Chapter 104 I Don’t Drink This Tea

Chunzhi glanced sideways at Wang Yiyue who was holding the tea with both hands. The woman had delicate makeup, wore a silk skirt, and a brocade dress, and had a lot of red hairpins and jade rings on her head. It was obvious that she was not a palace maid or a female official, but a noble lady.

And she didn't call her 'girl' or 'Miss' as soon as she opened her mouth, but called her sister, which was really strange.

Chunzhi didn't take the teacup. She looked at Wang Yiyue and said, "Whose noble lady is this? Why does she call me sister right away?"

Queen Wang said, "This is my niece, Qilang's cousin, Wang Yiyue, the sixth lady of the Wang family."

Lady Li quickly followed up, "Yiyue and Qilang grew up together, and they are as close as siblings. It's only natural for her to call you sister."

"Why should she?" Chunzhi asked in confusion, "She's Huo Zheng's cousin. According to etiquette, she should call me cousin-in-law. How can she call me sister?"

Concubine De frowned and said, "Merchant daughters really have no manners. You and Qilang haven't even gotten married yet, so how can you ask Yiyue to call you cousin?"

Chunzhi said calmly, "Huo Zheng and I have long been married. Heaven and earth are our witnesses, and our marriage certificate is our proof. I'm here in Beijing to let you all know. For us, this is just a wedding banquet."

"You!" Defei wanted to continue teaching Chunzhi a lesson, but was stopped by Queen Wang's eyes.

The marriage between Chunzhi and Huo Zheng was officially approved by the emperor.

If news spread that the concubines in the harem were to make things difficult for the future Princess Chang'an, the emperor would certainly feel that these concubines had damaged his reputation.

Queen Wang was unwilling and unable to go against the emperor. Even though she disliked Chunzhi very much, she could not show it on her face.

In front of everyone, Queen Wang put on a loving and dignified appearance and said to Chunzhi, "You don't know, Yiyue and Qilang were childhood sweethearts. She was originally meant to be the Princess of Chang'an. It was because you saved Qilang's life that she gave up her position as the principal wife and was willing to be a concubine..."

Queen Wang said something pleasant, "I know you have feelings for Qilang, but being a princess is different from being an ordinary woman. The first thing you must do is not be jealous. After drinking Yiyue's cup of tea today, you can treat her like a sister. In the future, you can both enter the Chang'an Palace, one as the principal wife and the other as a concubine. Together you will serve Qilang and give birth to many children for him. It will definitely become a good story."

Chunzhi said slowly, "I don't want to drink this tea."

She was afraid of dealing with these ladies and nobles, but since she was already here, there was no reason to retreat.

She directly refused to drink the tea, but Wang Yiyue still kept serving the tea, looking at Queen Wang for help and calling out "Aunt."

Queen Wang was about to speak.

Chunzhi immediately added, "Sharing one's husband with others is a good story in the eyes of the queen, but a joke in my eyes."

Queen Wang was choked by Chunzhi for a moment.

Which woman would be willing to share her husband with others?

However, if she sat on this phoenix chair, being held up in the air and could not accommodate others, people would say that she was not worthy of being the queen, not worthy of being in charge of the imperial palace, and even less worthy of being the mother of the country.

Queen Wang had made mistakes when she was young and had quarreled with the emperor, but as she grew older and experienced more things, she became more open-minded and persuaded herself that as long as she had the Phoenix Seal in her hand, she could turn a blind eye to other things.

But today, when Queen Wang saw Chunzhi standing in front of her, she suddenly remembered her younger self.

Concubine De scolded: "Song Chunzhi, you are so outrageous!"

Chunzhi said, "Your Highness is my husband's mother, so I can speak frankly. Even if I drink this cup of tea today and then disown you, what does that matter?"

"You..." Lady Li said in a daze, "Don't be so presumptuous."

"I'm not being presumptuous, I just don't want to put on a show to please the ladies." Chunzhi said, "Before I married Huo Zheng, I asked him if he was married. He said no, so I married him."

When Queen Wang heard this, she knew that Chunzhi had seen through her claim that Wang Yiyue and Huo Zheng were already engaged.

This way, it becomes a real joke.

Wang Yiyue wanted to speak but didn't know what to say, so she handed the teacup to the palace maid beside her, walked over to Queen Wang, pulled her sleeve, and called out "Aunt!"

"That's enough." Queen Wang pulled back her sleeves and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed with Wang Yiyue.

If Wang Yiyue was useless and couldn't keep Huo Zheng's heart, why would she, as the queen, say all this to a merchant's daughter?

Wang Yiyue felt extremely aggrieved and could only stand aside for the time being.

Queen Wang looked at Chunzhi and said, "So you are unwilling to tolerate others?"

Chunzhi said in a normal tone, "It's not that I don't tolerate people, it's just that people Huo Zheng doesn't like can't get close to him, even if I want to. And if I don't want to, then of course I can't."

Queen Wang was so angry that she laughed.

But Queen Wang also knew that what Chunzhi said was true.

Huo Zheng was a man of his temperament and had not been interested in women for so many years. If he had not broken his vow during this trip to Nanzhou, Queen Wang would have worried that he would become a monk.

If Wang Yiyue could catch Huo Zheng's eye, she would have done so long ago. Why wait until now?

It’s just that Queen Wang and the Wang family are unwilling to give up.

Queen Wang said, "Since you refused to drink the tea Yiyue offered you, then it will be your turn to serve tea to me."

Queen Wang gave a wink to the female official beside her.

The female official immediately ordered the palace servant to bring a cup of freshly brewed tea and hand it to Chunzhi.

Concubine De said from the side: "You are a person of your status and can serve tea to the Empress. This is also a blessing you have earned in your previous life."

The palace maid came over with a tray, and the teacup was steaming, which showed that it was filled with boiling hot tea.

The palace maids used trays so they wouldn't get burned.

If Chunzhi tried to hold it with her hands, she would not be able to bear it.

So Chunzhi didn't go to get the teacup, but went directly to take the entire tray.

The palace maid used all her strength to hold on to the tray. As soon as Chunzhi let go, the palace maid fell to the ground, and the teacup fell with her.

The porcelain shattered, scalding hot tea splashed out, and hot steam rose up.

The De Fei who was sitting nearby had her dress wet and she immediately stood up. "What's wrong with you? Are you so clumsy?"

Concubine Li also stood up and said, "How can you smash a cup and a glass in front of the Empress?"

Queen Wang originally wanted to suppress Chunzhi's arrogance, but Chunzhi actually threw the teacup, and her mask of virtue and dignity was almost broken.

Wang Yiyue said, "Miss Song, if you don't want to serve tea to the Empress, just say so. Why do this? Do you know what kind of punishment the little palace maid will receive for this fall?"

Chunzhi said, "Miss Wang Liu is so kind-hearted, why didn't you mention the little palace maid who refused to give me the teacup?"

"How could that be possible?" Wang Yiyue asked, "Who saw it?"

The palace was full of Queen Wang's people, so naturally no one stood up to testify for Chunzhi.

Everyone was silent.

Just as Queen Wang was about to speak, she heard a palace maid outside announce, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Chang'an has arrived!"

Before he finished speaking, Huo Zheng walked in directly...