0p0 Chapter 184 Inquiry
Chapter 184 Inquiry
The Queen Mother originally thought that Ye Youlan was a little flustered because of her pregnancy, so she called the Seventh Prince into the palace to show some concern. However, she found out that it was a misunderstanding. She smiled and said, "Why is the Seventh Prince becoming more and more unstable?"
"You didn't like her that much before, but now you hold her in the palm of your hand."
The Seventh Prince's answer was quite simple: "I can only marry her in this life. If I don't treat her well, who else can I treat well?"
The Queen Mother carefully tested him and suggested that if he wanted to have another woman, she could secretly select a few outstanding women for him.
The Seventh Prince just looked at her calmly: "Mother, please forgive me!"
The Queen Mother was somewhat bewildered. Ever since the Seventh Prince married Ye Youlan, she had noticed that her relationship with him had become distant. He had always been cold before, but extremely respectful to her. However, his respect now seemed perfunctory and polite.
She thought that all men in the world would forget their mothers after getting married.
That day, after meeting with the Seventh Prince, the Empress Dowager also met with Li Zong. Li Zong had requested an audience with her several times, but she had always refused. This time, he returned to the Ministry of Rites and requested another audience. The Empress Dowager wanted to know what he was up to.
Li Zong's appearance inherited the advantages of Li Da and Yi Lan, with a slender figure, elegant and handsome. The Queen Mother thought it was no wonder that Ren Yue was so fascinated by him. He was a hundred times more handsome than the short-lived man Ren Yue had.
Li Zong knelt down to thank the Queen Mother for her love and care for him, and had been looking for an opportunity to express her gratitude in person.
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Seeing you reminds me of your father and mother. What a twist of fate! Have you and your wife visited your mother? Is she doing well?"
Li Zong answered truthfully, "My mother is devoted to Buddhism. After my father passed away, she wouldn't let Yu Rou and I go visit her. I went a few times but was turned away, so I stopped going. If I want to be filial, I must first obey my mother."
The Queen Mother nodded: "Do you have anything to explain about Ren Yue?"
Li Zong was terrified and quickly knelt down. "It was my stupidity that led me to be deceived by this imposter, thus damaging Miss Ren Yue's reputation."
The Queen Mother was very satisfied with this answer. She reminded Li Zong: "I hope you will be a good official and serve the court. If you follow your father's old path, where will I put my face?"
The Queen Mother asked him to stand up and speak. "I heard that your wife Yurou has several close friends. They shouldn't become distant after marriage. We should still visit each other and support each other when things go wrong. But you can't be like me and your mother, who didn't keep in touch for twenty years after each of us got married. It's a pity to think about it."
"My wife Yu Rou has been in contact with the Seventh Princess and the others, and we would get together for tea from time to time."
The Queen Mother sighed softly, "Although the Seventh Prince is a brave warrior, he can be quite naive and naive when it comes to dealing with women. I've always worried that Youlan is young and playful, and won't be able to properly serve the Prince. However, I can't bring myself to summon her to the palace every day to teach her. If Minister Li has any news about the Prince's mansion, please let me know immediately to avoid any worries."
Li Zong understood that the Queen Mother was reminding him what he should do.
"I will keep this in mind."
So Qin Yurou asked Li Zong to pick her up at Qingfeng Teahouse. Li Zong did not hesitate at all. He had to coax Yurou well before he could learn more about Ye Youlan.
Qin Yurou had afternoon tea with several ladies at Qingfeng Teahouse. Some of these ladies were trying to curry favor with her, while others needed her to curry favor with them.
Qin Yurou introduced the latest jewelry products in the capital and the new cosmetics from Rongji Store to the ladies.
Mrs. Zhang nodded repeatedly. "It's very popular. I had my maid queue up to buy a new bracelet yesterday." As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves, revealing her white lotus-like wrist, on which a very thin gold bracelet was irregularly strung with red jade and agate. "I heard Rong Ji also has bead stringing. You can string whatever you like. Let's go and try it together someday. It's very popular. I heard that reservations are required in advance."
Qin Yurou smiled and said, "If you are interested, I will make an appointment."
"You? Can you make an appointment? Last time, the wife of the Dali Temple's Shaoqing asked the maid to make an appointment, and she said it would be until the end of the month."
Qin Yurou said confidently: "The owner of this shop is an acquaintance of mine. I should be able to ask her to do me a favor."
Mrs. Zhang said happily, "How about tomorrow?"
The other lady thought it was a bit urgent: "Can we make an appointment?"
Qin Yurou smiled calmly: "I'll give it a try. If we make an appointment, everyone must go."
Seeing that it was getting dark outside, everyone got up and went downstairs.
As soon as they stepped out of the teahouse, Li Zong came to greet them. The other ladies envied them: "I didn't expect that Lord Li would come to pick you up personally. What a loving couple."
Li Zong said modestly, "It's just on the way."
Qin Yurou got on the carriage under the envious gazes of the ladies. She slapped her face. Her muscles were a little stiff because she had been smiling just now.
After returning home, she wrote a letter and asked Xiaohong to deliver it to Ye Youlan. Li Zong saw her and asked her mysteriously what she wrote.
Qin Yurou changed out of her casual clothes and said, "Madam wants to go to Rongji Gold Shop to string beads. I heard that it's very busy and requires an appointment. I'll ask Youlan to tell the shopkeeper that I'll accompany the ladies there tomorrow."
Li Zong disagreed: "Do you really need to ask Ye Youlan for such a small matter? Go to the store tomorrow and tell the owner that you are the princess's friend. Will he dare to refuse you entry?"
Qin Yurou didn't want to talk about this topic with him and asked him if there was anything happening in the court recently.
"There's nothing going on in the court. Every morning the court is just a bunch of old guys talking nonsense. I think the emperor is about to fall asleep. And the empress dowager has come to see me."
Qin Yurou's body stiffened, and she asked the Queen Mother why she wanted to see him, to mention Ren Yue?
Li Zong was a little embarrassed: "I did mention it, but I didn't mention that I knew Ren Yue. I just said that I was deceived by a fake person."
Qin Yurou said calmly, "You're quite clever. She wouldn't simply ask about Ren Yue when she came to you. Is there something else you haven't mentioned?"
Li Zong was originally lying on the bed, but when he heard this, he immediately sat up.
"Smart. I feel like the Queen Mother doesn't like Youlan very much. She asked me to keep an eye on Youlan and tell her if there's any news. She didn't say it directly, but that's what she meant."
"No, didn't she mention her mother-in-law?"
"Yes, she did. She asked if we had visited our mother recently. I said that since our father passed away, our mother has devoted herself to Buddhism and refused to see us."
Yu Rou smiled. This was right. It seemed that she was right. Her mother-in-law must have something on the Queen Mother, or knew the Queen Mother's secret.
She asked Li Zong to go inside to make some room for herself: "When you have time, go to the Queen Mother more often. Tell her what she wants to hear."
Li Zong looked at Qin Yurou suspiciously: "What do you mean, do you want me to seduce the Queen Mother?"
Qin Yurou rolled her eyes: "What are you thinking? This is a treasonous act. Just cooperate with her. It won't hurt you anyway."
Li Zong put his hand on Qin Yurou's waist and became restless: "I need something to go see the Queen Mother. You should also tell me something about Ye Youlan from time to time."
Qin Yurou opened his hand and said, "I will pick some insignificant things for you to deal with the Queen Mother."