Chapter 378 Is His Majesty Not Treating You Well?

Deep in the palace, in the Pepper Room.

The first ray of sunlight in the early morning shines down, reflecting on the layers of palace tiles, illuminating the golden and magnificent brilliance.

The huge imperial city was still immersed in a half-sleep and half-wakefulness when the new empress Lu Xian'er got up. The new emperor had already gone to court, and the bride did not call anyone in to serve her. She got off the wedding bed carved with dragons and phoenixes, and sat alone in front of the diamond-shaped mirror in a daze.

After a while, the personal maid outside noticed something was wrong, so she carefully pushed the heavy door open a crack. When she saw her master, she couldn't help but be startled.

Only one night had passed and his master was already very different from before.

The little maid couldn't tell what was different, but it just felt very different.

"Mother--"

She called softly, then pushed the door and entered the inner hall. When she reached Lu Xian'er's side, the maid was startled again: "Madam, why do you look so ugly? Are you feeling unwell?"

It was not until the maid spoke that Xie Xian'er pulled herself out of her thoughts. She turned her eyes to her trusted maid and asked, "Luzhu, what are your plans for today?"

The maid named Luzhu glanced at her master's expression and replied, "The etiquette nanny said that the concubines in the harem will come to pay their respects to you this morning, and then a female official will accompany you to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager. In the afternoon, you and His Majesty will have dinner together in the Empress Dowager's Chonghua Palace."

"Oh," Lu Xian'er said calmly, "I understand."

"My lady, are you really not feeling unwell?" Lu Zhu subconsciously glanced outside and said in a low voice, "You just slept with me last night. Are you injured somewhere? If not, I will ask the female doctor to come and take a look at you."

When Lu Xian'er heard this, her expression changed immediately: "No need, don't go out and say anything."

Although Xie Xian'er was born into a noble family and had always been pampered by her family, she was not a proud person. Her words and actions were always gentle and innocent, and she rarely spoke so sharply.

Seeing this, Lu Zhu was really puzzled: "My Lady, what happened to you?"

Lu Xian'er fell silent, looking at the ground with heavy eyes for a long time. She told the maid in a stammering voice, "Ask them to bring the dress I will wear today. I can wear it myself. You don't have to serve me. Go outside and watch them prepare to meet the concubines."

Lu Zhu saw that her master was unhappy, but she couldn't find out the reason, so she had to do as she was told.

When it was bright, the female official led several concubines to pay homage to the queen. Lu Zhu went in to report to Lu Xian'er. At this time, Lu Xian'er had already dressed neatly, but her face was still cold and she looked like she was worried about something. Hearing that several concubines of Zhao Pan had arrived outside the palace, she ordered the female official to invite them in, and then left the inner hall.

Although Zhao Pan is the emperor, he does not have many concubines around him, only three in total.

When several people saw Lu Xian'er coming out of the inner hall, they all bowed to her. While Lu Xian'er ordered them to stand up, she subconsciously looked at them carefully.

After everyone sat down, a female official came over and introduced Lu Xianer in detail.

"This is Madam Li, who lives in Chaoyang Palace."

Long before entering the palace, the etiquette nanny had already told Lu Xian'er in detail about the situation in the harem. Naturally, Lu Xian'er had heard of this Madam Li.

She was the eldest daughter of the Minister of Revenue, and had been a first-class female official in the inner palace. She had been with Zhao Pan for many years and had even given birth to a daughter for him. Before Empress Dowager Lu chose her as the queen, Zhao Pan even intended to make this Lady Li the queen. It can be seen that this woman was deeply loved by Zhao Pan.

Lu Xian'er couldn't help but pay more attention to this woman.

Madam Li was extremely beautiful, and her manners were very charming. While Lu Xian'er was looking at her, Madam Li was also secretly looking at the Queen.

It was not until the female official spoke again and introduced the other two concubines that the two men's attention shifted away from each other.

The other two were also from official families. They were both beauties of moderate status. One was surnamed Jiang and the other was surnamed Li. Both of them were of ordinary appearance.

Lu Xian'er exchanged pleasantries with a few people and ordered her maid to give them gifts. That was all the formalities needed to be done.

Lu Xian'er didn't have time to rest. After meeting the concubines, she was led by the female official to the empress dowager's bedroom.

Empress Dowager Lu was already waiting, and Qin Xiaoning was also in the Empress Dowager's bedroom. Lu Xian'er entered the hall, and the moment she looked up and saw Qin Xiaoning, she couldn't help but shed tears.

"What happened?" Empress Dowager Lu was shocked: "Why are you crying when everything is fine?"

Lu Xian'er quickly raised her hand to wipe away her tears and bowed to greet Empress Dowager Lu, but was helped up by Empress Dowager Lu herself: "Good child, tell your aunt what happened? Did Pan'er wrong you?"

"No, no." Lu Xian'er was pulled to sit by Empress Dowager Lu and whispered, "Your Majesty is a modest gentleman, how could you let me wrong you?"

As she spoke, she looked up at Qin Xiaoning: "I just saw my family members suddenly, so I couldn't hold back my emotions."

Empress Dowager Lu heaved a sigh of relief when she heard this, then smiled and said, "Your second sister-in-law is worried about you, so she came to the palace to visit you."

After meeting her family, Lu Xian'er's mood gradually improved. At noon, Zhao Pan came over to have dinner with the Queen Mother and the Queen. When Lu Xian'er saw him, a complicated look appeared in her eyes.

Zhao Pan looked normal. After paying his respects to the Queen Mother, he politely exchanged a few words with Qin Xiaoning, then looked at his wife with a gentle smile on his face: "The Queen looks good today."

When Lu Xian'er heard this, her face became uncomfortable. She didn't say anything, but just lowered her head silently.

After a while, an eunuch came in and said that the Regent had come to pick up the princess and was waiting at the gate of the inner palace. Qin Xiaoning said goodbye to the Queen Mother and the Emperor. When she was about to leave, Lu Xianer said, "Mother, Your Majesty, I'm going to see my second sister-in-law off."

Empress Dowager Lu naturally had no reason to refuse, so the two of them left the hall and waited outside. As Qin Xiaoning and Lu Xian'er walked outside, she lowered her voice and asked her, "Is His Majesty treating you badly?"

Qin Xiaoning was a very meticulous person. When she saw Lu Xianer's condition at Empress Dowager Lu's place just now, she immediately got a glimpse of the clues.

Lu Xian'er was silent for a long time before she spoke. She did not answer Qin Xiaoning's question, but asked her instead: "Second Aunt, what do you think it would be like for a man to like a woman?"

Qin Xiaoning was slightly stunned by the question, and Lu Xianer explained: "What I mean is, if a man likes his wife, will he be gentle?"

Qin Xiaoning nodded and said yes.

Seeing Lu Xian'er's sad look, Qin Xiaoning couldn't help but ask, "Is it because His Majesty treats you badly? Xian'er, tell your aunt the truth."