pappabearbooks Chapter 371: Seizing the Minister’s Wife 23
Chapter 371: Seizing the Minister’s Wife 23
The Queen Mother looked at Lin Mingyue's departing back, sighed softly, and a complex emotion flashed in her eyes.
The Queen Mother has loved Lin Mingyue since she was a child and would never let her suffer any grievances. Even her own son Xie Lan did not enjoy such treatment.
She understood Lin Mingyue's deep affection for Huo Changwen, and she also knew that her granddaughter had been a stubborn person since she was a child, but this incident made her feel a little worried.
Although Huo Changwen's divorce from Sheng Rao seemed to have solved his immediate problem, it actually laid hidden dangers.
Lin Mingyue has taken a fancy to Huo Changwen, so the Queen Mother will naturally find out everything about Huo Changwen.
She learned that the Sheng family's influence in Qi County should not be underestimated. If Huo Changwen lost the support of the Sheng family, his future in the court would be difficult.
At this time, Lin Mingyue was interested in Huo Changwen. If they got married in the future, it would bring him temporary help, but if Huo Changwen could not get himself together, this help would become a shackle for him.
The Queen Mother understood it in her heart, but she could not stop Lin Mingyue's decision.
She could only do her best to pave the way for Lin Mingyue and Huo Changwen, hoping that they could support each other and overcome difficulties together in the days to come.
The next day, the Queen Mother summoned Sheng Rao as expected.
When Sheng Rao learned about the empress dowager's summons, she was a little surprised. With her status, it seemed that she was not yet at the point where she should be summoned by the empress dowager. Moreover, in her eyes, Xie Lan was just a son of a powerful family, not the emperor at all. Xie Lan's identity had not been revealed to her, so the empress dowager summoned her now, it could only be for Lin Mingyue.
Sheng Rao entered the palace amid the worry of her parents.
As soon as she entered the palace, Sheng Rao was led to the Queen Mother's bedroom.
The Queen Mother was sitting on the couch. When she saw Sheng Rao come in, she nodded slightly and motioned for her to come forward and pay her respects.
Sheng Rao took a few steps forward and bowed respectfully: "I am Sheng Rao, a commoner, and I greet the Queen Mother. May the Queen live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years."
The Queen Mother nodded slightly and said in a gentle voice: "Stand up and take a seat."
The palace maid brought a chair for Sheng Rao. Sheng Rao behaved gracefully and appropriately, and was indeed a nice woman.
"Sheng Rao, I summoned you to the palace today because I want to discuss something with you." The Queen Mother spoke slowly, with a hint of majesty in her voice.
Sheng Rao heard this, she didn't know what the Queen Mother wanted to discuss with her, so she could only lower her head and answer submissively: "Your Majesty, please speak. I am all ears."
The Queen Mother sighed softly and said, "I have heard about Huo Changwen's divorce from you. He now wants to return your dowry, but many of the items have been secretly sold by Liu, and it is difficult to recover them. Are you willing to give me a favor and put an end to this matter?"
Sheng Rao was stunned. It turned out that the Queen Mother summoned her into the palace for her dowry. It seemed that Lin Mingyue was really favored by the Queen Mother. She was not willing to lose face to discuss this matter with herself, the daughter of a merchant.
However, the Queen Mother had already spoken about the dowry, so she had to follow her wishes.
Sheng Rao pretended to be in deep thought, then slowly said, "Empress Dowager, I am willing to follow your wishes and put an end to this matter."
When the queen mother heard this, a trace of relief flashed in her eyes. She looked at Sheng Rao and softened her voice: "My dear child, I am very pleased that you are so generous. Don't worry, I will order someone to convert Liu's dowry into silver and return it to you in full."
Originally, the Queen Mother intended to let Sheng Rao drop the issue of the dowry and not take back the items that were sold.
Now that the empress dowager saw that Sheng Rao was so sensible, she felt a little soft-hearted. After all, Sheng Rao was also a miserable woman. The empress dowager thought that she would pay for the dowry that had been sold. This would make Sheng Rao feel at ease and also do a good thing for Lin Mingyue.
Sheng Rao quickly stood up and saluted: "Thank you, Queen Mother. I am very grateful."
The Queen Mother waved her hand, indicating that Sheng Rao did not need to be so polite.
"You go back now. I will have someone send the silver to your farm."
"Yes, the civilian girl is resigning."
Sheng Rao stood up, bowed, and left the Queen Mother's bedroom.
The Queen Mother did not expect that this matter would be resolved so easily. She thought that Sheng Rao, as a merchant's daughter, would be ignorant of etiquette and would act unreasonable, because Lin Mingyue had intentionally or unintentionally revealed Sheng Rao's stubbornness and willfulness. But when she saw it today, she found that Sheng Rao's behavior and speech were very generous and appropriate, which was completely different from what Lin Mingyue said.
The Queen Mother couldn't help but admire Sheng Rao more, but at the same time she also became a little skeptical of Lin Mingyue's words.
She couldn't help but start to wonder, was Lin Mingyue's obsession with Huo Changwen really due to her deep affection for him, or was there some other purpose?
As soon as Sheng Rao left the palace, Xie Lan arrived at the Queen Mother's bedroom.
When Xie Lan heard that the Queen Mother summoned Sheng Rao to the palace, he felt a little nervous because he was afraid that the Queen Mother would make things difficult for Sheng Rao.
Originally, he planned to come to the Queen Mother's palace early to help Sheng Rao out of trouble, but when he thought that Sheng Rao didn't know his identity yet, he didn't come rashly.
Xie Lan was afraid that Sheng Rao would be even less willing to accept him after knowing his identity.
Xie Lan has been sending people to secretly watch the Queen Mother's bedroom. Once he observes that Sheng Rao is in danger, he will rush in to save her at all costs.
However, Sheng Rao left the Empress Dowager's palace before even a cup of tea had passed.
After Sheng Rao left, he hurried to the Queen Mother's bedroom.
"My son pays his respects to the Queen Mother." As Xie Lan entered the room, he bowed respectfully to the Queen Mother.
"How come the emperor has time to come to my bedroom now?"
The Queen Mother couldn't help but feel puzzled, as at this time of year normally Xie Lan should be handling state affairs.
"My son heard that the Queen Mother summoned Huo Changwen's ex-wife?"
The Queen Mother didn't expect Xie Lan to hear the news so soon.
Normally, the Queen Mother dotes on Lin Mingyue, so she would do anything for Lin Mingyue. This time, it is even more about the family affairs of court officials.
Now she is directly interfering in the family affairs of court officials, the emperor must be unhappy.
The Queen Mother knew she was in the wrong, so she was hesitant in her response.
"Ah... I did summon her. Wasn't it for Mingyue's sake?"
As soon as the Queen Mother finished speaking, Xie Lan frowned slightly. He knew very well that his mother doted on Lin Mingyue, but this time her actions were indeed a bit too much.
"Mother, you know my difficulties. If you interfere in the affairs of the court, it will probably cause unnecessary trouble." Xie Lan's tone was full of helplessness.
The Queen Mother smiled bitterly when she heard this. She certainly knew that her behavior was inappropriate, but when she thought of Lin Mingyue's deep affection for Huo Changwen, she couldn't help but want to help her.
"I know, but you also know Mingyue's feelings for Huo Changwen."
The Queen Mother sighed and continued, "Now that Huo Changwen has lost the support of the Sheng family, it would be a good thing for him to marry Ming Yue."