Chapter 203 Questioning
The day after Yihuan entered the palace, she went to Yonghe Palace with the supplements she had prepared in advance.

Today, Defei did not wait for the Minister of Rites to chatter in her ear. She saw Yihuan walking slowly towards her without being informed, and the palace maids on both sides bowed their heads.

"The daughter-in-law pays respects to the queen."

Yihuan half-knelt for a while, and when she didn't hear Concubine De's voice, she stood up on her own.

"The Emperor was extremely worried when he heard that the Empress was ill. But he was too busy with government affairs to be away, so he summoned me into the palace to serve the Empress." Yihuan saw that Defei's brows were furrowed and her mouth was tight. She looked at least five years older than the last time they met, and she felt a little sad.

"I didn't..." De Fei was about to retort but swallowed it back, "You've worked hard taking care of the emperor, so let the fourteenth family come to accompany me."

"The Fourteenth Master cannot enter the palace at will now, let alone the Fourteenth Brother's wife." Yihua remained calm and said with a smile, "With a daughter-in-law here, she will definitely make everything right for the Queen."

De Fei glared at Yi Huan and said, "You just entered the palace and know what's going on outside the palace. How is Fourteenth now?"

"very bad."

"what?"

"It is only natural that a son should pay his mother's debts. Fourteenth brother has enjoyed your favor for so many years, it is time to pay some interest."

"Ulanara, how dare you speak to me like that!" Defei was so angry that her face turned blue and she slammed the corner of the table hard.

"Well... why not?" Yihuan tilted her head and swayed her hairpin lightly, "My queen, guess, who is more important to the emperor now, you or his daughter-in-law."

Concubine De didn't speak for a long time.

"My daughter-in-law was just joking with you. We are not important. Of course, the imperial power is the most important!" Yihua said seriously, "Anyone who dares to touch his imperial power will be killed."

De Fei glanced at Yi Huan again and said, "Are you here just to irritate me today?"

"That's not the case. The daughter-in-law wants to ask the queen to solve her doubts."

"The Fourth Master and the Fourteenth Master are both your biological sons, and your daughter-in-law can also feel your guilt and love for the Fourth Master. Each of the five fingers has its own strengths, and it is normal for a mother to be partial to one, but why do you always want the Fourth Master to sacrifice himself to fulfill the Fourteenth Master?"

"My daughter-in-law guessed that you had no choice but to give the Fourth Master to the late Emperor's concubine to raise, and you felt resentful at that time. However, you did not dare to resent the late Emperor who gave the order, nor did you dare to resent the high-ranking concubine who took your son away, so you imposed this resentment on the child who knew nothing."

"But the Fourth Master is the most innocent, isn't he?"

"You almost stepped on the Fourth Master to get the position of concubine, and then turned around and resented him for not recognizing you as his mother. How can this be justified!"

Yihuan looked at Concubine De seriously: "There have been constant rumors in the palace recently. Do you want to force your own son to bear the reputation of a matricide and be infamous forever?"

Defei stared at Yihuan's mouth opening and closing in a daze, unable to refute at all.

"This is the century-old ginseng presented by Goryeo. Nanny Lu will make some soup for Your Majesty. Your daughter-in-law will come to pay her respects to Your Majesty tomorrow." After saying that, Yihuan turned and left.

Nanny Lu looked at Concubine De, who seemed to have suffered a huge blow, and said nothing.

If the Fourth Lady's words today could awaken the Empress from her madness, that would be a great thing.

******
From that day on, people from Yonghe Palace came to deliver the message that Concubine De was really ill, and ordered that no outsiders should be seen. Only the imperial physician could diagnose her pulse and prescribe medicine every day.

After being stopped at the door several times, Yihuan never went again. Yinzhen went there in person once. It is unknown what the mother and son said, but Yihuan found that Yinzhen was in a much better mood. The Ministry of Rites completed Kangxi's funeral in a grand and lively manner according to the regulations. At the same time, the preparations for the coronation ceremony were almost complete. It was a rare opportunity to have some free time, so the embroidery room sent auspicious clothes.

There are three almost identical dragon robes in total, lined up one after another. The golden color almost dazzles people's eyes.

Yihuan took off the armor and touched it carefully. The fabric was of top quality, but it looked too heavy. Wearing it for a whole day would be no different from running with a weight.

Yinzhen opened his hands and Yihuan and Yuling helped him change his clothes. Just putting on the clothes made Yihuan break out in a light sweat.

However, the saying that clothes make the man is truly true. After Yinzhen, who originally had a somewhat cold and solemn temperament, put on a bit more majesty. His every move made people subconsciously look away. Yuling had already knelt down.

Yihuan looked at the dragon head on the chest of Yinzhen's clothes and laughed. The miniature version of the dragon head looked silly and cute, which neutralized the serious temperament of the clothes. After looking at it for a long time, she found it a little cute.

After Yinzhen tried on all three pieces, he randomly picked one and decided on the outfit he would wear on the day of his enthronement.

"The Queen's auspicious dress is ready, too. Try it on and change it as soon as possible if there's anything inappropriate." Yinzhen said after changing into his casual clothes.

The embroidery room moved quickly and brought out three pieces as well. Yihuan tried them on with great interest, feeling as if she was playing Miracle Nikki in her previous life.

It took almost half an hour to put together a set of clothes and hair accessories. Yihua twisted her stiff neck and said in disbelief, "I'm going to walk around most of the Forbidden City wearing this?"

"Hold on, it will only take half a day." Yinzhen was much more picky than when he tried on clothes just now. He made many new requirements, from the color of the fabric to the configuration of the patterns, and even commented on the jewelry one by one.

If you don’t know, you might think they are making a government work report.

After taking it off, Yihua said she didn't want to try it again: "Your Majesty, let's not try it anymore. We'll just wear it when the clothes are ready. Anyway, no one except you will look up at me that day."

Yinzhen waved his hand and asked everyone in the embroidery room to leave.

"After the coronation ceremony and the empress-crowned ceremony are over, the children can be brought in." Yinzhen hadn't seen the children for a long time, and he couldn't help but talk about them when he was free.

"I don't know how to coax Liuliu and Xiaolang into good health." Yihuan recalled the last time the two of them abandoned their children and the scene when she and Kangxi inspected the border areas, and she felt a headache.

"I don't think so. Without us to supervise them, these two children would be able to cause a big fuss in front of Master Fei Yanggu."

"Yihua."

"Hmm?" Yihuan was doing her evening skin care. She had just put on full makeup and needed to remove it all.

"I want to thank you." Yinzhen suddenly said, "Filial piety is like a mountain pressing on my shoulders, and you pushed it away and said it was not my fault."

"When I was young, I envied my fourteenth brother very much. I also did things like deliberately picking quarrels to vent my anger." Yinzhen smiled and turned the Buddhist beads. "A few days ago, Concubine De said such words in public. I thought I should just die together."

"After I calmed down, I felt it wasn't worth it. I still have you and our lovely children."

"Fourteenth brother has stayed indoors since that day. He was also frightened."

"I am not actually angry with him. I just want to scare him and calm down the restless court officials."

Yihuan listened quietly, leaning in Yinzhen's arms and listening to his steady heartbeat. It was great to know that he seemed to have overcome the inner demon of Concubine De.