Before she could fully meet Meng Qi's gaze, she heard a "slap" and felt a burning pain on one side of her face. Everyone, who had just listened to Princess Duan's merciless mockery with mixed expressions, now felt a unified expression at Meng Qi's slap.
Princess Duan covered her face. She hadn't expected Meng Qi to hit her, and in front of so many people. She had forgotten to react, staring at Meng Qi flexing her wrist in bewilderment and disbelief.
Until she heard the Queen coldly say, "It's understandable that Meng is worried about the child. Perhaps Brother Qing was just careless. But Princess Duan is your second sister-in-law. Even if she said a few wrong things, she can just apologize later. How could she hit him, and in front of so many people?"
When Princess Duan heard what the Queen said, she finally realized what was happening. She covered her face and cried to the Queen, "Your Majesty, please make a decision for me. I still have the dignity to stand here. It's better to find a rope and end this."
Yong'an pressed his forehead. What was going on? His mother's birthday party was ruined by these two people.
She stepped forward and put her arm around Princess Duan's shoulders. "Don't be like this, sister-in-law. I'll take you to change clothes."
Fanghua sneered, "What happened today? Either your feet slipped or your hands slipped, right, Sixth Sister?"
Meng Qi bowed to the Queen and said, "It's my daughter-in-law's fault. My hand just slipped."
When Princess Duan heard her say this, she broke free from Yong'an's hand and said, "Please, Queen, seek justice for your daughter-in-law."
The Queen said to Aunt Sang, "Take all the children away and return to their respective residences."
After waiting for the children to leave, the Queen sat on the throne and said sullenly, "Are you here to celebrate my birthday today?"
Meng Qi knelt down and said, "It's my fault. I was so angry because Ran was injured that I couldn't hold back. I am willing to accept the punishment."
The Queen went to see Princess Duan again and said, "You too, it's just a matter of children playing too much and sometimes a fight happens. But you're just talking nonsense."
"Your Majesty, those are not nonsense. The past between Princess Rui and Mr. Hong San is a fact set in stone." Concubine Xiang said quietly.
The virtuous concubine frowned and chuckled, "Sister Xiang, you must have drunk too much fruit wine just now, right? You're talking drunkenly now."
Concubine Xiang looked at Concubine Xian's cold gaze, snorted coldly, but did not say anything else.
Concubine Lian interjected, "What do you mean by 'a done deal'? I've never heard of it. Please, Your Majesty, enlighten me."
She waved her hand at the Imperial Concubine, "They are all people who pretend to be ignorant while knowing the truth. Forget it, let's not talk about this. Please, Queen, put an end to the slap that Princess Duan just received from Princess Rui. You know, Prince Duan is a badass. If he gets angry, I'm afraid we won't be able to stop him."
The Empress looked at Meng Qi and said, "Mrs. Meng, regardless of whether Brother Qing intended what happened today, the fact that you hit the Second Son's wife in front of so many people is disrespectful. You should apologize to her first, and then we'll see what your Second Son's wife thinks before we discuss anything else."
When Princess Duan heard what the Queen said, she turned her head proudly to look at Meng Qi. Half of her face was already swollen, which showed how cruel Meng Qi's attack was.
Meng Qi raised her head. "My daughter-in-law is right. It's true that people who talk nonsense should be slapped hard. If such people are not disciplined, there will be many people who will believe everything they hear. Are we going to let them make things up? Today they are making things up for me, but who knows if it will be someone else. What will happen if it's Princess Yong'an or Princess Fanghua? Therefore, my daughter-in-law will not apologize. She was the one who bullied me first."
"What are you talking about? Do you still think that what you did is right?" the Queen said angrily.
Before Meng Qi could say anything else, the Queen looked at Concubine Lian and said, "Sister Lin, please decide what to do. Should we ask her to apologize or send for the Emperor?"
Meng Qi was shocked. How could the Queen protect Princess Duan so blatantly? According to what Princess Duan had just said, if they adhered to the principle of fairness, they should at least give both of them a slap in the face and then reward them with a sweet date. Could it be that Prince Duan and Prince Cheng had something going on in private?
She recalled what Song Chengze had said a few days ago about Prince Duan cutting him with a dagger. Perhaps Prince Duan wasn't the only one involved? After all, Meng Hai's act of sending Meng Zhi to Prince Cheng's mansion wasn't just a flattery in the eyes of outsiders.
When Concubine Lian heard the Queen mention her, she knew that this matter had to be resolved quickly. After all, today was the Qianqiu Banquet. If she continued, it would really attract the Emperor, and it would be bad if he went against what they had discussed.
Although she didn't expect Meng Qi to start so early, she thought Meng Qi would find an opportunity during the dinner, but since the performance had already started and it had reached this level, she had to finish the singing first.
"Your Majesty, I am truly sorry to trouble you. I am not afraid of being laughed at by everyone. Everyone knows what our relationship is like. Therefore, I would like to ask Your Majesty to make the decision."
"Just say what the Empress tells you to say. You have to give your opinions so that the Empress can make arrangements. Otherwise, the consequences may be serious or lenient... Just now, you saw Meng going crazy. Don't go against the Empress anymore. That would be a joke." Concubine Xiang said coldly.
Concubine Lian glanced at Concubine Xiang with a frosty expression. Concubine Xiang looked back at her, her eyes full of sarcasm, as if she had been taken in by Prince Jing'an in her courtyard back then, and she had rushed in, first slapped her in the face, then pulled her hair off the bed, the tone and look in her eyes being the same as now.
Concubine Lian closed her eyes, bowed to the Empress, and said, "Ms. Meng offended Princess Duan. Regardless of the reason, as a sister-in-law, she cannot escape the charge of disrespecting her sister-in-law. In my opinion, why not have her return to Prince Rui's mansion and be confined to her house for a month?"
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