Chapter 117: Unwilling to Return to the Palace
During dinner, Qi Wuhan asked Qing'er and Gui'er to go down first, and told Jiang Lan that the emperor had summoned him to the palace today.
Jiang Lan listened to him quietly, and was shocked when she learned that the person taken away was Princess Zhaoyang.
Seeing that she didn't say anything and was staring at him blankly, Qi Wuhan reached out and tapped her forehead lightly to bring her back to her senses. Jiang Lan looked at him again, seeming to be hesitant to speak, as if she wanted to ask for more details but felt it was a bit too gossipy.
"If it were Xiaolan, would you like to rekindle our old relationship?" Qi Wuhan joked.
Jiang Lan thought about this problem seriously.
"Does it take so long?" Qi Wuhan said playfully, his peach blossom eyes narrowed in a slight smile, making him look like a cunning male vixen.
After a brief moment of serious thought, Jiang Lan said, "If the other party breaks their promise first, then we will cut ties completely and there will be no turning back."
"I swear to God that I will be devoted to you in the past and in the future, and I will never betray you." Qi Wuhan swore on his finger, then reached out to hold her hand, and smiled gently, "But Xiaolan'er can't break up with me either. You have to grow old with me." Jiang Lanhui held his hand and nodded lightly, a sweet smile between her eyebrows.
After dinner, Qi Wuhan told her about Concubine Qing again and asked her if she had any way to get her back to the palace.
Jiang Lan could roughly judge the queen's temperament from his description, and felt that since she didn't want to return to the palace, she must have her own reasons.
"Perhaps Concubine Qing is tired of life in the palace and doesn't want to go back," she guessed.
Qi Wuhan said, "Now that the princess has done something like this, His Majesty is probably worried that something might happen to her if she's alone outside, so he's in a hurry to bring her back."
Jiang Lan thought about it and agreed. If something went wrong again, the emperor would lose all his face. To be on the safe side, he would definitely not let Concubine Qing stay outside the palace.
She thought about it and felt that it would be more likely to succeed if Prince An went to invite his mother in person.
After all, which mother in the world doesn't want to see her children get married and have children?
Jiang Lan's words gave Qi Wuhan some inspiration.
Although the relationship between mother and son does not seem to be close, Prince An is the only child of Concubine Qing after all, so how could she really ignore him?
…
After court the next day, Prince Rui told Prince An about how Prince Fu and Cui Jingshu had caused chaos in the palace, and there was a hint of gloating in his words.
That day, after Cui Jingshu sent Cui Yan to the examination hall and returned to the palace, she was holding her breath. She saw that Prince Fu acted as if he didn't see her and was concentrating on admiring his precious orchid.
She became even angrier, because the orchid in that pot had the same name as Jiang Lan, both with the word "Lan" in their names.
She rushed over angrily and wanted to smash his pot of unlucky orchid. When Prince Fu saw her rushing towards him, he knew something was wrong and immediately picked up the pot of orchid and ran away. Cui Jingshu chased after him and beat him. The two chased each other in the mansion, and then Prince Fu ran out of the door with the pot of orchid. He has been living in the garden on the outskirts of the city for the past two days and has not returned to the palace.
"Fifth brother really married a good princess." Prince Rui said sarcastically.
Prince An commented pertinently, "Fifth Brother has had a really hard time."
As soon as he finished speaking, Prince Rui put away the smile on his face, and a sinister look flashed across his eyes. Prince An followed his gaze and saw Qi Wuhan.
"Your Highness, may I have a word with you for a moment?" Qi Wuhan came over and said to Prince An.
"There is nothing that cannot be said in front of me." King Rui said.
"This concerns Concubine Qing. Your Highness, do you want to listen too?" Qi Wuhan asked.
Prince An's expression was slightly different, but he soon returned to normal.
Prince Rui glanced at Prince An and left without asking any more questions.
"Please speak, my lord." Prince An said politely.
Qi Wuhan said, "Your Highness also learned yesterday that the Emperor wanted to take the Empress back to the palace, but the Empress did not agree, so I would like to ask Your Highness to help persuade the Empress."
Prince An declined politely, saying, "Mother has always liked a quiet life. My marriage will be arranged by Mother, so there is no need to trouble you." After saying this, he bowed and turned away.
"If your Majesty doesn't get to see His Highness get married, she will regret it in the future, and so will His Highness."
After hearing the last two sentences, Prince An stopped, stayed for a while and then walked away again.
Qi Wuhan knew that the knot in his heart was difficult to untie and it was impossible to let it go all at once, so he still had to give the other party time to slowly figure it out.
But His Majesty can't wait that long.
With Zhaoyang's previous experience as a lesson, Concubine Qing must return to the palace as soon as possible.
The next day, the emperor summoned Qi Wuhan to the imperial study to ask about Concubine Qing.
"She still doesn't want to return to the palace?"
His Majesty's expression was somewhat gloomy.
Qi Wuhan replied, "Your Majesty, please give me two more days. I will definitely bring the queen back to the palace."
The emperor said in a deep voice: "If she refuses to come back, then I will order her to come back."
Qi Wuhan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down."
The emperor turned around and looked out the window. After a moment of hesitation, his tone softened. "Never mind. I'll give you two more days."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Qi Wuhan bowed.
The emperor sighed and said slowly, "I feel that my health has not been as good as before recently, and I keep thinking about some things in the past..."
This is the habit of older people, they always like to reminisce about the past.
Qi Wuhan thought about it silently in his heart and said nothing.
"Do you think I did something wrong?" the emperor asked, as if talking to himself.
Qi Wuhan replied, "Your Majesty is wise and benevolent, and is a role model for the people of the world."
The emperor smiled and said, "You are becoming more and more tactful." He turned and looked out the window, pondered for a moment, and said, "I have been thinking recently, should I bring the fourth prince back to the palace?"
Qi Wuhan had a subtle look on his face. Previously, the Emperor had told him that he had dreamed of Prince Ning rebelling, and had asked him to go to the palace every now and then to see what Prince Ning was doing. Now, he wanted to bring him back...
Do you feel more at ease keeping it by your side?
"Then shall I send someone to bring His Highness back today?"
The emperor thought about it for a moment and said, "Let's wait a couple of days, until after the wedding."
"Yes." Qi Wuhan replied with a bow.
The emperor thought of something and changed the subject, "I heard that the fifth prince and the princess had a fight in the palace?"
Qi Wuhan replied: "I don't know the specific situation either."
"Forget it. My children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. I am too lazy to care about these matters." The emperor waved his hand and said, "Withdraw."
Qi Wuhan then took his leave.
After coming out of the imperial study, he caught a glimpse of Concubine Zhen coming with her men, and then he walked in another direction.
Concubine Zhen originally wanted to say a few words to him, but when she saw him leaving, as if he was deliberately avoiding her, she wanted to chase him but was stopped by Hong Gu.
"Empress, Eunuch Liu is here." Hong Gu reminded in a low voice.
Concubine Zhen adjusted the tasseled gold hairpin on her head and asked Eunuch Liu, "Is His Majesty in there?"
"Her Majesty specially prepared some snacks for Your Majesty to try." Hong Gu said with a smile.
Eunuch Liu diligently led Concubine Zhen to the imperial study. After arriving at the imperial study, Concubine Zhen put on a charming and seductive smile and said coquettishly, "Your Majesty, it has been quite some time since you visited me~"
The emperor dismissed his attendants, reached out and took her to his side, and a fragrance lingered around her. The fragrance was not strong, but very pleasant.
His Majesty likes the scent of her.
This fragrance only belongs to Concubine Zhen, and other concubines do not have such means as hers.
Concubine Zhen raised her hand and gently massaged His Majesty's solar plexus. She said in a delicate voice, "Your Majesty, a few days ago, I accidentally saw His Royal Highness the Crown Prince alone with a palace maid. Is His Royal Highness planning to take a concubine?"
"Appoint a palace maid as a concubine?" the emperor said with his eyes closed.
Concubine Zhen said, "My status is indeed low, but if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince likes me, I'm sure he won't mind."
The emperor didn't say anything else, so Concubine Zhen didn't say anything either.
…….
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