As soon as she spoke, the coldness on Ye Lingfeng's face softened considerably. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was up to now. Ye Lingfeng remained silent, squinting at Shi Mei. Shi Mei quickly spoke up, "Your Majesty, this Shu Wanxing received two hundred taels of silver from Ruan Jingyue, who sent someone to secretly give her to gather information. Later, I discovered this and arrested her. Afterward, she did as I instructed, which is why Ruan Jingyue obediently fell for the trap."
Although I used to hate Shu Wanxing, I now feel sorry for her. She has finally married and settled down. If she causes any more trouble, it will ruin her life. Why should women make things difficult for each other? That's why Shi Mei spoke up for her.
Shu Wanxing glanced gratefully at Shi Mei, but Shi Mei looked away. She wasn't helping her out of gratitude, but out of genuine need. If Shu Wanxing hadn't turned to the light, she wouldn't have been able to help her even if she wanted to.
Upon hearing Shi Mei's words, Ye Lingfeng's expression softened slightly, and he slowly said, "Get up."
Although Shu Wanxing listened to Ye Lingfeng's words, she still didn't dare to get up completely. She secretly glanced at the Empress. Hai Ling was both amused and annoyed. In the past, she had some courage, but now she was so timid. She couldn't help but say, "The Emperor has already told you to get up, what are you still hesitating for?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress."
Shu Wanxing stood up and moved to the side. Ye Lingfeng looked at Shu Wanxing and thought of his childhood. Although he was not very close to Shu Wanxing, she was the only friend he could talk to in his childhood. So seeing her seemed to bring back memories of his childhood. He did not want to make things difficult for Shu Wanxing.
"Do you have something to discuss with Her Majesty the Empress?"
"This humble woman wishes to apologize to Your Majesty the Empress. I was too impetuous in the past and offended Your Majesty. Now that I am married, I will no longer cause Your Majesty any trouble. I only ask that Your Majesty grant me leniency."
It turned out that Shu Wanxing was afraid that Shi Mei would tell the Empress about her affair. If the Empress ordered someone to tell her husband about this, how would she live in the future? That's why she was worried and came to Hai Ling in the middle of the night to ask for help.
She said something that Hailing naturally understood, and waved her hand with a smile: "Don't worry, I'm not a gossipy person. I'm actually happy for you that you've reformed. Also, you didn't do anything wrong today, so never do anything like murder for money again. This is to accumulate blessings for your descendants, otherwise you'll face retribution sooner or later."
Hai Ling gave her two words of advice, and Shu Wanxing immediately nodded happily.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will remember your teachings and keep them firmly in mind."
After saying his apologies, he withdrew, feeling completely relieved. Ye Lingfeng instructed Shi Mei, "Mei'er, get five hundred taels of silver for the shopkeeper as compensation for the things we brought tonight."
Outside the door, Shu Wanxing wanted to say something, but Shi Mei shook her head, indicating that she didn't need to say anything. Since the Emperor and Empress had given her the gift, she would accept it. However, Shi Mei carefully gave Shu Wanxing a few more instructions before giving her five hundred taels of silver.
The next morning, before it was fully light, everyone got up. After getting rid of Ruan Jingyue, everyone felt much better. Keeping that woman around was dangerous and would only cause trouble for others.
After having breakfast, the group left the inn, boarded a carriage, and headed north to Shandong.
For the next two weeks, nothing happened, all the way to Bianliang, the capital of the Northern Lu Kingdom.
The court officials came to the city to greet the emperor and escorted his carriage back to the palace. As soon as the emperor entered the palace, the kitten was taken away. The Empress Dowager had not seen the kitten for many days and called it her precious grandson. She was very fond of the kitten. In addition, the six-month-old kitten could read people's expressions and was good at being cute, so it made the Empress Dowager very happy. The whole hall was filled with laughter, and everyone else was forgotten.
Hailin watched the old man and the young man playing together and couldn't help but laugh.
The hall was filled with joy. Ye Lingfeng greeted the Empress Dowager and then went to the study to handle matters. Hai Ling watched the Empress Dowager playing with her son and was happy to have some peace and quiet. The boy was getting more and more difficult to handle as he grew older. After carrying him all day, her back and legs ached. Now that her mother was going to help her, she couldn't wait to hand him over to her mother.
The eunuchs and maids of Liuyue Palace all came in, greeted the Empress together, and then left. Fuyue stayed behind to report on the matter.
"Your Majesty, Princess Chang Le has come to Bei Lu and is currently staying at the Ji residence. She previously sent a message to the palace, saying that as soon as Your Majesty returns, Your Majesty should send someone to fetch her to the palace."
"Feng Qian, why did she come to Bei Lu?"
The last time she left Yunjiang was because Helian Qianxun had Alang captured, so she was allowed to come out and relax. Why was she out again this time? Thinking of Feng Qian, she thought of Feng Zixiao, and her expression darkened slightly. This time Feng Qian's appearance was perfect. She was determined to have a good talk with Feng Qian about this matter. What Feng Zixiao had done was intolerable. They would no longer tolerate it. A war between the Great Zhou Dynasty and Beilu was likely to begin.
"Go, immediately send an eunuch to bring Princess Chang Le into the palace."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Fu Yue withdrew, and the Empress Dowager, seeing that Hai Ling had something to do, greeted Hai Ling while holding the kitten: "Since Ling'er has something to do, I'll take the kitten to Lanqing Palace to play."
Before, when Ling'er and Xiao Mao'er were not in the palace, she was so lonely. So now that they are back, she naturally wants to play with Xiao Mao'er. Hai Ling nodded, got up and respectfully saw her mother off. Then she instructed Shi Mei to go to Lanqing Palace to protect the Empress Dowager and Xiao Mao'er.
In the main hall, Shilan waited until everyone was alone before respectfully speaking: "Your Majesty, Princess Qinyang is safe and sound and is currently recuperating at Xiangguo Temple. She will not see any ordinary people."
Chapter 131 of Butterfly Loves Flowers: Forced Marriage
In the main hall of Liuyue Palace, Hailing listened to Shilan's words but said nothing. She waved her hand to signal the eunuchs and maids to leave, as she wanted to rest for a while. She didn't want to get involved in Xi Liang and Ruan Xiyin's affairs. Since Xi Liang had already left Nanling Kingdom, she hoped that she could let go of the past.
An hour later, Fuyue came in to report: "Your Majesty, Princess Changle has been brought to the palace, and Lady Ji has also come."
Hai Ling opened her eyes, smiled and waved, "Please invite Princess Chang Le and Lady Ji in."
“Yes,” Fu Yue went out, and soon Feng Qian and Nalan Mingzhu walked in from outside the main hall. The two women were delighted to see Hai Ling. Hai Ling also happily came down from the main hall, took one of them by the hand and sat down on one side of the hall. She first asked about Mingzhu’s matter.
"Mingzhu, are you doing well during your pregnancy?"
"Lao Ling'er is worried, but it's nothing. The baby in her belly moves a lot these days."
Because of the child in her belly, Nalan Mingzhu's face was filled with the glow of maternal love, which made Princess Chang Le Feng Qian look on with envy: "You two are so lucky, you both have children."
As soon as she spoke, Hailing and Mingzhu both looked at her and said in unison, "You could have one too, just for fun."
Feng Qian was immediately embarrassed, her face flushed red, and she protested indignantly, "What are you talking about?"
Hai Ling reached out and took Feng Qian's hand, asking earnestly, "How are things going with you and Helian Qianxun? Why did you leave Yunjiang again?"
She should have kept quiet. The moment she asked, Feng Qian's face darkened, and she became listless, shaking her head: "Never mind, I don't want to talk about it."
Hai Ling looked at Nalan Mingzhu, wondering if Helian Qianxun had offended Feng Qian. She had been staying at the Ji residence these past few days, and Mingzhu must have known. Seeing Hai Ling looking at her, Nalan Mingzhu smiled and said, "Feng Qian said that although the elders of the Yunjiang clan agreed to let Helian Qianxun marry her, they also wanted him to take two wives and produce a noble bloodline for the Yunjiang clan as soon as possible. So, in a fit of anger, Feng Qian left Yunjiang."
Hai Ling finally understood why this woman had appeared. But thinking about it, He Lian Qianxun cared a lot about Feng Qian, so he should also consider her feelings.
"What did Helian Qianxun say? Did you ask him what he thought?"
“I didn’t ask. I was eavesdropping outside. That guy was all smiles and didn’t refuse. Isn’t that infuriating? He’s not even married yet, and he’s already thinking of marrying another woman. Why should I stay in Yunjiang to marry him?”
In fact, the former Feng Qian would never have dared to imagine that Helian Qianxun would only marry her. Because she grew up in the royal family and received a proper royal education, she knew that it was normal for men to have multiple wives and concubines. Moreover, the higher the position, the more wives and concubines a man would have. This was not only because men were lustful, but also because of the balance of power among various parties. Not to mention the royal family, even ordinary high-ranking officials would marry women from their own families to secure their status. How much more so the royal family.
But ever since she met Hailing, Xi Liang, Nalan Mingzhu, and others, her heart has become restless.
It turns out that men can also marry only one wife, like Ling'er. Ye Lingfeng, as the emperor of Beilu, did not marry any other women, yet he still maintained a balance in the court. So, in the end, it's because men are too incompetent. If they were capable, they would use their abilities to control the court. Why would they need to bring the daughters of various families into the palace to control them?
Whether it was an honor or a reward, these families' daughters were all given to the palace as concubines, which was truly laughable.
In the main hall, as Feng Qian finished speaking, Nalan Mingzhu interjected, "I've already spoken to her. Let her hear what Helian Qianxun has to say. Helian Qianxun may not want to marry those women. If he wanted to marry those women, he would have done so long ago. Why wait until now, when he wants to marry her, to marry another woman?"