Seeing the Empress Dowager's reaction, Xie Jingrun vaguely guessed what was going on. Displeasure flashed in his eyes, and he said directly, "My marriage has already been arranged. Grandmother, you don't need to worry about my marriage."
The Empress Dowager's smile froze. She thought she had misheard and stared at him in astonishment.
Hua Yin's face grew even paler, and she twisted the handkerchief in her hand again and again, her eyes filled with suppressed resentment.
Shangguan Yanran looked at her face, which had suddenly turned pale, and chuckled inwardly. The Crown Prince was indeed no ordinary person; he had actually dared to directly contradict the Empress Dowager.
When she got back, she would definitely tell Qingqing that His Highness the Crown Prince couldn't tolerate any other person besides her.
"Emperor." The Empress Dowager suddenly turned to look at Emperor Zhaojing, who was drinking tea and acting as if nothing had happened, and her face turned ugly. "What do you mean by saying that his marriage has been arranged? I've never heard of that. Which family's daughter did you arrange for him?"
Seeing that he could not remain uninvolved, Emperor Zhaojing had no choice but to put down his cup and say to Xie Jingrun with a stern face, "How dare you speak to your imperial grandmother like that? Don't you know that this plum blossom appreciation banquet was arranged for you by her?"
"I don't know," Xie Jingrun said bluntly, as if he hadn't noticed the wink Xie Jingrun gave him.
Emperor Zhaojing's temple throbbed. This brat wasn't afraid of offending the Empress Dowager at all. It was a real predicament for him, caught between the two.
Sure enough, the Empress Dowager's expression turned even uglier. "I have gone to great lengths and done so much, but for whom is it all?"
Emperor Zhaojing could no longer smooth things over, so he had to get up and soothe her, saying, "Mother, please calm down. Xingxiu has no bad intentions; he's just not good at speaking." As he spoke, he desperately tried to wink at Xie Jingrun, but Xie Jingrun acted as if he hadn't seen it and said, "Your subject will take his leave."
Emperor Zhaojing: "..."
Emperor Zhaojing, who could only watch helplessly as his son walked away, wore a bitter expression.
The Empress Dowager turned pale with anger. "This is outrageous! Does he even respect me? Does he even respect you, his father? Aren't you going to do anything about it?"
"Of course he is, he's just a bit odd." Emperor Zhaojing himself didn't quite believe it when he said this.
The Empress Dowager was so angry at Xie Jingrun's attitude that her heart pounded, and she blurted out, "He's abandoning the son he raised so well by his side, and insists on installing someone of dubious origin..."
"Your Majesty, please be careful with your words!" Emperor Zhaojing's face darkened.
Seeing that her son was angry, the Empress Dowager reluctantly shut up.
After a long pause, she found a way to back down, "Forget it, forget it, I'm not going to get involved in this anymore." With that, she took Lin Mama's hand, turned around and left, no longer caring about Huayin and Shangguan Yanran.
Upon seeing this, Princess Huaiyin's eyes flickered, and she quickly followed.
Emperor Zhaojing felt terrible. If the other woman hadn't been his birth mother, he would have had her mouth torn apart.
How old are you? Why do you still say such things? Luckily, Xingxiu isn't here. Otherwise, what would he think if he heard this?
Emperor Zhaojing cursed inwardly, but outwardly acted as if nothing had happened, saying to Huayin and Shangguan Yanran, "It's nothing, you can all leave now."
"Then this humble woman will take her leave," Shangguan Yanran said immediately. She had been eager to leave for a long time, and she was quite embarrassed after hearing what the Empress Dowager had said.
"Go, go," Emperor Zhaojing waved his hand, his face amiable.
Shangguan Yanran immediately left the plum garden.
Hua Yin also took his leave.
Seeing the undisguised exhaustion on the girl's face, Emperor Zhaojing felt a pang of guilt and instructed Haifu, "Send Miss Hua back."
"yes."
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