Chapter 316 The Queen’s Intention
Shen Yuexi couldn't help but vomit in front of the Phoenix Chariot.
Since she came to this world, she had not known much about the laws of Dayan and did not know the consequences of her actions. But Su Mo's face beside her had changed.
Su Mo knew full well that Shen Yuexi's behavior was a crime of impropriety. According to the law, the punishment could range from flogging to death. Furthermore, Shen Yuexi's impropriety was in front of the Empress of a nation, which was no small matter.
As expected, an angry voice rang out from the Phoenix Paladin: "How dare you lose your manners in front of me! Come, arrest Princess An!"
The loud shout frightened the parrot Liuli so much that its feathers exploded and it spread its wings and flew into Prince An's mansion.
The royal guards on both sides received the order and moved forward.
Shen Yuexi was vomiting so hard that she was dizzy and unable to stand or speak. The people around her were at a loss as to what to do when they saw the Queen's anger.
Su Mo didn't care about anything else. She straightened up quickly and raised her hand to stop the imperial guards. She knelt two steps and stood in front of Shen Yuexi, shouting, "Your Majesty, Princess An is already two months pregnant and can't control her pregnancy. Please have mercy on her and forgive her for her indiscretion."
The woman in harem attire suddenly stood up, causing the entire row of beaded curtains to tremble and collide. She shouted angrily, "Princess Ping, you..."
Su Mo refused to back down and touched her forehead to the ground: "Your Majesty, Princess An has her reasons. Please understand and forgive her for her impoliteness."
She didn't understand why the Queen was so difficult when she first met Shen Yuexi. She knew she was pregnant. Looking around, she was the only one who could speak up for Shen Yuexi. As Xiao Beiheng's legal wife, she hoped her mother-in-law would give her some face.
With her standing in front of Shen Yuexi, the surrounding royal guards were hesitant and did not dare to move forward.
The beaded curtain at the entrance of the Phoenix Sedan slowly stopped swaying, and the person inside sat back down, their voices becoming calmer. "It turns out that Princess An is pregnant. I wrongly accused her. I forgive her. You two, please stand up."
Su Mo was overjoyed. She quickly turned around and helped Shen Yuexi stand up, saying, "Princess An, please thank the Queen for not punishing you."
Shen Yuexi had just vomited violently, but she could hear everything clearly and knew that it was Su Mo who saved her. If Su Mo had remained silent, she didn't know what crime she would have been accused of. Judging from her panicked movements, it was definitely not a light one.
Now that the Queen had pardoned her, even though she felt uncomfortable, she suppressed her nausea and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Queen, for your grace in pardoning me."
"No need for formalities," the woman in the phoenix chariot replied calmly, "Let's go to the palace. I'm tired from the journey."
Shen Yuexi and Su Mo stepped aside, and servants immediately rushed over to clean up the vomit, spray clean water, and spread fragrance on the road. Once everything was ready, the sedan bearers lifted the phoenix sedan chair, and the stars and moon were carried into the gate of Prince An's mansion.
Su Mo supported Shen Yuexi and fell behind the team. She asked in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, are you feeling better?"
Shen Yuexi took the clean water Xia Lan handed over, rinsed her mouth, and said, "Thank you so much just now. If it weren't for you, I would be in trouble."
Su Mo whispered, "Maybe something happened to the Queen Mother on the way, and she's in a bad mood. Sister-in-law, don't take it to heart. When you go to the mansion to see the Queen Mother later, be careful with your words."
"I understand." Shen Yuexi agreed.
Emperor Ming of Qi was Xiao Zhuo's biological father. Although Empress Wen was not Xiao Zhuo's biological mother, she was her mother-in-law. When a daughter-in-law met her mother-in-law, she naturally had to be careful in dealing with her.
Su Mo remembered that she had just told her that Emperor Ming of Qi knew about her pregnancy. If Emperor Ming of Qi knew, how could Empress Wen not know? But Empress Wen just said that she just found out, which was obviously a lie.
She had a feeling that Queen Wen's visit seemed to be targeting her.
It was clearly the first time the two met. They had no grudges in the past or present, and they were not related at all. How could they have offended the queen?
The only possibility she could think of was that she and Xiao Zhuo did not go to the capital to meet the emperor and empress in time, causing the empress to make trouble.
That's possible. But for such a small matter, the Queen had to travel all the way here to punish her. It was a bit too much.
Maybe there is a more important reason.
"If only my husband were here," Shen Yuexi thought to herself, "He would definitely be able to see through what the Queen is thinking."
Empress Wen was furious and wanted to punish her for her impropriety. However, after Su Mo intervened, Empress Wen immediately changed her attitude and did not pursue the matter. This capricious style was somewhat similar to Xiao Beiheng's.
Xiao Zhuo had once told her that those who seemed capricious often had clear goals. Unfortunately, she couldn't grasp the meaning of this. For now, she could only proceed with caution and wait for Xiao Zhuo's return before asking him for his advice.
The two entered the palace. Shen Yuexi adjusted her makeup and clothes and went to meet the queen with Su Mo.
Empress Wen had already dismounted from her phoenix chariot and sat in the center of the reception room. A table in front of her was set with snacks and fruit, and palace maids stood on either side. Shen Yuexi and Su Mo entered the reception room and both paid their respects to the Empress.
Empress Wen said, "Please both of you stand up without any formalities and come chat with me."
When Su Mo heard this, she knew that Queen Wen meant that she would not embarrass Shen Yuexi. She showed joy on her face and gestured for Shen Yuexi to stand up.
Shen Yuexi then raised her head. When she saw Queen Wen, she couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise.
Empress Wen wore a phoenix crown and a phoenix robe, with a solemn demeanor. She also wore a light veil that covered half of her face, revealing only a pair of sharp phoenix eyes. All of this was normal, but there was one thing that surprised her: Empress Wen's hair was completely white.
She didn't think Empress Wen was that old, probably in her thirties, not even forty. How could a woman of that age have a head full of white hair?
Su Mo saw her screaming, and fearing that the Queen would take the opportunity to make things difficult for her, she quickly said with a smile, "Princess An is meeting the Queen Mother for the first time, and she is a little surprised."
Empress Wen was not angry, but raised her hand to stroke her hair and said, "It was just an illness when I was young, and my hair turned completely white overnight."
Su Mo echoed, "When I married Bei Heng, my mother's hair was like this."
Shen Yuexi was curious. What kind of illness could cause hair to turn white overnight? But seeing that Su Mo didn't want her to pay too much attention to this matter, she stopped asking. After all, no woman likes others to pay attention to the parts of her body that show signs of aging.
She changed the subject and said, "Your Majesty, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I have instructed the kitchen to prepare it as soon as possible. I will invite Your Majesty to taste Shengjing's delicious food later."
Empress Wen nodded, motioning for the two to sit down and sit beside her. She reached out and took a grape and said to Shen Yuexi, "Princess An, Prince An is still suppressing the rebellion in Jingzhou?"
Seeing that she was talking about everyday things and didn't seem to have any ill intentions, Shen Yuexi replied, "Reporting to the Queen Mother, there has been a rebellion in Jingzhou, and Prince An has been leading his troops to war for over a month."
"Oh, what about the wife of Marquis Pingyang?" Queen Wen asked again, picking up grapes with two fingers.
Shen Yuexi was stunned.
When Empress Wen came here, she first asked Xiao Zhuo and then Madam Li. What did she mean?
Xiao Zhuo's words made sense, after all, he was Prince An. But Madam Li had nothing to do with her, so why did she even care about this?
She couldn't figure it out for a moment, but she had to answer, so she answered truthfully: "The wife of the Marquis of Pingyang and her daughter went to the north. They are not in Shengjing at the moment."
Li Wan was marrying Qiang Lin, and the two were to hold their wedding ceremony according to Western Rong customs. Qiang Lin was one of the Western Rong kings, so Lady Li, Li Wan, and Qiang Lin's mother all traveled to the heartland of Western Rong after Qixi Festival to hold the wedding. However, according to estimates, they would be back tomorrow.
Empress Wen asked, "When will they return? I've come this time, firstly, to visit Princess An at His Majesty's command. Secondly, I'm here to announce His Majesty's decree to reinstate the title of Marquis of Pingyang. This is good news, and the Marquis' wife and daughter should be informed."
Shen Yuexi thought to herself, "So he's here to visit me under orders? Then why would he arrest me for something as trivial as vomiting?"
Su Mo had just said that perhaps something had happened on the way, causing Empress Wen to be in a bad mood, and she had just added fuel to the fire. Thinking about it this way, Empress Wen's behavior wasn't surprising. Wasn't Empress Wen's current behavior quite normal?
Anyway, no one was hurt, so just think of it as Queen Wen having an inexplicable temper.
Emperor Ming of Qi issued an edict to restore the title of Marquis of Pingyang. This was indeed good news. Lady Li had always been dissatisfied with her situation, and now that her status as the Marquis' wife had been restored, she must have been overjoyed.
Thinking of this, Shen Yuexi said: "Mother, they will be back tomorrow."
Queen Wen did not answer, but lifted her veil, put the grapes in her mouth, and signaled with her eyes that the two of them should eat something as well.
Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, Su Mo happily picked up an orange and peeled it, saying, "Mother, I'll peel an orange for you. The oranges outside the Great Wall are different from those in the capital. They taste sweeter."
Shen Yuexi followed suit and picked up a pear: "Mother, Shengjing is most famous for its snow pears. We have a lot in stock at home."
Empress Wen said to Su Mo, "Prince Ping has been in poor health recently and hasn't had a good rest for several days... I think it's perfectly acceptable for you to come here to visit your sister-in-law, but you are his wife after all, so you should return to Anzhou as soon as possible."
Su Mo was stunned. She stopped peeling the orange and said, "Isn't Beiheng already well?"
Empress Wen's voice turned cold, and she said coldly, "Could I possibly deceive you?"
Su Moqing knew that she had said something wrong, and quickly stood up and said, "Mother, I have spoken out of turn."
"I won't pursue the matter, but it's time for you to leave," Empress Wen said calmly. "Prince Ping needs you more than Princess An."
Su Mo was a little hesitant after hearing this.
Queen Wen clearly wanted her to leave immediately. But she was worried that if she left, Shen Yuexi would be in trouble.
Shen Yuexi saw Su Mo's worries and stood up, saying, "Sister-in-law, since my brother is feeling unwell, you should return to Anzhou as soon as possible. I'll take you out."
Although she was slow to react, she understood Queen Wen's intention.
With Su Mo around, Queen Wen couldn't make things difficult for her, after all, Su Mo was her daughter-in-law. Now Queen Wen used Xiao Beiheng as an excuse to drive Su Mo away, and it was obvious that Su Mo couldn't stay.
She wanted to see what tricks Queen Wen would come up with next.
The two said goodbye to Queen Wen and came to the gate of the palace. They saw Su Mo's motorcade waiting at the gate. After asking, they found out that it was the Queen's order.
Su Mo worriedly held Shen Yuexi's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, Mother seems to be in a bad mood today. No matter what she says, you must be patient and don't make any mistakes."
She and Shen Yuexi have been together for a long time and have always had a close relationship. Now they have become a family. Her concern for Shen Yuexi is sincere.
Of course, Shen Yuexi could see Su Mo's good intentions and said, "Don't worry, go back. I will serve the queen well."
Su Mo was still a little worried and reminded her again: "The Queen Mother is a very kind person, sister-in-law, don't have preconceived ideas."
Shen Yuexi agreed repeatedly, and Su Mo got into the car.
After seeing Su Mo off, Shen Yuexi returned to the palace and said to Queen Wen, "Your Majesty, Princess Ping's convoy has departed for Anzhou."
Queen Wen said nothing, but waved her hand and ordered everyone to leave, leaving only her and Shen Yuexi.
After everyone had left, Empress Wen smiled and said to Shen Yuexi, "Princess An, do you think I sent Princess Ping away just to make things difficult for you?"
Shen Yuexi blinked. This Queen Wen was no fool like the King of Xiliang. She could see through her thoughts at a glance.
She couldn't say yes, so she could only smile vaguely and get by.
"It's true that Prince Ping can't sleep," Queen Wen said. "You're going to be a mother, so you should know what you would do if your child was tortured. And that's why I'm here."
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