As soon as Gu Yanyue got off the carriage, Prince Xiang came out to greet her. He bowed to her and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Queen..."
Gu Yanyue frowned. This didn't seem right. She didn't bother to be polite to Prince Xiang and said directly, "Your Majesty saw that Prince Xiang and Princess Xiang didn't come to the palace to pay their respects. He was afraid that something had happened to Princess Xiang, so he sent me to take a look in person."
Prince Xiang's face paled, and after a moment's pause he said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. My wife is just ill. I asked the doctor to see her, and she has taken medicine and is already asleep. Your Majesty and the Empress do not need to worry about her."
After saying this, he secretly winked at the servant, who understood and immediately said loudly: "Your Highness, the princess didn't sleep well. She kept thinking about looking for Your Highness in her dreams. So the maidservant who served the princess asked me to go and find the prince quickly."
Prince Xiang first turned around and whispered a few words to the servant, then bowed to Gu Yanyue and said, "Your Majesty has heard it too. Now that my wife is ill, I should go and accompany her first. Please forgive me for my poor hospitality. I will bring my wife to the palace to pay my respects to the Emperor and Your Majesty another day when she recovers."
Gu Yanyue stood still, turned her gaze towards the palace gate, and said with a smile: "In that case, I should go in and visit Princess Xiang."
After hearing what Gu Yanyue said, Prince Xiang's face froze. Considering Gu Yanyue's status as the Queen, he couldn't just chase her away. He could only continue to laugh and joke with her: "My wife has a cold. If Your Majesty goes in to visit her and catches the cold herself, I don't know how I will explain to the Emperor."
Prince Xiang had already said this. If Gu Yanyue still insisted on going in to visit Princess Xiang, it would seem that she was not very sensible. She had no choice but to go back to the palace first.
After Gu Yanyue returned to the palace, she told Yuwen Ran everything she had seen and heard. He immediately frowned and said, "How about I issue an imperial decree to Prince Xiang's mansion and ask Prince Xiang to bring his wife to the palace to recuperate."
Gu Yanyue said, "This is inappropriate. The envoy is still in the capital. If you suddenly bring Princess Xiang into the palace to recuperate, if the envoy knew about this, they would definitely think that Prince Xiang is harming Princess Xiang, and that would prompt you to order her to be brought into the palace."
Yu Wenran nodded: "I still need to research this matter."
The two discussed this matter for a while, until the palace maid came to the main hall to find Gu Yanyue with little Yuntun in her arms. Only then did Gu Yanyue carry little Yuntun to pay her respects to the Queen Mother.
When Gu Yanyue arrived with Xiao Yuntun, the empress dowager had just stood up and was combing her hair. Gu Yanyue handed Xiao Yuntun to the palace maid behind her, and naturally stepped forward to replace the palace maid. She personally helped the empress dowager to tie a bun, then helped her sit on a soft chair beside her, and put the fruit plate in the palace maid's hand on the table in front of her.
The Queen Mother reached out and pinched a peeled grape and put it in her mouth. Then she spoke and asked Wonton, "How are you, little Wonton?"
Gu Yanyue knelt down on both knees and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. If you want to tell me, little Yuntun is doing well recently."
The Queen Mother couldn't hide her smile. She looked at the little wonton held in the arms of the palace maid behind Gu Yanyue and couldn't help nodding, "Okay! Get up, don't keep kneeling."
Gu Yanyue stood up first, and the palace maid behind her also stood up. After carrying the little wonton back to Gu Yanyue, she stepped back a few steps and stood aside.
The Queen Mother pointed to another chair beside her and said, "Don't stand anymore. The Queen, please come and sit with my lovely granddaughter."
Gu Yanyue thanked him and sat down with Xiao Yuntun.
"Why haven't I seen Prince Xiang bring his new bride to pay his respects today? Has he come to the palace to pay his respects to you and the emperor today?" The Queen Mother suddenly said this as if she was chatting with her family.
"Prince Xiang has never come to the palace to pay his respects to me and Your Majesty, and..." Gu Yanyue hesitated to speak here.
The Queen Mother knew that Gu Yanyue hadn't said anything yet, and her expression changed immediately. She said in a deep voice: "And what?"
"Your Majesty was worried that Princess Xiang was unwell and couldn't come to the palace to pay her respects, so he specially sent me out of the palace to visit her. However, Prince Xiang said that Princess Xiang had caught a cold and was unable to see anyone, so he didn't invite me into Prince Xiang's mansion."
When the Queen Mother heard Gu Yanyue say that Prince Xiang hadn't even invited her into the Prince Xiang's mansion, she snorted coldly, "How presumptuous."
Then she suddenly stood up, dragging her long palace robes along as she walked forward a few steps. Gu Yanchuan hurriedly stood up and followed. The Queen Mother turned around again, her face covered with a fierce look: "I don't think the Princess of Xiang has caught a cold and can't see anyone. This is clearly what that bastard said. In the past, I could turn a blind eye to his bastard behavior, but I didn't expect that he would even disregard etiquette for the sake of women!"
Gu Yanyue quickly knelt on the ground and said, "Please calm down, mother."
It would have been fine if she hadn't said this, but once she did, the Queen Mother felt her anger grow even stronger. She shouted coldly, "Someone—go to Prince Xiang's mansion and issue an order, ordering Prince Xiang to bring his wife to the palace for an audience immediately."
The eunuch led the way and left.
When he came back, he entered the hall with Prince Xiang and Princess Xiang.
When Prince Xiang entered the palace, he led his wife to kneel down first and said, "Your son and I have come to pay our respects to the Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother glanced at Prince Xiang, raised the corner of her lip, and sneered: "It's amazing that you still remember that you have Aijia as your mother."
After saying this, the Queen Mother did not ask Prince Xiang to stand up, but let him kneel on the ground. She turned her eyes to the Princess of Xiang who was kneeling behind him. She saw that she was kneeling there with a pale face, and she really looked sick. There was no expression on her face, and she was neither cold nor hot. But the words she said completely accepted her as her daughter-in-law: "Prince Xiang's wife, please stand up first."
King Xiang had no choice but to kneel on the ground without the Queen Mother's order.
Gu Yanyue walked forward and stretched out her hand. Princess Xiang subconsciously handed her hand to Gu Yanyue, who immediately held it.
"Mother, I see that Princess Xiang's face is not looking good. I want to take her downstairs to rest first, lest her condition worsen later."
The Queen Mother nodded, "Alright."
Princess Xiang thanked him and left with Gu Yanyue.
Gu Yanyue brought her straight back to her own bedroom, then took off the token on her body and handed it to the palace maid behind her, and ordered: "Quickly go and invite the Duke of Qin's daughter into the palace."
After arranging everything, she dismissed the maids who were waiting on her side and asked directly, "What did that bastard Prince Xiang do to you?"
Murong Yue glanced at her and shook her head lightly without saying a word, but Gu Yanyue grabbed her arm and lifted her sleeve, revealing the bruises underneath. She finally couldn't help but feel wronged and cried, "He hit me..."
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