Chapter 53 Your Majesty cannot forcibly take a subject's wife, can you?
Showing off! This is blatant showing off by that little bitch Shen Qingci!
Liu Ruolan was furious, and the violence in her eyes was almost impossible to hide. She really wanted to tear Shen Qingci's smug and foxy face to shreds and then tear the two obnoxious imperial edicts in her hands to pieces!
Unfortunately... she didn't dare!
Liu Ruolan clenched her teeth, forcibly suppressing the almost insane thoughts in her mind.
"What's there to see? It's not like I haven't seen imperial edicts before! Don't be so smug in front of me!" she squeezed out the words through gritted teeth.
Looking at her two daughters-in-law, who were already at each other's throats and ready to fight the moment they met, Old Madam Hou felt a headache coming on: "Alright, both of you, say less!"
The old lady of the Hou family took a deep breath, looked at Shen Qingci, and said in a voice with a complex and indescribable emotion: "Qingci is right. Whether it is this third-rank imperial title or His Majesty's reward, in the final analysis, it was all earned by my son with his life!"
However, the one who risked his life for all of this was not Shen Qingci's nominal deceased husband, Huo Yunzhan, but the real Marquis of Yongning, Huo Yunting.
But Huo Yunting is also her son...
She closed her eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "These are the honors that our Huo family deserves! They should be placed in the ancestral hall in a grand manner and enshrined before the ancestral tablets so that our ancestors can see that every son of the Huo family is a good man who is loyal to the emperor, loves his country, and is of unyielding integrity!"
Shen Qingci respectfully replied "Yes," curtsied, and was about to turn and leave when she saw Huo Yunzhan stride in from outside with a dark face and a furious expression.
His gaze fell on the imperial edict in Shen Qingci's hand, his brows furrowing: "What are you trying to do?"
Shen Qingci gripped the imperial edict tightly and repeated her words: "This is the imperial edict that bestows upon me the title of Lady of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the imperial edict that His Majesty bestows upon me today. These are the very things that Yun Zhan earned with his life. I wish to enshrine both of these imperial edicts in the ancestral hall."
"reward?"
Huo Yunzhan stared intently at the two imperial edicts, his eyes filled with sarcasm.
Shen Qingci's heart skipped a beat.
This madman… Could Huo Yunzhan really be planning to open the imperial edict and check it on the spot?!
Just as Shen Qingci's mind was racing, Huo Yunzhan finally shifted his gaze from the two imperial edicts to Shen Qingci's face, his voice icy and piercing: "I have heard about what happened in the palace today."
"I never imagined that you, sister-in-law, who have just become a widow and have had a miscarriage, would have such great charm that even the current emperor would look at you differently and become extremely interested in you!"
Both the old lady of the Hou family and Liu Ruolan were somewhat surprised upon hearing this: "What happened?"
Huo Yunzhan's eyes were icy cold, and his tone was filled with undisguised disgust and contempt, as if Shen Qingci were something unclean.
"I heard that today, when the ladies of the imperial family came to the palace to express their gratitude, His Majesty originally intended to just go through the motions and dismiss them, but he inadvertently saw his younger brother and sister-in-law in the crowd."
"Among the dozen or so ladies in the palace, His Majesty took a liking to his sister-in-law at first glance. He pointed to her alone and inquired carefully about her identity. When he learned that she was a newly widowed woman, His Majesty was particularly pleased..."
Huo Yunzhan's gaze was sharp and his eyes were cold: "Sister-in-law, you really have some skills. Your ability to seduce men is truly first-rate! Today, you only used a little trick to make His Majesty look at you differently, and he not only bestowed upon you the title of a third-rank noblewoman, but also rewarded you with a lot of gold and silver jewelry."
"Next time, will His Majesty personally issue an imperial edict summoning you, my sister-in-law, to enter the palace to serve by his side and enjoy wealth and honor?"
Shen Qingci hadn't expected Huo Yunzhan to come in such a furious manner just for this matter. Listening to his vicious and unbearable slander, Shen Qingci's eyes gradually turned cold. Her methods of seducing people were top-notch.
That's not necessarily true.
If she is so capable, why would Huo Yunzhan abandon her, fake his death to make her a widow, and let her take Huo Yunting's identity so that he could elope with Liu Ruolan?
Shen Qingci felt a dull ache in her heart, as if pricked by needles. She suppressed the bitterness and anger in her heart, and only sneered, retorting, "Yes! Don't you know best how good I am at seducing people, brother?"
"Yun Zhan's body is not yet cold, and you, elder brother, have hinted to me more than once that you want to take me, your sister-in-law, into your household, to have me as your husband, and to be the head of both families."
When Shen Qingci uttered these seemingly reckless words, the expressions of the others in the room changed.
Huo Yunzhan had not expected that Shen Qingci would dare to expose this matter in front of her mother and Liu Ruolan. She immediately looked at Liu Ruolan, whose face was ashen and who was trembling with anger: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Whether I'm talking nonsense or not, you know best, brother."
"You just sent Yun Zhan's remains back to the Marquis's residence, and you couldn't wait to come to my courtyard to visit me. Seeing that I was heartbroken, you told me that although Yun Zhan was gone, I still had you. You look exactly like Yun Zhan, so I can use you as a substitute for Yun Zhan to find some comfort."
"You even solemnly promised me that you would take Yun Zhan's place and protect me and the child in my womb, and that you would treat me well! You said that after I give birth, you would treat the child as your own and love him even more!"
Shen Qingci looked at Huo Yunzhan, whose face was gradually turning pale, with a cold smile: "Didn't my elder brother tell me these things himself back then?"
"But at that time I was still immersed in the grief of losing Yun Zhan and had no mind to think about it, so I rejected my elder brother's suggestion."
"But you still haven't given up. You've made similar requests to me time and time again, wanting me to be your person. Several times, when I saw you were about to bring it up again, I deliberately interrupted you to prevent you from saying those even more shameless things!"
Shen Qingci raised her chin slightly and chuckled, "I, Shen Qingci, am indeed beautiful as a flower. Otherwise, how could you, my elder brother, be so infatuated with me and have such inappropriate thoughts about me?"
"Even knowing that I was pregnant with Yun Zhan's child, he was still willing to generously treat the child in my womb as his own."
"That's because..." It's because he knew perfectly well that the child in Shen Qingci's belly was none other than Huo Yunzhan's own flesh and blood! Of course he would treat it as his own!
"Yun Zhan!" Seeing that Huo Yun Zhan was about to blurt out the truth in his emotional state, the old lady Hou quickly interrupted him sharply.
Huo Yunzhan's voice stopped abruptly, and only the veins on his forehead bulged as he remained silent.
Shen Qingci took a deep breath, suppressing the anger and grievances in her heart: "After Yun Zhan passed away, I observed mourning for him, staying at home and being careful with my words and actions! The only time I went out was because the Lady of the Marquis asked me to accompany her to offer incense!"
Shen Qingci's eyes were filled with sarcasm and hatred: "It was precisely that time that I lost my child!"
"Since then, I have been extremely careful in my actions, for fear of making any further mistakes!"
"Being granted the title of a third-rank noblewoman this time, it is an ancestral rule to enter the palace to express gratitude, a testament to the Emperor's boundless grace! Am I any different? Can I disregard this imperial favor and not go to express my gratitude?"
"That's His Majesty the present! The supreme ruler! If His Majesty wants to see me, would I dare to be so disrespectful as to gouge out his dragon eyes on the spot?"
"Did I do anything out of line or improper in the Taiji Hall today? Did I go up to His Majesty and flirt with him? Or did I deliberately do something to attract his attention?"
Shen Qingci stared intently at Huo Yunzhan, her eyes filled with deep disappointment and mockery: "Even if His Majesty glanced at me a few more times and asked about my identity, is that my fault?"
"Instead of questioning His Majesty, you come here and keep trying to seduce me?"
Shen Qingci bit her lip, her face showing a tearful and extremely aggrieved expression: "I didn't do anything, but didn't the Marquis say countless times that he would protect me? Wouldn't he definitely let me stay in the Marquis's mansion safely?"
"I've heard that His Majesty is licentious and lustful. I don't want to enter the palace; I just want to stay quietly and remain faithful to my deceased husband."
"But if His Majesty issues an edict summoning me to the palace, will you, my lord, stand up for me, argue your case, and defy the edict on my behalf?"
A near-mad glint suddenly flashed in her eyes, and her voice carried a desperate resolve: "I've come up with an excellent plan."
“If His Majesty truly intends to summon me to the palace, I… I will publicly declare that you, Marquis, have long pitied my plight and have taken me, your brother’s wife, into your household as your woman!”
“In that case, I will be yours. Your Majesty cannot forcibly take my wife, can you? My lord, what do you say… about this method?”
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