Chapter 604: Entering the Palace
Mu Yangling said with a smile, “When Father-in-law was alive, he often praised Second Uncle for being smart and good at studying. As long as he perseveres, I’m sure he’ll succeed in the Imperial Examinations one day.”
Madam Xu’s smile froze slightly and she let out a dry chuckle.
Since Mu Yangling had nothing else to say to them, after serving them tea, she sent the guests off.
As soon as Madam Xu got into her carriage, she heard Little Madam Wu say sarcastically, “Second Sister-in-law, forget it. Although Madam Mu is usually quiet, she’s secretly scheming. Seeing as our families don’t get along well with Fourth Brother, how can we expect her to help Second Uncle plan his future?”
Madam Xu closed her eyes in anger and lowered the curtain without replying. She then said in a low voice, “Let’s go.”
As Madam Xu’s carriage took off, Little Madam Wu pursed her lips and said disdainfully, “She still thinks she’s the family head. Now that Mu Yangling is the Duchess, she can no longer suppress her.”
After saying that, the servant girl helped her climb into her carriage.
Madam Xu was so angry that her heart ached in the other carriage. When she returned to the Marquis’s Residence, she couldn’t help but complain to Qi Shaosheng, “Now is the time for our families to help each other. For some reason, Third Madam-in-law keeps targeting us. When we went to Madam Mu’s place earlier, not only did she not help, but she even tried to drag us down.”
“You and Third Uncle don’t even have an official position now. Are you really going to rely on your father-in-law’s assets to survive? Third Uncle has been studying for so many years, but he’s not even a tongsheng yet. At the end of the day, he still has to depend on you. But look at Third Sister-in-law. Even when we’re outside, she also targets me from time to time…”
At this point, Madam Xu couldn’t help but cry. “Who am I doing this for? Isn’t it for our Qi family?”
Qi Shaosheng hurriedly patted her shoulder and sighed. “Third Sister-in-law is indeed a little unreasonable. Let’s talk about it after I enter the palace to see Mother.” His mother was the only one who could take Little Madam Wu in hand.
Spring asked Mu Yangling curiously, “Fourth Madam, why did you agree to deliver a message for them? I’m afraid Her Majesty will be unhappy if she finds out.”
“Instead of letting them ask around everywhere, I might as well send a message to the palace on their behalf. Otherwise, everyone will think that Madam Wu is under house arrest by the Emperor and come up with all sorts of speculations. I’m sure the Empress won’t blame me for it.”
Not only did Li Jinghua not blame her, she even held her hand gratefully and said, “Thank you for entering the palace to remind me. Otherwise, I would have been negligent. This time, it was indeed the Imperial Noble Consort who rejected the request herself. But since they insist on seeing her, I’ll simply grant their request.”
Li Jinghua summoned Madam Xu and Little Madam Wu into the palace. After Qi Shaosheng and Qi Shaotai sent the two of them into the palace, they waited outside. After a long time, someone from the palace sent them in and said, “Her Majesty mentioned to His Majesty that the two Duchesses went to the palace to visit the Imperial Noble Consort. Considerate of the fact that the Imperial Noble Consort had not seen the two Marquises for a long time and might miss you, he asked me to bring you two to see the Imperial Noble Consort.”
Qi Shaosheng was overjoyed, but when he followed the emissary in, he had mixed feelings. Just three years ago, he and his elder brother could have each minded their own business. If anything, he would be the one bullying Qi Xiuyuan. Now, the other party was the ruler of the world, but he could only stay outside the palace and wait to be summoned.
Qi Shaosheng lowered his eyes to hide the emotions in them, but his calmness completely collapsed when he saw Madam Wu. He looked at his gray-haired and dazed mother and couldn’t come back to his senses for a moment. Was this really his mother?
Madam Wu looked like she had aged ten years since she entered the palace. Unable to hold his footing steady, Qi Shaosheng swayed and turned to glare at them angrily.
However, to Qi Shaosheng’s surprise, the people in the palace did not guard them strictly. Instead, they bowed and retreated. The female official in the lead even said to him, “Marquis, since you’re in the palace, please persuade the Imperial Noble Consort.”
Qi Shaosheng was both angry and suspicious. As soon as they retreated, he quickly went forward and held Madam Wu’s hand. Seeing that her hand was cold, he couldn’t hold back his tears anymore. “Mother, what’s wrong?”
Although Qi Shaosheng was selfish, he was also a filial son. He had always been raised by his parents like a legitimate son. Because he was good at studying, he had been given the greatest responsibility all along. Compared to the indifferent Qi Shaotai, he was considered filial.
Madam Wu’s eyes moved slightly. She looked at Qi Shaosheng’s face and couldn’t react for a long time. Then, she suddenly became agitated and grabbed his hand. “Why are you here? Hurry up and leave! The Emperor wants to harm you.”
Stunned, Qi Shaosheng hurriedly held her hand tightly and covered her mouth. “Mother, why do you say that? Although the Emperor ignores us, he didn’t do anything to harm us.”
That’s right, he was completely ignored. Ever since he and his third brother were conferred the title of Marquis, they had been completely ignored.
Their situation starkly contrasted Qi Haoran’s, who could enter the palace as he wished, and received rewards from the Emperor from time to time. In addition, he was allowed to participate in political affairs, and the Emperor would even affectionately address him as “Fourth Brother”. The people Qi Haoran associated with were all nobles and ministers. Meanwhile, the two Marquis’s Residences seemed to have been entirely forgotten, left alone in a corner. No one else in the capital seemed to be aware of their existence, so it was like they were living their own lives behind closed doors.
Therefore, Qi Shaosheng didn’t believe that Qi Xiuyuan would harm him. If he so wished, there were many ways he could go about doing so. The easiest way was to directly issue an edict and convict him. The most reasonable way was to give him some power first and smack him down hard after he made a mistake. However, none of them had yet to happen. Qi Xiuyuan seemed to have completely forgotten about him. Why would he harm him?
He was only worried that his mother would be harmed.
Third Brother was young and didn’t remember, but he vaguely felt that Qi Xiuyuan hated his mother even more than Qi Haoran. Qi Xiuyuan’s mother’s death was probably related to his mother.
That was why he was so anxious to enter the palace. From the looks of it, his mother had indeed been abused.
Qi Shaosheng was furious. “Mother, don’t worry. Even if it means losing my life, I’ll get you out of here.”
Madam Xu panicked and went forward to help him up. “Second Master, you’ve misunderstood. Why would the magnanimous Emperor treat Mother-in-law badly? There must be a misunderstanding.”
“Stupid woman, the truth is right in front of you. What misunderstanding is there?”
Madam Xu anxiously looked around and saw Nanny Wu standing at the side. She quickly tugged at her and asked, “Nanny Wu, let me ask you, how did you serve the Imperial Noble Consort? How did she become like this?”
She squeezed Nanny Wu’s arm tightly and stared at her warningly.
When Qi Shaosheng turned to glare at Nanny Wu with red eyes, the latter hurriedly knelt down and said, “Second Master, I’m innocent. M—Madam has been eating and drinking well in the palace, but for some reason, she keeps thinking that His Majesty wants to harm Second Master and Third Master. She can’t sleep at night and keeps muttering…” Nanny Wu stammered, “…that it’s retribution.”
Qi Shaosheng’s expression changed slightly.
Nanny Wu hurriedly said, “The Emperor came over once. When he heard that, his expression didn’t look too good, but he only sneered and instructed us to serve the Imperial Noble Consort well and not neglect her.”
Qi Shaosheng was deep in thought when Nanny Wu continued, “The people in the palace are indeed dedicated. In order to make the Imperial Noble Consort happy, they even specially mentioned Second Master and Third Master, saying that you’re smart and capable. However, not only did the Imperial Noble Consort’s situation not improve, but she increasingly looks unwell. A few days ago, the Empress approved Second Madam’s request to meet the Imperial Noble Consort. Unexpectedly, the Imperial Noble Consort threw away the token and said that she wouldn’t see Second Madam no matter what…”
Qi Shaosheng’s expression turned ugly. He turned to look at his mother, who was in a daze and had no focus in her eyes. For a moment, he felt sad and helpless. He roughly understood that it was just his mother scaring herself. As for why Qi Xiuyuan didn’t do anything, Qi Shaosheng had a vague feeling in his heart, but he wasn’t sure.
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