C18

With Shen Qingwan serving him, Fu Yuheng was no longer angry. He began to process the papers one by one.

When he finished, it was already late. He rubbed his shoulder that was sore from lying on the table. Shen Qingwan saw it and took half a step forward to massage his shoulder.

"Yes!" Sun Ning replied, but Shen Qingwan was not happy. Anyone with a good heart would definitely be able to see through her, but Fu Yuheng still wanted to come to her chambers tonight.

Fu Yuheng nodded and she turned to leave.

Lian Yun had been waiting outside the hall. When Shen Qing Wan finally came out, she immediately went to support her. Shen Qing Wan nodded towards Sun Ning, who had returned with the paper, and walked out the hall with Lian Yun.

Once they left the imperial study, Shen Qingwan's tensed nerves relaxed, and her legs went soft. She almost fell down, but luckily Lian Yun held her back.

"Empress, what's wrong?" Lian Yun said worriedly.

Shen Qingwan shook her head and did not say anything else. She looked back at the Imperial Study and got on the carriage.

Today, although her conversation with Fu Yuheng seemed ordinary, it was actually a surging undercurrent. If she had not been able to smooth things over at the beginning, she would have certainly been engulfed by his monstrous fury, and might have implicated her family.

In the imperial harem, she represented the Shen family. If she took one wrong step, the Shen family would be implicated.

She closed her eyes, suppressing the fear in her eyes. No matter what she faced, she had to be clever and not make any mistakes. Naturally, she couldn't allow others to see through her fear.

Shoukang Palace.

The fragrance of sandalwood lingered in the air as the sound of the wooden fish echoed throughout the empty palace. The empress dowager was dressed in a simple robe and was kneeling on a prayer mat as she chanted.

The Kangmama lifted the curtain and entered the palace. He walked to the empress dowager's side with a troubled expression. "Empress Dowager, there's news from the emperor."

The empress dowager opened her eyes and stopped chanting. "Has the emperor's anger dissipated?"

"Yes, I've finished approving the paper." Kangmama said.

The empress dowager smiled. "That's good. This Dowager was still worried that he wouldn't approve the paper, but which official advised the emperor?"

Kangmama's eyes turned slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "There is no minister seeking audience with the emperor."

"Oh?" The empress dowager turned to look at Kangmama with a hesitant expression. "Then does the emperor need to calm down by himself?"

"Yes... Consort Xian went to the imperial study room. Kangmama finally said those words after hesitating for a while.

When the empress dowager heard this, anger surfaced on her usually expressionless face. "You said that the Consort Xian went?"

"This servant has asked, the Sun Gonggong said it was his idea, and asked the Consort Xian to advise the Emperor. As expected, the Emperor wasn't angry, and under the Consort Xian's care, he approved all of the papers." Kangmama knew that she wouldn't be able to hide it from the empress dowager, so she said everything out loud.

The empress dowager took a deep breath and stood up, walking towards the outer hall. As she walked, she said, "What a good Consort Xian. I mentioned her not long ago and thought she was extremely intelligent. I didn't expect her to be so stupid today."

The more Kangmama helped her to sit down, the angrier the empress dowager became. She stopped drinking the tea and placed it heavily on the table, saying to Kangmama, "Go call Consort Xian over, This Dowager wants to see just how daring she is!"

When Kangmama saw the empress dowager's expression, he knew that she was truly angry. She was secretly worried for him, but could only accept his orders and go forward.

When Kangmama walked quickly to the Joyous Palace, Shen Qingwan was eating. When he heard that the Kangmama had arrived, she immediately put down his bamboo and stood up to welcome him.

When Shen Qingwan saw the Kangmama's expression, she had a bad premonition. She asked: "Why did this mama come here?"

"Concubine Xian, Esteemed Empress Dowager has sent you to the Shoukang Palace," the Kangmama said anxiously, "Don't eat anymore, hurry up and follow me."

Lian Yun asked, "Your mother is so anxious, I really don't know."

Although the empress dowager lived in seclusion, she still knew about the matters outside the palace. The empress dowager was very concerned about the matter of the thunder and lightning in the imperial court today, "the Kangmama said helplessly," Just now, the empress dowager sent a servant to ask about the situation and found out that you were going to accompany the emperor in his study. The empress dowager was furious, Concubine Xian, you were also confused, why did you allow Sun Ning to do whatever he wanted?

When Shen Qingwan heard this, she forcefully suppressed the panic in her heart and did not say anything more. She left with Kangmama.

Since this matter had already happened, she could only try her best to cover things up. If the empress dowager wanted to make a move, she could only bear it. If it was just a single scolding, she would have to let it pass.

He just hoped that Fu Yuheng wouldn't act against her because of the empress dowager's attitude.

"Chenqie greets the empress dowager. The empress dowager is a thousand years old." Shen Qingwan made a grand bow. The empress dowager sat at the head of the table and looked at her arrogantly. She had no intention of waking her up.

After a long silence, the empress dowager said faintly, "Consort Xian, do you know why I called you here?"

"Chenqie understands." Shen Qingwan did not have any intention of feigning ignorance as she readily admitted, "The Esteemed Empress Dowager summoned chenqie here, perhaps for the matter of chenqie going to the imperial study to persuade Your Majesty."

The empress dowager laughed coldly, "You're quite clear about this. Then, before you entered the palace, did you learn about palace rule?"

"Chenqie has learned it and will remember it." Shen Qingwan's heart skipped a beat, she knew that the empress dowager was going to make things difficult.

"Among the palace rule, the most important one is to be obedient to women and not to be political," the empress dowager said, her tone becoming heavier. "Consort Xian, do you know?!"

"Chenqie understands." Shen Qingwan closed her eyes.

"I see that you're very daring, knowing that you're still going to commit the crime," the empress dowager was even more furious. "This time it's to be the government. Are you going to hold court from behind the screen next time?"

Shen Qingwan immediately replied, "Chenqie doesn't dare."

Shen Qingwan knew that she had already gone to the imperial study and had accompanied Fu Yuheng in his punishment. Since the crime of Qian Zheng couldn't be removed, she didn't refute him. She knelt there and scolded Empress Dowager Ren for less than an hour.