On the morning of the second day, Mutong delivered the items to the fu of the Third Master Hua. He received a round of words of thanks and a pair of embroidered shoes that Second Miss Hua had personally made for Wang Fei. The upper of the embroidered shoes was made from the finest brocade with beautiful patterns. Even though Mutong had seen many noble people, he had to praise the beauty of this pair of shoes. It could be seen that the person who had made the shoes had put a lot of effort into it.
After returning to the wang fu, Mutong recounted everything that had happened at the fu of the Third Master Hua. He also presented the embroidered shoes that Hua Chu Yu had made for Hua Xi Wan.
"Such beautiful shoes." Hua Xi Wan opened the box and said with a smile, "Even at this time, Second Sister is still thinking of making a pair of beautiful shoes for me."
Hearing this, Yan Jinqiu smiled and said, "From your words, this probably isn't the first pair of shoes that Second Tang Jie has made for you?"
"Second Sister's embroidery is very good, and I have never been interested in embroidery since I was young. So in the past, whenever she had free time, Second Sister would make clothes and shoes for me. Now that she is about to marry, she is still thinking of me." Hua Xi Wan held the embroidered shoes. She thought of the year when she had saved Hua Chu Yu from the pond. Hua Chu Yu had treated her like her own sister. After all these years, Hua Chu Yu was still like this.
Yan Jinqiu nodded. He could not comment too much on the womenfolk of the Hua family, but he remembered who treated Hua Xi Wan sincerely or insincerely. "She treats you like this, it is not in vain for you to think of her."
Hua Xi Wan laughed. Yan Jinqiu's words were slightly biased and seemed to be speaking on her side. But she knew that for Yan Jinqiu, she was his wang fei. He would naturally judge other people from his point of view.
This was probably human nature. She would not pretentiously feel that Yan Jinqiu did not treat her paternal family well enough. She smiled helplessly. "Sisterhood needs to be protected with sincerity. Who is willing to exchange sincerity for insincerity? Second Sister and I have been sisters for many years, and naturally, we can't help but treat each other well."
"I heard that Second Tang Jie is engaged to the heir of the Marquis of He Wen?" Yan Jinqiu seemed to suddenly think of this matter and said casually, "In Jing, the heir of the Marquis of He Wen is a true gentleman. Marrying him is a good choice."
Hua Xi Wan looked suspiciously at Yan Jinqiu. Were these words sincere or not? The Marquis of He Wen's Lin Family was the paternal family of the Crown Princess. If Hua Chu Yu married into the Lin Family, wouldn't Yan Jinqiu be worried?
Her gaze was too direct. Yan Jinqiu saw her thoughts at a glance. He reached out with his index finger and lightly tapped her forehead. "The Lin Family has been upright for generations, and cares for the people. They are greatly respected by the people. Lin Zheng De is young and promising, and his thoughts are pure. He is not a lustful person. This kind of person is worthy of your second sister. "
Upright, caring for the people.
Young and promising, and his thoughts are pure.
Hua Xi Wan thought of the Empress' dislike of the Crown Princess in the past. She faintly guessed that the Lin Family was dissatisfied with the Crown Prince's conduct. So even after the Crown Princess married into the Imperial Family, the Lin Family was still very distant from the Crown Prince's line. That was why the Empress had such an attitude towards the Crown Princess.
She had originally worried that the Lin Family would not treat Hua Chu Yu well. But now that she thought about it, the Lin Family had been marquises for generations. The heir of the first wife was engaged to Hua Chu Yu. The Lin Family wanted to marry Hua Chu Yu. Other than Hua Chu Yu as a person, there may be other reasons.
For example, they felt that Yan Jinqiu was not an ambitious person, so it was not a big deal even if he was related to the Hua family by marriage. Another example was that they felt that the Hua family was not bad, and Hua Chu Yu was even better, so they wanted to marry her. Another possibility was that … the Lin Family wanted to tie themselves to Yan Jinqiu.
The more she thought about it, the more complicated it became. Hua Xi Wan was too lazy to think about it anymore. She rubbed her forehead: "Since you say this person is not bad, then I will believe that he is not bad for now. In the future, if he dares to mistreat second sister, I will use your power to bring people to beat him."
"Okay." Yan Jinqiu smiled and agreed. Then he had the servants bring the food. The two washed their hands and prepared for lunch.
However, just as the food was placed on the table, before the two had eaten their chopsticks, they heard shocking news. The Empress' paternal family, the Fang Family, was surrounded by the Imperial Guards.
Ever since the Crown Prince died, the Fang Family had kept a low profile. Now that they were suddenly surrounded by the Imperial Guards, who knew what crime they had committed? The Imperial Guards were equivalent to the Emperor's personal guards. Normally, when an official committed a crime, it was the Guard Office that came to arrest them. Then the Imperial Guards or the Ministry of Appointments would try the case. Now that the Imperial Guards had suddenly taken over the Guard Office's job, how could people not think?
Hua Xi Wan did not wonder for long. Fifteen minutes later, the news silently came out of the palace.
"The Empress tried to poison the Crown Princess but failed?" Hua Xi Wan looked in shock at Mutong who had delivered the news. She couldn't believe it. The Empress was a woman who was very good at hiding and scheming. How could she suddenly do such an impulsive thing?
Yan Jinqiu was also slightly surprised. He paused slightly and then asked: "Is the news accurate?"
Mutong replied: "According to our people in the palace, the Emperor was very angry about this matter and wanted to depose the Empress. The Emperor and the Empress had a great argument in the room. After that, the Emperor ordered the Imperial Guards to surround the Fang Family. The reason was that he suspected the Fang Family and the Empress had conspired to poison the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince's child."
"The Emperor is using the Fang Family to threaten the Empress?" Hua Xi Wan thought of the child in the Crown Princess's belly and the deceased Crown Prince. Without her son, the Empress had no hope. She only had thirty percent of her usual rationality and composure left. Most of it was madness. The Emperor ordered the Imperial Guards to surround the Fang Family just to shut the Empress' mouth and not to say what she should and should not say.
Thinking of this, Hua Xi Wan suddenly felt disgusted. Originally, she had thought the Crown Prince was not a good person. But now, it seemed that the Emperor was the worst person. The Crown Prince had just inherited his style and was not bad enough. So he had dug his own grave.
What Hua Xi Wan could think of, Yan Jinqiu also quickly figured out the whole story. However, he thought more than Hua Xi Wan: "Don't do anything. Wait and see." Who knew if this was true or if the Emperor and the Empress were putting on a show to lure the fish into the bait?
A woman like the Empress would rather kill the mother and keep the child. She would raise the child in the Crown Princess' belly and then become the respected Great Empress Dowager. She would not do such an impulsive thing. Also, this news was only heard by the people in the palace. Many people outside the palace did not know what was going on. They would not guess that the Empress wanted to kill the child in the Crown Princess' belly.
In the eyes of the world, the Empress should have been more eager for the birth of this child than the Emperor. So other people would only think that the Fang Family had done something and not the Empress. In the eyes of the people in Jing, the Fang Family was a domineering relative. It was normal for them to do something that made the Emperor unhappy.
Then there were only three kinds of people who could guess that the Empress wanted to poison the Crown Princess. The first kind were those who had ambitions to spy on the hougong. The second kind were those who knew that it was difficult for the Crown Prince to have children. The second kind were those who knew too much about the hougong. The second kind were those who had plotted against the Crown Prince and prevented him from having children. The third kind were those who knew that the child in the Crown Princess' belly was not the Crown Prince's child, but the Emperor's.
No matter which of the three kinds of people took the bait, the Emperor would not allow them to live. In this world, only the dead could control their mouths.
Hua Xi Wan saw that Yan Jinqiu's expression was not right. She guessed that the matter was more complicated than she had thought. She instantly felt a wave of sleepiness. So she forced herself to finish a bowl of soup. After walking around the room a few times, she left the deep faced Yan Jinqiu and went back to her room to sleep.
A life that was too complicated wasn't suitable for her. She didn't want to use her brain too much and age too quickly. It was better for her to take a beauty nap in the afternoon.
"Wang Ye, you mean to suspect that this matter is a trap?" Mutong was slightly shocked. He hadn't thought of this.
"Regardless of whether this matter is a trap or not, it has nothing to do with us," Yan Jinqiu said with a half smile, "I'm just an idle Wang Ye passing my days."
Mutong instantly understood. He bowed and said: "Wang Ye is wise."
The Empress looked indifferently at the man sitting next to her. After drinking thirty percent of the tea, she faintly said: "The Emperor is so certain that someone will jump out?"
"Someone with ambition, how could they bear to miss such a good show?" The Qilong Emperor and the Empress had less and less to talk about recently. But seeing the Empress's haggard expression, as though she had aged several years in a few short months, he felt some guilt. "After the child is born, he will be raised under your care. The Crown Princess will go to the Daoist nunnery in the Jing suburbs to pray for the Crown Prince. In the future, she won't have to return to the palace."
"The Emperor is willing?" The Empress raised her eyes to look at the Emperor without any emotion in her eyes.
"What is there to be unwilling? That is your grandson. Zhen will be reassured if he is raised under your care." The Qilong Emperor's tone was calm as he said, "Even if the throne cannot be passed to a son, it can still be passed to a grandson."
The Empress' expression changed slightly. She held the teacup and was silent for a moment: "Qie understands. But when a woman gives birth, it is equivalent to going through the door of life and death. It is hard to determine life and death."
Hearing this, the Emperor looked with a complicated expression at the Empress. After a pause, he said: "This matter is decided by the heavens."
"As long as the Emperor does not feel heartache in the future." The Empress put down the teacup and said with a tired expression, "Don't worry, Emperor. Qie will take good care of the Crown Princess until … … the Crown Grandson is born."
The Qilong Emperor looked deeply at her. He put down the teacup and stood to say: "Since that is the case, zhen is reassured."
Seeing that he was about to leave, the Empress stood and curtsied: "Emperor, take care."
The Emperor's mouth that was about to open closed again. He looked at the Empress' bowed head and turned to walk out the door.
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