Chapter 80 080 She and Meng Qingshan? Are getting married!

Her eyebrows were raised, showing no sign of rudeness, and her words, "Miss Huang," carried a fiery passion that made her heart tremble.

Just the day before, she had been calmly seeing him off. Now that her identity was clear, she was no longer the adopted daughter of the Meng family, nor did she have any relation to him, and she no longer needed to rely on him for survival. She should be able to speak freely and seek revenge.

Can...

She had previously lived a life of luxury, even more so than the young ladies of noble families in the capital. Thinking about it, there was no grudge between them. What happened before was already settled, and they had returned to dust. She thought about it and realized that her anger seemed to have no reason to erupt.

If there's no anger, then what should they say? What need is there for them to continue their relationship?

Qingli felt a heavy weight in her heart, and for some unknown reason, she became angry. "What are you doing here?"

Amidst his frustration and a touch of grievance, Meng Qingshan stared at the screen beside him, his heart melting completely. The gloom he felt earlier at seeing her cheerful smile vanished in an instant.

Meng Qingshan smiled slightly, sat down at the table, glanced at her, still sulking, and turned her back to him completely as he sat down.

Not daring to continue playing, he answered methodically, "Come and take a look."

What are you looking at? What's so interesting? This is her home. She's not going to be bullied. Her grandfather loves her, and she's doing very well.

"Have you finished watching?"

"I've finished reading it."

"Then Commander Meng, you may leave."

"Is this how Miss Huang treats her guests?"

"Commander Meng, how dare you barge into my private quarters like this?"

After Qingli finished speaking, she suddenly thought of the days when the two of them were in the same room at the Prince of Dingxi's mansion. Some images uncontrollably surfaced in her mind, and her cheeks flushed. The luminous pearl on the wall emitted a dim yellow light, making the atmosphere of the late night thick and long, and her heart tightened in waves.

A short, soft laugh escaped her lips. Qingli whirled around, staring at him in disbelief. He had laughed!

Meng Qingshan's expression returned to calm, but it was not the coldness he showed to others. In front of her, he was gentle and composed. At this moment, he couldn't help but regret his earlier outburst and tried to make amends, saying, "There's something I need to discuss."

Over time, the two had developed a tacit understanding of discussing matters together, and the heat on Qingli's face gradually subsided.

After seeing that she had regained her composure, Meng Qingshan began to talk about what had happened during the day.

Qingli felt uneasy; this kind of thing, which she both knew and didn't know, was the real problem.

Seeing that she had bitten her pink lips until they turned blue, Meng Qingshan regretted bringing up the matter and frightening her. He comforted her, "It's alright, don't worry. As for the Second Princess, Lu Yunye has already learned his lesson and will no longer suffer. As for the Fourth Prince, the Cui family has also taken over. As long as this matter is true, nothing stays hidden forever."

Upon hearing this, Qingli breathed a sigh of relief. As long as there was still a way to go, that was good. She asked curiously, "The Cui family of the Imperial Observatory?"

Meng Qingshan nodded, and to prevent her from dwelling on the previous matter, he explained in detail, "An Pingtai is now in the Dali Temple, and ordinary people can't see him. An Shulan has been running around for him and has sent a lot of money, but she can't see him nine times out of ten. When she does see him, he is being watched and can only ask some ordinary questions. The more obstacles there are, the stranger it is."

“There have been people secretly causing trouble for An Shulan. They haven’t managed to kill her, but they’ve made it impossible for her to have a moment’s peace. The Cui family’s daughter helped her a while ago, and after that, the two of them started talking to each other.”

It's been less than a year, and hearing news about An Shulan again feels like a lifetime ago. She used to be an arrogant and unreasonable young lady from a prestigious family, but now she's struggling to make ends meet. His involvement is partly responsible for her current predicament.

However, all of this was An Shulan's own doing. Back then, An Shulan repeatedly made trouble and secretly caused harm. If it weren't for his intervention, she would be condemned by everyone today.

The flickering candlelight made his features appear even more indistinct, his eyes so deep they seemed to overflow, staring straight at her. The moment Qingli looked at him, she trembled and lowered her gaze.

My heart was pounding like a drum, and my body trembled slightly.

How can you look at someone with such a predatory gaze!

She coughed lightly, hesitated for a long time before finally speaking, but her voice was as sweet as honey when she finally said, "I want to rest now."

Meng Qingshan paused, his heels feeling like lead, a deep reluctance welling up in his heart. He was decisive in his actions, how could he be so indecisive as Lu Yunye? He thought to himself, but his body did not move. After a moment, he felt that he could not continue like this, so he comforted himself that things were progressing smoothly, and at that time, what did a stubborn old man have to fear?

"Close the doors and windows, the autumn night is chilly."

"good."

"Since we've just arrived in a new place, tell the maids to be on their guard."

Her maids were all careless and even more careless than their mistress. Only she was soft-hearted and always thought of them. If a maid made a mistake, she would always make an exception for her in front of him. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but regret that he hadn't been cold to his servants enough.

Qingli's face flushed, annoyed that he was being so long-winded, and she emphasized, "I understand."

The coquettishness inside is blatant.

Meng Qingshan was pushed to the window, a smile playing on his lips. He held onto the window frame with one hand and took out a piece of white jade from his pocket with the other. The jade was clear and round, simple yet elegant, and Qing Li liked it at first sight.

"That piece of jade broke, this is a replacement for you."

Qingli glanced at it, thinking of refusing, and subconsciously took it, but without waiting for her to speak, she jumped out of the window, leaped two steps, and disappeared.

"Oh..." She forgot to mention, be careful of the traps and mechanisms in the mansion.

The next day, after breakfast, Jiang Zhao skipped into the house carrying colorful threads, saying, "Miss, I've bought them."

Jiang Yue only knew that Jiang Zhao had been sent out to the street with Granny Qiu, and asked curiously, "Miss, what are you going to do with all this silk thread?"

Jiang Zhao, unaware of this, blinked as he looked at her.

Qingli blushed under their gaze and said, "Make a jade pendant cord."

Jiang Zhao quickly said, "This is a small matter, Miss. Please give me the jade pendant, and I will do it."

"I can do it myself."

Jiang Zhao, recalling the general's murderous gaze from yesterday, immediately sprang into action, muttering, "Now that I know what's important, you can rest, or just watch me do it."

Qingli felt annoyed. Jiang Zhao was so boastful and lacked humility. He only knew what was important and didn't know how to read the room.

Jiang Yue was always observant. She noticed that her mistress's eyes were filled with tears and her cheeks looked as if they had been rouged. Her mistress had always been as beautiful as a fairy, but she was always shrouded in a thick mist, ethereal and uncertain. But now she was like a flower in the morning sun, glistening with dew, beautiful and radiant. One glance was enough to make people stop and admire her.

This was the first time Jiang Yue had seen such a young lady—light-hearted, joyful, and shy. Jiang Yue recalled General Meng who had appeared the previous night. A thought flashed through her mind, and she grabbed Jiang Zhao, complaining, "I think you're just trying to shirk your responsibilities. You're not doing the work that's already done, and you're just trying to push it onto me!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhao's face flushed red. The two women were in charge of the young lady's food, clothing, and daily necessities, but Jiang Zhao was rough and restless, so she was mostly sent out by Jiang Yue to make meetings in various places. Jiang Zhao was happy to do these things, and sometimes she would talk to the servants for a long time, so Jiang Yue would do most of the work.

Jiang Zhao stammered an explanation, looking sullen, and was pulled by Jiang Yue to the eaves.

Just then, Granny Qiu came running back, panting, "Miss...Miss..."

Granny Qiu took a couple of deep breaths before saying, "It's rumored outside that the eldest princess had an affair, lost her virginity, and was jilted by the Di people."

"The envoy from Da Di has just left the city gate!"

Qingli was stunned for a moment. How could the affairs of the royal family be known to the common people? Regardless of the facts or whether they were true or false, the fact that even the envoy had left meant that it was true.

Even Qingli had to sigh, the eldest princess was truly audacious.

While everyone was still in shock, He Tai ran breathlessly to Liuli Garden, looking flustered, "Miss... Imperial decree... front courtyard."

The shock turned into horror.

Qingli was caught in a flurry of activity as she dressed, her heart pounding like a drum, her ears ringing, until the eunuch finished reading the last word.

A marriage bestowed upon someone? And to whom?

Huang Pu snorted, stood up from the ground, snatched the imperial edict, unfolded it, and read it once. His face was purplish-red, clearly furious. He didn't care about his dignity at all and directly cursed, "The Meng family is a treacherous bunch! I will never let you get away with this! You wicked, ignorant, and reckless fool!"

Qingli felt dizzy, still reeling from the arranged marriage. She and Meng Qingshan? Were to get married!

Her grandfather kept cursing beside her, and Qingli suppressed her confusion and quickly tried to calm him down.

Huang Pu's eyes were red with anger. He had just found his lost granddaughter and hadn't even had a chance to cherish her enough before she was kidnapped again. This was no different from tearing his heart out. It must be that arrogant Meng Qingshan who had slandered him before the Emperor. No! He would go to the palace and, even if it was just because he was the Emperor's half-teacher, the father of Consort Mu, and the maternal grandfather of the Fourth Prince, he would make the Emperor withdraw this imperial decree.

Otherwise, he would kneel to death on the steps of the council hall!

Upon seeing this scene, the imperial eunuch dared not wait any longer and rushed back to the palace, repeating the entire message to Emperor Mingkang. After listening, Emperor Mingkang remained silent for a long time before bursting into laughter, having not been so joyful in a long time.

"Dexi, you did a good job!"

Dexi chimed in with a laugh, "His Majesty is truly wise. They are a perfect match, and it would be such a pity if they were to be separated like this."

Emperor Mingkang felt refreshed, and the irritability of the past few days vanished completely. It was truly rare to see Huang Pu, who remained calm even when Mount Tai collapsed before him, jumping up and down like an old man.

"Let's go see Consort Mu."

The imperial decree was issued suddenly, and when the news was heard, the harem was in an uproar.

Consort Mu remained calm as she personally served tea to Emperor Mingkang. Then, she rose and went behind him to massage his shoulders and back with moderate pressure. After a moment of soreness, Emperor Mingkang felt a rare sense of ease and comfort and closed his eyes to enjoy it.

A moment later, Emperor Mingkang took the hand that was resting on his shoulder and led Consort Mu to the round stool in front of him. Time had not diminished her beauty, and coupled with her indifferent nature and lack of ambition, even at this age, her eyes were still clear and her presence calmed the mind.

Consort Mu spoke first to explain, "Your Majesty, my father was just feeling sorry for the child, please don't be angry."

Emperor Mingkang smiled faintly and patted the back of her hand to reassure her. Huang Pu had only cursed Meng Qingshan but had not disobeyed the imperial decree. Such a weak resistance was not a threat to Emperor Mingkang; in fact, it was amusing.

"It was lost and then recovered. I am indeed asking the impossible."

"Your Majesty..."

Emperor Mingkang waved his hand to stop Consort Mu's explanation and comforted her, "Have Yao'er go to the Huang residence tomorrow and explain things to me properly. Minister Huang will understand the reasoning behind it."

This left no room for further explanation. Consort Mu lowered her eyelashes and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

The fire-patterned stitches on the narrow-sleeved robe were so fine and lifelike that they made Consort Mu almost unable to sit still.