CH 574

574: The Moon Empress’s Extremely Annoying Maiden Family

“Mother! Elder Sister! Why are you here?!” The Moon empress was startled by the two of them rushing in and was only able to awkwardly ask them this after recovering from the surprise.

The Moon empress understood she wouldn’t be able to satisfy the desires of her mother and elder sister, so she had given up on trying. She avoided them as much as she could while maintaining a firm stance on Ming Xi's marriage. She never expected to be caught up with them now of all times. Helplessness overwhelmed her again.

She had been taking care of her maiden family all these years. She even loved her niece, Hua Jin, like her own daughter. She never expected her considerations for her maiden family would raise their expectations so much. Perhaps she had done it wrong from the beginning.

“Why? Are we not allowed here? Something happened to my precious grandson. Is it that I, his grandmother, is not allowed to see him?! The two of you are too shameful! My grandson is lying here and all you care about is eating fruit!” The Moon empress’s mother, Old Madam Cuiya, pointed at the Moon emperor and empress with an incredulous and disappointed expression, as though she was talking to two cruel parents who didn’t care about the lives of their children.

The corners of the emperor’s mouth twitched. He didn’t know what to say to this old lady who had nothing to do every day other than try and make her presence known.

“That’s right, little sister and brother-in-law. While Ming Xi isn’t your only son, he is the successor to the throne. He is precious and you must take care of him so that there are no accidents.” Madam Hua, the Moon empress’s eldest sister rebuked the husband and wife team.

The emperor sneered in his heart. This woman didn’t regard herself as an outsider at all. She was his wife’s elder sister, but he was the emperor, and as such, it was impossible for him to refer to her as elder-sister-in-law.

But she seemed to forget his identity as emperor. Every day it was brother-in-law this or brother-in-law that. She behaved too familiarly with him and rarely addressed him with the proper respectful address as emperor.

Don’t think he didn’t know. Madam Hua relied on her status as his wife’s elder sister and never showed the proper respects to the empress or his children. He remembered every faux pas Madam Hua made against them. Unfortunately, instead of being grateful for his patience and forbearance, the other party took it for granted and became even more entitled.

They became greedier and more ambitious, wanting Hua Jin to be the next empress. Ha! Don’t even think about it. Even if Ming Xi hadn’t fallen in love with anyone, he would never approve a marriage between Ming Xi and Hua Jin. That girl was never going to be the next Moon empress.

“Who is this? Why did the person serving Ming Xi change? This court lady is too unruly. She does not even know to properly salute when she sees Mother and me come in. How can someone who doesn’t know proper etiquette have the right to serve Ming Xi? She looks dishonest. Little Sister, you should replace her as soon as possible so Ming Xi doesn’t have to be troubled with this kind of lax behavior.”

Madam Hua stared at Feng Wu vigilantly and with disdain, wishing that her little sister would immediately send her away out of the palace.

She had already dismissed all the other more attractive court ladies around Ming Xi. How did another one sneak in? Her own daughter had not won Ming Xi’s heart yet, and the little vixen who seduced Ming Xi hadn’t been taken cared of either. They couldn’t allow more problems in.

“What did elder sister say? This is the girl Ming Xi likes. Her name is Feng Wu and she is the daughter of Feng house from the ancient eastern countries. The emperor and I have already agreed to the marriage. We only need to wait for Xiao Wu to graduate from Xingguang Holy academy to hold the wedding ceremony.”

The Moon empress took a deep breath. Her elder sister was getting more and more bold. Her elder sister didn’t have to salute her, she didn’t care, but the emperor was a different story.

He was the most noble and honorable person in the empire. Her mother and sister actually relied on their relationship to her to disregard proper etiquette and disrespect him.

One had to know, even the emperor’s own uncles had to salute when they met, never mind his in-laws! How could her mother and sister be so bold?!

The Moon empress had a headache trying to understand her relatives. How did they become so entitled? Maybe they were like this before and she just never noticed?

Thinking about this, she couldn’t help but turn to look at the emperor with an apologetic face. It was because of her ambition to raise up her maiden family.

The Moon empress felt guilty so it was hard for her to meet the emperor’s eyes.

The emperor’s expression looking back at her said it was nothing. He didn’t bother to deal with women like Old Madam Cuiya and Madam Hua, so he tolerated their rudeness and let things be.

He hadn’t reprimanded them before because it would have impacted his wife. They were her maiden family and if he reprimanded them, then rumors about him and his wife not getting along would start. The emperor didn’t want to damage his wife’s reputation so he had refrained.

But now, the emperor felt that he may have approached it wrong. He should have communicated with his wife properly instead of enduring the entire time.

They were trivial matters, but if it weren’t for his repeated concessions in such matters, how could the Hua family dare think they had a say in the next Moon emperor’s marriage?

Fortunately, though he didn’t care about trivial things, he never gave in on larger matters, and hadn’t let the Hua family take advantage.

“She is that Feng Wu girl? I have heard a lot about her. Little Sister, don’t let her deceive you. She has already given birth to a child, and at such a young age too! The father is unknown as well. It can be seen that this girl is wild and unruly, to already have intimate relations with men at her age. Her private life is too complicated. How can she be empress of the illustrious Ancient Silver Moon kingdom? Such a shameless woman can not marry Ming Xi. I won’t allow it,” said Madam Hua decisively and sharply.

The emperor and empress exchanged a look. When did they say they needed her to agree to Ming Xi’s marriage?

“Your sister is right. This marriage is unacceptable. I can not agree to it either. As Ming Xi’s grandmother, I can not watch my precious grandson marry such a dishonorable woman. Our Ancient Silver Moon kingdom will be a laughingstock.”

Old Madam Cuiya spoke indignantly to the emperor and the empress. She knew her status was because of her relationship with her daughter. She dared be presumptuous in front of her daughter but she didn’t dare confront the emperor. . . yet anyway.

“Your name is Feng Wu, right? If you really want what’s best for Ming Xi, you should leave him. How can a woman like you, with a ruined reputation, be the next empress of our Ancient Silver Moon kingdom? For your own good, and for Ming Xi’s sake, you should leave.”