Chapter 362: 364. Chapter 364: Filing a Complaint

364. Chapter 364: Filing a Complaint

The Grand Princess, seething with anger, left Qi Wang Fu; Princess Consort of Qi, fearing her temper might flare up again on the way, sent people to escort her back all the way.

At the same time, over at their Residence, some preparations had to be made.

After the banquet ended, they still needed to see off the guests.

Prince Qi and his wife could not leave for the time being, so they could only ask Prince Qing to go to the palace and intercede.

It wasn't that they wanted to spare the Jinyang Marquis Residence; they wanted the other side to soothe the Grand Princess's mood so she wouldn't cause any trouble.

Prince Qing listened, then hurriedly nodded in agreement.

When the guests had left, the sunset's afterglow already spread across the earth.

Prince Qi, holding Sui Sui, saw off the last guest; after a long while, he then carried the child back, and as he walked said to the Princess Consort, "I have to go to the palace; if time runs short, I won't return tonight. The Residence will still need your hard work."

Princess Consort of Qi understood that the other party was uneasy about the Grand Princess, so she gently replied, "Don't worry, I'm here at the Residence."

Prince Qi was naturally confident in the Princess Consort, so after a quick tidy‑up, he kissed Sui Sui's forehead, coaxed the little girl, and then changed clothes before heading to the palace.

Inside the palace at that moment, the atmosphere was rather tense.

The Grand Princess, in a fit of anger, went straight into the palace to file a complaint; after His Majesty heard it, his expression turned uneasy.

Soon, the Empress Dowager also learned of the matter.

She has not been in good health lately because of Princess Yangyang's affairs.

Now she has to take medicine every day just to keep her breathing steady.

When she heard the news, darkness flashed before her eyes and she almost fainted.

It was Aunt Xu who promptly fetched the medicine and aromatized it, preventing the Empress Dowager from being overly stimulated.

When the Empress Dowager came to herself, she pounded the bedboard in anger: "What a sin, what a sin! How did the Xie family marry such a disaster back then!"

In this matter, even Xu Mingxian's own mother didn't appear, yet Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Xiefuren, acting as aunt, both contributed money and effort.

It is said she behaved disrespectfully in front of Prince Qi; just hearing it makes one feel sick!

The Empress Dowager holds no good impression of the Xu family; the handling of affairs also involves His Majesty.

But what infuriates her is that Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Xiefuren also got involved!

Had they known this earlier, the secondary wife of Lord Xie would certainly have weighed many factors before remarrying into the household.

Now Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Xiefuren has been in the Residence for many years and has children; this matter is not easy to resolve.

Dismiss her?

Then what about the children Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Xiefuren has produced?

If any of those children turn out promising, this incident could later create a rift, which would be a trouble for the Xie family.

So, how should Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Xiefuren be dealt with?

Keeping her is certainly not an option.

If this were her first offense, the Xie family might not be so unforgiving.

But is this her first time?

The number of blunders Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Thus we will output: Xiefuren has made over the years is unknown; the Empress Dowager can't even recall how many messy situations she's cleaned up for her.

Now it happens again…

Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager strained to regulate her breathing so her body wouldn't deteriorate further.

She tiredly closed her eyes, considering summoning Lord Xie to the palace, yet fearing that at this critical moment actually bringing him in would anger the Emperor and upset the Grand Princess.

Thinking of the Grand Princess, the Empress Dowager pressed her temple with a headache and said, "I wonder how Su Xiuyi's side is faring?"

Su Xiuyi is the Grand Princess's name.

After murmuring, the Empress Dowager thought and asked Aunt Xu, "The imperial physician is waiting with the Emperor, right?"

Aunt Xu lightly nodded, "He's waiting, Your Majesty, rest assured."

The Empress Dowager, after listening, pressed her forehead again, "Su Xiuyi's temper…"

She didn't finish the sentence, and with a weary expression she lay back down.

The Empress Dowager thought lazily, "I'm already ill, why should I handle these matters?"

Fine, let it be whatever.

However, since it involves the Xie family, she can't stay out of it.

A heavy fatigue surged through her whole body.

Aunt Xu, watching with concern, gently placed her hand on the Empress Dowager's head and said, "Do not worry, Your Majesty, His Majesty will handle it; focus on recovering."

Hearing Aunt Xu's words, the Empress Dowager, without even opening her eyes, snorted coldly, "Su Xiuyi's temper is hard to describe; she can argue with the Late Emperor in front of ministers. The Emperor is her junior, and we don't even know how she'll trouble him."

Aunt Xu, with a good‑natured smile, said, "Rest assured, Your Majesty, the Grand Princess‑Her Highness cares for His Majesty and won't cause a scene."

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes, said nothing, and let out two soft hums.

Seeing this, Aunt Xu said nothing further, merely eased the pressure of her hand.

The Grand Princess Su Xiuyi was not of royal birth.

Her father was the Imperial Guard Commander serving Emperor Wen, who had distinguished himself in a rescue but later perished.

Besides a young daughter, the commander had no other close relatives.

Before his death, he was uneasy about his daughter Su Xiuyi.

Emperor Wen, grateful for his service, simply adopted Su Xiuyi as an adopted daughter and raised her personally.

At the same time, Emperor Wen posthumously honored the commander as Marquis Protecting the State, allowing his descendants to inherit the title for three generations.

Because of this, the Grand Princess's second son, taking his mother's surname, inherited the Marquis Protecting the State title.

Although the Grand Princess is not of royal lineage, her status is noble and she is His Majesty's aunt; if a real conflict erupts, His Majesty would also be troubled.

His Majesty…

He certainly has a headache!

After the Grand Princess entered the palace, she didn't make a fuss, and she certainly didn't, in front of His Majesty, blame anyone.

She simply sat there recalling the past, sighing over how brief life is; at her age, she likely doesn't have many years left.

Only then did she slowly bring up the matter of Su Ninglan.

The Grand Princess spoke of this matter as objectively and rationally as she could, without letting too much personal emotion in.

The more she acted this way, the more she exuded a maddening calm, like the stillness before a storm.

After His Majesty finished listening, he only felt his spine turn cold, and his scalp began to go numb.

His Majesty couldn't lash out at his aunt, so he could only curse in his heart the Marquis of Jin Yang and Mr. Xie, this Shen Shen.

Prince Qing had originally thought, upon entering the palace, that if the Grand Princess got really angry, he could try to persuade her.

In the end, they didn't make a fuss.

Prince Qing: ……

When Prince Qi hurriedly entered the palace, His Majesty's side had already prepared a banquet to receive the Grand Princess.

Prince Qi gazed at the Grand Princess's eerily calm face, his heart gave a shudder, and he somehow didn't dare to eat.

But the Grand Princess smiled and waved at him.

Prince Qi: ……!

Oh dear, I dare not go over anymore.

Sniffle, Princess Consort, save me!

Princess Consort of Qi couldn't save his life.

At that moment, she was having dinner with her two concubines and the children.

After the meal, Sui Sui felt a bit tired; while playing with her brothers, she sat down and fell asleep.

Seeing this, Princess Consort of Qi felt heartbroken and personally went to hold Sui Sui and take her back to her room.

Ren Shu Han felt uneasy and quietly followed behind.

Ren Ce Fei gave it two glances, then looked away, thinking……

Ren Zinan, this good-for-nothing, actually still learning to keep a concubine, even sharing her with someone else—just see how I'll whip him to death!