Lu Qingyan smiled and said without ceremony, "Then I'll wait for my fifth brother's good news."
“Sister.” Fu Zige suddenly spoke up, seemingly lost in thought. “Sister, come with me to the palace to see the Empress Dowager tomorrow. I heard she’s been in good spirits these past few days. Come to think of it, we haven’t even seen her since our wedding.”
Entering the palace? This is the prelude to meeting the Emperor! Lu Qingyan thought of the painting in the Emperor's hand, and her eyes narrowed into slits as if she had thought of something.
“Sister is right, we should go and see the Empress Dowager. But the Empress Dowager has been living a secluded life these past few years and doesn’t like to see people. It wouldn’t be good if she kicked us out.”
"Nonsense. The Empress Dowager is the kindest person. I met her once when I was a child, and she rewarded me with quite a few things." Fu Zige's eyes gleamed with a different kind of light. Who knew what she was thinking or what she was plotting?
Lu Qingyan didn't have a good impression of the Prince Yi's mansion. Fu Ziwu had wasted her entire life here; what scenery hadn't she seen? She left after a while. Upon returning to the Prince De's mansion, the first thing she did was bathe and change into a comfortable robe.
Everything was ready, and Shangguan Ren came over to ask Lu Qingyan for information.
"Has Your Highness seen through the matter concerning Fifth Brother?"
Lu Qingyan scoffed: "No, I haven't seen Prince Yi from beginning to end. If I hadn't been quick-witted, I would have been sent back by that steward long ago."
Shangguan Ren chuckled as he drank his tea: "It must have been hard for the Princess to make this trip."
Lu Qingyan waved her hand and said casually, "Your Highness is too kind. This is what I, as the Princess Consort of De, should do. I asked Princess Consort of Yi about Prince Yi, and she said she didn't know either. However, I think that given Princess Consort of Yi's condition, there is at least a 70-80% chance that Prince Yi will recover."
Fu Zige is Fu Ziwu's older sister, and Shangguan Ren is Shangguan Li's older brother. Shangguan Ren had said that Lu Qingyan didn't need to call Fu Zige "older sister," but rather "sister-in-law." Lu Qingyan thought about it and decided it would be better to address Fu Zige as "Princess Yi" directly in front of Shangguan Ren.
Fu Zige was more unwilling than anyone to marry a cripple. If Shangguan Li had no hope of ever standing up again, Fu Zige would be the first to abandon him. Looking at Fu Zige's current hope for the future, one could tell what Shangguan Li's situation was.
Shangguan Ren smiled with satisfaction: "It seems that the Princess Consort is indeed very clever."
Lu Qingyan: No, it's the omnipotent Su Han who knows the whole truth. Even if her speculation is wrong, Su Han's storyline shows that Shangguan Li recovered in the end.
"I've also heard about the Empress Dowager. When does Your Highness plan to pay your respects to her?"
When Shangguan Ren heard Lu Qingyan mention the Empress Dowager, he paused for a moment before realizing that such a person existed in the palace. The Empress Dowager had been so low-key in recent years that many people had forgotten her existence.
"She..." Shangguan Ren said with a complicated expression, "Never mind, she is, after all, my stepmother. We sons should do our best to be filial. There's no rush. Everyone knows that I don't have a good relationship with the Empress Dowager. Paying respects is just a formality. Let's go in a couple of days. Princess Consort—was it Princess Yi who suggested this?"
Lu Qingyan nodded and smiled, "If you hadn't reminded me, I would have almost forgotten."
Shangguan Ren understood: "You can go with Princess Yi, you don't need to do it with me. I can go to the Empress Dowager alone."
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