Chapter 658 The Qiao Family Enters Beijing
Qiao Qinghe naturally knew about Li Sanqi's resentment towards Li Jingyue, so she didn't presume to offer any advice. Instead, she changed the subject and asked, "Since the marriage is off, when will Xia Linyuan leave?"
Li Sanqi smiled and said, "The date has been set, we will set off in three days."
"So fast?" Qiao Qinghe was somewhat surprised.
Li Sanqi scoffed: "He came under the guise of a marriage alliance, but the Emperor bestowed a genuine princess upon him for the marriage, yet he publicly refused the marriage."
"Those court officials aren't just sitting around doing nothing; surely they can see right through his intentions?"
"Ha, he's really incurred the wrath of the people this time. Why doesn't he hurry up and leave, or will he be drowned in the spittle and jeers of the people of Dayan?"
Hearing this, Qiao Qinghe couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Hahaha, that makes sense!"
With Xia Linyuan gone, she could finally feel a little more at ease.
After discussing Xia Linyuan's matter, Qiao Qinghe mentioned Granny Gui.
Li Sanqi was silent for a while before saying with a sharp look in his eyes, "Granny Gui worked in my palace for two years in the past. Later, she was disliked by the Empress Dowager because of a small matter, so she was transferred to another place."
“When she was granted permission to leave the palace to retire earlier, she visited my residence.”
"Later I heard that she was invited back by the Marquis of Enping to be his head nanny, and I was happy for her."
"The Marquis of Enping's mansion only has two masters. With fewer masters, there is less work to do."
"But I didn't expect that a few days ago, Granny Gui suddenly came to the door with a bundle, saying that she had been kicked out of the Enping Marquis's mansion."
“She’s old and she sounded so pitiful, I really thought it was someone from the Marquis of Enping’s mansion who was bullying her.”
"I was just about to ask you about the situation when I had the chance."
"And then I received your letter."
At this point, Li Sanqi's eyebrows and eyes were filled with anger.
"I never imagined that this person was part of King Qi's scheme against me!"
Qiao Qinghe glanced at Li Sanqi, "You've found something about Prince Qi?"
"Hmm. I looked into her experiences before she left the palace and found that she was very close to a maid in Fanghua Palace."
Li Sanqi said coldly, "Consort Liu Hui lives in Fanghua Palace."
"Now that you know it's King Qi's scheme, what do you plan to do?"
Li Sanqi curled the corners of his mouth, his smile carrying a deeper meaning.
"Isn't the King of Qi afraid that my Enping Marquisate will side with the King of Chu because of you?"
"Then let the King of Chu deal with the King of Qi."
Qiao Qinghe was taken aback and was about to ask Li Sanqi what he was planning to do. However, Li Sanqi had already changed the subject.
"Is Qian-ge'er's first birthday coming up soon?"
Qiao Qinghe nodded with a smile: "Yes, there's less than a month left."
Li Sanqi chuckled and reminded him, "Although the child is being raised in the Qiao family, he is still the heir of the Qi Prince's mansion, so his first birthday celebration should be properly organized."
Qiao Qinghe nodded in response: "What the princess says is true. I gave instructions about this a few days ago. The manor is already making preparations."
"The invitations for the baby's first birthday celebration will be sent out in a few days."
"That's good." Li Sanqi nodded in satisfaction, then reminded him, "Don't forget to send a letter to the Liu family as well."
"Once Qian-ge'er turns one year old, the fifth young lady of the Liu family will take over the Qi Prince's mansion."
"From now on, she will be Qian-ge'er's stepmother. She can't be absent from Qian-ge'er's first birthday party."
Qiao Qinghe nodded, "Princess, rest assured, the Liu family will definitely receive all the invitations, no matter which family is missing."
***
A few days later, Qiao Qinghe finally understood what Li Sanqi meant by having the King of Chu deal with the King of Qi.
It turned out that Li Sanqi had sent Granny Gui to the King of Chu, saying that this person was planted by Consort Liu Hui to sow discord between the siblings.
Li Sanqi is now a seasoned actor; she can shed tears at will.
She said that perhaps she had gotten too close to the King of Chu, and the King of Qi was afraid that she would side with the King of Chu, so he deliberately sent someone to stir up trouble.
She said that she and the King of Chu were siblings born of the same mother, and it was only natural for them to be close. How could that be an eyesore to others?
She also said that she had loved being with the Empress Dowager since she was a child, and that she had always liked the kind and gentle old ladies in the capital who were just like the Empress Dowager.
Everyone knew that she was close to Qiao Qinghe, but Prince Qi sent this Granny Gui to sabotage the relationship between Qiao Qinghe's granddaughter and her husband, causing unrest in their home. In the end, she even came to her and twisted the truth.
This was clearly intended to make her enemies with the Marquis of Enping's family and force her to part ways with Qiao Qinghe.
After Li Sanqi finished his performance, King Chu understood that King Qi was using Li Sanqi to target him.
In his view, the annulment of the marriage proposal from the Marquis of Yongning was a good thing, but it also meant that he lost the powerful support of the Marquis of Yongning.
Therefore, he felt that the Marquis of Enping's mansion was an ally that he could win over and use for his own purposes.
Of course, he didn't need the Marquis of Enping's mansion to do anything or make any explicit statements. As long as the Marquis of Enping's mansion stood by him in critical moments, that would be enough.
The relationship between Li Sanqi and Qiao Qinghe is the bond that maintains the tacit understanding between him and the Marquis of Enping's mansion.
However, Prince Qi wanted to bypass Qiao Qinghe and make the Marquis of Enping's mansion directly antagonize Li Sanqi, thereby cutting off any possibility of the Marquis of Enping's mansion siding with him.
This is intolerable!
The King of Chu ordered his men to beat Granny Gui to death with sticks, and then dumped her body at the gate of the King of Qi's residence.
King Qi was furious upon hearing the news and sent someone to impeach King Chu at the morning court session the following day.
The King of Chu, feeling he was in the right, was naturally unafraid. He immediately began arguing with the King of Qi in the court.
In the end, the argument annoyed Emperor Xiaozhao, who punished both of them.
Upon hearing the news, Qiao Qinghe felt that the possibility of the King of Qi and the King of Chu ascending to the throne was close to zero.
However, the story doesn't end there.
It is said that after the Empress learned of this, she took action against Consort Liu.
The Empress didn't do anything excessive, but she found ways to torment Consort Liu.
The officials who were paying their respects publicly humiliated Consort Liu, so they punished her by making her copy scriptures and reprimanded the palace maids and eunuchs around her...
The issues themselves are minor, but they can cause people unspeakable suffering.
Most importantly, once the Empress made her stance clear towards Consort Liu, everyone else followed suit, causing Consort Liu considerable distress. It is said that she tore countless handkerchiefs to shreds.
Consort Liu suffered in the palace, and her family didn't fare any better outside the palace.
Miss Liu was ostracized when she went to the jewelry store to buy some jewelry.
Even when Madam Liu attended banquets, she would be pointed at and gossiped about.
Of course, Qiao Qinghe just listened to these things for fun.
Amidst the commotion, Xia Linyuan quietly left the capital with his entourage.
It was at this time that the Qiao family's entourage from Jiangnan finally arrived in Beijing.
Just as Qiao Qinghe had predicted, apart from Old Master Qiao and Grandpa Qiao, who were certain to come to Beijing, the eldest son's branch of the Qiao family chose to stay in Jiangnan. The wife and children of Qiao Jinglian's second branch all went to Beijing.
From then on, the Qiao family in the capital would be headed by Qiao Jinglian's branch.
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