In the main hall, Liang Sizhong was sitting on a chair drinking tea. On the guest chair, the palace's chief steward, Defu, was also holding a teacup. Liang Sizhong looked like he had something to say, but he didn't know where to start.
Defu understood his expression and asked, "Does the Marquis have anything to tell this servant?"
"I don't dare, but I understand why General Lan Zihui, the imperial bodyguard, appears here. Isn't he the emperor's personal bodyguard?"
"Young Master, you don't know. This is a great favor from the emperor. Have you ever seen the prince personally arrange for the queen to enter the palace?" Defu said with a smile.
"What? This was arranged by the emperor himself?" He couldn't believe it and stood up and asked.
"Yes, this shows how important Concubine Butterfly is in the heart of the emperor. Mr. Hou, just wait until you become the uncle of the country." Defu looked at Liang Sizhong after he finished speaking, but he didn't expect him to sit down on the chair.
"Master Hou, are you okay?" Defu stepped forward and asked. Of course, he didn't know that Liang Sizhong was frightened.
"No...it's okay." Liang Sizhong said it was okay, but his heart was already raised. He thought: It seems to be a mistake to let Qi Zi enter the palace. With Qi Zi's temper, let alone let him become the king.
Uncle, I'm afraid that as she said, it's possible to kill everyone in the family. In order to keep Xiao Qing out of danger, I'm afraid my own life will be in danger. What should I do? Thinking of this, I can't help but sweat on my hands.
At this time, the eldest lady and Liang Xiaoqing walked in from the door, gave a gentle salute and said: "Eunuch De."
Defu stood up and said politely: "Mrs. Liang." Then he saw Liang Xiaoqing and said: "This is...?"
"This is my little girl Xiao Qing." The eldest lady said with a smile.
"Oh..." Defu smiled and said in a long tone: "Slave Defu has seen Concubine Butterfly. Why doesn't the empress change her clothes?"
Liang Xiaoqing hid behind the eldest lady in fear. Upon seeing this, the eldest lady said, "My father-in-law made a mistake. My daughter is not a person who entered the palace."
"What?" Defu looked at Liang Sizhong in surprise. When he saw him smiling and nodding, he was even more surprised and said: "Master Liang, there is a daughter in the house. If she doesn't enter the palace, how could the master want to deceive the king?"
"Eunuch De has misunderstood. There are two daughters and one son in my house. What you see now is my eldest daughter Qing'er, and the one who entered the palace is the second daughter Qi Zi." Liang Sizhong explained.
"That's not right. The emperor clearly told the old slave that there is only one young lady in the house? What on earth is going on?"
"My father-in-law, there are actually two daughters and one son in the house. The emperor must have made a mistake."
Defu forced out a smile and looked at the eldest lady and said, "Oh, maybe, then may I ask if Miss Qing'er is a match?"
"My daughter has never been married." The eldest lady answered truthfully, but she didn't expect that this was Telford's trap.
"Oh, since the eldest daughter has never been married, why should the second daughter enter the palace?" Defu looked at Liang Sizhong seriously.
"This..." Liang Sizhong was speechless.
Defu continued: "According to the rules of this dynasty, there is a principle of marrying the younger sister before she leaves the court."
The eldest lady took a breath and said: "My father-in-law doesn't know. My daughter has been in poor health since she was a child, so she has not left the palace. Now that the emperor does not mind and has blessed the palace, how can we let our daughter enter the palace as a sick person?"
Well, isn’t that bringing bad luck to the royal family? The second young lady, Qi Zi, is talented, knowledgeable, and courteous. She is a good candidate to serve the emperor, so we decided to let the second young lady enter the palace."
After hearing what she said, Defu was about to say something, but someone beat him to it.
"I thought the eldest lady was good at sarcasm, but I didn't expect her ability to praise others is also first-rate. I learned a lesson today." Qi Zi walked out of the side door, followed by several palace officials.
Everyone looked at Qi Zi, who was dressed in palace clothes, looking at everyone present with an indifferent expression, but that indifferent face was so beautiful that everyone present was surprised, just like the snow lotus blooming on Tianshan Mountain.
Liang Sizhong slowly approached her, his eyes fixed. Yes, he saw Yang in her youth, and vaguely remembered that she was wearing a red wedding dress on the day she married into the family. The appearance of Qi Zi opened his eyes to Yang. The door of memories. The eldest lady looked at Qi Zi, the brocade silk in her hand was being kneaded back and forth, her eyes were staring at Qi Zi fiercely, and her expression of wishing she would die now made Liang Xiaoqing on the side feel that her mother is good. It was scary. She didn’t expect Qi Zi to be such a beauty after dressing up. But thinking about it carefully, she just went to the palace to die. So what if she was pretty. It was said that the emperor was lustful and there were many concubines in the palace. After all, wasn't Shen Liran just a beautiful woman? Even if she was a queen, her life would be short, and she would die in less than three months.
Defu looked at Qi Zi, and the more he looked at it, the more familiar he looked. He always felt that he had seen him there before. Suddenly he remembered the girl he and Lan Zihui had bumped into when they were on errands when the emperor was on tour a few days ago. He exclaimed in surprise: "It turns out to be you."
Qi Zi had long forgotten what happened that day. She had no memory of the person in front of her. She stared at him with a pair of beautiful eyes. Defu noticed that he had lost his temper and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I'm rude."
"Are you..." Qi Zi asked.
"This is Eunuch Deford, the chief steward of the palace." Liang Sizhong introduced, and Qi Zi nodded to him with a forced smile.
"Slave Defu, the emperor sent you to pick up your empress." This voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember where I heard it.
Qi Zi was about to say something when a young eunuch ran in from outside and said, "Father-in-law, the time has come. General Lan has asked the queen to move."
"I know, you can go down."
"yes."
"Your Majesty, everything has been arranged. Please move on," Defu said with a smile on his face, but Qi Zi couldn't smile. She started with difficulty. Liang Sizhong and others behind him suddenly knelt down and shouted: "Your Majesty. Waiting to send you off to Lady Butterfly."
Qi Zi was stunned for a moment, then turned around and said coldly: "Madam, please don't forget what you promised me."
Although she was not very willing, she still had to do it according to the situation. She said softly: "My queen, please rest assured that I will definitely keep my promise."
"Empress, let's go." Defu urged. Qi Zi looked in the direction of the west courtyard and shed a tear. She gathered her emotions and walked towards the door.