Chapter 383 One Step at a Time: The Prince's Mother
Madam Ji had no time to think about anything else; she had only one thought in her mind.
She had thoroughly angered the emperor, and now she was doomed.
Seeing that the whole family was quite frightened by Emperor Wusu, even Qiao Shi's body was trembling slightly.
Ji Qingwu turned slightly to the side, blocking his cold gaze, and said in a high-pitched voice, "I'm perfectly fine, right here."
Everyone present could hear how gentle Ji Qingwu's coaxing tone was, even more so than when he spoke to Qiuqiu.
Ji Qingwu had no other choice, and he was also surprised that Emperor Wusu still remembered this "old debt" even after so much time had passed.
Zhao Mingyan raised his eyebrows. He was pleased with her gentle words, but the anger that had been building up for so long was not so easy to dissipate.
He remained unmoved and said, "Awu is kind-hearted, but I am the opposite—"
However, the emperor stopped abruptly after only saying half of what he had said.
No one dared to look up; they could only concentrate on listening, as if the sound was emanating from a source they couldn't understand.
"Hmm..."
A deep male voice, it was unclear what had happened to the emperor.
In a split second, Ji Qingwu stood up and, disregarding propriety, boldly reached out and covered his lips.
Now that things have come to this, it will be too late if she doesn't do something.
Emperor Wusu's words were law; once spoken, they could not be taken back.
If the old lady were to die, the situation would become unmanageable.
Ji Qingwu frowned and asked in a low voice, "What brings Your Majesty here?"
Zhao Mingyan lowered his eyes, looking at her delicate hands, his dark eyes swirling with unusual emotions.
This was the first time in his life that someone had covered his mouth and forbidden him from speaking; even before he ascended the throne, no one had dared to do this.
If someone else had done it, that arm would have been ruined long ago.
But if it were Ji Qingwu...
Beneath her palm, Zhao Mingyan smiled silently.
The fragrance emanating from her body lingered around my nose, and her sleeve slipped down, revealing her fair and delicate wrist.
The experience was novel and quite interesting.
"hiss......"
Another voice reached everyone's ears.
The tone was a bit high; it was a female voice.
Ji Qingwu gasped, then her clear eyes widened, reflecting his image.
Just now, Zhao Mingyan suddenly raised his hand and enveloped her hand. When she tried to pull her hand away, he pressed it even tighter, and her palm pressed against his lips.
He bit my palm unexpectedly.
Ji Qingwu had a lot of unspeakable suffering. Whenever she thought she was bold enough, she would be taught a lesson by Emperor Wusu.
She withdrew her hand, her palm feeling numb and itchy, with a lingering dampness.
This interaction was known only to the two of them, and Zhao Mingyan's mood improved considerably as a result, and she stopped dwelling on the old lady's matter.
"Thanks to A-Wu's reminder, I almost forgot what I came here for."
Both the Ji family father and son served as officials in the imperial court, and they did not believe that the emperor would forget things.
But Ji Qingwu was willing to believe that as long as Emperor Wusu didn't give the Ji family a hard time and spoke kindly, that would be fine.
She didn't kneel down again, but stood in front of him: "Your Majesty, why don't you let everyone stand up first, and sit down to talk?"
Zhao Mingyan curled his lips and said, "No rush."
He wasn't in a hurry. Ji Qingwu looked around and saw that the white hair on the back of Madam Ji's neck was soaked with sweat.
Ji Changlin was fine when he was young, but his parents were getting old, and kneeling down again could easily damage their knees.
Ji Qingwu had no choice but to resort to her last trump card. She abandoned all pretense, braced herself, and said in a coquettish voice, "You're in a hurry, His Majesty must have come specifically to see me, right?"
"Actually, I also miss Your Majesty very much. Why don't we go back to Wutong Garden together?"
Even though Zhao Mingyan knew why she said those things, his expression softened.
Seeing Ji Qingwu's expectant look, he nodded and raised an eyebrow, saying, "You only miss me? But Yuan Heng hasn't been eating well these past few days; he misses you too."
Ji Qingwu's smile froze.
She was happy to hear the little one say he missed her, but at this moment, bringing up Yuan Heng, was it because she was afraid that not enough secrets had been revealed today?
Ji Qingwu pinched her little finger and bit her lower lip. She understood why Emperor Wu Su had come all this way.
This is a plan to eliminate her chance to hide her identity completely.
Ji Qingwu didn't have time to care about the state of the Ji family. She quickly replied, "I'll go to the palace to see Prince Yuanheng another day."
Upon meeting his seemingly displeased gaze, she immediately changed her mind and said, "I will go to the palace tomorrow."
Zhao Mingyan looked at her, his eyes dark and deep, his tone more solemn than ever before.
"Yuan Heng also asked me a question, a very difficult one."
Ji Qingwu's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "Does Your Majesty still have unsolvable problems?"
"Yuan Heng asked me when he would welcome his mother back to the palace?"
Zhao Mingyan took her hand and said in a low voice, "I have no answer to this question, so I can only ask you."
This time, Ji Qingwu felt numbness spread from his palms to the soles of his feet.
She stomped her foot, landing firmly on the emperor's boot.
Upon hearing these two sentences, everyone disregarded etiquette and looked up in shock.
Ji Bolian was dumbfounded, his eyes unable to move, unable to understand why Prince Yuanheng would call Fifth Prince "Mother".
Ji Changlin first checked Ji Qingwu's reaction. Seeing that Fifth Sister's embroidered shoes were still on the Emperor's boots, he took a few deep breaths and tried to accept the fact.
Even though the Qiao family knew the inside story beforehand, they were still stunned.
What did His Majesty just say?
The prince's mother...
Emperor Wusu is going to make their fifth daughter empress!
It wasn't what she had imagined—entering the palace as a concubine. Even if the title of a concubine sounded wonderful, it couldn't escape the fact that she was still a concubine.
What Emperor Wusu offered was an empress who could sit beside him with dignity and rule the six palaces.
A huge weight was lifted from Qiao's heart, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
The old lady Ji, kneeling by the bed, was so dizzy that she looked like she was about to faint when she suddenly heard the emperor utter the words "Empress Dowager of the Prince." She almost thought she had arrived in paradise.
For a long time, what she and the Empress Dowager had been plotting was for the Ji family to produce an empress.
But not only did Qingwu easily obtain the position of empress, it seems that the emperor himself offered it to her.
The old lady's gaze was like thorns, fixed on Ji Qingwu's back.
Ji Qingwu could never have imagined this scene.
They're forcing me to marry them, even at home, right in front of the Ji family.
Using Yuan Heng as an excuse, they first made her reluctant to give up the position, and then, by offering the Empress's throne, they showed their sincerity.
"Hmm? What does A-Wu mean?"
Zhao Mingyan untied her clenched fingers, squeezed them gently, and reminded her to answer, his tone unusually urgent.
He asked her what she meant, and Ji Qingwu had no other way out.
Li Yuzong, who was guarding the door, seized the opportunity and stepped forward, presenting a scroll with both hands.
With a smile in his old eyes, he respectfully said, "Your Majesty, this is the decree you prepared before the ancestral worship ceremony."
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