After the concubine ran away, the cold prince lost control

Chapter 429 Questioning the Emperor
I saw the mother and son quarreling.

Qin Xiaoning stood up and bowed to Zhao Pan, saying, "Your Majesty keeps saying 'you guys are this and that', I guess this 'you guys' is referring to our Lu family."

She has a gentle temperament and always speaks softly. Even when she said such angry words, her voice was like pearls falling on a plate, which was pleasant to the ear.

Zhao Pan looked towards Qin Xiaoning, and his tone couldn't help but soften: "Aunt, you are just being overly suspicious. I was angry about Madam Li's matter, and I just said something without thinking."

Qin Xiaoning said, "It is natural for your majesty to be angry with the woman you love, but you keep saying that it was us, Lu Ji, who forced you. This is unfair. When the daughter of the Lu family entered the palace to become the queen, it was indeed the Queen Mother who arranged it, but my prince asked for your opinion. If you really don't want to, who can force you? After all, although marriage is a matter of parents' orders, it depends on the willingness of the parties involved. What's more, you are the emperor, so you naturally have the power to decide on marriage."

She looked at Zhao Pan and spoke word by word, "I remember that you said in person that you were very satisfied with Xian'er and were willing to give her the position of queen."

At that time, Zhao Pan had just ascended the throne and was not yet fully grown. Faced with a situation where he was surrounded by wolves, he needed to rely on the Lu family. Naturally, he wished to have more ties with the Lu family.

After hearing what Qin Xiaoning said, Zhao Pan nodded hesitantly: "I, I did personally promise to give the throne to Xian'er, and to this day, I have not, have not regretted it."

"It's good that your majesty doesn't regret it." Qin Xiaoning said, "For men, having three wives and four concubines is nothing unusual. Even if you marry someone you don't like, it won't prevent you from staying with the woman you love. But for women, their husbands are their heaven. Once they are let down by their husbands, they will have to live a miserable life for the rest of their lives."

Zhao Pan turned his eyes away and cleared his throat: "I know what my aunt means. Although I don't treat Xian'er as well as Madam Li, I haven't treated her unfairly."

As soon as Zhao Pan said this, Empress Dowager Lu could not help but retorted: "You should check your conscience when you say this. Xian'er has been in the palace for so long, when have you ever really treated her as your wife? She is just sensible and never cares about things. She always takes care of you when things happen. Take the case of Madam Li for example. If someone else encountered such a concubine with ulterior motives, they would have killed her long ago. Instead, it was Xian'er who covered up for you again and again and was willing to raise the child in that woman's belly."

When it comes to Lady Li, Zhao Pan feels as if he has stepped on someone's tail.

He immediately became angry again: "Although mother thinks Xian'er is good, please don't slander Li'er like this. For me, she can die. Li'er is also loyal to me."

Qin Xiaoning smiled faintly when she heard this: "These are your Majesty's family affairs. I shouldn't have said anything. But your Majesty has argued with the Queen Mother time and again because of Madam Li, and put the Queen in an awkward position. There are some things that I can't help but say."

She said bluntly, "Like the Queen Mother, I do not believe that Lady Li's pregnancy with the heir was an accident. She has already accidentally given birth to a daughter for Your Majesty. One accident makes sense, but repeated accidents must be deliberate."

Zhao Pan smiled coldly when he heard this: "My mother has ordered her to be executed after she gives birth to the child. Even if she really has ulterior motives, can she really disregard her own life?"

Qin Xiaoning said: "She naturally cares about her life, so she wants to die in front of Your Majesty."

"You--" Zhao Pan was so angry that he was speechless for a moment when talking to Qin Xiaoning.

Qin Xiaoning said bluntly: "If a person really wants to die, there are many ways to do it. Why would he attempt suicide?"

Zhao Pan was speechless and had to leave in anger.

Empress Dowager Lu was also helpless about this son. She had fought in the palace for most of her life and finally prevailed, helping her son ascend the throne. But in the end, she was still troubled.

Queen Mother Lu asked Qin Xiaoning to accompany her for a drink. She was slightly tipsy, with tears in her eyes: "My life is not worth it."

Empress Dowager Lu got drunk in the end, and Qin Xiaoning stayed with her until the palace maid helped her to sleep, and then Qin Xiaoning left Chonghua Palace.

Coming out of Chonghua Hall, passing through a corridor and going around a rockery, you will be out of the inner palace. Cross the palace gate and walk a distance to reach the Regent Hall.

This is where Lu Ji handles government affairs.

As a senior official of the Regent, he usually handles official business here. Right now, the full moon has risen in the sky, but the lights in the Regent Hall are still on.

He was still busy with state affairs. Since becoming the regent, he had to work until very late almost every day. Sometimes, when he returned home, she and the children had already fallen asleep. When they woke up the next day, he had already gone to court.

She and the children often went days without seeing him.

Over the years, he adopted a conciliatory policy toward foreign countries and stopped the country from being plunged into years of war. Internally, he implemented new policies, abolished land enclosure, and removed taxes, allowing the people to live and work in peace and lead a prosperous life.

Some people said that he occupied the position of regent simply because he was greedy for power, but Qin Xiaoning knew that he did this with the cause of his country in mind.

A willful young man like the new emperor is totally incapable of shouldering the burden of governing the country.

The sharp-eyed old eunuch saw Qin Xiaoning coming and immediately came forward to greet her: "Princess, you are here to look for the regent, right? She is not done with her work yet."

He then said earnestly, "I will go in and tell them right away. Please wait a moment."

As he was about to bow and leave, he was stopped by Qin Xiaoning: "No need to disturb the prince, I will wait for him in the side hall."

"Okay." The old eunuch led the way: "This old servant will take the princess there right away."

The side hall is the bedroom. Although it is spacious, there is only one young eunuch working inside, which makes it seem a bit deserted.

Qin Xiaoning sat down on the chair, and the old eunuch personally brought her some tea: "In the past, when the prince was busy until late, he would stay here overnight. Since he married the princess, this place has been empty. No matter how late it is, the prince will not stay here, and will leave the palace and return home."

When the old eunuch said this, he looked at Qin Xiaoning with smiling eyes, and there was a hint of flattery in his words.

Qin Xiaoning didn't say much, just smiled faintly.

Seeing this, the old eunuch shut up tactfully: "I will go back to the main hall to guard it. When the prince is done with his work, I will tell him that the princess is here."

"Go ahead." Qin Xiaoning said.

After everyone left, she drank a cup of hot tea and walked around the hall. The hall had two entrances and exits. Outside was a large hall and inside was a bedroom. Qin Xiaoning pushed open the door of the inner hall and saw that it was fully furnished with bedding. After a whole day's work, she leaned back on the bed for a nap. When she accidentally reached under the pillow, she touched a small foreign object. She took it out and saw that it was a folded paper crane.

This was something she often folded when she was a child, and it was her mother who taught her how to make it. The two grew up together, and she didn't know when Lu Ji had learned how to make it.

Qin Xiaoning played with the small paper crane for a while and vaguely saw words written on the paper inside. She carefully opened the paper crane little by little, and what came into her eyes were densely packed small words.

Qin Xiaoning, Qin Xiaoning, Qin Xiaoning.

It's all her name.

At the bottom of the piece of paper with her name written all over it, there was a line of words.

Where are you? You liar, do you know how much I miss you? Come back soon, come back.