Chapter 528 King Qi Takes a Concubine
Suppressing her regret, Madam Wen turned to speak with the old princess of the Chang'an Prince's Mansion.
Madam Zheng covered her mouth and whispered to Qiao Qinghe, "Your grandniece is really pleasing to the old lady's eyes."
Qiao Qinghe smiled and nodded: "Who says otherwise? She's good-looking and has a good personality too."
"Do you even need to tell me that?" Madam Zheng said bluntly, "With your temperament, if you weren't good, you wouldn't have kept her by your side personally."
After sitting and talking for a while, Qiao Qinghe thought of the previous conversation about the Prince Qi's mansion. Looking around, Qiao Qinghe patted Madam Zheng's arm and suggested, "Let's go for a walk."
Madam Zheng glanced at the Crown Princess, who had joined Madam Wen and the old Princess Consort, and nodded with a smile: "Very well."
So the two of them stood up, greeted the others, and left the flower hall.
Bai was originally going to come along, but Qiao Qinghe stopped her.
"Please, madam, look after our two children. Don't let them run around and offend the distinguished guests."
Madam Bai glanced at Madam Zheng, and seeing her nod, she smiled and replied, "Madam, please rest assured to entrust the person to me. I guarantee you will take good care of her."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Yuanyao, who had originally intended to go out for a stroll, gave up on the idea.
As for Qiao Ning, she didn't care, since she wasn't exactly an active person anyway.
After leaving the flower hall, Qiao Qinghe asked a maid to lead the way, and she took them around the places in the princess's mansion that were open to visitors.
They only went inside to rest when they reached a pavilion. The servants were left outside to guard the pavilion.
As soon as she sat down, Madam Zheng cut to the chase and asked, "Is there something you want to tell me?"
Qiao Qinghe didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "When the Crown Princess mentioned Prince Qi and Princess Qi earlier, I noticed that you looked a little strange. Did something happen at Prince Qi's residence?"
After a pause, Qiao Qinghe continued, "Speaking of which, it's really strange that Prince Qi and his wife didn't come today. Could it be that something has really happened?"
Madam Zheng paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "You are the Princess Consort of Qi's own grandmother. Do you think I know more about what's going on in the Qi Prince's mansion than you do?"
Qiao Qinghe really wanted to nod in agreement, but the Crown Princess and Madam Zheng's reactions clearly showed that this was not the case!
She immediately frowned, feigning anger as she glared at Madam Zheng, "Don't try to fool me. If you truly consider me a friend, tell me the truth: what exactly happened at the Prince Qi's residence?"
Madam Zheng looked at Qiao Qinghe and sighed helplessly, "Actually, it's not a big deal."
Qiao Qinghe immediately glared at him, "If it's not a big deal, why are you hiding it from me?"
Madam Zheng chuckled, "Even Princess Qi didn't tell you, which shows she either doesn't want you to know, or feels it's unnecessary for you to know."
"Isn't it meddling in other people's business to tell you this?"
Qiao Qinghe suddenly realized, "So, you were changing the subject earlier because you didn't want the Crown Princess to tell me?"
Madam Zheng nodded, then sighed again before truthfully saying, "I heard about this from the Empress Dowager."
Qiao Qinghe understood.
The Empress Dowager didn't manage affairs and didn't have many hobbies. She just liked to invite Madam Zheng to the palace to play chess and gossip.
Therefore, Madam Zheng never lacked firsthand royal news.
"Alright, tell me what happened quickly!" Qiao Qinghe urged.
Without further delay, Madam Zheng said sarcastically, "Isn't Princess Qi's pregnancy progressing?"
"Consort Liu was afraid that Prince Qi would not have anyone to serve him, so she suggested that her niece, who was born out of wedlock, be sent to Prince Qi's residence as a concubine."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Qinghe frowned immediately. "Consort Liu has always been a Buddhist, why is she suddenly interfering in the affairs of the Qi Prince's household?"
Madam Zheng looked around before lowering her voice and saying, "The retired patriarch of the Liu family returned to the capital last year. If we calculate the time, you should still be in Da'an when the old patriarch returned to the capital."
Why did Old Master Liu suddenly return to Beijing?
Qiao Qinghe was shocked for a moment, but then she realized what was going on.
When Old Master Liu retired and left the capital, it was not only to protect his family, but also to extinguish Consort Liu Hui and the Third Prince's ambitions to seize the throne.
Without the support of the Liu family, the Third Prince also had his own ideas and took action, even posing a possibility of competing with the Crown Prince.
So, Old Master Liu returned to Beijing.
The return of Old Master Liu to the capital means that the Liu family will fully support the Third Prince.
Since the Liu family is paving the way for the Third Prince, it's impossible for the Third Prince's harem not to include Liu family women.
Fortunately, the Liu family was sensible and did not immediately vie for the position of Princess Consort. Instead, they arranged for a concubine's daughter to enter the household as a secondary consort.
But times have changed. If that day ever comes, I'm afraid the eldest daughter of the Liu family will step forward to fight for that unspeakable position.
"The person has already been carried into Prince Qi's residence?" Qiao Qinghe frowned slightly.
Madam Zheng shook her head, "Not yet. Prince Qi doesn't agree, and Consort Liu and her family are currently arguing with him."
At this point, Madam Zheng smiled and said, "To be honest, Prince Qi does have some genuine feelings for Princess Qi."
"When I first heard about this, I thought the one who would object would be Princess Qi. Unexpectedly, Princess Qi remained silent, but Prince Qi was the first to jump out and object."
Qiao Qinghe smiled but didn't say anything.
It would be strange if Min Yuexi objected.
She didn't truly love Prince Qi, and she didn't care how many women he had. As long as her position as princess consort remained secure, she wouldn't care who was brought into Prince Qi's residence.
As for King Qi, well, he's trying to express his feelings to Min Yuexi and mend the rift that occurred when he imprisoned her.
However, she felt that King Qi was doing something unnecessary.
Min Yuexi had told her that she and Prince Qi had been completely honest with each other. She had said that she wanted status and position, and Prince Qi had also said that she wanted the connections and relationships behind her to help him ascend to that position.
If two people hit it off immediately and are mutually exploiting, then why bother putting on this sentimental act? Who's the audience for?
No, look at people like Madam Zheng who don't know the inside story, and they've changed their opinion of Prince Qi quite a bit.
However, as long as King Qi isn't stupid and wants the Liu family's support, he will eventually obediently bring the Liu family's daughter into his mansion.
Thinking of this, Qiao Qinghe's lips suddenly twitched.
Could it be that Prince Qi had already planned to bring Liu's daughter into the manor, and is now just deliberately delaying her arrival to establish his image as a devoted lover and salvage his reputation, which was almost ruined when he confined Min Yuexi?
"Why do you look like that? Am I wrong?" Madam Zheng looked at Qiao Qinghe strangely. "Or are you worried about Princess Qi?"
"Sigh, these things are inevitable. Go back and persuade Princess Qi to think about the baby in her belly and try to be more positive."
Qiao Qinghe nodded: "Thank you for worrying about the child. I'll go and comfort her later."
Although Qiao Qinghe wasn't worried about Min Yuexi, she still felt she had to go and see her after learning about this. At least she had to make her stance clear.
"It's getting late, let's head back. The feast will start soon."
The two got up and left the pavilion. Just as they were about to head back to the flower hall they had come from, they saw a maid from the princess's residence leading a woman with an anxious expression towards them.
"Madam, the First Madam has sent Shiyi to deliver a message."
Qiao Qinghe was startled. Knowing Wei Jia's personality, unless it was a major matter, Wei Jia would make the decision herself. She would absolutely not send anyone to the princess's residence to look for her.
No, even if it's a big deal, Wei Jianeng would never send anyone to disturb her attending the banquet if she made the decision herself.
Clearly, something extraordinary must have happened to make Wei Jia panic.
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