Chapter 290 Finding Fault

Without waiting for the gatekeeper to announce their arrival, Shen Qingci led Wanqing straight to Cixin Courtyard, where Old Madam Huo lived.

As soon as I reached the gate of the courtyard, I saw Old Madam Huo leaning on a cane, walking out of the courtyard in a shaky manner.

Shen Qingci narrowed her eyes, her gaze sharp, and she noticed that Old Madam Huo's current attire was considerably less impressive than her elegant and luxurious appearance a few months ago.

The fabric she wore was no longer the finest silk and satin, and most of the jewels and ornaments on her head were gone, making her look rather haggard.

Old Madam Huo raised her cloudy eyes, glanced at Shen Qingci, and her eyes instantly filled with icy hatred.

She gritted her teeth before slowly walking over, her voice hoarse: "What are you doing here? Did you come to laugh at this old woman?"

Wanqing immediately frowned and stepped forward, sneering, and shouted sharply, "Old Madam Huo, the person before you is the Empress! To not kneel before the Empress and to be so disrespectful, Old Madam Huo, do you know what crime this is? It's punishable by death!"

A flash of hatred crossed Old Madam Huo's eyes, but she was not intimidated. She simply raised her head, her expression indifferent, even somewhat contemptuous: "The Empress? This old woman does know that the incompetent Emperor Yongming has recently passed away, and that Regent Chu Jichen has ascended the throne. But..."

A hint of undisguised mockery flashed in her eyes as she looked Shen Qingci up and down: "This old woman has never heard of the new emperor issuing an edict to appoint an empress."

Old Madam Huo's gaze swept across Shen Qingci's face, and she sneered, her tone extremely sarcastic: "A used woman who has been married before, had a child and had an abortion, just because she has some looks and knows how to seduce people, and she remarried a little better, does she really think she can fly up to a branch and become a phoenix?"

"The Regent is a man. He only married you, someone no one wanted, because he was crippled and couldn't marry a better lady from a prestigious family."

"Now that he's the emperor, and I hear his legs are perfectly fine, he can choose any woman in the world he wants. What kind of young virgin can't he have? Do you think he'd still want a withered flower like you?"

"He didn't issue an edict to appoint an empress, but simply wanted to wait and see if there was another more suitable candidate."

"You never learn from your mistakes! You really think you can be empress? That's just wishful thinking!"

Shen Qingci raised her eyebrows slightly, her expression unchanged. Before she could speak, Wan Qing sneered first, looking at Old Madam Huo with disdain: "Old Madam Huo has probably not left the house for a long time, hasn't she? Her information is so out of touch."

"You only know that Emperor Yongming passed away and the Regent ascended the throne. But you don't know that His Majesty just issued an edict in front of all the civil and military officials this morning, officially appointing our young lady as Empress, right?"

"Furthermore, His Majesty has already decreed that the ceremony for the Empress's investiture and the ceremony for the coronation be prepared together. The day His Majesty ascends the throne will be the day the Empress is officially made Empress, which is the so-called 'Emperor and Empress shining together'! What? Didn't your useless servants report this to you?"

As Wanqing spoke, her eyes flashed with a fierce light, and she moved swiftly behind Old Madam Huo, raising her foot to kick her hard in the back of the knee.

Caught off guard, Madam Huo staggered and fell to her knees with a thud, her knees hitting the hard bluestone slab, causing her to turn pale with pain.

Shen Qingci raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

The imperial edict appointing her as empress was issued this morning.

Even she herself didn't know about this, let alone Old Madam Huo.

Chu Jichen didn't tell her either.

But with Old Madam Huo in front of her, Shen Qingci naturally wouldn't embarrass her own family, nor could she ask questions. She simply looked at Old Madam Huo kneeling on the ground with a half-smile, her eyes full of amusement.

Suddenly kicked, Old Madam Huo fell to her knees, writhing in pain and rage, and couldn't help but cry out, "You little bitch..."

Before he could even utter the word "person," he met Shen Qingci's icy gaze, as if she were looking at a dead man.

Old Madam Huo's heart skipped a beat, and she had to swallow the curse that was on the tip of her tongue. Her brows furrowed, and she wondered to herself, could it be that the news had really fallen behind because the mansion had been keeping its doors and windows closed to avoid trouble and the servants had reduced the frequency of going out?

That madman Chu Jichen, did he really make this slut his empress?

Wanqing looked down at her and sneered, "How dare you speak disrespectfully to the Empress and insult her imperial carriage? You really don't want to live anymore. Why don't you kneel down and apologize to the Empress? If she's in a good mood, she might spare your old life!"

Old Madam Huo gritted her teeth, trembling with anger, and was somewhat exasperated.

Having lived most of her life as the high and mighty old lady of the Marquis's mansion, she never imagined that one day she would kneel before Shen Qingci, the daughter-in-law she had once manipulated at will.

She wanted to say that no matter what Shen Qingci's current status was, she was her daughter-in-law before, and she should still call her "mother" according to the rules. How could a daughter-in-law make her mother-in-law kneel?

She wanted to say that her son, Huo Yunzhan, was killed by Shen Qingci's scheme, and that she had a blood feud with Shen Qingci for killing her son. She would rather die than worship this enemy.

But... the thought that Huo Yunting was now a second-rank general in the court and was highly valued by the new emperor brought back her resentment and scheming.

Huo Yunting's decision to sever ties with her now is undoubtedly just a temporary measure to protect himself and climb the social ladder.

Once he has established himself in the court and the Emperor has completely trusted Huo Yunting, Huo Yunting will surely acknowledge her as his biological mother.

After all, blood is thicker than water, how could a son truly disown his mother?

Then, she can resume her former life of wealth and luxury, even more glamorous than before...

For the sake of the future, she had to endure it now! She couldn't cause trouble for Ting'er at this critical juncture!

Thinking of this, Old Madam Huo took a deep breath, suppressing the humiliation and hatred in her heart, lowered her head, and said in a stiff voice, "This old woman was blind to your greatness, it was my mistake, please forgive me, Your Majesty the Empress."

Old Madam Huo closed her eyes, suppressing the humiliation in her heart, and said in one breath, "I wonder what brings Her Majesty the Empress here today? If it is to show off, you can see now that the Huo family has fallen on hard times, you can leave."

Shen Qingci curled the corners of her lips into a casual smile, but it didn't reach her eyes: "There is indeed something important. I suddenly remembered that when I left the Huo family, I left in a hurry and left some things behind."

“It was a dowry that my parents specially prepared for me when I married into the Huo family.”

She paused, her eyes sharpening slightly: "I'm here to take everything that's mine. Not a single thing can be missing."

Upon hearing this, Old Madam Huo's eyes widened as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world, and her hand pointing at Shen Qingci trembled: "You're talking nonsense..."