2530 I'll Go Check Her Out



Most noble ladies were going to give face to Great General Zhongli's wife and attend the plum-blossom viewing banquet. If Concubine Shi's purpose was to have that impostor replace Qiaoqiao, she would definitely not pass up this chance to properly show the latter's face.

"Then I'll go." Qiaoqiao nodded vigorously. "I'll go check out this fake!"

Mo Lian nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go with you…"

"You can't go!" The little fellow immediately covered his mouth with her hands and blinked mischievously. "You're too dazzling. I have to hide you at home."

There would just be a bunch of women there. What was there to see?

Lady Qiaoqiao was going to do battle there. Don't worry, she would definitely return victorious!

Mo Lian was both amused and exasperated. He pulled down her petite hands and gave them a lip-smacking kiss. "Don't worry, Hubby only belongs to you. Yours, yours, only yours."

How could this man be so flirty?

Qiaoqiao couldn't resist pinching his face. She hugged him and muttered, "That's right, you're mine."

Mo Lian couldn't help being amused. After cuddling her for a while, he called out to Zhao Tengdong, who was waiting outside the door with bated breath. "You go make arrangements to escort the crown prince consort to the banquet tomorrow."

"Yes." Zhao Tengdong immediately let out a sigh of relief. The wait outside the door felt so long that it induced tears.

***

The imperial palace.

The Empress Dowager's bedchamber.

"Xiao'Li'zi really did die?" Empress Dowager Chen was doubtful as she sat with her covers around her.

This elderly lady was already in her 70s, but her appearance was still lustrous and well-maintained. She looked at least ten years younger than her actual age.

The nanny accompanying the elderly lady nodded. "Mhm, does the empress dowager want to summon that crown prince consort?"

Empress Dowager Chen contemplated for a bit and then shook her head. "We'll see."

Whether they acknowledged this young crown prince consort Mo Lian brought back or not, Mo Lian seemed to have his heart set on her.

From the looks of it, she was quite a formidable character.

Upon returning, she punished the people from the shrine in public and also beat up Mo Zhuang. Later, she executed Xiao'Li'zi in front of the Imperial Household Department's Eunuch Li.

Tut, she truly was a formidable one.

"Apparently Eunuch Li fell seriously ill after getting back. He is still bedridden even now."

"Sigh, he truly is a pitiful one. Have the imperial physician building send over more tonics for him to nurture his body. After all, the older people in this palace are passing by the day…" Empress Dowager Chen lamented.

"The empress dowager is kindhearted. This servant will go instruct them now."

Empress Dowager Chen nodded. She took a cup of swallow's nest that a palace maid handed her. She then spoke indifferently, "Baojia has an excitable temper and is unruly. You go make a trip to the Chen Clan and should know what to do, right?"

"Yes, this old servant will immediately take care of it. Rest assured, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

Empress Dowager Chen nodded. She then waved her hand tiredly to dismiss everyone.

She was the only one remaining in the bedchamber.

She lay there silenly for a long, long time. In the end, she couldn't resist cursing them for being fools.

The Chen Clan declined by the day. The juniors in the clan excelled neither in an official career nor in cultivation.

If not for her and her eldest nephew who were barely supporting the Chen Clan…

Empress Dowager Chen heaved a long sigh.

Her body felt heavy.

She was getting old, after all. She mused that she would definitely not have been so cautious several decades ago.

It truly was…

It was impossible to not give in to old age.

There were heavy shadows outside the window, and the interior was desolate.