Later in the evening, Yingyue returned from outside the palace.

They had lived outside the palace for some time, so there were a lot of things that needed to be sorted out, most of which belonged to the two children. Those strange and quirky folk toys were very much loved by the two children, and they were not allowed to throw this or that away. Yingyue had no choice but to pack them all up and bring them back, and this has delayed them until now.

After returning to Lanyin Palace, Yingyue directed the servants to put things back in their places, and the whole yard was busy.

Qiuyue stepped forward and smiled at her: "Since you are back, I will go back to serve the Queen Mother."

When Yingyue saw her, the expression on her face faded a little. She did not forget that Qiuyue had some inappropriate thoughts in the past and had secretly done things against Lin Jiuqing several times.

But she didn't expect that before she came back, she would be asked to take care of Lanyin Palace, and the Queen Mother agreed.

"Thank you very much." Yingyue said lightly.

"No need. Serving the master is a servant's duty." Qiuyue was silent for a moment before she turned to Yingyue, "You don't have to be so rude to me. I've figured it all out and won't have those inappropriate thoughts anymore."

Yingyue laughed mockingly, "You've figured it out, haven't you? You saw the fate of the concubines in the harem, and you knew in your heart that those ideas were hopeless, so you gave up."

Qiuyue: "...Whatever you think, I won't do anything stupid again."

Qiuyue said, then turned and left.

"Wait," Lin Jiuqing walked out of the house, "I'll go with you to see the Queen Mother."

Qiuyue and Yingyue looked at each other, both looking a little hesitant.

Yingyue stepped forward and said softly, "The Queen just came back, why don't we go later?"

"Or, wait until His Majesty is done with his work, and then we'll go together to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager."

They were afraid that the empress dowager would be angry with Lin Jiuqing because of the dismissal of the harem.

Lin Jiuqing knew their concerns and smiled: "It is my duty to pay my respects to the Queen Mother. There is no need to wait for Your Majesty to come with me."

Yingyue: "But..."

"We'll have to face it sooner or later," Lin Jiuqing patted Yingyue's shoulder and said softly, "It's okay. Her Majesty has already done so much. There's no reason for me to hide behind her and do nothing."

Yingyue couldn't persuade her, and was even more worried about her going alone, so she threw all the matters to the people below and followed Lin Jiuqing to the Queen Mother.

Arriving at the Empress Dowager's bedroom, the old nanny's expression changed when she saw Lin Jiuqing, and then she lowered her eyebrows and said, "Greetings, Her Majesty the Queen."

Lin Jiuqing reached out and helped the old nanny up: "No need to be so polite, nanny."

He took a look inside and asked, "Is the Queen Mother here?"

The old nanny hesitated for a moment and said softly, "Your Majesty, please wait a moment."

Qiuyue glanced at her and followed the old nanny in.

After a while, Qiuyue came out and said softly, "The Empress Dowager is taking a nap. Why don't you go back first?"

In fact, the empress dowager was just squinting her eyes to rest. When she heard that Lin Jiuqing was coming, she asked her to go back without opening her eyes and refused to see her.

Lin Jiuqing also guessed it, and then walked to the corridor and knelt down properly: "It's okay, I'll wait here for mother."

Qiuyue was stunned, then became a little anxious and wanted to help Lin Jiuqing up, but Lin Jiuqing shook his head at her.

Yingyue pursed her lips and turned to leave, but was stopped by Lin Jiuqing: "No one is allowed to go to Yinghua Palace."

Yingyue: "..."

She had no choice but to kneel down with Lin Jiuqing.