Transmigration: From Farmer To Empress
Chapter 987 - 989 Empress Arrives (9)

Chapter 987: Chapter 989 Empress Arrives (9)

"Would they dare to refuse?"

Empress Mo gave a cold smile, "Even if it were a mistress from a Marquis’s House, having her as a concubine to our Yi’er Zi Qi wouldn’t be a disgrace. What are they to dare to refuse?"

"Aunt, I also would not agree to let Fei’er become a concubine." Mo Ziqi suddenly spoke up. His indifferent face showed little emotion as he stood with his hands behind his back, looking unapproachable.

Surprised, Empress Mo said, "You will not agree to her becoming a concubine? Do you intend to have Zhao Yang as a concubine then? She is a legitimate princess of the Great Jin Nation!"

Mo Ziqi stated outright, "I have never said I would marry Zhao Yang, nor do I wish to marry her."

Empress Mo pursed her lips, silent for a moment, then let out a sigh, "Zi Qi, your aunt knows that the grudge you have against Zhao Yang stems from that past incident. Any man would mind such a thing, but Zhao Yang is also a victim. Your aunt has only this one daughter, and I cannot rest easy marrying her off to another. Only if she marries someone from our own family can I be at ease. Rest assured, if you like the girl from the Mu Family, your aunt won’t stop you. Let her marry you alongside Zhao Yang. If the Mu Family doesn’t agree, I will speak to them myself."

Then, she turned to Lady Wu, the head wife, and said, "Sister-in-law, send someone to bring in the people from the Mu Family. I will speak to them personally!"

Lady Wu tugged at her lips, forcing a smile, "Yes!"

She then summoned her personal maid to call the female members of the Mu Family from the table.

After the maid had left, the old madame pondered for a while before saying, "Empress, Zhao Yang’s temperament will not tolerate her husband having other women. In my opinion, it would be better to find her a one-on-one match to avoid husband and wife turning against each other. Otherwise, it might spell trouble!"

Empress Mo replied, "After that incident, Zhao Yang has changed a lot. She won’t cause groundless trouble. Mother, please pity this child, and have some sympathy for my daughter. She doesn’t scheme. After what she’s been through, if she were to marry into another family and they don’t appreciate her, what then? Only if she marries into our own household, with you and my sister-in-law looking after her, and Zi Qi being a sincere gentleman, that Lady Mu, with her lowly status, wouldn’t dare to cause any trouble. That’s when I can be assured."

While she was speaking, the maid had already brought in Lady Du, Lady Mu Bai, Lady Li, and Fei’er. Seeing Empress Mo, all the ladies nervously knelt down, their kowtows audible.

"Greetings to the Empress Dowager, Long life to the empress for a thousand years," they chorused.

Empress Mo’s gaze first settled on Fei’er’s face, and when she saw that it greatly resembled Mu Caiwei’s beautiful visage, a frown creased her brow. She then disdainfully looked away, only to catch the foolish woman who had just been spying on her. Empress Mo’s eyes lingered on Lady Li for four or five seconds before noticing an unusual phenomenon.

The four women were dressed in conspicuously different manners. The mother and daughter of the Mu Family wore costly Floating Light Brocade clothes, and their heads were decorated with jewelry of immense value. That little vixen Fei’er actually wore a set of diamond head decorations, which alone were probably worth eighteen thousand taels of silver. Fei’er’s mother on the other hand, wore a set of Purple Crystal Stone jewelry. The whole set might not be worth ten thousand, but it was certainly worth eight. The older woman wore ordinary silk clothes with a few gold and jeweled decorations, but her overall appearance still paled in comparison to the mother and daughter, and the woman who had been spying on her was dressed even more poorly, in a wrinkled, worn silk dress, and her head was adorned with, unbelievably, a gold-plated hairpin.

Empress Mo did not ask Fei’er if she was willing to lower herself to be a concubine but instead bluntly inquired, "Lady Du, what relationship do you have with this old madame?"

Lady Du carefully replied, "To answer Your Majesty, she is my mother-in-law!"

"And this lady here, who is she to you?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, she is my elder sister-in-law," Lady Du said.

"Slap!"

Empress Mo slammed the table, furious, "How audacious, Lady Du! Our Great Jin has always governed with filial piety. You wicked woman dare be so unfilial, mistreating your mother-in-law and sister-in-law, dressing yourself in gold and silver while leaving them in such poor attire. Do you realize your crime?"

Startled, Lady Du managed to reply, "To answer Your Majesty, I dare not mistreat my mother-in-law. She lives in our home, and not once has she ever lacked for anything in her three daily meals."

"Shut up! With such clear evidence, you still have the audacity to argue. Would you like me to send you to Ying Tianfu for a thorough interrogation to find out if there is any truth to your words?"

Barely able to cope with her shock, Lady Du, already timid, trembled with fear at Empress Mo’s threat, unsure of what to do.

Seeing her mother so terrified, Fei’er quickly leaned in close to support her, in case she fell.

Empress Mo glanced at Lady Du again, then turned to Lady Mu Bai and Lady Li, and said, "The two of you need not cover for her. Speak up, how has she mistreated you? Speak, and I will ensure justice for you. But if you dare omit a single word from me, I shall deal with you as if you’ve committed treason!"

Lady Li, frightened by the Empress’s threat of being charged with a crime against the sovereign if they hid anything, immediately panicked. Moreover, she indeed detested Lady Du’s pretentious airs as a noble lady. She quickly knelt down, and loudly said, "Empress Dowager, I dare not hide anything from Your Majesty. I will speak the truth."

Then she exaggeratedly recounted how Cai Wei treated them, how she schemed to trap their family with Madam Lü’s scheme, how they were barred from the front yard, and about being offered three thousand taels of silver to be sent away.

Upon hearing her daughter-in-law’s words, Lady Mu Bai also recalled Cai Wei’s disrespect towards them and began to follow suit, crying and sobbing with snot and tears, slapping her thigh in grief...