Xie Qing said thoughtfully, "It's not clear if Bai is holding anything in her hand, or maybe the fourth brother has promised something."
Do you even need to ask what was promised?
When the Fourth Prince ascends the throne in the future, the Fourth Prince's wife, as the legitimate wife, may not necessarily be the Queen, so the promise should be that she will have the position of Empress.
Of course, the Fourth Prince's wife might have thought that the position of Queen was already in her pocket, so perhaps she had promised some benefits to her family.
Qin Wan said quietly, "Perhaps tonight won't be peaceful."
Xie Qing took out a letter and handed it to Qin Wan: "Just received it, take a look."
Qin Wan unfolded the letter, raised her eyebrows, and chuckled, "It seems that the fourth brother can't wait any longer. If we fight back now, we won't be able to hit him with one strike, but we can still counter his moves."
The two looked at each other and instantly came up with a way to deal with the situation.
Qin Wan slowly folded the letter and said, "The old prince is honest and upright by nature, and he doesn't tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes. The people we have prepared can be put to good use."
Xie Qing asked Zigui to go back and call Xiao Luzi in. After giving him a few instructions, he checked the time and asked, "Why haven't my father-in-law and mother-in-law come yet?"
The royal family is different from ordinary families. After Qin Wan entered the palace, she only met her family on the day of her return home.
Others can go back to their parents' home if they want to on weekdays, but as the Crown Princess, it is not convenient for Qin Wan to go back even on the second day of the Lunar New Year, the day when married women return to their parents' home.
There is a palace banquet today, and the Qin family can enter the palace. Qin Xie and others should also come over to talk and meet Qin Wan.
But Xie Qing didn't see them coming, so he became curious.
Qin Wan smiled and said, "Mother said that since I just entered the palace, everything is difficult, so I won't enter the palace for the time being."
"Mother-in-law is afraid that someone will take advantage of her and cause you more trouble, right?" Xie Qing understood instantly. What Qin Wan was not comfortable saying, he could say: "The palace is in chaos right now. It's safer for them to only appear at the palace banquet. Okay, let's go."
After putting on their cloaks, the two men went to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to pick up the emperor.
The emperor has been ill, and now on New Year's Eve, he has to show up to comfort the hearts of his court officials.
The emperor was also dressed properly. Upon closer inspection, one could see that he had put on some powder on his face, which made him look better.
Qin Wan and Xie Qing looked at each other, and there was a hint of worry in their eyes.
The emperor's eyes did not escape the two people's little movements. He walked forward, patted Xie Qing on the shoulder, and said with a loud smile: "Don't worry, I'm fine."
Xie Qing picked up the cloak and put it on the emperor. Qin Wan stuffed the hand warmer into his hand, and Eunuch Zhang put another cloak on him. This time, he was wrapped tightly with three layers inside and three layers outside.
When the emperor got into the sedan chair, there was a foot warmer burning brightly under his feet, and his whole body felt warm instantly.
Xie Qing also boarded his own sedan chair. The three of them had not gone far when they ran into Concubine Min's sedan chair.
The emperor opened the curtain and beckoned to Concubine Min: "Would you like to go together?"
Concubine Min's sedan chair immediately moved forward and caught up with the emperor's sedan chair.
Qin Wan and Xie Qing's sedan chairs moved back a little.
Concubine Min lifted the curtain, looked carefully at the emperor's face, and said worriedly: "Your Majesty, please lower the curtain quickly. It's cold."
The emperor then lowered the curtain and asked about Concubine Min's recent situation.
Concubine Min only reported good news and not bad news. When she talked about the changes in the Seventh Princess, she praised Qin Wan again and again.
As they were talking, they arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony. After they entered, everyone in the Hall knelt on the ground and shouted "Long live the emperor!"
The emperor stepped onto the throne and raised his hands slightly: "Stand up."
In previous years, at palace banquets, the emperor would give lengthy speeches, summarizing the past year's shortcomings, looking ahead to the future, and specifically praising several court officials. This year, the emperor was quiet. He coughed twice, pointed at Xie Qing, and said, "I'm not feeling well this year, so I've handed over many affairs to the Crown Prince. He's doing an excellent job. You all must obey the Crown Prince."
"I won't say more. Let the prince say a few words." After the emperor finished speaking, he looked at the prince, with no hiding of admiration in his eyes.
Xie Qing bowed to the emperor, and then spoke to the court officials.
When everyone thought that he would take the opportunity to reprimand some court officials who were at odds with him, who knew that he only talked about government affairs in the court and never said a word about other people.
The Fourth Prince thought that Xie Qing would take the opportunity to criticize him, but he didn't expect that Xie Qing didn't even mention a word, and in the end, he even praised the Fourth Prince's charity performance.
Xie Qing looked at the Fourth Prince with clear and sincere eyes, and said with gratitude: "The snowstorm has made life miserable for the people. Even though the Ministry of Works has prepared a plan in advance to help the people reinforce their houses, it is difficult to take care of everyone."
"And the Fourth Prince held a charity performance to raise money for the victims. This ingenuity is truly astonishing. The Fourth Prince has a compassionate heart, which is worthy of our learning."
The eldest prince looked at the crown prince, then at the fourth wife, and chuckled. In the past, he might have thought that Xie Qing had bad intentions.
Now that he has been with the prince for some time, there is no doubt about it, it is certain that the prince is up to no good!
The eldest prince immediately raised his wine glass, bowed to the emperor and Xie Qingyao, and said, "I have a few words to say. Today is the New Year, and we should celebrate. Throughout the year, we have been busy with state affairs. On a festive day like today, let's talk about eating, drinking, and having fun. Can we stop being so serious?"
The emperor laughed heartily and said, "The eldest prince is right. Today should be a day of feasting, drinking, and merrymaking. Come, let us raise our glasses together and wish our Great Zhou a prosperous new year."
Everyone raised their glasses and shouted along with the emperor, "May our Great Zhou prosper!"
The emperor was in poor health, so naturally he couldn't drink. He raised his wine glass and put it down again, then sat for a while. When the singing and dancing started, he got up and returned to the palace.
Without the emperor present, everyone felt more at ease, chatting in groups of three or five while holding their wine glasses.
Qin Xie was also sitting next to Qin Wan at this moment, holding her hand and looking at her again and again: "You have lost weight."
Qin Wan also looked at Qin Xie and saw a few more white hairs in her hair. She felt distressed and said, "Mother, you haven't seen me for a long time, so you think I've lost weight. But you have a few more white hairs. You must have been very worried recently, right?"
Qin Xie smiled and was about to say something when she noticed a gaze falling on her. She frowned and turned her head to look, but didn't notice who was looking at her. When she spoke to Qin Wan again, that feeling came back and she couldn't help but turn around and look.
Qin Wan tugged at Qin Xie's sleeve, motioning her to turn around: "Mother, do you always feel like someone is watching you?"
"Yes, it's a bit strange." Qin Xie was a little uneasy. It would be great if her daughter didn't marry into the royal family, or if they didn't get married at all. Why would they be walking on thin ice like today?
Qin Wan patted her hand gently and whispered, "She's not looking at Mother, she's the Fourth Prince's Consort looking at me."
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