Chapter 1260 - 1260 Hesitating in a Dilemma!
Chapter 1260 - 1260 Hesitating in a Dilemma!
Chapter 1260 Hesitating in a Dilemma!
Some people were waiting, some became anxious, and some were grounded in the mansion. Even the Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion was not peaceful. It was haunted, which made people in the mansion panic. There were all kinds of rumors.
Chu Qing didn’t sleep well all night and felt dizzy. Deeply depressed, he didn’t look well.
Hearing that Princess Yuyan came to his mansion, he ordered coldly, “Take her to see my mother.”
He did not want to meddle in her matters anymore. His mother would deal with it no matter what she came here for. He believed that his mother could easily handle Princess Yuyan.
Chu Qing had no good feelings toward Princess Yuyan, a woman of loose morals. When he went to the Xu State, he probably paid more attention to her because of her beauty. But after the previous matter, he lost interest in Princess Yuyan. If such a woman married him, he would probably be cuckolded.
She was a woman of easy virtue.
Of course, it was not appropriate to fall out with her at this time. He would have to endure her for some time. According to his mother, he might as well leave her in a corner of the Palace when his great ambition was achieved. At that time, no one could criticize him for this. Even if the Xu State was displeased, they could do nothing. After all, the Xu State was too far away. If Xu State King was sensible enough, he would not go against Chu Qing because of Princess Yuyan.
Chu Qing didn’t want to see Princess Yuyan, so he didn’t go to Consort Dowager Qing’s place. He only held meetings in his study. There must be someone behind all these weird things in his mansion. Pondering over the problem, he found that Commandery Prince Cheng was the most likely to plot against him. After all, Commandery Prince Cheng was grounded, and Chu Qing joined to make it happen.
“Could it be that Commandery Prince Cheng found out about what I did?”
Thinking of this, Chu Qing was also very annoyed. He reached out to rub his forehead and asked everyone to leave.
The study became quiet, and even his servants had retreated to the door. Seeing the beauty coming over gracefully, all the servants straightened up respectfully.
The beauty waved her hand. Then, the servants left, and only the servant girls stayed outside the door. She went in.
In the study, Chu Qing leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.
He didn’t care about the light footsteps, thinking that the servant must have come to change the tea. However, someone walked behind him and stretched out to gently press his temples. “What’s wrong? Are you tired?”
“Why are you here?” Hearing the familiar voice, Chu Qing immediately knew it was Mo Qiuyi, so he asked without opening his eyes.
“I heard Princess Yuyan was here. I specially came to see her,” Mo Qiuyi said casually.
“Don’t worry about her!” Chu Qing didn’t want to hear anything about Princess Yuyan now. Princess Yuyan was his greatest shame. How he wished he could deal with her right now.
Seeing Chu Qing’s sullen expression, Mo Qiuyi looked more tender and said, “Don’t you like her?”
“How could I like her? If I had a choice, I wouldn’t marry her!” Chu Qing snorted coldly and said with undisguised disdain, “She’s in my mansion now. Be careful. Don’t let her meet you and cause any trouble!”
“I will be careful. I’m just worried about you… So, I come to see you!” Mo Qiuyi said softly with affection in her eyes.
She deliberately came to check out the situation when hearing that Princess Yuyan had come. The status of her and Princess Yuyan in this mansion had not yet been decided. It was hard to say who would be the legal wife. The Emperor didn’t make it clear because he wanted Chu Qing to choose.
But how could Mo Qiuyi be willing to give up her position as the legal wife?
She deserved the position after years of hard work. Without the position of the legal wife, she would be at a disadvantage in the future. This was not just a matter of being Commandery Prince Qing’s legal wife.
“Rest assured. You are the only one I cherish in my heart. No matter how outstanding Princess Yuyan is, it has nothing to do with me,” Chu Qing promised.
Hearing that, Mo Qiuyi blushed, and her voice became increasingly soft. “Brother Qing, you treat me wholeheartedly, but Princess Yuyan has supporters. I’m afraid…”
“Don’t be afraid!” Chu Qing held her hand and pulled her before him. Opening his eyes, he comforted her softly, “You don’t have to worry about anything. What’s the relationship between us? I have no feelings for her. Even without this incident, I won’t take her seriously. As for the force behind her, there are not many people she could use after the escape?”
Of course, according to Consort Dowager Qing, Princess Yuyan was backed up by some people, no matter how small the group was. Moreover, the influential person in the Xu State had been supporting Princess Yuyan overtly and covertly. As such, Consort Dowager Qing was delighted that Princess Yuyan would marry Chu Qing.
Consort Dowager Qing was satisfied, but Chu Qing was not. He was disappointed at the thought of Princess Yuyan, the unfaithful woman. Mo Qiuyi also felt quite upset. After all, how could she allow any other woman to take a share of her profits?
She and the family branch behind her had planned to win over the Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion for many years. How could she let Princess Yuyan and her supporters get the final victory?
“Is Princess Yuyan… very beautiful?” Mo Qiuyi lowered her head and asked with a bitter smile.
“I’ve seen many good-looking women. Not to mention anyone else, Shao Yanru, Miss Shao of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, was exceedingly beautiful. But what happened to her in the end? She died in the Cold Palace as a lowest-ranking Secondary Consort,” Chu Qing took this matter lightly and comforted her.
As Mo Qiuyi heard this, her sadness all melted away. After thinking for a while, she said, “Then what about Shao Jie’er? She belongs to this mansion. It’s not good for her to stay outside. It’s better to let her come back. After all, she had served you once.”
Her words were full of consideration for Chu Qing. Hearing this, Chu Qing increasingly felt she was the most suitable candidate to be his legal wife. It was good enough for a person like Princess Yuyan to be a secondary legal wife.
“Better die outside,” Chu Qing said.
“But… After all, she had served you. What if she gets pregnant?” Mo Qiuyi said, “I know how much you cherish me. But I can’t bear to see your child wander outside. In the future, this matter might cause extra troubles.”
“It’s impossible. My mother had been giving her medicine,” Chu Qing said indifferently.
His mother certainly would not allow Shao Jie’er to give birth to the eldest son of a concubine. Such a descendant would bring trouble to an ordinary family, let alone the royal family. If the Emperor’s eldest son were the legitimate son, there wouldn’t be so many disputes now.
“But… I don’t think it’s a good idea. Your highness, bring her back. The Marquis Xing’s Mansion has taken such a downward plunge. If you bring her back, others will praise you for not abandoning your woman.” Mo Qiuyi suggested. Shao Jie’er was no longer a threat to her. At most, she could be a concubine without status. Thus, Mo Qiuyi might as well use her.
Mo Qiuyi clearly knew she was far less charming than Princess Yuyan, but Shao Jie’er was good-looking. It would be beneficial for Mo Qiuyi to keep her and compete with Princess Yuyan.
“Then, I’ll send some people to pick her up tomorrow!” Chu Qing said reluctantly.
“Let me do it tomorrow,” Mo Qiuyi said with a smile.
“You?” Chu Qing was confused. “What are you going to do there? Don’t you know you are much higher in status than her? She can only be an inferior concubine even if she returns to the mansion. You don’t need to go there.”
“I know it’s inappropriate for me to go there, but I’m willing to do anything for you. You’d better keep a low profile now, but I have no such worries. More than anything, I want to help you manage the inner court well,” Mo Qiuyi said softly and looked at Chu Qing with affection in her eyes.
Chu Qing was very satisfied with this. His legal wife should be like this. While she stabilized the inner court, he could focus on great things. She was nothing like Princess Yuyan, who was obviously not easy to get along with. Princess Yuyan would be a troublemaker in the inner court. From this point of view, it was better to make Mo Qiuyi the legal wife and Princess Yuyan a secondary legal wife.
He had been a little hesitant in making the decision, but now he made up his mind. Then, he nodded and agreed.
After they talked for a while, Consort Dowager Qing sent someone to invite Chu Qing over. Mo Qiuyi didn’t stay any longer and left quietly. It was improper for her to confront Princess Yuyan at this time, and she didn’t want to do that either. One of her purposes for this visit was to persuade Chu Qing. At present, Chu Qing’s attitude was evident.
There was another purpose — she had to find Shao Jie’er. She heard Shao Jie’er, Shao Hua’an, and his wife were driven out together. They then lived in a small courtyard.
Mo Qiuyi made Chu Qing very happy and decided to make her his legal wife in his heart. But Princess Yuyan was not stupid. Consort Dowager Qing had some complaints about her, but somehow, Princess Yuyan managed to win her favor. When Chu Qing came over at her request, Consort Dowager Qing repeatedly suggested that Chu Qing should make Princess Yuyan his legal wife.
However, Chu Qing pretended that he didn’t understand it. After saying a few words, he made an excuse and left.
When Princess Yuyan left, he returned to Consort Dowager Qing’s place.
“Did Mo Qiuyi come here to see you just now?” Consort Dowager Qing had received the news at this time, and her face darkened. Although she chose Mo Qiuyi for Chu Qing, she was displeased when learning Mo Qiuyi made some secret moves behind her.
“She came to ask about Shao Jie’er and said it was not good for her to be left outside. With my permission, she will find Shao Jie’er and bring her back tomorrow!” Chu Qing explained.
Hearing his explanation, Commandery Prince Qing looked a little better. “Didn’t she come for Princess Yuyan?”
“Mother, what are you talking about? Qiuyi wouldn’t do such a thing. She was just worried about Shao Jie’er. For fear that she would make trouble again, she thought it was better to let her stay in the mansion,” Chu Qing said.
After a moment of silence, Consort Dowager Qing looked at her son and stopped asking about Mo Qiuyi. “Qing’er, what do you think of Princess Yuyan?”
As a famous beauty in the Xu State, Princess Yuyan had a striking appearance.
Chu Qing knew what she meant, so he looked up and asked back, “Mother, a person only with a good appearance is useless. My legal wife must help me manage my inner court. Do you think Princess Yuyan is capable of it?”
They hadn’t decided who would be the legal wife and the secondary legal wife. Consort Dowager Qing was uncertain. But since she mentioned it, Chu Qing thought of her intimate attitude toward Princess Yuyan. It was not difficult for him to figure out that Consort Dowager Qing preferred Princess Yuyan.
Consort Dowager Qing must have fancied her because she was a princess backed up by the Xu State.
Consort Dowager Qing remained silent. Seeing this, Chu Qing knew she was reluctant to change her mind and had to persuade her, “The Xu State is too far away. Even if she has supporters there, they can’t help in time. In contrast, the Mo Family can be of great help. Think about Nanny Wei, who backs Wei Dahai up, and Mo Qiuyi’s grandmother… Don’t you think they are more useful than Princess Yuyan?”