Chapter 517 They were captured by the yamen runners of Shuntian Prefecture!
"Mother!" Seeing the Queen Mother wavering, Princess Wenshu immediately raised her voice, hatred brimming from her eyes. "She killed my brother with her own hands! Don't you... want to avenge him? Are you watching his enemy go unpunished while enjoying your youngest son's affection?"
Her words were like poisoned needles, piercing the Empress Dowager's sore spot. "Besides, this matter was carried out in secret, and it was done perfectly. How could the Prince Regent, who is so busy with all sorts of affairs, easily notice it? When the Prince's Palace finds a new, more desirable woman, will the Prince Regent's heart... still be with Lan Xiyue? I'm afraid by then, he might not care anymore."
Nalan Mei, standing by, nodded in agreement, her voice clear and crisp: "Grandmother, my mother is right! This is the best of both worlds."
The Queen Mother felt a sharp headache coming on, her temples throbbing. She closed her eyes wearily, raised her hand and rubbed her forehead vigorously. After a long while, she waved her hand away, her voice full of weariness and a subtle hint of evasion: "Forget it, forget it... I'm tired, my headache is severe. Everything will be settled after Lan Xiyue gives birth..."
Seeing this, Nalan Mei immediately put on a concerned look: "Grandmother, you must be tired. Please take a good rest. Mei'er will take mother back now and come to see you another day."
The Queen Mother closed her eyes and only hummed through her nose as a sign of agreement. The old nanny hurried forward, carefully helped her up, and walked towards the inner room with a slightly staggering step.
Nalan Mei pushed her mother out of the palace, and the guards lifted Princess Wenshu and her wheelchair up steadily.
Nalan Mei also got on the carriage swiftly. With a light shout from the coachman, the carriage started rumbling and drove away from the brightly lit Regent's Palace.
Inside the carriage, heavy curtains blocked out the noise outside.
The forced sadness and gentleness on Princess Wenshu's face disappeared in an instant, leaving only deep resentment and hideousness.
She slammed her fist down on the thickly blanketed cushion, gritting her teeth and squeezing out a voice: "This old hag! She actually hesitated just now! Has she forgotten who killed her good son?"
Nalan Mei sat down next to her mother. She seemed to be accustomed to her anger, but her mind was not on revenge at all. She curled her lips, with a girl's coquettishness and dissatisfaction, and tugged at Princess Wenshu's sleeve: "Mother, you are busy talking about these things to the Queen Mother, but please think about your daughter! I am not young anymore. When will you mention my marriage to the Queen Mother?" She wanted to say it just now, but she was still a girl and was embarrassed.
Princess Wenshu was already angry, and was even more annoyed by her daughter's interruption.
She turned her head away in a bad mood, and with a well-maintained yet cold finger, she tapped Nalan Mei's smooth, plump forehead firmly. "You stubborn girl! There are so many good men in the capital waiting to be chosen, yet you insist on tying your mind to that Lu Jingzhou? What's so good about him? He's just a blockhead!"
She took a breath, her tone unquestionable, "Mom will definitely find you a husband who is a hundred times better than him! As for Lu Jingzhou...you'd better give up thinking about him as soon as possible!"
Nalan Mei's eyes instantly turned red with grievance. What good Erlang in the capital was waiting for her to choose? It was all because she had such a mother. Those families of high-ranking officials avoided her, and her mother still had the nerve to say that.
But Nalan Mei naturally wouldn't say this in front of her mother. She twisted her body and refused to give in. "Mother! I don't care! I just like Lu Jingzhou. I don't want anyone else but him! He's the only one I can have!" Her eyes gleamed with a stubborn glint. "Go and beg the Queen Mother! Ask her to issue an imperial decree to grant us this marriage! I don't believe the Lu family is so bold as to defy the Queen Mother's decree!"
Seeing her daughter's determination to achieve her goal, Princess Wenshu felt as if a hole had been poked in her chest. Some of her anger was released, leaving only helplessness.
She sighed heavily, raised her hand and rubbed her swollen brow. "Oh! Really... I can't do anything about you!" Seeing her daughter's eyes instantly brighten with anticipation, she had no choice but to relent. "Forget it, forget it. I can't persuade you. Some other day... Some other day I'll go talk to that old woman, okay?"
Hearing this, Nalan Mei's face was filled with gloom. She immediately burst into laughter and hugged her mother's arm affectionately, shaking it: "Thank you, mother!"
At this moment, the carriage suddenly stopped.
Princess Wenshu was about to scold when a cry of anxiety and sobbing came from outside the carriage:
"Princess! Princess! Please save our Mu family!" Mu Ting'er threw herself in front of the carriage, her voice miserable.
Inside the carriage, Nalan Mei exchanged a glance with her mother, her expression darkening. "Mom, it's Mu Ting'er." Before she finished speaking, she lifted the curtain covering the window. A gentle, concerned smile instantly appeared on her face as she looked out. "Ting'er? Why are you so frightened?"
Mu Ting'er and Xu hurriedly moved closer to the car window and saluted hastily.
Mu Ting'er was so anxious that she was almost incoherent: "Princess! Please save my father and second uncle! They...they were captured by the Shuntian Prefecture's yamen runners!"
Nalan Mei's eyebrows knitted slightly, her tone soothing yet distant, "Ting'er, don't worry. Shuntian Prefecture has its own rules for handling cases. They always have to rely on evidence. How could they convict immediately? Relax and go back and wait for news."
How could Mu Ting'er be at peace? Her father and second uncle had just been found by servants when many yamen runners arrived and forcibly took them away. How could she be at peace?
Xu fell to her knees with a thud, begging in tears, "Princess! Please, for the sake of your relationship with Ting'er, help our Mu family! As long as you can get the Regent Princess to show mercy and let the Mu family go, we...we are willing to work like slaves!"
A subtle hint of impatience flashed across Nalan Mei's eyes. She had no feelings for Mu Ting'er, but she didn't show it on her face. She sighed, "Alas, my princess's little aunt...is a vindictive person. My princess just came from the palace, and I've said all the nice things to her, but she won't listen, and won't show any mercy."
Upon hearing this, Xu and Mu Ting'er were struck by lightning and looked at each other with dejected expressions. Even the princess was helpless, so wasn't the Mu family... finished?
"Let's go!" Princess Wenshu's cold voice came from inside the car.
The guards received the order and whipped their horses.
Inside the carriage, Princess Wenshu sneered, "I'm afraid the Mu family is doomed."
Nalan Mei was also annoyed. "Who said it wasn't true? My daughter originally befriended Mu Ting'er because she saw the Mu family's wealth, but who knew she would be so foolish as to dare to offend Lan Xiyue! What's worse is that they have leverage over the Mu family!"
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