Chapter 10 Yang is worthy of being the bride of the Eastern Palace
Queen Mother Jiang said with a smile: "I like all these beauties very much. In addition to the Crown Princess, you may choose a few more, whether concubines or talented women. Let them accompany me often in the future, which will help relieve my boredom."
The seven beauties in the palace appeared calm on the surface, but in their hearts, turmoil was brewing.
Xu Miaohua and Song Minghui were confident that their positions as Crown Princesses were assured, and they secretly became wary of the other beauties who entered the Eastern Palace to serve; the other four were either secretly delighted or helplessly melancholy.
Only Yang Manyan was uneasy, with thousands of thoughts surging in his mind.
The Queen Mother made an exception and selected her. Could it be that she had been planning to make her a concubine in the Eastern Palace?
If it were a few days ago, she might have thought it was a great honor.
The crown prince is the heir apparent of a country and the future ruler of the world. For her, who came from a poor family, to be able to become a concubine in the Eastern Palace is already a great honor for her ancestors.
But, she was almost ambushed a few days ago and almost lost her virginity to a man who was about the same age as her father...
Truth will eventually come to light. If she really marries into the Eastern Palace, once the scandal that night is exposed, the entire Yang family will be doomed.
At this time, the prince spoke in a gentle voice: "My grandson is not yet twenty years old, and he has a heavy workload. He has no intention of taking a concubine. Today, you only need to choose one person to be the crown princess."
The smile on Queen Mother Jiang's face faltered slightly, and even her thick makeup could not hide the displeasure in her eyes.
After a short pause, she regained her composure and said, "Yes, I was not thoughtful enough. Then take a look and see which beauty you have chosen."
Xiao Yan replied calmly, "In my grandson's opinion, Yang, the daughter of Yang Qianxing, the councillor of the Silver Palace, is gentle and kind, and is a good match for the bride of the Eastern Palace."
These words were like thunder, and Yang Manyan was so shocked that he held his breath.
The princess chosen by the prince is actually her?
Everyone in the hall was stunned at first, then looked at Yang Manyan in shock and disbelief.
Queen Mother Jiang widened her eyes and forced herself to smile: "Prince, did you recognize the wrong person? Do you know who is the daughter of Councillor Yang?"
Xiao Yan's expression remained unchanged: "My grandson did not make a mistake. The girl on the far left is the Crown Princess that my grandson has chosen."
Yang Manyan felt his heart skip a beat.
Queen Mother Jiang's face darkened instantly: "The Crown Prince is young and has not thought things through. The selection of the Crown Princess has not yet been decided. You all go back first and wait for my order."
The concubines all bowed their heads and responded "yes".
Xiao Yan, however, remained calm, as he knew that his father had already drafted the imperial decree for the marriage and everything was under control.
Queen Mother Jiang also vaguely guessed something, a stern look flashed in her eyes, and she hurriedly ordered: "Prepare the carriage and send the seven beauties out of the palace!"
The seven beauties hurriedly boarded the carriage, left the palace from Donghua Gate, and returned home.
The carriage of Xu Miaohua and Yang Manyan slowly stopped in front of the Duke of Wei's mansion.
Yang Manyan was in a state of confusion, and in a trance he felt that everything that had just happened was like an absurd nightmare.
Xu Miaohua was so angry that her face turned red. She wanted to grab her and ask her what seductive tricks she had used to seduce the prince.
It just so happened that Xu Chengzong, the son of Duke Wei, came back from outside. Seeing the two of them coming home early, he was surprised and asked, "Miaohua, why are you back so early?"
Although he was asking his sister, his eyes were fixed on Yang Manyan.
Seeing her brother being so disappointing, Xu Miaohua glared at him fiercely, then turned around and left, picking up her skirt.
Xu Chengzong frowned. Seeing his sister looking like this, could it be that she lost in the re-election?
He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Yang Manyan again, his tone full of arrogance like almsgiving: "I have thought about it carefully these days. If you are willing to be my concubine, I can postpone marrying and let you give birth to an heir for the Duke of Wei's Mansion first."
Yang Manyan was so shocked that he was speechless...
**
Palace of Heavenly Purity, inside the South Study.
After leaving court, the emperor still wore a bright yellow gauze robe embroidered with eight dragon patterns, a gold-thread winged hat on his head, and sat behind a large gold-thread nanmu desk to review memorials.
"Changying, have you found the palace maid I mentioned?" he suddenly asked in a deep voice.
A few days ago, he almost favored a little palace maid in Xuanguang Pavilion, but when the rain stopped and the clouds cleared, the little palace maid fell into a coma.
The area around Xuanguang Pavilion was a forbidden area in the palace, and there were no palace maids or eunuchs, so he had to go and summon the imperial physician in person.
But when he returned to Xuanguang Pavilion, the house was empty, leaving only the charming atmosphere in the room.
Xiao Ke's face turned pale with anger, and he immediately ordered people to investigate who the palace maid was who had mistakenly entered the forbidden area last night.
So far, four full days have passed.
Upon hearing this, the chief eunuch Chang Ying's heart skipped a beat and sweat broke out on his palms.
He replied with a bitter face: "Your Majesty, I am incompetent and cannot find out the origin of that maid. The palace has a strict curfew and no one dares to stay outside after midnight. I have personally questioned the maids who worked in the Imperial Garden that night, and they all said that they did not stay outside."
"I did find out that at dusk that day, the Empress of Renshou Palace summoned two beautiful ladies, and the maid took a shortcut through the Imperial Garden, but did not approach Xuanguang Pavilion."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ke frowned slightly and a strange premonition arose in his heart.
He rubbed his brows and asked: "Which two beauties were announced by Renshou Palace that day?"
Chang Ying quickly replied, "Xu Miaohua, the daughter of Duke Wei, and Yang Manyan, the daughter of Yintai Councillor."
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