"I wonder what Qingxi has been up to lately? I'm so out of touch with the world in the palace, I'm incredibly bored. Qingxi, why don't you tell me if anything interesting has happened outside lately?"
The Empress picked up her teacup and took a small sip of the tea.
Out of touch? Not at all. You seem to be very well-informed. You knew about things that happened this morning by the afternoon. How can you say you're out of touch?
Since you're asking, then I won't hold back. Qu Qingxi's lips curled up slightly.
"There weren't any interesting stories, but there was one thing that was particularly infuriating," Qu Qingxi said, feigning anger.
Seeing Qu Qingxi's expression, the Empress immediately guessed what she was going to say. Before she could stop her, she heard Qu Qingxi say, "This morning, Qingxi encountered a group of wicked bandits. They bullied men and women, burned and robbed, and committed all sorts of evil deeds. What's worse, they were even using the name of Lord Xu Ding."
"Many people in the capital are oppressed by them, but because of Lord Xu Ding's name, they dare not do anything and can only swallow their anger. If I, the princess, had not encountered them and handed them over to the authorities, who knows what despicable things they would have done under Lord Xu's name."
Qu Qingxi spoke indignantly, her eyes filled with anger, looking as if she hated those people to the core.
The Empress felt a pang in her heart. She knew that the group Qu Qingxi was referring to was Xu Cheng, the steward of her brother's residence. However, she had originally summoned Qu Qingxi to the palace to question her, but she hadn't expected Qu Qingxi to beat her to the punch and even make false accusations first.
"Is that so? Who would dare to be so bold as to impersonate someone from my brother's household?" The Empress slammed her hand on the table, causing the tea in her cup to spill onto the floor. It was unclear whether she was angry at the bandits or at Qu Qingxi for speaking up first.
Upon seeing this, the people in the palace all knelt down and shouted, "Your Majesty, please calm down!"
Qu Qingxi also stood up and looked at the Empress, advising, "Your Majesty, there is no need to be so angry. I have already sent people to the Prefect of the Capital to deal with those thieves. I believe the Prefect will soon be able to find out their identities and then imprison them."
The Empress wanted to act, and Qu Qingxi accompanied her. What's so difficult about acting?
Upon hearing this, the Empress became even angrier, her chest heaving as she stared at Qu Qingxi without saying a word. She had already heard about Xu Cheng's affairs and had told her brother to restrain himself and not to use the Xu family's name to do anything inappropriate.
But her brother didn't care much and thought it was nothing. Now, that idiot Qu Qingxi had taken her to the authorities and made a scene that everyone knew about. Her brother even told her to punish Qu Qingxi properly.
Seeing Qu Qingxi's innocent appearance, the Empress became even angrier, wishing she could poison Qu Qingxi with a cup of poisoned wine, but she still managed to restrain herself. Now that she was in her Fengyi Palace, if something happened to Qu Qingxi in her palace, it would inevitably bring her trouble.
"These thieves deserve to die." The Empress could not admit that the group was indeed from the Xu family, so she could only curse along with Qu Qingxi.
Qu Qingxi certainly didn't miss the murderous look in the Empress's eyes. However, even if she knew that she had deliberately sent those people in, so what? For the sake of her reputation, the Empress would never admit in front of her that those people were servants of the Xu family.
The more frustrated the Empress felt, the happier she became. She wanted to use this matter to pressure her, but she also wanted to see if she would agree. Whoever brought it up first would hold the initiative. The Empress wanted to put on a show and bring it up later, but she did not do as the Empress wished.
"Yes, now it depends on what the Prefect of the Capital says. Your Majesty, I heard from the guards who escorted those thieves that the Prefect of the Capital seemed to recognize the group of thieves."
"Your Majesty, do you think it's possible that the Prefect of the Capital is colluding with those thieves, and that this matter will eventually be dropped?" Qu Qingxi looked at the Empress with a worried expression.
The Empress choked again, and could only say dryly, "The people of the Prefect of the Capital should not do such a thing, right?"
"Qingxi also thinks that the people in charge of the Jingzhao Prefecture wouldn't do such a thing." Qu Qingxi nodded in agreement, then muttered, "Hopefully, these thieves really don't have any powerful backers. Otherwise, if someone vouches for them this time, how will the people view the Jingzhao Prefecture, how will they view Lord Xu, and how will they view the imperial court?"
The Empress remained silent this time, simply staring intently at Qu Qingxi.
What does Qu Qingxi mean by this? What is she implying? Is she implying that if those people don't die, the Xu family will be implicated?
The Empress lowered her head slightly, and a palace maid quickly brought over fresh tea. Looking at the tea leaves floating in the teacup, she seemed lost in thought. Qu Qingxi was right; many people already knew about this matter.
If Xu Cheng and the others are indeed released, it will inevitably make the people of the city feel that the Xu family is suspected of protecting and condoning them.
If this matter escalates further and those sharp-tongued and unyielding censors find out, they will inevitably impeach my brother. It would be better to take this opportunity to have my brother deal with Xu Cheng and the others.
Qu Qingxi looked at the Empress, who was deep in thought, smiled, and said nothing. Xu Cheng dared to touch her people, and he would only have one way out: death. Even if the Empress did not take action today, she would personally take action to eliminate Xu Cheng.
Noticing that Granny Yang kept glancing at the tea next to her, Qu Qingxi raised an eyebrow. Had she drugged her?
Judging that it was about time, Qu Qingxi picked up her teacup, took a sniff, and sure enough, saw Granny Yang looking at her nervously. Qu Qingxi smiled inwardly.
She could smell that something had indeed been added to the blanket, but it wasn't some deadly poison; it was a laxative, the kind that makes you want to go to the toilet constantly once it enters your stomach.
If you can't hold it in and have diarrhea in the palace, it won't kill you, but it can certainly ruin your reputation and make you a laughingstock. Granny Yang is trying to embarrass herself in the palace.
However, Qu Qingxi never intended to let Yang Mama go. As the Empress's right-hand woman, Yang Mama must have done a lot of bad things. Today, she dared to put on airs in front of her and pour her hot tea to deal with her. Now she has personally handed over her dirt. Then she shouldn't blame her for being impolite.
Qu Qingxi subtly moved her sleeve, first adding a little antidote to the laxative, then adding something else before drinking it with satisfaction.
When Granny Yang saw Qu Qingxi drink the tea, a look of joy flashed in her eyes. "Hmph, she dares to make things difficult for me. She should be prepared to be punished. Does she really think I'm easy to bully? Even the concubines in the harem have to give her some respect. How dare Qu Qingxi, a mere princess consort, make things difficult for me?"
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