Chapter 198 Let Miss Ye Stay in the Prince's Mansion

Shen Wantang actually thinks this is a good thing; everyone should have some hobbies, right?

Prince Ning's hobby was quite refined, far superior to other men who frequented gambling dens or brothels.

Moreover, Shen Wantang knew that although her mother-in-law complained, she actually indulged Prince Ning's hobby. She never stopped Prince Ning from going to the Imperial Observatory on ordinary days. She would only send someone to call Prince Ning back home when something important happened in the mansion.

"Getting married is a matter of fate."

Princess Ning said with some emotion, "My father was the Crown Prince's tutor. At that time, the Emperor was still the Crown Prince. The Prince studied with the Emperor and my father. I met the Prince several times, but we didn't talk much."

"Later, the Empress Dowager somehow took a liking to me and wanted me to be her daughter-in-law. Actually, I didn't really like the prince at first. Back then, he just liked to study stars every day and was like a fool."

"Moreover, I was already in love with someone else at that time, and I couldn't see anyone else."

Shen Wantang was very surprised. She did not expect that Princess Ning would be willing to tell her even this. This clearly meant that she regarded her as more than just a daughter-in-law, but also a friend.

She asked curiously, "Then how did you end up marrying Father? Did you discover his good qualities and fall in love with him later?"

Princess Ning smiled gently: "No, it's not that. My father said he raised the prince and knew his temperament well. He said he was reliable and forced me to marry him. I couldn't resist, so I married him."

"After we got married, I actually threw a tantrum for a while, but the prince tolerated me. Later I found out that it wasn't the empress dowager who took a liking to me, but the prince himself who took a liking to me and told the empress dowager that he wanted to marry me."

Shen Wantang became even more curious: "Did Father know that you had someone else in your heart before your marriage? Wasn't he angry?"

Princess Ning laughed out loud: "He knows, and he's angry, but not at me, he's angry at himself for not knowing me sooner."

"However, the more I spend time with the prince, the better I feel about him. When I was young and ignorant, I liked those who were dressed in fine clothes, riding spirited horses, and eloquent."

"When it comes to living your own life, you realize that those kinds of men may look dashing and romantic, but they're all show and no substance. When problems arise, they can't solve anything."

"But the prince is not like that. He doesn't talk much and doesn't know anything about romance, but he takes on all the responsibility when something happens."

Shen Wantang nodded repeatedly as she listened: "Father is indeed very capable."

Upon his return and hearing that the princess wanted to enter the palace, he immediately stopped her and went to see the emperor himself, without needing the princess to appear.

When Princess Ning got excited, she got up and took a very exquisite box made of golden nanmu wood.

“Other men would give women beautiful bracelets, hairpins or other tokens of love, but he gave me a rough, bumpy stone, saying it was a star that fell from the sky. I almost threw it away.”

As she spoke, she opened the box and showed Shen Wantang the stones inside: "Look, this is what he gave me. He said it's called a meteorite. You seem to have been reading books on astrology lately? Can you help me see if he's lying to me? Is this broken stone really a star?"

Shen Wantang looked at the fist-sized meteorite and said with a smile, "This is also the first time I've seen a real meteorite. However, this stone is just like the one in the book. Father didn't lie to you. This is indeed a meteorite. No other stone would have such a unique appearance. Before it fell, it really looked like a star."

In fact, she felt that, given Prince Ning's personality, he would never lie to the princess; what he gave her must be a real meteorite.

Princess Ning nodded in satisfaction: "I'm glad you didn't lie to me."

She carefully closed the box, locked it again, and put it back.

Seeing how much she treasured the stone, Shen Wantang could tell that she liked the gift from Prince Ning.

The Crown Prince's tutor was one of the Three Dukes, a first-rank official in the court, and the emperor's teacher. As the daughter of the emperor's teacher, what good things hadn't she seen? Later, when she became a princess, she had countless gold and silver treasures. She was never short of treasures.

This meteorite was special, so she kept it separately in a box made of Phoebe zhennan wood.

Prince Ning was not romantic, but he gave her the most precious gift in his heart, which, by sheer coincidence, touched the heart of the princess.

Although the princess complained, she actually cherished the stone and even gave it the best box, because she knew that her husband, who loved stars and was obsessed with them, had given her a real star, which was his greatest sincerity.

As the sun set, Prince Ning returned.

As soon as he entered the house, he saw his wife chatting and laughing with his daughter-in-law. The two of them were even playing cards with the maids and nannies. The atmosphere was cheerful, as if nothing had happened.

He breathed a long sigh of relief. He was afraid that when he came back, his wife would still be crying about their son, and that she would still be angry.

Unexpectedly, his wife seemed to have forgotten about their son.

He looked at Shen Wantang, and without needing to be told, he knew that this was probably his daughter-in-law's doing again.

This daughter-in-law is even better at coaxing the princess than he is. As long as she is there, the princess's anger can be calmed down.

When Princess Ning saw him return, she stopped playing cards and immediately went up to him, asking, "How did it go? Did the Emperor scold you? Did he blame Yuan'er?"

Ning Wangchao smiled and said, "He did scold me a few times, but it's not a big deal. The fact that my brother scolded me shows that he didn't take it to heart. If he hadn't scolded me, that would have been a big problem. As for Yuan'er, he was just temporarily soft-hearted and deceived. It's not a big deal."

Princess Ning finally relaxed: "That's good. What should we do with Magistrate Ye's daughter?"

"Let's stay here for now!"

Princess Ning was utterly astonished: "Stay in the manor? Why is that?"

"That's what my brother instructed, so let's do as he says."

Princess Ning was filled with suspicion, but she couldn't figure out why.

Shen Wantang, standing behind her, felt a slight stirring in her heart and began to guess the emperor's intentions.

Because Gu Qianhan had said that the one million taels of silver embezzled by Magistrate Ye was still missing. Originally, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had arrested the entire Ye family, but later they released Magistrate Ye's wife and daughters, which was obviously an attempt to trap them.

If Ye Lingyun were left in the Ning Prince's Mansion, it would be much easier to monitor her movements. Moreover, with the protection of the Ning Prince's Mansion, Ye Lingyun might lower her guard, and we might soon be able to find the hiding place of the one million taels of silver on her.

Prince Ning naturally knew the emperor's true intentions, because the emperor had not hidden them from him. However, there were many people around, so he did not tell his wife directly.

But when he looked up at Shen Wantang, he saw that her eyes were clear and she was calm and composed, and he knew that she had probably already guessed the emperor's intentions.

He nodded in satisfaction, feeling that his daughter-in-law was even more intelligent than he had imagined, which saved him the trouble of explaining.

He simply said, "Tang'er, arrange a courtyard for Miss Ye, and send two clever maids to serve her."

"Yes, Father."