CH 88

Chapter 88: Request for an Audience

At court, Xiao Mi was kneeling quietly below.

In the throne room, Hua Ruxue was sitting high above, expressionless and stern. Her eyes contained a trace of cold, but more of danger.

She never expected that the Hundred Flowers Banquet yesterday would end in failure. And it was all her wonderful daughter’s doing.

Actually, there were also the siblings from the Xiao family.

But not only that, the moment court started today, Xiao Mi didn’t say anything and directly handed up a memorial to request to retire and return to her hometown.

This infuriated her. Not only was she angry with Hua Qianzi, she felt the urge to murder Xiao Susu. People that were too intelligent, if they wouldn’t work for her, then they had to die.

However, since Xiao Mi had requested to retire, the Xiao family’s power would instantly decline. It hadn’t declined in the past because they still had military power, but once they lost that, the Xiao family would become free for people to trample on.

She actually approved of Xiao Mi’s choice.

It was just that when she recalled the late emperor’s dying command, she felt conflicted again.

This was why, at this time, she simply sat there without a word, her expression grave.

All the ministers were standing below, not daring to make a sound.

Although Hua Qianye possessed great power, he still couldn’t attend court. He was a man after all.

Hence he still wasn’t aware of this abrupt change. However, Hua Qianzi was at court and at this moment she is glaring at Xiao Mi. It hadn’t been easy for her to obtain the Xiao family’s power through threatening Xiao Susu.

Now that the timing seemed almost ripe, this old woman was actually requesting to retire?

With this, that meant she lost all the eggs in her basket in one go.

Inside her sleeves, her hands clenched into fists.

She also occasionally glanced up towards Hua Ruxue. Although she knew that Hua Ruxue didn’t support her, she still hoped that Hua Ruxue would reject Xiao Mi’s memorial.

At this moment, she wished that Hua Qianye was present. Perhaps he would be able to change the situation.

“Dear Minister Xiao, are you sure about this?”

After a good while, Hua Ruxue finally spoke. Her voice was no different from usual and the fury on her face had also disappeared without a trace.

Xiao Mi had been serving Hua Ruxue for over twenty years, so she knew this emperor’s personality very well. At this moment, the fact that fury had disappeared from her face showed that she was truly angry now.

She knew better than anyone how terrifying this woman was.

However, she didn’t care. They had already gotten to this point, so there were no roads of retreat left.

If she didn’t do this, the Xiao family’s situation would become even worse.

She didn’t want to become sacrificial goods in the process of the imperial household’s struggle for power. These past years, the Xiao family had not let down Hundred Flowers Nation, they had not let down the late emperor.

“Replying Your Majesty, the subject has already decided.” Xiao Mi nodded without hesitation.

The other ministers once again looked towards Xiao Mi, some with schadenfreude, some with sympathy, and some just with amusement.

It must be known that once Xiao Mi handed over her military power, the emperor would become even stronger.

They also understood that the emperor was willing.

She was only hesitating due to certain considerations.

The emperor needed enough power to decide which princess would inherit the throne, otherwise, it’d start a bloody war in Hundred Flowers Nation.

Even if it was between just Hua Qianzi and Hua Qianye, there would still be a bloodbath.

So it only become bigger with the addition of the other eager princesses.

Originally, they had already fought for so many years. They thought that as long as they had enough power, the moment the emperor passed away, they’d be able to get the throne easily. However, not only had a Hua Qianzi suddenly appeared midway, the emperor’s support towards Hua Qianye recently had also made some people realize some hints.

Although Hundred Flowers Nation was currently very peaceful and calm, under the surface waves were surging.

It was the calm before the storm, it was so calm that it was frightening.

If it weren’t for yesterday’s Hundred Flowers Gathering, perhaps some things wouldn’t have exploded yet.

Xiao Mi was now the first one that stood out. Then following this, all the people that wanted to escape unscathed from this would definitely be a lot.

This was while Hua Ruxue was worried about.

It was contradictory.

The room fell silent once again.

It was so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard.

Meanwhile, Xiao Mi was kneeling, but her back was perfectly straight and her expression didn’t change in the least. There was no trace of fear.

She had to persevere for the sake of her daughters and grandchildren.

The late emperor’s dying decree was to have her support Hua Ruxue properly. As of now, Hua Ruxue no longer needed her, so it was inevitable that she needed to leave.

At Xiao Residence.

Xiao Susu was standing by herself in the small courtyard, looking quietly at the horizon. She seemed to be looking at the sky, but she also didn’t seem to be looking at anything.

Her gaze was a bit lost.

In reality, she was worried about Xiao Mi. She knew of the court’s open and hidden dangers, and she also knew that this crisis wouldn’t be easy to resolve.

Yet she couldn’t help Xiao Mi with anything.

This woman who gave everything she had to her family, this grandma who cared about her so sincerely, was the person she cared about most ever since her rebirth.

And this person was also someone she could rely on.

“Little Sister.”

At some point, Xiao En had already caught up with Xiao Susu and was standing next to her worriedly.

However, he forced himself to look unperturbed. “Have faith in Grandma, things will be fine.”

In the hearts of the entire Xiao family, Xiao Mi was all-powerful, there was nothing that was too difficult for her.

Even her granddaughter who had been a fool for fifteen years had managed to become a stunning genius overnight.

So what else could possibly exist that she couldn’t overcome?

Xiao Susu nodded. She knew that Xiao Mi would be fine, but she just felt a little sad. This current situation was all because of her.

She blamed herself.

“Little Sister, this isn’t your fault. A tall tree attracts wind, the Xiao family was bound to face such a situation sooner or later,” said Xiao En softly as he patted Xiao Susu’s shoulder with a doting expression.

However, his eyes were still filled with concern.

“I understand.” Xiao Susu also understood this. She glanced at Xiao En gratefully. This person had also always been supporting her. She was already very satisfied to have family like this in this life.

Then, she retrieved her gaze and tugged the corners of her lips up into a confident smile.

She had to make herself believe that Xiao Mi would definitely be able to get through this.

Just as the siblings were exchanging a smile, the steward walked over.

“Young Miss, the master of Lei Clan Stronghold is requesting for an audience.”

This was truly an unexpected guest.

Xiao Susu was stunned for a moment. Even after good while, she still didn’t know what to do. “What did he come for?”

Her tone contained some hostility.

She never imagined that Lei Yufeng would come here.

This person’s appearance only made her recall the past, those unbearable memories.

Hatred also once again sprouted in her heart.

In reality, Lei Yufeng’s appearance was the turnaround for the Xiao family, which was why the steward looked so excited. However, when she sought Xiao Susu’s attitude, her smile froze on her face.

She simply stared straight at Xiao Susu, at this young miss which no one could understand.

Xiao Susu only realized that she had blundered when she saw the steward’s reaction. She hastily calmed her emotions and said with a stern expression, “Have you asked him what he came for? If it’s nothing important, then just ask him to wait in the main hall for the old madame to return from court.”

She didn’t want to see that person. She didn’t want to see him at all.

The steward looked like she had been put in a difficult position. She glanced at Xiao En for help.

The entire Xiao family now knew about Xiao Mi’s retirement. The current Xiao family was like a leaf left at the mercy of the wind, completely helpless with no one to rely on. If they had been able to form a relationship with Lei Clan Stronghold, they wouldn’t have ended up in the situation.

Furthermore, even if the Xiao family fell in dire straits, if they had a relationship with Lei Clan Stronghold, no one would dare to harbor any ideas toward them.

Even Hua Ruxue would have to exercise forbearance towards them.

And, she’d have to consider things carefully before doing anything to them.

Lei Clan Stronghold’s existence was a threat to the entire south boundary so its threat towards Hundred Flowers Nation was easily imaginable.

Xiao En also didn’t understand Xiao Susu’s attitude, so he shot the steward a glance. There was no way he wouldn’t understand the stakes at play here.

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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira