Chapter 741 Madam Zheng's Worries and Shock
Madam Zheng arrived the next day.
Upon seeing Qiao Qinghe, he immediately asked, full of doubt, "Are you planning to reconcile with the Prince Qi's mansion?"
"Look at you, so impatient! Sit down and talk it over."
Qiao Qinghe greeted the people with a smile and then instructed her servants to serve tea.
After the tea was served, Qiao Qinghe dismissed the servants and then asked Madam Zheng at a leisurely pace, "What rumors have you heard?"
Madam Zheng said with a worried expression, "It's all over the place now. They say that yesterday you first embarrassed Princess Huaiyang in public, and then you were very close to Princess Qi. Yesterday you even invited Princess Qi to stay for lunch and personally saw her off."
"Everyone is saying that the matter of the deposed crown prince is pointing directly at the Chu Prince's mansion. You seem to be taking advantage of the opportunity to break ties with Princess Huaiyang to distance yourself from the Chu Prince's faction in advance and prepare to switch your allegiance to the Qi Prince."
Hearing the unsurprising answer, Qiao Qinghe gave a forced smile.
Just as she expected, yesterday's events spread throughout the capital today.
Even Madam Zheng, who was so close to her, believed some of the rumors. Outsiders were probably even more convinced.
"You're still laughing?" Seeing her nonchalant expression, Madam Zheng glared at her, annoyed. "What's wrong with you?"
"Could it be that they are really planning to abandon the King of Chu and switch their allegiance to the King of Qi?"
"Our entire Jin State Duke's family's fortune is tied to your big ship! You can't cheat us!"
Qiao Qinghe looked at Madam Zheng in surprise, but before she could speak, Madam Zheng interrupted her, saying, "What kind of look is that?"
"Although the King of Chu is criticized for his womanizing, he has not made any major mistakes in other aspects. If you support him, we naturally have no objection."
"But King Qi..."
Madam Zheng looked at Qiao Qinghe with a complicated expression, "She's ruthless and likes to hide behind others."
"Look at the Liu family, Liu Jieyu, aren't they all standing in his way?"
“Even your granddaughter, the Princess Consort of Xianqi, is always pushed to the forefront by him.”
"But what will the result be?"
"The late Princess Qi died, and Consort Liu Hui became Consort Liu."
"As for the Liu family..."
"Hehe, the Liu family was originally such a distinguished family, wasn't it?"
"When Consort Liu gave birth to a son, Old Master Liu took the initiative to leave the capital, which earned the Liu family so much fame and praise."
"Now look what's happened, he's lost all his reputation. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he's universally hated."
"In the end, it was all because of King Qi!"
After speaking at length, Madam Zheng seemed to remember something and looked at Qiao Qinghe awkwardly, "Of course, I'm not trying to question your decision. I just want to remind you that compared to the King of Chu, the King of Qi is even less reliable."
"Don't forget how the late Princess Qi died just because of that child, Qian-ge'er."
Madam Zheng knew that what she said was inappropriate, but she truly did not think highly of Prince Qi!
A major incident occurred at Princess Huaiyang's residence yesterday; she shouldn't have gone out today.
The princess's divorce, which should have caused a sensation in the capital, did not cause any ripples. Instead, news of Qiao Qinghe's falling out with the princess and her close relationship with Princess Qi spread throughout the capital.
Because the rumors were so convincing, she had no choice but to rush over to confirm.
Indeed, she had deeply bound her family to the Qiao family and the Enping Marquis's family.
But she didn't want to see Qiao Qinghe lead everyone into the swamp!
After Madam Zheng finished speaking, Qiao Qinghe looked at her calmly and asked, "Are you done?"
Madam Zheng choked, "Why don't you have any reaction at all?"
"No rush, no worry, and no anger?"
So all that I said was for nothing?
"You didn't listen to a single word?"
Seeing that Madam Zheng was about to lose her temper, Qiao Qinghe quickly calmed her down, "Alright, alright, don't be anxious. I haven't even said a word yet, why are you in such a hurry?"
"Then you tell me!" Madam Zheng glared at her.
Qiao Qinghe shook her head and gave a wry smile. "When did I tell you that I supported the King of Chu before?"
"When did I ever say that I would change course and support the King of Qi?"
"All of this is just hearsay from the outside world."
"I never intended to support the King of Chu, and I will never support the King of Qi in the future!"
"Then you..." Madam Zheng looked at Qiao Qinghe in astonishment.
She always thought that Qiao Qinghe supported the King of Chu.
First, Qiao Qinghe and Li Sanqi had a close relationship.
Li Sanqi grew up under the Empress Dowager's care, and the two had been close friends for decades.
She had watched Li Sanqi grow up.
Logically speaking, Li Sanqi should be closer to her.
But Li Sanqi and Qiao Qinghe were closer than she was.
She wouldn't believe that the two of them weren't together because they both supported the King of Chu.
Secondly, there is the relationship between the Yongning Marquis's Mansion and Li Sanqi.
Princess Gaoping was originally the intended wife of the King of Chu.
As a result, the position of Princess Consort of Chu was unexpectedly taken by the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Yongchang's family.
Moreover, the King of Chu publicly broke off the engagement, causing immense embarrassment to the Princess of Gaoping and the Marquis of Yongning's household.
Logically speaking, the Yongning Marquis's Mansion should be at odds with the Chu Prince's Mansion and the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion.
But what was the result?
After receiving the title of County Princess, Miss Yu of the Yongning Marquis's Mansion kept quiet and continued to maintain normal relations with Princess Huaiyang.
The only things that could make the Princess of Gaoping County and the Marquis of Yongning swallow their anger, besides the middleman Qiao Qinghe, were interests.
If the Yongning Marquis's mansion did not want to be purged after the King of Chu ascended the throne, it would have no choice but to swallow its pride and bear the consequences.
As if guessing her thoughts, Qiao Qinghe smiled wryly and asked, "Is it possible that the person I supported before was not the Prince of Chu, but Princess Huaiyang, Li Sanqi?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Zheng was instantly speechless with astonishment.
After a long pause, she stammered, "What...what did you say?"
The disbelief in his eyes was still clearly visible.
After asking the question, she seemed to suddenly realize something and asked again in surprise, "You mean in the past! So, you're not planning to support her anymore?"
However, this is not hard to understand; Qiao Qinghe's attitude towards Li Sanqi yesterday already explained everything.
wrong!
What should she be shocked about now is that the person Qiao Qinghe has been supporting all along is actually Li Sanqi?
Or should we be curious about what exactly happened that made the resolute Qiao Qinghe change her mind and stop supporting Li Sanqi?
Qiao Qinghe didn't want Madam Zheng to overthink things, so she quickly said, "After returning from Da'e, Li Sanqi learned the truth about the marriage alliance and developed hatred towards the Emperor, the deposed Crown Prince, the Empress, the Empress Dowager... and everyone in the royal family."
"She craved power. And I... had no choice but to choose her!"
"I think you must have heard about the argument between the King of Chu and me in the border town over Min Pan'er."
After thinking for a moment, Madam Zheng nodded slightly.
She had indeed heard about it.
Moreover, Min Pan'er caused quite a bit of trouble after arriving in the capital.
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