After leaving Meng Qingqian's place, Li Gongqin planned to visit the Empress Dowager.

After all, they are relatives. When visiting the palace, one cannot only go to the cousin's palace and ignore the aunt.

Li Gongqin said to his colleagues, "Brother Huang, Brother Yang, Brother Lü, I need to go to Fenghua Palace. You may leave the palace first."

Yang Xingguang, wanting to make Yang Zhe's presence known, said, "Brother Li, you're too kind. The late Emperor passed away early, and visiting the Empress Dowager is our duty. I'll go with you, Brother Li."

Having received Jiang Wuyou's instructions to monitor Meng's actions, Lü Liang saw this as a good opportunity and said, "I will go with you."

Huang Qinghe originally didn't want to go. Going to the Empress Dowager's place was pointless; it would just be nothing but small talk and staring at each other. But since everyone else was going, he couldn't be an exception, so he said, "I'll go too, I'll go too."

The group strolled to Fenghua Palace, waited outside for a while, and were then invited in by the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager was quite surprised to see these people come together.

Of the group, only nephew Li Gongqin was a regular visitor; the others rarely came, especially after Meng Qingqian was given more power, so they could only see each other a few times. But today, they all came.

However, the most surprising one is Lüliang.

When the Empress Dowager was in power, Lü Liang was a confidant of the Prime Minister. How come he is now mixed up with a group of Meng family officials?

After a few days, once everyone was seated, the Empress Dowager anxiously asked, "Lü Liang, why are you getting so close to Gong Qin and the others? Aren't you afraid Han Wenxin will suspect you?"

Lüliang: ...

Li Gongqin and others: ...

Everyone had the same thought: The Empress Dowager is indeed the Empress Dowager; she hasn't changed at all over the years.

Lü Liang forced himself to say, "Your Majesty, I have abandoned the darkness and embraced the light, and I am determined to serve the royal family and the Great Qi."

The Empress Dowager asked in surprise, "Really? You and Han Wenxin swore your loyalty back then. You said I was 'interfering in politics as a relative of the empress' and 'a hen crowing at dawn'."

Lüliang: ...

Everyone: ...

Lü Liang said awkwardly, "I was young then, and I was blind and deceived by the Han family. I failed to see through Han Wenxin's evil intentions in usurping Qi. Now I understand that the Empress Dowager and the Princess are the ones who are truly considering and planning for the sake of our Great Qi."

The Empress Dowager frowned and said, "Although Prime Minister Han often opposes me, I don't think he has any intention of stealing Qi."

Everyone: ...

Publicly questioning and clarifying relationships, publicly questioning the motives of surrendered officials, and directly defending old rivals in public...

The Empress Dowager often acted on intuition, and Lü Liang secretly rejoiced that it wasn't her leading the Meng clan now, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to "abandon Han and join Meng".

Lü Liang was speechless after being spoken to by the Empress Dowager, and could only say, "The Empress Dowager's way of speaking is just as unique as before..."

Lü Liang is indeed a great help, and we cannot let him leave in anger because of the Empress Dowager. Seeing that the situation was not right, Li Gongqin changed the subject: "Empress Dowager, Princess Xiaoyue will soon turn twenty. According to etiquette, a banquet should be held to celebrate. However, Princess Xiaoyue's status is very high now. She is not an ordinary princess or eldest princess. We would like to ask for the Empress Dowager's opinion."

The Empress Dowager naturally replied, "Just follow the scale of my birthday banquet last year."

Li Gongqin cupped his hands and said, "Your subject understands."

After exchanging a few more casual pleasantries, the group figured that it was about time and prepared to take their leave.

Just then, a palace maid rushed in from outside the door and whispered something in the Empress Dowager's ear. The Empress Dowager exclaimed in surprise, "The Marquis of Wuqing has arrived? Please invite him in quickly."

The people watching below, who had been getting up to leave, decided to stay once they heard that He Yuanhao had arrived.

Except for Lüliang.

Since arriving at the Empress Dowager's side, Lü Liang had been in an awkward position from beginning to end. Now, with He Yuanhao's arrival, the awkwardness only intensified. After all, Lü Liang used to frequently associate with Marquis Wuqing, but now that their sides had reversed, he couldn't even speak properly. They could only look at each other in silence, tears streaming down their faces.

He Yuanhao is a celebrity.

Not only was he a renowned general in the State of Qi, but his son, He Yunxiao, was also a notorious playboy in the capital.

The Minister of Justice, Huang Qinghe, had not given He Yuanhao a kind look since he entered.

It's important to know that Huang Buren's mental state has been off ever since he was beaten by He Yunxiao.

Although he used to do bad things, at least he had a lot of expressions and seemed smart. Now he doesn't do bad things anymore, but he always has a blank expression and a vacant look, like a fool.

He Yuanhao entered the Empress Dowager's bedroom, first paying his respects to the Empress Dowager, and then, seeing so many colleagues, regardless of whether he was on the Prime Minister's side, he greeted them one by one with "Your Excellency" after their surnames.

"Master Huang."

Huang Qinghe gave him a cold shoulder and snorted, "Is Lord He here today to 'abandon darkness and embrace the light'?"

He Yuanhao laughed and said, "We are all officials of the Great Qi, serving the same monarch and the same people, so how can there be any 'light' or 'dark' distinctions?"

Huang Qinghe said, "You know perfectly well why I'm asking."

He Yuanhao said, "Please explain, Lord Huang."

The feud between He Yuanhao and Huang Qinghe was widely known in the court and among the public. Seeing the two arguing again, Li Gongqin once again acted as a peacemaker, saying, "General, are you dressed so meticulously today because you have important business to discuss with the Empress Dowager?"

He Yuanhao said, "Lord Li is indeed very meticulous. Indeed, I have important business to attend to. Your Majesty, I have a request to make."

The Empress Dowager said, "Speak."

"Your Majesty, I would like to request that you grant me a marriage, and that Princess Nanzhu be betrothed to my son He Yunxiao as his principal wife."

The Empress Dowager had long harbored this intention and was about to agree when Huang Qinghe stood up and said, "Your Majesty, please reconsider! Everyone in the capital knows He Yunxiao's name. She is lawless, arrogant, ignorant, and lustful..."

Yang Xingguang watched the show with his hands in his pockets. He Yuanhao was known for his "it's none of my business" attitude and rarely got involved in arguments with others. Now, with this rare opportunity, he was enjoying the spectacle. Anyway, He Yunxiao didn't want to marry Meng Qingqian. As long as he didn't marry Meng Qingqian and didn't touch the daughter-in-law of the Yang family of Hexi, he could marry whoever he wanted.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!