The question was asked, but before Ye Qingxue could even nod or shake her head, someone had already gone next door to invite her nephew over.
"The Empress is going to betroth the eldest daughter of the Ye family to Lord Shen?" The ladies and young women were either surprised or envious.
"That's the Empress's nephew. Miss Ye is so lucky."
Ye Qingxue: "…………"
She truly hadn't expected the Empress to pull such a stunt.
Moreover, the Empress's nephew arrived very soon.
He was Shen Jiefeng, the deputy commander of the Palace Guard. He was wearing a black commander's uniform when he came over.
He was tall and slender, with handsome features and a humble and gentle demeanor.
After he paid his respects to the Empress Dowager, she told him about the arranged marriage.
Ye Qingxue immediately replied, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I grew up in the countryside and am truly unworthy of Lord Shen!"
Shen Jiefeng turned slightly to the side and cupped his hands in greeting: "Miss Ye is too modest. I have long admired your name."
"Having met you today, I can see that your reputation is indeed well-deserved. It would be my greatest honor to marry you, and I hope you will not refuse."
Ye Qingxue's alarm bells rang loudly. This person was far too hypocritical. They had only just met, yet he was already going along with the Empress Dowager's words to ask for her hand in marriage.
And she looked so affectionate.
At this moment, the Empress tightened her grip on her hand and said, "Qingxue, because of the matter concerning Prince Ding, I have always felt guilty towards you. Today, I will betroth you to my nephew, which will put my mind at ease."
"It's settled then. I'll ask His Majesty to draft an imperial decree to grant you the marriage later."
Before Ye Qingxue could respond, the Empress released her hand and said, "I am tired from today's flower viewing banquet. I will go back to change my clothes first. You may wander around here as you please. Jiefeng, you should keep Miss Ye company."
Then she stood up, turned around, and left.
The ladies immediately bowed and saw them off.
Ye Qingxue immediately made an excuse to change her clothes and took Qiu Shen to a secluded place.
Qiu Shen lowered her voice and said, "In my opinion, Your Highness's betrothal of Miss to Lord Shen is intended to allow Lord Shen to supervise Miss in the name of her fiancé."
Ye Qingxue nodded slightly; she thought so too.
Although Chen Jiefeng was handsome and capable, he was also the Empress's confidant and right-hand man.
Qiu Shen added, "Miss used Miss Hu as a pledge of allegiance; I'm afraid the Empress has already discovered that."
Ye Qingxue pursed her lips: "But the fact that she ordered the death of Miss Hu shows that she accepted my pledge of allegiance."
The Empress was the most outstanding woman in the harem; otherwise, she could not have defeated so many other women to become Empress.
Ye Qingxue did not expect that her methods could completely deceive the Empress Dowager.
The number of times she used others to kill people was probably comparable to the number of times she slaughtered sheep.
All she needed was for the Empress Dowager to believe that she truly wanted to surrender; that was enough.
Ye Qingxue continued, "But she still doesn't trust me, so she still uses Lord Shen to keep an eye on me and make sure I work for her wholeheartedly."
Qiu Shen frowned and said, "What should we do now? If the Emperor issues an edict to grant the marriage, the marriage will be settled. Miss, have you thought it through and decided to marry Lord Shen?"
These subsequent methods were truly endless, making them impossible to guard against.
Ye Qingxue said, "It's alright, let's get out of the palace alive first. If Lord Shen wants to marry her, he can come back to the Marquis's mansion and marry a corpse."
She was a dying woman, so it didn't matter who the Empress betrothed her to, since it wasn't like she was actually marrying into the family.
Upon hearing this, Qiu Shen was unsure whether to be happy or sad.
Finally, she sighed helplessly.
...
Because Hu Qimei was sentenced to death and Ye Qingxue was betrothed, the subsequent flower-viewing banquet was very uneventful, and no one dared to cause trouble.
Even Ning Rong became much quieter, and later even used the excuse of feeling unwell to leave the table early.
Shen Jiefeng accompanied Ye Qingxue for a long time, strolling around Qionghua Palace and looking at all the exotic flowers and plants there.
What impressed Ye Qingxue the most was the lotus pond in the courtyard. The lotus flowers were noble and fragrant, and they were so beautiful that it was like being in a fairyland.
...
The flower viewing party has ended.
Shen Jiefeng personally escorted Ye Qingxue to the palace gate.
“I should have escorted you back to your residence, Miss, but I have other matters to attend to, so I can only see you off here,” Shen Jiefeng said.
Ye Qingxue said, "Lord Shen, please go ahead with your work. I can go home by myself."
"Hmm." Shen Jiefeng suddenly smiled: "Perhaps we'll meet again soon."
Ye Qingxue: "..." Meet her corpse? This person seems gentle, but is actually a bit too confident and domineering.
This time, Ye Qingxue had put in a lot of effort to enter the palace. After getting into the carriage, she lay down and closed her eyes to rest.
The carriage was covered with thick mattresses and blankets. Qiu Shen covered her up, looked at her pale face, pursed her lips, and remained silent, just quietly staying by her side.
The carriage arrived at the entrance of the Marquis's residence. Ye Qingxue woke up, and Qiu Shen fed her medicine. Ye Qingxue regained some of her strength.
The threshold was lowered, and the carriage went directly to Lixue Residence. Ye Qingxue immediately got up and was helped down from the carriage by Qiu Shen.
She was too weak, and her vision blurred intermittently. It took her a long time to regain her sight. "Please come to my study, Young Master Ling."
Ye Qingxue went into the study, and Chunqian brought over some food.
Dong Bai, Tan Shan, and others stood guard outside the study, preventing unauthorized personnel from approaching.
When Yun Zhuo came in from outside, Ye Qingxue was sitting back in the large chair, barely able to sit up straight.
She could feel her life slipping away, bit by bit.
Seeing her like this, Yun Zhuo was slightly taken aback, then frowned and asked in a low voice, "Why did you call me over in such a hurry? Is something urgent?"
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