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Su Qingyue looked at the luxurious carriage in front of her, her brows furrowed. She then asked Heijin, “The emperor wants to see me?”
She was puzzled. Why would the emperor want to see her?
Heijin nodded without further explanation.
Seeing this, Su Qingyue could only approach the carriage.
The carriage was spacious and lavishly decorated. Even in the cold weather, the interior was warm, making one reluctant to leave.
As soon as Su Qingyue entered, she knelt to pay her respects.
“Your servant greets Your Majesty. I wonder what Your Majesty requires of me?”
Su Qingyue, veiled, looked exactly like the woman from four years ago. However, Nangong Yan no longer believed it was the same person. He had only learned today that there were two people who looked exactly alike.
“You may rise,” Nangong Yan said calmly before asking, “Qingli is injured?”
Hearing him call Qingli by her name and ask about her condition, Su Qingyue frowned and replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Nangong Yan said, “The Su family had twins over twenty years ago. Is Qingli your sister?”
Su Qingyue looked at the emperor in surprise, but she quickly averted her gaze upon meeting his eyes. “Your servant is still uncertain.”
Su Qingyue wasn’t surprised that the emperor knew. As the emperor, there was nothing he couldn’t find out if he wanted to.
Nangong Yan said, “Qingli is a friend of mine, and now that she is injured and you can’t find a place to take care of her, why don’t you leave her in my care?”
Su Qingyue looked up in surprise, directly meeting the emperor’s gaze for the first time.
She immediately refused. “That’s not necessary, Your Majesty. I am her sister, so I will take care of her.”
She couldn’t possibly leave Qingli with the emperor. That was out of the question.
Nangong Yan didn’t get angry, remaining calm. “Didn’t you just say you weren’t sure? Miss Su, Qingli is my benefactor. Upon learning of her need for help, I rushed over to assist her. I have no intention of harming her. Please rest assured.”
Before Su Qingyue could respond, Nangong Yan stepped out of the carriage.
Su Qingyue quickly followed, saying, “Your Majesty, please don’t. A woman’s reputation is paramount. If A-Li leaves with you, what will happen to her reputation?”
Nangong Yan had already reached Su Qingyue’s carriage, lifting the curtain and stepping inside.
“I will be responsible for her reputation, Miss Su. You don’t need to worry.”
Seeing Qingli asleep in the carriage, Nangong Yan stepped forward and lifted her into his arms. Ziluo tried to stop him, but Nangong Yan’s sharp gaze shot towards her. “My decision is not to be questioned.”
Su Qingyue, seeing him lift Qingli, felt a spark of anger. She clenched her handkerchief tightly, gritting her teeth, “Ziluo, let them go!”
Given the emperor’s forceful demeanor, they had no choice but to step aside unless they wanted to face his wrath.
Nangong Yan carried Qingli out of the carriage and then said to Su Qingyue, “Miss Su, if you want to know about your sister, you can ask Heijin later, and he will inform you.”
Su Qingyue’s expression turned cold. “I hope Your Majesty will take good care of my sister. If anything happens to her, I will fight to the death to get justice for her.”
Nangong Yan nodded and left with Qingli in his arms.
Su Qingyue felt a surge of anger and frustration welling up inside her, a suffocating sense of powerlessness.
She absolutely hated this feeling.
“Miss Su, was that the emperor just now?”
A woman’s voice suddenly rang out, and Su Qingyue turned to see who it was.
It was Yin Lengdie, the former companion of the Princess, and the daughter of the head physician of the Imperial Hospital. She was now the wife of Pei Yu, a prominent young man, known for his talent, handsome appearance, and close friendship with Nangong Yan and the young General Shen Yanchu. The three had grown up together.
Yin Lengdie and Su Qingyue weren’t on good terms. They had never spoken much, and Yin Lengdie had even played several tricks on Su Qingyue in the past.
Only in the past two years had Yin Lengdie started interacting with Su Qingyue, but Su Qingyue wasn’t someone who lacked friends; she always responded coldly to Yin Lengdie’s overtures.
Yin Lengdie’s eyes were still fixed on the departing carriage, recognizing the figure as Nangong Yan.
Su Qingyue looked at her and said indifferently, “I don’t know. What did Madam Pei see?”
Yin Lengdie frowned, “I clearly saw the emperor. He seemed to be carrying someone. Didn’t you see, Miss Su? They just passed by you.”
Yin Lengdie had seen Nangong Yan pass by Su Qingyue when she came out from the shop behind them, but she hadn’t seen what happened before that.
Su Qingyue, in a bad mood, responded coldly, “I said I didn’t see anything. Madam Pei, do you have a hearing problem?”
With that, Su Qingyue immediately got into her carriage and left, leaving Yin Lengdie stunned.
“Why is she so agitated today?” Yin Lengdie said with displeasure.
Usually, even when they weren’t on good terms, Su Qingyue maintained a superficial relationship with her, never being so sharp as she was today.
Yin Lengdie’s companions, the daughters of minor officials, quickly chimed in, “Maybe she’s getting impatient because she’s still unmarried.”
“Haha, don’t say that; it’s too harsh.”
“Well, what’s the big deal? So-called natural phoenix fate? I think it’s more like a destined spinster fate! She’s an old maid now, nobody wants her.”
“The Su family is so brazen! I think she will face a lot of trouble in the future.”
The young ladies chatted animatedly, but Yin Lengdie had lost interest in their gossip. She wouldn’t mistake that figure; it was the emperor.
And he was carrying a woman. This deeply disturbed Yin Lengdie. For over twenty years, the emperor had shown no interest in women. In the past, she was the only one close to him, but after she got married, no one appeared by his side. Now, after all these years, he actually has someone!
Yin Lengdie felt a pang of sadness and lost her desire to shop.
“Let’s go back. I’m not in the mood to shop today.”
Instead of going home, Yin Lengdie went straight to the Princess’s residence.