The Female Alpha Consort Mistakenly Marks the Empress - TFACMME Chapter 16

The courier station was just as busy and chaotic.

Qi Nian sat facing her mother, Xu Yuan. Both wore expressions of deep worry.

“Mother, I really don’t want to enter the palace,” Qi Nian said miserably, clinging to her mother’s sleeve with pleading eyes. “They say the emperor’s not only had a stroke, but he’s covered in sores and festering boils… how could I possibly go? Your daughter truly doesn’t want to go,” she said.

Xu Yuan sighed and gently stroked the back of her daughter’s head. “Don’t worry, Nianian. I will protect you.”

If she didn’t enter the palace, then her younger sister should. But judging by her father’s tone, was she being considered?

Qi Nian looked at her mother in confusion.

How had things suddenly turned out like this?

At home, she had always been the pampered one—whatever she wanted, she got. She had grown up spoiled and carefree. She’d known all along that her so-called younger sister had only been taken in as a backup plan.

But a sister was still a sister. Even though Qi Nian was willful, she’d always looked after her. She was, after all, the biological daughter.

Having her sister go into the palace as a substitute bride was the natural course of things.

This trip to the capital had been all about finding an excuse to bring Qi Yingzhu here. Everything had gone according to plan—how had just one “I won’t marry” suddenly stopped the whole arrangement?

Not only had things come to a halt, her father now seemed to be considering sending her into the palace instead!

That was unacceptable.

Fortunately, her mother was always on her side. With her mother’s promise, Qi Nian finally felt a bit at ease. She leaned into her mother’s arms and said, “Alright, Mother. With your word, I can relax.”

“Mm, don’t worry.” Xu Yuan patted her back to comfort her. “Nothing will happen.”

Qi Nian had always been her biological daughter. Since childhood, she’d loved to act spoiled in her mother’s arms, and Xu Yuan always gave in. Though Qi Yingzhu was younger, she wasn’t Xu Yuan’s own child. She was more mature and never had that kind of closeness with her.

“Mother, I want to marry into the Zong family of Shaochuan… They only have one daughter, and she’s an alpha. What do you think?”

A perfect match for the Qi family.

“Or else, the Xie family of Congyang would work too.”

Xu Yuan nodded at everything her daughter said, agreeing to it all.

“Then, when I marry, can you give me that heirloom hairpiece of yours?” Qi Nian asked sweetly, clinging to her.

But Xu Yuan, who had been nodding all along, suddenly stiffened and didn’t reply.

Qi Nian noticed something was wrong. “What’s the matter, Mother?”

Under her questioning, Xu Yuan finally spoke the truth. “I gave the hairpiece to your sister.”

Qi Nian, who had just been acting spoiled, immediately exploded like she’d been set on fire. She jumped up. “Mother, you’ve always treasured that hairpiece so much! Why give it to her? No, I’m going to get it back from her!” She stormed out of the room.

“Hey, come back!” Xu Yuan called after her in frustration. She walked a few steps but couldn’t see her daughter anywhere.

This daughter of hers had always been hot-tempered and wore her feelings on her face.

***

Qi Nian stormed out of the room. The doorman told her Qi Yingzhu wasn’t in; she’d gone out. So Qi Nian furiously paced in front of the station gate—and ran into her father, Lord Qi.

She hesitated for a moment. He didn’t see her and was about to leave. She noticed he was clearly waiting for someone, and her curiosity got the better of her—she followed.

One look was all it took to shock her.

A four-wheeled, canopied carriage had stopped by the road, marked with a twin-lotus family crest.

And standing beside it, wearing a gown the color of blue-green jade, was none other than Mu Lanshi herself!

A model of grace and nobility—the Mu family’s daughter, famed across the capital.

What was she doing here? Both father and daughter found it strange.

Mu Lanshi had her head slightly bowed as she lifted the carriage curtain with care—and from behind that curtain stepped out the very sister Qi Nian had been about to confront in a fury: Qi Yingzhu.

Qi Nian’s anger immediately deflated. At that same moment, she met her father’s gaze. Both of them saw unease in each other’s eyes.

“Nianian? What are you doing here at the courier station?” Xu Yuan came over, lifting her skirt and panting heavily.

She had rushed out, worried her daughter might cause trouble for her sister. The doorman had pointed her in the right direction, and now she finally arrived—only to find her daughter face to face with Lord Qi.

The whole family has now gathered.

Qi Yingzhu, having just told Mu Lanshi “It’s only been one night; I don’t know you,” had originally intended to leave without a word. But now she saw her family standing at the gate.

Each of them wore a strange expression, watching her with deep, meaningful eyes.

More specifically, they were watching her and Mu Lanshi.

Hmm… maybe that line about “not liking her” had come too soon.

Qi Yingzhu dropped the idea of walking away and instead greeted them. “Father, Mother, Sister. I’ve just returned from Yushu Pavilion.”

She wore the family’s token at her waist, next to her jade pendants. Qi Nian spotted it at once, and her face turned even darker.

What did this mean? Mother gave her the heirloom hairpiece, and now Father had given her the family token?

Maybe they were doing it to win her over—but what about Mu Lanshi?

Father and Mother exchanged a glance, clearly wondering the same thing.

They were both puzzled by Mu Lanshi’s presence.

And not just that—she and Qi Yingzhu were acting rather close, even stepping down from the same carriage.

They’d come to the capital to attend the Mu family’s banquet. It was at that banquet that Qi Yingzhu had bonded with an alpha…

What was going on here? Could it be…

Just as they were deep in thought, Qi Yingzhu and Mu Lanshi walked up to them.

Qi Yingzhu smiled and said, “I ran into some trouble at Yushu Pavilion today. Thankfully, I met Young Lady Mu, who helped me out. Without her, I might have gotten blinded.”

As she spoke, she glanced shyly at Mu Lanshi, eyes full of bashfulness.

Mu Lanshi’s mouth twitched. Tch. What had this woman just said when stepping off the carriage?

…Though she understood clearly—Qi Yingzhu was putting on a show for her family.

Sure enough, Xu Yuan forced a smile. “Is that true?”

They “ran into each other”? Really?

Qi Nian and her father both doubted it.

Mu Lanshi, still smiling, gave a calm account of what had happened at the banquet.

This woman changed her tune too quickly. Just earlier she’d said “a rescue is just a rescue,” and now, facing her relatives, she was parroting Mu Lanshi’s words exactly.

Well, fine. Mu Lanshi would play along.

If Qi Yingzhu wanted to borrow influence, so be it. As long as she kept her distance within bounds.

Not too close—but not cold either.

That delicate, unspoken ambiguity.

Mu Lanshi spoke mildly. Qi Yingzhu stood beside her with a composed expression, not too close, more aligned with her family’s side.

It really did seem like they were just two strangers who happened to cross paths.

Though the Great Qi had open customs, there were still boundaries between unmarried alpha and omega nobles.

But they had clearly stepped down from the same carriage.

Was the closeness in their posture and manner merely superficial?

Qi Yingzhu seemed unaware of the scrutiny and quietly thanked Mu Lanshi. Mu Lanshi responded politely, gave brief farewells to the family, and stepped back onto her own carriage to leave.

Was that it?

“Let’s go inside,” Qi Yingzhu said with no hint of hesitation, turning back toward her family.

She seemed unaware of the strange looks they were giving her.

Xu Yuan, Qi Nian, and Lord Qi all had other thoughts brewing.

Could it really be over? Was there really nothing between those two?

They didn’t believe it.

This wasn’t over.