu: "You are such a strange woman!"

With the Queen's position now as secure as a rock, and her own son being made Crown Prince, who could possibly compete with her? Yet she gave up so easily!

Lan Qingwu chuckled softly: "I also have conditions. I only wish to spend the rest of my time with Your Majesty in peace and quiet in this deep palace. Please, Queen Mother, please stop deliberately interfering!"

"Whoever disrupts the peace between me and His Majesty has crossed my bottom line! I am not afraid of a fight!"

Lan Qingwu looked at Empress Dowager Li with a smile on her face, but there was a hint of coldness in the depths of her eyes.

Empress Dowager Li looked at the empress like this and suddenly said, "Empress, you are expecting the emperor's heart!"

Empress Dowager Li suddenly felt a sense of absurdity and ridiculousness: "Empress, you and I are both women, and both are empresses. The emperor's heart - how dare you ask for it?"

Even though the late emperor treated Empress Dowager Li well when he was alive, Empress Dowager Li still shed countless tears and suffered countless bitter consequences in private.

Lan Qingwu was silent. She didn't know how to mention the matter between her and Emperor Shenwu to outsiders.

Empress Dowager Li seemed to be both nostalgic and indignant: "As an emperor, do you have a heart? Queen! You can compete for favor, but forget about the heart! I am afraid that in the end, you will be the only one left, leaving behind a love that will not live long!"

Empress Dowager Li shook her head and stood up. "I understand what you mean. I will no longer actively interfere in the affairs between you and the Emperor. However, there is still a long way to go. My son, the Emperor, is at the peak of his power. If the Emperor's heart changes in the future, it will be none of my business! Queen, don't forget my reminder!"

Empress Dowager Li was about to leave when Lan Qingwu called out to her, "Mother!"

Lan Qingwu's eyes were full of seriousness. "Mother, I dare to hope for the emperor's heart! That's because - my bet is also a sincere heart!"

As an emperor, if you can't feel the sincerity of others, how can you possibly give your own imperial heart? This is their mutual bet! True heart for true heart!

Lan Qingwu stepped forward: "Even if our love is deep and we die young, I will not regret it! He is the emperor now, and I can only be the queen! If he were to resign now, I would give up everything and follow him!"

Empress Dowager Li looked at Lan Qingwu in shock. At her age, status, and experience, there were few things that could shock her.

"I'm by his side not because he's the emperor!"

Lan Qingwu bowed and took his leave. Empress Dowager Li was still standing in the hall in a daze, her ears still filled with Lan Qingwu's final whispers: "If that day really comes, I will naturally not stay here!"

Empress Dowager Li was supported by Nanny Li, "Empress Dowager, what's wrong with you?"

Empress Dowager Li whispered, "Can you let go of your dignity, status, and everything in your mother's family?"

Nanny Li looked at Empress Dowager Li in confusion. Empress Dowager Li said, "Indeed, the Empress's family is not just based on her status as Empress!"

A family of border generals relies on defending the border with real weapons and the blood and bones built by generations of Lan family members, not on the favor of a woman in the deep palace. In this respect, Lan Qingwu is completely different from the noble ladies in the imperial city!

The majestic phoenix chariot returned to Fengqi Palace.

The Crown Princess took advantage of Lan Qingwu's lunch break and immediately went to Fengqi Palace to pay her respects. She looked at the scenery in Fengqi Palace and found it truly prosperous.

Lan Qingwu instructed the Crown Princess on some pregnancy precautions and asked if she needed a nurse to take care of her. The Crown Princess smiled and declined. Lan Qingwu said nothing more. These daughters of noble families usually had their mothers already prepared midwives or even wet nurses for their daughters.

The Crown Princess withdrew from Fengqi Palace and once again sighed to her nanny, "My mother looks so majestic wearing the Nine-Phoenix Pearl Crown! My father dotes on her so much! Sometimes it's even against the rules for me to watch!"

The nanny looked around and said, "As long as His Majesty is so kind and gracious, who can say anything? In the palace, His Majesty is the rule!"

The prince went to Liangxu Palace again for dinner. The princess knew that the prince had been coming to Liangxu Palace for dinner more often these days because of the baby in his belly.

After the two of them finished their meal and the prince washed up, he went to his bedroom.

The prince opened the curtain, narrowed his eyes slightly, and stopped. In front of him was a charming woman, who was only wearing a thin gauze. The woman under the gauze was as naked as if she was naked.

The woman bowed gracefully, her voice gentle and moving: "Your servant greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

The woman lowered her head slightly, revealing her snow-white, delicate neck: "Your Highness..."

The prince said expressionlessly: "Get out!"

The woman's face turned pale and tears began to fall one by one.

The prince turned a blind eye, his face as cold as ice.

The woman retreated with a pale face.

In the side hall, the Crown Princess looked at the charming woman and scolded her softly, "Useless thing! Get out!"

If she wasn't pregnant and the two concubines were about to enter the Eastern Palace, why would she use the slaves and maids that her family had given her as a dowry to consolidate her favor!

The Crown Princess sent the woman away and hurried back to the bedroom, where the Crown Prince was reclining on the bed.

The Crown Prince's eyes were dark and deep, and the Crown Princess couldn't understand the deep meaning behind them. The Crown Prince asked, "Is this your man?"

The Crown Princess said cautiously, "Your Highness, I am pregnant now and cannot serve you. She is my close friend and can serve you on my behalf! If you don't like it, I..."

The prince interrupted her: "I don't like her. She's just a slave, of low status. If the princess is interested, why not marry me a few more women of noble birth?"

The Crown Prince scoffed inwardly. It was true that the Crown Princess was physically unable to serve him, but it was also true that he was afraid that the two concubines who would follow would all take away his favor during her pregnancy! It would be better to let a lowly servant, who was in his palm, receive his favor before the two concubines. This would at least suppress the two concubines who had not yet entered the Eastern Palace!

These calculations are common tricks used by women in deep houses. How could the prince not understand them!

But the prince came to Liangxu Palace to visit his first child, not to have sex.

The Crown Princess was a little stunned. She opened her mouth and said, "Your Highness..."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince grabbed his outer robe and put it on: "You can't do it, right? Then stop struggling and just stay in the palace to take care of your baby!"

The Crown Princess naturally couldn't do that, and since she was a woman of noble birth, wouldn't that become a threat to him?

The Crown Princess watched the Crown Prince leave Liangxu Palace.