Chapter 7: Assess the Situation and Act

"The Empress is worried that Your Majesty will blindly believe the slander of villains, which is why she has resorted to this unwise measure. In the four hundred years of our dynasty, there has never been a precedent for deposing an empress and then dismembering her body. I fear that this violates the laws of the state... Your Majesty, please reconsider."

"Qiu Yun, you are right. The Queen is the Queen after all. If her body is left exposed in the wilderness, it will only hurt my reputation."

"But I'm still angry. When I think of the Queen rushing in with a sword to chop down my Imperial Preceptor, I get so angry that my head hurts. I'm the Son of Heaven. If my anger isn't quelled, Heaven will punish the people. Qiu Yun, how do you think I can calm my rage? How about you find a few lives to take the Queen's place?"

*

"But didn't the Empress Dowager issue an imperial decree to protect the women in their family? Aunt, please stop hitting them. There are so many people watching outside."

The princess took a few deep breaths to suppress her anger. "Every move you make is watched by the whole world. You can't let them think you're ungrateful."

"I'm not ungrateful. My mother has been dead for three years, and my father is still angry. I can't reward the Qiu family at this time."

"I'm not asking you to get close to others, I'm asking you not to let others think you're cold-hearted."

"I didn't," Jiang Jue argued. "Besides, that Qiu Xuan was despicable enough. She actually lied to me."

The eldest princess lamented in her heart, even though the fourth prince was the queen's son, he was raised by the queen mother from birth. What on earth was that...

No, she couldn't think like that. After all, Jiang Jue was Lu Jie's only bloodline. As long as he was taught well, he would eventually come to his senses.

"Qiu Yun's brother married into the Nangong clan, and there's nothing wrong with Qiu Xuan calling Nangong Shao "cousin." I've told you that even if you don't know everything about the relationships between these families, you should be aware of them."

"I know, I know." Jiang Jue looked impatient.

"I know you don't like these things, so I asked you to marry a wife who can help you remember these things."

Seeing the princess soften her attitude, Jiang Jue reverted to his old ways: "But I only like Feifei, I don't like Xiao Mianzhi."

*

"Xiao Mianzhi." Qiu Xuan looked at the person who suddenly stood in front of her and couldn't help but smile, "It's been a long time."

"Mr. Qiu, it's been a long time since we last met." Xiao Mianzhi raised his chin and looked at Qiu Xuan coldly.

The woman following behind her looked young. She took a step forward and was about to open her mouth when Xiao Mianzhi glared back at her.

"I will soon be the consort of the Fourth Prince."

"congratulations."

"When you see me, remember to give me full respects, otherwise I will punish you."

"That's natural." Qiu Xuan smiled calmly.

Xiao Mianzhi's face darkened, the purple gauze shawl on her shoulders swayed slightly, and her fists were clenched.

Then she picked up a piece of dessert from Qiuxuan's plate and swallowed it in one big gulp.

"Walnuts are just unpalatable. Just wait, when I enter the palace, I'll replace all the walnuts with almonds!"

After saying this, he threw away his shawl and walked away angrily.

Qiu Xuan picked up the teacup and breathed a sigh of relief. She was waiting for Xiao Mianzhi.

Xiao Mianzhi talked a lot today, and what she meant was that they would have many opportunities to meet in the future.

The Fourth Prince wanted to succeed to the throne, and he couldn't let his biological mother bear the accusation of regicide. The matter of Empress Lu would be brought up again, and the Qiu family's case would take a turn for the better.

Everyone knew that the Qiu family had not committed such a crime in the past, otherwise the Empress Dowager would not have issued an imperial decree to save the women of the Qiu family.

Either the current emperor shows leniency, or the new emperor shows grace and virtue, it is a foregone conclusion that the Qiu family will have their case overturned.

Unless the sun rises from the west.

Everyone shifted their attention from Qiu Xuan to behind the bead curtain. The eldest princess seemed to have calmed down and was talking to Jiang Jue.

Qiu Xuan lowered her head to adjust her sleeves. When she looked up again, she saw Jing Beian, who had been wandering around somewhere, coming back. With him came a man in black.

"This is His Royal Highness the Second Prince." Jing Beian introduced with a smile.

Jiang Jinhan.

Qiu Xuan had never seen him before. When she entered the palace as a study companion, the Second Prince had already gone to the North with the First Princess. Her impression of the two of them came entirely from Ning Jia's description.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

"No need to be so polite." The Second Prince said with a cold face, "Ningjia often talks about Qiu Sheren."

"Is the Third Prince okay?" Qiu Xuan couldn't help but ask.

"Everything is fine. If she weren't pregnant, she might have led the delegation back to Dadu this year. Remember to write her a letter to let her know how you are doing."

"Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness."

The second prince nodded and left.

The first of three gongs sounded, signaling the start of the banquet.

Jing Beian sat next to Qiu Xuan.

"Are you familiar with the Second Prince?"

"I've never seen him before," Qiu Xuan shook her head. "But the Second Prince is very close to Princess Ningjia. How did you come back with the Second Prince?"

"We met on the road." Jing Beian looked at the throne from a distance. Jiang Jue was sitting dejectedly in the first seat under the throne, while the second prince Jiang Jinhan was sitting in the second seat.

"I've long heard that the Second Prince is a brave and valiant man, guarding the northern lands and preventing the Di tribe from invading. I chatted with him for a while, and he indeed has a lot of insights into war."

Qiu Xuan listened silently, thinking in her heart what Jiang Jinhan meant by this.

I heard from my grandfather that the second prince was very low-key because his mother was of low status and never interacted with court officials.

But this time, he came here specifically to attack the Marquis' Mansion.

Ningjia's pregnancy shows that Ningjia's position in the foreign royal court is stable; the fact that she can bring the delegation back shows that she holds great power.

It is obvious that Ningjia is very concerned about himself. If Ningjia knew that the Marquis' Mansion treated Qiuxuan harshly, Ningjia would definitely be angry, and the Marquis' Mansion would be in trouble.

Unfortunately, Qiu Xuan glanced at Jing Beian, and he probably didn't understand the hints.

Jing Beian was now looking at everyone at the banquet without any concealment.

Qiu Xuan realized that this person was very adaptable.

When they first met, Jing Bei'an was like a wild animal, ready to attack at any moment. In just a few days, he learned to retract his claws, and only the occasional glint in his eyes reminded Qiu Xuan that he was completely different from the officials and nobles present.

The last gong sounded, and the throne was still empty.

I saw a regular attendant walking up quickly from behind and standing in front of the throne.

"Your Majesty has been granted the opportunity to retreat and cultivate from this day forward. The affairs of state will be temporarily managed by Her Royal Highness the Princess."

The eldest princess stood up and accepted the order: "I will definitely live up to my brother's trust."

The attendant paused for a moment and continued, "His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince has won a victory, and His Majesty is very pleased. He has been granted the title of Prince of Lu and a mansion..."

A long list of rewards, nothing special.

Qiu Xuan was about to lower his head to rest for a while, when he saw Jing Beian crush the porcelain cup in his hand out of the corner of his eye.

She subconsciously looked up at Jing Beian. His eyes were red, like a wolfhound that could not contain its anger and was ready to rush out and tear everything apart at any time.

What's wrong with him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your attention. I... I will definitely live up to your expectations."

The fourth prince stumbled over his thanks.

When Qiu Xuan saw the eldest princess desperately winking at the fourth prince, she immediately realized what the problem was.

The emperor attributed all the credit for the victory in Liang Province to Jiang Jue alone, and Jiang Jue accepted it all without any resistance.