Upon hearing this, Qiao Ziming quickly sat up from the couch.
She was perfectly fine before, how did she suddenly get sick?
His worries made him disregard the lingering tingling sensation in his legs and he hurried towards the princess's residence.
Xu Hanzhi watched Qiao Ziming leave in a hurry and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
It seems the rumors are true; the heir of the Marquis of Anyang does not like his wife and always has Princess Chang Le in his heart.
But how can old friendships compare to those forged in hardship?
On his way to the princess's mansion, Qiao Ziming's maid, Mingyan, tearfully recounted what had happened to him.
"The princess thought she would go to the palace to pay her respects to the Empress and ask for some ginseng for the wife of the Marquis of Anyang. However, after leaving the Empress, when she went to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager made the princess kneel in the courtyard for a full hour."
The princess had been married off to Ganzhou for three years, and her heart was always with the young master. She was constantly melancholy and her health was very weak. After kneeling for so long, she fainted as soon as she left the palace gates!
Qiao Ziming felt both distressed and worried after hearing this.
"Do you know why the Empress Dowager made the princess kneel in the courtyard?"
Mingyan looked resentful and hesitated for a long time before finally speaking: "The princess originally told me not to speak, but I just couldn't stand it! My princess is of noble birth and she and the prince grew up together. In order to be with the prince, she was willing to be a concubine, but Miss Su couldn't tolerate my princess and actually went to the Empress Dowager's palace to complain early this morning!"
A flash of surprise crossed Qiao Ziming's eyes, but it was quickly overshadowed by anger.
He knew that Su Muxi had taken care of the Empress Dowager, but in the past three years, the Empress Dowager had never summoned Su Muxi. He thought that the Empress Dowager had long forgotten about Su Muxi. He never expected that Su Muxi could persuade the Empress Dowager to treat Yingying this way!
If he had known this would happen, he should have given her a letter of divorce!
Such a jealous woman! It's a wonder he felt guilty towards her before!
When Qiao Ziming arrived, he saw Bai Mengying getting up from the bed.
"Yingying!"
Qiao Ziming rushed forward to help her up, but Bai Mengying lost her footing and fell directly into Qiao Ziming's arms.
With a soft, fragrant body in his arms, Qiao Ziming's heart was filled with desire.
But more than anything, I felt heartache and anger.
"Yingying, you've been wronged."
As he spoke, he stretched out his long arms and carried Bai Mengying back to the bed.
Bai Mengying lay on the bed, her pretty face flushed with embarrassment. If it weren't for her slightly pale lips, she wouldn't have shown any signs of illness.
"Yingying, how are you feeling now? Have you seen a doctor?" Qiao Ziming asked worriedly.
Bai Mengying shook her head weakly, "It's nothing, it's just the servants making a fuss."
Having said that, he looked at Mingyan who had entered the room and said sternly, "Who gave you permission to go find the young master on your own?!"
Mingyan knelt down on the ground, crying, "Princess, please punish me! But I really feel sorry for you and can't bear to see you suffer so much!"
Qiao Ziming advised, "Yingying's situation isn't Mingyan's fault. If anyone's to blame, it's me for being too soft-hearted! I'll divorce Su Muxi when we get back today, to stop her from spreading rumors everywhere!"
Bai Mengying shook her head, "Absolutely not, wouldn't that make the world think you are an ungrateful person?"
As a woman myself, I can understand why Miss Su felt this way. She took care of her beloved for three years, only to have him taken away by someone else in the end. If it were me, I would definitely be unwilling to accept it.
"It's fine for the Empress Dowager to reprimand me on behalf of Miss Su, but I'm afraid she'll ask the Emperor to rescind the decree. After all, Miss Su took care of the Empress Dowager in the past, and the Empress Dowager is extremely protective of her own..."
At this point, Bai Mengying nervously grasped Qiao Ziming's hand, "Ziming, I'm afraid we won't be able to spend the rest of our lives together. I missed you three years ago, and God has finally given me another chance. I don't want to miss it again!"
Qiao Ziming looked at Bai Mengying with deep affection.
What Yingying was thinking was exactly what he was thinking!
"Yingying, don't worry, I will come to propose marriage tomorrow! Regardless of whether the Emperor rescinds his decree, you will be my wife, Qiao Ziming's wife!"
Bai Mengying smiled gently, but then her face showed apology, "Zimo, I originally got a century-old ginseng from my aunt, the Empress, but the Empress Dowager took it away..."
Qiao Ziming wished he could slap himself. He had only casually mentioned the century-old ginseng in front of the mansion gate, but he never expected that Yingying would actually go to the palace to ask for it.
If Yingying hadn't entered the palace, she wouldn't have suffered such injustice.
After Qiao Ziming left, Mingyan couldn't help but ask, "Princess, why didn't you let the Prince divorce Su Muxi? With your noble status, are you really willing to be a concubine to that female physician?"
Bai Mengying shook off her previous sickly appearance, walked to the dressing table, wiped off the powder on her lips, and her lips instantly became rosy.
Looking at her beautiful reflection in the bronze mirror, Bai Mengying smiled slightly. "You said it yourself, I am of such noble status, how could I possibly make things difficult for Su Muxi? But just because I don't want Zimo to divorce her, does that mean he won't? Three years ago I even said I wanted to marry Zimo, but did Zimo marry me? Heh!"
…
As dusk approached, Su Muxi looked at the boiled vegetables and two steamed buns on the table, her expression unchanged, and ate without any complaints.
Bai Zhi's eyes reddened with anger as she said resentfully, "Miss, Madam has gone too far! If the Marquis were here, he would never have let you suffer such injustice!"
Su Muxi picked up one of the steamed buns and stuffed it into Bai Zhi's hand, smiling easily, "Alright, the Marquis isn't here, and it's not like the food is spoiled. Let's fill our stomachs first. Anyway, we'll be leaving here in a few days, and then I'll take you out for a good meal!"
Bai Zhi was about to speak while holding the steamed bun when she heard the voice of the gatekeeper, Lao Jiu, at the door.
"Young Madam, Young Madam!"
The voice was deliberately lowered; was this a sneaky visit?
Su Muxi hurriedly got up and opened the door. Before she could even ask any questions, Lao Jiu said urgently, "Young Madam, your servants just came by and said that your father is injured. You should go home and see him!"
Upon hearing this, Su Muxi's heart trembled.
He thanked Lao Jiu and was about to go home.
Before they could even step out of the courtyard gate, they were met by the menacing Qiao Ziming.
"Su Muxi! Did you go to see the Empress Dowager today?!"
"So what if it is?!"
Su Muxi was anxious and didn't want to get entangled with Qiao Zimo any longer. After speaking, she prepared to walk past him and leave directly, but unexpectedly, Qiao Zimo grabbed her wrist forcefully.
"Let go! You're hurting me!"
Su Muxi tried to break free, but Qiao Ziming tightened his grip, causing Su Muxi to cry out in pain.
"Ouch! That hurts!"
Seeing the face contorted in pain, plus the already ugly birthmark on Su Muxi's face, Qiao Ziming disgustedly pushed her away.
He then sneered, "Ha! You shameless woman, you know how to feel pain?! I said that, considering you took care of me for three years, you would still be my wife, Qiao Ziming's wife, but you are too greedy!"
As he spoke, he stepped forward, looking down at Su Muxi, and said in an extremely cold voice, "Let me tell you, even if you beg the Empress Dowager to persuade the Emperor to rescind the decree, I will still marry Yingying!"
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