My elder brother should settle down and start a family.
The palace maid's body trembled, and Qingyi smiled with satisfaction.
That's quite well said.
After all, Li Xingyi, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites, was already the Empress. How could she possibly fall for a rogue, especially one so ugly! No matter how you look at it, Shi Hui was like a clown, nitpicking.
Qi Dou looked at Shi Hui and said, "Mother, the matter should be clear now. This man is a scoundrel. The Empress only caused this situation because she was afraid that something might happen to the people."
Shi Hui gritted her teeth and said, "Then why did you let everyone else out?! Only the three of them were left in the room?! What else could it be but a secret rendezvous?!"
Li Xingyi said calmly, "According to what Mother Empress said, does Mother Empress think that I would fall for that scoundrel?"
Shi Hui smiled and said sarcastically, "Who knows? Maybe you'll accept anyone who comes your way?"
Qi Dou looked displeased.
Li Xingyi looked at Qi Dou and said calmly, "Your Majesty is a man of dragon and phoenix appearance, and I fell in love with you at first sight. How could I possibly fall for someone else? Besides, there are palace maids to testify. Does Mother not believe me?"
Qi Dou was secretly delighted upon hearing this, and looked at Li Xingyi with a smile.
Shi Hui looked at the palace maid who was testifying and said, "Heh, who knows whether what the Empress said is true or false? Maybe this palace maid has already been bribed by the Empress!"
Seeing this, Qingyi whispered in the palace maid's ear, "Guess how the Empress Dowager will treat you when you go back?"
If Shi Hui were to publicly defend Li Xingyi, she would likely be beaten to death, given her personality.
The palace maid understood her meaning immediately, and Qingyi smiled and let go of her hand.
The palace maid immediately knelt down and grabbed Shi Hui's clothes, saying, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager! Spare me! I was only following your orders to let that scoundrel into the palace! You said that as long as that scoundrel defiled Her Majesty the Empress, you would consider giving us a chance to become concubines!"
These words shocked everyone present. Upon seeing this, Shi Hui immediately kicked the palace maid away and angrily said, "How dare you! How dare you slander me!"
The palace maid cried out "Ouch!" and fell to the ground.
Qi Dou's face instantly darkened, and he said coldly, "So it was the Empress Dowager's order!"
Shi Hui immediately turned to Li Xingyi and angrily said, "Li Xingyi! How dare you let this vile woman slander me!"
Li Xingyi looked at her and said calmly, "Mother, you are wrong. This is your person. Besides, I have been standing here the whole time. How could I let her slander you?"
Shi Hui said viciously, "You and that slut Li Hehua are both deliberately framing me and the Shi family! Your skills in seducing men are all amazing! You are all bastards!"
Just as Qi Dou was about to speak, Li Xingyi calmly said, "Mother is wrong again. Father has already announced to the world that it was Shi Fa who deliberately framed my aunt Li Hehua. It was the Shi family who plotted to seize the concubines, and when they failed, they devised that scheme. Is Mother questioning Father's decree?"
Upon hearing this, Shi Hui recalled the time when her family fell into ruin. She rushed towards Li Xingyi like a madwoman, shouting, "Li Xingyi! You wretch! You shall die a horrible death! Your entire Li family shall die a horrible death! If it weren't for your Li family, how could my family have ended up like this?!"
Seeing this, Qi Dou quickly grabbed Shi Hui's wrist and threw her to the ground, saying sternly, "The Empress Dowager is vicious, acts inappropriately, and is insane. From this day forward, she shall rest in Cining Palace until she recovers and is not to leave!"
It was supposed to be a period of rest and recuperation, but it was clearly imprisonment.
Zhao Hongxing immediately summoned two servants who pulled Shi Hui up and headed outside. Shi Hui struggled and shouted at Qi Dou, "Qi Dou! How dare you treat me like this! I will not let you get away with this!"
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager!" Immediately afterwards, Shunhua was also pulled away by two other guards.
Li Xingyi simply watched them being led away.
Shi Hui, this is only the beginning.
The next second, Li Xingyi was hugged by Qi Dou, and she was instantly stunned.
Qi Dou hugged her and whispered, "Xing Yi, can you trust me just this once? Just this once?"
Could you tell me your plans? Could you not be so distant? Could you... fall in love with me...?
Although the sound was very soft, Li Xingyi still heard it.
Believe? Why?
Li Xingyi lowered her eyes and slowly said, "Your Majesty, I don't know what you're talking about. I am the Empress, your wife, and naturally I trust you."
Qi Dou's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. He separated from Li Xingyi, looked into the sorrow in Li Xingyi's eyes, and said, "Xingyi, why...why did you treat me like this?"
Li Xingyi looked up at him and said calmly, "Your Majesty, my heart for you is as clear as the sun and moon."
Qi Dou looked at her and smiled bitterly.
...You still won't tell me.
Li Xingyi then said, "Your Majesty, that scoundrel should be dealt with."
Upon hearing this, Qi Dou looked at the guards and said, "Hurry up and deal with this man!"
The guards immediately replied, "Yes!"
Qi Dou was furious.
This audacious scoundrel dared to covet my Star Shift! If he weren't already dead, I would have skinned him alive and pulled out his tendons long ago. Or better yet... castrated him! Let him suffer a fate worse than death!
Qi Dou stared at the rogue's corpse, his eyes blazing with murderous intent.
Seeing Qi Dou's expression, Li Xingyi reached out and tugged at his sleeve. Qi Dou noticed and looked at Li Xingyi, his eyes filled with question, "What's wrong?"
Li Xingyi said softly, "Your Majesty, he is already dead."
It was clearly meant that Qi Dou didn't need to be so angry.
Qi Dou paused for a moment, then said, "Hmm."
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. Li Xingyi thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I have not yet eaten. Would you like to dine with me?"
"Okay," Qi Dou said without even thinking.
Li Xingyi looked at him quietly.
...That's really straightforward.
"Qianwu, go prepare the meal," Li Xingyi said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Qianwu knelt down and said, "Yes."
Seeing this, Qingyi quickly led the palace maid away to clean up the mess.
Li Xingyi said considerately, "Your Majesty, this place is not yet cleaned up. Please move to the side hall for your meal."
Qi Dou looked at her and said, "Alright, let's go then."
Before long, the news of what happened in the palace had spread throughout the streets and alleys.
"I never imagined that anyone would set their sights on the Empress! If that beast weren't already dead, I would have gone to avenge the Empress! I would have tortured him to death!"
"Yes, yes! It's true what they say, 'A kind person is often bullied, and a good horse is often ridden.' The Empress is such a kind and beautiful person, she must be terrified! If there are any more people like this in the future, I, Zhao Peng, will be the first to chop them down!"
"And there's me, Wang Wu! Anyone who dares to oppose Her Majesty the Empress, I'll be the first to object!..."
In a corner, a group of people whispered among themselves, "Empress Dowager Shi is so vicious! The Empress clearly did nothing wrong, yet she schemed against the Empress like this?!"
"That's right!"
"I heard that ever since the Empress entered the palace, she has been making things difficult for her at every turn, which is really infuriating."
"Everyone knows she's targeting the Li family because of what happened back then. I wonder what Her Majesty the Empress is going to do?"
"..."
Seeing this scene, the guards standing outside the palace gates asked in confusion, "Why are so many people supporting the Empress?"
An old hunchback overheard this and said, "Young man, you don't even know this?"
The guard was even more confused. "??? What does that mean?"
The old man thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I won't say any more."
The guard reached out to stop him and asked, "Hey, explain yourself clearly."
The old man crawled under his hand and laughed, "I won't tell you, I won't tell you. If you want to know, go ask the Empress."
The guard was completely bewildered, and his curiosity only made him more anxious.
The old man walked and thought, and sat down at a tea stall.
Back then, our village had a bad harvest and was always plagued by famine. The imperial court's disaster relief grain was delayed in being distributed, and when we talked to the officials, they always gave us the runaround and didn't care about our lives at all.
With no way to appeal, we had no choice but to make a scene at the government gate. Just then, a group of masked guards suddenly arrived and stopped the farce. Only then did we see a carriage with a masked woman on it, who looked to be only fifteen years old.
Then, it is unknown what the woman's maid said to the corrupt official, but the official turned pale and soon opened the granary to distribute grain.
We all knew this must be thanks to the girl. She had so many attendants, and although we couldn't see their clothes, their demeanor clearly indicated they were from an ordinary family. I wanted to ask her which family she belonged to so I could go and thank her. The guards said that if we really wanted to express our gratitude, we should pretend we hadn't seen anything. The girl in the carriage put her index finger to her lips and made a shushing gesture, so we had no choice but to agree.
After all, if she had some unspeakable secret, we couldn't harm her. Not long after, the imperial court somehow found out about the corrupt official and came to arrest and behead him. On that day, we discovered that the corrupt official had become mute!
None of the other officers and soldiers mentioned the woman; we all only talked about the corrupt official's past actions. Later, after making inquiries from various sources, I finally guessed what had happened.
The old man picked up the teacup in front of him and drank it.
When the old man returned to the city gate, the guard stopped him again. Just as the old man was about to speak, the guard interrupted, "Uncle, I understand."
He looked very proud.
The old man looked at him tentatively and asked, "What do you know?"
The guard quickly said, "It's just a good deed done by the Li family. In the past, when people in the capital caused trouble, the Li family always came out to help. The more good deeds they did, the more people naturally liked the Li family."
He then proudly raised his head and said, "See? Was I right?"
The old man breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yes, but how come you didn't know that before?"
The guard scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Haha, I forgot."
The old man chuckled, "Such a young age, and already your memory is so bad."
The guard scratched his head awkwardly.
I didn't pay much attention to this matter, so of course I didn't know. My heart was entirely devoted to protecting the State of Qi...
After Li Xingyi finished eating and saw Qi Dou off, he saw Li Yanzhang rushing over, looking Li Xingyi up and down with concern, asking, "Are you alright? Are you hurt? Were you scared?"
Li Xingyi calmly replied, "Brother, there's no need to worry. I'm fine."
Li Yanzhang breathed a sigh of relief. Then he remembered that he had come in a hurry and had already rushed to pay his respects. He quickly added, "Your subject, Li Yanzhang of the Imperial Guard, pays his respects to Your Majesty the Empress."
Li Xingyi sat back down and said, "No need for formalities, please have a seat."
Li Yanzhang said respectfully, "Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress."
They then took their seats.
Li Yanzhang was eager to speak, but then he realized he couldn't be rude again, lest his sister be targeted again.
Li Xingyi noticed his hesitation and said, "Brother, there's no need to be so reserved. Speak."
Now that Li Xingyi had spoken, Li Yanzhang could speak as well. He said, "Your Majesty, you must not say such things again next time, and you should never be alone in a room with others, lest things turn out like today."
Li Xingyi knew that he was worried about him, so he gently hummed in agreement.
The air fell silent. Li Xingyi asked, "How is Ji Xi?"
Li Yanzhang was taken aback for a moment, then said, "His wound isn't serious; he just needs some rest."
After hearing this, Li Xingyi hummed in agreement, and the air fell silent again.
Waaaaah, talking to this cold, aloof younger sister is so quiet! What should I do? Is there anything else I want to say? Remember, remember…
Li Yanzhang's heart was racing with anxiety. Li Xingyi looked Li Yanzhang up and down and said, "Brother, it's time for you to get married. I wonder what kind of wife you like?"
Li Yanzhang was puzzled after hearing this.
How did we get onto this topic?
But he still thought about it seriously for a moment and said, "Hmm... I haven't thought about that yet."
Li Yanzhang had loved martial arts since childhood and was also eager to help others, thinking about serving the country and eliminating evil for the people. He never thought about getting married because marriage was troublesome, and if it was for personal gain, it would be torture for Li Yanzhang.
The things he likes and the things he wants to do are restricted because of his wife, with whom he has a business relationship. Even if he were to marry, Li Yanzhang would want to marry someone he loves, because a wife is someone he will spend his life with, and only two people who love each other can be happy together.
Of course, Li Yanzhang hasn't met the person he loves yet.
Li Xingyi said calmly, "Then brother should hurry up and choose."
Li Yanzhang agreed, "Okay."
He then rose and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, then I shall take my leave."
Li Xingyi nodded and said, "Yes."
Upon hearing this, Li Yanzhang turned and left.
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