Chapter 372

“Meng Guxue, as the empress, naturally did not have the qualification to receive foreign envoys in the court.

She knew Baili Chengyou was worried about the King Wife, so she spoke up:

“Baili, you go. I’ll stay here with the Queen. Jiaojiao is still young, I’ll leave her here.”

“Take Doctor Zou with you. Remember to have Master Qiao and the others wait at the palace gate. I’ll send Jiaojiao to them later.”

Qiao Jiaojiao felt this arrangement was appropriate.

Baili Chengyou looked at Meng Guxue with a hint of warmth in his eyes.

“Alright.”

The emperor summoned him several times before, and he could ignore it, but now the empress was awake. If he refused again, it would be disrespectful.

Although there were many doubts about the empress’s coma, he could finally put half of his heart down.

Seeing the reaction of his eldest brother just now, he definitely knew something!

He might as well go and see what the emperor, the eldest brother, and the second brother were up to!

Baili Chengyou took Doctor Zou away, and Qiao Bo naturally stayed to continue protecting Jiaojiao.

Meng Guxue watched Baili Chengyou’s figure disappear around the corner before carrying Jiaojiao into the main hall.

At this moment, the King Wife lay on the couch, her complexion not good.

Meng Guxue walked forward with concern on her face. Before she could speak, the old nanny started praising Meng Guxue.

“Lady, during your coma, the empress often came to take care of you.”

Upon hearing this, the King Wife smiled gently.

“As long as Xu’er is with Yu’er, I feel very relieved.”

The King Wife genuinely liked Meng Guxue. Firstly, because Meng Guxue was the girl her son admired, and secondly, because she found Meng Guxue truly special.

Different from those noble ladies she had encountered, Meng Guxue was frank and sincere. Although occasionally impulsive, she always exuded a sense of ‘ease’.

The King Wife felt embarrassed, but the old nanny was serving her, and she was just sitting aside.

“Mother, how are you feeling?”

The King Wife shook her head. “Just a little tired, Xu’er, this little girl is so pretty, whose child is she?”

The King Wife’s gaze fell on Jiaojiao, with kindness.

Meng Guxue hurriedly said, “Mother, Yong Dynasty sent an envoy to congratulate the emperor on Christmas. This is envoy Qiao Zhongguo’s daughter.”

“Ah, the Mr. Qiao you admire so much?”

Because the King Wife was very approachable, Meng Guxue often accompanied her in the palace to chat.

The King Wife had heard a lot about Qiao Zhongguo from Meng Guxue.

Qiao Jiaojiao tilted her head and smiled, calling out in a childish voice, “Qiao Jiaojiao has seen Madam.”

The King Wife’s eyes brightened. “What a well-behaved child, Qiao Jiaojiao? Your name matches you.”

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became very harmonious. After hesitating for a moment, Meng Guxue finally spoke:

“Mother, did you really do such a foolish thing because you couldn’t bear the rumors?”

“Xu’er doesn’t mean to offend you by saying this. I just feel that you live so transparently, you shouldn’t have made such a choice.”

“Baili has been through a lot during this time… he really was scared.”

“The King Wife immediately showed a sorrowful expression upon hearing this.

Meng Guxue, seeing this, sat down beside the couch, her face showing a hint of indignation.

“Those gossipmongers truly deserve to be condemned from the bottom of their hearts!”

“Women’s situations are inherently difficult. Mother, with your kindness, you still cannot escape their slander!”

“If it were up to me, Mother, you shouldn’t have done such things to please friends and hurt enemies. You should just catch those rumor-mongers and give them a good slap!”

Meng Guxue had a character of seeking revenge for grievances, as she said while also making two slapping gestures.

The King Wife saw this and her lips slightly curled, but what overflowed was a bitter smile.

Qiao Jiaojiao saw this in her eyes, faintly sensing the King Wife’s dilemma.

【As a mother, the King Wife should be afraid not only of tarnishing her reputation but also of affecting Baili Chengyou, right?】

【Now that the position of the Nanli crownprince is undecided, although Baili Chengyou is the legitimate son, with two older brothers ahead, there’s still a chance.】

【If the King Wife’s misconduct were exposed at this time, it would indeed be a major blow to Baili Chengyou.】

【But alas, in doing so, the innocent King Wife would be wrongly accused. Ultimately, blame lies with those villains resorting to such despicable means!】

【However, what did the King Wife mean by those few words she said when she woke up just now?】

At this moment, Qiao Jiaojiao could only pretend to be a naive child and couldn’t ask anything.

She was secretly anxious, her mouth had already acted on Meng Guxue’s behalf!

“Mother, earlier you asked Baili how long he had been asleep. From what Xu’er understands, could it be… was this your plan?”

“But how can you guarantee that you’ll wake up? And even if you don’t tell anyone else, at least you can communicate with Baili.”

“Mother, Xu’er knows you must be considering Baili, but by keeping everything from him, he’ll only be left in a passive position.”

“Xu’er has seen him lose his balance these days. If someone were to attack him now, he would likely be caught off guard and defenseless.”

Meng Guxue’s expression turned serious. Since she and Baili Chengyou were on the same side now, she naturally spared no effort to consider his interests.

The King Wife’s concealment and suppression were very unfavorable. It would be better to openly discuss solutions together, as taught by Qiao Tianjing that day, which she found very reasonable!

Qiao Jiaojiao: (❀｣╹□╹)｣

【Ah ah ah! Meng Guxue is so on point!】

Upon hearing this, the King Wife indeed showed a touch of emotion on her face, but seemed hesitant.

Seeing this, Meng Guxue added fuel to the fire, “Mother, a few days ago, Ximei made a move against Xu’er. She planted a Gu on Xu’er.”

“Mother, our current situation is really precarious. It’s especially valuable to be frank and honest at this time!”

“What!?”

Upon hearing this, the King Wife immediately sat up, grabbing Meng Guxue’s hand, her face tense as she asked:

“Miaoxue made a move against you? Xu’er, are you alright? Has the Gu been removed? What Gu?”

Meng Guxue also looked frightened, “It’s the Overlapping Words Gu. They’re probably planning to embarrass me at the birthday banquet and use it against Baili!”

The King Wife was shocked to hear this, her heart full of horror. Seeing how difficult Baili Chengyou and Meng Guxue were already, she couldn’t afford to hide anything now.

Thinking this through, she sighed heavily, instructed the nanny to guard the front hall, and said in a muffled voice:

“Xu’er, in fact, those rumors are not groundless. What the Queen Mother meant was, the Queen Mother and the Second Prince… do have some history.”

Meng Guxue heard this, her mouth slightly agape.