Chapter 44: Disgrace, Today
When Qiandeng was stunned, Xue Xiyang looked up and smiled at her. He seemed to be unstable and took a wrong step, leaving an obvious footprint in the snow and mud on the hem of her plain brocade skirt.
Aunt Xuanji cried out, "Ah!" and hurried over to pull up Qiandeng's skirt to take a look. She frowned helplessly, "Mr. Xue is so careless! The county lord is going to the palace to meet Her Majesty the Queen. This..."
"It's okay. Isn't there always one in the car? I'll just change into it." Qiandeng nodded to the palace servants waiting nearby, then turned around and went back into the car to change her clothes.
The carriage was cramped, so she entered alone, while Aunt Xuanji was busy apologizing to the palace envoy.
Xue Xiyang was waiting outside the curtain and heard her whisper through the curtain, "What's wrong?"
He looked around and spoke softly through the car window, "I saw the man from Pingkangfang in the palace. He was the one who contacted Yang Huaijiang and said he wanted to help him. He is indeed from the Eastern Palace."
The car swayed slightly. Qiandeng, holding her skirt, felt a little surprised. "What did he do?"
Time was urgent, so Xue Xiyang had no time to explain the whole story. He just said directly: "I saw him privately hand over something to the Grand Princess of Gao State - that thing was the box they gave to Yang Huaijiang in Cuiyu Tower."
The hand that was arranging the silk ribbon paused, and countless guesses flashed through Qiandeng's mind, but in an instant he could not match them up, and he only felt a slight numbness on his scalp.
This confirms what Yan Penglai said yesterday. The royal relative who recommended Yang Huaijiang must be the eldest princess of Gao State.
After Yang Huaijiang entered the palace, two fires suddenly broke out, two lives were lost... and what was the thing that finally fell into the hands of Princess Gao?
"I was supervising the actors tuning their instruments, so their words and actions on the other side of the wall were drowned out by the chaotic music. Fortunately, my hearing was exceptional, and I was lucky enough to hear the Princess Changyi say, 'The Princess of Lingling has been ruined, and today is the day!'"
Qiandeng felt a slight chill on his back, and cold sweat broke out all over his body in an instant.
"County Lady," Aunt Xuanji returned after apologizing to the palace eunuch on her behalf. Seeing that she hadn't put on her clothes yet, she knocked on the car window and urged her, "If you have anything to say, let's talk about it back at the palace. There's no time to waste now."
"Okay, I understand." Qiandeng responded, lifted the curtain and got out of the car with her skirt lifted.
The moment she looked up at Xue Xiyang, she quickly mouthed "Cui Fufeng" to him, then turned around and hurried towards the carriage.
Xue Xiyang lowered his eyes and took two steps back, bowing to her: "Farewell, County Lady."
In the gloomy, snow-covered weather, the Taiye Lake remained frozen, the willows along its banks had shed their leaves, and the distant mountains and nearby waters all appeared bleak. Only the palace attendants outside the Xuanhui Hall, swarming like clouds and colorful decorations, broke the cold and solemn atmosphere and added a touch of liveliness.
Aunt Xuanji and her maids were sent outside. She lowered her eyes and gathered her sleeves. Under the guidance of the palace messenger, she walked alone through the front hall where noble ladies were gathered in groups of two or three to greet each other, and entered the depths of the Xuanhui Hall.
Since the coup, she has been in mourning for her father and grandfather, and has relied on her mother to support her on all occasions, big and small. After the mourning period was over, war broke out and her mother died. Therefore, many noble relatives present saw her for the first time, and most of them looked at her with curiosity.
Before a two-foot-tall jade screen, the Empress sat at a rosewood table, conversing with a figure beside her. The figure, over forty years old, still graceful and elegant, was lavishly adorned. It was none other than the Grand Princess of Gao State.
Seeing Qiandeng being led into the palace to pay her respects, the Queen paused with her gaze fixed on her, her tone unable to discern whether she was happy or angry: "Princess Lingling is late today."
Qiandeng immediately kowtowed and apologized to the Queen: "Due to the frequent accidents in the palace, Lingling is late. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"
"There have been a lot of incidents in Changhua Palace recently. I have heard about it." The Queen looked at her slightly haggard face and motioned her to stand up.
Qiandeng stood up, but kept his head down, not daring to raise it.
A cluster of colorful people passed by her from behind and bowed upwards with a smile: "Changyi pays respect to Her Majesty the Queen."
The winter was bitterly cold and oppressive, yet Princess Xiao Fuyu of Changyi wore a crabapple-red brocade jacket, a gauze flowered skirt, and a gilded, wide-sleeved gown with a pleated stone-blue shawl draped over it, weighted down by pearl and jade necklaces. This magnificent attire made her dazzling in the palace, outshining all the other beauties.
The Queen also had a pleasant expression and nodded, saying, "We are all family. Changyi, please come up."
Xiao Fuyu did not refuse and naturally sat down next to Princess Gao at the top. His eyes slid from the two white jade hairpins slanted on Qiandeng's head to the plain white dress on her body. He "tsk tsk" twice, and then, obviously and deliberately, raised his arm and stroked the nine golden flowers densely inserted in the thick bun.
Qiandeng's gaze naturally fell on the nine golden flowers.
During the Winter Solstice Festival, she was a first-rank princess, so she naturally wore nine golden flowers when she entered the palace to celebrate.
This pair of golden flowers perfectly matched her red dress. In the center of the flower tree made of pure gold was a clear pigeon-blood gem from the Western Regions, trembling and shining brightly at the top of the golden thread.
Qiandeng's heart skipped a beat. This dazzling display of nine golden flowers reminded her of the nine golden flower hairpin that the Crown Prince had given her that day.
The nine golden flowers that represented the court's special grace were lost in the palace storehouse, and she has not yet found a chance to apologize to the emperor and empress.
Seeing her expression change slightly, Xiao Fuyu gave her a meaningful smile and turned away.
Qiandeng understood in an instant what was in the box given to Princess Gao.
However, she recalled the situation of that day over and over in her mind, but still didn't know what the key was or where the problem was.
Before she could think about it, the eunuch waved his whip and the hall suddenly became silent. The princesses and ladies gathered together and lined up according to their ranks, waiting for the queen's instructions.
Qiandeng was about to join the group when the Queen spoke slowly, asking, "Princess Lingling, I heard there have been a series of fires in the Changhua Palace recently, and two people have died."
Qian Deng immediately knelt and kowtowed in response to such an important matter: "Yes, the palace was busy with funeral arrangements, and the chaos of affairs arose. The kitchen and storeroom caught fire one after another, leading to this tragedy. It was Lingling who failed to properly manage the palace. Please, Queen, punish me. Lingling is willing to accept the punishment!"
"You are still young, and you are the sole administrator of the palace. How could there not be mistakes?" The Queen softened her tone and continued, "But after all, there have been deaths in your palace. One of the deceased was an official in the court, and the other was a member of the Hongnong Yang family. Your mere confession of guilt is definitely not enough to atone for this."
Qiandeng replied with difficulty, "Lingling knows his fault and is willing to accept the punishment of the law."
The queen raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at her slender body kneeling in the hall. In an instant, she remembered the day not long ago when the prince knelt in front of her and let her see his thoughts. He had the same heavy and speechless posture.
"Get up. I summoned you here today, not to reprimand you. You are young and inexperienced, and now that such a tragedy has occurred in the palace, I must teach you the seriousness of the situation." The Queen turned to the female official and said, "First, remember, the Princess of Lingling County and the Chief Secretary and the female secretaries of the Changhua Palace will each be fined one year's salary, and the palace's Sima and rafters will each be fined six months. Furthermore, the Changhua Palace will independently discuss compensation with the Shi and Yang families. It must be properly resolved to avoid disputes. The facts of the case are not yet clear, so the specific punishment will be determined according to the law after the Dali Temple concludes the case."
"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty." Qiandeng kowtowed in thanks and slowly stood up.
Among the ladies standing solemnly around her, a lady in the front row dressed in turquoise peacock satin looked at her with particular concern, her gaze lingering on the scar on her eyebrow for a long time.
Qiandeng felt the gaze nearby and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He saw that she was dressed in luxurious clothes, was extremely beautiful, and had clear and radiant eyebrows. She looked vaguely like Cui Fufeng.
She was hesitating in her heart, but she saw the other party raise his chin calmly, indicating the top.
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