Your Majesty, please do not disturb, the empress only wants to engage in business

Since it was the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, it was naturally to be a grand affair. In addition to bestowing favors upon the inner palace and the court, all the concubines in the palace had to send gifts, as did the court officials.

However, although gifts were given, they were not the main characters. In order to please the Empress Dowager, the main characters of this event were naturally arranged by the Empress Dowager herself.

They were all familiar faces that the Empress Dowager had made over the years.

"Not going to the Empress Dowager's side isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, at such a special time, if you displease the Empress Dowager, you'll really suffer."

As a legitimate daughter-in-law, Shen Qingyin should, according to common sense, serve the Empress Dowager to demonstrate the loving and close relationship between the imperial mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

However, the problem is that Empress Dowager Xu has never been one to care about such trivial matters. The face of the imperial family is obviously not as important as her happiness.

Therefore, Shen Qingyin naturally lost the "respectability" of serving the Empress Dowager and instead led the other concubines in the harem to entertain ordinary ladies-in-waiting.

Fortunately, it was a respectable setting, and nothing too undignified happened in the end.

Empress Dowager Xu had been in the inner palace for many years. As a concubine, she was not allowed to meet with people outside the palace, so she was no longer familiar with many of her old acquaintances.

But given her current status, she naturally only needs others to fawn over her.

Everyone chatted and reminisced about the past, and the scenes of spending time together back then quickly came to mind.

Whether it was pleasant or unpleasant at the time, it is still a memory. Looking at the people who were openly and secretly fighting when she was a young girl, they have all grown old. Many of her acquaintances from back then are not even standing here alive. How many girls who were like flowers back then did not survive the ordeal of childbirth? Thinking about these things, Empress Xu's heart inevitably softened.

Times have changed drastically since then, and things are very different from before.

"After all, we're all getting old now, we're all grandmothers now, and we've been friends and relatives for many years. You're all respectable people, and having you all keep me company, talking about the past, makes me feel comfortable."

Her words naturally set a harmonious atmosphere for the entire gathering. With the Empress Dowager's words, even the women from outside the court who had some unpleasant experiences with her in the past no longer felt that way.

We've all been through thick and thin. There's so much mess and turmoil in these powerful families. No one is as innocent and naive as they were when they were young girls. Now that the Empress Dowager is here, these words have certainly put the minds of these people at ease.

Although we haven't seen each other for many years and our feelings have faded, it's always good to keep in touch. We can just visit each other more often in the future.

Anyway, with the Empress Dowager's words, it was only natural that anyone who wanted to submit a token to enter the palace and have a chat with the Empress Dowager would do so.

Many of you here today either have daughters of marriageable age who haven't grown up yet, or you have children whose futures you need to worry about. Normally, it's not easy to establish a connection with the harem, but today you've suddenly found yourself connected with the Empress Dowager, which is truly a joyous occasion.

When these people were in a good mood, they could say anything to praise the Empress Dowager. Even Empress Dowager Xu, who loved being praised, found those words a bit nauseating.

"It is truly the Emperor's filial piety that matters of the court. These are all men's affairs, and I cannot concern myself with them. However, the current stability of the court is a blessing for the common people." As Empress Dowager Xu spoke, her tone shifted, revealing a hint of emotion: "This year is different too. I see more and more new faces in the palace. I am getting old and do not like to worry about those trivial matters. Fortunately, the Empress is helping to manage things. Now that the Empress can keep things in order, I can finally rest assured."

Although Shen Qingyin's grandmother and mother had little interaction with the Empress Dowager, they had an older cousin who had some connection with the Empress Dowager back then. Among the people present, the only one qualified to respond to the Empress Dowager's words was this cousin.

However, Shen Qingyin's aunt has always been very close to Shen Qingyin's lineage. Speaking of which, when she went to the palace to see the Empress today, she took the time to say a few words to the Empress in private. The things that Shen Qingyin told her aunt at that time were quite different from the Empress Dowager Xu's behavior now.

However, being a seasoned veteran, Madam Shen naturally smiled and spoke to her from below. She calculated that she was actually two years older than Empress Dowager Xu.

"To receive praise from the Empress Dowager shows that our Empress is truly blessed. Back when she was in the Prince's residence, it was thanks to the Empress Dowager's guidance that she was able to grow into the capable woman she is today."

Whether or not we teach, it's all just talk anyway.

Back then, Xie Yun'an kept a low profile, which made it inconvenient for Princess Shen Qingyin to frequently visit the palace, and naturally, her relationship with her mother-in-law wasn't as close.

Moreover, Empress Dowager Xu herself was not particularly outstanding among the concubines who had princes. All she could do in the harem was to remain on the sidelines and not hold her son back. But now, with the victors taking all, she was sitting here enjoying the riches and honors of an empress dowager, so naturally, whatever she said was right.

Hearing the bursts of laughter coming from the garden behind, Shen Qingyin, who was leading the concubines and noblewomen in conversation, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Ultimately, the emperor still cared for his first wife, and his mind wasn't entirely focused on the Consort. The fact that the Empress Dowager was able to dissuade him from interfering in palace affairs was thanks to the emperor's clever ideas.

As she was pondering this, the sounds of opera began to drift from the garden behind her. Since the audience consisted mostly of older ladies, the opera they listened to was rather subdued.

Light and simple is fine too.

Light and simple foods are best for calming the mind.

At least this incident happened, so now we can let her rest for a while and she won't have to be nagged so much anymore.

As soon as Shen Qingyin had this thought, her gaze involuntarily fell on Consort Rong.

Today, Consort Rong was as aloof and elegant as ever. At such banquets, she rarely spoke to those below her. Apart from exchanging a few words with close friends, she always maintained an air of unapproachability.

But it was precisely this "pretentious" act that won over the emperor's heart.

Shen Qingyin sighed inwardly as she recalled the Empress Dowager's previous instructions and the words her mother and other elders had told her.

Even if she desperately wanted a child, she still needed the Emperor's cooperation, didn't she? (End of Chapter)