30

  The empress dowager sighed and shook her head. "If you still consider me your mother, then send Mu Rong Xue back to the Mu Rong Wang Fu."

  "After becoming the empress, Xue Er was already the emperor's person, how could she be sent back to the Murong Wang Fu? She didn't do anything wrong, and naturally the emperor couldn't abandon her either." The emperor refused to give in.

  "You! ——" The Empress was so angry she couldn't say another word.

  "Grandma," Murong Feng signaled the servants in the room to withdraw, although they were trusted people, it was still better not to let outsiders see this kind of thing. These individuals, though they didn't dare speak out loud, couldn't help but think to themselves and spread rumors when idle. "Don't be angry, Grandma, it's not worth getting angry over something as trivial as Xiaoxue."

  The empress dowager looked at Murong Feng, not understanding what she meant.

  "Grandmother," Murong Feng said in a soft and gentle voice, with a calm and serene expression on his face, "Father is currently in high spirits. If you were to obstruct him like this, I'm afraid Father would be extremely displeased. For the sake of Murong Xue, causing Grandmother and Father to become angry at each other, it's truly unfilial of Little Snow. Now that things have come to this point, why not let Father handle the situation himself? Let him explain to Feng'er's parents, let him comfort Liu Niangniang and the Second Prince. Why don't you just sit back and be a bystander, enjoying the peace and quiet?"

  "Yes." Sima Rui chimed in, "Grandmother, no matter how angry you are, you can't change the fact that has already been established. The Emperor has always been diligent in governing, and Murong Xue is indeed a beautiful young girl, the Emperor must have found her hard to resist, now that he has favored her, she is considered one of our Sima family members, if we were to drive her out now, I'm afraid it would be a dead end. Grandmother, just let it go."

  The empress dowager let out a long sigh, stroking Murong Feng's hand and saying: "Alas, I am truly ashamed to face your parents." Then she glanced at the emperor and Liu Fei, tiredly saying: "I'm exhausted, all of you can withdraw. As for Murong Xue's matter, you handle it yourself. As for whether or not to grant her a title, I really cannot agree to it. You want to confer one on her yourself? Just don't let her appear in front of me, that's all. And I absolutely will not acknowledge her as your consort."

  "Thank you, Empress Dowager." The Emperor smiled and replied, glancing at Murong Feng, but saw that she had a calm expression, not even looking at him, her eyes quietly gazing elsewhere, as if the one who just spoke was not her, and she seemed to be nonexistent.

  "However," the empress dowager said with a scowl, "although that girl is infuriating me, this matter has nothing to do with Feng'er. I'm afraid if you make that girl a consort, Feng'er will have to kneel down and welcome her. I am not pleased about this. Now, Feng'er has the sacred golden plaque bestowed upon her by me, according to our ancestral rules, when she sees you, she doesn't need to pay respects in full, just a slight bow is enough. So, if she sees that girl, she also doesn't need to pay respects, are you willing?"

  The emperor was taken aback, the empress dowager actually bestowed the golden plaque of the sacred ancestor on Murong Feng. Where did she get such great charm from, that she could make the empress dowager so fond of her?

  As I looked up, Mu Rong Feng was wearing a moon-white shirt, fresh and elegant, beautiful as a fairy. She is lovely to look at and pleasant to think about. Compared to Mu Rong Xue, she has her own unique charm that cannot be compared. Mu Rong Xue's beauty is like delicate porcelain, requiring careful protection and maintenance; while Mu Rong Feng is like the fresh wind in the mountains, a beautiful flower, or a flowing spring, giving people a refreshing feeling. Mu Rong Xue can make people sacrifice their lives for her, but Mu Rong Feng makes people cherish their own lives, one evokes sorrow, the other joy.

  "Father, what are you staring at?" Sima Rui whispered softly into the emperor's ear with a hint of teasing, "Feng'er is your daughter-in-law after all. If you find her more outstanding than Murong Xue, that's all you can do - just discover it. If you keep looking at Feng'er with this gaze, I'm afraid I won't be as easy to talk to as your other sons. Since you've already favored Murong Xue, you'd better stick to it."

  The Emperor glared at Sima Rui, unable to speak a word.

  Simarui smiled slightly and flashed back to Murong Feng's side, standing upright, looking at Murong Feng with a cheerful expression, feeling very satisfied in his heart.

  "Simarui, what are you smiling about?" Murong Feng furrowed his brow, "You're smiling in a way that's very suspicious, one look and it's clear there's nothing good going on."

  "Murong Feng, I've decided to love you properly!" Sima Rui smiled slyly, but his eyes were as serious as if he was making a vow.

  Murong Feng slightly raised an eyebrow and ignored him.

  Simazhuang looked at his mother lying in bed, with a solemn and sorrowful expression.

  "Qiang Er, don't be like this. If I knew, you're not fond of Murong Xue that little girl, but rather worried that your father the Emperor will favor her and it will affect national affairs, making me even more lonely." Liu Fei forced a faint smile, "Even if the Emperor takes that little girl as his concubine, I still have ways to deal with it."

  "Daughter." Sima Qiang still had a gloomy face and spoke in a low voice, "In my heart, I always feel that Murong Xue is not as good as her sisters. She's just got a pretty face. I've seen Murong Feng at your grandmother's place, and I think she's a hundred times better than Murong Xue. It's a pity she married the fourth son."

  "Upon hearing you say that, I must admit that I share the same sentiment. Today at Xiangfu Palace, I also saw her and if we compare their appearance, she is on par with Murong Xue, but in terms of temperament and inner qualities, Murong Feng surpasses her by a few points. She remains calm when faced with situations, has a peaceful state of mind, and conducts herself with elegance. Today when I saw her, she seemed to be extremely calm about the situation with Murong Xue, not putting any importance on her own honor or disgrace, but instead focusing on protecting others. I would have liked to give her three points, it's just unfortunate that she is already married to Eldest Brother Four, otherwise, having her as a daughter-in-law would also be good."

  Simarong fell into deep thought and remained silent.

  "Ruby is good, virtuous and gentle, accompanying you to the border, working hard and complaining, unfortunately, she has never given birth, and as a mother, I always have some unease in my heart." Empress Liu said softly, "The imperial palace has not yet added a grandson or granddaughter, it's not proper."

  "It's all because of me that Mother is worried, I'm really unfilial." Sima Qiang said guiltily, "In those days, for the sake of Hong Yu, Mother offended the Empress, now she can't even satisfy Mother."

  Liu Fei smiled faintly, "The Empress is not a petty person, she has long since stopped caring about the past. Besides, that Sima Zhe has already married Murong Xuan as his consort, I'm afraid he has long forgotten Hong Yu, it's all just old news from when they were young. Now that he is the Crown Prince, he has to accompany your father the Emperor in handling state affairs every day, where would he have time to dwell on past matters? It's actually the Fourth Prince, born rebellious, I'm afraid he still resents you for taking his brother's beloved from back then, just don't provoke him. This Fourth Prince, there really isn't anyone in the palace who can do anything about him. Today, seeing him and Murong Feng appear together at Xiangfu Palace, I was just wondering..."

  Simarong smiled slightly, and before his eyes flashed the calm and gentle face of Murong Feng. "The two of them are husband and wife, it's normal for them to appear together, let alone they're newlyweds."

  "You've always been on the border, how would you know the inside story?" Liu Fei smiled slightly and looked at her son, saying slowly, "This old four originally wanted to marry Mu Rong Xue, not Mu Rong Feng. Mu Rong Qing Liang that old man is extremely fond of Mu Rong Xue, naturally wouldn't let Mu Rong Xue marry this good-for-nothing old four, so he replaced Mu Rong Xue with Mu Rong Feng." At this point, Liu Fei paused and suddenly smiled coldly, "But didn't think that she could hide from old four but couldn't hide from the Emperor, a delicate flower was unknowingly sent to the Emperor."