After swallowing my anger and taking the blame, I became the lucky little queen

I think it was influenced by the rumors in Beijing.

Qin Junyu simply did not dismount.

Li Yaoyuan's personal maid and several old women in her courtyard were waiting in front of the door. Seeing Nian Susu talking to her, they did not dare to go forward.

Nian Susu helped Li Yaoyuan tie the cloak tightly around her body, smoothed down the rough edges, and said gently, "I'll come and have tea with you after you've settled down in a few days."

She nodded, and this time her smile finally seemed more sincere.

Li Yaoyuan watched the carriage team go away, and the smile on her face finally fell off. She looked tired. She stared at the ground blankly, and didn't care what the maids and old women said, and walked in on her own.

The maid hurried forward to support her, and the master and servants entered the mansion through the side door.

She had to pass by the central hall on her way back to her own courtyard. Her father Li Zhiyi was standing with his back to the gate, his hands behind his back, as if waiting for her.

The mother was whispering something to the father, with a sad look on her face.

Li Yaoyuan looked around at the maids and said, "You go back to the courtyard first. I will say a few words to my father and then I will be back."

Her personal maid Wan Tao looked embarrassed and held her arm tightly.

"Miss..." Wan Tao's voice was filled with tears.

She only hated herself for not being able to go to Ganlin Temple with them and for not being able to protect her own young lady, causing her young lady to suffer humiliation. If it weren't for the other maids' persuasion, she would have hit her head against a tree and died three days ago.

Wantao knew the master's temper. He would definitely think that it was the young lady's fault and scold her.

The young lady was wronged outside and was blamed by her father when she returned home. How can she comfort herself and let it go?

"Wantao, be obedient." Li Yaoyuan spoke these words weakly, almost in a whisper.

Wan Tao wiped her tears and was pulled away by several other maids.

Li Yaoyuan calmed down her emotions, walked lightly, and came to a distance of three steps behind her father. She leaned forward and said, "Father, mother, your daughter is back."

Li Zhiyi snorted angrily, but did not turn around.

Mrs. Li's eyes were red and she wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, then turned her head and forced a bitter smile. She helped Li Yaoyuan up and saw that her daughter's face was pale and her heart was aching. The emotions that she had just suppressed surged up again.

She choked up and said, "It's good that you're back... It's good that you're back..."

Li Yaoyuan lowered her eyes, not wanting her mother to see her vulnerable side, and clenched her fingers to prevent herself from shedding tears.

Li Zhiyi suddenly got angry, shook his sleeves and shouted, "How dare you come back!"

He turned around, frowned and glared at Li Yaoyuan as if he was looking at an unforgivable villain, without any trace of the deep father-daughter love they had in the past.

Mrs. Li was startled, but she didn't dare to say anything. She could only silently let go of Li Yaoyuan's arm and took a few steps back.

She didn't dare disobey her husband, but she felt sorry for her daughter. The guilt she felt towards Li Yaoyuan was enough to make her heart be torn thousands of times.

Li Yaoyuan did not blame her mother. She just knelt down with her skirt lifted up silently, and said coldly: "My daughter knows her fault. Please punish me, father."

"You know you're wrong?" Li Zhiyi raised his lips with a sarcastic smile, "Tell me, what's wrong?"

Li Yaoyuan's chest rose and fell violently, and veins appeared on her forehead. She gritted her teeth and did not answer, feeling both angry and heartbroken.

Madam Li pulled his sleeve and said in embarrassment: "Master..."

It would be fine if an outsider stabbed his daughter, but how could he, as a father, stab her in the back as well?

Li Zhiyi pushed Mrs. Li away.

Madam Li fell backwards and fell to the ground. Li Yaoyuan was startled and looked at her father in disbelief, then knelt forward to help her up, "Mother..."

Mrs. Li's tears fell. She endured the pain in her body and heart, knelt upright, sobbed, and her back rose and fell.

Li Zhiyi was not moved, but glared at the mother and daughter.

"They are all good daughters you have taught! They have no sense of shame! They don't observe the code of conduct for women! They have read Women's Training, Women's Precepts, and Women's Virtues in vain!"

"How come there are so many girls there, but she is the one who got into trouble?"

"Do you know what outsiders say about our Li Mansion and me? You have made me lose face!"

He cursed so hard that spit flew everywhere and his facial features were distorted.

Mrs. Li covered her face with a handkerchief and began to cry.

Li Yaoyuan lowered her head and listened, her expression numb, and she even wanted to laugh.

On the way back home, she imagined countless possibilities, including the current situation.

She knew exactly what kind of personalities her parents had, so she was mentally prepared. She grew up in an environment where her father's fury and accusations, and her mother's weakness and incompetence were commonplace to her.

But there is still a glimmer of hope in my heart.

Now that her dream is shattered, she feels ridiculous.

Li Yaoyuan clenched her handkerchief and repeated, "My daughter has brought disgrace upon the Li family and brought shame upon the family. Please punish me, father."

Anyway, her father thought it was her fault. She was too lazy to defend herself, and had no intention of arguing with him, so she simply accepted it.

Mrs. Li cried even louder.

Li Zhiyi became impatient with the noise and had her taken back to her room.

Only the father and daughter were left in the hall.

The weather in January Mansion was still very cold, and the bluestone slabs were hard and icy. Li Yaoyuan knelt on them, feeling unbearable pain, but her waist did not collapse at all.

Li Zhiyi looked at her and was silent for a long time.

Li Yaoyuan looked ahead with eyes as calm as water. The branches were swaying, the wind was blowing and the clouds were rolling, and the world became quiet.

The footsteps faded away, and Li Zhiyi's back disappeared around the corner. Li Yaoyuan's body softened and she fell down.

She supported herself on the ground with her hands, her palms touching the cold bluestone slabs. Waves of cold air attacked her palms, biting the bone, but far less chilling than her heart.

She lowered her head and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

……

Xiangfu.

Qin Junyu personally helped Nian Susu off the carriage, and the coachman drove the carriage away towards the direction of the imperial palace.

The two faced off for a long time.

Qin Junyu raised his hand to push away the scattered hair on her temples. He always felt that there was a hint of sadness in her eyes, which he thought was because of Li Yaoyuan.

Although the document presiding over the handling has stated that Li Yaoyuan has not been harmed, people's hearts are uncontrollable. They say whatever they think, and if word spreads from one person to ten people, and from ten to a hundred, a falsehood can become true.

But the rumor spread so quickly, and the content was so incredible, it seemed like someone was doing it on purpose...

Qin Junyu was cautious and prepared to ask someone to investigate what had happened in the past three days.

Nian Susu suddenly asked, "Your Highness, is the marriage between Master Xiao and Miss Wang... really irreparable?"

Lord Wang was very satisfied with this marriage. If Xiao Jianting had not received the imperial order to go to Jiangnan to suppress bandits, he would have set the wedding date as tomorrow.

It is true that it is the eunuchs who are anxious, not the emperor.

Lord Wang specifically asked the emperor for an order to set the wedding date as soon as Xiao Jianting returned from Jiangnan, the sooner the better. The emperor naturally had no objection and agreed.

Xiao Jianting doesn't know about this yet.

This means that when he returns after having made military achievements, he will marry a woman he doesn't like in a grand ceremony.