“Your subject, Xie Qingran, pays her respects to Your Majesty, the Empress.”
“May Your Majesty live a thousand years.”
Xie Qingran spoke with sincerity, and her movements were as standard as if measured with a ruler.
Even the princesses raised in the palace were no better than this.
The Empress stared at Xie Qingran for a long moment before nodding in satisfaction. “You may rise.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Xie Qingran rose and stood there, perfectly proper.
During those years on the estate, these rules of etiquette seemed to have been ingrained into her very bones. No one knew better than she where to place her hands and feet in such a situation; even her breathing was deliberately controlled.
She appeared noble and elegant, yet she exuded a faint, indescribable coldness. Even before the Empress, her bearing was not the least bit inferior.
“I heard that you, the eldest young miss, proposed the marriage to the Heir Apparent yourself?”
The Empress got straight to the point, giving Xie Qingran little chance to think or react.
Xie Qingran had long anticipated such a question. She immediately nodded and said, “Yes, it was my own wish. The Zhen Guo Duke Manor has rendered illustrious military service and is a family of great prestige. It is truly a good match.”
Her words were practical.
The Empress had originally thought Xie Qingran would offer some empty, high-sounding flattery to placate her, but she hadn’t expected such a pragmatic answer.
“Is that all?”
The Empress looked at Xie Qingran in disbelief.
Xie Qingran hesitated for a moment. A faint blush appeared on her originally cold face, and she lowered her head. “When I was a child, I saw him from afar and fell for him at first sight. I have hidden it in my heart for many years. Now, I only wish to marry the man of my dreams. I implore Your Majesty to grant my wish!”
“Xie Qingran, how can you be so shameless? You’re so cheap!”
“To think you’d run to the Empress to beg for my hand in marriage! How can you be so utterly devoid of shame!”
A voice, more familiar than any other, abruptly burst into Xie Qingran’s ears.
She didn’t even need to turn around to know who was behind her.
Her hands, hidden beneath her wide sleeves, clenched into fists. Her once placid eyes were instantly filled with hatred. Even using all her strength, she could only restrain herself from rushing forward.
“Your Majesty, the Empress!”
Lu Jinzhi strode over and bowed directly to the Empress.
Then, he frowned and looked at Xie Qingran with disdain. “I’ve told you, the one I love is Hanyue, not you. Why must you insist?”
Lu Jinzhi, a young master from a noble family and the Empress’s own nephew, was like a cool, banished immortal—noble and aloof, the man of many a capital lady’s dreams.
Yet it was precisely this person, who claimed to love Xie Hanyue, who was in fact already rotten to the core. He had long kept a mistress outside and even had a child with her!
He only wanted to bring Xie Hanyue into his home to maintain a facade of peace because he saw her as easy to bully.
However, the Xie Family wanted Xie Qingran to marry him. And who didn’t know that Xie Qingran had a cold and unyielding personality and had spent over a decade on a country estate? With a wife like that, wouldn’t he become the laughingstock of the entire capital?
Every time he saw Xie Qingran, a sense of humiliation would well up in Lu Jinzhi. He even felt that all the whispers in the room were mocking him.
“You child, what nonsense are you spouting?”
The Empress’s expression changed, but she couldn’t hide the doting affection in her tone as she gave him a light scolding.
“Aunt Empress, are you not going to help me either?”
Lu Jinzhi looked as if he had been greatly wronged, frowning as he stared at Xie Qingran.
“What kind of scheme did you use to coax the Empress into speaking for you?”
Xie Qingran’s face was expressionless, her gaze cold. She didn’t even spare Lu Jinzhi a glance, merely bowing to the Empress. “Since Your Majesty has a guest, your subject will take her leave.”
“Go on. It’s a rare trip out, so you should enjoy yourself,” the Empress said, waving her hand to dismiss Xie Qingran.
Xie Qingran took a few steps back before turning and striding away.
She opened her hand; her palm was already crimson.
The moment she saw Lu Jinzhi, she had wanted to take this scoundrel down with her. It was only because she didn’t want to let the other four scum off easy that she had forcefully endured.
She did not go directly to the front hall but quietly found a corner to sit down. After dealing with the Empress, all she wanted now was to rest.
Inside Chunqiu Palace, Lu Jinzhi was still chattering incessantly at the Empress.
“Aunt, was she here to beg for the marriage?”
“Aunt, I don’t want her!”
Lu Jinzhi tugged on the Empress’s hand, starting to whine.
Seeing this, the Empress wanted to explain, but thinking that the marriage between the two families had not yet been finalized, she ultimately chose to remain silent.
She simply looked at Lu Jinzhi and said, “No matter what, you must give the Xie Family face.”
Now that the Xie Family was willing to approve this marriage, it was an excellent thing for them. Even for the sake of this marriage, they absolutely could not embarrass the Xie Family at this time.
But the Empress didn’t know that her words, on the contrary, made Lu Jinzhi certain that Xie Qingran had been begging for their marriage!
“Your Majesty, your subject will take his leave!”
Lu Jinzhi’s face darkened as he walked out.
He would absolutely not let Xie Qingran off so easily. He had to teach her a good lesson.
Once outside, he grabbed a nearby servant. “Did you see where Xie Qingran went?”
“The Eldest Miss Xie went to the front hall,” the servant immediately replied. Seeing his master’s expression, he ventured, “Today is the Palace Banquet. It would be best for you to be careful, Young Master. You must consider both your reputations.”
These words stung Lu Jinzhi even more.
Lu Jinzhi’s brows knitted together tightly. He then ground his teeth and said, “What reputation? She doesn’t even want her own face, so why should I preserve it for her! I’ll make sure she learns her lesson!”
With a cold snort, Lu Jinzhi strode toward the front hall.
In the Imperial Garden, by the edge of a pond.
Xie Qingran sat alone on the bank, watching the small fish in the water. A faint smile touched her lips, and a rare gentleness flashed in her eyes.
“Little fish, little fish, swim so fast, free to go in all directions.”
Xie Qingran murmured to the koi. The sunlight shining on her face made her look exceptionally gentle, even imbuing her with an indescribable, divine quality.
“Brother, is that the eldest young miss of the Xie Family?”
“Someone who talks to fish… could she be a lunatic?”
Not far away, under a willow tree, Xiao Jue sat in a wheelchair, wearing a gold-threaded mask that revealed only his eyes. His gaze was filled with probing curiosity toward the woman.
He had heard of this eldest young miss of the Xie Family and had even secretly investigated her. There was nothing particularly special, except that he’d heard she had a lively personality as a child, very different from how she was now.
Beside him stood two children, one taller and one shorter. The taller one was Xiao Jue’s younger brother, Xiao Yu, and the slightly shorter one was his little sister, Xiao Yanran. The two children were ten and seven, respectively—an age of innocence—yet their eyes held a sorrow that was beyond their years.