Remarrying Chun Yuan

Chapter 153 Blackmail

Queen Mother?

Liu Yuechu was genuinely surprised.

She did not expect the Empress Dowager to suddenly issue an imperial edict at this time.

She and Yuan Cuo exchanged a glance, both seeing the unease in each other's eyes.

He hurriedly went to the gate of the Liu residence to receive the imperial decree, where an old eunuch from the Cixi Palace stood with his hands clasped in front of him.

When he saw Yuan Cuo with Liu Yuechu, his sinister smile deepened.

"Have you two masters rested? I apologize for disturbing you."

Liu Yuechu bowed to the old eunuch, "I really didn't expect the imperial decree to arrive so late at night. I apologize for the delay in receiving it, sir."

"There's nothing to it about crime or not. It's just that the Empress Dowager has just woken up and mentioned Young Master Yuan, expressing her concern." The old eunuch led the two women behind him forward.

"Young Master Yuan has done a great service in saving the Empress Dowager this time. The Empress Dowager, feeling sorry for your hard work, has specially rewarded you with two maids." The old eunuch then went on to praise the Liu family and express his consideration for Yuan Cuo in a pretentious manner.

Ultimately, he didn't give any gifts for saving his life, except for two women, and their seductive charm with their wasp waists and plump hips made it obvious what kind of people they were.

Liu Yuechu sneered inwardly. This was hardly a reward; it was clearly a concubine bestowed upon Yuan Cuo, along with two pairs of eyes to keep an eye on him.

But the Liu family had no choice but to accept this reward.

She and Yuan Cuo could only express their gratitude to the Liu family.

The old eunuch chuckled and said, "It's not really a formal reward. It was just a spur-of-the-moment decision by the Empress Dowager. There's no need for the two maids to come to the palace to express their gratitude. The Empress Dowager specifically instructed me to pass on the message that it's unnecessary."

"Don't worry, Father-in-law. My husband and I know that it was the Empress Dowager's idea on a whim. Otherwise, how could the Empress Dowager of Great Qi's life be worth only two maids? We won't talk about what happened today. We'll go to the palace to express our gratitude after His Majesty's generous reward arrives."

Liu Yuechu could extort money with just a few words, and she wouldn't care if the Empress Dowager didn't care about losing face.

The old eunuch's expression froze; he hadn't expected her to say that.

Looking at Liu Yuechu again, her eyes were full of scrutiny, and her tone was authoritative, "Lady Liu is truly a clever woman. No wonder she has won the attention of the prince of Meng Kingdom."

He said this while looking at Yuan Cuo, clearly trying to sow discord.

Yuan Cuo nodded slightly, "It is of little benefit for my wife to have gained the favor of a hero. Tomorrow I will personally go and tell the special envoy that I am safe and sound, so there is no need for Yuwen Chan to take care of my wife. I will take care of her myself."

“It’s just that Yuwen Chan is being overly suspicious. My husband went to save the Empress Dowager, which is a meritorious act. How could his life be in danger? Those people from Meng Kingdom are just making wild guesses.” Liu Yuechu chimed in from the side.

"Who knows? Maybe it's some traitor stirring things up again?"

"Anyway, the news came from Cixi Palace, so who knows if it will change its meaning as it's passed around?"

The two men then changed the subject, turning their attention to the old eunuch.

The old eunuch was still in shock; how did he become the instigator?!

He dared not linger any longer, exchanged a few insincere pleasantries, and then retreated, for the palace was about to be closed for the night.

Liu Yuechu and Yuan Cuo watched the palace carriage leave, then held hands and walked into the courtyard.

Two maids hurriedly stepped forward to follow, but they hadn't yet kowtowed to Yuan Cuo to acknowledge him as their master, and he was ignoring them no matter what!

Granny Fang stopped them directly, saying, "Ladies, don't rush to kowtow. Go to the mansion and find a place to rest first. You can pay your respects to your masters tomorrow."

"Where to stay?"

The two exchanged a glance and said one after the other, "We were bestowed upon Young Master Yuan by the Empress Dowager. Where is Young Master Yuan's residence? We can rest there."

"Moreover, we acknowledge Young Master Yuan as our master; we will not serve the ladies in the manor."

"Young master and lady may not understand these things, we will explain them to you in detail."

"Please don't blame us for neglecting the lady, Granny. This is the Empress Dowager's decree, and we cannot disobey it. Please lead the way, Granny."

……

The two spoke softly, but their attitude was extremely arrogant.

They didn't know Granny Fang and thought she was just an old woman from the Liu family, so they didn't respect her at all.

Granny Fang smirked. Trying to pull this on her? She'd seen plenty of these little tricks in the palace.

What, if it's a gift from the Empress Dowager, can you really go to the palace to complain about it?

"The two young ladies probably haven't figured it out yet. There is no Young Master Yuan in this mansion, only the son-in-law of the Liu family. Furthermore, the son-in-law doesn't have his own courtyard; he has to serve his master every night."

“You are maids sent by the Empress Dowager, not masters. Moreover, the master’s master is the wife, and you should serve your master’s master properly.”

"We've had some wine at your residence today, and it's getting late, so we don't want to disturb Zhu Zi's rest. Go find a room in the back room to rest, and we'll assign you tasks tomorrow."

"Liu Fu's wife, take them away."

Granny Fang gave up on personally taking them to settle down. This show of force was their own doing; they didn't even bother to find out who she was first.

The two maids were dumbfounded; they hadn't expected this.

"But we were bestowed upon us by the Empress Dowager..."

Liu Fujia naturally understood Fang Mama's attitude. As she led her people towards the backyard, she reprimanded them without any politeness: "Aren't the maids bestowed by the Empress Dowager maids? They are called maids in the palace, but outside the palace they are just servants. It just so happens that one of the master's head maids got married and another is recuperating. If you can catch the master's eye, you can take over the position."

"If you are not diligent enough, you will only be able to work as a second-class maid to clean the courtyard."

"..."

The two had been on tenterhooks the whole way, and the situation they were facing was completely unexpected.

When Liu Yuechu and Yuan Cuo returned to Yuanchu Pavilion, their leisurely drinking was no longer possible.

“This is hardly a reward; it’s clearly a show of force to intimidate you,” Liu Yuechu said immediately.

Yuan Cuo wasn't surprised at all. "She's been tortured terribly these past few days, so naturally she'll retaliate by being disgusting."

"Go ahead and take revenge on the person who poisoned you!" Liu Yuechu didn't mention Qi Xiaodi's name. Although the two girls weren't exactly powerful, having two more eyes on them made her uncomfortable, and she lost her previous arrogance.

"Don't worry, my wife, I only have you in my heart and I won't pay any attention to those two." Yuan Cuo wished he could swear to the heavens.

Thinking of that voluptuous figure, Liu Yuechu said sourly, "They all look like little vixens, husband, aren't you tempted?"

"Seeing them reminds me of that old woman's hideous face," Yuan Cuo said frankly.

Liu Yuechu lost interest in teasing her and asked, "So what are your plans for the future?"

Now that the Empress Dowager is sending people to the Liu family residence, it's likely that more and more people will be eyeing the Liu family.

Even if Yuan Cuo did not participate in the autumn imperial examination to pursue an official career, he would no longer be an ordinary scholar.

Who knows, one day, someone might discover that his identity is different?

Fearing he would feel pressured, she took the initiative to be direct, saying, "Whatever you decide, I will follow your lead, including your biological father. If you don't want to acknowledge him, then don't."