13. Inside Queen's residence
Nobody thought that they would get scolded for the incident as it was just an ugly and rumored princess who had fallen into the pond because of the seventh princess. And who was the seventh princess? She was the beloved princess of the Jing Kingdom, backed by the Queen, the Crown Prince, and the Ninth Prince.
Only when everyone present at the scene was called by the Queen the next day did they realize that they were going to get into trouble.
Inside the residence of the Queen:
The Queen was sitting on the chair with no expression on her face. Everyone except An Wei, Ming Liao, and Kai Ming had already arrived. Everyone had curtsied, but because the Queen had not given further instructions, no one dared to move.
Ming Liao and the second princess met each other at the door and, after nodding at each other, hurriedly walked inside. They saw the ladies curtsying to the Queen.
When Ming Liao and the second princess curtsied, to everyone's surprise, the Queen didn't glance at the other girls, stood up from her chair, and walked to Ming Liao.
"You girl, it has not even been a day since you stepped inside the Jing Kingdom and you have already been accused and almost drowned." As she pulled Ming Liao towards a nearby chair, she said, "No need for unnecessary greetings. Just sit."
She also asked the second princess to take her seat and started to chat with Ming Liao like the others didn't exist at all.
"How are you doing? I heard about what happened yesterday. You must have been so scared. It was already late at night, so I didn't come to visit. I have prepared some tonics for you. Girls should take care of their bodies to give birth healthily in the future."
As the Queen was saying that, she gestured with her hand and a maidservant respectfully handed the tonics prepared by the imperial physician to the princess's maidservant.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am fine. I drank ginger water and when I woke up today, I was as good as new. It's just that I have to ask Your Majesty for a little help."
"What are you hesitating for then? What do you want me to help you with?"
At this moment, the maidservant of the seventh princess came running and kneeled, "Your Majesty, the seventh princess has a fever and asked me to inform you."
"What?!" The Queen stood up. She was not worried at all because it was not An Wei who had fallen into the water. She knew An Wei was making up the illness so as not to be scolded.
The Queen was fuming with anger right now. She should not have indulged that girl all this time. It was not that she didn't love An Wei, but these days, the trouble she was getting into was becoming more and more extreme.
An Wei didn't have a mother, and she didn't have a daughter. It was very hard to survive inside the palace without the protection of someone with status. Even though the biological mother of An Wei was a vicious person, she had taken care of An Wei, but that didn't mean she could ride on her power and abuse others. And yesterday, she had even caused Ming Liao to fall into the cold water of the pond in the evening. The weather must have been so cold. Now, instead of apologizing sincerely, she was faking an illness.
She looked at Ming Liao, who looked exactly like her old friend, and her heart started to ache. No matter what, she had to punish An Wei today. Only by making an example out of An Wei could she let others know that Ming Liao was under her protection. What if others also started to target Ming Liao like the seventh princess?
She raised her voice, "Even if she is about to die, she has to come here today. Go and call the seventh princess here. Even if you have to drag her, bring her here."
The Queen also signaled one of her maidservants, who ran after the maidservant of the seventh princess.
Then, turning her expression into that of a kind mother, she sat down and started to chat with Ming Liao, "I let you see something unpleasant. Do not mind me. What were you asking previously?"
"Your Majesty, about the veil. It is the custom of our Kingdom not to let others outside of the noble family see our faces before marriage. I want to follow the custom, but if something like yesterday happens again and someone of high status asks me to show my face, it would be hard for me to refuse."
Sighing regretfully, the Queen said, "To be honest, it was my mistake for indulging the seventh princess. Now she even dares to bully innocent people. Do not worry. If anyone wants to see your face, they will have to ask for my permission. I will also have An Wei apologize to you."