Repudiating a Good Wife Is Out of the Question

179. Han Qi’s Dinner Banquet

Translator: Sissy That Walk

All eyes now were on Prince Xing ever since he was registered under the empress Han Qi’s name, no misstep was allowed.

Cao Mo comforted Xiao Yi, “We still have time, I’m sure we have bought ourselves some time from the fight last night. We can win this if we take our time and talk it at length, Yi, look at you, you have been working too hard, you’ve got grays even. When the water rises we use earth to keep it back, when the soldiers arrive we use a general to keep them off. We’ve got this!”

Xiao Yi got relaxed as he heard Cao Mo’s soothing voice, “Mo, I dread to think what would become of me if we hadn’t met each other.”

Cao Mo smiled, “Let’s get cheesy later, have you captured some of their troops?”

Xiao Yi shook his head, “We’ve got a few in the interrogation room , but they are all loyal soldiers, they haven’t opened their mouths yet.”

“That’s all right, we’ve got this person opened his mouth, his word carries the most weight.” with that Cao Mo kicked Cao Le on his thigh.

Cao Le squinted his eyes, “I can give you my testimony, yeah, I have signed my name in the letters and documents, but I deliberately wrote my name wrong, I can just say they have forced me to sign my name!”

Cao Mo was amused by Cao Le, ‘he is not a total dumb ass after all!’

Cao Mo thought the whole thing through, he didn’t entrust the task to Cao Le, but he entrusted Cao Le with that specific task of purchasing timber.

Cao Le dared not go against Cao Mo now that his life was depending on Cao Mo, he had also realized that Prince Ning was just using him while Cao Mo had always tried to save him from trouble.

… …

Xiao Yugui’s report arrived at the imperial palace the next night when the emperor was hosting a banquet to celebrate that the empress had got a great son.

The emperor frowned when the eunuch submitted Xiao Yugui’s report to him, “We have just started our dinner, this Xiao Yugui!”

With that the emperor opened the report and skimmed through it, “Eunuch Lai, has the magistrate of Hunan and Hubei submitted any report recently?”

Eunuch Lai shook his head.

All of a sudden, Imperial Concubine Fair cried out with her hands cupping her belly, “Your Majesty! I’m in so much pain!”

Han Qi shot a look at Imperial Concubine Fair and said, “Eunuch Lai, send for the imperial physician! No one is allowed to leave the hall, all the servants who have just served the dished included. Let’s just pray Her Highness the Imperial Concubine Fair is fine, otherwise everyone will be interrogated!”

The emperor didn’t say anything.

Soon the imperial physician arrived, he greeted the emperor and the empress before he knelt down to feel Imperial Concubine Fair’s pulse.

Everyone in the hall dared not make any noise, they gazed at each other in speechless despair, waiting for the imperial physician’s diagnosis.

Prince Xing looked so perturbed, his eyes kept travelling back and forth from the emperor and Prince Ning, but he couldn’t tell what either one of them was thinking.

Prince Xing asked Eunuch Liu in a low voice, “Are the servants we have brought with us clear? Surely they are entangled with Imperial Concubine Fair, right?”

“Don’t worry, Your Highness, the servants we have brought to the palace all have a clear background, no way are they entangled with Imperial Concubine Fair.”

Prince Xing heaved a sigh of relief, Imperial Concubine Fair couldn’t slander him if a miscarriage would happen as long as his servants aren’t entangled with her.

All of a sudden the imperial physician kowtowed to the emperor, “Your Majesty, Imperial Concubine Fair’s pulse pulse manifestation is very unstable, it looks like Her Highness is scared of something, please allow Her Highness to go rest in her own palace.”

The emperor scorned, “She was fine until I read Xiao Yugui’s report, she was never scared of any report in the past, how come Xiao Yugui’s report has given her a start?”

Imperial Concubine Fair caught the sneer in the emperor’s tone, she kowtowed to him and defended herself, “I’ve been feeling unwell since I got up in the morning, but I dared not mention this to anyone since tonight you are holding a banquet for Her Highness the empress, I wouldn’t forgive myself if I have ruined the empress’s mood. Your Majesty, I’m in so much pain, please excuse me!”

The emperor didn’t want to appear as merciless, so he raised one eyebrow and asked the eunuchs to escort Imperial Concubine Fair back to her palace.

Prince Ning spring to his feet as he saw his mother’s retiring figure, “Father, please allow me to visit mother and fulfill my filial duty by her sickbed!”

“What a filial son you are, but you need to remember it’s not just your mother you need to fulfil your filial duty to.”

What the emperor said was harsh, Prince Ning knelt down on the ground with a thump as he heard that, “Father, please forgive me, I… I was just worried about mother!”

Imperial Concubine Fair turned around and exchanged a look with Prince Ning.

Prince Ning took the hint and started to weep, “Father, I know I’m not as capable as my brother Prince Xing, so I try hard to fulfill my filial duty. Father, I’ve been looking all over the country to find some twin ears rice to present to you on Dragon Boat Festival. Father, twin ears rice is auspicious sign sent from Heaven to celebrate your achievements!”

Imperial Concubine Fair knew the emperor too well, she had been holding this trump card for so long to appease the emperor when necessary.

The emperor’s face had lightened up as he heard the twin ears rice, he was so delighted that Prince Ning was able to find this auspicious sign amid the drought, the pandemic and the border clashes.

The emperor clenched his fists and put Xiao Yugui’s report aside, he held back his anger and said, “Your filial piety needs to be rewarded, you may excuse yourself and take care of your mother. This is a special occasion for the empress, so I will stay at the banquet together with him.”

Han Qi sneered, he turned to Prince Xing and said, “You need to learn from this good brother of yours, you have been working like a horse, but look at Prince Ning, he made your father so happy by looking for some win ears of rice. Give that a go next time, apparently that’s great filial piety.”

Prince Xing lowered his head meekly, he stole a glance at the emperor who was looking at Han Qi apologetically. Prince Xing felt so exhausted from all the observing someone else’s speech and behavior, he even started to miss the old days when no one cared for him.

Prince Xing was so glad when the emperor called it a night, and he heard what Xiao Yugui’s report was about after he went back to his manor.

“This is outrageous! My temporary residence was besieged by over ten thousand troops! And the magistrate just turned a blind eye to that!” Prince Xing pounded his desk and said, “Prince Ning, how audacious! No wonder Xiao Yugui has submitted a report like this, I have to impeach that magistrate tomorrow, as for Prince Ning, I will impeach him when the time is ripe!”