Chapter 292 Provocation
Shen Qingci curled the corners of her lips and waved her hand gently at Wan Qing: "Let's move these out first, so as not to disturb the old lady's peace and quiet."
Wan Qing responded crisply and directed the servants to carry the large boxes of treasures out. Each heavy footstep seemed to pound on Old Madam Huo's heart.
Once the courtyard quieted down again, Shen Qingci slowly looked around before her gaze returned to Old Madam Huo, her smile deepening: "When I married into the family, I never imagined that the once glorious Huo family would become so desolate."
“However,” she changed the subject, seemingly casually, “Madam Huo need not worry too much. Huo Yunting is now a completely different person and is highly valued by His Majesty.”
"I heard that he has a golden opportunity to make a name for himself right now. If he can seize this opportunity and make a great contribution, he might even get promoted."
Shen Qingci tilted his head, a playful glint in his eyes: "He's already a second-rank general. If he goes any higher, he'll be at least a first-rank official. That would be... a true pillar of the state, the pinnacle of power."
Old Madam Huo's heart skipped a beat, and her cloudy eyes darted around.
From the first rank? Wouldn't that mean... even more prestigious than the old Marquis back then?
Shen Qingci seemed not to notice her reaction and sighed to herself, "What a pity. Back then, you chose Huo Yunzhan without hesitation, which completely broke Huo Yunzhan's heart."
"I never expected that Huo Yunting was such a ruthless character. He doesn't make a sound until he does, and then he's a force to be reckoned with."
“He truly doesn’t acknowledge you as his mother anymore. After all… he even dared to kill his first wife, Liu Ruolan, with his own hands…”
Upon hearing Shen Qingci's words, Old Madam Huo's mind raced uncontrollably.
So what if you kill Liu Ruolan?
That woman was utterly unfaithful and promiscuous, she would sleep with any man she could get her hands on, and she gave Ting'er such a huge cuckold's horns, she deserved to die! Killing her was doing justice for God!
But she's different! She's his biological mother! The one who carried him for ten months and gave birth to him!
No matter how ruthless Ting'er is, he can't possibly kill her, can he? That's the heinous crime of matricide, deserving of divine retribution!
If Ting'er were to truly rise to that position, his reputation would be of paramount importance.
Since ancient times, most emperors have ruled the country based on filial piety. If Ting'er were to kill her or openly disown her as his mother, it would be a heinous crime of unfilial piety, and he would be drowned in the spittle of the world.
Yes! She could secretly go and find Ting'er! She could use filial piety as an excuse!
Even if Ting'er harbors resentment, she certainly cannot openly refute it.
As long as she can strike up a conversation with him, she can slowly repair their relationship later, and all the wealth and glory will be hers again.
Shen Qingci took in the ever-changing expression on Old Madam Huo's face, merely curled the corners of her lips, and did not say anything. She then turned and left gracefully with Wanqing.
As soon as she got into the carriage, Wanqing couldn't hold back any longer and excitedly started chattering: "Miss, you don't know, as soon as I went in, my eyes were like they had hooks, and I picked out all the most valuable items in the private treasury!"
"Fortunately, I've been by your side for so many years, and I've seen plenty of good things. I've also learned some skills in identifying rare and precious items. Seeing the old woman's heartbroken expression, as if she had a piece of her own flesh being cut off, I knew that she definitely hadn't taken the wrong one this time!"
Shen Qingci's eyes crinkled into a smile, and she responded softly, "You didn't take the wrong one, well done. I'll reward you when we get back."
Her eyes darted around, and she remembered what Wanqing had said at the Huo residence. Suspicion arose in her heart: "By the way, you said His Majesty issued an imperial edict this morning at court, bestowing upon me the title of Empress? How come I knew nothing about this? Could it be that you made it up just to scare Old Madam Huo?"
Wanqing's eyes widened, and she cried out in protest, "I'm innocent, Miss! How could I possibly fabricate such a serious matter? Falsely conveying an imperial edict is a capital offense! I wouldn't dare do that even if you gave me ten lives!"
Wanqing glanced at Shen Qingci and explained with some helplessness, "His Majesty issued the decree this morning. At that time, Miss, you were in the palace. His Majesty originally intended to have Eunuch Zheng invite you to go directly to the Golden Hall to receive the decree."
"But when Eunuch Zheng went to call you, you... were sleeping soundly in the Taiji Hall."
"Eunuch Zheng is a perceptive man; how could he dare to wake you? He could only hurry back to report."
"When His Majesty heard this, he was not angry at all. Instead, he specifically instructed everyone to keep a close watch on him so as not to wake him up and to let him rest properly. So no one was allowed to disturb him again."
"Later, after His Majesty finished court, he took you to the palace tower. I thought His Majesty would definitely tell you. But... His Majesty didn't say anything at all?"
Shen Qingci remained silent for a moment, then shook her head.
Chu Jichen didn't mention it at all!
She frowned, feeling a little uneasy.
After Chu Jichen ascended the throne, she should have moved to the palace.
However, since the palace had just undergone a purge and was not yet fully cleaned, and given that she was pregnant, Chu Jichen was worried that the chaotic environment of the palace would be detrimental to her pregnancy, so he temporarily placed her in the Regent's Palace.
However, since she had not yet been formally appointed at that time, it was understandable that she lived in the Regent's Palace.
But now that Chu Jichen has officially issued the imperial edict of empress's investiture and announced it to the world, it seems... somewhat unreasonable for her to continue living in the Regent's Palace.
If this gets out, I'm afraid those censors and officials will impeach her again, saying she doesn't know the rules.
She needs to ask Chu Jichen what his plans are.
Thinking of this, Shen Qingci instructed Wanqing, "Let's not go back to the Prince's Mansion for now, let's go back to the palace first."
Upon returning to the Taiji Hall, the eunuch reported that Chu Jichen was handling state affairs in the Imperial Study.
Upon hearing that Shen Qing had resigned and returned, Chu Jichen frowned slightly, immediately put down his vermilion brush, had someone bring him the memorial, and hurriedly returned to the Taiji Hall.
"What's wrong? Why did you suddenly come back? Did something happen?" Chu Jichen entered the room in his wheelchair, his gaze fixed on Shen Qingci, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible tension.
Shen Qingci shook her head, walked to his side, straightened his slightly disheveled collar, and said softly, "It's nothing serious, but I heard that you issued an edict to appoint the empress during the morning court session?"
When Shen Qingci brought this up, Chu Jichen paused slightly, but did not answer her question immediately.
He turned around, waved to the palace servants waiting inside, and signaled them to all leave.
Once the palace doors were slowly closed, cutting off all outside sight and sound, Chu Jichen turned around, tightly grasped Shen Qingci's hand, pulled her to sit down beside him, and lowered his voice to say, "Yes, that is indeed the case."
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