Chapter 143.1

The Empress Dowager’s teacup slammed on the table as she stood up with a livid expression. For a moment, she almost thought that Consort Dowager Liu’s old habit of flirting had occurred once again, but she found that something was amiss when she gave the notion some thought.

After all, Consort Dowager Liu and Lord Jing were childhood sweethearts since they grew up together as children, but in order to suppress this arrogant younger brother of his, the late Emperor brought Consort Dowager Liu into the palace. That action broke up the pair that was meant to be and there were a slur of regrettable incidents that happened after. When the late Emperor passed away, Lord Jing was indeed very reluctant to part with Consort Dowager Liu. He would come to see her annually and purposefully when he came to the capital, but it was only done formally. Since neither overstepped their boundaries, the Empress Dowager allowed it. Over the years, as the both of them got older, Lord Jing gradually forgot about this matter. Consort Dowager Liu sent two letters and received no form of reply, so it was natural for her to give up. With that, the matter was considered to be settled.

Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager slowly sat down again. The matter between Consort Dowager Liu and Lord Jing was something that happened long ago. She was young at that time so it was understandable, but now that she was at an age where even the most charming singers of the palace were now gone, how could she have other thoughts like those?

I’m probably overthinking… Then, it must be Mo Bei’s Fourth Prince who forcibly took the Consort Dowager away, but why would he take her- When she raised her eyes, she saw the Ninth Princess’s pale complexion. Something seemed amiss, so she hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong?”

The Ninth Princess’s voice trembled as if she was extremely frightened. Her eyes could not move, remaining frozen at one spot, “Empress Dowager… Originally… Originally, I said that I would be praying with Consort Dowager Liu today, but since you asked for me, I sent someone to inform her last night that I would no longer be going with her—”

The Empress Dowager’s face froze for a moment before she suddenly understood what the Fourth Prince of Mo Bei was planning to do! The person who he coveted wasn’t Li Weiyang nor the daughter of Marquis of Nan An but the Ninth Princess! Thinking about it carefully, the rank of Fourth Prince of Mo Bei should be matched with a Princess, but the Emperor was reluctant to let his daughter marry into a foreign country. Anyone else would be unhappy with the arrangement, but Mo Bei’s Fourth Prince did not reveal any of his intentions and instead, opted to remain! Obviously, the date of his departure was reported to be 10 days later, but he left early and the abduction of Consort Dowager Liu… No, he wants to abduct the Ninth Princess. When what’s done is done, the Emperor would have no choice but to admit him as his in-law!

Furthermore, now that Mo Bei was in the preparatory stages of a war, there was still a large army gathering at the border. The Emperor had sent someone to spy on the Prince of Mo Bei, intending to keep him as a hostage. However, he wouldn’t be able to expect that the said Prince would move one step ahead of time and even have the Ninth Princess. He obviously had the same plans as the Emperor— taking hostages.

Great, this Fourth Prince of Mo Bei is truly something! The Empress Dowager was so angry that her hands and feet had gone cold, making her barely able to stand still. Li Weiyang winked at the Ninth Princess before she quickly went up to comfort her, “Don’t be angry, Empress Dowager, weren’t we able to stop them? As long as we can stop them, everything will be alright!”

The little eunuch stuttered, “Consort Dowager Liu was rescued, the carriages and horses were also returned. It’s just that Mo Bei’s Fourth Prince and Princess He Chang have long since escaped without a trace!”

The Empress Dowager said angrily, “What are you all doing! Idiots! All of you are idiots!” Thinking about it, she thought that she might have insulted the Crown Prince in her statement. With that in mind, she sealed her lips shut, not uttering another word.

Li Weiyang lowered her head, looking very disturbed, but sneered in her heart. The act she played last time was truly not done in vain— Tuoba Zhen really believed that she liked Li Yuan Heng and even suspected that the person in the carriage was really her. He thought that she was going to elope! If they just thought about it, how could the Crown Prince bump into Li Yuan Heng so coincidentally while he was out hunting. Everything was no doubt planned out by Tuoba Zhen! Li Weiyang slightly raised her lips.

The Ninth Princess looked worried and said, “Empress Dowager, thankfully, we have Brother Crown Prince with us this time. Otherwise, Consort Dowager Liu would be-“

The Empress Dowager sighed and said, “Someone escort Consort Dowager Liu to the palace as soon as possible.”

The eunuch hurriedly reported, “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has personally sent Consort Dowager Liu into the palace. However, he first sent another to report the situation to the Empress Dowager as he was worried that you would be shocked.”

The Empress Dowager nodded in response. When she looked up and saw Li Weiyang, she couldn’t help but have a headache; the girl shouldn’t have heard about this. Her heart ushered her to hurriedly let Li Weiyang return. If she was to hint at it after the matter was settled, Li Weiyang would probably know better than to spread rumours around. The Empress Dowager was about to have the girl take her leave, but who would have thought that Consort Dowager Liu would stumble in at that very moment.