Miao's smile was full of coldness. Offset? Who was Luo Lingxiu? She had done such a shameless thing. She was not punished in the ancestral hall because too many people in the family had passed away. She was allowed to be a vegetarian and chant Buddhist scriptures for the rest of her life to improve the reputation of the Luo family. Did they think she was afraid? She had already lost her husband and eldest son. What else did she have to be afraid of
"Second sister, what do you mean by this?" Miao said slowly, "What do you mean by forcing her to death? I don't understand. In our Sima family temple, she is our Sima family's chaste wife. When she was alive, we provided her with food and clothing. A hundred years later, Sima's descendants will also offer incense to her. I am both her mother-in-law and aunt, how can I treat her badly? I will visit her from time to time. Even if they report her to Jingzhao Yin, they can't find fault with me."
Miao knew what Mrs. Luo was planning. After they left the capital, after a few years, when people had forgotten about the incident, they could ask the queen for mercy and let Luo Lingxiu go home. It would be possible to arrange another marriage for her. They were far away in Tianshui, and it was out of reach.
Don't be so idealistic! Miao's hands clenched into fists in her wide sleeves. She had harmed her two sons, and she still wanted to go home and marry? Dream on! She must keep Luo Lingxiu, the evil woman, captive for the rest of her life. Didn't that evil woman always want to be the wife of a rich and powerful marquis? Then she would make that evil woman live a life of seclusion, eating vegetarian food, and even worse than a country woman!
Mrs. Luo knew that her daughter would be a member of the Sima family after she got married. Miao wanted to take Luo Lingxiu to Tianshui. She had no chance of winning in terms of etiquette. However, she felt heartbroken when she thought of her daughter, who was in her prime but looked haggard and ashen. She was determined not to let her daughter go like this. If she stayed in the capital, she would be able to keep her alive. Who knew if she would... She now felt more and more regretful and resentful of Anxi Marquis Mansion and Miao. When they proposed marriage, they said a lot of beautiful things, promising to treat Lingxiu as their own daughter. But now, even if they were enemies for several lifetimes, they would be treated like this.
Miao was stubborn and left without a fight. She didn't expect Mrs. Luo to agree. She wanted to take her precious daughter back to her own territory and teach her a lesson. It would be strange if Mrs. Luo agreed. She came to Luo's house only because Miao was thinking of the sisterhood between her and her second sister.
After arriving home, Miao changed into the common clothes of a lady of state, combed her hair carefully, and sent a letter to the palace, asking to see the queen. When the mansion was in ruins, it was the queen who imprisoned Luo Lingxiu in Huang'en Temple for cultivation. Now that she had taken her away, she had to tell the queen no matter what.
You can't always see the queen if you want to. The eunuch beside the queen accepted Miao's invitation and politely told her to wait at the palace gate early the next morning. Miao's heart skipped a beat, and she thanked the eunuch with a smile, secretly stuffed a gold nude into the eunuch's pocket, and went home.
Miao's prediction was correct. When she stepped into the queen's palace again, besides her and the queen, there was Madam Luo, and Luo Lingxiu, who was kneeling beside Madam Luo, wearing a gray linen robe and with a numb expression.
The moment she saw Luo Lingxiu, the hatred in Miao's heart was ignited again. But looking at Luo Lingxiu's lifeless appearance, it was not much better than being dead. Miao did not feel very happy. With mixed feelings, she saluted to the queen and knelt on the ground respectfully.
The queen was quite troubled. This was actually a family affair between the Sima family and the Luo family. One family had the right and the other had the emotion, but neither was willing to give in, which made her unable to live in peace.
Madam Luo had been crying for a long time. If she continued crying, the Queen would suspect that her Fengyi Palace would be washed away by her tears. She was willing to donate all the family wealth of the Luo family to the soldiers of the Northwest Army, and begged her to show mercy to the Luo family and send Luo Lingxiu back to her parents' home to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures, and pray for Sima Xi who had passed away.
When she saw Miao come in, Mrs. Luo cried even harder and held her daughter tightly, refusing to let go.
Miao sneered in her heart. Fortunately, she was well prepared and knew her second sister's personality well.
Miao took something out of her bosom. The queen was sharp-eyed and saw it at a glance. It was the jade slip that Sima Xi used when he attended court. It was engraved with Sima Xi's name and official position.
Madam Luo hugged Luo Lingxiu and cried, while Miao hugged Sima Xi's jade slip and cried. For a moment, the only sounds in Fengyi Palace were the sad cries of two women.
The Queen originally didn't want to see Luo Lingxiu, as she thought it was unlucky. However, she was also a mother. Seeing Madam Luo so sad and Luo Lingxiu looking so heartbroken, she couldn't help but feel moved. If Miao was willing to let go, she would nod her head without a problem. However, Miao was now determined to take her away even at the cost of her life. Thinking of the now powerful Marquis Anxi, the little bit of pity the Queen had in her heart immediately vanished.
The Queen pretended not to notice Madam Luo's sorrow and grief, and stroked her forehead as if she had a headache. Amid Su Mo's anxious yet calm questioning, she went into the inner room to rest in her exhausted state, leaving Madam Luo and Miao staring at each other.
After a while, Su Mo came out, and Mrs. Miao and Mrs. Luo were looking at her eagerly.
Su Mo nodded politely to the two ladies and said with a smile, "The Queen has been very busy these days and is not feeling well. She just went to bed and can't talk to you two ladies anymore."
The Queen didn't say she agreed to let me take my people away. Was she going to send me away? Miao was very disappointed, but she didn't show it on her face. She smiled politely at Su Mo.
Mrs. Luo couldn't hide her joy. Just as she pulled Luo Lingxiu to stand up, she heard Su Mo speaking with a smile again, "The Queen said before she went to bed that a girl is a daughter at home, but she is a concubine at her husband's home. No matter how much she is loved by her parents at her parents' home, she must be humble and respectful to her parents-in-law and regard her husband as her God at her husband's home. What do you think, Mrs. Luo?"
Su Mo's voice was soft and nonchalant, as if he was telling Mrs. Luo something insignificant. However, Mrs. Luo's face turned pale, her lips trembled, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, and she couldn't utter a word for a long time.
Miao smiled and said, "The Queen is indeed a well-educated person from a famous family. Every word she writes is worth a thousand gold. I am glad to have learned from her!"
Su Mo smiled and raised her hand, and two palace maids quietly escorted Miao, Madam Luo and their entourage out of the palace.
After walking out of the Queen's Fengyi Palace, Luo Lingxiu, who had always been quiet and expressionless, suddenly broke away from Madam Luo's hand and laughed strangely. Her voice was so shrill and unexpected that it was very abrupt and alarming in the quiet palace.
Mrs. Luo was frightened out of her wits. Any misconduct in the palace could be a big deal. If it angered the emperor, the Luo family would be ruined. She hugged her tightly, covered Luo Lingxiu's mouth with her hand to prevent her from making a sound, and dragged her staggeringly towards the palace gate.
Miao, who was walking beside them, glanced at them, then lowered her head and walked forward silently. She knew that the mother and daughter of the Luo family were upset, but what about her son? The evil woman Luo Lingxiu was still alive, but her son, her innocent and excellent Yang Ge'er, would never come back, and she didn't even have a chance to make up for her mistakes. Who knew how much pain she felt in her heart.
Miao's letter was delivered directly to the desk in Sima Hong's office. When Sima Hong received Miao's reply, it was already the end of October. The northwest wind was getting stronger and stronger, and the weather was getting colder. He had ordered people to light floor heating and charcoal basins in Mingyu and his room, for fear that Mingyu and the baby in her belly would be frozen.
Miao's letter was brief, as was her style, saying that she would pack up and set off as soon as possible, and arrive in Tianshui before the twelfth lunar month. However, between the lines, Sima Hong could easily see his mother's joy and excitement.
Thinking that it was Mingyu who took the initiative to propose it, Sima Hong's love and respect for Mingyu increased. His mother always said that Mingyu was immature, and she agreed to their marriage only for his sake and because she couldn't bear to disappoint him. In fact, she still didn't like Mingyu. When his mother arrived in Tianshui, she would gradually realize Mingyu's goodness, and it wouldn't be like the grandmother and mother back then, where the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were not in harmony with each other.
Too many of his family members have left him, and he wants to cherish the few that remain. He believes that in a few years, the Anxi Marquisate will be a big, harmonious family.
Sima Hong carefully put the letter in his arms, ready to show it to Mingyu after returning home. At this moment, Baihao ran in, knocked on the door twice and came in directly, saying: "Master, Miss Lu is outside clamoring to see you, you see..."
Bai Hao knew his attitude towards Lu Xuer and would definitely stop her outside. Now that she came to report to him, it was obvious that she could not be stopped.
Sima Hong frowned when he thought of Lu Xuer's unreasonableness and eccentricity. His mother might have already left and it was too late to write back. He wanted to find a way to let the Lu family in the capital bring this girl back and teach her the etiquette and rules, so that she would not be kept here by Lu and treat herself like a princess.
"Why is she still here?" Sima Hong's face darkened. "Didn't I tell you a few days ago to find someone to send her back to Xi'an Prefecture?"
Before Bai Hao could say anything, Lu Xuer strode into the yard angrily. When she met the deep and cold eyes of the man in the room, her originally aggressive look became timid. She felt a surge of fear for no reason. Sima Hong had always been polite to her, and even if she did something excessive, he would just laugh it off. But now she keenly felt that Sima Hong really didn't intend to give her face this time.
Thinking of this, Lu Xuer's heart trembled. She had stayed in Tianshui with a shameless face. If Sima Hong packed her up and sent her back to Tianshui like this, where would her face be? How could she have the chance to see Sima Hong again? She was not young anymore, and Xu was even younger than her. After she returned, her father would definitely arrange for her to get married.
She was unwilling to accept it.
"I... I didn't come here for any other reason." Lu Xuer spoke, and said hastily, "I just feel sorry for you. Why did you marry such a woman!"