Hearing what the Queen said, Mingyu broke out in a cold sweat. Even if she had a hundred and twenty courage, she would not dare to say to the Queen: That's right, your husband should be grateful that I once gave him a bowl of noodles!
At this time, Su Mo served tea to Mingyu and the Queen gently. Mingyu lowered her head slightly, and could only see that the Queen's middle finger, ring finger and pinky finger were wearing slender and delicate armor. The action of opening the tea lid to drink tea was also very graceful. Mingyu calmed down and said with a smile: "The love of the Emperor and the Queen for Mingyu is the blessing that Mingyu has cultivated in her previous life. I dare not be arrogant."
The Queen smiled amiably, as if she was very satisfied with Mingyu's answer. She never had a sense of superiority or oppression towards Mingyu, which was something Mingyu had never imagined before. It was like an elder chatting with a younger person. She also asked about Mingyu's family. When she learned that Xu Mingye was already one of the top three candidates in the provincial examination and refused to participate in the joint examination presided over by Prime Minister Dong last year, the Queen smiled with satisfaction and said, "Good, now there is a lot of work to be done, and it is the right time to employ people. This year the Emperor will hold the autumn examination, and asked your brother to prepare well. He has such a magnanimous demeanor at such a young age, and he will definitely be a pillar of our Great Chu in the future!"
Mingyu was delighted when she heard this, but her expression remained respectful. She thanked the Queen Mother on behalf of Xu Mingye and accepted the opportunity to take part in this year's autumn examination.
The Queen asked some more questions about the scenery and things in Jiangnan. When she was listening with great interest, Su Mo came in and whispered a few words in the Queen's ear. She stood up and smiled, "Your Majesty, thank you for the audience with the concubine and several ladies."
Mingyu stood up and bowed, intending to leave.
The Queen smiled and said, "It's okay, sit down. It's a good opportunity for you to meet them. It will be more fun to chat with more people."
Mingyu quickly said yes and sat back in her chair. She didn't know if it was her illusion. She always felt that the queen was very happy when she listened to her talk about the scenery of Jiangnan just now, but now her mood was obviously much lower.
Soon, under the guidance of Su Mo, a beautiful lady in her twenties entered the hall, followed by several ladies dressed in formal attire. The lady had gorgeous eyes and eyebrows. It was only March, but she wore a high-waisted green silk skirt, revealing a large area of snow-white skin, which was very suitable for her skin color. As she walked, the silk skirt was like the surface of a lake, shimmering with light.
When Mingyu saw the beautiful woman in gorgeous clothes for the first time, she immediately lowered her head. She must be Concubine Xie, who was gorgeous and flamboyant, young yet with a mature charm. She probably understood why the Queen was not in a good mood.
Concubine Xie first bowed to the Queen, and the noble ladies following behind her kowtowed to the Queen respectfully, completing the full set of ceremonies.
The queen still maintained her decent and graceful smile and gave seats to everyone one by one.
After Concubine Xie sat down, she glanced at Mingyu and smiled at the Queen, "Sister, there is a beautiful lady here. Who is she?" Concubine Xie was already beautiful, and this smile made her look even more bright and flamboyant, with a hint of charm in her eyes and eyebrows. Before the Queen could answer, Concubine Xie thought for a moment and smiled, "Could it be the second wife of the Anxi Marquis's family?"
The queen's smile faded a lot, and she did not answer Concubine Xie's words. She just said lightly: "Sister has a good memory."
Concubine Xie didn't seem to notice the Queen's displeasure at all. She covered her mouth and laughed, "It's not that I have a good memory, but it just happened. Today, someone came to me for help. I felt sorry for them. My sister has always been the boss in the harem, so I had to shamelessly bring them to my sister to ask for mercy. It just so happened that the person who came was related to her. I only found out when I first arrived at my sister's place."
Mingyu was stunned and subconsciously looked at the noble ladies sitting next to Concubine Xie. She had just arrived in the capital a few days ago and knew almost no one except Miao. Among these people, only one woman had a familiar look, but none of them were people she knew.
"Oh?" The queen smiled slightly, looked at Mingyu, and asked, "Mingyu, are they your relatives?"
Mingyu hesitated, took another close look at the ladies, and shook her head, saying, "To answer the Queen, Mingyu has only been in the capital for a few days, and has not yet recognized all her relatives, so I don't know if they are Mingyu's relatives."
Concubine Xie laughed and said, "They are indeed relatives! I didn't lie to you." She winked at Mingyu and asked her to look at the familiar lady. The lady immediately stood up respectfully, bowed again, and said to the Empress, "I am Luo Miao, paying my respects to the Empress. My sister is the wife of the Marquis of Anxi, and my daughter is the eldest young lady of the Marquis of Anxi. So, I am indeed related to the Second Madam."
Almost at the same time, Mingyu lowered her head, a trace of disgust flashed in her eyes. No wonder she looked so familiar. Now that she thought about it, she was somewhat similar to Luo Lingxiu. She hated Luo Lingxiu, so naturally she couldn't like Luo Lingxiu's mother either. A daughter is like her mother.
The queen supported her forehead with her hand and thought for a while. She seemed to have remembered something and nodded, "Sit down. The past two years in the Marquis' Mansion have not been easy."
Concubine Xie also sighed and echoed, "That's right. Madam Luo loves her daughters so much that she came to me for help. I felt sorry for them, so I brought them here to ask my sister for help."
The queen nodded slightly and asked, "What is it?"
Concubine Xie said quickly, "Young Master Sima served the country with all his loyalty and sacrificed his life. He was truly a first-class loyal and heroic minister of our country, but he died young. It's a pity that the wife of the Marquis's mansion had to bury her young son. It's also a pity that his wife Luo Lingxiu became a widow at such a young age... Madam Luo couldn't bear to see her daughter die alone. Now that the one-year mourning period has passed, she wants to ask the Queen to grant her grace and allow her to remarry so that she can have a child by her side when she is old."
The Queen looked calm, nodded as if agreeing with Concubine Xie's words, and said with a smile: "Since Emperor Taizu established our Great Chu Dynasty, the customs have always been open-minded, and it is common for widows to remarry. If Madam Luo wants her daughter to remarry, this is the family affair of the Luo family. Why should she ask for my grace?"
Concubine Xie sighed and said, "Alas, sister, you don't know that the wife of the Marquis of Anxi has experienced the pain of losing her husband and son, and her temper has become very strange. She has been unwilling to agree to this matter. Madam Luo is concerned about the sisterly affection and is distressed about her sister's misfortune... When Master Sima was alive, everyone in the capital praised him for his generosity and kindness, and he must have been unwilling to see his wife live alone for the rest of her life."
The Queen did not agree with Concubine Xie's words directly as she did before. She supported her head with her hands and remained silent, as if she was deep in thought. Mrs. Luo, who was waiting for the Queen's nod, became a little anxious and kept looking at Concubine Xie.
Concubine Xie waited for a while, but didn't hear the Queen speak. The smile on her face was a little lost. She turned around and saw Mingyu sitting quietly beside her. She smiled and said, "Second Madam, is that right?"
She bet that the little girl wouldn't dare to say no.
The Queen didn't say anything, and Mingyu naturally didn't answer. But when she thought of Luo Lingxiu, her heart was filled with disgust, and her face naturally couldn't look happy.
Hearing Concubine Xie's question, the Queen also looked at Mingyu with interest, as if she wanted to see something from Mingyu's face.
Mrs. Luo's heart felt like it was on fire at the moment. She was so anxious that she couldn't help but say, "Second Madam, haven't you and Lingxiu always been very close? Please say something. Lingxiu is a good child. She keeps talking about you and thinking about you when she comes back. She has always loved and cared for you!"
Yes, I’m almost taking care of her and Lixiang until they are in the grave!
Thinking of this, Mingyu suddenly felt enlightened. Suddenly, she figured it out. Looking at the Queen's smiling eyes, Mingyu understood what the Queen meant. The people in this palace can't speak directly about their thoughts. They have to let you understand it yourself. If you can't understand it, I'm afraid you're doomed.
Seeing Mrs. Luo's anxious face, Mingyu smiled and said, "Don't worry, Madam. My sister-in-law and I have always been very close. I am grateful to my sister-in-law for taking care of me over the past year."
Hearing this, Mrs. Luo breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appeared on her face, and she nodded and said, "Yes, Lingxiu has been mentioning you too."
"It's just..." Mingyu shook her head and continued, her face full of regret, and she sighed, "When we were in Tianshui, my eldest sister-in-law often told me that the happiest thing in her life was marrying a man as talented as my eldest brother. Even if my eldest brother was in the capital for a long time and couldn't go home, she was willing to be filial to the elders for him. My eldest brother and my eldest sister-in-law were deeply in love and respected each other. Everyone in the Tianshui Marquis's Mansion knew it."
The more Mingyu praised Luo Lingxiu, the colder Mrs. Luo felt. How could she not know the life-and-death struggle between Mingyu and her daughter? With all the grievances accumulated until now, she naturally did not believe that Mingyu would be kind-hearted enough to speak well of her daughter. Just now, Concubine Xie and she insisted that Mingyu express her opinion, just to force Mingyu to speak out and put pressure on the queen. Mingyu, a girl of no rank, did not dare to refute the noble lady's opinion on the spot.
Just when Madam Luo was terrified and couldn't help interrupting Mingyu's endless praise of Luo Lingxiu, Mingyu suddenly changed the subject and asked in a sharp tone, "It's just that Mingyu doesn't understand. Madam Luo loves my eldest sister-in-law so much, and my eldest sister-in-law has deep feelings for my eldest brother. How can she ignore my eldest sister-in-law's wishes and force her to remarry?"
Mrs. Luo was shocked and angry. Seeing that the queen was just listening quietly with an indifferent expression, she was even more panicked. How could this little girl have such courage to say such nonsense in front of the queen! In shock and anger, Mrs. Luo didn't care about her manners. She stood up and knelt down, gritting her teeth and shouting: "Queen, please understand. I don't know what the second wife is talking about. The Luo family has never forced my daughter!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe and reward on Qidian Mobile Network (). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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