She glanced at Qin Su beside Cheng An and suspected it was because of Qin Su.
Qin Su didn't even glance at Li Shi, seemingly never taking her seriously.
Princess Cheng'an was displeased. She smashed a cup next to Li Shi, an action that made Qin Su glance at her.
Although Xue Huai'an is only a fifth-rank official, no one has been promoted as quickly as him. In almost everyone's eyes, he has a bright future and is at the height of his career.
Almost no one would choose to offend such a person; who knows how high he might climb in the future?
Li was so frightened by Cheng An's actions that she trembled. She was afraid that Cheng An would do something bad, and she begged for mercy in a trembling voice.
Cheng An scoffed, "I've heard that Prince Xue is now a fifth-rank official. How could someone as successful as him have a mother like you?"
Faced with Cheng An's humiliation, Li dared not refute anything and could only lower her head.
What happened?
A woman dressed in a moon-colored, wide-sleeved, front-opening gown emerged from the inner room. She was exceptionally beautiful, like a fairy from a painting, as if she had stepped onto the moon.
Tao Rong only glanced at Cheng An a few times and guessed his identity, but Cheng An still openly looked at this incomparably favored concubine.
She is indeed quite good-looking, and she is not as good-looking as Qin Su, so it's impossible to compare them.
Cheng An harbored no ill will towards her, but he also couldn't feel any affection for her.
After all, it was our first meeting.
Qin Su put down her teacup and explained calmly, "It was the Duchess of Cheng who offended Princess Cheng'an."
Consort Rong pondered for a moment and said, "Since that's the case, then we'll deal with it according to the law."
Who would dare to answer that?
According to the law, Li might have to be punished to the point of being stabbed to death on the spot.
But given Xue Huai'an's current status, no one would dare to do that.
Those ladies only dared to mock Li in private, not openly.
"It would be best not to disturb Consort Rong's enjoyment, Your Highness. What do you think?"
Cheng An looked at Qin Su, who leaned closer and whispered, "You've never been such a kind person, why do you suddenly want to let this woman go?"
Something's not right, something's very wrong.
Could it be that Qin Su has changed her mind after seeing Xue Huai'an's meteoric rise to power?
That doesn't make sense either, does it?
Yu Shuo is clearly better than him. Something's not right. Something's definitely not right.
Qin Su whispered in her ear, "Today is a banquet hosted by Consort Rong. If it really results in bloodshed, that would be... inappropriate."
Cheng An didn't care about the title of Consort Rong; after all, she was just a concubine, only the title sounded nice.
She dared to disrespect even the Empress, let alone a mere concubine.
But since Qin Su has said so, let's listen to her.
She coughed lightly a few times, "Alright then, I'll give Princess Consort Chen some face."
"But let's not let her get in the way here. Let her sit in the back." Her haughty attitude made Li grit her teeth in hatred, but she dared not disobey.
She thought that once her son gained power, both Qin Su and Princess Cheng'an would regret it! They would both have to repent to her!
Consort Rong glanced at Cheng An, then turned her gaze to Qin Su.
Even though Cheng An clearly didn't give her face, she didn't say anything, she just walked to the head seat and sat down.
Li's suffering was far from over. The women around her openly and secretly mocked her. They said she was blind, vulgar, and uncouth.
Ms. Li wanted to leave, but she didn't dare to leave halfway through the meal, and ultimately she endured it all.
After the banquet, she went back and went to Xue Huai'an to cry and complain.
Xue Huai'an pinched the bridge of his nose, unaware of what had happened to his mother that day, only feeling a headache coming on after a long day.
"Why would Mother offend Princess Cheng'an? She is the most favored princess. Even I, as her son, cannot protect you if you offend her." Xue Huai'an only wanted to coax Li Shi back as soon as possible, but he also felt that he needed to give her a warning.
I can't let my own mother hold me back.
He is currently riding high on his success, so how could he tolerate Li's behavior?
Li screamed, "It's clearly Qin Sulian who's making things difficult for Princess Cheng'an! When did I offend Princess Cheng'an? Do I look that stupid?"
Li was indeed stupid, even in Xue Huai'an's eyes.
"Qin Su...don't provoke her. Let bygones be bygones."
Xue Huai'an certainly didn't want it to end like this, but compared to taking revenge on Qin Su, he felt that his future was more important.
But Li didn't understand the meaning behind Xue Huai'an's words. She said, "Son, you have to think of a way. I'm almost unable to make a living in this circle! You must think of a way for me!"
Xue Huai'an: "..."
"Stay home as much as possible during this period, and things will naturally get better once the storm passes."
Seeing that Li was about to speak, Xue Huai'an pushed her and said, "Alright, I'm already very tired after a day's work. Mother, let your son rest a bit, okay?"
Of course, Li was unhappy. It wasn't that she didn't care about her son, but in her eyes, his little bit of hard work was nothing compared to the slightest bit of suffering she had endured.
"Someone, escort Madam back to her room to rest."
Li immediately grabbed her son's sleeve and said angrily, "Xue Huai'an, have you grown up now? You have no idea what I went through today. How they treated me!"
"You call yourself the Censor-in-Chief now, but those women don't respect you at all. They're humiliating me because they don't respect you."
"And Princess Cheng'an..."
Xue Huai'an, unable to bear it any longer, shouted, "Enough!"
He shouted at her, leaving Li looking at him in disbelief.
This is his own son, and he actually yelled at him like that!
She had never seen her son look at her like this before, as if he didn't care at all whether she lived or died.
This is the son she carried for ten months and gave birth to with great difficulty!
"Your mother knows that your son has worked so hard to get to where he is today, so you shouldn't have gone and caused trouble! Do you think we can afford to offend Princess Cheng'an? Why did you have to create trouble at this time?"
"How can I go out for you? Should I teach Princess Cheng'an a lesson? Or should I deal with Qin Su, who is now the Princess Consort of Prince Chen?"
He pressed his own mother, word by word, showing no mercy whatsoever, "Let me tell you, whether it's Princess Cheng'an or Qin Su, I will not touch them right now!"
The mother and son seemed to have turned against each other at this moment.
"Take Madam back!"
He flicked his sleeve and broke free from Li's hand.
Li was stunned for a moment and couldn't react at all.
The servants helped her leave, coaxing her not to hold a grudge against Xue Huai'an.
But after returning to her room, Li burst into tears, scolding her son for being useless and for not knowing her heartache and pain.
The next day, Li received the news that she had been confined to her home by her own son.
Duke Cheng'an naturally wouldn't get involved in this matter. He was much more perceptive than Lady Li and knew what to do now: he should curry favor with his son.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
