The Empress felt as if her Ren and Du meridians had been opened. Yes, as long as she had power, she would have everything. When the Crown Prince ascended the throne, she would be the Empress Dowager. The Emperor's love was so ephemeral; she no longer needed it.
"Granny Yang, please do my hair and makeup tonight. I remember that when I was still unmarried, you were the one who did my hair and makeup for every important occasion. I remember that your skills were excellent."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Seeing that the Empress had really listened to her words, Yang Mama was overjoyed and quickly got up to do the Empress's makeup and dressing.
For the next few days, Qu Qingxi had nothing to do, so she diligently taught Gu Liangsheng how to do makeup. Qu Qingxi's model was Qingdai, but Gu Liangsheng only tricked Ling Mu into being a model once on the first day.
In the following days, no matter how much money Gu Liangsheng offered, Ling Mu refused. After Gu Liangsheng had completely disguised him that day, Ling Mu looked in the mirror and was stunned by the person in the mirror.
He had never seen such a strange and ugly person before. Not just ugly, but shockingly ugly, utterly ugly. Looking at Qingdai and then at him, Ling Mu simply refused to believe that the person in the mirror was him.
Ling Mu had nightmares for several days before he gradually recovered.
He still remembered the shocked yet restrained smiles on the prince and princess's faces. If Gu Liangsheng hadn't been the prince's friend, Ling Mu would have beaten Gu Liangsheng until he vomited blood long ago.
After lunch, Qu Qingxi was about to continue teaching Gu Liangsheng how to do makeup when Qingdai came in with something. "Your Highness, Princess Mingxiu is hosting a banquet at the Marquis of Dingguo's residence the day after tomorrow. I heard that the Marquis of Dingguo has acquired several pots of excellent chrysanthemums and is inviting noble ladies from the capital to admire them."
"Admiring chrysanthemums?" Qu Qingxi raised an eyebrow slightly. In her opinion, admiring chrysanthemums was just a pretense; the real purpose was to stir up trouble.
"Your Highness, shall we go?" Qingdai naturally knew that this was probably a trap. Ren Nuanyun had tried to harm the princess before, and this chrysanthemum appreciation banquet might also be aimed at the princess.
"Go, of course I'll go. How will I know what Ren Nuanyun is up to if I don't go?" Qu Qingxi chuckled. This chrysanthemum appreciation banquet was the first banquet held by Ren Nuanyun after she was named Princess Mingxiu and became the Crown Princess. If she didn't go, people would inevitably gossip.
There will likely be a lot of people attending this chrysanthemum appreciation banquet. The more people there are, the more likely something bad will happen. Let's see who will be the one who gets into trouble.
The weather in September was no longer as warm as before; it was even a bit chilly in the mornings. Once the sun had warmed up a bit, Qu Qingxi changed her clothes and ran into He Liufeng, who was also heading out.
"Do you have something to do today?" Qu Qingxi looked at He Liufeng with surprise. During this period, He Liufeng had been attending court only sporadically, often asking for leave. Even the emperor had begun to complain about He Liufeng.
He Liufeng's shoulder injury had almost healed, and having no other excuse, he had no choice but to attend court.
"Yes, I need to go outside the city today. There are some things to take care of." He Liufeng nodded, seeing that Qu Qingxi was dressed elegantly and brightly, he knew that she was going to the Marquis of Dingguo's residence.
"If you don't want to go, then forget it. She's just a minor princess, not worth your attention." He Liufeng said domineeringly. So what if she was a princess bestowed by the emperor and the future crown princess? People would still have to bow to his princess.
"It's fine, I'm bored anyway, I'll go see what kind of trouble Ren Nuanyun is up to this time."
"Then be careful in everything you do. If you run into any trouble, just fight back. I'll back you up if anything happens."
Qu Qingxi turned to look at He Liufeng. She hadn't expected him to say these things to her. Although she couldn't use them, they sounded quite pleasant.
"Okay, I won't be taken advantage of." Qu Qingxi nodded.
"Wait a minute." Qu Qingxi was about to leave when He Liufeng called out again.
Qu Qingxi turned around, only to have He Liufeng step forward and kiss her on her rosy lips before quickly pulling away with a triumphant smile on his face.
Qu Qingxi was taken aback for a moment, then smiled helplessly, "Alright, I'm leaving." Qu Qingxi waved her hand and left directly.
Having received a sweet kiss, He Liufeng left satisfied. These past few days, because of Qu Qingxi's words that he needed to control his desires, he and Qu Qingxi had been chatting under the covers every day, and he was almost going crazy from holding back.
The Prince of Nanqing's residence was not far from the Marquis of Dingguo's residence. When Qu Qingxi arrived, people were coming and going.
Qu Qingxi was slightly taken aback by the situation. She had thought that Ren Nuanyun would do something to the post, such as postponing the time to make her late and then make a fool of herself. She had prepared how to deal with it, but she did not expect that Ren Nuanyun would not do anything.
Now, Qu Qingxi became even more vigilant. It seemed that Ren Nuanyun was very likely preparing a big move today.
Upon seeing the carriage of the Prince of Nanqing's mansion approaching, the people in front of the gate of the Marquis of Dingguo's mansion immediately stepped forward, while another person quickly ran inside.
Qingdai helped Qu Qingxi down from the carriage, and soon someone led the carriage to a suitable location to stop.
As soon as Qu Qingxi reached the front gate, she saw the Marquis of Dingguo with his wife and Ren Nuanyun with a group of people.
Upon seeing Qu Qingxi, he immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."
"Lord Dingguo, you are too polite. Madam, please rise." Qu Qingxi smiled gently and quickly gestured for them to get up.
What's strange is that Ren Nuanyun also bowed to her properly, without a trace of reluctance in her eyes or brows. It's hard to tell whether she did it willingly or was just putting on an act.
Just as they were about to go inside, another carriage arrived outside. They looked up and saw that it was Princess Yongchang's carriage.
Yongchang sat in the carriage, extremely unwilling. She didn't want to come at all, but her brother, the Crown Prince, had pleaded with her for a long time. Seeing that she was still unwilling, he ordered her to come today and get along well with Ren Nuanyun. After all, Ren Nuanyun would be her sister-in-law, the Crown Princess, in the future.
Those who live in the palace are all skilled at rehearsals. Even though Princess Yongchang was very unwilling, the moment she stepped off the carriage, her face changed to a smiling expression.
Upon seeing the Marquis of Dingguo, his wife, Ren Nuanyun, and Qu Qingxi, they quickly realized that they had just welcomed the Princess Consort of Nanqing.
Upon seeing Qu Qingxi, Princess Yongchang's mood improved, and her smile became more genuine.
"Royal Aunt".
"Princess." The two greeted each other politely.
"This old minister greets the princess." "This humble woman greets the princess." "This humble woman greets the princess." The Marquis of Dingguo and his family bowed respectfully.
Qu Qingxi did not need to bow, because she was the Princess Consort of Nanqing and the aunt of Princess Yongchang. However, they were merely subjects, and naturally they had to bow to the princess.
"Please rise quickly."
"Please, Your Highness, and Your Highness, please." The Marquis of Dingguo, with a smug smile on his face, personally invited the two inside.
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