Chapter 237
Tao Tao smiled, stepped forward, and took his large hand in hers. "Thank you, Yanli, for your concern."
"I will definitely take good care of myself, and so will you."
Qi Heng felt her soft, boneless little hand being placed in hers, warm and tender, and heard gentle words whispering in her ear; her heart almost melted.
He lowered his head, a slight blush rising to his cheeks before returning to normal. He withdrew his hand, noticing her slight change in expression, and quickly explained, "If others find out, it won't be good for your reputation."
"Although our wedding is imminent, we must still observe etiquette and not betray your good reputation."
Upon hearing this, Tao Tao's lips curled slightly, and a playful smile flashed in her eyes. She quickly regained her composure and said, "I'm so happy that Yanli is so considerate of me."
He lowered his head, smiled with pursed lips, his eyebrows and eyes were gentle, his tall and elegant figure made him look even more noble in his light gold python robe. He seemed approachable in his dealings with people, but in reality he was distant and had clear boundaries.
"Then I'll head back now?"
He paused for a moment upon hearing this, but said nothing, nodding as before. "Alright, it's quite a distance from here to the palace gate. I'll have someone prepare a sedan chair to take you out of the palace."
Tao Tao nodded slightly, walked past him, and headed forward.
Qi Heng stood there, gazing at her graceful figure, her eyes filled with tenderness. Even after she had walked far away, she was still reluctant to look away.
Shen Lin, standing to the side, frowned deeply, feeling very dissatisfied with Tao Tao. He thought that a merchant's daughter who worked in the funeral industry had no right to sit in the position of Crown Princess.
The reason she rose to prominence was all due to good luck. Even though she is now a county princess, it doesn't change the fact that she came from a merchant family.
She is neither virtuous and elegant nor beautiful like a fairy. What exactly does His Highness see in her?
Thinking this, he couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, isn't it too hasty to decide on the position of Crown Princess? You are the Crown Prince, and there should be a better candidate."
"Furthermore, if you were to marry a woman from a noble family, it would be more helpful for your future succession to the throne. Shouldn't you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qi Heng's cold reprimand reached his ears.
“Chen Lin, she is Princess Huaimin. You have no right to speak ill of her in your heart. Also, I don’t know who you think is a better candidate, but only she can sit in the position of Crown Princess. In the future, she will also be your master.”
"If you cannot obey her, then you are defying me. In that case, you don't need to stay by my side any longer. I will arrange another place for you."
Her voice was clear and pleasant, but the meaning behind her words was ruthless.
Shen Lin was immediately shocked and knelt on the ground. "Your Highness, I meant no harm. I should not have been disrespectful to Princess Huaimin. Please forgive me this time, considering how long I have been by your side."
His face was full of panic. After he finished speaking, he immediately kowtowed, making a loud thud. You could tell from the sound that it was a solid kowtow.
Qi Heng lowered her eyes, gazing at him calmly, and sighed silently.
After all, he was someone who had been with him for so long and one of the people he trusted most. In the end, he was also thinking of himself.
"Get up. If this happens again, I will not let you off lightly."
Hearing this, Shen Lin breathed a sigh of relief and quickly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you for your magnanimity, Your Highness."
He was truly surprised that His Highness was so deeply in love with this woman that even he, her long-time bodyguard, couldn't say a bad word about her.
After Tao Tao left, a series of loud crashes and bangs echoed in Kunning Palace.
Empress Qiu Lingyao was furious and shouted, "How dare Murong Tao disregard me? Has she lost her mind?!"
"She's not even the Crown Princess yet, and she's already so disrespectful to me. If she really becomes the Crown Princess, who knows how arrogant she'll be!"
She should have known that this young lady was no pushover, but she never expected that she could misjudge her. It infuriated her!
Granny Yu was also indignant. She had always been a respectful and flattered aunt in the palace, but she had been humiliated in public like that. How could she maintain her authority in front of so many palace servants?
"Your Majesty, please calm down. This young lady is only feeling smug right now. When she marries into the family, at the very least, you will be the Empress and she will only be a county princess. At the very least, you will be the mother-in-law and she will be the daughter-in-law. How you treat her will be entirely up to you."
"If we can't deal with Consort Liu, can't we at least handle a county princess?"
Qiu Lingyao found this very reasonable, turned around and sat back down. She pressed her fingertips against her temples, and Zhi'er, who was beside her, stepped forward to massage them for her.
"Yes, let her be happy for two days. If she can't get pregnant in a short time, then don't blame me for being ruthless."
Suddenly she frowned and complained angrily, "Why didn't Heng'er discuss it with me before going to ask for the imperial decree? It's not that I don't want to do what he wants, it's just that it was a few days late, and he's already in such a hurry."
"After they get married, will they still have any regard for me, their mother?"
They all treat her so disrespectfully, but she is the Empress of the Celestial Empire!
Zhi'er remained silent behind her. Based on her brief encounter with Princess Huaimin and the fact that she could easily infuriate the Empress, she thought that the Princess was probably even more powerful.
On the other side, in Yaohua Palace, the atmosphere was equally tense.
Consort Liu knelt down in front of the young prince Qi Xi, her eyes filled with tears, staring at Qi Xi's swollen cheeks with heartache, her fingertips trembling slightly, not daring to even touch him.
"What exactly happened? Who did this?!"
Her eyes were cold as she swept her gaze over the trembling crowd around her. Her tone seemed gentle, but it was actually filled with murderous intent.
The palace servants looked at each other, none daring to be the first to step forward.
Qi Xi's eyes were red as she cried out, "It was that wicked woman! Mother, it was that slut who hit Xi'er, it hurts so much... Mother, it hurts so much... Waaah..."
slut?
When he said that, she immediately thought of Princess Qi Roufu.
Consort Liu's gentle and beautiful face twisted slightly, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and said, "So it was her! This vile woman dared to hurt my Xi'er."
"Don't cry, don't cry. Your mother will apply the medicine for you. Don't worry, your mother will make her pay the price."
She reached out and hugged him, then turned and scolded, "A bunch of useless trash! You can't even protect the little prince, what use are you!"
"Guards, drag these people away and give them sixty strokes of the cane!"
Sixty strokes of the cane?!
After this is over, the designated person is gone.
The palace servants immediately became terrified, knelt down, and hurriedly kowtowed, begging for mercy.
"Spare me, Your Highness! Spare me, Your Highness! I was wrong..."
Many eunuchs entered from outside and forcibly dragged away the crying palace maids and eunuchs. Soon, the sound of blows hitting flesh could be heard from outside.
The screams grew louder and louder, lingering in the air for a long time.
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