The prince's personal bodyguard

Chapter 139: Meeting the Imperial Master Again

Queen Mother Ayi Na, surrounded by a group of attendants, slowly walked into the hall. She was wearing gorgeous exotic clothes inlaid with dazzling gems and exquisite embroidery, shining with dazzling light.

As the Queen Mother entered, everyone in the hall bowed and saluted to express their respect for her. The Queen Mother first looked at the Emperor with an ambiguous look, then nodded to everyone, motioning them to stand up, and then sat down on her seat.

She sat on a silk-covered bench with a high back carved with exquisite patterns.

The Queen Mother placed her hands lightly on the armrests, her eyes scanning everyone in the hall, as if she was seeing into their hearts.

Obviously, the Queen Mother's sudden appearance made the whole scene a little subtle.

The Queen's smiling face gradually showed a hint of anger, but it disappeared in an instant; while the Emperor of Wei remained expressionless, making it difficult to guess his true mood.

"The Empress Dowager is unwell. I thought you would miss the dinner tonight, and was planning to visit you later." The Queen spoke softly, but there seemed to be an invisible smell of gunpowder hidden in her words, as if it could be ignited at any time.

"Haha, thank you for the Queen's concern. I just felt a little unwell, just a little nauseous. But when I saw the Queen and the Emperor were here, my mood suddenly became much better, and I felt much better!" The Queen Mother was not an easy person to deal with. Naturally, she could hear the deep meaning in the Queen's words. Even if she didn't want me to come, I came anyway.

"In that case, I am relieved." The queen tightly grasped the silk handkerchief in her hand, trying to maintain her dignity and smile on the surface. However, her heart was turbulent - the unclear and entangled relationship between the emperor and the queen mother had long been a taboo topic known to everyone in the palace, but no one dared to touch this red line easily. But as the master of the six palaces, how could she be unaware of this?

Seeing the Emperor of Wei and the Queen Mother flirting with each other, the Queen felt as if her heart was broken. But she knew that in this deep palace, power and status were the key to everything. If she wanted to consolidate her position as Queen or even take control of the real power, she had to endure humiliation and wait for an opportunity to act...

Emperor Wei would go to his own palace only at the beginning and middle of every month, and he would only go there for show. He would basically sleep alone and never favor anyone in his palace.

Not to mention the other concubines in the harem, who could not even see the emperor. If this continued, the royal family would have no successor, and the situation would be very serious.

When the censors saw this situation, they all submitted reports expressing their concerns. Those who did not know the truth thought that the Queen was immoral, but in fact, the Queen knew in her heart that all this was caused by the Queen Mother.

But she really couldn't understand why the emperor would listen to the queen mother so much. It was as if he was determined and no matter how others tried to persuade him, it was useless. Even the queen herself almost got sent to the cold palace when she made a remonstrance to the emperor last time. Because of this incident, the queen was extremely angry with the queen mother.

"This evil woman who brought chaos to the palace!" The queen still kept smiling on the surface, but she was already gritting her teeth in hatred in her heart.

Bai Xinyin looked behind the Queen Mother, but did not see A'Luo, and a sense of loss welled up in her heart.

"The ninth princess of Zhao is really as beautiful as the rumors say. No wonder the King of Xiongnu insisted on marrying her. Haha, even a girl like me would be moved when she sees her." The queen mother looked lazy and revealed a bit of unintentional coquettishness, which seemed a little out of place in such a solemn occasion.

Bai Xiyin bowed slightly and said modestly, "Your Majesty, you are too kind!" Then she remained silent. It was difficult for her to have any special likes or dislikes for this Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother seemed to be quite interested in the marriage. She looked at the Emperor of Wei with a smile on her face and asked, "The Third Prince is handsome and talented. Has he found someone he likes for this marriage?"

Before the third prince could answer.

The Emperor of Wei responded calmly and coldly: "This matter concerns national affairs, so it should naturally be left to the cabinet ministers to discuss and decide. The Queen Mother does not need to worry about it." His words were concise and clear, without any delay, and he directly interrupted the Queen Mother's inquiry.

"Oh, what I mean is that if there is no suitable candidate, Princess Dolan of Loulan can also be considered." The Queen Mother spoke to herself without even looking at the Emperor's expression.

The Emperor of Wei looked suspicious, but the Queen remained calm. The Queen Mother wanted to climb onto the Zhao ship, and her plan was a good one.

Bai Xinyin couldn't figure out what the Queen Mother was up to, but she was afraid that the Third Prince would not agree to marry A Luo, so she sat there and watched the situation.

"Princess Duolan is the Queen Mother's sister. She is much younger than the third prince of Zhao State in terms of generation. It doesn't seem right." Wei Wuji, the general of Wei State, suddenly spoke up.

Hey, it seems that there are still people trying to stop them. It seems that Wei Wuji is quite concerned about A'Luo. Bai Xinyin looked at the Queen Mother, and then at Wei Wuji.

"Then according to what the general said, given my generational status, Princess Duolan must marry an old man?" The Queen Mother looked at Wei Wuji coldly.

"That's not what I meant..."

"That's not what I meant. Then what do you mean, General Wei?" The Queen Mother raised her index and ring fingers, looked at her newly made false nails, and interrupted Wei Wuji.

"I have already said this now. Don't act on your own. In two days, the King of the Xiongnu will come to our country for marriage. I will have my own opinion then!" The Emperor of Wei looked ahead and spoke in a majestic voice.

Everyone was silent, and the scene was a little awkward. Fortunately, someone brought up other topics in time and successfully diverted everyone's attention from the awkward silence.

In this way, the banquet continued in an orderly manner and was not greatly affected by the previous incident.

As the banquet was drawing to a close and people were preparing to leave, a voice suddenly came from the entrance of the hall: "I am late."

Along with this voice, a monk in a cassock and holding a rosary slowly walked into the hall. He walked steadily, looked calm, and exuded an otherworldly temperament.

"Master Sibian? How come he is here?" Bai Xinyin whispered to the Third Prince Bai, very curious.

"Oh? Little friends, what a fate it is to meet you here again!" Master Sibian saw Bai Xinyin and the others at a glance, and seemed to be quite familiar with them. He took the initiative to step forward and say hello.

"So it's the Imperial Master! I heard that the Imperial Master broke out of seclusion recently, and I didn't expect to meet him today. I'm so happy! I wonder how his health is recovering?" Emperor Wei looked at the big monk in a cassock and with an extraordinary demeanor with a smile on his face. He seemed very happy, and his original unhappiness was instantly swept away.

You know, this imperial teacher is the most respected person in the Wei Kingdom. He is not only proficient in Buddhist teachings, but also good at fortune-telling and predicting things.

Because he leaked the secret six years ago and was nearly killed by lightning, he began to practice in seclusion, and six years have passed in a flash. Now that they finally meet again, the Emperor Wei is naturally very happy.

At this moment, facing the question from Emperor Wei, the monk smiled slightly, clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha, thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am very grateful."

After saying this, the monk bowed to Emperor Wei again to show his respect.

The Emperor of Wei quickly helped him up and said with a smile: "You are too polite, Imperial Master. Imperial Master is the pillar of our Great Wei, and it is only natural that I care about him. However, over the years, I have been looking forward to the Imperial Master coming out of retreat as soon as possible so that I can discuss state affairs with him."