101: Madam: You three have already told me the dates... oh, you've already said them?

Waking up early, Luo Yongan was tidying up Mo Yingqi's clothes while smiling and comforting him, as he looked very nervous: "The Grand Empress Dowager is the kindest person. Although we have no blood relation to her, she cherishes me and Yongning as if we were her own granddaughters. When Yongning and I returned from the Northern Territory, it was the Grand Empress Dowager who took us to attend several royal banquets."

"Yingqi, you were just as nervous when you first met Father Emperor and Mother Empress, weren't you?" Luo Yongning hugged his waist from behind. "Don't worry, don't worry. The Grand Empress Dowager once said that family background doesn't matter; who in this world could be more noble than the daughters of the royal family? Besides, the Grand Empress Dowager is usually a loving grandmother. Our Yingqi is so wonderful, the Grand Empress Dowager will surely like you."

In truth, Mo Yingqi was nervous partly because a son-in-law was meeting his wife's elder, and partly because... after all, this elder was the most noble woman in the entire Daxing Dynasty's inner palace, the legal mother of the current Emperor.

She was no ordinary woman; her maternal family was of Duke status, and she was the only daughter of the Duke's household. Her status was noble, and she had a very deep relationship with the late Emperor.

When she was Empress, the Grand Empress Dowager tried her best to balance the inner palace. However, as the princes grew older and the late Emperor delayed naming a Crown Prince, these princes became restless. She could only constantly appease them, and even suppress the biological mothers of some princes when necessary.

But the attraction of that dragon throne was simply too strong. The Grand Empress Dowager had already done her utmost in her position, yet she still could not withstand the desire and ambition brought by the imperial throne.

"Don't think too much. The Grand Empress Dowager is also pitiful; her own biological son unfortunately passed away early, and she injured her body and could no longer conceive." When Luo Yongan said this, she could not help but feel sorrowful. "All along, the Grand Empress Dowager has treated the children of the Imperial Grandfather as her own. When Father Emperor quelled the rebellion, although he deeply hated those imperial uncles, he still considered their fraternal bond and never had the heart to truly exterminate them all..."

"It was the Grand Empress Dowager who finally personally persuaded Father Emperor, saying that wild grass cannot be destroyed by fire, but grows again with the spring breeze; if he were soft-hearted now, others might imitate them in the future, and the world would fall into chaos."

"Making this decision was very painful for the Grand Empress Dowager. But there was no other way; serious illnesses require strong medicine. My Father Emperor also knew that he could not be soft-hearted at this time, so he immediately executed those imperial uncles. Later, he arranged for your Pacification Bureau to clear out the Rebel Prince's faction, and even exterminated their relatives. These were things that could not be helped."

Mo Yingqi did not care about these things. To say something disrespectful, if he were The Emperor, he probably would have given the order without waiting for the Grand Empress Dowager to speak.

Before that dragon throne, what blood brothers, what fraternal bonds, were all just jokes. After Duke Huan of Qi died, his body was left unburied for 67 days while his five sons fought each other for power, letting their father's corpse rot and stink without anyone caring. Living examples were right before his eyes; in the face of ruling the world, everything else was hollow.

Reputation is certainly important, but in the face of real, tangible threats, reputation must be set aside. Just as Luo Yongan said, serious illnesses require strong medicine; some things cannot serve as a deterrent without seeing blood and killing people.

"Alright, let's go pay our respects to the Grand Empress Dowager. The Grand Empress Dowager was chanting scriptures and praying for blessings. We were supposed to go to the nunnery where she was staying, but the Grand Empress Dowager said she couldn't let her grandson-in-law be wronged, so she specially moved to the Temporary Palace in the northern suburbs." Luo Yongning let go of Mo Yingqi, then pulled him out with a beaming smile. "I heard the Grand Empress Dowager is in a good mood recently, and the banquet prepared for today even includes meat dishes. I told you, Yingqi marrying us is a good thing, don't you agree?"

Indeed, how could it not be? The two greatest scourges of the royal family had finally been married off to torment someone else...

Ying Hong, on the side, couldn't help but complain internally. The Grand Empress Dowager was not Nangong Wumeng; although she loved the younger generation, she also had endless headaches when facing these two crazy princesses.

Although the Grand Empress Dowager had said things like, "Who in this world could be more noble than the daughters of the royal family?", but why was that? Because there was no other choice!

These two crazy princesses had a clear and consistent goal: they wanted Mo Yingqi, they wanted two women to marry one husband. What else could the Grand Empress Dowager say? Oppose them? Tsk tsk tsk, right now they were affectionate, obedient granddaughters, but if the old lady dared to say "no," she would really have to sleep with her eyes open every day. If these two girls really went crazy, they would truly recognize no family ties!

Of course, this was all just a joke. The Grand Empress Dowager was not that kind of pedantic person, and no matter how crazy Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning were, they would never truly harm the Grand Empress Dowager who loved them.

Anyway, they liked him, and with Mo Yingqi, they got their wish. It was a happy thing for everyone, so why not agree?

"By the way, Yingqi, there is one more thing I need to tell you." Luo Yongan thought for a moment before speaking softly. "Zhang Jiawen has already been sent to a horse farm in the Northern Territory to serve his sentence; I fear he will die there. But his state, I'm afraid..."

That Dancer was truly ruthless, snuffing out the last bit of hope Zhang Jiawen had. Who could have thought this move had been planned for so long, and who could have thought that the Dancer even bore his child just to take revenge on him in the end?

"It's fine, don't worry about him anymore." Mo Yingqi shook his head. "Now that it's all over, I have done right by my mother and my maternal grandfather..."

Of course, when Mo Yingqi said this, he still felt a bit guilty, as his ability to take revenge was entirely dependent on Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning.

"Alright Yingqi, let's go?"

"Yingqi, Yingqi, don't keep the Grand Empress Dowager waiting too long!"

Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning faced the light and simultaneously reached out their hands to Mo Yingqi with smiles. Looking at them, Mo Yingqi suddenly felt that nothing else seemed to matter anymore.

"Alright, I understand."

The Temporary Palace in the northern suburbs was relatively secluded and quiet, simply because the Grand Empress Dowager came to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region every year to chant scriptures and pray for blessings, so the late Emperor personally ordered the construction of this Temporary Palace exclusively for the Grand Empress Dowager to reside in.

Although it was not very luxurious, it was exquisite and elegant, and it was the quietest place imaginable.

"Is this my grandson-in-law?"

Unlike what Mo Yingqi had imagined, although the Grand Empress Dowager had a full head of white hair, she still looked full of spirit. Her clothes were extremely simple, and beside her was an old maidservant with a similarly kind face serving her.

"Child, no need to bow, come here and let Grandma take a look." The Grand Empress Dowager said with a smile. "Bai Yu, look at this child, he truly has a handsome appearance."

"The husband chosen by The Two Highnesses is naturally a dragon among men." The old maidservant beside her smiled. "Imperial Son-in-law, please do not be constrained. The Grand Empress Dowager loves the younger generation the most and is extremely doting on The Two Highnesses, so you really do not need to be nervous."

Luo Yongan on the side gently pushed Mo Yingqi and said in a gentle voice: "Go on, Yingqi, let the Grand Empress Dowager get a good look at you."

Hearing this, Mo Yingqi did not act coy anymore; he walked over and stood respectfully before the Grand Empress Dowager.

"Good, good, good, what a good child." The Grand Empress Dowager was smiling so wide she couldn't close her mouth. "Bai Yu, take ten thousand taels of gold from my private funds, and pick some antiques, calligraphy, and paintings to bestow upon the Imperial Son-in-law when we return to the capital. Oh, that's right, grant the Imperial Son-in-law a token of the Cining Palace. In the future, when the Imperial Son-in-law enters the palace to pay respects or goes out on official business, it will count as me backing our Imperial Son-in-law."

"Grand Empress Dowager, Your Humble Servant is overwhelmed..."

"Aiya, in the future, let's not worry about these empty rituals in private." The Grand Empress Dowager smiled and reached out to stop Mo Yingqi from bowing. "You three, as long as you live your lives well, that is better than anything..."

"Cough, cough, cough, Grand Empress Dowager, The Emperor has already said that."

Bai Yu on the side couldn't help but whisper a reminder. The Grand Empress Dowager was stunned for a moment, then even muttered with some complaint: "Oh, he said it already... That child Nantian, can he not say a little less, so I could have said it?"