Chapter 151 Dressing

Empress Xue frowned.

What is he doing here at this time?

The eunuch bowed and reported, "Young Master Xie is kneeling outside the tent, saying he has come to apologize to Her Majesty the Empress."

"Apologize? What offense did he apologize for?"

Empress Xue was very puzzled. After thinking for a moment, she still ordered the eunuch to let Xie Xuanxiao in.

Firstly, the Duke of Xin's mansion held military power, making it a powerful family that she was eager to win over.

Secondly, her niece Xue Shu and Xie Xuanxiao were in the process of getting married, and it was neither reasonable nor morally right for her to keep Xie Xuanxiao kneeling outside.

Xie Xuanxiao knelt down as soon as he entered.

"Your Majesty, I, Xie Xuanxiao, have come to apologize to Your Majesty."

Empress Xue smiled and raised her hand to help him up.

"Young Master Xie, you first jumped into the water to search for the princess, and later it was you who led people to find the princess."

"I'm too busy rewarding you to do anything wrong. What crime have you committed? Get up and speak!"

Xie Xuanxiao did not get up, but lowered his eyes and clasped his hands, looking ashamed.

"Although I found the princess today, she was emotional at the time and insisted that the imperial guards not bring Miss Li back with her."

"I am ashamed, so I brought back only the princess with the Imperial Guards."

“As a commander of the Jingxi Camp, I have violated military regulations by abandoning Miss Li, a young child, in the wilderness. This is my first offense.”

“As a subject, I knew that the princess’s behavior was inappropriate, but I failed to dissuade her in time. This is my second fault.”

Xie Xuanxiao spoke while prostrating himself deeply on the ground.

"Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

The tent was completely silent.

Li Nanke looked at Xie Xuanxiao with a stunned expression.

Xie Xuanxiao likes Xue Shu, and isn't the Xie family going to form a marriage alliance with the Xue family?

Why did he take the initiative to stand up and tell the story?

Wouldn't that offend the Xue family and the Empress?

Sitting in the corner, Shen Cong narrowed his eyes, his gaze shifting between Xie Xuanxiao and Li Nanke, his fingers gently tapping the hand warmer in his hand.

Empress Xue stared stiffly at Xie Xuanxiao, who remained kneeling motionless on the ground.

Even her breathing became a little rapid, but she quickly regained her composure and suppressed the turmoil in her heart.

With a stern face, he asked Princess Zhaoning, "You had Li Nanke abandoned in the wilderness?"

Princess Zhaoning pouted, looking unhappy.

She said confidently, "It's because she refused to apologize to me that I had her abandoned there."

Empress Xue was so angry that she couldn't help but tap her forehead with her hand.

"You... how can this be the same thing? Someone saved your life, and you just abandoned them."

Do you know what this is called? To put it bluntly, this is called ingratitude and repaying kindness with enmity!

This was the first time she had spoken such harsh words to Princess Zhaoning.

Princess Zhaoning was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears.

"Mother, you're being mean to me! Waaah! Mother, you don't love me anymore!"

Princess Zhaoning cried her eyes out and clung to Empress Xue, acting coquettishly.

"Waaaaah, Mother, how could you be so mean to me for the sake of an outsider?"

"So what if I left Li Nanke behind? She's back alive now, isn't she? Why are you so angry, Mother?"

Before the words were finished, a loud thud suddenly came from the corner.

Everyone's eyes turned to that direction simultaneously.

Shen Cong picked up the hand warmer expressionlessly and placed it aside, his voice low and somber.

“Your Majesty, it was your younger brother who found Li Nanke in the woods. When he found her, she had multiple injuries.”

A little child, without firelight or direction, wanders aimlessly through the woods.

She was lucky to escape venomous snakes and ferocious beasts; her safety is also a blessing for her sister-in-law and Zhao Ning, otherwise…”

Otherwise, he didn't continue, but Empress Xue broke out in a cold sweat.

If Li Nanke really died in that forest, this matter will definitely cause a huge uproar.

The news spread that she had saved Zhaoning, but Zhaoning had abandoned her in the wilderness, and that couldn't be kept secret any longer!

Not only will countless censors impeach her, but His Majesty will also not spare her and Zhaoning. They will be severely punished, and even Zhaoning's position as princess will be shaken.

In the past, it wouldn't have been a big deal if she had been punished, but now her immortality is about to return.

She had to consider the future of immortality!

Empress Xue quickly softened her expression, beckoned to Li Nanke, and tried to keep her voice down.

"Nan Ke, come here and let me see where you are injured. Does it still hurt?"

Li Nanke stepped forward, stretched out her two small hands, revealing her bloodied and mangled palms.

Li Mu and Song Yi, who were standing nearby, were heartbroken. If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, they would have checked their daughter's injuries immediately.

Li Nanke didn't see her parents' expressions. She blinked her grape-like eyes, looking obedient yet with a hint of trepidation.

"Your Majesty, I'm fine. I just got several cuts on my body and hands from tree branches and stones."

Then I bled a lot and it hurt quite a bit, but I endured it. I shouldn't die from this kind of injury, right?

Her words contained neither tears nor accusations; she even praised herself for her resilience.

In contrast, Princess Zhaoning, who was crying and making a fuss next to her, was simply a bad child!

Empress Xue even had a strange thought in her mind: how wonderful it would be if Zhao Ning were just as well-behaved.

Her tone softened even more when she spoke to Li Nanke.

"Of course you won't die. I have the best medicine here, and I guarantee your wound will heal quickly."

Li Nanke breathed a sigh of relief, revealing a pair of sweet dimples.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Shen Cong witnessed this scene, and the corners of his mouth curled up silently as he mouthed something to Li Nanke.

"You're good at pretending!"

Li Nanke understood his lip movements, pursed her lips, and turned her head away, refusing to look at him again.

Empress Xue gently patted Li Nanke's hand.

"You have done a good job in saving the princess, but you have also been wronged. In addition to the box of gold and silver jewelry and the box of medicine that I just mentioned,..."

I'll also prepare a box of jewelry and twelve bolts of fabric for you, shall I? Is there anything else you'd like?

Tell me, and I will have someone prepare it for you.

Li Nanke knew that these things were not just rewards, but also Empress Xue's way of silencing her.

If she were to actually ask for anything else, Empress Xue would likely be dissatisfied.

She obediently shook her head, "This humble woman thanks Your Majesty the Empress for your reward."

Princess Zhaoning was extremely dissatisfied with Empress Xue's attitude towards Li Nanke, and cried out:

"Mother, she only suffered a minor injury, why are you rewarding her so much?"

She even bullied me! Mother, why are you siding with her and not standing up for me?

Empress Xue was furious and slapped Princess Zhaoning across the face.

"You...you shut up! Listen to what you're saying! It's all my fault for spoiling you too much, letting you become so unruly!"

"Apologize to Nan Ke immediately, or I will punish you severely!"

Princess Zhaoning covered her face, her eyes wide with disbelief.

From childhood to adulthood, she wanted the stars, but her mother never gave her the moon.

The Empress Dowager said that she was the most noble legitimate princess in the world, with the highest status among all her sisters, and no one could bully her.

Why didn't the Empress Dowager side with Li Nanke when Li Nanke bullied her?

Princess Zhaoning was both angry and aggrieved, and cried even more bitterly.

"Mother, you actually hit me! You hit me for Li Nanke! Waaaaah!"

"Mother, you're wicked! I hate you! I'll never love you again!"