The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

The four people sat down, and Li Degui personally served tea.

"These are Junshan Silver Needle teas, which were presented as tribute this year, along with some newly made pastries from the Imperial Kitchen. Cousin, Uncle, please have a taste."

Even though Xie Ling didn't say a word, with Qi Yitang warmly greeting everyone in the middle, the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

After drinking tea, having some snacks, and exchanging pleasantries for a while, Qi Yitang finally couldn't hold back any longer.

She rubbed her hands together, her eyes sparkling, and asked, "By the way, I wonder if my great-uncle came to the palace with my cousin today because of something important?"

She deliberately emphasized certain words to stress them out.

Lu Linbai was also waiting for this opportunity.

The next second, under Qi Yitang's expectant gaze, he calmly stood up, took Ning Nishang's hand, and said, "I have come to the palace this time for the sake of my life's most important matter. Thanks to Your Majesty and the Empress's matchmaking, after spending these days together, Xuan Niang and I have decided on our feelings for each other. Today, I have come to humbly request Your Majesty to grant us marriage."

"!" Just as she guessed!

Qi Yitang appeared dignified, but her heart was already bursting with excitement.

The comments section was also flooding her view with laughter: 【Wow, Little Fatty is so handsome!】

[You've really nailed it, kid. I hereby declare you the new male lead.]

[Waaaaah, our heroine's suffering is finally over!]

[I wholeheartedly agree to this marriage, Dad. When are you and Mom going to... you know... so I can prepare and maybe be reborn into a better family.]

Everything is under her control.

Qi Yitang was secretly delighted, but her brows furrowed slightly. "So, my great-uncle came to see the Emperor specifically for this matter. But, an imperial decree... that might be difficult to arrange, wouldn't it?"

Lu Linbai frowned. "What's so difficult about it?"

Qi Yitang looked quite troubled. "Uncle, you are of a higher generation. It would be against etiquette for His Majesty, as a junior, to issue an imperial decree to bestow a marriage upon you..."

She said with feigned seriousness, "According to the rules, we should first consult the Empress Dowager, who will then issue an imperial edict, and His Majesty will add his own comments to the edict to make it proper. However, the Empress Dowager has been devoutly devoted to Buddhism lately and rarely concern herself with worldly affairs. To get her to make this request, I'm afraid... it will take quite a bit of trouble."

As she spoke, Qi Yitang shook her head in agreement, giving an expression that said, "This is really difficult to handle."

This blatant greed left Lu Linbai speechless.

Since they know he is the emperor's elder, who would dare to say "no" to whomever he chooses to marry as a princess?

Asking the emperor to issue a decree for marriage was merely for the sake of a better reputation, and also because Xuan Niang wanted to meet her dear cousin.

Besides, it's just a matter of informing the Empress Dowager; how much trouble could it possibly take? What reason would the Empress Dowager have not to agree?

Qi Yitang's pretentious behavior was nothing more than a pretense.

Lu Linbai knew exactly what was going on, and rolled his eyes so hard they were practically reaching for the sky. Taking it once was enough; were they really getting addicted to extortion?

Although he has a lot of money, he's not a sucker.

Raising a wife doesn't cost money, but the wedding requires preparations, a banquet, and betrothal gifts—all of which cost money.

However, considering that Qi Yitang was the one who actively facilitated this relationship, even though she was greedy for money, she was still the cousin that Xuan Niang cared about.

Lu Linbai held back, "Speaking of which, my relationship with Xuan Niang today is all thanks to Her Majesty the Empress's hard work in bringing us together."

"In the common people, those who hire matchmakers to arrange marriages are rewarded after the success. I am willing to offer three..." Looking at Qi Yitang's wolf-like eyes, he changed his words at the last minute, "...two hundred thousand taels of gold, as a token of my gratitude."

Although 100,000 taels of silver had disappeared out of nowhere, Qi Yitang was so happy he was practically floating on air.

Two hundred thousand taels of gold—that's a lot of gold!

She suppressed the urge to smile and said, "Not at all. It's all because my great-uncle is so talented and handsome that he won my cousin's favor. I'm very relieved that you'll take care of her in the future."

As he spoke, he subtly nudged Xie Ling's arm, signaling that he could express his opinion.

After such a long meeting, Xie Ling finally put down the teacup he had almost finished drinking and said calmly, "I will personally speak to the Empress Dowager. Uncle, just wait for good news."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lu Linbai bowed.

Ning Nishang also bowed, "This humble woman thanks Your Majesty."

Qi Yitang smiled.

The moment their eyes met, the two of them simultaneously revealed a satisfied smile, as if everything had been settled.

One has gold, the other has a wife—it's the best of both worlds.

Only Xie Ling remained silent, unable to laugh at all.

……

You can't just kick someone out before they pay the balance, since they've already accepted your money.

Xie Ling took the opportunity to keep Lu Linbai at home to play chess, while Qi Yitang pulled Ning Nishang next door to have a private chat with her sister.

Once the two were seated, Ning Nishang couldn't wait to ask, "Tangtang, what exactly happened?"

"We haven't heard a word in so long, and they won't let us into the palace to visit. We're all getting anxious."

Qi Yitang had already prepared her explanation, "What, what's wrong? I'm perfectly fine... Oh, you mean that... Actually, it's nothing much. I was playing in the snow in the Imperial Garden a few days ago and caught a cold. Yanzhi kept me here to recover. See, I'm perfectly fine now, aren't I?"

Ning Nishang was skeptical—had she caught a cold from playing in the snow in the Imperial Garden, and that meant the entire capital was under martial law and news was blocked, and even her family couldn't visit her?

"……is that so?"

"Cousin, you don't believe me? Then just ask anyone. Yunzhu, you tell me."

Yunzhu nodded, "Her Majesty did indeed catch a cold a few days ago. His Majesty was afraid that Her Majesty's condition would worsen, so he forbade Her Majesty from going out, and she didn't even get to see Princess Anning..."

Qi Yitang spread her hands, "Look."

Ning Nishang was barely relieved. "How could I not believe you? I'm just glad you're alright."

How can the female lead be so easily fooled?

Qi Yitang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and changed the subject, "By the way, cousin, my cousin should be home by now, right? Is he... still alive?"

Yunzhu and Yunying have returned, and Yuanshu is said to have been punished but did not die.

However, no one had told Zhao Yan about his current situation, so Qi Yitang could only ask him indirectly.

What she feared most was that Xie Ling would have a corpse dumped at the gate of the Qi residence, which would be the end of them.

Ning Nishang said, "Ah Zheng... he's alright, but he doesn't talk much. He usually stays in the courtyard and doesn't go out much."

As long as I made it home alive, that's all that matters.

Qi Yitang instinctively tried to cover for Xie Ling, "Cousin, don't blame Yanzhi. My cousin is Xie Jingyu's confidant. He did a lot of bad things for him back then. Xie Jingyu is a wolf in sheep's clothing, and Yanzhi would never let him live, so, my cousin's arm..."

"Tangtang, you don't need to explain," Ning Nishang said, holding her hand. "I'm already very content to have found my brother."

Thank goodness the female lead is so kind.

She loves the Virgin Mary; the Virgin Mary is so wonderful.

Qi Yitang was afraid that Xie Ling would go to great lengths to help find someone, only to end up being blamed because the person wasn't complete.

The two then chatted about lighthearted topics, and as they were about to leave, Ning Nishang suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Tangtang, my fourth cousin asked me to ask... can Chizheng still go back?"