Mrs. Di knelt on the ground in silence. She knew it was wrong to have struck out, but if given the chance again, she'd do it all over.
Mrs. Xie knelt there, looking smug. After all, the empress was her daughter. Now that she'd been attacked, the empress would surely side with her.
Everyone else thought the same. True, Mrs. Xie had deliberately provoked Mrs. Di today, but it was still wrong for Mrs. Di to have resorted to violence.
"Lady Xiao, is that so?" the empress asked Yi Qing.
Yi Qing stepped forward and bowed. "Mrs. Xie kept calling others shrews. It was just a squabble among women. Since she had such a sharp tongue, my mother just tried to teach her a lesson."
"You..." Mrs. Xie glared at Yi Qing, who seemed fearless.
"The banquet is about to start. It's quite a sight to see all of you with your clothes and hair in such disarray. Go and tidy up quickly," the empress said calmly.
Mrs. Xie stared at the empress in disbelief. This was her own daughter! How could she treat her like this?
Mrs. Di was also taken aback.
"Yi, come with me," the empress said, leading Yi Qing away.
Yi Qing stuck her tongue out at Mrs. Xie playfully, almost sending the latter into a fit.
In the back hall, the empress had the maids adjust her imperial robes while Yi Qing slumped onto a cushioned couch. She was a bit tired after that short walk.
"Did Mrs. Xie scold you because you cured Miss Yuan?" the empress asked directly.
"I don't know," Yi Qing replied truthfully. "I was just treating the patient. How could I know what others were thinking?"
The empress smiled. If it were someone else saying this, she might not believe it, but coming from Yi Qing, she had no doubts. "My mother is used to being superior. Having her pride hurt by the Yuan family and the Xie family's reputation affected, it's only natural for her to hold a grudge."
Yi Qing thought she was just bored. "But you treated your mother like that. She must be angry."
The empress smiled and motioned for the attendants to leave. "I know how to handle her."
Having been at odds with her mother for so long, the empress had seen it all. She wouldn't have acted like this today if she hadn't already thought of a way to deal with the consequences.
"Thanks, then," Yi Qing said.
The empress glanced at Yi Qing's belly. "When is the baby due?"
Yi Qing did a rough calculation. "In a month or two, I guess."
"Would it be okay if I became the godmother when the baby is born?"
"Don't scare the baby," Yi Qing said. Although she had chosen to side with the empress, she didn't want to get too close. After all, the emperor was too good at playing the balance game, and she didn't want to be part of it.
"What if it's a girl? Can I take her as my goddaughter?" the empress compromised.
"Sure," Yi Qing nodded.
After chatting for a while, when the banquet began, the empress and Yi Qing walked out together. The empress had someone escort Yi Qing to her seat, which was right next to Mrs. Xie's.
"Humph!" Mrs. Xie shot Yi Qing a disdainful look.
Yi Qing looked behind and saw a noblewoman with a slap mark on her face. She realized it was the young mistress of the Xie family.
Mrs. Di's seat was opposite Yi Qing's.
Mrs. Di had been furious when she hit Mrs. Xie. Now, thinking about it, she was a bit scared. She was afraid it might bring trouble to Yi Qing. Seeing that Yi Qing was okay, she felt relieved.
After the formalities of the New Year's Eve palace banquet were over, the empress excused herself and left.
Seeing the empress leave, Yi Qing also planned to go. She asked Ruo Hong to call Xiao Jinghan.
Mrs. Xie couldn't swallow her anger. She sneered, "Lady Xiao, you should do more good deeds, or it might be bad for your offspring."
"Then you must be extremely wicked to have a son like Xie Hongyi," Yi Qing retorted. How dare Mrs. Xie curse her baby? She really thought she had a long life.
Mrs. Xie gritted her teeth to maintain her composure. "Lady Xiao, don't go too far."
"Is this going too far?" Yi Qing looked innocent. "This is just my normal way of dealing with you, Mrs. Xie."
Mrs. Xie couldn't bear it anymore. "Slut!"
Yi Qing grabbed the soup in front of her and splashed it at Mrs. Xie.
No one expected Yi Qing to act so suddenly. The whole bowl of soup landed on Mrs. Xie.
"Are you okay, Mrs. Xie?" Yi Qing pretended to be flustered and took out a handkerchief to wipe Mrs. Xie. "I'm not very mobile these days. If you wanted some soup, you could have asked the maid to get it for you. Why did you make me do it?"
Under the cover of the handkerchief, she inserted a silver needle as thin as a hair into Mrs. Xie's knee. The needle was so fine that it only caused a slight sting when it went in, and Mrs. Xie, still angry, didn't notice.
When the needle disappeared into the skin, there wasn't even a tiny hole left.
Mrs. Di had been keeping an eye on Yi Qing. When this happened, she rushed over. Mrs. Xie was still traumatized by Mrs. Di's earlier attack, so she held back her anger.
"Mrs. Xie, go and change your clothes quickly," Yi Qing said, trying not to laugh.
Mrs. Xie was almost crazy with anger, but she couldn't make a scene at the palace banquet. She had to endure it and left with her daughter-in-law to change clothes.
"Are you okay?" Mrs. Di asked Yi Qing worriedly.
"I'm fine," Yi Qing said. She felt great that she didn't let the hatred linger overnight. She shouldn't have let those people get away with it before. It was just annoying.
Ruo Hong came over and helped Yi Qing out. Mrs. Di followed.
Xiao Jinghan bowed to Mrs. Di when he saw her.
"General," Yi Qing stood beside Xiao Jinghan.
Xiao Jinghan noticed that Yi Qing was in a good mood. Did something nice happen?
"It's getting late. You should go back quickly," Mrs. Di said, worried about Yi Qing's health.
"Mother, you should go back early too. Don't be polite to those people in the future."
Mrs. Di wanted to ask about the empress's attitude, but seeing that everything seemed okay, she didn't bother.
Xiao Jinghan took Yi Qing's hand and left. He felt the protective ring on her index finger. "I haven't seen you wear this before."
"This is my new treasure," Yi Qing said proudly.
It was very difficult to insert such a thin silver needle even if you found the right spot. That's why she came up with this idea.
Xiao Jinghan lifted Yi Qing's hand and looked at it. A protective ring dared to compete with him for the position of her treasure.
Mrs. Xie was about to return to the banquet after changing her clothes when she suddenly stumbled and almost fell. She found that her knee wouldn't move.
"Mother?" the young mistress of the Xie family was shocked.
"My leg..." Mrs. Xie panicked.
"Quick, go and find the empress and summon the imperial physician," the young mistress ordered in a hurry.
Yi Qing skipped home happily. The Xie family was in an uproar. Mrs. Xie's leg suddenly stopped working, and the imperial physician had no idea what was wrong. He could only say that it was normal for an old person to have health problems.
"Mrs. Di. It must be Mrs. Di," Mrs. Xie said through gritted teeth.
Mr. Xie paced back and forth beside the bed. What a mess! He couldn't even have a peaceful New Year.
"Sir, the medicine is ready," a servant brought the medicine over.
Mr. Xie knocked it over. "Medicine? What medicine? Taking medicine during the New Year? Do you want our Xie family to have bad luck all year?"
The maid was so scared that she knelt on the ground, trembling and not daring to say a word.