Chapter 173 Requesting an Imperial Decree for Mother

Uncle Nanping: "A few days ago, on the anniversary of your father-in-law's and husband's passing, your mother knew that you were going to Taijue Temple to pay your respects, so she couldn't sit still at home and insisted on going to accompany you. I couldn't stop her."

Yu Qingci: "Of course, Mother loves me, but Mother always has Father in her heart. She didn't just stay with me at the temple. Mother specially asked the Bodhisattva for a peace charm for Father and made a wish to bless Father with good health and peace. Let me see if Father is wearing the peace charm?"

When Uncle Nanping saw his daughter leaning over as if she wanted to check, he pretended to be helpless and pulled open his collar to pull out the peace charm from his neck to show her.

"Of course I brought it with me. When has I ever failed to cherish the things your mother gave me?"

Yu Qingci smiled when she saw that her father was indeed carrying the things her mother had given him: "This is a token of my mother's love. Father, you must take good care of it. Now that my mother lives alone outside, my brother and I are not by her side, so I am very worried about her. Father, you must visit her more often when you have time."

Earl of Nanping: "Of course, don't worry. Although I can only visit your mother every now and then, I have left quite a few guards at the Su residence. The Liuli Lane area is a place where many official residences are located, so safety is guaranteed."

Yu Qingci: "That's true, but Mother still hopes to see Father every day."

As Yu Qingci spoke, she paid attention to her father's expression. Seeing that he seemed to be deep in thought, she continued:

"Now that the mourning period for maternal grandparents has ended, Father, do you have any plans for when to bring Mother back to the mansion?"

When his daughter mentioned this, the Earl of Nanping frowned and said:

"Do you think I don't want your mother to return to the manor soon? I've brought this up with her a few times, but she always interrupts me as soon as I get started. I think your mother is just having too much fun staying outside these days and doesn't want to go back to the manor."

Yu Qingci: "It's no wonder my mother is unwilling. Anyone would be unhappy knowing that the mother-in-law doesn't like them and that there's a concubine who's been in charge of the household for years."

Father is often away on official business, so when Mother returns home, she's mostly dealing with Grandmother and that other woman, not to mention all the things that happened before—

It's only natural that my mother would feel uneasy and dare not go back.

The Earl of Nanping was well aware of what his daughter was saying, and he sighed, saying:

“But she is still my wife, and she will have to go back to the manor sooner or later. As long as your mother is willing to go back to the manor, I promise that I will never let her suffer any grievances in the future.”

Yu Qingci: "Actually, it's not difficult to get Mother to return to the mansion; it all depends on Father's sincerity."

Seeing the hidden meaning in his daughter's words, Uncle Nanping simply looked over directly.

Yu Qingci: "If Mother has an imperial title, when she returns to the Earl's Mansion, even if Grandmother wants to make things difficult for her, she will have to be more careful. The servants in the mansion will not dare to neglect her. Mother will have enough confidence and will not be afraid to return to the mansion."

The Earl of Nanping suddenly realized: "You mean, to request an imperial decree for your mother?"

Yu Qingci nodded and said solemnly, "Father is the Earl of Nanping and holds the official position of a second-rank official in the imperial court. According to the law, he can apply for the title of second-rank lady for his wife. Over the years, Mother has been accompanying Father on his long-term posts outside the capital, so this title has been delayed. Now that we have returned to the capital, Mother should naturally be given the title she deserves."

What could be a stronger guarantee than requesting that my mother be granted an imperial title? With the title of imperial title, all the rumors outside that my mother was a mistress would vanish.

Father, do you think what your daughter said makes sense?

The Earl of Nanping slowly said, "There is certainly a reason for this. In fact, I have considered requesting an imperial decree, but..."

Seeing her father stop, Yu Qingci's lips curled into a sarcastic smile as she spoke for him:

"It's just because there's also the Qiao family. Father felt that requesting an official title for Mother alone would damage the Qiao family's reputation, so he simply dropped the matter and didn't request titles from either side?"

The Earl of Nanping twitched the corner of his mouth; that was indeed what he thought.

Yu Qingci: "Father, are you trying to smooth things over? Aren't you afraid of upsetting Mother?"

Uncle Nanping smiled awkwardly; this daughter of his really dared to say anything.

Zhang had actually mentioned the matter of requesting an imperial title to him several times before, but she always urged him to request one for Qiao. It was precisely because he had Chengniang, his wife, in his heart that he kept postponing the matter of requesting the title in front of his mother.

Knowing full well that his mother disliked Cheng Niang, if he were to disregard everything and directly request an official title for Cheng Niang, his own mother would be the first to make a scene!

The main hall fell silent for a moment, then the Earl of Nanping said:

"Father has his own plans for this matter, so you don't need to worry about it."

Having said that, Yu Qingci had no intention of giving her father a chance to continue pretending to be confused. She simply told him everything about meeting Wan Fangfei at Taijue Temple. Upon hearing this, the Earl of Nanping's face darkened even more.

Yu Qingci: "It's not that I'm demanding a promise from you, Father, but I'm really worried about your situation. There are many, many people who are making wild guesses about your identity behind your back. Can you bear to let me continue to be gossiped about?"

The Earl of Nanping's expression gradually became solemn. His fingers unconsciously tapped on his thigh for a moment, and finally, as if making a decision, he said:

"Alright, we'll have to ask for the title sooner or later, so we might as well submit the petition early. Even if your grandmother is unhappy after the title is granted, she won't be able to say anything."

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingci's eyes lit up, and she pressed her advantage, saying:

"Father is wise! Then Father, you must hurry. Let's keep it from Mother for now and give her a big surprise later."

Looking at his daughter's sly eyes, the Earl of Nanping chuckled and said, "Am I so brilliant? You little rascal."

Then, he slapped his thigh and decided to write a memorial requesting the official seal tonight and send it over first thing tomorrow morning.

The Earl of Nanping was sometimes indecisive, but once he made a decision, he was more decisive than anyone else.

Seeing that her father had made a decision, Yu Qingci leaned closer and childishly stretched out her little finger to the Earl of Nanping:

"Father keeps his word, let's pinky swear."

Nanping Bole Haha made a pinky promise with his daughter.

Granny Pei personally carried in a tray, placed the pastries and a pot of tea on the table between the two, and bowed to the Earl of Nanping, saying:

Our young mistress hasn't seen the Earl for many days, and she keeps talking about missing him. That's why this old servant asked someone to send a message to the Earl.

"These pastries were specially prepared for you by the young mistress, and this pot of tea is also your favorite Biluochun. When you return later, I will pack up another portion of these pastries for you to take back to my wife."

Yu Qingci got up and personally filled Nanping Bo's cup with hot tea, placing it in front of him:

"Father, please try this. It's a token of my affection."

Watching the father and daughter enjoying each other's company, Granny Pei casually remarked, seemingly unintentionally:

"Yesterday, this old servant saw the second master of the second branch of the family, who had separated from the family, appear at Tianxiang Restaurant with officials from the Dali Temple. This old servant paid attention to him for a while and asked the waiter. It turned out that the second master had invited people to have drinks in a private room at Tianxiang Restaurant. Judging from his appearance, the second master seemed to be thinking about returning to work at the Dali Temple."