Chapter 227 Birthday Banquet
Qi Yue stared at the three of them for a long time, then suddenly chuckled and said, "Cui Yinge, right?"
"Yes, Your Highness..." She lowered her head, sweat already beginning to seep from the corners of her head.
"Do you want me to forgive my fault?" She walked up to the three people and stopped in front of Cui Yinge.
"Don't you know that I will always take revenge for any grudge I have, and it's..."
"Report it on the spot."
After these words were spoken, Jiang and the maidservant trembled even more violently.
Cui Yinge gritted her teeth and kowtowed to her again: "Your Highness, Princess, please let Yinge take the blame for your mother."
Jiang said tremblingly: "This is all my fault. Your Highness, please don't vent your anger on my daughter..."
Cui Yinge: "Mother, as a child, how can I watch you being punished in public and remain indifferent!"
Jiang: "Ge'er, be obedient. It was your mother who offended the princess with her words today. If the princess wants to punish you severely, it is understandable."
Seeing the mother and daughter pretending to care about each other, Qi Yue couldn't help but sneer and walked to the pavilion to sit down.
Xiao Yao bowed silently and stepped aside.
"You keep saying this, and you want to blackmail me in public?"
"It's a pity...I have no morals."
As soon as he finished speaking, several maids and servants came up and tied up Jiang and the other person.
The noise from the female guests soon spread to the male guests...
"What are you doing! Slut! I am the wife of the Minister of Industry! If you dare to touch me, I will kill you!"
Cui Yinge also shouted: "The princess is so intolerant and uses private punishment at will, I will not accept it!"
Xie Wanyi took a step forward and raised her hand to slap her in the face.
"Cui Yinge, you are so outrageous!"
"Bitch, you dare to hit me?"
She covered her face, her eyes full of disbelief, and her expression became hideous.
If he hadn't been held down by the maids, he would have pounced on her by now.
Xie Wanyi shook her hands, pointed at her with her hands on her hips and scolded her, "You dare to slander the reputation of the princess, beating you is the least of my punishment."
"Please, Her Royal Highness, spare the lives of my wife and daughter!"
Before the person arrived, the cry for mercy was already heard.
Following the sound, everyone made way for him.
Hearing the voice, Jiang and Cui Yinge looked up as if they had seen a savior, and both asked for help.
"Master, save me—"
"Father, save me—"
Cui Shilang was extremely panicked. He walked through the crowd and came to Qi Yue, and first shouted at the two of them angrily.
"Assholes! How dare you two act so recklessly in front of the princess?"
After saying this, he immediately knelt down with a plop. "Your Highness, Princess, it was because of my poor upbringing that my wife and daughter offended you. I don't ask you to forgive my wife and daughter, I only ask you to punish them slightly and warn them severely! I will definitely discipline them strictly when I return!"
Upon seeing this, the maidservants who had been holding Jiang and the other two released them. The two who were now freed could only kneel down obediently.
Qi Yue sat high in the pavilion, his chin resting lightly on his palm.
"Cui Shilang is an important official of Dayi, so he must know the crime of insulting a princess in public."
As soon as these words were spoken, the four people kneeling on the ground, especially the maid and Jiang, almost couldn't fall down.
Cui Shilang's forehead was covered with cold sweat. He knelt on the ground and frantically thought of a solution.
"Princess, I am willing to hand over half of my property and donate a little to the flood relief in the south. I only ask Your Highness to be lenient with my wife and daughter..."
Qi Yue clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Cui Shilang is really a good minister who is loyal to the emperor and loves the country. Very good. If I punish him again, it will inevitably appear inhumane, but..."
After he paused, Cui Shilang, who had originally felt a heavy stone falling from his heart, held his breath nervously again. The three Jiang family members also froze and dared not breathe.
"Cui Shilang is so righteous, so your wife and daughter must follow the example of the wife following the husband and the daughter following the father."
When Cui Yinge heard this, she realized that this was asking her and Jiang to donate money to the flood relief efforts in the south.
This little possession was naturally not as important as her life, so she knelt down and said, "The princess is right. Your mother and I will follow your father's lead and hand over all our private money when we return home."
Jiang stuttered, "Yes... I will give half of my dowry to you when I return..."
"Only half? What about the maid's share?"
Xiao Yao took over Qi Yue's words and echoed, "What the princess said is very true. This slave follows the master's opinion. If a maid makes a mistake, the master must naturally bear the responsibility. Madam Cui, tell me, am I right?"
When Jiang heard this, he was so angry that his teeth were itching but he couldn't vent his anger and could only endure it.
"Thank you, Xiao..." Just as the words were about to come out of her mouth, she looked up and saw Qi Yue's cold eyes, so she swallowed the words back.
He changed his words and said, "Thank you... Madam Xie, you are right..."
Jiang pinched her palm hard and tried hard to force a smile.
"Your Highness, I am willing to donate 70% of my dowry. I hope the people in the south can survive the flood as soon as possible!"
Qi Yue added: "Yes, it is a blessing for Dayi that Cui Shilang's family has such awareness. I will definitely praise them in front of my brother."
"But my maid was also injured. Although He Xiang is my personal maid, she is still a proper female official of the eighth rank. She was beaten in public by such a lowly maid..."
Cui Shilang: "Your Highness, Princess, I will send someone to give Aunt He Xiang some money for her wounds and medicine after the banquet is over!"
Qi Yue smiled with satisfaction and said, "Very good."
He lost half of his family property, plus 70% of Jiang's dowry and his daughter's private property, only to receive a word of praise.
Cui Shilang felt uncomfortable and painful just thinking about it.
"Your humble servant and I, along with my wife and daughter, thank Her Royal Highness the Princess for her great kindness. May Your Royal Highness live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years."
Because He Xiang's face was swollen, Qi Yue let her go back to the princess's mansion first.
In the end, the matter was just exposed.
Many wealthy merchants at the banquet smelled an opportunity, and many of them secretly went to Xiao Yao and Xie Wanyi to pass on messages.
He wanted to show off in front of Qi Yue by donating money and supplies to the flood relief efforts.
The banquet began and Qi Yue was welcomed to the main seat.
As soon as they sat down, Murong Heli came in with Yue Xing in a swagger.
"The Crown Prince of Li is here to congratulate Miss Xie on her birthday."
Many ladies at the banquet looked towards the door curiously.
After seeing who was coming, many ladies blushed.
I have heard before that when the Crown Prince of Li was held hostage by Dayi, he was taken back to the princess's mansion by the eldest princess because of his handsome face and raised in the backyard.
Seeing him today, I found that the rumors were true.
Although he is not particularly tall, he is indeed handsome and elegant.
Xiao Yao smiled faintly and bowed: "Thank you, Prince Murong, for coming to my daughter's birthday banquet, but this is the female guest seat."
"Someone, please invite Prince Murong to the men's seat next door."
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