She Holds the World After Being Reborn
Chapter 138 Following the Commandery Princess, Seeking Fulfillment

Chapter 138: Chapter 138 Following the Commandery Princess, Seeking Fulfillment

Seeing that Li Chengxiang had awakened, Yan Wanqing ceased speaking.

Opening his eyes, Li Chengxiang immediately tried to rise from the Imperial Consort’s couch upon seeing the Empress and Yan Wanqing behind her, only to be firmly pressed down by Yan Wanqing.

"Lie down, the medicine has not yet been fully applied."

Tears filled Li Chengxiang’s eyes, and she nodded, choking back sobs as she lay down to let the Palace Attendant continue to apply the medicine.

As for the girls outside the door, who could not hear the sounds within, they knelt under the fierce sun, and soon, some started to sway from lack of strength.

Some even fainted outright, collapsing to the ground.

Seeing this, an eunuch by the Empress’s side didn’t even bat an eyelid before he instructed a Palace Maid to fetch a pot of tea. He began pouring the tea onto the face of a girl who had fainted, who screamed and opened her eyes as soon as the tea touched her.

At a glance, the eunuch could tell she had been feigning unconsciousness.

He let out a cold laugh and ordered someone to bring over a basin of water to be set aside.

"Put away those little schemes of yours. The Empress has not said you may leave, and if you were to die kneeling here today, you would be buried on the spot, with no chance of returning home."

With such plain speaking, the girls no longer had a choice but to kneel under the harsh sun honestly, enduring even as the sun cracked their skin, silent in their suffering.

The eunuch stood in the shade, sneering inwardly as he watched them fall into line.

Having spent so many years in the palace, he was no fool. These naive young girls might be more than a match for bullying the daughter of the Li Family, but their little tricks were nothing to him.

The news quickly reached the ears of the various matrons. Upon hearing that their daughters were kneeling outside the Empress’s chambers, they wasted no time resting, gathering and hastily making their way over.

Inside the palace, after Li Chengxiang had the medicine applied, the Palace Maids placed fresh clothes beside her. But Yan Wanqing did not urge her to change immediately; instead, she looked towards the sun outside, slowly set down the tea in her hand, and spoke to Zhang Lanyi, who was eating lychees.

"It is time."

Zhang Lanyi spit out a lychee pit, and a Palace Maid wiped the juice from her lips with a handkerchief. Casually adjusting the soaring phoenix on her hairpin, she said, "Alright, let those girls come inside."

The Palace Maids helped four dizzy girls enter the hall, followed by a Palace Attendant’s announcement from outside that the matrons had arrived.

Zhang Lanyi exchanged a leisurely look with Yan Wanqing: "Let them in."

The Palace Maids summoned the ladies, and the leading matron, dressed in a green gauze dress and looking quite youthful, seemed out of place among the others.

Yan Wanqing recognized her at a glance—she was the newly wedded wife of the Chief of Staff, young and beautiful, from a renowned family.

Upon entering, the matron first glanced at her stepdaughter and then gracefully approached the Empress to salute her, prompting the other matrons to rein in their thoughts and salute as well.

After they finished their salutations, the Empress remained silent, savoring her tea.

Seeing that the conversation was going nowhere, the Grand Tutor’s wife turned her gaze to Yan Wanqing and smiled, "This concubine has seen Princess Anping."

Yan Wanqing responded with a slight smile: "The Chief of Staff’s wife is courteous. Please take a seat, ladies. The day is rather hot; have some cooling Lotus Leaf Tea to quench your thirst," neatly sidestepping what she had been about to say.

The Palace Maids served the tea, and the matrons watched with a cautious eye, each one sharp-minded and unwilling to be the first to speak.

At that moment, the Empress slowly set down her teacup.

Seeing this, the ladies promptly placed their cups down as well.

"Current conflicts in the north persist, and His Majesty is deeply troubled. It is thanks to the esteemed lords in court that we are able to maintain stability," Yan Wanqing suddenly addressed everyone: "There are laws of the land and rules of the family. Without rules, there is no square or circle—this much, I believe, is clear in everyone’s hearts. Now, when the court is in turbulence, beset with challenges from within and without, such an incident occurred right outside my chambers. Should someone with ulterior motives bring this matter to His Majesty’s ears—"

Upon hearing this, the faces of the four matrons paled.

To fight outside the Empress’s chambers was to show blatant disrespect to the Empress.

They rose from their seats and knelt down, while the four noble daughters became even more panicked, kneeling on the ground and weeping uncontrollably, "Empress, spare our lives..."

Yan Wanqing suppressed the emotions in her eyes and continued, "The Empress is kind-hearted, but this is indeed a bit..."

Of course, the four ladies knew the seriousness of the matter. If it indeed became a disturbance that reached the Emperor, it would be a grave issue of disrespecting imperial power. Not to mention losing their official positions, perhaps the lives of their entire family would be at stake.

They immediately began to resent their daughters’ recklessness.

Especially the Chief of Staff’s wife, who hadn’t been married for long before encountering this issue and had heard that it was her own family’s young lady who had led the trouble. If anybody were to be blamed heavily, their family would bear the primary responsibility.

Thinking of this, cold sweat began to bead up on her forehead.

"However, there is still a turning point in this matter—" Seeing this, Yan Wanqing, facing the hopeful gazes of everyone, began to speak slowly again.

On that day, not until the sunset slanted west did the ladies finally leave the Empress’s palace with their own young ladies, each wearing a face of deep worry.

Yan Wanqing handed a cup of water to Li Chengxiang on the bed, expressionless. "You heard it all, right?"

Li Chengxiang nodded.

Yan Wanqing passed the cup over, "I’ve used you in today’s event. As the Commandery Princess, I can grant you one favor."

"Is this the Commandery Princess’s compensation?" Li Chengxiang looked at the cup, didn’t take it, and her hand holding the cup was fair and delicate, like fine white jade. Even the bare wrist that showed just a segment was enough to prove its owner’s stunning beauty.

Princess Anping, the legitimate eldest daughter of the Yan Family, dared to strike the Gong of Appeal alone and petition the Emperor after braving life-threatening challenges... truly no ordinary person.

Li Chengxiang licked her somewhat cracked lips.

She exerted herself to sit up and took the cup with both hands.

"Then, I would like to make my request now."

Yan Wanqing looked deep into her eyes, "Go ahead."

"I want to follow the Commandery Princess and become your maidservant," Li Chengxiang suddenly said.

Yan Wanqing furrowed her brows; she did not immediately reject the absurdity of the proposal but asked her instead, "As the Commandery Princess, I must ask, ’Why?’ You are the legitimate eldest daughter of the great Li Family and handle all your household affairs. Why would you make such a request?"

"I have a talent for earning money and can support myself. I only wish to follow the Commandery Princess and ask for your support!" Li Chengxiang’s eyes sparkled with stubborn determination.

After today’s events, she had no desire to return home.

She was even less willing to rely on any man.

She thought, she wanted...

Li Chengxiang clutched the cup tightly, feeling the coolness passing through it. She took a deep breath and said, "I want to stay by the Commandery Princess’s side, to learn how a woman can establish herself and seek a piece of... justice from this world."

Yan Wanqing was smart. Combining what Xiaoliu had told her about the Li Family earlier, she immediately understood what had happened.

She let out a soft sigh.

"Do you realize that in the political court, one false step can lead to death?"

Li Chengxiang nodded firmly, "I beg the Commandery Princess to take me in!"

"You..." Yan Wanqing sighed softly, "I know you’ve had a tough time in the Li Family and can help you with that—"

Li Chengxiang, a bit anxious, set down the cup and directly grabbed Yan Wanqing’s sleeve.

"I only want to stay by the Monarch’s side. I am not useless; the Commandery Princess can place me in the Money Leopard..." As soon as Li Chengxiang spoke, she suddenly fell silent.

Yan Wanqing raised an eyebrow at her.

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