Chapter 322 Should I persuade His Majesty to participate in the selection?
Lu Yiling patted her chest and promised: "I will take good care of Sister Chi for you, and I will never let her suffer any grievances!"
Chu Qing sighed lightly. Lingling was so young, how could she know anything? His Majesty had not set foot in Fengyi Palace in the past half month. How could Lingling know such a grievance?
Although Chu Qing couldn't help Chu Chi in any way, she could still give Chu Chi some comfort.
Chu Chi smiled faintly and said, "Brother, go to Yangzhou without any worries. Don't worry about me."
Chu Qing was assigned to Yangzhou for an expatriate post, but the Zheng family did not mind and arranged the marriage for her before she took up the post. Although the timing was tight, the marriage was arranged properly.
Lu Yiling saw the newly married Zheng Xiuxiu off on the cruise ship to Yangzhou. She held Zheng Xiuxiu's hand reluctantly and said, "Xiuxiu, remember to write to me, and help me take good care of my nanny."
Zheng Xiuxiu smiled faintly and replied, "Okay."
After Lu Yiling waved goodbye to Zheng Xiuxiu and Chu Qing, she returned home feeling very depressed. She was much more sensible than before and no longer as childish as before.
It's February 2nd again this year, and the Flower God Parade is still as lively as ever. However, Qi Yuning couldn't catch up with the excitement. On February 2nd, she gave birth to a daughter as she wished.
Lu Yiling had longed for a younger sister for a long time, and finally got her wish. However, Lu Zhixiu felt a little disappointed, as he actually wanted a younger brother.
Unfortunately, this pregnancy tortured Qi Yuning so much that she absolutely did not want to have another baby, so it was destined that Lu Zhixiu would not be able to fulfill his wish.
Lu Yiling lay on the small wooden bed, looking at her soft and tender little sister, and said with a smile: "Mother, what name did you give your sister?"
Qi Yuning said: "Come and get it."
Lu Yiling said: "Lu Yile is good, she has been able to laugh since she was born."
Qi Yuning chuckled and said, "Okay, Yile, Yile, a lifetime of joy, what a good name. From now on, my sister will be called Lu Yile."
After having Lu Yile, Lu Yiling became much more sensible than before. She did everything for her sister herself. Even when Qi Yuning and Lu Ze wanted to hold their little daughter, Lu Yiling had the final say.
Lu Yile moved into Yuemi Courtyard a hundred days after he left.
Qi Yuning and Lu Ze were reluctant but had to follow Lu Yiling's wish. After all, they were afraid that Lu Yiling would feel that her parents no longer liked her after she had a younger sister.
…
In the fifteenth year of Kangping, the summer was scorching.
Lu Yiling is nearly fifteen years old. Although she still has two months to go before she reaches marriageable age, the number of people who come to act as a matchmaker for Lingling has been thronging the threshold of the princess's mansion.
Qi Yuning looked at the men who came to propose marriage to her and was not satisfied with any of them. She felt that no matter what kind of husband her Lingling chose, it would be an injustice to her.
On the edge of Xingyue Lake, Lu Baozhu brought her daughter and son back to her parents' old home to escape the summer heat. She looked at Qi Yuning's picky look and said, "Be careful not to be too picky. When I was about to reach the age of marriage, my mother was the same. She didn't like any man. Later, I didn't get married until I was in my twenties. You can't let Lingling follow in my footsteps."
Qi Yuning said: "She can't just get married casually. Lingling is just about to reach the age of marriage, and I can't bear to see her get married so soon."
Lu Baozhu looked at the lake and ate longan and said, "Why not let Lingling marry my son? It would be great if they were cousins."
Qi Yuning looked at the six-year-old boy standing beside him, "Lingling is nine years older than him! What nonsense are you talking about?"
Lu Baozhu said: "A girl three years older than her husband can bring her three big gold bricks. This nine-year age difference can bring her three big gold bricks."
Qi Yuning: “…”
"Mother, aunt."
Qi Yuning turned around and saw a girl in a green dress coming towards her. The girl, who was about to reach marriage age, had a very beautiful face, with eyebrows as dark as spring mountains and pupils as clear as autumn water. The girl had fair skin and bright eyes, which was very beautiful.
Qi Yuning looked at Lu Yiling with eyes full of love. Her daughter Lingling was so outstanding, she really couldn't just find a random man to marry Lu Yiling.
"Sister." Xiao Yile saw Lu Yiling coming and let Lu Yiling hug her.
Lu Yiling picked up little Yile and said to Qi Yuning, "Mother, I received a letter from my cousin today. He said he was coming back."
Qi Yuning smiled faintly and said, "It's time to come back. Your aunt is worried about you every day."
Lu Yiling whispered, "My cousin said he came back to propose marriage, I...I..."
Today, Lu Yiling regrets her childhood self so much. She was ignorant at that time and had no idea how many people she had engaged with.
So much so that now that everyone has come to propose marriage, other men are easy to deal with, but Qi Zhiyuan is really difficult to deal with.
Qi Yuning looked at Lu Yiling and said, "So do you want to marry your cousin?"
"Of course I don't want to. He looks 70% like me. I don't want to marry him. But he insisted on bringing up the vow we made when we were kids..."
Qi Yuning smiled faintly and said, "It's okay. He can't marry you unless mother allows it."
Lu Baozhu said, "Speaking of which, it's time for Yuan'er to get married, so should Han'er's marriage also be on the agenda?"
Qi Yuning said: “Well, Shen Nian has now been seen by the matchmaker.”
Lu Baozhu waved her round fan and said, "I'm getting old. In the blink of an eye, I'm going to be a great-aunt."
Qi Yuning smiled faintly. It was true that after Lingling reached the age of 15, she would not be able to stay for a few more years. It would not be long before she could have grandchildren.
Lu Baozhu continued, "Oh, right? How come there has been no prince born in the palace for so many years? Your Majesty has been ruling the country for so many years, why has there only been one Princess Shiyi?"
Your Majesty is not familiar with this cousin Lu Baozhu, but the harem has been childless, and even she, a princess who only knows how to eat, drink, and have fun with silk and satin, knows about it. The royal side branch is also getting anxious.
Lu Baozhu asked Qi Yuning in a low voice: "Is it possible that Your Majesty can't have children?"
Qi Yuning said, "How could that be? Isn't there Princess Shiyi? Besides, wasn't the Queen also pregnant two years ago, but she failed to keep the baby. You should just be more at ease and stop listening to the rumors."
Lu Baozhu said, "I'll tell you the truth. Shen Jialin's family has a niece who is fifteen this year, the same age as Lingling. The Shen family wants to have her in the palace for selection, but His Majesty hasn't held a selection in all these years except for the year he took power. Shouldn't you and your elder brother persuade His Majesty to hold a selection? I see His Majesty is only willing to listen to you."
Qi Yuning said: "I won't try to persuade His Majesty about this matter. Aren't there many people who have tried to persuade His Majesty over the years? Besides, His Majesty has been ruling the country for many years. He is no longer the young emperor who was willing to listen to us."
Zhao Jie, now almost twenty-one years old, is no longer the child he was back then.
Lu Yiling said from the side: "Aunt, do you like your uncle to take a concubine?"
"How dare he! If he thinks of taking a concubine, I will make him a eunuch."
Lu Yiling said calmly: "Then why do you want your uncle to take a concubine?"
"Royal concubines are different after all," said Lu Baozhu.
Lu Yiling said: "What's the difference? Uncle doesn't want to participate in the draft, so we shouldn't force him."
Lu Baozhu said, "It's not that I want to force Your Majesty. This is also Shen Jialin's idea. Since Madam Chu left, Chu Yan has not cared about the friendship in the past and has attacked several other families. The Yang family and the Sun family have long been annexed. The Shen and Ning families combined are no match for the Chu family. So Shen Jialin and the Shen family wanted to send a beauty to Your Majesty to protect themselves."
Qi Yuning fanned Lu Yiling and Xiao Yile and said, "The Chu family has indeed acted very recklessly in the past few years, but it seems that it is also because of His Majesty's indulgence. Without His Majesty's indulgence, how could the Chu family act like this?"
The Chu family in Jiangnan is very famous, so the business of the Qi family is not affected. However, Qi Yuning can feel that the other so-called thousand-year-old families are about to be swallowed up by the Chu family. There is no need to say much about the Yang and Sun families. The Chu family is the one that is trying to wipe out the Ning family.
Lu Baozhu is not as heartless as she was when she was young. She said to Qi Yuning, "I am still afraid that His Majesty wants to use the Chu family to deal with these self-proclaimed thousand-year-old families first, and then turn around to deal with us? After all, our family is also married to the Chen and Ning families."
Lu Yiling said to Lu Baozhu, "Aunt, you worry too much. My uncle will never deal with me no matter who he deals with. The Chu family attacked the Ning family because Ning Ji and the Queen Mother plotted against the little princess to win the favor of the little aunt, causing the little aunt to lose her unborn child. The little aunt has not recovered yet. The Chu family is taking revenge on Ning Ji.
If you cut ties with the Ning family, the Chu family will naturally not deal with the Shen family together. Now that you are sending people to the palace, won't the Chu family be even more angry?"
Qi Yuning didn't know why Chu Chi had a miscarriage or was harmed by Ning Ji. She just heard that Ning Ji was deposed from the position of imperial concubine and demoted to a commoner two years ago, and was imprisoned in the small courtyard next to Prince Duan's Mansion where the former crown prince had stayed.
But since it concerns the Empress Dowager, I think the palace should have kept it a secret. "The Empress Dowager, she is already at the age of retirement, but she still has to cause trouble. Sigh."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
