Chapter 731 Rong Qing's Motive

Cheng Wanwan had never interacted with the Empress Dowager.

I originally thought the Empress Dowager would blindly favor Rongqing, but judging from this, she is also reasonable, and of course, she weighs the pros and cons more.

She raised her head and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for upholding justice. However, I still want to know why Princess Rongqing has repeatedly attacked me... After thinking it over, I believe it was because I accidentally offended the princess during one of my visits to the palace. Your Majesty, please tell me about my rudeness and disrespect, and I will apologize to you."

The Empress Dowager nodded: "Rongqing, you really should explain this matter clearly."

The handkerchief in Rongqing's hand was almost torn to shreds.

She slightly raised her eyes and met Cheng Wanwan's gaze, where she saw a hint of mockery.

Anger surged in her heart, and she almost lost her temper and slapped him across the face.

But she knew she couldn't.

She could no longer lay a hand on him, nor could she even explain why she had laid a hand on him.

Sixth Brother is the apple of the Empress Dowager's eye.

Sixth Brother is the child the Empress Dowager feels most guilty towards.

More than ten years ago, the sixth brother's sweetheart was forced by the Empress Dowager to marry the third prince, and died of illness at the age of seventeen.

This incident became a thorn in the side between the Empress Dowager and her son, the Sixth Prince.

Because the Empress Dowager felt guilty, she never dared to force Sixth Brother to marry, and Sixth Brother's behavior became increasingly absurd...

Once, a princess from abroad came to pay homage to the emperor with an envoy and fell in love with Sixth Brother at first sight. At that time, the Empress Dowager told her in private that the princess was not of pure blood and was a barbarian, and was not worthy of the King of Qin of the Great Yu Dynasty... From that moment on, she knew that she was not worthy of Sixth Brother.

Her parents were peasants, and she was a lowly maidservant who couldn't even read when she entered the palace...

The Empress Dowager had seen her at her most wretched and destitute, so how could she allow someone of her status to marry the King of Qin?

Not to mention, she is now the King of Qin's nominal sister. Are they trying to make the royal family a laughing stock for the world by having the siblings together?

She knew all this, so she kept this affection carefully in her heart.

As long as her sixth brother doesn't get married, she can continue to live on her fantasy.

She wouldn't allow any woman to get close to Sixth Brother, nor could she tolerate him showing too much interest in any woman...

She had guarded her sixth brother for so many years, like the bright moonlight in the sky. She was willing to brave the darkness of the night to protect that radiance.

“I…I didn’t target Sui Shuren…” Rong Qing lowered his head, biting his lower lip. “I met Sui Shuren once at Kunning Palace, and the second time was at the hunting party. Sui Shuren had no chance to offend me, and I would never do anything to her over such a trivial matter…”

Cheng Wanwan was not surprised at all upon hearing this answer.

This also confirms that Princess Rongqing's thoughts were indeed extremely rebellious towards the royal family.

So, she had a handle on Rong Qing.

If we want to deal with Rongqing in the future, we can start from this aspect.

"So, Your Highness is targeting me?" Ruan Mingzhu asked. "May I ask Your Highness, what have I done that makes you so eager to get rid of me?"

Rong Qing bit her lower lip hard.

She had no past conflicts with the Ruan family, and she had no time to scheme against a teenage girl.

But now that things have come to this point, she has to come up with a reason; otherwise, she won't be able to get past the Empress Dowager.

She spoke in a low voice, "Miss Ruan is the only daughter after Madam Ruan gave birth to five sons. She is the only daughter of the Ruan family, the apple of their eye. Such pampering makes me very envious. Although I am a princess, my parents have long since passed away, and my brothers and sisters have all died unexpectedly. I have no relatives left in this world, so I am jealous of Miss Ruan... This jealousy fermented in my heart, slowly becoming uncontrollable, leading me to make a wrong decision..."

"Mrs. Ruan, Miss Ruan, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I was wrong, I'll never do such a thing again!"

"I apologize for the undeserved misfortune suffered by Sue Su-in. I was terribly wrong and have no face to ask for forgiveness..."

She crawled on her knees to Madam Ruan and Cheng Wanwan, crying with tears streaming down her face, looking extremely pitiful.

The Empress Dowager's heart softened little by little.

When the former crown prince made a comeback, Rongqing's entire family happened to come to the palace to visit her, and thus died at the hands of the former crown prince's henchmen.

It could be said that Rongqing lost his family because of the royal family...

"I must also apologize to you." The Empress Dowager embraced Rongqing and sighed, "Rongqing grew up by my side since she was a child, but I was preoccupied with Buddhism and neglected to discipline her, which led her to commit such a grave mistake."

Since the Empress Dowager had personally apologized, Madam Ruan dared not linger on the matter and quickly said, "This humble woman will also discipline her daughter properly and will never offend the Princess again in the future."

"Someone come here," the Empress Dowager ordered. "Bring up that box of jewelry from my storeroom."

The palace servants carried out a large chest, which was opened to reveal it filled with gold, silver, jade, and jewels, so dazzling that it was hard to look directly at them.

"These are for Madam Ruan, Miss Ruan, and Lady Sui Shu to calm their nerves," the Empress Dowager said. "This is my heartfelt gift; please do not refuse it."

Madam Ruan and Cheng Wanwan exchanged a glance and could only kowtow in gratitude for the reward.

After expressing their gratitude, the three of them did not linger and took their leave.

When she suddenly stood up, Cheng Wanwan almost fell to the ground. Her knees hurt terribly, and her legs felt like they didn't belong to her.

Nguyen Minh Chu calmly helped her up, and the three of them slowly left Ren Shou Palace.

As soon as they left, Rongqing knelt down again: "Empress Dowager, I was wrong. My character is unworthy of a princess. I beg you to strip me of my title and I am willing to become a nun and devote myself to Buddhism..."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" The Empress Dowager helped her up. "You were indeed wrong this time. I've confined you to your quarters so you can reflect on your mistakes, figure out why you were wrong, think about how to be worthy of a princess, and figure out your future path... I'm getting old and can't protect you much anymore. After this six-month confinement ends, I'll arrange a good marriage for you."

Rongqing cried out in alarm, "Empress Dowager, I don't want to..."

"You lost all your family members when you were young, and you also lost your freedom in the palace. Our Xiao family owes you too much." The Empress Dowager gently stroked her hair. "After you get married, you will soon have your own children. Your children will only love you as their mother. If you have more children, there will be more people who will dote on you. That way, you won't have to be jealous of others."

Rongqing felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

This was just an excuse she made up.

She didn't want to get married, not at all, to marry any man other than her sixth brother...

While the Empress Dowager and Rongqing were talking, Cheng Wanwan and her two companions had already arrived outside the palace.

Madam Ruan sighed, "I never imagined that Princess Rongqing would be so narrow-minded. Other families dote on their daughters and sisters, but that gets in her way too..."

Ruan Mingzhu snorted: "She is someone who has nothing to do with the royal family. It is only because she is favored by the Empress Dowager that she is more likely to be envied. How dare she be jealous of others?"

"This is the palace gate. Remember, be careful what you say and do." Madam Ruan glared at her, then walked over and took Cheng Wanwan's hand. "If Lady Sui doesn't mind, how about we call each other sisters from now on? Although I am more than ten years older than you, my daughter and your son are about the same age, so I'll take the liberty of being the older sister and call you Wanwan, little sister. What do you say?"

"Mrs. Ruan, you can just call me Wanwan," Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. "Mingzhu, you can call me Aunt Wanwan from now on."

“Okay!” Ruan Mingzhu immediately changed her address, “Aunt Wanwan!”

"You have such a sweet tongue!" Cheng Wanwan took a jade bracelet off her wrist and gave it to her. "I didn't prepare a gift in advance, so just accept this. Auntie will give you an even better one next time."

Nguyen Minh Chu immediately put it on her wrist to show off.

As a result, the relationship between the two families immediately became much closer.