Chapter 305: Explanation

Xie Jingyu is planning to go to the palace to see the emperor tomorrow and send people to Jizhou. Not only Jizhou, but all the granaries must be inspected.

The empress dowager returned to the palace, but did not go directly back to Shoukang Palace, but went to the imperial study.

At that time, the emperor was playing chess with the right prime minister.

When the Queen Mother came in, the Right Prime Minister hurriedly stood up and saluted her.

The Emperor sat still, put down his chess piece, and said, "The Queen Mother left the palace to pray for me. She's been busy all day. Why didn't she go back to rest, but came to me instead?"

The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor and said, "Today, I drew a fortune stick at the Huguo Temple. No matter how I think about it, it seems strange. Is the Emperor planning to adopt a daughter?"

The Queen Mother's voice was a little heavy. Whenever she thought that the person who cheated on her son who died tragically with the Princess of Jin was most likely the Emperor, the Queen Mother trembled with anger.

She even suspected that the poison in the wine was put there by the emperor.

She killed her son, but she took advantage of the emperor's kindness and was easy to control, so she chose to support him among the princes of the late emperor. The empress dowager was so angry that her internal organs felt burning.

The Emperor said, "This lot is indeed very strange. Could the Right Prime Minister clarify the matter for the Empress Dowager?"

Right Prime Minister, “…”

He was just playing a game of chess with the emperor, why did he have to face such a difficult problem?

The Right Prime Minister speculated, "Could it be related to the disappearance of the Prince of Gaoyang in Dongliang..."

The Queen Mother frowned, "How could it be related to the Prince of Gaoyang of Dongliang?"

The Right Prime Minister said, "The Prince of Gaoyang from Dongliang came to our Ning Dynasty to celebrate the Emperor's birthday, but on his way back to Dongliang, he met with an accident in our Ning Dynasty. No one has found him alive, and no one has found his body. Dongliang will definitely come to our Ning Dynasty to demand an explanation."

"If Dongliang doesn't want to start a war, they'll most likely ask our Ning Dynasty to marry a princess to them..."

"Generally, when marrying a princess, a woman from the royal family is chosen. At this critical moment, the Queen Mother is asking for a lot like this. I'm afraid..."

The empress dowager just frowned, but Queen Song's face changed drastically.

The emperor had many princesses, but the only ones who were of marriageable age were Princess Shouzhen and Princess Xuanning, born to Concubine Zhao.

These days, Concubine Zhao has been looking for a son-in-law for Princess Xuanning. She has set her eyes on the second son of her mother's family and wants to marry Princess Xuanning to him. Although the emperor has not agreed yet, he has shown signs of relenting.

If Dong Liang really wanted to marry a princess, and there was a lot that said the emperor could not adopt his daughter and confer the title of princess on her, then her daughter, Princess Shouzhen, would have to marry.

How could Queen Song not be worried? !

My heart is shaking like a sieve.

The one who got into trouble in Dongliang was only the Prince of Gaoyang, not the emperor. The Emperor of Dongliang would most likely not send troops to seek an explanation from the Ning Dynasty. It is more likely that he would ask for the princess's marriage. The words of the right prime minister are not necessarily alarmist.

The Right Prime Minister's explanation was so convincing that the Empress Dowager could no longer question the Emperor. The Emperor said, "They say the fortune-telling divinations from the Huguo Temple are indeed effective."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will not disregard your safety."

What else can the empress dowager say? Even if the emperor wants to adopt a daughter, he won't do it within the next six months.

The Empress Dowager was so tired after her trip out of the palace that she returned to Shoukang Palace.

Queen Song sent the Queen Mother back to Shoukang Palace before returning to her own Fengyi Palace.

After returning, Queen Song became increasingly uneasy and lost her patience. "Why hasn't the person sent to Duke Song's mansion returned yet?!"

Before he finished speaking, a young eunuch hurried in and said, "Your Majesty, Duke Song followed your instructions. Duke Song sent people to the Huguo Temple to check, and the sticks in the stick box are clearly the ones your Majesty requested. I wonder where that one came from..."

In fact, there is no need to check, Queen Song knows it in her heart.

The Queen Mother went to the Huguo Temple. She wanted to use the Queen Mother's hand to stop the Emperor from recognizing Shen Wan as his adopted daughter, but someone found out and secretly stopped her.

Because it was not completely stopped and some room was left, Queen Song became suspicious and sent someone to ask Duke Song.

Now it seems that someone clearly replaced all the sticks in the stick box, and then restored the stick box after they left, making it impossible for them to investigate.

No wonder it was only half blocked!

This was an attempt to take advantage of the situation and send her daughter, Princess Shouzhen, to marry!

What a vicious mind!

Queen Song was so angry that her heart ached.

Besides, the news of the right prime minister's interpretation soon spread throughout the palace. Princess Shouzhen was soaking in the bathtub, enjoying a beautiful flower petal bath. When she heard this, she hurried to find Queen Song.

"Mother, I don't want to marry into the Dongliang clan..."

Queen Song said, "This is just the Right Prime Minister's speculation, it may not be true."

"Even if it's true, Mother will never let you marry!"

There were not many princesses who married off as foreign princes, no, almost none of them had a good ending. Even if she died, she would never let her daughter marry off as a foreign prince.

She had originally planned to plot against Chen Wan, but she didn't expect that she would end up shooting herself in the foot. Queen Song wished she could cut Chen Wan into pieces.

This matter spread in the palace and inevitably reached the ears of Concubine Zhao. Concubine Zhao hurriedly went to ask the emperor to marry her daughter Princess Xuanning to her nephew.

But the emperor did not agree.

There were already two princesses of marriageable age. Promising to Concubine Zhao at this critical juncture obviously meant that he was planning to let Princess Shouzhen marry, and the emperor didn't want to get involved.

Although Concubine Zhao would make trouble for Queen Song whenever she had the chance, she knew that she could not compete with Queen Song. However, after fighting for so many years, she knew the tempers of Queen Song and her son very well. If Prince Cheng really sat in that position, those in the harem who did not obey Queen Song would not have a good ending.

Even if they cannot win, they have to fight for it with all their might. After all, as long as King Cheng doesn't sit in that position, they still have hope.

The daughter of a royal family member cannot be chosen to be a princess. Since only her daughter and Princess Shouzhen are of marriageable age, Queen Song will not let her daughter get married.

Concubine Zhao was anxious and angry, but she was helpless.

Once the news spread within the palace, it was only a matter of time before it spread out of the palace. For those who were well-informed, they would know it by the evening.

Shen Wan admired Xie Jingyu very much, "My husband is really smart, planning and winning from afar."

This flattery was very useful to a certain gentleman. He pinched Chen Wan's nose and said, "You flatter me so much that I am ashamed to accept it."

Shen Wan was puzzled, "Why do you feel guilty?"

"When my husband asked someone to change the signature, I didn't think so much at all."

“…”

Chen Wan looked at Xie Jingyu, "Then what is this...?"

"What a pleasant surprise."

Shen Wan, “…”

The corners of his mouth and eyes twitched.

She felt that Queen Song and the others were so unlucky that even drinking water would get stuck in their teeth.

In such a big capital, there must be spies from Dongliang. Even if Dongliang has no intention of marrying the princess to a foreign prince to quell the disaster caused by the Prince of Gaoyang, they will be tempted after hearing these rumors.

Princesses conferred by the royal family are not rare, and no one will care about them when a war really breaks out. But if it is Princess Shouzhen, the emperor's legitimate daughter, she will be a real hostage.

Even if we have to fight a war, it won't be too late to do it a few months later while holding the hostages.

As expected, one should not harbor evil intentions. Wouldn't this result in not only losing the rice but also shooting oneself in the foot?

Shen Wan was in an extremely happy mood.

After dinner, Xie Jingyu went to the study, and Shen Wan was reading in the room.

The little maid brought hot water into the room, and Shen Wan saw it and said, "Why are you preparing hot water so early?"

Shanhu said, "The Crown Prince ordered it. Dean Zhao is telling the Crown Princess to go to bed before midnight, and to bathe and go to bed early in the future..."

Shen Wan, “…”

Shen Wan's ears turned red.

That shameless guy!

It was obvious that he wanted to... and he was even using Zhao Yuanzheng's cover. Can't he have a little shame?!

The maid prepared the hot water, but Shen Wan couldn't let the water cool down, so she asked the maid to boil it again. However, just as she entered the bathtub, a certain master came back.

He didn't come over, but sat on the small couch and picked up the book that Shen Wan was halfway through to read.

Without looking away, Shen Wan almost suspected that she had misunderstood the person, and then Xie Jingyu sent the maid away and carried her to bed.

She whimpered for half an hour, and no one let her go until midnight.