Chapter 199: The Empress Stands Up for the Fake Heiress?
Liu Qingzhu then gracefully stepped forward and paid her respects to Madam Qu and Madam Pei.
“Mother… no, General’s wife, old lady… and Miss Li…”
Liu Qingzhu looked at Li Qingluo and the other two with a tearful expression.
Li Qingluo and Madam Pei both closed their eyes; they simply couldn't bear to look.
They're not men, and she's acting like this, do you think they'd soften up?
Madam Qu: "Zhu'er... Now that you've gone to Prince Yun's residence, you should serve His Highness well and live your life well from now on!"
The Empress said, "Look at that. After all, they were raised by my side since childhood. Isn't this kinship the same as blood ties? How can it be so easily severed?"
Madam Pei turned and bowed: "I wonder what Your Majesty's intention is in summoning this wretched girl and my wife and granddaughter here today?"
Empress: "His Majesty once said, 'Cultivate oneself, regulate one's family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world.'"
"Our Great Liang border region was fortunate to have produced heroes and generals from your Pei family, and later from the Li family, who defended our country."
"Without you, how could His Majesty govern the country with peace of mind? Therefore, it is you who have pacified the world and stabilized the country for His Majesty. As generals, you have naturally made great contributions."
"But as generals, even if the borders of various countries are at peace now, you must set an example in managing your families. You cannot create any more family scandals that would make the entire Great Liang a laughing stock. Otherwise, everyone in Great Liang will laugh at your general's mansion. Who will dare to respect your authority in the future?"
"Is that right, Madam Pei?"
Madam Pei smiled but did not reply.
She had the confidence, but the Qu family dared not.
Kneeling on the ground, she replied meekly, "What Your Majesty says is true..."
The Empress glanced at Li Qingluo again before continuing, "The things this woman did have indeed damaged the reputation and honor of your General's Mansion, and also broken your hearts."
"But now that she has become Xiao Si's concubine, she can be considered a member of my royal family. I have no choice but to come and make some peace with you for Xiao Si's sake."
"I don't expect you to still treat her as the daughter of the General's Mansion. Just continue to have contact with her as you should. Treat her as a distant relative. Why not? There's no need to hate her to death and ruin the harmony with the Prince Yun's Mansion."
"Miss Li, do you agree with what I said?"
Li Qingluo truly felt the oppressive power above the imperial authority today!
Although Prince Su was still the most imposing and aloof person she had ever seen so far, his power was even greater than that of the Empress. However, at this moment, the Empress was definitely full of ill will towards Li Qingluo.
If she were to defy him even slightly, I'm afraid she wouldn't get away with it today!
Li Qingluo even felt a drop of sweat slide down her forehead.
The Empress seemed to be getting impatient.
"Miss Li, why don't you tell us your perspective on this matter? After all, you are also involved in this."
Li Qingluo knew she couldn't avoid it today, and not wanting her grandmother's prying eyes to be too worried, she lowered her head and replied, "Your Majesty, I am terrified. I grew up in the countryside and although I don't understand much about matters of state, I do understand that only when my family is harmonious can I feel at ease sharing Your Majesty's burdens in the court..."
Before Li Qingluo could finish speaking, a voice came from outside the hall: "Princess Xiyue has arrived—"
The Empress frowned slightly: "Why is she here?"
As they were talking, Princess Xiyue had already rushed into the palace.
She glanced at Li Qingluo kneeling on the ground before smiling and stepping forward to pay her respects to the Empress.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live a thousand years."
Princess Xiyue is the eldest daughter of the current emperor, but she is not the biological daughter of the current empress.
Because her birth mother was the emperor's first wife when he was young.
Unfortunately, she died from her injuries before the emperor ascended the throne, leaving behind only three-year-old Xiyue. The current Empress Gao then entered the palace as a second wife of the prince.
After the emperor ascended the throne, he posthumously honored his first wife as Empress Xiao'ai, and the current empress, Lady Gao, became the second empress.
When Princess Xiyue first got married, she had a dispute with Empress Gao and caused the death of the unborn child in the Empress's womb, which angered the Emperor. That's why Princess Xiyue was banished to the Northwest.
Princess Xiyue originally harbored deep hatred for the Gao family, believing that they had set a trap to frame her.
But she had experienced too much in the Northwest, and after returning to the capital, she changed a lot of her former domineering and arrogant personality.
When he sees Lady Gao, he can greet her with a gentle and respectful "Mother," as if nothing had ever happened before.
However, Gao could not be completely unguarded with her, believing that she could truly let go of the grudges from back then.
Therefore, Lady Gao was always very cold towards the eldest princess.
"Rise. Xiyue, a banquet is being held in the palace today. You usually enjoy such lively occasions. I didn't expect you to find time to come and pay your respects to me. Is there something you need?"
Princess Xiyue smiled and pointed to Li Qingluo on the ground, saying, "Your Majesty, you may not know, but I have come to find the eldest daughter of the Li family."
The Empress was surprised: "What do you want with her?"
How could a girl who returned from the countryside have connections with the princess's residence?
The head palace maid immediately leaned forward and explained a few words.
The doubt in the Empress's eyes was finally dispelled.
"She saved Nanping, so you made her an honored guest in your household? This woman is luckier than Xiao Si in receiving such an honor."
The Empress gave Liu Qingzhu a cold look, and Liu Qingzhu trembled and involuntarily lowered her head.
In reality, she already hated Li Qingluo to the core.
They had already come to that point; if only the Empress had forced her to agree to return to the General's Mansion, she could have regained her former honor...
Unexpectedly, the eldest princess suddenly appeared at this moment!
You should know that she entered the palace early this morning and has been listening to admonitions for several hours in Fengqi Palace!
Female virtues, palace rules, countless regulations... and for no reason, she was forced to kneel on the ground and not allowed to get up for a long time.
My knees still hurt.
Liu Qingzhu endured all of this.
Because she had to listen to His Highness; only by listening to His Highness could her future days be easier.
But now all of this has been disrupted!
Xi Yue smiled and said, "Mother, you don't know. It's all my fault for spoiling Nanping. After she returned to Jinling, she made two or three close friends. I couldn't bear to sever her friendship, so I let her open up to this Miss Li."
"She came to the palace today, and although she had heard that Miss Li had arrived, she had not seen her in Zhaohua Hall for a long time, so she came to find me in a hurry."
"Your Majesty, I don't have many children, just Nanping and her younger brother. She was anxious, and I couldn't help but feel anxious too, so I helped her look for them. That's when I found out that Your Majesty had summoned all the women of the Li family to Fengqi Palace because of something."
"Has everything been discussed regarding Mother?"
"If not, I will wait here. Then I will personally deliver Miss Li to Nanping."
The Empress's face darkened, and the anger in her eyes was almost bursting out.
She gripped the handrail so tightly that she nearly broke her armor.
She brought these three generations of women from the Li family to Fengqi Palace today without permission, in order to plead for Prince Yun's concubine. To put it bluntly, she was trying to support her, but in reality, she wanted to help Prince Yun win back the General's Mansion.
With the Empress herself personally stepping in, both sides can save face.
Surely Li Chaojing wouldn't be so foolish and arrogant anymore, insisting on opposing Fengqi Palace!
The reason the Empress was willing to treat one of Prince Yun's concubines so well was ultimately because Li Chaojing was in his prime, and it was impossible to say what kind of future awaited him.
But these matters cannot be brought to the attention of the previous dynasty.
Because it's all disgraceful.
Even the emperor doesn't concern himself with the affairs of his subjects' families, so how could an empress possibly extend her reach too far?
If His Majesty were to find out...
The Empress's face darkened uncontrollably, and then she waved her hand, saying, "It was nothing more than me catching up with Old Madam Pei and wanting to see the Li family's rumored biological daughter."
"There was nothing of great importance to it. In that case, let's go quickly, I'm tired too."
After saying this, the Empress rested her head on her hand and closed her eyes.
Li Qingluo and her two companions were led out of Fengqi Palace by Princess Xiyue. Qu Shi still looked absent-minded, frequently turning back to look at Liu Qingzhu who had followed behind her.
Li Qingluo glanced at it, then bowed to the princess and said, "Thank you for saving me, Your Highness."
Xi Yue stared at her; this was the first time she had seriously scrutinized Li Qingluo.
She smiled and said, "I think I understand why my Nanping likes you so much."
Li Qingluo was still puzzled when Xiyue smiled again: "However, I didn't come here today to help you out of Nanping."
"If you want to thank someone, go thank the person in question."
Li Qingluo's heart skipped a beat.
Prince Su?
The image of this person popped into her mind, startling even herself.
Besides him and Nanping, he really couldn't think of anyone else who could persuade the princess in front of him.
Madam Pei expressed her gratitude politely, and the Princess also politely and respectfully invited Madam Pei to walk together.
Her politeness was much more genuine than that of the Empress.
She addressed me with the utmost respect: "My wet nurse told me that my late mother greatly admired you when she was young. Unfortunately, by the time I grew up, you had already left Jinling to live in seclusion at Qingsong Temple. I deeply regret that I never had the chance to see your youthful beauty..."
Madam Qu stepped forward, looked at Li Qingluo with a melancholy expression, and asked, "Luo'er, do you understand what Her Majesty the Empress meant today?"
"Does she want Zhu'er to remain nominally employed in our General's Mansion?"
"Zhu'er has lost her status and her reputation is bad. She must have suffered a lot of grievances in Prince Yun's harem..."
Li Qingluo: "If she were truly out of favor, would the most esteemed empress in the land come to her aid and make decisions for her today?"
Ms. Qu choked instantly: "..."
After a while, she seemed to finally realize what was happening.
"Yes, even the Empress has spoken up for her, which shows that His Highness Prince Yun still values her highly."
Seeing her expression, Li Qingluo knew that she truly loved Liu Qingzhu.
Even though Liu Qingzhu did so many heinous things, the person Qu truly loved most in her heart was still the adopted daughter she had raised herself.
Li Qingluo felt nothing about this.
She even felt like laughing hysterically: That would be wonderful!!!
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