Qingyao was very happy to hear Xiaoyuer’s words. This was indeed an advantage. Ancient people’s specialty was archery, and with the arrows having such great power now, wasn’t it exactly what they needed? She reached out and stroked Xiaoyuer’s head.
“Yes, you did well this time. Besides the arrows, what about those gunpowder bags?”
“Actually, the raw materials are very limited. I asked Bingxiao to order people to look for them, but there were no raw materials at all. We only found some ignitable substances like saltpeter and sulfur around the pigsty. After refining them, these items became the most precious. Compared to gunpowder bags, the easiest to make are smoke bombs and mist bombs, and we can produce them in large quantities. You can use these two items extensively in the future.”
Xiaoyuer reminded Qingyao, and Qingyao nodded. She was aware of Xiaoyuer’s capabilities and nodded in appreciation.
“Yes, not bad.”
Mochou, standing nearby, watched the mother and daughter chat. She didn’t understand what they were talking about at all and was completely confused. She quietly withdrew.
However, soon after, she heard Xiaoyuer’s displeased voice from the hall.
“Mother, if that man dares not to divorce that woman, we won’t bother with him anymore.”
Mochou’s face darkened. The little princess’s personality was truly audacious. She could change her mind faster than flipping a book. Just a while ago, she was affectionately calling the Emperor “Father Emperor, Father Emperor,” and now she was referring to him as “that man.” Little Bai had become Little Zun again. It seemed it was best not to displease her, or you would be asking for trouble.
As the two were talking, a guard walked over and respectfully said, “Consort Shu requests an audience.”
Mochou was startled. They had just returned, and that woman was already here. It must be that the high officials in court had informed Ximen Zhenghao. Perhaps Ximen Zhenghao didn’t know that the Empress had gone on a mission to Huangyuan Kingdom before, but he must know now, so Ximen Xinyue had come.
Mochou replied expressionlessly, “Wait a moment.”
She walked into the main hall. Qingyao was telling Xiaoyuer about their mission to Huangyuan Kingdom. Xiaoyuer listened with great delight and kept asking to be taken along next time.
Mochou’s lips curled into a smile. If she were taken along, it was likely that chaos would erupt everywhere.
“Master, Consort Shu is here.”
“She came quickly,” Qingyao raised her eyebrows sarcastically and said coolly, “I’m tired, tell her to go back.”
She hadn’t even entered the palace, so she was too lazy to say much to her. However, Xiaoyuer, who was beside her, was not giving up. She swayed Qingyao’s arm and begged, “Mother, let’s meet her. I want to see what kind of woman she is.”
Qingyao rolled her eyes and finally relented, “Let her come in.”
“Yes, Master,” Mochou walked out and said to the guard waiting outside the door, “Let her come in. Master is waiting for her.”
“Yes,” the guard walked out. Mochou instructed Yiyun, who was at the door, and then turned and walked back inside. The mother and daughter in the hall continued their previous conversation. Xiaoyuer was at the most exciting part and naturally wouldn’t let it go. However, Qingyao didn’t mention Shangguan Hao’s assassination attempt. At this moment, she was talking about how she dealt with Ji Xue. Xiaoyuer became more and more excited as she listened, clapping her hands and cheering from time to time.
“So amazing! It’s a pity I didn’t see it with my own eyes.”
Xiaoyuer said with regret while extending her delicate, lotus-root-like arms to hug Qingyao’s neck and quietly begged, “Mother, you must take me with you next time we go out.”
“If you can train someone to manage the arsenal, I’ll take you.”
Xiaoyuer was immediately delighted upon hearing this, clapping her hands and nodding repeatedly, “Okay, Little Tao can do it. I’ve taught her hand-to-hand, and she’s learned all the weapons.”
It seemed this girl had been planning this for a long time. Qingyao tapped her head, “You.”
At this moment, Yiyun’s gentle voice sounded from outside the flower hall, “Master, Consort Shu is here?”
“Let her come in,”
Qingyao said lightly. Xiaoyuer’s eyes immediately widened as she looked outside. She was very curious about what this woman looked like.
Then, a graceful and beautiful woman walked in from the main gate. She was elegant and charming, wearing a pearl-red long dress. Her waist was tied with white smoke-mist silk, tied into a butterfly knot, and long veils hung down, making her appear ethereal and gentle.
Her face was even more delicate and captivating, her brows slightly furrowed, as if conveying a soft emotion. Her eyes seemed to hold a pool of water.
Upon seeing her, Xiaoyuer immediately thought of someone—Daiyu from Gusu City, that woman from the Jiangnan misty rain, as soft as a pool of water, and as delicate as silkworm silk. Such a woman seemed born to be a man’s downfall, able to greatly satisfy a man’s heroic spirit.
Does Father Emperor really dislike her? Xiaoyuer began to doubt, especially since her mother now looked as plain as Wuyan. If her mother were still as beautiful as a delicate flower, she wouldn’t be so worried.
Men had always been fickle, especially emperors.
After feeling a thousand worries, Xiaoyuer’s eyes turned cold as she glared at Ximen Xinyue in the main hall.
Ximen Xinyue, of course, could see Xiaoyuer’s hostility, but she seemed unaware. She bowed with neither humility nor arrogance and said respectfully, “This concubine pays her respects to the Empress.”
Qingyao waved her hand and said lightly, “Rise, and be seated.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Ximen Xinyue rose with her maidservant and sat to the side. A gentle smile graced her face as she met Qingyao’s gaze. She saw that the woman on the high seat had a thin veil covering her face, making her features unclear, only revealing a pair of exceptionally bright eyes.
Ximen Xinyue was slightly surprised but said nothing more. Even with her face veiled, she knew that the woman before her was indeed the current Empress.
She was enveloped in an aura of coldness, sitting there quietly, making it impossible to ignore her.
“I wonder why Consort Shu has asked to see me repeatedly?”
Qingyao didn’t beat around the bush and spoke directly. She was very curious about what Ximen Xinyue would say. She couldn’t have come here just to pay her respects, could she? They weren’t that close.
“Your Highness, this concubine has come to request that the Empress return to the palace. When Your Highness left the palace and divorced the Emperor, His Majesty was very sad. Since Your Highness has returned, please go back. If Your Highness is concerned about me, then this concubine can leave the palace after shaving her head. Even if His Majesty favors this concubine, this concubine is willing to stay in a nunnery for the rest of her life to pray for blessings for His Majesty and the Empress.”
Ximen Xinyue spoke softly and melodiously, her voice like a yellow oriole, extremely elegant and moving. However, the cold glint in her eyes conflicted with her demeanor. If an ignorant person saw this, they might be fooled. But Mu Qingyao knew this woman’s tactic of retreating to advance.
On the surface, she was willing to fulfill her wish and step aside, but in reality, she was just waiting for Qingyao to say something.
A word that would make her stay.
Qingyao couldn’t help but find it amusing. If she truly insisted on entering the palace, would she need to concede? She could completely ask the Emperor to let her leave the palace, and she believed that if she asked, the Emperor would surely agree. But she genuinely had no intention of entering the palace. Perhaps she had been attracted to the Emperor at first, but time was like a river, and it would wash away many things, including people’s emotions.
“Consort Shu, you think too much. It’s best if you go back. That is a matter between His Majesty and me.”
“Your Highness?”
Ximen Xinyue was about to say something when Xiaoyuer, who had been sitting on Qingyao’s lap, suddenly spoke, “Didn’t you hear what my mother said? Hurry back. We can do without you, and you can do without us. Don’t think that we will coexist peacefully with you.”