Chapter 373 Another Imperial Edict Issued! Luo'er's Birthday!

Li Qingluo: "His Highness has left the city?"

And it was done on the orders of the Emperor?

Why so suddenly?

What exactly happened to him in the palace yesterday?

But the emperor made things difficult for him when he asked for permission.

A hint of worry unconsciously crept into Li Qingluo's brows.

Upon seeing this, Eunuch Wu nodded with great satisfaction.

It seems that Your Highness's sincere feelings have not been in vain.

"Don't worry, young lady, His Highness will return safely."

Madam Pei was also surprised as she held the letter in her hand.

It seems that Prince Su truly values ​​Luo'er to some extent.

Upon opening the letter, the gloom in my heart immediately lessened.

Seeing her grandmother's relaxed expression, Li Qingluo was very curious about what Duan Rongshi had written to her grandmother, but she didn't dare to ask.

"Fine. Since it's a birthday gift from His Highness, you can put it all in your storeroom."

"But he's being far too generous. Did he perhaps move half of his mansion's storeroom to you?"

It wasn't that Madam Pei looked down on Prince Su's wealth.

Rather, what Prince Su gave this time was truly too much, so much that even the head of Tianfeng Trading Company found it exaggerated.

The items brought over by the Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion were simply displayed one by one on the palanquin.

For example, ten bolts of cloth make one load.

A set of headdresses is used for one lift.

There were more than a dozen boxes in total, and when you opened them, there were more than a dozen loads, each containing more than a dozen different items.

Although it was already a very respectable and precious gift, it paled in comparison to the dozen or so boxes of treasures from the Prince Su's mansion.

Eunuch Wu threw all the chests from the Marquis of Zhongyi's residence out with a look of disdain, which showed that he was indeed very confident.

Eunuch Wu smiled amiably: "Don't worry, Madam. From now on, everything that belongs to our Highness will belong to the young lady."

"Giving it now or giving it later, isn't it all the same?"

"And this is nothing at all. If His Highness's treasures were left in the storeroom, they would be nothing more than a pile of useless, dusty pebbles taking up space."

"If the girl is happy, then these are the real treasures."

Madam Pei: This father-in-law is really a shrewd person.

Judging from his respectful attitude towards Luo'er, even if Luo'er goes to the Prince Su's mansion in the future, she should not suffer any losses.

Madam Pei smiled with satisfaction: "Please be careful with your words, Father-in-law. The marriage is not yet settled, and nothing is certain yet."

"However, Your Highness's kindness will be appreciated by Luo'er this time."

As she spoke, Madam Pei patted Li Qingluo's hand heavily.

Li Qinglu smiled slightly, knowing that she and Duan Rongshi had finally gained her grandmother's approval today.

That evening, with her back aching, Granny Zheng laboriously directed everyone to carry the box to Li Qingluo's small storeroom in Zizai Residence.

They hadn't even managed to stuff everything inside when the doorway was already piled high.

Finally, they found an empty room and put all the boxes inside before finally cleaning it up.

Li Qing sat by the window, admiring a white-scabbard adorned with a jade jewel in her hand, bathed in the moonlight and the dim light from the corridor.

Cui'er brought in hot tea: "Miss, you've been looking at this sword for an hour now. Do you really like this precious sword that His Highness Prince Su sent?"

Li Qing deftly sheathed the sword and attached a green tassel to it.

"The words 'Azure Sword' are engraved on its hilt. That is its name."

"It's not just a sword; I always felt that, in some mysterious way, it was meant to be mine."

"From now on, it will be my personal weapon."

After saying that, she got up and personally hung the Biluo Sword on the headboard of her bed.

Granny Zheng rushed in: "Miss, there's news."

Li Qinglu gave Cui'er a look, and Cui'er immediately went out and closed the door tightly.

Then he sent everyone out of the courtyard and personally guarded the gate.

Granny Zheng walked over, knelt down in front of Li Qingluo, and continued in a low voice, "Miss, this time it was Yang Qinwu who delivered the message."

"He said that last night His Highness did indeed personally enter the Zichen Palace to request an audience with His Majesty, carrying a brocade box."

"His Highness Prince Su only stayed in the Zichen Palace for half an hour."

"The Empress and the Crown Prince were extremely anxious and made numerous moves, but they were all stopped by their Imperial Guards."

Yang Qinwu also said that he vaguely heard the words "bestowed marriage".

"He didn't hear much more. But His Majesty seemed very angry...he was furious!"

"After His Highness Prince Su came out of the Zichen Palace, he hurriedly led his troops out of the city. It seemed that he had received the Emperor's order to go out of the city to do something important."

Li Qingluo: "A big deal? Yang Qinwu didn't find out. What exactly is this big deal?"

Granny Zheng shook her head: "How dare he listen any further? He only heard His Highness say one last thing..."

Li Qingluo: "What?"

Zheng Mama: "Your subject will certainly not fail the Emperor's command, and I hope that Your Majesty will give me a word of advice."

Li Qing sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling very uneasy.

Although she already had some guesses, at this moment she only hoped that Duan Rongshi would return safely, regardless of the outcome.

The next day, General Xiuli's residence received an imperial edict.

This startled both Li Qingluo and Madam Pei.

Could it be that the imperial decree for the marriage has really been issued?

The two men, along with the entire household, knelt in the front courtyard to receive the imperial decree.

As it turned out, the Emperor was in good health. He was suddenly grateful for the great military achievements that Madam Pei had made for the Great Liang in her youth. Therefore, three days later, the Royal Court granted Madam Pei permission to take her family to visit Nanshan outside the city.

"General Pei, please accept the imperial decree."

The eunuch Liang, who was delivering the imperial edict, looked at Madam Pei with a meaningful gaze.

This Pei family member is no ordinary person!

Her own son is still in prison, yet she manages to completely absolve herself of any involvement and is even suddenly chosen by His Majesty to participate in the Xia Miao event.

She hasn't been in court for over thirty years, has she?

I heard that she has completely fallen out with her family and has had no contact with them for a long time.

How could such an old woman suddenly gain the Emperor's favor again? Isn't there something strange about this?

I'm afraid that the future of General Xiuli's mansion will be full of unexpected surprises.

Today, Eunuch Liang put on a smiling face, congratulated Madam Pei, and then left with the silver.

After seeing the person off, Madam Pei immediately ordered the gatekeeper to close the mansion gate tightly.

"Luo'er, in three days, His Majesty will surely find an excuse to see you in Xia Miao!"

"Otherwise, his health has just recovered, why would he go to such great lengths to get Xia Miao? He even specifically requested that Grandmother bring her family."

"Now, it's obvious that you're the only member of Grandmother's family!"

"Luo'er, you should know what you're doing!"

Li Qingluo nodded solemnly: "Okay, Grandmother, Luo'er understands."

"But what exactly is Xia Miao?"

Madam Pei sighed, "It is the royal family's summer hunting trip, which is meant to protect the crops and farmland and pray for blessings."

They're going hunting?

Wouldn't that attract a lot of people?

That's for the best, so Emperor Yan won't have to see her alone anymore.

"Luo'er, Grandmother remembers, your birthday is also in three days?"

Before Li Qingluo could speak, Old Madam Pei sighed, "Grandmother originally wanted to have a lively celebration for you at home, but unfortunately, we can only accept the imperial decree to go to Nanshan to attend Xia Miao's gathering."

"Grandmother is worried that if you go out and suddenly become poisoned and are seen by someone, you might lose control and hurt someone."

Li Qinglu felt a pang of bitterness in her heart.

"Grandmother, can you trust Luo'er? Besides... the poison shouldn't take effect so quickly."

Madam Pei: "It's not that Grandmother doesn't trust you. It's just that we can't afford to make the slightest mistake in front of the royal family."

"Otherwise, let alone a marriage decree, Luo'er... even if you have this life, you won't live to see Prince Su return!"

Li Qingluo: "Then, Luo'er, could you bring Dong Siyuan along?"

“If necessary, he can administer acupuncture to Luo’er, which may suppress the symptoms to some extent.”

Madam Pei: "According to the ancestral rules of the Ministry of Rites, my grandmother and I can only bring two maids, two nannies, and two guards with us."

"Grandmother, just arrange for Zhang Mama. You can arrange the rest yourself."

Three days later.

Li Qing was pulled out of bed by Cui'er and Que'er at three quarters past Yin hour.

As she sat dazedly at the table, a bowl of longevity noodles was stuffed into her hand.

Happy birthday, young lady.

Every day is a good day, every moment is a good moment.

Li Qingluo finished eating the noodles before she even opened her eyes.

When she arrived at the front yard, Old Madam Pei was already waiting for her.

Inside the carriage, Madam Pei gently patted her beloved granddaughter who was nestled on her lap, and murmured softly, "May my beloved granddaughter receive a gift and a joyful celebration every year she grows up."

May you have this day every year, and may every year bring you this morning.

Happy birthday, Luo'er.

Li Qingluo's eyes welled up with tears.

On this day last year, she was still on her way to Nanjing.

He vomited violently in the swaying carriage.

Before I knew it, my sixteenth birthday had arrived.

She never imagined that she would live two lifetimes before finally reaching her seventeenth birthday...

Each family's carriage arrived at the palace gate to await the emperor's arrival.

Then, one by one, they drove into the long queue.

The carriages from General Xiuli's residence were at the very end of the line.

Following behind was the Pan family residence, and then only the Royal Guard.

Li Qingluo lifted the carriage curtain and glanced back.

When they saw Pan Li also craning her neck to look at them, the two, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, smiled at each other.

After a long and bumpy journey, it was nearly 1:45 PM when we finally arrived at Nanshan Villa.

Li Qinglu remembered that the Nanshan Villa was the place where the Crown Prince had been imprisoned.

Does that mean we've come to the Crown Prince's territory?

She could only proceed with extreme caution. After getting off the carriage, she followed the person who had the token to the courtyard where she and her grandson were to be settled.

Before I could even sit down, there was a commotion next door. It turned out that another family had come to the neighboring yard.

Upon inquiring, it turned out they were from the Duke Pei's mansion!

This time, Xia Miao heard that in addition to the direct relatives of the royal family, more than a dozen other officials and their families were also granted the imperial favor of traveling with him.

It was such a coincidence that this large Nanshan villa had run into the Pei family.

It's hard not to wonder if this was a deliberate, intentional arrangement.

The people from the Pei family who came today, besides Duke Pei, were the Duchess, the Sixth Miss and the Tenth Miss, and I heard there were two other young masters as well.

The neighbors quickly found out that they were the ones living there.

They didn't even try to hide their dissatisfaction.

"Who are we? How can we live with them?"

"A person who betrays his ancestors and forgets his virtues, who is greedy for life and afraid of death, is he worthy of coming to Xia Miao?"

"Who knows what kind of escape route they took? They have no shame and still dare to come out and embarrass themselves."

"One of the mothers was a murderer."

“If a father commits a serious crime of seeking credit for others, even if she lives next door, I still feel that she has tainted this place and polluted the air we breathe.”

"Even if one's own parents have committed heinous crimes, shouldn't a daughter be thinking about how to atone for them and escape to enjoy herself? Is she even human?"

"Pah!"

Li Qingluo smashed the earthenware jar beside her with a 'crack'.

She's a damn little brat, a dog's worthless bastard!

I don't care who it is!

She leaped onto the wall with her sword in hand, and looked down at Pei Liuniang, who was standing below with her hands on her hips, cursing with gusto.

"It is a royal favor bestowed by His Majesty!"

"If you have any objections, why don't I accompany you right now to see His Majesty and ask him why he invited a woman like me, who is morally corrupt and has a terrible reputation, to this Xia Miao place?!"