"Let me sleep a bit longer today. I don't need to go to the palace. Don't wait for me for meals. You guys eat first," Mu Fengqie said and then turned over and closed her eyes again.
Xiao Qing put her hand on her forehead. "Miss! A eunuch from the palace is here. He said you're summoned to the palace. Miss, please don't sleep anymore. Hurry up and get dressed and go to the palace!"
"Someone from the palace is here?" Mu Fengqie sat up abruptly.
Hearing this, all her drowsiness vanished. She quickly got up, washed up, and changed her clothes. This sudden summons to the palace must be related to Lou Mingkou.
She got on the carriage to the palace. Soon, she arrived at the imperial palace. She followed the guide and went to the court hall. To her surprise, inside were not only the emperor but also the empress dowager, the queen, and some important ministers. She even saw that loathsome figure.
"I pay my respects to the emperor. May the emperor live long, long, and ever longer! May the empress dowager and the queen live a thousand, thousand, and ever more years!" Mu Fengqie bowed gracefully.
When the emperor saw her, his eyes sparkled. It was a pity that she had already married someone else, and the empress dowager had issued that imperial edict. Otherwise, the emperor would surely have taken her into his harem.
"General Lou, now that everyone is here, you may speak your mind," the emperor said calmly.
Lou Mingkou held military power in the country and was a founding elder of the nation. Therefore, the emperor had to be wary of him. On ordinary days, the emperor almost always complied with his words.
Mu Fengqie understood immediately. She had long guessed that after such a big incident last night, he wouldn't let it go easily. She didn't expect him to act so soon.
Lou Mingkou glanced at Mu Fengqie, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. "Your Majesty, Doctor Mu has committed the great crime of deceiving the emperor. I'm here to inform Your Majesty today. Doctor Mu took leave but actually went to the border and even entered the military camp. Her intentions are surely malicious. I beg Your Majesty to interrogate her strictly!"
The emperor's face changed greatly upon hearing this. Even the empress dowager and the queen showed puzzled expressions. Why would Mu Fengqie, a mere woman, go to the border and enter the military camp?
"Mu Fengqie, do you have any difficulties? If you do, I'll stand up for you," the empress dowager said, glancing at Lou Mingkou.
The empress dowager didn't like Mu Fengqie very much, but since this matter was related to Lou Mingkou, she had to intervene.
Since the emperor ascended the throne, Lou Mingkou, considering himself a founding elder, had been bossing the emperor around. He was extremely arrogant and even despised imperial power, which made the empress dowager very uncomfortable.
The empress dowager's sudden support for her surprised Mu Fengqie, but she had already thought of a countermeasure and showed no trace of panic.
"To be honest, I do have selfish motives. I wanted to please the queen and the empress dowager. There's a prescription handed down from my ancestors. This prescription can keep women young forever. After much thought, I realized that only the two most noble women in the world deserve this prescription. So, I went to the border this time to look for the medicinal herbs," Mu Fengqie said unhurriedly. After that, she secretly glanced at Lou Mingkou and made a face at him, which made Lou Mingkou so angry that he wished he could rush up and strangle her.
The empress dowager and the queen were both excited upon hearing this. There was no woman in the world who wasn't tempted by the words "stay young forever." Especially for the women in the deep palace, the queen, in particular, most desired to stay young so that she could compete with the new and charming concubines.
The empress dowager also showed a smile and looked at Mu Fengqie more gently. "So that's the case. Have you found the prescription? Have you made the medicine?"
Mu Fengqie nodded and slowly took out two small medicine bottles from her bosom. Then she handed them to the queen and the empress dowager. The queen and the empress dowager were beaming with joy looking at the small medicine bottles in their hands.
She had long anticipated that it wouldn't be that simple, so she had made full preparations in advance. However, she would never tell the queen and the empress dowager that what was in the bottles was just essential oil for detoxification and beauty.
Lou Mingkou squinted his eyes and stared at Mu Fengqie fiercely. "But why did Doctor Mu sneak into the military camp secretly? The military camp is not a place where a woman can just go in and out at will!"
Hearing this, Mu Fengqie deliberately pretended to be shy. "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, Queen, my husband is in the military camp. I sent a letter to him but never received a reply. Since I was already there, I simply went to the military camp to see him. I beg Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager to punish me!"
Saying this, she knelt down with a thud. Everyone present had their own ulterior motives, but only the queen and the empress dowager were satisfied. Judging from her behavior, she seemed to care a great deal about her husband. As long as she didn't have any designs on the position in the palace, the queen and the empress dowager were willing to protect her.
After all, she was a rare talent and so obedient. They were reluctant to kill her!
The empress dowager looked at the emperor with a smile and said, "I think this child is a good one. She has worked so hard to find this good prescription for me and the queen from so far away. How about just letting this matter go?"
Even if the empress dowager didn't say so, the emperor had no intention of punishing her. Although she could never be the emperor's woman now, her beauty was so breathtaking that it was rare to see in a hundred years. Even if he couldn't have her, it was pleasing to the eye just to look at her on ordinary days.
Lou Mingkou had intended to use this opportunity to kill Mu Fengqie justifiably, but he didn't expect that she was so capable of winning the empress dowager's protection. He was so angry that his teeth were itching.
However, this wasn't the result he wanted. He was determined to make Mu Fengqie know the consequences of angering him today no matter what.
"Your Majesty, think twice. Her words are baseless. What if she's a spy from the enemy? What should we do if something goes wrong? I think this person should be locked up and interrogated strictly, and be subjected to the seventy - two punishments of the Punishment Department!"
Lou Mingkou's words shocked the empress dowager. Even the queen thought it was very strange. Mu Fengqie was just a weak woman. But from Lou Mingkou's appearance, it seemed as if he had a deep - seated hatred for her, as if he wouldn't stop until he killed her.
"Your Majesty! I'm definitely not a spy. I just went to the military camp to see my husband. My husband is the one who captured the Seventh Princess. The Fifth Prince can testify for me! Please don't believe the slander of villains!"
Mu Fengqie fought back against Lou Mingkou unhurriedly. The feud between the two of them was completely settled. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone Mu Fengqie, who was as cunning as a fox. She had long seen the conflict between the empress dowager and Lou Mingkou, so she decided to confront him head - on. She thought this might gain her some favor with the empress dowager.
"Han'er is a careful person when leading the army on an expedition. If this girl were really a spy, she probably wouldn't have returned to the imperial city unscathed. Emperor, I think we should just let this matter go," the empress dowager said.