Zhou Wenqiang walked out of the princess's mansion and returned to the Shangshu's mansion.
Mrs. Zhou, who greeted him at the door, asked hurriedly, "What did the Prince Regent say? He has also met our Jiayun. It's rare for a man who has met our Jiayun to not be moved."
Zhou Wenqiang said, "I met Princess Qi today. Princess Qi's appearance is quite good compared to our Jiayun."
Madam Zhou said, "I don't believe it. My daughter Jiayun is a peerless beauty praised by everyone. How could I have never heard of Princess Qi's reputation? I only heard that she was arrogant and domineering, relying on her good family background."
Zhou Wenqiang sighed softly and said, "Since you know Qi Yuning is arrogant and domineering, you should give up the idea of letting Jiayun become Lu Ze's concubine!"
Madam Zhou frowned and said, "Do you think I'd be willing to let my beautiful daughter go to be someone's concubine? Isn't it the will of my father-in-law and mother-in-law? The emperor is still young, and your sister, the empress dowager, is weak and incompetent. You've just arrived at the court, and although you hold the title of Minister of Rites, you haven't yet taken power. We need to be on guard against Lu Ze's ulterior motives."
I can only let Jiayun be his concubine, and I can also use this opportunity to win over Lu Ze and protect your sister and Zhao Jie!"
Zhou Wenqiang sighed softly, "It's still the national mourning period. If we want Jiayun to be Lu Ze's concubine, we can only wait until the mourning period is over."
Madam Zhou said, "If we wait until the national mourning period is over, Princess Qi will probably have given birth to a child. Amitabha, may the Bodhisattva bless Princess Qi and give birth to a daughter!"
Zhou Wenqiang couldn't help but sigh heavily when he heard what Mrs. Zhou said.
…
Qi Yuning originally thought that before she met Lingling, she probably would not go out again.
However, unexpectedly, Princess Xu passed away in June. Princess Xu had been bedridden for a long time. Last autumn, Prince Xu had already been planning to make Lu Baohua his concubine. At that time, he knew that Princess Xu did not have much time left.
His Majesty's will ordered Prince Xu to go to his fiefdom, but Prince Xu never set off because his wife was unable to even leave her sickbed.
Qi Yuning is pregnant, so as her nephew's wife, she doesn't have to go to pay her respects.
However, she is the only one from the Qi family in Shengjing City, and she is the one who delivers all the gifts to Prince Qi's Mansion. It would be disrespectful to let the housekeeper of the Qi Mansion deliver the gifts for Princess Xu's funeral.
Now that she is six months pregnant and is considered stable, she can go to pay her respects in person.
Qi Yuning and Lu Baozhu went to pay their respects together, but they rode in the Qi family's sedan chair.
Qi Yuning looked at Lu Baozhu who insisted on sharing a sedan chair with him and asked, "Does your Lu family not have a sedan chair?"
Lu Baozhu said: "Now it is also your Lu family. You have entered my Lu family, and you went to express condolences with the famous saying of the Qi family. You are not afraid of what people say."
Qi Yuning said, "I have entered your Lu family. My surname is also Qi. My brother and sister-in-law are not in Shengjing City, so naturally I have to pay the tribute on behalf of the Qi family."
Lu Baozhu said, "Speaking of which, my aunt Prince Xu is truly unlucky. She and Uncle Xu have always been very loving, but she's been seriously ill since the beginning of last year. I've consulted countless imperial doctors, but none of them could cure her. Alas! Good people don't live long. When she was seriously ill, her family kept trying to get someone to come to Uncle Xu's side. Now, she's finally free."
Qi Yuning asked, "Princess Xu doesn't seem to like her families very much?"
"Who would like to have their husband be introduced to their sister's or niece's family even though they're still alive? Actually, it wasn't Prince Xu who wanted to marry Lu Baohua last time, it was Princess Xu who wanted to."
Qi Yuning looked at Lu Baozhu in surprise and asked, "How do you know?"
Lu Baozhu said, "I heard Princess Xu tell Lu Baohua that she's worried that after she's gone and Prince Xu ascends the throne, the new Empress won't have room for her son and daughter. She wants to find someone of noble status who can take good care of her children, and Lu Baohua is the perfect choice."
Qi Yuning sighed and said, "How pitiful are the parents in the world."
When they arrived at the gate of Prince Xu's mansion, they heard bursts of sobbing from inside.
Qi Yuning and Lu Baozhu got out of the sedan chair.
Prince Xu, who was receiving guests at the door, was filled with grief. When he saw Qi Yuning coming, he stepped forward and realized that Qi Yuning was sitting in the Qi family's sedan chair.
Qi Yuning bowed and said, "Prince Xu, please accept my condolences."
Prince Xu said sadly, "The princess is so thoughtful that she came to see her deceased wife off for the last time."
When Qi Yuning and Lu Baozhu entered, they heard a twelve-year-old girl crying uncontrollably, shouting loudly, "Mother, mother, please don't leave."
Lu Baozhu walked forward, hugged Princess Fang and said, "Fang'er."
"Sister Baozhu, I don't have a mother anymore. I don't have a mother anymore!"
Qi Yuning stepped forward and lit three incense sticks for Princess Xu. Listening to Fang'er's crying, she felt very sad. She knew what it felt like to be without a mother. Qi Yuning liked Qi Yu'an telling her about his childhood. After all, she was too young at that time, and she could not remember a lot of the love her parents had given her.
Qi Yuning was extremely sad when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Lu Ze.
Lu Ze glanced at Qi Yuning unhappily and dragged her to the adjacent hall for guests to rest. "Why are you here to pay your respects?"
Qi Yuning said, "I'm here to offer condolences on behalf of the Qi family."
Lu Ze whispered to Qi Yuning, "Wait for me. I'll go back with you later."
Qi Yuning nodded lightly.
After Lu Ze left, Qi Yuning stood up and saw two figures entering. One of them was a younger girl wearing a beige skirt and her lightly made-up face was stunning at first glance.
Needless to say, she knew that the beauty in front of her was the niece of Queen Mother Zhou. After all, there were not many such stunning beauties.
Sure enough, Xiaoman, who was fanning Qi Yuning from behind, lowered her head and whispered in her ear: "Princess, it's her, the great beauty of the Zhou family."
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