Chapter 140 Requesting for Imperial Order

He Ning didn't say anything. He stayed at Jiang Qingning's embarrassed face for a moment, then turned to Qin Xiu.

Jiang Qingning shook off Qin Xiu's hand, which had finally loosened, and staggered to pick up his oil-paper umbrella, which was soaked by rain, from the ground. His fingertips were cold and trembling, and he could hardly hold the umbrella handle.

"Eunuch Wang, congratulations to the prince."

Qin Xiu said succinctly: "The palace path is slippery, and Miss Jiang accidentally dropped her umbrella. I was just about to help her."

"Oh? Help?"

Wang Deshun's smile remained unchanged, "The prince is truly kind-hearted."

Jiang Qingning felt that the gaze was like a thorn in his back.

She knelt hastily in the direction of Wang Deshun and He Ning and bowed, "I will take my leave."

After saying this, without waiting for a response, he opened his wet umbrella and walked quickly towards the palace gate as if escaping. His thin figure quickly disappeared in the misty rain.

Qin Xiu's thin lips were pressed tightly into a straight line, and complex undercurrents surged in his eyes, eventually turning into a deep darkness.

He withdrew his gaze and turned to Wang Deshun and He Ning, nodded slightly, and his tone returned to his usual distant and indifferent tone: "I will also take my leave."

As soon as he finished speaking, he strode towards the direction where Jiang Qingning disappeared, and soon blended into the rainy night.

Only Wang Deshun and He Ning were left on the palace road.

Wang Deshun looked at the direction where the two disappeared, and the meaningful smile on his face finally faded slowly. With a gleam in his eyes, he whispered to He Ning, who was silent beside him:

"Did you see that, my lord? This Miss Jiang is truly a wonderful person. Prince Qin is truly deeply in love with her, to the point of being furious. Back then at Prince Ping's mansion..."

He Ning looked at the end of the deserted palace road. The rain was heavy, as if everything that had just happened was just an illusion.

After a long while, he slowly spoke, his voice low and steady, without any ripples in his voice:

"Eunuch Wang, it's a cold rainy night. You'd better return to the palace early to report."

He did not respond to Wang Deshun's words, as if he had no interest in what he had just seen and heard.

Wang Deshun's eyes flashed, and then he put on his respectful smile again: "Your Highness is right. This old servant will escort you out of the palace right away. Please."

He stepped aside to make way, keeping a very low profile.

He Ning nodded slightly, holding an umbrella, and walked towards the palace gate with steady steps.

The next day, the Golden Palace.

All civil and military officials stood in silence.

Sitting on the dragon throne, the emperor, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, had a gloomy expression on his face as he glanced at the upstarts kneeling below to receive their titles.

"...He Ning, the crown prince of Zhenbei, is loyal and brave. I decree to grant him the title of Third Rank Censor. I hope you will diligently serve the king and live up to my expectations. I decree this!"

"Your servant He Ning accepts your order and thanks you. Long live the emperor!" He Ning's voice was clear and steady, neither humble nor arrogant.

He was wearing a brand new third-grade peacock robe, which made him look even more upright. He stood up and his eyes calmly swept across the different expressions of the officials below the imperial steps.

The emperor looked at the young and steady general standing at the steps, and a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

The King of Zhenbei commands a large army and guards the northern border, and is the pillar of the country.

Now that his son has come to the capital and been granted an important position, it is not only a comfort and trust to the Prince of Zhenbei, but also a clever move to check and balance certain nobles.

Especially after Wang Deshun reported back to Gong Dao last night, he felt that this move was timely.

However, just when the ministers thought that the rewards had been given and were about to cheer for the emperor, He Ning did not return to the team.

He bowed again and said in a clear voice, "Your Majesty, I have one more request. I hope Your Majesty will grant it."

The emperor raised his eyebrows slightly. "Oh? What else do you want, my dear minister? Please feel free to ask."

He Ning raised his head, looked towards the throne with an open gaze, and spoke in a clear and firm voice.

"Your Majesty, I beg you to grant me the marriage."

"I wish to marry Jiang Qingning, the eldest daughter of General Jiang Baichuan, who guards Lingnan. I hope Your Majesty will grant my wish!"

As soon as these words were spoken.

All the civil and military officials in the court, whether they were nobles or upright officials, were shocked and whispered to each other. The buzzing sound of discussions instantly drowned out the hall.

Countless gazes, like sharp arrows, shot at Qin Xiu, who was standing at the front of the civil servants' line, He Ning, who was bowing and asking for orders in the hall, and Xun Chen, whose face was pale and blue, in the back.

"Jiang Qingning? The orphan girl who was expelled from the Jiang family, whose father and brother are serving in Lingnan as prisoners, and who was rumored yesterday to be entangled in the palace with Qin Xiu, the son of Duke Qin?"

"The Crown Prince of Zhenbei, a newly promoted Third-Rank Censor with a promising future, actually publicly asked for a woman like this as his wife during his first official court appearance?"

"It's crazy, absolutely crazy!"

The look of satisfaction on the emperor's face froze instantly, replaced by a look of disbelief.

He subconsciously looked at Qin Xiu.

Qin Xiu's face turned gloomy the moment He Ning finished speaking, and he stepped forward to step out of the line.

"Your Majesty! I have objections! Absolutely not!"

A hurried voice suddenly rang out from the civil servants' train before Qin Xiu could speak.

Everyone looked over in astonishment, only to see Xun Chen, the Fourth Rank Assistant Censor-in-Chief, with a flushed face and veins throbbing on his forehead. He had already strode out of the group and knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, what Prince He said is wrong. Jiang Qingning is not a good match for the prince.

I foolishly married her, but she has a bad temper, disrespects her mother-in-law, is narrow-minded, and is extremely jealous.

I could no longer bear it and therefore divorced her. How could such an abandoned woman be worthy of being adopted by the family of He Shizi?"

The moment he saw that He Ning was also coveting Jiang Qingning, a kind of despicable pleasure that "if I can't get it, you can't get it either" completely overwhelmed his mind.

He couldn't let her climb up to He Ning, who was no less tall than Qin Xiu.

Xun Chen's words caused an uproar in the court. Countless eyes instantly became extremely contemptuous, all focused on Xun Chen, and then swept towards He Ning and Qin Xiu, whose face was ashen.

Xun Chen said in a deep voice: "This woman is no longer a virgin. She gave birth to my eldest son, Xun Moli. The fact that she gave birth to me cannot be erased.

Prince He is young and promising, and of noble status. How could he marry a woman who has lost her chastity and abandoned her children? This would be a disgrace to the family and a disgrace to the imperial court!

He Ning sneered from the depths of his chest, his laughter full of sarcasm: "I beg your pardon, I cannot agree with what Censor Xun said."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's attention was instantly focused on He Ning. They were all shocked that he would openly quarrel with the Emperor's trusted Earl of Anping for a woman.

Yes, although Xun Chen was only a fourth-rank official in the capital, he still held the title of Earl of Anping and was almost ten years older than He Ning. After all, he was a newcomer and needed to be treated with caution.

But then they thought, who is He Ning?

He was the only son of Zhenbei King He Ying, who was doted on endlessly. He was also the nobleman who dared to pull off even the emperor's beard when he was young.

Xun Chen?

He was just a civil official who changed his career and learned how to control floods and provide disaster relief. After all, he was born into a commoner family, and his ancestors were only three generations of Jinshi.

He Ning turned slightly to face Xun Chen, who was kneeling on the ground. His expression was calm, as if he was stating something quite ordinary.

"The divorce between Miss Jiang and Censor Xun is an old story. The right and wrong of it is not for outsiders to comment.

As the ex-husband, Xun Yushi reaped all the benefits, so how could he turn around and ruin a woman's reputation?