Chapter 131

  "It's nothing, it's nothing." Sima Zhe said somewhat awkwardly, covering up the question, "Right, where were you just now?"

  "Oh, I said that on the way, I met Gao Gonggong and he said that he was ordered by the emperor to go to Wei Daren's mansion in the middle of the night to summon Hongyu to the Siwangyuan. I was thinking, is something wrong with Liu Shi? Otherwise, why would they summon Hongyu so late at night? It's likely she's already asleep. That place is not suitable for her, I don't know if she can adapt.

  Muyong Xuan said softly, with a sympathetic expression, "Hongyu has been recovering at home and her body hasn't been well. I've visited her several times, and her complexion isn't good. Although the wound on her hand has healed, she still feels pain in this kind of rainy weather. If she goes to that cold and desolate Siwangyuan, I don't know how she'll adapt.

  Husband, if you have a chance, please talk to the emperor about it. Why must they summon Hongyu again? It's not her fault, although she is Liu Shi's daughter-in-law and Sima Qiang's wife. There's no need to implicate her further. Thinking of Hongyu's body... alas, you haven't seen it, so you wouldn't know. Just thinking about it makes me feel sorry for her. A weak and gentle woman, just because she married Sima Qiang, has to suffer such injustice. If I knew this would happen today, I wonder if there would have been another choice back then.

  Ha! Let me tell a joke, even if Hongyu had feelings for Sima Qiang, she might still have married him. Women are like that, once they set their hearts on someone, nothing else matters."

  Simazhe's face looked a bit strange, unable to express what kind of mood it was, only feeling that everything was in disarray, with only one voice saying: Hongyu is leaving, going back to Simaqiang's side, he can't see her again...

  "Husband, what are you thinking about? Why don't you listen carefully when I speak?" Murong Xuan asked gently and softly, just like usual, with concern and virtue.

  "Ah, I'm listening, I'm listening." Sima Zhe was somewhat absent-minded, but still forced himself to respond, just not looking at Murong Xuan's face. His heart was in turmoil, having an affair with Hong Yu behind his wife's back was already making him uneasy, and now that this had happened, thinking about not being able to see Hong Yu again made his heart ache, and he became dull and listless.

  Murong Xuan no longer made a sound, and began to prepare for rest. She had guessed that the matter with Hong Yu was definitely arranged by Murong Xue. The current Murong Xue had experienced some things and had become more thoughtful and calculating, no longer the simple little girl she once was. After suffering a miscarriage and almost losing Murong Feng's life, and also because of Zhao Gang's "affair", she lost Chun Xi who had always accompanied her. How could she not grow up?

  The quiet and eerie atmosphere of the Si Gu Yuan sent chills down Hong Yu's spine. The summer rain continued to pour down, making her heart anxious. Suddenly, the Emperor ordered Gao Gonggong to deliver an edict, summoning her to report to Si Gu Yuan that very night to attend to her mother-in-law, Liu Fei, who was once on equal footing with the Empress. Now, however, Liu Shi had fallen from grace and become a disgraced prisoner. There was also Sima Qiang, the former Second Prince, now nothing more than a discarded person, not even worthy of being looked at by eunuchs. Yet, one thing remained unchanged - he was still her husband. She had no choice but to come, for she was still Liu Shi's daughter-in-law and Sima Qiang's wife.

  In the Daxing dynasty, it was customary to establish three or four crown princes with a gap in age. The purpose of this was that if the eldest crown prince was not virtuous, the second crown prince could replace him and ascend to the throne, and so on. If the eldest crown prince ascended to the throne and became emperor, the other crown princes would be enfeoffed as princes and enjoy their own fiefs. As for the emperor's other sons, they could only rely on their luck. If they were lucky, they might marry a minister's daughter; if they were unlucky, they might not even get married before the emperor died, and would have to spend their lives in obscurity.

  Simazhao has been stripped of the title of Second Young Master, and the original Third Young Master and Fourth Young Master have actually become the new Second Young Master and Third Young Master. It's just that everyone hasn't changed their titles temporarily, but in fact, they don't want to be associated with bad luck either. After all, the position of Second Young Master was removed, it's not that glorious.

  Farewell, Sima Qiang. Hong Yu's heart was truly uneasy, yet she looked so calm and serene, without any resentment or complaints. Instead, she seemed peaceful and content, sitting in the hall, facing the cold window, listening to the sound of the rain, with a look of enjoyment on her face.

  Looking at Hongyu, looking at Hongyu's fresh and new clothes, Sima Qiang suddenly felt a few points of sadness in his heart, smiled slightly, and said softly: "Long time no see, Hongyu, how have you been staying at home?"

  "It's okay." Hongyu tried to suppress the unease in her heart and said softly, but the pain on the back of her hand suddenly became more severe at this moment, and she couldn't help trembling slightly, unsure if it was from cold or pain.

  "I think it's okay too." Sima Qiang smiled lightly, his expression a bit dazed, looking at the rain outside, and said faintly, "This place can't compare to the Wei Mansion. It's much colder and more tiring here. You have to watch people's faces and listen to their gossip. I don't know if you can hold on. But after all, you are still my wife, Sima Qiang. This sin will always be with us, it's just an unavoidable thing."

  For a moment, the two of them had nothing to say, one sat quietly while the other stood still.

  The empress maintained a smile on her face as much as possible, looking at Old Lady Meng sitting across from her. In her heart, she was already extremely impatient. This old lady was truly taking advantage of her age, relying on her seniority to linger in the Xiangfu Palace for the sake of her own granddaughter and refusing to leave. She had to have a word with the empress. What could be said? After all, she was the emperor's sister, so how could the emperor not favor his own niece? He was biased towards an outsider woman, wasn't it because he was enchanted by this outsider woman's fox spirit younger sister and couldn't tell right from wrong?

  The queen sat quietly, not liking Murong Xue did not mean she disliked Murong Feng. She liked this daughter-in-law very much in her heart. As for Meng Wanluo, who was indeed the emperor's own grandniece, what did that have to do with her? She didn't bother to get involved.

  "You two don't have to pretend to be stupid, Wanlu is my precious granddaughter. I absolutely won't allow anyone to bully her. Although I don't know why she would fall for that rascal Sima Rui, he must divorce that Muyong girl. He can only have one concubine and it must be my Wanlu, not anyone else!" Old Lady Meng said sternly.

  The queen was very annoyed in her heart, what a damn kid, if it's really a damn kid, I'm afraid your precious granddaughter wouldn't have taken a liking to him! But on the surface, she still tried her best to maintain a calm and gentle expression, sitting quietly, with her eyes cast down, not moving at all, as if she hadn't heard anything, yet still sat there very politely.