Noble Lady

Xue Hou laughed in anger. Even now, she was still...

"Father, if some things don't make sense, there's no need to say them anymore." Xue Chenyu stepped forward and said, "You can never wake up someone who's pretending to be asleep."

Marquis Xue looked at his daughter and nodded slowly.

Yuer is right. How can you wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep?

"Don't think I'll believe your lies just because you keep saying this! I raised my son myself, so how could I not know what kind of person he is?"

Old Madam Xue was furious and was about to rush over to tear Xue Chenyu apart, but Xue Luoyan brushed her away, "Grandma, please respect yourself."

She staggered and almost fell, but Mrs. Xue caught her in time.

But she called him hypocritical and pushed him away.

Mrs. Xue shook her head speechlessly and stepped back.

"Well, you guys, how dare you attack your elders! Do you still respect the hierarchy of seniority and filial piety?!"

"Aren't you afraid that I will spread what happened today, making you lose your job as an official and making you unemployed in the future?"

Xue Luoyan couldn't help rolling her eyes any longer.

Xue Chenyu laughed and said, "Ms. Xue Zhao, which do you think is more important, the national law or the family law?"

"How dare you!" Old Madam Xue cried angrily, "Who allowed you to speak to Grandmother like that?!"

"I am the Princess of Anping, personally appointed by His Majesty. Even the Empress Dowager has praised me for my sincerity and kindness. I would even ask you to kneel down in front of me." Xue Chenyu was unscrupulous because of her status as a Princess of Anping.

Today she specially put on the clothes and crown that His Majesty had asked the Ministry of Rites to send to the county princess when he bestowed the award.

Only then did Mrs. Xue realize the features of her dress, such as the cross-collared, wide sleeves, knee-covering, and wide belt. Her legs went weak and she almost sat down.

But there was more jealousy and hatred in his eyes, and overwhelming anger.

"How is it possible? How could you really confer the title of County Lord on a lowly creature born to a merchant woman..."

"Pa!" Weng Xuemei, who had been silent all this time, interrupted her verbal abuse with a slap.

"My daughter is a county lady bestowed by the imperial court. How can I allow an old hag like you to abuse her for no reason?"

Although it is not appropriate to hit someone's mother or grandmother in front of their children and grandchildren.

But Marquis Xue felt inexplicably happy.

For so many years, this little girl has done things that he wanted to do but dared not and could not do.

here you go!

Old Madam Xue was stunned by the slap from Weng Xuemei, her face turning blue and red, and then red and white.

Weng Xuemei even leaned close to her ear and said coldly in a voice only the two of them could hear, "As the ancients said, spoiling a child is like killing him. This is a truth that everyone in the market knows.

"But you claim to be from a scholarly family, yet you are even worse than a common woman."

"It's really ridiculous."

The words "not even as good as a common woman" shattered Madam Xue's lifelong pride.

All her pride seemed to be drained away in an instant. She looked at Weng Xuemei in disbelief and sat down on the ground dejectedly.

This confrontation between mother, son and brother ended with Madam Xue defeated and Xue Hejun speechless.

Marquis Xue ordered that Madam Xue be placed under house arrest in her room, sealed the doors and windows, and sent special personnel to approach her.

No one is allowed to approach except after food and drinks are delivered.

It's really like crying to the heavens and the earth for help but no one can answer.

Marquis Xue even said, "If mother is so depressed that she threatens to commit suicide, I wouldn't mind making arrangements for your funeral immediately..."

"But forget about being buried with my father. He certainly wouldn't want to see an ignorant, foolish woman like you who lets your son down and brings trouble to the whole family."

"You heartless thing, how dare you do this? I am your biological mother!" Old Madam Xue burst into tears.

But Marquis Xue had already seen through her true colors. She was only trying to make him soften his heart and release Xue Hejun by talking about mother-son affection in this situation.

But how could he let that evil out again?

Old Madam Xue was imprisoned on the spot, and Xue Hejun received the same treatment.

However, compared to Madam Xue's three meals a day, he only had one meal a day.

And there was only a bowl of rice soup with a few grains of rice.

Marquis Xue also had Song Tao bring him a message, "If you don't confess what you did, your concubine and the child will be treated the same way."

But Xue Hejun didn't have much backbone. He was so hungry that he felt dizzy and dizzy after a day of hunger. He didn't even need to be threatened with women and children. He started shouting that he wanted to confess.

But that’s a story for another day.

……

While the family was confronting each other in Yongshou Hall in the Marquis's mansion, Prince Cheng also entered the palace and was warmly entertained by the Queen Mother.

"Good boy, how come you have time to come and see the Empress Dowager today?" The Empress Dowager still looked like a kind elder. When she saw her eldest grandson, she liked him even more.

Situ Zhen paused for a moment, having keenly noticed the loophole in the Queen Mother's words.

The Queen Mother also noticed his pause. "Is there anything you need the Imperial Grandmother's help with? You know, as long as you ask, the Grandmother will always agree."

But it was clearly His Majesty who told him that the Empress Dowager asked him to convey a message and called him into the palace to say something?

After a brief moment of thought, Situ Zhen smiled nonchalantly and said, "Your Majesty told me yesterday that you, the Imperial Grandmother, had something to ask me. I guess you were worried that I would go to the Azure Dragon Temple again, so you found an excuse to let me into the palace."

The Queen Mother was stunned for a moment, "Is this what the Emperor wants?"

Situ Zhen nodded.

"Well," the Queen Mother sighed softly, "Since it is Your Majesty's wish, I will not hide it from you."

Situ Zhen's eyelids twitched, and he had a bad feeling that his current peaceful life was about to be disrupted.

"...What does the Imperial Grandmother want to say to her grandson?"

"Do you know about the invitation to the flower viewing banquet that the Queen asked me for a few days ago?"

Situ Zhen simply said, "Let the Empress Dowager make the final decision on these matters. Your grandson has no objection."

"You have no objection, but the Empress Dowager must tell you." The Empress Dowager said earnestly, "It was the Han family's old lady who went to the palace to see the Empress and told her something. Afterwards, the Empress came to see me and asked for the invitation."

Situ Zhen: "Is this also related to the Han family? Well, that post is for the girl from the Han family, right?"

The Queen Mother carefully considered her words and said, "You don't care. Since the Royal Grandmother was determined to vent your anger, why did she go back on her word and give the Han family the letter?"

"Grandmother, do you want your grandson to find out the reason?" Situ Zhen asked with a smile.

The Queen Mother met his gaze. "Da Fu, you were weak and sickly when you were young. I gave you this nickname so that you could grow up safely. Do you still remember it?"

"I will always remember the kindness of the Royal Grandmother in raising me, and I dare not forget it. If it were not for the Royal Grandmother's careful cultivation, I would not be where I am today." Situ Zhen said from the bottom of his heart.

Changing the subject, he asked, "But what does this have to do with the Han family?"

"The Queen's reason for convincing me was related to you, Dafu," the Queen Mother said bluntly. "She offered a secret about you in exchange, and I had no choice but to agree."

Situ Zhen stood up and bowed, saying, "Please, Grandmother, help me solve my doubts."

"Then say that you are not the Crown Prince of Cheng, but the prince born to the late Queen, and the only legitimate son of His Majesty."

Situ Zhen: “Hmm?”

After realizing what was happening, she couldn't help but raise her voice, "Grandmother, how is this possible?"

"You don't know what happened back then, so it's only natural for you to ask. That was over 20 years ago, and it's not a glorious thing to talk about."

The Queen Mother sighed as she spoke, and then recounted the old stories.

That year, the emperor ascended the throne for the first time.

Although he was forced to marry the queen according to his mother's orders due to the overall situation, he still missed the woman who had done him a favor when he was young - even though that woman was already married.

Because of this incident, the emperor favored a palace maid who was somewhat similar to that woman, and made an exception to confer a title on her, and she was named Huipin.

Just after the Chinese New Year, the Queen and Concubine Hui were both found to be pregnant.

The wife of the emperor's half-brother, Prince Cheng, was also found to be pregnant shortly afterwards.

In this way, the royal family had many happy events and decided to hold a grand Mid-Autumn Festival.

Unexpectedly, something happened at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

A thief with ulterior motives tampered with the food, and three pregnant women, including the Queen, Concubine Hui and Princess Cheng, were all tricked.

That thing isn't poisonous, and it won't do any harm to other people.

But the three of them were pregnant and could not get involved at all, and the babies in their wombs started to go into labor immediately.

Since the Queen and Concubine Hui's child was almost full-term, the palace had already prepared an imperial physician and a midwife to avoid a major disaster.

But the queen's child did not survive, and she herself died from heavy bleeding during childbirth.

However, Concubine Hui was lucky. The child was almost full-term and was rescued in time, so she gave birth to a relatively healthy baby boy, who is now the crown prince under the name of Queen Han.