Zhou Qiongyue did not doubt Duan Jianing's words. She looked at Xie Zixin thoughtfully, then calmly shifted her gaze to her desk.
Zhou Qiongyue was silent for a while before she solemnly thanked Duan Jianing: "Thank you, Sister Duan!"
"It's okay! I was just sitting here and was bored so I paid a little more attention. It's not worth it." Duan Jianing said casually, adjusting the hairpin on her head while speaking.
It wasn't that Duan Jianing was being generous, but she really didn't think it was a big deal. Not to mention that she and Miss Zhou were already quite good friends. Just because they both hated Xie Zixin, she was willing to ask for it.
Zhou Qiongyue sincerely thanked Duan Jianing again, "No matter what, I still want to thank Miss Duan."
Zhou Qiongyue never took other people's kindness towards her for granted. No matter whether others did it on purpose or did it casually, the fact was that she benefited from it.
Duan Jianing's mood instantly improved when she saw Zhou Qiongyue's appreciation. For the first time, she felt that they might be good friends.
Zhou Qiongyue and Duan Jianing didn't chat anymore after that, mainly because the night was getting colder and the party didn't show any signs of ending.
They were both sleepy and had no energy to talk about anything else. Their only energy was used to maintain their noble demeanor.
What was outrageous was that it was already midnight, but the emperor was still full of energy. What was even more outrageous was that the emperor felt that holding such a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet every year was meaningless.
So everyone was asked to move outside the hall so that the emperor and his ministers could enjoy the bright moon together.
After hearing the news, Zhou Qiongyue felt that the emperor's head was like a crescent moon.
No matter what everyone thought in their hearts, they all looked honored.
After the grateful crowd finally sat down outside the hall, they were in the cold wind but could not find the moon.
Zhou Qiongyue felt as if she was out of reach, but everyone still braved the cold wind, looked up at the sky, and pretended that there was a moon there.
Zhou Qiongyue felt that their behavior at this moment was exactly the same as those people in the story, The Emperor's New Clothes.
The officials in the Imperial Observatory dared not even breathe, fearing that the emperor would take his anger out on them.
Originally, the people at the Imperial Observatory thought that this was their darkest moment, but after watching for a while, it started to rain.
It was one of those sudden downpours that came suddenly. In just a short while, everyone present was soaked to the skin.
Even Zhou Qiongyue couldn't imagine the emperor's expression. She kept her head down the entire time, not daring to look around.
In fact, Zhou Qiongyue was fine. When it started raining, Gu Yu calmly put the cloak on Zhou Qiongyue.
Although her cloak wasn't waterproof, it was still quite thick. This way, Zhou Qiongyue wasn't soaked through. Fuling, who was standing next to her, immediately put her cloak on her daughter when she saw Gu Yu move.
Their young lady was weak and didn't care whether she would anger the emperor.
However, the emperor did not look at the female relatives. To be more precise, he did not look at Zhou Qiongyue and the others. The emperor still looked at Xie Zixin thoughtfully.
Although the emperor looked unhappy, he wasn't angry at all. He knew it was going to rain tonight! He just wanted to see it for himself.
As for where this news came from, it was of course spread by the people who were monitoring Xie Zixin. It said that when Miss Xie entered the palace, the things she brought in the carriage were all rainproof and coldproof.
The emperor looked at the rain, and had only one thought in his mind: 'It's time for the second son to get married.'
The emperor was not at ease with such a person who could predict the future staying in the home of a minister. At this moment, the emperor felt that his decision to give the position of principal wife to the Duan family was particularly correct.
Although the emperor likes this kind of person, he would rather control her directly in the backyard and does not want her to go out and achieve any grand ambitions.
Xie Zixin didn't know yet that she was about to get married, and after getting married, she would lose many of her freedoms.
At this moment in the carriage she was still feeling happy about her preparations and had no idea that she had been exposed.
The emperor also sent people to follow and investigate Zhou Qiongyue for a period of time. Fortunately, Zhou Qiongyue was extremely lazy on weekdays and didn't want to cause trouble at all. The only thing he did was to open another small shop.
Even if such a small grocery store was given to the emperor, he wouldn't even look at it. Besides, she didn't usually say anything outrageous.
The Emperor had someone follow Zhou Qiongyue for a while and came to a conclusion. Her reaction to the Spring Hunt was likely due to her father and brothers' involvement; it wasn't surprising for a blood relative to react.
After confirming that Zhou Qiongyue was an ordinary noblewoman who was relatively lazy, the emperor removed the people around her. Zhou Qiongyue didn't know that her caution helped her escape a great disaster.
At this time, Zhou Qiongyue and her mother Jin were in the same carriage. Since they had not anticipated rain, there was not even a charcoal brazier in the carriage.
Fortunately, they always prepared two sets of clothes before going out, so they could change their wet clothes in the carriage. However, Gulan and the others would have to wait until they returned home to change.
Another problem is that their hair is wet. There is nothing they can do. If they take it off now, their hair will be disheveled when they get off the carriage.
For women in this era, appearance is very important. Zhou Qiongyue knew there was no chance, so she did not mention this matter.
But Jin was worried that her daughter had caught a cold after all, as she had fallen into the water.
Jin quickly ordered the servants around her daughter, "Gulan, help your daughter to take off her hair and wipe it with the dry clothes she just changed."
"Yes, ma'am." Gulan responded and immediately sat down to help Zhou Qiongyue with her hair.
"Mom, if this is taken down, it will be difficult to restore it later." Zhou Qiongyue said this mainly because she was afraid that her grandmother would find fault with her later. She was already so tired today and didn't want to deal with her grandmother anymore.
When Jin heard her daughter say this, she knew what she was worried about. Jin changed to a more comfortable position, leaning against the carriage, and then she said soothingly, "Don't worry, I'll ask your father to cover for you later."
"Then will you take it down, mother?" Zhou Qiongyue was actually more worried about her mother, Jin, than about her own cold. After all, Jin was getting older.
Jin shook her head. She definitely couldn't tear it apart. Just because the mother-in-law couldn't do anything to her granddaughter didn't mean she couldn't do anything to her daughter-in-law.
Being a daughter-in-law is never as free as being a lady.
Zhou Qiongyue thought about it for a moment and knew the reason. She was no longer able to protect her mother, so this was the only way.
After all, the word "filial piety" makes her feel restricted.
Fortunately, just as Zhou Qiongyue and her companions' carriage had left the palace, they saw Prince Fu'an's carriage waiting at the palace gate. Yuan Bohua did not get out of the carriage, but sent a charcoal basin to each of Grandmother, Jin, and Zhou Qiongyue's carriages.
Zhou Qiongyue was in Jin's carriage, while Zhou Wencan, Zhou Zhiyi and Zhou Zhiquan, father and son, were in Zhou Qiongyue's carriage, and grandfather Zhou Moyang was in grandmother's carriage.
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