Seeing Chu Qing's expression soften a bit, Wei Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though he knew what kind of person Chu Qing was, he still feared that she wouldn't understand his actions.
Thankfully, she did.
...
After a bumpy ride, they arrived at South Peace Mountain.
After getting off the carriage, Chu Qing couldn't help but have a flood of emotions.
Firstly, it was here that she was abducted not long ago and almost had her innocence slandered.
Secondly, in her past life, before she was elevated to the position of the queen, she had also come here for a hunt. That time, she saved her emperor husband who almost fell into the jaws of a bear, and then she became the queen.
Actually, back then, it wasn't because she loved the emperor so much. Instead... when the bear was approaching, in her panic, she accidentally tripped herself, and just happened to push the emperor out while she blocked in front.
Fortunately, the guards arrived in time. Otherwise, both of them might have ended up in the bear's mouth.
Just thinking about this incident made her feel embarrassed. Tripping herself, how stupid was she!
If she were given another chance, she would surely stay far away carefully. As for the emperor, whoever wanted to save him could do so; as for the position of the queen, whoever wanted to be it could be.
Since they had got off the carriage, it was not appropriate for Wei Ying to walk beside Chu Qing. So he could only walk expressionlessly towards the emperor.
For the royal hunt, South Peace Mountain had been cleared inside and out. Even the Xingfu Temple wouldn't open to receive pilgrims for the next two days.
Most of the people had already arrived. Some were staying in their own tents, some were flattering the emperor, and some were chatting with their acquaintances.
Therefore, as soon as the convoy of the Prince Ning's Mansion arrived, it naturally attracted a lot of attention. When Chu Qing and Wei Ying got off from the same carriage, many people who saw them sighed about the affection between the Prince Ning and his wife. However, when Hu Yan Zhuoyi got off from the carriage that originally belonged to Chu Qing, some people's expressions changed, and they even began to have wild thoughts.
Among those who had wild thoughts was the wife of the Duke's Mansion.
Since the duke had come, the wife of the duke and Zhong Yi naturally came along. At this moment, the two were showing off the jewelry recently bestowed by the empress dowager among a group of ladies and young ladies. When they saw the carriage of the Prince Ning's Mansion, the mother - daughter pair's expressions changed simultaneously.
Especially after Chu Qing and Wei Ying got off the carriage together, Zhong Yi couldn't help but let out a few cold snorts. It was not until the wife of the duke gave her a glare that she shut up.
However, after Hu Yan Zhuoyi got off from the carriage that originally belonged to the Princess Ning, Zhong Yi's eyes lit up again.
"Mother!" Zhong Yi whispered in the wife of the duke's ear.
The wife of the duke squinted her eyes and sized up the Prince Ning and his entourage. Naturally, she knew what her daughter meant, so she hooked the corner of her mouth and said, "I see."
"The Third Princess of Xiliang is..."
"Come, let's go and greet the Princess Ning properly."
After saying that, the wife of the duke led Zhong Yi and some ladies and young ladies who were usually on good terms with them forward.
...
When Chu Qing was lost in memories of the past, suddenly she saw a group of ladies walking towards her.
Frowning, she saw a few familiar faces.
The wife of the duke and Zhong Yi.
A cold smile curled up on Chu Qing's lips, and there was also a hint of mockery in her eyes.
If these two didn't show up in front of her, she would really have almost forgotten them.
When Xu Xin framed her, her good aunt was definitely involved.
Although the family of the Minister of Revenue had fallen from grace, the wife of the duke and her daughter could still swagger around.
Before the group even got close, the wife of the duke had already said with a smiling face, "The affection between the princess and the prince is really deep."
Chu Qing squinted her eyes and replied with a smile, "I think so too."
Zhong Yi tilted her neck and said mockingly, "That's right. The prince is truly devoted to the princess. He was so afraid that the princess would be lonely that he specially invited the Third Princess of Xiliang to the mansion to accompany her."
After all, Hu Yan Zhuoyi was a princess of Xiliang. So the fact that she was missing and intercepted by hooligans had not spread. Therefore, not many people knew that Hu Yan Zhuoyi had been staying in the Prince Ning's Mansion.
Seeing Zhong Yi's blatant sarcasm, Chu Qing didn't feel angry. If a little girl could easily anger her, then she would have really lived in vain for so many years.
So Chu Qing still replied with a smiling face, "After Sister Xu Xin left, I really felt... extremely bored."
The smile on the wife of the duke's face immediately froze, and Zhong Yi was so blocked that her face turned red.
Since the fall of Minister Xu, although they mourned for Wang Shi and Xu Xin, human nature was selfish most of the time. They were already very lucky that they were not affected. Therefore, when they were outside, the mother - daughter pair never mentioned the Xu family. And those ladies and young ladies who were on good terms with them also knew this well and never brought up anything that would embarrass them.
However, today, Chu Qing mentioned it so casually.
Moreover, she didn't care at all.
No matter how angry the wife of the duke was in her heart, she didn't dare to say anything. She had a general understanding of Chu Qing's personality and knew that if she said anything else, the other party would surely retort mercilessly.
Then she would really lose face!
Thinking of this, the wife of the duke immediately forced out a smile, "I still have some things to attend to, so I won't keep the princess company." After saying that, she dragged Zhong Yi, who still wanted to say something, away in a hurry.
Seeing this, the others had no choice but to bow and leave.
Chu Qing raised her eyebrows slightly, a bit surprised.
She originally thought she would have to say more, but unexpectedly, simply mentioning Xu Xin could defeat the other side.
Lv Luo and Liu Xin originally thought that the wife of the duke and her group would come to sneer at their mistress as usual. Unexpectedly, their mistress had casually driven them away. Lv Luo couldn't help but admire her mistress even more.
...
"Mother! She actually..." Zhong Yi was dragged back to their tent by the wife of the duke. At this moment, she was so angry that she had lost her senses.
"Your temper is too easy to be provoked!" The wife of the duke looked at Zhong Yi and felt a bit frustrated that her daughter was not up to the mark.
"But!"
"We will avenge Xin'er. But not now! Only by being patient can we achieve great things."
The wife of the duke was scolding Zhong Yi with a straight face, while Zhong Yi was thinking of an idea...
To get back at Chu Qing.