Seeing that the dowry was almost packed, Qi Yuning went back to Prince Qi's mansion with great fanfare.
This matter was such a big fuss that before dusk, the news spread among the nobles of the Shengjing family that Lord Qi had reconciled with the regent, and even the dowry had been moved back home.
After Lu Baozhu learned the news, he rushed to the Chunjiang Courtyard of Prince Qi's Mansion, "Qi Yuning, why did you go back to your parents' house again? My brother bullied you?"
"This time it has nothing to do with your brother."
Qi Yuning said to Lu Baozhu, "The Queen Mother has made a decree to make her niece Lu Ze's concubine. How can the Queen Mother's niece be the concubine of Her Majesty? How can I be a concubine? Why don't I abdicate in favor of someone worthy of her position?"
Lu Baozhu said: "I'm just a concubine. Are you stupid? If you abdicate in favor of a worthy person, wouldn't this be an advantage to the Zhou family?"
Qi Yuning said: "I won't retreat? Just watch the Zhou family's daughter and concubine come to me and disgust me? Do you think I have such a good temper?"
Lu Baozhu said: "Then by your reconciliation, didn't you just make the daughter of the Zhou family happy?"
Qi Yuning chuckled and said, "It's precisely because of reconciliation that I can't fulfill her wish!"
In the Zhou family.
Mrs. Zhou also heard about Qi Yuning's dowry going around the city and bringing it back to the palace. She smiled at Zhou Jiayun and said:
"This Princess Qi is really stupid. If she goes back to her parents' home with Li, isn't it obvious that she is giving up the position of Princess Regent to you?
After you go to the princess's house, you can't have a temper like Qi Yuning's and always go back to your parents' house to make peace with her. We'll see where she goes to cry when she loses her position as Princess Regent. "
Zhou Jiayun was not as happy as Mrs. Zhou, "Mother, the princess asked for divorce and returned to her parents' home with her dowry. It is not a happy event no matter how you look at it."
Mrs. Zhou said: "Why isn't this a happy event? I don't believe that Qi Yuning has the courage to resist the Queen Mother's decree. If Qi Yuning dares to resist the decree, she can take the opportunity to liquidate the Qi family."
Zhou Shangshu couldn't help but shook his head: "You are confused, are you liquidating the Qi family now? Don't forget who dares to liquidate the Qi family now? Even Lu Ze dare not say liquidating the Qi family, not to mention that the person in the Qi family married a real your Highness!"
Mrs. Zhou said: "Why am I confused again? Why is our daughter not worthy of being the regent's concubine?"
Zhou Shangshu took a deep breath.
Qi Yuning invited all the imperial doctors in Shengjing City to come to the palace the next day.
Seeing that Qi Yuning was in full swing and recovering better than ordinary women after giving birth, the imperial doctors didn't know Qi Yuning's intentions for a while.
The older doctor Li, who had watched Qi Yuning grow up, couldn't help but ask: "Is there anything wrong with the princess?"
Qi Yuning said: "The Queen Mother wants her niece to be my husband's concubine, so she directly issued a decree to marry her.
Miss Zhou is the niece of the Queen Mother. How dare I let her grow up? I had to ask for divorce. When I returned to the palace, I felt extremely uncomfortable. You should know what kind of disease I have by now, right? "
Qi Yuning glanced at all the imperial doctors.
Dr. Li nodded and said: "The princess is filled with anger, and she is also sad that her husband was taken away. She is sick with worry!"
Qi Yuning looked at the other imperial doctors, "What do you think?"
"Exactly, exactly."
Qi Yuning specifically asked the imperial doctors to tell the public that he was seriously ill. As soon as the news of his serious illness spread, there were divergent opinions in the entire Shengjing city.
Qi Yuning quietly played the rattle with Lingling.
Unfortunately, Lingling still took the rattle and stuffed it into her mouth.
Qi Yuning had to ask the craftsman to make an unpainted rattle for Lingling to play with, so that it would be okay even if he put it in his mouth.
The news that Qi Yuning returned to her parents' home and was seriously ill spread throughout the Shengjing city within three days. Especially now that there was a national mourning ceremony and there were many New Year's holidays and banquets, the rumor spread throughout Shengjing like it could fly. All over the capital.
Zhou Jiayun recently went to a banquet with Mrs. Zhou, and found that others no longer had the same enthusiasm for her as before, only being indifferent to her.
"Have you heard? My family is really capable this week! Just after I left the country to pay filial piety, I snatched the husband from Princess Qi!"
"When did Princess Qi have such a good temper? If the late emperor was still here, who else but Princess Lu would dare to rob Princess Qi's things and risk his life?"
"After His Majesty treated Zhonglie well before, a relative of the Zhou family, tsk tsk... directly snatched the princess's husband."
"Zhou Jiayun is also good-looking, why is she so mean? She even made Princess Qi seriously ill by stealing her husband!"
"The Qi family army is guarding the territory of Dasheng in the north city and opening up territory for Dasheng. They are so good that they actually bullied Princess Qi in Shengjing City and forced the newlyweds to divorce!"
"Princess Qi was humiliated like this even though she was still a princess. If she were an ordinary woman, wouldn't she be forced to the point where she couldn't survive? It's a shame that Zhou Shangshu was still the Minister of Rites, and he raised such a shameless daughter who used his power to bully others and force people to make peace. Leave!"
"The princess has just given birth to a child, and they are forcing her to divorce like this. It shows that the Zhou family is really shameless." Zhou Jiayun felt her face heat up as she listened to several daughters pointing fingers at her.
"It's not good, it's not good, miss."
The maid hurried to Zhou Jiayun's side, "Oh no, Miss, five supervisory censors are kneeling at the gate of the palace, asking the Queen Mother to take back the marriage decree!"
Zhou Jiayun frowned and said, "What does this have to do with supervising the censor? It's just a marriage decree."
The Queen Mother of Zhou was being scolded by the Queen Mother of Qin in the palace.
The Empress Dowager Qin angrily said: "The Ai family is not dead yet, but you dare to bully Yu Ning? The Qi family has avenged your husband and daughter. What about you, is this how you repay Yu Ning?"
Yu Ning has been sick for three days! If there is something wrong with her, do you want to embarrass your Zhou family and our royal family? Is your daughter from the Zhou family so mean that she wants to steal someone else’s husband? "
Empress Dowager Zhou was so scolded by the Empress Dowager that it was difficult to raise her head and said: "I never wanted Yu Ning to be reconciled. I just wanted Jia Yun to be an insignificant concubine."
The Empress Dowager said angrily: "When you were in love with Prince Duan, what would you think if the Ai family arranged for you a niece and concubine of the Ai family for no reason? They are both women. What does your niece have in mind? Don't you think so? clear?"
The Queen Mother Zhou knelt in front of the Queen Mother and said: "Mother, I am also thinking about Zhao Jie. After all, the Qi family in Beicheng will be a serious problem in the future, so I thought of marrying my niece to Lu Ze to contain Qi. Home……"
The Queen Mother was very angry after hearing this, "You are confused, you have always been honest, and you are using Zhou Jiayun and Lu Ze's marriage to contain the Qi family. Is this what the Zhou family told you?"
Queen Mother Zhou responded: "Yes!"
The Empress Dowager said: "The young prince of the Qi family in Beicheng is a grandson of the Ai family, and Ze'er is also a grandson of the Ai family. The two of them are direct cousins. You want to destroy Lu Ze because of your Zhou family's daughter marrying Lu Ze." Qi family, what are you dreaming about?
Also, if Qi Yuan or Ze'er had turned against them, would your son still be able to ascend the throne now?
The Zhou family is Zhao Jie's cousin, and the young master of the Qi family's army is also Jie'er's cousin. They are both cousins, and the aunt is closer than the aunt. After all, both will be prosperous and the other will suffer. You are being used as a weapon. Don't know. "
Empress Dowager Zhou suddenly realized that Princess Zhao Shu was something that many people had not expected for a while, but she had even forgotten that the future young prince of the Qi family was indeed Zhao Jie's cousin.
"Mother, what should I do now? Rumors are spreading outside, and the censor is still kneeling outside the palace. I..."
The Empress Dowager said: "What should we do? If you don't take back the imperial edict quickly, don't bring this matter to Beicheng, chill the Qi family army, and cause the people all over the world to scold the royal family for being ungrateful."
Empress Dowager Zhou said: "I will take back the decree immediately."
The Empress Dowager said: "It's not enough to withdraw the decree. Go and visit Yu Ning in person and ask her what she wants."
Queen Mother Zhou responded: "Yes."
The Empress Dowager said: "Also, the late emperor only gave the edict of passing the throne to Qi Yuning. Jie'er was able to reach this ninth-five-year position by great luck, and I am afraid it is all thanks to Yuning and Lu Ze.
Instead of trusting your mother's family, you might as well trust Ze'er and Yu Ning. After all, if they want to rebel, they can do so now!
You also experienced the pain of losing a daughter and a husband at a young age. Now that your son has gained such wealth, if it is for your son's good, then don't interfere in political affairs. You are not a person who plays with political power.
Jie'er became an emperor at a young age, so it's enough for you to be a loving mother. "
Empress Dowager Zhou responded repeatedly, and regardless of the fact that it was already dusk, she personally went to Prince Qi's Mansion to visit Qi Yuning.
Qi Yuning saw Empress Dowager Zhou and asked her to wait for two quarters of an hour because of her illness. After dark, she went to the reception hall of the palace and said, "Thank you, Empress Dowager, you have been waiting for a long time."
"Yuning." Empress Dowager Zhou looked at Qi Yuning and said, "Seeing that you look okay, the Ai family will feel relieved."
"The Yu Ning Ai family really has no intention of letting you reconcile. Alas, don't worry, the Ai family will not send any more concubines to Lu Ze. You'd better go back to the princess mansion as soon as possible, and leave as soon as possible. I'm angry, you're sick, and Aijia feels very sorry."
Qi Yuning looked at Empress Dowager Zhou and said: "Empress Dowager, I have caused such a big fuss today, and I have never been so wronged since I was a child. I don't know how the Zhou family persuaded you to give this marriage decree, but But I can't just watch the Zhou family bully me like this."
Empress Dowager Zhou said: "Yu Ning, the Ai family has already apologized to you..."
Qi Yuning said: "Empress, my grievance cannot be in vain, and my illness cannot be in vain.
Didn’t Miss Zhou want to be a side room? You set a marriage for her to be a side wife, and then let this matter go! "
"This..." Queen Mother Zhou said: "Yu Ning, you are also from a girl's family. This Jiayun is still a sixteen-year-old girl. Isn't it too unfair to let her be someone else's side chamber?"
"Isn't it wrong to be Lu Ze's concubine?" Qi Yuning said sarcastically: "Now I feel that the concubine is wronged."
Empress Dowager Zhou was shocked and said: "Yu Ning, Jiayun is just a sixteen-year-old girl after all. It is up to the family to make her a concubine to Lu Ze."
Qi Yuning said: "When I was still in confinement, she flirted with Lu Ze, but don't talk about a sixteen-year-old girl! Miss Zhou flirted with Lu Ze in front of me, who was in confinement, Have you ever thought that I am still a woman who just gave birth to a child?
Now, firstly, I want to marry Miss Zhou to a commoner as my wife and stay away from Shengjing City. I just want to be out of sight and not bothered. Secondly, if Miss Zhou stays in Shengjing City, she can only be a concubine.
When you issue the decree to marry Miss Zhou, I will return to the Princess Mansion when I recover from my illness. If I delay for one more day, the reputation of the Zhou family will be ruined. You can do it as you see fit! "
"Yu Ning..." Empress Dowager Zhou looked at Qi Yuning and said, "Jiayun is also His Majesty's cousin after all. For His Majesty's sake, just spare her this time!"
