CHAPTER 346: CHAPTER 340: I AM THE MARQUIS MANSION DOWAGER 29

Mrs. Song was indeed serious about pondering the words Anning had said.

Seeing Mrs. Song enthralled, Anning also let out a huge sigh of relief.

As long as Mrs. Song did not consider matchmaking Xu Wan, Anning would be at ease.

Though Anning thought that her child Tang Rong was also quite good, parents invariably dote more on their own children.

However, Anning wasn’t without self-awareness. She knew that Tang Rong was no match for Xu Wan.

Whether in terms of family background or character, Tang Rong and Xu Wan were not compatible.

There was also the most important point: Anning did not want Xu Wan to suffer.

Before Tang Xu was married, she did not have a good relationship with Ms. Zhang, the sisters-in-law were always squabbling.

Moreover, Tang Xu’s premature death was also manipulated by Ms. Zhang. Ms. Zhang could be said to be Xu Wan’s murderer of a mother, so how could Anning willingly marry such a good girl to the son of her mother’s killer? And after the marriage, who knows how Ms. Zhang would scheme against her.

They were all her children, after all, so she had to consider their well-being and ensure they all lived well.

Leaving Mrs. Song, Anning felt she truly had endless worries.

While Anning was concerned with the wellbeing of Tang Family’s grandchildren, the Supreme Emperor had begun to impatiently urge the Imperial Household Department to rush the production of the phoenix robe, keen to marry his bride soon.

But the phoenix robe and phoenix crown were really too intricate and couldn’t be rushed; even if the Imperial Household Department hastened to bring together the best embroidery women and craftsmen, it would still take some time before the phoenix robe could be made.

The Supreme Emperor was waiting with such impatience that his eyes were turning red and his temper increasingly explosive, often storming over to Qianqing Palace to vent his anger at Emperor Yong Guang.

What could Emperor Yong Guang do? After being scolded, he could only swallow his pride, reminding himself that it was his own father, his own flesh and blood, and he just had to endure.

When he could no longer stand the scolding, he thought of finding a few fresh and pretty young girls for the Supreme Emperor, to give his father something to do.

However, before he could find the girls, the Supreme Emperor gave him another dressing down.

It turned out that the Supreme Empress couldn’t bear to see her son being scolded every day and was not feeling good about it either.

To make Emperor Yong Guang’s life a bit more peaceful, she sought out Dowager Fu Gui and asked her to distract the Supreme Emperor a little.

Dowager Fu Gui was the granddaughter of the Supreme Emperor’s wet nurse, and before he abdicated, she was the woman he favored the most. Although she was now of an older age, the Supreme Emperor had genuinely treated her well, and in the entire Imperial Palace, she was the Imperial Concubine who was the most favored and best understood the Supreme Emperor’s temperament.

Dowager Fu Gui readily accepted the Supreme Empress’s request.

Then, after dressing up splendidly, she went to visit the Supreme Emperor. She originally intended to rekindle the old flame with the Supreme Emperor, followed by a natural progression to deep conversation, and then coax the Supreme Emperor to visit the garden outside the palace for a few days, which would cheer him up and presumably make Emperor Yong Guang grateful to her.

Dowager Fu Gui had carefully planned everything, but reality was not as lovely as she imagined.

Wearing what she considered her most splendid dress and makeup, she entered Ning’an Palace with a smile that the Supreme Emperor used to adore, neither hurrying nor delaying.

Right, this Ning’an Palace was recently renamed; it used to be called Shou’an Palace.

Is it because the Supreme Emperor became fond of Anning that he simply changed Shou’an Palace to Ning’an Palace.

"Your Majesty."

Dowager Fu Gui slowly performed a courtesy, and upon rising, she unveiled a brilliant smile: "Your concubine has just tried making some dishes and has especially brought them for Your Majesty to taste."

The Supreme Emperor was occupied listening to a young eunuch tell tales of the common market.

Currently with nothing to do, he spent his days listening to operas or stories from the young eunuchs. He was enjoying the stories when the voice of Dowager Fu Gui suddenly echoed.

He looked up and was quite startled.

"You, you, keep your distance from Us."

The former Emperor pointed at Dowager Fu Gui, looking as if he had just seen a ghost.

Dowager Fu Gui was stunned for a moment, her expression turning somewhat sorrowful. She used to make such a face, and the former Emperor might have felt pity for her, but now he only felt it was an eyesore.

Such a woman over thirty years old, still trying to act young in front of him, was indeed an eyesore.

"Your Majesty, what’s wrong with your concubine?"

Dowager Fu Gui took a few steps forward, wanting to act coy with the former Emperor.

The former Emperor hurriedly dodged: "Stay further away from Us."

His words carried a hint of sternness, frightening Dowager Fu Gui into immediately behaving much more appropriately.

The former Emperor looked Dowager Fu Gui up and down: "What’s wrong with you, looking as ugly as a ghost."

Wuu...

Dowager Fu Gui was nearly in tears.

The former Emperor continued nitpicking: "Look how thickly you’ve drawn your eyebrows, like caterpillars, and those eyes, why are you blinking like that? You’re not having a spasm, and why do you have so much lipstick on your mouth, looking like you’ve drunk blood, and that face of yours, with too much powder. Don’t talk, or you’ll drop powder and dirty Our carpet."

This time, Dowager Fu Gui truly cried.

She covered her face and ran out of Ning’an Palace.

The former Emperor was still muttering to himself: "How could We have let such an ugly woman into the Imperial Palace in the first place."

The news of Dowager Fu Gui being mocked by the former Emperor spread quickly throughout the palace.

Who knows how many Imperial Concubines and concubines were overjoyed.

Dowager Fu Gui had been favored for over a decade and always looked down on others, being quite arrogant. Who knows how many Imperial Concubines and concubines she had offended.

Now that she seemed to be falling out of favor, there were naturally many ready to kick her while she was down. Suddenly, Dowager Fu Gui found herself in a precarious position within the palace.

And the former Empress was rather happy about it too.

Before Emperor Yong Guang ascended to the throne, the former Empress was just another concubine, and she had also been bullied by Dowager Fu Gui. Now, seeing Dowager Fu Gui’s misfortune, she naturally found it amusing.

However, the former Emperor later heard that Dowager Fu Gui seeking him out was due to a trouble caused by the former Empress, and he went to Shoukang Palace to scold the former Empress.

Of course, he also venomously mocked the former Empress’s appearance.

After scolding the former Empress, the former Emperor found Emperor Yong Guang and instructed him to reorganize the harem. He told Emperor Yong Guang to focus more on state affairs in the future, instead of constantly thinking about beauties and those messy affairs between men and women.

Emperor Yong Guang: ...

Who was it that had so many beauties in his harem?

He only had a few ’little kittens’ in his palace, but how many Imperial Concubines were there in the former Emperor’s harem, didn’t he have a clue in his heart?

For some reason, ever since he mocked Dowager Fu Gui, the former Emperor had switched on his mode of caustic humor. No matter where he was, as long as he encountered any Imperial Concubines or beauties, he would throw a few insults their way, particularly attacking their appearance, leaving them with no place to hide their shame.

As a result, countless teacups and teapots were shattered daily in the harem.

The Fu Family naturally heard about Dowager Fu Gui being taunted.

They were quite anxious and agitated about it.

Because of this, Old Madam Fu personally took the initiative to visit Anning at Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion.