Meng Qi was confused. What did she mean? Why was she talking about Hong Zhe?
After thinking for a while, I suddenly realized that, yes, the day after my stomachache was the day Meng Juan was getting married. It turned out that someone had interpreted my stomachache that day as this reason.
"You are so smart, haven't you heard a saying?"
"What?" Fanghua asked.
"If you see through something but don't say it out loud, you can still be friends." Meng Qi thought about what Meng Wan said and felt that it was a very good sentence to use here. It was half true and half false, which made people more suspicious.
"Friends? Who wants to be friends with you?" Fanghua said dissatisfiedly, and suddenly raised her voice, "Are you saying that what they said is true, and you are deliberately pretending to have a stomachache so that you can be released from confinement early?"
Everyone turned their heads to look over here when they heard Fang Hua's voice. Meng Qi said with an unhappy look on her face, "Don't talk nonsense. I really did have a stomachache that day. The imperial physician checked it out. How could it be fake?"
Fang Hua looked at Meng Qi's expression and snorted coldly, "No matter whether you are real or fake, Hong Zhe is already married. Don't think too much about it. You are embarrassing me by calling me Sixth Brother."
When Princess Jing heard Fanghua mention her brother again, she looked up unhappily, but she didn't dare speak to Fanghua in the same way as she had just spoken to Concubine Xu.
"Second sister, don't listen to those people's nonsense. Your sixth sister-in-law is just regretting that she didn't arrange a wedding for her eldest cousin."
Yong'an had already walked to Fanghua, tugged at her sleeve, and signaled her not to say anything. Fanghua was about to retort when the sound of whips was heard outside. Everyone knelt down beside the queen to welcome the emperor.
When Meng Qi stood up, she saw Song Chengze looking at her with an indescribable expression on his face. He was different from the previous public occasions when he either didn't look at her at all, or when he did, his expression was either calm or helpless.
This time, Meng Qi saw the concern and the unspoken urgency. She gave him a faint, reassuring smile before lowering her head.
The emperor did not look well and started coughing as soon as he sat down.
The queen took the pear juice brought by the palace maid and presented it to the emperor. The emperor took a sip and then took the cough candy that Fanghua handed to him, and then he felt better.
The Emperor spotted Meng Qi and nodded. "I'm sorry you've been wronged, but you should also know that palace rules cannot be violated. Both the Empress and your mother are doing this for your own good."
Meng Qi came out and knelt down. "It's my daughter-in-law who is ignorant. I have to worry about you when you have so many things to do. I am really worried."
The emperor rubbed his forehead and said, "Just remember that every failure is a learning experience. Sixth Brother."
"Yes, father." Song Chengze walked out and responded respectfully.
"Take Meng to pay your respects to your mother, and then go back."
Song Chengze glanced at Meng Qi, who suddenly had a different opinion of the emperor. She felt that the emperor's attitude towards her was more out of concern, the kind of genuine care that an elder shows for a younger generation.
Although she didn't know why, she was very happy.
The emperor was in a bad mood today and lacked interest, so everyone wisely stopped talking.
After the emperor finished instructing Song Chengze, he stood up and waved to Fanghua, "Come on, play a few games of chess with your father."
Fanghua limped forward, lifted up the emperor's arm, and went out first.
The Queen led everyone to escort the Emperor out of Kunning Palace and waved her hand to let them disperse.
When Meng Qi came out, she saw Song Chengze standing by the sedan chair waiting for her. The two of them looked at each other at the entrance of Kunning Palace, and both felt as if they had been together for a long time.
Song Chengze didn't show much expression, just nodded slightly and walked first into the alley leading to Qionghua Palace.
Meng Qi got on the sedan chair. She knew that Concubine Lian must have stayed away today on purpose so that she could find a reason to ask her or Song Chengze to go to Qionghua Palace.
However, she didn't expect that the emperor asked Song Chengze to take her with him. This was better because many things could be said at once.
Meng Qi narrowed her eyes, thinking about what she would tell the mother and son later. She didn't intend to tell them everything that had happened recently, including the secret passage. She instinctively felt that it would be better if she was the only one who knew the secret, at least for now.
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