C153 The Emperor drives to

Qingluo said with some pity, "Our palace doesn't normally allow firecrackers to be set off, otherwise we would be eating dumplings after the firecrackers have been set. That would be the right thing to do."

As she spoke, she held a small plate with her left hand and a dumpling with her right hand. She dipped the dumpling in some of the sweet and sour dipping material and used the small plate to place it next to the empress dowager's mouth.

The empress dowager smiled as she ate the dumplings. "It'd be great if there were dumplings to eat, but Imperial Mother wouldn't pick them out. On the other hand, Qingluo, you're the one who picked up the dumplings, right?"

The empress dowager usually paid the most attention to her manners, but now that she could speak to her without caring about her image, it could be seen how happy she was to see that the empress dowager was in such a good mood.

"It's not hard at all. Everything was prepared last night. I was just rolling a roll this morning. Besides, as long as mother likes it, it's worth it to work hard."

As Qingluo spoke, she passed over a dumpling dipped in the sauce. The empress dowager didn't stand on ceremony and accepted the dumpling.

"Since when did this little mouth learn to speak so well? The first part isn't hard, but the second part is worth the trouble. You've already said the exact opposite, so what else can others say?"

The empress dowager's teasing made Qingluo giggle even more. "As long as Imperial Mother is happy, I can say things that are even more corny than this. I'm just worried that Imperial Mother will get goose bumps and become disgusted with me."

Luo Qingqi couldn't help but smile as he looked at his own little wangfei and the empress dowager going back and forth. He had never seen Qingluo like this before, but at the Zheng Family, Qingluo couldn't pretend to be a junior.

On the contrary, in front of the empress dowager, she looked so natural as if she was the little girl of her own generation. It could be seen how much the empress dowager liked her when she was still Zhao Minyan.

Anyone who could get the empress dowager's hands on them was treated like grass in front of the Zheng Family. Seeing the way the Zheng Family treated them, Luo Qingqi gritted his teeth.

He wanted to probe deeper into his background, and if he truly had talent, he also wanted to promote him up again. After all, getting a good official was not easy, and Luo Qingqi did not want to miss out on something, in the end, what happened yesterday completely dispelled all of Luo Qingqi's thoughts.

Yesterday, Master Zheng's performance had caused Luo Qingqi to suspect that if something serious were to happen in the imperial court, would Master Zheng be that confused?

That was why he said that because of what happened yesterday, Master Zheng lost his last chance to improve. He definitely wouldn't have imagined that his future prospects would really be delayed by the back courtyard.

Back then it was the Madame Zheng that pulled his leg, but he still didn't know it. Now, it was his daughter who pulled his leg, so he was still unclear.

Luo Qingqi could only sigh, he was not a person that could be used, within the imperial court, he could not differentiate right from wrong, and could only use emotions, which was the most undesirable. Furthermore, through this, Luo Qingqi had truly understood the saying, 'why can't one sweep the world'.

He completely understood why the emperor didn't promote Master Zheng when he returned to the capital to report about his duties even though he knew of Master Zheng's achievements.

When things weren't serious, his gentleness and kindness could be used. Once something major happened, he would inevitably be unable to bear it. This was his fatal injury, so the poor person must have something to hate.

"You know that I like to eat dipping material with this taste, I'll be troubling you." The empress dowager's words gave Qingluo a shock. If the empress dowager had only said these words casually, it might not have been a big deal. But if it was intentional, it would be very serious.

Did she think that she had bribed someone and visited her daily life, that she was spying on the court, or that she had made a mistake in her death sentence?

"Muhou, I also saw you like to eat sweet and sour food like sweet and sour fish and Sweet 'n' Sour Ribs at the last national banquet. I actually also prepared other dipping material s for you this time."

"Look, there are several kinds. I'm just afraid that I might not observe carefully enough and let my Queen Mother eat some unpalatable things. How about this, my Queen Mother try some of the other flavors as well. Perhaps you like them more or not."

Hearing Qingluo's simple words, he didn't care or evade at all. He acted like the empress dowager was a chatterbox and couldn't discern the dangerous atmosphere around them.

Once again, Luo Qingqi was enchanted by his good eye. This was a daughter-in-law whom he had cleverly chosen, if not for him being quick with his hands, who knows which family he would be from? When he thought of this possibility, Luo Qingqi's heart grew heavy.

"You girl, look carefully. I don't even care what I eat." The empress dowager had already picked up chopsticks and stuffed dumplings into her mouth. She didn't need Qingluo to pick them up for herself.

Qingluo then brought out a few more small plates of dipping material, so that the empress dowager could taste them one by one. She didn't forget to follow up with the empress dowager's words.

"Mother, you did not pay attention to your own food, that's because Queen Mother has someone with her body. If you do not believe me, you can ask Aunt Yan, and you will definitely know your taste, right, Aunt Yan?"

Aunt Yan had gone out to get some tea and had stood by the empress dowager's side for a long time already. When she saw that the empress dowager and Princess Yi were happily chatting, she did not interrupt them.

It's just like what the Royal Concubine said, as juniors, we naturally have to pay attention to your preferences. As people who do important things, how can we have the time to care about these trivial matters?

"Eat more smoothly, your mood will be better, your mood will be better. When dealing with things, think carefully, think carefully, so that we, the younger ones, won't be affected too much."

"See, how nice it is. We'd be happy if you didn't worry about this. If you had to be serious about eating, why would we small ones even need to worry about that?"

When the empress dowager heard these words, she was overjoyed. "I just said that this little mouth will keep tight, but then another one popped out as soon as I turned my head. I couldn't get depressed because of being so pompous."

Qingluo looked at Aunt Yan and chuckled as she accompanied the empress dowager.

"Mother, don't eat too much, I can't eat anymore at dinner time, I even prepared some frozen dumplings, a total of five types of stuffing, I will give them to the Aunt Yan later and when you want to eat them, cook a few of them."

When she saw that the empress dowager had eaten about six or seven dumplings, Qingluo didn't let her eat anymore. As she grew older, more food would accumulate.

"But what's left of it? What a pity that you personally wrapped it, Qingluo." The empress dowager really did feel a bit sorry for her daughter-in-law's cooking skills, and couldn't bear to see them dealt with.

"Let me try the rest for Aunt Yan, Aunt Yan will also give me some advice, I just learned how to make dumplings, I don't know if my cooking skills will work."

"Mother really dotes on me and is too embarrassed to pick on me. Aunt Yan should pick out some flaws so that I can wrap them up better in the future so that when Mother brings them back, I won't be embarrassed."

Seeing that the Princess Yi valued him so much, how could the Aunt Yan not know that the Princess Yi was giving him face. The Princess Yi had already set up a ladder for herself, so the Aunt Yan naturally followed it up.

"Esteemed Empress Dowager is willing to give the remaining dumplings to me, your servant?" Seeing the Aunt Yan so crafty, the empress dowager laughed and spat at her.

"Even if I can't bear to, how could I stop you from eating?" With the empress dowager's order, Aunt Yan immediately put the plate of dumplings back into the box.

"This servant is not fighting over food with you, no matter how much you like it, it's not suitable for you to eat too much. Didn't wangfei say to leave you some cold food? In the future, this servant will cook five or six dishes for you every day and only let you eat them, okay?"

The Aunt Yan naturally caught the empress dowager's words easily. She hadn't served the empress dowager for one or two days. Even if the empress dowager raised her eyebrows, she could guess what the empress dowager was thinking.

"I'm not a child, so I know how to make me happy. However, since Qingluo has this kind of heart, she has personally made me dumplings. My wife is extremely happy."

Qingluo, ah, this step of mine was given to me by the late emperor. He had made a special scene for me to use in order to control the palace, and this was the only one. Back then, I liked it very much, but now that I'm old, it's not suitable for me to wear.

Qingluo quickly shook her hand, not wanting to continue, but before she could say anything, she heard the empress dowager continue. "Remember my words, Qingluo. If there's an emergency, this step can bring me here."

"I know you are being cautious, but there is always a chance that something might happen. If something happens one day, we won't even have time to save you. I hope this step will buy you some time."

This was Shang Fangbao's sword. Qingluo, who had intended to reject, immediately accepted the sword. She respectfully kowtowed to the empress dowager and expressed her gratitude!

"That's enough, there's no need to be so courteous with me. There aren't many people in the younger generation that I have set my eyes on right now. It's just you that have a good temper. Come and visit me often in the future."

"Keep these polite words for later. I know that the two of you still need to go see Grand Uncle's Consort, so go ahead. It's not good to stay in the palace for too long."

Qingluo and Luo Qingqi were very moved by the Empress Dowager's concern. They stood up and said their farewells side by side, but just as they were about to leave, they heard a sharp voice from outside the door, "The Emperor has arrived!"

Everyone in the room, other than the empress dowager, immediately kneeled on the ground. Qingluo and Luo Qingqi looked at each other with expressions of disbelief.

This was something they did not expect, they did not expect to see the emperor at the empress dowager's place, following that, the two of them saw the emperor dressed in yellow robes, Luo Qingyue, walk in.