Chapter 7 Sequelae

Mingde's face turned slightly red when he heard this. He glanced at the two of them secretly and muttered, "You all know, come and ask me..." Seeing that he was embarrassed, the Empress Dowager and Concubine Wu laughed. Mingde couldn't stand it and blushed and said, "What are you laughing at? I...you...you know who he is?"

"Oh, it seems that he is a little bit of a background..." The Queen Mother pretended to be curious and asked, "Who is he? Could it be different from other companions?"

Concubine Wu also made fun of him and said, "Yes, can we Mingde look at each other? Could it be that we have three heads and six arms?"

Mingde stood up suddenly and said loudly: "Of course it's different! He just saved him..." Halfway through his words, Mingde suddenly stopped, as if he suddenly understood that the taste was coming. He turned to look at his grandmother and mother, and couldn't help but feel discouraged. He sat on the brocade mat with a loud voice: "You all know... ask me what I'm doing!" After that, he lowered his head and said nothing in a silence.

The Empress Dowager raised her eyes and looked at Concubine Wu, blinked and looked at Mingde, and said with a playful expression: "Why, I can't ask if I know? Since I can send someone to wait for him early in the morning and take people around, are you still afraid that we will ask one and a half words? What are you doing? Is he looking shameful? Or do you want to hide people as treasures?"

Mingde was originally sitting on the brocade mat and sulking, but when he heard the second half of the words, he raised his head again: "Who said he looked shameless? He... he... he slap!" Mingde tilted his head and frowned and looked at the emperor's grandmother, wanting to make a few words of excuses, but he swallowed the words back to his mouth. The Empress Dowager and Concubine Wu looked at each other again. Seeing Mingde's rare appearance, he secretly praised his surprise while laughing in his heart.

Seeing that the Queen Mother was almost amused, she quickly closed her smile and said warmly: "Okay, don't shy your face, just teasing you, and getting serious?" The Queen Mother paused and said seriously: "Didn't you tell you before? That thing... can only be hidden in your heart. No matter who asks it, your mouth must be firmly held! Just because she was just teasing you on purpose, she can't help it?"

"We know this person naturally. Although we are royal families, we cannot lose our duty as human beings..." The empress dowager said, picked up the teacup and took a sip, then continued, "Although I was deliberately teasing you, I can see if you know how to be grateful..." After hearing this, Mingde slowly raised his head, glanced at the empress dowager, and then tilted his head to the side. "It's okay, finally we didn't love you in vain. You can value that person so much, at least you are a sensible person. Come and take a sip!" As he said that, the empress dowager brought the teacup and handed it to Mingde. Mingde raised his eyes and took it with both hands.

After Mingde finished drinking, the Empress Dowager looked at Concubine Wu and smiled at Mingde: "Okay, after saying so much, don't hide others, and call him in to see him! Today, I'm so anxious to call you here, just know that Concubine Lin's nephew is coming. The emperor's grandmother and your mother have never met him. They all want to take a look. Why, is it okay or not?"

After hearing what the Emperor Grandmother said, Mingde's originally pouted mouth slowly lowered. He looked at the Emperor Grandmother, and a smile slowly climbed up to the corner of his mouth. A hint of pride appeared on his face. He stood up suddenly, raised his head and said, "The Emperor Grandmother and his mother are going to take the exam, so of course there is nothing to say. You can wait!" After that, he walked out of the door step by step and asked someone outside. Concubine Wu looked at her son's lively back and smiled implicitly and gentlely. The Queen Mother was also smiling, but her smile seemed a little meaningful, and there was something else extra...

"Lin Nan pays homage to the Queen Mother! The Imperial Concubine!"

"Well..." The Empress Dowager said, "Rise your head." Lin Nan stood up and looked up, his eyes drooping, and looked at the ground. The Empress Dowager looked at him for a while, and only saw the young man in front of him was upright, with a pretty face, and a decent look. Although he looked a little wild, he washaved properly without any rudeness, nor was he as trembling as others who had entered the palace for the first time. The Empress Dowager looked at him for a while and nodded secretly, but he really looked like a child of his own...

The empress dowager watched Lin Nan and asked, "Are you the nephew of Concubine Lin?"

Lin Nan pursed his lips and replied, "Yes."

"Saying this way, I'm not an outsider." The empress dowager's face relaxed a lot. "Do you have any ideas when you let you enter the palace to be Mingde's companion?" When the empress dowager asked, the Concubine Wu next to her couldn't help but look surprised, but she didn't say anything, just looking at how Lin Nan answered. It was said that choosing the children of officials from aristocratic families to enter the palace to study was mostly just a matter of one sentence, and she never asked how she thought. Now the empress dowager suddenly asked this question, how did she think?

Lin Nan replied respectfully, "If you reply to the Queen Mother, Lin Nan will do his best..."

This is a routine answer. The Empress Dowager seemed to have expected Lin Nan to speak like this. In fact, the children of officials who entered the palace had dedicated people to teach etiquette and deeds before entering the palace, and the Empress Dowager was used to it. But just now she nodded and before she could lift her head, she suddenly heard the young man in front of her change: "It's just... I'm afraid that Lin Nan's qualifications are dull and let His Highness down. If the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Concubine are not satisfied, I hope the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager will forgive him..."

"Well..." The Empress Dowager frowned at first when she heard this. After a moment of being stunned, she looked at Lin Nan with some fun. She looked at Concubine Wu and smiled unconsciously. "The qualifications are dull... Haha, I heard that you passed the scholar when you were in the exam last time?"

Lin Nan nodded: "Yes."

"Well, I passed the scholarship at a young age. This is not something that a person with dull qualifications can do." The Empress Dowager looked at Mingde and continued: "Since you have stepped up the threshold, you have to cherish it. When you are smart when you are young, you may not be able to become a talent in the future. Although you are talented, you cannot become a reliance. You must always examine yourself, be diligent and studious, not ashamed to ask questions, and persevere to achieve something."

"Yes, thank you for your teachings."

"Well, hehe!" The Queen Mother smiled when she heard this, pointed to the little whisper not far away, and said, "Okay, stop standing, go and sit down!" Lin Nan bent over and thanked the Queen Mother, then walked up and sat down.

"Speaking of this, you and Mingde have some fate." The Empress Dowager looked at Lin Nan and said, "When I was young a few years ago, I had a friendship in times of hardship. Now I have grown up, but I met in the capital again. Haha, it's really amazing. Well... I heard from the Ai family that when you first arrived in the capital for the first time, you didn't know your life experience and were alone. I really don't know how you came here. Thinking about it, it's really pitiful..." The Empress Dowager sighed a few times and suddenly asked, "How did you live in those years when you were young?"

As soon as the empress dowager finished speaking, Lin Nan's body stiffened. Although his face was still respectful, his lips had already pursed and his brows frowned little by little... Rarely, there was no answer.

The Empress Dowager felt a little strange, and at the same time she was a little unhappy. She was about to ask a question, but suddenly she saw the face of Emperor Sun Mingde from the corner of her eyes. She was shocked! Because Mingde's face at this time, a hint of gloom appeared on her face, and that look was similar to the situation when she had just returned to the palace after a major change a few years ago and had a nightmare! At this time, Concubine Wu also noticed Mingde's unusualness and hurriedly looked at the Empress Dowager. The two looked at each other. The Empress Dowager suddenly felt a little regretful. She had been cautious over the years and never dared to mention that thing in the past in front of Mingde. Who knew that in order to explore the details of the boy in front of her, she forgot Mingde's fault...

"Ah, hehe, the Ai family was also curious for a moment. It would be better if they didn't mention the past." The empress dowager said, and hurriedly picked up a piece of Xizi cake and handed it to Mingde, and then handed it to Lin Nan: "Come on, eat one!"

Lin Nan took it respectfully, but Mingde did not move. The Empress Dowager was panicked and patted Mingde's shoulder gently, then hugged him in his arms. After seeing again, thin beads of sweat had already oozed from Mingde's forehead. The Empress Dowager hurriedly comforted her softly: "Good grandson, what's wrong? Don't scare the emperor's grandmother!" Concubine Wu was also a little anxious, but she didn't dare to come forward immediately, just knelt down and watched, feeling panic. After a while, Mingde finally recovered, looked around, and slowly exhaled. The Empress Dowager wanted to hug him tightly, but he slowly broke free. She tightened her clothes tightly and sat alone with her head down. Although the room was the closest people he was in, Mingde's appearance made people feel extremely lonely.

Seeing that he had just become a good person, because of a wrong sentence, he suddenly became like this. The Empress Dowager regretted it too much, and her heart seemed to be stabbed by a needle. Concubine Wu's eyes turned red next to her, and she held back her tears and did not shed.

Just when the Empress Dowager and Concubine Wu were helpless, Lin Nan suddenly stood up from the seat, walked slowly to Mingde, holding the piece of Xizi cake in his hand, gently touched Mingde's arm, and handed it over quietly. Mingde turned his head slightly and looked at Xizi cake, but did not reach for it, but did not turn his head to the side. After a while, Lin Nan reached out to touch him again. Mingde slowly looked up at Lin Nan's face. Finally, there was a hint of spirit in his eyes. He reached out to take the piece of cake, but did not eat it, but slowly put it in his arms...

Seeing the scene in front of them, the Empress Dowager and Concubine Wu were stunned! But when they saw Mingde's actions of Xizicao, they could no longer help but feel sad. Tears suddenly flowed down and hurriedly took out a veil to cover it. The room became quiet for a moment, and there was no other sound except for the occasional heavy breathing sound from Mingde.

Just as everyone in the room was suppressing, a loud voice suddenly came from outside: "Why is it so quiet? Is the mother resting?"
Chapter completed!