Chapter 150: The Narrow Road
The queen finally passed the test and gave birth to a prince. Both mother and child were safe. The emperor was overjoyed and fulfilled all the rewards. In front of the empress dowager, he smiled and said many words of praise to Mei Niang. Then he said he was tired and asked Xu Junying to send Mei Niang home to rest.
Mei Niang was just pulled back to the main palace from the small kitchen in the inner courtyard by Xu Junying. She was very unhappy. He actually followed her. She had nothing on her mind, but he made it seem like there was something wrong, making several people feel uncomfortable. It was really annoying.
After saying goodbye to the Queen and telling Wan'er some things, he came out of the inner chamber. Xu Junying was standing with the Emperor, talking to him intermittently. Both of them had blank expressions on their faces, and it seemed that they were not on speaking terms.
The queen finally passed the test and gave birth to a prince. Both mother and child were safe. The emperor was overjoyed and fulfilled all the rewards. In front of the empress dowager, he smiled and said many words of praise to Mei Niang. Then he said he was tired and asked Xu Junying to send Mei Niang home to rest.
Mei Niang was just pulled back to the main palace from the small kitchen in the inner courtyard by Xu Junying. She was very unhappy. He actually followed her. She had nothing on her mind, but he made it seem like there was something wrong, making several people feel uncomfortable. It was really annoying.
After saying goodbye to the Queen and explaining some things to Wan'er, he came out of the inner bedroom. Xu Junying was standing with the Emperor, talking to him intermittently. Both of them had blank expressions on their faces, and they seemed to be at odds with each other. The Queen Mother was sitting in the hall, holding the sleeping prince in her arms and looking at him carefully. She would not leave until the Emperor left.
Seeing Mei Niang, Xu Junying came over and took her hand, and went to pay his respects to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother pursed her lips as she looked at them and said, "I saw your grandmother yesterday. She is old but still healthy. She has been working hard for you all her life. You should be more filial to her every day! I have sent someone to take care of her. She should be at the palace gate now, waiting for you to escort her home!"
Xu Junying responded: "Thank you for your concern, Queen Mother! I and my wife will take our leave and go to take Grandmother home!"
Then he walked in front of the emperor, who waved his hand and said, "Let's go! I've told the queen that we'll be heading to the front hall soon, so you two can go first!"
Mei Niang lowered her head and followed Xu Junying out of Kunning Palace. Wan'er had already sent a eunuch to lead Cui Lian and Cui Si to the gate of the inner palace to wait. The ladies from outside the imperial court were not allowed to bring entourages into the deep palace. The personal servants could only stay in the designated outer palace to rest and wait. Last night, Mei Niang spent the night in the palace. She was worried about the two maids and asked casually. Wan'er then asked the eunuch to go and make other arrangements for Cui Xi and Cui Si. They did not live and eat with the many servants of the ladies from outside the imperial court. Mama Ji and Rui Xue were unable to come with them.
The group came out of the inner courtyard and walked to the place where the ladies of the outer court parked their carriages and horses. As expected, all the carriages of other families had been parked. Only Zhuang Yulan was still waiting there, supporting Old Madam Xu, while Mother Ji and Ruixue were standing by.
Xu Junying turned around and pulled Mei Niang, and stood side by side with her to greet Old Lady Xu. After saying goodbye, the old lady smiled and said, "Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune, and the gods and Buddhas will naturally take care of you. The Queen has successfully given birth to a prince. This is what the people of the world have been looking forward to, and it is a great blessing for the country!"
Xu Junying agreed with a smile, and the two exchanged some boring compliments to the royal family. The old lady then let Xu Junying help her get into the car. Zhuang Yulan came to help. The old lady looked at Zhuang Yulan and said:
"Lan'er is tired. From last night till now, even though she has been taken care of by the Queen Mother, it's hard to rest well because there are so many people around!"
Ruixue had already lifted the curtain and was waiting. She helped the old lady into the carriage. Xu Junying extended his right hand to Zhuang Yulan and said, "Cousin Lan, please get in too. Go slowly!"
Zhuang Yulan blushed slightly, put her hand on his palm, lowered her head and stepped on the stairs. Suddenly, she heard a burst of rapid horse hooves, and a tall horse came galloping from the palace gate like a whirlwind. When it reached the place where the carriages and horses were parked, the man who let the horse break into the palace gate reined in the horse. The horse suddenly stopped and was forced to stand upright. It turned several circles on the spot, shaking its head, and before it stopped steadily, a man jumped off the horse. He had a handsome figure, and a purple brocade robe embroidered with flying dragons. The purple gold crown on his head refracted the sunlight and shone brightly. He turned around and threw the whip to the palace gate guard who was running after him, and strode along the square brick corridor towards the inner palace.
The two horses pulling the Xu family's carriage were somewhat frightened, neighing and trembling twice. Zhuang Yulan turned pale with fear and did not dare to get on the carriage. Ruixue hurried to help and held out her hand. She still hesitated and stood on the ladder, holding her skirt with one hand and tightly holding Xu Junying's hand with the other. She didn't know which foot to lift first. Mother Ji also came over and comforted her:
"Don't be afraid, Miss Lan. Lord Hou is supporting you... Lift your right foot first. This way, yes, yes, that's it!"
The purple-robed man on the corridor walked in front of the carriage, glanced over here, and laughed, "I was wondering who it was, it turned out to be Marquis Weiyuan!"
Mei Niang was standing at the back, having long been fed up with Zhuang Yulan's coquettish appearance. She was very impatient and called out to Cui Lian and Cui Si. She was just about to go around and get on her carriage when she heard the shout. She couldn't help but curse her bad luck - she knew someone was coming in on horseback, but she had no idea who could ride a horse into the Forbidden Palace. The old lady's carriage blocked her view, and she couldn't see who was coming. This was a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road, and the most troublesome King Qi was here!
She instinctively took a step back. Cuisi pushed Cuilian, and the two girls stood in front of her. Cuilian didn't understand what was going on. Cuisi lowered her head and said softly, "Just block the grandmother!"
Xu Junying handed Zhuang Yulan to Ruixue, walked over and bowed to King Qi, then turned around and saw that both Mei Niang and her servant lowered their heads and did not move, nor did they express anything.
The King of Qi's cold star-like eyes took in Zhuang Yulan in the car with one glance, and said to Xu Junying with a smile:
"Is this the wife who died and came back to life? What a blessing!"
Xu Junying said calmly, "Your Highness has misunderstood. My wife is over there. This one is my cousin!"
The King of Qi raised his eyebrows: "Hmm? This is my cousin's second wife? What about the Marquis' wife? Let me see her!"
He naturally looked towards Mei Niang and her servant. Xu Junying grabbed him, waved his hand and asked the old lady's coachman to drive the carriage away first, and then said to the King of Qi: "Don't talk nonsense, cousin is cousin, how can there be a concubine?"
The King of Qi broke free from his grasp. "Didn't your old lady ask the Queen Mother to give you a cousin as your co-wife? Wasn't it this one? You have quite a few cousins!"
He brushed his sleeves and said with a smile, "I don't have time to mind your business. I just came back from outside the city. I went in to congratulate my brother first. Today, we have a grandson. The Queen Mother can no longer force me to marry a princess. You guys go back!"
He put his hands behind his back and strode towards the corridor. Mei Niang breathed a sigh of relief, sweat dripping down her forehead. No matter what happened in the future, she couldn't let him find her in the palace right now. According to his style, she would not be able to get away with it unless she made a scene and let the people around her hear some gossip.
Mei Niang walked quickly towards the carriage. Xu Junying hurried over to help her get in. Cui Si and Cui Lian fell behind. As luck would have it, the King of Qi turned back and said, "Marquis Weiyuan! I have something to tell you. There is a Qingniu Mountain eighty miles southeast of the city. It is said that there are tigers on the mountain that hurt people. One day we..."
He walked with big strides and soon caught up with Cuisi and Cuilian. Cuisi was flustered and tripped. Cuilian hurriedly helped her up. The King of Qi accidentally glanced over and found Cuisi. He was stunned: "You! Raise your head!"
Cui Si did not dare to look up, but turned away. The King of Qi looked at Mei Niang who stepped onto the steps of the carriage. His mind turned, and his expression suddenly changed. He jumped forward in a few steps. Xu Junying turned around and blocked him:
"What does Your Highness want to tell me?"
The King of Qi looked at him and said coldly to Mei Niang in the car: "Whether it is Qin Er or Cen Meimei, if you don't get off to talk, let's see if you can walk out of this palace gate!"
Mei Niang gritted her teeth, but heard Xu Junying's tone become even colder: "Cui Si and Cui Lian, why don't you get in the carriage? Go back with the grandmother first. Bao Ju and Bai Zhan are waiting at the palace gate. Your carriage will be unimpeded!"
Watching the carriage leave, the King of Qi's eyes flashed coldly: "Very good! It turned out to be you, you marry her!"
Xu Junying was very calm: "Yes! With the emperor's blessing, she and I are happily married, and our son is almost one year old!"
The King of Qi snorted, "A happy marriage? You are talking about the cousin who is about to marry!"
Xu Junying showed an angry look: "Your Highness Prince Qi, please be careful with your words and don't mislead others!"
The King of Qi smiled sarcastically, "She was born in a humble family, lacked education, was weak and sickly, and did not know etiquette and filial piety. She was not worthy of being on the stage. He married her just because he was hot-headed and young, and he was greedy for her beauty! Now he finally knows that he was wrong. His childhood sweetheart is the most considerate and the best. He begged to marry her back. This is what your old lady said. I was in the Cining Palace that day and heard it clearly! You were so affectionate with your new love just now, and she turned a blind eye. It seems that you are no better than this. Your fate has ended! Why should your cousin be a co-wife? Weiyuan Hou, I will lend you a hand. Please ask the Queen Mother to make a slight change in the imperial decree: release Qin and marry your cousin as the principal wife, how about it?"
Xu Junying tried his best to control himself: "What my grandmother said to the Queen Mother was just her own thoughts and wishes. It's up to me whether to marry a concubine or not! We are a good couple. The relationship between my cousin and I is not what you think. I just helped my cousin get into the car. I didn't have any other intentions. You are wrong!"
"Really? No skipping words.
The King of Qi smiled wickedly, "I understand now why she can come and go freely without any worries. She doesn't look like a person with a family at all. She doesn't like you. She only entered your house because the emperor ordered her to do so... Xu Junying, I have always wanted to compete with you. I didn't expect to have this opportunity. Wait, one day we will compete! I am busy today, so let her go and don't bother her. I have something to do, so I'm leaving first!"
After the King of Qi finished speaking, he turned and walked away. Several guards who had already come close, who were waiting by the corridor, immediately followed him and escorted him towards the inner courtyard.
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