Return of the Swallow

The originally bustling front hall fell silent in an instant. Everyone couldn't help but look back at Qin Huaiyuan, waiting for him to make up his mind.

Qin Huaiyuan put down the wine cup and said gently: "In that case, the family banquet will be held later. Sister Yi, please follow me to the front hall first. This should be to welcome the ambassador."

Qin Yining immediately understood that it was what Lu Heng said. Before Princess Tana arrived, she had to learn ancient rituals to avoid losing face in front of foreigners.

Qin Yining and Qin Huaiyuan got up and went to the front.

The rest of the people looked at each other, thought for a moment, and then got up and followed him out.

The family left the guest house, and the maid held a lantern to lead the way. Everyone left the guest house in silence and took a detour to the front hall of the palace.

Seeing the people in the hall, Qin Yining smiled and went up to speak: "Manager Cheng."

"Well, Princess." Manager Cheng saluted with a smile, then turned to greet Qin Huaiyuan and the family behind him. If a person as elegant as Mr. Cheng wants to make good friends with others, there will be no flaws in his etiquette towards others.

When the old lady and others saw that Qin Yining was familiar with the father-in-law, and saw that the man's attitude was very kind, everyone felt a little relieved.

Manager Cheng smiled and said: "This slave is here to convey the Holy Father's instructions to the princess. Tomorrow, the princess will be invited to Kunning Palace. The queen will teach the etiquette in person until the Tatar marriage team arrives."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yining hurriedly saluted in the direction of the palace and said respectfully: "My wife obeys the order. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."

Manager Cheng immediately smiled and said: "Princess, you are tired from traveling and traveling. Please rest today. I will not disturb the reunion of Princess and Mr. Qin's family. I will take my leave."

Qin Huaiyuan stepped forward with a smile, gently escorted Manager Cheng out, and presented Feng Hong where no one could see him.

"Manager Cheng Cheng."

"Hey Master Qin, I thank you, Master Qin, for the reward. I deserve this." Manager Cheng said polite words, put Feng Hong into his sleeve, and his smile became more friendly.

After a few more pleasantries, Manager Cheng said goodbye and left.

The Qin family returned to the guest house and saw that the atmosphere was a bit heavy. Qin Yining smiled and said: "Don't worry, the rules of the Queen's Palace Middle School are not difficult. In addition, I had a relationship with the Queen in the past, so it should be nothing."

When Li Qitian was buried in the underground palace, it was she who took the risk to deliver a message to the Queen Mother. It was also because of them that the pregnant Queen was crucified by Prince Li in the Kunning Palace and was rescued as quickly as possible. Thinking about it, even if she wasn't too close, the Queen wouldn't have too much ill feelings towards her. Everyone could complete their tasks and cope with this period of time.

Qin Yining simply didn't believe that the queen could teach her any rules and etiquette.

Presumably, Li Qitian also made this decree just to put money on his face. The person who will teach the rules should be someone else, but he will be arranged in the Queen's Palace, right?

Qin Yining's guess was correct.

The next day Qin Yining came to Kunning Palace and saw the nanny teaching the rules.

The queen stood up with a smile, gently helped Qin Yining who was saluting, and said with a smile: "Princess, you don't have to be polite. There are no outsiders here, so you don't have to worry about the red tape."

It had only been a year since we last saw each other, but the queen's hair had grown a bit on her temples, and she looked even more haggard than before. The heavy clothes and the bright pearls on her head did not enhance her appearance, but made her look even more haggard, as if she could not afford such wealth at all.

Qin Yining sighed secretly.

It is actually a very embarrassing thing to not be able to match. It's not that the queen is incompetent, but that from an ordinary woman from a wealthy family to the mother of a country, she has to accept too many changes and learn to do things in an instant.

What's more, there has always been a saying that "repent of teaching a husband to seek a title", Li Qitian was weak at the knees, so the concubines were one on the left and one on the right. In addition, the queen was not a beautiful woman in the first place, and she was not young anymore. In the past, Before Li Qitian became emperor, the empress had lived a lot of fearful days. Women's lives were not going well, and naturally they aged faster, so Li Qitian became more and more fond of those young and beautiful concubines.

This is a vicious cycle.

However, I don’t know if it was destined by God that Li Qitian only has one legitimate son so far.

When Qin Yining's thoughts changed, she had already stood up and stood with her hands down respectfully, "The queen is so kind to me, I am very grateful. It's just that there is a difference between master and subordinate, and I dare not make any mistakes."

The queen smiled slightly, pulled Qin Yining to sit down on the rose chair prepared by her, and ordered the maid serving her to bring tea.

"Princess, there is no need to be cautious. At first, the Holy Lord and Prince Zhongshun were brothers. They often visited each other at home and got along like a family. But now that the dynasty has been established, they are far apart and busy. There is no chance of getting along like that in the past. not enough."

Realizing that the topic she was talking about was slightly sensitive, the Queen turned around and smiled: "What I mean is that based on the relationship we had at the time, you and I were like sisters-in-law, so when there were no outsiders, the Princess There’s really no need to be too restrictive.”

Qin Yining responded with a smile and said: "Yes, I understand. The Queen is respectful to the world and has a kind heart. This is my blessing and the blessing of all the women in the world."

The queen smiled and didn't force anything more.

Qin Yining was too careful.

And the queen also understood why Qin Yining was so cautious.

There was discord between Li Qitian and Pang Xiao, and the queen was not unaware of it.

However, after so many years of ups and downs, especially after taking the post, there were intrigues everywhere, and there was no one in the palace who could treat each other sincerely, including his mother-in-law and sister-in-law, not to mention that. Already become the emperor's husband.

The queen often feels that she is a redundant person, and even fantasizes about how her life would be if Li Qitian was not the emperor.

Especially after the last palace change, the Queen Mother and the eldest princess only cared about themselves and didn't care what would happen if she was imprisoned by Prince Li while she was pregnant with Liujia. Princess Zhongshun was an outsider and she could still venture into the palace with her belly full. He came to deliver a letter and tell them the news about the Holy One, but the Queen Mother and the eldest princess, one was the Holy One’s mother and the other was the Holy One’s sister, were both afraid. In the end, they were not going to let the Holy One wait for someone to rescue them?

She had suffered so much following the Holy Master, but in the end, she still ended her love and affection?

The Holy Sage didn't abolish her, a queen he didn't like, but it was actually just because the Holy Sage cherished feathers.

With these cognitions and thoughts, the queen was actually discouraged.

Li Qitian arranged for her to teach Qin Yining the rules. She thought that under her eyes, she could protect Qin Yining from being bullied. No matter what the struggle between men was, she would remember Qin Yining's kindness at that time. .

The queen's heart was spinning a lot, but she didn't show any signs of it on her face. She chatted gently with Qin Yining about daily life, asking about life in the south, and about the situation at home, focusing on the children.

The little prince is three months younger than Brother Zhao and Brother Han, which is when he is the cutest and most annoying.

When two mothers who also love their children come together, there are always many topics to talk about.

After chatting for a while, although they weren't close enough to have a heart-to-heart relationship, there wasn't that much of a barrier anymore.

Qin Yining felt the queen's kindness towards her, and thought that this woman was willing to be on good terms with her as long as her husband's interests were not affected.

The two talked for a while, and when the time was almost up, the queen stood up with a smile and said: "Today is the first time you have entered the palace since you came back. Although I have arranged for a nanny to teach you the rules, in the end we still have to go to the palace." I have to go to Ci'an Palace to greet the Queen Mother."

"Yes, we will all follow your Majesty's arrangements." Qin Yining nodded in understanding. In fact, she had already planned to pay her respects to the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother is not as gentle and generous as the Queen. She is a difficult woman to get along with, and she is essentially the same type of person as Li Helan.

Seeing that Qin Yining had no objection, the queen asked someone to prepare some coats for outdoor use, and led the people away from Kunning Palace and walked all the way to Ci'an Palace.

Ji Yun and Bingtang followed Qin Yining and the Queen, and walked with the palace attendants around the Queen. The wooden clogs tied to his feet made a crunching sound on the snow. Qin Yining held the hand warmer and chatted with the queen with a smile:

"The capital is really too cold. When we came back, the closer we got to the capital, the colder it got. By the time we got to the outskirts of Beijing, I was so cold that I didn't want to get out of the car."

The queen smiled when she heard the words, and saw that half of Qin Yining's face was buried in the white fur collar, her nose was red from the cold, she was holding a heater in her hand, and she was dressed very thickly, and she smiled and said, "I Forget, you are a true southerner, and sometimes you are not used to the weather in the north. I don’t feel cold in this weather. In the past, at this season, I still had to chop wood and do work outside. "

Qin Yining said with a smile: "My wife, like your empress, also has to do this. But fortunately, the winter where I live is not so cold, otherwise I might not be so lucky to grow up."

The queen also knew a thing or two about Qin Yining's childhood experience. After hearing this, she couldn't help but asked curiously, "Where did you live back then?"

"It was near Liangcheng, which was on the border between the Zhou Dynasty and the Yan Dynasty at that time."

"Border? Aren't there always wars?"

"Yes." Qin Yining nodded and said, "But thanks to the Holy Army's victory over Northern Hebei, the people have slowly been able to live and work in peace and contentment. I think there will never be the kind of force that forces border people to go to the border area in the future. Hiding in the mountains happened.”

The queen smiled and nodded, "You are right."

Talking and laughing all the way to the gate of Ci'an Palace in a relaxed manner, Qin Yining heard a burst of laughter like silver bells before the palace official could pass the message.

Looking towards the source of the sound, I saw a group of people walking far away from the opposite side.

The leader of those people was a beautiful woman wearing a bright red cloak and a sable velvet lying rabbit on her head.

The woman looked to be no more than 20 years old. She had curved eyebrows and a cherry-like mouth. She was a very attractive beauty.

"Oh, who do I think she is? It turns out to be the Queen!" The beauty in red on the opposite side saluted lazily: "I've met the Queen."