Chapter 88 Resistance
Jinzhi was quite surprised when she saw Song Tangning. She had been with the queen for many years and could be said to have watched Song Tangning grow up.
Although this young lady from the Song family was born into a noble family, she was raised like a bird in a cage.
In her early years, when Taifu Rong was still around, she could still show some unruliness, but as she grew older, she became only docile and obedient after being bound by rules.
But now, after just a month's absence, the girl in front of him still had the same face, but her almond-shaped eyes, which used to always lower their brows, had lost their gentleness. Although she was respectful to her, the lady-in-waiting of the queen, she was no longer as eager as before.
Jinzhi felt a little uncomfortable, but she still said softly, "My queen is worried about Miss Song's injury and worried that you must be tired from traveling back and forth. That's why she didn't summon you to the palace out of concern."
"I finally heard that your injuries have improved these past few days. Coincidentally, the Sixth Princess' birthday is in three days, so Her Majesty has specially asked me to invite you to the palace so that I can see you in person and put Her Majesty at ease."
The people in the palace have always been so eloquent. This sentence not only elevated the queen's gentleness and kindness, but also blocked her reason for refusing to enter the palace.
Song Tangning was able to send everyone in the Duke Song's mansion to jail, and everyone in the city knew about his conflict with the Lu family. If he claimed to be sick and refused to enter the palace again, he would be disobeying the emperor's order.
Song Tangning's mind was clearer than ever. As her crow-like eyelashes drooped, her expression was filled with dejection. "I miss the queen too. In the entire Lu family, the queen is the only one who truly cares about me. But this wound on my face..."
She bit her lip lightly, feeling aggrieved. "In the past, I was completely clueless, obsessed with people I shouldn't have been obsessed with. Because of this, I made enemies with many people in the capital without even realizing it. The Sixth Princess' birthday banquet was attended by all the noble ladies in the capital. Everyone was dressed in gorgeous clothes, but I was the only one with spots on my face. Whenever I think about how they would laugh at me if I met them, I wish I could die immediately."
Jinzhi's expression changed slightly and she said hurriedly, "My lady, don't talk nonsense. Who would dare to laugh at you when the lady is here..."
"But I don't want anyone to see me like this."
Since the Queen didn't mention anything about the Lu family and insisted on pretending to love her, Song Tangning just thought of herself as the aggrieved and spoiled little girl.
She raised her almond-shaped eyes slightly, as if half filled with water, and spoke like an ordinary foolish young person.
"I know that the Queen is protecting me and no one dares to laugh at me, but look at my face, who wouldn't say it's ugly behind my back?"
"I finally managed to save my life from the mountains, so why would I let myself fall into such a state where everyone would ridicule and mock me? The Queen loves me so much, she would definitely not want me to suffer any injustice, right?"
Jinzhi choked instantly.
Song Tangning raised her chin obediently: "Please tell Aunt Jinzhi to tell the Queen that I don't want to shock the Queen with my ugly face. I have received the Queen's concern for me. After my injury is healed, I will immediately come to the palace to thank the Queen for her concern."
The flower hall was extremely quiet for a moment. Not only Jinzhi was stunned by Song Tangning's words, but even the two palace maids who came with Jinzhi were dumbfounded.
It was the first time they saw someone dare to refuse the Queen.
Even if Jinzhi was stupid, she could sense the rebelliousness hidden beneath Song Tangning's seemingly respectful face. Her originally warm expression became restrained: "Miss Song, I am only here to convey the Empress's order. I have no right to change it without permission."
"So it's an imperial decree?"
Song Tangning's eyes sparkled with tears. "Aunt Jinzhi, why didn't you tell me earlier? I thought the Queen was really concerned about me and worried about my injury, but it turns out she just wanted to see me. If Aunt Jinzhi had said it was an imperial decree when she came, how could Tangning dare to say anything more?"
All she had to do was point out the queen's hypocrisy.
"Miss Song!" Jinzhi's face suddenly darkened.
Song Tangning simply raised her eyes calmly and said, "The Empress has treated me well in the past, and I dared not disobey her order and refuse to enter the palace. However, I had just broken with Lu Zhinian and was demanding the return of the relics left by my mother and grandfather that they had embezzled from the Lu family, and then the Empress summoned me to the palace."
"If I were fine, no one would have said anything. At most, the Empress would have wanted to mediate out of pity for the younger generation. But now, my injuries haven't healed yet, and the whole capital knows how Lu Zhinian and the eldest son of the Song family bullied me, causing my appearance to be damaged. And how the Lu family has relied on the marriage contract to humiliate me for many years, treating a noble lady of the Rong family like a beggar from a humble family."
"The Empress knew that there would be guests at the Sixth Princess' birthday banquet, but she still summoned me, covered in wounds, to the palace. Tang Ning wasn't afraid of being humiliated, as at most she'd be mocked and called ugly and disfigured. But the Empress's kindness might be misunderstood, and rumors might spread that she was trying to use her power to stand up for the Lu family and force me to back down, forcing me to endure the previous humiliation from the Lu family."
Song Tangning followed Xiao Yan day after day, and although he could only learn the basics, his sarcasm and sharp tongue were similar to those of Xiao Yan.
"Tang Ning doesn't dare to let the Empress down. What does Aunt Jinzhi think?"
The two palace maids who came with her did not expect that the usually docile Miss Song would be so bold. They were all shocked when they heard the words, and one of them shouted angrily.
"How dare you speculate and slander the Empress?!"
Song Tangning raised her eyes and lips: "I am only judging others by my own standards. After all, the Queen loves me, and I can't bear to see her reputation tarnished."
"you!!"
The man was so angry that he wanted to speak, but Jinzhi put down her eyes and put her hand in his way.
The smile on the face of this female official who had been immersed in the harem for many years had completely disappeared. She just looked at Song Tangning and said, "Miss Song, the queen really loves you. Why are you so angry?"
Song Tangning smiled faintly: "I am also concerned about the queen."
"Madam Song, do you really want to do this?"
Jinzhi's eyes suddenly turned cold, and the power accumulated in her body for many years burst out, making Hua Wu, who was following beside her, turn pale subconsciously. Even Song Ru, who was behind a curtain, turned pale and subconsciously wanted to rush out. She was stopped by Princess Cheng and Madam Qin who reached out and pulled her.
But Song Tangning felt that Jinzhi looked much worse than her brother, who was calm and cold, and could make people feel like they were falling into an ice cellar with just one look.
One is pretending to be fierce, while the other is fierce in his bones, making people subconsciously obey and bow their heads.
Tang Ning found that she was not afraid of Jin Zhi's cold face at all, and just continued to speak softly: "Isn't it that the Queen insisted on doing this?"
She used the softest voice to say the most hurtful words.
"If the Empress had summoned me to the palace before the Lu family, even if it was behind the mountain, and the Empress had sent someone to ask if I was okay, I would have answered without hesitation. But it happened after the Lu family."
"The Empress may genuinely only care about me, but it will inevitably breed suspicion in the eyes of others. I don't want the Empress to bear a bad reputation. Besides, the entire capital now knows about the three-day deadline between me and the Lu family. It would be better for me to wait for Lu Zhinian and the Lu family to return all the money they've embezzled from me over the years. Once I'm even with them, I'll go to the palace and apologize to the Empress."
"What does Aunt Jinzhi think?"
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