Jiang Xuelin noticed Fu Hanlai glance at her and immediately realized that he had discovered her little trick. She gave him a warning look—don't forget, we're in the same boat now!
Fu Hanlai: "..."
What a terrible thing to do.
I kind of regret my impulsive decision to take on the responsibility of running away from my wedding.
Why is he so desperate?
After everyone had left, the Empress Dowager turned to Princess Ping and asked, "What exactly did the Noble Consort say just now?"
The Empress Dowager understood that the Consort had used her as a pawn, trying to embarrass Jiang Xuelin through her. However, she would not joke about such a thing.
There's no smoke without fire; first, there has to be an empty hole before the wind can blow.
The reason she didn't react on the spot was because it concerned the Prince Ping's residence and Fu Hanlai, and she didn't want to be used by the Consort as a tool to embarrass Jiang Xuelin. Now that everyone else who was not important had left, the Empress Dowager naturally wanted to find out the truth.
She didn't believe that her younger daughter-in-law, with her control over the Prince Ping's mansion, wouldn't be unaware of this matter.
Since the news has reached the ears of the Imperial Concubine, there must be a reason for it.
Princess Ping had long anticipated that the Imperial Concubine might use this matter as a pretext to target Jiang Xuelin, so when she heard the Empress Dowager ask about it, she naturally showed no surprise.
There was a hint of helplessness beneath the calm.
"Mother, please stop talking. You should ask Ah Shou about this. Your daughter-in-law is also having a headache," said Princess Ping, feigning distress, and gave Fu Hanlai a reproachful look.
Fu Hanlai: "..."
Thinking back to being chased by Prince Ping while at the Prince's residence, Fu Hanlai felt even more regretful.
But now that things have started, Fu Hanlai won't back out at the last minute.
Moreover, he knew very well that if he told the truth to the Empress Dowager, Jiang Xuelin might be in trouble.
...Although she ran away from the wedding, she really didn't deserve to die.
It's really not that bad.
It was with this in mind that Fu Hanlai braced himself and stepped forward in the face of the Empress Dowager's questioning gaze.
He has really sacrificed too much for Jiang Xuelin this time. If Jiang Xuelin dares to treat him like that again in the future, she will really be letting him down for his sacrifice today.
"Ah Shou?"
Seeing the Empress Dowager's puzzled expression and waiting for him to speak, Fu Han hesitated for a while before finally speaking under Jiang Xuelin's somewhat guilty gaze.
"Grandmother, this matter is my fault."
Empress Dowager: "..."
We were talking about your newlywed wife running away from the wedding, how did this get involved with you?
To avoid worrying the Empress Dowager, no one told her that the Prince Ping's mansion had used a pretext to seal the city gates in order to find Fu Han, who had run away from the marriage.
Having lived deep within the palace for so long, the Empress Dowager was not very familiar with what was happening outside, and naturally did not know that Fu Han had run away from his arranged marriage.
No one would talk to her about these things.
Jiang Xuelin lowered her head and listened intently to Fu Hanlai's performance, afraid that the other shrewd people would notice something was off about her.
"As you know, my grandson and Jiang Xuelin are like oil and water. Now that I am marrying her, I feel very uncomfortable and afraid of being ridiculed. So yesterday, I impulsively ran away from the wedding."
Empress Dowager: "..."
This development was completely unexpected by the Empress Dowager.
...but it didn't seem particularly unexpected.
After all, Ah Shou's behavior and style have always been different from others since he was a child.
Fu Han glanced at the Empress Dowager and, seeing that she didn't seem to be angry, and that he didn't need to worry about upsetting her, slowly continued speaking.
"...Grandson was worried that if only I eloped, Father would surely punish me if I were caught. So he had someone spread a false message that the Jiang family's daughter had also eloped."
Empress Dowager: "..."
The Empress Dowager was already surprised because the person who ran away from the marriage was different from what the Consort had said, and now she was completely dumbfounded—she hadn't expected it to be done this way.
Who would have thought that?
Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?!
The groom ran away from the wedding on his wedding day and didn't forget to spread rumors that the bride also ran away to share the consequences of running away with him.
Fu Hanlai reiterated what he had said in front of Prince Ping and his wife at Prince Ping's residence, emphasizing how brilliant his idea was and taking the opportunity to boast about his own achievements.
—On that day, this praise was directed at Jiang Xuelin, but apart from the Princess Consort of Ping who knew everything, no one else realized it.
For some reason, Princess Ping always felt that her son was trying to secure fewer beatings in the future.
Jiang Xuelin kept her head down and didn't say a word, afraid that she would lose her composure if she looked up.
Fu Hanlai is really good at making things up!
However, this time Jiang Xuelin was genuinely grateful for his help.
After entering the palace, he went to find Emperor Xuande. Prince Ping, who had come with Emperor Xuande to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, had just arrived at the entrance of Cining Palace when he heard that it was quiet inside, except for his son who was talking enthusiastically.
After listening to what Fu Hanlai had to say, Prince Ping felt a surge of anger rush to his head.
If Emperor Xuande hadn't been walking ahead, preventing him from overtaking him, Prince Ping would have really wanted to rush into Cining Palace and beat his son.
How could he possibly say that?
How could I possibly tell my mother about all the awful things I'd done?
When Fu Han was halfway through his speech and was about to run out of things to say, he heard a palace servant announce that Emperor Xuande had arrived. He turned around and saw Prince Ping walking in behind Emperor Xuande with a gloomy face.
Fu Hanlai: "..."
It seems... things are going to get bad.
While Fu Hanlai was recounting the "incident," Princess Ping simply sat calmly to the side drinking tea, while to her right sat Jiang Xuelin, who had "suffered a great injustice" and kept her head down.
Upon hearing that Emperor Xuande had arrived, Princess Ping and Jiang Xuelin rose and bowed.
When Prince Ping looked at Jiang Xuelin, who was bowing her head and looking "wronged," he felt even more sorry for the Jiang family and for Jiang Xuelin, who had saved Fu Han. His blood boiled, and he could no longer hold back. He apologized and started chasing after his son to beat him.
The father and son were already making a scene in Cining Palace. The Empress Dowager ignored them and gestured for Jiang Xuelin to come to her. After Jiang Xuelin came over, she couldn't help but hold her hand tenderly.
"Good child, A-Shou went too far in this matter and made you feel wronged. Your grandmother knows that you are a kind-hearted child. In the future, A-Shou will need your guidance."
We have to discipline them!
What kind of mess is this?!
Having done such a thing, even if the Empress Dowager wanted to say something nice to him, she couldn't bring herself to.
Moreover, this marriage was ultimately arranged because Jiang Xuelin saved Fu Hanlai's life.
Isn't this repaying kindness with enmity?
Thinking this, the Empress Dowager also felt that the gift she had given Jiang Xuelin earlier was a bit too light. She took Jiang Xuelin's hand and turned to instruct the nanny behind her.
Jiang Xuelin obediently let the Empress Dowager hold her hand, only responding with "uh-huh" when the Empress Dowager spoke.
Otherwise, she really wouldn't know what to say!
She felt unworthy of the Empress Dowager's pity!
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