Chapter 641 You Call Me Father, and I Will Be Princess Yongning
Tang Ning was originally alert when she heard the Queen Mother talking about Xiao Yan, and her fingers were placed on the jade bell hanging around her waist. She just thought that if the Queen Mother suddenly got angry, she would immediately smash the jade bell and inform Yue Jian, but who knew that the Queen Mother would suddenly say something shocking.
Tang Ning thought she was hallucinating and looked up in surprise: "Empress Dowager?"
What did she say?!
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "You heard right, I want a granddaughter."
Tang Ning opened her mouth and said, "But there are many princesses in the palace..."
The Queen Mother said calmly, "The Emperor does have many princes and princesses, but I don't think they are as lovable as you. I like your personality and have discussed it with the Emperor before, hoping that he would adopt you as his adopted daughter."
"Taifu Rong was on good terms with the late emperor when he was in the court, and later taught the emperor. The Rong family and the imperial family are as close as family. I know that you previously expelled yourself from the Song family and joined the Rong clan, and I also moved your parents' graves out of the Song family ancestral tomb. In any case, you are no longer a member of the Song family."
"If you could call the Emperor "Father" and me "Grandmother," I'm sure the spirit of Grand Tutor Rong would be pleased."
Tang Ning's face was filled with shock. Even though she had made all the necessary preparations before coming to Shoukang Palace and felt that she was capable of handling anything and could handle it calmly no matter what the Queen Mother wanted to do, she never expected that the Queen Mother would actually want her to join the royal family as a princess.
She felt confused for a moment and didn't know how to respond to the Queen Mother's sudden move.
Tang Ning took a long while to sort out his thoughts before opening his mouth to say, "The Empress Dowager is so kind to me, Tang Ning is very grateful. However, I have already discussed with my aunt that after I leave the Song family, I will return to the Rong family, and in the future, my bloodline will also belong to the Rong family..."
"The Rong family also has Rong Yue."
The Queen Mother looked at her intently. "I've heard a little about Rong Yue and Gu Helian. She didn't take it seriously when Princess Huan slandered Rong Yue before, but she flew into a rage when Gu Helian was mentioned. Judging from her tone that day, I'm sure they're about to get married."
"The Rong family has Rong Yue and Gu Helian, so they can naturally carry on the bloodline for Grand Tutor Rong. Besides, even if they don't want children in the future, you can just acknowledge the emperor as your adoptive father and call him Father. Your child doesn't have to take the royal surname Xie."
"I will ask the emperor to confer upon you the title of Princess Yongning, the head of all the princes and princesses. In the future, no matter who ascends the throne and becomes the new emperor a hundred years later, your position as the eldest princess will remain unchanged."
The expression on Tang Ning's face gradually faded. The Queen Mother's promise was so important that she dared not be careless in the slightest.
Tang Ning stood up and said to the Queen Mother, "The Queen Mother values me so highly, Tang Ning is truly unworthy. Besides, there is already Princess Leyang in the palace, so it is inappropriate to confer the title on someone else."
"Then we'll destroy Le Yang."
The title of Princess was mostly conferred on the emperor's sisters, but there were exceptions where it could be conferred on the emperor's daughters.
The Queen Mother was unimpressed by Tang Ning's words: "Le Yang has acted improperly. She once conspired with the Fourth Prince's wife to murder you. She even did something so shameful that she almost caused a catastrophic disaster. The Queen of Lingyun Temple should have severely punished her, but the Emperor kept their brotherly love in mind."
"Now that you are to be the eldest princess, Le Yang is naturally unfit to be one."
"I will ask the Emperor to decree that she be stripped of her title, but retain her title of princess. This will be a respectable achievement for her."
Tang Ning looked at the empress dowager with a warm smile, but felt the coldness of the royal family from her words.
After Princess Leyang made a mistake, Emperor An first covered up for her for the sake of the royal family's reputation. Later, after the death of the Fourth Prince's wife, too many things were involved. In order to calm the matter, Emperor An completely dismantled the Princess's Mansion.
The princess's husband was dismissed from his official position, the princess's salary and fiefdom were cut, and most of her property accumulated over the years was confiscated. The only thing left in the entire princess's mansion was the title of princess. Princess Leyang fell into complete silence, and the people in the princess's mansion almost stopped interacting with the outside world.
Now even the title of the eldest princess is going to be taken away, so they will really have nothing left.
Although Tang Ning had a grudge against Princess Leyang, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
The Queen Mother's move clearly meant to kill them all, not even leaving Princess Leyang with a bit of dignity.
Seeing that Tang Ning didn't say anything, the Queen Mother thought she was hesitating. She said softly, "Tang Ning, I really like you, and I also like Rong Yue."
"If you are willing to be the eldest princess, from now on you will be the most noble woman in the capital. Even the concubines in the emperor's harem or other princes and princesses will have to bow to you."
"The royal family won't make things difficult for you. If anyone dares to offend you, your grandmother and your father will protect you. Moreover, Duke Dingguo, as your husband, is also half a royal son. His past grievances with the emperor can be wiped out. The emperor will certainly use him in a more important position."
She looked at Tang Ning and said seriously:
"I know there are some misunderstandings between you, Duke Dingguo, and the Emperor, but the Rong family is loyal and steadfast, and the head of the He family is also a loyal and brave man. As descendants of the Rong and He families, you will certainly not go against the will of your elders, right?"
"Duke Dingguo only supports the Crown Prince for the sake of the He family, but you should also see the Crown Prince's character clearly. After learning of Prince Pingshan's rebellion, he suppressed the news and secretly hoarded grain to disrupt people's livelihoods, hoping to profit from it. With his abilities, he is not worthy of the position of Crown Prince, let alone achieving what Duke Dingguo wants."
"But the Emperor is different. While he certainly made mistakes, he is the legitimate Son of Heaven of Wei. He is the monarch to whom Duke Dingguo must bow, even if he doesn't want to, and respectfully address him as His Majesty."
"As long as you agree to become the eldest princess, I will ask the emperor to clear the name of the He family and allow Duke Dingguo to revive the He family. From now on, Duke Dingguo and the emperor will be united as one and will surely be able to eliminate the treacherous officials, stabilize the court, and make the Great Wei even more powerful."
"What do you think?"
The Queen Mother gave earnest advice and sincere words, even showing a submissive attitude.
What she promised was the best that the royal family could give to others. It was both decent and noble, and it could also alleviate the criticisms of those old-fashioned people in the court who cursed Xiao Yan for being unjust and unworthy of being a minister of the king after he came to power.
The Queen Mother's move undoubtedly put herself and Emperor An in a weak position and took the initiative to make peace with them.
If it were someone else, the Queen Mother and her son would definitely agree to it after seeing how submissive they were. This would not only resolve the feud with the royal family, but also allow Xiao Yan to take power legitimately. It was just a matter of recognizing an adoptive father, which was not a big deal at all. But Tang Ning couldn't do that.
When Crown Prince Li died and the He family was exterminated, Emperor An "made great contributions". Xiao Yan went through life and death several times to get to where he is today. What he wanted was never just power over the court and harmony between the monarch and his subjects.
Xiao Yan's identity destined him to be in opposition to Emperor An, and the hatred between the two would never end.
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