"Slave Qingran comes to see the Queen, she is a thousand years old!"

"Get up." Mu Qingwan waved her hand lightly. If I saw it correctly, this maid is Empress Dowager Yun's personal maid.

"Thank you, empress." Qingran stood up and said respectfully: "Empress, today is the beginning of winter, and the Queen Mother specially sent her servants to invite you to a gathering at Cining Hall."

Beginning of winter? It was actually the beginning of winter so soon. So, it had been nearly a month since she arrived in Beiyan. Time flew by really fast.

Since ancient times, the Beginning of Winter has been a big festival. On this day, the ancient emperors would go out to the countryside to welcome the winter, and would also give winter clothes to their ministers to show sympathy for the orphans and widows.

Beiyan was no exception. In addition to the gathering of the entire palace to have a drink, on this day the emperor, together with the empress, led hundreds of civil and military officials to set up an altar at the imperial mausoleum in the northern suburbs of the capital to offer sacrifices to pray for good weather, peace and prosperity for the country and the people.

Under the summons of the Empress Dowager, the royal children and the concubines and their families all went to the Cining Hall. Even the Empress Dowager Su Hanzhi, who usually lived in seclusion, came even though she was sick, which shows how grand the banquet was.

In addition to the Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager Yun and the Emperor, the concubines and concubines, there were also two concubines - the dignified and gentle Concubine He and the charming Concubine Chen - and two imperial uncles - Prince Gong and Concubine Chen.

Prince Zhong.

Next are Xia Houlie's brothers and sisters. In addition to Zhaohe, there are also three county princes and two married princesses.

However, what surprised Mu Qingwan was that Yun Lanshan also came with his family and sat on the throne with the Queen Mother, Queen Mother Yun, and Xia Houlie. This move did not arouse anyone's doubts. It can be seen that this has already happened.

It's a common thing.

Logically speaking, Yun Lanshan would not be invited to such a family banquet, even though he is the Queen Mother's brother and Concubine Yun's father, but he is a relative after all, and his arrival will undoubtedly tell others that his Yun family is quite

Be a part of this orthodox royal family.

Leaving aside the fact that she had met the Queen Mother in private, this was actually the first time she had met the Queen Mother in public, so when the Queen Mother introduced her and Concubine Chu, she only maintained her attitude towards Su Hanzhi.

Maintain a distant yet respectful attitude so as not to arouse suspicion.

The banquet officially began, and the banquet was very lively.

Because Concubine Yun Gui was pregnant with the emperor's heir, she was naturally the focus of everyone's attention at the banquet. Moreover, her father was also there, her aunt was also there, and even Xia Houlie was there to take good care of her. Compared to her, she, the queen, seemed inconspicuous.

Much more.

Mu Qingwan never liked such banquets, and she was not familiar with those people, so she did not participate in the conversation. She just kept her head down eating, keeping a decent smile on her face, and only occasionally met Zhaohe's eyes.

Only then did his face really feel warm, and Xia Houlie undoubtedly saw all of this.

Finally, the banquet was finally coming to an end, and Mu Qingwan was just about to let out a sigh of relief when suddenly she heard Empress Dowager Yun asking Xia Houlie to take Concubine Yun to the northern suburbs to offer sacrifices.

"The Ai family also knows that the emperor, the empress, and the officials should hold the ceremony as a rule, but now that Luo'er is pregnant with the emperor's heir, and her status is different, they go together to worship the ancestors. Maybe the ancestors will see her sincerity and bless her for her.

Our royal family has a young man, and from now on our Northern Yan Dynasty will have a successor." After saying that, she turned to Su Hanzhi respectfully and said: "Mother, what do you think?"

Yun Luo was very excited when she heard this. If she could go to the sacrifice, her status would be equal to that of Mu Qingwan. Therefore, she looked at Su Hanzhi expectantly.

Su Hanzhi looked very bad because of her illness. She coughed twice and then said: "Zhaolan's knees have been weak for two years since she ascended the throne. Now that Yunluo is pregnant with the emperor's heir, it should be special. You can make up your mind."

Queen Mother Yun couldn't help being happy when she heard this, and hurriedly ordered: "In that case, just do as the Ai family said. Luo'er, you have to be more sincere later, so as not to let down everyone's hearts."

Yun Luo nodded shyly and looked at Yun Lanshan. The latter's eyes were full of pride.

This was the first time Mu Qingwan saw Yun Lanshan, and she saw that he was about fifty years old, with a thin build, a long beard, bright eyes, and he was not angry and intimidating.

While he was observing, Yun Lanshan seemed to feel someone watching him, so he turned his head and his eagle-like eyes shot towards him.

When Mu Qingwan met such cold eyes, she was slightly startled, then smiled politely and turned away as if nothing had happened.

Yun Lanshan was stunned when he saw her turning his gaze so naturally. Ordinary people would stare away from him like this, or they would look away submissively, or they would be too frightened to move, but this woman was extraordinary.

generally.

Mu Qingwan turned away, but she could still feel the pressure coming from the other side of Yunlan Mountain. She felt irritated, but she couldn't do anything to him. She was feeling uncomfortable when Xia Houlie's voice rang out from the side:

"It's getting late, and all the civil and military officials must be waiting at the palace gate. Prime Minister, why don't we set off early?"

Xia Houlie's words were like sounds of nature to Mu Qingwan now. Soon, she felt that the blade-like gaze staring at her disappeared. Yun Lanshan stood up, cupped her hands towards Xia Houlie and said:

"Old minister, I obey the order."

The group of people left the Cining Hall and headed straight to the palace gate.

When we arrived at the palace gate, the civil and military officials were waiting at the side, and the carriages and sedans were also ready. Xia Houlie's dragon chariot was in the front row, followed by the queen's phoenix chariot, and behind were the large and small sedans of the civil and military officials and their horses.

Xia Houlie picked up Yunluo and carried her onto his dragon chariot. His movements were gentle and cautious, as if he were handling a rare treasure.

At this moment, a sweet smile bloomed on Yun Luo's face, which was even more beautiful against her delicately decorated little face.

The picture is so harmonious, they really are a perfect couple.

Mu Qingwan wanted to laugh a little in her heart. She looked like a third party in this situation, but she seemed so innocent as the third party.

Yun Lanshan on the side looked very satisfied. She couldn't help but look at Mu Qingwan. She felt his gaze. Although she was extremely reluctant, she still nodded and smiled. Then she walked in front of the Feng Chaan and took the palace maid's hand to get on the sedan.

Chariot.

The motorcade set off soon. When passing through the official road, the people on both sides shouted like a tsunami: "Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, and the empress is a thousand years old."

Such a battle made Mu Qingwan unconsciously think of the scene when Qianlong brought a little swallow to worship the sky when watching "Huan Zhu Ge Ge". However, Qianlong brought a fake princess, and today Xia Houlie brings a titular one.

Just a queen.

But even though she felt weird, she was still very happy to be able to leave the palace. She could finally breathe the fresh air outside.

Reaching out to lift the car curtain, the ancient street market came into view. I looked at the crowds around me, at the shops lined up in front of me, at the smoke rising from the roofs of the houses not far away, and at the simple smiling faces of those who were desperately crowding around the sedan.

, Mu Qingwan's eyes felt swollen for a moment.

It had only been a short time since she entered the palace, and when she came out of the palace, she actually felt like she was in another world.

Now, she can no longer roam the streets as unscrupulously as before. She can only peek through this small window at the free life she wants, like a caged bird.

"Here." While she was dazed, a snow-white handkerchief appeared in front of her.

Mu Qingwan was startled, and when she looked up, she saw that it was Zhaohe. There was no smile on his bright face at this moment, he just looked at her with a complicated expression.

Her face was cold, and she realized that she was actually crying. She forced a smile and said with some embarrassment, "Sand just blew into my eyes."

Zhaohe smiled faintly, but did not expose her lame lie. He just raised the handkerchief and said, "Wipe it quickly. It won't be good if the emperor sees it later."

Mu Qingwan thought about it, said thank you and took it, wiped away her tears, and felt much better after crying.

Zhaohe kept riding beside her sedan, pointing to the surrounding scenery to introduce her to her from time to time, and talking about some of Beiyan's folk customs. Mu Qingwan listened with great interest, and thought to herself, after leaving the palace, she must

Once you have enough fun here in Beiyan, go somewhere else.

When they arrived at the imperial mausoleum on the outskirts of the city, Mu Qingwan followed Xia Houlie to worship the ancestors of the Xiahou family, and then went to the nearby Nanfo Temple to set up an altar to worship heaven.

Nanfo Temple is a royal temple with a lot of incense. Today is the beginning of winter again. Many people in the capital are rushing to come and offer incense. Xia Houlie had already told the abbot not to disturb the people, so there was a lot of traffic in front of Nanfo Temple.

After the sacrifice to heaven was completed, the eminent monk was arranged to set up an altar for them to give lectures. Mu Qingwan was not interested in these, so she quietly slipped out from behind.

She had changed her clothes and bathed before the sacrifice, so now she was dressed in white. She didn't look like a high and mighty queen at all, but looked as simple and elegant as the daughter of an ordinary family.

This kind of dress made her feel relaxed, and she could finally be herself.

After walking leisurely through several corridors and arriving in front of the Main Hall, Mu Qingwan shuttled among the crowds of pilgrims, feeling their bustle.
Chapter completed!