Free Web NovelChapter 49: Chapter 49: A Fit of Rage for a Handsome Man
Ji Qingwu tucked the note into her sleeve and knelt along with the palace attendants in the hall.
"My decree couldn’t summon you, so I had to come myself."
The Empress Dowager walked into Zhaoyang Hall expressionlessly, followed by Shixi and Fanghua.
Ji Qingwu kept her head down, not daring to speak, and knelt obediently to one side.
Li Yuzong had gone to the morning court with Emperor Wu Su, leaving only a few palace attendants behind to manage the residence.
The Empress Dowager lifted her gaze, her eyes landing on Ji Qingwu.
Seeing her slightly disheveled hair and the look of someone who had just woken, the Empress Dowager’s displeasure deepened.
By this hour, the Emperor’s morning court was already well underway. The Empress Dowager, having spent the previous night with the frightened Princess Qingyun, hadn’t slept well either.
’And yet this troublemaker, Ji Qingwu, slept soundly!’
The Empress Dowager sat in an armchair, her face livid with anger.
"I had originally considered your circumstances—that you’d been living away from the family for years, alone and helpless with a young daughter—and intended to show you greater favor."
The Empress Dowager continued sternly, "But you dared to push my own daughter, the Princess, into the lake, nearly causing Qingyun to drown! You have some nerve." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Ji Qingwu was still thinking about the note. The message was brief, just two characters.
Seeing that her mind was miles away, the Empress Dowager’s anger flared.
"Even though you are my niece, you cannot disregard the law and disrespect your superiors! I will punish you today. Do you admit your fault?"
’What does it matter if I admit I’m wrong? I’ll be punished either way.’
Ji Qingwu fiddled with her little finger. ’In the end, this whole affair boiled down to one person.’
’If what the note from Emperor Wu Su said was true...’
’...the Empress Dowager would surely be lenient.’
’But I don’t want to do that!’
’Putting myself in his shoes, if Li Chengxun were to treat me like an object and hand me over just because the other party was powerful, I would be heartbroken and disappointed, too.’
’My relationship with Li Chengxun isn’t even that deep.’
’But with so many people suddenly jumping out to stand in our way, I’m feeling a renewed resolve to protect this budding relationship.’
Ji Qingwu made up her mind.
She looked up, meeting the Empress Dowager’s eyes directly, her voice tinged with determination.
"May I ask the Empress Dowager, did the Princess happen to mention why I would have pulled her into the water?"
The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"
Shixi’s heart skipped a beat. ’This Fifth Missy from the Ji Family seems... different.’
’Before, she always seemed so gentle and frail. But now, even with the Empress Dowager furious, she isn’t afraid. She’s even arguing her case logically.’
Ji Qingwu said with perfect clarity, "After the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet, the Princess summoned me to the lakeside. She bluntly stated that she had taken a liking to Li Chengxun and wanted him as her Prince Consort, demanding that I step aside. When I refused, she pushed me into the lake. The Princess made the first move."
The more the Empress Dowager listened, the more tightly her brow furrowed.
The more Ji Qingwu spoke, the calmer she felt, her anxiety fading.
"Furthermore, the Princess had already ordered guards to wait by the lake, lying in wait for me to fall in. It was premeditated. Why not arrange for a palace maid or a eunuch who was a good swimmer? Empress Dowager, surely you can understand the sinister implications."
How could the Empress Dowager not understand?
She extended a hand adorned with long nail guards and pointed at Ji Qingwu. "So what you’re saying is that Qingyun is arrogant and difficult, and that she deliberately tried to break you and Li Chengxun up!"
Seeing this, Shixi quickly bowed and came forward, whispering a few words into the Empress Dowager’s ear to placate her master.
The palace attendants around them all served the Emperor; this was not Cining Palace.
If others were to overhear gossip that was damaging to the Princess’s reputation...
The Empress Dowager had indeed been so enraged she had forgotten that fact. She suppressed her fury.
"Shixi, go at once and summon Li Chengxun to the palace. There is no need to say why. Just order him to come directly to Cining Palace for an audience."
This was the Emperor’s residence, after all. The Empress Dowager’s entire purpose in coming was to take Ji Qingwu back with her, not to punish her here.
The Empress Dowager returned in her palanquin, with Ji Qingwu following at the rear of the procession.
She had been anxious and uneasy, but seeing the Empress Dowager’s furious expression had actually calmed her down.
’I may have been at fault, but I wasn’t the one who started it.’
’The Empress Dowager has held her high position for a long time, second only to the Emperor, and she is the backbone of the Ji Family.’
’But I’m not just a daughter of the Ji Family. The blood of the Qiao Family flows in my veins, too. My maternal family holds great prestige in the Imperial Court, and affairs of the harem can ripple out into the political court.’
Ji Qingwu refused to believe the Empress Dowager would act with absolutely no reservations.
「Cining Palace. The Main Hall.」
The hall was utterly silent.
The Empress Dowager was dozing lightly with her eyes closed, while Ji Qingwu stood quietly in a corner.
The silence held until Princess Qingyun, her face pale, entered while being supported by a maid.
She called out weakly, "Mother."
The Empress Dowager opened her eyes, rose, and went to her. Taking her hand, she said with concern, "Qingyun, why aren’t you resting in bed? You’re up already? Didn’t the Imperial Physician say you’ve caught a chill and need plenty of rest?"
Princess Qingyun said softly, "Mother, you worked so hard taking care of me last night. I heard you rose early today and have been rushing about to seek justice for me. How could your daughter possibly remain in bed?"
Ji Qingwu was puzzled. ’Last night, when the Princess was fished out of the water, her voice was booming and she was full of energy.’
’And after just one night, she’s become this frail, sickly thing?’
’Her eyes aren’t even cloudy; she doesn’t look like someone afflicted by a serious ailment.’
Sensing someone watching her, Princess Qingyun turned her head, saw Ji Qingwu, and her face immediately took on a look of panic and fear.
Princess Qingyun began to sob quietly. "Mother, it was the first time I met my fifth cousin. I just wanted to say a few words to her. I don’t know how I upset her, but she pushed me into the lake."
The Empress Dowager dabbed at her daughter’s tears with a handkerchief, offering another round of comfort and shooting several more glares in Ji Qingwu’s direction.
"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, Mr. Li has arrived."
Shixi was quick and efficient, striding into the hall to make her report.
The Empress Dowager had Princess Qingyun sit in a seat just below her own and said, "Let him enter."
Princess Qingyun stopped crying and looked toward the hall’s entrance.
Ji Qingwu also raised her eyes to look.
The man was dressed in white robes with ink-black hair, his features as handsome as a painting. He had a pure, noble air about him, like the moon in the sky.
After Li Chengxun paid his respects, he was granted a seat—far better treatment than Ji Qingwu received, standing in an obscure corner.
’Well, I suppose this counts as my "rage that topples crowns," all for a handsome face,’ she thought, trying to find some humor in her predicament.
The Empress Dowager, seated on her throne, her expression back to normal, said with immense dignity, "Li Chengxun, I have summoned you here to ask you something."
He replied respectfully, "Please ask, Empress Dowager."
"I recently heard a rumor and wish to confirm with you whether it is false or true. Are you and my niece, Ji Qingwu, engaged to be married?"
As soon as the question was asked, Li Chengxun’s and Ji Qingwu’s gazes met for a moment. He was the first to look away.
"To answer the Empress Dowager, no."
’A verbal promise doesn’t technically count as an official engagement,’ Ji Qingwu thought. ’So his answer isn’t wrong.’
Princess Qingyun chimed in, "Mother, Mr. Li is merely a Guest Elder of the Qiao Family. Why would you ask such a thing? That rumor must be false."
The Empress Dowager said, "Oh? Qingwu, come before me and tell me again: why did you and the Princess argue last night?"
Ji Qingwu walked to the center of the hall and curtsied.
"Your Majesty, it was because Princess Qingyun desires Mr. Li as her Prince Consort."
Ji Qingwu stated bluntly, "But I did not agree."
Li Chengxun’s back went rigid.
