Chapter 322 Head-on Confrontation
Now that the prince's identity had been confirmed, the ministers said some compliments and then took their leave, leaving the space for the family.
Minister of Rites Cha Yaoze walked up to Wei Qingyan and said, "Your Highness, the posthouse has been sorted out. I will take you there to settle down."
Before Shi Yu and Wei Qingyan could say anything, Xiao Zhian jumped up first and said, "You fool! My sister-in-law is the Crown Princess. She will naturally live in the palace when she returns."
Wei Qingyan and Shi Yu looked at Queen Lin.
Without Empress Lin's permission, how could the Minister of Rites dare to act on his own?
"Zhi'an, you must not be rude," the Queen explained. "I asked the Ministry of Rites to prepare this. Although the Crown Princess is your brother's wife, she's not here just for that reason. She's accompanied by a group of Wei envoys, so it would be inconvenient for her to stay in the palace and come in and out."
She looked at Wei Qingyan again, "However, it's also my fault for not making it clear. Since we're meeting for the first time, I should at least chat a little and leave you a meal."
Upon hearing this, Minister Cha hurriedly said, "This old minister has misunderstood the Empress's intention. Then this old minister will go to the palace gate and wait. The Crown Princess can leave the palace at any time."
"No need. I will accompany the princess back to the inn." He said this to Minister Cha.
He looked at the queen again and said, "I will not deny our blood relationship. My wife has two identities, and so do I.
This prince has been treated sincerely by his father-in-law and the princess in the Great Wei for many years. It is unreasonable for him to abandon his wife after returning to Feng Zhao.
This is my first time back in Feng Zhao, and I want to get to know Feng Zhao better. As the Queen said, living in the palace is indeed inconvenient, so I will stay at the inn with the Princess.
He called himself "this king", which meant he was still using the identity of the King of Wei.
When an ordinary daughter-in-law meets her mother-in-law for the first time, the mother-in-law will prepare a gift. Even if it is a meeting between the royal families of two countries, Queen Lin should not neglect Qingyan like this.
What's more, Qing Yan came to Feng Zhao to break the witch curse and investigate the student's case. How could he stay in the palace and let her take the risk alone?
"How can that be possible?" Minister Cha asked in surprise. "How can you return home and still live outside?"
"Puff." Qing Wu covered her lips, "I'm dying of laughter. Husband and wife are one. Since this is the Crown Prince's home, how can it not be the Crown Princess's home?
"Cha Yao, I'm even suspicious of how you, the Minister of Rites, can do this. You don't even understand the principles and morals."
The Queen looked sad. "Why is it so? Are you giving up your mother and this kingdom for a woman?"
"Your Majesty, this hat is too big for my husband to bear." Wei Qingyan finally understood why he disliked Queen Lin when he first met her.
Beneath the upright appearance, he actually does dirty things.
In comparison, she felt Qingwu was safer.
"If you didn't want your family, why would you come all the way here? If you leave me alone at the post house today, will people all over the world say that you are ungrateful and have neglected your wife when you return home?
The Queen has been in charge of government affairs for many years and is so wise that how could she not think of her husband's difficulties? But the Queen still puts her husband in a dilemma.
She even casually accused her husband of being unfilial. Does the queen really love her son?
It was Father who repeatedly told me and my husband not to put ourselves in a difficult position, because no matter what, Father would stand behind us. Parents are a child's greatest support."
This is also the reason why she directly confronted Queen Lin today. Shi Yu came to Fengzhao not to be bullied.
Shi Yu raised the corner of his lips and squeezed Wei Qingyan's palm.
Qingwu's eyes lit up.
I really want to applaud.
The Queen frowned angrily, "You have a sharp tongue. Since that's the case, I won't hide it from you. I really don't like you.
You and I both know the reason. Your grandfather separated us from each other for more than 20 years, and the hatred for taking our son away is irreconcilable.
But my son just likes you. I am the queen and also a mother. For the sake of my son, I can only accept it.
But no matter how well I treat you now, I can’t get over it.”
After a pause, she waved her hand and said, "You all should leave, Qingwu should leave as well."
Qing Wu was listening with great interest, but no matter how arrogant she was, she had to go out. Publicly, the Queen wanted to talk with the Crown Princess of Wei, and privately, they were dealing with family matters, and she couldn't be present without the Queen's permission.
But she was really curious about how things would develop next. After all, she didn't expect Wei Qingyan to confront her head-on. If she missed such a scene, she wouldn't be able to sleep well tonight.
Her beautiful eyes turned slightly, her body softened, and she squeezed herself into the crack of the door of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The queen knew her tricks all too well, and she winked at the eunuchs at the door. The two eunuchs pushed out the person who was trying to eavesdrop through the crack in the door.
Qing Wu knew she couldn't stay, so she raised her eyebrows lazily and said to the two eunuchs, "How dare you touch me when you're so ugly?"
The two eunuchs' expressions twitched as they quickly withdrew their hands and looked at the queen helplessly. They really didn't dare to touch Qingwu again, because Qingwu would really break their hands in front of the queen in the name of their disrespect to her.
"Master Cha, please help me."
Qing Wu nonchalantly placed her hand on the arm of the passing Minister of Rites. "I've noticed that Master Cha has remained as graceful as ever over the years, and I imagine his waist is the same as before..."
"Your Highness, don't joke about the subordinate." Cha Yao interrupted her hurriedly. It would be terrible if the Queen heard Princess Qingwu's frivolous words and misunderstood his loyalty.
But he didn't dare to shake Qingwu off, because he knew that the Queen needed to clear the area quickly, and Qingwu wanted to stay, so he had to speed up and take Qingwu away.
Listening to the sound of receding footsteps, the Queen spoke again, but her words were directed to Shi Yu, "You and I have missed each other for more than 20 years. Your Majesty is old now, and I don't know how many years I can live. I don't want to miss the time to be with you again.
As both are women, the Queen Mother admires the Crown Princess, but she is Shi Dehou's granddaughter. Give her some time, she will get over it, slowly accept her, and even like her as much as you do."
"Don't worry, Qingyan has no shortage of people who like him, and those things have nothing to do with Qingyan." Shi Yu's voice was still light.
The Queen suddenly burst into tears. "You're still blaming Mother, but have you ever thought about Mother? How has Mother endured this longing and heartbreaking pain all these years?"
"Let's put one thing in perspective." Shi Yu insisted. Besides, he was kidnapped because of a conspiracy between Feng Zhaoren and Shi Dehou.
The case of the Wei student points to Feng Zhao. The truth about the grudge between the two countries has not yet surfaced, so why should Qingyan bear all this?
"Your Highness, you are killing the Empress. Do you know what the Empress did for you today?"
The only female official who remained in the hall spoke, cut her finger, and dripped a drop of blood into the bowl containing the blood of Queen Lin and Shi Yu.
Soon, her blood also merged together.
The female official cried, "Your Majesty had long anticipated that some of the court officials would question Your Highness's identity, and she also anticipated that Princess Qingwu would oppose Your Majesty.
Therefore, the Queen applied medicine on her fingers, so that no matter who wanted to cause trouble, the prince's blood would be mixed with the Queen's.
But that medicine is poisonous. Your Majesty is so considerate of His Highness, how could it not be out of love for her son? Since learning that His Highness has returned, Your Majesty has not slept a wink for several nights..."
"Okay, stop saying those useless things. I am a mother, and it is my duty to do anything for my son." The queen scolded the female official.
When he turned to Shi Yu, his expression softened, "Nothing else matters. What matters is that you're back and our family is reunited."
Feng Zhao's kingdom can finally be returned to you, and your mother can rest a little. If you don't come back, your mother may not be able to keep this kingdom..."
She seemed to have something she couldn't express, and she glanced at Wei Qingyan. Seeing that she had no intention of leaving, she finally compromised and asked her to listen together, "Do you know why Qingwu is so arrogant, and why can't the Queen Mother do anything to her?
Do you know why your mother has not allowed your brother to get involved in court affairs these years?"
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