Qiu Che must be protected."
"How dare you!" Li Shi shouted angrily, "Whether to protect him or not depends on whether I am willing to do so! What do you mean! I am sending an army to punish you, and you dare to use this gold medal to threaten me directly! Don't forget, this gold medal was given to you by me!"
"Father, please be patient." Li Qingwu smiled, and under Li Shi's gaze, he calmly put the gold medal back in his hand. "Your Majesty, I know that your Majesty is now anxious about how to deal with the prince consort, and I also know what your Majesty is worried about. In this case, and it has come to this, why don't you listen to me?"
Li Shi looked unhappy, but still sat back: "...speak."
"Your Majesty does not want to lose a talented person because of this kind of thing, nor does he want to be accused of being blind...Then in your opinion, the prince consort must stay."
"Not only must he stay, but he must stay openly and gloriously."
Li Shi laughed angrily, and the word "stupid" was almost written on his face. "Now there is no substantial evidence for her to sue the Qiu family. Tell me, how can I keep her? She dares to commit the crime of deceiving the emperor, which is a crime that cannot be punished! It would not be excessive for me to chop off ten of her heads!"
"Father is afraid of Prime Minister Wu, and also of the Empress Dowager," Li Qingwu said lightly, as if she didn't care about his attitude and contemptuous expression at all, "You must know that once the balance of power of the son-in-law is removed, not only will Father lose a right-hand man, but it is also a disguised suppression of the power of the Empress Dowager... Prime Minister Wu will also become more powerful because of this."
"Now that the Southern Barbarians are pressing on, and the war is imminent... The court cannot have any more disturbances. Once Prime Minister Wu gains power, he will only become more arrogant, and no one can suppress his arrogance... Does Father really want to see such a situation? Wasn't it for this that Father carefully cultivated the son-in-law to this point?"
She brought out these twists and turns that should have been lingering in the minds of politicians, and said them all in front of Li Shi.
Li Shi's expression changed and his face looked bad.
But he had to admit that Li Qingwu was right.
"I don't know when you became so sensitive about court affairs."
Li Qingwu met his meaningful gaze and remained calm: "There are still many things that father doesn't know."
Li Shi stared at her for a moment, but he didn't see her lower her head to show obedience, and he felt a little unhappy.
He retracted his gaze and said coldly: "That sounds nice, but do you think I don't know? It's only because Qiu Che is dead that you can't escape the disaster, so you come here in a hurry to plead for her?"
Li Qingwu lowered his eyes, bowed, but his back was straight from beginning to end: "Father, you misunderstood. Personally, your son and I are husband and wife. As the saying goes, a husband and wife once a day are bound by a hundred days of grace. In this situation, if I don't save you, I would be heartless. Publicly, as your daughter and the eldest princess of Daxia, I should share your worries and solve the country's problems."
"If I avoid you this time, or if I add insult to injury to your son-in-law, wouldn't it be a loss of face for you? After all, I am the eldest princess. I represent the attitude of the royal family towards people. I can't be careless."
These words were flawless and beautiful.
Li Shi's face looked much better. He snorted coldly, "After getting married, you speak much more cleverly than before... Did Qiu Che teach you?"
Li Qingwu smiled and did not comment, "What do you think, father?"
Li Shi was silent for a long time and narrowed his eyes, "What if I don't agree to let her go?"
Li Qingwu was also silent for a moment, "Do you really think so, father?"
"She is just a woman, it doesn't matter. If her status was not so noble now, I could do nothing about her?"
Li Shi was interested, "Besides, if I really don't let her go, what will you do?"
"..." Li Qingwu curled her lips and smiled lightly, "Nothing."
"Just don't forget, father," she raised her chin slightly, and her just respectful posture instantly had a bit of superiority, cold contempt, "Now the birds are not gone, but the good bows are already hidden - father, do you think, after this incident, anyone will choose to be loyal to you?"
The smile on Li Shi's face fell again, "You threaten me...?"
"I dare not," Li Qingwu said word by word, "Father is the king. No matter how powerful the grandmother is, she has to call you Your Majesty. No matter how powerful Prime Minister Wu is, he has to kowtow to you. I am just a powerless princess. How dare I threaten father?"
"I just have a deep friendship with the prince consort. I can't bear to see him being imprisoned and killed for revealing his identity as a woman for the sake of justice. I choose to... use the golden medal of immunity from death to save the prince consort's life." Li Qingwu said softly, "I just don't know what people will say about you if they know that father is such an unsympathetic person?"
The more Li Shi listened, the more anxious and angry he became.
Hearing the end, he could no longer bear it. He slammed the table and stood up and said, "Asshole!"
Li Qingwu said it was not a threat. Every word she said was a threat!
She knew that the emperor was most worried about being undermined by the queen mother and Prime Minister Wu, so every word she said was a poke at Li Shi's heart.
No matter how powerful they are, they still have to pay respect to the emperor. This sounds like a compliment to Li Shi, but to an emperor who is extremely suspicious, it is like a hint to him:
Your ministers are more powerful than you, do you think they will still submit to you?
The throne has always been seized by capable people. After
the word "Li Shi" came out, he could no longer say anything.
He was so angry that he stroked his chest and cursed tremblingly: "Get out! Stay in your princess mansion without my order and don't come out at all!"
Li Qingwu, however, did not move, and even took a step forward and raised his voice: "Your son accepts the order - I dare to ask your majesty, how do you want to deal with the son-in-law?"
"It is none of your turn to comment on how I deal with her!" "
If your majesty won't tell you, then I'm sorry that I can't leave," Li Qingwu took out the gold medal again, held it up with both hands, held it high, and said in a resounding voice, "Your son knows that your majesty has long been dissatisfied with the son-in-law, but the son-in-law has great righteousness in his heart, and he really shouldn't die at this time. Today, your son is willing to exchange the gold medal of immunity from death for a way out for the son-in-law. I beg your majesty to grant me your wish."
Li Shi collapsed on the dragon chair, his hands shaking as he pointed at her.
Li Qingwu paused, as if she couldn't see his expression, and repeated what she had just said without missing a word, "Your Majesty knows that your Majesty has long been dissatisfied with your Majesty... Today, your Majesty is willing to exchange the golden medal of immunity from death for a way out for your Majesty. I beg your Majesty to grant my wish."
Her voice was powerful and every word echoed in the hall, ensuring that the eunuchs and palace maids outside the hall could hear her words clearly.
Li Shi was even more furious. Fuzi was frightened and helped him calm down, saying, "Your Highness, please stop talking..."
"No one can save her. If I don't tell her, she will die." Li Qingwu said firmly, "Please forgive me, I have made up my mind. Today, I am willing to exchange the gold medal for a chance to live for my husband. Father, please help me!" Li Shi covered
his chest and said in a trembling voice, "What if I don't!"
"Then father," Li Qingwu raised his head calmly and said lightly, "maybe you will really become... a king who will be remembered in history and die because of the power devoured by traitors and thieves, a king who lost his country."
Her words were not empty words, but all had reasons and evidence, and they all hit the hidden worries in Li Shi's heart.
Li Shi was so angry that he wanted to die, but he knew she was right, but he had no way to deal with it.
Wu Xiang could suppress him and domineering, the Queen Mother could, Qiu Che could, and now this daughter who has always been the most obedient can do it too!
His chest rose and fell for a moment, and after a while, he spat out a mouthful of blood with a "puff" sound.
"Pass...pass the order..."
Halfway through his words, he saw the blood he had vomited and fainted on the spot.
Fuzi was shocked: "Someone, someone, comeââ"
Li Qingwu was surprised at first, and then a little disappointed.
She held the gold medal for less than a moment, and then heard the door of the hall behind her opened. The palace servants filed in and passed by her in panic.
Li Qingwu slowly put down the gold medal, turned around slowly, and thought expressionlessly:
What a pity.
Why didn't she finish her words before fainting?
The moment she turned around, she seemed to catch a glimpse of a figure flashing past the door of the hall.
When she looked up, she saw the complicated look the empress dowager gave her outside the hall.
"The emperor is seriously ill, the crown prince is the regent--" Qiu Che read the contents of the letter and paused slightly, "... the case of Qiu Chudong killing a virgin girl was dismissed on the grounds of insufficient evidence."
"Including the case of your brother bullying men and women, it was also suppressed." Yang Qiu whispered, "But your transfer from the imperial prison to the Dali Temple was also his idea."
Qiu Che raised his eyebrows and said rudely: "Did he get kicked in the head by a donkey?"
"He probably thought that you and I were not on good terms," Yang Qiu smiled helplessly, "Maybe they saw that you were too comfortable in the imperial prison, and they couldn't intervene in the Jinyiwei, so they had to transfer you out."
After Qiu Che was imprisoned, the emperor urgently promoted Yang Qiu to fill the vacancy of the Dali Temple.
On weekdays, the two of them had a lot of quarrels in the court. Yang Qiu was the only minister who dared to refute Qiu Che and had not been "retaliated" by Qiu Che.
Among the new forces, their relationship seemed to be the most in full swing, and no one knew that they were also allies.
The prince may have noticed that Qiu Che was always so aggressive with Yang Qiu, and thought that they had a bad relationship, so he wanted to teach Qiu Che a lesson. Unexpectedly,
he sent her directly to his ally.
After laughing, Qiu Che brought up the business again: "What happened? I was in prison for a few days without asking about anything. How come he is seriously ill again?"
Yang Qiu said: "After you revealed your identity that day... His Highness went to see His Majesty. During the conversation, someone heard His Highness plead for you, saying that he wanted to use the gold medal to spare your life in exchange for your safety."
Qiu Che was silent. She didn't expect that Li Qingwu would still take the same path as in his previous life.
He chose to use the gold medal to save her.
"But... why did Your Majesty do that?"
Yang Qiu shook his head: "At that time, all the eunuchs were sent out. What they talked about was only known by Fu Zi, the chief eunuch who stayed inside. But you also know that Fu Zi's mouth is very tight."
Qiu Che thought for a while and said, "Then the Qiu family's case is over?"
"No. I was just about to say," Yang Qiu said, "The Queen Mother came forward to persuade the prince. This matter has attracted the attention of all the people because you revealed your identity. It is not a good idea to suppress it now."
"The prince was not very willing, but perhaps he was forced by the pressure of the Queen Mother and nodded reluctantly. Three days later, I will preside over the trial and the court will be open in the Dali Temple."
"Who will be present?"
"The Queen Mother, Your Highness the Crown Prince. I heard that..." Yang Qiu paused, glanced at her, and said, "Her Highness the Princess will also be here."
Qiu Che thought for a moment, stretched out his hand and said, "Do you have paper and pen?"
"Huh?"
"I'll write a letter to her."
Yang Qiu didn't react yet: "What do you want to ask?"
"Ask her what she said to His Majesty that day," Qiu Che glanced at her with a look of looking at a fool, and said lightly, "What else?"
Yang Qiu stuttered for a rare time: "Just... just ask directly?"
"Is there a problem?"
Yang Qiu was speechless, with a slightly complicated tone: "... So, Yaotai said that you have a good relationship, it's true."
"Yes. I know you feel uncomfortable, don't force it," Qiu Che took the paper and pen handed by the subordinate of the Dali Temple next to him very naturally, and said softly, "But don't think it's so strange. There are so many people in the world who have a good relationship. There are many kinds of love, and I love her too - the only difference is that we are just a very rare pair of lovers of the same gender in this world."
Her attitude is frank, neither feeling ashamed nor proud, which is a very spring breeze.
Yang Qiu coughed: "You misunderstood, although I am sometimes stubborn, but not pedantic. Yaotai told me a lot about you, and she also said... I envy you very much." Qiu Che wrote
a few sentences, and the hand holding the pen condensed slightly when he heard the words.
She thought, what is there to envy about them.
One is a tool for the emperor to check and balance the powerful ministers, and the other is a concubine who is destined to be unloved since birth.
It's just that they are destined to be together, to lick each other's wounds, and to try to make up for each other's past lack of love, and they just happen to be compatible.
The luck of both of them in this life has been spent on meeting each other.
Qiu Che smiled, but did not answer. He just asked: "...How is Yaotai now?"
Yang Qiu smiled bitterly and still shook his head: "It's still not good."
Originally, with Li Qingwu 's company, even if she was tired, she could force herself to get up and go around the shops.
Now Li Qingwu is too busy to take care of Qiu Che's affairs, and he has less time to go to her.
The vitality that Yaotai had forced to hold on to is rapidly disappearing, visibly.
Both sides were silent for a moment, and Qiu Che sighed deeply.
Sometimes she always has a strange illusion.
The appearance of Yaotai and the passing of life are so timely.
It was as if...
it was as if she had been born into this world to fill in some gaps in their story.
And now that the gaps have been filled, it is time for her to leave.
Three days later, Qiu Chudong's murder case was brought to court.
The entire courtyard of the Dali Temple was surrounded by people who were watching the excitement.
Qiu Chudong seemed to have suffered a lot in prison during this period. When he was escorted out with a dirty face, the people around him were throwing rotten vegetable leaves at him, scolding him for being immoral and being punished by God. Qiu Chudong
didn't know where he got the confidence from, but he openly stiffened his neck and scolded back:
"A bunch of fools! My daughter is a low-born, and there is no point in keeping her. Not to mention that His Majesty has not yet convicted me, even if I really did it, am I still wrong?!"
"Who are you calling a low-born?"
Someone in the crowd exclaimed: "It's Her Royal Highness the Princess!"
Then a slightly wider road was made way for him.
Li Qingwu was wearing a light green palace skirt, a golden phoenix hairpin on her head, cloud-head shoes on her feet, and she was followed by Fufeng and Fuling, walking slowly.
Even though her clothes were not gorgeous and she was not surrounded by stars, her beautiful eyebrows and eyes and the overwhelming aura were enough to overwhelm people.
Qiu Chudong was silent all of a sudden.
Li Qingwu smiled and said, "Why didn't the head of the Qiu family continue to scold? You said that daughters are all low-born - I heard it all. I am also the daughter of His Majesty, you mean... I am also a low-born?"