Chapter 111 : The Return Visit

Xue Qingyin paused for a moment, gripping the purse tightly, then answered dryly, “Oh.”

“Rest early. If you wake up late tomorrow, it will be embarrassing for your mother-in-law,” King Xuan released her.

It seemed that the murderous intent and sharpness that had briefly appeared just now were nothing but illusions.

Xue Qingyin sighed inwardly. Indeed, she wouldn’t be able to sleep in tomorrow.

She didn’t want Madam Xue to wait too long or worry about her.

“I’ll send someone tomorrow to find the Lin family and verify the identity. You don’t have to worry about it,” King Xuan added.

“No need to trouble yourself,” Xue Qingyin replied.

King Xuan looked at her. “Does Qingyin already have a plan?”

“Not exactly a plan, just do it as it comes,” Xue Qingyin blinked and said, “Isn’t it best if things are naturally resolved? If we specifically trouble the household, it would seem inappropriate.”

At this point, Xue Qingyin tilted her head, propped up her chin, and asked, “Your Highness, have you had dinner?”

“No.”

Remembering that she hadn’t missed a single bite at home, she nervously swung the table leg, softly saying, “Shall I join you for dinner?”

The words urging her to sleep earlier almost left his lips but were swallowed by King Xuan instead.

He replied, “Hmm.”

Before long, palace servants brought dinner.

The candlelight in the hall grew brighter, and only the sound of their soft voices remained.

“Why is the tiger tally usually made of bronze or gold, yet the Qinggui army’s tiger tally seems to be made of jade? Isn’t it fragile?”

“The former crown prince liked jade items. The Qinggui army was something he casually put together, so there wasn’t much concern about it. He used whatever he liked.”

“I didn’t expect it to become such an important item later.” Xue Qingyin echoed, murmuring, “If it were dropped or bumped, it would be disastrous. It’s really remarkable that the crown princess managed to keep it intact all this time.”

“Mm.”

“What’s this dish? I didn’t have it today.”

“Do you want to try it?”

“I’ll taste it.”

At first, they talked about serious matters, but gradually their conversation shifted to trivialities.

King Xuan realized that it wasn’t necessary to force a topic; anything could be casually discussed.

The tense atmosphere from earlier gradually faded from their minds.

That night, they stayed in the Cunxin Palace, and yes, they slept a peaceful sleep.

Perhaps because of the tiger tally, Xue Qingyin didn’t sleep well. She laid her hands neatly on her chest, with the purse pressed beneath them.

Seeing this, King Xuan locked it away after she got up.

“So I’m still better off being a lazy person who doesn’t care about anything,” Xue Qingyin sighed and left, just with the glass bead and the letter.

The Xue household was already awake earlier than them.

Madam Xue had been sitting in the hall, finding everything displeasing. Even when Xue Chengdong stayed home for the day, dressed in a dark blue robe, she scolded him immediately, “What’s with this dull color? It’s so depressing. Just looking at it makes me upset.”

The servants in the Xue household were nervous, sensing that Madam Xue’s temper was even fiercer than before.

He Songning came over to ask if “Qingyin was coming back today” and got scolded as well.

Madam Xue berated him, “If you care about your sister, why are you standing here? Go wait outside!”

He Songning: “…”

Even the old maid didn’t dare to speak up in comfort.

Madam Xue was deeply worried. She feared Xue Qingyin would suffer outside, that life in the grand estate might be difficult for her, and that the noble ladies in the palace might not be fond of her… She had many worries.

But being strong-willed, she didn’t show any weakness. All her fears turned into outward anger.

Thankfully, at this moment, a servant came running. “The carriage from the King Xuan’s residence has arrived…”

Xue Chengdong stood up, wanting to walk with Madam Xue, but she quickly passed him, heading to the door ahead of him.

In the past, Madam Xue would maintain some surface-level peace with Xue Chengdong, but now she had completely torn the facade apart, disregarding everything.

Xue Chengdong and He Songning were left behind.

The two exchanged a glance but said nothing.

When they arrived at the gate, Madam Xue paused suddenly, gazing at the return gifts arriving with the carriage. Although it wasn’t as grand as when Xue Qingyin left the house, it was still enough to surprise people.

“Why bring back so many things?” Madam Xue complained, but inwardly, she was delighted.

She didn’t care what others thought of her.

She only cared about what the treatment implied — that King Xuan highly valued Qingyin.

At this moment, Xue Qingyin was feeling much better. She lifted the curtain and, from a distance, saw Madam Xue waiting for her at the door.

As the carriage approached, she immediately jumped down and rushed towards Madam Xue.

“Mother!”

Madam Xue showed a slightly reproachful expression but still opened her arms to embrace her. “You’re already married, how can you still be so reckless?”

Xue Qingyin smiled. “So what? No matter when, I’m always your darling.”

Madam Xue pursed her lips, her smile not fading. “That’s true.”

After saying that, she took a deep breath and turned to King Xuan, who was dismounting from his horse. “Your Highness, I greet you.”

Xue Chengdong and the others followed and also greeted him in turn.

King Xuan courteously returned the greetings. “I greet my father-in-law and mother-in-law.”

Upon hearing this, Madam Xue’s smile deepened.

It was unclear whether it was due to the change in their relationship, but now, seeing King Xuan, he no longer seemed as frightening as before.

Madam Xue immediately took charge and led them inside.

While walking, she continued, “Your Highness, you’re too polite. Why bring so many return-gift items?”

Xue Qingyin replied, “Of course, it’s not too much. The Prince personally went with his people to select them.”

Madam Xue felt a slight shock and instantly became more energetic, though she still said, “You’re putting the Prince to trouble.”

King Xuan gave a slight nod, his tone still cold and stern. “I wasn’t sure which would please my mother-in-law, so I bought a few more. It’s not a trouble. Raising Qingyin wasn’t easy for you, so I just picked some things, it’s nothing worth mentioning.”

Madam Xue almost smiled her face off.

Hearing the Prince’s cold tone now, she no longer felt it was intimidating or distant.

A person like King Xuan was much better than someone who only spoke sweet words! Moreover, the Prince’s household was well-kept, and it was hard to find any faults.

A woman’s well-being could be easily seen from her husband’s behavior and her appearance.

Now, Xue Qingyin’s face, as delicate as a lotus, was even more radiant than when she was in the Xue family.

Madam Xue’s worries vanished, and she handed the rest of the matters to Xue Chengdong, pulling Xue Qingyin aside to talk privately.

“On the wedding night, nothing went wrong, did it?” Madam Xue eagerly asked first.

Xue Qingyin weakly nodded.

Seeing this, Madam Xue couldn’t help but ask with suspicion, “What’s wrong? Is it… that you’re not capable, or is it that His Highness is not?”

She thought to herself, if that’s the case, well, there’s not much that can be done. It can only be said that nothing in the world is perfect.

Xue Qingyin was even more weakly shaking her head. “He’s too capable, I’m not capable.”

Madam Xue immediately broke into a bright smile. “Oh, oh, it’s all my fault for worrying too much. You, you didn’t frighten His Highness, did you?”

Xue Qingyin shook her head.

Madam Xue couldn’t help but ask again, “Did you… last night…”

Xue Qingyin replied, “I didn’t sleep well. Not because of… that, but because I was thinking about meeting you and couldn’t sleep.”

Madam Xue’s smile softened, and her eyes reddened. She whispered, “I miss you too. I haven’t been able to sleep well these past days. But now that I’ve seen you, I feel relieved.”

She then asked with concern, “The people in the palace are all from the imperial family. Have they looked down on your status? And those palace maids, are they jealous of you?”

“The Emperor gave me a Seven-Star Sword. Now, the people in the household are all afraid I’ll cut them. Who would dare look down on me?”

Madam Xue choked on her words: “This… this…” How could the methods be so violent? But when she thought about it being the Emperor’s gift, she let it go. Well, well, it’s a good thing after all!

Madam Xue could still see things clearly. She lowered her voice and said, “The Emperor’s gift, don’t think it’s because you’re pleasing to the eye. Actually, it should be that His Highness the Prince put in some effort behind it.”

At this point, Madam Xue’s expression darkened.

She said, “The elders of the Xue family, including your grandfather and grandmother, none of them liked me. Although your father and I are now at odds, I must admit, he treated me well back then. But even so, your father couldn’t change their attitude toward me. Later, when your father wanted to establish his own household, it caused quite a stir. The Xue family started to despise me, thinking I was the cause of the trouble. Then, when I was poisoned, none of them came forward to seek justice for me. To this day, they still act arrogant in front of me, almost as if they want to crush me.”

Xue Qingyin frowned upon hearing this and hurriedly embraced Madam Xue.

Madam Xue pushed her away and smiled. “It’s all in the past. The reason I’m telling you this is so you understand, if a husband truly loves his wife, he will do everything in his power to mediate and block all attacks from his family. That’s what makes him a great husband.”

She paused before continuing, “A person like His Highness, who is so powerful, will even try to make his elders like you, reward you, and value you. Not everyone can do this. Even the common in-laws are hard to deal with, let alone those standing behind His Highness, the current Emperor.”

Madam Xue marveled in her heart while speaking.

She never imagined that His Highness the Prince could go this far.

Xue Qingyin clicked her tongue and nodded in agreement. “He’s pretty amazing.”

Tonight, I’ll reward him with a meal.