Fortunately, Zheng Yuheng did not sit here for too long, and the Queen Mother sent someone to summon him, saying that the Queen Mother was a little tired and asked the imperial physician to serve her.
　　Zheng Yuheng finally broke free from this stagnant corner and stood up to say goodbye to the old gentlemen.
　　After Zheng Yuheng left, not only did he breathe a sigh of relief, but the others also relaxed greatly. Just now, General Hong got drunk and made such a scene. Not only Meng Shen was worried about his absurd words and deeds, but those who knew about it were even more frightened and their eyes twitched, fearing that he would say something treasonous.
　　Fortunately, the prince handled it quickly.
　　However, the news that the Empress Dowager had this "new love" was still circulated at a very slow speed among the old officials in the court. Gan Wenyi, the Minister of Personnel who had known about it for a long time, stroked his beard and sighed, shook his head and said with tears in his eyes: "The Empress really misses the late emperor."
　　The old officials talked to each other in a low voice, and recalled the past when they heard the words. They were moved by the scene and cried: "The Empress and the late sage were really a couple of gods. The late sage died early, and the Empress was in great sorrow. Seeing things... seeing people also makes you miss people."
　　These old officials had experienced the methods of the Empress Dowager, and they could not easily realize that the Empress Dowager had done anything wrong. They habitually imagined the more than ten years of husband and wife relationship between the late emperor and the Empress Dowager, thinking about how strong and passionate it was, and how deep their love was. When they imagined it deeply, they couldn't help but sigh and shed tears.
　　At the same time, Dong Lingjiu was talking to the princess in the moonlight, looking a little tired, and said softly: "Your new bride is well-dressed. I think Shen'er doesn't dislike her, but he is introverted and reserved, and appears indifferent."
　　Mu Xuehua said: "That's right, young people have their own ideas and are slow to get enthusiastic. But the queen shouldn't give her the bracelet. She got the reward from the queen mother for no reason and spoiled her."
　　Dong Lingjiu was thinking, I wonder how Heng'er was at the banquet, did he drink? Did the whip injury affect her? She answered her incoherently, "Child, it's okay to be a little spoiled."
　　Mu Xuehua said, "The women in each family have their own thoughts. If you were not here, they would not dare to be too presumptuous. Even I can't handle it."
　　Dong Lingjiu shook her head slightly and smiled, "The princess has been through more than twenty years since she was fifteen years old. If you can't control them, who among the mistresses of the families and the women of the imperial family in the capital can manage an entire wealthy family?"
　　Mu Xuehua was no longer humble, but turned around, tightened the belt of Dong Lingjiu's cloak, held her hand and said, "I heard that your majesty was ill some time ago because of the affairs of the court. I am very worried. Your majesty must take care of yourself." Judging from
　　Mu Xuehua's status, she, the empress dowager, should die as soon as possible, so that Meng Cheng would be an emperor who is easy to control and bewitched. If something happened to the new emperor and Meng Cheng had no heirs, the royal family's side branches would have the opportunity to ascend to the throne overnight.
　　But considering their friendship, Dong Lingjiu was willing to believe that the other party really thought so.
　　She said, "Much better. Speaking of it, Prince Lin'an's illness..."
　　Mu Xuehua paused, and said gently, "The prince is not in good health. After the new bride returns home, he can leave."
　　Dong Lingjiu glanced at her and said, "Yuanyuan, do you feel relieved or regretful?"
　　Mu Xuehua's nickname is Yuanyuan. In the world today, the only person who can call her by her nickname is her sister-in-law Dong Lingjiu.
　　The princess lowered her hand, thought for a moment, and said, "Neither relieved nor regretful. If I say relieved, I had already given up when the prince raised me. If I say regret... it's really not worth it for him."
　　Dong Lingjiu looked at her calmly.
　　"It can only be said that it is... thought-provoking." Mu Xuehua said, "A person who hurt you so deeply is leaving just like that. How fragile is human life."
　　"Yes," Dong Lingjiu nodded, "How fragile."
　　The two walked side by side for a while. Today was the wedding of the prince, and Dong Lingjiu had also drunk some wine. Walking this distance made her feel much more awakened by the cool breeze. She calculated the time and thought that Zheng Yuheng should be here, so she said to the princess: "In that case, then you can arrange a trip for him yourself. I have to go back to the palace too."
　　Mu Xuehua wanted to keep her, but thinking of the rules and precedents that the Queen Mother did not live in the palace of the ministers, she said: "Please let me take you."
　　Dong Lingjiu agreed.
　　After Zheng Yuheng came back, the princess personally sent the Queen Mother to the gate of the palace. Dong Lingjiu did not want to make such a big noise again, so she did not let her inform the guests, and no officials came to see her off.
　　The maid lifted the curtain and pinned the heavy curtain aside. Ruixue helped Dong Lingjiu back to the carriage. She said, "Let Yuheng come up too."
　　Ruixue was stunned for a moment and said softly, "Yes."
　　So, on the pretext that the Queen Mother had a headache due to an old illness, Zheng Yuheng and Dong Lingjiu were allowed to ride in the same carriage.
　　The carriage in the palace was used by the Queen Mother, so it was naturally very luxurious and spacious. There was almost enough space for people to lie down and rest. The reins were carried by eight docile and tall imperial horses, and bells were hung on the four corners. The curtains were embroidered with special shapes on both sides, with a precious lotus on the front and a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix on the back.
　　A small lamp was burning inside.
　　Zheng Yuheng got on the carriage. As soon as he raised his hand to feel her pulse and ask about the Queen Mother's old illness, he found that Dong Lingjiu had a clear look and a calm demeanor, and did not feel uncomfortable.
　　He was not sure, because the Queen Mother could always endure pain and suffering without changing her expression, so he was a little unsure.
　　Seeing his wandering eyes, Dong Lingjiu said, "No problem, I'll find a reason to see you."
　　Just this one sentence, Zheng Yuheng was a little touched. He paused for a moment while feeling her pulse, and then put his hand on her wrist again: "Your Highness... do you want me to accompany you?"
　　Dong Lingjiu looked at his face in the candlelight.
　　Zheng Yuheng came out of the banquet, and it seemed that he had not had a good chat with the court officials. Although he concealed it well, Dong Lingjiu could still see a little silence between his eyebrows.
　　"What's wrong?" Dong Lingjiu stretched out her hand and covered his fingers with her palm. "I thought you had a lot to say to those literati."
　　Zheng Yuheng said, "I am just a medical officer who only knows how to cure diseases and save lives. I am not qualified to sit with such a minister."
　　Dong Lingjiu knew that he was a little unhappy, so she touched his face very gently and said to him, "Did anyone bully you? If there is such a thing, just move out of the Cining Palace. Don't you think I am your backer?"
　　Her fingers were so warm that Zheng Yuheng wanted to rub her palm, but because such an action was too coquettish, he restrained himself and moved a few inches closer.
　　He whispered, "My queen..."
　　After calling her like this, he leaned over like a cat, stuck to her legs, and rested his head on the lap of the queen mother. The embroidery on the gorgeous clothes was gorgeous and heavy, and the clothes were cold, but when Dong Lingjiu lowered her hand and stroked the back of his neck, he felt an incomparable sense of security.
　　It was like she was still curled up in a warm nest, being gently controlled and surrounded.
　　"Tell me about it," she whispered, "Is it still difficult to talk about it?"
　　Zheng Yuheng did not answer, but asked her softly: "Madam...did the ancient saint ever do this?"
　　Dong Lingjiu was puzzled: "What?"
　　It was difficult for Zheng Yuheng to describe his own mentality. Mingde Emperor Meng Zhen, that was really a name he could not reach. Even though he knew that he had some elusive similarities with him, it sounded like an honor for him - to be similar to a saint. If it were some literati who were not appreciated for their talents, they would immediately pick up their pens and write poems about their sweet fate with the superiors.
　　Those bitter sighs of not being reused and unfulfilled ambitions often run through the entire political life of literati and talented people. These people dared to write any disgusting metaphors and poems. Even comparing the former saint to Ehuang and comparing themselves to Nvying, Zheng Yuheng expected that they would do such things. Zheng Yuheng
　　hesitated for a moment and asked, "Did the former saint rest his head on the lap of the queen?"
　　He asked this question directly and boldly. When he raised his eyes slightly, his black eyes were sincere and focused, without any other purpose, pure enough to overflow with water.
　　Dong Lingjiu was quite surprised. She thought: "Are you jealous?"
　　Zheng Yuheng: "... Queen Mother..."
　　"No." Dong Lingjiu stroked the ends of his hair, and her fingers gently hooked out a strand, which was very thin and weak and lingered on her fingertips. "Before he died, we had not been intimate for five years." Emperor Mingde was
　　very good to the Queen. Even if you check the daily records, you can describe it like this without exaggeration. He often rested in Dong Lingjiu's palace, and he never looked down on the Queen. Dong Lingjiu said this because although the two of them slept in the same bed, they never had sex. The distance between them was at most as long as that day when he hugged the little doctor.
　　"Hmm..." Zheng Yuheng fell silent, his eyes were a little empty, and I don't know what he was thinking.
　　After a moment, he said again: "Does the Queen miss him a lot?"
　　This time, Dong Lingjiu did not reply immediately.
　　The huge carriage drove towards the palace gate, surrounded by the Qilin Guards wearing armor and sitting on horses. The sound of horse hooves stepped on the bricks and stones, and the lights and moonlight blended together, shining through the window.
　　This faint light enveloped Zheng Yuheng's shoulders, like a thin layer of frost falling on him.
　　She thought for a long time before saying, "If there is someone who has been with you for twenty years, whether it is a relative, a friend, a lover, or even an enemy, his death will make people..."
　　Dong Lingjiu couldn't find a suitable word to describe it for a while.
　　Zheng Yuheng suddenly felt that her words were presumptuous, and she was afraid that she had mentioned the Queen Mother's sad things. She blamed herself. Just when she was about to speak, she heard her say again.
　　"I didn't cry at all during the vigil." Dong Lingjiu couldn't help but feel a little regretful when she mentioned it at this time. She seemed to feel that she should have cried a few times for him at that time, "Meng Zhen has been ill for too long, this is something that has been expected. I hold his will in my hand. Whether it is clearing the land or the endless anti-bandit dispatch that has continued for a year, someone has to be awake. There is no time to cry for him."
　　She had to be awake. Even if a sober person is in pain, he is not qualified to sink for it.
　　After Emperor Mingde passed away, Dong Lingjiu was so busy that she couldn't sleep all night. The cries of the concubines in the palace continued from night to dawn. The little emperor kept vigil for his father for three days without sleep or food. At that time, she had almost no time to have any other emotions except that the burden on her shoulders suddenly became heavier.
　　Just like when Meng Zhen was dying, she did not answer Emperor Mingde's questions. Dong Lingjiu was actually a very ruthless person. She could stay calm in the most collapsed and worst situations. It was a very sober calm, not numb. After
　　several months of busyness, Dong Lingjiu had time to take a breath until the new emperor ascended the throne. It was winter, snowing heavily, and the plum blossoms outside were covered with snow on the branches. When the wind blew, they fell down and fluttered into the window frame.
　　Dong Lingjiu held the pen in deep thought, and thought about the countermeasures with her lips. When she thought of a possible solution, she subconsciously said, "Zirong, come and see this..."
　　She raised her eyes and glanced at the place where Meng Zhen usually sat when she and she worked together on government affairs. There was a vase with butterflies flying through flowers, and a few branches of fresh plums were inserted in the vase.
　　Meng Zhen, whose name is Zirong.
　　He was not sitting there. For the first time in twenty years, Dong Lingjiu called him and got no response.
　　She was stunned for a moment.
　　At this moment, the palace servant came in to close the window. The window screen was covered, and the sky and snow outside became dim and dim, and the coldness disappeared in an instant.
　　Dong Lingjiu retracted her gaze, and the ink on the tip of the pen had soaked through the paper.
　　It was not until that time that a deep mark of time's caressing was poured into her life. Dong Lingjiu finally felt a grief that had accumulated to the extreme from this silence and no response.
　　The carriage drove into the palace gate, deep in the palace, and the dim shadows of the trees shrouded the red walls.
　　Dong Lingjiu told him, "I miss him sometimes."
　　She answered directly without any reservations.
　　Zheng Yuheng stared into her eyes quietly, pursed his lips, lowered his head and leaned on her wrist, and whispered, "Is this how I was chosen?"
　　Dong Lingjiu's nostalgia for Meng Zhen was limited to a close friend. As for the love between husband and wife, if they really still had it, they would not have spent five years in peace and quiet.
　　She did not particularly guess what Zheng Yuheng was thinking, and said gently, "It's because Heng'er is so handsome."
　　Dong Lingjiu smiled at him and said, "It's human nature to look at someone who makes you feel comfortable and look at him every day, right?" Zheng Yuheng felt
　　a little bitter in his heart, but when he thought about it carefully, he really didn't think through the special care that the queen had given him before. There must be a reason for such a close care. Now, he has found this reason.
　　He exhaled, and somehow found a little comfort, whispering: "Then he has never rested his head on the queen's knees."
　　Dong Lingjiu: "...what?"
　　"Nothing." The little doctor leaned against her sullenly, and said quickly, "I think the late sage was really a...good man."