Chapter 130 (1/2)

“Feng family’s daughter to the first wife!” Not giving her a chance to think, the Empress coldly said: “Sneaking into the Imperial palace is a serious crime, but this palace is willing to be lenient given the splendor of the gift presented by the Feng family. You and Qing Le will be punished with protracted kneeling outside of the palace.”

Hearing that she would also be punished, Qing Le was so angry that she wanted to tear Chen Yu apart; however, her having brought Chen Yu into the palace had been seen by so many pairs of eyes. What could she possibly say?

But before going to kneel outside, she had to present her gift. Thus, she went forward and presented her gift: “Qing Le does not have anything as grand as Lord Feng, but this topaz carving of Guanyin is also made from the most exquisite of gemstones. Empress usually likes Buddhist pieces, so Qing Le hopes that this topaz carving of Guanyin is worthy of the Empress.”

A granny went forward and received Qing Le’s wooden box. Qing Le then retreated and prepared to serve her punishment of protracted kneeling with Chen Yu.

But who could have thought that the moment that granny opened the box before the Empress, the Empress would let out an odd scream then dive into the Emperor’s lap.

The Emperor was also startled and looked inside the box to see its contents, angrily asking: “What is inside that thing?”

Qing Le was confused: “It is just a small piece of topaz!”

“Impudent!” The Emperor waved his sleeve and activated his internal energy. With a blast, he sent the box flying back to Qing Le.

Everyone looked on and saw that there was no topaz carved into the shape of Guanyin inside the box. Inside, there was only a dead cat. The cat was colorful and bloody, but it was not yet completely dead. Its body was still moving slightly.

The Empress feared cats the most. She feared living ones, so dead ones were even more off limits. Perhaps she would wind up hiding in bed for a few days after being given this shock.

Everyone looked towards Qing Le, and none could understand why she would present the gift of a dead cat on this day in the middle of the month.

Yet, at this time, Qing Le and Chen Yu were both baffled.

They absolutely could not have presented a dead cat to the Empress. This dead cat should have been handed over to Feng Yu Heng, but when had it been returned to their possession?

Qing Le looked sideways at Chen Yu and saw that she also had a look of surprise on her face, thus she knew asking was a waste of time.

The Empress was afraid of cats, yet she had presented a cat. Furthermore, it was a dead cat… Qing Le’s face changed colors a few times, as her legs turned to jelly, and she collapsed sideways.

The Emperor was furious “Take her away!”

Lord Ding An followed up by scolding Qing Le: “The Empress told you two to go kneel outside of the palace, so why have you not gone yet!” Kneeling outside the palace was definitely better than the alternative. Only the heavens knew if the Emperor would add the words “execute them” after saying “take them away.”

Seeing both Chen Yu and Qing Le be taken away by eunuchs and grannies, the Emperor snorted and no longer pursued the matter. He could choose not to give any face to Lord Ding An, but Feng Jin Yuan was a prime minister after all. In regards to the court, perhaps it would be better to be a bit lenient. If he wanted to hit a dog, he would need to seek permission from the master first. No matter how much he disliked seeing Chen Yu, he still had to give Feng Jin Yuan some face.

Xiang Rong stood next to Feng Yu Heng and watched this scene unfold, finally understanding what her second sister meant when she said “Watch a good play.”

Sure enough, it was a very interesting scene. Eldest sister had actually dared to participate in the palace banquet wearing red clothes. This was truly… she suddenly recalled the time when they had gone to pay respects to the matriarch. Second sister seemed to have said something about the seventh prince liking the color red. Could it be…

Xiang Rong sneakily looked towards where Xuan Tian Hua sat, but she found that Xuan Tian Hua was currently looking in her direction. She could not help but blush and quickly lower her head.

Mo Bu Fan gave the Empress a medical pill and fortunately managed to help her through the situation. Feng Jin Yuan glanced at Lord Ding An and snorted, saying: “My Lord, the matter of imperial daughter Qing Le arbitrarily deciding to bring my daughter into the palace, this minister will not pursue because the Empress did not pursue it. However, why did imperial daughter bring such a thing into the palace? And to even present it to the Empress?”

The dead cat on the floor had been cleaned up by a palace servant, but the image of the cat falling out was one that none could forget. This banquet had truly been too entertaining. There was a murder and a dead cat. The things that these madams and young misses would never see in their entire lives had been seen in one night.

Feng Jin Yuan’s pressing questions caused Lord Ding An to have no choice but to kowtow once more towards the Emperor: “Your Majesty, please investigate!”

“Investigate?” The Emperor suddenly frowned, “Is it not clear enough already? Lord Ding An, We just sanctioned a marriage for Qing Le, acknowledging the love between the two. Furthermore, We have supported Qing Le when the groom did not want to get married because of her ugliness. Why is it that your Ding An palace does not give Us thanks, instead trying to come harm Our Empress?”

Lord Ding An was so angry that his eyebrows became vertical. How many years had it been that the Emperor did not pay any attention to the matters of his Ding An palace. Today’s matter, however, was clearly odd, but the Emperor still did not investigate. Instead, he painted a rather unfair picture.

He was angry and wanted to reason with the Emperor, but Feng Yu Heng suddenly spoke up towards him: “My Lord there is no need to seek an explanation. The cause and effect of what happened will become known when you return and ask imperial daughter Qing Le. His Majesty has not wronged you.”

How could Lord Ding An not guess what Qing Le and Chen Yu were planning. He was only angry over the Emperor’s attitude. But hearing Feng Yu Heng’s words, he looked to the side and saw the nine princes. He realized that it did not matter how many complaints he had, it was all pointless. If he were Lord Wen Xuan, then he would be the Emperor’s younger brother-in-law. Perhaps he could even get into an argument with him, but he was not related to the Xuan family in the slightest. No matter what he said, it would not affect the things he had.