Crown Prince's Palace
With the arrival of people from the Southern Yuan Kingdom, the Crown Prince's residence, except for the Donghui Courtyard, was bustling with activity.
Zhi Ruo was seven months pregnant and had many physical discomforts, so Luo Zhiwan decided to take her home.
It is said that Leng Chuchen was ordered to help the emperor of Nanyuan Kingdom find someone. He returned very late every day. Presumably afraid of disturbing her sleep, he had not come to Donghui Courtyard for two days. She was too lazy to send someone to greet him and simply took Zhiruo out of Donghui Courtyard.
Despite wearing loose-fitting clothes and trying her best to conceal her clumsy figure, it was still easy for people to notice her.
Before they even reached the front yard, Little Tiger came to greet them.
"Miss, the Empress's decree has arrived. Everyone in the manor must go to receive it. Please go quickly!"
The Queen's decree?
She frowned slightly, turned around and said to Zhiruo:
"Go back to Donghui Courtyard and wait for me."
Xiao Hu quickly reminded him:
"The eunuch Zhen who came to deliver the decree said that the Empress has decreed that everyone in the Crown Prince's residence must come out to receive the decree. If the Second Miss does not go and is discovered, it will be a crime of deceiving the Emperor."
“But she is physically disabled and cannot kneel down to pay her respects. Let her go back; no one will notice.”
Seeing that she was determined, Xiao Hu had no choice but to nod.
"Then please go ahead!"
Zhiwan followed Xiaohu quickly towards the front courtyard, while Zhiruo returned to Donghui Courtyard.
The main courtyard of the Crown Prince's residence.
Leng Chuchen was in front, Yiming knelt beside him, Luo Zhiwan knelt behind him, and the rest of the people knelt down, waiting quietly for Granny Zhen to speak.
Granny Zhen glanced at Leng Chuchen, then at Luo Zhiwan kneeling beside her, before beginning to read the aloud.
"By the Empress's decree, it has been learned that Qi Xian'er, daughter of Qi Desheng, the Prefect of Jiangnan, is skilled, generous, gentle, kind, and outstanding in appearance and character. After discussion between the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager, it has been decided to bestow her upon Crown Prince Leng Chuchen as his principal wife. The wedding will be held on a selected date."
This imperial edict caught Leng Chuchen off guard and also surprised Luo Zhiwan.
However, she didn't say much; after all, she was just a concubine and had no right to speak.
Leng Chuchen did not accept the imperial decree. Instead, she stood up abruptly and glared angrily at Granny Zhen.
"Please ask Granny Zhen to go back and report to the Empress Dowager that I am not familiar with this Qi Xian'er and do not wish to marry her. Please ask the Empress Dowager to withdraw her order."
Granny Zhen narrowed her eyes slightly, raised her eyebrows, and questioned him.
"Does His Highness the Crown Prince intend to defy the imperial decree?"
"It's up to Granny Zhen to say whatever she wants when she gets back."
Even if it means defying the imperial decree, he will do it.
Yiming pouted and angrily questioned,
“My mother should be the legal wife, why do you all insist that my father marry someone else? You are all bad people, all bad people.”
Zhiwan quickly stepped forward and covered his mouth, signaling him to be quiet, but Yiming was not convinced.
He broke free from Zhiwan's grasp, pointing angrily at Leng Chuchen.
“Father, you said you would give Mother a proper title, but we’ve been living in the Crown Prince’s residence for so long, and she’s still just a concubine, confined to the Donghui Courtyard every day. This is not fair to her, not fair at all.”
Yiming's questioning made Leng Chuchen feel utterly ashamed.
Just then, someone rushed in to report,
"Granny Zhen, someone from Donghui Courtyard has not come out to receive the imperial decree."
No sooner had the girl finished speaking than two palace maids carried the plump Zhiruo out from the backyard.
Seeing this, Zhiwan rushed over like a madwoman, shoving away the two palace maids who were supporting her.
"Get out of the way, don't touch her."
Granny Zhen frowned, her face darkening as she questioned him.
"Luo Zhiwan, this old servant just explained clearly that everyone in the Crown Prince's residence should come out to receive the imperial decree. Why is your Donghui Courtyard hiding people and not letting them come out? Could it be that you disrespect Her Majesty the Empress's decree?"
Luo Zhiwan, holding Zhiruo's hand, looked at Granny Zhen with a serious expression.
"She is not from the Crown Prince's residence."
"Isn't she a citizen of the Celestial Empire?"
this……
"Yes, but this imperial edict is for the Crown Prince's residence, and has nothing to do with her."
"Did I not speak clearly enough, or is it that your servant is incompetent at relaying messages?"
As she spoke, she pointed at Little Tiger.
"Someone, slap this girl's mouth so she can't even communicate properly."
As soon as she finished speaking, a palace maid stepped forward, about to slap her, but Zhiwan stopped her.
"stop."
Seeing this, Granny Zhen immediately became interested.
Before we arrived, the Empress had instructed us to find a weakness in Luo Zhiwan and convict her.
She had originally planned to take advantage of Donghui being alone to do something, but she never expected that there was someone hiding in her yard.
This really saved us a lot of trouble.
Seeing Luo Zhiwan take the slap for her maid, Granny Zhen's anger rose even higher.
"This is outrageous! Guards, arrest Luo Zhiwan, this woman who is hiding in Donghui Courtyard and disregards the Empress, and this maid!"
"Who dares..."
Leng Chuchen rushed forward and stood directly in front of Luo Zhiwan.
"Granny Zhen, this is the Crown Prince's residence. When did it become your place to interfere with the people of the Crown Prince's residence?"
Granny Zhen quickly bowed and greeted them.
"This old servant dares not."
"You still know you're a slave? Since you know you're a slave, do what a slave should do. Get out."
His voice was tinged with displeasure, and a layer of frost immediately settled in Granny Zhen's eyes.
She nodded in agreement.
"This old servant obeys the decree, but this old servant has come on the orders of Her Majesty the Empress and dares not disobey Her Majesty's orders. Now this old servant asks someone to go to the palace to invite Her Majesty. I ask Her Majesty the Empress to make a decision on Luo Zhiwan's deception of the Emperor, and I ask His Highness the Crown Prince to issue an order that no one is allowed to leave the Crown Prince's residence."
Hearing this, Zhiruo shrank back timidly, and Zhiwan held her hand tightly, trying her best to give her a sense of security.
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