settled

Qi Qinghe never expected that things would turn out like this.

She never thought of being elected as the Crown Princess!

Different looks were cast at her, some jealous, some indignant, some disdainful, and even worse was the admiring look from Liu Shu beside her.

Now, even jumping into the Yellow River can’t wash it off.

Qi Qinghe stood there woodenly, his thoughts drifting away, ignoring the peony handed to him by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Xiao Junbai frowned slightly, lowered his eyes and slowly looked away.

When Qi Qinghe met the Crown Prince's gaze, she shuddered, hurriedly took the beautiful peony flower, and bowed to express her gratitude.

Apart from that, there was nothing else to say.

The prince slammed the table and made the decision, and the rest of the people were speechless.

Regarding the reasons given by the Crown Prince earlier, the Queen Mother recalled the various circumstances surrounding the little girl's entry into the palace, sighed, and no longer objected.

But this does not mean that the queen has given up the idea of ​​letting her niece enter the palace.

"It's a rare sight to have so many young ladies gathered here today. Why don't you join us and choose your concubines as well? Your brother chose three concubines last year. As the crown prince, you should take more concubines and expand your family."

The words were well-reasoned. The queen secretly glanced at her aggrieved and resentful niece, signaling her to seize the opportunity.

As long as my niece enters the palace and is favored, it is not impossible for her to be promoted to the Crown Princess.

Upon hearing this, Fu Jingyuan perked up, shaking off his previous lethargy. He pouted his lips, looked away, and looked shyly at his cousin, the prince.

Yes, and there is also the concubine. How could she forget about this?

Unexpectedly, Xiao Junbai didn't take the bait and rejected the proposal succinctly, "As the Crown Prince, you should focus more on government affairs, not linger in the harem."

This imperial concubine selection ended with Qi Qinghe being elected as the Crown Princess.

Qi Qinghe didn't pay attention to the rest of the words. She was dragged out of the palace by Liu Shu in a daze. Her steps were weak and her face was pale. She didn't feel the slightest bit of joy at being elected as the Crown Princess.

Her mind was full of her mother. If her uncle knew about it, what would her mother do?

As she was about to leave the main hall, she vaguely heard someone calling her and subconsciously turned around.

It’s Fu Jingyuan.

Fu Jingyuan smiled softly, her lips curved, not even a hint of disappointment on her face. "Congratulations, Miss Qi, on your election. I wish you and your cousin, the Crown Prince, a long and happy life together."

Qi Qinghe forced a smile, thanked him, and turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, Fu Jingyuan was one step ahead of her and blocked her way, a trace of resentment flashing in her eyes. "If I remember correctly, Miss Qi is the daughter of the Minister of Justice. Her name is Qi Qingyu, which is indeed a good name. Being elected as the Crown Princess is such a great thing. Miss Qi, next time, please get together with us more often so that we can share in the joy."

Fu Jingyuan spoke nicely, and the towel in his hand was tangled into a ball, secretly thinking about how to deal with this man.

It’s better to remove this person from the position of Crown Princess!

Qi Qinghe's mind and eyes were filled with his mother who was left alone in the Qi Mansion. How could he not want to get entangled with Fu Jingyuan? He agreed perfunctorily, walked around him and was about to leave.

Just as they passed each other, Fu Jingyuan screamed and fell backwards uncontrollably.

Qi Qinghe turned around and saw the frail girl sitting on the ground, looking aggrieved. "I sincerely congratulate Miss Qi, Miss Qi, you..."

The girls and palace maids around looked over. A few girls stepped forward, pulled Fu Jingyuan up, and angrily asked Qi Qinghe why he pushed people.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Miss Qi didn't touch her at all, and she is slandering me!" Liu Shu blurted out without thinking.

However, the girls didn't listen at all and continued to blame Qi Qinghe.

Qi Qinghe was silent for a moment, "If you say so, then so be it."

She didn't want to get entangled with these people at all. Her mind was full of thoughts about going home... back to the Qi Mansion and seeing how her mother was doing.

After saying that, he pulled Liu Shu up and left. He glanced at Liu Shu's face and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Miss Liu. My mother... I'm a little worried."

Liu Shu remained silent. She fought back and defended Miss Qi, but Miss Qi turned around and admitted it. Who wouldn't be angry?

But when Miss Qi mentioned her family, Liu Shu couldn't get angry for a moment. "Just say sorry and that's it? At least give me something."

As she spoke, she leaned close to Miss Qi and blinked.

"Okay, I'll bring it to you next time." Qi Qinghe responded weakly.

Before leaving the palace and getting on the carriage, Liu Shu held Miss Qi back and said, "Even though you're tired of hearing this, I still want to say congratulations, Miss Qi, on being elected Crown Princess. I wish you and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince a happy and harmonious life together."

After thanking him, Qi Qinghe ran onto the carriage and told the driver to hurry on.

The imperial decree granting her marriage arrived at Qi's residence before her. The tightly closed high door opened to both sides, and servants on both sides bowed their heads and waited to welcome her back to the residence.

As soon as we approached the main hall, the sound of fierce quarreling became particularly harsh.

"Open your eyes and look. My daughter's name is written on the imperial edict. Even if your daughter entered the palace for someone else, she received this honor thanks to my daughter. How can you have the right to make comments?"

The passionate voice was obviously the voice of Qi Lin's wife, Qi Zhang.

Qi Qinghe lifted the hem of her skirt and trotted into the main hall. She held her messy hair in her hand and stood beside her mother. "Mother, are you okay?"

When Qi Xu saw her daughter, tears suddenly flowed from her eyes. She reached out to pull her daughter with trembling hands and said with a trembling mouth, "You...what happened to you today? Were you injured or in trouble? That imperial edict..."

Qi Qinghe held A Niang's hand tightly, comforting her softly, telling her not to worry, "Don't worry, A Niang, everything is fine with me. As for the matter of selecting a concubine, I will talk to you in detail later."

Then she dodged in front of A Niang, staring straight back at her nominal aunt, and panting heavily, she retorted, "So what? I'm the one who entered the palace. The glory and wealth of your Qi family are all due to me. I advise you to speak properly, aunt."

"It was just a few words, why are you so angry?" Qi Lin, who was sitting still, put down his teacup and said a few words of advice, "This time, it's really thanks to you, niece. From now on, we are grasshoppers on a rope. We will rise and fall together. Your mother can't escape it either. Niece, you must not be so reckless."

To put it nicely, it's advice; to put it bluntly, it's a threat.

Qi Qinghe was unmoved. "Uncle should tell Auntie this. We still have a long way to go. We are all family. Why would Auntie target my mother like this?"

Qi Zhang pointed at Qi Qinghe, opened her mouth for a long time and could only say the word "you".

Qi Lin's face turned pale, and he glanced at his wife. "As a family, of course we should get along well. Niece, you can rest assured. With me here and your mother in the Qi family, no one will bully her."

Qi Zhang was lectured by Qi Lin's eyes and kept silent.

Qi Qinghe pursed her lips and was about to say something.

Someone suddenly ran into the main hall and said, "Master, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has sent someone!"

Qi Lin stood up suddenly and asked, "Why didn't you tell me earlier where the person is?"

In the front yard, Cheng Xi stood in front of several boxes, a smile on his face. "Congratulations, Master Qi! Congratulations, Master Qi. Your Highness has prepared a small gift, I hope Master Qi will accept it."

Inside the boxes were gold, silver, jade ornaments, silks, satins, and rare medicinal herbs.

Cheng Xi turned to Qi Qinghe, who was following behind Qi Lin, and said, "Miss Qi, you don't look well today. Could you be sick? His Highness is worried about you, so he specially asked me to bring the imperial physician here."

Qi Qinghe was startled. "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I'm fine. I don't think I need to trouble the imperial physician."

Looking at the boxes of valuables, Qi Lin and Qi Zhang were stunned and stood there frozen in place. When Qi Lin heard his niece speak, he suddenly came back to his senses and breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, this niece was sensible and would not talk nonsense.

Qi Zhang took a few steps back, her teeth almost broken with hatred, and she hung her head without saying a word.

Cheng Xi secretly sighed. This girl seemed a bit stubborn. Her eyes rolled around. "Excuse me, Miss Qi, if you can spare me a moment to talk."

The two of them moved under the tree.

The summer breeze was blowing gently, and the orange sunset glow sprinkled on the girl, making her body look fluffy, which contrasted well with her snow-white cheeks and almond-shaped eyes.

But he always looks timid, which makes people feel pity for him.

Cheng Xi secretly wondered whether his future master would be a good-tempered person.

How could that be possible! Those with good tempers would only be eaten up in the palace.

Qi Qinghe saw that he was staring at her, his expression changing several times, and she felt uneasy. "But Your Highness, what are your instructions?"

"No, no, no, young lady, you misunderstood." Cheng Xi saw that she misunderstood, and stumbled to explain, "I only have one thing to say."

"Don't worry about Miss Fu's matter today. His Highness has taken care of it."

Cheng Xi told the story one by one.

Xiao Junbai, who was the last one to arrive, witnessed the whole process and heard the girls chattering about things that were completely different from what he saw. He immediately frowned and angrily scolded the group of people for making trouble and being ignorant of etiquette, and sent all the girls away.

Then he called Cheng Xi, and recalling Qi Qinghe's unhappy face, he asked Cheng Xi to run a trip for him.

When Qi Qinghe heard Cheng Xi's words, cold sweat broke out on his back and he felt a little scared.

She was in a daze at the time and didn't think much about it, but now when she thinks about it carefully, she really has a big heart.

Fortunately, the Empress and the Imperial Concubine had already left by then, otherwise she would definitely not have been able to escape.

"Please tell your Excellency that I would like to thank Your Highness for rescuing me. I am deeply grateful." Qi Qinghe was extremely terrified and her voice became softer.

"Oh, you are the future Crown Princess. You don't have to be so polite. This is my duty." Cheng Xi saw that she was still timid, so he couldn't help but say a few more words, "Miss, remember, you will be the Crown Prince's legitimate wife in the future, and you will share his glory and prosperity. Don't underestimate yourself."

"As for Miss Fu, she just didn't think clearly at the moment. Miss Qi doesn't need to worry about it."

Qi Qinghe nodded, indicating that he had taken note of it.

The message had been delivered and the matter had been concluded, so Cheng Xi said goodbye after a few words.

Qi Xu nudged her daughter and raised her chin slightly.

Qi Qinghe understood and quickly took a few steps to catch up with Chengxi, "I'll see you off, sir."

As she spoke, she took the purse from Qin'er and put it into Chengxi's hand, "Thank you for making this trip, sir. It's hard work."

Cheng Xi did not refuse, "Miss, please stay. Don't see me off."

After seeing Cheng Xi off, the Qi family members, who had been worried as if they were facing a formidable enemy, finally felt relieved.

When they returned to the main hall, Qi Lin sat down with his horse and golden sword, and drank two cups of tea with a snort. "What did you say to Chief Steward Cheng?"

Qi Qinghe wasn't much better. She sat down with her mother and said unhappily, "Do I really have to tell my uncle everything? My sister hasn't been found yet, and I'm the one who married into the Eastern Palace. Even if my uncle and aunt knew, what would they do?"

"What do you want?" Qi Lin sneered. He said so much nonsense just to make life easier for the mother and daughter, but he actually wanted to take advantage of him?

Absolutely not!

"I want to live with my mother in a quiet little courtyard, with servants and a housewife to look after me, and all my daily needs provided. I also want my uncle and aunt to be very kind to me."

Qi Lin said nothing and just pestered Qi Zhang.

Qi Zhang had been in a daze since Chengxi entered the room. After being scolded by her husband, she finally came to her senses and said through gritted teeth, "These are all trivial matters. They are easy to handle, easy to handle."

This wild girl from the country actually became the prince's wife.

No one knew what Yu was thinking. She didn't want all the wealth and glory, but insisted on running away with a poor boy.

If Yu Yatou is elected, then she will be the one who will be successful.

Qi Zhang was indignant, but with so many eyes staring at her, she couldn't get angry at all. She stood up angrily and went to the backyard.

"Sister-in-law, you and my niece can stay here with peace of mind. I'll take care of everything, so don't worry." Qi Lin said with a smile.