Shen Kouqing was startled, but she still nodded with a smile, and did not say a word.
Song Yuanling didn't give her the feeling of an uncle, but instead gave her the feeling of a big brother. Ever since something had happened in his house, Song Yuanling had intentionally or unintentionally come to find Shen Kouqing.
Maybe he was being overly worried!
Shen Kouqing sighed, picked up some food with her chopsticks and threw it into her mouth.
"Kou Qing must take good care of Ling Chen. Only then will I be able to rest at ease!" The Queen suddenly looked at Shen Kouqing.
Shen Kouqing hurriedly got up. "Many thanks to the Empress for your instruction, I will definitely remember it."
"That's for sure. As a Royal granddaughter consort, it's proper that you should take care of her, Esteemed Empress." The Crown Princess also smiled kindly.
Her current appearance was completely different from the one that had rushed into the emperor's eldest grandson's mansion and slapped Shen Kouqing.
Shen Kouqing sneered, "What the Crown Princess says is right, as long as we do not concoct the wrong medicine again, the Emperor's eldest grandson will definitely be safe and sound."
The Crown Princess's face turned serious. She didn't say anything more.
She initially wanted to show her virtuous face, but never thought that Shen Kouqing would grab hold of a loophole.
After the banquet ended, Shen Kouqing was both physically and mentally exhausted. As she walked out of the Supreme Harmony Hall, she bumped into Song Yuanling and Wei Changling before they reached the door.
Song Yichen was called away by the Emperor, and only Ting Zhu remained by her side.
"Greetings Sixth royal uncle." Shen Kouqing bowed and nodded to Wei Changling.
Wei Changling also bowed, but he did not know if he had any intentions, and looked towards Ting Zhu.
They came out rather late, and there were not many people around, most of them were palace maids who were walking in a hurry, Song Yuanhui and Shen Koudan were not there either, causing Shen Kouqing to heave a sigh of relief.
Being upright and not afraid of inclining his body, what Shen Kouqing was afraid of was a rumor.
"Where's Chen?" Song Yuanling looked around, but did not see Song Yichen.
"The Emperor asked him to do something and went to the Heartbreak Palace.
"Nothing important. I just heard that with Chen's condition getting worse, I, as the emperor's uncle, should take more care of him."
Song Yuanling laughed heartily and waved the fan in his hand in satisfaction.
Shen Kouqing was not moved in the slightest, instead, she was deeply moved.
In his previous life, if Song Yuanling didn't have such a nice and honest appearance, he wouldn't have died such a miserable death.
Even though Song Yichen knew that Song Yuanling didn't have any other intentions, how could Song Yuanhui allow him to do so?
"Thank you, Sixth royal uncle, for your concern. My niece will definitely take good care of him." Shen Kouqing laughed lightly and saw that Wei Changling was staring at Ting Zhu.
"Thank you for helping me out, Young Master Wei." Shen Kouqing suddenly said.
Wei Changling immediately came back to reality: "Royal granddaughter consort is too polite, this is what I should do."
He raised his head to look at Ting Zhu again, "Miss Ting Zhu must have been frightened just now."
She lowered her head, concealing the redness on her face under the hazy moonlight. She said quietly, "Your humble servant's lowly body is just a pity for Young Master Wei."
Shen Kouqing covered her lips and chuckled.
Forget it, Ting Zhu had died because of her in her previous life. Since she was going to do it again, she will help Ting Zhu once more.
The two of them bade farewell and left.
It wasn't easy for Shen Kouqing to get Ting Zhu to help her with her clothes when they finally got back to her house.
"What's wrong with you today? Why are you always smiling with your head down? Do you have anything fun to tell me?" Shen Kouqing took off the shake of his head and ridiculed.
Ting Zhu bit her lips, "Empress, what are you saying? This servant does not understand …"
"I am not the Empress today." Shen Kouqing turned his head, "Just treat it as us sisters talking casually. Ting Zhu, are you thinking about Wei Changling?"
She asked so straightforwardly that it surprised Ting Zhu and made him take a step back. "Empress … "You …"
"You and I have known each other for many years. Could it be that you have hidden some secret from me?"
This girl, was the same as well. She clearly had feelings for Wei Changling but had to struggle to not say it, it was Shen Kouqing who had forced her to spit it out. Otherwise, she would have definitely kept it a secret from Shen Kouqing.
Ting Zhu's head was almost buried in her neck, but she sighed and said, "Young miss, I will tell you the truth, with my identity, how could I think so highly of Young Master Wei? Even if the heavens have a chance, the Prime Minister would not allow it … This servant only wants to accompany the young miss and never marry. "
She called him "Miss" and not "Empress". In a daze, Shen Kouqing felt like he had returned to the Wuling Mansion. After a long while, she held Ting Zhu's cold and rough hand, wanting to say something but hesitating.
"But, as you have seen today, it is not that Wei Changling is uninterested in you, he has always been looking at you …" Shen Kouqing anxiously said.
"If this servant thinks too much of it, then who knows how many things she would say."
He spoke lightly with endless grief.
To them, status, identity and dignity were all burdens, and even with Shen Kouqing supporting them, they would not be able to walk such a difficult path.
If this girl really refused to marry for her entire life, then it would be a crime.
"It's getting late, the Empress should get some rest." Ting Zhu bent over and bowed, then took her things and left. Shen Kouqing stared blankly into the copper mirror for a good while, let out a heavy sigh, then continued to comb her hair.
Just as Ting Zhu left, Qingshui entered.
She stayed by Shen Kouqing's side for two days, and Qingshui wasn't as restrained as before either. After extinguishing Ai Hui, she very naturally walked to Shen Kouqing's side and picked off a bead full of jade for her.
"Empress, the Emperor's eldest grandson hasn't returned yet. According to the housekeeper, the Emperor has already sent the eldest grandson to do some work. I'm afraid he won't be able to return until tomorrow."
Shen Kouqing nodded.
Although Song Yichen's body was not too good, he was extremely talented, and most of the things were decided by Song Yichen on behalf of the emperor, so Shen Kouqing was not surprised at all, and was instead thinking about Ting Zhu and Wei Changling.
"The Empress seems to have something on her mind?" Clear Water looked at Shen Kouqing with a strange expression.
Shen Kouqing shook her head. She did not plan to tell anyone about Ting Zhu, at least in the short term. She would not even tell Song Yichen anything.
Afraid that Shuishui would see through it, Shen Kouqing rolled his eyes and said: "Qingshui, what do you think of Song Yuanhui?"
"Ninth Prince?" Qing Shui was stunned for a moment. He thought for a while and said: "Since I entered the Crown Prince's Palace, I haven't stepped out of the house. How could I have come into contact with the Ninth Prince? The Empress has really troubled me."
"It's alright. Tell me what your impression of him is."
"I can do big things, but I can also do bad things."
"Pah!" The comb dropped.
"Empress?"
"You can leave first!" Shen Kouqing pretended to be calm.
She said the truth and didn't know why Shen Kouqing would have such a huge reaction.
What surprised Shen Kouqing was that the water had hit the nail on the head.
Who else in the capital didn't know about the matter between her and Song Yuanhui? She thought that Qingshui would follow her heart and flatter her, but she never thought that her words would hit the nail on the head.
Shen Kouqing turned her head to look at the tightly shut door …