Chapter 204 Appearance (Part 2)

Xu Lingyi came back in the evening: "I heard that Fifth Aunt came. What's the matter?"

"The Marquis is back!" Eleventh Lady smiled and took the shawl. She could smell a faint scent of wine on him. "Fifth brother-in-law also heard about the child, so he asked Fifth Sister to come over and ask about it. He had lunch at the Madam's place, sat for a while, and then went back."

Xu Lingyi nodded and went to the bathroom to wash up and change clothes.

"What did you eat tonight?" he asked as he took off his shoes and climbed onto the big kang next to the window.

"Let's have mutton hotpot." Shiyi Niang took the tea from the maid and handed it to Xu Lingyi. "There is a kind of dried wild vegetable called Amaranthus, which is cooked in a hotpot. It tastes very good." Then she asked him with a smile, "Did the Marquis drink today?"

Xu Lingyi took a sip of hot tea and leaned back on the large pillow with a comfortable look on his face: "Wang Li is here, let's drink some together."

Eleventh Lady went to make the bed with a smile.

Xu Lingyi pulled her hand and said, "Let's sit for a while!"

Eleventh Lady sat on the kang as she was told.

Xu Lingyi let out a long sigh: "I have never been so rude in my life." He smiled bitterly at Shiyi Niang, "She said all kinds of things. There is nothing you can't think of."

Eleventh Lady laughed and said, "That's what the rumors are!" Ordinary people have an extraordinary interest in the secrets of the nobles' families, not to mention the Ou family fanning the flames.

"I wanted to explain, but looking at their sly looks, it's obvious that they came to see me having fun. It would be fine if I didn't explain, I'm afraid the more I explain, the more excited they will be. So I simply said nothing." Xu Lingyi smiled helplessly, without any anger on his face, and it was obvious that he didn't care about the noise made by his friends.

"Rumors stop with the wise." Eleventh Lady still said to comfort him, "It will be fine after a few days."

Xu Lingyi nodded. "It just so happens that a case of murder and wife-stealing happened in the family of the Minister of Works. I have sent people to publicize it. Everyone heard about this new thing, and after a few days, they gradually forgot about our case."

Instead of bothering to refute the rumors, it is better to replace them with other things, divert people's attention, and let them gradually forget about them.

While the couple were discussing how to make a big deal out of a small matter, the emperor went to Kunning Palace with a smile on his face.

The eldest prince had just returned to the palace yesterday, and the queen asked the maid beside him for questioning. After hearing the eunuch's report, she hurried out to greet him.

The emperor took the empress's hand and went into the inner room. The maid served tea and tiptoed out.

The emperor smiled and said, "This afternoon I was discussing the defense of Fujian with a few ministers, and I heard something interesting."

The queen was startled and thought of the Qu family.

"If the emperor says it's interesting, then it must be very interesting. Your Majesty, please tell me about it."

The emperor laughed and said, "It is said that the Marquis of Yongping brought back a female village chief from Miaojiang three years ago and raised her in the horse-trading lane in the west of the city. Now the child is three years old."

"How is it possible?" The Queen was shocked. "How could the Marquis do such a reckless thing?"

You have to know that the suppression of the Miao was the first time the emperor used military force after ascending the throne. In order to show the might of the Great Zhou, all the captured village chiefs were beheaded... Bringing a female village chief back is equivalent to releasing prisoners of war privately. If the historians catch her, it is entirely possible that the charge will rise to the level of "collaboration with the enemy and treason." This means the extermination of nine clans!

"This must be a rumor!" The queen looked anxious, with beads of sweat on her temples.

"I know." The emperor lowered his head and brushed the tender leaves in the teacup, not noticing the queen's strangeness. "The fourth son has always been cautious and prudent. Even if something like this happened, he wouldn't make a big fuss about it." He raised his head, a sharp look flashed in his eyes. "However, what Mr. Liang said is very detailed, even what the child looks like. I'm afraid this matter is not that simple. I think you should arrange it as soon as possible and invite the wife of the Marquis of Yongping to the palace for a gathering. The seal will be sealed tomorrow. The memorial from the historian cannot be delivered for the time being, but it can be opened on the third day of the first lunar month..."

By then, I'm afraid impeachment memorials will be flying like snowflakes!

"I understand." The Queen hastily responded, and then tactfully consulted with the Emperor, "But the wife of the Marquis of Yongping is young, and I'm afraid she won't be able to explain it clearly at once, so why not invite the Madam Dowager to the palace..."

"We should invite the wife of Marquis Yongping to the palace!" The emperor murmured, "The lady is old, and she will probably keep things secret if the younger generations have problems. It would be inappropriate if she gets angry." The queen felt a little cold in her heart when she heard this.

The emperor heard the news in the afternoon, and only told himself when he was desperate. He also ordered the older Eleventh Lady to enter the palace... Time flies, and the former husband has become the current husband!

But when she saw her beautiful and intelligent younger sister-in-law, she felt a little relieved.

"Your Majesty is right," she said. "I will call the wife of Yongping Marquis to ask about it early tomorrow morning."

The emperor nodded and ordered the eunuch He beside him: "You all should leave now!"

It means we will rest here today.

Then he smiled at the queen and said, "The 'bone-in abalone' you made when I came last time was extremely delicious. Let's use that for a midnight snack today!"

The queen smiled and said "yes". She asked the palace maid to bring her a midnight snack, but she was thinking to herself: Are you still worried? Are you afraid that I will report to the Marquis of Yongping, and you want to see with your own eyes how I order the eunuchs?

The next morning, when she got up early, she called Eleventh Lady into the palace in front of the Emperor.

"…They said they brought a female village chief back to Beijing and raised her in Majia Hutong. They also said the child had a pair of pheasant eyes. What's going on?"

The room was quiet and empty. The Empress frowned, looking solemn, and asked in a somewhat aggressive tone.

Eleventh Lady was shocked.

Although they were hurriedly summoned to the palace without any warning, Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang had carefully considered many possibilities, including that the palace had heard about Feng Qing's incident and sent someone to inquire about it, that the Ou Family Association had explained the whole story from a political perspective and aimed at attacking Xu Lingyi, or even that the Empress had heard the rumors and summoned Shiyi Niang to the palace for a warning... But what they didn't expect was the Empress' attitude - when the two were alone, she still put on the royal majesty, wearing a phoenix crown with nine dragons and four phoenixes, and a dark blue ceremonial dress with twelve phoenix patterns, sitting upright on the phoenix throne.

Her mind was racing.

From the few brief encounters with the empress, it can be seen that the empress is not a rigid and indifferent woman. Moreover, how could she be so cold and stern when they were talking about the life and death of the Xu family... Was she afraid that there were ears on the other side of the wall? But this is Kunning Palace, the palace of the empress, who dares to peek in?

The thought flashed through my mind and sweat soaked my clothes.

In this palace, the only one who can truly make the empress jealous is the emperor!

She couldn't help but take a breath of cool air, and her heart became as calm as an ancient well.

"Empress," Eleventh Lady raised her sleeves to cover her face, "this is such a great injustice. The Marquis is a man of good character and straightforwardness, how could he do such a thing." As she spoke, she blinked her eyes, hoping that the tears would fall quickly, "I don't know who said such a thing? If this gets to the ears of the Emperor, will the Marquis still be alive? Empress, you have to stand up for the Marquis! It is obvious that someone wants to frame the Marquis! Someone wants to harm the Marquis!" As she spoke, her eyes became wet, "Poor Marquis has been in the army for half his life, and now he is disabled and can't walk. He can finally enjoy some peace and quiet, but such words are heard... What should I do!" She looked sad and helpless.

The Empress was delighted at first, then stunned, and then the corner of her mouth curled up and a smile flashed across her face.

I was happy that I didn't say anything, but my brother was prepared - otherwise, how could Eleventh Lady say such a thing? What was unexpected was the way Eleventh Lady spoke, crying without caring about anything, she was still a young girl who didn't know much about the world. But when I think about what she said to me that day, it was probably intentional. I didn't expect her to disregard her own reputation and do so much for the Xu family. I felt very relieved that my brother had such a person by his side, and I couldn't help but laugh. Then I thought of the emperor who was resting in the inner room and could hear everything clearly, and my smile quickly disappeared.

"Don't cry." There was a gentleness in her voice that she didn't even notice. "Sit down and talk first." Then she pointed to a brocade stool on the right.

Eleventh Lady listened to the Queen's calm voice and knew that she had done the right thing.

She breathed a sigh of relief, took out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes, but in her heart she was worried that she couldn't cry, so she sat on the brocade stool pretending to sob.

"I'm asking you, have you heard of this rumor?" Although the queen believed her brother, she was unsure when even the elders in the palace seemed to be making a convincing argument. "I heard of it." Eleventh Lady choked up, "Not only did I hear of it, but the child is still in the half-moon hospital!"

"Ah!" The queen's face changed drastically.

However, Shiyi Niang pricked up her ears and heard a slight noise in the inner room.

It seemed that the emperor was really listening in the inner room.

"So the Marquis is wrongly accused!" Before the Queen could speak, she said immediately, "The child is not the Marquis's at all, but the Fifth Master's."

"What?" The Queen's face changed drastically. She had never thought that there was really a child.

Eleventh Lady, who had been paying attention to the movements in the inner room, heard very light footsteps stopping at the door curtain.

"I don't know exactly what happened." She told the empress what happened that day in detail: "...I suddenly heard a rumor. It said that the child was born to the marquis and a camp prostitute. It also said that my sister was intolerant and would not allow the marquis to bring the child back." As she spoke, she began to cry, "Your Majesty, these people are so abominable. They even don't let go of the dead. Your Majesty, what do you think I should do? The marquis will definitely not explain, but without the marquis's consent, I didn't say a word, even in front of the lady..."

The queen was in a state of confusion at the moment.

Although this child is not Xu Lingyi's, he is still a child of the Xu family.

If they defend Xu Lingyi, they will inevitably have to drag Xu Lingkuan into the picture, and then drag Danyang into the picture, and then drag Xu Lingkuan's father-in-law, Marquis Dingnan into the picture. But if they don't defend Xu Lingyi, the Xu family will really not be able to bear this heavy accusation.

It's like the palm and the back of the hand - even though we know the flesh on the palm is thicker, it still hurts a lot when we hit it together.

She couldn't help but glance at the curtain in the inner room.

After all, they have been married for more than ten years, and when the time comes, they still habitually hope that person can help solve the problem.

Eleventh Lady, who had been keeping an eye on the Empress out of the corner of her eye, couldn't help but sigh inwardly, but there were some things she had to say - nothing could make a king happier than a capable minister showing weakness.

"The Marquis hasn't had a good sleep for two days. Tell me, what should the Fifth Master do? The Fifth Brother's wife is still pregnant. If I don't tell him, there are terrible rumors outside. The Marquis is afraid of damaging the reputation of the Yongping Marquis's Mansion, and even more afraid of bringing shame to the Emperor and the Empress. It's really a dilemma..."