What does "less" mean in this sentence?

The queen mother has little color. "Less" in this sentence means: a little.

Source: The "dragon-touching theory" mentioned in the preceding paragraph is new to Empress Zhao, and Qin attacked it urgently. Zhao asked Qi for help, and Qi said, "Chang 'an must be taken as the quality, and soldiers will come out." The queen mother refused, and the minister protested strongly. The queen mother clearly said to the left and right: "If there is a reply from Chang as a hostage, the old woman will definitely spit on it. "A little understand the color of the queen mother.

Vernacular explanation: As soon as Empress Zhao came to power, Qin stepped up its attack on Zhao. Zhao turned to Qi for help. Qi said: "We must use Chang as a hostage before sending troops." Empress Zhao disagreed. Ministers tried their best to persuade. The queen mother clearly said to the left and right courtiers, "If anyone mentions taking Chang 'an hostage again, my old woman will definitely spit in his face." The queen mother's expression softened a little.

Extended data writing background:

In 265 BC, Zhao Huiwen died and his son Zhao Chengxiao succeeded to the throne. He was very young and was regent by Empress Zhao. Empress Zhao is Zhao, the wife and mother of Emperor Huiwen. At that time, Qin took advantage of the alternation of Zhao regime to attack Zhao on a large scale and occupy three cities of Zhao. Zhao was in critical condition and asked Qi for help.

Before Qi sends troops, Zhao's youngest son must always be taken hostage. Zhao loved and refused, which led to the deepening of the national disaster. In this grim situation, Touch Dragon persuaded Zhao, let her son take the lead, and lifted Zhao's crisis.

Appreciation of articles:

At the beginning of the article "Touching the Dragon and Talking about the Queen Zhao", an extremely tense situation is described: Zhao Jun died recently, and Qin Jun asked Zhao Zhao to ask for help. Empress Zhao, who wanted to make her son a hostage and distressed, refused to let her son take risks, sternly rejected the strong protests of ministers, and claimed that "if there is a reply to make her a hostage, the old lady will spit on her!" .

It is obviously much more difficult to talk about touching dragons in such a tense situation. He knows that if he wants to convince Empress Zhao, he must make her understand the truth that "the beloved son of parents has far-reaching influence". However, if you reason from the front, it is not only useless, but will bring shame to yourself. Therefore, we must follow the queen mother's doting psychology and make suggestions.

After winning the opportunity to meet the Empress Dowager, Mo Long first asked the Empress Dowager's daily life and diet with concern, and talked with her about the way of keeping in good health, which made the original "arrogant and wary" "Empress Dowager's color unclear". In this way, the rebellion and hostility of the queen mother were eliminated emotionally, and the first barrier was cleared for the success of remonstrance.

Then, Touchong seduced her youngest son, Shu Qi, earnestly for help, in order to make the queen mother sing, thus drawing her mind. Sure enough, it soon aroused the love of the Queen Mother's beloved son. In her view, touching the dragon can be regarded as a "bosom friend" in the same boat.

She not only "laughed", but also had an interesting argument with Mo Long about who loved her youngest son more, and began to show her feelings about Mo Long unabashedly. This laid the foundation for the next talk about how to love your son.