Chapter 390 Reconciliation
Chu Heng is the eldest son of the Prince of Runing and also the eldest grandson of the Prince of Runing. He did well in the martial arts examination last year. He gave up the honorary official position and took the initiative to join the Qilin Guard, intending to start from the lowest level of guard and climb up through his own efforts.
When the Crown Prince personally led the Qilin Guard to the border, he was not qualified enough to go along, and thus he narrowly escaped disaster.
Later, Qi Huan eliminated dissidents and appointed relatives and friends. Prince Runing refused to submit to the Qi Huan and was thus expelled from the Qilin Guard. He did not return until the new emperor ascended the throne.
Not long after he returned, the Seventh Prince came to him, asking him to protect the Emperor and Empress's wedding ceremony and, if necessary, to capture several spies.
Chu Heng immediately agreed.
The Prince of Runing's power has been waning year by year. If his grandson only wants to remain stagnant, then he will have no chance of making a comeback in the future and can only watch helplessly as the empire collapses.
He had been looking for an opportunity to make contributions and climb the ranks, and now the opportunity was right in front of him. Qi You was the new emperor's younger brother, and even though he was only a thirteen-year-old boy, Chu Heng believed that Qi You would not do anything to harm the new emperor.
Moreover, the new emperor had just announced two days ago that Qi You's old illness had been cured, so it was impossible for him to have the ability to recruit soldiers and horses to disrupt the wedding ceremony in just two days.
So Chu Heng, following Qi You's instructions, changed into the coarse clothes of an ordinary commoner and waited on the route that the emperor and empress would take for their wedding procession, hiding among the onlookers and merchants.
He followed Qi You the whole way without finding anything amiss. Just when Chu Heng was wondering if Qi You was overthinking things or worrying too much, he spotted a suspicious target.
Those men looked very familiar; he had seen them several times along the way. Now it seemed that it was no accident, as they were also following the Emperor and Empress's procession!
Without the slightest hesitation, Chu Heng saw that they were carrying weapons. With the intention of not harming the innocent, he stabbed them with a few sword strokes and confiscated their knives, preparing to tie them up and take them to see Qi You.
Qi Yuxuan sat in the phoenix palanquin. When she heard a few gasps of surprise from the common people amidst the music, she instinctively wanted to turn around to look, but her hand was grasped by the emperor beside her.
"Don't turn around, Yu Xuan, it's alright." Qi Jun's voice was tinged with laughter, but she could clearly hear the cold killing intent hidden within it.
She was startled, but quickly relaxed under the other person's voice.
"They'll handle those small fry."
The State of Qi was vast and rich in resources, and naturally, there were many different voices among its people. It was perfectly normal for some to not be optimistic about becoming empress or emperor.
If anyone causes trouble, the Qilin Guard will quell the disturbances. Since Qi Jun has said so, he must have anticipated this and made preparations. She doesn't need to worry.
Qi Yuxuan's body quickly relaxed, and Qi Jun held her hand, having a great time.
The imperial procession entered the palace gates smoothly.
Qi Jun personally took Qi Yuxuan's hand, offered sacrifices to heaven and earth and to their ancestors, accepted the kneeling obeisance of all the civil and military officials, and then walked together into Chang Le Palace.
By this time, it was already getting dark.
A banquet is being held in the Hanyuan Hall of the palace to entertain civil and military officials, and a thousand-table warm banquet has also been set up on the Imperial Street to let all the people of the capital share in the joy.
Apart from Xiao Su and Lin Hui, all three young masters of the Xiao family had gone to the palace for the banquet, and the entire Xiao family was very quiet at this time.
Wei Qingqing stayed up all night and ran around all morning, even refusing Qi You's invitation. She slept soundly all day, but was eventually woken up by Li's mother, who was with Lin Hui.
Li's mother looked down on Wei Qingqing, but she hid it very well. Her face remained serious and unapproachable as she stood by the bed, staring at Wei Qingqing.
“Aunt Wei, the eldest young master has gone to the palace for a banquet. Why don’t you accompany him and take care of him? Instead, you’re sleeping here, oblivious to the world around you. This is not the proper way for a concubine to serve her master.”
Wei Qingqing was still sound asleep when she was suddenly woken up. When she saw Li's mother standing by her bed, she was a little confused.
"...What are you talking about, the rules for serving your master? What are you babbling about?"
Why would the aunt who is close to the female lead's mother come to talk to her about these things out of the blue?
Li Mama's voice grew increasingly cold. It was true that Wei Qingqing was the first concubine that Xiao Jue had personally acknowledged, but for the past two months, she had been lawless in the mansion and did not behave like a concubine at all. Not to mention Lin Hui, even she herself could not stand it.
"Aunt Wei, I thought you were a good person who could serve the eldest young master well. I never expected that you would neither take care of the eldest young master's daily life, nor produce offspring for the family, nor respect the mistress. Now I am ordered by the madam to teach you the rules of being a concubine!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Madam Li beckoned to the outside of the beaded curtain, and two maids carrying trays entered.
Upon closer inspection, the tray contained a ruler and a long stick!
Wei Qingqing's sleepiness vanished instantly. What was Madam Xiao up to? Why was she suddenly going to punish someone?!
"No, Aunt Li, this is unfair! What did I do wrong? All I did was sleep in the room! I was so busy last night and this morning, and you won't even let me sleep?!"
Madam Li snorted coldly: "Don't talk nonsense here. I saw the young master's daily log before I came. Aunt Wei never shared a room with the young master. Now she dares to say that she served the young master last night..."
Wei Qingqing immediately understood why the other party was picking on her; it turned out they really treated her as Xiao Jue's concubine and were teaching her how to do things.
However, the Emperor and Empress's wedding is probably not over yet. At least until tomorrow, when Qi You reports everything that happened today to the Emperor and Empress, she can "make amends" and take back the reward she received for kidnapping the Consort, thus escaping the Xiao family.
Wei Qingqing was so angry she almost vomited blood, but she still had to put on a sweet smile. She knew that Madam Xiao's heartache was still for the female lead, so she took the initiative to say:
“Mama Li, it’s not something I can force the young master to touch me. The main problem is that he’s been injured and has to take care of Princess Chang Le these days, so he’s inevitably stretched thin. In a few days, I will definitely take good care of him and try to get pregnant as soon as possible…”
Mother Li glanced at her up and down. They all knew Wei Qingqing's background. Given the young master's current reputation and future, even if he were to find a girl of equal social standing, few would be willing to marry him. The future young master's wife would either be from another prefecture or from a humble background.
The Wei family's ancestors were once prominent, so it's not too bad that he bore a child for the Xiao family.
Seeing that Li's mother's expression had softened, Wei Qingqing continued:
“Actually, I heard about it when I was chatting with the princess before. There was a small misunderstanding between Master Xiao and Madam Xiao and the princess. But family is family. Blood is thicker than water. If Madam Xiao wants, I can act as a mediator between the Xiao family and the princess to help them resolve their differences.”
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