They are all concubines, so of course they choose the future emperor.

Chapter 186 Chores

After a few more pleasantries, Jiang Wanyue took her people away.

It was only a short journey from Liangyi Palace to Fenglai Palace, but Jiang Wanyue had a lot of thoughts.

Li Ce's changes, the Lu family's intentions, the situation of Li Chengye and Li Chengyu...

These thoughts kept coming and going in her mind until she met Li Chengyu.

The change of place did not seem to have any impact on Li Chengyu. She still ate and slept as usual. At most, she would pretend to copy Buddhist scriptures when she woke up in the morning. In the afternoon, when no one was around, she would take the palace maids to play in the lotus pond.

Jiang Wanyue came early and was writing at the desk.

This child is a little willful, but her handwriting is still pretty good. At least for a child of her age, it is quite decent.

Seeing Jiang Wanyue coming over, Li Chengyu was very happy. He dropped his pen and ran towards her.

"Is Madam Jiang here?"

She didn't seem to have changed at all, and her attitude towards Jiang Wanyue was the same as before, and there was no difference just because Jiang Wanyue became the queen.

This made Jiang Wanyue feel a little relieved.

"I have some free time today, so I came to see you."

As Jiang Wanyue spoke, she walked to the desk, looked at the pages written by Li Chengyu, and praised him a few words.

"Your handwriting is getting better and better, almost as good as your brother's. Have you been putting a lot of effort into practicing recently?"

Li Chengyu smiled with his eyes narrowed, looking very proud.

"I have been practicing calligraphy with my brother since I was a child. The teachers all said that I have talent, but I just didn't want to practice before. But compared to Madam Jiang, I am still a little bit behind!"

She stretched out her thumb and index finger and made a small arc.

Jiang Wanyue couldn't help laughing.

"Then you should practice hard and try to surpass me and become the first female calligrapher in our Great Zhou Dynasty."

This made Li Chengyu even happier.

Jiang Wanyue asked her a few questions about her food and clothing, and suddenly changed the subject.

"Come to think of it, it's been a while since you moved here. Has your grandmother sent a note to come visit you?"

Li Chengyu wrinkled his nose.

"On the day of moving, I sent some things and a note saying that my grandmother was ill and wanted to see me. But I was in mourning and couldn't go out, so I wrote a letter back, and there was no further news after that."

Jiang Wanyue seemed to be thinking about something.

"Is Mrs. Lu ill?"

"Don't Madam Jiang know?" Li Chengyu asked with a blink of his eyes.

Jiang Wanyue shook her head.

"I've been busy lately and haven't paid attention to what's going on outside. By the way, has the Lu family also sent a message to your brother?"

"I think so?" Li Chengyu was not sure. "Grandmother has always liked my brother more. But my brother didn't seem to tell me about it."

She was a little confused and said after thinking about it.

"Maybe grandma has recovered from her illness."

Jiang Wanyue touched her head and said, "If the Lu family wants to send you a message again in the future, please let me know and I will send someone to accompany you out of the palace. Although the rules of mourning are strict, the Lu family is your maternal family and your elders, so you can't be too neglectful."

Li Chengyu nodded.

"I listen to you."

This child is becoming more and more obedient.

After sitting for a while, Jiang Wanyue returned to Fenglai Palace. She gave Xiuchun some instructions and asked her to go to the East Palace to deliver a message to Qixia.

Xiuchun nodded, changed her clothes, and went out alone.

She arrived at the East Palace, dismissed everyone else, and conveyed Jiang Wanyue's words.

When Qixia heard that Li Ce had known for a long time that someone was watching Wei Fuxue and her unborn baby, she was so scared that she sat up.

Qixia had thought a lot on her own, without even Xiuchun reminding her.

She knew very well that the emperor had little affection for her mother. If this matter was not handled properly, her mother's life might be in danger.

If Qixia had originally wanted to use what she knew to gain some benefits, now she no longer cares about that.

What good is that? It’s not as important as her mother’s life!

So she struggled to get up.

"Please tell the Queen that I need to return to Tianfu Temple immediately."

Xiuchun's expression remained unchanged.

"The Queen has anticipated this and has already ordered someone to prepare a carriage. I'm just sorry, Princess, the carriage is for transporting sundries."

How could Qixia care about so many things?

She just wanted to go back to Tianfu Temple immediately, take out all the hidden things and present them to Li Ce.

They asked for nothing else but to save the lives of both mother and daughter.

Then, Qixia changed into a palace maid's clothes and quietly left the East Palace.

Xiuchun was worried about her being alone, so she asked Nanny Qian to follow her.

Watching the carriage leave from the side door, Xiuchun secretly breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to go back.

As she turned around, she suddenly stopped.

"Miss Xiuchun, long time no see."

Lin Shuyan walked closer and bowed to her.

Xiuchun looked around and politely returned the greeting.

"Master Lin, is there something wrong?"

Lin Shuyan smiled.

"Yes, it's something. Old Master Jiang's birthday is coming up, and I would like to ask Miss Xiuchun to help me choose a gift."

Xiuchun glanced at him, and a faint light flashed in her eyes.

"I will be out of the palace tomorrow. If Lord Lin is free, please come to Qixingzhai to meet me!"

She whispered, bowed, and then turned and left.

Xiuchun returned to Fenglai Palace.

Just as she was about to enter the door, she suddenly stopped.

Aunt Sun's voice came from inside.

"You're hurting her!"

Then came Jiang Wanyue's voice.

"I don't agree with what you said..."

Xiuchun was stunned.

Just as I was hesitating whether to go in, Mi'er ran over excitedly.

"Sister Xiuchun is back? Why don't you go in?"

As soon as she spoke, the two people inside stopped moving immediately.

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Wanyue came out.

"Xiuchun is back? Come in quickly! It's just right, godmother, you can ask Xiuchun yourself whether she is willing to go with you or would rather stay in the palace."

There was still a blush on Jiang Wanyue's cheeks, and she didn't speak as tactfully as usual. Instead, she sounded a little angry, which showed that she was angry during the argument just now.

Aunt Sun’s expression was not good either.

Seeing Xiuchun coming in, she shook her sleeves.

"If you ask her that, of course she will choose to stay."

Aunt Sun glanced at Xiuchun and turned away angrily.

Xiuchun didn't know what to say for a moment.

She didn't expect that Jiang Wanyue and Aunt Sun were arguing about whether she should stay or leave.

Jiang Wanyue pulled Xiuchun into the inner room.

"Xiuchun, don't worry, just say whatever you think. If you want to leave the palace, I won't stop you as long as you are willing."

Jiang Wanyue sat down.

"I'm just angry about what my mother said. She always said it's not good for you to stay around me. I'm the one who led you astray."

Xiuchun quickly raised her head.

"How could that be? Young lady treats me so well. There is no other master in the world who would treat a servant as sincerely as you do."

Aunt Sun suddenly said something.

"No matter how good he is, he is still the master, and you are a maid. There is a world of difference between us."

She sighed and continued.

"This palace is not a place where one can concentrate on studying medicine."