Chapter 53: Taking Advantage Of Their Plan
Old Madame Hua took over a silk box from the hands of Nanny Luo before opening it gently, revealing the blood ginseng inside.
The rest were shocked as they did not expect such precious medicine from the Hua family, especially since many were unaware of the Long Red in Hua Qiyue's garden.
However, for the Emperor and the Queen, they had definitely heard of such a big incident.
Emperor Changlong stared at Hua Qiyue. The woman lowered her head and kept quiet, her respectful attitude hid her acuteness.
Second Miss Hua Mengshi lowered her head and did not speak. It seemed that both First Miss and Second Miss were educated well, however, many heard rumors that First Miss Hua Qiyue was a slut and a weakling who barely left the house.
It was the first time that she appeared in front of the officials.
As it was the first time that Old Madame Hua brought Hua Qiyue into the palace for her birthday party, many had not seen the weak and slutty First Miss. Now, noticing her beautiful face, elegant dress code and respectful demeanor, they believed that the past rumors to be ridiculous.
Eunuch Li brought the box from Old Madame Hua over, carefully sending it over to Empress Dowager. Seeing that, Second Madame's expression changed and gently let out an exclamation.
The queen had sharp ears. Turning around, she looked at Second Madame with shock. "Second Madame, is there anything wrong?"
The Queen's question made all stare at Second Madame.
Old Madame Hua frowned before looking at Second Madame disapprovingly.
Second Madame twisted and turned, looking embarrassed. "No... Queen, I had mistaken... mistaken that for..."
"What did you mistook that for?" The queen smiled ceremonially.
Hua Qiyue smirked inside his heart. "Such a malicious attempt to shame me in front of the Emperor! But it won't be so easy for her to do that! If I don't punish her now, there would be no justice in this world."
Regardless of which life she had, there were many who tried to frame her. Hua Qiyue was a businesswoman who met many difficult opponents, however, they were all defeated by her.
However, she blindly believed in Zhou Zhicheng. She never minded him even when he flirted with the servants and distant himself away from her after marriage.
To think about it now, she was a real idiot, one that didn't even notice her husband's change of heart.
"Queen, I thought it was... Long Red, and didn't expect Blood Ginseng..." Second Madame stopped herself as if she had just realized that she had said something wrong, staring at Old Madame in shock and fright.
Old Madame Hua was calm and composed. He swept at Second Madame coldly. The court officials had all heard that Old Madame Hua's illness was fully cured. Her vibrant face and bright eyes today did show that.
"Long Red? That is a Thousand-Year Magistery and is extremely rare. Did Second Madame see that?" The Emperor asked curiously.
Empress Dowager looked at Second Madame with great interest.
Second Madame blushed slightly and shook her head in panic. "I...I... Please forgive me Old Madame! I cannot lie in front of the royal family as it is a crime!"
Old Madame looked unhappier as she thought that she should have left the woman at home. Hua Qiyue had said that Second Madame would definitely leak out information about Long Red, and indeed...
"What did you say, Second Madame? Are you talking about this?" Even though she was fuming on the inside, she smiled and asked Nanny Luo to take another big red silk box from the wooden box.
Everyone felt a little strange as Second Madame and Old Madame seemed to be hiding something, especially since Second Madame did say something strange.
Hearing that, Hua Mengshi's joyful mood dissipated.
She didn't know why but she knew that something bad was about to happen.
Old Madame took over the big red silk box and opened it. The bright red color inside stunned everyone as all shouted out in delight. After the box was opened, the whole chamber was filled with a unique fragrance.
That fragrance made everyone mesmerized and even drunk. The Emperor looked inside the silk box. There was two bright red Long Red inside.
The fragrance of the Long Red made the imperial family exuberant. "This is..."
"Emperor, Queen, Empress Dowager, these two flowers are the Long Reds that Second Madame was talking about! Qiyue obtained those Long Reds from a mysterious man. Hearing that Empress Dowager had her birthday party today, we sent this here as gifts!"
Old Madame smiled while Eunuch Li hurried to pass the big silk box to the Emperor. Soon, everyone was able to see the legendary and mystical medicine, making all amazed.
""Good medicine, good medicine!"
"Yes, Emperor, see, the whole flower shines with a charming brilliance!"
Second Madame's expression changed as she did not expect Old Madame to make preparations. Hua Mengshi's heart sank as she heard from Qiuyun that Hua Qiyue did not use Long Red as her birthday gift, how... how could they prepare it?
"Emperor, actually we had this herb for a few days already. However, because a mysterious man gifted it to us, Qiyue and I did not believe that it is really a miracle medicine. Thus, after we planted it and after it grew out, I drank the soup made out of it, and my illness was cured miraculously, making me surprised." Old Madame explained, especially since they could not hide the news of Hua Qiyue selling Long Red.
Even if she did not sell Long Red, the servants of Hua's Mansion would gossip about it. Sooner or later, people will know Long Red existed in their family.
Thus, she attacked as she felt that it was better to be tricked and framed by others.
"Knowing that Empress Dowager's birthday was coming up, Qiyue asked me to gift your highness the two precious Long Red. I hope Empress Dowager will like it!"
The old lady smiled gently and looked at Hua Qiyue, "Qiyue, hurry and greet the Emperor, the Queen, and Empress Dowager!"
Hua Qiyue gracefully bowed. "Greetings, Emperor, Queen, and Empress Dowager."
Hua Qiyue's voice was as crisp as a yellow oriole, pleasant to the ear.
The Emperor was overjoyed as Long Red was a miraculous medicine. If someone gave this to Hua Qiyue, it showed that someone was interested in her. In this large world, there were 20 countries in Tianyuan Continent. Every single one was snatching Qi Artists and alchemists as their resources, and the top-tier alchemists were extremely rare.
Thus, the Emperor made Yun Shimo Prince Nan to keep him in the imperial city.
The miracle medicine was extremely rare too. Having a normal girl in the Changjing Kingdom attracted by a mysterious master was a glory of Changjing Kingdom.
"Alright, alright, alright! Get up, get up! Lift your head and let me see the face of Hua family's First Miss." Emperor Changlong smiled and ordered. He saw a fairy-like beauty that had extravagant elegance hidden in her straight brows that were not present in any ordinary person.
"Such beauty! Good, good, good! Not only is Ms. Hua beautiful, but I also supported First Miss in the platform martial arts tournament as well. Now that I knew that you were helped by someone, that person will be the precious guest of Changjing Kingdom! If there is an opportunity, you can bring him to see me!" The Emperor smiled with a few glimmers of thoughts hidden within his eyes.
Hua Qiyue smiled and smiled elegantly, shocking everyone.
Prince Nan Yun Shimo was sitting not far away. He glanced at Hua Qiyue indifferently, with no expression in his eyes.
Ji Feng and the rest were all shocked by Hua Qiyue. It was extremely lucky for her to get the help of a mysterious master. It was no wonder that Hua Qiyue changed so much.
Seeing that the Emperor was overjoyed, everyone else congratulated.
"Congratulations to the Emperor for obtaining talent."
"Congratulations to Empress Dowager for obtaining the miraculous medicine..."
Second Madame and Hua Mengshi were extremely embarrassed as Old Madame glanced at them coldly. She had long heard that they had bullied Hua Qiyue. Initially, they believed that they would change. However, they still attempted to shame Hua Qiyue in front of the Emperor.
However, Hua Qiyue was more impressive. She allowed Qiuyun to let out fake news and fooled Second Madame. They had shot themselves in the leg.
"Old Madame, I was too rude. Hehe..." Second Madame laughed stiffly, not knowing what to say.
The queen smiled as she looked at Hua Qiyue, before turning to the Emperor and Empress Dowager. "Emperor, Queen, I see that Miss Hua was elegant and respectful, fitting to bear the name of an aristocrat. She was nothing like those rumors outside. Perhaps these people were jealous of the beauty of Miss Hua, and thus spread untrue rumors about her. Now that she attracted a mysterious master, she was a blessing to Changjing Kingdom. How about... we crown Qiyue as Princess Jinghua?"
This sentence was what the Emperor wanted to hear. In the entire Tianyuan Continent, all Emperors crowned Qi Artists as Kings and Princesses to keep talent from aboard.
Only material benefits can attract Qi Artists and alchemists into the nation. The Emperor knew this and thus nodded satisfyingly. "Indeed. It is also a blessing that Miss Hua could plant Long Red. Let's crown her as Princess Jinghua. Come, give Princess Jing Hua 100 silk bundles, 100 pounds of gold and a mansion!"
Hua Qiyue was stunned. She couldn't care less for such a superficial title. However, such a title could make her work more conveniently.
"I thank the Emperor for his blessing!" Hua Qiyue expressed her gratitude. After another round of compliment by Empress Dowager and the Queen, she sat down with Old Madame.
It was lucky that she did not bring Tianci here, or the lengthy procedure would be too boring for him.
Hua Mengshi and Second Madame sat together. They looked at each other, with unwillingness in their eyes. However, they dared not express their dissatisfaction in front of so many people.
Furthermore, Hua Qiyue had transformed from a slutty weakling into Princess Jinghua. Many court officials were envious of the mansion she received as they all did not receive such treatment from the Emperor.
Many daughters of officials sized Hua Qiyue up disdainfully as if she obtained this title by luck of having two Long Reds.
Even though Changjing Kingdom was a large nation, other large nations focused on it too, giving it a lot of pressure. Thus, the Emperor wanted to attract more talent. This thought gave many comforting thoughts.
However, these ladies did not understand that the Emperor had watched the match between Hua Qiyue and Ouyang Liuer during the tournament.
As the Emperor of the nation, he would not be fooled by Hua Qiyue's facade. If he was really useless, he would have been usurped long ago.