'Again?'
Song Lianhe didn't dare to rise, her eyes gazing innocently at the woman on the throne.
"Your Majesty," she began, "please forgive this humble subject's ignorance. I hope Your Majesty will enlighten me."
Chun De looked at her and said, word by word, "You have ruined King Qing's reputation."
"?"
Song Lianhe thought she must have misheard.
'Who ruined whose reputation here, exactly?'
Chun De's face hardened, the full majesty of the nation's mother on display. "Did you tell outsiders that you belong to King Qing? Is there any truth to this?"
"..."
Song Lianhe sucked in a sharp breath.
'Well... maybe... it seems there might have been something like that...'
'But that can't be right. She'd only run her mouth yesterday to get rid of Zhou Junlin. How could the Empress possibly know?'
'So, did Zhou Junlin go tattling to Consort Qi first? And then Consort Qi reported it to the Empress?'
