Shi Muyuan narrowed her eyes slightly. The trick of feigning weakness wouldn't work on her.
"I didn't come here for any other purpose today. At first, I thought Miss Qiao had deliberately framed my elder brother. But now, I didn't expect there to be hidden secrets in it. I truly feel ashamed."
"Could it be that Your Majesty the Empress Dowager came here just to apologize again? If so, there's no need. I still remember clearly what happened between you siblings last time."
Without the men around, Qiao Mengyuan showed her true colors and was deliberately difficult with every word.
Shi Muyuan had seen through it all. After all, she had watched so many dramas about scheming women in modern times, so she was more than capable of dealing with someone like Qiao Mengyuan.
When facing such a person, one mustn't lose their temper first. If they got angry, it would just play into her hands.
"It's not all about the apology. I came here today just to try and reconcile. In the future, Miss Qiao will still follow us back to the capital city of Changjing. We'll be seeing each other often. Do you really want to make a big deal out of this and make us all look bad?"
Speaking straightforwardly, this writing technique she had learned in Chinese composition could also be used to deal with people who didn't care about face, just like the current situation.
Qiao Meng obviously didn't expect her to make her look bad. Her expression froze, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure approaching in the distance. A glimmer of joy flashed in her eyes.
"Your Majesty is right. I'm just a person with no status now. You're all the high - ranking general and the Empress Dowager. How can a commoner like me compare with you? I'll surely remember your lesson today and will never show up in front of you again. I'll leave tomorrow."
She wiped away the few tears she had just managed to squeeze out, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice.
Just as Shi Muyuan caught that strange look in her eyes, she was suddenly pushed hard to the side.
"What on earth do you want, Your Majesty? Haven't you done enough? Or do you really want everyone to be unhappy? I've already said that from now on, Meng'er will stay by my side. If you want to do anything to her, you'll have to get through me first."
The man's resolute face made Shi Muyuan understand. However, having seen this kind of cliché before, she remained calm when dealing with it.
Before anyone could react, she started crying even louder than Qiao Meng.
"Why does Miss Qiao misunderstand my good intentions? I clearly didn't say that to you at first. These people I brought can testify. I understand that the National Teacher thinks Miss Qiao has been bullied and wants to take her side. But isn't it a bit too much to act without finding out the truth?"
This scene left everyone dumbfounded.
In their minds, the Empress Dowager had always been arrogant and strict with everyone. Even when she was extremely angry, she never shed tears. Now, this left everyone at a loss.
Xiao Xiao was even more furious and quickly stepped in front of her mistress, her voice full of accusation and distress.
"Miss Qiao is really good at slandering others. My mistress came here just to discuss reconciliation with you. She didn't want the National Teacher, the Shi family, and the royal family to fall out, which would be really bad for the Great Liang. Who would have thought that you would turn things around and blame her instead? It's really tough on our mistress."
Qiao Meng was still in a daze. How could she have known that a strong - willed woman like Shi Muyuan would cry one day, shocking everyone.
Gritting her teeth, seeing that Cui Qizhou seemed to be softening his heart, she quickly defended herself.
"I didn't do it on purpose. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I know I was wrong. You can do whatever you want to punish me."
She looked like a wronged young deer, which brought Cui Qizhou back to his senses.
He frowned. "We appreciate Your Majesty's good intentions. You'd better go back first. Even for reconciliation, the eldest young master should come here in person. It doesn't really count if Your Majesty comes instead."
"Does the National Teacher think that I didn't come with enough sincerity this time?"
"I don't mean that. It's just that since it's about reconciliation, the two parties involved should be here."
"It seems that the National Teacher still thinks I'm not qualified enough. My elder brother had something urgent to attend to and went out. If Miss Qiao is not willing to forgive my elder brother, I'll kneel here until she does."
With that, she really knelt down outside the door.
This time, Qiao Meng swallowed back all the remaining words.
All her prepared words were useless against Shi Muyuan's move.
Moreover, she never thought that the high - and - mighty Empress Dowager would one day kneel for such a trivial matter.
If she still refused to reconcile today, word might spread, and everyone would surely point fingers at her. Then all her plans would go to waste.
There was nothing she could do. She gritted her teeth and swallowed her anger.
"I can't bear Your Majesty's kneeling. But since Your Majesty is so sincere, I'm really touched. How about we wait for the eldest young master to come back and then discuss it?"
"So Miss Qiao is willing to reconcile?"
"Of course, I can't refuse Your Majesty's good intentions."
With Qiao Meng's words, the man stepped forward and tried to help the young girl up from the ground.
"Your Majesty doesn't need to go to such extremes. Even if we fall out, I will never joke about the court and the common people."
The young girl smiled faintly and quietly took a step back, avoiding the man's outstretched hand.
"Then I'll take my leave first. I'm looking forward to good news."
"See off Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Watching the group leave with her eyes, when their figures disappeared around the corner, Qiao Meng suddenly knelt on the ground unexpectedly.
This action made the man feel really annoyed, though he didn't know exactly why.
"Meng'er, what are you doing? You've just recovered from your illness, and the ground is so cold..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Qiao Meng interrupted him.
"Please, brother, agree to one thing for me. Otherwise, I'll kneel here forever."
"You've really learned this trick from the Empress Dowager. Are you trying to force me?"
"Meng'er has never wanted to force you, brother. But please agree to what I'm about to say. Please don't abandon Meng'er because of this."
The pleading in her eyes was so intense that the man had no choice but to agree.
"Then get up first. I'll agree to whatever you say."
"Thank you, brother."
She wiped away her tears while hesitating, as if not knowing how to start.
"I... I don't know where to begin."
"Just say it directly. There's nothing we siblings can't talk about."
"Okay. Then, brother, I'll just say it. I'm afraid the Empress Dowager will cause trouble again this time. I know I've done a lot of wrong things in the past. All those things were just to survive. I had no other choice. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to see you now."