Qi Yuning coughed a few times and put his hand on his head and said, "Your Majesty, I feel dizzy and uncomfortable, and my heart is also very stuffy. I won't stay with you for long. I will go back to my room and rest first."
Queen Mother Zhou looked at Qi Yuning's back as she stood up and left, frowning tightly, "Yuning, flowers don't bloom forever, do you really have to go against me?"
Qi Yuning listened to Empress Dowager Zhou's threats and laughed awkwardly, "I have never thought of going against you, Empress Dowager. I respect you as the Empress Dowager, but that doesn't mean I have to give in again and again. You should have heard of my reputation a long time ago.
When I was in confinement after giving birth, Zhou Jiayun flirted with Lu Ze, and I really held back for your sake.
If you had discussed the matter of appointing Zhou Jiayun as a concubine with us instead of issuing an imperial decree directly, I would not be seriously ill now.
Without even a second thought, you're trying to place a woman from the Zhou family as a concubine. You're also a woman, and you've also been in love with Prince Duan. Can't you understand how I feel?"
Qi Yuning said respectfully again: "I have never thought of doing anything against you. I have already asked for a divorce and given up the position of Regent Princess to your niece. As long as you dare to sit in this position, you can sit as you please.
I respect you so much, yet you still accuse me of being against you. I feel so wronged!"
Empress Dowager Zhou took a deep breath and returned to Ci'an Palace after leaving Prince Qi's Mansion.
Then I heard the palace maid coming to report that Madam Zhou had arrived.
Empress Dowager Zhou repeatedly ordered Madam Zhou to come inside.
Madam Zhou burst into tears as she entered, "Empress Dowager, there are rumors circulating that Minister Zhou hasn't raised his daughter well and isn't worthy of the position of Minister of Rites. What should we do?"
"I don't know where a group of people came to my Zhou Mansion, calling Jiayun a lowly person, bullying others to force divorces, and stealing their husbands... We don't ask for the position of the regent concubine anymore, we don't ask for it anymore."
Madam Zhou pretended to cry bitterly, "I just wanted to be a concubine, but I didn't expect that Princess Qi would humiliate us like this..."
Empress Dowager Zhou frowned upon hearing this and said, "Now it's not a matter of whether you ask for the position of concubine or not. I just returned from Prince Qi's mansion. Qi Yuning said that the only way to put an end to this matter is to marry Zhou Jiayun out of Shengjing City and marry her to an ordinary citizen. If Jiayun wants to stay in Shengjing City, she can only find a marriage of equal status and become a concubine!"
Madam Zhou was extremely shocked and shouted angrily, "Qi Yuning, that damned thing, actually treated my daughter like this. Although Your Majesty has to rely on the Qi family for support now, Your Majesty will eventually grow up and become a fully fledged woman. She actually dared to let Your Majesty's cousin become a concubine. She is so arrogant! Isn't she afraid that one day her wealth and status will be gone?"
Empress Dowager Zhou took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty is still young. The only way to calm this situation is to do as Qi Yuning wishes. The princess's wedding is approaching. If Qi Yuning waits until Prince Lu's wedding day and doesn't return, then our Zhou family's reputation will be completely disgraced in front of all the nobles in Shengjing."
Madam Zhou was truly weeping at this moment. "What should I do? My daughter Jiayun is so beautiful that even if she were to marry a prince or noble as a wife, it would be a casual choice. It would be such a pity to only let her be a concubine..."
Queen Mother Zhou said, "I did think about this on my way back to the palace. You and I are worried about letting Jiayun marry a commoner from outside the city. Now, in Shengjing City, the only one who is willing to let Jiayun be a concubine is the Prince of Jin."
Queen Mother Zhou picked up the teacup beside her, sipped the tea in it and said, "It just so happens that the Prince of Jin's Mansion has no principal wife, so the concubine is the same as the principal wife."
Madam Zhou said, "Prince Jin? After all, Prince Jin has treated my Jiayun unfairly."
Empress Dowager Zhou frowned and said, "You said earlier that marrying Jiayun to Lu Ze as a concubine was for His Majesty's sake. Now marrying Jiayun to Prince Jin is also for His Majesty, isn't it?
After all, Prince Jin is Lu Ze's uncle. After Jiayun marries Prince Jin as his concubine, the Zhou family can still use Prince Jin to suppress the Qi and Lu families."
Madam Zhou remembered that Prince Jin was five years older than Lu Ze, which meant he was eleven years older than Jiayun. He did not have the overwhelming power that Lu Ze had in the court. Although he was a prince, he was ultimately a prince whose fate was over and he had made no achievements in the court.
Marrying Prince Jin as a concubine was too unfair to Zhou Jiayun.
Empress Dowager Zhou saw Madam Zhou's expression and asked, "Why are you still unwilling?"
Madam Zhou said helplessly, "Everything is up to the Majesty."
…
In Prince Qi's mansion.
After Lu Ze entered Chunjiang Courtyard, he saw Qi Yuning holding Lingling and teasing her. He asked, "I heard that the Queen Mother came to the palace in person today?"
Qi Yuning smiled faintly and said, "Here they are. I thought they wouldn't be so anxious."
Lu Ze said, "The Queen Mother has withdrawn her imperial decree. You should return to the Princess's residence as soon as possible."
Qi Yuning snorted softly and said, "You're not so kind as to offend me on New Year's Day. I've given Zhou Jiayun two choices: one is to marry a commoner outside Shengjing City, and the other is to marry a man in Shengjing City as a concubine. When she decides on the marriage, I'll return to the Princess' Mansion when I recover from my illness."
Lu Ze said, "After the court opens, I will find an incident to banish Uncle Zhou from Shengjing City. He will never be able to enter the court again. Why are you still interfering in Zhou Jiayun's marriage?"
Qi Yuning looked at Lu Ze and said, "I'm afraid it won't be easy to demote the Minister of Rites, right?"
Lu Ze chuckled softly and said, "Uncle Zhou was promoted as an exception. It wouldn't be difficult to demote him. If that doesn't work out, how many more years can the old man of the Zhou family live? When Uncle Zhou is done with mourning, I won't assign him any more tasks.
Now that the Empress Dowager has rescinded her imperial decree, the Zhou family's reputation has been ruined, and you've gotten rid of your anger, you should hurry and take Lingling home."
Qi Yuning thought about it and finally stopped pretending to be sick. After all, Lu Yun's marriage was imminent, and she couldn't really just ignore everything. She had to give her sister-in-law some respect when she came into the family.
The next morning, Qi Yuning followed Lu Ze back to the princess's residence.
Seeing Qi Yuning return, Princess Pingrou took Lingling from Lu Ze and said, "I was just about to go to the palace to ask the Queen Mother to return my daughter-in-law to me, and you're back now. My precious Lingling is finally back."
Qi Yuning said, "I've made mother worry these past few days."
Princess Pingrou said, "It's good that she's back. That girl from the Zhou family is truly shameless."
Qi Yuning and Lu Ze returned to their room. Just as Qi Yuning was about to go help Princess Pingrou give a lecture to the chef for the wedding banquet in a few days, Xiaoman rushed in anxiously, "Princess, something bad has happened, something bad has happened!"
Qi Yuning looked at the anxious Xiaoman and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xiaoman said, "Empress Dowager Zhou issued an imperial decree early this morning, granting Zhou Jiayun to Prince Jin as his concubine. Prince Jin has already accepted the decree, and Zhou Jiayun will become his concubine..."
Qi Yuning sneered, "The Queen Mother chose the most influential concubine for her niece. I guess she's still not satisfied with it!"
Xiaoman said, "Then have we truly offended the Empress Dowager? His Majesty is still young now, but when he grows up..."
Qi Yuning smiled and said, "There's still a lot of room for growth. It's enough for us to just do our part."
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