Leng Xiaoye motioned to her assistant with hand gestures before turning to face Huangfu Jue, her gaze lingering for a moment on the door of the room where Gan Yuan and Gan Tang were sleeping.
"Let’s talk in the study!"
Her voice had barely faded when there was another round of hurried footsteps outside the door, and Will arrived at the doorway, panting.
"Mr. Duke..." seeing Leng Xiaoye, he hesitated, then immediately stopped in his tracks, "Your Highness the Queen, good morning! I... I have some urgent matters I need to tell the Duke."
Leng Xiaoye spoke in a deep voice, "Let’s talk in the study!"
She was wearing a robe, clearly just having been roused from bed by the noise, and her voice was still a bit husky, but already clear and authoritative.
Will didn’t dare to speak again. He respectfully stepped aside, waiting for Leng Xiaoye to pass by before he dared to look at Huangfu Jue, urgency apparent in his eyes.
Huangfu Jue walked over, and Will immediately stealthily handed over the mobile phone to him.
Following Leng Xiaoye towards the study, Huangfu Jue lifted the phone Will had slipped him in front of his eyes, and at a glance, his brow furrowed.
On the screen was the headline in bold font: "Shocking Scandal—The Future Princess Consort Has an Underworld Background!"
Ahead, Leng Xiaoye stepped into the study, glancing back at her son.
"Mom, I have a very important matter that I must deal with right now."
Leng Xiaoye stood by the door inside, her tone authoritative.
"Come in, close the door!"
He pursed his lips, handed the phone back to Will, and walked into the study, casually shutting the door behind him.
"I already know." Leng Xiaoye said, cutting straight to the point, her gaze falling on her son’s furrowed brow. She softened her tone slightly, "How could you be so careless?"
The fact that such a matter could have leaked to the media and been suddenly exposed infuriated Leng Xiaoye.
Huangfu Jue was the Crown Prince, the future King, and yet his wife had an underworld background. Such news could become a weapon for political opponents to strike at Huangfu Jue and harm the country.
Huangfu Jue frowned silently; the situation had erupted suddenly, a scenario he had not anticipated.
"It won’t be long before this message becomes common knowledge." Leng Xiaoye sighed lightly, "Before the reporters come knocking, we must think of a way to deal with this event."
She paced back and forth in the study for a moment, then stopped.
"Stay apart for a few days; we’ll try to mitigate the public opinion, then have Gan Yuan come back. Publicly, you must adamantly deny knowing anything about these matters."
"No!" Huangfu Jue immediately refused, "That’s not fair to her."
"You should understand that this is not the time to talk about what’s fair or not," Leng Xiaoye said sternly. "What we need to do now is to minimize the impact this incident has on you, Xiao Jue. This is not the time to let emotions get in the way."
With the future of the country at stake, she couldn’t indulge her son. She had to maintain the necessary rationality.
"I am being very rational right now." Huangfu Jue’s expression was just as grave, "If we do that, everyone will question Gan Yuan."
"It’s just a public relations strategy. I’m not really asking you to separate," Leng Xiaoye explained.
Huangfu Jue looked up into his mother’s eyes, "If we put all the blame on her this time, how... how am I supposed to bring her back later?"
Leng Xiaoye covered her forehead with her hand and was silent.
The crisis had erupted suddenly, and given the life-threatening nature of the scandal, besides temporarily putting Gan Yuan in an unfavorable position, she could not think of any other way to recover the situation.
Sorry, I came back late from lunch and can only wish you a good afternoon today~! ~
Also: Happy Birthday to Huahua. Oh no, I mean, a very happy birthday!