Chapter 26: Zhao Yuanrong (Overhaul)
"A Ling!" Zhao Yuanrong's eyes lit up when he saw her. He took two or three steps forward and took her hand affectionately. "You're finally back in Beijing. I should have gone to pick you up, but I was detained in the palace and couldn't leave."
We haven't seen each other for many years, but we don't feel strange at all.
The warmth from her palm made Qu Ling's eyes warm. She bit her tongue tightly, barely suppressing her surging emotions, and whispered softly, "Sister Yuanrong..."
Before he could finish his words, his throat was already choked with sobs.
Zhao Yuanrong keenly noticed her abnormality and approached her worriedly, "What's wrong? Did someone bully you?"
After saying this, his unfriendly gaze fell on Qu Lianzhi.
Qu Ling lowered his eyes, and used the action of adjusting his sleeves to hide the moisture in his eyes, "It's nothing, it's just... I'm so happy to see my sister."
Zhao Yuanrong felt relieved when she heard her say this. She lowered her voice and said, "It's not that I won't go to Jiangzhou to see you. The Queen Mother won't let me leave the capital. Please don't blame me."
In fact, Zhao Yuanrong often wrote letters to Qu Ling and sent things with him, but they were always stopped by Nanny Zhou.
After returning to the capital, Qu Ling hated the Princess and Zhao Yuanrong.
She would just think, who cares about your letter, who cares about your things, why don't you come to see me in person.
Completely ignoring Zhao Yuanrong's difficulties.
"This must be the eldest cousin of the Qu family."
A soft voice interrupted.
Qu Ling looked over and saw a girl following behind Zhao Yuanrong.
She looked 70% similar to Song Yujin, with gentle features and none of Song Yujin's domineering air.
Qu Ling greeted her.
Song Yuzhen pursed her lips and smiled, "When you were little, you didn't like coming to the Song family. It was always your aunt who brought Lianzhi and Lianxue with her. She thought you wouldn't recognize me."
Zhao Yuanrong calmly pulled Qu Ling behind him.
"The Song family isn't A-Ling's legitimate in-laws, so even if she comes here, no one will really care about her. If it were me, I wouldn't want to come here either."
She confronted Song Yuzhen without any hesitation, and no one was surprised.
Song Yuzhen was not angry, and a gentle smile still hung on her face. "My princess is joking. As the wife of the Marquis of Dingxiang, my aunt treats A Ling equally, and our Song family will not treat him differently."
"Really?" Zhao Yuanrong pulled Qu Ling to sit down. "Then why doesn't A'ling want to come to your house? It must be because you guys didn't treat her well enough. Hurry up and bring out the delicious food, drinks, and fun things, as well as the pearls that the Queen gave you last time."
She smiled and said, "If I make Ah Ling happy, he will be willing to come."
Just as Song Yuzhen was about to speak, three men came over.
The one in the middle, with an aura of majesty without even being angry, is none other than the current Crown Prince Zhao Xuanyi.
"Yuan Rong is still so outspoken."
The prince teased Zhao Yuanrong with a smile.
The intimacy in the words made Song Yuzhen look unhappy.
She tried her best to appear gentle and virtuous in front of the prince, telling him that she was the most suitable person to be the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace, but the prince just liked Zhao Yuanrong.
Song Yuzhen suppressed his irritability and forced a gentle smile on his face. "Why did His Highness come here so suddenly?"
"Yes, there are female relatives here, and you brought them here. This is not what a prince should do." Zhao Yuanrong said.
The prince twirled his folding fan carelessly, his gaze still fixed on Zhao Yuanrong. He addressed Zhao Yuanrong, "You haven't been to the palace for some time. The orphan manuscript you've been talking about has just happened to be delivered to the East Palace today. I'm personally delivering it to you."
As he spoke, he took out a brocade-wrapped book from his sleeve.
Zhao Yuanrong gestured for the maid to take it, but she didn't move. "It's hard for Your Highness to remember and make a special trip."
She noticed Song Yuzhen's slightly moved expression and said with a smile, "Your Highness, why didn't you bring something for Miss Song as well? Isn't this just making me angry? If Miss Song is unhappy, the Empress will blame Your Highness."
"How could that be?" Song Yuzhen's expression had returned to normal. "The Empress often said that Your Highness and the Princess were like siblings. It's only natural for a brother to love his sister."
"My brother also found some good stuff for me a few days ago."
Song Yuzhen was also angry.
The prince openly insulted her in front of everyone and embarrassed her.
But she couldn't show any abnormality.
She could give herself a way out, and also give the prince a way out.
The position of Crown Princess can only remain in the Song family.
Zhao Yuanrong smiled, turned away and stopped talking.
Brother and sister?
She has known since she was a child how to use the prince to save her life.
The prince should hate her.
But on that rainy night, the prince was drunk and said some things to her that she didn't want to hear. She accidentally hit the prince and injured him.
No one spoke in the flower hall, the silence was so frightening that it made one's scalp tingle.
Song Yuzhen's brother Song Zhang suddenly spoke up, "Your Highness, my father and the others are still waiting for you in the front hall."
The prince said "hmm", looked at Zhao Yuanrong again, and then turned and left.
In the flower hall, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the prince leave.
Song Yuzhen danced gracefully with her long sleeves, and greeted everyone gently, "This year's tea is excellent, you all should try it..."
Before she could finish her words, a large amount of tea was splashed on Qu Ling's dress.
"Let my dress taste this tea first," Qu Ling stood up and shook off a pool of tea. "Miss Song didn't really invite me to drink it."
She taunted Song Yuzhen with a joking tone.
The maid who served tea knelt on the ground and dared not say a word.
The Song family has strict rules. If you do something wrong, you will be punished. The more you beg for mercy, the more severe the punishment will be.
She didn't even dare to say that she spilled the tea because she was tripped by Qu Lianzhi.
There was a dark stain of tea on Qu Ling's skirt.
Song Yuzhen took out a silk handkerchief with an apologetic look on her face. "What a pity for my cousin's clothes. This girl is so careless. My cousin is about the same height as Yujin. There are her clothes in the backyard..."
"That's all right," Qu Ling said. "There are clothes in the carriage. I'll have someone get them. You can just use the side room in the mansion."
"I'll go with my sister." Qu Lianzhi suddenly interrupted and affectionately put his arm around Qu Ling.
Zhao Yuanrong picked her up and threw her aside, "Don't get in the way."
She said to Qu Ling, "I'll accompany you."
After passing through several moon-shaped doors, the maid leading the way walked faster and faster.
Qu Ling didn't think it was a coincidence that tea splashed on her dress, and she was always alert.
When passing by a rockery, a black shadow suddenly jumped out.
A cold light flashed, and a dagger pierced Zhao Yuanrong's heart.
"Be careful." Qu Ling tried to push Zhao Yuanrong, but Zhao Yuanrong protected him and kicked the assassin far away.
Seeing that his attack missed, the man in black got up and stabbed again with his knife.
Zhao Yuanrong reacted very quickly, picking up a stone from the rockery and throwing it at him, "You're looking for death!"
Just as he was about to catch the assassin, he felt dizzy.
"The tea..."
Zhao Yuanrong sighed inwardly, the Song family was really a bunch of weasels.
The man in black continued to look at Zhao Yuanrong with a murderous look in his eyes.
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