Chapter 446

"This one will do. Have the head nanny give her a proper training, then send her to His Majesty tomorrow." Zhu Zhuying sat lazily on the high seat of the inner palace's side hall, scanning the empresses and concubines offered by the southern kingdoms.

Serving the current Emperor of the Tian Ce Dynasty, of course, was not an opportunity just any mangled melon or cracked date could have.

After all, due to regional differences, aesthetic standards were not uniform across various nations; some countries considered plumpness beautiful, and the princesses and empresses they sent looked like heads growing out of wooden stakes, while others considered darkness beautiful, and their empresses and princesses looked like lumps of coal.

As the only consort who had accompanied Li Chen, Zhu Zhuying was naturally duty-bound to take charge of the screening process.

At this moment, a palace maid hurried to Zhu Zhuying's side and whispered a few words.

After listening, the laziness on Zhu Zhuying's face was swept away, replaced by a look of confusion and disbelief; however, her pretty face was soon filled with a mischievous grin. She waved her hand at the maid and said, "What are you waiting for? Bring her in at once!"

Before long, the palace maid led the Empress Dowager, who was holding prayer beads, slowly into the hall.

The Empress Dowager looked at her former daughter-in-law sitting high on the throne, and a rare flash of indescribable complexity crossed her cold eyes. Her thoughts could not help but return to the years when she had held Zhu Zhuying's hand and praised her, back when Zhu Zhuying was flattered and overwhelmed.

At that time, she was still the Empress Dowager, and Zhu Zhuying was merely the daughter of a minister; the gap in their status was still vast.

But now, the other woman had climbed up to the Tian Ce Emperor, and her status far exceeded her own.

Sighing slightly in her heart, the Empress Dowager bowed to Zhu Zhuying and said, "This concubine pays her respects to the Imperial Consort."

The past was gone; now Zhu Zhuying was an existence she could only look up to. Having come here for the sake of the Star Fall Empire's national destiny, she naturally dared not overstep in the slightest.

"Hmm?" Zhu Zhuying, lying lazily on the chair, heard the voice and immediately stood up, pretending to look for the owner of the voice in the hall. Finally, she fixed her gaze on the Empress Dowager, stood up from the chair with a face full of joy, took two steps in one, grabbed the Empress Dowager's hand, and said with a smile, "Auntie, you've come too? We haven't seen each other for many years. You've become even more beautiful; I almost didn't recognize you! Oh my, Auntie, do you still love Buddhist affairs so much?"

Chatting about daily life, Zhu Zhuying pulled the Empress Dowager toward the phoenix chair in the side hall.

"Come, come, come, Auntie, sit with me!" Zhu Zhuying reached out and pressed down on the Empress Dowager's shoulders, wanting to force her onto the phoenix chair.

This chair, and even this scene and these trivial conversations, were all incomparably familiar to the Empress Dowager.

When she had met Zhu Zhuying in the past, it was exactly the same as this moment, only the person being led by the hand toward that chair back then was not her, but Zhu Zhuying!

How could the Empress Dowager dare to sit at this moment? She had not forgotten the real business for which she had come!

"Imperial Consort, this concubine is doing well, thank you for your concern," the Empress Dowager said with a long smile, her beautiful eyes full of complexity, lamenting how things had changed.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhuying's face fell in an instant.

This made the Empress Dowager's heart skip a beat; she was so scared she didn't dare to breathe, and asked cautiously, "Is there something improper about this concubine that has displeased the Imperial Consort?"

"Auntie, when we used to play outside together, everyone said we were sisters. You always talk like this; isn't it a bit distant?" Zhu Zhuying gave the Empress Dowager a reproachful look.

The Empress Dowager was so beautiful, with a tall and firm figure, and possessed a temperament that kept people at a distance; Li Chen would definitely like her. Therefore, Zhu Zhuying felt that she still had to maintain a good relationship; after all, the Empress Dowager had taken care of her in the past.

In the past, whatever she needed, the Empress Dowager would provide, which was why she had agreed to be Dai Xiaoyao's fiancée.

It was just that Dai Xiaoyao had fallen ill himself and kept it hidden, which made her angry.

"This..." The Empress Dowager was at a loss for words. It was one thing to share a husband with her former daughter-in-law, but she didn't know how to address Zhu Zhuying at this moment.

Logically speaking, she was Zhu Zhuying's elder, but in this place, she estimated she would have to call Zhu Zhuying 'sister'. However, she felt a bit embarrassed to say the word 'sister'.

Zhu Zhuying clearly noticed the Empress Dowager's hesitation and said earnestly, "Auntie, if you want to go in and serve His Majesty, you cannot have any sense of shame. You must follow the rules. No matter who you face or what you do, you must remember your status!"

"Then... sister, please teach me some rules!" The Empress Dowager did not hesitate this time, though she spoke stutteringly.

Once the Empress Dowager spoke like this, it proved that she had understood Zhu Zhuying's words, meaning she had already been initially trained.

Zhu Zhuying got the answer she wanted and knew that when the Empress Dowager served Li Chen later, she would definitely be obedient, saving trouble.

Then she smiled and patted the Empress Dowager's hand, saying, "That's right. From now on, we'll address each other separately; you call me sister, and I'll call you Auntie!"

"Yes." The Empress Dowager quickly calmed her mood. Just as Zhu Zhuying had said, those below were all empresses and empress dowagers; her Star Fall Empire could only be considered average among them, and just as Zhu Zhuying said, she was really the one taking advantage.

"That's right. For this 'sister', I will personally teach you today how to serve His Majesty." Zhu Zhuying smiled and patted the Empress Dowager's hand, then leaned into the Empress Dowager's ear and began to whisper.

These were all Zhu Zhuying's insights, such as how Li Chen liked women to be proactive, what clothes to wear, and how to behave to make Li Chen more excited; she told the Empress Dowager everything.

This made the Empress Dowager, who had experienced human affairs but had not been fully developed, feel her cheeks burning; for a moment, she didn't even know how to respond.

Weren't those things just a matter of a few breaths? Did it need to be so complicated? Could it be because Li Chen was the Emperor of the Tian Ce Dynasty, so he was special? Thinking this way, the Empress Dowager still nodded one by one, taking it all down earnestly.

Under Zhu Zhuying's arrangement, the time for the Empress Dowager to serve soon arrived. That night, the Empress Dowager, who had originally been indifferent to the affairs between men and women, seemed to have opened the door to a new world. While feeling very guilty for not being able to accompany the ancient Buddha, she began to crave the affairs between men and women.

Zhu Zhuying watched as her Auntie, the Empress Dowager, sank deeper and deeper, seemingly unable to stop herself when it came to Li Chen, and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

She thought to herself: Dai Xiaoyao, you went behind my back to get women? Now I'll let you know the feeling of losing all the women around you!

But as the number of times increased, the Empress Dowager had already had the door to a new world opened for her.

Just as Zhu Zhuying had guessed, Li Chen really liked this kind of mature and full-bodied woman, and with a little bit of shyness, he was simply obsessed and rarely came down from her.

This made other women envious and jealous, while other kings envied Dai Xiaoyao for having such a mother.

Eternal Day Empire.

"Bastards! Thirty thousand imperial guards, even if you turned the imperial city upside down, it wouldn't take five days. You actually haven't found a single hair of my brother? Is my Eternal Day Empire feeding you for nothing?" Charles Shi Dan smashed the jade cup in his hand fiercely in front of a general.

The general had his cheek cut by the scattered shards, leaving traces of blood, but he could only bury his head lower.

Returning to the Eternal Day Empire, Charles Shi Dan immediately mobilized the imperial guards to issue a wanted notice for the brother who had conspired with the Cardinal to murder him, but many days had passed and there was still no gain.

"Your Majesty, now is not the time to be angry. The Pope will be conducting a trial on you in a few days. The materials we have prepared are not complete, and I fear it will be difficult to clear your name." A minister standing behind Charles Shi Dan lowered his voice and reminded him cautiously.

(End of chapter)