Chapter 131
Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse
Before meeting the emperor, Yu Linglong’s image of the ancient emperor was always a distinguished man wearing a bright yellow emperor’s robe and sitting high on the imperial throne, but when she really saw the emperor, she was really taken aback .
Cihe Palace was surrounded by a faint scent of water . The smell made her feel peaceful . The palace was not as empty and tall as Yu Linglong imagined; it was only slightly wider than an ordinary house . The paved floor was clean and spotless, and the tables, chairs, and screens were all carved from fine red sandalwood . There were not many ingenious and delicate decorations in the house, but if you look carefully, you can find that the tea sets on the table and the vases with flowers were all antiques of excellent workmanship . If they were in ordinary people’s homes, these things may be easy to collect, and they would be reluctant to take them out, but in this palace, they were just used as ordinary utensils .
Yu Linglong only had time to take a look, and Lord Xu took her to kneel on the brocade pillow set by the palace maid, and said: “I pay my respects to the Emperor Father, the Empress Dowager Grandmother, and the Empress Mother . ”
Yu Linglong was dragged by him, so she fell to her knees reluctantly . Before she could say anything, she heard an old voice resounding above her head: “Get up, don’t be polite . ”
Lord Xu pulled Yu Linglong to her feet, and Yu Linglong looked up at the three people .
Sitting in the middle of the main seat was the empress dowager . She was about seventy years old, and she was wearing an ochre red crane palace dress with a jade bun on her head and two golden luan hairpins . The hair color on her temples was more white than black, and her face had fair, kind eyebrows with an air of no anger and self-prestige .
There was a person sitting beside the empress dowager, who was the only man in the palace except Lord Xu, so Yu Linglong immediately concluded that this person was the emperor, although the appearance of the emperor was really quite different from what she had expected .
The emperor was about fifty years old . He only wore an ordinary navy blue brocade robe . There was no iconic five-claw golden dragon pattern on the clothes . There was no decoration on his body, only a ring of emerald green jade on his thumb that faintly revealed his extraordinary ident.i.ty .
There was a faint smile on his face, and the eyes looking at the empress dowager seemed very respectful . There was no majesty in Yu Linglong’s imagination . If she saw such a man on the street, Yu Linglong might only regard him as an ordinary rich father .
Yu Linglong’s gaze fell on the last person, who was naturally the queen .
Queen Gan was obviously well maintained . She was in her forties, but she looked like a woman in her thirties . She was slightly plump, but that did not reduce her n.o.bility and beauty . At this time, she was wearing a deep purple skirt embroidered with peonies and a golden brocade double-breasted palace jacket . She wore a headpiece with red jade beads and gold crests on her head, with a luan bun . Her crescent brows were like the moon, and her pair of upturned eyes were slightly raised, looking deeply at Yu Linglong . Her gaze brought a bit of coldness that was not easily detectable .
Seeing Yu Linglong raise her eyes to meet her gaze, Queen Gan calmly condensed the sharpness in her eyes, as if her gaze was just an illusion of Yu Linglong .
The empress dowager smiled and waved to her, saying: “Good boy, come up and let me take a look . ”
Lord Xu’s big hand tightened slightly, tightening Yu Linglong’s hand, as if to tell her not to panic, and then let go .
Yu Linglong walked over to the empress dowager . She was tall and straight, with a detached temperament, not feeling afraid . The skirt at her feet was steady, with a ladylike etiquette .
Seeing her being so generous, Queen Gan’s eyes flashed a little unexpectedly, and then she lowered her eyes, seeming to focus on the teacup in her hand .
The empress dowager seemed to like her very much . She stretched out her hand and pulled Yu Linglong over, squinted her eyes for a long time, and then she smiled: “Sure enough, she is a neat child . I heard that your surname is Yu?”
Yu Linglong replied: “Yes, and my name is Linglong . ”
Although the empress dowager gave her a feeling similar to that of Lady Yu, she was keenly aware of the difference . Lady Yu sincerely loved and defended her . Although the empress dowager was smiling and gentle and affectionate, she could feel the alienation and politeness behind this smile .
The empress dowager nodded and smiled: “What a nice name . ”
Empress Gan on the side suddenly spoke: “Are you the daughter of the Fourth Grade soldier General Yupeng?”
Yu Linglong said, “Yes . ”
After blowing her tea, Queen Gan seemed to ask casually: “I heard that you are an illegitimate daughter?”
Yu Linglong lowered her eyes but was not timid or panicked, and she replied: “Yes . ”
Queen Gan took a sip of tea casually and said nothing .
The empress dowager on the side laughed and opened her mouth, as if she didn’t care about Yu Linglong’s status, and said: “But you’ve been raised very well . Did you grow up next to the Lady?”
Yu Linglong said: “No, I grew up outside with my aunt since I was a child, and only entered the mansion last year . ”
This short sentence revealed a lot of information . When Lord Xu, who was talking to the emperor on the side, heard this sentence, he couldn’t help but look back at her .
Yu Linglong’s expression remained the same, and she didn’t mean to continue speaking as if this was normal .
All of them present were smart people . Naturally, they knew the meaning behind Yu Linglong’s words . In other words, she was a woman who grew up among the people . An aunt who lives in a foreign palace raised her without a mother . The difficulties of her life can be imagined .
The empress dowager smiled faintly, and adeptly changed the subject: “It’s no wonder that Linglong looks fresh and simple . She is very concerned about my opinion . ”
As she spoke, she told the maid: “Go and bring the things that I have prepared for Linglong . ”
The maid brought an enamel-inlaid gold box and offered it, the empress dowager said: “This is a Western music box that I presented the other day . It is a rare thing . I will give it to you . ”
When Yu Linglong heard that it was a music box, she was speechless . It was just a music box, but it was so grand .
Yu Linglong couldn’t help being a little surprised when she saw the exquisite workmanship .
The enamel gold box was very valuable alone . After opening the music box, a bird with a glittering golden light rose, and the music was very pleasing to the ears .
The feathers on the bird’s body were colorful and splendid . It was actually made of gold foil and inlaid with gems of various colors, such as jasper, crystal, jade, cat’s eye, and agate . There were nearly a hundred of them, making the bird’s body radiant and shining, so brilliant that it was difficult to look at .
Yu Linglong lowered her eyes and said, “Thank you, empress dowager, for the gift . ”
She was not someone who had never seen the world, but this gift was so rare that she had never seen it before .
When the empress dowager gifted something, the Queen naturally couldn’t fall behind . The Queen Gan, who was sitting on the side, waved to her, smiled and said, “I also have a meeting gift for you in this palace . ”
As she said that, the maid brought out a red sandalwood tray and said with a smile: “Lieyang is the youngest prince . The palace has been looking forward to it for so many years, and finally we are looking forward to the day when he will get married and start a career . This thing is not precious, but a good-luck omen . In the future, you have to live with Lieyang, and strive to open branches and leaves for the royal family as soon as possible . ”
Yu Linglong looked up and saw a mutton jade screen nearly three feet high on the tray with all kinds of children engraved on it . The mutton jade was already rare, let alone such a large piece, and the carvings on it were even more impressive . They were exquisite and delicate, and each child was only the size of a thumb, but they all looked different, and even their hair was clearly visible .
Such a precious thing that Queen Gan spoke about was still not valuable .
Yu Linglong knew that these were all scenes, so she followed suit to the end, saying: “Thank you, queen . I hope that I will live up to your expectations . ”
With a faint smile on Queen Gan’s face, she said to the emperor: “It’s really a well-behaved child, it’s no wonder Lieyang is willing to help her—”
As soon as the words came to this, Lord Xu suddenly said to the emperor: “Father, we still have things to do . We should leave . ”
Yu Linglong looked at him somewhat unexpectedly . She didn’t expect that his courage was so big that she would even dare to interrupt the queen’s words .
Queen Gan was interrupted . Her dignified face did not show the slightest displeasure, but she smiled without saying a word .
Yu Linglong saw it in her eyes, and she couldn’t help feeling that this Queen Gan was incapable of happiness and anger, but she was afraid that she was not a simple character .
The emperor turned his jaw slightly towards Lord Xu: “Leave . ”
Lord Xu and Yu Linglong bowed, and just as they were about to withdraw, they heard a sharp voice sing: “The princess is here!”
Queen Gan smiled and said, “Tell her to come in . ”
Yu Linglong and Lord Xu had just walked to the door . It would not be good if they left right there, so they stopped .
A woman in a purple gauzy embroidered shirt walked in . She was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old . She was of medium build with a round face . Although she was not very beautiful, she looked gentle and affectionate, and made people feel close to her .
As soon as she walked in, she saw Lord Xu and Yu Linglong standing at the door, and a pleasant smile appeared on her face immediately: “Ninth Brother, is this your new wife?”
Lord Xu said, “Yes . ”
Then he said to Yu Linglong: “Linglong, this is the crown prince’s wife . ”
The crown prince smiled and said: “What ‘crown prince’s wife,’ what are you talking about? Just call me sister!”
At this time, the palace maid had taken off her cloak for her, and the princess sat in the seat of honor and said with a smile: “Grandma, father, mother, don’t blame me for being unruly . I met the new younger brother and sister and I was overjoyed for a while, but I forgot to salute the elders . ”
The empress dowager smiled and said: “It’s not the first time you are unruly, but this time you are boasting again . ”
Queen Gan also smiled and said, “Child, what are you doing acting so polite?”
Yu Linglong sensitively noticed that when the princess arrived, a ray of warm sunlight seemed to shine in the cold palace, and the atmosphere became active without knowing it .
The crown prince’s wife took Yu Linglong’s hand, looked left and right for a moment, smiled and said to Lord Xu: “It’s no wonder that Ninth Brother has refused to accept a wife for so many years . It turns out that he was looking for such a stunning beauty . Although I dare not boast, he has seen quite a few women, and beauty like yours is really rare . ”
After speaking, she said to Yu Linglong: “I wanted to go and see you yesterday, but I was afraid that you would be uncomfortable . It’s better that today I finally saw you with the empress dowager . ”
Yu Linglong smiled faintly: “I am overwhelmed . ”
She was not an easy person to get close to . The princess is so enthusiastic, but she remembered Lord Xu’s words and only called her princess, not sister .
The princess didn’t seem to care . She was holding Yu Linglong’s hand and smiling, “It’s just that I came in a hurry, so I didn’t prepare a first-meeting present . ” She took off a pair of bracelets from her wrists, put them on Yu Linglong, and said: “This is the jewelry I wore when I was married . I saw that this color matches you, so I’ll give it to you . ”
Yu Linglong only felt a warm touch from her wrist, and when she looked down, she saw a pair of tourmaline bracelets with transparent and l.u.s.trous colors, which were obviously the highest quality .
After thanking the princess, Lord Xu took Yu Linglong’s hand and said: “I still have something to do, so I won’t disturb the princess and the empress dowager . ”
The princess smiled and said: “I know you are busy . When I enter the palace this time, I want to invite you to the spring hunt . Brother Nine, you have to take her with you at that time!”
Lord Xu smiled slightly: “Yes, I’ll remember . ”
Seeing that he agreed, the princess smiled and let go .
After finally leaving the palace, Yu Linglong couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief .
The entrance to the palace was not as sad as she had imagined . The emperor, the empress dowager, and the queen all had a gentle att.i.tude, without all the difficulties she had expected, but…
Thinking of Queen Gan’s words, Yu Linglong felt a little chilly .
She couldn’t help but look back . Under the high sky, Cihe Palace looked dignified and majestic, revealing the imperial majesty . The family members of Lord Xu lived here, but in this n.o.ble atmosphere, in the warm palace room, she could not feel the slightest warmth .
Lord Xu was born here and lived here for another seven years . In these short seven years, how much indifference and conspiracy did he experience?
This was the imperial palace, the imperial palace that killed people without seeing blood . This was his relatives, the relatives who can eat people without spitting out bones .
Her cold eyes fell on him involuntarily . At this moment, the sun had risen high and was shining above their heads . It was brilliant, just like Lord Xu at this moment, bright and dazzling, but his whole body exposed layers of coldness .
Perceiving her thoughtful gaze, Lord Xu looked back and smiled . His stern face softened a lot: “What?”
Yu Linglong paused, and suddenly asked nonchalantly: “What the h.e.l.l did you do?”
Lord Xu was taken aback, and then he realized that she was asking about interrupting Queen Gan . His handsome face turned aside and he said lightly, “It’s nothing . ”
Yu Linglong was curious because of what Queen Gan said just now . She remembered that during the period Lord Xu didn’t come to the Yu house, she didn’t know what he was doing . Thinking about it now, maybe Queen Gan didn’t say anything . After speaking, it was the answer she wanted to know .
“Just forget it . ” Yu Linglong deliberately lowered her eyes, her face cold .
As expected, Lord Xu was tempted and said hurriedly: “It’s not that I don’t want to say it, but…”