west Yan spoke tremblingly, her legs feeling weak, and looked towards her aunt, the Empress Dowager, to the side.
When the Empress Dowager saw this situation, she realized that west Yan had deliberately picked a fight with the other party. Her face turned cold and she was very angry. Xi Yan was becoming more and more reckless. Why did she have to provoke the young lady of the Ji family?
Even as an empress dowager, she wouldn't dare to provoke the young lady of the Ji family so easily; Feng'er dotes on her very much.
"If you are the ones who provoked her, I will not let you off easily."
Ye Lingfeng stood up as he spoke, and the Empress Dowager looked at him: "My son, I will handle this matter."
west Yan, standing to one side of the hall, dared not say another word. Her head hung low to her chest. Ye Lingfeng, seeing them like this, naturally knew what was going on. His cold eyes were like ice as he spoke slowly and deliberately: "I will spare you this time because of the west family's efforts this time, but if there is a next time, I will not spare you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
west Yan's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz. She felt like dying. She never expected that her attempt to steal a chicken would backfire so badly. The Emperor doted on that woman to an outrageous degree, completely ignoring them and only protecting her. This way, even if they wanted to find fault with that woman in the future, it would be useless.
Ye Lingfeng stood up and strode away. As he reached the door, he glanced back at west Yan before leaving with a cold expression.
Inside the main hall, the Empress Dowager's face was grim, and she glared at west Yan with an extremely stern expression: "Do you have any brains? You're a disgrace to the Xi family. Why did you go looking for trouble with Miss Ji?"
"Aunt, it's me?"
She was just resentful because her aunt always protected that woman. She thought that if she and Ji Hailing fought, her aunt would definitely help her family. But she didn't expect that she would lose out instead, and the emperor would not pay any attention to them.
"Aunt, I know I was wrong. I won't bother Ji Hailing again."
"Hmph," the Empress Dowager was furious. She couldn't even get a peaceful night's sleep. This Xi Yan was really a troublemaker. "Tomorrow, I will have the eunuchs summon the young lady from the Ji family to the palace. You should apologize to her properly. Remember, the Emperor will definitely marry the young lady from the Ji family as his empress. She will then be the empress of Bei Lu. You'd better be careful."
"Does Aunt really not want the west family to enter the palace?"
west Yan blurted out this remark, and the Empress Dowager's face immediately darkened. How could she not want the Xi family to enter the palace as concubines? This was the most common situation in the politics of past dynasties. But now she couldn't make decisions about the Emperor, so how could she let the west family in?
"You kneel down for an hour and then get up. You'll be staying here tonight."
The Empress Dowager waved her hand and led her people away.
Inside the main hall, west Yan was exhausted. Despite being injured, she not only failed to receive help from her aunt after entering the palace, but was also scolded by the emperor and then forced to kneel as punishment. She was incredibly unlucky.
Just then, a person appeared from a corner of the main hall, asking with a puzzled look, "Sister, what's wrong?"
west Yan looked over and saw her younger sister, west Yuan. Seeing west Yuan was like seeing hope.
west Yuan has always been favored by her aunt, the Empress Dowager. As long as she pleads for mercy, her aunt will surely show leniency and not punish her by making her kneel. She really can't bear to kneel again.
"west Yuan, my aunt has made me kneel as punishment. Please go and plead for me."
west Yuan has a round face and big eyes. She is very innocent and cute. Not only is she loved by the Empress Dowager, but she is also loved by her family in the west Mansion.
"Oh, sister, you wait here."
Upon hearing this, west Yuan turned and headed towards the Empress Dowager's palace. About half an hour later, she finally came out with the Empress Dowager's personal attendant: "Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has decreed that Miss Xi should go and rest."
"Thank you, Empress Dowager."
west Yan stood up, but almost fell because she had been kneeling for too long. west Huan stepped forward to support her: "Sister, are you alright?"
Seeing the injury on west Yan's face, she was startled and asked her sister with concern how she got hurt. However, Xi Yan felt not warmth from Xi Huan's concern, but rather a bit of jealousy. Why did her aunt like Xi Yuan so much, but not her? As long as west Yuan took action, everything could be resolved, but if she took action, she would definitely be punished by her.
west Yan was angry but didn't say anything. west Yuan had no idea what she was thinking and helped her into the side hall to rest.
At the Ji residence, Hai Ling slept soundly until dawn, only to learn something new afterward.
Emperor Wu of Shaoyi, Mu Ye, actually moved into the Ji residence.
"Miss, the emperor of Shaoyi has actually moved into our Ji residence. If something happens, it will be very troublesome."
Shi Mei spoke unhappily, actually unwilling for Mu Ye to live in the Ji residence. This guy had caused the young lady a lot of suffering before, so he was no good either.
“If he doesn’t even have the ability to protect himself, how can he take back the city of Shaoyi?”
I'm not worried about Hailin, but why did my father, Ji Cong, let Muye stay at our house? It means he likes Muye.
A voice called out from outside the door: "Young General."
"Hmm, is Ling'er up yet?"
Hai Ling got up and led Shi Mei out. Outside the door, Ji Shaocheng looked up and smiled at Hai Ling.
"Did you sleep well last night?"
“It’s fine,” Hai Ling nodded, then asked Ji Shaocheng, “Is there anything I can help you with?”
"Last night, Father ordered someone to invite Emperor Wu to stay at our Ji residence. Father sent someone back to tell my sister and me that Father didn't mean anything by it. He just got along well with Mu Ye and wanted to invite him to stay for a few days."
"I see."
It's nothing, but it's hard on Ji Cong, who was afraid his daughter would be unhappy, so he specially sent someone back to say hello. Actually, there's nothing wrong with Mu Ye staying at the Ji residence; it's just that she and he are friends, and there's nothing wrong with entertaining a friend.
However, Ji Cong also had his own selfish motives. He wanted to see if his daughter could spark a romance with Mu Ye, and also to let the world know that his daughter had many suitors and didn't necessarily have to enter the palace of Bei Lu to become empress.
Hai Ling and Ji Shaocheng were talking and preparing to have breakfast when they saw Ning Feng, the steward of the Ji residence, leading people over.
“Miss, a eunuch from the palace has come to deliver an imperial decree, saying that the Empress Dowager wishes to invite you to the palace.”
"Empress Dowager?"
Hai Ling raised an eyebrow, a cold glint in her eyes. Why did the Empress Dowager summon her so early in the morning?
It was obvious that west Yan went to the palace to complain last night, so the Empress Dowager sent someone to summon her to the palace early this morning.