The Empress Dowager was furious upon hearing this.

"Guards, order that the liar from Jin Street to have his tongue pulled out and be banished from the capital, never to return!"

The maidservant beside him received the order and went to make the arrangements.

The Empress Dowager, feeling sorry for Qinglan, took her hand and said:

"Qinglan, don't be afraid. Grandmother said she would make sure you get married in style and honor, and she will definitely do so."

Upon hearing this, Qinglan's eyes lit up for a moment, but quickly dimmed again.

“Grandmother, even if I am married to the wrong person, I am unwilling to settle. Please let me stay by your side.”

The Empress Dowager gently patted Qinglan's hand a few times and smiled:

"You're talking nonsense again. Don't worry, since it was Jiang Yuwei who ruined your reputation, General Ning has to take responsibility for you. He has no choice but to marry her now!"

As she spoke, the Empress Dowager instructed her personal maid:

"Go to the General's Mansion in person to convey my decree, and bestow upon General Ning a marriage with Qinglan, thus fulfilling the last wish of General Sun. His original wife, Jiang Yuwei, will be demoted to a secondary wife."

Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Qinglan's sorrow immediately turned to joy. She quickly rose and knelt before the Empress Dowager to pay her respects.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for bestowing this marriage upon me."

When the Empress Dowager saw Qinglan smile, she smiled back and gestured for her to stand up.

Qinglan smiled, rose, and sat down next to the Empress Dowager. She poured the Empress Dowager a cup of tea and said softly:

“Grandmother, General Ning and his family are currently staying at Prince Jing’s residence. If you want to send a messenger to deliver an imperial edict, you must go to Prince Jing’s residence to avoid making a wasted trip.”

The Empress Dowager frowned upon hearing this and said:

"I remember that the Emperor bestowed a mansion upon General Ning back then, so why is he still living in Prince Jing's mansion now?"

Qinglan spoke with displeasure.

"It's all because Jiang Yuwei wanted to treat the princess's illness, so her whole family moved to the Jing Prince's Mansion to stay temporarily."

The Empress Dowager shook her head.

“This General Ning is also indecisive. After you marry into the family, you can’t live in someone else’s residence. If you do, won’t you be inferior to others in everything and have to watch their faces all day long? As a princess, you can’t put up with that.”

Qinglan smiled and got up to massage the Empress Dowager's shoulders.

“Grandmother, you don’t need to worry about Qinglan. I heard that Jiang Yuwei has already renovated the General’s Mansion. After I marry Brother Huaizhi, I will naturally move back to the General’s Mansion. If Jiang Yuwei is willing to live in the Prince Jing’s Mansion, I will not stop her.”

The Empress Dowager nodded in satisfaction after hearing this.

"I think Jiang Yuwei has bewitched General Ning. It's ridiculous that General Ning, as the head of the family, has to obey a woman in everything. When you marry into the General's mansion, you'll have to teach Jiang Yuwei a lesson."

Qinglan smiled and said:

"Yes, Grandmother, Qinglan will follow your arrangements."

The Empress Dowager patted Qinglan's hand as she massaged her shoulders.

"Alright, now that I've done what you wanted, you're not crying like before anymore. Now you want to massage my shoulders again?"

Qinglan sat down next to the Empress Dowager in a coquettish manner and said in a sweet voice:

"Oh dear, I was just so heartbroken that I couldn't control my emotions and started crying in front of Grandmother. Grandmother, please don't make fun of me."

The Empress Dowager smiled and gently brushed a stray hair from Qinglan's forehead, playfully scolding her:

"What could I possibly make fun of you? I'm too worried about you to care. If you ever feel wronged in the future, come to Grandmother. Grandmother will stand up for you. You mustn't cry anymore."

As she spoke, the Empress Dowager patted Qinglan on the shoulder.

"Alright, looking at you like this, you don't look like a bride at all. Hurry back to the manor and change out of your clothes. Get yourself ready."

Seeing this, Qinglan stood up embarrassedly, straightened her clothes, and bowed to the Empress Dowager again.

"Grandmother, I'm sorry you had to see me in such a sorry state today. I'll go back and change out of these clothes now, and I'll come to the palace to keep you company tomorrow."

The Empress Dowager waved her hand at Qinglan and said:

"You have a lot to do right now, you don't need to come and keep me company every day. Go and do your thing, go on!"

Having received her instructions, Qinglan happily left.

As soon as they left the Empress Dowager's palace, Qinglan hugged Yangliu tightly and said happily:

"Yang Liu, I owe you so much today. Otherwise, I would never have imagined that I could achieve my wish through this trick. In the near future, we will be moving to the General's Mansion. Let's hurry back and help me prepare my dowry."

As she spoke, Qinglan released Yangliu, looked up at the sky, and whispered:

"Even without my mother, I can still get married in style. Brother Huaizhi, wait for me!"

Yang Liu was overjoyed to see that the matter was finally resolved. She no longer needed to worry about Princess Qinglan taking her anger out on her. So she quickly helped Qinglan up and said with a smile:

"Madam General, please slow down."

Upon hearing Yang Liu's words, Qinglan blushed instantly, and unable to suppress a smile, she playfully scolded:

"You're such a chatterbox. Hurry up and go back to the manor to make preparations."

As they spoke, the master and servant left the palace, chatting and laughing.

After Qinglan left, the Empress Dowager was still worried about being alone in the palace. After all, she had witnessed the determination of Jiang Yuwei and Ning Huaizhi on the day of the Empress's birthday banquet, so she did not issue a decree to force them to get married that day.

The Empress Dowager is forced by the current situation. If Jiang Yuwei really ruins Qinglan's reputation, Qinglan will definitely not be able to get married in the future.

But the scene of Qinglan's mother holding his hand tightly when she passed away, begging him to take care of Qinglan as she grew up and help her get married in a grand manner, is still vivid in his mind.

Whenever the Empress Dowager thought of how Qinglan's mother died to save her, she always felt guilty towards Qinglan. Today, being able to fulfill Qinglan's wish in this way could bring some comfort to the Empress Dowager's heart.

Anyway, Jiang Yuwei was in the wrong first, so there's nothing wrong with what I did. The only fear is that Jiang Yuwei and Ning Huaizhi might cause some other trouble.

The Empress Dowager thought it over and over but still felt uneasy, so she instructed the palace maid beside her:

"Go and invite Jiang Yuwei into the palace. Tell her I have something to ask her."

The palace maid received the order and left.

Jiang Yuwei was helping with the business in the shop when she saw people from the palace come and, in front of everyone, rip out Liu Sheng's tongue and then banish him from the capital.

The crowd that had been watching the spectacle scattered in all directions upon seeing the commotion. Even those inside the shop, hearing the screams outside, dared not linger any longer and stumbled out.

The leading eunuch looked at the crowd and shouted something at the top of his lungs.

"Today, the Empress Dowager heard that someone was spreading rumors on Jin Street, so she ordered me to pull out this person's tongue. If anyone else is heard spreading rumors about Princess Qinglan in the future, their fate will be the same as this person's! Do you all understand?"

The group, who were about to leave, had no choice but to stop and nod in agreement when the eunuch spoke.

The old man flicked his whisk and gave Jiang Yuwei, who was standing in the shop, a meaningful glance before leaving with his entourage.