Chapter 200: Beating a Duck with a Stick

Qi Heng took the cake, with a smile in his eyes, and ate it bit by bit under Minglan's cover. After Qi Heng finished the cake and wiped the crumbs left on his mouth, Minglan pretended to be unable to reason with him and left.

Qi Heng returned to everyone's sight, still looking like a noble gentleman who refused to bow down.

When the empress dowager woke up from her nap, she heard the palace maid report that Qi Heng was still kneeling outside the palace. The empress dowager's anger dissipated a little, "Forget it, let him go back today, and let him wait outside the palace at noon tomorrow."

The palace maid took the order and conveyed the empress dowager's order to Qi Heng. Upon hearing this, Qi Heng's face remained calm, and he only kowtowed to express his gratitude. He struggled to get up, his legs seemed stiff and weak due to kneeling for a long time, and he could only stagger forward. Every step seemed extremely difficult, and he limped slowly towards the palace gate.

When the empress dowager learned of Qi Heng's embarrassment, the corner of her mouth could not help but curl up a faint sneer, and sneered, "This can be considered as worthy of his stubbornness. "However, thinking of Master Ruyu's embarrassment, the Queen Mother couldn't help but laugh, and her anger dissipated a lot.

Buwei, who was waiting outside the palace, looked anxiously into the palace and saw a limping figure walking towards this side. Upon closer inspection, it was Qi Heng. Buwei's heart tightened, and he hurried forward. As soon as Qi Heng stepped out of the palace gate, Buwei quickly supported Qi Heng and helped him to the carriage.

When they were in the carriage, Buwei asked with concern, "Master, how did the Queen Mother punish you?"

Seeing that Buwei was worried, Qi Heng smiled and comforted him, "It doesn't matter, the Queen Mother just punished me to kneel for a few hours and didn't give me food. "

After hearing what Qi Heng said, Buwei felt even more distressed. He quickly took the food box from the side, opened it gently, and took out the carefully prepared meals one by one, "Young Master, eat something quickly. This is specially prepared by the princess. It is convenient to eat in the car. Fill your stomach first."

Qi Heng took the food and ate a few bites hurriedly. Seeing this, Buwei was afraid that he would choke, so he quickly handed him a kettle, "Young Master, drink some water. "

Qi Heng took the kettle and drank it all in one gulp. The hunger in his stomach was slightly relieved. Although Minglan had secretly given him a few cakes before, he still felt empty after not eating for a long time.

After Qi Heng rested for a while, Buwei asked again with concern: "Young Master, your legs..."

Qi Heng gently lifted up his trouser legs, took off his knee pads, exposing his knees, and saw that his legs were already bruised and purple. Buwei felt distressed when he saw this, "Why would the Queen Mother punish me so severely? If Young Master Changbai hadn't asked the eunuch to tell me, I wouldn't even know about it."

Qi Heng patted Buwei's shoulder gently to comfort him, "I was wrong first, and it's understandable that the Queen Mother is angry. Do my father and mother know about this? "

Buwei looked embarrassed and answered with his head down, "I didn't hide it. When I heard that the Queen Mother had punished you, I was at a loss, so I went back home and told the princess. The princess was very worried, but was persuaded by the Duke. Later, when you didn't leave the palace at noon, the princess ordered people to send food to you and waited here for a long time. It was the princess who came out of the palace and talked to the princess for a long time before persuading her to go back. "

Knowing that it was Minglan who came forward to comfort Princess Pingning, Qi Heng felt relieved and did not blame her.

When Qi Heng returned home, Princess Pingning saw Qi Heng's appearance and felt distressed again. Knowing that Qi Heng would be punished again tomorrow, she wanted to go to the palace to ask the Queen Mother for help, but was stopped by Qi Heng and the Duke of Qi and his son.

"Yuan Ruo made the Queen Mother fail this time, and the Queen Mother only punished Yuan Ruo to kneel for a few hours, which was a special favor. The Queen Mother is still angry, and once Yuan Ruo is punished, her anger will subside, and everything will be fine. Aren't you adding fuel to the fire by asking the Queen Mother for help now? "The Duke of Qi persuaded.

Princess Pingning thought it made sense and gave up the idea of ​​begging for mercy. Instead, she called the maid with the best needlework in the mansion to make another thick knee pad for Qi Heng, but was stopped by the father and son again.

Qi Heng explained, "Mother, the Queen Mother punished me to vent her anger. I made a thick knee pad, but in the end it was unharmed. The Queen Mother will not only be more angry, but she will also hold me accountable for deception. The knee pad made by Minglan is just right. It can alleviate my pain without completely offsetting the punishment. "

Princess Pingning saw that the father and son had considered everything properly, so she said no more.

The next day, Qi Heng went to kneel outside the Baoci Palace early, and when the Queen Mother got up for lunch, she let Qi Heng go back. After two days, the Queen Mother may have calmed down and no longer summoned Qi Heng to the Baoci Palace.

In the court, the situation was changing. Although the Queen Mother's party did not directly attack Qi Heng, there was a subtle tension in the air. I don't know if it was Qi Heng's illusion, Minglan seemed to be getting busier and busier, and there seemed to be a gap between the two of them.

The two of them were separated by invisible barriers, and it became a luxury to find a chance to talk for a moment. Occasionally, in the depths of the palace or at a banquet, their eyes would accidentally meet, and the helplessness in Minglan's eyes was enough to make Qi Heng's heart tighten.

Qi Heng gradually came to his senses. This was done intentionally by the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother wanted to prevent the two of them from meeting. It seemed that although the Queen Mother had calmed down, she did not intend to let him go.

Although the time they spent together was scarce, they still maintained correspondence. Qi Heng carefully Reading Minglan's letter carefully, Qi Heng could see that Minglan was writing in a hurry, which made him feel distressed. He knew that Minglan must have squeezed out time to write to him in her busy schedule, just to give him some comfort.

Qi Heng couldn't bear to see Minglan working so hard, so he decided to change the way of communication. He asked Buwei to deliver the letter, and then Minglan didn't need to reply. He just told Xiaotao what he wanted to say, and then relayed it to Buwei, and Buwei would tell him.

Even with such twists and turns, Qi Heng's heart was full of satisfaction and happiness. He knew that no matter how much, Qi Heng's heart was full of satisfaction and happiness. No matter how busy they were, Minglan could feel his feelings no matter how many obstacles separated them. The two of them knew each other, and this was the warmest care and waiting between him and Minglan.

Qi Heng was satisfied, but Princess Pingning was a little worried. Now Qi Heng and Minglan were leaning towards His Majesty and the Queen Mother respectively. They were political enemies in the court, and they couldn't talk to each other in private all day long. How could they maintain their relationship?

Princess Pingning felt more and more uneasy. One day, when Qi Heng came home from the government office, Princess Pingning went to Qi Heng's study under the pretext of delivering soup.

"Yuan Ruo, I heard recently that the Queen Mother always summoned her nephews and grandchildren. The Cao family is famous for its strict family tradition. Many of its children and grandchildren are known for being modest and kind, and they all hold important positions in the court. I heard that the most outstanding one among them is Cao Shi, who is handsome and has great prestige in the army. I remember that when he was a child, the Queen Mother liked him very much..."