Seeing that the dowry was almost packed, Qi Yuning returned to Prince Qi's Mansion with great fanfare.
This incident caused a huge uproar. Before dusk, the news of the Qi Commandery Lord's divorce from the Regent had spread among the nobles of Shengjing, and even the dowry was moved back home.
After hearing the news, Lu Baozhu rushed to the Chunjiang Courtyard of Prince Qi's mansion and asked, "Qi Yuning, why did you go back to your mother's house again? Did my brother bully you?"
"This has nothing to do with your brother."
Qi Yuning said to Lu Baozhu, "The Empress Dowager has issued an imperial decree to make my niece Lu Ze's concubine. How can the Empress Dowager's niece, your Majesty's cousin, be someone else's concubine? Am I not abdicating and making way for someone more virtuous?"
Lu Baozhu said, "She's just a concubine. Are you stupid? If you give up your position and let someone else take over, wouldn't that just benefit the Zhou family?"
Qi Yuning said, "I won't retreat? I'll just watch Zhou's daughter and concubine come to me and disgust me? Do you think I have such a good temper?"
Lu Baozhu said, "Then your divorce would help the Zhou family's daughter to be happy, wouldn't it?"
Qi Yuning chuckled and said, "It's precisely because we want a divorce that we can't fulfill her wish!"
Among the Zhou family.
Madam Zhou also heard that Qi Yuning had brought her dowry back to the palace from around the city, and smiled at Zhou Jiayun:
"This Princess Qi is really stupid. She divorced and returned to her parents' home. Isn't this obviously giving up the position of Regent Princess to you?
When you go to the Princess's Mansion, you must not be as temperamental as Qi Yuning, constantly going back to her parents' home to ask for a divorce. If she really loses her position as Regent Princess, you will see where she will cry."
Zhou Jiayun was not as happy as Madam Zhou. "Mother, the princess asked for a divorce and returned to her parents' home with her dowry. No matter how you look at it, it is not a happy event."
Madam Zhou said, "How can it not be a happy event? I don't believe that Qi Yuning has the courage to disobey the Empress Dowager's order. If Qi Yuning dares to disobey the order, it will be a good opportunity to liquidate the Qi family."
Minister Zhou couldn't help but shake his head. "How foolish! Are you going to settle accounts with the Qi family now? Don't forget who dares to settle accounts with the Qi family now? Not even Lu Ze dares to talk about settling accounts with the Qi family, not to mention that the man from the Qi family married a real princess!"
Madam Zhou asked, "Why am I confused again? Why is our daughter unworthy of being the Prince Regent's concubine?"
Minister Zhou took a deep breath.
The next day, Qi Yuning invited all the imperial doctors in Shengjing City to the palace.
The imperial doctors saw that Qi Yuning was full of energy and had recovered better than most women after giving birth. For a moment, they were confused about Qi Yuning's intention.
The older Imperial Physician Li, who had watched Qi Yuning grow up, couldn't help but ask, "Is the princess feeling unwell?"
Qi Yuning said: "The Empress Dowager wants her niece to be my husband's concubine and has directly issued an imperial decree to grant the marriage.
"Miss Zhou is the Empress Dowager's niece. How could I dare to let her be my concubine? I had no choice but to ask for a divorce. I've been feeling extremely distressed since returning to the palace. Now you know what's wrong with me, right?"
Qi Yuning glanced at the imperial doctors.
Imperial Physician Li nodded and said, "The princess is filled with anger and grief over her husband being taken away, and she's become ill from worry!"
Qi Yuning looked at the other imperial doctors and asked, "What do you think?"
"Exactly. Exactly."
Qi Yuning specifically instructed these imperial doctors to tell others that he was seriously ill. Once the news of his serious illness spread, there were many different opinions throughout Shengjing City.
Qi Yuning was quietly playing with Lingling with a rattle.
Unfortunately, Lingling still took the rattle and stuffed it into her mouth.
Qi Yuning had no choice but to ask the craftsman to make a plain rattle for Lingling to play with, so that it would be safe even if she put it in her mouth.
The news that Qi Yuning had returned to her parents' home seriously ill spread throughout Shengjing City within three days. Especially since it was a national mourning period and it was the New Year holiday with many banquets, the rumor spread like wildfire throughout Shengjing City.
Zhou Jiayun recently attended a banquet with Mrs. Zhou and found that others no longer had the same enthusiasm for her as before, but were only indifferent.
"Have you heard? This Zhou family is really capable! They just left the country to mourn and they're already competing with Princess Qi for her husband!"
"When did Princess Qi become so good-tempered? If the late emperor were still alive, who else besides Princess Lu would dare to steal Princess Qi's things? Would they be desperate?"
"After His Majesty treated Zhonglie well earlier, the Zhou family's in-laws, tsk tsk... directly snatched the princess' husband."
"Zhou Jiayun is pretty, but how could she be so despicable? She even drove Princess Qi seriously ill by stealing someone else's husband!"
"The Qi family army was in the North City, protecting the territory of Dasheng and expanding its territory. Yet, they actually bullied Princess Qi in Shengjing City and forced the newlyweds to divorce!"
"Princess Qi is still a princess, but she's been humiliated like this. If she were an ordinary woman, wouldn't she be driven to death? It's a pity that Minister Zhou is also the Minister of Rites, yet he raised such a shameless daughter."
Zhou Jiayun felt her face flushed as she listened to the rich girls pointing fingers at her.
"Oh no, oh no, miss."
The maid hurried to Zhou Jiayun's side and said, "Oh no, Miss! Five censors are kneeling at the palace gate, demanding that the Empress Dowager revoke her imperial decree granting the marriage!"
Zhou Jiayun frowned and said, "What does this have to do with the Censor? It's just an imperial decree granting marriage."
Queen Dowager Zhou in the palace was being scolded in the palace of Queen Dowager Qin.
The Queen Mother Qin angrily scolded, "I'm not even dead yet, and you dare to bully Yuning? The Qi family has avenged your husband's daughter, but how about you? Is this how you repay Yuning?"
"Yu Ning has been ill for three days! If anything happens to her, do you want your Zhou family and our royal family to lose face? Is your Zhou family's daughter so despicable that she has to steal someone else's husband?"
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