Chapter 32: The Daughter of an Old Friend
"I, your humble servant, bow to thank the Queen Mother!"
Jiang Rong was wearing a red wedding gown with sleeves and a shawl, which was the standard for a prince's consort today. She expressed her gratitude together with Xie Lingxi, with full etiquette and a dignified demeanor.
"What a perfect couple." The Queen Mother looked at the two of them with a kind smile.
For the royal family, the Northern Prince's Palace was very sensible in choosing a girl from a small family and not marrying her to an important official in the court.
So when Xie Lingxi came to the palace to ask for permission that day, she immediately agreed to grant the marriage.
As per custom, the Queen Mother praised him a few words and gave him a lot of rewards. Jiang Rong also responded politely and prepared to leave.
"Is this Lingniang's daughter? Come forward and let me take a look." Princess Anyang suddenly spoke.
Lingniang was Bai's maiden name.
The Queen Mother looked at her, "You actually know her?"
"Mother, have you forgotten? When I gave birth to Qiong'er, I almost lost my life. It was only because I sent someone to invite Ling Niang that mother and daughter were kept safe. I have been away from home for many years. When I returned to Beijing last year, I heard that she had passed away, leaving behind only a daughter." Princess Anyang looked at Jiang Rong with a gentle and amiable smile:
"I will definitely take good care of this old friend's daughter for Lingniang. The prince will go to the Peony Banquet first. I want to keep Jiang Rong to talk for a while."
"Oh, so her mother is the female doctor who once saved you. You two are destined to meet." The Queen Mother nodded.
Jiang Rong was wary of the eldest princess's overtures.
Because in the past life...
She had met the eldest princess several times at palace banquets, but she had never talked about it and treated Jiang Rong like a stranger.
Xie Lingxi glanced at Jiang Rong and left.
Today, the couple are also among the invited guests at the Peony Banquet.
Of course, with Xie Lingxi's well-known dandy temperament, even if it was a palace banquet, he would come if he wanted to, and would claim to be sick if he didn't want to.
But Jiang Rong was left behind, and he didn't intend to leave her here alone, so he went to the party and wait for her.
"I see that you and the prince are in love, which is great. I was worried because I heard that you already had an engagement..." Princess Anyang said with concern:
"I'm afraid my mother's good intentions may ruin your good marriage."
Jiang Rong had two marriages, one was arranged by the Queen Mother, and the other was ordered by her father. If she said the arranged marriage was good, she would be disobeying her father's orders and being unfilial. If she said the arranged marriage was bad, she would offend the Queen Mother.
This eldest princess deliberately set a trap for her and her intentions were ill-intentioned.
"Thanks to the Queen Mother for granting my daughter in marriage. If my father were still alive, he would be honored. My daughter feels the same as my father." Jiang Rong responded in an orderly manner without any mistakes.
"You and your father are both loyal." The Queen Mother's frown relaxed and she said with a smile, "This child is really well-behaved and sensible. I like him very much. Come, give two pieces of Yunzhu brocade that were newly tributed this year to the Crown Prince's Consort."
"Thank you, Queen Dowager!" Jiang Rong bowed obediently.
Princess Anyang also smiled, but her eyes gradually turned cold. This girl, like her mother, was eloquent and good at speaking...
Looks too much like Bai Ling.
But her expression remained unchanged. She kept asking Jiang Rong what books she read and what she liked. She was so kind as if she was an elder who cared about the descendants of an old friend. Finally, she ordered someone to send her out.
The maid led Jiang Rong out of the Cining Palace and came to a fork in the road. She pointed to a road on the left:
"Princess, please keep going straight ahead. At the end is the Imperial Garden where the Peony Banquet will be held. I will take my leave."
"Thank you." Jiang Rong thanked her politely and walked along the path she pointed.
Until he felt that the gaze that had been staring at him from behind had moved away, Jiang Rong looked back and saw that the maid had turned around and gone back.
She immediately turned back and headed to the right.
…
Outside the Cining Palace.
The maid returned to Princess Anyang and whispered, "Your Highness, I have shown her the way to the hot spring pool and saw her go in with my own eyes."
"Today, both princes are in the hot spring pool. It's really lively." Princess Anyang curled her lips:
"Let's go to the Peony Banquet. It's so lively, we have to bring everyone to watch it together, it will be fun, right?"
…
On the other side, Jiang Rong ran at the fastest pace possible, but without being rude, and rushed to the imperial garden at the end of the road in small steps.
She didn't breathe a sigh of relief until she saw Xie Lingxi in the crowd.
In her previous life, as the Northern Prince’s concubine, she was often summoned to the harem to attend palace banquets and had been to the Imperial Garden many times...
If it was a lady entering the palace for the first time, she would have fallen into the trap.
"Husband..." Jiang Rong held Xie Lingxi's hand, smiling gently and unobtrusively: "I was blown by the wind on the road just now, and my head hurts a little. Can we go back to see a doctor?"
The harem is the enemy's territory.
The other party came with bad intentions, so of course she ran as soon as possible!
Never give the other party a chance to make another move.
"Okay." Xie Lingxi instructed the guards around him,
"My old illness has relapsed. I will inform the Queen Mother and then take my leave."
The two of them left the harem together and got on their own carriage.
Jiang Rong inquired, "My dear husband, do you know where the road to the left after leaving the Cining Palace leads to?"
"Hot spring pool." Xie Lingxi said.
This is a hot spring in the palace, exclusively for the emperor and his princes to enjoy, and occasionally for the royal family members to reward.
Xie Lingxi has been with her.
"Someone wants to lure me to the hot spring pool. Can I not attend palace banquets in the future? I'm afraid of being harmed." Jiang Rong looked at Xie Lingxi, very frankly.
Xie Lingxi's eyes darkened slightly, his expression still lazy, "Of course."
He memorized a name in his mind, Princess Anyang.
Jiang Rong felt relieved, yawned, leaned lazily on his shoulder, closed his eyes and fell asleep after a while.
Princess Anyang is the emperor's sister, and her husband's family is also powerful.
If you can't defeat the enemy, just stay away from him temporarily.
The road must be taken step by step.
Enemies must be killed one by one.
…
"Your Highness, the Northern Prince's wife has left the palace with the prince." The maid reported.
Princess Anyang frowned, "Isn't this her first time in the palace? How does she know the way to the Imperial Garden?"
"Perhaps Concubine Xie knew that this was her first time entering the palace and was afraid that she would go the wrong way, so she had already given instructions." The nanny reminded softly:
"Your Highness, your sudden action may have alerted the enemy. She probably guessed that it was you who led her to Tangchi Palace."
"So what if I frighten her? She can only bear it. Can she still be my enemy?" Princess Anyang sneered:
"Besides, I didn't leave any evidence. Whether it's today or something else... she can't find any evidence, what can she do to me?"
The nanny praised: "Your Highness can do anything with just a flick of his hand. Killing this girl is just like killing an ant."
"If her mother wasn't so hated, this insignificant little bug wouldn't be worthy of my attention. Ling Niang's daughter, letting her die too easily would be unfair to the suffering I've endured over the years." Princess Anyang said bitterly:
"Keep an eye on her, and find a chance to let her enter the palace! Before she dies, I still want to have some fun."
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