Chapter 627: Falling Like a Dog

The Queen Mother nodded at Qian Qiyue with a smile on her face, and her expression softened a lot when she turned to look at Princess Huan.

"Did you hear that? You're so grown up, but you're not even as good as a little girl. Even this girl from the Qian family is smarter than you."

It is better to praise anyone than Qian Qiyue, and Princess Huan's face turned pale for a moment.

The Queen Mother ignored her expression and said in a deep voice, "Logically, I should punish you for what you did today, but since Rong Yue and the others don't mind, I'll forgive you this time. Just remember this for you. If you do it again next time, I'll punish you again."

Princess Huan heaved a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Thank you, Queen Dowager."

"Okay, get up."

Princess Huan hurriedly tried to get up, but she stumbled because she had kneeled too hard.

The palace maid beside her saw that she was in a mess and quickly stepped forward to support her, and also took a handkerchief for her to wipe her tears.

When the other people in the hall saw Princess Huan's appearance, they looked at Rong Yue and Tang Ning with a little more fear, especially the second wife of the Liang family. She couldn't help but murmur in her heart when she saw Tang Ning standing there with her obedient appearance restored.

Before she entered the palace, her eunuch Liang Guangyi repeatedly told her not to easily come into conflict with Princess Ning and Madam Rong. If there was a dispute, it should be avoided unless it was a matter of life and death.

At that time, she was a little disapproving, thinking that her father-in-law was making a fuss out of nothing. This niece of Song Tangning only relied on Duke Dingguo. But now, seeing that they forced Princess Huan to admit her mistake in public with just a few words, she began to understand what her father-in-law meant.

These two people are indeed not easy to mess with.

Fortunately, she didn't rush in and kept silent.

Everyone in the hall was thinking in different ways. No one noticed Fu Jinrou, let alone that she was still kneeling. The Queen Mother seemed to have forgotten about her. She turned to the elderly maid beside her and said, "It's been a busy day. I'm tired. You should go down and rest first. I'll come back later to bring you medicine."

"Yes, Queen Mother."

Others in the bedroom also responded.

After everyone stood up again, the nearby maid came forward to support the exhausted empress dowager, as if reminding her, "Empress Dowager, Miss Fu..."

The Queen Mother then looked as if she had just seen Fu Jinrou kneeling on the ground. She said in surprise, "Why are you still kneeling, child? Didn't I just tell you to stand up? If you hurt your knees kneeling like this, I'm afraid people will say I'm too harsh."

Fu Jinrou's face suddenly turned embarrassed. The Queen Mother's words "get up" were clearly referring to Princess Huan. Besides, she was kneeling in front of the Queen Mother. How could the Queen Mother not know whether she got up or not?

However, Fu Jinrou had no idea how she had offended the empress dowager. Even though she was filled with embarrassment and indignation, she did not dare to agree with the empress dowager and say that she had not allowed her to stand up. She did not dare to show any dissatisfaction to the empress dowager, and had to take all the blame on herself.

"Jinrou's legs were tired and she forgot to get up."

Princess Huan opened her mouth and was about to sarcastically call the little bitch pretentious, but she was frightened by what had just happened, and had to hold back the evil words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Qian Qiyue came forward with concern: "Jinrou, are you feeling unwell again?"

Fu Jinrou's face changed. Seeing that the Empress Dowager and the others were looking at her, she was afraid that Qian Qiyue, this fool, would do something bad out of her excessive concern for her and spread the reputation of her being "weak" throughout the palace. She quickly stood up with the help of Qian Qiyue's hand.

"No, I just bumped into it accidentally."

"But you..."

"Ayue."

Fu Jinrou called out softly and pretended to cover her shoulder. Sure enough, Qian Qiyue's attention was diverted instantly. As if she remembered what Princess Huan had done just now, she turned her head and gave Princess Huan a look, but did not say anything inappropriate.

Princess Huan: “…”

Her face was almost twisted with anger, but she didn't dare to cause trouble for Qian Qiyue again, for fear of being scolded by the empress dowager.

But this little bitch from the Fu family...

Princess Huan glared back at Fu Jinrou with a fierce look. She was going to teach this little bitch a lesson sooner or later!

…

Tang Ning and the others entered the palace to attend to the illness. Except for the concubine of Prince Ji and the wife of Prince Huan who were arranged to live in the side hall of Shoukang Palace, the other ladies and maids were arranged to live in Qiyun Hall and Xiaoan Hall next to Shoukang Palace. The wife of Marquis Wenxin and Mrs. Cui Shao who came earlier paid their respects to the empress dowager and then went to the virtuous concubine.

Mrs. Cao and the others were reminiscing about the past with Rong Yue in a low voice, while Fu Jinrou pulled Qian Qiyue and Tang Ning to stand together.

Fu Jinrou hadn't figured out the Queen Mother's thoughts the entire way, and felt a little uneasy: "Ayue, does the Queen Mother dislike me?"

"What are you imagining?" Qian Qiyue lied openly, "You are gentle and well-mannered. There is no better woman than you. How could the Empress Dowager not like you?"

"But just now..."

Fu Jinrou always felt that the Queen Mother's attitude towards her was too cold.

It was obvious that Madam Fu had a good relationship with the Queen Mother, and the Queen Mother had allowed her to enter the palace for a banquet. But why was she being so ruthless now?

Qian Qiyue rolled her eyes. "Don't overthink it. What happened just now must have been because of Princess Huan. After all, she's a member of the royal family and a princess of a noble family. The Queen Mother has to give her the benefit of the doubt. We can't really embarrass her too much."

Seeing Fu Jinrou hesitate, Tang Ning, who was standing beside her, spoke to her:

"It's not that the Queen Mother dislikes you, but my aunt and I were in the right in the matter just now, and Sister Qian was in the right. Plus, Uncle Qian's Ministry of Revenue cannot afford to fail. The Queen Mother beat Prince Huan's wife with thirty sticks, so she has to give her some face. Otherwise, others will look down on Prince Huan. So I can only be a little cold towards you."

Fu Jinrou frowned when she heard this. Is that so?

But if you think about it carefully, the Queen Mother didn't make things too difficult for her except for asking her to kneel for a little longer at the end.

Compared to Princess Huan who was publicly scolded and forced to admit her mistakes, her situation was much better.

Qian Qiyue pulled Fu Jinrou and chatted for a few words, but when Tang Ning gave her a look, she let go.

"Jinrou, you were injured by Princess Huan just now. I think you seem to be in great pain. Go back quickly and ask the maid next to you to check on the injury on your shoulder. If it is really not good, we have to call the imperial physician."

Fu Jinrou's shoulder did hurt, so she nodded: "Then you should rest early."

Tang Ning said softly, "Sister Fu, take care."

When Fu Jinrou turned around and walked down the stairs with the maid beside her, someone came over to deliver water and food. Yue Jian, who was originally standing next to Tang Ning, suddenly moved her fingers, and Fu Jinrou seemed to have stepped on something and her foot slipped. She fell forward and bumped into the person who was coming towards her with a copper basin, and then fell into the flowers next to her.

The palace maid overturned the copper basin in her hand, and the liquid inside splashed all over Fu Jinrou's head and face.

Fu Jinrou's hand was scratched by the grass and she couldn't help but scream in pain. When she turned over from the ground, she saw that her dress and face were covered with dust and mud.